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Fall 2013 RwS Completed Tasks - Fall 2013
From Post 370Tanya wrote: "20.10 Liz's Task
And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
I'm not sure where to start. This novel takes the reader through many characters, places, and continents yet everything is connected. ..."
+5 Combo (10.3 'and' in title)
20.1 Work in French by author born in FranceThe Conquest of Plassans by Émile Zola
+20 Task
+ 5 Combo (10.6)
Task Total = 25
Grand total = 455
15.9 - Pick n' Mix C6 - 400 pages
Death's Heretic by James L. Sutter
+30 task
task total: 30
grand total: 675
20.8 - Kate’s Task: Stephen KingSeraphina by Rachel Hartman
760 Lexile
Seraphina is a different kind of a dragon story. It is full of music, intrigue and battle. In this world, dragons are hated and valued at the same time. They are the intellectuals and serve the humans in that capacity. Seraphina belongs to both worlds and because dragons are able to fold up their wings and look completely human, her secret remains undiscovered. She is the music instructor in the palace and it is a prized position. You can read the excellent short story, The Audition, online to find out more about how she got the job. She works for the royal family and when someone in the family is murdered she tries to help find out what happened. Her real journey, though, is about believing in herself and her heritage. I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment!
+20 Task: Both human and dragon main characters
Grand Total: 1280
15.10 Pick N' MixB4--Published 1900-1950
The Egg and I by Betty MacDonald
+30 Task originally published 1945
+100 Completion bonus
Grand Total: 365
15.6 Pick 'n MixC5 325 - 425 pages
Sense & Sensibility by Joanna Trollope
Book has 384 pages
Task total = 20
Challenge total = 100
20.4 - autobiographicalFear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
Well, that was definitely worth reading. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a worthwhile read, if only for the absurdity and bizarre factor. Some parts do seem to drag a bit but only in comparison with the insanity that feeds the entire story. If the reader is averse to drug stories or has no applicable knowledge base, a lot of the story will not make sense, given that the entire story is a drug fueled whirlwind trip to and around Las Vegas. That being said, the book is oddly well written and an excellent read. I’d highly recommend it if you like odd stories or just drug fueled craziness.
+20 task
+10 combo (10.3 - and, 10.6 - died in 2005)
+10 review
task total: 40
grand total: 715
20.7 Don's Task - Jewish AuthorThe Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (lexile 820)
+20 pts - Task
+ 5 pts - Combo (20.8- ghosts, vampire, werewolf and some weird Jack evil thing) my Halloween this year
Task Total - 25 pts
Grand Total - 810 pts
15.7 A1 North AmericaMurder Plays House (A Mommy-Track Mystery #5) (2004) by Ayelet Waldman
Set mostly in Los Angeles, California, plus a chapter in New York City, New York.
Grand Total: 675 + 20 = 695
20.4 - Roman a ClefAntic Hay by Aldous Huxley
+20 Task (Roman a Clef list)
+10 Combo (10.6, 20.2 lived 1894-1963)
Task Total: 30 points
Grand Total: 1245
10.9 - it is unusualWe Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
+10 task
+10 combo (10.6, 20.2)
task total: 20
grand total: 735
10.4 Prize WorthyVlad by Carlos Fuentes (won Miguel de Cervantes Prize in 1987)
+10 pts - task
+15 pts - combo (10.6 - died 2012, 20.6 - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... , 20.8 - vampire)
Task Total - 25 pts
Grand Total - 835 pts
another Halloween read
10.6 Anika's Task - "something wicked this way comes"Cakes and Ale by W. Somerset Maugham (Twelfth Night II:iii)
+10 pts - Task
+ 15 pts - Combo(10.3, 10.6, 20.2)
Task Total - 25 pts
Grand Total - 860 pts
20.03 - La belle époqueL'immoraliste - André Gide
I feel like maybe I just didn't really get this book. I found it really slow and dull. Basically any time I thought that something was about to happen, the very next sentence was "and we left the next morning." I think part of my issue with the novel was more due to the fact that it's been a while since I've read a novel in French, so I may have missed some of the subtler aspects of the novel, but even so, I found it just really boring. The characters didn't really intrigue me at all, which is never a good sign. I don't need to like the characters in a novel to enjoy it, necessarily, but I need to feel SOMETHING for them and I just never really got there with this book. I also wasn't a fan of the ending, since it takes away ALL of the subtlety of the rest of the novel in a kind of abrupt way. Overall, I just really wasn't a big fan of this novel.
