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Winter 13/14 RwS Completed Tasks - Winter 13/14
10.5 – Goodreads authorized:Spider Woman's Daughter by Anne Hillerman
Anne Hillerman wrote a new installment, Spider Woman's Daughter, in the tradition of her father's Navajo Mysteries. She does a lot of things right as she follows in his footsteps. First, she writes from the point of view of Bernie, Jim Chee's fellow officer and wife. This was smart because she could write from a female point of view and keep Chee's personality intact without trying to duplicate her father's writing of his voice. Second, she included all of the descriptions of the landscape as her father did. The return to Chaco Canyon and references to the plot of one of her father's previous books was another smart move on Anne Hillerman's part. Lastly, she included the wonderful original character of Joe Leaphorn, unfortunately as a victim of a shooting and hovering in a coma. This allowed Hillerman to include him and Bernie's thoughts of him and his relationship with Chee as his mentor. She did a good job keeping the plot moving and keeping true to the depictions of Navajo Nation life. I have spent some time in this area of New Mexico and always fall in love with it again when I read a Hillerman book which I hope can now continue with Anne Hillerman at the helm.
+10 Task: Anne Hillerman is a Goodreads Author
+ 5 Combo: 10.6 – Beginnings/Endings: most recent book
+10 Review
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 580
20.10 - born in 1878Fifty-One Tales by Lord Dunsany
Fifty-One Tales by Lord Dunsany is an interesting little book. It’s a compendium of short absurdist vignettes written in the Victorian style, most of which are about personifications of abstract ideals, like love, death, and time. The pieces, as best I can explain, are almost allegoric, but rather bizarre in places. They’re quite entertaining, if you enjoy Victorian literature, although the prose can be a bit stilted but that’s the case with most Victorian pieces. If you like the more fantastic HP Lovecraft works or the less morbid Edgar Allen Poe pieces, it’s definitely a good, if very short, read.
+20 task
+10 review
+10 oldies
+10 not a novel
task total: 50
grand total: 370
10.5 Goodsreads authorsThe Paper Bag Christmas by Kevin Alan Milne. He is a goodreads author.
Task +10
Style: 15 (Combo 10.6 author first book published 2006, Review)
I probably wouldn't have read this book if I didn't do the Winter SRC challenge. I am glad I did. It is a touching Christmas story about a boy who reluctantly volunteers at the local childrens' hospital. These kids have terminally ill cases like cancer. The main character Mo, meet a girl named Katrina who has terminally ill cancer. She has a rare case. Because of all the chemotherapy she has underwent and all the surgeries she has gone through, she thinks she is ugly so she wears a paper bag over her head. However she gets a much needed Christmas gift. Even though the book is a little sad, I feel it needs to be read. There is an important meaning behind it.
Book Total: 25
Grand Total: 85
20.10 - born in 1876The Scarlet Plague by Jack London
It’s not often that you find turn of the century science fiction that you can’t put down. The Scarlet Plague is one of those pieces. I’d always been loath to read this, because well…. It’s Jack London. The only thing I could ever associate with him is White Fang and that is so not my thing it’s not funny. However, upon reading a synopsis of this story, I had to read it. Dystopian plague fiction, written in 1911. I’m a huge fan of dystopian fiction to begin with, and the plague idea? Golden. This story is just amazing, really. It has a bit of the feel of Lord of the Flies, The Stand, The Road, and Alas, Babylon, without being overbearing or outrageous. If you like things like The Time Machine and other turn of the century sci fi, it’s definitely a must read.
+20 task
+10 oldies
+10 not a novel
+10 review
task total: 50
grand total: 420
10.6 - Beginnings and EndingsBattle Magic by Tamora Pierce (820 lexile)
Review:
I’ve been a fan of Tamora Pierce’s work for years now, so I eagerly anticipated her newest book, Battle Magic. It belongs to her canon of Emelan books and follows Briar, Evvy and Rosethorn during the war between Yanying and Gyonxge. As such is has necessarily a darker setting then most of Tamora Pierce’s other books. While they often discuss war and battles most of her books don’t primarily focus on it. Her characters often make me chuckle. This time I was missing this, but considering that the focus of this book is a war that is quite understandable. Somehow Rosethorn didn’t feel like her usual thorny but loveable self. But that could just be me.
