Katy’s Comments (group member since Aug 04, 2010)

Katy’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

15.1 Olympic Scavenger

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Diving, Option B - "You're diving into the deep end here" (ch 8)

+15 Task

Task total: 15

Season total: 25

10.4 High Jump

Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka Slater

+10 Task (rating 4.31)

Task total = 10

Season total: 20

Does Ausma Zehanat Khan work for Canada? It appears her nationality is Canadian and American, tho born in Britain? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ausma_Z...

15.10 HDYGG?

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong

Flowers:

ALLIUM -- An imMense worLd: how animaL senses reveal the hidden realms aroUnd us

1 Plant this post
38 Total plants in the garden

+15 Task
+100 Finisher Bonus

Task total: 115
Season Total: 1040

15.9 HDYGG?

Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon

Flowers:

ANEMONE -- cOde NAME heleNE

Vegetables:
France - FENNEL

Herbs: page count = 451
5 -- THYME

3 Plants this post
37 Total plants in the garden

+15 Task

Task total: 15
Season Total: 925

15.8 HDYGG?

Shifting the Balance, Grades 3-5: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Upper Elementary Classroom by Jan Burkins

Flowers:

shifting the baLanCE grades 3-5: 6 ways to brIng the Science of reading into the upper eleMenTAry classroom -- CLEMATIS + 5

shifting the balance grades 3-5: 6 ways to BrINg thE sCience Of reading into the Upper eLementary classrooM -- COLUMBINE + 5

ShifTing thE balance gradEs 3-5: 6 Ways to bring the science of reading into the uPpEr elementary clAssroom -- SWEET PEA + 5

sHiftinG the balaNce gRADes 3-5: 6 wAYs to bring the sciencE of reading into the upper elementary classroom -- HYDRANGEA +5

shifting the Balance grades 3-5: 6 ways to bring the science of rEAdinG INtO the upper elementary classroom -- BEGONIA

shifting the bAlance gradeS 3-5: 6 ways to bring the science of reading inTo the uppeR Elementary classroom -- ASTER

shifting the balance grades 3-5: 6 ways to briNg the sciENce of reading into the upPer elementarY classrOom -- PEONY

Herbs: page count = 272
7--PARSLEY

8 Plants this post
34 Total plants in the garden

+15 Task
+20 Flower Bonus

Task total: 35
Season Total: 910

20.10 World of Crime

The Resort by Sara Ochs

+20 Task (set in Thailand)
+20 Combo (10.2, 10.3 - pub 2023, 20.6 - POVs include Brooke, Cass, and Neil; 20.9 - conspiracy surrounding deaths at center of book, multiple people involved)

Post total: 40
Season total: 875

20.6 Fruit Dish, Bottle, and Violin

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

I don't know why I've waited so long on this one! I have really enjoyed most of Backman's other books and I've had this one physically on my shelf for some time. I found this moving and extremely well written. The characters were all well-drawn - challenging given how many there were! - and the setting became a character in itself. There was tension and suspense until the very last pages. This book didn't have Backman's typical sense of humor, for the most part, which is understandable given a pretty heavy subject matter. But there were so many lines and descriptions that, while not always funny, were so precise and detailed (and sometimes funny!) - like the description of the hockey club president eating a sandwich "the way a German shepherd would try to eat a balloon filled with mayonnaise." I am raring to read the next two - and luckily, they'll involve hockey which will be perfect for next season of RWS! :)

+20 Task (multiple POVs throughout including Maya, Benji, Peter, Kira)
+5 Combo 10.9 (432 pages)
+10 Review
+10 LiT (translated from Swedish)

Post total: 45
Season total: 835

15.7 HDYGG?

Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley
720 Lexile

Flowers:
wArrIor girL uneArtHeD -- DAHLIA

Herbs: page count = 396 pages
3--RUE
9--CHAMOMILE

3 Plants this post
26 Total plants in the garden

+15 Task

Task total: 15
Season total: 790

15.6 HDYGG?

Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card by Sara Saedi
1030 Lexile

Flowers:
amerIcANIZed: rebel without a greeN card -- ZINNIA
americanized: reBel withOut a GREen cArd -- BORAGE

2 Plants this post
23 Total plants in the garden

+15 Task

Task total: 15
Season total: 775

15.5 HDYGG?

The Other Side of Prospect: A Story of Violence, Injustice, and the American City by Nicholas Dawidoff

Flowers:
the other side of prospect: A story of VioLENcE, injustice, anD the ameRican city -- LAVENDER, +5
the other sIDe of prospecT: a story of violence, injUStice, ANd tHe AmericaN city -- DIANTHUS, +5
THe otHer side of prospect: a storY of violence, iNjustice, and the americAn CIty -- HYACINTH, + 5
the Other Side of prOspect: a Story of violence, injustice, and the aMeriCan city -- COSMOS

