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Fall 2013 RwS Completed Tasks - Fall 2013
20.6 Proust's Influence(author listed in help thread)
The Locked Room by Paul Auster
Review:
This is the last part in the New York Trilogy by Paul Auster. I didn’t really get into the first two books. They were a bit too abstract for me. Perhaps I just wasn’t in the mood for this kind of book then. Thus I was quite surprised when I started this book and liked it almost from the beginning.
Again, Paul Auster weaves a complex tale with several layers. A writer is contacted by the wife of an old friend who has disappeared. He is supposed to assess his friends works (he wrote as well) and publish them should he deem them good. What begins as a simple task soon draws the narrator into a string of events beyond his control.
I won’t go deeper into the story here, because that would really spoil the experience. It included some things that I never would have expected and the ending caught me totally off guard. I have a feeling I can never give the book its due by trying to catch its essence in words, so I’ll just leave it at a recommendation to read it. It’s not too long and it was one of the few books I read lately that I actually wanted to come back to and read (as opposed to reading them because I felt obligated to read something).
+ 20 Task
+ 5 Combo (20.7: listed as jewish author on his wikipedia page)
+ 10 Review
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 755
10.9 It is UnusualHouse of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
+10 Task
+10 Jumbo (709 pages)
Post Total: 20
season Total: 1190
15.1 A3 Set in EuropeBroken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch
Set in London, UK
+15 points
Grand Total: 1305 points
15.2 C2 100-200 pagesThe Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
184 pages
+15 points
Grand Total: 1320 points
15.4 - Pick n Mix/D1author is male and under 40 when book was published
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
John Green was born in 1977 and this book was published in 2012
+15 task
Task Total=15 pts
Grand Total = 105 pts
15.5 - Pick n Mix/C5page number is between 325-425 pages: 336 pages
Bellman & Black: A Ghost Story by Diane Setterfield
+20 task
Grand Total = 125 pts
10.6 Day of the Deadhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... by
R K Narayan (died 2001)
+10 pts - Task
+15 pts - Combo (10.5 - Guide, 10.10 - group reads, 20.2 - b. 1906)
+10 pts - Non-Western (India)
Task Total - 35 pts
Grand Total - 695 pts
20.3 Belle EpoqueThe Gilded Age by Mark Twain (#56 on list)
+20 pts - Task
+10 pts - Combo (10.6 - d.1910, 20.2 )
+ 5 pts - Jumbo (528 pgs)
Task Total - 35 pts
Grand Total - 730 pts
20.7 - Jewish AuthorsThe Crucible by Arthur Miller
+20 task
+10 combo (10.6, 20.2)
task total: 30
grand total: 480
I need to move a book:In post number 440 (and corrected in post 486), I put The Last of Cheri by Colette into Task 20.2.
I would like to move this to Task 20.3.
This shouldn't change any of the points.
15.4 E5 Pick N' MixE5 - nonfiction, call number 391.62
The Obsession: Reflections on the Tyranny of Slenderness by Kim Chernin
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 725
20.2 In Search of Lost TimeRetreat from Love by Colette
Review:
Continuing on my Colette binge, I picked this one because Harold Bloom includes it in his Western Canon. This was actually my least favorite of the the 5 Colette books that I've read in quick succession (the others were Dialogues de bêtes, Cheri & The Last of Cheri, and The Vagabond). Fundamentally, I never believed the central love story between Claudine, the narrator, and the absent Renaud. Perhaps I would of liked the story better if I had read the 4 previous Claudine novels. I quite enjoyed reading about Annie, even without the back story that I would have had from the previous novels. Though Annie was describing salacious events from her life, the modern reader will not find the descriptions overly sexy or embarrassing.
Colette is a master of language and manages to capture emotions, natural beauty, and the antics of her dog and cat perfectly. I'll continue to look for more by this author.
+20 Task (1873-1954)
+10 Review
+10 Canon
+20 Combo (10.6, 10.9 [single name], 20.1, 20.6)
Task Total: 60
Grand Total: 785
10.9 - It IS UnusualThe Lorax by Dr. Seuss
#28 on Delightfully Quirky list
+10 task
+10 combo (10.6 - died 1991, 20.2 - born 1904)
task total: 20
grand total: 500
Post 642 Heather wrote: "10.9 - It IS UnusualThe Lorax by Dr. Seuss
#28 on Delightfully Quirky list
+10 task
+10 combo (10.6 - died 1991, 20.2 - born 1904)
task total: 20
grand total: 500"
This book has fewer than 100 pages and does not qualify for RwS, and has a YA designation with a lexile below 800, so also does not qualify for any Pick N Mix choice.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 642 Heather wrote: "10.9 - It IS UnusualThe Lorax by Dr. Seuss
#28 on Delightfully Quirky list
+10 task
+10 combo (10.6 - died 1991, 20.2 - born 1904)
task total: 20
grand total: 500"
Th..."
ok, nevermind then.
