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FA 2015 RwS Completed Tasks - Fall 2015
From Post 299Amanda wrote: "10.5 October Awards
Brother, I'm Dying by Edwidge Danticat - Winner Dayton literary Peace Prize for Non-Fiction 2008
Part family memoir, part Haitian political histo..."
Sorry, Amanda, this is listed as YA at the BPL and does not currently have a lexile score listed. It will work for the task, but no style points.
Kate S wrote: "From Post 299Sorry, Amanda, this is listed as YA at the BPL and does not currently have a lexile score listed. It will work for the task, but no style points. "
Noooo!! Ugh! Time to revise the spreadsheet...
15.8 TtUS Land CruiserNew Jersey
One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 200
15.9 TtUS Land CruiserPennsylvania
American Rust by Philipp Meyer
+15 Task
+15 Bonus
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 230
15.10 TtUS Land CruiserDelaware
The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez
+15 Task
+15 Bonus
+100 Completion
Post Total: 130
Season Total: 360
Just noticed that Readerboard has me on 435 and I have me on 440. Wondering if it is the update on post 150 where I added 10.9 combo to Thousand Cranes, or have I missed something else ?
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
+20 task (#27 on list)
+15 combo (10.3 - A-C-O; 10.9 - post #37; 20.6 - 375,509 ratings)
+ 5 Oldies (1962)
Task total=40
Grand total=580
Claimed for wrong task, re-posted in post 316.
Re-post of book claimed in post 315, changing it from 20.3 to 20.620.6-Ratings
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
+20 task (375,509 ratings)
+15 combo (10.3 - A-C-O; 10.9 - post #37; 20.3 - #27 on list)
+ 5 Oldies (1962)
Task total=40
Grand total=580
Task 10.9 Six Degrees of Kevin BaconPalace of Spies (Palace of Spies #1) (2013) by Sarah Zettel (Hardcover, 368 pages)
Lexile 860L
(Post #267)
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 195 + 10 = 205
(Greetings from Sofia, Bulgaria- the last stop on my trip)20.2-Innocence
Ivanhoe by Walter Scott
(published 1819, Scott died 1832)
Don't read this review if you want to avoid key information about Ivanhoe. I always wondered why I confused Ivanhoe with Robin Hood...and now I know why. They both make appearances in this book (along with Richard the Lion-Hearted). Robin Hood is in fact a champion for a wounded Ivanhoe at one juncture.. The curious point of the novel is that Ivanhoe isn't revealed until midway into the book...and then when we learn it is Ivanhoe, he is injured and out of much of the action until the end when HE gets to be the champion. Robin Hood and King Richard's identities are also concealed for much of the book. Nevertheless, it is a fun and romantic read with an education in medieval history and chivalry to boot.
task +20
review +10
combo +5 (10.9- post 306)
oldie +15 (1819)
jumbo +5 (544p)
total= 55
grand total = 175
10.9 Six degreesKiss by Jill Mansell
Post 353
Review:
To me, Jill Mansell is the literary equivalent of a Mars Bar. I realize this may sound derogatory, but it is not. Literature with a capital “L” is all well and great, but sometimes I need a bit of light relief. A book that is purely plot and which will provide entertainment without taxing my mind too much; a sort of palate cleanser, if you will. Kiss hit the spot with its light and frothy story of extremely out- and easy going Izzy and doormat-wannabe Gina and how their accidental (in all the meanings of the word) meeting changes the life of both for the better. This is not literature that changes the world, but it is a good booster of reading joy.
+10 task
+10 review
+5 jumbo (512 pages)
Task total: 25 pts
Grand total: 170 pts
10.9 Six degreesGood At Games by Jill Mansell
Post 353
Review:
Good At Games is another light and funny offer from Jill Mansell. It centres on Suzy, a gorgeous and outspoken young woman, who knows exactly how to close a deal, in her love life as well as in her career as a real estate agent. When she sets her heart on Harry, it doesn’t take long before they start dating and love is in the air (or is it lust?). Add in the mix her rock star ex-husband, a sister she never knew she had and Harry’s disapproving brother and let the fun begin. Jill Mansell manages to wrap everything up very tidily, almost too much so, but as I read more of her books, many of her characters begin to look very similar. Mansell’s books always manage to break me out of a book slump, though, and I always come back for more.
