Krista’s Comments (group member since Jul 24, 2010)

Krista’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

20.5 Mystery Women
Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich

Review
After twenty-one books, the plots have sometimes a gotten bit thin with the books in the Stephanie Plum series. But I thought that this book was a better effort than Evanovich's last few books. I really read these books for the humor, and this book didn't disappoint. Plus someone was trying to hunt down and kill Ranger. That drove a lot of this plot.

There was a good dose of Lula, Grandma Mazur, Morelli, cars getting blown up, etc. This book also featured a pack of killer Chihuahaus. It was the usual mind candy that just made me chuckle quite a bit. Sometimes that's all you want a book to do.

+20 Task
+10 Review
Task Total = 30
Grand Total = 295

10.4 Island Dreams
Rabbit-Proof Fence: The True Story of One of the Greatest Escapes of All Time by Doris Pilkington (Set in Australia)

What a little gem this is. Doris Pilkington pieced together the trek that her then teenaged mother and her two 'sister-aunts' took after they were taken from their Aboriginal families and transported to a Settlement school in 1931. The story takes place in Western Australia, and it mainly focuses on the months-long journey these three girls undertook to return to their families. I really enjoyed the description of all the natural surroundings the girls trekked through, and their determination to return home.

It was sad to be reminded again about how much has been taken from the original natives of Australia (and other countries), and how much time and effort was spent to try to make their society conform to a newly imposed white society and it's values.

+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total = 20
Grand Total = 265

Jama wrote: "Alain de Botton and Bernard Cornwell work.
Unfortunately, Rabbit Proof Fence does not fit the task."

Okay -- thanks for reviewing!

10.8 Two for One:

1. The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse by Alan Bradley listed at 27 pages for the Kindle version

Another short installment in the Flavia deLuce series. Flavia is mysteriously summoned to her father's old boarding school, Greymintser to help solve (what else?) a mysterious death. A copper corpse has been found in the bathroom of one of the boy's dormitories. Leave it to Flavia to work this all out. It was a cute story that JUST might tide me over until the next full-length novel is released in early 2015.

2. The Fox And The Angel: A De Montforte Brothers Christmas Novella by Danelle Harmon 79 pages Kindle edition

I was looking for a quick Christmas themed read, and this book fit the bill perfectly. It's in the middle of a series of books that I've never read, but this works as a standalone. It' a fun little historical romance set in England in 1779. The story centers around Sir Roger and Lady Angela Twyford. Will the matchmaking skills of the Duke of Blackheath be up to the challenge of bringing these two lonely character together during a Christmas visit? It was a sweet cute story. Dang, now I want to read more in the series. Evidently the Duke has quite a history of matchmaking.

+10 Task
+ 5 Combo (10.4 Island Dreams - both set in England)
+10 Review
Task Total = 25
Grand Total = 245

Would Bernard Cornwell work for this task? He was born and raised in the UK, and moved to the US with his wife. He started writing in the US because he couldn't get a green card. He's now become a US citizen.

Would Rabbit-Proof Fence: The True Story of One of the Greatest Escapes of All Time work for this?

It has some history of the Aboriginal people in Australia and how they were displaced in their own land by the arrival of the British -- then flashes forward to 1931 when three 'half-caste' girls were taken from their Aboriginal families and sent to a Settlement school where they were supposed to be trained to be house servants for white families. The girls fled the school and travelled across a great swath of Australia to rejoin their families.

I think that they had an exile experience in their own land! Whattya think?

15.4 E-T

Earthly Possessions by Anne Tyler

+15 Task
Task Total = 15
Grand Total = 220

A to Z
15.3 D-U

The Devil's Highway: A True Story by Luis Alberto Urrea

+15 Task
Task Total = 15
Grand Total = 205

Well, I just can't seem to stop checking The Goldfinch

Here are some new books found today:
Using the arrows -
San Miguel by T.C. Boyle
Speedboat by Renata Adler

Using the pull down list -
Dear Life: Stories by Alice Munro
All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld

Merry Christmas Eve!

15.2 C-V

Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland

+15 Task
Task Total = 15
Grand Total = 190

From the The Goldfinch

Using the list
This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett
The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vásquez
Benediction by Kent Haruf
Someone by Alice McDermott

Using the arrows
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

Kate S wrote: "Krista wrote: " 20.3 Historical

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Review:
This was a 5 star book for me. It was shortlisted for the 2014 National Book A..."

