Katy’s
Comments
(group member since Aug 04, 2010)
Katy’s
comments
from the Reading with Style group.
Showing 821-840 of 1,216
Hi team! I'm pretty flexible in terms of what I can read in July. Right now I'm visiting my sister and her new baby but when I get home tomorrow night, I will take a look at which bingo lines we seem like we're close to with what you've listed, Ed and Beth, and see where I can best fill in.
20.8 KotickThe Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle
I am feeling myself get on a bit of a Sherlock Holmes kick, since last season I read what I found out later was technically book 3 of his stories. I remember when I was growing up being fascinated by my parents' complete Sherlock Holmes -- a huge brown book with a pipe smoking detective on the spine. Now that I'm finally diving in, I'm enjoying the stories just as much. I think I prefer the short stories, though -- this novel was interesting but almost too drawn out, despite being relatively short. It tells the story of Holmes and Watson tracking down an ages-old plot formed in colonial India, involving stolen pearls and treasure and some pretty awful weaponry. A quick, enjoyable read, but I may stick to the stories for a while!
+20 task (#29 on first list)
+5 combo (20.5 - #70 on list)
+10 review
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 120
10.9 It's PersonalScarlet by Marissa Meyer
810 Lexile
This is book 2 in Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles series. I was hesitant to pick up the series at first, because I don't generally like fairy tale retellings, and this was clearly that (the first book is called Cinder). However, the series came highly recommended to me so I gave it a shot - and am glad I did. I would describe book 1 as a post-apocalyptic Cinderella with cyborgs, and Scarlet is basically a post-apocalyptic Red Riding Hood with cyborgs and space ships! Meyer does a good job of using the fairy tale elements without feeling beholden to make everything fit, which might make some readers annoyed but made me happy.
+10 task (Scarlet is the main character's name)
+5 combo (10.7)
+10 review
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 85
I'm in! Should be interesting :)
10.7 First LetterLies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley
+10 task
(Low lexile; no styles)
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 60
10.7 First LetterLittle Black Lies by Sharon Bolton
I just cannot get enough of Sharon Bolton's writing! Even when the premise doesn't sound amazing at the start, I've never failed to be hooked into her stories. This book centers around a string of missing children in the Falkland Islands, and the connections of Catrin, her former best friend Rachel, and her maybe-boyfriend Callum. There are constant surprises, secrets, and twists, partly enabled by the fact that the story is told in three parts - part one narrated by Catrin, part two by Callum, and part three by Rachel. Sharon Bolton is wonderful at creating a sense of place, and the Falkland Islands are a place I had never really thought much about. She also does a terrific job, always, of building interesting characters. There is always more to see below the surface.
+10 task
+10 review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 50
20.4 Go for the Gold!Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty
I'm continually surprised by how much I enjoy Liane Moriarty's work. To me, her plots never sound enthralling on the surface (moms, secrets, suburbia) but are always well told, and the characters draw me in without my even realizing it. This book was no exception. Three Wishes is about a year or so in the life of a set of triplets. Without giving too much away, there's pregnancy, some light violence, affairs, missed connections, and general shenanigans. At the same time, there are some moments where the depth of the characters' emotional reactions to events, and the depth of some of the events themselves, are breathtaking. A light-ish read, well worth it.
+20 task (set entirely in Australia)
+10 review
Task total: 30
Grand Total: 30
Do middle initials count as a third name -- so they don't work?
20.1 William ShakespeareThe Life and Death of King John by William Shakespeare
+20 task
+25 oldies (published 1595)
+10 not-a-novel (play)
Task Total: 55
+ 100 RWS Finish (I've never finished before!!)
Grand Total: 895
20.3 Miguel de Cervantes SaavedraA Delicate Truth by John le Carré
+20 task
+15 combo (10.7, 10.8, 20.5)
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 740
10.6 Book LoversWhen Books Went to War: The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II by Molly Guptill Manning
+ 10 task (tagged 84 times as Books About Books)
+ 5 combo (10.8 - she is a lawyer according to her bio)
+ 10 not a novel (nonfiction)
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 705
20.10 AutoBioMemSteve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
+20 task
+5 combo (10.9)
+10 Not-a-novel
+5 jumbo (656 pages)
+5 multiple
Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 670
20.2 Graham GreeneA God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
+20 task
+5 combo (10.7)
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 625
10.2 Single WordCinder by Marissa Meyer
+10 task
(no styles - low lexile!)
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 600
20.7 David BowieThe Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
+20 Task (on list)
+5 Combo (20.5)
+10 Not a Novel
+ 5 Oldies (1963)
Task Total: 40
Grand Total: 590
10.4 Popular GenreMaximum Security by Rose Connors
+10 task
+10 combo (10.7, 10.8 -- according to her author site, she is a lawyer)
+5 multiple
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 540
20.4 Evelyn WaughThe Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
+ 20 task (died 1930)
+ 5 combo (10.8 - according to his GR bio, a doctor)
+ 10 not-a-novel (stories)
+ 10 oldies (published 1892)
Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 515
Popular GenreThe Murder of Mary Russell by Laurie R. King
+10 task
+5 combo (10.7)
+5 multiple
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 470
10.9 Back to BusinessMisbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics by Richard H. Thaler
+10 task
+5 combo (10.8 - author teaches at University of Chicago)
+10 not-a-novel (nonfiction)
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 450
Cory, so sorry for your loss. My sister knew your husband from high school and spoke to me about what a great guy he was. I'm thinking of you. I'm sure that we all are glad to help in any way we can -- if there's anything we can do!