+10 task
+10 review
+5 jumbo (512 pages)
Task total: 25 pts
Grand total: 195 pts
10.10 Group ReadsDead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson
Review:
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania is the story of how the great Atlantic passenger ship Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine during World War I, and how this event helped force the United States out of its isolationist politics and into the fray. Erik Larson has clearly done a huge amount of research to collect all the threads of this complicated event, but he never flaunts that fact to the reader, and the narrative flows effortlessly throughout the book. Along the way, the reader is invited into British code breaking office, so secret the admiralty barely knew of them, deep under water in a dank and smelly submarine and aboard the monumental vessel itself. Erik Larson uses letters and diary entries, among other sources, to paint a vivid picture of the characters in this tragedy. It is well told and highly recommended.
+10 Task
+10 Combo (10.9 (post 47), 20.7)
+10 Review
+10 Not-A-Novel
Task total: 40 pts
Grand total: 235 pts
Task 10.9 Six Degrees of Kevin BaconThe Doctor and the Rough Rider (Weird West Tales #3) (2012) by Mike Resnick (Paperback, 303 pages)
(Post #361)
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 205 + 10 = 215
10.1 Authors-How to Be Drawn by Terrance Hayes
I enjoy reading fiction up for awards like the National Book Award, so I decided to try reading a book of poetry up for the award as well. Hayes fifth collection left me wanting more and I’m excited to have four more of his collections to add to my TBR list. My favorite section III, A Circling Mind, and my two favorite poems were “The Rose Has Teeth” and “Black Confederate Ghost Story”. I am also looking forward to digging deeper into Hayes’ website where notes and inspirations for the poetry are presented. I have just begun to scratch the surface of the richness offered there. The poetry in the book often touches on or grows from other art forms which I found rewarding as well. Different forms like poems based on maps, charts and crime reports were fascinating. There is a lot packed into this thin volume: 5 stars!
+10 Task
+10 Not a Novel
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 625
10.4 Math-Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie
I loved the language play in this book. Starting with the name of the philosopher, Ibn Rushd, and continuing with the wonderfully nicknamed “Mac” Aroni, I was amazed at the plays on words throughout. Rushdie also had fun putting words and analogies together. I wish I’d kept track of more of my favorite phrases like “the roofs of houses flew through the night sky like disoriented bats”(p19) , but they were sprinkled throughout the book. You really had to pay attention or references like this Proust title in ordinary descriptions could easily slip by: “Everywhere they went men stood in the shadow of young girls in flower. I’m sure there were as many twists of the language that I missed as there were those I caught, but it was Rushdie’s writing itself that pleased me the most in this book. The plot was less engaging, so I ended up giving the book 4 stars, but it is definitely recommended!
+10 Task
+ 5 Combo: 10.9 Kevin Bacon Approved Author Post#226
+10 Review
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 650
20.9 Authors with Three Names Krista's Task-Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
The scariest thing about this kind of a horror story is the realistic writing. In other words, we know that vampires don’t exist, but in the world of this book, which is a familiar world to all of us, they are there among us. There is no world building necessary --- no strange Transylvanian castle, no eating of other animals making for “kind of good” vampires, and no Coldtown (another favorite vampire book I read recently, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown ). There is brutality in the book, but there is also a lot of emotion and love. The writing is quite good. It is not a book for the squeamish. I can turn off the pictures in my mind when I’m reading this kind of content, but the film would probably be too much for me. I don’t read a lot of horror, but I like to be scared and “creeped out” occasionally and this story definitely accomplished that!
