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

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

20.2 Innocence

Returning My Sister's Face and Other Far Eastern Tales of Whimsy and Malice by Eugie Foster

Review: This is one of those rare short story collections that really works for me, maybe because it was more like a collection of fairy tales than the open-ended snippets of life that I feel a lot of short stories are. They’re all based, more or less, on Asian folklore, and Foster strikes a good balance between resolving them and being realistic. In a lot of cases, she twisted the tales to either show them in a different light or show what happened after the original story ended. I loved them. It’s very sad that Eugie Foster died so young – I feel like she would’ve done so many more amazing things.

+20 Task (published 2009, died 2014)
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-Novel (short stories)
+5 Combo (10.9 – post 238)

Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 300

15.1 - TtUS Land Cruiser

The Night Sister by Jennifer McMahon
Set in Vermont

+15 Task

Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 255

20.4 Balance

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Review: When I was a kid, I went through a phase where I read every L.M. Montgomery book in my local library, and I remember preferring the non-Anne books to the Anne of Green Gables series. I’ll have to go reread some of the others, because this was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Anne is so precocious, but in a funny way rather than an annoying way I run into a lot in literature, and the wry character descriptions and such reminded me of Jane Austen. I don’t have to vouch for the book – it’s a classic for a reason – but I loved listening to it this time around.

+20 Task
+15 Combo (10.7, 10.9, 20.6)
+10 Review
+10 Oldies (pub. 1908)

Task Total: 55
Grand Total: 240

20.9 Three Names

A Master Plan for Rescue by Janis Cooke Newman

Review: I love a good WWII/Holocaust novel, and have since I was a kid. Maybe that means I’m a little pickier than I could be, though. This was kind of a Holocaust and kind of a coming of age story, and I found neither to be completely successful on its own, but slightly more so in combination. The coming of age part focuses on Jake, who experiences a series of horrible events beginning with the bombing of Pearl Harbor – but none of them has anything directly to do with the war itself. The Holocaust narrative was more interesting to me, but it was a small part of the book and still unsatisfying from a character perspective. For a coming of age story during WWII, I’ve read ones that I liked and moved me more, and same goes for Holocaust stories. Even still, the author did set the scene well and I liked some of the themes she used throughout the book.

+20 Task
+10 Review

Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 195

20.9 Three Names

The Water Museum: Stories by Luis Alberto Urrea

Review: I read these short stories in a few bursts. They were all easy to read, but sometimes I’d have to flip back to understand a little better what Urrea meant. Two stories stood out the most – one, whose title I don’t remember, was almost a character study of a woman who runs a diner but also of the town she lives in. The other was the story that inspired the title of the book – it’s set in a United States after environmental changes have shifted the distribution of water in extreme ways. It was a little frightening, a little poignant, and even a little playful. All in all, it was a decent set of short stories that were pleasurable to read, even if they weren’t all that happy.

+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not-A-Novel
+5 Combo (10.9 – post 185)

Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 165

10.9 Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon

The Dog Master: A Novel of the First Dog by W. Bruce Cameron

Review: This is a novel unlike any I’ve read before, and I may not have been fair in only giving it three stars. It starts in the modern day with archeologists’ discovering the bones of what they believe to be the first domesticated wolf – the precursor to today’s dogs. It quickly shifts back in time to the author’s imagining of what prehistoric human societies might have looked like, using mostly modern language. After a while, I had to flip to the back where Cameron explained his process, because it seemed impossible to fathom how those societies may have functioned. He basically said he had to make the vast majority of it up, and that made it easier for me to read – I ended up treating it almost like I was reading fantasy or science fiction. Using that approach, it was an entertaining and easy book to read, and I enjoyed the experience.

+10 Task (post 186 in help thread)
+10 Review

Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 120

10.6 Reunification

Taking Shots by Toni Aleo

Review: Contemporary romances and I have a rocky relationship, but usually I do like ones featuring professional athletes. At some point, I’d bought a box set of this series, and I’m not sure the later books will ever be read. This first one just wasn’t satisfying. The dialogue, while potentially realistic, was super clunky, and there really wasn’t much of a plot. The main female character, Ellie, has a bunch of problems with self esteem and emotional abuse, but they are never really addressed exactly, despite large amounts of text devoted to the issues. Maybe the author gets better as the series goes on, but I’m not sure I feel like finding out.

+10 Task (born in Germany)
+10 Review

Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 100

I had a professor in college who worked as a historian on the movie Gods and Generals and he seemed to have a major impact on how the film turned out. I have no idea if Catton's contribution was that large, but it certainly could have been.

1) Eugie Foster wrote [book]
2) Eugie Foster had a story in Nebula Awards Showcase 2011 (Nebula Awards #12), edited by Kevin J. Anderson.
3) Kevin J. Anderson was in Darth Vader's Psychic Hotline with Mike Jittlov.
4) Mike Jittlov was in Ghost with Phil Leeds.
5) Phil Leeds was in He Said, She Said with Kevin Bacon.

…and if that works, so does anyone else in that anthology, and definitely so does Kevin J. Anderson.

