Reading with Style discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Archives
>
FA 2015 RwS Completed Tasks - Fall 2015
20.2 - InnocenceAt the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
1st pub. 1936; author died 1937
Review: I had never heard of Lovecraft until this book was voted as next month's Group Read in the Catching Up on Classics group. Turns out he's some bigtime cult horror writer from the 1920s/30s. Well, now I know that and have read this book, I don't think I'll be meeting him again!
The book describes an expedition to the Antarctic, which goes wrong. The expedition leader and a colleague set off to investigate, and discover an ancient world containing something so unspeakably horrible that they must tell the world about it in order to prevent any future expeditions following in their footsteps. But, for me, the description/story is so matter-of-fact (repeated detailed descriptions of the size of the stonework, anyone?) that it had absolutely no impact. OK, he's supposed to be an academic writing a report, but surely some emotion or feeling would have helped deter any future adventurers.
The unspeakable horror is only revealed very briefly at the end, and there was no suspense in the build-up anyway. And the precursor to it ((view spoiler)?!!!) just made me laugh.
+20 task
+10 combo (10.2 - Agatha: 1890-1937, 10.8 - The Horrors!)
+10 Review
+10 oldies (1936)
Task total: 50
Grand Total: 70
Greetings from Berlin!20.3-Difficult
Swann's Way by Marcel Proust
Swann's Way is the first part of "Remembrance of Things Past" also known as as In Search of Lost Time.. and memory is really the focus here. The unnamed narrator recalls his childhood in the first person. Wonderful memories about his Mother and family, their neighbor Swann and Swann's wife and daughter. He remembers with all his senses..and the memories seem more real than reality...and reality disappointing. A large section is devoted to how Swann met and courted Odette .... but swirl in long sentences and paragraphs concerning emotions...the mix of love, mistrust and jealousy. Proust is the master of compound sentences... but it works wonderfully...at least in the translation I read. (Sometimes I felt out of breath just reading silently!) I was blown away by the beginning of the book where the narrator as a young boy takes about 40 pages to describe how he fell asleep waiting for his mother to come to his bed. Sounds boring...but it isn't.
task +20 (#18 on the list- as In Search of Lost Time)
combos +15 (10.3, 10.9 - post 18; 20.2 {pub. 1912 , died 1922})
review +10
oldie +10 (1912)
task total= 55
grand total= 55
10.8 The Horrors!The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
H G Wells is #48 on the list
I have to admit that I had low expectations when I started this book. It was chosen as BOTM for another group, which is why I was reading it. I do like sci-fi, but not horror. However, my opinion was changed rapidly (and radically) as soon as I began it. I liked that the story is immediately very focused on the Martians coming and the events that followed. I also thought it was very effective having the story told in first person. Not knowing the bigger picture made it all the more frightening. You have to remind yourself that the world this book is set in is very different from ours – no phones to see if your family is ok, no planes to bring reinforcements, etc. Also, when you take that into account it is really is amazing the technology he foreshadows in this book. One small thing I didn’t really like was that the book is obviously a serialization, with one chapter that seemed tangential. I would definitely recommend this book though!
10 task
10 oldie (1898)
5 10.9 Six degrees (see post #233, HG Wells approved #195)
10 review
____
35
Running total: 50
10.8 The Horrors!Phantom of the Auditorium by R.L. Stine
Low lexile, no combos!
+10 task
Task Total = 10
Grand Total = 95
10.9 Six Degrees of Kevin BaconThe Moon and the Sun by Vonda N. McIntyre
+10 task (post 114)
Task total: 10
Grand Total: 130
10.1 Author you've never readThe Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy
This was an amusing read. For (English language) readers of “a certain age” The Scarlet Pimpernel is one of those books whose plot is at least vaguely known. Despite that, this was another book that I approached with trepidation – I expected it to be stilted and boring. That definitely is not the case, probably due to it first being produced as a play. The chapters move the plot along in a snappy manner and there is a lot of description that really gives a full picture of the “scenes” and times. Because of this I found it to be a fun and fast read. It is somewhat melodramatic, and it seems to me that a direct line can be drawn from this book to modern historical romances. Another classic that I would recommend (although there is some hard core racism in the last chapters that you need to take with a grain of salt as a product of the times).
