Reading with Style discussion
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WI 11-12 Completed Tasks
RwS10.5 Underrated
I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason by Susan Kandel
+10 Task
10.9 11 in '11
The Tenth Justice by Brad Meltzer-first book by an author who has published 11 books or more
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.6-uncommon letter)
20.10 Play the Numbers
The Girl in the Blue Beret by Bobbie Ann Mason
+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.5-401 ratings; 20.2-takes place in more than one country)
The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
+20 Task
+5 Combo (20.2-takes place in more than one country)
CiV
15.3 O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
C-D; 141-180; 1905-1916
+25 Task
15.4 Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family by Thomas Mann
L-M; 701-740; 1892-1904
+30 Task
Post Total: 135
Season Total: 435
15.2 Christmas in Vegas(2nd book claimed for this part of the challenge)
I read The Cat Who Went into the Closet by Lilian Jackson Braun.
A-B/ 221-260 / 1993
+ 20 task points
GRAND TOTAL 285 points
10.5 Underrated (only 3 ratings!)I read Once upon a Christmas: by Pearl S. Buck.
+ 10 points
+ 5 combo (10.8...many of the stories take place in China)
My review:
Once Upon a Christmas, by Pearl Buck is a collection of Christmas rememberances from the author. There are stories from her past Christmases in China and as a child; there are also other stories that are not from her life, but stories of Christmases. The fact that these stories were written in the 1950’s and 1960’s make them quaint and endearing in my opinion. I love the simplicity of Christmases long ago. I really enjoyed reading these stories and I realize, while this type of book may not be for everyone, if you want to slow down and contemplate on the importance of family and the holidays, it is a great book to have around to read during the holidays.
+ 10
+ 5 Oldies ( published in 1950 originally)
= 30 task points
GRAND TOTAL = 315 points
10.5 Underrated (56 ratings)+ 10 points
Get Off Your Knees and Pray: A Woman's Guide to Life-Changing Prayer by Sheila Walsh.
My review:
We used the book Get Off Your Knees and Pray as our weekly Bible study. I really enjoyed this book; it focused on prayers and praying. I loved that each lesson focused on a stumbling block to having an intimate prayer life, a character from the Bible, a connection to the modern world, and ways to combat the blocks that we encounter. Although there were some lessons that I found to be a bit repetitive of others, for the most part they were applicable to our lives as Christian women. I recommend this book as individual or group study on prayer. There are lots of resources throughout the book as well. Sheila Walsh is a well-known Women of Faith speaker and she speaks candidly from her own life experiences throughout this book.
+ 10 points
= 20 task points
GRAND TOTAL: 335 (I think!)
Deana wrote: "10.5 Underrated (56 ratings)+ 10 points
My review:
We used the book Get Off Your Knees and Pray as our weekly Bible study. I really enjoyed this book; it focused on prayers and praying. I..."
LOL Just over-looked, I'm sure, but could you edit your post to include a link to the book?
CiV 15.4The Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle 355 pages, first published 1995
A-B; 341-380/741-780; 1989-2000
+30 Task
Previous Total: 200
New Total: 230
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Deana wrote: "10.5 Underrated (56 ratings)+ 10 points
My review:
We used the book Get Off Your Knees and Pray as our weekly Bible study. I really enjoyed this book; it focused on prayers and pr..."
My bad!!! So sorry.....edited! Thanks!
Task 20.5 AutobiographyHouse of Prayer No. 2: A Writer's Journey Home by Mark Richard
Usually an audiobook read by the author adds extra authenticity and intensity to the audio experience. For this book, however, the unabridged reading by Mark Richard (which was generally in a monotone and flat voice) left me conflicted. I was alternately intrigued by the memoir despite Richard's reading style and distracted by his lack of inflection. The writing itself is good, to the point, and hits you over the head with its directness. Richard's life is fascinating and inspiring and his attitude in the face of such adversity is unapologetic and admirable. At times I longed for further development of concepts and events but was left only with sparse prose. I was also caught off guard to some extent by the use of second person narration which seems particularly strange given that the audiobook was being read by the author. It just seemed an odd choice and it stripped away some of the emotional connection to the author which may have been exactly what Mark Richard was hoping to achieve.
