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

Deedee’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

Well, I didn't do as well in the Spring Challenge as I usually do. These three months have been unusually dramatic in Real Life, including the happy (my youngest daughter has graduated from college AND married her long term beau) and the sad (my mother's year long decline into dementia and poor health has ended). I went for comfort reads rather than challenge reads -- although I did read 2 slim volumes of Mary Oliver's poetry (and I UNDERSTOOD it! Yeah!)

Task 10.3 Scrabble
In honor of National Scrabble Day on April 13th, read a book with a 7-letter word in the title.

BRO THE R

The Expert System's Brother (2018) by Adrian Tchaikovsky

+10 Task
+05 Combo (#10.8)

Task Total: 10 + 05 = 15

Grand Total: 395 + 15 = 410

Task 20.8 Poetry

Read a book of poetry written by an author born in the 20th century (1901 to 2000).
author: Mary Oliver b. 1935

Books:
Felicity (2015) by Mary Oliver (Hardcover, 85 pages)
AND
American Primitive (1983) by Mary Oliver (Paperback, 88 pages)

+20 Task

Task Total: 20

Grand Total: 365 + 20 = 385

Task 10.3 Scrabble
In honor of National Scrabble Day on April 13th, read a book with a 7-letter word in the title.

GOO DBY E

The Beginner's Goodbye (2012) by Anne Tyler (Hardcover, 198 pages)

+10 Task

Task Total: 10

Grand Total: 355 + 10 = 365

Task 10.8 Megafinish

How to Love a Jamaican (2018) by Alexia Arthurs (Goodreads Author) (Hardcover, 243 pages)

+10 Task

Task Total: 10

Grand Total: 345 + 10 = 355

Task 10.8 Megafinish

Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love (2019) by Dani Shapiro(Goodreads Author)(Hardcover, 252 pages) [818]

+10 Task

Task Total: 10

Grand Total: 335 + 10 = 345

Task 10.3 Scrabble
In honor of National Scrabble Day on April 13th, read a book with a 7-letter word in the title.

EXP LAI N

Men Explain Things to Me (2014) by Rebecca Solnit (Paperback, Updated Edition, 159 pages) [305.42]

+10 Task

Task Total: 10

Grand Total: 325 + 10 = 335

Task 10.1

Venus (The Grand Tour #18) (2000) by Ben Bova (Paperback, 405 pages)

+10 Task

Task Total: 10

Grand Total: 315 + 10 = 325

Task 10.3
In honor of National Scrabble Day on April 13th, read a book with a 7-letter word in the title.

SAI LIN G

Sailing to Byzantium (2000) by Robert Silverberg (Paperback, 432 pages)
Review:This is a collection of 5 novellas, all written by Robert Silverberg during the course of his career. In 2004 the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America awarded Robert Silverberg with the Grand Master Award, signaling his importance to the field. Three of the 5 novellas in this book were nominated for or won awards for “Best Novella of the Year”, either Hugo or Nebula or both. None of the stories passed the Bechdel test but all of the stories are respectful of its female characters. Silverberg’s writing style is clear and straightforward. The main character is always a white male (write what you know!), but that almost doesn’t matter because the focus of the stories is the CONCEPT not the character. The stories include now-standard science fiction elements: time travel, space travel, generation ships, sentient alien life, global warming. Overall, good old-fashioned concept-driven stories written by one of the founders of the Science Fiction field. This book is strongly recommended for fans of Fantasy & Science Fiction.

+10 Task
+ 05 Combo (#10.8)
+10 Review

Task Total: 10 + 05 + 10 = 25

Grand Total: 290 + 25 = 315

Task 10.4 Animal
Read a book with the name of an animal in the title.

The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival (2010) by John Vaillant (Hardcover, 352 pages) [599.756]
Review:: John Vaillant wrote this non-fiction book about the Siberian / Amur Tigers living in the Far East of Russia. There’s a piece of land in eastern Russia called Primorsky, bound on the south by North Korea, on the west by China, on the East by the Sea of Japan, and on the North by the Eastern part of Russia. This is where the Amur Tigers live. In 1900, there were 75,000 tigers; a century later, there are 350 tigers. Vaillant explains the history of tiger hunting, the local mythology of Amur Tigers, the history of the Russians living in Primorsky (and why they turn to poaching tigers for financial rewards). I found it very interesting.