All in all I enjoyed this book, but I wasn’t as gripped by it as by most of Tamora Pierce’s other works. Somehow it didn’t reach me on an emotional level. So it’s a nice read and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it as reading for someone who has already enjoyed other works by Tamora Pierce, but it’s probably not the best choice for somebody just getting acquainted with her.
+ 10 Task
+ 5 Combo (10.5)
+ 10 Review
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 280
20.4 - TravelFear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
+20 Task
+20 Combo (10.10 Group Reads; 20.2 Picaresque; 20.5 Disturbing; 20.6 Best Books)
+10 Not-A-Novel
+ 5 Oldies (1971)
Task total=55
Grand total=305
TtPR – Seafarer15.7 (7th Stop): Cambodia
In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner
+15 task A + C
+10 bonus
Task total: 25 points
Grand Total: 300
TtPR - Seafarer15.2: United States
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
Task Total = 25 points
Grand Total = 210 points
20.3 Post-ColonialThe Diviners by Margaret Laurence
+20 Task
+ 5 Oldies (1974)
Task Total = 25
Grant total = 195
20.10 Between the WarsThe Borrowers Afield by Mary Norton
Lexile: 910
Review:
I started reading this aloud with my four-year-old after we enjoyed the first installment. Unfortunately, this book takes too long to pick up to enough action to keep his interest. For the first half of the book, the whole story is background about living outside, getting set up in an old boot, worrying about wildlife, etc. I'll tell him the parts about discovering other Borrowers and eventually moving back indoors. Maybe we'll try the third installment. Still, I enjoyed reading more about these sweet little people and I love the concept of them "borrowing" miscellaneous stuff and repurposing it. The illustrations are also quite nice.
+20 Task (author born 1903)
+10 Review
+5 Oldies (pub. 1954)
Task total: 35
Grand total: 315
TtPRAviator
I'm hopping across the Pacific -- again:
15.5 New Zealand I read Colour Scheme by Ngaio Marsh who was born in New Zealand and set this book in New Zealand.
Points this Post: 15
Grand Total: 75
20.1 - Joss Whedon was born in 1964Astonishing X-Men, Vol. 1: Gifted by Joss Whedon
+20 task
task total: 20
grand total: 450
10.2 ReindeerShadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Shadow and Bone has an exciting plot that keeps you interested and turning the pages from the start. The book has some twists and turns along the way that are interesting and set it apart from the other YA fantasies out there. I was excited about the connections to Russian folklore that were supposed to be a basis of the book, but I was disappointed in this aspect of the book. Elements were there, but not developed strongly enough to give it a true cultural flavor. The romantic elements seemed typical at first, but Bardugo ended up disrupting the expected enough to keep it intriguing. All in all, it was a good debut effort and I liked it well enough to continue with the series. I hope that the Russian element will come through As the series develops!
+10 Task: 800 L, 2414 listings
+10 Combo: 10.5 Goodreads Authorized / 10.6 Beginnings and Endings (debut)
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 610
10.3 Edgar Allan PoeMost Popular:
Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe
My claim:
Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe
I wanted to read more Poe and looked for a collection that included both works that I had read and loved before and stories that would be new to me. The Tales of Mystery and Imagination definitely fit the bill. My favorite from the re-reads is still “The Pit and the Pendulum” which spooked me thoroughly when I first read it and frightened me all over again as a re-read. My favorite poem, “The Raven”, was also included along with some of Poe’s other poetry I enjoy like “The Bells”. A story new to me which is particularly chilling is “The Black Cat”. I don’t think I will look at my cats in quite the same way for a few days at least! I enjoyed “The Gold-Bug” aside from its dated racial references, and found the cryptology Poe used for the solution of the puzzle interesting.
