Kim’s
Comments
(group member since Nov 20, 2020)
Kim’s
comments
from the Reading with Style group.
Showing 121-140 of 438
30.36 N36 Not a NovelThe Death Class: A True Story About Life. Erika Hayasaki
Primarily a book about overcoming adversity in your own life and giving it meaning by helping others, thereby paving the way when your time comes to go peacefully. The author is a journalist who spent several years with Dr. Norma Bowe, learning about her traumatic childhood, and how she used that as motivation to help others. Bowe teaches at Kean University in New Jersey, in particular a very popular class called Death in Perspective. The main part of the book includes both her personal story and stories of several of her students, and the good works that grew out of the classroom, including the formation of an organization known as Be the Change.
+30 - task
+5 - review
Post total: 35
Season total: 1150
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30.35 B11 Rooting for the Bad Guy (any)A Night in the Lonesome October. Roger Zelazny
Roger Zelazny is one of my favorite authors, and this book did not disappoint! It takes place in Victorian England during the special month of October when the full moon coincides with Halloween. A very special event takes place when this happens (no spoilers).
Part of the fun in reading this was in figuring out what all the references were, everything from Shakespeare to Lovecraft, Conan Doyle to grade B movies. I might have to purchase a copy and read it each October from now on.
+30 - task
+5 - review
+5 - published in 1993
Post total: 40
Season total: 1115
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30.34 O72 Set in: Ohio, Oklahoma Oregon, or Ontario (Canada)Set in Oregon
The Quick and the Thread. Amanda Lee
A new (to me) cozy mystery series that takes place in an embroidery shop on Oregon's coast featuring all the required elements - crafting, strong women friendships, a coffee shop, a little romance, multiple love interests for the protagonist, and the faithful pet - in this case an Irish wolfhound named Angus. Not a bad start, interesting enough that I might read more.
+30 - task
+5 - review
Post total: 35
Season total: 1075
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30.33 G55 Title has a word with a double G Hygge: The Danish Art of Happiness. Marie Tourell Søderberg
Reading this book gave me a sense of peace, which is what hygge is all about. It's a verb, noun, adjective, and way of life for the Danish people, but also one that has come under attack in recent years due to health concerns, digital media and changing values. This little book covers so many aspects of hygge and how to bring it into your life. It made me pause to think about where I can find it in my own life, and how differently from other cultures we Americans live our lives.
+30 - task
+5 - review
+50 - Bingo #6: B2, I16, N43, G55, O64
Post total: 85
Season total: 1040
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30.32 O64 Orange Prize & Women's Prize (winners and nominees)Home. Marilynne Robinson
Marilynne Robinson tells and retells a story from different characters' perspectives in the Gilead series. I read the other 3 books (1, 3, and 4) before coming back to read this one, told primarily from the sister, Glory's pov. The writing is beautiful, and it is a series I want to revisit in the future.
+30 - task
+5 - review
Post total: 35
Season total: 955
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30.31 B2 Title has 2+ B's Bloomsbury Girls. Natalie Jenner
This continues the story of Evie Stone from The Jane Austen Society, after she attends and is in the first graduating class of women from Cambridge. World War II has been over for a few years, and life is changing, including more women in the workplace with ambitions of their own. The old boys club is not embracing these changes, though they are willing to take credit for the successes women have. Throughout the novel, the characters grow and learn to take chances. The themes of gender equality, racial discrimination, and workplace relations are set in a one hundred year old London bookshop, and peopled by such famous women as Peggy Guggenheim, Daphne du Maurier, Sonia Blair (wife of George Orwell), and Ellen Doubleday.
This reminded me of a book I read earlier this summer, 84, Charing Cross Road, and from reading a blurb by the author, I found out that it was one of the inspirations for writing this book.
+30 - task
+5 - review
Post total: 35
Season total: 920
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20.30 I16 Author name does not contan the letter "I"A Slice of Heaven. Sherryl Woods
This was a bit of a struggle for me to finish, as there wasn't a single character that I cared about, and few that I didn't find annoying.
