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FA 2015 RwS Completed Tasks - Fall 2015
15.8 TTUS Land CruiserMissoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town by Jon Krakauer
MONTANA
+15 task
+10 bonus
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 560
10.4 MathSeven for a Secret by Lyndsay Faye
This is the second in Lyndsay Faye's Timothy Wilde mystery series, and I would highly recommend the series if you are a fan of mystery of any sort - especially historical mysteries. The books are set in New York City in the 1840s, just as the NYPD is being formed. Timothy Wilde, the protagonist, is a "copper star" in this newly formed police force, and struggles with his personal demons alongside the crooks of NYC (some of whom are his colleagues). Faye does a fantastic job of bringing the time period to life (which is even more fun for those of us who know NYC). She uses a lot of "flash" dialect - language used by criminals in this era - but it's done well, so that you pick up some new words but aren't irritated by the device.
+10 task
+10 review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 580
20.2 InnocenceCousin Henry by Anthony Trollope
I read Trollope from the Delphi Classics edition of Complete Works of Anthony Trollope, which always has a very brief description, usually different than that on Goodreads. In it is said this is Trollope's most experimental work. What could that mean? Surely Trollope would not deviate from his usual writing style! I was immediately reassured that he did not.
Trollope, in spite of his seeing somewhat expanding roles for women, is a traditionalist. This book suggests that the traditional blind adherence to male inheritance of land might not always be in England's best interest. I have not read about the reception of Cousin Henry, but this idea might not have been well accepted. To these 21st Century eyes, the discussion of why it was always so was quite interesting. And, to these 21st Century eyes on this Thanksgiving, it further illuminates why there was such a migration from Europe to the United States where land was so plentiful and available.
This is relatively short. I'm afraid that the above paragraph makes this sound dry, dry, dry. There is a good story, although the outcome is predictable - well, at least the outcome is the hoped for one. The characterizations might not be quite to Trollope's usual high standard, but they might pale only in comparison to some of his other works, which are usually quite good. I can't quite say this is 4 stars, but it certainly hugs the top of the 3-star group.
+20 Task (pub 1879, d. 1882)
+10 Combo (10.3; 10.9 - post 85)
+10 Review
+10 Oldies
Task Total = 50
Grand total = 655
Kate S wrote: "Krista wrote: "20.4 BalanceA Trick of the Light by Louise Penny
Approved from the Canadian list in the 20.4 Help thread
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/......"
Thanks for the catch Kate. I was even the one who got Louise Penny added to the 10.9 approved authors list. :-)
I'll give myself 5 more point for this task.
Cheers!
10.6 Reunification-The Gordian Knot by Bernhard Schlink
author born in Germany
Review
To begin with, I really wasn’t sure whether I like the main character, Georg Polger. He appears to be someone who has no direction in life and his character seems to be a bit blurry to me. In the end, however, I was cheering for him! Or rather, I was cheering for all who plebeians who have been taken advantage of and are pushing back. There is a consistent tension throughout the book which was drawn tauter near the end until the climax. I’ve really enjoyed the climax (it’s how it should be!). The Gordian Knot is a fairly easy read with a thrilling conclusion.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Oldies (pub 1988)
Total this post: 25
Total points: 590
20.9 Authors with Three NamesThree Thousand Dollars by Anna Katharine Green
This was a fun, quick read. This author came to my attention via my friends updates, though it was for a different title. Anna Katharine Green is credited with being the first author to feature a woman detective - Amelia Butterworth. I chose a different title, but will be more than willing to explore that series.
Her prose is decidedly 19th Century, and, frankly, not as good as the men that are my favorites, but that may be due to genre rather than gender. This title is not a piece of detective fiction. It is such a short piece (do not be fooled by the 186 pages advertised, which must consist of fairly large type) that there is not time for many plot twists. Still, it filled a pleasant afternoon.
