Cory Day’s
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(group member since Aug 18, 2012)
Cory Day’s
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from the Reading with Style group.
Showing 161-180 of 1,205
15.5 FYTS: Time Traveler1966-2016
Time's Fool by Patricia Veryan (pub 1991)
+25 Task
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 1345
20.10 Meta fictionOranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
Review: This was kind of a weird book, which seems to be par for the course for this task. It was surprisingly readable considering the non-linear way parts of it were told – in the middle of the relatively grounded story, suddenly it would switch to dream-like fairy tales and then head back into the main plotline – but I’m still not sure how to think of it. The main storyline is basically a coming of age story about a young lesbian growing up in an incredibly strict Christian home, and the fairytale bits did tie into the same themes, but I ended the book wondering if I just missed pieces or if they were never truly explained.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.7)
Task Total: 35
RwS Completion Bonus: 100
Grand Total: 1320
I keep being surprised when I'm at the top of the leaderboard. This season shouldn't have been any good for me - I'm still reeling in my personal life, I moved from Virginia back to Pennsylvania (with my parents!), and I just started a new job this week. Actually, the job has definitely cut back on my reading - getting up before 6 AM is not good on my reading life.
10.5 Mod TaskCocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood
Review: I’d been meaning to read this first book in the Phryne Fisher mysteries for a long time (and also to watch the television series, but that will have to wait), and am really glad I finally got around to it. Unlike most mystery novels, this one doesn’t really revolve around a murder. Instead, as the title suggests, Miss Fisher ends up trying to track down the head of a cocaine ring. It’s a short book, but Greenwood managed to introduce a whole cast of interesting characters. Because of the length, however, a lot of the plot was only just sketched out, so there were a few hanging threads that I would have liked to see. Regardless, I am completely sold on the series and will track down the next when I need a cozy mystery in my life.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.7)
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 1210
10.10 Group ReadsEvicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
Review: “Even in the most desolate areas of American cities, evictions used to be rare. They used to draw crowds. Eviction riots erupted during the Depression, even though the number of poor families who faced eviction was a fraction of what it is today.”
I’ve read a lot about urban planning. I’ve read a decent amount about housing discrimination and segregation. But this book taught me things and made me add another layer to the things I knew and believed. Desmond himself mentions in his notes at the end that the resources available surrounding this subject were minimal at best when he started his research, and that even when eviction was studied it wasn’t necessarily approached from a perspective that would get the most accurate results. When he did his own research, he determined that at least one in eight families in Milwaukee (the city he chose to study for this book, and a fitting one given recent events) is evicted each year. The loss of stability this causes leads to countless additional problems – reduced time to work or search for work, increased expenses and/or loss of property, inconsistency in education and missed school days, health problems (including depression), etc. Talking about one part of the problem of poverty cannot solve it, and the fact that eviction hasn’t been part of the equation is kind of astounding.
In the last few months, I lost my husband after a long illness, moved out of my apartment, and had a brief period of time worrying I couldn’t pay all my bills while waiting for the benefits to come in. I had a massive support network, access to medical and psychological care (both covered by health insurance), and the worst monetary difficulty I had was that I might not be able to pay off my entire credit card bill for a month or so. I still went through a period of depression, and moving, even voluntarily, while feeling that way was something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
I’m not trying to make this about me. It’s not. I’m only pointing out that I had this brief period of time where I didn’t know what I was going to do, where I was depressed even while taking antidepressants, and where I had to try to detangle bureaucratic complications while also figuring out my next steps. And I had everything on my side. The people in this book have nothing on their side. Some of them ended up in poverty because of mistakes they made, but for them one mistake took away all hope and landed them in despair. Many of them have been impoverished most of their lives. They have physical and mental disabilities but minimal access to healthcare of any kind. One of the chapters is titled “Can’t Win for Losing,” and I think that just about sums up the experiences of most of the people Desmond profiled.
