Cory Day’s
Comments
(group member since Aug 18, 2012)
Cory Day’s
comments
from the Reading with Style group.
Showing 961-980 of 1,205
20.8 Stephen KingGirl Genius, Vol. 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones by Phil Foglio
+20 Task (the world has ‘constructs’, many of which are main characters – a talking cat,
‘Jagermeisters’, etc.)
No style points – graphic novel
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1845
20.9 WWII FictionThe Key to Rebecca by Ken Follett
Review: I’ve read most of Ken Follett’s spy novels, but not this one, which was great, because it was a real treat. It’s a basic straightforward WWII spy novel, with the good guys and bad guys clearly delineated, and the added bonus of a romance (which, by the way, would probably have categorized the entire book as a romance novel in some people’s estimation had it been written by a woman, but I digress…). It was, however, set in Egypt during the North African campaign, which is a part of WWII I’m very unfamiliar with, so that made it new and interesting. So much fun!
+20 Task (#43 on the list)
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
+100 RwS Finish
+200 Mega Finish
Grand Total: 1825
20.10 PovertyBreath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
+20 Task (born in Haiti)
750 Lexile, no style points
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1495
20.8 Stephen KingTempt the Stars by Karen Chance
Review: I’ve been waiting to read the sixth book in Karen Chance’s Cassandra Palmer series for over a year, and while it didn’t disappoint, it wasn’t exactly satisfying either. Chance has a penchant for cliffhangers, a big one of which ended the last book. Luckily, this one addressed that issue head on, but unluckily, it was not fully resolved.
The biggest issue I have with this series is that it’s basically all action, action, action. Cassie goes from one situation to another with barely a chance to eat, which leaves her little time to actually think. She’s gotten better about thinking before she leaps and/or bringing backup, but the entire series has comprised maybe a few months in her world, and it makes it a little frustrating when following it not only for the action, but for her character and personal life development. I anxiously await the next one, which is likely to be just as frustrating as this one was.
+20 Task (major characters include gods, goddesses, ghosts, vampires, and demons)
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 1475
10.10 Group ReadsCorelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières
Review: This book took me forever to get about halfway through, but once I hit that point it moved quickly, until by the end I wanted to stay with the characters for much longer. It has something to do with the fact that in the earlier chapters the writing jumps (purposefully) around much more – switching among perspectives and from first to third person, etc. It took me a while to realize I should pay more attention to the chapter headings, which helped clarify what was going on. I was glad to be reading a book about WWII and its aftermath set in a place that was new to me – I’ve read a lot of WWII and Holocaust books, but never one set in Greece. Bernières, in the end, has created a fictionalized biography of a Greek town that begins right before the war comes to it and extends into the later decades of the twentieth century. It makes me wonder how the town and its characters would be faring now, in the midst of a new kind of crisis.
+10 Task
+10 Combo (10.7, 20.9)
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 1445
10.5 Labor DayThe Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch
Review: The third in Scott Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastards series probably should have been my favorite. After all, relationships are usually my favorite part of reading, and this explores Locke’s relationship with Sabetha. Unfortunately, while I still enjoyed it, this installation was disappointing. It switches between chapters set before the first book took place and those set after the second book, mostly focusing on Locke’s first and only love. The problem I found, besides having a hard time not feeling a jarring in the switches in time, was that I think I care more about Locke’s friendships than about his love of Sabetha. It was also quite the filler book – there was no real ‘big bad’ in this one, but one will certainly be present in the next. Despite those disappointments, I love this series and will gladly read as many [long] books as Lynch writes.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Jumbo (650 pages)
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 1415
Let’s try this again… hope it works since it’s ebook only…15.1 (second round) - C1 – under 125 pages
If Snow Hadn't Fallen by S.J. Bolton (89 pages)
