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

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

10.5 Goodreads Author

Bubbles Unbound by Sarah Strohmeyer

Review: Sarah Strohmeyer said in her introduction that she wrote part of this in Janet Evanovich’s dining room, which shows in the result – the book shares a lot of similarities with the Stephanie Plum novels. It’s set in the fictional city of Lehigh, PA, which is quite obviously Strohmeyer’s hometown of Bethlehem, PA. I know this because my mom is from there, and the only thing that was obviously changed was the name – none of the surrounding towns, etc. were. That was pretty fun though – trying to figure out where Bubbles was getting up to her antics just added to the experience for me. It’s not new, it’s not unique, but it is fun – I bought a copy for my sister-in-law and will pick up the second in the series at some point. At least, unlike Stephanie Plum, Bubbles only seems to have one possible love interest!

+10 Task
+10 Review

Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 105

10.5 Goodreads Author

Old Man's War by John Scalzi

Review: This is another ‘preread’ for my brother and dad – and I bought a copy for each of them since I enjoyed it so much. The basic premise is that humanity has spread across galaxies, and in order to fight the various alien races impeding colonial progress, people over the age of 75 are reborn as youthful soldiers, serving ten year terms. The main character is great – a don’t give a damn grandfather type getting to relive his twenties… at least to some extent. It’s a funny book and a well done story, although I was less invested in the last third than I was in the first two. I’ll definitely read the second.

+10 Task
+10 Review

Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 85

10.1 Resolutions – read a book I already own

The White Mountains by John Christopher (Lexile 920)

Review: I’ve started (a little late) what I call ‘prereading’ – reading books that I think family members would like and that I would also enjoy in the hopes of finding some Christmas presents. This one I thought might be good for my brother, and after reading it I think he’d enjoy it but I wasn’t blown away. It is the story of Will, a boy who lives in a kind of post-apocalyptic England where humanity has been enslaved by alien creatures called Tripods (I choose to picture them as giant metal elephant-jellyfish hybrids). It manages to feel both like a fantasy novel with its medieval-like setting and hero’s quest, but with elements of sci-fi in the robot alien things.

I’d probably have enjoyed the book more if I had immediate access to the rest of the trilogy – at only 195 pages, it felt less than satisfying on its own, even for a young adult book. Still, it’s a great option for anyone looking for something sharing qualities with The Hunger Games, and I’ll definitely seek out the remaining books.

+10 Task (I’ve owned this book for a while)
+5 Oldies (pub. 1967)
+10 Review

Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 65

20.1 1964

Autumn Bones by Jacqueline Carey

Review: I read the first book in this series recently and wasn’t totally sold, but kept going. This one wasn’t significantly better, but I’m starting to grow attached to some of the side characters. I read a lot of urban fantasy, and there are some interesting differences in this one (mainly the types of supernatural creatures), but the main character reminds me of Sookie Stackhouse in the most annoying ways possible. I read all the Sookie books though, so it’s not likely I’ll drop this series for that reason. I also love the setting, but could do without the love triangle or the descriptions of Daisy’s tail….

+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.5, 10.6 – latest book)
+10 Review

Task Total: 40
Grand Total: 40

Since I'm likely to receive books as gifts for Christmas and I have piles of unread ones already, my resolution is to read 3 books I already own (from my 'own' shelf). Ideally, they will also have been added to my list in 2009 when I joined Goodreads, since really they've been hanging out far too long.

Geraldine Brooks and Diana Gabaldon were a couple that popped up for me when I was originally figuring it out...

Wow, good job everyone! It was a close race, and Theresa, what an amazing ending!

20.8 Stephen King

Gunnerkrigg Court, Vol. 4: Materia by Thomas Siddell

+20 Task (each chapter focuses on the main character Antimony’s interactions with a non-human character – robots, shadow creatures, demons, ghosts, etc. - and it turns out Antimony herself is not totally human)
No style points – graphic novel

Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 2190

15.10 (second round) - A6 – Australia

The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta (820 Lexile)

+20 Task (set in Sydney, Australia)

Task Total: 30
Completion Bonus: 100
Grand Total: 2170

Rebekah wrote: "15.10 Pick N Mix (second round)
C 5 326 pgs


The Expats by Chris Pavone

+30 - Task
+100 - second completion bonus (?)

Grand Total - 1650

I can't believe I did it..."

Haha! I'm halfway through my last one, but I have to run out and shop… hopefully I'll make it back in time to finish :)

15.9 (second round) - E5 – Non-Fiction (DD 000-499)

The River Ran Red: Homestead 1892 by David Demarest

+20 Task (DD 300)

Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 2040

15.8 (second round) - D6 – Female 60+

Heart's Blood by Juliet Marillier

+20 Task (b. 1948, pub. 2009)

Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 2010

15.7 (second round) - C2 – 100-200 pg

The Spectrum, a Novel by Gary Link

+20 Task (186 pg)

Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1990

15.6 (second round) - E1 – SF/Fantasy/Graphic Novels

Locke and Key, Vol. 2: Head Games by Joe Hill

+20 Task (Graphic Novel)

Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1970

15.5 (second round) - B5 – 1800-1899

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

+20 Task (pub. 1847)

Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1950

15.4 (second round) - F4 - Greek/Turkish/Albanian/Armenian

Hotel Bosphorus by Esmahan Aykol

+15 Task (translated from Turkish – it’s not super clear on Goodreads since the author is Turkish/German, but the translator is only listed as doing Turkish to English translations: http://www.londonbookfair.co.uk/en/Co...)

Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 1930

15.3 (second round) - D2 – F <40

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

+15 Task (b. 1976, pub. 2013)

Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 1915

20.8 Stephen King

Girl Genius, Vol. 10: Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse by Phil Foglio

+20 Task (the world has ‘constructs’, many of which are main characters – a talking cat,
‘Jagermonsters’, etc.)
No style points – graphic novel

Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1900

15.2 (second round) - B4 - 1900-1950

The Story Girl by L.M. Montgomery

+15 Task (pub. 1911)

Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 1880

20.8 Stephen King

Girl Genius, Vol. 9: Agatha Heterodyne and the Heirs of the Storm by Phil Foglio

+20 Task (the world has ‘constructs’, many of which are main characters – a talking cat,
‘Jagermonsters’, etc.)
No style points – graphic novel

Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1865