Desmond also tells the story beautifully. If it were in the fiction section, he wouldn’t have to change much, since it reads so easily. He made the decision to tell it in third person rather than the more common first person used by other ethnographers; in the notes, he says it’s to take himself out of the story and keep the focus on the subjects. He succeeds admirably, and I found little to criticize in the way he told their story.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo (20.7, 20.9)
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 1185
20.5 London CallingMidnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch
Review: I’m pretty sure I’ve had this book out of the library two or three times and never ended up reading it. I’m not sure why – it’s a solid urban fantasy story with a non-white protagonist, which is great. It’s the first in the series, but the story was wrapped up well enough that I don’t feel the need to jump straight in to the next, which is kind of nice sometimes. The worldbuilding got a little confusing at times, but the way the mystery came together was really interesting and kind of creepy. I definitely stayed up way too late last night finishing, which is almost always the mark of a good book.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.7)
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 1155
10.2 Picador/ViragoSepulchre by Kate Mosse
Review: I read the first in this series, which I THINK is more loosely connected than anything, years ago. I don’t remember much about it, but I didn’t need to in order to understand Sepulchre. That being said, it took a while for me to figure out what WAS going on. I don’t mind when books switch back and forth in time, but this was maybe just slow at the beginning, making it more confusing. I much preferred the contemporary story, since it wasn’t as steeped in the occult as the past storyline, but by the end I kind of had a soft spot for all the characters. The book reads overall like it’s trying to be magical realism, but really ends up not being out of the ordinary much at all, which makes it straddle the line in a way that I wish it hadn’t.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Jumbo (560 pages)
+5 Combo (10.7)
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 1100
10.7 First Letter Caught Running by Madeleine Urban
Review: I have a weakness for these authors – they wrote my beloved Cut & Run series. This one was written before Cut & Run, and it kind of shows. The drawn out tension that makes that series so frustrating yet delicious isn’t done as well here. The first half is almost devoid of anything sexual or romantic, but by the end of the book the characters are in love and ready to live together, if not be completely out. I think they must have realized they work better doing series where that process can be drawn out, but this was still fun to read. If I paid too close attention I noticed the writing quirks that some other reviewers pointed out, but I enjoyed my day hanging out with Jake and Brandon.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1070
15.3 FYTS: Time Traveler1966-2016
Imaro by Charles R. Saunders (pub 1981)
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 1050
10.8 Come to the FairCarniepunk by Rachel Caine
Review: Some of my favorite authors wrote for this anthology, so I’m glad I finally got around to reading it. They’re pretty much all urban fantasy writers, but for these stories most of them came closer to writing horror. I guess the theme of carnivals brought out their dark sides, and some of the stories were very very dark. I was glad to visit old friends in some cases, as in Kelly Gay’s story, and was interested to see some brand new stuff from familiar authors, as in Seanan McGuire’s story. I’m also ready to start reading a couple of authors – especially Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid series.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.7)
