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

Connie ’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

Read a book published in the 21st Century.

10.4 Valentine's Day

Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson

Review:
Katie, a book editor in New York, has been left by the man that she hoped to marry someday. Matt, a poet from Martha's Vineyard, drops off a diary by Katie's door to help her understand his actions. His first wife, Suzanne, wrote this diary to their son Nicholas, telling him about her move to Martha's Vineyard, falling in love with his father, and the happiness she found in motherhood.

When Suzanne had health problems, a friend told her a story about getting better balance in one's life. Life is a game in which you are juggling five balls--work, family, health, friends, and integrity. You're trying to keep them all in the air. But work is a rubber ball that will bounce if it is dropped. The other four balls are made of glass, and will be harmed or shattered if they are dropped.

The author had the experience of losing a woman he loved when she developed a brain tumor. Years later he married his present wife. In the book Patterson shows that a person can fear to love again, wondering if they are setting themselves up for more heartache.

The book had some good messages about love, and about keeping balance in one's life. But it was overly sweet with a predictable plot. The author seemed to follow a similar formula as Nicholas Sparks, so fans of Sparks' romance novels would probably enjoy this story.

+10 task (#177 on list)
+10 review

Task total: 20
Grand total: 95

I felt the same way, Elizabeth. One of my Southern Lit books has a rating of 4.01, and I'm hoping someone else gives it a lousy review before I read it in January!

Ed wrote: "Hoping someone can help me.... I'm trying to kill 2 birds with one stone... for a different reading challenge...I need to read a book by the end of the year set in high school.... and I was wonderi..."

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green involves high school age kids. I don't remember if much of the book is actually in the school since the characters are battling cancer. It's a YA book that adults love too. It's a book that will make you both laugh and cry. Lexile 850.

20.9 Winnie-the-Pooh

High Rising by Angela Thirkell

Review:
"High Rising" is a humorous novel set in an English country village between the two world wars. The main character is the writer Laura Morland who is probably based on the author herself. Laura is a likable widow who writes mysteries, which she calls "good bad books", to support her sons. Her three oldest sons have left home, but young Tony is home from boarding school for the holidays. He's a model train enthusiast who never stops talking.

A small group of friends are involved in each others' lives with romantic intrigues. Impoverished spinsters trying to support themselves in a difficult world for women, and a secretary who falls for every employer figure into the plot. Their conversations are light and witty, and their servants add to the gossip.

"High Rising" is the first of a long series of novels set in Barsetshire, a fictional county created originally by Anthony Trollope. The novel was written in 1933 so some readers might find it dated, where others would find it charming.

I read the 2008 Moyer Bell edition of "High Rising", and it had more typographical errors than any book I've ever read. It would make reading more pleasant to find a copy that has been issued by another publisher.

+20 task (pub 1933)
+ 5 series (#1 Barsetshire)
+10 review
+10 oldie
+ 5 combo (10.9 realistic rating 3.86)

Task total: 50
Grand total: 75

10.2 NOEL

The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness

Review:
"The Crane Wife" is a contemporary retelling of a Japanese folk tale. In the original story a poor sailmaker helps an injured crane by pulling an arrow from her wing. The next day a beautiful woman arrives at his home, and soon becomes his wife. She offers to weave sails for him which brings in needed income, but with the condition that he cannot watch her work. The sailmaker becomes greedy and takes in more and more orders for sails. Eventually he went into her private room as she was working and saw a crane weakly plucking the last feathers from her body. His greed ruined the relationship and he was left alone. (There are other variations of this tale.)

Patrick Ness has written a modern version of this folk tale set in London involving George and Kumiko. Kumiko brings George the love he needs, but always keeps her past very private. She makes exquisite artworks by combining her cuttings of feathers with George's paper cuttings made from old books. Kumiko's artistic tiles tell a secondary story about a volcano who destroys the earth (but also creates mountains), and a bird called "the lady" who forgives out of love. These two stories have elements of fantasy, myth, and magical realism.

George has a daughter Amanda, a young divorced mother of a toddler, who has problems with anger, self-acceptance, and despair. Her story is more realistic and sometimes funny, and would probably give this adult novel crossover appeal to a YA audience.

I read a children's book, "A Monster Calls", by Patrick Ness a few years ago and was very impressed. Although I enjoyed "The Crane Wife", I felt that there was a bit too much going on at once with a fantasy (the volcano and the lady) within another fantasy (George and the crane/Kumiko), plus Amanda's emotional journey. The author writes beautifully, has a sense of humor, and understands human nature. I just prefer his simpler stories to a more convoluted one.

+10 task
+ 5 combo (10.9 realistic rating 3.54)
+10 review

Task total: 25
Grand total: 25

Cory Day wrote: "Rebekah wrote: "All but two of the Groupreads fits this task. The exceptions are The Invention of Wings and Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End"

I wa..."

