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

Joanna’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

10.4 Baby Boom

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese

I'm surprised to report that the author is an excellent narrator for this 31-hour audiobook. Usually, authors are not great fiction narrators, especially for very long novels. But Verghese manages admirably. I was helped along to finish that amount of listening by two very long drives, but I wouldn't have continued if I didn't like the narration.

This book was selected by my bookclub. I was dubious, mostly because of the length of the book. I'll be interested to see whether most of the people managed to read the whole book. But the person who recommended it called it a fast read, and it was engrossing. The characters were individual and believable in their own ways. There were magical realism threads running through the novel, which I often don't love, but they were deftly handled here to make the book seem more like a fairy tale (sans fairies) than a realistic novel.

The story is expansive--running through three generations from 1900 to the 1970s. The characters are largely good. Even their seemingly bad decisions turn out to have been made for good-hearted reasons. I found this sometimes unbelievable, and maybe a little too neat, but also sort of heartwarming. It's nice to sometimes read about good people who make moral and kind decisions.

I'll be very interested in my bookclub's discussion of this one.

+10 Task (author b. 1955)
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.3 - pub. 2023; 10.8 - water; 20.6 - lots of different POV across time)
+10 Jumbo (724pp)

Task total: 45
Grand total: 635

20.2 Virgin on the Rocks

The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery

This book is a delightful story of the author's exploration and encounters with octopuses (including telling me that octopi is scientifically incorrect). She describes learning about these amazing animals, getting to know a few specific octopus at an aquarium (and the way that the octopus could remember specific humans). I found the book a tiny bit repetitive, but overall so fascinating that I couldn't wait to get back to the audiobook.

Did you know that an octopus can open a child-proof pill bottle? Fit its whole body through tiny holes? Intentionally squirt handlers with a gush of water? Recognize familiar humans? I didn't know most of these things.

The reader for the audiobook does a great job carrying the enthusiasm that the author clearly feels into the reading. Highly recommended in audio format.

+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.9 - 261pp; 20.5)

Task total: 40
Grand total: 590

10.9 Anniversaries

The Three of Us by Ore Agbaje-Williams

I picked this up on the recommendation of my local independent bookstore. It's definitely a literary writing experiment and it's a short novel, so it doesn't have as much depth as it might have if it were a longer novel taking place over a longer time period. The premise here is that it's three perspectives (wife, husband, friend) over the course of a single day. I liked the structure and the slice of life provided here.

But be warned. These individuals aren't making great choices--they're selfish, dishonest, manipulative, and not always making great decisions. But I found them very relatable even though they are very different from me.

+10 Task (192pp)
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.3 - Three; 20.6 - husband, wife, friend)

Task total: 30
Grand total: 550

Opening Ceremonies:

(A) 1896-1909/Ukraine: Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
(B) 1910-1923/Japan: Rashomon and Other Stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
(C) 1924-1937/Germany: All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
(D) 1938-1950/France: L'Abbé C by Georges Bataille
(E) 1951-1963/Belgium: Maigret's Revolver by Georges Simenon
(F) 1964-1976/Canada: Tete Blanche by Marie-Claire Blais
(G) 1977-1989/USA: Gateway by Frederik Pohl
(H) 1990-2002/Netherlands: The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
(I) 2003-2015/UK: The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
(J) 2015-2024/China: Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

Scavenger Hunt:

Swim - in text - Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire - "swim back to shore" "swim in the strawberry sea"

Boxing - in text - The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley - p. 56

Football - in text - Let It Bleed by Ian Rankin - "Rico had been a big football fan..."

Diving - in text - Away Laughing on a Fast Camel by Louise Rennison - p. 12 "diving Barbie and one of his feet is missing"

Cycle/cycling - about a cycling journey - The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty

Canoe - (Huck Finn retelling) - James by Percival Everett

Horse - in text - The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna - "That horse is stubborn."

Surf - in text - Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid (may also be actual activity)

Wrestle - in text - Gap Creek by Robert Morgan - p. 85 "wrestle the tubs and dishpans of fat to the kitchen table"

Volleyball - in text (maybe also activity) - The Women by Kristin Hannah

Horse by Geraldine Brooks
When Two Feathers Fell From The Sky by Margaret Verble

In Post 553 - Karen Michele wrote: "10.6 Modernism

Pietr the Latvian by Georges Simenon

+10 Task: 1930
+10 Combo: 10.9 Anniversaries (162) / 20.10 World of Crime (French)

Task total = 20
10 Point Task..."

+10 Lost in Translation

In Post 313 - Mary wrote: "REPOSTING SEE Rosemary’s post 309

20.5 Surprised

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

This is a great read! A story of mutiny, shipwreak and survival that has been pi..."

+5 Combo - 10.9

Rosemary wrote: "Post 135 Apple wrote: "10.10 Group reads

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

I listened to the audiobook of this text, which made it ..."

From Post 135 - Apple originally claimed combo points for 10.2, 10.3, 20.5, 20.6, and 20.9.

Then, Rosemary corrected it with -5 for 20.6.

Now, I'm giving you +5 for 10.9.

In Post 23 - Valerie wrote: "10.3 St Patrick's Day **edited Mar 9***

System Collapse by Martha Wells

It would have been very helpful to read Network Effect (again) before I jumped into this new..."

+5 Combo 20.9

In Post 531 - Katy wrote: "10.7 Strange New Worlds

System Collapse by Martha Wells

I am always a fan of Murderbot -- so I was excited to get into the next installment! This was a bit tricky ..."

