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Winter 13/14 RwS Completed Tasks - Winter 13/14
10.7 Keep It ShortDance of the Happy Shades by Alice Munro Won Pen/Malamud Award in 1997
review
This is the first collection of stories by the newest Nobel Laureate. So early on it is abundantly obvious that this was a writer of great talent. These short stories are mostly about “coming of age” in a rural or small town in Canada. Sometimes if is a young girl or sometimes a young boy or even a 20 something woman but all are sweet nuggets to savor and appreciate. They strike a cord with the reader as each story’s character has an insight into life whether it is bad, good or both. Good, easy read. Great reading for commuters.
+10 pts - Task
+10 pts - Review
+10 pts - Combo (10.6 - first book, 10.9- won 2013)
+ 5 pts - Oldies (1968)
+10 pts - Not A Npvel (short stories)
Task Total 45 pts
Grand Total - 935
10.1The Bacchae and Other Plays by Euripides
+10 task
+10 Not a novel
+25 oldies
task total: 45
grand total: 1650
20.8Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety by Eric Schlosser
+20 task
+10 not a novel
+5 combo (20.9)
+5 jumbo (640 pages)
task total: 30
grand total: 1680
Hey! I forgot to give myself my $100.00 bonus for completing the challenge!My new grand total is 1035
itpdx wrote: "Kate S wrote: "itpdx wrote: "10.6 Beginnings/EndingsCity of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte
Review: Pretty silly. Let me see how many best seller clichés are included...
I don't see a book published before this one under the Magnus Flyte name on GoodReads. "
As you pointed out, Magnus Flyte is really two authors writing together. Each of those authors has published other titles.
Heather wrote: "20.5Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
+20 task
+5 combo (10.5)
task total: 25
grand total: 1705"
Heather, this also qualifies for 10.3 in detective fiction
15.6 TtPR Seafarer - Vietnam A,B, & CLast Night I Dreamed of Peace: The Diary of Dang Thuy Tram by Đặng Thùy Trâm
+15 pts - Task
+10 pts - bonus
Task Total - 25 pts
Grand Total - 1060 pts
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "itpdx wrote: "Kate S wrote: "itpdx wrote: "10.6 Beginnings/EndingsCity of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte
Review: Pretty silly. Let me see how many best seller cliché..."
Thanks. I wanted to be sure of what you were saying--that the tasks apply to the actual authors not just to the pen name.
20.3 Post-ColonialThe English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
Review: The English Patient follows a group of characters living in a home in Italy at the end of World War II, shifting perspectives and time to chronicle the events that led them there. It centers around an anonymous man with hideous wounds and his nurse Hana. I had a hard time following the story for a good third of the novel – I could not figure out whose perspective I was reading, since Ondaatje used a lot of pronouns and not so many names. Eventually though, either I got used to it or he identified the characters better. Either way, once I got settled the story was interesting, although one thread interested me the most and once it was tied up the rest of the book fell a little flat. Maybe someday I’ll catch the movie.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (20.6)
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 755
20.1 1964Mine Till Midnight by Lisa Kleypas
Review: This is a serviceable but fairly forgettable historical romance – a perfect palate cleanser, but nothing to write home about. The premise is that a family has received an unexpected inheritance, and along with it a title that puts them in a different place in society than they had previously occupied. Part of the family is a man who was rescued by them when he was a kid, and he’s Roma. Coincidentally, the female lead meets a dashing part Roma man and, of course, they fall in love. Because she’s a particularly open-minded person and a man she thinks of as a brother is also Roma, she doesn’t have the preconception of “gypsies” the rest of society would have. Is it true to history? Probably not. Were there some questionable gender role and dominance issues? Maybe. Was there even a thrown in silly ghost thing at the end? Yes. But was it a fun read for a day? Also yes.
+20 Task (Kleypas born in 1964: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Kle...)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.5)
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 790
20.2 PicaresqueWaverley by Walter Scott
Review: I had high hopes for this book, which is supposedly one of the first examples of historical fiction. It’s also set in Scotland during the Jacobite revolution, which has fascinated me since reading Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. Sadly, I was disappointed. The book started out slow but strong, where Scott introduces the main character and his upbringing. There were asides by the author that were mostly funny or interesting. Unfortunately, that tendency began to grate on me and become annoying more often than not, and the story never really got off the ground but just felt like background. The characters fell flat, the plot never got interesting, and it took forever to finish. I guess maybe that’s the point of a picaresque novel, but it didn’t connect with me.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+15 Oldies (pub. 1814)
Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 835
20.8 DisastersThe Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan
Review: This was my favorite type of non-fiction book. It was easy to read yet totally informative. It told the stories of the people, and through them also told the stories of the land. It was long enough to give some backstory of how the Dust Bowl came to be and also to move through the 1930’s. I cannot imagine living in the parts of Oklahoma, Texas, etc. the book focused on, either before or after the dust storms wiped the towns there almost entirely out of existence. I really thought the descriptions of life before the Great Depression sounded like life couldn’t get much more difficult – I mean, I’m surprised I didn’t have nightmares about walls crawling with centipedes – but then the dust storms came and covered the region. The only issue I had with the book is that I wish Egan had discussed a little more about what happened to the people and towns after the Depression ended during the conclusion; instead, he threaded that part through the narrative in a way that I felt didn’t give me personally the full picture. Still a great book, and not nearly as dry (ha) or intimidating as I thought it’d be.
