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Fall 2013 RwS Completed Tasks - Fall 2013
15.6 A5 setting AfricaZoo City by Lauren Beukes
+20 points – set in South Africa
Grand Total: 1460 points
20.1 - In honor of the 100th anniversary of the publication of Swann's Way, read a book originally written in French by an author born in France. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert 11/10/13
Flauert was born in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, France and wrote this book in French.
Review:
Madame Bovary’s story is a fairly simple one often repeated. A young woman marries an unexciting older man, looks for excitement outside the marriage, and the result is inevitably tragic. What makes this 1856 book special enough to hold a place in many lists of classics and the Western Canon is Flaubert’s lovely telling of the tale. The story comes across so well told in English translation that I wish I had continued my study of French beyond an intermediate college course. I would love to have read this exactly as Flaubert had written it. I give the book 4 stars.
Combo 10.2 - Madame Bovary is #177 on the linked list.
Combo 10.6 - Flaubert died in 1880.
+20 task
+10 Canon
+10 review
+10 combo (10.2, 10.6)
Task Total: 50 points
RwS Total to date: 830
Pick 'n' Mix Total to date: 200
Pick 'n' Mix Completion Bonus 100
Grand Total to date: 1130
Books in Canon: 8
20.10 - underdeveloped countries - HaitiLove, Anger, Madness: A Haitian Trilogy by Marie Vieux-Chauvet
+20 task
+10 non western (central America)
+10 combo (10.6 - died 1976, 20.2 - born 1916)
and this completes the RwS section! yay me! now to finish the Pick n' Mix.
task total: 40
RwS completion bonus: 100
Grand total: 875
20.8 Stephen KingThe Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
+20 Task (Vampires everywhere)
Grand Total = 400 points
15.10 - pick n' mixB6 - written before 1800
Lysistrata by Aristophanes
+30 task
task total: 30
RwS completion bonus: 100
Pn'M completion bonus: 100
Megafinish!: 200
grand total: 1215
Kate S wrote: "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..."
Thank you very much. I didn't know anything on the Western hemisphere counted. I know it was more about GNP but I didn't know if there was a literal aspect to it as well.
20.2 In Search of Lost TimeSwann's Way by Marcel Proust
Review
I must really be missing something. This book just dragged on and on for me. I started it in September. First I started on Kindle and I must say it was so confusing being that the sentences were of such great length, that by the time I reached the end, I forgot what the subject of the sentence was; causing great distress so earning myself several more read-throughs of those one hundred plus word sentences as I counted them, the greatest I counted being two hundred thirty six and my eyes started jumping for I truly need those reading glasses whether I approve of my status of being a half-centurion (as in in age not as a Roman soldier) plus a year; and trying my best to deny the fact time has not only crept upon me but as overtaken me leaving me to think that perhaps I don’t have time to read such a long confusing book as the one mentioned above and therefore I thought another translation might help, I ordered it via Audiobook and though most sentences seemed shorter, I felt I wasn’t getting the plot and depressingly would never be able to understand the praised genius of this work and would die without the grace of a fully literary mind.
+20 pts - Task
+10 pts - Review
+10 pts - Canon
+ 30 pts - Combo (10.6 - he's dead, 10.8 - according to wiki list, title of the volumes comes from the Sonnets, 20.1, 20.2, 20.3,20.4)
Task total - 70 pts
Grand Total - 990 pts
10.5 Labor Day Reiki Nurse My Life As a Nurse, and How Reiki Changed It by Meredith Kendall
+10 pts - Task
+ 5 pts - Combo (10.3)
Task Total - 15 pts
Grand Total - 1005 pts
10.3 Conjunction Junction Trying Cases to Win: Voir Dire and Opening Argument by Herbert Jay Stern
Review:
Tremendously interesting perspective on the methods and goals of opening statements and voir dire. Although there is a tinge of "look what a great lawyer I am, by reading my transcript from a case when I was only 31 years old," the accompanying commentary and review of the transcript is totally worthwhile. And, the author is duly proud of having achieved conviction as a junior level prosecutor up against some of the best defense attorneys of the day. I can see why this series continues to be recommended even though it was published nearly 20 years ago. I will definitely be continuing through the other volumes of the series. Highly recommended to all trial lawyers and trial lawyer wannabes.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 Jumbo (MPE has 704 pages)
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 840
15.5 – D3, male author 40 to 60 Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
Author born 1964, book published 2011.