20.2 In Search of Lost TimeThe Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien (1911-1976)
+ 20 Task
+ 15 Combo (10.5, 10.6, 20.8)
+ 10 Canon
Task Total: 45 points
Grand Total: 1365
I found my point errors by going back through things, so, again I apologize for all my goofs and now I hope I keep everything correct the rest of the way! Also, congratulations to everyone who has finished parts or all of the challenge. I got behind on that, too!
10.10 Group ReadCorelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières
+10 Task
+10 Combo (10.7, 20.9)
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 1210
20.6 Influenced by ProustLook Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe
+20 Task
+15 Combo (10.6, 20.2, 20.4)
+5 Jumbo (644 pages)
Post Total: 40
Season Total: 1250
15.2 Pick 'n' MixF1 Translated from Polish
This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen by Tadeusz Borowski
+15 Task
Season Total: 1265
Pick N Mix15.3 Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin
F 3 Translated from Korean
Task +15
Grand Total: 125
10.2 Book Lover's DayThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.9, It IS unusual)
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 85
Post 637 Rebekah wrote: "20.3 Belle EpoqueThe Gilded Age by Mark Twain (#56 on list)
+20 pts - Task
+10 pts - Combo (10.6 - d.1910, 20.2 )
+ 5 pts - Jumbo (528 pgs)
Task Total - 35 pts
Grand Total - 730 pts"
I'm sorry, Rebekah. BPL shelves this as YA Assignment and there is no Lexile. It does not qualify for style points.
10.2 Stories for Book Lovers The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde
Review:
I enjoyed listening to this 3rd installment in the Thursday Next series. The narrator for the audiobook version does a nice job of creating different voices for different characters, though I continue to find the voice for "the cat formerly known as Cheshire" rather annoying.
Overall, this installment does a lot of world building and not a lot of plot development. That said, I enjoy the cleverness and literary references even if there is a tinge of self-satisfied look-how-clever-I-am to the whole book. For me, Fforde pulls it off well enough that I find it endearing rather than annoying, but I can certainly see how some readers would find it merely tedious. Unlike in previous books which switched back and forth between the fantasy version of real-world London and the book world, this book is set almost entirely in the book world were Thursday Next has retreated. This shift put the literary references and cameo appearances by book characters at the forefront of the story rather than as amusing sketches in the sidelines.
I'm looking forward to continuing the series. I do not recommend this as a stand-alone book and would instead recommend that new readers to the series start at the beginning.
+10 Task (#39)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (20.8 – various nonhuman book world characters, including generics, a Minotaur, and Humpty Dumpty)
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 810
20.6 - influenced by ProustOn the Road by Jack Kerouac
WTF. I really don’t have any real idea what I just read. I don’t know if it’s just me, but it seems as if the beat authors make no sense whatsoever. I understand that it’s mostly supposed to be stream of consciousness writing, but I was just lost. The only really interesting part of the book for me was the very end. Other than that, it just seemed to be the ramblings of a hitchhiker who has no real idea where he even wants to go. Personally, I’d not recommend this book to anyone, but seeing as it is supposed to be a literary classic, there has to be an audience for it. It’s just not me.
+20 task
+10 review
+15 combo (10.6 - died 1969, 20.2 - born 1922, 20.4 - autobiographical)
task total: 45
grand total: 525
20.1 - in French, by an author born in FranceThe Flowers of Evil by Charles Baudelaire
+20 task
+5 combo (10.6 - died in 1867)
+10 canon
task total: 35
grand total: 560
20.7 JewishThe Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Review: OMG OMG OMG this book was so great. I really really loved it. It's one of those books where you can tell each word is carefully and it is beautiful to read. I think the Sendak quote at the beginning really sums things up well. It is also a very apt description of Sendak's work and perspective (we are studying him in my Picture Books for Children class). I just thought this book was so great. I wish it was longer and I wish that we could have seen that one character come back at the end. (Dont' want to spoil anything). It really makes you think about what truth is.
