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FA 2015 RwS Completed Tasks - Fall 2015
20.2-Innocence The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Jekyl and Hyde is not the type of story I would usually be attracted to...and that's probably why it has taken me so long to get around to reading it. The well known story of a Doctor mixing a concoction which turns himself into a cruel monster was somewhat different than the cartoonish presentation I've seen in movies and other media. The story is simple...and, for me, unsatisfying.... but, once completed, I had to admit that Stevenson was exploring several themes....good and evil, split personalities, addiction, etc. Of course, one can also see a religious question about the creation of evil as well. My takeaway is that the reader should examine himself. Look for any hypocrisy in his life and deal with it before it overtakes you...and hurts others.
task +20
review +10
combo +15 (10.8; 10.9 - post 342, 20.9)
oldie +10 (1886)
total = 55
grand total = 315 (My numbers show me at 325...but I must have lost 10 points somewhere.)
Post 655 Anika wrote: "15.9 TtUS--Land CruiserA Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Illinois (100%)
+15 Task
+15 Bonus
Task Total = 30
Grand Total = 1090"
Unfortunately, this book is a YA Assignment at BPL and has not been scored by Lexile, so doesn't qualify for TtUS. However, as you have already posted your next - and finishers! - book, we have decided to allow you to substitute another Illinois book to be scored as if you had read it in order.
Post 651 Bea wrote: "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 ..."
Sorry, Bea. This doesn't work for 10.3 Dictionary because the requirement for alpha sequence includes the subtitle.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 655 Anika wrote: "15.9 TtUS--Land CruiserA Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Illinois (100%)
+15 Task
+15 Bonus
Task Total = 30
Grand Total = 1090"
Unfor..."
OY VEY! I never even thought to check the Lexile of a play...
Thank you for giving me the chance to read another Illinois book to substitute for this one! Now to find one...
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 651 Bea wrote: "10.8 The Horrors!Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman
Review:
I was surprised at the variety of short stories an..."
OK. Thanks, Elizabeth. I will adjust my total.
Claire wrote: "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 th..."
+5 Combo 10.7
Louise Bro wrote: "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..."
+5 Combo 10.7
Louise Bro wrote: "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 frien..."
+5 Combo 10.9-post 379
Ed wrote: "20.2-Innocence The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Jekyl and Hyde is not the type of story I would usually be attracted to...and th..."
+5 Combo 10.7
Ed wrote: "grand total = 315 (My numbers show me at 325...but I must have lost 10 points somewhere.) "I think our discrepancy is in regards to post 462. Please see Post 490.
Kate S wrote: "Ed wrote: "grand total = 315 (My numbers show me at 325...but I must have lost 10 points somewhere.) "I think our discrepancy is in regards to post 462. Please see Post 490."
thanks...I had missed that.
20.10 InterconnectedCity of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanderMeer
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.9 post 145)
+10 Jumbo (704 pages)
Task total: 35
Grand Total: 1020
Task 10.3 DictionaryChristmas Mourning (Deborah Knott Mysteries #16) (2010) by Margaret Maron (Goodreads Author) (Hardcover, 289 pages)
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 480 + 10 = 490
10.8 The Horrors!The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
+10 task (no. 85 on the list)
+5 combo (10.9 post 419)
Task total: 20
Grand Total: 390
20.0 Three Names The Murders in the Rue Morgue: The Dupin Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
+20 Task
+ 20 Combos (+5, 20.10; +5, 20.2 innocence (pub'd 1841, death 1849); +5 10.9 6 degrees; +5 10.8 the horrors!)
+10 Not a novel
+10 Review (see below and link)
+15 Oldies (1841 publication)
-------
75 points task total (boom!)
(not sure of my running total though...)
This was a fun and fascinating read on a few levels. First, it has been a looooooooong time since I have read anything of this era. The language is so different...so full of flourish...and in many ways very interesting. As a lawyer who frequently has to present written arguments, and a general lover of words, I found myself both interested and frustrated by the way Poe used language. Sometimes the sentences could have easily (and obviously) been condensed to more terse statements; however, I wondered if, while communicating the point, would lose their effect. Of course, this is the opposite of all writing tips you see today...no adviser or editor will encourage you to write with added flourish any more. I couldn't help but wonder if some of the additional language forced me to spend more time with a particular sentence or thought...did having to unpack the writing itself force me to think about the underlying subject matter?
