Connie ’s
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(group member since Nov 11, 2013)
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from the Reading with Style group.
Showing 601-620 of 1,905
1873-1887 The Law and the Lady 1875 Wilkie Collins 348 pgProject Gutenberg
1888-1902 The Island of Dr. Moreau 1896 H.G. Wells 153 pg, 990 Lexile
Library-A, P
1903-1917 The Mystery of the Yellow Room 1907 Gaston Leroux 192 pg
Project Gutenberg
1918-1932 Storm of Steel 1920 Ernst Jünger 289 pg
Own
1933-1947 Homage to Catalonia 1938 George Orwell 232 pg
Own
1948-1962 Seize the Day 1956 Saul Bellow 114 pg
Library-S, W
1963-1977 Iza's Ballad 1963 Magda Szabó 336 pg
Library-A
1978-1992 Smilla's Sense of Snow 1992 Peter Høeg 469 pg
Library-M, B
1993-2007 Second Glance 2003 Jodi Picoult 448 pg
Library-M, B
2008-2022 Sometimes I Lie 2017 Alice Feeney 387 pg
Library-A, P
15.5 Counting on Authors13 Letters
The Color Of Lightning by Paulette Jiles
Task total: 15
Season total: 810
10.2 HalloweenA Double Death on the Black Isle by A.D. Scott
The reporters on a weekly newspaper in 1950s northern Scotland were investigating two deaths on the Black Isle. One of the dead had been recently on a fishing boat that was destroyed by a suspicious fire. The book had a good sense of place and the various groups of people living on the Black Isle--the upper class, the farmers, the fishermen, and the Travelers (or tinkers who were similar to gypsies.) Prejudices existed so that people mostly socialized only with their own group.
The main character is Joanne, a mother with two children who left an abusive marriage, who is working a new job as a reporter for the Highland Gazette. The interactions between the people on the newspaper staff seemed very realistic--humorous banter, wanting the big scoop, and the pressure of deadlines. The author worked as an advertising agent on a newspaper so she was able to use her experiences in creating the atmosphere.
+10 task (death)
+ 5 combo 20.4 Non-linear (flashbacks to childhood and an abusive marriage)
+10 review
Task total: 25
Season total: 795
20.5 BoomerThe End of Her by Shari Lapena
Stephanie and Patrick Kilgour are adjusting to being new parents to colicky twin daughters. They are barely coping with sleep deprivation when Erica Voss, a former lover of Patrick, comes into town. Erica is raising questions about the death of Patrick's first wife, and threatens to go to the police. At first Stephanie does not believe Erica's accusations, but soon she has doubts about her husband's innocence. Who is telling the truth? How safe are Stephanie and the twins?
This domestic thriller has multiple unreliable narrators. Erica is a temptress and a blackmailer, but Patrick seems far from angelic too. Two other minor storylines involve some of the same characters. There's lots of internal dialogue as Stephanie grows more paranoid while also dealing with exhaustion. "The End of Her" is a quick-moving psychological thriller that kept my interest to the end.
+20 task (born 1960-see task thread)
+10 combo 10.3 Back to School (English teacher-see task thread); 20.4 Non-linear
+10 review
Task total: 40
Season total: 770
10.8 MediterraneanBonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan
Pg 44: "My father went to get a bottle of champagne."
+10 task (set in France)
+10 combo 10.5 Classic; 20.9 Anniversary
+10 1001 book
Task total: 30
Season total: 730
15.2 Counting on Authors Bobcat and Other Stories by Rebecca Lee
+15 task (10 letters)
+ 5 not a novel (short stories)
Task total: 20
Season total: 675
10.3 Back to SchoolCry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
"Cry, the Beloved Country" is an important story set in 1940s South Africa with its tensions between the various ethnic and racial groups, and between urban and rural life. Reverend Kumalo leaves his rural village to bring back his sister and his son from Johannesburg. Both of them have been influenced by bad company and the corruption in the lawless city. His son has been involved in a terrible crime.