Vegetables:
New Haven--NAPA CABBAGE

Herbs: page count = 464
4--DILL
6--CHIVES

7 Plants this post
21 Total plants in the garden

+15 Task
+15 Flower Bonus

Task total: 30
Season total: 760

15.4 HDYGG?

End of Story by A.J. Finn

Flowers:
ROSE - End Of StoRy

Vegetables:
San Francisco -- SPINACH

2 Plants this post
14 Total plants in the garden

+15 Task

Task total: 15
Season total = 730

20.10 World of Crime

Bangkok 8 by John Burdett

+20 task (set in Thailand)
+15 combo (10.3 - pub 2003; 10.4 - born 1951; 20.9 - premise is a conspiracy among various people - corrupt cops and expats trying to make money - leads to central crime)

Task Total: 35
Season Total: 715

20.9 Beware the Ides of March

The Mantis by Kōtarō Isaka

I am wild about this book. I've read Bullet Train and Three Assassins, the other two in the Isaka hitmen universe, and I think I like this one best. Judging from the reviews, that may not be the most popular impression. I am not quite sure why I liked it so much. Unlike the other two, The Mantis follows one hitman in particular, rather than a revolving cast that gets larger as the adventure unfolds. Kabuto is a sort of troubled assassin - he's got a wife he's afraid of upsetting and a kid in school, worries about domestic life, and he's hoping to get out of the hitman game as he is also plagued with guilt. I think perhaps the character drew me in - he was interesting and well drawn. There's also a twist halfway through the book that truly surprised me and made me even more interested to pull the threads and find out what was really going on. Highly recommended!

+20 task (chock full of conspiracies to murder various players in the Japanese underworld)
+20 combo (10.2; 10.3 - #3 in series; 20.6 - POVs of Kabuto, Katsumi, and Nanomura; 20.10 - mystery in Japan)
+10 lost in translation (translated from Japanese)
+10 review

Task Total: 60
Season Total: 680

20.5 Surprised!

School Moms: Parent Activism, Partisan Politics, and the Battle for Public Education by Laura Pappano

This was an interesting read for me. I picked it up off the New Book shelf at the library, because as an educator and a parent it seemed to fit a lot of what I'm interested in. I have also been fascinated (and very troubled) by the trend in intense book challenges in schools and libraries in the past few years. I hoped this book would offer me some new insights. It definitely gave me some new data - examples, people explaining their perspective, some very surprising facts and laws - but not necessarily the insight I was hoping for. If this whole issue feels very new and something someone had been "meaning to catch up on" I would say this book could be useful. If you've been following things already, it ends up being more of a niche read for super education/library nerds.

+20 task (colon)
+10 combo (10.5 - "for", 10.9 - 232 pages)
+10 review

Task Total: 40
Season Total: 620

10.3 St. Patrick's Day

Where You See Yourself by Claire Forrest
770 Lexile

+10 task - pub May 2023
+10 combo (10.5 - "you" - 10.9 - 320 pg)

Task Total: 20
Season Total: 580

A great book I'm reading right now (heavy, but really powerful), where characters sometimes play basketball - The Other Side of Prospect: A Story of Violence, Injustice, and the American City

20.10 World of Crime

Bad Kids by Zijin Chen

This was a wild ride! I really enjoyed it. There are a few distinct storylines that end up intersecting -- and all of them are pretty twisted. The book opens with a man (Zhang) pushing his elderly in-laws to their death off a mountainside, so you know that right away these characters will not be your favorites. Then we meet a middle school student, Zhu Chaoyang, who reconnects with an old friend and his new friend, both recently escaped from a dismal orphanage. I don't want to spoil the many, many surprises, but you can expect a lot of twists and turns. None of the characters are totally likeable but they're all interesting, and this was definitely unputdownable for me!

+20 task (mystery set in China)
+5 combo (20.6 - povs include Chaoyang, Zhang, and Yan Liang)
+10 review
+10 lost in translation (translated from Chinese)

Task Total: 45
Season Total: 550

20.1 The National Gallery

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

+20 Task
+15 Combo (10.6, 20.6, 20.9 previously claimed)
+10 1001 list

Task Total: 45
Season Total: 505

10.7 Strange New Worlds

System Collapse by Martha Wells

I am always a fan of Murderbot -- so I was excited to get into the next installment! This was a bit tricky at first, because this one, number 7, directly follows the events of number 5 (not sure entirely where number 6 fits into the timeline!). So it took me some time to really get into the story, but once I did it was hard to put down. In the story, Murderbot and its humans are trying to rescue some groups of colonists from the predatory corporation also seeking out those same colonists, but for more nefarious ends. Meanwhile, they're trying to avoid the alien contamination they escaped in book 5, and Murderbot is dealing with some medical issues of its own. The plot isn't quite as detailed as some of the other books, but there are some killer events and moments nonetheless. Probably don't need to tell other Murderbot fans, but this is indeed recommended! :)

+10 task
+5 combo (10.3 - pub 2023)
+10 review

Task Total: 25
Season Total: 460