Kim’s
Comments
(group member since Nov 20, 2020)
Kim’s
comments
from the Reading with Style group.
Showing 61-80 of 438
What about The World That We Knew? It won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Fiction (2020), but it turns out I already read a book for that prize.
15.4 EotPRThe Beekeeper of Aleppo. Christy Lefteri
This was a powerful book, one that I would think about for days, and possibly reread in the future. Set against the backdrop of the civil war that broke out in Syria in 2011, it is the heartbreaking story of Nuri, a beekeeper, and his artist wife, Afra, who must flee their country and find a way to make a new life for themselves elsewhere, while dealing with severe PTSD and blindness after losing the small son, Sami.
I listened to the audio version of this, which had the advantage of hearing the beautiful language in which the story was told, but the disadvantage of not seeing the skips in the timeline, which was more obvious (I'm told) in a print edition. This raised my awareness of a situation of which I was only vaguely aware of, and although it was hard to read of the pain the characters faced, I am glad to have read it.
+ 15 task - Dayton Literary Peace Prize (winners and nominees) (2020)
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 230
10.2; 10.3; 10.9
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4
20.6; 20.10;
15.3The Four Profound Weaves. R.B. Lemberg
+ 15 task - Otherwise Award (2020)
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 215
10.2; 10.3; 10.9
15.1; 15.2; 15.3
20.6; 20.10;
10.9 NFL! (Anika's Task)The Godmothers. Camille Aubray
This historical fiction novel focuses on a 23 year time period (from 1934 - 1957), winding things up in 2019. It is the story of four woman who marry or are born into a minor crime family in NYC. The women bond over the secrets they keep, their children, and the tight family structure. I really enjoyed the story telling, the way the characters were fleshed out, and how the women were the major players. Unlike the The Godfather, there was a lot of violence in the book.
+ 10 task - took place in NYC
+ 10 review
+ 5 (combo 20.8 pasta fagioli soup)
Task Total: 25
Season Total: 200
10.2; 10.3; 10.9
15.1; 15.2;
20.6; 20.10;
10.2 OctoberfestBreakfast with Seneca: A Stoic Guide to the Art of Living. David Fideler
This book brought me back to my freshman year in college, when one of the courses I took dealt with ancient philosophers, and included Seneca and stoicism. As I look across the decades since then, I realize that it was a philosophy that shaped my life, and that I've always tried to live by the guidelines of gratitude, acceptance of change, being able how to control not events, but how I react to them, and reflecting on how I can be a better person. It was interesting to be reminded of these things.
+ 10 task - born in the United States (per: https://platosacademy.org/why-ancient...)
+ 10 review
+ 5 (combo 20.9)
Task Total: 25
Season Total: 175
10.2; 10.3;
15.1; 15.2;
20.6; 20.10;
15.2Witchmark. C.L. Polk
+ 15 task - 2019 World Fantasy Award
+ 5 (from entry 39)
Task Total: 20
Season Total: 150
10.3;
15.1; 15.2;
20.6; 20.10;
20.5 FaulknerOut of the Silent Planet. C.S. Lewis
+20 task -
+ 10 points (pub. 1938)
+ 15 combo (10.4; 10.7 - Adventure, 20.6)
Task Total: 45
Season Total: 130
10.3;
15.1;
20.6; 20.10;
20.10 Birthday (Elizabeth (Alaska)'s Task)Learning to Talk. Hilary Mantel
2.5 stars - I just finished and enjoyed The Mirror & the Light, when I saw this book of short stories by the same author on the new book shelf at my library. That seems a little odd, since the book was originally published in 2003, but was reissued in 2020 in response to the popularity of her award winning Wolf Hall trilogy. I confess I just didn't enjoy this book very much. Literary fiction and short stories are not something I gravitate to, although recently I have enjoyed several of these. The main issues I had with the book was the fact that sometimes it felt like a memoir (in fact the last chapter, 'Giving Up the Ghost' is the name of her memoir), but a few chapters are written from a male character's point of view. It was just too confusing and inconsistent for me.
+20 task
+5 combo (20.9 - HM)
+10 review
Task Total: 35
Season Total: 85
10.3;
15.1;
20.10;
10.3 9, 10, 11With Love from London. Sarah Jio
This dual timeline book features mother, Eloise and her daughter, Valentina. Eloise is from England, falls in love with one man, but ends up marrying another, who takes her to the United States. Although she misses her life in London, and her dream of owning a bookstore, she desperately loves the daughter born of the marriage. Eloise loses her daughter, only to be reunited with her after her (Eloise) death. The story is about how Valentina finds her mother, and discovers what took place during all those missing years.