The story later tells of the kindness of a white plantation owner, inspired by his son's work for social justice, who helps Reverend Kumalo's Zulu village. Kumalo feels that a strong family life and a strong village community are very necessary, but the young people often move away for financial reasons. The author's love for beautiful South Africa, his deep compassion, and his dismay over racial injustice act as a backdrop for this moving story.
+10 task (Taught school in Ixopo per Goodreads)
+ 5 combo 10.5 Classic
+10 1001 book
+10 review
Task total: 35
Season total: 655
20.10 Musical MysteriesHonky Tonk Kat by Karen Kijewski
20.9 Pg. 322: "Are you drinking champagne?"
"Just one glass. Alma said I could, honest."
PI Kat Colorado helps her childhood friend, Dakota Jones, a country music star who is receiving threatening letters. The harassment escalates into violence so Dakota has to cancel concerts as while Kat investigates.
Kat questions Dakota about suspicious people in her past who might be holding a grudge, and also brings out their challenging childhoods. Both Kat and Dakota had absent parents, and were brought up by loving grandmothers. Even though Dakota is now a superstar, there is a part of her that still feels like an unwanted little girl.
There were several possible perpetrators of the crimes, and the book kept me guessing. I enjoyed the Nashville country music atmosphere for a change of pace in my reading. Kat's cynical humor regarding some of the lowlifes she encountered kept me laughing. Since the book was written in 1996, it was a little jarring when Kat kept stopping at pay phones, but otherwise the book could have been written in modern times.
+20 task (country music)
+10 combo 20.4 Non-linear; 20.9 Anniversary
+10 review
Task total: 40
Season total: 620
15.3 Counting on Authors11 letters
The Exile of Sara Stevenson by Darci Hannah
Task total: 15
Season total: 580
10.6 BirthdayKlara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
"Klara and the Sun" is an unusual book that raises questions about the poetic meaning of the human heart, that "something that makes each of us special and individual." Klara is an Artificial Friend, a robot who is very observant and intelligent, but still has some childlike qualities. Klara, who is solar-powered, thinks of the sun as a life-giving god. Parents can purchase an AF as a companion for their child at a high-end store.
The reader learns about a futuristic society through the eyes of Klara. Many workers are unemployed because they have been replaced by artificial intelligence. In order for their children to compete in this highly selective world, parents can take a risk and have their children genetically "uplifted." Josie, a young teen, chooses Klara to be her Artificial Friend. Josie is not feeling well, and the author presents some possible scenarios that might transpire if she does not recover.
I enjoyed this science fiction novel because author Kazuo Ishiguro raised so many interesting questions about artificial intelligence, futuristic lifestyles, love, loneliness, and what it means to be human. The reader is left to discover their own answers to the questions that the thoughtful novel presents.
+10 task (Born Nov 8, 1954)
+10 combo 20.5 Boomer; 20.7 Exophonie
+10 review
Task total: 30
Season total: 565
20.5 BoomerHour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian
"I have no desire to meet the Devil. Not ever. I have seen too much of His likeness here in Boston, even among the saints."
--Witness testimony of Mary's friend, Constance Winston
Mary Deerfield, an attractive 24-year-old woman with a fine mind, is the daughter of a wealthy English merchant who settled in Boston. Mary's older husband, Thomas, is physically and emotionally abusive, but he commits his cruel acts when there are no witnesses. Mary's father imports some three-pronged forks, but the Puritans consider them "the Devil's tines." In a drunken moment, Thomas plunges a fork through Mary's hand, breaking some of the small bones. Mary fears for her life and files for divorce.
The 1662 court hearing is a sham with the evidence twisted around so it is Mary's behavior which is being scrutinized. Mary is considered to be a disobedient wife. She is also accused of witchcraft by some witnesses. After the divorce trial, life for Mary becomes even more intense and the pace picks up in the second half of the book.