+20 Task
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 860
20.4 Roman a ClefThe Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
This is a reread for me. I feel like I enjoyed it a bit less this time. Not because I knew what was going to happen but perhaps because I have now reached the age of the protagonist. Her attitude sucked and got tiring after a while. There was not a lot of growth and development of any of the characters. That said I loved all the fashiony parts and hearing about all the clothes and meetings and places that the characters go. I am still excited to read the sequel though!
+20 Task
+5 Combo 20.7 Jewish Author (as listed on Wikipedia page)
+10 Review
Task Total: 35 points
Grand Total: 360 points
Haha Rebekah love your review of Swann's Way. In one of the books I counted a paragraph that went on for 8 pages :) I think it's easier on paper where you can go back when you realise you have forgotten the beginning of the sentence, but on the other hand I can totally see the "life's too short" point of view.
10.2 - Stories for Book LoversThe Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
Lexile 1010
Review:
This was an interesting read so soon after reading The Kingdom of This World about revolution in Haiti, because this one is framed in a timescale that includes Trujillo’s bloody dictatorship on the other half of the same island in the Dominican Republic. Two very different books but there is a sense of something in common, perhaps just desperation.
Oscar is one of my favourite types of character, the nerdiest of nerds. The story goes back and forth in its focus between Oscar and his sister in ?1990s New Jersey, his mother’s youth in the Dominican Republic and his dead grandparents, told by a narrator who wasn't there (wasn't even born) for many of the events, so it’s left up to you what you want to believe. But then it’s all fiction anyway …
I don’t speak any Spanish and there’s a lot here, sometimes just odd words that you can guess or ignore but sometimes whole sentences that aren’t clear from the context. It didn’t bother me. A lot of British writers assume some knowledge of French in the same way, or used to. It was interesting to know how that feels when you don't have the language.
+10 Task (currently #98 on the list)
+10 Review
I don't know if the Dominican Republic counts as a non-Western country or if Diaz lived there long enough to qualify. He moved to the USA at the age of 6.
Task Total: 20 points
Grand Total: 1380
20.1 - In honor of Swann's WayThe Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death by Jean-Dominique Bauby (1952-1997)
+20 Task
+15 Combo (10.2 Book Lover's Day; 10.3 Conjunction Junction; 10.6 author who died before September 1, 2013)
Task total=35
Grand total=645
20.4 Proust's LifeThe Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler
+20 pts - Task
+10 combo (10.5 - Butler, 10.6 - d. 1902)
+10 canon
Task Total - 40 pts
Grand Total - 1045 pts
Rebekah wrote: "10.3 Conjunction JunctionMemory for Forgetfulness: August, Beirut, 1982 by Mahmoud Darwish
+10 pts - Task
+ 5 pts - Combo (died 2008)
+10 pts - Non Western (Palesti..."
Can I still get my 5 combo points for 10.7 as he was a refugee in Beirut?
15.6 – A3, set in EuropeThe Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
+20 Task (Lexile 800)
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 880
15.9 Pick 'n' MixA3 (Set entirely in Madrid)
The Infatuations by Javier Marías
Task Total = 30
Grand Total = 430
15.10 Pick 'n' MixD4 (first published when the author was 54)
The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
Task Total = 30
Completion Bonus = 100
Grand Total = 560
20.6 Influenced by Proust:The Devil in the Flesh by Raymond Radiguet
The book opens with the narrator telling us he turned twelve when the war began and then he refers to WWI as a "four-year holiday". With such a momentous backdrop, I was expecting the story to have more gravity, more weight. Instead, I was thrust into the totally self-absorbed, selfish world of a 16-year-old boy's affair with a married woman. And I cannot emphasize enough how egocentric the narrator is -- none of the other characters are memorable or "real", not even his love object. I suppose this was the whole point of the novel -- reflecting France's post-war hedonism, but it doesn't make it any more enjoyable.