+20 Task
+10 Combo: 10.8 The Horrors! / Combo: 10.9 Kevin Bacon Approved Author Post #360
+10 Review
Task Total: 40
Grand Total: 690
10.2 Agatha ChristieAddie Pray by Joe David Brown
Review:
After eleven-year-old Addie Pray's mother dies, she travels around the South with Moses "Long Boy" Pray, the man who might be her biological father. He's a con man who tricks widows into buying Bibles and photographs of their deceased husbands. The sassy, smart Addie proves to be a good accomplice. They soon move on to more sophisticated swindles as they travel from Alabama to Tennessee and Louisiana.
I soon found myself cheering on Addie and Long Boy even though they were cheating people out of money during the Depression of the 1930s. They never try to swindle the very poor. Addie needs to feel that she's part of a family, and she has a vulnerability that tugs at the heart. Long Boy takes good care of Addie in his own way, although he is introducing her to a life of crime. Both Addie and Long Boy have quick minds and are fast talkers so they make a good team. Several other people also act as substitute family members that show her a part of the world that she has not experienced.
The book is written in a conversational tone in a Southern voice with Addie looking back at her younger days. The first part of the story was made into the movie "Paper Moon". Joe David Brown is a great storyteller with a good sense of humor.
+10 task (author lived 1915-1976)
+10 review
+ 5 oldie (pub 1971)
+20 combo 20.9 (three names), 10.3 (dictionary), 10.9 (post 242), 20.2 (published 5 years before death)
Task total: 45
Grand total: 315
20.4 BalanceThe Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
Review
This is the second book in the Madd Addam trilogy by Ms. Atwood, following Oryx and Crake. It had been a while since I had read the first book so would have to refresh my memory about who exactly was Oryx and who was Crake; otherwise I understood the continuation of the dystopia after the dystopia. The world was already pretty screwed up, society and government run by a corporate conglomerate, everyone out for themselves, world is environmentally messed up, escalated violence along with the big rift between shallow materialistic and clueless upper classes and the sewer rat people just barely getting by at all costs. This time the world is being purged by a pandemic plague that only the isolated have escaped. One group however, The Gardeners was prepared, a quasi-religious cult all about peace love and harmony…. or so it seems.
+20 pts - Task
+10 pts - Review
+ 5 pts - Combo (10.9 on list of approved authors)
Task Total - 35 pts
Grand Total - 350 pts
10.6 ReunificationThe Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss MPE exile 1190
Review
I’m sure I’ve seen the Disney movie version of this book at some point in my childhood but only riding ostriches and living in a treehouse stick out in my memory. Based upon the lines of Robinson Crusoe, which is referred to a few times in this book, a family is shipwrecked on an unknown, uninhabited land. Fortunately the ship they were on had cargo aboard to start or be a part of a colony as that was the destination of the Robinsons. Fortunately again, although all hands were lost, (seems like their comeuppance as they deserted the poor family of two adults and four male children to take the lifeboats) the ship did survive fairly intact, the Robinsons were quick enough to think of a rudimentary life jacket invention to save the non-swimmers while in the midst of the fierce raging storm AND most of the livestock survived. Once again fortunate struck this family at its cruelest time in providing the family with a wide variety of tools, foodstuffs and other essentials so they did not have to start a cast away life in such dire need as would be thought.
The land proved to be rich, in fact so rich they could want for nothing especially since the family members are uncommonly clever, inventive and know so much more about the world and all its flora and fauna than would be thought for natives of a landlocked country long before National Geographic. I kept trying to figure out where this land was. It was in the Southern Hemisphere since winter, or rainy season began in June. First they came upon penguins, jackals and monkeys so I thought Africa? South America? Later there was a kangaroo and a platypus so Australia? But monkeys in Australia? Then came bears, tapirs, and Tigers, Condors and other creatures that the father would explain were native to North America, South America and Asia. Wow! Same with the plant life! Add to that were giant sea turtles, boa constrictors, jaguars, civet cats, panthers, elephants, onagers, buffalo, ostriches, ruffled grouse, black swans, flamingos Sultan birds, pigeons, eagles, parrots, wild pigs, rabbits, nutrias, turkeys, geese, seals, walruses, hippos, and to be honest I was disappointed when no polar bears made their appearance! Of course I did remind myself this was a time of exploration, exciting new creatures being discovered and all so in a way it is almost like sci-fi and fantasy of the time.