+20 - task
+5 - review
Post total: 25
Season total: 885
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20.29 B10 Author born in the 10s (xx10-xx19) any centuryLilian Jackson Braun was born June 20, 1913
The Cat Who Saw Red. Lilian Jackson Braun
This is the first book that I've read in this series, and I definitely could see myself reading more of them. Things that stuck out for me: (view spoiler) all the murders (?) take place off page, way off page, this book was written 20 years after the previous installment, and then the author wrote 25 more books in the series over the next 20 years. The character is a reporter, the timeframe is the 1980s, so the book brings you to a different time and place than the average cozy mystery available today. Although I'm not a pet person, myself, I did find Koko and Yum Yum, the two Siamese cats to be adorable.
+20 - task
+5 - review
+5 - published in 1986
Post total: 30
Season total: 860
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20.28 O68 Author name does not contain the letter OThe Cousins. Karen M. McManus
Although I read a lot of authors like Stephen King and Dean Koontz in my younger years, I find myself avoiding from suspense/thrillers these days. Fortunately, this was a lightweight entry into those genres. We started listening to the audio version on a recent trip, but my husband predicted the ending and lost interest, so I ended up reading the print for the rest.
Bingo #5: B4, I24, N42, G46, O68
+20 - task
+5 - review
+50 - Bingo
Post total: 75
Season total: 830
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(view spoiler)
I need a better strategy for the location squares. I've been looking on location-based listopias, and within a book's settings, but both the book I planned for Georgia (Geekerella), and now the one for Oregon (The Cousins), turned out not to be the requisite 51%. Sadly, I couldn't tell this until I was well into the book. Luckily, I was able to slot them someplace else, but I'd really like a better way to plan. Any suggestions?
20.27 G46 Set in: Germany, Guatemala, Greece, Georgia (country or US)Set in Atlanta, Georgia
Body Movers. Stephanie Bond
2.5/5.0 - Shades of Janet Evanovich. Cute sometimes, cliché others. Carlotta Wren has to raise her younger brother since the age of 18, when her parents took off to avoid legal problems. Her plans of college, marriage, and a comfortable lifestyle go down the drain. Ten years later, her brother, now 19 and immature, is causing problems of his own. Murders, mystery, and mayhem ensue.
+20 - task
+5 - review
Post total: 25
Season total: 755
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20.26 B12 Banned booksA Separate Peace. John Knowles
Appears on page 2 of Best Banned, Censored, and Challenged Books Listopia
4.0/5.0 - Set in New Hampshire at a boys' boarding school in the early years of World War II, this classic novel explores male bonding, jealousy, coming of age, and learning to deal with your truth. I was struck by the similarities to A Prayer for Owen Meany, which I read just last month.
+20 - task
+5 - review
+5 - published in 1959
Post total: 30
Season total: 730
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20.25 B4 Before: Historical FictionA Girl Is a Body of Water. Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
Very well written and interesting piece of African literature that takes place in the 1970s, with a secondary storyline taking place in the 1940s, in Uganda, during and after the Amin regime. It is a mix of folklore, mythology, historical fiction and feminism, all rolled into one, that examines the slowly changing role of women in Ugandan culture, and the power and role of clans.
+20 - task
+5 - review
+5 - 560 Pages
Post total: 30
Season total: 700
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20.24 N43 Title has 3 wordsBig Stone Gap. Adriana Trigiani
Ava Maria is a 35 year old "spinster" pharmacist who has just lost her mother when the story opens. She discovers things she never knew about herself and along the way, what she wants out of life. I liked that the story took place in 1978-79, it was a time in my life I remember well, and can relate to Ava as a young woman during that time. I loved the friendships she had with several of the people in town, but I didn't get the point of why she (view spoiler). I see that my library has the movie, I might check that out, as well.
