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Fall 2013 RwS Completed Tasks - Fall 2013
Pick N Mix 15.7 C6 - 496 pgs
Good Book: Things I Learned When I Read Every Single Word of the Bible by David Plotz
Task Total - 20 pts
Grand Total - 235 pts
Rebekah wrote: "Pick N Mix15.6 - F 3 Chinese
Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong
Task Total - 20 pts
Grand Total - 215 pts
"
This title, and this series, is originally written in English.
10.8 ShakespeareChimes at Midnight by Seanan McGuire
Review: In the latest (second in a year!) of Seanan McGuire’s October Daye series, Toby and her entourage decide to overthrow the queen. Lots of blood and revelations later, the political situation in San Francisco has changed; I’m certain this will not be without ramifications in later books.
This, with the possible exception of Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels books, is my favorite urban fantasy series – and I’ve read a lot of them. Seanan McGuire isn’t trying to write deep, ponderous literary fiction, but she’s also not writing popcorn. The protagonist is a changeling (part human and part faerie), and doesn’t quite fit into either world. As a result, tolerance of differences, as well as challenging the feudal hierarchy of Faerie, is a central theme of the books. This is the seventh in the series, and at the beginning of the book McGuire states that she sees this as the beginning of the next stage in Toby’s journey. As a result, I think it is possible that someone could start here, but they would miss out on a lot. In many ways this book went back to the beginning – little pieces of the world building I didn’t realize were missing from the prior couple books were more present this time – but Toby is not the loner who won’t accept help from anyone anymore. It was a good blend, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m just sad that the next one isn’t due for another year; with two in 2013, I’ve gotten spoiled.
+10 Task (McGuire names all her books with Shakespeare references and infuses Shakespeare in little ways into the plot – this one refers to Henry IV, Part II – “We have heard the chimes at midnight, Master Shallow.”)
+5 Combo (20.8 – Toby is more than half Faerie; the vast majority of her friends and enemies are full blooded Faeries)
+10 Review
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 250
20.7 JewishDreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell
Review: In a strange beyond-the-grave narration, Dreamers of the Day is the story of a fictional character named Agnes Shanklin and her travels. Centering on Agnes’s journey with her dog Rosie to Egypt during the 1921 Cairo Peace Conference, it still ends up spanning a hugely important time in world history, touching on both WWI and WWII, the Spanish flu epidemic, the Great Depression, and, of course, the forming of the modern Middle East.
I really enjoyed following Agnes when, as a spinster in her late thirties who has been held back by a controlling mother from pursuing her dreams and realizing her potential, her entire life changes and she finds herself alone and in possession of a small fortune. Her choice to go to Egypt places her in the situation, however unlikely, of running into many important figures, both in 1921 and moving forward in history, which provides an interesting backdrop for her own story. It is a story of her own stunted self-discovery, but also that of a Middle East that people like Lawrence of Arabia and Winston Churchill were attempting to shape. The entire book was leading up to all of these massive events – the Great Depression, WWII, the Holocaust, so many conflicts in the region – and the point of view of Agnes after she’s died was a strangely unsettling conclusion, however touched with humor. The best part of the whole thing was the dachschund, Rosie, who provides Agnes with comfort, alternately a buffer to others and an excuse to meet new people, and just plain fun.
+20 Task
+5 Combo (20.8 – Rosie the dog is a central character who keeps the plot moving)
+10 Review
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 285
15.1 – C6 – 400-500 pages The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 300
15.3 – D4 – Female 40-60 Life After Life by Jill McCorkle (female born 1958, book published 2013)
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 330
20.2 - Author alive 1909-1922Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
Review:
A lovely story of an old lady living in a cheap but respectable London hotel where tiny variations in the routine keep life bearable, until she meets a young writer whom she passes off to the other residents as the grandson who never comes to visit. The reader sees Ludo's motivation as well as Mrs Palfrey's, which makes the whole thing more believable without detracting from the sweetness of a friendship which on the surface is so unlikely. The other elderly characters are great too, especially the acerbic Mrs Arbuthnot whose sharp tongue is driven by incessant pain from arthritis, and there's a screamingly awful party at the flat of one lady who has escaped the hotel.
+20 task (lived 1912-1975)
+10 combo (10.5 Taylor, 10.6)
+10 review
Task Total: 40 points
Grand Total: 550
20.2 - Author alive 1909-1922Touch Not the Cat by Mary Stewart
Review:
Predictable but still enjoyable traditional romance with a touch of mystery and telepathy.
