Kim’s Comments (group member since Nov 20, 2020)

Kim’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

15.5 - Name of the game

In the Lion's Den by Barbara Taylor Bradford

Square 7B - Letter G - Author name has no letter G
Square 5C - Letter I - Title word: In, Inn, Into
Square 1E - Letter R - Series name includes the letter R (House of Falconer)
Square 15D - Letter L - An author's last or most recent novel

Word - GIRL
Task - 20
Season - 285

15.4 - Name of the game

An Ivy Hill Christmas by Julie Klassen

Square 7C - Letter G - Goodreads Author
Square 1C - Letter R - MPG: Romance
Square 5D - Letter I - Author name has no letter I
Square 4E - Letter D - Double Trouble: Title or author name has consecutive letters that are the same (double ss)

Word Grid
Task total: 15
Season Total: 265

20.6 Caribbean

Troubles in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand (USVI)

2.0 stars - This is one series that I'm very glad to be done with. Several things didn't work for me, especially the island as a sentient being/narrator. From way too many side characters that add nothing to the plot (waitresses, television anchors, random school friends) to the weird names (Marilyn Monroe, Cash, Baker, Huck) there were just too many things that didn't ring true in this book. Problems are manufactured and then neatly tied up, in a way that never happens in real life. I understand that the author wrote this as a tribute to an island where she goes to write every year, after it was devastated by a terrible hurricane in 2017, but unless she's donating her profits to the island, I can't recommend buying this book. Sorry, Elin, I've enjoyed many of your books, but this wasn't one of them.
Book 218 of 2020
20 Task
10 review
5 combo 10.7 (the weather makes it a paradise and there's a hurricane near the end)

Post total: 35
Season total: 250

20.1 Black History Month

Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin

5.0 stars - Black Like Me tells the story of a Texas journalist, who, disturbed by the conditions he sees around him, decides to look at the problems through the lens of those who live them every day, by turning his skin black and living in the black community. Nothing prepares him for the demoralizing, dehumanizing experience he has, where one day he is a respected man and the next he fears for his life. But Griffin doesn't make this about himself, and afterwards he is clear that he does not speak for the black community, but it cannot be denied that the book had a profound effect on America, coming at what would be the beginning of the Civil Rights movement. For many years he traveled America giving lectures, going to troubled cities, but always saying to the city leadership - why are you asking me these questions, you have so many black leaders among you - ask them!
The story of the 6 weeks he spent in New Orleans, Mississippi, Alabama and Atlanta is disturbing and eye-opening. He feared for his life from the moment he crossed into Mississippi until he left it, under cover of darkness a few days later, arriving during a time when lynchings were tacitly approved, when a jury refused to convict members of the mob who murdered Mack Charles Parker.
The story of John Howard Griffin is in itself fascinating, from his wartime experience rescuing children from the Nazis, his temporary blindness, his deep Catholic faith and his experience writing the book and afterwards. In the Afterword, Robert Bonazzi, a Griffin scholar, writes fifty years later, giving us further insight to the author and the book itself.
The most haunting part for me is viewing this book in the context of the Civil Rights movement and the part it played, and seeing that almost 60 years later, it is still relevant and many of the same issues are being played out in city after city across the country to this day.

+20 Task
+10 Review
+15 Combo 10.3 (J), 10.8 (1961), 10.4 (B)
+5 Style - Award - Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (1962)

Post Total: 50
Season Total: 215

15.3

Master of His Fate by Barbara Taylor Bradford
Square 13B - letter T - Author born in the thirties - any century (1933)
Square 11B - letter H - MPG: Historical Fiction
Square 16E - letter E - Novel has Eight or more named characters

WORD = THE

Task +15
Post total -15
Season total - 165

15.2

The Second Chance Boutique by Louisa Leaman
Square 4B - letter D - Debut Novel
Square 9B - letter I - set on an island (England)
Square 5R - letter N - New to you author
Square 16B-letter E - Author born in Europe

WORD = DINE

Task +15
Post total - 15
Season total - 150

15.1

A Season of Secrets by Elizabeth Adams
Square 12C - letter S - series 4-7 (Sugarcreek Amish Mystery #4)
Square 2B - letter E - Author entire published name has 2 or more E's
Square 10B - letter T - Pub'd in the Teens - any century (2015)

Word = SET

+15 Task
Post total - 15
Season total: 135

Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "You read 10 books for the mini challenge so your first book you read is 15.1 and it is worth 15 points. The second book you read for the subchallenge is 15.2 and is worth 15 points. Same for 15.3 a..."

Thanks again!

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Yes, we have some abbreviations that might not be obvious.

