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WI 15-16 RwS Completed Tasks - Winter 15/16
From Post 186D wrote: "10.10 Group Reads
Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
Review:
This story is an account of a fortnight's boat trip on the Thames taken by three friends and a dog. I ..."
+5 Combo 20.1
From Post 389Karen Michele wrote: "20.9 Winnie-the-Pooh
Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
+20 Task: 1882
+15 Combo: 10.2 Noel, Noel / 10.9 Realistic Ratings / 10.10 Group Reads
+10 Oldies: 1882
T..."
+5 Combo 20.1
From Post 487Joanna wrote: "20.9 Winnie-the-Poo
Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
Librivox can be hit or miss, but this version (read by Nick Bulka) is excellent. Mr. Bulka did a truly profes..."
+5 Combo 20.1
From Post 513Rosemary wrote: "20.9 - Winnie-The-Pooh
Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
This book has some very funny moments, especially at the beginning as the three friends plan their trip. I..."
+5 Combo 20.1
Kate S wrote: "From Post 513Rosemary wrote: "20.9 - Winnie-The-Pooh
Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
This book has some very funny moments, especially at the beginning as the ..."
Thanks, Kate. The Blind Assassin (my post 406) has also been approved for 20.1 combos now. Total on my spreadsheet is currently 945.
10.9 Realistic RatingsBig Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
rating is 3.93
The book ends up being a sort of breezy cross between a self-help book and a memoir of Gilbert's creative life. It's not about bullet pointed lists and exercises or pulling together theories from different places. It's about her personal philosophy of creativity and some of the ideas and people who have inspired it or supported it in her head.
I really liked it. The message spoke to the part of me that has done minimal art for some years now. I'm busy, yes, but I'll admit to some frustration and some concern (fear is a bit strong) that there's no point to starting again. I appreciate the chance to think through the validating thoughts about how I can be creative in a small part of my life, just because I want to, and it's ok (not that I thought it was otherwise, just it's nice to hear it presented in a different way.)
There's nothing new in here and I don't think there was ever intended to be. It's about taking in a different perspective and maybe this one will resonate and you'll get something out of it. I have read way too many creativity/find your inner artist books to gush about this one, but Gilbert did an excellent job, in a very clear and readable style, of sharing an optimistic and realistic way to face a desire to make art, particularly if you are uncertain about doing so.
+10 task
+10 review
Task total: 20
Grand total: 985
10.7 Cozy MysteryThe Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley
Lexile 960
I liked this book more than the first in the series. Somehow, Flavia seemed more likeable and less creepy here; maybe I'm just getting used to her as a character. Again, I found the reader for the audiobook to do a good job and think these sorts of first-person narration translate extremely well to audio format.
I got a bit bogged down in the chemistry details, which might have been easier to follow in print than in the audio. Still, I found the setting wonderful -- I love the idea of Flavia trolling about on Gladys (her bicycle) through the English countryside. I was much more interested in the setting and the country characters than the actual mystery, but I suppose that's typical of cozy mysteries. I think I'll give this series a rest for a bit, but I can imagine picking up the next one at some point.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 Series (see post #290)
+15 Combo (10.8 - Canada, 10.9 - 3.98, 20.1 - approved in help)
Task total: 45
Grand total: 580
20.1 Grazia DeleddaThe Stranger by Albert Camus
+20 task ( approved in message 166 here)
+10 combo (10.9 rating 3.94, 20.9 pub 1942)
+5 oldies (1942)
Task total: 35
RwS Total: 155
Dominoes Total: 100
Grand Total: 255
15.6 Book DominoesAmber Beach (Donovan #1) by Elizabeth Lowell
+15 Task (same word in title, Amber, as 15.5)
+10 bonus
Post total: 25 points
Total points: 845 points
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 551Valerie wrote: "15.8 Book DominoesThe Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants By Ann Brashares
Same citizenship (US) as 15.7 (see message 11 in Domino plan thread)
..."
Oh my.... good thing I saw this now! Also luckily, I was able to find another American Ann, who as far as I can tell qualifies.
10.9 Realistic Ratings (Cory Day's Task)-In Search of Lost Time: Swann's Way: A Graphic Novel by Stéphane Heuet
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 770
20.6-Svetlana Alexievich (2015)Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson, 990 Lexile
+20 Task
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 790
15.7 DominoesLullaby by Chuck Palahniuk
+15 task same birth decade as 15.6. Goodreads does not have a birth year for Weisberg but this NY Times interview From 2007 lists his age which puts him in the middle of the 60's.
