Connie ’s Comments (group member since Nov 11, 2013)

Connie ’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

I've found books for all the tasks so far. My library just started "grab and go" pickup for a limited number of books on hold per library patron. We don't have inter-library loan available yet, and I was not able to get any newer books because of a long hold list. So I got some older British novels last week to use in my "Traveling around the UK" challenge that I have been working on. I found books in my bookcases to use for the foreign country tasks, and hope to pare down my owned books.

20.10 It's a Mystery

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

+20 task
+10 combo 10.4 High Five Day, 20.8 My Cup of Tea pg 9 "She usually did enjoy those early-morning dreams that were terminated by the arrival of early-morning tea."
+10 oldie (pub 1942)

Task total: 40
Season total: 660

15.9 Blackjack

Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro

Club Ace 11 (one novel)
Club 7 (pub 1971)
Club 2 (200-299 pages)
20

+30 task
+ 5 female
+ 5 oldie (pub 1971)

Task total: 40
Season total: 620

I enjoyed The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean which is historical fiction.

That's a cute story, Elizabeth!

20.9 Women in Translation

Eva Luna by Isabel Allende

"She sowed in my mind the idea that reality is not only what we see on the surface; it has a magical dimension as well and, if we so desire, it is legitimate to enhance it and color it to make our journey through life less trying."

Eva Luna was orphaned at an early age, but her mother passed on her gift of storytelling. Eva was poor and worked as a servant for some eccentric people in an unnamed South American country. While reality was grim, a good storyteller can change her reality by embellishing it with magical qualities. Eva's stories were also a way to give back by entertaining people who were kind to her. She used her talent like a South American Scheherazade.

The life of Rolf Carle, who came from Eastern Europe to South America as a young man, intersects with Eva's life when they are adults. The talented photojournalist reported on the volatile political situation of the 1960s-1970s. Eva wonders if changes of leadership will make much difference to the South American women who live in such an oppressive patriarchal atmosphere.

"Eva Luna" is a picaresque book full of adventure and colorful characters ranging from the powerful and wealthy to those living in the red light district. Eva has the gift of taking the harshness of life, and replacing it with magical adventure in her imaginative stories.

+20 task (translated from Spanish by Margaret Sayers Peden)
+ 5 combo 10.8 p 259 "Sweating, obviously apprehensive, the prison warden stated that a group of terrorists in helicopters had attacked the facility, armed with bazookas and machine guns, while inside the compound prisoners had incapacitated guards with grenades."
+10 review
+ 5 oldie (pub 1987)

Task total: 40
Season total: 580

Thanks for the extra points, Kate!

10.1 Thirsty for More

Burning Bright by Ron Rash

Every one of the twelve short stories in "Burning Bright" is worth reading. Author Ron Rash takes us to the Appalachian mountains in the Carolinas. His stories are about people facing poverty, addiction, desperation, and loneliness. Superstitions and traditions are passed through the generations. There are several stories about meth-addicted characters that are heartbreaking for their families.

Rash also interjects some humor into some of the stories, such as "Dead Confederates," about looting Confederate graves for memorabilia. There are moral shades of gray that make some actions forgivable. The beauty of the rural mountainous area, and strong community ties also come through in these tales. Ron Rash is a very talented writer who shines a light on the Appalachian people he knows so well.

+10 task
+10 review

Task total: 20
Season total: 535

The planes are impressive. Your husband is very talented.

15.8 Blackjack

Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny

Club K 10 (kingdom)
Diam 10 (this is # 14 in the series)
20

+30 task
+ 5 female

Task total: 35
Season total: 515

I've read four of her books, and Elizabeth Strout is one of my favorites too. Her characters say a lot in what they leave unsaid sometimes, so you have to read between the lines in her books. Olive is one of my favorite literary characters.

20.8 My Cup of Tea

The King's General by Daphne du Maurier

Daphne du Maurier is one of those authors who can sweep you away from the concerns of our troubled times, and leave you enthralled in her writing. "The King's General" takes the reader to Cornwall during the English Civil War during the reign of Charles I.

Honor Harris was a spirited eighteen-year-old when she first met Richard Grenvile. Richard was a fine soldier who had the confidence of his men. A tragic accident prevented Honor and Richard from a lifetime together, but their love remained strong. While Richard was tender and loving toward Honor, he was a man of many flaws when dealing with others. His strong beliefs in what he considered right often obscured his vision as a father or a friend.

"The King's General" has lots of historical detail, Gothic elements, and colorful characters. Life was precarious in 17th Century Cornwall with the English Civil War that tore countrymen apart, along with coping with disease and food deprivation. The activity in a secret passage added to the atmosphere and adventure.

