Keith’s Comments (group member since Jan 25, 2022)

Keith’s comments from the This or That Reading Challenge group.

For this month I did This AND That. :)
For This: A book that has won an award I read Now in November by Josephine Johnson, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1935 (Johnson is the youngest ever to have won the award at age 24). It takes place during the Dust Bowl, focused on a farming family struggling when nothing goes their way with the weather. While much of this story has been retold numerous times now, at the time it was written it was unique, and there were a number of themes including mental health and gender roles that still strike true to this day. I give it a 3 3/4 stars.

For That: A book with a protagonist who has a physical disability, I read Blindness by José Saramago. In a not-too-distant future an epidemic of blindness hits the world, with people getting rapidly infected. What made this book so compelling for me was the descriptions of the experience of being blind - how challenging it is in general - but more impactful was how the government and society treated their fellow citizens who were struck blind: as worse than animals. It showed a discrimination hiding just below the surface. I gave it 4 1/2 stars.

I overachieved this month and also did the This: A literary fiction novel. I read Sanctuary by William Faulkner. The book, which primarily describes brutal murders and a rape and their aftermath in rural 1930s Mississippi, was understandably very dark. I appreciated Faulkner's capturing of the voice of people living in the area at the time, and for the hopeless mood that pervades throughout the novel.

However I did get put off by some of Faulkner's choices for general storytelling and pacing. The story sometimes drifts far afield to seemingly unrelated matters, and in some cases the continuously detailed descriptions for me took away and pulled me out from the narrative. I believe a more stripped down version more judiciously edited could have been more powerful. Overall some pluses and minuses: I gave it 3 stars. Still glad I read it :)

For this month I chose That: A novel that was published independently or by a small publisher, and read Skin Elegies by Lance Olsen, published by Dzanc Books- an American independent non-profit publisher. I will tell you right now that this book is probably not for most people. This is not a standard work with a clear structure. It jumps around a lot - literally just fragments of text, and you have no idea where it's going or even what it's about until the very end. But I like these kind of books, and although a challenging read I enjoyed it very much, particularly its creativity and originality. 4 1/2 stars.

For this month's challenge I chose That: A book set in a hotel, inn, motel, b&b or air b&b, and read I Hotel by Karen Tei Yamashita. The novel contains fictionalized accounts of real events that happened in San Francisco between 1968-1977 that affected the Asian and African American community, and used the International Hotel ("I-Hotel") as its backdrop. It was incredibly creative in how it captured the myriad of stories going on during this turbulent period. It also covered a wide range of themes, including racism, sexism, the Vietnam War, politics, class warfare, various economic philosophies, and so on. I enjoyed it thoroughly. 4 1/2 stars.

For this month's challenge I went with That: A book set in the future, and read Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey. It's set place in the future where humans have colonized the solar system. It describes a series of events that leads to a galactic war between earth-humans, mars-humans, and "Belters" who are humans living on various moons and asteroids. I really liked it a lot. It featured great world-building, an interesting cast of characters, and some compelling themes, including a somewhat sad one that as advanced as our technology gets - some things (humans propensity for violence) still remain. It was the first in a series, and there's a TV adaptation ("The Expanse"), so I'll probably be investing more in both. 4 1/4 stars

Beth wrote: "I read The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi"

What did you think of it Beth?

I chose the This challenge: mythical retelling, and read Elektra by Jennifer Saint. It's oddly titled, because it actually focused more on the stories of Clytemnestra and Cassandra, all taking place before, during, and after the Trojan War. I'm a fan of myth retellings, so I had already read a number of other works in this space.

I was a little disappointed with this one. I did not find the writing or the characters very compelling in their depiction. I feel these stories were better told in A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes and The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker. My thinking is that if you're retelling a story, there should be a compelling reason / fresh viewpoint to be shared, and I didn't get that with Elektra. I gave it 3 stars.