As for the tales themselves...I learned that the character of Dupin is often credited with being the first "detective." First, who would have thought that was a genre in need of creation? Second, to say Dupin is merely the first doesn't do him credit. He is the prototype, the mold, all that you know of Holmes generates from Dupin! He is quirky, he is smart, and he sees details by deconstructing logic that the rest of us merely don't see...and that's what makes it fun.
Re: post 665, replacement for 15.9A Haunted Diary by Amanda Springer, Illinois (100%)
Note: worst book I've EVER read. My 10-year-old niece writes better...and she can use spellcheck and knows proper subject/verb agreement, unlike this author. On every single page (not an exaggeration--I highlighted errors on my Kindle) there were errors. I'm sickened that I actually paid for that schlock!! I just wanted a scary story set in Illinois and this seemed to fit the bill...epic fail.
Group ReadsThe Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
I really enjoyed these stories, and would love to see the tv series, starring Laurie and Fry who would be perfect as the inept and ... I can't think of the right word at the moment, but something that means completely non-serious, master and his ever so capable manservant, who is constantly going beyond what is surely his duty to assist Wooster and his friends to get out of their fixes.
Reading it reminded me of the short serials that used to screen before the main feature at the cinema, they were episodic and each story furthered the overall arc of a series. It was very clearly something that had been serialised, which didn't detract from the reading but made me wonder how the stories would work as inidividual works, which is what I would normally consider a short story. I suppose they would, but would leave the reader wanting more.
I think if I were to return to Jeeves I would follow Anika's example and find an audio version to listen to, which I think would add to the pleasure of the stories.
+10 Task
+10 Combo (10.9 post 47; 20.10)
+10 Not-a-Novel
+10 Review
+10 Oldies (pub 1923)
Task Total = 50
Grand Total = 985
20.4 BalanceThe Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood
This is the second Atwood I have listened to that has been narrated by Lorelai King, and I am still not sure if it is the story or the narration that has me enjoying it less than expected.
There is an introduction to this reading, written by Atwood much after the writing of the story, where she denies this is a feminist novel as it was written before the movement had gained momentum, but it can certainly be seen this way with the lack of options for women, the loss of self through marriage and motherhood, which manifest itself in the main character, Marian McAlpine, as an ever growing distaste in food.
The most interesting character is the very unreliable Dunca, who you can never trust to be telling the truth, and it would be hard to say whether he is the liberating or destructive force throughout the novel, as it could certainly be seen either way.
+20 task
+5 combo ( 10.9 - post 132)
+5 oldies
+10 review
Task Total = 40
Grand Total - 1025
10.1 Authors:Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Review:
This novel is based loosely on a real-life event that happened in 1996. Members of a revolutionary movement in Peru took hundreds of diplomats, officers and other important people hostage in the Japanese embassy and held some of them for 126 days.
The novel differs in details and the characters are made up by the author. The plot is a very slow-moving one, sometimes almost nothing seems to happen for many pages, so instead of a fast-paced thriller we get a psychological study of human nature. How do people change if they're forced to spend 4 months trapped in a house with total strangers? What do they think and feel and what effect does the prolonged captivity have on different people? What kinds of things become important if you're suddenly away from your normal routine, work, family, things you like doing? How do you communicate with people you don't have a common language with?
It also deals with Stockholm syndrome, as several of the hostages develop friendships and even relationships with the very people who are responsible for the situation.
I wouldn't say it was the best book I've ever read, but it was an interesting little study (in novel form) of psychology.