+20 Task (dust storms)
+10 Not-a-Novel (non-fiction)
+10 Review
Task Total: 40
Grand Total: 875
10.5 Goodreads AuthorChasing Magic by Stacia Kane
Review: This is the fifth book in a series, so I wouldn’t start here, but it’s definitely one of my favorite urban fantasy series out there. Chess lives in a world without religion, or perhaps with one religion; after a day when all the dead rose up to haunt the living, The Church emerged as the authority on ghosts and magic and the only dependable source of Truth (although I think someday Chess will realize that’s not quite the whole story). She’s broken – having been abused as a child, she took to heart the abusers’ message that she was worthless and horrible. That path has led to her becoming a drug addict, and she isn’t trying to stop using, even overdosing in this installment. Some of her relationships are taking steps forward, but others are moving backwards. She does manage to save her neighborhood from an evil sorcerer though, and I expect at some point she’ll get herself together as well.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 895
TtPR – Seafarer15.8 (eighth stop): China
Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 920
10.5 Goodreads AuthorAgave Kiss by Ann Aguirre
Review: I love Ann Aguirre’s books, to the point that I’ve been saving this one for a while. It’s the conclusion of her Corine Solomon series, and there is really no way I could see someone reading this installment without reading the others. It’s urban fantasy, but without the leather-clad protagonist, and with no vampires or werewolves. Aguirre’s characters go through hell (sometimes literally) and they don’t all get happy endings tied up with a bow, but there’s enough humor, love, and hope mixed in with the crazy that it’s all worth it. She didn’t make me cry this time, but it was a satisfying conclusion to the series. I also appreciate that her series come to a natural conclusion – she doesn’t drag them out like some do. I’m sad to see the characters go, but she’s always writing new series for me to inhale.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 940
20.6 20th CWatchmen by Alan Moore
+20 Task (#115)
Graphic Novel – no style
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 960
20.7 Group Reads ReduxBossypants by Tina Fey
Review: When this book came out it seemed like everyone and their mother was reading it, but I never felt the need to add it to my to-read list. When I got a copy for free a few months ago, I added it to the pile, but it wasn’t until it matched up with this task that I decided to pick it up. I’ve been on vacation this weekend and it was perfect for the occasion – fun and funny and light but not shallow. I don’t follow Fey’s work that closely, but she is funny and I admire her for being straight forward and down to earth, and all of that shines in this book. I do think the audiobook would be even more fun – it’s written in a non-linear stream-of-consciousness type style that I expect would work better with her voice speaking the words. My favorite part was the chapter when she went on a cruise for her honeymoon – aside from the engine room fire, it perfectly reflected my experiences on my first (maybe last) cruise.
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.6)
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-Novel
Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 1005
Kate S wrote: "From Post 708Jenifer wrote: "20.1 1964
Dan Brown was born in 1964
Inferno by Dan Brown
+20 task
+5 combo (w/ 10.6 This is Dan Brown's most recent release)
+10 rev..."
Sorry! I've just added the review to the original post.
Task 10.8 - BINGO! Read a book written by an author whose name contains the letters "b i n g o".
B er g str o m, Ela in e *
The Door through Washington Square (1998) by Elaine Bergstrom (Goodreads Author)
Review:This novel kept switching genres -- the reader can either appreciate the unusual combination, or get annoyed. The genres: straightforward science fiction oriented time travel, historical fiction, time travel romance with a touch of the occult.
I appreciated the novel more when I realized that a major character in the novel, Aleister Crowley, really existed, and that some of his actions in the novel were actions that he really did, thus proving once again that truth is stranger than fiction.
from Wikipedia:
[ Aleister Crowley (born Edward Alexander Crowley (12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He was responsible for founding the religion and philosophy of Thelema, in which role he identified himself as the prophet entrusted with guiding humanity into the Aeon of Horus in the early 20th century. ]
Of course, the real-life Aleister Crowley did not have the success with his occult practices that the novel’s Aleister Crowley did.
Overall, I liked the novel. Recommended for when you are in the mood for a fantastical – historical - occult novel with a touch of romance.
