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

Connie ’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

10.9 9, 10, 11

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman

"Every seven-year-old deserves a superhero. That's just how it is. Anyone who doesn't agree needs their head examined." (1)

Precocious Elsa's superhero and best friend is her grandmother. Granny is an outspoken, humorous retired doctor who breaks the rules but has a heart of gold. To help Elsa deal with her fears and insecurities, eccentric Granny shares fairy tales that transport them to the Land-of-Almost-Awake with its many kingdoms and a secret portal. When Granny succumbs to cancer she leaves letters of apology for Elsa to deliver to the residents of their apartment building. As Elsa gets to know the backstories of the apartment dwellers she realizes that the fairy tales were based on real people's lives. An affectionate creature who loves cookies, a wurse (which resembles a Newfoundland), adds to the magic. But there is also a large man (the dragon) that might endanger the lives of her neighbors in the apartment (the castle).

I loved the humor and the warm grandchild-grandmother relationship in this book. I found my attention wandering occasionally when the story went off for pages into the Land-of-Almost-Awake. The reader does have to suspend disbelief, even in the world of reality, but everyone can identify with the emotions that Elsa feels. It's best just to go with the flow, and enjoy the wisdom and the craziness in this heartwarming story.

+10 task (grandmother)
+10 review

Task total: 20
Season total: 85

10.7 Crazy Rich Asians...or Not

The Tea Planter's Wife by Dinah Jefferies

Gwen is the new bride of Laurence Hooper, the widowed owner of several tea plantations in Ceylon. He's very secretive about the death of his first wife, and Gwen is not allowed to talk with the workers in the tea fields. Gwen is also confused about Laurence's relationship with a beautiful American businesswoman. His devious, emotionally needy sister is not trustworthy. Eventually it is Gwen herself who is keeping information from Laurence that could possibly destroy their marriage.

The novel has lovely descriptions of Ceylon, and the processing of tea. The women's fashions help give an authentic feel to the 1925-1934 time period of the book. The story explores serious themes of racism, British colonialism, and working conditions woven into the main story line. While it's a light read on the surface, "The Tea Planter's Wife" also contains plenty of issues from colonial history.

+10 task (author born in Malaysia)
+10 combo 10.5 (Crown/Penguin Random House); 20.1 (set 1925-34)
+10 review
+ 5 prizeworthy (Women and Home Reader's Choice)

Task total: 35
Season total: 65

10.3 Real Place

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

Marisol is honoring her late grandmother's wish that her ashes be spread in her beloved Cuba when she dies. She travels from Miami to Havana to see the country that her grandmother Elisa left in 1959. It was no longer safe for her grandmother's wealthy family to stay in Cuba when Castro was rising in power.

The book has two timelines, set in 1958-59 and 2017, told from the points of view of Elisa and Marisol. Both women fell for revolutionary men committed to improving Cuba's government so Cuba's turbulent history is a prominent part of the story. Marisol uncovers her grandmother's secrets and has to make some important decisions herself while she is in Havana. There is a wonderful sense of place in the book with great descriptions of Cuba's beautiful coastline and delicious food. But all is not well in present day Cuba--cars are ancient, buildings crumbling, food rationed, and the black market is thriving. Incomes are low unless people work in the tourist industry or have connections to the government.

This is a love story in many ways--love for the country of Cuba, love for their family, and love for the strong men who risked their lives to change Cuba. This is a book that I did not want to put down, especially when I was reading Elisa's historical story.

+10 task
+10 combo 10.5 (Penguin), 20.4 (2 timelines)
+10 review

Task total: 30
Season total: 30

Thank you, Elizabeth and Kate.

Could you perhaps add a list of categories that can be used for this task, and another list of categories that cannot be used to message 1 where we can find it? The dictionary definition of place encompasses a lot. We don't want to bother you every time we're using this task for combo points.

Congratulations, Cory!

Would A Year in Provence work?

Others that I'm considering are Honolulu and Next Year in Havana which have smaller areas.

10.5 Inferno

The Third Hotel by Laura van den Berg

+10 task (pub 2018)
+10 female author
+ 5 multiple

Task total: 25
Season total: 765

Happy Birthday, Jayme! A trip to a bookstore sounds like the perfect gift.

10.9 Emily Bronte

Tapestry of Fortunes by Elizabeth Berg

+10 task
+10 female author

Task total: 20
Season total: 740

20.2 Track of the Cat

My Ántonia by Willa Cather

Assignment, 1010 Lexile

+20 task
+10 female author

Task total: 30
Season total: 720

10.7 Not Quite Jumbo

When America First Met China: An Exotic History of Tea, Drugs, and Money in the Age of Sail by Eric Jay Dolin

+10 task
+ 5 multiple

Task total: 15
Season total: 690

Although I've read some Agatha Christie books, they haven't been the Miss Marble series. Would Murder at the Vicarage work?

10.2 July

The Birds of Opulence by Crystal Wilkinson

+10 task
+10 female author
+ 5 multiple

Task total: 25
Season total: 675

20.4 The Piano Teacher

The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey

+20 task (debut)
+10 female author
+ 5 multiple

Task total: 35
Season total: 650

10.1 Possession

An Argument Open to All: Reading "The Federalist" in the 21st Century by Sanford Levinson

Task total: 10
Season total: 615

15.10 Listopia Tag

The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton

#3 Best Books to Become an Informed Voter https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
tag: democracy

+15 task
+ 5 over 500 pages
+ 5 published 1787
+ 5 not a novel
+100 sub-challenge finish

Task total: 130
Season total: 605

15.9 Listopia tag

The Valley of Bones by Anthony Powell

#221 on Best Novels set in 20th Century Britain https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
tag: britain

+15 task
+ 5 pre-1980 (pub in 1964)

Task total: 20
Season total: 475

15.8 Listopia Tag

Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen

#170 Favorite Magical Realism Novels https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
tag: magical realism

Task total: 15
Season total: 455

10.5 Inferno

Southernmost by Silas House

+10 task
+ 5 multiple

Task total: 15
Season total: 440