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

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

20.8 Veterans' Day

Shards of Honour by Lois McMaster Bujold

Review: It's the time of year when I look through my to-read list and pick some things I think might work as Christmas presents. I'd hoped this would work for my brother, who loves space operas, but I'm undecided.

'Shards of Honor' is a science fiction story, and a story of political intrigue, and a romance, but seems little more than a sketch of any of those things. It is one of Bujold's earliest novels, and the first in her Vorkosigan saga, functioning as a kind of prequel to her later Miles Vorkosigan series (and it's possible those ones will resonate more with my brother).

The story centers around Cornelia Naismith and Aral Vorkosigan, people from different worlds and different cultures who are thrown together injuring a war. It turns out neither truly belongs in their own culture, but they understand each other. In the sequel to this one, the culture clash is supposed to come to the forefront, and I'm looking forward to the fleshing out of the world and the characters.

+20 Task (Bujold has published since the 1980s and continues to publish today)
+5 Multiple
+5 Combo (20.7 - passes Bechtel Test - upon arrival at prison camp, Cornelia talks conditions/war with other female prisoner)
+5 Oldies (published in 1986)
+10 Review

Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 460

20.1 Frankenstein

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (890 Lexile)

Review: 'The Lovely Bones' is the story of a murder, but not in the way of a typical mystery or thriller. From the first chapter, we know what has happened to Susie Salmon, and we know the identity of her murderer. Instead of wondering what has happened, we follow the effects Susie's death has on her family, her friends, her community, and on Susie herself.

While there were parts of this novel that were perhaps too descriptive or too sentimental, in the end I found it to be a successful examining of many things - of life, of loss, of love, of growing up - and of letting go.

+20 Task (2002 Bram Stoker First Novel Winner)
+5 Combo (20.7 - passes Bechtel Test - Susie has conversations with other girls/women about Heaven)
+10 Review

Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 415

20.7 Women of Achievement Month

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding

Review: I've seen the movie, but only once or twice, so reading the book I had a vague memory of what happens but it wasn't enough to distract me and notice all the changes. It was a quick, light read... I expect that Sophie Kinsella was influenced by Fielding in her Shopaholic books. It has the same vibe, and the same questionable math (I really don't see how Bridget can maintain a relatively steady weight with her erratic calorie consumption, but I expect that's not the point. Really, I think books following people who basically make messes of their lives but still come out on top must make us normal people feel ok to be messes ourselves - and I like that.

+20 Task (I'd hoped maybe Bridget wouldn't have any conversations that weren't about guys so I could claim this for Square Peg, but she talks to her mom a couple of times about things like luggage and makeup)
+5 Multiple
+10 Review

Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 380 (after adjusting previous post to add a combo)

For the seven letter first name, can I assume we're going with the author's name as published, rather than the author's real name? I'm hoping a book may qualify for Square Peg, and the author's published pen name does not qualify for this task, but his real name does...

10.2 Oktoberfest

Capital by John Lanchester

Review: "Capital" follows the lives of a group of people who live and work on Pepys Road in London. To a lesser extent, it follows the street itself - a neighborhood that was built for lower middle class working people, but by 2007 has become a place for the well-to-do. Hovering over the story is a sense of impending doom as the financial crisis threatens, something that is highlighted on the book jacket.

The first section of the novel not only introduced the people, but introduced the street. The houses, each designed slightly different, have character of their own. A noisy furnace in one home impacts one family's life. Down the street, a woman cannot stop renovating, always needing something new. In a third house, the residents work to avoid a squeaky step. But as the book moves on, Pepys Road becomes more of a supporting character.

I expected this to be far more about the financial crisis than it was. The first character introduced is a banker, and his life of conspicuous consumption is threatened and is critiqued. But beyond that, the financial circumstances do little beyond setting the tone. People move on, and by the end the residents will likely be totally different than when the book started, but the bank failures and mortgage issues have not yet impacted the value of the homes.

This review is ending up much like I felt the book did, having great ambitions, but in the end failing to be fully cohesive. The book has so many characters, most of whom connect but few of whom actually impact each other, that it almost seems like a series of interconnected short stories than one epic novel. Regardless of its faults, however, I'm glad I picked it up.

+10 Task (author born in Germany)
+5 Combo (10.5 - one of the characters in the description, Petunia, is in her 80s)**
+5 Jumbo (592 pages)
+10 Review

Task Total: 30**
Grand Total: 345**

**Edited to add combo points based on clarification in 10.5 thread**

10.7 Monsterfest

Biting Cold by Chloe Neill

Review: This must be a prime time for Urban Fantasy, because a lot of the series I've read have new books out right now.

In the sixth Chicagoland Vampires novel, Chloe Neill is still rebuilding things and tying off plots from the fourth and fifth books. Things are crumbling in Chicago, and Merit and her friends are trying to keep things from imploding, both close to home and city-wide. An old foe in a new body is threatening the city, while politics are threatening Cadogen House.

This volume felt like a transition story - a bridge between the events of the last couple books and some sort of conclusion (not a book on which to start the series). I liked that there were bits and pieces of many things - political, personal, and action - but am hoping for a more concise next installation.