Thanks for suggesting this task, Cory. I had some books to read for my library book groups that didn't fit any of the other tasks.

Considering all the desserts we eat during the holidays, I think we all need to get out walking. Good idea, Amanda!

Amanda, you'll be happy to know I also picked a woman author for a group read, My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. It's also the first in a series, written by a European woman who has been translated.

I've read both Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore and Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, and thought they were both excellent books.

20.2 Innocence

One Writer's Beginnings by Eudora Welty

Review:
Eudora Welty delivered three lectures at Harvard University in 1983 which were developed into her charming memoir, "One Writer's Beginnings". She explored events in her own life that were important in becoming a writer.

In the first section, "Listening", she tells about the importance of books in her childhood home, her parents teaching her to read, singing, and listening to the stories of the ladies in Jackson, Mississippi. Welty writes, "Long before I wrote stories, I listened for stories. Listening FOR them is something more acute than listening TO them. I suppose it's an early form of participation in what goes on. Listening children know stories are THERE. When their elders sit and begin, children are just waiting and hoping for one to come out, like a mouse from its hole." She seemed to be a very observant child, remembering details about how various people communicated--a strict principal, the evangelists that visited Jackson, and the fictional comedy of the silent movies.

"Learning to See" was the title of the second section which was mainly about trips with her family to visit relatives in West Virginia and Ohio. Welty is known to have a strong sense of place in her writing, and she expresses it in her memories of visits to her grandparents and her mother's lively brothers.

In the third section, "Finding a Voice", Welty writes about the things that sparked the writing of her stories. It might be a phrase from a conversation, or a person she met. One of her first jobs was working as a photographer and publicity agent for the Works Progress Administration, an occupation that also required her to be very observant. When she wrote "Death of a Traveling Salesman" she realized that her real subject was human relationships. Writing stories also helped her discover connections in her own experiences and in her memories of her parents. She also incorporated mythology into some of her works.

The tone of the memoir is conversational. I could picture myself on Miss Eudora's front porch swing as I listened to this gentle lady who had wonderful gifts of observation.

+20 task (Pub 1983, Died 2001)
+ 5 combo (10.4 Math-One)
+10 not a novel
+10 review
+ 5 oldie (Pub 1983)

Task total: 50
Grand total: 715

Sending a big "Thank You" to the moderators for all their hard work during this challenge!

I think it's great that the Group Reads selector requirement keeps changing with every challenge. I review most of the books that I read, but don't read a lot of jumbo books or oldies. Everyone has a different strength. The challenge does prompt us to look at new authors, and genres outside our comfort zone.

I just edited post 935. Thanks.

20.7 Microhistory

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

Review:
The architect Daniel Hudson Burnham directed the building of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. The neoclassical buildings were transformed into a White City after they were spray painted white and illuminated with 200,000 incandescent bulbs. Burnham used the skills of the best architects in the country, along with the work of Frederick Law Olmstead for the landscape, in the creation of the World's Fair. Geroge Washington Gale Ferris developed the first "Ferris Wheel"--a huge wheel that would carry 2,160 people at a time into the Chicago sky overlooking the fair and Lake Michigan.

In contrast to the beauty of the White City, a psychopath was building the World's Fair Hotel nearby. It was fitted with soundproof rooms with gas lines, a hidden chute that led to a dissection area in the basement, and a coffin-sized kiln. Herman Webster Mudgett, who went by the alias Dr H.H. Holmes in honor of the detective Sherlock Holmes, was a handsome, charming man who lured his victims to the hotel. He often employed them in his pharmacy downstairs. Most of his victims were beautiful women traveling alone from small towns, looking for excitement and employment in the big city.

Another contrast to the magical quality of the White City was the economic downturn at that time. After the fair closed, thousands of people were left homeless and unemployed on the streets of Chicago.

This was a well-written non-fiction book that read like a novel. Larson knows how to end his chapters on a note of suspense. Between the many setbacks in the building of the fair, and the horrible events involving Holmes, the story always had something happening to keep my interest. A movie is in the planning stages with Leonardo Di Caprio playing Dr H.H. Holmes, directed by Martin Scorsese.

+20 task
+ 5 combo 10.9 (post 47)
+10 not a novel
+10 review

Task total: 45
Grand total: 665

Will, Lee Child has published some new books lately, like Make Me in September 2015. Have you read his latest books?

10.9 Six Degrees

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

Review:
In this zany novel the centenarian Allan Karlsson climbs out the window of his nursing home to avoid his birthday party. Wearing bedroom slippers, he heads to the nearby train station. One crazy event after another lands Allan and some new friends (with criminal backgrounds) heading through Sweden while avoiding the police.