+10 task
+10 review
+10 combos (10.3 Dictionary and 10.9 Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon - author approved in post 403)
Task total: 30
Grand total: 200
15.1 TTtUS - Land CruiserMaui Widow Waltz by JoAnn Bassett
State: Hawaii
+15 Task
Task Total = 15
Grand Total = 15
15.2 TTtUS - Land CruiserWhisper To The Blood by Dana Stabenow
State: Alaska
+15 Task
Task Total = 15
Grand Total: 15 + 15 = 30
15.3 TTtUS - Land CruiserBone Crossed by Patricia Briggs
State: Washington
+15 Task
Task Total = 15
Grand Total: 30 + 15 = 45
15.4 TTuUS - Land CruiserClear and Convincing Proof by Kate Wilhelm
State: Oregon
+15 Task
+10 Bonus (States 4-8 in sub-challenge)
Task Total = 25
Grand Total: 45 + 25 = 70
15.5 TTtUS - Land CruiserU Is for Undertow by Sue Grafton
State: California
+15 Task
+10 Bonus (States 4-8)
Task Total = 25
Grand Total: 70 + 25 = 95
15.6 TTtUS - Land CruiserScents and Sensibility by Spencer Quinn
State: Arizona
+15 Task
+10 Bonus (States 4-8)
Task Total = 25
Grand Total: 95 + 25 = 120
15.7 TTtUS - Land CruiserFirst Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
State: New Mexico
+15 Task
+10 Bonus (States 4-8)
Task Total = 25
Grand Total: 120 + 25 = 145
20.5 HistoryRevolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence by Joseph J. Ellis
I think I made a mistake in picking this up in the same reading period as American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic, as I really struggled with it and am ending up returning it to the library 2 weeks late! (Sorry to all librarians in the group! I am feeling very guilty!)
I felt like I had read much of it before, although this did go into greater detail as it was a much more focused time-frame, but it really stopped me from becoming fully engaged and invested.
I don't mean that this was a bad or difficult book, it wasn't, I just thing that reading two books on the same topic by the same author in a short period was a bad judgement.
This book probably gives a more balanced story between the British and American sides, more particularly on the military rather than political front in terms of number of pages, and I think a fairly balanced opinion of the faults, strengths and failures of both sides, which I was impressed with. The situation the Continental Army found itself in was deplorable, the conditions and lack of any real support.
+20 task
+10 review
+10 Not A Novel
+10 combos (10.9 - post 280, 20.8 - all takes place in 1776 )
Task Total = 50
Grand Total = 1075
10.2 - Agatha ChristieDiary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield
+10 task (1890-1943)
+10 combo (10.9 post 418, 20.2 pub.1930, died 1943)
+10 oldies (pub.1930)
Task total: 30
Grand Total: 420
20.2 InnocenceThirteen Clues for Miss Marple by Agatha Christie
Review
This is a collection of short mysteries solved by the astute Miss Marple. Some of the stories are told around a dinner table. One member of the party told a mystery of which only she/he knew the answer and the others are to arrive at the answer through deductive reasoning. The old-fashioned unsophisticated elderly Miss Marple comes to the correct solution each time. The other stories are also short mysteries presented to Miss Marple either through friends of the previous dinner party or through her relatives or police officers who had been amazed by her talents before. Any newcomers introduced to Miss Marple with the recommendation that she could solve their problems are usually unbelieving and dismayed at the general appearance of Miss Jane Marple as she often gives the impression of semi senile old spinster auntie as she speaks cryptically of so and so from her village that would seem to have no bearing on the case at hand.
Part of the enjoyment of reading mysteries is for the reader to try to come to the correct conclusion as clues are dropped through out the pages. This book cheats a bit as some of the stories refer to archaic local expressions that the younger set wouldn’t know or the clues are actually names of flowers that only local avid gardeners would know. But it is light easy reading and good for a short winding down before bedtime when one doesn’t wish to think too hard anyway.
+20 pts - Task (pub 1966, author d 1976)
+10 pts - Review
+20 pts - Combo (10.2,10.4,10.9,20.10)
+10 pts - Not a Novel
+ 5 pts - Oldies
Task Total - 65 pts
Grand Total - 910 pts
10.1 AuthorsMurder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson
Review:
I enjoyed this first-in-the-series Historical Mystery. It's set at the end of the 19th century in New York City. Sarah Brandt is a widowed midwife who was raised in an upper crust NYC family. She's now making a living on her own after her family disowned her for marrying her medical doctor husband. She and police detective, Frank Malloy form an uneasy partnership to try to solve the mystery of who killed a runaway teenager who was in hiding from her rich family.
As it turns out, Sarah recognized the girl when she went to a boarding house to help deliver a baby. When the girl was killed the next day, Sarah is pulled into the investigation by the Irish-American detective, Frank Malloy who has his own personal demons that he's trying to resolve.
