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

Joanna’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

Also, Marion Zimmer Bradley -- Zimmer Bradley's first child, David R. Bradley, and her brother, Paul Edwin Zimmer, also became published science fiction and fantasy authors.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_...

Okay, a few additional, using fantastic fiction:

Zakes Mda - novels, plays, nonfiction
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/z...

Elfriede Jelinek - novels, plays, nonfiction
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/j/e...

Flannery O'Connor - novels, short stories, nonfiction
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/o/f...

Just saw that Citizen: An American Lyric was approved for 20.3.

I'd like to add the combo +5 to that -- I posted it in post #525.

I now show my grand total as 870.

Marion Zimmer Bradley - novels, short stories, poetry (see The Maenads)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_...

It looks like maybe just a single poem was published...Is that enough to count for poetry? Also, wiki lists "scholarly works" which look like nonfiction. (e.g., The Necessity for Beauty: Robert W. Chambers and the Romantic Tradition) Does that do it?

See https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...

Further down in his profile, it says "poet, folklorist, artist..."

Also, wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles... (third paragraph)

It says "De Lint is a poet, folklorist, artist, songwriter and performer."

And wikipedia: "De Lint writes novels, novellas, short stories, poetry, and lyrics. "

Charles de Lint - adult, SS, poet

Neil Gaiman - adult, SS, graphic (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Ga...)

W.B. Yeats - poetry, nonfiction, plays (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._B._Y...) [and combo with 20.1, 20.2, and 20.4 as well]

I really enjoyed The Quantum Thief. I have the second book in the trilogy, The Fractal Prince slated here for Finland.

Could you please take a look at Brother, I'm Dying by Edwidge Danticat?

Previously, this had been found to be YA at BPL, but I don't see it shelved that way any more.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is listed as India/Uganda. I think it should be India/USA. Maybe I'm missing something?

10.1 My task: Read one of the book club picks from my neighborhood book club

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Review:
This is the March selection for my neighborhood bookclub. It should make for an interesting discussion because there are a lot of important themes here. In particular, I am interested in the examination of the meaning of loyalty - to family, to country, to individuals. There is a lot of sacrifice of personal happiness in this book in the name of loyalty and obedience. While the plot and characters were sometimes a little thin, the questions raised about duty and promises kept me going and have stayed with me as I reflect on the book.

I also enjoyed the historical portions of the book that looked at Seattle in the 1940s, the jazz scene, and the internment of Japanese Americans. I've read the legal battles about internment, but I haven't read much literature that tells these stories. Having the perspective of a Chinese family added and interesting angle.

+10 Task
+10 Combo (10.9 - 3.96; 20.1 - approved in help)
+10 Review

Task total: 30
Grand total: 860

10.2 No L, No L

Rapture in Death by J.D. Robb

Review:
Another book in the "In Death" series. I enjoy this series as ear candy. I'd never read these books in print, but they are great for listening while doing something else like cleaning the house or exercising. Eve and Roarke are a good pair and Peabody really makes this book. It's nice to read a romance that continues even after marriage and doesn't rely on infidelity to bring the pair together. I didn't like this one as much as the first three, mostly because there was less cool gadgetry and a much more predictable mystery. Still, I'll read more of this series the next time I'm in need of a little entertaining fluff.

+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Series

Task total: 25
Grand total: 830

20.2 Sigred Undset

World Without End by Ken Follett

I enjoyed listening to this 45+ hour monstrosity of a novel. John Lee does a fine job keeping the large cast of characters straight and is pleasing to listen to throughout. On the one hand, I found the whole thing entertaining. On the other hand, I've got lots of complaints. The characters here are not fully fleshed out fallible human beings -- they're more like caricatures of good and evil. The villains are wholly evil and generally don't learn from the past; the heroes are not only always public-spirited but also outright geniuses. My biggest complaint was Clan of the Cave Bear syndrome. Like Ayla in that series, the heroes here invent practically everything -- germ theory, paper, chalkboards, fabric dyes, fancy looms, architectural marvels, lift and pulley systems, etc. Caris defies all expectations for a woman of her time -- she challenges religion, resists marrying, doesn't want children, runs a business and a hospital, etc. Others have described her as a time traveler -- she's transplanted from modern times back to the medieval setting. While it isn't quite as bad as that, the suspension of disbelief required to follow her as a character is often too much.