Note: the editions for this book are all over the place for pages from 112 to 500+ I've just become a Goodreads librarian, but straightening this out will take more expertise than I have!
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not a Novel
+15 Oldies (1840)
Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 655
20.10 - Between the Wars:Transit by Anna Seghers
The synopsis describes this novel as a "literary thriller", which raised false expectations. Personally, I believe the book is far too Kafkaesque to be a thriller. The story begins with the unnamed narrator's telling the story of his escape from a German camp and subsequent flight to Marseille, where he expects to receive help and a job from an ex-girlfriend's family. Marseille is a place of limbo -- flooded with foreigners attempting to escape the Nazi advance. However, both leaving and staying requires various permits, letters, and visas and the narrator, at first a passive observer to the bureaucratic finagling, is drawn in by the desire to possess a beautiful woman. The framework is that of a thriller -- the narrator has acquired papers identifying him as a dissident writer (whom he knows is dead), but the story seems focused on the absurdities of the processes and the endless, irrational waiting. For observant readers, the opening scene reveals details of the ending (which I completely missed).
+20 task (author born 1901)
+10 review
+5 oldies (pub. 1944)
Task total: 35 points
Grand Total: 35 points
20.10 - Between the Wars:Ferdydurke by Witold Gombrowicz
I specifically read this book due to an impromptu work trip to Warsaw -- choosing a book published before horrors of WWII that is also considered a foundation of modern Polish literature. But the timing was not good. The book is too smart and too satirical to be enjoyable on an eight-hour red-eye flight for someone with no familiarity with Polish history. This absurd story is narrated by an aspiring author who is forced back into childhood by a former teacher - thrust into school and a home-stay and treated by all involved as if he was the child the former teacher claims him to be. At the best of times, I usually "don't get" satire and, unfortunately, for this experience I was too exhausted to make any sense of the novel.
+20 task (author born 1904)
+10 review
+5 combo (10.6 - Beginnings/Endings)
+10 oldies (pub. 1937)
Task total: 45 points
Grand Total: 80 points
20.10 - Between the Wars:The Case of Comrade Tulayev by Victor Serge
The novel is set amidst the purges of 1930s Stalinist Russia and in order to fully embody truth, the protagonist is the time itself. The political situation of the times is shown through a series of interconnected short stories of individuals all affected by the murder of the government official, Tulayev. Read over a period of several weeks and due to the structure of the book, I had problems with continuity. I found the opening chapter to be completely engaging and was somewhat disappointed when it became clear the individuals in the first story were not going to reappear anytime soon. And so the book goes, some chapters are personal with well-rounded characters that I could read an entire novel about and some chapters feature colorless bureaucrats enmeshed in an almost unfathomable (to me) political process. Overall, it it presents a complex, fascinating look at a dark period in Russia's history.
+20 task
+10 review
+5 oldies (pub. 1949)
Task total: 35 points
Grand Total: 115 points
20.10 Between the WarsThe Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
+20 task (born 1904)
+ 5 oldies (1945)
Task total: 25 points
Grand total: 635
20.1 1964 Half a Crown by Jo Walton
+20 task author born in 1964
+5 Combo (10.5)
Task total: 25 points
Grand Total: 325
TtPR - Seafarer15.1 USA
Defending Jacob by William Landay
(fits A, B, & C)
+15 task
Task total: 115 pts
Grand Total: 130 pts
20.9 Daytona 500Night Film by Marisha Pessl
"Night Film" is a mystery that goes off into a dark world of horror. Stanislas Cordova is a director (resembling Stanley Kubrick, Roman Polanski, and Alfred Hitchcock) whose films have gone underground because they are too disturbing and might cause copycat events. He filmed on a secluded estate where there was hardly a line between acting and reality.
