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

Deedee’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

Task 10.5 -- Teddy Bear's Picnic

From the list
http://www.abebooks.com/blog/index.ph...

Bonjour Tristesse (1954) by Françoise Sagan (Paperback, 144 pages)

+10 Task
+10 Style: 2. Lost in Translation (10 points): (written in French)
+ 05 Style: 4. Oldies - 25 to 75 years old: 5 points (1937-1987)

Task Total: 10 + 10 + 05 = 25

Grand Total: 705 + 25 = 730


Review: This was Sagan’s first novel, written when she was 18 years old, told first-person by a 17-year-old girl. The events in the novel were probably quite shocking in 1954. Mild spoiler: (view spoiler)[sex out of marriage, oh my! (hide spoiler)]. Clever insights into how men and women deal with romantic and family situations. Recommended.

Task 10.8 Karen GHHS' Task -- Pick a Pulitzer

#1 2011 Publication: yes
#2 About American Life: characters are all Americans, and the setting is Ohio
#3 Must have the genre “Literary Fiction” on the goodreads page listed by at least 5 users.: yes it does
#4 American Author: Born and raised in the Washington, D.C. area, currently living in Colorado
http://www.eleanor-brown.com/about/

The Weird Sisters (2011) by Eleanor Brown

+10 Task

Grand Total: 695 + 10 = 705

Review: Amazing novel, I would have awarded this one a Pulitzer. The novel focuses on a family in a small college town in Ohio. The father is an English professor specializing in Shakespeare. The children consist of 3 sisters (Rosalind, Bianca and Cordelia), ages 27-33. The sisters return home, each for different reasons, and their return home coincides with their mother’s illness. The author successfully describes a family in transition. Highly recommended.

15.4 4th Book – 5 stars by Miss GP and Christin

Persuasion by Jane Austen

+ 20 Task

Grand Total: 675 + 20 = 695

Review: Jane Austen is without peer when it comes to novels of finely nuanced manners. This is the fourth ones of hers I’ve read (the others: Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Mansfield Park). I preferred the other ones. Persuasion is gloomier than the other novels – not surprising that it would be so, as it was written during Miss Austen’s final illness. It's also shorter than most of her other novels, and I can see places where a healthy Miss Austen might have explored situations in depth rather than summarize. Recommended for anyone who enjoys novels of manners, although I’d begin reading Austen with Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility.

I'm going to finish RwS this time (yeah!) Am reading The Weird Sisters for 10.8 (Pulitzer), and then I'll only have 10.10 left for the finish. I let too much time go by to finish the "Ten Degrees of Separation" sub-challenge but I'll still make progress with it.

I never get through all the books I pick out either, but it is entertaining to pick them out anyways.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Deedee wrote: "Task 20.1 – Black Comedy or Satirical Novel

Read A Black Comedy Or Satirical Novel from one of the following lists: The Blackest Black Humor, Black Comedy Books, Best Dark Humor (..."

I looked over at Readerboard and it said that as of Post 689 my score to be 645, which agrees with my records (after I took off the styles on the The Moon is Down). Then, post #694 give me 30 more points, and 645 + 30 = 675. Not sure where the extra 5 points are from to get the total to 680, unless there were extra style points somewhere along the way that I missed. As always, I'll defer to our gentle moderators when it comes to scoring.

World Without End --- would that fit 20.6? World Without fits, but the question is End, is it like of in Of Mice and Men, or does it need to fit the W (and thereby making it NOT fit 20.6)?

Task 20.1 – Black Comedy or Satirical Novel

Read A Black Comedy Or Satirical Novel from one of the following lists: The Blackest Black Humor, Black Comedy Books, Best Dark Humor (top 51 books), OR Satirical Novels
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category...

Every Day is Mother's Day (1985) by Hilary Mantel

+ 20 Task
+ 05 Style: 1. Combo (5 points): (10.2 Underrated)
+ 05 Style: 4. Oldies - 25 to 75 years old: 5 points (1937-1987)

Task Total: 20 + 05 + 05 = 30

Grand Total: 645 + 30 = 675

Review: This is Hilary Mantel’s offbeat first novel. There are 3 sets of characters, each living lives of quiet desperation. They interact in unexpected ways. The writing was clear and occasionally humorous. I really didn’t care for the last 30 pages (MAJOR, MAJOR spoiler: ) (view spoiler)[they killed the baby!!! (hide spoiler)] so I gave it 1 star. Mantel’s later novels are much better. Recommended for those who want to read all of Mantel’s works; otherwise, skip this one.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Deedee wrote: "Task 20.9 – Father is an author (Father or child fits)

John Steinbeck is a famous author; his sons John Steinbeck IV and Thomas Steinbeck are also authors.

The Moon Is Down (1942)..."

Oops, sorry about that ---

Removing styles: 655 – 10 = 645

Task 20.9 – Father is an author (Father or child fits)

John Steinbeck is a famous author; his sons John Steinbeck IV and Thomas Steinbeck are also authors.