+20 Task
+ 5 Combo (10.4)
+10 Review
+10 Oldies (pub 1909)
Task Total = 45
Grand Total = 700
Task 20.10 InterconnectedThe Inimitable Jeeves P.G. Wodehouse
----
A light and amusing read, but it's age shows clearly - in 1923, books were written differently. I am missing any emotional depth or character development, it is more a collection of short simple stories that Jeeves fixes every time - a bit like 'Lassie' or 'Bonanza' in the TV world.
Jeeves is the butler of Bertie, a rich-enough idler in London, and Bertie's friend Bingo gets himself in love trouble with a different girl in basically every story. Of course, it all ends with Bertie being in seemingly unrecoverable situations, but Jeeves - seeing it all coming - has a way to fix it after all.
As I said, amusing, light read, but no more.
----
+20 20.10 Interconnected
+5 10.10 Group Read
+10 Review
+5 Bacon (post 47)
+10 Not-a-Novel (Short-Story-Collection)
+10 Oldies (1923)
Task Total: 60
Previous Points:
20 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
25 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
30 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
25 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
55 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
30 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
25 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
20 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
55 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Grand Total: 285 + 60 = 345
Task 10.1 New AuthorsThe Faithful Spy by Alex Berenson
----
I was positively surprised from this book; it has all the pieces a espionage thriller needs, all the action and realism, and in addition the descriptions and characters are very alive and real and natural - just the opposite of a James Bond, for example. Unfortunately, the book cover gives away 50+% of the story, but there was enough suspense left to keep me glued to the book and read it within two evenings. I am looking forward to more from this author.
----
+10 10.1 New Author
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Previous Points:
20 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
25 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
30 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
25 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
55 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
30 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
25 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
20 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
55 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
60 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Grand Total: 345 + 20 = 365
Task 10.9 BaconThe Eye of Heaven by Clive Cussler
----
After having read several books of Clive Cussler, this one fits right in the lot - it is an fantastic adventure, with a lot of interesting archaeological background, and a lot of archaeological fairy tales. It seems hard to believe that the Fargos can just hop around the world and find at will world-shaking artifacts, but well, who cares - it is entertainment, and it is fun to read, and the good guys win.
In this book, they find a complete viking ship in the ice of northern Canada, which carries treasure from a pre-Inca civilization, and from there they move to Mexico to find untold treasures there too that somehow escaped the locals for more than a thousand years.
I just wish that the large amount of real knowledge would be easy to recognize, so I could really get educated about something from the book; unfortunately, it is never clear where the fiction starts - which actually shows that the author nicely weaves it together.
----
+10 10.9 Bacon (post 441)
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Previous Points:
20 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
25 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
30 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
25 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
55 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
30 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
25 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
20 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
55 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
55 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
20 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Grand Total: 365 + 20 = 385
15.3 - Flight-seerCrosstown Crush by Cara McKenna
set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
+15 task
Task total: 15 points
Grand total: 350 points
Task 15.1 TtUS - MississippiThe Hamlet by William Faulkner
----
I expected to be impressed by a Faulkner book, but I wasn't. The Hamlet tells the story of a little village and the people living there, over more than a generation; elaborating many interesting events and incidents, so it is interesting enough to read. However, there is little connecting and point to the whole thing, it's a bit like watching a security camera that records 50 years of a mom-and-pop shop. Too little tension for my taste. On the other hand, the dialogs are often funny, and it gives a good impression how life was in those days, and what people cared about and what not. Interesting enough, but not outstanding in any way for me.
----
+15 TtUS 15.1 (Mississippi)
Task Total:
Previous Points:
20 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
25 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
30 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
25 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
55 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
30 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
25 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
20 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
55 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
60 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
20 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
20 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Grand Total: 385 + 15 = 400
Task 10.9 Six Degrees of Kevin BaconA Daughter of Eve (1838) by Honoré de Balzac
(Post #84)
+10 Task
+15 Oldies -151 to 250 years old: (1765-1864)
Task Total: 10 + 15 = 25
Grand Total: 595 + 25 = 620
15.2 - TtUS Land CruiserEverything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
set in Ohio
+15 task
Task total: 15
RwS total: 715
TtUS total: 30
Grand Total: 745
10.1 AuthorsFish Ladder, The: A Journey Upstream byKatharine Norbury
I don't know why this says "Expected publication Jan 2016, as I definitely listened to the audio version!