When Cordova's daughter, Ashley, is found dead at the bottom of an elevator shaft in New York City, journalist Scott McGrath investigates her death. Two younger people join McGrath in his search for the truth. He interviews sources who tell him about black magic, witchcraft, and curses associated with Ashley's life and the Cordova estate. McGrath's humorous remarks throw some lightness into the dark story. While many answers about Ashley are revealed, the mysterious Cordova still holds some secrets at the end of the book. We wonder what is truth, and what is part of the filmmaker's staged world.
The book contains pages of police reports, newspaper articles, and webpages that add to the contemporary feel of the book. Readers with smartphones or tablets can also download an app for an extra experience. Although it is a chunky 602 pages, the book was entertaining and kept my interest.
+20 task
+ 5 jumbo (602 pages)
+10 combo (10.5 GR author and 10.6 last book)
+10 review
Task total: 45
Grand total: 250 points
10.1 Reading ResolutionsRead memoirs/biographies/autobiographies from owned shelves.
We All Fall Down: Living with Addiction by Nic Sheff
(lexile 870)
REVIEW:I read the father and son memoirs about Nic's addiction awhile back and picked this one up when I saw it at the bookstore. It starts in 2002, before Nic finished writing Tweak. Nic is in rehab, again. He has trouble with the Twelve steps and being told what to do again and again. He has been through the program so many times that he pretty much fakes his way through it, tells the counselors what they want to hear so he can get what he want. Almost always it is a girl and then eventually some kind of mind altering substance.
The first book is a bit more shocking. The lows and bottoms are much worse. Nic is growing up a little in this one, but he still is immature and he sometimes comes off a little condescending. Twice in the book he describes females he encounters who are overweight and he uses a mean tone. I don't know why this bothered me, but no one is what you think is perfect. Anyway, he is using most of the way through the book and I was wondering if he was ever going to get sober.
If you like books dealing with addiction then you may like this one. Pretty quick read.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-Novel
+5 Combo (10.6 most recent book)
Task Total = 35 points
Grand Total = 245 points
20.10 Between the WarsThe Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett
+20 Task (b. 1894)
+10 Oldie (pub 1932)
Task Total = 20
Grand Total = 215
10.6 - Beginnings/Endings: Read an author's debut book or most recently published book as of December 1, 2013.The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker 12/27/13
This is Helene Wecker's debut novel.
Review:
One great thing about the Goodreads Groups is that the group reads and challenges introduce books that you might not choose on your own. The Golem and the Jinni is one of those for me. The book is an urban fantasy interweaving the stories of the Golem (a creature made of clay), a Jinni (a creature made from fire), and the humans in the Jewish and Syrian sections of New York City where they live. The book does jump from one part of the story to another, and from one timeframe to another, but that style works very well here, keeping the reader’s interest. There are themes of prejudice, alienation, and yearning to belong. (view spoiler) I would definitely recommend it to my friends.
Combo:
10.5 - Goodreads authorized - Helene Wecker is a Goodreads author.
+10 task
+5 combo (10.5)
+10 review
Task total: 25 points
TtPR Total: 15
RwS Total: = 355
Grand Total: 370
10.6 - Beginnings/Endings: Read an author's debut book or most recently published book as of December 1, 2013.Morbus Dei: Die Ankunft by Bastian Zach
(Morbus Dei: The Arrival)
The book is the first part of a trilogy. It is set in the 18th century in Tyrol (Austria). Johann List is on the run and stumbles upon a small secluded village during a harsh winter. Bare of belongings and not healthy enough to travel on he is forced to stay. Soon he feels the villagers are hiding a terrible mystery from him. Piece by piece he finds out about the town's cruel past and the danger they might face in the present. When a group of Bavarian soldiers come through town, they set things in motion. Soon, the destiny of the village is about to change.