But of course the most important part of the whole book as it is in almost every book written in the 19th century, the moral was there. Fear and trust God and you will be given all you deserve. Manifest destiny runs rampant.
+10 pts - Task
+10 pts - Review
+20 pts - Combo (10.7, 10.9 - post 364 in thread, 20.2 p 1812 author died 1818, 20.9)
+15 pts - Oldies (1812)
Task Total - 55pts
Grand Total - 405 pts
20.4 - BalanceHullabaloo in the Guava Orchard by Kiran Desai
+20 task (no 58 on South Asian Fiction list)
+5 combo (10.9 - post 339)
Task total: 25
Grand Total: 215
10.9 Six Degrees:The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (approved author, post #151)
Review:
It's very difficult to classify this novel - is it fantasy? Crime? Literature? Romance? I think of it mostly as fantasy, but one could argue. The novel takes place in 1985, in England. But it's not the England we know. The world is a bit... different! It's like a parallel universe where history has taken a slightly different course. One of the fun things about the book is trying to notice these changes. Some of them are obvious, like people keeping dodos as pets, because it's possible to reconstruct extinct species using DNA manipulation. Others are quite small, so if you blink, you'll miss it.
The other fun bit is that in this parallel world, literature is very important. Classics have fans that are as passionate as football or rugby enthusiasts, if not more. And to top it off, it turns out that in some instances, real people can cross over to novels and vice versa: characters from books can cross over and enter our world. In this world, an evil man decides to steal the main characters from beloved classics and hold them for ransom. Thursday Next, a literary detective, must save the day.
I've read books from Fforde's other series before, so I had a pretty good idea of what I was in for. This one was just as much fun and as wacky. Highly recommended for people who don't mind unrealistic things happening in novels and for people who love reading the classics!
+10 task
+10 review
Task total: 20
Grand total: 120
20.9 Authors with 3 NamesThe Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
I listened to this as an audiobook, and I just didn't enjoy it, I could never really engage. I don't know if it was the language, the narration, or the story itself, but I often found my mind wandering. I am wondering if it might be one that is better being read than listened to, which is odd because usually the audiobook is more inspirational to read the book to pick up on anything that I may have missed.
The only characters who captured my attention were the two Mohicans and their companion, Hawkeye, the rest I found frustrating and kind of dull.
I do hope my opinion will improve with a proper read one day.
+ 20 task
+ 15 oldies
+ 10 review
+ 10 combo ( 10.9 - post 296, 20.3 - #120)
Task Total = 55
Grand Total = 495
20.2-Innocence The Clocks by Agatha Christie
I had never heard of this Christie mystery until I found it recently...and I must say I enjoyed it more than some of her others. I found it easy to follow and not as much of a stretch. I liked how the murder mystery evolves into much more...and also how Hercule Poirot is involved (after about 100 pages) without ever visiting the witnesses or scenes...and he of course gives the detectives a lesson in evidence-gathering and logic.
I also enjoyed the fun Christie had making fun of herself and other mystery writers by having Poirot give a critique about a thinly-veiled Christie and others.
task +20 (published 1963, Christie died 1976)
review +10
combo +10 (10.2, 10.9- post #123
oldie +5 (1963)
total= 45
grand total= 220
Karen Michele wrote: "20.9 Authors with Three Names Krista's Task-Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
The scariest thing about this kind of a horror story is the realistic writ..."