This is my surprise find of the season. I had some extra audiobook time to fill, and couldn't find anything to match any of my allocated books, so did a scroll through the new releases to find a new author, and presto!
It will sound depressing, but this book begins with a miscarriage, discusses adoption and the seeking of the birth family, and also includes cancer and death. However, it is not depressing, and is very affirming in many ways.
Inspired by The Well at the World's End by Neil M. Gunn, the author, sometimes with her daughter, goes to follow various rivers to the source, and, ultimately, to search for the well at the world end.
A memoir, a tribute to nature, an introduction to Celtic (and other ) myth, I found this beautifully read by Norbury, her voice would calm my mornings and drive home, that I felt much better at the end of the day than I normally did. I felt inspired to read The Well at the World's End, (if I can find it), and to try to make similar walks as she had within my own area. I admired her strength in overcoming her experiences and continuing with her plan, and just came away from the listening feeling a hopefulness and invigoration that i had not expected when I originally downloaded the book.
+10 task
+10 review
+5 combo (10.9, post 438)
Task Total = 25
Grand Total = 1230
15.10 TtUS Land CruiserSweet Thunder by Ivan Doig
State: Montana
+15 Task
+15 Bonus (Tasks 9-10)
Task Total = 30
TtUS Land Cruiser Completion Bonus +100
Grand Total: 510 + 30 + 100 = 640
Whew -- I completed my trip just in the nick of time!
20.6 RatingsLittle Women by Louisa May Alcott
(Over 1 Million ratings)
Review:
Once again, I can’t believe that I haven’t read this book before! I think when I was growing up, the length and age of the book scared me off. As I got older, I pigeon-holed it as a children’s book and avoided it. Thank goodness for this challenge! The point payoff finally pushed this to the top of my TBR pile.
I loved the sweet and poignant stories of the four March sisters with their trials and tribulations. Yes, some of the words are archaic now, (the built in dictionary in my Kindle couldn’t find a passel of them) and the preachy homilies sprinkled throughout slowed down the story arcs. However, even factoring in the historical context issues facing today's modern reader, this was a great read.
+20 Task
+30 Combo (10.3, 10.7, 10.9 (Post 170), 20.2 Publ 1868 Died 1888, 20.3 #65, 20.9)
+10 Style - Oldies (Published 1868)
+10 Style - Review
Task Total = 70
Grand Total: 640 + 70 = 710
That does it for me this season. Cheers!
I'm sending a big 'Thanks' out to Kate and Elizabeth for continuing to spend many hours ensuring that these challenges continue to roll on.
20.7 MicrohistoryThe Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson
Review:
The architect Daniel Hudson Burnham directed the building of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. The neoclassical buildings were transformed into a White City after they were spray painted white and illuminated with 200,000 incandescent bulbs. Burnham used the skills of the best architects in the country, along with the work of Frederick Law Olmstead for the landscape, in the creation of the World's Fair. Geroge Washington Gale Ferris developed the first "Ferris Wheel"--a huge wheel that would carry 2,160 people at a time into the Chicago sky overlooking the fair and Lake Michigan.
In contrast to the beauty of the White City, a psychopath was building the World's Fair Hotel nearby. It was fitted with soundproof rooms with gas lines, a hidden chute that led to a dissection area in the basement, and a coffin-sized kiln. Herman Webster Mudgett, who went by the alias Dr H.H. Holmes in honor of the detective Sherlock Holmes, was a handsome, charming man who lured his victims to the hotel. He often employed them in his pharmacy downstairs. Most of his victims were beautiful women traveling alone from small towns, looking for excitement and employment in the big city.
Another contrast to the magical quality of the White City was the economic downturn at that time. After the fair closed, thousands of people were left homeless and unemployed on the streets of Chicago.