It is a well written and partly very intense reading. Unfortunately things were sometimes too quickly dealt with and felt as if lacking in logic. It is also a bit too much religious-themed for my taste. It was ok, but I won't read the two following parts.
+10 task
+10 review
Task Total: 20 points
Grand Total: 20
10.5 - Goodreads authorized: Read a book written by a goodreads author. Allegiant by Veronica Roth 12/28/13
Veronica Roth is a Goodreads Author.
This book is listed in the BPL catalog as YA, but does not have a Lexile rating. Since the other two books in the trilogy have a Lexile rating under 800, I am not claiming any style points.
+10 task
Task total: 10 points
TtPR Total: 15
RwS Total: = 365
Grand Total: 380
20.10 - Between the WarsCloud Nine by James M. Cain
+20 Task (born 1892)
+ 5 Oldies (1984)
Task total=25
Grand total=330
10.5 Goodreads authorizedThe Lost Bank: The Story of Washington Mutual-The Biggest Bank Failure in American History by Kirsten Grind
Review: Often when there is a complex news story that arrives in bits and pieces and is difficult to understand, I say that I will wait for the book to come out. This book may not be THE book about the financial crisis/recession that started in 2008 but it is an excellent introduction. Grind has put together an understandable and compelling account of the failure of Washington Mutual (WaMu) Bank. She paints vivid pictures of some of the personalities of involved, as well as the corporate culture of the bank.
And she leaves the reader to puzzle out what toxic blend of who’s ego, greed, or incompetence was the catalyst and why nobody seemed to able to right the ship.
+10 Task
+10 Combo (10.8 [3xs!], 10.6 this appears to be Grind's debut book)
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-novel (nonfiction)
Task total: 40
Grand total: 190
TtPR - Seafarer15.2 (2nd Stop) El Salvador
One Day of Life by Manlio Argueta 12/28/13
+15 task
+10 bonus
Task total: 25 points
TtPR Total: 40
RwS Total: = 365
Grand Total: 405
TtPR – Seafarer15.8 (8th Stop): China
Village of Stone by Xiaolu Guo
+15 task
+10 bonus
Task total: 25 points
Grand Total: 350
TtPR - Seafarer15.3 (3rd Stop) Columbia
Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel García Márquez 12/29/13
+15 task
+10 bonus
Task total: 25 points
TtPR Total: 65
RwS Total: = 365
Grand Total: 430
TtPR – Seafarer15.9 (9th Stop): Japan
Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster's Daughter by Shoko Tendo
+15 task
+10 bonus
Task total: 25 points
Grand Total: 375
10.6 - Beginnings/EndingsTop Down: A Novel of the Kennedy Assassination by Jim Lehrer
+10 Task (published 2013)
Task total=10
Grand total=340
TtPR - Seafarer15.02 - Australia
The Death of Bunny Munro - Nick Cave (A&B)
+15 task
+10 seafarer bonus
Post total: 25
Grand total: 85
Post 264 Heather wrote: "20.10 - born in 1876The Scarlet Plague by Jack London
It’s not often that you find turn of the century science fiction that you can’t put down. The Scarlet Plague i..."
I'm sorry, Heather. The Most Popular Edition of this book has only 72 pages and does not qualify for Reading with Style.
TtPR - Seafarer15.6 (6th stop): New Zealand
Faces in the Water by Janet Frame
+15 task (born and set in New Zealand)
+10 Seafarer bonus
Task total: 25 points
Grand Total: 660
From Post 241Jama wrote: "20.10 Between the Wars
At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft (born 1890)
+20 task
+5 oldie (1939)
Task total : 25
Grand Total: 130"
This appears to have been originally published in 1936, so we are going to give you 5 more oldie points. :)
From Post 259Heather wrote: "10.4
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
+10 task
+5 jumbo
+10 combo (20.5, 20.9 - 672 pages)
task total: 25
grand total: 295"
Sorry, Heather, the most popular edition of this book has only 465 pages, not quite enough for jumbo point or to combo with 20.9.