+5 Combo 10.4
Rebekah wrote: "10.6 ReunificationThe Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss MPE exile 1190
Review
I’m sure I’ve seen the Disney movie version of this book at some point in my ..."
+5 Combo 20.2 (book pub 1812, author died 1818)
Kate S wrote: "Rebekah wrote: "10.6 ReunificationThe Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss MPE exile 1190
Review
I’m sure I’ve seen the Disney movie version of this book at s..."
Thanks!
15.3 TTtUS Land Cruiser Between, Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson
Georgia
Task total - 15 pts
Grand Total 420 pts
Karen Michele wrote: "20.9 Authors with Three Names Krista's Task-Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
The scariest thing about this kind of a horror story is the realistic writ..."
+5 Jumbo (513 pages in MPE)
Amanda wrote: "Just noticed that Readerboard has me on 435 and I have me on 440. Wondering if it is the update on post 150 where I added 10.9 combo to Thousand Cranes, or have I missed something else ?"Looking through the data it looks like our discrepancy is in post 163. You claimed 15 Oldies points, but with a publication date of 1865, Our Mutual Friend only earns 10 oldies points (post 191).
20.9 Authors with Three NamesRaven's Wing by Joyce Carol Oates
+20 task
+10 combo (10.3 - R-W; 10.9 - post 127)
+10 Not-a-Novel (short stories)
+ 5 Oldies (1986)
Task total=45
Grand total=625
10.3 Dictionary DayAn Indecent Obsession by Colleen McCullough
+10 Task A I O
+5 Combo 10.9 (post 365)
+5 Oldies (1981)
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 380
Task 10.1 Authors-Read an author you've never read before.
The Traitor Baru Cormorant (2015) by Seth Dickinson (Goodreads Author) (Hardcover, 400 pages)
Review:I picked up this book because several sf/f bloggers have said that they expect it to be nominated for numerous science fiction/fantasy awards for 2015. The Traitor Baru Cormorant is Seth Dickinson’s debut novel. The story is set in a world wherein a Rome-like nation-state ‘Falcrest’ is busily conquering and assimilating the countries located just beyond its’ border. When (female) Baru Cormorant was a child, Falcrest takes over her island-nation state of Taranoke. Falcrest replaces local customs – and local governance – with individuals loyal to Falcrest. Falcrest believes itself to be a merit-based society, so they scoop up the brightest and most assimilated young adults of its conquests and incorporates them into the Falcresti system. Baru is one of those young adults. She is not as assimilated as she pretends, however; she has the hidden desire to free Taranoke from Falcresti control. This novel sets up the Falcresti world, and sees Baru through the first steps of her quest for power. The events flowed naturally – and brutally – from event to logical consequence to event. Game of Thrones is an obvious inspiration. The novel ends with a definite "To Be Continued....". Recommended for fans of Game of Thrones.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 10 + 10 = 20
Grand Total: 215 + 20 = 235
15.3 TtUS Land Cruiser
Ferry to Alaska
The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against an Epidemic by Gay Salisbury
+15
Grand Total: 200
Kate S wrote: "Karen Michele wrote: "20.9 Authors with Three Names Krista's Task-Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
The scariest thing about this kind of a horror story..."
Thanks --- got it!