After the death of her father, Bryony Ashley returns to the country estate where she has grown up but whose ownership now passes to a male cousin. She has a telepathic link to someone she thinks of as "lover" but whose identity she doesn't know, although any reader au fait with the conventions of this type of story will guess who he is right away.
Odd goings on at the estate form the main plot, with the love story resolved quite a long way before the end. The final outcome for the couple might be a surprise but it is a good resolution for the characters.
+20 task (born 1916)
+ 5 combo (10.5 Stewart)
+10 review
Task Total: 35 points
Grand Total: 585
10.6 - Dead authorRabbit Redux by John Updike
Review:
It's 1969, ten years after the events of Rabbit, Run. Harry 'Rabbit' Angstrom is 36 and his wife has just left him for a car salesman. Through a colleague he meets a teenage hippy girl runaway and a supporter of the Black Panther party, and we view the major social developments of the 60s from the unusual perspective of somebody who is more or less unsympathetic to them.
As with the first book in the series, I found this lacked lustre for the first half and took off in the second half. It seemed a long slog until Skeeter moved in and things started getting interesting. Harry never became a sympathetic character for me, he is far too self-centered and emotionally stunted (quite amazingly so at the end, when the events at his house seem to have had no effect on him at all). But you get that he is meant to be that way, more than he was in 'Rabbit, Run'.
+10 task (lived 1932-2009)
+10 review
Task Total: 20 points
Grand Total: 605
20.1 Swann's WayPiano by Jean Echenoz
Max Delmarc is going to die in less than two weeks. He's an internationally renowned concert pianist who suffers from stage fright. At fifty, he has never been married and lives with his sister. He is an alcoholic. He has a manager, a keeper (someone who makes sure he gets to his performances on time and sober), and no friends to speak of. He is in love with a ghost--a woman, Rose, whom he never dared speak with but saw at a cafe every day for a year and after she was gone he found out she'd been at the cafe every day to see him. This was before the age of the internet and Google and he had no way to find where she had gone. Twenty years later, he still searches for her in the face of every woman that he sees.
He's done no "evil," but no "good" to speak of either.
After his death, he wakes up in a white room. Purgatory.
The rest of this novel follows Max's time in Purgatory and what happens after...
+20 Task (author born in Orange, France; translated from French by Mark Polizzotti)
+10 Review
Task Total = 30
Grand Total = 150
10.4 - Prize-worthy:Labyrinths: Selected Stories and Other Writings by Jorge Luis Borges
Alas, Borges was just not for me! It wasn't the quality of the writing, which was excellent, or the obvious intellect behind the words. I simply didn't enjoy reading many of the stories and, although one section is designated as "Essays", I felt as if many of the stories were essays in the writing concept even though they were clearly fictional. As I look back on it, I think the stories I liked were the more traditional ones in the genre. My favorite was "The Shape of the Sword". Perhaps I would have related to Labyrinths more at a time in my life when I was feeling more "philosophical" than I do at sixty. I was disappointed in my lack of connection because I love Umberto Eco's work and the book blurb said that he was one of the few authors writing today who approaches Borges' abilities. I'm also a fan of Marquez and magical realism. Perhaps a novel gives me a chance to embrace these characteristics and relate them to the plot and characters of a longer work. I still rated the writing highly and maybe someday I will try Borges again.
+10 Task: Miguel de Cervantes Prize: 1979
+15 Combo: 10.2 - Celebrate Book Lover’s Day (#188)/10.6 - In honor of All Saints Day (Died 1986)/20.2 – 1909 to 1922 (Born 1899, Died 1986)
+10 Review
+10 Canon
+10 Non-Western (Argentina)
Task Total: 55
Grand Total: 490
10.5 - Labour DayFool Moon - Jim Butcher
+10 task
+5 combo (20.8 - Stephen King - most of the characters are werewolves)
Post total: 15
Grand total: 55
Theresa~OctoberLace wrote: "20.6 - In Search of Lost Time Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov 9/20/13
Read a book written by an author influenced by Proust.
Nabokov is included in Liz M's approved list of authors for this task.
..."
+5 Combo 10.2-Book Lover's List
Joanna wrote: "Kate S wrote: "Joanna wrote: "20.1 Swann's WayFire in the Blood by Irène Némirovsky
Joanna wrote: "20.1 Swann's Way
Fire in the Blood by Irène Némirovsky
Sorry, Joanna, this book does not qual..."