I enjoyed this book. I felt that it was historically accurate, and was fast-paced enough (without losing character detail) to retain my interest throughout. I've got the 2nd book in the series on hold at the library now.
+10 Task
+10 Style (Review)
Task Total = 20
Grand Total: 145 + 20 = 165
20.2 InnocenceMiss Mackenzie by Anthony Trollope
Margaret Mackenzie spent her youth caring for her ill father, only to spend her young womanhood - and beyond - caring for her brother who was also ill. When her brother died, and left Margaret his small fortune, she was 35 years old, had no friends and knew nothing of the world. But that small fortune left her with options! Most middle-class women in Victorian England had to find a husband in order to secure even their most basic needs. Margaret could afford to look around a bit.
Not only did Margaret have her £800 a year, but she was a kind and gentle soul into the bargain. "Aunt is so kind," Susanna said. "She's always kind. If you wake her up in the middle of the night, she's kind in a moment. And if there's anything good to eat, it will make her eyes quite shine if she sees that anybody else likes it. I have known her sit for half an hour ever so uncomfortable, because she would not disturb the cat."
As things would have it, though, middle-class men also needed to marry. By finding a woman who had a bit of money, and combining it with their own, a comfortable life might be had. Margaret had options! Perhaps more options than she anticipated!
Trollope gives us much of his usual humor. A butler hired for just an evening was called Mr. Grandairs. Sir John Ball was on the boards of at least two named firms: The Shadrach Fire and the Abednego Life Companies. Margaret's attorney was Mr. Slow, of the oft-mentioned firm of Slow and Bideawhile. Of course, Margaret's many admirers provided their amusement as well.
Although perhaps not my favorite, this is very good, typical Trollope, and a solid 4 stars.
+20 Task (pub 1865, d. 1882)
+ 5 Combo (10.9, Post 85)
+10 Review
+10 Oldies
Task Total = 45
Grand total = 430
Task 20.8 DARWhirlwind: The American Revolution and the War That Won It (2015) by John Ferling (Hardcover, 432 pages)
+20 Task
+10 Not-a-Novel: Non-fiction
Task Total: 20 + 10 = 30
Grand Total: 490 + 30 = 520
15.8 TTtUS Land CruiserOhio
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
+15 pts - Task
+10 pts - Bonus
Task Total - 25 pts
Grand Total - 935 pts
15.5 TTtUS Land CruiserTennessee
The Orchard Keeper by Cormac McCarthy
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
Task Total - 25
Grand Total - 1075
20.9 Authors with Three Names Krista's Task-The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith
+20 Task
+ 5 Combo: 10.9 Kevin Bacon Approved Author Post#82
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 1100
20.10 Interconnected Kate's Task-Slade House by David Mitchell
+20 Task
+ 5 Combo: 10.9 Kevin Bacon Approved Author Post #84
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 1125
Amanda wrote: "20.5 HistoryRevolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence by Joseph J. Ellis
I think I made a mistake in picking this up in the same reading period as [b..."
I know what you mean of too much of a good thing or maybe just too much! Although I know quite a bit of the history concerning these times, reading about the conditions of the Continental Army just brings it all home how amazing that things turned out the way they did! I'm not trying to brag and be like Super- Patriot but when I read [book:1776|1067] , I was just awed all over again but it made me sad because I don't think if it happened today, we would be up for it. We've gotten so cynical, spoiled and soft. I know one of my kids could even handle today's army, even if she never went to war, the push-ups alone would get her
10.4 MathThree Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
Review:
I've given this humorous classic 5 stars. I listened to this in audiobook format and it was delightful. The tongue-in-cheek humor and descriptions of the continual scrapes the three men got into were fabulous. The dog, Montmorency was the most thoughtful one of the bunch I think.
The book was written in 1889. It's part travelogue about boating down the Thames River, and part madcap comedy. These three friends get themselves into and out of all sorts of funny situations as they set of on their jaunt in order to relieve stress in their lives. It's a holiday fraught with dangers both physical and societal. Bravo!