Alternating chapters tell us about Allan's backstory as a munitions expert. Although he avoids talking about politics and religion, Allan found himself inadvertently meeting world leaders and influencing history for eighty years. Allan is an optimist who needs nothing more than a good meal and some vodka to make him happy.

The reader has to suspend disbelief that a 100-year-old man could be in such good shape physically and mentally as Allan is. Just go with the flow, and enjoy the escapades of this remarkable centenarian. I especially enjoyed the social commentary and the dry humor describing our world leaders.

+10 task (post 433)
+ 5 combo (10.4 Math-Hundred)
+10 review

Task total: 25
Grand total: 620

10.9 Six Degrees

Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett

Review:
"Truth and Beauty" is a memoir about the close friendship Ann Patchett shared with the writer Lucy Grealy. At the age of nine, Grealy was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma. She went through years of radiation, chemotherapy, and reconstructive surgeries of her lower jaw. But it was still difficult for her to eat, speak, and kiss. Grealy published the successful "Autobiography of a Face" in 1994 about her experiences.

Patchett and Grealy, both graduates of Sarah Lawrence College, became best friends when sharing an apartment at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Although Grealy had a great number of friends, she longed for true love with a man. No relationship met her romantic expectations, and her overwhelming need for love. In addition to physical pain, Grealy also suffered the emotional pain of feeling unattractive and had a history of depression.

The book is a combination of Patchett's memories and Grealy's letters. Grealy comes across as creative, intelligent, and charismatic, but also extremely irresponsible with money and emotionally needy. Patchett spent twenty years as her devoted, loving, responsible friend. While the friendship brought many moments of joy to Patchett, it also seemed very demanding and suffocating. In spite of the overwhelming efforts of Patchett and others, no one could save Grealy from her demons. This memoir of a fascinating friendship kept my attention from beginning to end.

+10 task (post 403)
+10 not a novel
+10 review

Task total: 30
Grand total: 595

My top 5 authors on 11/22/15:


Anita Shreve
John Steinbeck
Sarah Jio
Barbara Kingsolver

I have 7 authors tied for 5th place:
Tennessee Williams
Jodi Picoult
John Grisham
Nicholas Sparks
Elizabeth Berg
Kristin Hannah
Willa Cather

Jonas Jonasson gets writing credit for "The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared" with actor Georg Nikoloff.
Georg Nikoloff was in "X-Men: First Class" (2011) with Kevin Bacon.

10.3 Dictionary

Gramercy Park by Paula Cohen

Review:
"Gramercy Park" transports us to Victorian New York City in 1894. Mario Alfieri, a renowned tenor who will be performing at the Metropolitan Opera, is looking to rent the home of the recently deceased wealthy Henry Slade. Mario meets Clara Adler, the ward of Mr Slade, a destitute but beautiful young woman. It's love at first sight, and the couple are married within a few weeks. Mario soon suspects that Clara has a terrifying past because she is so frightened, and the truth about her parentage and disturbing childhood comes out layer by layer.

The book is a glimpse into New York high society, a Gothic romance, and a mystery with the dashing Mario saving Clara from the evil villains. The plot of Clara's backstory has as much intrigue as the operas at the Met. It's good storytelling written in a Victorian style, full of suspense, with likable romantic main characters.

+10 task
+10 review

Task total: 20
Grand total: 565

10.3 Dictionary

Above the Waterfall by Ron Rash

Review:
Ron Rash has written an atmospheric novel of guilt and redemption set in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. The sheriff, Les, is a bit of a loner haunted by his failed marriage to a woman he could not help. He has a relationship with Becky, a park ranger, who had been traumatized by a harrowing school shooting as a child as well as experiences with an eco-terrorist. Becky has found solace in the natural world and poetry. She is also close to an old farmer named Gerald who reminds Becky of her grandparents.

When someone poisons a trout stream at a fishing resort, fingers are pointed at Gerald. The environmentalist Becky feels in her heart that Gerald would never harm the fish. Les investigates the crime in the last few weeks before he retires as sheriff. The sheriff's office is also involved in hunting down another kind of poison--meth--and seeing the damage it has done to some of the town's younger citizens.

The mystery takes a back seat to the stories about Les, Becky, and Gerald--all complicated, flawed characters with good hearts. Les narrates his chapters with normal prose. Other chapters are narrated by Becky in very poetic prose filled with observations about nature. The wonder of the natural world is also expressed through Becky's poetry, and phrases from the poet G.M. Hopkins. Ron Rash's lyrical writing is beautiful as he weaves together a story about an Appalachian small town and the challenges faced by the people who populate it. It also reminds us to stop and open our eyes to the natural beauty in our world.

+10 task
+ 5 combo (10.9 Six Degrees post 423)
+10 review

Task total: 25
Grand total: 545