10 task
10 oldie (1905)
10 review
_____
30
Running total 80.
10.8 The Horrors!Why I Quit Zombie School by R.L. Stine
Low lexile, no combos!
+10 task
Task Total = 10
Grand Total = 105
20.2-Innocence Eva Trout by Elizabeth Bowen
I enjoyed most of the story of Eva Trout while I was reading it, but kept having the feeling that I was missing something important that would have allowed me to have a better understanding of the plot and characters. I’ve read through a lot of reviews now, and it seems I was not alone in this feeling. For about the last third of the book, I did have a certain sense of foreboding and I found the last section more gripping because of that feeling. Eva was an interesting character who did unusual things considering the mores of the time period. Bowen left me wondering what her true motivations for her actions were and particularly what really happened during the lead up to the ending. I couldn’t tell whether it was Eva who was responsible for the sequence of events or whether her former teacher, Iseult, actually orchestrated the events that led to the unusual conclusion. The writing was excellent, and I plan to read more of Bowen in the near future.
+20 Task: 1968 publication - 1973 death: 5 years
+10 Combo: 10.3 Dictionary / 10.9 Kevin Bacon Approved Author Post#234
+10 Review
+ 5 Oldies (1968)
Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 85
10.9 Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon-Ed's Task-The Religion by Tim Willocks
I appreciated the history and solid research behind the words of The Religion. The writing was good and expressed the beliefs and customs of the time period well. Sometimes I felt I was just going from fight scene to battle and back again, but that was, after all, what the book was about. I was glad that there was a fair approach to the views of both sides of the conflict. I learned a lot about the Siege of Malta and was interested in the Knights who formed the group “The Religion”. Carla’s storyline added interest, balance and intrigue to the plot. I did feel it was too long and I didn’t care for the writing of the sex scenes, but, again, I think they were accurate in their depiction of the male dominated life of the times. If I was rating the book just based on my enjoyment level reading it I would rate it 3 stars, but appreciating the depth of the research and taking the whole of what the book accomplished under consideration brought my rating up to 4 stars.
+10 Task: Approved Author Post #97:
+10 Review
+ 5 Jumbo: 613 pages
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 110
Task 20.9 Authors with Three NamesThe Affinities (2015) by Robert Charles Wilson
+20 Task
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 20 + 20 = 40
20.2 InnocenceMuch Ado About Nothing first published in 1599 by William Shakespeare who died in 1616
+20 Task
+10 Not-a-Novel
+25 Oldies
+5 Combo (10.9: Kevin Bacon was in Mystic River with Laurence Fishburne who was in The Matrix with Keanu Reeves who was in Much Ado About Nothing)
Task Total = 60
Grand Total = 160
20.2 InnocenceOthello first published 1603 by William Shakespeare who died in 1616
+20 Task
+10 Not-a-Novel
+25 Oldies
+5 Combo (10.9: Kevin Bacon was in Mystic River with Laurence Fishburne who starred as Othello in the 1995 movie adaptation)
Task Total = 60
Grand Total = 220
20.2 InnocenceBotchan by Natsume Sōseki
+20 task (published 1906, died 1916)
+10 Oldies
Task total: 30
Grand Total: 160
10.10 Group ReadsMs. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson
graphic novel, no style points!
+10 task
Task Total = 10
Grand Total = 130
15.2 TtUS Land CruiserThe Well and the Mine by Gin Phillips
Alabama
+15 Task
Task Total = 15
Grand Total = 30
10.8 HorrorThe Willows by Algernon Blackwood
Review
“It’s creep and it’s kooky, mysterious and spooky” Yes the theme song from the Addams Family television series defines this book written decades before. I’ve become a fan of Algernon Blackwood in the past year or so and especially enjoy his John Silence stories. This one is a classic. The suspense slowly builds. There is foul and dangerous weather, then something ungodly seen, was it real? Was it hallucination due to the tension of the dire circumstances? Trapped on an island that is getting smaller by the minute, the unusual sounds, the terrifying signs, the warnings, the attempts at scientific explanations and then the dangling ending. How did they escape anyway? The forerunner to our modern kings of horror it is a story not to be missed best read on a dark and stormy night!