+20 Task
+15 Combo (10.5 Underrated; 10.7 What's Your Type (ENFJ) House of Prayer No. 2: A Writer's Journey Home; 20.10 Play the Numbers (2011))
+10 Review
Task Total = 45
Grand Total = 90
CiV15.5
V-W-X-Y-Z, 101-140, 1892-1904
Bunner Sisters by Edith Wharton, 101 pages (Kindle; I think the most popular physical book is 134 pages), pub 1900
Task = 35 points
Grand Total = 235
my review
RwS Tasks:10.5 – Underrated
Dangerous Neighbors by Beth Kephart 155 Ratings 930 Lexile
I’ve never read Beth Kephart before and now that I know what I’ve been missing, I plan to try more of her books. Dangerous Neighbors takes place in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial Celebration and through flashbacks revealing the relationship and lives of twin sisters, Katherine and Anna. Katherine is mourning the accidental death of her sister and feels responsible for what is gradually revealed to have happened. She has decided to end her own life that in her mind is not worth anything to anyone now and has chosen the Centennial grounds and its high towers as the place. Her understanding of her memories and of her worth develops as the story goes on leading to an exciting and satisfying conclusion seeped in the history of a bygone era.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo: Christmas Carol (1876, pub 2010) / 20.10 Play the Numbers (2010)
Task Total: 30
10.7 – Denae’s Task – What’s Your Type?
My Profile: I N F J
N & F in Title:
Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall by Kazuo Ishiguro
Kazuo Ishiguro has long been a favorite author of mine. I'm also a musician and former music teacher, so despite some uneven reviews, I've been wanting to read this collection of short stories. I'm glad I finally gave it a chance. It won't go down on my list of favorites from Ishiguro, but I loved the title story and thoroughly enjoyed a couple of the others. I loved the writing and, as always with Ishiguro, I felt I knew the characters quite well considering the short story form and brief number of pages I was given to "get inside their heads". I think what was missing for me was a more in depth understanding of the music connections in the stories. I wanted to know more about the characters' attachments to their mutual love of music. The study of relationships in all their many nuances was what drove these stories for me, though, and made it an enjoyable collection overall.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo: 10.8 Chinese New Year (Asian Author) / Tale of Two Cities (England & Italy)
Task Total: 30
10.9 – Kate’s Task – 11 in ’11
1st in Series: (Agatha Christie has written more than 11 books)
Hercule Poirot #1
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
What fun it was to read the very first Hercule Poirot mystery by Agatha Christie! The challenge has re-connected me with these books which I have always enjoyed. As I read The Mysterious Affair at Styles, I was amazed that it was the introductory book to this new detective who seemed so familiar and that Christie was able to create a character that stayed true to the original over so many years. The mystery itself was solid, too. All the hallmarks that make these mysteries so much fun were there: thorough explanations for twists that I cannot possibly fathom the meaning of as I read them, knowledge of the methods of murder ( the workings of poison in this case) that is well researched and baffling to me as a "layman" until explained by Poirot, and the sense of humor and fun that seeps in around the edges of the very serious subject of murder. I really enjoyed the book.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 Oldies: 76 to 150 years old: published 1920
Task Total: 30
CiV Task:
15.6 – 45 points:
Cannery Row by John Steinbeck / 196 pgs./1945
S-T-U / 181-220/581-620 / 1941-1952
Task Total: 45
Points this Post: 135
Grand Total: 645
Bloodheir by Brian Ruckley+10 Task (10.5 underrated)
+10 lost in translation
+5 jumbo
Task total= 35
Grand Total= 70
10.3 Home for the HolidaysClaire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran
+10 Task (New Orleans)
+20 Combo [10.5 Underrated (542 ratings); 20.6 Bleak House (character is a New Orleans DA); 20.8 Fictional Fiction (character studies a fictional detective manual); 20.10 Play the Numbers (published in 2011)]
Task Total = 30 points
10.5 Underrated
Sunset's One-Block Feast: 100 Recipes Using 40 Made-from-Scratch Ingredients Straight from Your Backyard by Margo True
+10 Task (6 ratings)
+5 Combo [Play the Numbers (published in 2011)]
Task Total = 15 points
Grand Total = 120 points
10.9 11 in 11 "Eleven on Top" Janet Evanovich's 11th book in the Stephanie Plum series.Review
This is the eleventh book in the Stephanie Plum series. Stephanie quits as a bounty hunter thinking her life would get back to normal after she received some creepy threat notes. She tried to lead a normal life but life is never normal for Stephanie. The notes still keep coming. She gets fired from three jobs. She gets shot at from a crazy dry cleaner owner and her last place of employment gets blown up before Ranger offers her a job at his company. Did I mention her car gets blown up again? This is the fifth time. What I love about the character is she is resilient and nothing much gets her down. After eleven books I am still addicted. Seven more to go.