Wa-hoo! Thanks Kate. I've adjusted my personal scoring spreadsheet to a new Grand Totals of 175 points.

I wasn't sure what page count of the most popular version of the book was. I listened to it in audiobook format.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "I am looking to fit The Rosie Project into a task this season. Would it fit anywhere? I am thinking Island dreams."

It's possible it will fit there, but the setting..."

I've read it, and I'd say that about 10% (or so) takes place in NYC. Hope that helps! I know I'm not a moderator though... :-) -Krista

20.5 Mystery Women

The Celtic Riddle by Lyn Hamilton

(the author of The Moai Murders for whom this task was originated)

Review:
This is the fourth book in Lyn Hamilton's mystery series featuring Lara McClintoch. It is set in Ireland, mainly in the southwest section around Dingle. It involves a treasure hunt set-up in the will of newly deceased Eamon Byrne that leads to the deaths of other characters.

I liked the riddle set-up. I've visited Ireland, and spent a few days in Dingle, so it was fun for me to revisit the area via this story. I didn't figure out whodunit until just about the end of the story, so that's another thing the book has going for it.

I've given this 4 out of 5 stars. It's a good solid mystery.

+20 Task
+ 5 Combo (10.4 - Island Dreams -- set in Ireland)
+10 Review
Task Total = 35
Grand Total = 170

20.3 Historical

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Review:
This was a 5 star book for me. It was shortlisted for the 2014 National Book Award. Set in World War II and told with two parallel storylines this spectacular book took Anthony Doerr ten years to write.

The book unfolds by telling parallel stories of a French family and a German family (well a pair of German orphans) from the late 1930's through the end of WWII (for the main part). The storyline switches back and forth between the two perspectives. The French blind girl, Marie Laure and the German orphan, Werner are really memorable characters. We watch as they grow up and are shaped by their different experiences during WWII. The scenes are so brilliantly written, that I may just have to go back and re-read this book a second time to savor them all again.

PS: Thanks for help in finding a non Square Peg task for this one!

+20 Task (#164 on Historical Fiction list)
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 135

15.1 A-Z
B-W
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (Lexile Score 990)

Great book of free form poetry BTW! I listened to the audiobook which was narrated by the author. I really enjoyed it!

+15 Task
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 105

Karen Michele wrote: "I was planning to start Some Luck tonight, so the timing is perfect! Thanks for the encouraging review, Elizabeth!"

Yay! So glad it popped up when it did. We can now both stop our vigils. LOL

Jama wrote: "Both work, Krista!"

Thanks!

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Krista wrote: "Coralie wrote: "Thank you Krista, that's one square peg less."

Yay! -- Still on the hunt for a spot for All the Light We Cannot See. Everyday I'm hopeful that the..."

Say what? It's moved up that fast? A couple of weeks ago it was in like the 350th spot or so. Hurrah! I'll go check it out.

Thanks for the tip Elizabeth. Now maybe I'll stop bugging everyone to approve more books for The Goldfinch. :-) Did everyone go out to the Historical Fiction list and vote for All the Light We Cannot See so I'd quit posting to this list?

:-) Thanks!! -Krista

20.9 Respect Elders
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

Eco was born in 1932
Book Publ: 1980

Review:
Ugh -- I don't know how this made it to the 1001 Books To Read Before You Die list. I thought I was going to die before I finished it! If it wasn't going to earn so many dang points in the RwS Challenge, I would have abandoned it.

This is supposedly a mystery, and there *was* a murder mystery woven in with pages and pages of arcane Catholic history from the 1300's and ealier; philosophical discussions about inane ideas that have no bearing on modern life; and more pages and pages of lists of descriptions of the abbey compound that is the setting for the book. Literally there were about 10 pages on my Kindle spent describing the carved wooden doors of the church. There are also quite a few graphic passages about the Inquisition.

I stuck it out to the end. (Hurrah -- I guess.) But even though I own a few more of Umberto Eco's books, I won't be picking any of them up in the very near future.

I gave this a 1 star rating.

+20 Task
+20 Combo (10.3 #9 on list, 10.5 Austrian State Prize 2001, 20.3 Historical Fiction #7 on list, 20.4 1001 Books)
+10 Review
+10 Style (Oldies, 1980 and Jumbo 536 pgs)

Task Total = 60 points
Grand Total = 90 points