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FA 2015 RwS Completed Tasks - Fall 2015
10.3 DictionaryHallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie
Review
Agatha Christie always keeps me going. Last night actually was Halloween night and eerily enough, the electricity went off about 11:00pm. So ready to settle down for the night and no lights to read with, I picked up my e-reader and found this title that was perfect to begin reading. It was a quick read and reading candy. As usual I thought I had figured out from the beginning who “did it”, the murder that happened at the Halloween party using the bobbing for apples activity as a murder weapon no less. Then after confessions and great acting, I was sure I had it all wrong, suspected someone else. Then it couldn’t be that someone else so I hadn’t a clue and “Voila!” As M. Poirot would say, I had been right in my first suspect. Another Christie character makes an appearance, Mrs. Ariadne Oliver. Mrs. Oliver writes well-known mystery stories and is as dithering as Miss Marple. Obviously Christie had fun with this character of herself although she was a bit annoying to me.
+10 pts - Task
+10 pts - Review
+15 pts - Combo (10.2, 10.9-approved authors, 20.2)
+ 5 pts - Oldies (1969)
Task Total - 40 pts
Grand Total - 795 pts
Kate S wrote: "20.9 Authors with Three NamesTales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World by Rita Golden Gelman
+20 Task
+10 Not a Novel
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 790"
How did you like the book, KateS?
Task 20.9 Authors with Three NamesDark Orbit (2015) by Carolyn Ives Gilman (Hardcover, 304 pages)
+20 Task
+05 Combo (#10.3 Dictionary)
Task total: 20 + 05 = 25
Grand Total: 420 + 25 = 445
15.9 Travel the US (Land Cruiser)Wyoming
Down the Long Hills by Louis L'Amour
Lexile 900
15 task
15 bonus
___
30
Running total 360
15.7 TtUS--Land CruiserAugust: Osage County by Tracy Letts, Oklahoma (100%)
Task = 15
Bonus = 10
Task Total = 25
Grand Total = 1035
15.10 Travel the US (Land Cruiser)Montana
Montana Sky by Nora Roberts
15 task
15 bonus
100 end of trip/completion bonus
___
130
Running total 490
I'm so happy to have finished this, since I won't be able to accomplish much in the other task categories. This was a fun "trip" that got me reading a genre I don't normally read.
15.8 TtUS--Land CruiserThe Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, Missouri (100%)
Task = 15
Bonus = 10
Task Total = 25
Grand Total = 1060
Congrats, Valerie, on your TtUS finish!
10.3 - DictionaryCold-Hearted Rake by Lisa Kleypas
Kleypas' solid writing is one of the many reasons she has been so successful. Cold-Hearted Rake is nicely plotted, immaculately characterized, and quite believable. I have a couple of issues that prevent it from reaching golden status but it's still a heckuva romance.
The Good:
- Fear not, "cold-hearted" does not mean "without human qualities". The hero is realistic and a little blunt, but nothing too major.
- Kleypas can write the heck out of an action scene. I like that this one comes in the middle of the book, instead of at the end like some of her other novels. Action at the end only seems to cement the HEA couple's love for each other, more of a relationship enhancement than anything else. By placing the... incident... halfway through it develops and tests characters, giving them a chance to change going forward. No one changes radically but the plot points are pivotal.
- The world of the novel is limited but never feels claustrophobic. Kleypas does a great job of developing characters and making them real people, eliminating the need for periphery characters that only serve one purpose. Minor characters are fully formed and you end up cheering for them even though they grace precious few pages.
The not-so-good:
- Let's get it out of the way - the cover. It would look perfect on the wall of McDonalds circa 1992. Eye searing.
- While Kathleen goes on and on about being proper during her mourning period we do not see a single person that cares about it. The servants would rather a little less gloom, and the tenant farmers are more worried about their crops than the propriety of the widow's dress. And after going on and on about what people will think at the end of the novel she quickly and easily makes a decision that will definitely be held against her. So, huh.
Nits aside this is a wonderfully enjoyable novel. I'm excited to see how the next story unfolds in Kleypas' capable hands.
+10 task
+10 review
Task total: 20 points
Grand total: 270 points
Kate S wrote: "Norma wrote: "20.1 CelebrationThe Overlook by Michael Connelly - published 2007
+20 task
Task total: 20
Grand total: 295"
This book was first published in 2000, so ..."
