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

Joanna’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

Readers,

I have heard from one member a concern that the Spring 20-pt titles are political or distressing. I want to say that the moderators did not intend to make a political statement and that the titles were drawn from MIT's scientific research page, not from a political or activist group. We were thinking of these titles as related to the science of climate research and did not think that such research would feel political. We apologize to anyone that felt offended or excluded by this choice.

In any event, the actual tasks are not intended to force anyone down any particular political track--all of the tasks are open to a huge range of reading interests and tastes.

If you want to discuss further, please message me. I'm always interested in the suggestions of our members.

Valerie wrote: "Does this book fit here, or is the focus too narrow:

The Gallant Cause: Canadians in the Spanish Civil War 1936 - 1939 by Mark Zuehlke"

That seems like it will work since it's focused on the Spanish Civil War.

Deedee wrote: "Does history - non fiction books count?
Some examples:
French History: The Affair of the Poisons: Murder, Infanticide, and Satanism at the Court of Louis XIV
Or books on the French R..."

John Adams definitely works as that's a biography of a politician.

Books about the American Revolution, French Revolution, or the Civil War will generally work.

The Brothers York looks like it works too.

On Challenger, the Code Breaker, and the Affair of the Poisons, I think you'll need to use your judgment about whether those are really about a political event. They don't look like it to me.

Karen Michele wrote: "Does science fiction count here? I'm looking at
Forty Signs of Rain
Politics is a main page genre, but I'm not sure if it's centered enough on politics."

Yes, that looks like it works.

15.10 BBR

BBR book: Starter Villain by John Scalzi

C - Same city/country - Chicago

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
Lexile: 870

+30 Task
+100 BBR finish
+200 Mega finish

Points this post: 330
Grand total: 1230

Post 581:
Kathleen (itpdx) wrote: "20.5 Tom Spanbauer

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

+20 task (no styles low Lexile)

Season total: 510"

This book is not shelved as YA at BPL, so the lexile doesn't matter.

10.10 Group Reads

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer

+10 Task
+10 Combo (20.2 - narrator and another character talk about what is happening; 20.3)

Task total: 20

+50 Halfway finish - 10pt tasks

Grand total: 900

10.8 Theater

Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet

+10 Task (play)
+5 Oldies (1983)
+10 Aged (b. 1947)
+10 Combo (20.1, 20.3)

Task total: 35
Grand total: 830

A place to post your plans.

In honor of True/False, the documentary film festival, read a book of narrative non-fiction. "Creative nonfiction (also known as literary nonfiction or narrative nonfiction) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives."

20.9 I Bless the Rains Down in Africa...(Apple's task):
Read a book by an author born in any African country or which is set at least 51% in Africa. For books posted to this task only, reward yourself with a +5 bonus if your book is set in one of the remaining non-green African countries on the RwS Group Project (Spreadsheet here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...).

20.8 Temple Bar Pub (Anika's task):
In recognition of my favorite Irish exports, Guinness and Jameson, read a book where a character drinks either beer or whiskey.

20.7 Senior Sleuth's (Owlette's task):
Thanks to Elizabeth (Alaska) for mentioning the cozy-mystery.com website and for passing her task creation to me. Read any series mentioned in one of these lists:
SENIOR SLEUTHS:
Authors beginning with A – F https://cozy-mystery.com/blog/mystery...
Authors beginning with G – P https://cozy-mystery.com/blog/mystery...
Authors beginning with Q – W https://cozy-mystery.com/blog/mystery...

20.6 Reducing Emissions:
Read a book where each subsequent word of the title is shorter than the previous word. A, An, and The at the start of a title may be ignored, as can subtitles. One-word titles do not work for this task.

20.5 Human Impacts:
Read a book which has been nominated for or won the Aspen Words Literary Prize which awards "$35,000 annually to an influential work of fiction that illuminates a vital contemporary issue and demonstrates the transformative power of literature on thought and culture.”

20.4 Climate Science:
Read a book that has been shelved at least 2 times as climate-change-fiction, at least 4 times as cli-fi, or appears in the top 100 of this list of popular climate books.

20.3 Climate Policy:
Read a book that features a politician or political event. A political event refers to a moment or occurrence in history that has a profound impact on the political landscape, shaping policies, ideologies, and the overall direction of governance. This generally includes wars, elections, assassinations, landmark court decisions, political protests or protest movements (e.g., the civil rights protests in the United States), and military actions (e.g., the 1973 Chilean Coup d'état).

20.2 Carbon Removal:
In honor of the XPrize for Carbon Removal, read a book that has won at least two prizes.

20.1 Adaptation and Resilience:
Read a book which has been made into a movie, miniseries, TV series, or which is a retelling of a previous book or story.

10.10 Group Reads:
Read one of the following books OR any book by the author of one of these books recommended by fellow RwS readers:
Anika - The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
Apple - The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat
Joanna - City Boy by Herman Wouk
Rosemary - Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Bucket: A History of the World in 10½ Chapters by Julian Barnes
Claire: Long Island by Colm Tóibín
Connie: The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
Denise:
Jayme: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Joanne: Penric’s Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold
Marie: The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
Nick: She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan
Norma: The Bowman by Rhys Dylan
Valerie: The Case of the Canterfell Codicil by P.J. Fitzsimmons