Vaillant focuses on one particular tiger. This 500 lb. tiger killed and ate Vladimir Markov in early December, 1997. He dissects the reasons why the tiger killed, and the reactions of the locals, and the reactions of the officials of the area. He follows through the events of December 1997, who did what and why, until the inevitable death of the man-eating tiger. He closes with a plea for humans to prevent the extinction of the Amur tigers.

The style of writing is aimed at the general reader, not the biologist nor the historian. (And …. There are photographs!) Recommended.

+10 Task
+05 Combo (#20.10 – Far East Russia & North East China)
+10 Review

Task Total: 10 + 05 + 10 = 25

Grand Total: 265 + 25 = 290

Task 10.6 Public Domain
Read a book entering the public domain this year by reading a book first published in 1923.

Leave It to Psmith (Psmith #4) (Blandings Castle #2) (1923) by P.G. Wodehouse (Paperback, 293 pages)

+10 Task
+10 Oldies -76 to 150 years old: (1869-1943)

Task Total: 10 + 10 = 20

Grand Total: 245 + 20 = 265

Task 10.3 Scrabble
Read a book with a 7-letter word in the title.

FOR EVE R

Nine Lives Last Forever (The Cats and Curios Mystery #2) (2010) by Rebecca M. Hale

+10 Task
+05 Combo (#10.8)

Task Total: 10 + 05 = 15

Grand Total: 230 + 15 = 245

Task 20.3 Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters
Read a book of letters or an epistolary novel. ETA: We will accept both real and fictional journals or diaries for this task.

The Journal of Countess Francoise Krasinska (1825) by Klementyna Tanska Hoffmanowa
Review: I had this book picked out for “Poland” in the Backpacking Across Europe Sub-challenge in Winter. The author is Polish, the book was written in Polish, and it is set in Poland. Countess Francoise Krasinska was a real person. This journal, however, is fictional, first published in 1825. The translation is clear, concise and easy to understand. (I’m not sure if that reflects how the writer wrote the ‘journal’ or how the translator translated the ‘journal’.) The first half of the journal is set in rural Poland. Francoise is 15 years old. She is of a noble or aristocratic family. She describes the wedding of her slightly older sister in great detail. Francoise describes the closeness of her relationship with her sister in this section. Next, her parents arrange for Francoise to be sent to a ‘finishing school’ in Warsaw for a year (this section is very sparse). After a year, she ‘comes out’ and is introduced to society. The focus is now on Francoise’s romantic life, complete with the moralizing common in early 1800s fiction.

Overall, a quick, breezy read, with added interest as it describes upper class Polish customs and describes events that actually happened.

+20 Task
+10 Combo (#10.3(Jou rna l), #10.9(sisters))
+10 Review
+10 Lost in Translation
+15 Oldies -151 to 250 years old: (1769-1868)

Task Total: 20 + 10 + 10 + 10 + 15 = 65

Grand Total: 160 + 65 = 225

And it is a fictional autobiography – not sure if it counts for 20.4 but if it does that is another +05 combo.

Task 10.3 Scrabble
Read a book with a 7-letter word in the title.

ELD ERL Y

An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good (2018) by Helene Tursten; translated from Swedish by Marlaine Delargy

+10 Task
+10 Lost in Translation

Task Total: 10 + 10 = 20

Grand Total: 140 + 20 = 160

Task 10.8 Megafinish
Read a book where the first word of the title starts with a letter in MEGAFINISH. (Leading articles can be ignored or included as benefits the reader).

The Shakespeare Requirement (Jason Fitger #2) (2018) by Julie Schumacher
Review:The Shakespeare Requirement is a satiric look at life amongst the faculty of a second-tier American midwestern college. Our main protagonist is an English professor who has become (against his desires) the English Department Head. His department is starved of cash and resources, and he doesn’t know how to fight for what his department needs. The Economics Department is the English Department’s chief rival. The Department Head of the Economics Department uses techniques better suited for cut throat business competition than for a college campus. Schumacher, a college professor of English when she’s not writing novels, uses this set up to satirize the college faculty. The ending leaves room for a sequel if the author wishes to write one.