According to the Michael Connelly website it was published May 2007
http://www.michaelconnelly.com/novels...
20.1 CelebrationDirty Martini by J.A. Konrath - published 2007
+20 task
+5 Combo (10.3 Dictionary)
+5 Combo (10.8 The Horrors)
Task total: 30
Grand total: 455
Norma wrote: "Kate S wrote: "Norma wrote: "20.1 CelebrationThe Overlook by Michael Connelly - published 2007
+20 task
Task total: 20
Grand total: 295"
This book was first publish..."
Thanks, Norma. It appears there was an error in the GR database - I have fixed that and we will get your book scored correctly.
10.3 DictionaryFuzzy Navel by J.A. Konrath
+10 task
+5 Combo (10.8 The Horrors)
Task total: 15
Grand total: 470
Katy wrote: "20.2 InnocenceMrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist by Dorothy Gilman
Published 1997, Gilman died in 2012
On my re-reading Mrs. Pollifax books kick, I realized that I ha..."
+5 Combo 10.9-post 307
Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "10.9 Six DegreesThe Sign of Fourby Arthur Conan Doyle
Approved in post 227
Review
I was interested in this book because I like the show "Sherlock" I saw the episode fr..."
+5 Combo 10.8
Rebekah wrote: "Kate S wrote: "20.9 Authors with Three NamesTales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World by Rita Golden Gelman
+20 Task
+10 Not a Novel
Post Total: 30
Seaso..."
For the most part, I enjoyed this story. She is a rather courageous woman who saw parts of the world in times I cannot imagine wanting to see. Her desire to immerse herself in such diverse cultures, and said cultures allowing and even inviting her in is a bit scary to me. I am glad she wrote about her experiences and shared what she has learned (so far). There were some inconsistencies in the book which I later attributed to personal growth, not conflicting ideology. I do not have an interest in following her example, but I do hope she shares the next leg of the journey.
From Post 489Katy wrote: "20.1 Celebration
Happy birthday Elizabeth!
The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman
I've been on a kick recently of re-reading Mrs. Pollifax books -- these were s..."
+5 Combo 10.9-post 407
From Post 571Deedee wrote: "Task 10.6 Reunification-
Read a book originally written in German or by an author born in Germany.
The Weekend: A Novel (2008) by Bernhard Schlink; translated by [auth..."
+5 Combo 10.9 post 408
From Post 540Karen Michele wrote: "15.3 - TtUS Land Cruiser
The Echo Maker by Richard Powers
set in Nebraska
+15 task
+10 bonus
Task total: 25
Grand Total: 1000"
The bonus for TtUS doesn't start until 15.4. Just a note, trying to keep our scores in sync.
10.1 New Authors (2nd use)Trollope and Women by Margaret Markwick
As a reader intending to read all of Trollope's 47 novels, this was an important read for me. Markwick let me see that some of what takes place in Trollope's novels runs under the radar to me, but mostly Markwick articulated so much of what I knew and felt but had not found the words. I have always found it astounding that Trollope could write women so realistically. Markwick discusses Trollope's women, focusing on about 20 of the novels. Her chapter headings are:
Why Read Trollope?
The Way They Lived Then
Virgins
False Women
Sex
Husband Hunting
Marriage
Unholy Alliances
Women's Choices
In "The Way They Lived Then" she apprises us of the laws affecting women. The fact that women had to give up any rights to their property upon marriage, or that the laws about divorce were so different for men and for women, or how many servants you could afford on £600 a year provide a good working knowledge in reading any Victorian novel. She also included the information that women's skirts weighed 15-20 pounds!
In the others, she discusses ways in which Trollope's women faced the fact that they had few options open to them, yet managed to face them in a myriad of ways. Keeping oneself pure, accepting (or rejecting) a marriage proposal, the ability for physical response, bigamy and infidelity - these are all subjects Trollope presents to his readers.
I have not read all of the novels Markwick discussed in this. Normally, I would be wary of spoilers. With Trollope it is not such a concern because it is not unusual for him to tell his readers exactly what will take place. It is the how and the why that makes him such a compelling and enduring read.
