Joanna’s Comments (group member since Nov 17, 2010)

Joanna’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

20.2 Opening Ceremonies

L'Abbé C by Georges Bataille
on the 1001 list

(D) 1938-1950
Author born in France

+20 Task
+5 Before 1999

Task total: 25
Grand total: 50

20.1 Opening Ceremonies

Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
on the 1001 list

(A) 1896-1909
Author born in Ukraine (USSR)

+20 Task
+5 Before 1999

Task total: 25
Grand total: 25

I'm reading Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad for opening ceremonies, but discovered that it also has a canoe trip, and it fits both Option A and Option B.

Post 734-

Norma wrote: "10.2 - The Dispossessed

The Teacher by Freida McFadden

+10 task

Task total: 10
Grand total: 695"

+10 Combo - 10.9 (400 pages in MPE), 20.6

Post 720 -
Jayme(theghostreader) wrote: "Baby Boomer
Author born 1950
Redoubtby Mercedes Lackey

Task +10
Grand total 200"

+5 Combo - 10.9 - 330 pages in MPE

Post 728 - Joanne wrote: "30.10 Go for the Green Redux

book set at least 51% in any of the countries on the Group Project Spreadsheet -The Solomon Islands

Review

Book 2 in Toll's trilogy of the WWII fight in the Pacific..."

Please give me the book and author for this post. Thanks!

Squeaking in with a mega finish by giving up on reading the last two long-titled HDYGG books and shoving in two trashy romances that didn't fit anywhere else anyway.

15.10 HDYGG

Master Me by Sappharia Mayer

224 pages - DILL

mASTER me - ASTER

2 plants this post
42 plants total

+15 Task

+100 Finisher 42 plants

+200 Mega Finish

Points this post: 315
Season total: 1350

15.9 HDYGG

Mask Me by Sappharia Mayer

2 Vegetables:

Washington - Watercress
District of Columbia - Daikon

2 Plants this post
40 Plants total

+15 Task

Task total: 15
Grand total: 1035

15.8 HDYGG

The Fallen Stones: Chasing Butterflies, Discovering Mayan Secrets, and Looking for Hope Along the Way by Diana Marcum

the fallen stones: chasInG butterfLies, Discovering MAyan secRets, and looking for hope along the way - MARIGOLD+

tHe fallen stones: chasing butterflies, discovering maYan secrets, AnD looking foR hope AloNG thE way - HYDRANGEA+

the fallen stones: Chasing butteRflies, discoVEring mayan secrets, and LOoking for hope along the way - CLOVER

tHe faLLen stOnes: cHasing butterflies, disCOvering mayan secrets, and looKing for hope along the waY - HOLLYHOCK+

the fAllEn stoNes: chasing Butterflies, discovering mayan secrets, and lookInG for hOpe along the way - BEGONIA

ThE fallEn Stones: chasing butterflies, discovering mayan secrets, and looking for hoPE along the WAy - SWEETPEA+

the fallen stoneS: chasing bUtterflies, discovering mayan secrets, and loOking for hope aLong The way - LOTUS

7 Flowers

Punta Gorda - POTATO
Belize - BEET

2 Vegetables

9 plants this post
38 plants total

+15 Task
+20 Flower bonus

Task total: 35
Grand total: 1020

20.4 The Fighting Temeraire

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The unabridged audio version read by Tom Parker is terrific. He does an excellent job with the different dialects and voices and really brings the story to life. It's been years since I read this book and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it performed in an audio version. I can see why this is often called the Great American Novel. I listened to this version in 2011.

In 2024, getting ready to read James, I wanted to hear it again. I couldn't find the version I previously listened to, so I downloaded this one: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, narrated by Robin Miles. I had expected Robin to be a woman, but nope, it's a man. He did a fine job with the narration, but I think I preferred the Tom Parker version. I'm again impressed by this excellent novel.

I'm really interested to see what James does with giving Jim a voice in this story. I was paying special attention throughout this read to Jim's dialogue and best moments in the adventures.

+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 1001
+5 Combo (20.9)

Task total: 45

+50 Half-way Finish - 20 pt tasks

Points this post: 95
Grand total: 985

15.7 HDYGG

The Evolution of Useful Things: How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips and Zippers-Came to be as They are by Henry Petroski

FLOWERS (7):
the evoLUtion of useful things: how eveRydAy aRtifacts-from forKS and Pins to paper clips and zippers-came to be as they are - LARKSPUR+

the EvolutIoN of UsefuL tHings: how everyDday artifacts-froM forks and pins to Paper clips and zippers-came to be as they are - DELPHINIUM+

the evOlution of uSeful thiNGs: how everyDAy artifacts-fRom forks and piNs to pAPer clips and zippers-came to be as they are - SNAPDRAGON+

the evolutiOn of usEfUl things: how everyday artifaCts-from forks and pins to paper cLIps aNd zippers-caMe to Be as they are - COLUMBINE+

the evolution of useful things: hOW everYday artifacts-from foRks and pins to papeR clips and zippers-cAme to be as they are - YARROW

the evolution of useful things: how everyday artifacts-from forks and pins to paper cliPs and ziPPers-came tO be as theY are - POPPY

the evolution of useful things: how everydaY artifacts-from forks and pins to paper clips AnD zIpperS-came to be as they are - DAISY

7 plants this post
29 plants in garden

+15 Task
+20 Flower bonus

Task total: 35
Grand total: 890

20.5 Surprised!

The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje

This is an example of an author reading a book where they should have hired a narrator. The sentences here are gorgeous. And the author's voice is sort of pleasant and lilting. But there was no cadence, passion, or embodiment to his narration. He just read aloud. The slow pace allowed the language to come through, but it also allowed the story to be lost.