Got this switched for you. :)
Kate S wrote: "Theresa~OctoberLace wrote: "20.6 - In Search of Lost Time Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov 9/20/13
+5 Combo 10.2-Book Lover's List
Thank you, Kate, but can you double check this one? It was in the first 200 of the Book Lovers List when I was planning. However, it has since dropped to #201. Do I still get the credit?
Task 20.8 - Kate's Task:In honor of Stephen King's birthday, read a book with a non-human MAJOR character.
Four Past Midnight (1990) by Stephen King (Hardcover, 1st, 779 pages)
Most popular edition: Four Past Midnight (Paperback, 930 pages)
Review: This book contains 4 novellas (or short novels), each story in which something unexpected happens to time; and, each story containing action taken by a non-human being. All four stories are easy to visualize and can be made into scary movies. The two longer stories were made into movies:
The Langoliers: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112040/?...
Secret Window, Secret Garden: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363988/
Stephen King’s prose is direct and straightforward, easy to read and understand. He makes it look easy to write such prose (in reality, it is quite difficult to do so). I thought the first story was the best one. The third story was saved by being set in a 1980s style library. The fourth story (involving a Polaroid camera) felt very padded – cut out 1/3rd and the story would have read quicker without losing any detail. Recommended for reading on the beach or the airplane (well, The Langoliers is set on an airplane, so maybe not the first of the four stories, but the other three would do nicely.)
+20 Task
+10 Review
+20 Jumbo 900-999 Pages
Task Total: 20 + 10 + 20 = 50
Grand Total: 110 + 50 = 160
Pick 'n' Mix15.3 - A3. Setting Europe
Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen by Mary Sharratt 9/22/13
This book is set in Germany.
+15 points
Assuming Katie S verifies Lolita is a combo for 10.2, my current totals are:
RWS Total to date: 305
Pick 'n' Mix Total to date: 45
Grand Total to date: 350
Theresa~OctoberLace wrote: "Kate S wrote: "Theresa~OctoberLace wrote: "20.6 - In Search of Lost Time Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov 9/20/13
+5 Combo 10.2-Book Lover's List
Thank you, Kate, but can you double check this one?..."
Yes, you get credit for this. It was in the top 200 when we set the tasks and people were planning, we count this. :)
10.2 Book Lover's Day# 112 on list
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Review:
Ethan Frome has to struggle to make a living of his farm. In addition to this he also has to take care of a wife who doesn’t have a pleasant character and needs constant care because of an illness. But then his wife’s cousin arrives and his live seems to take a better turn.
This is a really sad story that made me cry in the end. The sad thing about it wasn’t that the characters were having a hard time and suffering emotionally, but the fact that it was so real. These things happen and somehow the author conveyed this without many words (the books is relatively short) but very impressively. A book very recommendable for all who look for a short read that reaches to an emotional level. People who expect a book to always be funny and make them laugh should probably choose another book.
A quick note on my edition: I listened to the audiobook narrated by Scott Brick. I already knew him from former narrations (especially those written by Orson Scott Card) and really liked him them. This time, although he didn’t do a bad job as such, I found it rather difficult to focus on his narration, so a bit of the beginning escaped me. I might have to reasses Scott Brick as a narrator. Perhaps his voice only works well in conjunction with others (the other books he narrated were multi-narrator productions).
+ 10 Task
+ 10 Canon
+ 10 Review
+ 15 Combo (10.6, 20.2: lived 1862 - 1937, 20.3: #91)
Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 185
10.4 - Prix GoncourtEnemy Force by John-Antoine Nau
+ 15 combo (10.6, 20.2 - died 1918, 20.8 - 'alien entity' in main character's mind)
task total: 25
grand total: 130
note: i can't figure out how to change versions of this, but i read the kindle version, not the comic.
edited to correct combo and points
10.6 - Day of the DeadTime for the Stars by Robert A. Heinlein
+ 10 combo (10.3 - 'for', 20.2 - born in 1907)
note: considered one of the heinlein juveniles, but as far as i can see, it has neither a YA classification nor a lexile score.
task total: 20
grand total: 150
20.9 WWII FictionThe Tin Drum by Günter Grass
Review:
The Peter Pan of Nazi-occupied Poland, Oskar is a drum playing midget capable of shattering glass with perfect precision with his singing voice. The novel has all the elements of a fantastical and bizarre story and maintains a narrative voice so compelling that I looked for more errands and chores to allow more listening time for the audiobook version of this. The narrator did a fabulous job with the strange narrative structure of the book and managed to make even some of the more annoying repeating scenes reasonable to listen to.