+ 10 pts - task
+ 10 pts - review
+ 20 pts - combo (10.3,10.7,10.9, 20.1)
+ 10 pts - Oldies (1907)
Task Total - 50 pts
Grand Total - 230 pts
Valerie wrote: "10.8 The Horrors!The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
H G Wells is #48 on the list
I have to admit that I had low expectations when I started this book. It was cho..."
+5 Combo 10.7-Librivox
Valerie wrote: "10.1 Author you've never readThe Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy
This was an amusing read. For (English language) readers of “a certain age” The Scarlet Pimper..."
+5 Combo 10.7-Librivox
Karen Michele wrote: "20.2-Innocence Eva Trout by Elizabeth Bowen
I enjoyed most of the story of Eva Trout while I was reading it, but kept having the feeling that I was missing something..."
+5 Combo 10.2 1899-1973
Anika wrote: "20.2 InnocenceMuch Ado About Nothing first published in 1599 by William Shakespeare who died in 1616
+20 Task
+10 Not-a-Novel
+25 Oldies
+5 Combo (10.9: Kevin Bacon was..."
Please post chains for 10.9 in the help thread to help us stay organized. Thanks.
From Post 42Rebekah wrote: "20.1 Celebration
The Odyssey by Homer
Review
The globally renown and loved classic, the epic of all epics has little left to be written about. I listened on audiobook and ..."
+10 Not a novel
Connie wrote: "10.4 MathTHE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF WORLD WAR I by Andrew Wiest
Review:
This general history of World War I covers the causes of the war, the major battles on all ..."
+10 Not a novel
From Post 37Will wrote: "10.1 Authors
First book ever from Anne:
Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
----
When I first heard about 'Dragonflight' (which was like twenty years ago), I immediately bou..."
With an original publication date of 1968, this earns 5 Oldies points, not 10.
Kate S wrote: "Karen Michele wrote: "20.2-Innocence Eva Trout by Elizabeth Bowen
I enjoyed most of the story of Eva Trout while I was reading it, but kept having the feeling that I..."
Thanks, Kate --- I even have another of her books on that task --- sheesh!
From Post 24Anika wrote: "20.6 Ratings
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
The Girl on the Train was exactly what a good mystery should be: a fast-paced story that keeps you guessing an..."
+5 Combo 10.9-post 184
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 23 Will wrote: "10.2 Agatha ChristieThe Unexpected Guest by Agatha Christie
(This was probably not intended in the rules, but I am going to try - Agatha certai..."
Elizabeth, no need to change your decision, but I just found you made the opposite ruling in 2012, and actually for the same author and situation: In the message 89 - 94
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
you decide that 'Agatha Christie is counted as the Author because she is first'...
I am fine either way because I am going to claim him for 10.1 instead - I never read anything from him before.
Task 10.3 - DictionaryLiberation Movements by Olen Steinhauer
----
'Liberation Movements' is one book in the series of Olen Steinhauer where each book is written from another character's viewpoint, all members of a group of militia men that work in the same homicide department office.
I found the story intriguing and interesting; one well-done style element is that the storytelling jumps between several main characters, and often tells the same incidents later again, from another person's viewpoint (which is very enlightening). At some points I got a bit confused with the times - parts of the story are distributed over decades - but that was minor.
I especially like how the author manages to immerse you in that feel of the times and country, the desperation of the general situation, and how the characters cope with it in different ways. Maybe the best in the series, but I am not done yet.
----
+10 Review
+5 10.3 Dictionary
+5 10.9 Bacon (Olen Steinhauer is officially listed)
Task Total: 40
+10 Task 10.3 Dictionary
+10 Review
+5 10.9 Bacon (Olen Steinhauer is officially listed)
Task Total: 25
Previous Points:
10 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
25 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
30 https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
New Grand Total: 65 + 25 = 90
20.4 Balance:A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (#2 on the list of South Asian fiction)
Review:
This was my second book by Khaled Hosseini, as I read Kite Runner this spring. I liked A Thousand Splendid Suns even more than I liked Kite Runner, most probably because this one was written from the point of view of women. I think both of the main characters, Laila and Mariam, were very believable and convincing, as was their friendship and bond. They found themselves in a extremely difficult situation, their lives full of hunger, fear, war, horrible abuse and overwhelming limitations to their everyday lives. They had nothing but Laila's children and each other. There were so many events in the book that made you very sad or very angry, but despite the horror, there was hope and the feeling that people can survive, heal, and rebuild their lives. Reading the novel was a very thought-provoking, emotional journey. It also filled me with gratitude that I live in a time and space where as a woman, I have liberty, respect and the right to choose my own path.