+10 Task
+ 5 Combo (10.9 Post 269)
+10 Style (Oldies, Publ 1889)
+10 Style (Review)
Task Total = 35
Grand Total: 165 + 35 = 200
10.7 LibrivoxThe Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle
(Shelved 8 time as Librivox on 11/8/15)
Review:
This is book #2 in the classic Sherlock Holmes mystery series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. We get to learn more about Holmes, and Dr. Watson as they set out to help a damsel in distress.
Mary Morstan is trying to find out who murdered her father more than a decade ago. In the course of their investigation, the trio stumbles upon another murder. This locked door mystery takes them back in time to India where Mary's father served in the Army, and where a large treasure was stolen.
Mary is sure-headed, and Dr. Watson falls head-over-heels for her. The mystery is a good one. Some of the language regarding the Indian natives was outdated, and it was uncomfortable for me to read the stereotypical descriptions. I suspect that Conan Doyle himself would be uncomfortable with some of the characterizations were he alive today.
But Sherlock Holmes is his crusty logical self, and Dr. Watson was great. I want to see what the future holds for Mary and Dr. Watson.
+10 Task
+20 Combo (10.4, 10.8, 10.9 Degree Post #227, 20.9)
+10 Style (Oldies - Publ 1890)
+10 Style (Review)
Task Total = 50
Grand Total: 200 + 50 = 250
From Post 676Coralie wrote: "20.10 Interconnected
City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff VanderMeer
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.9 post 145)
+10 Jumbo (704 pages)
Task total: 35
Grand Total: 1020"
+10 Not-a-Novel
Lagullande wrote: "10.8 The Horrors!The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
+10 task (no. 85 on the list)
+5 combo (10.9 post 419)
Task total: 20
Grand Total: 390 "
There is an addition error here. 10+5=15 for the task total, not 20. Just for your information and to keep us in sync.
10.6 ReunificationThe Tin Drum by Günter Grass
+10 Task (originally published in German)
+5 Oldies (1958)
+5 Jumbo (567 pages in MPE)
+5 Combo (20.3)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 1000
20.5 HistoryThe People, Yes by Carl Sandburg
+20 Task
+10 Not a Novel (poetry)
+10 Oldies (1936)
+5 Combo (10.9)
Post Total: 45
Season Total: 1045
20.2 InnocenceLove's Labour's Lost by William Shakespeare
+20 Task (p 1598, d 1616)
+25 Oldies (1598)
+5 Combo (10.9, post 264)
+10 Not a Novel
Post Total: 60
Season Total: 1105
20.10 Interconnected A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy
+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.9-post 377, 20.2-p 2012, d 2012)
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 1135
20.1 Celebration!The Quickie by James Patterson
+20 Task (p 2007)
+5 Combo (10.9-post 365)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 1160
10.6 - ReunificationThe Truth and Other Lies - Sascha Arango
What a ridiculous, over-the-top, interesting thriller! This novel starts off at full speed and doesn't let up! You've got murder, deceit, stalkers, adultery, more murder...and all packed into 241 pages.
It's hard to review this novel without giving too much aware, especially because there is just SO MUCH packed into such a short book. The novel opens with Henry finding out that Betty, his editor and lover, is pregnant with his child. Pretty much from page one, Henry's thoughts are "how do I deal with this situation without losing my wife and my cushy bestselling author lifestyle?" and from there it just spirals out of control.
Henry is a damn near perfect example of a main character that's entirely unlikable, and yet charismatic enough that you need to keep reading, you need to know what his next move will be. He's smart, charming, and devious. If your protagonist is going to be a villain, this is how it should be done.
I will say that I didn't care much for Henry's childhood nemesis, Fasch. His storyline never really connected with the main plot in any meaningful way, and he didn't serve much of a purpose except maybe to show just how persuasive Henry can be when he turns on the charm. Plus there's the whole sex doll thing which was just weird...
And on THAT note, I'll leave off with a pretty hearty recommendation of this book. It's short and fast-paced, with excellent writing and lots of twists. It'll definitely keep you turning pages!
+10 task
+10 review
Post total: 20
Grand total: 225
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The Selfie Vote: Where Millennials Are Leading America (2015) by Kristen Soltis Anderson (Kindle Edition, 272 pages)
+20 Task
+10 Not-a-Novel: Non-fiction
Task Total: 20 + 10 = 30
Grand Total: 450 + 30 = 480