+10 Task
+05 Combo (#10.5 Goodreads Author)
+ 10 Review
Task Total: 10 + 05 + 10 = 25
Grand Total: 895 + 25 = 920
10.6 – Beginnings/Endings:My Sister Lives On The Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher, 880 Lexile
+10 Task(debut)
Grand Total: 1870
10.9 - Nobel PrizeThe Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor by Gabriel García Márquez
Review:
The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor was first serialized in a newspaper in 1955, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez admits in the preface to the 1970 book length version that it was originally credited to the shipwrecked sailor, Luis Alejandro Velasco, i.e. GGM ghost-wrote it. Then GGM got famous and his publishers wanted to put it out in his name. I hope Mr Velasco still got a share of the royalties.
It's apparently a straightforward account of what happened after Velasco was washed off an overloaded Colombian naval destroyer with seven other sailors. He was the only one to make it to a life raft and the only one who survived, after ten days drifting at sea without food or water. It's a very well constructed story and keeps you involved all the way.
+10 task
+ 5 combo (20.8 thanks Kate for confirming the combo points!)
+10 review
+10 not a novel (non-fiction)
+ 5 oldies (1970)
Task total: 40 points
Grand total: 1345
20.9 – Daytona 500: Elizabeth (Alaska)’s taskGrave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
+20 Task: 576 pages, 850 Lexile
+ 5 Combo: 10.5 Goodreads Authorized
+ 5. Jumbo
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 1900
Kate S wrote: "From Post 888Jama wrote: "20.2 Picaresque
The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison
+20 Task
+10 review
+5 combo (20.2)
+5 oldies"
Sorry, Jama, you can't claim a co..."
Sorry - that was a typo. The combo is with 10.4
20.10 - Between the WarsThe Willows by Algernon Blackwood
+20 Task (born 1869)
+10 Oldies (1907)
Task total=30
Grand total=1150
20.6 Best of 20th CenturyPerfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind
I read a lot of crazy books which require the reader to suspend disbelief. Most of the time I have no problem with that. But to suspend disbelief there needs to be some kind of interior logic which makes some sense. While I enjoyed reading about perfume production in the 1700's in France, and felt the historical setting was realistic and well done, I could not accept many things about the premise of the book. While I might buy that the protaganist could have an exceptionally gifted sense of smell, he is described as unthinking, ugly, and not particularly bright and yet we are supposed to believe he could change appearances and behaviors to fool and manipulate people of all classes. His lack of personal odor is given as much development as his sense of smell, and I can think of no logical reason why he would be odorless ( except for symbolic reasons). In fact, the book reads as if the author were dared to write a book which uses the word smell on every page. It is a little overdone, and I found the ending to be predictable. Clearly this book was not for me.
+20 task
+10 combo (20.5, 20.7)
+10 review
+5 oldies
Task total 45
Grand total 555
@Jana,I read that book and didn't like it at all.
10.8 - BINGOThe Borgias: The Hidden History by G.J. Meyer
+10 task
+10 not a novel
task total: 20
grand total: 1750
10.5 GR AuthorizedGrasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
Review:
Andrew Smith is my new hero. Seriously, this book was fantastic. It managed to talk more openly and honestly about male teen sexuality than anything I've read recently. In that respect, it reminded me of Judy Blume and other such historical greats. But this is more edgy than that.
As well as telling a brilliant coming of age story, the book also manages to tell a convincing and gripping, but also humorous, end of civilization dystopia. The book doesn't shy away from giving a specific account of what happened and how, but also doesn't get bogged down in the details.
I'm incredibly impressed with this book and will be seeking to read the rest of the books by this author.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task total: 20
Grand total: 610
10.7 Keep it ShortEverything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower
Review:
I hated almost everyone in this book. The characters and their lives were all miserable. Miserable men, for that matter. But the writing was impressive. The stories were alive and vibrant despite being miserable and seedy. From raiding Vikings to pedophiles to estranged brothers, the stories leapt about in space, focus, time, and setting. The collection wasn't united by a central theme. Most of the stories did not make any moral point (or, when they did, the morality seemed pointless or voiced by such a dislikable character that it was easily dismissed), but it didn't matter because I was enjoying the writing so much. I know this book has gotten a lot of mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed it and am glad I found the time to finally get around to reading this.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-novel
Task total: 30
Grand total: 640
10.8 BINGOTequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist by Tim Federle
Review:
An amusing combination of cocktail recipes and literary summaries. I had expected that the cocktails would be more directly related to the novels rather than merely named for them in a punny way, but I still ended up enjoying this little book. I've read many of the books described, which certainly contributed to my enjoyment of the summaries. I don't know that the book would seem all that funny if you haven't read most of these classics so that you can appreciate the wit. Many of the cocktail recipes are also quite tasty and there is an index in the back to help find recipes by ingredient.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-novel
+5 Combo (10.5)
Task total: 35
Grand total: 675
15.7 TtPR - 7th StopSeafarer
Cambodia - 7th Stop
In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
Task total: 25
Grand total: 700
20.3 Post-ColonialMoral Disorder: and Other Stories by Margaret Atwood
Review:
I enjoyed listening to these stories. This book reminded me of Olive Kitteridge in that it was interconnected short stories related to a central character and those around her, not in chronological order and not all focused on the central character. Atwood is such a masterful writer. I felt deeply connected to Nell, the central character here and to her life history and story. I loved reading about the sibling relationship between Nell and her sister, eleven years younger than Nell. The connected stories made this feel like more than a collection of short stories but the format allowed each vignette to stand alone. Highly recommended to Atwood fans.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-novel
+5 Combo (10.5)
Task total: 45
Grand total: 745
From Post 948Don (The Book Guy) wrote: "In Honor of Edgar Allan Poe
Murder Past Due by Miranda James
Murder Past Due is a cozy mystery by writer Miranda James. If you like cozy mysteries this is a good ..."