The Moon Is Down (1942) by John Steinbeck

+20 Task
+ 05 Style: 1. Combo (5 points) (20.10 modernist literature)
+ 05 Style: 4. Oldies - 25 to 75 years old: 5 points (1937-1987)

Task Total: 20 + 05 + 05 = 30

Grand Total: 625 + 30 = 655

Review: A town in an unnamed country (but clearly meant to be Norway) is invaded and conquered by soldiers (clearly meant to be the Nazis). Steinbeck wrote this novel during the early days of World War II to give hope to all the towns in Europe under occupation by the Nazis. He “shows” not “tells” how a free people can be occupied but not defeated. And, he does it in only 112 pages, resisting the temptation to pad and repeat and introduce besides-the-point subplots. Recommended to anyone who enjoys fiction, and particularly to those looking to read World War II fiction.

Task 10.2 Underrated (<250 ratings)

Nectar from a Stone: A Novel (2005) by Jane Guill


+ 10 Task Total

Grand Total: 615 + 10 = 625

Review: This is a historical novel set in the 14th Century (after the “Great Mortality”) in north Wales. The good characters are very good; the bad characters are very bad. This is NOT a finely nuanced character study (!). The attraction of this novel is the background detail of life in Wales in the 14th Century, a subject that the author has spent a lot of time learning about. Overall, a good read. Recommended for when you want to read a historical novel.

Task 10.9 A flavor of ice cream/dessert listed in the title

Strawberry Sunday (John Marshall Tanner #13) by Stephen Greenleaf

Note: also fits 20.2B Edgar Award-winning authors
Strawberry Sunday was the 2000 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Novel

+ 10 Task (10.9 ice cream flavor : strawberry)
+ 15 Style: 1. Combo (5 points): (10.2 underrated, 20.2B Edgar Award, 20.6 Alliteration)

Task Total: 10 + 15 = 25

Review: Strawberry Sunday is a private detective mystery novel. Our hero is a crusty, unwed, middle-aged guy living in San Francisco. He befriends a young woman of Italian ancestory while recovering from gunshot wounds (presumably acquired in #12 of the series). She is associated with the Mexicans who pick the strawberry crop in farms located about 2 hours away from San Francisco. When she is murdered, our hero decides to find whodunit. Overall, a quick read, reminding me of those one-hour detective mystery shows so prevalent on television. Recommended for fans of private-eye detective novels.

Grand Total: 590 + 25 = 615

15.3 3rd Book – 5 stars by Bossy Spice and Miss GP

A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire #2) (1998) by George R.R. Martin

+ 20 Task

Review: This is book #2 of Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” Series. It is a direct continuation of book #1 A Game of Thrones . It is really necessary to have read book #1 to understand book #2. This is a high fantasy novel set in a medieval-style society. (The author has listed England’s 15th Century “War of the Roses” as one of his inspirations for the series.) There is more action (violence) and more magic in this novel than in the first one. Recommended for people who have read and enjoyed A Game of Thrones.

Grand Total: 570 + 20 = 590

Task 10.1 - Square Peg

Arch of Triumph (1945) by Erich Maria Remarque (Paperback, 464 pages)

+10 Task
+10 Style: 2. Lost in Translation (10 points): (written originally in German)
+ 05 Style: 4. Oldies - 25 to 75 years old: 5 points (1937-1987)

Task Total: 10 + 10 + 05 = 25

Grand Total: 545 + 25 = 570

Review: Erich Maria Remarque’s most famous novel is All Quiet on the Western Front. He wrote several more novels, including Arch of Triumph. This novel was set in France during 1938-1939 timeframe. The characters were (mainly) refugees from Germany and other parts of Europe, living in Paris without legal papers. Some of the events in the novel would have been shocking to the reading public in 1945, but are not as shocking today. Remarque captures very well the “how does it FEEL” aspect of being in untenable situations. Recommended for those interested in fiction connected to World War II and/or fiction centering on the life of refugees.

Task 20.7 - A Poet's Non-Poetry

According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce_Ca... , Joyce Carol Oates has 9 published volumes of poetry, and a 10th one “forthcoming”. I read one of her novels:

I'll Take You There: A Novel (2002) by Joyce Carol Oates

+20 Task

Task Total: 20

Grand Total: 525 + 20 = 545

Review: Joyce Carol Oates has said that this is her “most” autobiographical novel. The novel is centered on a neurotic, obsessive young woman from rural upper New York State who is attending college in Syracuse, New York. Most of the novel occurs in the 1962-1963 timeframe. The story begins as she is accepted into the expensive but desirable sorority of Kappa Gamma Pi. The story takes off from there. The style is unusual, impressionistic but not sparse. Recommended for those who enjoy “literary fiction”.

Task 10.3 - Road Trip!