+20 task p 175 "Matty brewed me a cup of tea, and it seemed wrong to swallow even that."
+ 5 combo 10.8 Go to Jail p 274 " Imprisonment at His Majesty's pleasure, with a pardon, possibly at the end of the war." (Richard Grenvile was imprisoned.)
+10 review
+ 5 oldie (pub 1946)

Task total: 40
Season total: 480

I also like that idea, Ed. It's been fun looking for the tea phrases. Kudos to Owlette! (It's also made me notice when some characters seem to be drinking alcoholic beverages all day long in the books, and I wonder how they can function by the end of the day!)

20.1 Edmund Morris

Just Kids by Patti Smith

+20 task National Book Award 2010
+ 5 combo 20.8 pg 250 "I poured a glass of tea and thought better of wearing my shirt, knowing that I'd get olive oil on the front of it."

Task total: 25
Season total: 440

15.7 Blackjack

Dubliners by James Joyce

Spade 8 (I for Ireland)
Heart Ace 11 (Pub date with 2 1's--1914)
19

+20 task
+ 5 NF (short stories)
+ 5 Pub 1995 and earlier

Task total: 30
Season total: 415

CT's libraries are closed indefinitely now. We're only a few hours away from New York City, a transportation hub that brought in the virus from all over the world. The virus has not peaked yet here, and there will probably be another wave in the fall and next spring. Our oldest daughter is a physical therapist in a hospital so we worry a lot. It's hard to concentrate on reading some days so I try not to watch too many news reports, and read some light stories. I may have to look for a basket of romances I won in a drawing a few years ago :-)

20.3 Theodore H. White

Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler

"Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person."

Rebecca Davitch, a widow and a grandmother, is still running her husband's business of hosting catered parties. She had broken off a relationship with another man and dropped out of college when she met Joe Davitch, an enthusiastic man with three young daughters. Now the middle-aged Rebecca is wondering who was her true self. Was she the outgoing party planner, or the more sedate person of her youth? Does a person change to fit the life that's given to them?

Anne Tyler infused her book with humor, and an understanding of family connections. She writes about the warmth and the craziness of dealing with a quirky bunch of family members.

+20 task (Tyler)
+10 combo 10.2 Letters, 10.4 High Five Day
+10 review

Task total: 40
Season total: 385

10.8 Go to Jail

His Bloody Project: Documents Relating to the Case of Roderick Macrae by Graeme Macrae Burnet

In 1869, a seventeen-year-old crofter from the Scottish village of Culduie admitted that he committed a horrific triple murder. The story unfolds through his prison memoir, police reports, psychological reports from prison doctors, and newspapers covering his trial. His solicitor is hoping to keep his client from the hangman's noose with an insanity defense.

The prisoner, Roderick Macrae, is an intelligent loner whose family was bullied by the victim, a local constable. Roderick was also regularly beaten by his father. The crofting system seemed to condemn the tenants to abject poverty where there was no hope of ever getting out of debt. Roddy's memoir shows us the social and economic problems of the poor tenant farmers.

The prison doctor's report illustrates the feelings of the mental health experts of the era. He felt that criminal behavior is hereditary. It's fascinating seeing the possible motives for Roddy's crime looked at from many perspectives. This book is an interesting combination of historical fiction and crime fiction. It was a Booker Prize Nominee in 2016.

+10 task p 44 "My cell here in Inverness is five paces long and two wide."
+ 5 combo 20.8 Cup of Tea p 47 "When I went inside, Mr Gillies was sitting on the bench at the table, and Jetta was preparing him a cup of tea."
+10 review

Task total: 25
Season total: 345

10.4 High Five Day

The Legacy of Lucy Harte by Emma Heatherington

"You are inside me. You are a part of me. You are within my every move. I feel like I know you, Lucy Harte, I really do. But you will never, ever know me."

Maggie was given a second chance of life when she was given a heart transplant eighteen years ago. Now she is at a low point in her life going through a divorce.

The brother of her organ donor contacts Maggie. He feels that it would help him deal with the loss of his sister, Lucy Harte, if he could meet Maggie. He gives Maggie the gift of Lucy's diary where she wrote of things she wanted to experience, and places she wanted to visit. Maggie decides to fulfill some of Lucy's dreams, and starts on a journey of self-discovery. She regains her sense of joy, and reaches out to mend fences.

Emma Heatherington is an author from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. She set this book in her home country as well as Nashville and France. "The Legacy of Lucy Harte" is women's fiction with a positive message about living life fully.

+10 task
+5 combo 20.8 Cup of Tea p 194 "I'll get you some tea, then," she says. "You look like you need some tea."
+10 review

Task total: 25
Season total: 320

15.6 Blackjack

Eve Green by Susan Fletcher

Diam 9 (Commonwealth), Diam Q 10 (Western Europe) =19

+20 task
+ 5 female

Task total: 25
Season total: 295