+10 Combo - 10.9, 20.9

20.10 World of Crime

A Killing for Christ by Pete Hamill

I'm sorry to say that this never spoke to me. It's read in a noir detective style that didn't seem to be a good fit with the text, which struck me as more meditative than your typical noir story.

I never connected with any of the characters in this book. The author's forward said that this is a book about faith and the loss of faith, but I didn't ever feel that I understood the characters or their motivations well enough to understand their faith or their struggles. I did like the descriptions of the dark side of Rome that came through.

Overall, the narrator seemed to struggle with this novel. Maybe it's just not a great book.

+20 Task (set in Rome)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (20.9)

Task total: 35
Grand total: 520

20.9 Beware the Ides of March

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Lexile: 710

My feelings about this book are completely tainted by how much my twelve-year-old daughter loves this book. She loves it so much that even though she's already read it herself both in print and as an audiobook, she's now listening to the book with several different people. She has a little notecard to keep up with where each person is in listening with her--mom's on chapter 12, dad's on chapter 42, friend A is on chapter 34, etc. It's endearing and lovely to see her becoming a reader in her own right.

This is a middle grade book--the characters are relatively straightforward and mostly solidly good or solidly bad. But the title character is entertaining and it's fun to follow his story. He's kind of sarcastic, which was a touch irritating at times, but mostly fine enough. I predicted the plot, but appreciated it unfolding anyway.

The narrator for the audiobook is good. I hope they keep the same narrator for the next books.

+20 Task (the plot centers on a conspiracy to put an orphan in to substitute for a dead/missing prince)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.9 - 342 pages)

Task total: 35
Grand total: 485

15.6 HDYGG

The Book of Charlie: Wisdom from the Remarkable American Life of a 109-Year-Old Man by David von Drehle

Vegetable:
Kale - set in Kansas

Flowers:
the book of Charlie: WisdOm From thE Remarkable americaN Life Of a 109-yEar-old man - CONEFLOWER +5
tHE bOok of chaRLiE: wisdom from the rEmarkaBle american life of a 109-year-oLd man - HELLEBORE +5
The Book of chArlIe: wiSdom from the remarkablE american life of a 109-year-old man - ASTILBE

Plants this post: 4
Plants in garden: 22

+15 Task
+10 Bonus

Task total: 25
Grand total: 450

10.10 Group Reads

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

I was thrilled to see this one pop up as a Group Read, because this is my carryover read from last season.

I listened to the audiobook for this with my twelve year old daughter. The narrator for the audiobook reads the book with a distinctive accent that contributed to the feel of this book as a sort of fairy tale or legend from the "old country." It felt like the sort of story told by a grandmother (yours, or the one down the hall or next door, or that you only see at the library on rainy Saturday afternoons).

I've read several books by this author and I'm very impressed by her range. My favorite by her is probably A Deadly Education (and the rest of the trilogy), followed by His Majesty's Dragon (and the rest of the Temeraire books), followed by this one. I thought the overall character voice here was not quite as strong as in the other two series that I've enjoyed. I liked the main character, but she didn't have as much spunk and sass as the protagonist from A Deadly Education, nor was she as distinctive as Lawrence or his dragon companion in the Temeraire books.

Still, entertaining and recommended.

+10 Task
+10 Review

Task total: 20
Grand total: 425

15.5 HDYGG

Finding Me by Viola Davis

304 pp - PEPPERMINT

1 plant this post
16 total plants

+15 Task

Task total: 15
Grand total: 405

20.7 International Travel

The Legacy of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson

A very satisfying conclusion to this trilogy that starts from a wonderful concept--a person whose blood will create copies of the person. But the copies are sometimes violent, trying to kill the original. The trilogy explores the life of the original "Molly" and, in this book, some of the copies. This book does not stand alone. You must read the other two books in the trilogy to understand this one at all. But each book is only about 125 pages, so you can really read the trilogy together as a single book.

Overall, there's a lot of background stuff happening that's never fully explored. There are shady governmental agencies involved, but they mostly lurk in the dark corners of this book and never become central or fully formed.

I loved the atmosphere of these books and the overall story arc. I'm not sure why the author/publishers decided to make this a trilogy of novellas instead of a more cohesive longer book.

+20 Task (UK-->Samoa)
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.3 - third in trilogy; 10.9 - 151pp)

Task total: 40
Grand total: 390

20.8 Fancy Meeting You Here

On My Knees by J. Kenner

An enjoyable follow up to the first book in this spin-off series. I appreciate that these characters have a basically healthy relationship where they talk through issues together and don't spend pages and pages agonizing about whether to talk to each other. I could do with a little less focus on the trauma history of these characters--the female lead here is a strong woman, but a lot of the book focuses on her trauma responses related to an adolescent event. I found this a little exhausting for a light read.

I'll definitely listen to the third book of this series.

+20 Task (this is a spinoff from a different series and the main characters from the original Stark series are minor characters here; the main character here is a minor character there)
+10 Review

Task total: 30
Grand total: 345

Karen Michele wrote: "Can I use a book edited by the author I read?

You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World by Ada Limon"

Yes, as long as the first author listed on GR is the same for both.

15.4 HDYGG

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

LighT frOm Uncommon Stars - lotus

Setting:
San Gabriel, CA - spinach

Page count:
372 pp - parsley

3 plants this post
17 plants in my garden

+15 task

Task total: 15
Grand total: 315

In Post 380,
Valerie wrote: "20.2 The Virgin on the Rocks

The Golden Mole: and Other Living Treasure by Katherine Rundell

This is a book of short essays on a variety of endangered animals. Ru..."

You gave yourself 10 combo points, but only listed one combo. I don't immediately see another place where this fits, but let me know if there's a second combo. Otherwise -5 combo points.