+20 - task
+5 - review
Post total: 25
Season total: 670
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20.23 O63 ORPHAN: First letter of title is found in "orphan"Of Literature and Lattes. Katherine Reay
A follow up to The Printed Letter Bookshop, this focuses Alyssa and Janet's daughter-mother story. While I really liked the first book, this one didn't grab my attention the same way. The main characters were whiny and hard to like. The town people were still nice, but the plot had too many threads for my taste.
Bingo #4: B7, I18, N40, G56, O63
+20 - task
+5 - review
+50 Bingo #4
Post total: 75
Season total: 645
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20.22 I24 In search of ----------- Adventure!Old Man's War. John Scalzi
My husband bought this through Audible, and I heard snippets when he would listen in the car. It peaked my interest, so we listened to the whole book together on a recent trip to NY. I enjoyed the characters and the plot, and the book moved along. I may be inspired to listen to the rest of the series.
+20 - task
+5 - review
Post total: 25
Season total: 570
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20.21 I18 InspirationalThe Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland
The inspiring story of a small town (pop. 10,000) which was the site of a little used international airport, who hosted over 6,000 passengers and crew when the terrorist attacks on 9/11 caused the United States to shut down their airspace for several days. The airport used to be an important refueling point for overseas flights before newer, more efficient jets all but eliminated the need for it. But it maintained the capacity, both in infrastructure and aviation personnel to allow 38 jets coming from Europe, in the air at the time of the attacks, to safely land until cleared to move on.
The people of Gander immediately opened their doors to those stranded, providing them with meals, bedding, compassion, and even the shirts off their backs, as the passengers were forbidden to access their checked luggage during their almost week long stay. Pharmacists worked tirelessly to obtain and fill new prescriptions for those who needed medication, churches and schools and civic organizations opened their doors to provide places for them to sleep, ways for them to contact loved ones, and to give them a sense of safety in a world gone crazy. The book shared so many examples and stories, it was an inspirational read.
+20 - task
+5 - review
Post total: 25
Season total: 545
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15.20 I20 Author born in the 20s, any century(author born in 1928)
The Queen's Gambit. Walter Tevis
I purchased this from Audible a few years ago, but didn't get around to listening to it until now. I really enjoyed it, hearing about her journey to become world champion. I kept waiting for her to flame out, and was glad that she didn't. Now I might have to see if I can find the limited series that came out a few years ago and watch that, too.
Bingo #3: B5, I20, N33, G52, O71
+15 - task
+5 - review
+5 - 1997 or earlier
+50 - BINGO #3
Post total: 75
Season total: 520
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[Bingo #1: B9, I17, N31, G48, O61
Bingo #2: B1, I30, N32, G50, O62]
15.19 I30 Book pub'd in the 30s, any century(first published 1933)
Down and Out in Paris and London. George Orwell
George Orwell writes of the plight of the poor, unemployed or underemployed in Paris and London between during the 1920s. In Paris, he often goes days without food, pawns everything he owns, including his clothes, and finally ends up as a plongeur in a fancy restaurant, working 17 hours a day, in the most menial tasks, but happy to have food. His description of how the food is prepared and served and under what conditions puts me in mind of The Jungle with its filth and squalor (and this in an upscale restaurant). Finally done in by the endless hours, he moves to London, and describes his life as a tramp, which he describes as an Englishman out of work, forced by law to live as a vagabond, because they cannot stay more than 24 hours in one place. He describes the various options open to them. He closes by saying that he feels he has seen no more than the fringe of poverty, but it has forever changed how he looks at the down and out.
Bingo #2: B1, I30, N32, G50, O62
+15 - task
+5 - review
+5 - 1997 or earlier
+50 - BINGO #2
Post total: 75
Season total: 445
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[Bingo #1: B9, I17, N31, G48, O61]
15.18 N40 Book pub'd in the 40s, any century(first published 1941)
Mildred Pierce. James M. Cain
+15 - task
+5 - 1997 or earlier
Post total: 20
Season total: 370
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[Bingo #1: B9, I17, N31, G48, O61]