+20 task
+20 combo (10.06 - All Saints Day, 20.01 - French author , 20.02 - Alive between 1909 and 1922, 20.06 - Influenced by Proust)
+10 canon
+10 review
Post total: 60
Grand total: 270
10.1 - Square PegMiss Bugle Saw God in the Cabbages by Sara Yeomans
Review:
A story of three girls growing up in and then leaving an English village from 1958 when they are 14 to about 1970. I enjoyed it but got a little lost in places, especially sorting out which mother went with which daughter in the first section. Madge and Joan, two of the mothers, seemed so similar that it felt like they were one character with two names. The story jumps about a bit and a lot of plot time is given to themes and relationships that turn into dead ends – e.g. the Miss Bugle of the title who is really not that important - but it's like life in that respect. Our turning points are often things we hardly notice at the time and vice versa.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 20 points
Grand Total: 1265
15.9 - F3 (Translated from Japanese)What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
Task total=30
Grand total=465
10.3 Conjunction JunctionMemory for Forgetfulness: August, Beirut, 1982 by Mahmoud Darwish
+10 pts - Task
+ 5 pts - Combo (died 2008)
+10 pts - Non Western (Palestinian Refugee from age 6)
Task Total - 25 pts
Grand Total - 885 pts
20.1 100 th ann. - Written by a French author in FrenchThe Holy Terrors by Jean Cocteau
+20 pts - Task
+15 pts - Combo (10.6- died 1963, 20.2 - born in 1889, 20.6 - see post #19 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... , )
Task Total - 35 pts
Grand Total - 920 pts
20.8 Stephen KingGirl Genius, Vol. 4: Agatha Heterodyne and the Circus of Dreams by Phil Foglio
+20 Task (the world has ‘constructs’, many of which are main characters – a talking cat in particular)
No style points – graphic novel
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1070
20.8 Stephen KingGirl Genius, Vol. 5: Agatha Heterodyne and the Clockwork Princess by Phil Foglio
+20 Task (the world has ‘constructs’, many of which are main characters – a talking cat, the clockwork princess…)
No style points – graphic novel
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1090
20.8 Stephen KingGirl Genius, Vol. 6: Agatha Heterodyne and the Golden Trilobite by Phil Foglio
+20 Task (the world has ‘constructs’, many of which are main characters – a talking cat,
‘Jagermeisters’, etc.)
No style points – graphic novel
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1110
10.3 Conjunctions How Cities Work: Suburbs, Sprawl, and the Roads Not Taken by Alex Marshall
Review: Alex Marshall is a native of Norfolk, VA, which is where I live. One of my coworkers called attention to his work when a local theater hosted an event connected to his book. The concept intrigued me – a book on urban planning written by a journalist rather than an urban planner or architect, and one familiar with my current hometown. I’m an architect with a particular interest in urban planning, so I’m used to reading books from a more professional perspective, and thought one of more of a laymen could be interesting. In the end, I didn’t learn much of anything new, and found that the author inserted himself into the narrative more that I’d prefer. He also was not particularly positive about the architectural profession – an opinion I often share, but one that in this case was presented very one-sided. A person who knew nothing about it may have thought all architects are New Urbanists, which I don’t believe is true at all. His views are actually very similar to my own and that of a number of other architects, so it would have been nice to have more of that perspective shown.
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.5)
+10 Review
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 1135
20.8 Stephen KingDark Currents by Jacqueline Carey
Review: This first book in the Agents of Hel urban fantasy series follows Daisy Johanssen, a human/demon halfbreed who works for both the mortal police department in her small Michigan town and its Underworld equivalent. Daisy has issues – a tail, a temptation toward the seven deadly sins, and a crush on her unofficial cop partner, among others – but she’s finding her way. I’ve read a lot of urban fantasy, and the world Carey has built still feels new; also, having just gone on vacation along Lake Michigan, I loved the setting. My major criticism is that Daisy’s inner monologue could feel a little tiresome – the book is told in the first person and is almost too realistic. I’m sure I would also think things like “Gah!” when seeing a dead body or whatever, but it felt a little cutesy in the book.
+20 Task (Daisy is not fully human, her partner is a werewolf, and there are many other non-human characters)
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 1165
20.8 Stephen KingGirl Genius, Vol. 7: Agatha Heterodyne and the Voice of the Castle by Phil Foglio
+20 Task (the world has ‘constructs’, many of which are main characters – a talking cat,
‘Jagermeisters’, etc.)
No style points – graphic novel
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1185
20.8 Stephen KingGunnerkrigg Court, Vol. 1: Orientation by Thomas Siddell
+20 Task (each chapter focuses on the main character Antimony’s interactions with a non-human character – robots, shadow creatures, demons, ghosts, etc.)