Chris Bohjalian wrote a well-researched book of historical fiction. "Hour of the Witch" shows a woman who has reasons for revenge, but also has a strong conscience. The Puritans explained the unknown by accusing people of possession by the Devil. Crowds of people worked themselves into mass hysteria. The court was just as guilty of mistreating women as Mary's husband. Religion was used as an excuse for cruelty, and exerting control over others. There were attitudes present in 1662 regarding the treatment of women that still exist in certain groups today, so this is a very thought-provoking novel.
+20 task (born 1962)
+10 review
Task total: 30
Season total: 535
20.2 Anti-heroFrankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
After an evening of telling ghost stories, Lord Byron challenged his guests--Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, and Dr John William Polidori--to each write a scary ghost story. Mary Shelley wrote the beginning of "Frankenstein" which was expanded and published in 1818, and revised in 1831. It has an unusual structure with stories within stories, all framed by the letters of Captain Walton, an Arctic explorer. In addition to the Arctic setting, much of the book is set in the beautiful Swiss Alps with Romantic Era descriptions of the light and beauty of nature.
Reanimation and galvanism were being explored by scientists at the time Frankenstein was written. Precocious scientist Victor Frankenstein discovers the secret of life, and fashions a creature from human parts he obtains from the charnel houses. When the creature comes to life, Frankenstein is horrified by its repulsive appearance and rejects the creature.
Frankenstein did not consider the moral responsibility that comes with pushing the borders of science. The creature was miserable without companionship since humans rejected him, and he vowed to take revenge.
"Frankenstein" is a gothic horror story, but it runs much deeper emotionally. The book has themes of isolation and loneliness, ambition and responsibility, revenge, prejudice, and the perfection of nature. Mary Shelley's story deserves its place among the very popular classics.
+20 task (#13 on Best Anti-heroes list)
+15 combo 10.5 Classics; 20.4 Non-linear; 20.8 Gothic (#3 on Best Gothic Books list)
+10 review
+10 1001 book
Task total: 55
Season total: 505
20.4 Non-LinearWhen Ghosts Come Home by Wiley Cash
Sheriff Winston Barnes heads to a small airfield on the North Carolina coast after a large plane crash-landed. There is no pilot and no cargo with the plane, but the body of Rodney Bellamy is on the ground with a bullet through his chest. African-American Rodney was the son of a local teacher and civil rights activist.
Winston is running for re-election as sheriff in a close race with Bradley Frye, a wealthy redneck and land developer. Bradley and his friends fly the Rebel flag and throw rocks at the windows in Rodney's widow's house. Jay, Rodney's brother-in-law, is dealing with being a teenager in a new town full of racial prejudice, and is having a hard time staying out of trouble in that atmosphere. Winston is trying to do the right thing in a time of racial tension while everyone's eyes are on him right before the election.
Winston's daughter, Colleen, comes back to North Carolina for a surprise visit with her parents. She has recently suffered a late-term miscarriage, and is drinking to numb the emotional pain. She and her husband are grieving, and having difficulty communicating. Colleen looks back at her childhood, giving us another view of her father and the racially divided town, as her honest father investigates the murder.
Although this is a crime story, it is a sensitive character-driven story too. The book also paints a portrait of a North Carolina town in 1984. Airplanes transport people--and ghosts--in and out of North Carolina. A twist brings the story to a surprising end.
+20 task (lots of flashbacks)
+20 combo 10.3 Back to School (educator UNC-see help thread); 10.6 Birthday (Sept-see help thread); 10.7 Service (Winston is a Korea vet, and 2 other characters are Vietnam vets having sniper and pilot skills important to plot); 20.3 Ratings (4.05 locked in help thread)
+10 review
Task total: 50
Season total: 450
Wiley CashHe teaches fiction writing and literature at the University of North Carolina-Asheville.
https://www.wileycash.com/about
My library had a used book sale last month. So there goes the few spaces I had cleared out of my book shelves. It's a chronic problem or pleasure, depending on how you look at it.