This was a well-written non-fiction book that read like a novel. Larson knows how to end his chapters on a note of suspense. Between the many setbacks in the building of the fair, and the horrible events involving Holmes, the story always had something happening to keep my interest. A movie is in the planning stages with Leonardo Di Caprio playing Dr H.H. Holmes, directed by Martin Scorsese.
+20 task
+ 5 combo 10.9 (post 47)
+10 not a novel
+10 review
Task total: 45
Grand total: 665
Valerie wrote: "20.9 Authors w 3 namesThe Marco Effect by Jussi Adler-Olsen
20 task
___
20
Running total: 550"
+5 Combo 10.9-post 39
Cory Day wrote: "10.8 The Horrors!Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (Lexile 1070)
Review: Like many swashbuckling adventure stories I’ve read, I found Treasure Island to be odd..."
+5 Combo 20.9
Will wrote: "Task 20.10 InterconnectedThe Inimitable Jeeves P.G. Wodehouse
----
A light and amusing read, but it's age shows clearly - in 1923, books were written differently. I a..."
+5 Combo 10.9-post 47
Will wrote: "Task 15.1 TtUS - MississippiThe Hamlet by William Faulkner
----
I expected to be impressed by a Faulkner book, but I wasn't. The Hamlet tells the story of a little vill..."
Sorry, Will, sub challenge tasks (15 point tasks) don't earn points for reviews.
Deedee wrote: "Task 10.9 Six Degrees of Kevin BaconA Daughter of Eve (1838) by Honoré de Balzac
(Post #84)
+10 Task
+15 Oldies -151 to 250 years old: (1765-1864)
Task Total: 10..."
+5 Combo 20.2 (p 1838, d 1850)
D wrote: "10.8 The Horrors!The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King
+10 Task (#3 on list)
+ 5 Combo (10.9 post 20)
Task total=15
Grand total=995"
+10 Not a Novel
Valerie wrote: "20.9 Authors w 3 namesThe Marco Effect by Jussi Adler-Olsen
20 task
___
20
Running total: 550"
+5 Jumbo (506 pages in MPE)
Tien wrote: "10.6 Reunification-The Gordian Knot by Bernhard Schlink
author born in Germany
Review
To begin with, I really wasn’t sure whether I like the main character, Georg Po..."
+5 Combo 10.9-post 408
Anika wrote: "+100 RwS Finish+200 Mega Finish"
Congrats, Anika!!
Cory Day wrote: "RwS Completion Bonus: 100Mega Bonus: 200 "
Well done, Cory!
Cory Day wrote: "RwS Completion Bonus: 100
Mega Bonus: 200"
Oh, I missed this this morning. Well done!
10.6 Reunification Nadirs by Herta Müller ( originally written in German. Muller was born into the German "island" Banat region of Romania)
Made it! This book was a very real struggle for me, and I honestly didn't think I would complete it. In fact, I hadn't picked it up in weeks.
A collection of short stories ( and by short I mean, some only go for 1.5 pages ) it is very bleak, with sometimes nightmare portrayals of what are autobiographical based stories of childhood in the Banat region of Romania.
Stylistically I found this difficult, and I did not enjoy it at all. The GR description uses words like nightmarish (certainly) and dream-like (which it is if you take it to mean that events do not progress as they do in reality). Stories move between a reality and a child's internal, imaginative responses to it, time shifts and you can't know if it is linear or not. It is more structured than stream of consciousness writing, but it does lean towards that end of the writing spectrum.