She concludes with thoughts that mirror mine exactly:
To me Trollope writes novels that are about women living their lives at a time of great social upheaval and change. He writes stories where women live their lives trying to conform to the expectations of their social milieu, and his explorations of their characters show us how difficult this sometimes was.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not a Novel
Task Total = 30
Grand Total = 385
Valerie wrote: "15.10 Travel the US (Land Cruiser)Montana
Montana Sky by Nora Roberts
15 task
15 bonus
100 end of trip/completion bonus
___
130
Running total 490
I'm so happy to h..."
Congratulations on your TtUS finish, Valerie. Glad to hear you enjoyed!
Kate S wrote: "From Post 540Karen Michele wrote: "15.3 - TtUS Land Cruiser
The Echo Maker by Richard Powers
set in Nebraska
+15 task
+10 bonus
Task total: 25
Grand Total: 1000"
..."
Oh, thanks, Kate - sorry! What do you have for my grand total?
Karen Michele wrote: "What do you have for my grand total?"I show 1030 through post 621.
Kate S wrote: "Karen Michele wrote: "What do you have for my grand total?"I show 1030 through post 621."
Thank you!
20.9 Three Named AuthorsNews of a Kidnapping by Gabriel García Márquez
+20 Task
+5 Combo 10.9-post 103
+10 Not-a-Novel (non-fiction)
+5 Oldies (1984)
Post Total: 40
Season Total: 885
10.3 DictionaryBeach Road by James Patterson
+10 Task
+5 Combo 10.9-post 365
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 900
20.3 DifficultThe Lover by Marguerite Duras
+20 Task
+5 Combo 20.2
+5 Oldies (1984)
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 930
20.9 Three Named AuthorsThe Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson
+20 Task
+10 Oldies (1912)
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 960
10.8 The Horrors!Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker
+10 Task
+5 Combo 10.9-365
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 975
20.2 InnocenceA Different Kind of Christmas by Alex Haley
Review:
"A Different Kind of Christmas" is a short novel about the Underground Railroad and the escape of some Southern slaves during the holiday festivities. Fletcher Randal, the son of a North Carolina plantation owner is attending college at Princeton in 1855. He meets three Quaker students who take him to their home in Philadelphia where he is exposed to their anti-slavery beliefs and the Underground Railroad. His conscience bothers him, and Fletcher vows to help their cause.
The book is written simply so it would be appropriate for middle school students as well as adults. There is quite a bit of important background about the Underground Railroad, the Quakers, and slavery in the first half of the story. Some of it is woven into the story, but Fletcher is shown researching at the college library to learn more about the subject. When Fletcher returns to North Carolina for the Christmas break, he meets the engaging character Harpin' John. Tension builds as they make their plans since there is great danger to both the escaping slaves and the "conductors" of the Underground Railroad.
The book works if the reader thinks of it as an instructive parable or fable, fine for older children. Since the book is marketed to adults, it seems like there should be a bit more soul-searching and character development as Fletcher reaches such a difficult, courageous decision. While Fletcher is following the morally right path, he is also betraying his loving parents, ruining his father's political career, probably losing his inheritance, and risking death. So I would give the book a high rating for the moral message, but a lower rating for the storytelling.
+20 task (published 1988, author died 1992)
+ 5 combo (10.9 post 406)
+10 review
+ 5 oldie
Task total: 40
Grand total: 470
10.3 DictionaryDark Places by Gillian Flynn
+10 Task
+ 5 Combo (10.9)
Task total = 15
Points total = 170
Kate S wrote: "Rebekah wrote: "Kate S wrote: "20.9 Authors with Three NamesTales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World by Rita Golden Gelman
+20 Task
+10 Not a Novel
Post..."
She is a friend of mine. She stayed at our guesthouse in India when she was the visiting author (for her children's books) at the American School. Later she visited the Quaker boarding school my older daughter went to and she also spent some time in our cabin on the Hiawassee River. Very interesting woman! I saw her in Texas just before we left for Qatar. She did write another book called Female Nomad and Friends: Tales of Breaking Free and Breaking Bread Around the World but it isn't specifically about her personal travels. She has a website.
15.6. TTtUS land cruiserLong Man by Amy Greene
Tennessee
+15 pts - task
+10 pts - bonus
task total - 25 pts
grand total - 820 pts
Kate S wrote: "Beth wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Beth, could you post the review in the group please? Thanks!"Ok, edited..."
Thank you for adding your reviews to your posts, Beth. Unfortunately a few of ..."
I adjusted posts 498 and 507 but I'll sacrifice the points for 499 and 506. I just don't have anything to add at this remove from reading them.