Task+ 10
Style +15 (review, 10.7 What's Your Type? EJ-Janet Evanowich)
Book Total: 25
Grand Total: 215
20.10 The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. published 2011Review:
This novel 'had me at hello'. I thought the beginning of the story was beautifully written and I was invested in the plot. We are introduced to Victoria, a little girl who was in and out of foster care families and group homes until the age of 10. Her experiences and reactions to them tugged at my heartstrings; basically, she became ultra-defensive, defiant, and deemed herself unlovable. I was really pulling for the little girl!
At the age of 10, despite her best efforts, Victoria was fostered by a kind woman named Elizabeth. Elizabeth taught Victoria the language of flowers and slowly earned Victoria's affection. But of course, true to her history, Victoria messes that up, too.
Sadly, I began to lose interest about half way through the book. Without giving away major plot elements, I can just say, pardon my pig latin, the book got majorly uckedfay upay. The second half focused on 18 year old Victoria, after she has aged out of the foster system. Yes, I get it, flowers are Victoria's friends, not people.... This is why I found the way her adult relationships unfolded completely unbelievable. The characterization seemed off and the plot rushed and underdeveloped. I ended up giving this book 3 stars (4 for the beginning of the novel and 2 for the end).
+20 task
+10 review
+5 combo (20.7- U.S. Author)
task total = 35 points
grand total = 135 points
15.2 - CiV (G-H; 221-260/621-660; 1905-1916)We of the Never Never by Jeanie Gunn (Aeneas Gunn was her pen name)
238 pages / Pub. 1908
+20 Task
15.3 - CiV (N-O; 421-460/821-860; 2001-2012)
Delirium: Delirium 1 by Lauren Oliver
441 pages / Pub. 2011 / 920L
+25 Task
10.9 - Kate's Task - 11 in '11
B - 1st book in a series by an author who has published at least 11 books
Dragonflight: Pern: Dragonrider of Pern 1 by Anne McCaffrey
"Loved it! I don't know what took me so long to read this one and I'm absolutely smashed about it. Can't wait to get my hands on the next book.
The beginning was slightly strange to me - sounding a little bit more sci-fi but then the rest of the book has a fantasy feel (there's a fine line here for me which I do feel quite keenly for as I'm tend to read fantasy than sci-fi).
The book follows 2 characters, Lessa, an orphan keen on revenge however is destined for bigger things, and F'lar, dragonman patiently waiting to make his move as Wyerleader. The story is not complete, of course, without the romance between the two. Don't worry, the romance is not mushy at all and it's only an added bonus to the story ;)"
+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.8 - Dragon)
+5 Oldies (Pub. 1968)
10.4 - Love Is in the Air
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
"Gah!
Bah!
Pffft!
The ending soooo did NOT make the book worthwhile reading! So I appreciated the whole lessons bit (typical!) but well, I knew it, I just knew it!
Since, it took me so long to get around to reading this classical work, I supposed I shouldn't complain so much but I just thought Miss Havisham plays a much bigger role than she did. And that the novel was more 'gothic'. I am completely mistaken :(
This story focused totally and completely on Pip and of lessons he deservedly learned. There was no ghost and aside from Miss Havisham (who isn't as sinister as I thought she'd be), no sinister figures. Just Pip and his life lessons.
I am, however, eternally grateful to ""friends"" of Dickens who convinced him to alter the original ending. Still wasn't that much better to my perspective but it did brought the book up from 1 star to 2."
+10 Task
+10 Combo (20.1 - pub. 1860 & 20.3 - on both lists)
+10 Review
+15 Oldies (pub. 1860)
+5 Jumbo (500+ pages)
Total this post: 125 points
Total to date: 440 points
Krista wrote: "Merry Christmas Eve everyone! I hope you're all able to spend some quality time with your family and friends. I've been absent from the group for awhile because my Mom was hit with some unexpecte..."Merry Christmas, Krista! And all the best to your mum!! Take as much time to focus on your family as I'm sure you're much needed :)
And good job, Liz!! For taking scorekeeping back and so very efficient! Am trying to make it as easy as possible for you although I have already done a couple of mistakes in my first few posts, ha ha ha.
