Anika’s
Comments
(group member since Dec 25, 2011)
Anika’s
comments
from the Reading with Style group.
Showing 1,241-1,260 of 2,800
15.8 Name of the GameThe Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh
Square 10B--Letter T--Pub'd in Teens (2014)
Square 5D--Letter I--Author name has no "I"
Square 16E--Letter E--Novel +8 named characters
Word = TIE
+30 Task
Task total: 30
Season total: 175
15.7 Name of the GameLittle House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder (930 Lexile)
Square 4E--Letter D--Double Trouble (ingaLLs)
Square 5C--Letter I--Title word In, Inn, Into (In)
Square 4B--Letter D--Debut Novel
Word = DID
+20 Task
+5 Pre-'96 Pub'd (1932)
Task total: 25
Season total: 145
15.6 Name of the GameThe Christmas Pearl by Dorothea Benton Frank
Square 11E--Letter H--Highly Rated (by Lisa)
Square 8D--Letter O--Wild Card!
Square 7B--Letter G--No "G" in auth name
Word = HOG
+20 Task
Task total: 20
Season total: 120
15.5 Name of the GameLight Changes Everything by Nancy E. Turner
Square 11B--Letter H--MPG: Hist Fic
Square 2B--Letter E--Auth pub'd name +2 "E"s
Square 1C--Letter R--MPG: Romance
Word = HER
+20 Task
Task total: 20
Season total: 100
15.4 Name of the GameThe Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Square 7C--Letter G--Goodreads Author
Square 14C--Letter Y--One of author's names ends in "Y" (Amy)
Square 1B--Letter R--+10K Ratings (602,141)
Square 16C--Letter E--Pub'd in the '80s (1989)
Word = GYRE
+15 Task
+5 Pre-'96 pub (1989)
Task total: 20
Season total: 80
15.3 Name of the GameChristmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days by Jeanette Winterson
Square 8B--Letter W--Auth 1st/last starts with "W" (Winterson)
Square 3C--Letter A--Auth born in Aug (27 Aug 1959)
Square 6D--Letter N--Title has a Number (12)
Square 16B--Letter E--Auth born in Europe (Manchester, England)
Word = WANE
+15 Task
+5 Non Fiction
Task total: 20
Season total: 60
15.2 Name of the GameDance Hall of the Dead by Tony Hillerman
Square 4D--Letter D--Title words: Dead, Deadly, Death, Detective (Dead)
Square 1E--Letter R--Series name includes "R" (Leaphorn & Chee)
Square 14D--Letter Y--MPG Mystery
Word = DRY
+15 Task
+5 pre-'96 pub (1973)
Task total: 20
Season total: 40
15.1 Name of the GameBest. State. Ever.: A Florida Man Defends His Homeland by Dave Barry
Square 7E--Letter G--Title words: Good, Better, Best (Best)
Square 2E--Letter E--Title word contains "end" (Defends)
Square 6B--Letter N--Not a Novel
Square 2D--Letter E--8+ Word Title
Word = GENE
+15 Task
+5 Non Fiction
Task total: 20
Season total: 20
I've started The Scientist and the Spy: A True Story of China, the FBI, and Industrial Espionage and just want to make sure it'll fit: so far, it has mostly been science (I'm about 25% in)--specifically agricultural science (GMO seeds) with a smattering of quantum physics and mathematics for good measure--but I can tell we're about to enter spy-heavy territory...FBI trying to keep U.S. industries' intellectual property out of the hands of the Chinese...but even then, the central theme is what is happening with the scientific research and its fruits. :-/
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "That sounds like a retelling to me! Go for it!"Thank you! <3
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Anika wrote: "For the “title word” tasks, is it limited to the listed words or can it be found on the title...like 4D, Title word: Dead, deadly, death, detective, would Deathless wor..."I was expecting that answer and ended up finding a different plan altogether 😁
One more question: would Prometheus Unbound count for a retelling? In the synopsis it says that it picks up where Aeschylus’s Prometheus Bound leaves off, but from the description it sounds like it is a retelling of the Roman myth...
For the “title word” tasks, is it limited to the listed words or can it be found on the title...like 4D, Title word: Dead, deadly, death, detective, would Deathless work since “death” is in the title?
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Anika wrote: "Would HHhH work?The author injects himself and his life history and experience into nearly every chapter to the point that he becomes a character..."
Yes, although it..."
Thank you! That is my rollover book and I was desperate to find a spot it'd fit :-D
Would HHhH work?The author injects himself and his life history and experience into nearly every chapter to the point that he becomes a character...