The story is also more of a collection of remembrances and anecdotes than a full-fledged novel. The adult protagonist is looking back on a boat journey when he traveled to London as an eleven-year-old. He and other of the poorest passengers roamed about the ship getting into a bit of trouble and having conversations about things. Along the way, they also learned some things about other passengers on the voyage. I had trouble keeping all the stories straight.

All that said, I think I might have liked this book in print and in a different, quieter mood.

+20 Task
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.5 - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, 20.4, 20.7 - various international travel is described, including the main boat ride from Ceylon to London)

Task total: 45
Grand total: 855

The Women by Kristin Hannah (not yet sure if the actual activity occurs, but the word is in the book several times)

10.6 Modernism

Kokoro by Natsume Sōseki

This book is so very Eastern to this Westerner. It's also very male for this female. In other words, everything about this book felt slightly off kilter and unfamiliar to me. These men are having a lot of internal thoughts and feelings, but they aren't talking about them. They also don't really seem to do anything--they are "scholars" in the sense of comfortably wealthy men who don't really have jobs and just mill about thinking hard about things (but not talking about their feelings).

The first part of the book is told from the perspective of a younger man who meets and becomes friends with "Sensei" (teacher). The young man wants to glean the wisdom that Sensei has learned through long life and begs Sensei to tell Sensei's life story. Sensei demurs until the end of his own life when he decides to write a long letter to his friend explaining all the details of his own story.

The final part of the book is the letter Sensei writes.

Overall, I enjoyed this book despite finding it sort of mystifying. The choices Sensei made in his own life seemed completely irrational and stubborn to me, but I think I'm missing a fundamental understanding of Sensei's concept of stoicism, loyalty, and duty.

+10 Task (pub. 1914)
+10 Review
+10 LiT
+10 1001

Task total: 40

+50 Halfway finish

Points this post: 90
Grand total: 810

10.5 Golden Broadway

Don't Try This at Home by Angela Readman

And this, right here, is why I subscribe to andotherstories.org. I love crazy weird stories. These stories are as fantastical and wonderful as those of Kelly Link and Aimee Bender but by an author I'd never heard of and likely would never have otherwise found.

The stories have some great premises--the girl who keeps chopping her boyfriend in half (both halves of which become full people); the girl given to a witch; the dog-faced girl with a circus; and onwards. As with any short story collection, some of these stories are better than others. But overall, the whole collection was entertaining and weird and cool.

I read these over two months--dipping into a story here and a story there. I had the ebook on my phone, so these were a perfect distraction while waiting for a prescription to be filled or for court to start. It was nice to put some separation between the stories so that they didn't run together too much.

+10 Task ("Don't Call Back")
+10 Review
+5 Combo - 20.5

Task total: 25
Grand total: 720

10.7 Strange New Worlds

System Collapse by Martha Wells

As many other reviewers have noted, this wasn't my favorite Murderbot story, but I still quite enjoyed it. There is no reason to start this series here--the book picks up immediately after a previous book with no explanation really for what is happening. Just go back and start with All Systems Red. The first several books in the series are novella-length and give a good flavor for the series. I've recommended this series even to readers who say they don't like or read science fiction and most of them have still been drawn in by what a wonderful character Murderbot is.

I do appreciate that in this book we're privy to Murderbot wrestling more with its human components. But I hope that doesn't mean that we're going to lose the specialness of Murderbot, which is largely based on not being human and having a different way of thinking about and approaching the world.

For some reason, this book didn't translate as well to audio as the previous books have. The action scenes felt slightly harder to follow than usual, and the use of the term "redacted" came through a bit strange in the audio narration. I'm not sure how that was printed or whether it worked better somehow in print.

In any event, I'll still read more Murderbot stories if the series continues.

+10 Task
+15 Combo (10.3, 10.7, 20.9)
+10 Review

Task total: 35
Grand total: 695

10.3 St. Patrick's Day

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell

This is light reading. Not quite cotton candy, but not much more substantive than skittles. It's listed as a "mystery-thriller" but I'd call it more of a cutesy story that happens to include a murder. It's not really a detective story or based around a mystery. It's really just the carefully structured telling of a story from several different perspectives.

The author did a nice job making these characters individual and giving them independent thoughts and motivations. And I kind of liked them even when they were being ridiculous.

Overall, the story suffers from some pretty big plot holes, but somehow I wanted to forgive them because the book was so much fun. I'll be interested in discussing this one with my bookclub.

The narrators were great. This translates well to audio format with full cast narration because having a different narrator for each character helped emphasize the different perspectives. It felt almost like being in a room with these people telling their stories.

+10 Task (pub. 2023)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (20.6 - told from the perspective of at least six different people)

Task total: 25
Grand total: 660

Just came across running in my current read: The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell

One of the characters goes out for a run. Enjoyed the book -- light and funny with a cool baking competition setting.

Jayme(theghostreader) wrote: "10.9 Anniversary
Embracing the Beatby Breanna Lynn
311 pp my copy

Task +10
Grand total: 200"

Sorry, Jayme. The MPE for this book is the paperback (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...) with 334 pages.

This task hasn't been scored because I didn't see an obvious place to put it, but let us know if you'd like to move it elsewhere.