Cory Day’s Comments (group member since Aug 18, 2012)

Cory Day’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

10.8K Big City, Small Country

Something Real by Nellie Christine

+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.5)
+10 Female Author

Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 110

20.4 The Piano Teacher

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.7)

Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 85

20.7 Ambassador

Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh

+20 Task (Fiji)
+10 Female Author

Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 60

10.1 Possession

Take the Lead by Alexis Daria

+10 Task
+10 Combo (10.5, 20.4)
+10 Female Author

Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 30

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Cory Day wrote:

"Mega Bonus: 200"

Congratulations! Well done!"

Thanks! I'm glad the last two books were lighter reads - work is crazy busy!

15.10 – Reading the Decades

Weight of the World by Riley Hart

+40 Task (pub. 16)

Task Total: 40
Completion: 50
Different Decades and Years: 50
Decades in Order: 50
Years in Order: 50
Mega Bonus: 200
Grand Total: 1645

That's it for me, I think! Hope I didn't make any mistakes ;)

15.9 – Reading the Decades

Hot Tamara by Mary Castillo
+40 Task (pub. 05)

Task Total: 40
Grand Total: 1205

20.5 The Queen's Necklace

Music of the Mill by Luis J. Rodríguez

Review: I’ve read a lot of books centered around the steel industry, being from Pittsburgh. This one was different yet the same. The differences were geographical and racial, since the vast majority of the other books focused on white people (albeit ethnic minorities at the time) primarily in Pittsburgh, and this one is set in Los Angeles and centers around a Mexican-American family. When it comes down to it, however, it’s a book about a mill. The mill is at the center, acting both as setting and as character. It gives and takes – literally and figuratively consuming lives and communities.

The narrative shifts from grandfather to father to daughter, and throughout it all, the mill is there as the thing around which their lives rotate. By the time the daughter takes over the narrative – a shift to first perspective as well – the mill has closed down and been dismantled, but it’s still present. It’s there in its absence – as though the novel is now a ghost story. To me, that part of the book was the weakest, possibly because I didn’t completely buy Rodríguez’s female voice, but maybe the problem was instead that the book had shifted out of the world of the mill.

+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.5, 20.6)
+10 Review

Task Total: 40
RwS Completion Bonus: 100
Grand Total: 1165

15.8 – Reading the Decades

B-Boy Blues: A Seriously Sexy, Fiercely Funny, Black-on-Black Love Story by James Earl Hardy

+25 Task (pub. 94)

Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 1025

15.7 – Reading the Decades

Dance of Dreams by Nora Roberts

+25 Task (pub. 83)

Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 1000

15.6 – Reading the Decades

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
1030 Lexile

+25 Task (pub. 72)

Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 975

15.5 – Reading the Decades

The Ivy Tree by Mary Stewart

+15 Task (pub. 61)

Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 950

15.4 – Reading the Decades

The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer

+15 Task (pub. 50)

Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 935

15.3 – Reading the Decades

Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford

+15 Task (pub. 49)

Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 920

Katy wrote: "One bit of news from me to share -- I'm expecting a baby in about a month!! We are really excited, and terrified, in equal measure. I'm guessing that this will probably have an impact on my reading..."

Congrats! Future reader on the way ;)

15.2 – Reading the Decades

The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution by C.L.R. James

+15 Task (pub. 38)

Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 900

10.2 Ravioli (Italy)

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

Review: I read this in high school, and have seen it at least once or twice since then, but for whatever reason it still surprised me a little. It’s a great story, in spite of its problematic elements. Shylock as a character is unsettling at best, given all the comments about his being a Jew, but he’s also so horrible that it’s kind of hard to worry too much about him. It’s a product of its time, and I wish that part weren’t there, but there are some elements that really do feel fresh and modern. I wouldn’t call it feminist, but its depiction of women isn’t as bad as it could be, and for a tragedy the story is almost whimsical. I stand by the five stars I gave it years ago.

+10 Task (set about half in Venice and half in a fictional Italian town)
+20 Combo (10.9 – historical/culture - Italy, 20.6, 20.8)
+10 Not-a-Novel
+25 Oldies (1596)
+0 Jumbo
+10 Review

Task Total: 70
Grand Total: 885

10.8 Double Continent

Imprudence by Gail Carriger

Review:Imprudence follows Prudence and her friends on another adventure – this time to Egypt. It connects much more closely than the first book with the original Parasol Protectorate series, and I have to admit that much of me wanted to keep following Biffy than sticking with Rue and her crew. Still, it’s got the silly banter and whimsy that all of Carriger’s books have, and that’s really what keeps me coming back. The romance isn’t nearly as well developed as the original series either, but something tells me the next book might satisfy in that regard. Carriger is clearly more interested in another romance than in Rue’s.

+10 Task (set about half and half in Europe and Africa)
+15 Combo (20.1 – Rue’s best friends and crewmates Prim and Percy are twins, 20.6, 20.7 – Queen Victoria is a character in the first chapter and her decisions have a major impact on the rest of the novel)
+10 Review

Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 815

10.6 Justine

Prudence by Gail Carriger

Review: The book I’d originally chosen for this task turned out to be a nickname rather than a name, so I decided to shift over and get back into Gail Carriger’s soulless world. This is technically a spin-off, but it feels a lot like a continuation. It follows Alexia’s daughter Prudence, and a lot of people seem to be disappointed with the series. It’s definitely silly, and the plot isn’t completely well thought out. But in the end, I read Carriger for the little things – one liners, silly characters, fun interactions and the like. The series provides all of that with room to spare, so I’m happy. I’ll still always love Biffy and Lyall the best, but it’s always nice to see them at a distance.

+10 Task
+20 Combo (10.8 – 22% Europe and 78% Asia, 10.9 – mystery/historical, 20.1 – Rue’s best friends Prim and Percy are twins, 20.6)
+10 Review

Task Total: 40
Grand Total: 780

15.1 – Reading the Decades

The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

+15 Task (pub. 27)

Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 740