No style points – graphic novel
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1205
15.10 E6 – Non-fiction (Dewey Decimal 500-999)Consider the Lobster and Other Essays by David Foster Wallace
+30 Task
Task Total: 30
Completion Bonus: 100
Grand Total: 1335
15.1 (second round) - C1 – under 125 pagesThe Mushroom Houses of Charlevoix by Mike Barton
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 1350
Task 20.09 - Read one of top 100 books on this WWII fiction list.#32 on list as of November 8, 2013
John Knowles
Born: in Fairmont, West Virginia, The United States: On: September 16, 1926
Died: November 29, 2001
A Separate Peace (1959) by John Knowles (Paperback, 196 pages)
Lexile: 1110
Review:This book is often assigned in high school. Somehow, the class I was in never read it, so when I read it yesterday & today it was the first time ever. The novel is about a 16 year old boy living in a New England boarding school during the years of 1942-1943. World War II is a presence in the background. The focus is on the boy’s hijinks and also on the relationship of the quiet, studious hero with his outgoing, boistorous, academically challenged but goodnatured roommate. There is one female in the novel: she’s present for part of one paragraph of plot. The author writes well but the story was lame. (view spoiler) Recommended for those who need to write a high school English paper on an novel.
+20 Task
+05 Combo (#10.6 Died in 2001)
+10 Review
Task Total: 20 + 05 + 10 = 35
Grand Total: 695 + 35 = 730
20.4 - Proust's writing is largely based on his life with an overlay of fiction. Read one of these prose roman à clef titles or one of these notable autobiographical novels.Villette by Charlotte Brontë 11/9/13
This book is 4th on the linked list of notable autobiographical novels.
Review:
I loved Villette! There is so much going on in this story to keep my interest. Lucy Snowe is a rather troubled, introverted woman. She wants to be strong and independent, yet she finds herself isolated and watching life, rather than living it. The writing is beautiful, and it’s interesting that she includes sections of French without translation. Luckily, my brief study of that language in high school and college served me well here. I loved Brontë’s character development and the flow of the story. At the end, I was reminded that the main events of the book took place over only 18 months, yet it seemed to have covered a longer timeframe. Knowing that the book is autobiographical and written shortly before the writer’s death, I will probably look for a good biography of Charlotte Brontë to add to my TBR list.
Combo 10.6 - Charlotte Brontë died in 1855.
Combo 10.7 - The main character, Lucy Snowe, moved from England to France, requiring she learn a new language and adjust to a different culture.
+20 task
+10 Canon
+10 review
+10 combo (10.6, 10.7)
+5 Jumbo (573 pages)
Task Total: 55 points
RwS Total to date: 780
Pick 'n' Mix Total to date: 200
Pick 'n' Mix Completion Bonus 100
Grand Total to date: 1080
Books in Canon: 7
10.8 Title inspired by Shakespeare(As You Like It, II.v; see linked wikipedia list)
Under the Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy
Review:
I was really looking forward to reading this book, because it sounded like a sweet little piece of literature to read in-between the more heavy works I had scheduled for this season. In the end it turned out to fulfil my expectations, but I did have a few problems getting into the book. I first tried to read it but soon realized that this is one of the books where I’m better off listening to the audiobook (another reason why I love public domain book: most are available as free audiobook on LibriVox, so no need to actually buy two editions of the same book). Once I changed formats on the book I began to enjoy it. Dick Dewey’s story of falling in love with Fancy Day and how their relationship developed is really sweet to listen to.
The LibriVox audiobook is narrated by Rachel Lintern. I wasn’t too impressed by her narration in the beginning and have certainly listened to better voices on LibriVox, but she doesn’t do a bad job, either.
+ 10 Task
+ 10 Review
+ 10 Combo (10.6; 20.2)
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 900
15.10 - B2 (Publish date 1976-2000)We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates (1996)
Task total=30
PnM Finish=100
Grand total=595
15.1 - D1 (Male, under 40)Please Don't Come Back from the Moon by Dean Bakopoulos (born in 1975; age 29 when book published in 2004)
Task total=15
Grand total=610
Pick'n'Mix Round 215.1 - E3 - Short stories
The Persephone Book of Short Stories by Susan Glaspell et al
+15 points
Grand Total: 1280 points
20.3 - Belle EpoqueTime Regained by Marcel Proust
Review:
The last volume of ISOLT is quite a shock for both the reader and the narrator because there's been a big jump in time while the narrator's been in a sanatorium in Switzerland. When he goes to a party everyone has aged so much that he doesn't recognise anybody. More importantly, he literally stumbles upon the key to beginning the great work of fiction that he's never been able to start before.