And I am stunned by the number of combos I completely missed. Wow.
Thank you for the adjustments.
10.8 The Horrors!Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman
Review:
I was surprised at the variety of short stories and poems collected in this book; but what really made it a delightful book for me was that Neil Gaiman included an introduction which explained the history of inspiration or creation for each story or poem. I chose to read the intro section through a set story/poem and then the related story/poem and then return to the intro to read about the next entry. That way the info about the history of a particular piece was connected directly to what I was reading. It really added depth to the stories.
I especially enjoyed the info about Ray Bradbury (a novelist I have only discovered in the past few years), who was inspiration for one of the stories.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not a Novel (short stories/poems)
+10 Combo (
Task total =
Grand Total = 340
20.4 BalanceReading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
From list: South Asian Fiction #46
Review:
I struggled with this book. It has been on my TBR for a long time, and I expected to really enjoy it. I mean, I really like reading, so to read about another culture where people are reading...no brainer, right?
Well, it was not what I expected, not exactly, and it took me a good portion of the book to adjust my expectations. It also was not exactly a memoir as it somehow never reached the level of engaging me in the life of the author. It felt to me that she was relating events that she was holding at arm's length from her emotions...and that distance came through to me. I also wanted to care about the students as she obviously did, but they remained one dimensional to me. The only relationship that felt fully developed was the one between the author and her "magician".
There were also times the chapters felt like I was in class listening to a professor (which the author is) rather than reading a memoir.
However, the book was interesting from the historical look behind the curtain.
+20 Task
+10 Not a Novel (memoir)
+10 Review
Task total = 40
Grand Total = 380
15.7. TTtUS. LandcruiserNathan Coulter by Wendell Berry
Kentucky
+15 pts -task
+10 pts - bonus
Task total - 25 pts
grand total - 845 pts
20.2 - InnocenceGreat Expectations by Charles Dickens
(published in 1861; Dickens died in 1870)
I recently read an article about how it's okay to give up on a book that's not resonating with you when you've reached the halfway point. And generally I would agree, but I find that with classics, I often don't really get into the book until it's 3/4 of the way over. This was the case with Great Expectations (and was the case with Pride & Prejudice, which I finally got around to reading this year as well) - honestly, the first 300+ pages were a bit of a slog and took me a LONG time to get through. But once I reached the point of the book where Pip's benefactor is revealed to him, I couldn't put this down. Although I didn't love this nearly as much as I did A Tale of Two Cities, I'm glad I read it because it's referenced/emulated in other works so frequently (Jack Maggs, The Goldfinch, etc.). And my gosh, I loved Joe...how could you not? All in all, a solid 4 stars.
+20 task
+20 combo (10.7; 10.9 - Six Degrees post 34; 20.3 - Difficult; 20.6 - Ratings - 409,375 ratings)
+15 oldies (pub. 1861)
+10 review
+5 jumbo
task total: 70
grand total: 255
15.9 TtUS--Land CruiserA Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Illinois (100%)
+15 Task
+15 Bonus
Task Total = 30
Grand Total = 1090
15.10 TtUS--Land CruiserThe Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert, Wisconsin (100%)
+15 Task
+15 Bonus
Task Total = 30
Completion Bonus = 100
Grand Total = 1220
10.10 Group ReadsMs. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson
+10 Task (thanks for the recommendation! loved it!)
Task Total = 10
Grand Total = 1230
20.1 Celebration!Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks
This is the first book I’ve read by Oliver Sacks, who has been recommended to me several times by a good friend. And it was good, it really was, but not great.
In “Musicophilia” Sacks details the different ways the brain interplay with music, as one of the most basic forms of human expression. The book is filled with interesting anecdotes of for example how music can pierce through the veils of senility and brain damage, and people who physiologically hears music even though nothing is playing. Yet somehow it didn’t quite hit the spot for me. Maybe it was because Sacks constantly mentions that this and that anecdote is taken from other of his books and articles that it feels a bit like reading a jumble sale. Maybe I just read it at the wrong time. I would definitely read a second book by Oliver Sacks again, but I wouldn’t recommend this one as a starting-off point for other readers.
