Joanna’s
Comments
(group member since Nov 17, 2010)
Joanna’s
comments
from the Reading with Style group.
Showing 621-640 of 2,306
In Post 497, Kathleen (itpdx) wrote: "20.10 LettersThe Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story from Early America by John Putnam Demos
This is an interesting book that traces a family that was captured by In..."
+5 Prize-worthy (Ray Allen Billington Prize)
In Post 494, Joanne wrote: "20.2 WarConqueror: A Novel of Kublai Khan byConn Iggulden
The final book in a five book series. I do not think I have binged on a series in very long time. I star..."
+5 Jumbo (546pp)
15.7 Celebration of StylesThe White Dragon by Anne McCaffrey
+15 Task - Aged
Task total: 15
Grand total: 485
10.5 OctoberLost in the Moment and Found by Seanan McGuire
Note: Seanan McGuire is a pen name for Mira Grant, who appears on the author list for this task. Approved in help thread.
This is a solid addition to this lovely series. I adore these books, with their connecting premise of finding a world where you belong even if it isn't the world you came from. This book is perhaps the most dark real-world book. The child here is subjected to real abuse, and there's a sense that it would have been worse if she hadn't managed to run away when she did.
Minus one star for making a five to seven year old character much more mature and worldly than seems at all realistic. This precociousness helps the reader understand the story, but it would have worked better to have an outside narrative voice instead of forcing everything to be from the child's perspective.
As always, these novels translate very well to audiobook format.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task total: 20
Grand total: 470
10.7 ScrabbleLast Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan
Scrabble score = 30
I'm so glad to have stumbled upon this book and this author. I listened to the whole (short) book on one cold and rainy afternoon, which felt very appropriate given that the book takes place entirely on a single day--the last day that a Red Lobster is open.
The characters in the book are regular food service people. Some of them work hard, others less so. They have layered lives with happy parts and problems and all the things. The author captures them here in this slice of life novella with care and tenderness and loving detail.
The narrator for the audiobook was great at bringing this book to life.
I'll be looking for more by this author for sure.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task total: 20
Grand total: 450
20.7 ChristieHorse by Geraldine Brooks
I was reluctant to read this and kept putting it off, but had to get to it because it's the selection for my bookclub for November. And I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book. It was only the modern-day section that kept this from being a five-star read.
The book traces the stories of multiple characters in different timelines connected by Lexington--an amazing race horse who went on to be one of the most important thoroughbred sires. The story covers his enslaved Black groom, a painter who paints several portraits, one of the horse's owners, an art dealer who buys one of the paintings many years later, and a modern-day scientist who is doing research on the horse's skeleton when one of the paintings turns up. Geraldine Brooks manages to weave all of these timelines and characters together quite nicely.
I especially appreciated that the book didn't fall into a white-savior trap for the storyline involving the Black groom. Various white people offered him assistance, which he took when he wanted and refused frequently. That character's sections were the highlight of the book for me.
By having a modern day section, Brooks also could shove her opinions about race and racial justice into those sections instead of giving historical characters modern thoughts. Unfortunately, I thought the modern characters were weak and the sections rushed. Where she was able to write a Black historical character with interesting thoughts and agency, her modern Black character felt stilted and whiny.
The cast of narrators for the audiobook version were good and provided a nice contrast for the different sections of the book. None of them stood out as a narrator to follow, but none detracted either.
I'm looking forward to the discussion with my bookclub.
+20 Task
+10 Prize-worthy
+10 Review
Task total: 40
Grand total: 430
10.1 Over 60Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie
I always enjoy Agatha Christie. There was quite a bit of humor in this book and the mystery was pretty interesting. Overall, I think I like the Hercule Poirot books better, but maybe Miss Marple gets better in later books. This is the first Miss Marple that I've read (at least, I think so). I think I'll enjoy the ones that are narrated by Miss Marple herself more than this one that's narrated by the vicar.
The language in this book felt especially elementary, but Richard Grant's narration helped to offset that. He had just the right amount of British accent and was able to bring out the humor of the book with his nuanced reading of male characters. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite as good at reading the female characters, particularly Lettice.
+10 Task
+10 Oldies (1930)
+10 Review
Task total: 30
Grand total: 390
10.8 - FriendsThings My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About by Mil Millington
I wanted to like this book more than I actually liked it. Several of the reviews said that it was laugh out loud hilarious. I found it sort of ridiculous and there were moments of dry humor that were entertaining, but mostly the book seemed silly. The plot never really made much sense and so I never felt fully committed to the story. There were a few moments of closeness (including the ending) that made the relationship between the protagonist and the titular girlfriend seem worthwhile, but a lot of the time it felt like there was no point to their relationship.