Overall, enjoyable. I'd read or listen to another Follett book at some point.

+20 Task
+10 Review
+25 Jumbo (1014 pgs.)

Task total: 55
Grand total: 805

20.4 Elfriede Jelinek

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

This is my neighborhood book club's February pick. I suspect the book will generate good conversation, but I didn't love the novel. I loved the setting and the initial premise -- a trip down the Seine in a book barge where the "literary apothecary" prescribes the right books to the right readers to cure what ails their souls. It's an almost perfect book blurb. Unfortunately, the bulk of the book is the story of a man who never recovers from a long-ago love affair with a married woman he met on a train, then his grief later when he learns more about the circumstances of their separation. I liked the idea of musing on grief and love lost and life continuing, but I never felt close to these characters and never connected to their emotions. I'm not sorry to have read this, but I won't be recommending it to anyone.

+20 Task (translated from German)
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.9 - 3.53; 20.1 - see help thread)

Task total: 40
Grand total: 750

And another move:

In post #524, I posted The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith for 10.2.

I'd like to move that to 20.1.

Task total: +10
Grand total: 710

I'd like to move a book:

In post #150, I posted The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters for 15,1.

I'd like to move that to 10.2:

Review:
The narrator did a fantastic job on this audiobook - winner of a well-deserved audiofile earphones award. I think I understood the characters better by hearing their different accents performed. The book started as a historical novel with a lesbian romantic twist on a love triangle, then developed into a faster-paced story toward the middle of the book.

I was disappointed in the ending, but otherwise quite taken with the book. I really enjoy Sarah Waters' ability to write lush language and to dive deep into the dark corners of the relationships she examines. I'll definitely seek out more of her work. Too bad this is the only one my library has on overdrive

+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Jumbo (564 pgs.)

Task total: 25 (-15 already posted) = +10
Grand total: 700

20.4 Alice Munro

The Love of a Good Woman by Alice Munro

Review:
I've been reading these stories slowly over the past three months. I would read one, then I'd set the book aside, read something else. Then pick the book up for the next story. Alice Munro has been called one of the best modern short story authors, and it's easy to see why in this collection. There are no real narrative twists here, no thrilling plotlines, no magical powers. And yet. The characters radiate with authenticity and life in a way that's almost hard to believe. They aren't likeable, they act deliberately or infuriatingly rashly, they engage intellectual debates over literary stories. As with any short story collection, there were stories I liked more than others, but all of the stories here are strong. Highly recommended.

+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo (20.1 - see help; 10.8 - Canada)

Task total: 40
Grand total: 690

How about this description of Alice Munro:

http://goodbooksguide.blogspot.com/20...

"Munro is very good at evoking a sense of place and her psychological acuity is razor-sharp."

The post references several short story collections. Will this work for all of them?

See also: http://www.vqronline.org/web-exclusiv...

Beth wrote: "So am I missing anything? I can't find a place for The Three-Body Problem unless it drops a hundredth of point into a ranking of 3.99. I don't regret reading it either way, I'm just..."

Is he on the ranker list? I have trouble getting the bottom half of the list to open.

I enjoyed that book.

20.10 Extra

Toxin Toxout: Getting Harmful Chemicals Out of Our Bodies and Our World by Bruce Lourie

Nothing in this book is really all that surprising, but it is depressing to see it compiled into a single book. There are all sorts of toxic chemicals in all sorts of everyday stuff and we aren't really doing much about it. The experiments that they run are too short-term to really shed much light on the effects of toxic chemicals, but they do show that the chemicals are getting into our bodies (and that there are measurable ways to lower their levels). I've made most of the recommended changes already - choosing organic foods, natural personal care products and cleaning products, drinking lots of water. A perfectly interesting book, written in an engaging way, but nothing surprising for anyone moderately informed about environmental issues.

+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.8 - Canada; 10.9 - 3.84)

Task total: 40
Grand total: 650