Denise’s
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(group member since Dec 26, 2011)
Denise’s
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from the Reading with Style group.
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Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of '70s and '80s Horror Fiction by Grady HendrixI'm wondering if this will qualify for non-fiction style points. There is more text than there are illustrations, but I could only guess at the percentage. To get an idea of the ratio of pictures to text, the "look inside" feature on Amazon is representative of the whole book. Thanks.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I was hoping Anika would chime in."Okay, I suspected that was the case, thanks!
I have the same question that Deedee posted above in message 11 about service members in short story collections. I am reading The Night in Question and the second story is about military personnel, and I suspect there will be more. Thanks.
20.4 Non-linearThe Names of the Dead by Stewart O'Nan
+20 Task (alternates between MC's life in 1982 and his experiences in Viet Nam in 1968)
+25 Combo (10.2, 10.3-msg #11 in task thread), 10.7, 20.5-1961, 20.9-"The old man's in tails, waving a bottle of champagne around.")
Task total=45
Season total=45
Stewart O'Nan "His family and he then moved to Edmond, Oklahoma, and he taught at the University of Central Oklahoma and the University of New Mexico."https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart...
(next-to-last sentence in Background section)
I am really enjoying The Names of the Dead. I had chosen it for the Boomer task, then 5 combos came rolling in!
Happy Birthday, Jayme, and many more!
15.1 9 or fewer letters Susan Hill or P.D. James15.2 10 letters Pearl S. Buck or Janet Lewis
15.3 11 letters Ruth Rendell
15.4 12 letters Emmuska Orczy or Sarah Weinman
15.5 13 letters Catherine Aird
15.6 14 letters Margaret Millar
15.7 15 letters Joyce Carol Oates
15.8 16-17 letters Patricia Highsmith
15.9 18-19 letters Marie Belloc Lowndes
15.10 20 or more letters Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
10.10 Page Count 500p or moreBilly Summers by Stephen King
+10 Task (515 pages)
Post Total=10
Season Total=90
10.5 Page Count 250-299The Bird's Nest by Shirley Jackson
This early novel by Jackson is not of the horror genre. The GR description tells us that it is about (view spoiler). Having that information ahead of starting the book is somewhat of a spoiler, but by the second chapter the cat is out of the bag, so it hardly matters. The first chapter is really promising. The MC is a timid, single young woman who lives with her feisty aunt and works at a dull clerical job in a museum. She is suffering from headaches and backaches, someone is sending her threatening letters, and there is a huge hole in the wall to the left of her desk that reaches all the way to the basement... Such an interesting setup, but it falls apart in chapter two when the reader is subjected to the lengthy, tedious notes of Dr. Wright, who is consulted about her situation. There are other chapters told from the viewpoint of other characters, but they were difficult for me to follow or to be interested in. Two stars at most.
+10 Task (276 pages)
+5 Review
+5 Before 1996 (1954)
Post Total=20
Season Total=80
10.3 Page Count 150-199CivilWarLand in Bad Decline by George Saunders
This early book by Saunders consists of six short stories and a novella. Most take place in twisted theme park settings in a seemingly post-apocalyptic America. Somehow there is humor and satire, but also abundant violence and cruelty. I tolerated it through the six short stories, but the novella was just too much and it was all I could do to finish it. I really liked his 2013 collection Tenth of December, but this was too dark.
+10 Task (179 pages)
+5 Review
+5 Before 1996
Post Total=20
Season Total=60
10.2 Page Count 100-149Room Temperature by Nicholson Baker
This is a basically plotless novel. The GR summary mentions a father feeding his baby, but thankfully that isn't the focus. The baby is referred to frequently, but much of the book is the father's musings on a wide range of subjects, from peanut butter to correct use of commas to gross bodily functions. There are some flashbacks and asides about events in his marriage. He tries to tie it all together in the last chapter, but it didn't feel convincing. This is my least favorite of the four books by Baker that I have read. A better place to start with him is The Mezzanine, which was 5 stars for me. 3 stars for this title.
+10 Task (116 pages)
+5 Review
+5 Before 1996
Post Total=20
Season Total=40
10.1 Page Count 75-150Let the Old Dead Make Room for the Young Dead by Milan Kundera (48 pages, pub 1963)
AND
The Inner Room by Robert Aickman (51 pages, pub 1968)
Let the Old Dead Make Room for the Young Dead
What a waste of an intriguing title. A man and an older woman who were involved in the past meet by coincidence years later, after the woman has been married and widowed. They have a long discussion about the past, and there is much philosophizing. Repeatedly we hear how much "disgust" the man feels with the physical changes to the woman's body. But when they are alone in his bachelor apartment, his "disgust" does not stop him from being all over her, repeatedly saying "don't fight me". How romantic. This new-to-me author is not for me.
The Inner Room
In this story a woman named Lene recounts a very strange tale. For her birthday in 1921, her not-so-well-off parents allowed her to choose a gift from a junk shop. She chose an unattractive doll house which repelled everyone else, even the store owner. More and more weird things are discovered once she gets the doll house home. (I just don't want to say more. Many of the GR reader reviews contain spoilers. I'm happy that I read the story first.)
The characterization is very good, especially given the limitations of a short story. I particularly enjoyed Lene's German-born mother and her eccentric younger brother Constantin. The creepy story eventually turned quite frightening. I did guess where the story was headed, but not what would happen when it got there. Thoroughly enjoyable, and I now have a new author to explore further.
+10 Task (99 pages)
+5 Review
+5 Before 1996 (both published before 1996)
Post Total=20
Season Total=20
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Yes, 2 titles making up the required page length."Thank you for checking.
Let the Old Dead Make Room for the Young Dead by Milan Kundera, 48 pages (1963)The Inner Room by Robert Aickman, 51 pages (1968)
Is this combination okay for 10.1?
Jun 02, 2021 04:14PM
Your research abilities are amazing! Thank you!
Jun 02, 2021 02:58PM
Let the Old Dead Make Room for the Young Dead by Milan Kundera shows a publication date of 2019. However the written GR description says the story was written in 1969, and it is contained in the collection Laughable Loves for which GR shows a publication date of 1970. The GR description for that book says "Laughable Loves is a collection of stories that first appeared in print in Prague before 1968, but was then was subsequently banned." I don't know what date should be used, but plan to use this as part of 10.1 and would like to claim the style points.
Congratulations Katy, and enjoy your shopping!
20.9 SeriesAlways Outnumbered, Always Outgunned by Walter Mosley
+20 task
+10 combo (10.3, 10.9 merlot - waLTER MOsley)
Task total=30
Season total=675
20.4 CrimeDeep Water by Patricia Highsmith
+20 task
+10 combo (10.4, 20.3 female author, male POV Vic Van Allen)
+ 5 oldies (1959)
Task total=35
Season total=645
20.4 CrimeThe Listening Walls by Margaret Millar
+20 task
+15 combo (10.4, 10.5, 10.9-riesling LIStEnING millaR)
+ 5 oldies (1959)
Task total=40
Season total=610