20.7 Arctic Circle Breaking Free by Cherise Sinclair
(US Author)
This is the third book in the very uneven Club Shadowlands series of BDSM romance novels. Cherise Sinclair is one of the better authors in this genre for relatively tame books. It seems that Ms. Sinclair prefers her women to have either no experience at all or crushingly horrible past relationships that they need the male lead's guidance to help them get past. I'm a little tired of this replayed theme, but I actually liked the characters in this book well enough. Of the three books from this series that I've read, this one is by far the best and there's really no need to read this series in order.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.5 [had 973 ratings when I finished it, though today it's crept up above 1000])
Task total: 35
20.10 Play the Numbers
Inheritance by Christopher Paolini (published 2011)
I don't know why I continue reading this series. It must be the excellent narration provided by Gerald Doyle for the audiobooks. This book is way too long and not much really happens. There's no reason why the third book of this "trilogy" needed to be broken into two 850 page/30 hour books. Still, dragon warfare is good fodder for commuting -- it requires very little mental attention but is mostly entertaining. The ending of this book/series was pretty disappointing; after the final battle, the author then spent a huge amount of time tying up every single loose end and sending the characters off into the rest of their lives in mostly unsatisfying ways.
I wouldn't recommend starting this series, but if you've started it, you probably want to know how the final battle plays out since the villain is sufficiently interesting to be worth following. Unfortunately, you'll likely be disappointed with the way his defeat is finally brought about.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.8 - dragons)
+15 Jumbo (read the audiobook, but most common paperback ed. has 860 pages)
Task total: 50
Grand total: 265
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "This could be used for 20.7 the Arctic Circle task, as McCarthy is a US author. Because of that it doesn't fit the Square Peg task. If you haven't used a US author for 20.7, you could switch it to that task. It also qualifies for oldies points (pub 1973), so be sure to give them to yourself. "I've already claimed points for task 20.7 with another US author. In that case is the book eligible for task 10.1 or do I have to take it out completely as it doesn't fit anywhere else?
Sanskriti wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "This could be used for 20.7 the Arctic Circle task, as McCarthy is a US author. Because of that it doesn't fit the Square Peg task. If you haven't used a US author for 20..."Even if you have already claimed a US author for 20.7, no books by a US author are eligible for 10.1 Square Peg. So, this is where things get complicated :)
What I recommend is to switch Along Came a Spider to task 10.9 and then use Child of God for 20.7-US author. Let me know if you'd like to do so.
Kazza wrote: "Krista wrote: "Merry Christmas Eve everyone! I hope you're all able to spend some quality time with your family and friends. I've been absent from the group for awhile because my Mom was hit with..."Thanks Kazza -- your warm wishes are appreciated! Mom is doing better. I think we've finally convinced her that she'll need to move to an Assisted Living center when she's released from this care facility. It's a big move for her (for all of us actually), but she'll be safer that way.
TASK 20.4Peony in Love by Lisa See ★★★★
Book was published in 2007/Book set in 1600s
Review:
Peony is a daughter born to a wealthy family. But as is the norm is the days of 1600s China Peony is bound to the inner chambers of women and forbidden from the world of men. She is brought up to be a pious and dutiful daughter. She is educated, taught the arts that would aid her life as a future wife and mother. Just shy of a few months of her marriage, Peony is a witness to an opera, The Peony Pavilion, a love saga between a mortal and a ghost. The emotions that the opera and the volumes of the book arouses in her changes her life forever.
A glimpse of a man, three nights spent watching him, talking about the opera with him and venturing out to meet him in secret, is about as much as Peony can dare to do. It is all that can mar her virtue.
Betrothed to a complete stranger, but hopelessly in love with another, despair fills Peony. Hurdles unimagined will fall in their way and soon Peony will be invisible to her man but her relentless will and passion to be united with her true love will win in the end even though it takes decades for the two to be truly united.
Not quite like Lisa See’s other works, but beautiful nonetheless. At the heart of this book is a love story, very pure, very strong. I found Peony to be a selfish character, a little rash and maybe even a little stupid. But her passion and desire moved me. There were parts I wasn’t exactly impressed with and I had to struggle through them. But by the end I ended up liking the book because it was about a woman trying to get herself heard. More so by her love.
I found Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Shanghai Girls to be Lisa See’s better works in comparison.