+20 task
+20 combos (20.1 Celebration! - published in 2007; 20.6 Ratings - has 669,348 ratings; 10.4 Math - "thousand" in the title; 10.9 Six Degrees - author approved in post 44)
+10 review
Task total: 50
Grand total: 50
20.10 InterconnectedThe Blue Dress edited by Libby Hathorn
This is a collection of stories inspired by a painting of a girl in a blue dress.
+20 task
+10 Not-a-Novel (short stories)
Task total: 30
Grand Total: 190
20.9 Authors with Three NamesThe Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
+20 task
+20 combo (10.8 #137 on list; 10.9 post 227; 20.2 pub. 1925, died 1930; 20.10 recurring characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson and recurring setting of Baker Street and London)
+10 Not-a-Novel (short stories)
+10 Oldies (1925)
Task total=60
Grand total=160
Kate S wrote: "Connie wrote: "10.4 MathTHE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF WORLD WAR I by Andrew Wiest
Review:
This general history of World War I covers the causes of the war, the major ..."
Thanks for the points, Kate!
10.3 DictionaryA God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
Review:
"A God in Ruins" is a companion novel to "Life After Life", the story of Ursula Todd who expired and was reborn multiple times during the first half of the 20th Century. Her brother Teddy was a RAF pilot during World War II who was shot down and missing in action. In "A God in Ruins" we learn that he had been in a German POW camp for two years before returning to England.
The book is written with a constant shifting back and forth in time. The story starts slowly with incidents about Teddy's childhood and old age. His wife, their daughter Viola, and his grandchildren are also important in this multi-generational saga. Viola is a selfish woman who neglects her children. She goes from a hippie commune to other bad situations looking for fulfillment. She was a witness to an event that Teddy always kept secret, and it drove a wedge between them. Viola is almost overdrawn as a character, appearing totally unlikable.
Teddy is a kind, stoic man who signs up for the RAF during World War II, finding his passion in flying bombers. The book picks up pace during the war years with very exciting, well-researched writing about the bombing runs. The story does not ignore the fact that many civilians were also killed as the bombs were dropped on their targets. Skill, a tight crew, and a lot of luck was involved in surviving as a RAF pilot. It's worth reading "A God in Ruins" just for the excellent chapters about Teddy's war years. The ending came with a twist that is a clever bit of storytelling, and fits in well with the spirit of the two books.
+10 task
+10 review
+ 5 combo (10.9 on Approved List post 66)
Task total: 25
Grand total: 95
20.10 Interconnectedafter the quake by Haruki Murakami
I’m not a big fan of short story collections, but I do like those written by Alice Munro and Haruki Murakami. Munro’s specialty is the short story, focusing on women dealing with challenges in their lives. The situations are very realistic, and I find myself empathizing with those women. By contrast, Murakami’s contemporary style is surreal - full of fantasy and magical realism. I love his longer novels best, since he is able to fully develop his characters and plots. Still, I like that he shares these short stories as well, and I’m amazed that he can come up with so many story lines.
after the quake is a collection of six short stories that take place following the Kobe earthquake of 1995, which left over 6,000 persons dead and over 300,000 homeless. In each story, the earthquake (often subtly) acts as a catalyst to shake up the lives of the characters. Each person must deal with the situation Murakami has penned with his uniquely surrealistic style before moving on. I found the collection of stories interesting and well worth the time spent reading them.
+20 task
+5 combo (10.9 Kevin Bacon message #97)
+10 Review
+10 Not a Novel - Short Story Collection
Task total: 45
Grand Total: 125
10.6 ReunificationTaking Shots by Toni Aleo
Review: Contemporary romances and I have a rocky relationship, but usually I do like ones featuring professional athletes. At some point, I’d bought a box set of this series, and I’m not sure the later books will ever be read. This first one just wasn’t satisfying. The dialogue, while potentially realistic, was super clunky, and there really wasn’t much of a plot. The main female character, Ellie, has a bunch of problems with self esteem and emotional abuse, but they are never really addressed exactly, despite large amounts of text devoted to the issues. Maybe the author gets better as the series goes on, but I’m not sure I feel like finding out.