From Post 233Joanna wrote: "10.2 Reindeer
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Lexile 870
Review:
Roald Dahl is just so clever. I listened to this audiobook in the car with my 4.5 year old and m..."
+5 Combo (20.6 #201 on list)
From Post 255Jenifer wrote: "10.1 Reading Resolution
Read a book from my actual bookshelf
Buried in a Bog by Sheila Connolly
I bought this book earlier in the year because I liked the cover..."
+5 Combo 10.5-GoodReads Authorized
From Post 259Heather wrote: "10.4
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
+10 task
+5 jumbo
+10 combo (20.5, 20.9 - 672 pages)
task total: 25
grand total: 295"
On a more positive note, Stieg Larssen is on the list for detective fiction authors, so this qualifies for a combo with 10.3
From Post 260Heather wrote: "10.9
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
+10 task
+10 oldies
+5 combo (20.10 - born 1897)
task total: 25
grand total: 320"
+5 Combo (20.6 #122 on linked list)
10.5 Goodreads authorizedFangirl by Rainbow Rowell
This a YA book with a Lexile score <800, so I am not claiming any style points.
+10 task
Task total: 10
Grand total: 260
20.6 20th C American Gods by Neil Gaiman
I attempted to read this book some years ago but gave up after the first hundred pages, thinking that it was not my sort of book – too much fighting and overly-masculine attitude to sex. However, having now completed it, I have changed my mind. Although I still didn’t like the beginning, I enjoyed it once I got into it. It was a challenge to see how many of the myths and gods I could recognise. Now I have found the answer to the question I asked last time I started it – why was Shadow chosen? I didn’t see everything coming, but I thought Gaiman brought all the ends together well and I found the ending very satisfactory.
+20 task (289th on list)
+10 review
+15 Combo (10.2, 10.5, 20.9)
+5 Jumbo (656 pages)
Task total: 50 points
Grand Total: 425
10.3 Edgar Allan PoeFavourite Sherlock Holmes Stories by Arthur Conan Doyle
Review:
This is an interesting collection of Sherlock Holmes stories because they were selected by Conan Doyle himself as his own favourites. It was the result of a competition in which readers of the Strand Magazine were asked to guess which 12 stories he would think were his best. It was just before the publication of the last collection, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, so it doesn’t include any of those. There’s a short introduction in which Conan Doyle explains why he chose these particular stories. The winner correctly guessed 10 of them.
I enjoyed the stories but what struck me is that with one exception (The Speckled Band, which he says everybody guessed) the plots are not great. They were innovative at the time of course, but I think the only lasting appeal is the character of Sherlock Holmes and his ‘troubled genius’.
+10 task
+10 review
+10 not a novel (short stories)
+10 oldies (all of these stories had been published before 1927 when the competition ran)
Task total: 40 points
Grand total: 700
@Rosemary, my favorite Sherlock Holmes is "The Speckled Band"
I think you are in good company there Jayme!10.5 Goodreads Authorized
Familiar by J. Robert Lennon
Review:
Elisa Macalaster Brown is driving home from visiting her son’s grave when she seems to slip into a parallel universe. She’s dressed differently, driving a different car, and when she arrives home her husband responds to her differently. Most weirdly of all, her dead son is not dead, but she and her husband are estranged from both him and his brother.
I liked this book a lot although the ending could have been stronger. The characters/relationship of the mother and son reminded me of We Need to Talk About Kevin, although the plots have nothing in common. Recommended if you liked Kevin or enjoy 'what might have been' stories and don’t require a neatly tied ending.
+10 task
+ 5 combo (10.6, his latest book)
+10 review
Task total: 25 points
Grand total: 725
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Reading with Style
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The Counterfeiters (other topics)
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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)
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As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
+10 task
+10 oldies
+5 combo (20.10 - born 1897)
task total: 25
grand total: 320