+20 task
+15 combo (10.6, 20.1, 20.2)
+10 review
Task Total: 45 points
Grand Total: 735 points
10.9 - Karen GHHS' task - It IS Unusual: Read a book considered "quirky" due to it's content or unusual design from one of the following lists.Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut 11/13/13
This book is 5th on the linked Quirky list.
Review:
What a wonderful time I’ve had for the past 3 days, listening to Tony Roberts read Cat’s Cradle to me while I drove to and from work! It’s a shame that I’ve ignored Kurt Vonnegut’s books for so long. He spins a tale of dark satire with a humorous presentation, following the family of the fictional creator of the atom bomb after Hiroshima and later to the global impact of his later, more deadly, creation. His language is engaging, the narration excellent, and I enjoyed the book from beginning to end. I look forward to reading more of Vonnegut in the future.
Combo 10.6 - Kurt Vonnegut died in 2007.
Combo 20.2 - Vonnegut lived from 1922 to 2007.
+10 task
+10 Canon
+10 review
+10 combo (20.2, 10.6)
Task Total: 40 points
RwS Total to date: 870
Pick 'n' Mix Total to date: 200
Pick 'n' Mix Completion Bonus 100
Grand Total to date: 1170
Books in Canon: 9
10.1 Square PegHer Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen
+ 10 Task
+100- Fall 2013 Challenge Finish
+100 - Mega Finish
Grand Total - 1255 or 1260 pts
I'm so proud of myself for completing despite the big move and all although my husband wonders why we aren't completely unpacked by now! (smile)
20.2 - 1909 to 1922The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy, 1140 Lexile
Ah, a “masked avenger” story with all the best aspects of the genre, but not so different from others I’ve read ——– oh wait, this is the original and it’s so much fun! The Scarlet Pimpernel has intrigue, betrayals, passion, misconceptions, disguise and adventure. The 1905 copyright date does give itself away as many of the characters are pretty stereotypical, and the romance is quite “male as hero”, “woman as gullible” based, but, for me, that was part of the classical nature of the book and part of the way the genre was defined in the time it was written. The 1792 setting and all the trials and tribulations of the French Revolution and those caught between countries added to my absorption into the story as well. I recommend The Scarlet Pimpernel to anyone who enjoys romance and adventure of the traditional, but exciting kind!
+20 Task: Orczy Born 1865 & Died 1947
+10 Combo: 10.6 - In honor of All Saints Day (died 1947) 10.7 - Rebekah's task - Ex-pat experience (Marguerite was from France and living in England)
+10 Review
Task Total: 40
Grand Total: 1385
10.9 It IS unusualHard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
+ 10 Task (#5 on Quirky books list)
+ 5 Combo (10.3 - and)
+ 10 Non-Western
Task Total: 25 points
Grand Total: 1485
20.2 1909 to 1922The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
Lexile 920
+ 20 Task (author born 1858, died 1924)
+ 5 Combo (10.6)
Task Total: 25 points
Grand Total: 1510
Pick'n'Mix15.07 - F6 - Translated from German
The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum - Heinrich Böll
+20 task
Post total: 20
Grand total: 310
Pick 'n' Mix15.10 D4 female 40-60 , author is 50, born in 1963
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
An amazing book! On page 754, the Belle Époque and Proust's work were brought in, too!