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 1390
20.8 Stephen KingGunnerkrigg Court, Vol. 3: Reason 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.)
No style points – graphic novel
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1375
20.8 Stephen KingGunnerkrigg Court, Vol. 2: Research 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.)
No style points – graphic novel
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1355
15.1 (second round) - C1 – under 125 pagesThe Mushroom Houses of Charlevoix by Mike Barton
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 1350
15.10 E6 – Non-fiction (Dewey Decimal 500-999)Consider the Lobster and Other Essays by David Foster Wallace
+30 Task
Task Total: 30
Completion Bonus: 100
Grand Total: 1335
20.8 Stephen KingGunnerkrigg Court, Vol. 1: Orientation 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.)
No style points – graphic novel
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1205
20.8 Stephen KingGirl Genius, Vol. 7: Agatha Heterodyne and the Voice of the Castle by Phil Foglio
+20 Task (the world has ‘constructs’, many of which are main characters – a talking cat,
‘Jagermeisters’, etc.)
No style points – graphic novel
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1185
20.8 Stephen KingDark Currents by Jacqueline Carey
Review: This first book in the Agents of Hel urban fantasy series follows Daisy Johanssen, a human/demon halfbreed who works for both the mortal police department in her small Michigan town and its Underworld equivalent. Daisy has issues – a tail, a temptation toward the seven deadly sins, and a crush on her unofficial cop partner, among others – but she’s finding her way. I’ve read a lot of urban fantasy, and the world Carey has built still feels new; also, having just gone on vacation along Lake Michigan, I loved the setting. My major criticism is that Daisy’s inner monologue could feel a little tiresome – the book is told in the first person and is almost too realistic. I’m sure I would also think things like “Gah!” when seeing a dead body or whatever, but it felt a little cutesy in the book.
+20 Task (Daisy is not fully human, her partner is a werewolf, and there are many other non-human characters)
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 1165
10.3 Conjunctions How Cities Work: Suburbs, Sprawl, and the Roads Not Taken by Alex Marshall
Review: Alex Marshall is a native of Norfolk, VA, which is where I live. One of my coworkers called attention to his work when a local theater hosted an event connected to his book. The concept intrigued me – a book on urban planning written by a journalist rather than an urban planner or architect, and one familiar with my current hometown. I’m an architect with a particular interest in urban planning, so I’m used to reading books from a more professional perspective, and thought one of more of a laymen could be interesting. In the end, I didn’t learn much of anything new, and found that the author inserted himself into the narrative more that I’d prefer. He also was not particularly positive about the architectural profession – an opinion I often share, but one that in this case was presented very one-sided. A person who knew nothing about it may have thought all architects are New Urbanists, which I don’t believe is true at all. His views are actually very similar to my own and that of a number of other architects, so it would have been nice to have more of that perspective shown.
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.5)
+10 Review
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 1135
20.8 Stephen KingGirl Genius, Vol. 6: Agatha Heterodyne and the Golden Trilobite by Phil Foglio
+20 Task (the world has ‘constructs’, many of which are main characters – a talking cat,
‘Jagermeisters’, etc.)
No style points – graphic novel
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1110
20.8 Stephen KingGirl Genius, Vol. 5: Agatha Heterodyne and the Clockwork Princess by Phil Foglio
+20 Task (the world has ‘constructs’, many of which are main characters – a talking cat, the clockwork princess…)
No style points – graphic novel
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1090
20.8 Stephen KingGirl Genius, Vol. 4: Agatha Heterodyne and the Circus of Dreams by Phil Foglio
+20 Task (the world has ‘constructs’, many of which are main characters – a talking cat in particular)
No style points – graphic novel
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1070
20.8 Stephen KingGirl Genius, Vol. 3: Agatha Heterodyne and the Monster Engine by Phil Foglio
+20 Task (the world has ‘constructs’, many of which are main characters – a talking cat in particular)
No style points – graphic novel
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1050
20.8 Stephen KingGirl Genius, Vol. 2: Agatha Heterodyne and the Airship City by Phil Foglio
+20 Task (the world has ‘constructs’, many of which are main characters – a talking cat in particular)
No style points – graphic novel
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1030
