Kim’s
Comments
(group member since Nov 20, 2020)
Kim’s
comments
from the Reading with Style group.
Showing 161-180 of 438
10.1 - O71 One: First book in a seriesMy Name Is Mary Sutter. Robin Oliveira
Mary Sutter is a midwife who lives in Albany, NY when the Civil War begins. She desperately wants to learn to be a doctor/surgeon, but can find no one to teach her, nor be admitted to a medical school. When her brother and brother-in-law go off to fight, she decides to follow, hoping to join the nursing corps headed up by Dorothea Dix. Though rejected by Miss Dix, she travels from hospital to hospital until she finds one who will take her. She develops quite a reputation for her skill and hard work. I enjoyed this book a lot, it was well researched and accurately portrayed the advances made in medicine as a result of the Civil War.
+10 - task
+ 5 - review
Post total: 15
Season total: 15
B:
I:
N:
G:
O: 71
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Kim wrote: "For N44, can we use a middle name? The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer"Yes, the entire name as published, and she wo..."
Now I see that the book has two authors listed, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. They both have 2 sets of double letters in their name, will this work, or do I need to find a different book? Thanks.
For I26, The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian was published this month, so no lists, few MPGs, etc. However, the descriptions shows:Setting
Tanzania, 1964
Serengeti (Tanzania, United Republic of)
Africa
East Africa
Would that be sufficient?
For N44, can we use a middle name? The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
Lynn wrote: "Hello. It has been a while since I participated here...I honestly cannot remember how long. I kept the membership and popped in to see what was going on occasionally. For those I don't know. Hell..."
I recently read The Blue Castle and Christy is a book I revisit every decade!
15.10 Western AsiaIsrael
The Secret Chord. Geraldine Brooks
+15 Task
Task total: 15
Running total: 360
10.1;10.7;10.8
15.3; 15.8;15.10
20.2;20.5;20.7;20.8;20.9
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 528 Kim wrote: "10.8 Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished (Anika's Task)Oona Out of Order. Margarita Montimore
While not as good as [book:The Time Traveler's Wife|..."
Oops, thanks!
10.8 Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished (Anika's Task)Oona Out of Order. Margarita Montimore
While not as good as The Time Traveler's Wife, this book was still enjoyable and a fairly quick read. It lacked somewhat in depth and character development, you only got to see Oona in her mental 20s, and I think most of us would agree that we didn't always make the best decisions at that age. One thing that seemed to contradict her rule of not letting her knowledge of the future affect decisions she made, was the way she became a millionaire by doing just that.
+10 Task
+10 review
+10 combo (10.2, 20.7) It's her birthday several times throughout the book, they celebrate with cake and champagne. She was born in Soviet Ukraine and raised in Brooklyn.
Task total: 30
Running total: 345
10.1;10.7;10.8
15.3; 15.8
20.2;20.5;20.7;20.8;20.9
Kate S wrote: "From Post 432Kim wrote: "20.5 The Killer Angels (Civil Wars)
When Christ and His Saints Slept. Sharon Kay Penman
4.5/5.0 - I have read several books about the later ..."
Thank you for catching this.
20.5 The Killer Angels (Civil Wars)When Christ and His Saints Slept. Sharon Kay Penman
4.5/5.0 - I have read several books about the later Plantagenets, this is the first time that I have read about the origins of that line. This is a well researched book, in which the author shares in great detail the 19 years in English history, known as the Anarchy. It was a time of civil war in England, where two monarchs, Stephen and Maude, fought for the right to be recognized as king (or queen). Stephen, grandson of William the Conqueror, and nephew to the king, took the throne when the king died unexpectedly. He had named his daughter, Maude, as his heir.
Although a very long book, the author did a good job of keeping my interest. Perhaps in the future I will tackle further volumes in this saga.
+20 Task
+10 review
+10 combo (10.2, 20.9) In her honor, they were baking a cake shaped like Oxford Castle…52%
Edit:
+10 Jumbo
+5 Oldies
Task total: 55
Running total: 315
10.1;10.7
15.3; 15.8
20.2;20.5;20.7;20.8;20.9
20.8 Texas Independence (Rebekah's Task)Jodi Thomas was born in Texas. Link to wikipedia page posted in help section.
Dinner on Primrose Hill. Jodi Thomas
2.5/5.0 - The book was fine, but it wasn't special. I found myself having to suspend disbelief especially regarding the three romances in the book. One couple, in their early 40s, had known each other briefly 20 years before, but neither wanted to mention it. Hello, elephant in the room. Another, in their 20s, didn't act like any college students that I've known. The final couple was classic good girl, bad boy. The bomb plotline seemed a little hokey, and what was the point of Crystal, a red herring?