+30 Task
+100 Pick 'n' Mix Finish
+200 Mega Finish
Total: 330
Grand Total: 1715
10.6 Dead authorThe Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope
+10 Task (Trollope died 1882)
+10 Canon (Palliser series)
+10 Jumbo (MPE 794 pages)
Task total = 30
Grand Total = 485
15.2 Pick n Mix - Round 2E - 3 Short Stories
Three John Silence Stories by Algernon Blackwood
Task Total - 15 pts
Grand Total - 1270 or 1275 pts
15.8 D6 Female 60+ or posthumousA Dangerous Affair (Liberty Lane #2) (2008) by Caro Peacock (Paperback, 320 pages)
Born: in Richmond, Yorkshire, The United Kingdom : On: January 01, 1944
2008 – 1944 = 64
Grand Total: 730 + 20 = 750
20.8 Stephen KingGunnerkrigg Court, Vol. 2: Research 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: 1355
20.8 Stephen KingGunnerkrigg Court, Vol. 3: Reason 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: 1375
Let’s try this again… hope it works since it’s ebook only…15.1 (second round) - C1 – under 125 pages
If Snow Hadn't Fallen by S.J. Bolton (89 pages)
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 1390
10.5 Labor DayThe Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch
Review: The third in Scott Lynch’s Gentlemen Bastards series probably should have been my favorite. After all, relationships are usually my favorite part of reading, and this explores Locke’s relationship with Sabetha. Unfortunately, while I still enjoyed it, this installation was disappointing. It switches between chapters set before the first book took place and those set after the second book, mostly focusing on Locke’s first and only love. The problem I found, besides having a hard time not feeling a jarring in the switches in time, was that I think I care more about Locke’s friendships than about his love of Sabetha. It was also quite the filler book – there was no real ‘big bad’ in this one, but one will certainly be present in the next. Despite those disappointments, I love this series and will gladly read as many [long] books as Lynch writes.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Jumbo (650 pages)
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 1415
10.10 Group ReadsCorelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières
Review: This book took me forever to get about halfway through, but once I hit that point it moved quickly, until by the end I wanted to stay with the characters for much longer. It has something to do with the fact that in the earlier chapters the writing jumps (purposefully) around much more – switching among perspectives and from first to third person, etc. It took me a while to realize I should pay more attention to the chapter headings, which helped clarify what was going on. I was glad to be reading a book about WWII and its aftermath set in a place that was new to me – I’ve read a lot of WWII and Holocaust books, but never one set in Greece. Bernières, in the end, has created a fictionalized biography of a Greek town that begins right before the war comes to it and extends into the later decades of the twentieth century. It makes me wonder how the town and its characters would be faring now, in the midst of a new kind of crisis.
+10 Task
+10 Combo (10.7, 20.9)
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 1445
10.8 - Anika's task - "Something wicked this way comes": Read a book whose title was inspired by Shakespeare.
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov 11/16/13
This book's title is taken from Timon of Athens
The Sunnes a Theefe, and with his great attraction
Robbes the vaste Sea. The Moones an arrant Theefe,
And her pale fire, she snatches from the Sunne.
Review:
What can I say about Pale Fire? Vladimir Nabokov has produced a masterpiece that I believe is too complex to fully appreciate in a single reading. Here the reader is presented with a 999 line epic poem, the story of the poet John Shade and his family, and the story of the commentator, Dr. Charles Kinbote. In addition, there is the tale of the mythical kingdom of Zembla thrown in, with all the trappings of a royal court. There is much going on here!
In the beginning, Kinbote suggests that the reader get two copies of the book and set them side by side on a table where you can comfortably read. That would allow one to read the poem and the related commentary together. For my next reading, I intend to do just that.
Combos:
10.2 - #179 on the list on 11/16/13
10.6 - Nabokove died in 1997
10.9 - #4 on Books with Innovative Book Design / Structure on 11/16/13
20.2 - Nabokov lived from 1899 to 1997
20.6 - Nabokov Nabokov is included in Liz M's approved list of authors for this task.
+10 task
+10 Canon
+10 review
+25 combo (10.2, 10.6, 10.9, 20.2, 20.6)
Task Total: 55 points
RwS Total to date: 925
Pick 'n' Mix Total to date: 200
Pick 'n' Mix Completion Bonus 100
Grand Total to date: 1225
Books in Canon: 10
20.9 In honor of JFK's war serviceIn the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson
Review: When I read history, I wonder, “What was it like to be there?” In the Garden of Beasts answers that question for Berlin during the pivotal pre-war years 1933-37 when Hitler and his cabal were sinking their talons into Germany. And it tells the story through some very interesting eyes, those of the very unlikely American ambassador to Germany, William Dodd and his daughter, Martha.
Dodd was a history professor who was hoping for a quiet ambassadorship that would allow him to finish his life’s work, a history of the American south. What he got was the post in Berlin to the German government because no one else would take it. He took his family, a wife and two adult children. They met, rubbed shoulders with, entertained and were entertained by an amazing range of residents of Berlin—German leaders, other countries’ embassy staffs, journalists, ex-pats and others. Dodd tries to warn the State Department and push the Germans to stand up to the Nazis.
We also see the internal politics of the State Department and the reluctance of the US to get involved in European affairs.
