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

Deedee’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

Task 20.4 Read a book whose was author born during Sylvia Plath's lifetime (1932-1963).

Born: 1960
And Then Life Happens: A Memoir (2012) by Auma Obama (translated from the German by Ross Benjamin)

+20 Task
+10 Style:2. Non-Western (10 points):
+10 Style:3. Not-a-Novel (10 points):

Task Total: 20 + 10 + 10 = 40

Grand Total: 715 + 40 = 755

Task 20.3 Read a novel classified as magical realism on the linked page.

Category: "Cuban magic realism novels"

The Island of Eternal Love (2006) by Daina Chaviano (translated from the Spanish by Andrea Labinger) (Hardcover, 318 pages)

+20 Task
+10 Style:1. Combo (5 points each) (20.4 born 1960; 20.5 written in Spanish)
+10 Style:2. Non-Western (10 points):

Task Total: 20 + 10 + 10 = 40

Grand Total: 675 + 40 = 715

Hi -- I have two authors that I want to claim as non-western but am not sure that they fit.

Isabel Allende: born in Peru, writes in Spanish, considered "a leading Latin American writer"; lives in California, and, as of 2003, an American citizen. (My post #36 will have an extra +10 if approved)

Daina Chaviano: born in Cuba, writes in Spanish. http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/... states: "In 1991 she left Cuba, establishing residency in the United States". (Her book will be in a future post.)

Thanks!

Task 20.4 Read a book whose was author born during Sylvia Plath's lifetime (1932-1963).

Bedlam Burning by Geoff Nicholson

+20 Task

Task Total: 20


Grand Total: 655 + 20 = 675

Task 20.4 Read a book whose was author born during Sylvia Plath's lifetime (1932-1963).

Marked for Death: Islam's War Against the West and Me (2012) by Geert Wilders

+20 Task
+10 Style:3. Not-a-Novel (10 points):

Task Total: 20 + 10 = 30

Grand Total: 625 + 30 = 655

Joanna wrote: "Deedee wrote: "Task 20.4 Read a book whose was author born during Sylvia Plath's lifetime (1932-1963).

Trapeze (2012) by Simon Mawer

+20 Task

Task Total: 20

Grand Total: 605 + 20 = 625"

Oooo What did you think of this one?..."

I liked it OK. It was an espionage novel, not a romance. Once I got over that expectaion I liked the novel. The author says he was inspired by women who actually did this kind of espionage in World War II.

Task 20.4 Read a book whose was author born during Sylvia Plath's lifetime (1932-1963).

Trapeze (2012) by Simon Mawer

+20 Task

Task Total: 20

Grand Total: 605 + 20 = 625

Task 15.4
Location, Location, Location
Location:London, UK
“Archeologist”
Publication: 1722-2012

1958: Dreaming Suburb (The Avenue #1) by R.F. Delderfield

Setting:
London and a London suburb (described as 12 miles south of the city limits)


+15 Task
+15 bonus points for books set within 25 miles (40 km)

Task Total = 30

Grand Total: 575 + 30 = 605

Task 20.4 Read a book whose was author born during Sylvia Plath's lifetime (1932-1963).

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
Born: October 23, 1963 in The United Kingdom

+20 Task

Task Total: 20

Grand Total: 555 + 20 = 575

Task 20.8 Read a non-fiction book about a person or place mentioned in the World News category of these 2012 blurbs.

Putin is mentioned in Feb., March, and May

First Person: An Astonishingly Frank Self-Portrait by Russia's President Vladimir Putin (2000) by Vladimir Putin

+20 Task
+05 Style:1. Combo (5 points) (20.4 born 1932-1963)
+10 Style:2. Non-Western (10 points):
+10 Style:3. Not-a-Novel (10 points):

Task Total: 20 + 05 + 10 + 10 = 45


Grand Total: 510 + 45 = 555

Task 15.3
Location, Location, Location
Location:London, UK
“Archeologist”
Publication: 1722-2012

15.3 Our Spoons Came from Woolworths (1950) by Barbara Comyns

Setting:
(80%) London
(20%) A countryside manor in Bedfordshire – 47 miles away from London


+15 Task
+05 Bonus Points (within 75 miles)

Task Total = 20

Grand Total: 490 + 20 = 510

Task 10.2 January is Yours, Mine and Ours Month

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

+10 Task

Grand Total: 480 + 10 = 490

Task 15.2
Location, Location, Location
Location:London, UK
“Archeologist”
Publication: 1722-2012

15.2 The Nether World (1889) by George R. Gissing

Setting: London

+15 Task
+25 Bonus Points (set in the city, except for 4 pages when the characters went to the nearby countryside)

Task Total = 40

Grand Total: 440 + 40 = 480

Karen GHHS wrote: "Deedee wrote: "Task 20.4 Read a book whose was author born during Sylvia Plath's lifetime (1932-1963).

John Dramani Mahama was born: 29 November 1958.
(see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D..."

I really liked this one. Most of the book concerned events pre-1980. It was a nice mix of traditions from Ghana, personal stories and how the politics of the time affected his life. The writing style was direct and easy to follow. He freely talks about being a socialist during this time, all the while implying (but not outright saying) that he isn't anymore. He's a "former member of Parliament and minister of state" and so stays away from anything that would be controversial in 2013. I think it would make a good supplement for your class.

Task 20.4 Read a book whose was author born during Sylvia Plath's lifetime (1932-1963).

John Dramani Mahama was born: 29 November 1958.
(see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dra...)

My First Coup d'Etat: And Other True Stories from the Lost Decades of Africa by John Dramani Mahama

+20 Task
+10 Style:2. Non-Western (10 points):
+10 Style:3. Not-a-Novel (10 points):

Task Total: 20 + 10 + 10 = 40

Grand Total: 400 + 40 = 440

Task 10.4 Read a fairy tale retellings (shelved as such at least 5 times)

As of January 16, 2013, this was shelved exactly 5 times as
fairy tale retellings.

Home From the Sea (Elemental Masters #8) (2012) by Mercedes Lackey (Hardcover, Daw, 311 pages)


+10 Task
+05 Style:1. Combo (5 points) (20.4 born 1950)

Task Total: 10 + 05 = 15

Grand Total: 385 + 15 = 400

I'd like to add to my London list:
Harriet Hume: A London Fantasy (1929) by Rebecca West

In the introduction, it says:
"Dame Rebecca West has said that she wrote this novel 'to find out why she loved London'"
and, also in the introduction, it states that the city of London is an "element" of the novel.

I'm not sure if y'all are still checking the other thread for List Changes so I posted here.

Task 20.2 Read a book that won a Western Writers Spur Award

Won: [ 2010 Best Western Long Novel ]

Echoes of Glory by Robert Flynn

+20 Task
+05 Style:1. Combo (5 points) (20.4 born 1932)

Task Total: 20 + 05 = 25

Grand Total: 360 + 25 = 385

Task 10.6 Read a book written by a Nobel winner

The Bad Girl by Mario Vargas Llosa; translated by Edith Grossman

+10 Task
+10 Style:1. Combo (5 points) (20.4 born 1936; 20.5 written in Spanish)
+10 Style:2. Non-Western (10 points):

Task Total: 10 + 10 + 10 = 30

Grand Total: 330 + 30 = 360

Task 20.4 Read a book whose was author born during Sylvia Plath's lifetime (1932-1963).


Silence of the Grave (Reykjavík Murder Mystery #4) by Arnaldur Indriðason (translated by Bernard Scudder)

+20 Task

Grand Total: 310 + 20 = 330