+10 Task (vampires, avenging angels with bat wings, a sorceress with a black magic addiction...)
+5 Multiple
+10 Review

Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 315

15.3 - 3rd book - Letter C


Happy All the Time by Laurie Colwin (pub 1978) - Know your ABCs

Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 290

10.9 To be Continued...

Fables, Vol. 6: Homelands by Bill Wilingham

+10 Task
No style points for graphic novels

Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 275

20.7 Women of Achievement Month

The Great Escape by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Review: I read Susan Elizabeth Phillips' books when I just need a fun time in a new yet familiar world. Most of her books connect in one way or another, so while each focuses on a new couple and their romance, there are usually background characters that I've read about in the past. This installment focused on Lucy Jorvic, who was 15 in First Lady and is now 31. I was a teenager like Lucy when I read First Lady, so it was fun catching up with her again, when we're again about the same age.

The last book Phillips put out loosely parallels this one but was disappointing. The Great Escape is better, although certainly not perfect. Phillips always tries to put some serious issues in the pages of fluffy romance, and I felt that those were a little clunkier than usual this time around. She also always has at least one 'side' romance, which was less satisfying this time around. But all in all I enjoyed it, and will always read the next one she puts out.

+20 Task (Lucy has numerous conversations with a couple of different friends, mostly relating to their careers and figures; she also has a counseling session with a teenage girl about getting her life together)
+5 Combo (20.8 - Phillips published Just Imagine in 1984, and The Great Escape was published this year)
+10 Review

Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 265

10.8 Lucky Sevens

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Review: At first I feared that despite all the good things I've been hearing about this book, it would turn me off as just another book chronicling the woes of a disaffected middle class married couple living in the suburbs. It turns out, however, that this one has a plot, and a fast-paced, thrilling one at that.

Don't get me wrong - the characters are almost universally unlikable, and they think themselves so clever that the language at the beginning put me off a little. But Flynn weaves a story filled with twists that kept me expecting something, even anticipating what ended up happening, but still managed to keep me surprised. Beyond that I really shouldn't say more for fear of spoiling, but it was definitely worth the read.

+10 Task (7 letters in Gillian)
+5 Combo (20.7 - passes Bechdel test barely when Amy and another woman have a conversation about a book and pool water temperature)
+10 Review

Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 230

15.2 - 2nd book - Letter B

Patternmaster by Octavia Butler (pub 1976) - Know your ABCs

Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 205

20.3 Poe's Tales
Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link

Review: I always have a hard time with short story collections, often finding it hard to connect with the characters. I'd heard Kelly Link was one of the best short story writers in the speculative fiction genre, and I recognize her talent. She hasn't quite yet convinced me to love the format, however.

Link purposefully seems to keep distance between her characters and the reader. In some, multiple characters have the same name. In others, the first person narrative jumps around or the gender is unidentified. This vague characterization works for the creepy, quirky worlds she creates, and could challenge assumptions about things like gender and sexual orientation. I found that interesting, but not engrossing. I'd try more of Kelly Link's writing, but short stories remain less than my favorite.

+20 Task
+10 Review

Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 190

Just saw the answer on the FAQs, so cancel my last post :)

For style points, do all the stories have to qualify? I just read Stranger Things Happen. All of the stories are creepy and fantastical and some have explicit creatures like ghosts and werewolves, but some remain rather vague. Also, at least one of the stories meets the Bechdel test, but not all have enough dialogue and/or genders explicitly defined. Thanks!

10.7 Monsterfest

Eternal Pleasure by Nina Bangs

Review: I only read this because the Vaginal Fantasy group here on Goodreads (http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/6...) chose it for the month, and also... shapeshifting dinosaurs! It's basically a typical paranormal romance. Ancient gods who last had the souls of dinosaurs (okay, that one's new) have been put into the bodies of gorgeous men to save humanity from evil villains. Throw in a few vampires and werewolves, plus the love interest, who is human but has some sort of special trait that makes her valuable to the dinos, and there you have it.

The story focuses on Ty (he was a T-Rex!) and the 'special' human, Kelly, who feel an instant animal attraction to each other. Lust turns into (immortal) love within the period of about a week, during which they (really, Kelly) end up defeating the local big bad.

I don't have very high standards for this kind of book, which probably took about 2 hours of actual reading time, but this one really didn't do it for me. It is part of a series, so it's possible that some pieces of what felt like an unfinished puzzle will end up being filled in during future installments, but I doubt I'll be seeking them out. Props for the dinosaur idea though.

+10 Task
+5 Multiple
+10 Review*

Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 160

*Edited to include points for review*

Thanks! Sorry about the confusion!

Thanks for the quick response - I had a feeling that would be the case, but figured I'd try! I had looked at the style guidelines from that previous challenge and it required a Lexile score of 700, but it's possible the BPL designation wasn't in play or something. And Parable of the Sower was actually used in the completed tasks thread (I don't want to get anyone in trouble!), but it's more frequently shelved as adult than Kindred seems to be.

So, a follow-up: I was going to replace Kindred with Patternmaster, which is not in BPL as a single book but as part of Seed to Harvest. It was published as an individual book in the seventies but was combined with the rest of the series when republished more recently. BPL shelves Seed to Harvest as an adult book, but does not have a separate entry for Patternmaster. Will it count? (I'm trying not to add much to my crazy-long list of to-read books if possible, and nothing else off of it will fit for B). Thanks!

I had originally slated Kindred as my second book in this challenge, but was surprised to find that many of the BPL branches list it as YA or Assignment in many of its libraries, and it has a Lexile score of 580. After seeing Parable of the Sower approved, which has a similar situation, I was curious and searched past discussions to see if Kindred had ever been used, and found that people had claimed style points for it in previous challenges. So, is it YA or not?

15.1 - 1st book - Letter A

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (1070 Lexile)

Published 1969

Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 135

I meant 1982; I'll fix it. I wish it were a 10 year span - think it would be a square peg otherwise!