Joanna’s
Comments
(group member since Nov 17, 2010)
Joanna’s
comments
from the Reading with Style group.
Showing 1,141-1,160 of 2,307
10.5 SuffragettesThe Corner That Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner
+10 Task (author born 1893)
+5 Oldies (pub. 1948)
Task total: 15
Grand total: 180
10.8 Big 4-0Never a City So Real: A Walk in Chicago by Alex Kotlowitz
+10 Task (pub. 2004)
Task total: 10
Grand total: 165
20.10 Over/UnderBeing Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist by Judith Heumann
+20 Task (4.59/35 right now)
Task total: 20
Grand total: 135
All in possession
10.3 One at a time, pleaseWitness in Death by J.D. Robb
+10 Task
Task total: 10
Grand total: 105
All in possession
30.1 Go for the GreenThe Vegetarian by Han Kang
+30 Task (set in South Korea - Republic of Korea)
Task total: 30
Grand total: 95
10.6 Going PostalThunderhead by Neal Shusterman
Lexile: 870
+10 Task (NS = Nova Scotia)
+5 Jumbo (504 pp)
Task total: 15
Grand total: 65
3/3 in possession
20.8 Beatrix PotterLisey's Story by Stephen King
+20 Task
+5 Jumbo (513 pp)
Task total: 25
Grand total: 50
(2/2 in possession)
One of the things on the list is Swan River Peppermint (and River Gum).Does that mean that Peace Like a River will qualify?
20.2 AsiaSouth of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami
+20 Task (author born in Japan; set 100% in Japan)
+5 Oldies (1992)
Task total: 25
Grand total: 25
1/1 in possession
Also, I'd like to lock in The Toll at 625. The hardcover is currently the MPE, but I think the paperback will be rising in the list soon.
Is it the most popular edition or the most popular print edition? E.g., one of the books I have on my list is Little Voices. The most popular edition is the Kindle edition, at 335pp. But we often seem to use the most popular print edition, which is the paperback at 325pp.
10.2 LettersThe Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma by Trenton Lee Stewart
Lexile: 900
This was a read-a-long with my children. My eight year old loved this book--she listened to the audiobook. My ten year old seems to have abandoned this series in favor of shinier fantasy (he's currently reading the Scythe trilogy by Neal Shusterman).
This book is very much a cartoon--both villains and helpful adults use ridiculous weapons (sharpened pencils as darts, boomerangs, etc.) and coded messages. You can just imagine the Batman scene where a villain decides that the best way to kill Batman is to tie him up under a block of ice that when it melts will drop a piano on his head. So, you just have to accept that about how these books are going to unfold.
Even so, I was a little disappointed that this book gave one of the characters actual telepathic abilities. Even for a cartoonish universe, this felt like cheating. It still involved some amount of puzzle solving since she can only really transmit images and not words, but it still felt like the author couldn't quite get the plot together.
Recommended for middle-grade readers and would be entertaining as a read-aloud. Adults should find enough here to entertain.
My eight year old has already listened to Book 4, and she's anxious for me to read it as well, so I'm sure I will soon. Unfortunately, they change narrators for Book 4, so I hope it isn't too strange. The narrator for this series has done a fine job so far.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.3 "and")
Task total: 25
Grand total: 1550
Tien wrote: "just to clarify, we cannot use this task for combo?"No combos at all for Summer...
20.8 My Cup of TeaIsland of Silence by Lisa McMann
Lexile: 820
This book contains perhaps the most perfect one-sentence summary of all YA books ever: "We have a government to overtake, and we need to be together on this." Isn't that just every one of these books?
This book picks up immediately where the previous book ended. These are not stand-alone novels. If you're going to read this series (which I only recommend if you are actually a middle-grader, not if you are, like me, and adult reading with kids), you should read them in order. There's plenty of action in this book, and even a little bit of character development.
Still, these books aren't really entertaining for the adult reader. My elementary and middle school kids are loving them, but I've read a lot of better YA series--try Keeper of the Lost Cities, The Lightning Thief, or even Fablehaven before you end up here.
I think I'm stuck though. So onwards to the third book seeing as how this ended with a cliffhanger leading directly into the start of the third book.
+20 Task ("Alex wandered across the hall, made himself some tea in the kitchenette and went back to the office, knowing he was a few minutes early" p. 54)
+10 Review
Task total: 30
Grand total: 1525
20.8 My Cup of TeaTime's Convert by Deborah Harkness
No reason to read this if you didn't already read and enjoy the original Discovery of Witches trilogy. This book really felt like an author trying to find a way to cash in further on the success of her previous books when she really didn't have much in the way of new ideas. This book is backstory on Marcus, one of the secondary characters from the trilogy, as well as information about the transformation to vampire of his fiance, Phoebe. Overall, there was little plot or tension to this story, which made it more like tea with friends than like a riveting novel.
The narrator for the audiobook doesn't help things. The narrator's voice occasionally put emphasis in strange spots or seemed to stumble over certain names. I read the first three books on my kindle; I probably should have read this one as well, but the audio was available from the library faster than the kindle version, so I thought I'd try it. If there are more books in this series, I'll probably go back to the kindle version.
+20 Task ("I sipped at my tea, still feeling I'd missed something crucial." Location 406)
+10 Review
Task total: 30
Grand total: 1495
Goals: --Read books I own/obtain by June 1
--Read books that fit other challenges
10.1 Pick a Card = three of clubs? (300-399pp)
Two Girls, Fat and Thin
Peace Like a River
==> Lost 2020 books
10.2 Author Name
The Abstinence Teacher
Perfect Circle
Jesus Land: A Memoir
==> Lost 2020 books
Herzog
Little Voices
==> MM books
Hollow City
Record of a Spaceborn Few
==> series books
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of Ages
==> read-a-long with kids; series books
**The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
**The Mirror & the Light
==> Library holds (may not come in by June 1)
10.3 One at a time, please
Witness in Death
==> series book
10.4 PD James
Strip Jack
==> series book
10.5 Suffragettes
Appointment with Death
==> series book
10.6 Postal
Lisey's Story
==> MM book
The Drawing of the Three
Broken Homes
==> series books
Thunderhead
The Toll
==> read-a-long with son
10.7
10.8
10.9
10.10 Group read
Loitering with Intent
20.1 Africa
The Rosewater Insurrection
The Rosewater Redemption
==>series books
20.2 Asia
South of the Border, West of the Sun
20.3 Middle East
The Cat
==> MM book
Bearing the Body
20.4 France
The Dressmaker's Gift
==> MM book
The Vine Witch
20.5 Russia
Speak, Memory
The Luzhin Defense
20.6 Latin America
Kingdom of the Golden Dragon
==>series book
2666
20.7 Canada
The Tattoo Artist
==>MM book
20.8
20.9
20.10
30.1 Go for the Green!
The Vegetarian (South Korea)
Other books without homes:
Equal Rites
Sourcery
The Causal Angel
15.10 BlackjackBodily Harm by Margaret Atwood
8 of Diamonds - orig. pub. 80s - 1981
A of Hearts - pub date has 2 1s - 1981
+45 Task
+5 Female
+5 pre-1995
Task total: 55
Grand total: 1115
+150 Blackjack completion bonus - 25 cards used
+200 Mega finish
Grand total: 1465