+10 task
+10 combo (10.2 - Seattle, WA; 20.8 - tomato soup @26%)
+10 review
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 50
10.3;
15.1;
I'm thinking about one of Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar books. They have magical Companion horses who are sentient and mindspeak with their human. Would this work?
15.1 EotPThe Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel
Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction (2021)
+15 task
+5 Jumbo (757 pages)
Task Total: 20
Season Total: 20
15.1;
Joanne wrote: "Thanks for the link Kim, this one has me stumped. Has anyone read The House in the Cerulean Sea or The Dutch House ? I have both on my shelf, but have no clue it the..."I have read both - definitely The Dutch House!
I have a shelf called Housing. I was going to share selected books from it, but there are 148. Here's the link for inspiration, instead. (Caveat: there are some children's books and several nonfiction on it). Kim's Housing Shelf
Kristin Lavransdatter (Kristin Lavransdatter, #1-3) by Sigrid Undsetis on the list for the PEN Translation Prize for Tiina Nunnally (2001) . It is actually a series, do I have to read all 3 books to claim it for this award?
I completed the Summer Challenge today, and I wanted to thank the moderators for a fun summer of reading. I'll admit that I was thoroughly burned out two weeks ago, but ended up scrapping the last of my planned books for some that were much more interesting to me. Among the high points of the season for me were The Cartographers, A Prayer for Owen Meany, A Night in the Lonesome October, The Shadow of the Wind, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and my last book Desert Solitaire. Several of these had been on my TBR for too long, and this summer challenge was great motivation to read it. Thanks again!
60.75 G60 Book pub'd in the 60s, any centuryDesert Solitaire. Edward Abbey
4.5 rounded to 5 stars - A wonderful classic by author and essayist Edward Abbey, who spent several years as a park ranger, and who deeply loved the American southwest wilderness and advocated for keeping it that way. Although he occasionally worked for the government, he was an anarchist who was on the government watch list for years. When he died, he requested a "green burial" with his body put in an old sleeping bag and quietly buried in an undisclosed location.
I did a hybrid read of this book, listening to much of it, but also reading along the way. Both methods had things to recommend them. The narrator was excellent, but so were the line drawings in the physical book. The language, descriptive detail and interesting anecdotes makes this a book I would be happy to own, and read aloud on a cold winter night.
+60 - task
+5 - review
+50 - Bingo #15 : G49; G54; G57; G59; G60
Post total: 115
Season total: 3615
B: All B's have been claimed
I: All I's have been claimed
N: All N's have been claimed
G: All G's have been claimed
O: All O's have been claimed
(view spoiler)
60.74 G59 GYPSUM: First letter of title is found in "gypsum" Good Riddance. Elinor Lipman
I wanted to like this, but I didn't. At all. I struggled to finish it, not finding the plot or the characters likeable. Sadly, it was the only book I had with me on an overnight trip to the beekeeper's conference.
+60 - task
+5 - review
Post total: 65
Season total: 3500
B: All B's have been claimed
I: All I's have been claimed
N: All N's have been claimed
G:
O: All O's have been claimed
(view spoiler)
60.73 O67 Owned book: get it off your shelf!The Gift of Black Folk: The Negroes in the Making of America. W.E.B. Du Bois
I don't feel like I can critique this, but I will offer some observations. This was written in 1924, and in both language and attitude, it is a product of its time. What strikes me the most is that while celebrating the accomplishments and achievements of Black Folk, it is done in an almost apologetic way. So many facts and history not commonly taught, but if I had to sum it up in one sentence, it would be "we served you well, please treat us like humans".
+60 - task
+5 - review
+5 - published in 1924
+50 - Bingo #14 : O65; O67; O69; O70; O74
Post total: 120
Season total: 3435
B: All B's have been claimed
I: All I's have been claimed
N: All N's have been claimed
G:
O: All O's have been claimed
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60.72 I26 International (shelved by 18 people)The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Mary Ann Shaffer
I loved this book, which takes place in the Channel Islands just after World War II. Juliet Ashton is an author, who receives a letter from a young pig family in Guernsey, thanking her for a book that he read and loved, that once belonged to her. Written as a series of letters and cables, the book tells the story of the brave island folk who take a stand against the Germans, who have occupied their home, and the inherent goodness of people on both sides. It referenced many books, including 84, Charing Cross Road, which I read earlier this summer.
Notes: I was inspired to read this book after seeing the movie last weekend, and neither disappointed me.
I was sad to read that the author died before completing the book. Her niece, Annie Barrows, finished it for her. I thought the name sounded familiar, and in fact, I read The Truth According to Us a few years ago.
+60 - task
+5 - review
+50 - Bingo #13 :I23; I25; I26; I28; I29
Post total: 115
Season total: 3315
B:
I:
N:
G:
O:
(view spoiler)