+20 Task
+5 Combo (non-human: Ursula and the Hempstocks)
+10 Review
Task Total: 35 points
Grand Total: 285 points
From Post 636Rebekah wrote: "10.6 Day of the Dead
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... by
R K Narayan (died 2001)
+10 pts - Task
+15 pts - Combo (10.5 - Guide, 10.10 - group reads, 20.2 - b. 1906)
+10 pts - N..."
+10 Canon
From Post 638Heather wrote: "20.7 - Jewish Authors
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
+20 task
+10 combo (10.6, 20.2)
task total: 30
grand total: 480"
+5 Combo 10.5 (Miller)
Joanna wrote: "I need to move a book:In post number 440 (and corrected in post 486), I put The Last of Cheri by Colette into Task 20.2.
I would like to move this to Task 20.3.
This shouldn't change any of the..."
Done. :)
20.5 Art ThemeThe Moon And Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham
+ 20 pts - Task
+ 25 pts - Combo (10.3, 10.6,10.7, 20.2, 20.4)
+10 pts - Canon
Task Total - 55 pts
Grand Total - 785 pts
15.10 B2 1976-2000The Hungry Moon (1986) by Ramsey Campbell
Winner: British Fantasy Award for Best Novel (1988)
+30 Task
+ 100 points = Completion bonus
Task Total: 30 + 100 = 130
Grand Total: 445 + 130 = 575
15.1 E5 non-fiction (Dewey Decimal 000-499, per BPL) When I read this last month, BPL didn’t have a Dewey Decimal listed for it. Now it does (yeah!)
http://brooklyn.bibliocommons.com/sea...
307.74 G
The End of the Suburbs: Where the American Dream Is Moving (2013) by Leigh Gallagher (Hardcover, 261 pages)
Grand Total: 575 + 15 = 590
15.2 D4 Female, 40-60Time's Child (2007) by Rebecca Ore (Paperback, 327 pages)
Born: 1948
2007 – 1948 = 59 years old
Grand Total: 590 + 15 = 605
15.3 E.2. mystery/thriller/crime/romance BPL has it listed as “mystery”:
http://catalog.brooklynpubliclibrary....
The Square Root of Murder (Sophie Knowles #1) (2011) by Ada Madison (Mass Market Paperback, 292 pages)
Grand Total: 605 + 15 = 620
15.4 C4 250-350 pagesFundraising the Dead (A Museum Mystery #1) (2010) by Sheila Connolly (Goodreads Author) (Paperback, 324 pages)
Grand Total: 620 + 15 = 635
Deedee wrote: "+30 Task
+ 100 points = Completion bonus
Grand Total..."
Congratulations, Deedee!
20.9 In memory of JFKCorelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières
+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.7, 10.10)
Task Total = 30
Grand Total = 430
10.07 - Ex-pat ExperienceThe Paris Wife - Paula McLain
I'm fascinated by everything about the Lost Generation, so I was really excited when I heard about this novel. Luckily, it lived up to my expectations! The book is a fictionalized account of Hemingway's first marriage, told from his wife Hadley's point of view. The author put a lot of time into her research, so even though it's a fictional account, the facts are in there too, which made it even more interesting to me. The story is heartbreaking, and the author does a fantastic job with the writing. It definitely made me want to read more non-fiction about Hemingway, if only to see how close her novel really came to the actual events. But, even if you put aside that the characters are based on actual people, the novel is still compelling and interesting. I would definitely recommend this one!
+10 task
+10 review
Post total: 20
Grand total: 200
10.10 - group readsCrime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
+10 task
+10 canon
+15 combo (10.2, 10.3, 10.6)
+5 jumbo
+10 non-Western
task total:50
grand total: 575
20.2 In Search of Lost Time(author lived from 1835 - 1910)
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
Review:
Since my first experience with Mark Twain I always look forward to read another of his books (especially listen to the Librivox narration by John Greenman). I can’t be entirely sure if it is the narrator of the author who makes me chuckle occasionally; I’m convinced it is a combination of the two.
I wasn’t disappointed by “A Conneticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”. The book tells the story of an American from Mark Twain’s time who one day woke up in 6th century England, among King Arthur’s knights. He doesn’t believe it at first, but soon has to accept that he is stranded in the far past and has to cope with it. His adventures are simply hilarious. They include a confrontation with the famous Merlin, a stroll through the country with King Arthur (disguised as a peasant) meeting his lowly subjects and taking on an army of several thousand knights with a force of … 45 men. Of course some of his future knowledge helps our hero in his adventures.