Dewey Decimal: 916.6204

To Timbuktu (1997) by Mark Jenkins

+10 Task
+ 05 Style: 1. Combo (5 points): 10.2 Underrated
+10 Style: 3. Not-a-Novel (10 points): Non-fiction

Task Total: 10 + 05 + 10 = 25

Review: Travel writer Mark Jenkins arranged a trip down the River Niger with his best friend and two other buddies. This book has a map, photos from the trip, a description of the group’s time on the river, and occasional historical paragraphs about 19th century adventurers and their time on the Niger River. His writing style is off-putting (here’s an example):
p. 120 “This is what they came for. A big broad river lolling in syrupy loops across the African savanna. Endless flatwater. They lean back and paddle peacefully and enjoy the hell out of it.”
Overall, a good waiting-room book.

Grand Total: 500 + 25 = 525

Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "I loved Gates of Sleep."

I loved that one of hers too! Great minds think alike :)

Well, my son started reading A Clash of Kings, so I did too, and since my reading of my 10 degrees of separation list is sooo behind, I decided to use A Clash of Kings in my list. Fortunately, Bossy Spice rated it 5*, so I don't have to change any of my claimed books. Here is my newest list:

Already claimed:
1. To Say Nothing of the Dog – Donna Jo and Steven
2. Flowers for Algernon – Steven and Bossy Spice
In the future:
3. A Clash of Kings -- Bossy Spice and Miss GP
4. Persuasion –Miss GP and Christin
5. Son of the Shadows –Christin and Anika
6. The Joy Luck Club – Anika and Marie
7. Shades of Grey –Marie and Rachel
8. The Deception of the Emerald Ring– Rachel and Jenger
9. One For The Money – Jenger and Jayme(the ghost reader)
10. one of Jayme(the ghost reader)’s 5* books which include:
Jane Eyre, Dead Until Dark, Memoirs of a Geisha, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Secret Daughter, A Storm of Swords, My Sister’s Keeper, Acorna’s Rebels, Magician : Apprentice, Pawn of Prophecy, Gwenhwyfar: The White Spirit, and many Mercedes Lackey’s novels

Task 20.5- Making History - took place between the 10's-20's

Non-fiction on earthquakes occurring between Dec. 16, 1811, and late April 1812.

When the Mississippi Ran Backwards: Empire, Intrigue, Murder, and the New Madrid Earthquakes (2005) by Jay Feldman

+20 Task
+ 05 Style: 1. Combo (5 points): 10.2 Underrated
+10 Style: 3. Not-a-Novel (10 points): Non-fiction

Task Total: 20 + 05 + 10 = 35

Grand Total: 465 + 35 = 500


Review: This book is a narrative history of the effects that a catastrophic series of earthquakes (estimated Richter Scale: 7.0-8.2) which shook the Mississippi River Valley (epicenter: New Madrid, Missouri, on the Missouri-Tennessee border) between December 16, 1811, and late April 1812 had on American life in the Midwest. For about half of the book, the author explains about the tectonic plates and soil consistencies and how that created the effects of the quakes. The other half of the book discussed (1) Indian relations (Tecumseh); (2) the expansion of slavery; and (3) technological advances (especially the steamboat), and how those 3 things changed American life during the 1810-1812 timeframe. Recommended for anybody interested in early American history and/or interested in earthquakes.

Task 20.10 - modernist literature or a modernist writer

Nathanael West is on the modernist literature list.

The Day of the Locust (1939) by Nathanael West

+20 Task
+ 05 Style: 4. Oldies - 25 to 75 years old: 5 points (1937-1987)

Task Total: 20 + 05 = 25


Grand Total: 440 + 25 = 465

Review: This novel made the list for Time Magazine’s Top 100 Novels since 1923:
http://entertainment.time.com/2005/10...
It also made the list for Modern Library Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century, and it is on Harold Bloom’s Canon List. I don’t see it; it wouldn't have made my Top 100 list. The novel’s characters all live in Hollywood. They are all looking for success in the movie business, and it is obvious that none of them are going to get it. The novel lurches from tawdry event to tawdry event, ending in a Hollywood-wide tawdry event. The end. I suppose it was one of the first novels to see Hollywood as tawdry rather than amazing, and that is why it made all of the best-of lists. Additionally, the prose is that sparse style which is hard to pull off successfully. Recommended only for those wanting to read all the novels on the Top 100 novels list.

Task 20.4 Literature Map (Fall 2010, 10.2)

I read Dune by Frank Herbert in Spring 2012. The literature map of Frank Herbert gave several names, including Isaac Asimov . I read a collection of short stories, all by Isaac Asimov:

Earth Is Room Enough (1957) by Isaac Asimov

+20 Task
+10 Style: 3. Not-a-Novel (10 points): Short Stories
+ 05 Style: 4. Oldies - 25 to 75 years old: 5 points (1937-1987)

Task Total: 20 + 10 + 05 = 35

Grand Total: 405 + 35 = 440


Review: This book is a collection of Golden Age SF, all written by Isaac Asimov and first published in the Science Fiction magazines of the 1950s. The point of the stories is the cool idea; the characters are secondary. I read his autobiography earlier this challenge. During the time these stories were written, his first marriage was failing. Knowing this makes it easier to accept the negative views of “the wife” that is present in many of the stories (write what you know!). Recommended for people who enjoy 1950s science fiction.