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 1035
10.7 First Letter Perfect Imperfections by Cardeno C.
Review: Apparently Cardeno C. is known for writing sappy romances, and Perfect Imperfections definitely lived up to that. I’m not sure it’s a super realistic book, at least in how quickly things happen, but I actually found the characters to be potentially realistic. Jeremy is super needy, and Reg is super caring, but I actually believed those people might exist in the world. I found their romance to be touching and sweet, if a bit overdone, and parts of it were laugh out loud funny. This was my first by this author, but it won’t be my last – I have a feeling the occasional sweet story will sometimes be exactly what I need.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1010
10.7 First Letter Priest by Sierra Simone
Review: Oof, this book… it’s definitely not for everyone… and not my thing. I read it, and was kind of fascinated by it, and rated it a full three stars, but it was more out of curiosity than enjoyment. Its description is accurate, but it doesn’t really indicate how dirty the language is at times. The priest in question, Tyler, likes dirty talk in the bedroom, and since it’s written from his perspective you get it almost non-stop. The thing is, I think this ended up as some sort of hybrid of erotica and romance, and I found it disconcerting. I don’t think that means it’s a bad book exactly, but not something that I’m into.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 990
10.7 First Letter Lessons in Love by Charlie Cochrane
Review: I’m never sure what to expect when reading a historical m/m romance, since I know there have to be so many impediments to a happy ending. This one is the first in a series, so it only starts off the romance, but I was pleasantly surprised by it. I was a kind of delighted by Orlando’s personality – he was so sweet and awkward, and he and Jonty are super cute together. I think if the characters hadn’t gotten under my skin I might have found the plot and dialogue a little stilted, but it didn’t bother me. I put the next one in the series onto my TBR, and will probably read it when I need a comfort read and hope it lives up to my expectation.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 970
10.7 First Letter On Solid Ground by Melissa Collins
Review: I really enjoyed most of this book, and the parts I didn’t enjoy hit just a little too close to home for me, so it wasn’t a flaw in the book but simply a question of circumstance. Dax has recently been discharge from the Army with PTSD, and when he meets Beck they feel an instant connection. It turns out Beck has plenty of his own problems, and the couple’s combined issues would be hard to believe if I hadn’t lived through a year of bad news piled on bad news myself. The overall message of hope and healing shone through, although I’m glad there’s a second book to show how far they still have to go in their relationship.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 950
10.7 First Letter Sins of Arrogance by India Harper
Review: I put this book on my TBR because it was set in Pittsburgh, my hometown, and having lived away from there for nearly a decade I read all the books I can set in the city. Unfortunately, the setting meant next to nothing to the plot of the book, and it wasn’t really my thing. Carver is a bad cop – like, seriously, he beats up the suspects regularly – and David is his lieutenant. David decides he needs to help Carver channel his anger and focus, and the way he ends up doing that is by establishing a dominant sexual relationship with him. There were just so many problems with the whole setup when I really considered it that I just couldn’t get into the book. Looking at reviews of the next few books, the relationship gets into ménage and cheating territory, so I don’t think I’ll be tracking down any more of them. Just not my cup of tea.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 930
20.4 Go for the Gold!Tigers on the Run by Sean Kennedy
Review: This third book in the series is my favorite so far. Dec and Simon have been together for eight years, and would probably already be married if it weren’t illegal in Australia (I still can’t get over the fact that the USA is ahead of Australia on that). There are two points of conflict in the story, and neither really causes much of an upheaval in their relationship, which is nice. Dec ran a lot in the last two books, and this time he gets his act together pretty quickly. He’s dealing with a teenaged sports star who’s participating in Dec’s charity helping gay teens, and Simon’s dealing with his assistant’s supposed betrayal by dating his nemesis. There is a spinoff dealing with the kid, but I hope there’s a fourth in the series so I can see where the rest of it goes.
+20 Task (set entirely in Australia)
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
Team 1 Bingo Bonus: 5
Grand Total: 915
And I see you posted. I'm behind by a day lol - maybe because my friend and I made the (crazy?) decision to go to an amusement park when the temperature was hovering just below 100 degrees and the heat index was well above. Hydration and sunscreen were key.
Looks right to me :)
I posted my 10.9 (message 510)!
10.9 It's Personal Adder by Ally Blue
Review: Adder is a rock star. Or maybe he just wants to be. He’s also flamboyantly bisexual in the best ways, although I can’t really imagine actually meeting him in real life. He has dyed green hair, a snake tattoo on his… snake… a tendency to hit on everyone and everyone around, and a desire to share his music with the world and be famous. When he meets Kalil, things change for Adder a little, but it takes a while for him to come to terms with it. Kalil is the band’s new drummer and initially says no to Adder’s sexual advances. In fact, their first time together could pretty easily be construed as non-consensual, since Kalil was drunk and didn’t want to sleep with a bandmate. Still, their romance is pretty hot and sweet, and my only real complaint with the book is that I wish it’d been longer and more fleshed out (ahem, not THAT way), although I do think it’d have been nice not to have to forgive the lack of consent.
+10 Task (Adder is one of the two narrators/main characters – it’s his only legal name)
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 880