10.4 Math

One, Two, Three by Elodie Nowodazkij

Review: I used to read young adult novels fairly regularly, but fell out of the practice a couple years ago. I think maybe I’ve got less patience than I used to, because this book annoyed me. Dancing stories are some of my favorites, but this is less a dancing story than a story of moving past dancing. The main character, Nata, was in one moment completely in control and disciplined and in the next moment making really stupid decisions. Some of that is just being a teenager, and the drinking didn’t bother me as much as some other reviewers, given her family history, although I don’t see how she was able to just give it up so fast, but it was still really annoying. Regardless, it was a bumpy book, and had it not read so quickly I likely wouldn’t have finished it.

+10 Task
+10 Review

Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 80

10.9 Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon

The Professor's House by Willa Cather

Review: I’ve read both My Antonia and O Pioneers! for high school English classes, but remember very little beyond liking one and not disliking the other. I’d never heard of The Professor’s House before it came up on a podcast I follow, and when I read it my mother-in-law was very excited since Cather is her favorite author. The book itself was very easy to read, although my modern sensibilities read the dialogue as a little stilted. Still, there were a few lines of writing I wanted to jot down in my quotes notebook, and I’m always a fan of any literature that uses architecture as a character or symbol. I also found the academic parts really interesting – they could easily have been written today. I was thrown a little (view spoiler)[by the change in perspective partway through, since until then I found it interesting that the book’s main character was ostensibly the professor but really seemed like it was Tom. I think I’d have preferred not to get his story in his own voice in the middle of the book – I found the professor’s parts to be more effective in showing Tom’s life (hide spoiler)].

+10 Task (see post 121 in help thread)
+10 Oldies
+10 Review

Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 60

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Cory Day wrote: "All of the following are focused on a specific place, but I don't want to presume to completely understand the task without checking, so when you guys have a chance, could you chec..."

Yeah, the Work Accidents one is a little weird because it was written closer in time to when it was investigating. I'll probably pick one of the others just in case :)

Thanks!

All of the following are focused on a specific place, but I don't want to presume to completely understand the task without checking, so when you guys have a chance, could you check out the following? I probably won't get to more than one, but I have all of them on my shelf, so...

Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Changed America
Bodies of Work: Civic Display and Labor in Industrial Pittsburgh
Killing Time: Leisure and Culture in Southwestern Pennsylvania, 1800-1850
Making Their Own Way: Southern Blacks' Migration to Pittsburgh, 1916-30
Palace of Culture: Andrew Carnegie's Museums and Library in Pittsburgh
The Steel Workers
Work Accidents & The Law
Women and the Trades: Pittsburgh, 1907–1908
Before Renaissance: Planning in Pittsburgh, 1889-1943

Phew.

Ed wrote: "Cory Day wrote: "What do you think about if an author wrote an introduction or afterward for a novel? For example:

1) Julia Quinn wrote [book].
2) Julia Quinn wrote t..."

I had a feeling that would be the case. It was just for combo points anyway, and I might find another way to go about it if I try harder.

What do you think about if an author wrote an introduction or afterward for a novel? For example:

1) Julia Quinn wrote [book].
2) Julia Quinn wrote the afterword for Mansfield Park (200th Anniversary Edition), authored by Jane Austen.
3) Hugh Bonneville starred in the movie Mansfield Park.
4) Hugh Bonneville and Jim Carter co-starred in Downton Abbey.
5) Jim Carter and Kevin Bacon co-starred in Balto.

1) Samuel R. Delany wrote [book].
2) Samuel R. Delany was in The Ogre's Feathers with Frank Harts.
3) Frank Harts was in In the Cut with Kevin Bacon.

1) W. Bruce Cameron wrote [book]
2) W. Bruce Cameron wrote and performed in Muffin Top: A Love Story with David Arquette.
3) David Arquette was in Beautiful Girls with John Carroll Lynch.
4) John Carroll Lynch was in Crazy, Stupid, Love. with Kevin Bacon.

I'm surprised at how many authors I'm reading just appear in IMDB in one form or another. Makes it a lot easier...

1) Luis Alberto Urrea wrote [book]
2) Luis Alberto Urrea appeared on Moyers & Company with Bill Moyers
3) Tony Kushner also appeared on Moyers & Company with Bill Moyers
4) Tony Kushner was in The Great New Wonderful with Ari Graynor
5) Ari Graynor was in Mystic River with Kevin Bacon!

Karen Michele wrote: "Here is my list of authors that stumped me:

Libba BrayLibba Bray"

I'm having fun. I think this works?

1) Libba Bray wrote [book].
2) Libba Bray had a story in Vacations from Hell with Cassandra Clare.
3) Cassandra Clare wrote City of Bones.
4) Lily Collins starred in The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones.
5) Lily Collins was in Mirror Mirror with Richard Jutras.
6) Richard Jutras was in Criminal Law with Kevin Bacon.

Another to check:

1) Paul Cornell wrote Saucer Country Vol. 1: Run.
2) Paul Cornell wrote the "Father's Day" episode of Dr. Who.
3) Christopher Eccleston starred in the "Father's Day" episode of Dr. Who.
4) Christopher Eccleston was in eXistenZ (1999) with Jennifer Jason Leigh
5) Jennifer Jason Leigh was in In the Cut (2003) with Kevin Bacon