+10 task
+10 review
+10 not a Novel
+10 combo (10.9 - post 393, 20.10)
+5 oldies
Task Total 45
RWS Finish 100
Grand Total 1375
10.4 MathAct One by Nancy Kress
+10 Task (one in title)
+10 Combo (10.3, 10.9-post 267
Task total: 20
Grand Total: 1215
10.9 Six DgreesA Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
Lexile 1150
+10 Task (post 268)
+5 Oldies (published 1968)
Task total: 15
Grand Total: 1230
20.1 CelebrationThe Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin
Lexile 840
+20 Task (published 1970)
+5 Combo (10.9)
+5 Oldies
Task total: 30
Grand Total: 1260
20.5 HistoryThe Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789 by Joseph J. Ellis
Review
Joseph J Ellis has in his most recently published book tackled the treacherous years after the Revolutionary War. Anyone who has visited Constitution Hall in Philadelphia or heard Benjamin Franklin’s famous speech about the rising sun or setting sun on the “Great Experiment” knows how much sweat and tears went into the drafting of the US Constitution we still use today. Such a framework still viable with relative little change since it was ratified required the political and diplomatic skill of turning thirteen distinct and independent colonies from a loose confederation to a democratic republic with a national identity. Ellis gives insight into the diligence of the men who had the vision and flexibility to make it happen. Robert Morris, Gouverneur Morris, John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington were chief players in convincing the delegates to a strong Federal government that to a newly independent confederation of States seemed almost a regression back to submission. After the Revolutionary War, this is the second near miracle that resulted in the USA that is still alive today.
Just for the record, Thomas Jefferson was not that involved. During all this controversy and laying the foundation of an idea which he helped birth, he was in France, trying to help the French establish their goals for independence with far different ultimate results.
+20 pts - Task
+10 pts - Review
+20 pts - Combo (10.4, 10.9, 20.7, 20.8)
+10 pts - not a novel
Task total - 60 pts
Grand Total - 1270 pts
I'm not complaining but it looks like I'm doing my magical math again. I saw on the Readerboard I had 1235 pts as of post #931 but I have 1210 pts up to that post.
Kate S wrote: "Will wrote: "Task 15.1 TtUS - MississippiThe Hamlet by William Faulkner
Sorry, Will, sub challenge tasks (15 point tasks) don't earn points for reviews.
Understood, Kate, but - I hope it will not ruin my 100% in reviews? And does it count for that list?
Will wrote: "Kate S wrote: "Will wrote: "Task 15.1 TtUS - MississippiThe Hamlet by William Faulkner
Sorry, Will, sub challenge tasks (15 point tasks) don't earn points for reviews.
..."
The sub-challenge is not factored into that list. So, it will not ruin a perfect record.
Task 10.1 AuthorsThe Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips
(this was supposed to be my 15.2 TtUS Alabama, but when i look at the calendar, I'm not going to make any more progress in TtUS, so I take the higher points for it)
----
I loved this book. I am already missing the characters.. so real, so touchable, thinking and feeling in so many shades (what I mean is they are just the opposite of black and white cut-outs). Not too much is going on, which is often my complaint about books, but the little that happens is interesting, and the background is fascinating.
The book is in the deep south, in the 1930s, and the community environment is a major part of the story. There are black people, there are unions, there are tough times, and there is the old southern style to handle it all, and some new thoughts too. A baby is thrown in a well, and the little girl that happened to see it starts 'investigating', with her sister, and they find out a lot more than they were looking for. I just wish the book would go on forever.
----
+10 Authors (Gin Phillips)
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Previous Points:
20 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
25 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
30 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
25 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
55 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
30 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
25 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
20 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
55 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
60 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
20 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
20 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
15 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Grand Total: 400 + 20 = 420
20.9 Authors with Three NamesBetween the Dark and the Daylight by William Dean Howells
I don't know what I expected when I started this, but I know it wasn't what a got! I had been planning to read something of this new-to-me author and found a place for him before this quarter's challenge ends. I poked around to find something short to be sure I could finish it, and the default edition of this one is 100 pages - short, but long enough!
Lo and behold - it's a collection of seven short stories. While I haven't a clue whether they are in any way representative of his longer work, I suspect in some ways they are. They are not strong on humor, but only one seems to be without any humor at all. The subtitle on some editions reads :Romances. I wouldn't call them such because - except for the endings - there truly isn't much romance during the stories. If there is anything to do with "romance", several touch on the accidental way we have of meeting the one with whom we live out our lives.