+20 Task (Pub. 2007)
+15 Combo (10.9 (post 183), 20.2 (book pub 2007, author died 2015), 20.7)
+10 Review
+10 Not-A-Novel
Task total: 55 pts
Grand total: 345 pts
10.3 DictionaryMansfield Park by Jane Austen
Jane Austen is full of lovely oldie points, and as she is also quite a good author, I have read almost all of her books in the past year or so, and what amazes me the most is that in pioneering a genre filled with clichés and formulaic writing, she still managed to write different stories and main characters from one book to the other.
“Northanger Abbey” is about Fanny Price, who is the eldest daughter (of many) of a mother who marries beneath her. When Fanny is 10 years old she is taken into the household of her well-to-do and largely lethargic aunt to be raised alongside her selfish, unkind and demanding children. Fanny is a modest, quiet girl, and later woman, who has to find her way in a world filled with people who ignore or look down their noses at her, with her cousin Edmund as the only ally.
Fanny is not as outspoken as for instance Elizabeth Bennet, but she has a quiet dignity and refuses to go against her own moral instincts, and for that she is a very good companion.
+10 Task
+10 Combo (10.9 (post 165), 20.2 (book pub. 1814, author died 1817)
+15 Oldie (Pub. 1814)
+10 Review
+5 Jumbo (507 pages)
Task total: 50 pts
Grand total: 395 pts
15.7 TtUS LandcruiserHouse Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday
New Mexico
+15 Task
+10 bonus
Task total: 25
Grand Total: 370
10.4 MathThe First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August is a book about time travel, about friendship, about wanting to know the unknowable and, ultimately, about the meaning of life.
It sounds grandiose, but Claire North manages to pull it off. After dying for the first time Harry August discovers that he is an ouroboran, a person who lives his life over and over again, retaining his memory and knowledge from one to the next. Contacting each other from pensioner to small child, a message comes back from the future, saying that the world is ending more and more quickly each time, and it is up to Harry August to find the cause and stop it.
The novel is well written, but the real bonus of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August is the world building the author has put into the into the time travel, resulting in novel and thought-provoking ideas.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task total: 20 pts
Grand total: 415 pts
20.9 Three NamesThe Memoirs of Sherlock Holmesby Arthur Conan Doyle
Review
I read Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. The stories I liked were Silver Blaze and the Yellow Face. I also wanted to read "The Final Problem" since it was about the demise of Sherlock Holmes. Silver Blaze was about a horse that went missing. The owner hired Sherlock Holmes to solve the case. Turns out the horse was in disguise, and he killed the person in self defense.
In "The Yellow Face," a young man hires Sherlock Holmes to find out if his wife is cheating on him and meeting another man in their guest cottage. He burst in and finds out his he is all wrong. The woman has a child by her late husband and the child is of mixed race. The wife feels her current husband would not accept her child.
Lastly, "The Final Problem", Holmes and Morarity face off and it has deadly consequences for Holmes. Morarity is just as smart and cunning as Holmes and he really wants Holmes dead. Rumor has it that Doyle was tired of his hero and wanted to kill off his beloved character. The fans protested. It was fun watching the "Sherlock" episode of this story. If was fun to watch all the conspiracy theories about how Sherlock Holmes pulled off his death.
Task +20
Style + 45 (Combo 10.9 approved in post 227, 10.7 12 times, 10.8, Review +10, Oldies +10 (published 1893), Not a novel +10 (short stories)
Book Total: 65
Grand Total: 285
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Reading with Style
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The Sign of Fourby Arthur Conan Doyle
Approved in post 227
Review
I was interested in this book because I like the show "Sherlock" I saw the episode from that series. It sparked my interest in reading it. As much as I enjoyed the episode, the book is presented differently. In the episode, we meet Mary, the woman that Dr. Watson intends to marry. The episode was called "The Sign of the Three". The book is called "The Sign of the Four" and Mary is introduced. Her father has gone missing and she employs Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to find him. Mary is the heir to part of a fortune. The other part goes to a man named Jonathan Small, I think. That part was a little confusing. Dr. Watson is smitten with Mary. He professes his love and she admits that she loves him as well. He doesn't think he is worthy of her. I just like to see Dr. Watson happy because I like him as a character. I liked the character of Mary in the "Sherlock" episode. I will have to see how the character from the book turns out.
Task +10
Style +35 (Combo 10.4 Four, 10.7 shelved 8 times, 20.9 Arthur Conan Doyle, Review +10, Oldies published 1890 +10)
Book Total: 45
Grand Total: 215