Because I wasn't that taken with the book, it took me nearly a month to read. I kept picking up other shinier things in between.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task total: 20
Grand total: 360
I'm a touch shy of being halfway done, but I've read some of the longer books I've planned, so I think I still have the possibility of finishing the mega finish this time. We'll see if I stay on plan. I also have seven books to read to finish the Popsugar challenge. I've got four of those slated for RWS, but not sure if I can fit the others.
And I have a new-to-me in-person bookclub that I'm going to for the first time tomorrow. I'm excited about that because the other in-person book club I go to has about a 50% rate of people actually reading this book, which I find disappointing. So if I can add a new bookclub where people actually read, maybe I'll feel less petulant at the other one.
15.6 Celebration of StylesEarthlings by Sayaka Murata
+15 Task - Non-Western
Task total: 15
Grand total: 340
20.8 MorrisonThe Kingdom of Gods by N.K. Jemisin
Probably my least favorite Jemisin book. Still good, but not up to her usual standards of inventiveness and consistency. It's been a little while since I read the other books in this trilogy, so at first I thought I was just having trouble getting re-immersed into the gods, godlings, and demons that populate this trilogy. But, no, I think it was that the book had inconsistent pacing and not quite satisfying differentiation between gods and humans.
Sien, the trickster god of childhood, has always been a great character, and it was almost enough to carry the book just to spend more time with him.
If you've read the other books in the trilogy, there's a nice sense of completion to be had by reading this one. If you haven't read the others, read those instead. Or, better yet, if you haven't read The Fifth Season (the Broken Earth Trilogy), go read that instead. All three books of that trilogy are five-star reads.
The narrator for the audiobook manages this book as well as possible given the slightly jumbled text.
+20 Task
+5 Jumbo (613 pp)
+10 Review
Task total: 35
Grand total: 325
15.5 Celebration of StylesYoung Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin
+15 Task - Young - auth. b. 1977
Task total: 15
Grand total: 290
15.4 Celebration of StylesCrying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
+15 Task - Not-a-Novel (it's a memoir)
Task total: 15
Grand total: 275
Post 199 Tawallah wrote: "10.5 October Four Past Midnight by Stephen King
Task: 10
Oldies: 5 published in 1990
Jumbo : 10 paperback 744 pages
Prize Worthy : 5 Bram Stoker Award for Best Ficti..."
+5 Multiple (previous post 159)
Post 178 Valerie wrote: "10.6 September13 Clues for Miss Marple by Agatha Christie
Of course, I had to read a Miss Marple book after the last one! However, St Mary Mead is only mentioned a..."
I'm showing this as first published in 1966, so only +5 Oldies, not +10.
15.3 Celebration of StylesHeaven by Mieko Kawakami
+15 Task (Lost in Translation)
Task total: 15
Grand total: 260
15.2 Celebration of StylesAn Abundance of Katherines by John Green
I expected to like this more than I did, though I don't know why I should have expected that. I've read two others by this author -- Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars. I also found both of those to be only okay.
There are definitely some funny moments and funny lines. And the overall message of authenticity and acceptance is good. But reading about intentionally quirky and self-involved teenaged boys just didn't really do much for me. I think maybe nerdy middle school boys might like this more than I did. Then again, maybe there's not enough adventure or action in this book for that reading group.
In any event, I'm glad to be able to pass this book along after having it sit on my shelf for more than 10 years.
+15 Task (auth b. 1977 - Young)
Task total: 15
Grand total: 245
10.3 VowelsThe Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
If you read Lessons in Chemistry and you want to read it's much less good cousin, this is the book for you.
The book tries hard to be a romantic comedy, with a fake dating trope and a solidly stereotypical male lead--young hotshot professor who is a loner and terrorizes all the grad students by failing their proposals and making them redo their work. But the fundamental plot is so ridiculous, I never got past the unbelievability. It might have made sense if these characters were 18, but for a 26-year-old student and a 30-something-year-old professor, it was just silly.
Also, when I first saw the cover, I thought it was two women. Which would have been a much more interesting story. Instead, we get no reason why these characters like each other besides one brief conversation from several years ago. We are told that they fall madly in love during their month of fake dating, but it's not clear why--there hardly seems to be any chemistry between them (view spoiler). I kept wondering if this was Twilight fan fiction--the romance seemed equally inexplicable.
I was interested enough to finish the book, but only barely. This was a debut novel, so maybe this author has come up with slightly better stories in her later books.
The narrator for the audiobook does the best she can with the silliness of the plot.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Prize-worthy (but shouldn't be)
Task total: 25
Grand total: 230
L'Shana Tova -- Happy new year I meant to post at the start of the Rosh Hashanah holiday on Friday night, but I was at services and then forgot.
I hope everyone has a sweet and happy new year.
Post 93 Rebekah wrote: "20.8 MorrisonBlanche Among the Talented Tenth by Barbara Neely
+20 pts - task
Total - 20 pts"
+5 Oldies (published 1994)