+20 Task
+10 review
+10 combo (10.4, 20.3)
Task total: 40
Running total: 260
10.7
15.3; 15.8
20.2;20.7;20.8;20.9
15.8 South AsiaIndia
The Secret Keeper of Jaipur. Alka Joshi
This book is the sequel to The Henna Artist which I read and enjoyed last year. It takes place 12 years later, in the late 1960s, and focuses on Malik, Lakshmi's young ward from the first book. He is now 20, and is apprenticing in the capital with an architectural firm when a disaster happens. He helps to uncover the truth and save an innocent man from ruin. It is very interesting to learn about the times and culture of India.
+15 Task
+10 review
Task total: 25
Running total: 220
10.7
15.3; 15.8
20.2;20.7;20.9
10.1 PopularAppears as #58 on 2018
The Poet X. Elizabeth Acevedo
5.0/5.0 - Another beautiful book by this young Latinx author. My daughter-in-law loaned this to me a few months ago, and I just now picked it up. I couldn't put it down, the prose poetry, the story, the emotions so beautiful that my life felt a little bigger when I was done.
+10 Task
+10 review
-10 from message 295 & 157
Task total: 20-10=10
Running total: 210
10.1;10.7
15.3;
20.2;20.7;20.9
10.7 Read a book from the literature map of Louise Erdrich, Margaret Atwood or Toni MorrisonIsabel Allende appears on both Margaret Atwood and Toni Morrison's map
Violeta. Isabel Allende
This is the first book that I have read by Isabel Allende, it jumped out at me from a New Book shelf at the library. The storyline is epic, covering a full century, but the author does it in just over 300 pages. While this is a very reasonable length for a book, the premise is that this is basically a letter that she is writing (albeit on her computer) from her deathbed to her beloved grandson.
Violeta is born during the 1920s flu pandemic and dies 100 years later during the COViD pandemic. In between she lives an interesting life filled with lovers, revolutions, family, and fortune. From Depression to depression, wealth to poverty, tiny villages to world travel, feminism, Cold War, and the war on drugs, this book encompasses it all in a way that was interesting, but not overwhelming.
+10 Task
+10 review
+15 Combos (10.1 - #19 of 2022, 20.7 - Chile to US, 20.9 - Several instances, including a wedding shower)
Task total: 35
Running total: 200
10.7
15.3;
20.2;20.7;20.9
20.7 The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar WaoBorn in Belgium in 1903, never returned after 1922
Pietr the Latvian. Georges Simenon
While this wasn't bad, it wasn't good enough to inspire me to read more of the series. It takes place in France, between the wars, and is detective noir. Inspector Maigret is larger than life, going without sleep for 2 days, while he tracks down the killer, functioning in the rain and the cold, while shot. Written 91 years ago, the fact that it is still being read implies that there is an audience out there for it.
+20 Task
+10 review
+10 Oldies (written in 1931)
+5 Combos (20.10 - He first came after the war - 20%)
Task total: 45
Running total: 165
15.3;
20.2;20.7;20.9
Oh, help. I am trying to figure out where to slot Pietr the Latvian. I am sure that it had to be this group where I found this book. I had it on my spreadsheet for the 20.7 task (Oscar Wao), but I'm no longer sure it works there. It was published in 1931, and appears to be "between the wars" but there isn't anyplace in the GR metadata that verifies that. Any ideas? Thanks!
15.3 Central AfricaBelgium Congo
The Heart of Darkness. Joseph Conrad
I simultaneously listened to this on Audible and read an annotated print version. This was the best of both worlds, the narrator was wonderful and the text helped me to understand better the Conrad's background, the textual differences between editions, and the effects of colonialism. Excerpts from several critical essays over a period of almost 100 years rounded out the supplemental material.
+15 Task -
+10 review
+10 Oldies (written in 1899)
Task total: 35
Running total: 120
15.3;
20.2;20.9
20.2 Prize (Pulitzer)All the Light We Cannot See. Anthony Doerr
5.0/5.0 - At 531 pages, this is a much longer book than I usually like to read, but it doesn't seem as long because the chapters are so short. It is the story of two young people, on different sides of the war. Marie-Laure, is blind but brave, and Werner, is brilliant, but questioning to himself everything about the war. Marie's father is a locksmith for the Natural Museum, and is entrusted with a gem, when the museum is forced to close. They travel from Paris to stay with his uncle, Etienne. Werner understands radios and how to fix them, and spends the war as part of a team that hunts down transmitters from the other side. In the end, they meet, and three times Werner save Marie. I found the ending interesting where different things (letters, treasures, etc.) make their ways home to the survivors.
+20 Task - 2015 PP for fiction
+15 combo (20.9 Werner eats one piece of cake, then another, then takes a third. ..p.45; 10.1 #1, 2014; 10.9)
+10 review
+5 Jumbo 531 pages
Task total: 50
Running total: 85
20.2;20.9
How about Juliet Marillier? She was born in Dunedin, New Zealand and lives in Perth, Western Australia.