Howells is an author I ought to have read earlier. Wikipedia classes him as a realist author and he is on the list of Realism authors found at Writers History - a list Reading with Style has used before. I will definitely be reading more of him.
+20 Task
+10 Combo (20.1, pub 1907; 20.2 - d. 1920)
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-Novel
+10 Oldies
Task total = 60
Grand total = 760
20.4 BalanceSister of My Heart by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
+20 Task
+5 Combo (20.9)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 2150
20.5 HistoryFounding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis
+20 Task
+10 Not-a-Novel
+5 Combo (10.9-post 280)
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 2185
20.8 DARRevolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence by Joseph J. Ellis
+20 Task
+10 Not-a-Novel
+10 Combo (10.9-post 280, 20.5)
+100 RwS Finish
Post Total: 140
Season Total: 2325
15.10 TtUS Land CruiserWork Song by Ivan Doig
Montana
+15 Task
+15 bonus
Task total: 30
+100 TtUS completion bonus
Grand Total: 610
Kate, I'd like to move this book from task 15.1 TtUS (post 929) to 10.2. Thanks!
Task 10.2 Christie's Life Time
The Hamlet by William Faulkner
----
I expected to be impressed by a Faulkner book, but I wasn't. The Hamlet tells the story of a little village and the people living there, over more than a generation; elaborating many interesting events and incidents, so it is interesting enough to read. However, there is little connecting and point to the whole thing, it's a bit like watching a security camera that records 50 years of a mom-and-pop shop. Too little tension for my taste. On the other hand, the dialogs are often funny, and it gives a good impression how life was in those days, and what people cared about and what not. Interesting enough, but not outstanding in any way for me.
----
10 Christie (Faulkner lived 1897-1962)
+ 5 Bacon (post #4)
+10 Review
+ 5 Oldies
Task Total: 30 (instead of originally 15)
Grand Total: 420 - 15 + 30 = 435
20.6 RatingsA Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Ebenezer Scrooge is one of my favorite characters in all of literature. Not only does he have the greatest tag line (I say "humbug" way too often in everyday life...it's my alterna-curse-word at work, as the expletives are exploding in my brain), I love what he stands for: the ability to turn one's life around, no matter how old or set in our ways or past-salvation we may seem.
Not only is he one of my favorite characters, but this is one of my favorite Dickens. As with his longer novels, this little guys has it all--humor, love, unexpected twists, surprise connections, a little bit of downright horror (hello! The ghost of Christmas Past downright *terrifies* me), and a good old-fashioned moral. What's not to love?
I listened to it while working on Christmas presents, to put me in the proper spirit, and Tim Curry's narration was (as is everything I've heard him do) spot-on perfect.
+20 Task (344,396 ratings)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.9, post 34)
+15 Oldies (1843)
Task Total = 50
Grand Total = 1735
10.2 - Agatha Christie1984 by George Orwell
+10 task
+20 combo (10.4, 10.9, 20.2, 20.6)
+5 oldies
Task total: 35
Grand total: 885
20.4 - BalanceA Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
+20 task
+20 combo (10.4, 10.9, 20.1, 20.6)
Task total: 40
Grand total: 925
And now to work out if I can read a book for 20.5 by tomorrow night :)
ps - i edited to change the grand total because I miscounted
Kate S wrote: "20.8 DARRevolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence by Joseph J. Ellis
+20 Task
+10 Not-a-Novel
+10 Combo (10.9-post 280, 20.5)
+100 RwS Finish
Post T..."
Yeah for you! Mega challenge and being a moderator! Have you had enough of early US history? (smile)
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
Mothers, Tell Your Daughters (other topics)Making Their Own Way: Southern Blacks' Migration to Pittsburgh, 1916-30 (other topics)
John Adams (other topics)
Moving Target (other topics)
John Adams (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Bonnie Jo Campbell (other topics)Peter Gottlieb (other topics)
David McCullough (other topics)
J.A. Jance (other topics)
David McCullough (other topics)
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Open Season by C.J. Box
WYOMING
+15 task
+10 bonus
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 535