I happened to read a book that double-qualifies for both This and That: Sultana's Dream by Begum Rokeya. It's a novella about a Bengali woman who falls asleep and enters a dream world where gender roles have flipped: the woman are running the country and the men must remain indoors and isolated. Written in 1905, the author gently but firmly rips apart all the rationales given for why men are normally in charge. The author was also very prescient regarding envisioning solar power technologies. It was short, but very well done. 4 1/2 stars

OK, so it would have been the norm for me to read an author from a different country, but seeing as how this is a reading challenge, I chose to challenge myself by reading what I never-ever read: a romance novel - in this case a Victorian Romance. I read Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas. I found it near the top of a GoodReads romance novel list, and confirmed it was set near the start of the Victorian Age in 1843.

Since when I hear romance novel I inevitably think bodice-ripping bedroom shenanigans, I was surprised to discover that the first actual sex-scene wasn't until 70% through the book, and it was between characters recently wed. It was much more about the morals of the day, with blushing girls and scandalous views of ankles. I found it predictable, and along the lines of Jane Austin but with more explicit scenes. It was fine - I gave it 3 stars. Didn't encourage me to read more in the series or genre, but glad I dipped my toe in the waters.

OK - I ended up double-dipping this month and also read The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alex E. Harrow for the "That" challenge task. I agree with what was said above: the writing was beautiful and story-telling / world-building was great. And you couldn't ask for a better theme than strive to be adventurous in life. Really enjoyed. 4 1/2 stars

Great glowing reviews. I've added The Ten Thousand Doors of January to my TBR.

For January's challenge I chose This: A book that was translated from another language to English. I read Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa, translated from Japanese. It was an epic tale (1,000 pages), but very enjoyable historical fiction storytelling of the most famous swordsman in Japanese history: Musashi. Mushashi was a real person, and also a philosopher who wrote The Book of Five Rings (which I had previously read). While highly fictionalized, and sometimes prone to the exaggerations of legend-telling, it still had a good heart and themes related to being true to yourself, and always looking to better oneself. I gave it 4 stars

I just finished my 12th and final This/That challenge read for December, and I just wanted to to take a moment to thank you Leticia for organizing this. I know putting something like this together takes time and effort, so very much appreciated. Thoroughly enjoyed my reads and some of the discussions. Thanks again!

OK, not sure how this happened, but I had down the "That" for this month was "Read a book that a family member, friend or someone you admire has recommended ". Oops. Well, that's what I did, so I read Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto by Chuck Klosterman, which was recommended and gifted to me by a good friend. I really enjoyed it al lot. Klosterman has a wicked sense of humor. I'm sure it's not for all tastes, but it worked perfectly for me. It was published in 203, so some of the pop culture references were dated, but since I was alive and well during that time period I could track. Thoroughly enjoyed, and thought-provoking. 4 1/2 stars.

For this month's task I went with That: A book with a 5 or 6 word title. I read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (6 words) by Ken Kesey. I had seen the movie adaptation but hadn't previously read the book. I enjoyed it thoroughly. The characters will well-drawn and the situations well presented. And even anticipating how it was all going to work out I still felt the impact of the latter stages of the book. 4 1/4 stars.

I chose That: A book that is a spooky as you can handle. I read Stephen King's Carrie. I've read 14 Stephen King novels, but had never read Carrie (which was King's first). I liked it. It was told in a creative way using a lot of newspaper clippings and book excerpts to foreshadow what was to come. 4 stars

Leticia wrote: "I chose That and I read The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James"

I've seen some buzz about the book. What did you think about it?

For this month I went with This: A banned book for Banned Book Week. I read Lord of the Flies by William Golding, which even though published in 1954 is still on the American Library Association's top 100 challenged books. I had never read it before, and found that even though I was familiar with the general story, the actual plot shift from boys stranded on an island to murderous, wild animals was still a gut punch. I found the children written in a very believable manner, with distinct personalities, and the overarching themes quite compelling. 4 1/4 stars.

For this challenge I chose This: A book by a winner or a nominee of the Goodreads Choice Awards in the last 5 years. I read The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur which won the GoodReads Choice Award for Poetry in 2017. I enjoyed it. The author had what I suppose can be described as a non-traditional style of poetry, but I thought it worked. Passion and feelings were heartfelt, and were able to create some powerful moments. 4 stars.

I got to see Amanda Gorman at the LA Times Festival of Books a couple of months back. Gorman did an interview and read a poem, both of which showcased Gorman’s talents. Glad to hear it was good.