Thank you both. Does the different scoring:
15.1-15.4: 15 points
15.5-15.7: 20 points
15.8-15.9: 30 points
15.10: 45 points

refer to the number of times you post a book, or is there someplace where I can see what 15.1 means?

This is my first time doing this, could you explain what it means when people ask to lock in MPGx? Thanks!

10.3 - Winter
The Christmas Table by Donna VanLiere

3.5/5.0 - If you like Hallmark movies, this book is for you. Short, inspirational, and faith-based, this book by Donna VanLiere grabbed me from the New Book shelf. And like many books that do that, it turned out to be the latest installment in a series that I hadn't read any of the previous ones. I now have the first two on hold.
The book is told through a dual timeline - 1972 and 2012, and follows two young families throughout a year in their life. What ties the families together is a handmade walnut table and a stack of recipes written by a loving mother for her newlywed daughter. The story of the original owners and how the second family works to find them - to return the family heirloom recipes makes for an enjoyable holiday read. A cup of tea, a warm fireplace, and a blanket or cat in your lap completes the setting.

Task - +10
Review - +10
Combo - +5 w/10.4
Total - 25
Season - 120

10.5 - Author

Love Finds You in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin by Pamela S. Meyers

3.5/5.0 - In 1933, Meg Alden wants nothing more than to be a reporter and live the life that God intended for her. Meg is the older of two daughters in a deeply religious family, and at 25 still lives at home under her parents' jurisdiction. When she is unable to complete college due to low grades and financial worries during the depression, she takes a job with the local weekly newspaper writing want ads and the occasional society piece, all the while hoping to further her career as a reporter. When one male reporter leaves, Meg hopes that she will be given an opportunity to prove her ability, but that is dashed when handsome Jack Warren, of the Chicago newspaper family is given the job instead. But as time passes, Jack and Meg find themselves drawn to each other. Initially, they struggle to communicate and be open with each other, Meg about the man who hurt her in the past, Jack about his feelings for her. But the more they work together, the stronger their partnership grows.
I enjoyed this book, even though Christian fiction isn't my normal genre. The historical details about the town were interesting and I'd like to learn more. The peak into the newspaper world of that time also interested me, as I had a job at a local newspaper 50 years ago.
Task - +10
Review - +10
Combo - +5 w/20.2
Total - 25
Season - 95

Connie wrote: "10.4 Valentine

The Recipe Box by Viola Shipman

I discovered this author this summer and I love his books. I haven't read this one yet, but I look forward to it.

20.4 Science

2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

4.0/5.0 - This famous 1968 science fiction classic was written concurrently with the Stanley Kubrick film of the same name, which is considered one of the greatest films ever made. The story opens with a primitive alien race who comes across a monolith which enables them to develop tools and changes their lives from one of a constant fight for survival. Fast forward to 1999, when a scientist discovers the monolith on the moon which sends a radio transmission to Saturn. A spaceship is sent to Saturn, containing two scientists who are awake and three more who are hibernating, and a sentient computer named HAL. Towards the end of the journey, HAL starts to malfunction and before Dave can stop him, he has killed Frank and the three sleeping scientists, saving himself just in the nick of time. He continues to travel by himself and finally reaches a monolith and is turned into an immortal star child.
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this audiobook, science fiction is not my normal genre. The narrator is Dick Hill, who does an excellent job! This is the first of a four book series, on the 1000 books to read list, and book 202 of 2020.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo - 10.2
35 post total
70 season total

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 23 Kim wrote: "20.3 Jazz
Downton Abbey - A Celebration: The Official Companion to All Six Seasons by Jessica Fellowes

5.0/5.0 - A beautiful (coffee table?) bo..."

Thanks, I'll edit the post then.

20.3 Jazz
Downton Abbey - A Celebration: The Official Companion to All Six Seasons by Jessica Fellowes

5.0/5.0 - A beautiful (coffee table?) book to accompany one of my favorite tv series, which I am in the middle of rewatching again. The book is organized beautifully, as a well run house might be. Its major divisions include rooms/areas of the main house, upstairs and downstairs characters along with their actor's profile, locations beyond Downton including the village, London, and other great homes. The writing is interwoven so well so that it flows with the plot lines, and is supported by costume details and behind the scene photographs. Perhaps, if there were one criticism, it would be that it was written prior to the sixth season, so what you get is more of a foreshadowing than actual details.
Book 201 of 2020

+20 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.3)
Post total: 35
Season total: 35

Thank you!

I apologize if this question has been answered elsewhere, but this is my first challenge with this group. Do you need to announce your intention to participate in advance somewhere or just post your completed tasks?