+20 Task
+5 Combo (Task 10.8)
+10 Review
Task Total = 35
Grand Total = 180
Liz M wrote: "Even if you have already claimed a US author for 20.7, no books by a US author are eligible for 10.1 Square Peg. So, this is where things get complicated :) What I recommend is to switch Along Came a Spider to task 10.9 and then use Child of God for 20.7-US author. Let me know if you'd like to do so. ..."
I've made the changes in my posts. Request you to please check and let me know in case my calculations are incorrect.
Liz can probably find these as she does record the number of your post. In the future, however, it is requested that you (you, meaning everyone) make a new post telling of how you are switching your book(s) from one task to another.ETA: You do not need to repost the original, just let us know which book you are switching and from which tasks.
Task 15.4 – Christmas in Vegas1905-1916 N-O 261-300/661-700
The Scarlet Pimpernel (1905) by Emmuska Orczy (Paperback, 271 pages)
Task Total: 30
Task : 20.4 - In honor of A Christmas Carol, a novel that looks backward to the past. The time the book is set should be at least 25 years before/after the year of publication.
Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English (2010) by Natasha Solomons (Hardcover, 357 pages)
Review: I expected this novel to be a fish-out-of-water novel, poking at British society. There is a little of that in the novel, but it isn’t the focus. Instead, this novel is a mellow tale about a Jewish man named Mr. Rosenblum living in the Dorset countryside. Mr. Rosenblum and his wife successfully immigrated to England in the 1930s. All of their relatives back in Germany died in the Holocaust. Now it is 1952. Mr. Rosenblum, in a quest to become thoroughly English, seeks to join a golf course. Because he is Jewish, he is excluded; so he decides to build his own; and this building of the golf course is what the novel is about. Tall tales, gentle humor, and some low key observations about different ways of coping with setbacks are to be found in this novel. Extreme emotions, such as love, horror, adventure, are not. Recommended with reservations.
+ 20 Task
+ 10 Style: 1. Combo (5 points) (also fits: 10.5 (underrated), 20.10 (pub. 2010))
+ 10 Style: 2. Review (10 points):
Task Total: 20 + 10 + 10 = 40
Grand Total: 365 + 30 + 40 = 435
10.1 Square PegEffi Briest by Theodor Fontane
Published 1895. 1,083 ratings. Author is German and the setting is Germany. It was not set in the past or future. It is not the author's 1st or 11th book. I think this fits the criteria for a Square Peg.
Review:
This story of a girl who is married at seventeen to a husband more than twice her age, who loves her and is a good man but with whom she has very little in common, has been compared to 'Anna Karenina' and 'Madame Bovary'. The tone is much less flamboyantly emotional than either of these - in fact, Theodor Fontane avoids dealing head-on with any emotional situation, having it told at second hand or even leaving it to be inferred by the reader. I rather liked this approach which gives a strangely calm feeling to a tragic tale. I didn't so much like Effi, who is supposedly charming, but is a terrible whinger and does some very stupid things.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 Translated (from German)
+10 Oldies 1862-1936
Task Total = 40
Grand Total = 585
10.3 Home For The HolidaysTerror in Winnipeg by Eric Wilson
(no lexile score but since others of his books are 690, I won't claim combo points on this book)
+10 Task (I have only ever lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba)
Task Total: 10pts
20.1 Charles Dickens
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
My first audiobook of the challenge! The version I heard had each stave read by different people which I found to be an interesting concept, but also felt kind of disjunct. I just finished putting on a production of "Scrooge the Musical" so I thought I would give the original a try. It was nice to see that the stageplay author had taken quite a few of the original lines. In comparing the show to the book, I found that having the ghost of Christmas Past be Scrooge's little sister was a nice touch, and I thought the character of the 3rd phantom is better portrayed when you can visually see it. Of course long live the Muppet's Christmas Carol too! :)
+20 Task (published 1843)
+5 Combo 20.4 Christmas Carol
+10 Review
+15 Oldies 1762-1861 (pub. 1843)
Task Total: 50 pts
Post Total: 60 pts
Grand Total: 285 pts
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Liz can probably find these as she does record the number of your post. In the future, however, it is requested that you (you, meaning everyone) make a new post telling of how you are switching yo...">grin< what Elizabeth said.
Liz M wrote: "Speaking of combo points for 20.7, I am adding +5 combo points for 20.7 - US author to the following participant scores:Rebekah, post 8, Sue Grafton
nsfancy, post 37, Erle Stanley Gardner
Liz Veg..."