Larson tells the story in a very engaging manner. He leaves his vetting of sources to an afterward, which I like. He does have extensive and interesting footnotes.
+20 Task (even though this is nonfiction, it appears on the list at #89)
+10 Combo (10.7, 10.3)
+10 Review
Task total: 40
Grand Total: 405
15.8 - A3 set in EuropeBroken Harbour by Tana French
This book is set in Ireland.
+20 task
Grand Total: 185
20.8 - In honor of Stephen King's birthdayDoctor Sleep by Stephen King
+20 Task (view spoiler)
+5 Combo (10.5 - King)
+5 Jumbo (531 pages)
Task total=30
Grand total=675
20.10 - Liz M's Task: In recognition of International Day for the Eradication of Poverty observed on October 7th, read a book written by an author born in one of the least developed countries.The Chronicles of Clovis by Saki 11/16/13
Saki was born in Akyab, Burma (now known as Sittwe, Myanmar)
Review:
I started out really liking Saki’s Chronicles of Clovis, finding the writing style agreeable and the short stories quite funny. The introduction was written by A. A. Milne, the creator of Winnie the Pooh, who extolled on the unique writing style of Saki, comparing his command of words to the “private vintage of the connoisseur.” Milne cites “The Background” and “Mrs. Packetide’s Tiger” as the masterpieces of this book, and I totally agree. Both were fun to read and quite humorous.
Saki is the pen name of Hector Hugh Munro, who was born in 1870 in Akyab, Burma (now known as Sittwe, Myanmar), but grew up in Great Britain. These stories were published in 1911, and some are definitely “politically incorrect” when read a century later. In fact, a couple were so objectionable that they spoiled the book for me. Hence my rating of 2 stars.
Combos:
10.6 - Saki died in 1916.
10.9 - Saki is an author known by a single name as listed on Goodreads.
20.2 - Saki lived from 1870 to 1916.
+20 task
+10 Canon
+10 review
+15 combo (10.6, 10.9, 20.2)
Task Total: 55 points
RwS Total to date: 980
Pick 'n' Mix Total to date: 200
Pick 'n' Mix Completion Bonus: 100
Grand Total to date: 1280
Books in Canon: 11
10.1 - Square Peg:Red by Alison Cherry
Disclaimer: Alison is a former co-worker and a friend, so I cannot be completely unbiased in my review.
I am not the target audience for this book, as I do not read contemporary YA literature. It has an unusual premise: in an isolated Iowan town populated by red-heads, one young woman, Felicity, has been living with a family secret -- since she was two years old, her mother has been dying Felicity's hair red to prevent her from being a social outcast. Now a teenager, her mother is pressuring her to win the local red-head beauty contest and if that isn't bad enough, someone at school has discovered her secret and is blackmailing her. The book is well-written and maintains a careful balance between seriousness and satire. It is a weirdly compelling read, given the characters are (intentionally) unsympathetic.
+10 task
Grand Total: 745 points
20.2 - Alive 1909-1922:The Vice Consul by Marguerite Duras
This is a difficult novel to discuss. The story is multi-layered and told primarily through description. I am left mostly with visual impressions and mood, as of a dream-images which are quickly fading. Duras tantalizes the reader with many hints and allusions to a scandalous crime committed by the Vice-Consul, never fully describing the event and certainly never explaining it. The novel defies conventions and even gently ridicules its meta-ness -- by exhibiting the "author" writing one of the stories we are reading as a buffoon and creating doubt that he could write such an exquisite story. This is a novel that I will need to re-read to fully appreciate.
+20 task
+15 combo (10.5 - profession in title, 10.6 - died 1996, 10.7 - ex-pats)
+10 review
Task total: 45 points
Grand Total: 790 points
Pick 'n Mix15.7 E4 Bio Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love by Dava Sobel
Points: 20
Total Points: 120
10.7 Ex-Pat ExperienceThree Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson
+10 Task (#70 on list)
+5 Combo (10.2 #74 on list)
Points: 15
Total Points: 135
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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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The Mushroom Houses of Charlevoix by Mike Barton
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 1350"
This appears to fall under the illustrated guide caveat of the Pick 'n' Mix Challenge and does not qualify for points. Sorry.