This story is not to be taken too seriously. But if you enjoy a chuckle now and then I’d certainly recommend it.
+ 20 Task
+ 10 Canon
+ 5 Combo (10.6)
+ 10 Review
Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 800
10.7 Ex-pat experience(the main character and her family move from the US to Luxemburg; the book details their life accustoming there in the first few months in the new country)
The Expats by Chris Pavone
Review:
I got this as a Kindle Daily Deal, so I took a bit of a risk there, not having read the author before or having done extensive research about the book/reviews. However, it sounded sort of promising. Now that I have read the book I am glad to report that the money was well spent and I really enjoyed reading this.
The Expats tells the story of Kate and her family’s first few months after moving from the US to Luxemburg. Kate’s husband just got a new job there, working as an independent security expert for a bank. Kate isn’t sure she can adapt to this new way of life. She has to quit her former job (as a CIA agent) and be a full-time housewife and mother. In addition to this she has to deal with a new environment; new language, formalities on getting settled etc. And as though she wasn’t busy enough with all of that she also has to figure out who Julia and Bill, another expat couple in Luxemburg, are and what her own husband is hiding from her.
This story delivered on the suspense part and had a well thought-through and plotted storyline. I found myself dying to read on when I had to put the book away (a sensation I didn’t have often with the last books I read).
Still I don’t think it’s really more than average. Sometimes I found Kate a bit dumb (considering her background), although she was a believable heroine most of the time, so that didn’t affect the book too badly. I felt a bit left out at the end, though. The last few scenes just didn’t seem to really fit in. It doesn’t do the book much harm, but it does diminish the generally good impression.
+ 10 Task
+ 10 Review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 820
Changes to Post #346: Original task: 10.03 - Conjunction Junction
Change to: 10.06 - All Saints Day
Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
+10 task
+10 combo (10.2 - Book Lovers; 10.3 - Conjunction Junction)
No change to points
10.6 All Saints DayDumb Witness by Agatha Christie died: 1976
+10 Task
+5 Combo 10.7 Poirot is from Belgium and mentions multiple times the cultural differences of the English
+5 Combo 20.2 Christie was alive between 1909-1922
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 305
10.3 ConjunctionOryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Review: This is a great book. I've read it before but I am rereading it so I can finish the trilogy. I think it is so inventive and creative. I love the continuous flashbacks and how the reader never really finds out about Oryx and Crake because it is all told from Jimmy's point of view. I think that Jimmy/Snowman is a very relatable character and that everyone has experienced at least some of his struggles growing up. I can't wait to see if the Year of the Flood and Maddaddam hold up to the same degree. I probably enjoyed this book and Atwood's the Handmaid's Tale more than any other book written by a Canadian author other than Alan Bradley.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 325
15.8 - E6 (non-fiction, Dewey Decimal 500-999, per BPL)Just Like Someone Without Mental Illness Only More So: A Memoir by Mark Vonnegut
+20 Task (618.9289 V at BPL)
Task total=20
Grand total=365
15.3 D4 Female Author 40-60Another World by Pat Barker (born 1943)
published 1998
+15 points
Grand Total: 1380 points
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
Gunnerkrigg Court, Volume 4: Materia (other topics)The Piper's Son (other topics)
The Name of the Rose (other topics)
The Name of the Rose (other topics)
The Blue Mountain (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Thomas Siddell (other topics)Melina Marchetta (other topics)
Umberto Eco (other topics)
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Meir Shalev (other topics)
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(# 22 on list)
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
Review:
In The House of Mirth we meet Lily Bard, a young girl eager to make a good impression on the New York high society of the early twentieth century. In order to reach her goal Lily spends more money than she has and alienates herself from her friends and her benefactor aunt. She doesn’t realize how her actions are eventually her downfall.
At first I was a bit dubious about this book, because I honestly didn’t like Lily. I don’t insist on honest and decent protagonists, but I always have a hard time with a book when the main character doesn’t reach me on a emotional level. However, I’m glad that I stayed with the story, because with time Lily grew on me. She didn’t really become another person, but I began to understand her a bit better and empathise with her.
Contrary to the title this book grew darker with every page and I was ready to cry in the end, but that isn’t a bad thing. I might even re-read it one day, just to catch some of the things in the beginning better, where my attention hadn’t been engrossed in the story yet.
+ 20 Task
+ 10 Review
+ 10 Canon
+ 10 Combo (10.6, 20.2)
Task Total: 50
Grand Total: 720