Thanks for the catching that! I hadn't realize I could use the US for the task AND once as a combo...awesome.
15.3 CiVP-Q-R | 301-340/701-740 | 2001-2012
A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny
311pp. p.2006
+25 Points
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 120
10.1 Square Peg Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
I had been looking at this book for a while, and I'm glad someone found that it fit for this task and no others! Yay! For a Victorian-ish (by no means a literary expert here) novel, I have to say that it held my interest and had more of a plot than Frankenstein, and others I have read from this time period. The outside perspective of Utterson mixed with the points of view of people he encounters and the letters he reads provided a varied narritive, descriptive yet action-filled enough to keep my interest. These 150 something pages flew by MUCH faster than slogging through the not-that-much-longer Frankenstein (which I had the pleasure of escaping in high school, only to be caught by it in my Literature of the Undead class last year). Although I already knew the story, it was nice to have some detail filling out Jekyll's story and observances at the end.
+10 Task - British Author, more than 1000 ratings, published 1886, set in its present etc etc. :)
+10 Review
+10 Oldies - pub 1886
Task Total: 30 pts
10.6 The Uncommon Letter
Lucky by Cecily von Ziegesar
+10 Task
Task Total: 10 pts
Post Total: 40 pts
Grand Total: 325 pts
Task 20.10 Sam's Task - Play the NumbersRecord Collecting for Girls: Unleashing Your Inner Music Nerd, One Album at a Time by Courtney E. Smith
I'm a self-proclaimed music snob just like Courtney E. Smith and I've NEVER met another girl as into music as me so I was instantly drawn to this book when it popped up as a recommendation by Amazon while looking for - you guessed it - music. It was a quick and easy read with a few moments of head nodding but, most of the time, I felt a generation gap between me and the author or maybe it was really an experiential gap since the author and I are less than 10 years apart in age. I've never worked for MTV, lived in New York City, or slept with a guy in a band. I'm probably the only music snob I know whereas the author is a music snob among a world of music snobs. Instead of sitting down with my new best friend, I felt a little like I was on the outside looking in. I really wanted more and just didn't find it but I definitely found something I'd never found before - a girl as into music as me.
+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.2 NYE Countdown (Time); 10.5 Underrated)
+10 Review
Task Total = 40
Grand Total = 130
Task 20.4 (-25 years)I read Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.
Published in 1991, but set in the 1850's....
+ 20 points
My review:
I really loved this book...it came highly recommended by all of my friends that had read it. I have read several other books by Francine Rivers and have loved them all. She is a great Christian author. This book is about a girl who is sold after her mother’s death into prostitution (at a young age) and grows up to be a very beautiful, desired prostitute, that comes with a high price. Through a series of events, a young man is lead of God to take her as his wife. She cannot accept this love; she doesn’t feel that she deserves it. She longs to be free. This is a true story about undying love, the love of a Savior, and redemption. I highly recommend it!
+ 10 points
= 30 task points
GRAND TOTAL 365 Points
Task 20.10 Play the numbersI read Beyond Summer by Lisa Wingate. It was published in 2010.
+ 20 points
My review:
This was my first read by the author Lisa Wingate, and I did not realize that this was the 3rd in a series when I read it. However, I really enjoyed this book. It is written from the three viewpoints of three main characters. I really thought the author did a beautiful job of developing the dialogue of these characters. The linguisitic style used with each was different (not just accents, but word choice as well). The story is based upon these three characters through various situation have come to live in the same neighborhood (a step-up for some and a step-down for others); it is about how they become true neighbors and friends and learn what community and family are all about. Thumbs up!
+ 10 points
= 30 task points
GRAND TOTAL: 395 Points
20.10 Play the NumbersPastors and Masters by Ivy Compton-Burnett
Review:
Ivy Compton-Burnett may be an acquired taste ... you have to not mind that the books are over 90% dialogue. In this case it's a short but very witty visit to a third-rate boys' school.
The headmaster, Nicholas Herrick, spends only 10 minutes a day in contact with the boys and leaves the rest of the teaching in the hands of almost unqualified assistants. Meanwhile, he boasts to his middle-aged sister and friends that he has written a book. One of the friends has also written a book: (view spoiler) I enjoyed this very much but you do have to concentrate to follow all the dialogue.