+10 Task (born in Germany)
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 100
20.4 BalanceA Good Indian Wife by Anne Cherian
I had no reason for choosing this book other than it fit this task, then I noticed it fit another task as I kept going back over and over the list. I had not heard of the book or Cherian before, but I figured the whole point of doing the challenge is to read books that you might not otherwise read.
A Good Indian Wife is the story of an arranged marriage, told from both the side of the reluctant American ex-pat who is being tricked by his family into returning home for the purpose of arranging a marriage, and the bride-to-be, who has been rejected as a marriagable prospect more times than she would like to remember.
Needless to say, the marriage goes ahead, and the story continues to see how they adapt to the situation on their return to San Francisco.
I don't think this brings anything new to the Indian ex-pat story, and not sure that it real makes a statement for or against arranged marriages. I am not even sure I am that happy with the ending, and perhaps the transition from one state of being to another was too quick and easy.
That said, it was a pleasant read, and I might consider reading more of Cherain's work in future.
+ 20 task
+ 10 review
+ 5 combo (10.3)
Task Total = 35
Grand Total = 165
10.9 Six Degrees of Kevin BaconInvictus by John Carlin
I recently returned from a long-awaited trip to South Africa, and it was unbelievable. As someone interested in South Africa, AND a former rugby player, this book seems tailor-made for me. However, there's a lot to recommend it even if you don't fall into those two categories. On one level, this is a story about the 1995 South African rugby world cup champions - not favored to win, so a nice underdog story. On another level, it's the story of how really difficult the transition away from apartheid was. Carlin does a really nice job weaving together those two stories, showing how Nelson Mandela skillfully used rugby as a vehicle to help bring factions in the country together, and showing how the rugby players, often very apolitical in their ordinary lives, came to understand their role as ambassadors and leaders in a new nation. The story is well told, full of action, and Carlin does a great job making you feel like you know the key players. (And the movie's pretty good too!)
+10 task (post 237)
+ 10 review
+10 not-a-novel (nonfiction)
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 30
15.1 - TtUS Land CruiserDid You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg
Set in Connecticut
+15 task
Task total: 15
Grand Total: 140
10.9 Six Degrees of Kevin BaconThe Dog Master: A Novel of the First Dog by W. Bruce Cameron
Review: This is a novel unlike any I’ve read before, and I may not have been fair in only giving it three stars. It starts in the modern day with archeologists’ discovering the bones of what they believe to be the first domesticated wolf – the precursor to today’s dogs. It quickly shifts back in time to the author’s imagining of what prehistoric human societies might have looked like, using mostly modern language. After a while, I had to flip to the back where Cameron explained his process, because it seemed impossible to fathom how those societies may have functioned. He basically said he had to make the vast majority of it up, and that made it easier for me to read – I ended up treating it almost like I was reading fantasy or science fiction. Using that approach, it was an entertaining and easy book to read, and I enjoyed the experience.
+10 Task (post 186 in help thread)
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 120
20.1-Celebration!Eleven by Patricia Highsmith
+20 task (1970)
+15 combo (10.4 eleven; 10.8 #57 on list; 10.9 post 259)
+10 Not-a-Novel (short stories)
+ 5 Oldies
Task total=50
Grand total=210
20.9 Three NamesThe Water Museum: Stories by Luis Alberto Urrea
Review: I read these short stories in a few bursts. They were all easy to read, but sometimes I’d have to flip back to understand a little better what Urrea meant. Two stories stood out the most – one, whose title I don’t remember, was almost a character study of a woman who runs a diner but also of the town she lives in. The other was the story that inspired the title of the book – it’s set in a United States after environmental changes have shifted the distribution of water in extreme ways. It was a little frightening, a little poignant, and even a little playful. All in all, it was a decent set of short stories that were pleasurable to read, even if they weren’t all that happy.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not-A-Novel
+5 Combo (10.9 – post 185)
Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 165
10.1 AuthorThe Girl on the Trainby Paula Hawkins This is a new to me author.
Review
A woman rides the rain every day back in forth to work. She passed by a house where she gets a glance at a couple's life. She paints a nice little picture and creates a life she thinks they lead. One day, her perfect couple are not so perfect. Megan, the woman has disappeared. Rachel, the woman who rides the train thinks she suspects who did it. She tries to go to the police but they don't believe her. The story gets complicated. The missing woman used to babysit for Rachel's ex husband and his new wife. Anna, the new wife becomes paranoid of Rachel. I have read some of the reviews and they compare this book to "Gone Girl". I will say it is similar but I enjoyed this book over "Gone Girl." I preferred the main character in this book to that of "Gone Girl" and the book flowed better.
Task +10
Style +20 Review, Combo 20.6 ratings 316,858 as of 09/12/15, 10.9 approved author in post 184)
Book Total: 30
Grand Total: 30
20.9 Three NamesAll Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West
+20 task
+10 combo (10.2 1892-1962, 10.3 A-P-S)
+10 Oldies (published 1931)
Task total: 40
Grand Total: 250
10.10 Group ReadI started with Cory Day's selection.
Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson
I would just like to thank Cory Day for introducing me to this book. Really loved it!
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 10
20.3 DifficultThe Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Review:
I have been meaning to read this book for some time. It seems to find its way to many lists of books one should read in a lifetime, but the story of being in a mental hospital was not one that I truly wanted to spend time reading. But, as I am a bit obsessive and this book found its way to quite a few of the group tasks that I participate in - as well as being on the list for this task - I finally sat down to read it. And, to my surprise, I enjoyed it!
Why is it that I often experience that? I will avoid a book for a long time and then finally read it to find I like it.
I agree with many of the critics that Sylvia Plath was both a talented writer and that she died too young. I am only sorry that her life was such that she had to end it, but I was not surprised.
The other serendipitous thing that sometimes happens to me is that I was also reading another book concurrently and found a common setting between the two books: Deer Island - the site in the Boston area of an old prison. In fact the writer of Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian mentioned the scene in The Bell Jar where Esther visits the old prison site.
I gave The Bell Jar 4*.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.2 - Plath lived 1932-1963, 10.9 - post #244, 20.6 rating = 355,095)
+5 Oldie (1963)
Task Total: 50
Grand Total: 60
Kate S. wrote "+5 Combo 20.2-published same year as author's death "
20.9 Three NamesThe Careful Use of Compliments by Alexander McCall Smith
Review:
I was introduced to this writer through his No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, as I suspect many people were. And, as much as I enjoy that series, I am really liking his Isabel Dalhousie series more.
Perhaps it is because her culture is more closely aligned with mine, but I think it has to do with the ethical struggles she finds in everyday life. She is a single woman who has lived an independent life, working from home as an editor of a philosophical magazine. Although there have been hints in past stories, in this one, the reader learns that Isabel is independently wealthy. So, when it appears that she is being fired, she has an option that most readers do not have.
Yet, even Isabel has to deal with the feelings caused by the firing and the negative thoughts toward those involved when she is considering her next step. In the meantime, there is the interrupted relationship with her niece which is distressing to Isabel as well as the relationship with Jamie, her lover and father of her baby.
And, then, she gets involved in a small mystery regarding a painting. A very normal woman's life - work, family, and of course getting involved in the life of others. I really like this character and series! 4*
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.9 - post 82, 20.1 - first published 2007)
Task Total: 40
Grand Total: 100
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
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)
More...
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)
More...
THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF WORLD WAR I by Andrew Wiest
Review:
This general history of World War I covers the causes of the war, the major battles on all fronts, the peace treaties, and reparations. It concentrates on the military history more than the political and social history of the time. The excellent photographs brought out the human cost of war, the relentless mud in the battlefields, and the horror of extended trench warfare. Boxes highlighted important topics and people, and colored maps showed the lines of battle.
The book shows how industrial advances changed the type of war being fought with better guns, cannons, tanks, ships, and planes being built as the war progressed. The war started with an attritional style of warfare. As World War I progressed, technology played an important part in winning the battles.
+10 task
+10 review
Task total: 20
Grand total: 60