10.3 DictionaryA Cold Day For Murder by Dana Stabenow
+10 task (A-C-D-F-M)
+5 combo (10.9 – post 169)
Task total: 15
Grand Total: 655
Task 10.3 DictionaryFuzzy Nation (2011) by John Scalzi (Goodreads Author) (Hardcover, 303 pages)
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 235 + 10 = 245
15.4 TtUS Land CruiserProfile for Seduction by Karen Whiddon
Texas
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
Task total: 25
Grand Total: 230
15.5 TtUS Land CruiserLetter From Home by Carolyn Hart
Oklahoma
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
Task total: 25
Grand Total: 255
15.6 TtUS Land CruiserThe Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard
Kansas
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
Task total: 25
Grand Total: 280
10.3 - DictionaryD - T
Dear Thief by Samantha Harvey
+10 task
+5 combo (10.9 - post 327)
Task total: 15
Grand Total: 230
20.9 Authors with Three NamesThe Ebb-Tide by Robert Louis Stevenson
+20 task
+15 combo (10.8 - #17 on list; 10.9 - post 342; 20.2 - pub. 1894, died 1894)
+10 Oldies
Task total=45
Grand total=670
10.2-Agatha Christie-A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie
This was not my favorite Agatha Christie mystery. There is of course the familiar cast of characters each with their own possible motives for committing the murder... and, of course, one must always suspend belief to some degree..but usually that is part of the fun. Here, I felt the characters and situations to be too contrived... it could easily be adapted to a Latino soap opera, I kept thinking. Maybe that could be a whole new genre on tv... Agatha Christie novels made into telenovelas. LOL
task +10
review +10
combo +5 (10.9- post #123)
oldie +5
total = 30
grand total= 250
Jayme(the ghostreader)20.9 Three Names
Prime Cutby Diane Mott Davidson
Review
In this installment, Goldy Bear Schultz's business is not doing so good. She has to fight for every booking because a rival caterer is trying to put her out of business. Her husband gets suspended for a disagreement he has with his superior. His superior is a real jerk to begin with and it wasn't Tom's fault. Goldy has to get her window fixed because of the Jerk. She hires a guy but he just wrecks her kitchen and then runs off. A little while later he ends up dead in the home of one of her good friend's house. If that isn't bad enough, her cooking teacher Andre Hibbard dies of a heart attack which she isn't so sure is a heart attack. Plus her ex husband is trying to get revenge from jail.
Task +20
Style + 10 Review
Book Total : 30
Grand Total: 110
10.9 Six DegreesThe Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian
Review:
It's been one hundred years since the start of the Armenian genocide in the spring of 2015. Chris Bohjalian's Armenian heritage inspired him to write this book. The story has two threads--the first set in Syria in 1915, and the other in the northeastern United States in 2012.
Elizabeth Endicott came to Aleppo, Syria as a volunteer for the Friends of Armenia during World War I. She sees women and children coming to Aleppo from death marches across the desert. The men had already been killed by the Turks who feared that the Armenians would support the Russians in the war. Elizabeth and other humanitarian aid workers try to help the starving, exhausted survivors, but they had few resources for the masses of people. Elizabeth meets Armen Petrosian, an Armenian engineer who lost his family. Armen and Elizabeth are separated when he fights at Gallipoli, but they remain connected through their letters. Armen's friends, two German engineers, photograph the Armenian prisoners, hoping to smuggle out the evidence of the atrocities.
In the contemporary thread, a writer's interest in her Armenian heritage is sparked when her grandmother's picture is featured in an exhibit at the Armenian Museum. She reads her grandmother's letters and diary to find out the horrible events that her grandparents never discussed.
The characters in Aleppo were compelling and real. The romantic couple, the orphaned children, and the aid workers were all characters the reader could care about. The present day characters were not as well developed, but it's only right that the spotlight should be on the victims of the genocide and the humanitarian workers. Although a few parts of the book have graphic descriptions of the dead and dying, it's important that we know about the horrific events in history.
+10 task (post 106)
+10 review
Task total: 20
Grand total: 335
Kate S wrote: "Looking through the data it looks like our discrepancy is in post 163. You claimed 15 Oldies points, but with a publication date of 1865, Our Mutual Friend only earns 10 oldies points (post 191). "
Thanks Kate, I had it as 1864, which is what GR has it at, and the serialisation was over 1864 and 1865, so I take it it should be the date when entire publication was complete ? I will adjust my spreadsheet.
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
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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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Tien wrote: "10.7 Librivox Eleanor's Task
The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
shelved 9x as Librivox
3 stars
I like the beginning for the mysteriousness which was to be revealed. I lik..."
+5 Combo 10.9-post 195