+20 Task (pub. 1925)
+10 Combo (10.5 Underrated, 20.8 Fictional Fiction, see review)
+10 Review
+10 Oldies 1862-1936
Task Total = 50
Grand Total = 635
RwS20.10 Play the Numbers
The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
+20 Task (pub 2010)
+5 Jumbo (562 pages)
+5 Combo (10.2)
Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
+20 Task (pub 2011)
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
+20 Task (pub 2010)
CiV
15.5 The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell
N-O; 221-260; 2001-2012
+35 Task
Post Total: 105
Season Total: 540
10.8 - Karen's Task - Chinese New YearThe Russian Concubine by Kate Furnivall
+10 Task
+5 Combo (20.4 - In honor of A Christmas Carol, read a novel that looks forward to the future,
OR a novel that looks backward to the past.)
+5 Jumbo (517 pages)
Total Points: 20
Grand Total: 95
20.5 David CopperfieldBalzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
+20 Task
+10 Lost in Translation (from Chinese)
+10 Combo
-10.8 Chinese New Year
-20.4 A Christmas Carol (set 1971-1973, more that 25 years in the past from date of publishing in 1999)
Task Total = 40
Grand Total = 110
Changing task for The Dovekeepers (original posting message #227)Instead of fulfilling 20.10 Sam's Task: Play the Numbers, I would like to have it fill the task for 20.4 A Christmas Carol.
Thanks!
20.10 Sam's Task: Play the NumbersThe Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean
I hated chemistry in high school--the mere sight of the periodic table would cause me to break out in a rash. That being said, I was a sucker for the design of this book cover and suckered even more for the promise of stories that could make science more interesting. I was not disappointed. Though much of it read like a chemistry text book (which I actually found myself enjoying!?) and I'm sure most of it went right over my head, I felt intellectually challenged and was rewarded by interesting anecdotes about teaspoons that can melt in hot water (gallium), the farthest-flung fight in WWII (in Denver! over molybdenum, or, as the miners called it, "Molly be damned"), and the heartbreaking tale of Zyklon A gas (originally used for pesticides increasing food production around the world and garnering a Nobel prize for the inventor, which was later altered into Zyklon B which was used in the gas chambers during WWII). I'm a flight attendant and find myself perusing lots of magazines and reading less-than-challenging novels. This book made me feel like I was feeding my brain cells rather than suffocating them.
+20 Task (pub. 2010)
+10 Review
+5 combo
-20.7 Baby It's Cold Outside (US Author)
Task Total = 35
Grand Total = 145
20.7 Baby It's Cold OutsideThe Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
+20 Task (US Author)
+5 combo
-20.10 (pub. 2011)
Task Total = 25
Grand Total = 170
Task 20.5: David Copperfield (autobiography)I read Bobblehead Dad: 25 Life Lessons I Forgot I Knew by Jim Higley
REVIEW:
This was a poignant book about Jim's life as the youngest of 5 boys and the life lessons he learned growing up. His family has a legacy of cancer and he becomes the next victim during his 40s. He writes about his personal experiences and memories. He focuses on lessons he has learned from his parents and brothers and through his personal struggle with cancer. His writing is easy to read and it's very much like a conversation with a friend. He reminds the reader to be present in the moment and not waste time wishing one's life away. His advice is simple, but needed nonetheless in today's rush-rush world. Read it--you won't regret it.
+20: task
+10: combo with 10.5-Underrated (44) & 20.10-Play the Numbers (pub. 2011)
+10: review
+40: task total
RwS TOTAL: 105
20.7 Arctic Circle The Chosen by Chaim Potok (US)
This was definitely not the book I was anticipating based on the description. Yes, there was the friendship that blossomed between the sons, one that was especially necessary for one of them to become a young man and to ... well, I won't provide any spoiler.
It was more than that, though, and the more was a history of European Jewry, most particularly Hasidism. Don't get me wrong - this was somewhat interesting and told in a not-too-academic way. It just wasn't what I was anticipating, nor what I was wanting to read. I have never lived where there was a significant Jewish population. Perhaps if I had this part of the story would have been more important to me.
I think the author is a good story-teller and I had no problem moving through this in spite of it being so much less than I was hoping to find. However, it might be some time before I pick up another.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+ 5 Oldie (pub 1965)
Task Total = 35
Grand Total = 270
Ugh! This was supposed to be a CiV and then I realized I had a different edition and it wasn't enough pages - another change!