This book fits into the universe of strange tales like A Prayer for Owen Meany and Geek Love and Mendel's Dwarf. Yet it also has the magical realism elements of something more like One Hundred Years of Solitude. And the epic nature of a family tale like Middlesex. Ultimately though, this book stands alone as a strange and wonderful masterwork.
I've never read anything else by Grass but I certainly would be interested in doing so after finishing this one.
+20 Task (#24)
+5 Combo (20.6 - see help thread)
+10 Canon
+10 Review
+5 Jumbo (MPE = 567 pgs.)
Task total: 50
Grand total: 260
10.10 Group ReadsThe Guide by R.K. Narayan
Review:
I'm glad this book was selected as a Group Read because I don't think I ever would have picked it up otherwise. The story moved along simply enough, with the protagonist remembering earlier episodes from his life and recounting bits to others. I enjoyed the rise and fall of the main character as he moved from a poor person scraping together a life as a tour guide at a railway station to a rich and influential person to a prisoner to, finally, a Swami. I never felt wholly connected to the main character and never fully believed in his motivations and transitions, but I quite enjoyed the story anyway and am glad to have read a bit of Indian literature that is neither depressingly bleak nor overly mystical.
+10 Task
+15 Combo (10.5, 10.6, 20.2)
+10 Nonwestern
+10 Canon
+10 Review
Task total: 55
Grand total: 315
10.4 Prize-worthyThe House of Scorta by Laurent Gaudé
Reading this was like watching a movie...the epic kind, that follows a family through its ups and downs, victories and triumphs, over five generations. It really has it all: rape, murder, pillaging, fire, earthquake, love, loss...
Set in a small Italian village, it begins in infamy (a recently-released prisoner returns to the village, rapes the girl he left behind--or so he thought--and is stoned to death by the villagers) and ends in...peace, I suppose.
It wasn't the kind of book that I would insist my friends MUST read. It wasn't a book that I just couldn't put down. But it was an entertaining, nicely paced, and well-written story.
+10 Task (Prix Goncourt winner, 2004)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (20.1: born in Paris, translated from French by Stephen Sartarelli and Sophie Hawkes)
Task Total = 25
Grand Total = 175
15.4 Pick N Mix C-3 175-275 pagesThe Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich
+15 Task (MPE 256 pages)
Grand Total = 90
Pick 'n' Mix15.2 C6 400-500 pages
The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans
+15 Task (451 pages)
Season Total: 530
Pick 'n' Mix15.3 A2 Setting: South America
Of Love and Shadows by Isabel Allende
+15 Task (set in unnamed South American Country)
Season Total: 545
Pick 'n' Mix15.4 C1 <125 pages
Candide by Voltaire
+15 (94 pages in MPE)
YA assignment, on canon
Season Total: 560
10.5 Labor Day Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
+ 10 task(author Butler on list)
Task Total: 10 points
Grand Total: 395
20.1 Swann's WayBarks and Purrs by Colette
Review:
Demonstrating that feelings about cats and dogs have been consistent for the past 100 years, this 1904 book reads as if it were written last week for the Barnes and Noble gift table. Well, actually, it reads much better than that because Colette really captures the attitude and tone of a standoffish cat and a rambunctious bulldog. The book is really a collection of seven short episodes plus a prologue and mostly involves the two pets talking to each other. The readers for the public domain librivox edition did a fabulous job bringing this to life. This was just the right bit of amusing fluff to lighten a very dark mood today.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+25 Combo (10.3 "and"; 10.6/20.2 [auth: 1873-1954]; 10.9 [single name - Colette]; 20.8 [mostly a dialogue between cat and dog])
Task total: 55
Grand total: 370
Pick n' mix - 15.2 - D4 - Female author 40-60The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
+15 task
task total: 15
grand total: 165
edited: should be 15.2, not 15.5
Heather wrote: "Pick n' mix - 15.5 - D4 - Female author 40-60The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Review:
This book was quite different from what I'd expected. Honestly, I'm not sure WHAT I'd expected when I..."
Heather, no styles are allowed for books used in the Pick N Mix sub-challenge.