The first book in this series is Dear Committee Members. It is not necessary to have read the first book before reading this one, as all needed information from book #1 is included early in book #2. Dear Committee Members is an epistolary novel which won the Thurber Prize for American Humor in 2015, and is very very funny.

+10 Task
+10 Review

Task Total: 10 + 10 = 20

Grand Total: 120 + 20 = 140

Heather wrote: "20.5 - Jack is Trans, discussed in 1st book of series (Every Heart a Doorway)
..."


Task 20.5 Myra Breckinridge
Read a book in which the protagonist is LGBTQ.

Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children #1) (2016) by Seanan McGuire (Goodreads Author) (Hardcover, 170 pages)
Hugo Award for Best Novella (2017)
Nebula Award for Best Novella (2016)

+20 Task
+10 Combo (#10.3(doorway), #10.8)

Task Total: 20 + 10 = 30

Grand Total: 90 + 30 = 120

Task 10.3 Scrabble
In honor of National Scrabble Day on April 13th, read a book with a 7-letter word in the title.

FORTUNE

House on Fortune Street (2008) by Margot Livesey (Hardcover, 311 pages)
Laurence L. & Thomas Winship/PEN New England Award for Fiction (2009)

+10 Task
+05 Combo (#10.8)

Task Total: 10 + 05 = 15

Grand Total: 75 + 15 = 90

Task 10.2 Decade
Read a book first published in xx81-xx90 (any century will be accepted.)
1982

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant (1982) by Anne Tyler (Hardcover, First Edition, 303 pages)

+10 Task
+05 Oldies -25 to 75 years old: (1944-1994)

Task Total: 10 + 05 = 15

Grand Total: 60 + 15 = 75

Task 10.9 Sisters (Coralie's Task)
Read a book that features sisters. At least two sisters must be active in the book.

The sisters are 16 year old Liv and 13 year old Mia. Even though the description on goodreads does not refer to Mia, she is present for a large number of scenes in the novel, usually tagging after her older sister.

Dream On (Silber #2) (2014) by Kerstin Gier; translated from the German by Anthea Bell (Young Adult) (Hardcover, 328 pages)
Lexile HL800L
Review:This is part two of a Young Adult trilogy. It is really necessary to have read part one, Dream a Little Dream, before this one, as the characters and major plot points are continued and not re-introduced from part one.

Part One begins as 16 year old Liv and 13 year old Mia move with their divorced mother to London. (The divorce was amicable and Dad lives in Zurich.) Liv and Mia begin attending the local school. There are the normal high school incidents with girl friends, mean girls, and very cute boys. In Part One, Liv learns how to ‘lucid dream’, wherein she experiences dream life as almost as real as waking life. She learns to ‘visit’ other people’s dreams – including several of her classmates. Part One ended with action packed scenes. Dream on is Part Two. It begins a month or so after the end of Part One. Liv is still having normal high school incidents with the girls and the cute boys at her local school. Mia is eagerly listening to her sister’s tales, and often expresses opinions and occasionally meddles in Liv’s activities. Liv still wanders Dreamland. Halfway through the novel, the plot begins to heat up. Several plot elements are resolved at the end, but there are still a few outstanding. Part Three (from the goodreads reviews) will resolve the remaining plot points.

I’d recommend this novel for those looking for a YA adventure story starring teenaged girls.

+10 Task
+10 Lost in Translation (translated from German)
+10 Review

Task Total: 10 + 10 + 10 = 30

Grand Total: 30 + 30 = 60

Task 10.8 Megafinish
Read a book where the first word of the title starts with a letter in MEGAFINISH. (Leading articles can be ignored or included as benefits the reader).

Flourless to Stop Him (A Baker's Treat #3) (2015) by Nancy J. Parra

+10 Task

Task Total: 10

Grand Total: 20 + 10 = 30