Sorry, Don, Miranda James is not on the list of Detective Fiction authors.
Heather wrote: "20.5Choke by Chuck Palahniuk
+20 task
task total: 20
grand total: 1730"
+5 Combo (10.5-GoodReads Author)
From Post 750Ella wrote: "20.10. Between the Wars: Twenty-Four Hours in the Life of a Woman Stefan Zweig
It was my first Zweig's book. I read it with no emotions. Unfortunately it wasn't int..."
+5 Combo 20.8-Disaster
Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "@Jana,I read that book and didn't like it at all."
Me too, just too disgusting and incoherent for me
15.7 TtPR - SeafarerPhilippines - A,B & C
Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco
+15 pts - Tasl
+10 pts - Bonus
Task Total - 25 pts
Grand Total - 1085 pts
10.1 ResolutionCaliban's War by James S.A. Corey
+10 task
+10 Combo (10.5, 20.9)
+5 Jumbo (595 pages)
Task total: 25 points
Grand Total: 1665
15.1 Travel the Pacific Rim - AviatorThe Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
Australia
A/ Author born in Australia
B/ Author's nationality is Australian
C/ Book is set in Australia
+15 task
Task total: 15 points
Grand Total: 110
10.4 - Chinese New YearBattle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua
+10 Task
+ 5 Combo (10.8 - BINGO)
+10 Not-A-Novel (306.874 C at BPL)
Task total=25
Grand total=1175
I couldn't put this one down.
15.8 TtPR Seafarer - China Waiting by Ha Jin fits A,
+15 pts - Task
+10 pts - Bonus
Task Total - 25 pts
Grand Total - 1110 pts
10.6 Beginnings/EndingsHow to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid
+10 Task (Most Recent Book)
Post Total: 10
Season Total: 1110
10.8 BINGO!Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington
+10 Task (author's name)
+10 Oldies (1921)
+10 Combo (20.7, 20.10)
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 1140
20.4 TravelFrench Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew by Peter Mayle
+20 Task
+10 Not-a-Novel
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 1170
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
A Dance with Dragons (other topics)Tracks (other topics)
Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops (other topics)
The Frenzy (other topics)
The Counterfeiters (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
George R.R. Martin (other topics)Robyn Davidson (other topics)
Jen Campbell (other topics)
Francesca Lia Block (other topics)
André Gide (other topics)
More...
This was the author’s debut novel. See:
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?3633
Lady in Gil (Gil Trilogy #1) (1996) by Rebecca Bradley
Review:This novel was the first one of a fantasy trilogy. It’s a very familiar story, with the hero being simultaneously a member of royalty and also in possession of real but difficult to access extranormal powers. He is a member of a community that fled the homeland 70 years ago when the conquerors came. He is trained by his community-in-exile to return to their homeland and to overthrow the sadistic, militaristic group that rules the homeland now. He does what is expected of him; doubts come much later. The novel is a pleasant ride through a pseudo-medieval fantasyland. I thought the ending was just plain silly (won’t spoil it by telling you how). It did have the advantage of having a well-defined ending, with all major plotlines resolved. Number two of the trilogy occurs several years after the end of Novel one, starring some of the same characters, now older & (hopefully) wiser.
George R R Martin ‘s novel A Game of Thrones was published the same year as this one and really transformed the genre. Martin is brutal towards his characters (see: The Red Wedding in A Storm of Swords). While reading Lady in Gil novel, I’d think: Tig & Calla & Angel (characters in Lady in Gil) would not have survived their mistakes if they were in Martin's Westeros! While Tig & Calla & Angel’s continued survival was comforting, it also gave the novel a dated feel.
Recommended as a comfort read for fans of fantasy.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 10 + 10 = 20
Grand Total: 875 + 20 = 895