CiV 15.5The Coast Watchers by Eric A. Feldt first published 1946, 240 pages
My Review
E-F;221-260/621-660;1941-1952
+35 Task
Previous Total: 230
New Grand Total: 265
20.10 - Sam’s Task - Play the numbersThe Secret History by Donna Tartt
+20 Task Points
+5 Combo(20.7 - Elizabeth (Alaska)’s Task - Baby it's cold outside)
+5 Jumbo (559 pages)
Total Points: 30
Grand Total 125
Soren wrote: "Bloodheir by Brian Ruckley+10 Task (10.5 underrated)
+10 lost in translation
+5 jumbo
Grand Total= 70"
Oops, looks like a math error 10 + 10 = 5 = 25, not 35. As of post 262 your Grand total should be 60 points.
Task 20.10 - Sam’s Task - Play the numbers “1” and ”2”: 2011Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World (2011) by Michael Lewis (Hardcover, 213 pages)
+ 20 Task
+ 05 Style: 1. Combo (5 points) (also fits: 20.2 (Iceland, Greece, Ireland, Germany, US) )
Task Total: 20 + 05 = 25
Grand Total: 435 + 25= 460
10.7 What's Your Type-ENFJ-EJ I read "Twelve Sharp" by Janet EvanovichReview: This is the twelfth in this series and this book was more intense than the others. A little girl is missing and to make things more interesting, the little girl is Ranger's. What's worse is the national population thinks Ranger kidnapped his own daughter. Only Stephanie figures out that is it a Ranger look alike. Ranger and Stephanie seem to grow closer in the search for his daughter. Too close for Morelli to handle. Maybe even too close for Stephanie to handle when she gets kidnapped by the look alike. The look alike just don't admire Ranger, he wants to be Ranger. This recent turn of events has Stephanie undecided about her feelings for the two men in her life.
Task +10
Style +10 (Review)
Book Total: 20
Grand Total: 235
20.7 Baby it's cold outsideThe Wise Man's Fearby Patrick Rothfuss (US author)
Review: Let me just preface with the fact that I LOVED the first book of this series. It was one of the few books that actually invaded my dreams for several weeks. The fantasy world that Rothfuss created was amazing and the plot was epic.
That being said, I had high, high expectations for this book. I didn't buy it when it first came out because I didn't want to finish it quickly, and then be stuck waiting forever for the third installment to be released. However, since it's Winter Break and I had some time, I finally broke down and excitedly immersed myself in book 2.
*Sigh*
I wanted so badly to fall in love with this book, as well. While Rothfuss' writing style was still poetic and lovingly created, I actually felt myself skimming some chapters in the middle. This book had most of the same characters from the first book, but this time around, I just didn't always understand their motivations. Actually, it was the new characters, in this book, that I didn't quite get. Don't get me wrong, I still love Kvothe the Arcane, our hero, but maybe he just didn't go through enough "trouble" this time around to keep me totally engrossed. My favorite parts were when Kvothe was at the University, but most of the book was spent away from the University this time around. All in all, I'm being really hard on this novel because I had such high hopes. Still a solid 4 stars; however, I'm crying inside that I can't give it 5.
+20 task
+10 review
+20 jumbo (996 pages)
+10 combo (20.10 - published in 2011, 20.8 fictional titles)
task total = 60 points
grand total 195 points
note to scorekeepers: This novel had many fictional titles throughout. I'm not sure if I'm able to use it for task 20.8 since it's not listed on "the list". Please let me know if I need to deduct 5 points. Thanks!
20.10 Play the NumbersInvitation to the Waltz by Rosamond Lehmann
Review:
This charming book, first published in 1932, follows the sensitive Olivia Curtis through two important days of her life: her seventeenth birthday and, a week later, her first dance. Set in 1920, it evokes the clumsy mixture of eagerness, innocence and embarrassment that surrounds a girl who longs to live to the full but knows she is not one of the prettiest ones.
This is a wonderful portrait of a girl on the brink of womanhood and a particular time and place. Rosamond Lehmann is probably best known for the sequel, ‘The Weather in the Streets’ … I will be looking for that one next.
+20 Task (pub.1932)
+ 5 Combo (10.5 Underrated)
+10 Review
+10 Oldie 1862-1936
Task Total = 45
Grand Total = 680
Edited: showing 685 on the readerboard, I will correct my records and future posts
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#96 on Root Canal List
The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov
+20 task
+5 combo (20.7 - Russia)
+10 translation
+10 oldies (pub. 1904)
Task total: 45
Grand Total: 220 points