Heather wrote: "gotcha. i'll fix it."First time, it can be confusing. And, of course, we all want every point we can get our hands on. ;-)
15.1-A1-Setting North AmericaHalf Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
Takes place in the United States
+15 Task
Grand Total: 80
15.2 E3 Short StoriesThe Best American Nonrequired Reading 2003 edited by Dave Eggers
+15 Task
Grand Total: 95
15.3-E6-Non-fiction (500-999)The Village: 400 Years of Beats and Bohemians, Radicals and Rogues by John Strausbaugh
BPL Dewey 974.71
+15
Grand total: 110
Pick 'n Mix15.3 A4 Setting Asia
The Dalai Lama's Cat by David Michie
Set in India
Task points = 15
Challenge points = 45
15.3 Pick'n'Mix #3E.1 - Rising Stars: Born in Fire by J. Michael Straczynski (graphic novel)
Task Points: 15
Challenge Points: 45
Grand Total: 45
Task 10.7 - Rebekah's task - Ex-pat experience:Read a book in which the main character lives in a country other than his/her native country, and experiences a different culture than that with which s/he is natively familiar.
I wasn’t sure this one fit 10.7 so I asked in the help thread and Rebekah said it did so here it is:
We Need New Names (2013) by NoViolet Bulawayo (Hardcover, 298 pages)
Shortlist 2013 Booker Prize
Review: I picked up this book because it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. The author was born and raised in Zimbabwe, and now lives in America. The first-person narrator of the novel was born and raised in Zimbabwe, and now lives in America (write what you know). The writing style reads as if the young girl was sitting in the chair across from you, talking about her life (making this novel a good choice for audiobook). She lives with a family friend “Mother of Bones”, and spends her days with a group (gang?) of kids aged 10-12. Between normal childhood playing, the kids observe the upheaval in Zimbabwe that the adults are causing. The second half of the novel, our narrator is sent to Michigan in America to live with her aunt. This was a very absorbing read, well told and insightful. My main criticism is that the author includes several passages of explicit and exploitive sexuality, which I didn’t think was necessary, and which I found pushed me out of the narrative. Maybe the author felt she had to include sex scenes to get published? Recommended for those who like literary fiction.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 10 + 10 = 20
Grand Total: 160 + 20 = 180
20.6 - Stephen King's BirthdayI Am Legend by Richard
Matheson
review:
I Am Legend is one of those books that you’ll either love or hate. This is the story of one man, at the end of civilization as we know it, and the doubts, pain, and regrets that face humans when all distraction is gone and one is forced to see one’s own mind without blinders. He is driven to distraction and despair by watching those who he has known and loved succumb to a bacterial infection that changes them from human beings into living, and sometimes undead, vampires. It’s often painful to read the main character’s thoughts about his deceased family and his despair at being alone. However, this is an excellent, if quick, read. One caveat, however – the ending is NOTHING like the movie by the same name with Will Smith. As they said in The Devil’s Own, “don’t expect a happy ending.”
+20 task
+ 5 combo (died June 23, 2013)
+10 review
Task total: 35
Grand total: 200
I edited the post to reflect the score change.Kate S wrote: "From Post 150
Ashley wrote: "10.6-All Saint's Day
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
+10 Task
+10 Canon
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 20"
This is included in William Shakespeare's Comp..."
20.8 Stephen King's BirthdayA Dirty Job by Christopher Moore
(non-human characters, raven- shadow women, a demon, animated "Squirrel People" made from various parts of dead animals)
Review
Christopher Moore is the satirist from Hell. At least in this book he is. He plots a story around Charlie Asher, a newly made father and widower. Charlie soon notices strangeness in the world that leads to the discovery that he himself is a Death Merchant, one of several. Although he makes a living through his second – hand store, being a soul vessel retriever is the job that keeps the world safe. Throw in some unique characters that are his family, employees and colleagues, the Sewer Harpies aka The Morrigan, Orcus, the lead demon, a gorgeous Buddhist monk, a cute baby girl and two gigantic hellhounds and you have a rollicking race to save San Francisco from becoming the portal of the Underworld.
+20 pts - Task
+10 pts - Review
+ 5 pts - Combo (10.2 - # 164 on list)
Task Total - 35 pts
Grand Total - 270 pts
Deedee wrote: "Task 10.7 - Rebekah's task - Ex-pat experience:Read a book in which the main character lives in a country other than his/her native country, and experiences a different culture than that with whic..."
+10 Non-Western
Deedee wrote: "Task 20.8 - Kate's Task:In honor of Stephen King's birthday, read a book with a non-human MAJOR character.
Four Past Midnight (1990) by Stephen King (Hardcover, 1st, 779 pages)
Most popular edit..."
+5 Combo 10.5-King is a profession
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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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D1: male author born in 1930; book published in 1960 --> 30
No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe
+ 20 Task
Grand Total: 120