30.1 Go for the GreenMurder and Baklava by Blake Pierce
This is billed as a "cozy mystery"--it felt more like a "corny mystery."
That could have been due in part to the reader (why in the world they got a British reader for an American protagonist still baffles...and when the reader attempted a Long Island accent I was going to die--soooo awful). And the protagonist's name: London Rose?! Eye roll. While the set up was interesting enough, I couldn't bear absolutely ridiculous premise that she was charged by her employer (she's a hostess on a river cruise ship) with the solving of a murder and that the local constabulary bow to her "superior" sleuthing abilities. Ugh. I'm all for a bit of a suspension of disbelief but those bounds can only be pushed *so far*. Don't think I'll be reading anything else by this author.
+30 Task (98% in Hungary)
+20 "Blue" country
+10 Review
+25 Combo (10.2 MABBP: MAP; 10.4; 10.8: Hungary, CT, NY; 20.3; 20.5...didn't jot down the exact quote, but they had wine with dinner in Budapest)
Task total: 85
Season total: 2165
30.1 Go for the GreenPopol Vuh by Anonymous
While I am very familiar with Greek and Roman mythology, have a pretty decent grasp of Norse mythology and a fair to middling relationship with Egyptian, North American myth is a big old blind spot for me. I've been meaning to read the Popol Vuh, the mythology and history of the Kiché people of Guatemala, for quite some time and now seemed as good as any. Sadly, the edition I read was not what I would consider beginner-friendly. The first half of the book was an oft-difficult to understand translation of the material and the second half of the book was commentary--much of which would have been far more useful if I'd had that information before attempting to read the Popol Vuh itself (such as a pronunciation guide: that was part of my problem, the strange names that were so similar to each other..."Xblanque," "Xpiyacoc," "Xmucane" "Hunhun-Ahpu" and "Vukup-Hunahpu"...argh! Couldn't keep anyone straight!). I know there were some similarities to other world myths (having to cross a river to get to an underworld shows up in several other pantheons, there's a flood, there's an explanation of creation not unlike the Biblical description: night and light separated, then there's the creation of earth and plant life, then animals, and finally man), but there was enough with which I was unfamiliar to make me feel like a first-semester freshman who has accidentally wandered into a graduate-level seminar. Especially the second half, the commentary...that was so over my head!
I'm glad that I was exposed to this and in the future may seek out a different translation, but for now I'm just glad to have it behind me!
+30 Task (100% Guatemala)
+20 "Blue" Country
+10 Not-a-Novel
+10 Review
+25 Oldies (was preserved through oral tradition for thousands of years, was first written down ~1550)
+10 Combo (10.4, 10.7)
Task total: 105
Season total: 2080
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 874 Anika wrote: "30.1 Go for the Green[book:Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts|2..."
Oh, great scott! I can't believe I made that 20.5 mistake AGAIN! Have deducted the 5 combo points...
30.1 Go for the GreenBallad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts by Julian Rubinstein
This book was HILARIOUS. You could probably guess that by the title alone, but in case you were wondering: hilarious. There is nothing better than a book of non-fiction that reads more like outrageous fiction. It helped that I listened to it (reading the Hungarian names was too frustrating--I can never decipher the proper pronunciation and after a lifetime of having my name mispronounced I am picky about getting names right...when I'd realized I'd mispronounced "Hermione" in my head for the first three Harry Potter installments, I was absolutely sick to my stomach)...it was like listening to a radio play, what with the sound effects, full cast, and interlude music. There's the Hungarian version of the Keystone Kops with the nicknames Dance Instructor, Bigfoot, and (my absolute favorite) Mound of Asshead. The Whiskey Robber is forever taunting them and their inability to catch him.
And our self-styled modern day Robin Hood is the Whiskey Robber--he didn't show up sober to a single one of his robberies, indulging in shot after shot of his favored Johnnie Walker Red before executing his plans--his early ones conducted with an obviously fake gun.
While this does follow the tale of our hapless (anti-)hero, it is also a history lesson about an oft-overlooked (underappreciated?) area of the world that has been the crucial keystone between East and West for hundreds of years. It also clearly depicts the difficulties and despair of this country and its populace left in the wake of the collapse of communism and the growing pains (and corruption) involved in starting over as a "democratic" country. I highly recommend this one (especially the audio version), utterly gratifying.
+30 Task (96% in Hungary)
+20 "Blue" country
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-Novel
+20 Combo: 10.2 TBOTWRJR: ROB; 10.7; 10.8: Hungary, Romania, Tunisia, USA, and more; 20.2
Task total: 90
Season total: 1975