There's a lot in here about inspiration for novels, how to write, how not to let yourself be distracted, and how you can start to worry about death in a different way if you are over 50 and in poor health and haven't managed even to start your work that you can see is going to take years. Brilliant for aspiring writers, especially those who are not so young. I'd even recommend reading just this volume if you're somebody who's always wanted to write a book ... although you'll have to puzzle your way through the bizarre events at a kind of male brothel in the first half and the social chitchat at a party full of duchesses and princesses in the second half.
If you ever want to read the whole of ISOLT, I recommend following the plan set out in the GR 'Year of Proust' group. It works out to about 12 pages a day, but I increased in the last few months to finish in this season of RwS. I will be lost at breakfast time now!
+20 Task
+25 Combo (10.6, 20.1, 20.2, 20.4, 20.5)
+10 Review
+10 Canon
+ 5 Jumbo - the actual narrative in the Modern Library Edition (the most popular, and also the one I read) is 532 pages, the rest is an index to the whole of ISOLT.
Task Total: 70 points
Grand Total: 1350
20.1 - French OriginalChéri by Colette
I enjoy accompanying my dad to the "old movies" at our local theater and last year one of my favorites was Gigi. I didn't even think about who wrote it until this challenge, when I happily discovered Collette, the author. I decided to read Cheri since I already knew the story of Gigi, and it was such an enjoyable read, primarily because of the fine writing and descriptions of Paris near the end of the Belle Époque. It was certainly a brave book for its time, but I was also reminded that society's norms have really not changed drastically in the attitudes toward an older female and younger man. Even some of the Goodreads reviews point out the double standards in our collective outlooks. I believe that we are still somewhat taken aback by the older woman / young man relationship even when it is between two unmarried consenting adults. Cheri is a great look at the feelings of both Lea and Cheri as they traverse the joys and pitfalls of their relationship.
+20 Task
+25 Combo: 10.6 - In honor of All Saints Day / 10.9 It Is Unusual: one name author / 20.2 – 1909 to 1922 ( 1873-1954) 20.3 - Belle Epoque #48 / 20.6 In Search of Lost Time
+10 Review
Task Total: 55
Grand Total: 1335
10.5 - In honor of Labor DayUncommon Criminals by Ally Carter, 790 Lexile
+10 Task
Task Total: 10: Carter on given list
Grand Total: 1345
10.6 All Saint's DayConfessions by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
+10 Task (D. 1778)
+10 Canon
+5 Jumbo (676 pages)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 1385
20.2 Author Lifetime 1909-1922The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy
+20 Task (1867-1933)
+5 Combo (10.6)
+10 Canon
+20 Jumbo (912 pages)
Post Total: 55
Season Total: 1440
Pick 'n' Mix15.5 C3: 175-275 pages
Unshaken: Ruth by Francine Rivers
+20 Task (185 pages)
Season Total: 1460
15.6 Pick'n'Mix #6D.4 - Smaragdgrün by Kerstin Gier (44 years old) (Lexile: 810)
Task Points: 20
Pick'n'Mix Points: 100
Grand Total: 110
15.6 Pick and MixF5 - translated from Spanish
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
+20 task
Grand Total = 145 pts
15.7 Pick and MixE6 (non-fiction 500-999) 636.8 per BPL
Cat Sense: How the New Feline Science Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet by John Bradshaw
+20
Grand Total = 165 pts
From Post 727Norma wrote: "15.4 C2 - 100 - 200 pgs
Murder on the Ballarat Train by Kerry Greenwood - 151 pgs
+15 task
Task total: 15
Grand total: 475"
There is an addition error here.
In post 726, you had 410+15 (from post 727)=425. Thanks
From Post 741Rebekah wrote: "10.4 Prize Worthy
Vlad by Carlos Fuentes (won Miguel de Cervantes Prize in 1987)
+10 pts - task
+15 pts - combo (10.6 - died 2012, 20.6 - https://www.goodreads.com/..."
+10 non-western
From Post 739Rosemary wrote: "20.4 - Roman a Clef
Antic Hay by Aldous Huxley
+20 Task (Roman a Clef list)
+10 Combo (10.6, 20.2 lived 1894-1963)
Task Total: 30 points
Grand Total: 1245"
+10 Canon
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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)
Umberto Eco (other topics)
Meir Shalev (other topics)
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A3 Europe
Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love, and Death in Renaissance Italy by Sarah Bradford
+30 Task
Grand Total: 235