+10 bonus
Task total: 25
Grand Total: 210
15.7 – DominoesSummer Lies by Bernhard Schlink
+15 task- published same decade
+10 bonus
Task total: 25
Grand Total: 670
10.4 Valentine's DayGirl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
+10 task (#69 on list)
+5 Combo (10.9 rating 3.82)
Task total: 15
Grand Total: 685
Task 15.3 Dominoes – The Third BookFrenchman's Creek (1941) by Daphne du Maurier
+15 Task (decade of the author's birth: 1900 – 1909 :matches 15.2 author Irène Némirovsky)
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 290 + 15 = 305
15.5 - Dominoes Word Puppets by Mary Robinette Kowal
(from Forever And A Day by Mary McBride – both first names Mary)
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 570
15.6 - Dominoes Cost of Repairs by A.M. Arthur
(from Word Puppets by Mary Robinette Kowal – both published in 2010s)
+25 Task
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 595
10.6 Australia DayRansom by David Malouf
Review: I wasn’t sure how this book would turn out to sit with me, especially after a couple of not so great reviews by other group members of some of the author’s other books. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I just sank into this and enjoyed every bit of it. Do I think it’s “great literature” and worthy of a ton of prizes? I don’t know, but I really don’t care. Malouf expands what he says in the afterward is about 6 lines of the Iliad and makes a short book out of it. It makes me want to reread the Iliad, especially since I’m not sure if I ever actually read it in high school like I think I did. I can’t speak to how accurate it is to anything, but for a charming little story I definitely enjoyed it.
+10 Task (2010 Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature - fiction)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.9 – 3.82)
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 620
20.8 Best of 2015God Help the Child by Toni Morrison
+20 task (NYT notable)
+5 Combo (10.9 rating 3.71)
Task total: 25
Grand Total: 710
Post 579 Coralie wrote: "10.4 Valentine's DayGirl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
+10 task (#69 on list)
+5 Combo (10.9 rating 3.82)
Task total: 15
Grand Total: 685"
I'm sorry, Coralie, this is shelved as YA Assignment at BPL and has a Lexile of 770. Task, but no styles.
10.1 - Your Own TaskI posted my task on the task thread today:
Read a book with Romance as one of the genres on the book page.
Lonely Hearts by Heidi Cullinan
I loved this. After finishing Fever Pitch I was desperate to hear more of Elijah, and I got it in spades in this third in the series.
Elijah has grown up with fundamentalist religious parents who ended up trying to kill him, as the spawn of Satan. Baz was disabled for life in an assault that killed his boyfriend, but he doesn't hesitate to take the bullet that's aimed at Elijah. They're both prickly and defensive, with serious issues, but that just makes their developing relationship even more fun to read about.
I still haven't read the first in the series and I don't know if I will. I think I've been spoiled for it by the second and third books.
+10 task
+10 review
+10 series (previously posted Fever Pitch for task 20.8 in post 205)
Task total: 30
Grand Total: 975
10.1 - Your Own TaskFalling by Linn B. Halton
Ceri sees angels, ghost-like presences accompanied by a feeling that she must do something urgently to prevent tragedy, e.g. grabbing a runaway dog that’s about to cause a traffic accident, or telling someone she should see a doctor. But her gift can’t prevent tragedy in the lives of her loved ones, and it seems to be pushing her further away from the man of her dreams.
Three criticisms. First, this was published by Harper Collins – yes, their romance imprint, but all the same, I expected it to be professionally edited. I didn’t expect the sort of errors that I’d forgive in a self-published book, like “he was twelve-years-old” or “she glared at Alex and I”.
Second, here’s something I hate. When thinking about a nice, attractive man she imagines is gay, the main character thinks "What a waste." (Twice.) To me, that's insulting to gay men (and at least one gay man has told me he feels the same). It implies their lives are less valuable--that they’re throwing themselves away by having relationships with men instead of women.
Third, and most important for this kind of book, I didn’t feel any chemistry between the main character and her love interest. I kept expecting him to introduce her to a smoking hot friend who would turn out to be the real love interest, but no.
+10 task
+10 review
+5 series
Task total: 25
Grand Total: 1000
10.1 - Your Own TaskForbidden by Linn B. Halton
In this second in the series, Ceri’s supernatural gift is deepening, but at the same time, she’s told she and her lover are not destined to be in a relationship. What will happen if she goes against instructions from higher powers and insists on staying with the man she loves?
The couple continue their on-again-off-again relationship, with still no sparks visible, for me. They both keep saying they love each other and want to be together, but I didn’t see any evidence of it in their reactions to each other. Where were the skipped heartbeats, weak knees and sweating palms?
I was intrigued by the paranormal element, which was done well in the first book (which I read in approx one hour – these books are not long or difficult!) but I thought went off the rails with too many explanations and variations in this second book (and even more in the third, but I won’t post that here because this is my last of the three slots for 10.1).
I’d have preferred Ceri had gone on seeing angels and preventing tragedies (or not), but instead she turns into somebody with different knowledge and skills. I see the second two books were published 13 and 14 years after the first, and I wonder if that’s the reason for the disconnect?
This series was hard to rate, because it’s not what I’d normally read. I didn’t want to compare it to books outside its genre. I gave it a 3 in the end, but it was close to a 4.
+10 task
+10 review
Task total: 20
Grand Total: 1020
20.2 Sigrid UnsetCaptive Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine by Alison Weir
I was originally introduced to Eleanor of Aquitaine through Eleanor: Crown Jewel of Aquitaine, France, 1136 by Kristiana Gregory, as part of the My Royal Diaries series ( which is a fantastic series of Junior fiction books introducing girls - it is very much a gender based series - to history ), a series that Weir contributes to herself.
That introduction did not, however, prepare me for this text, and it also did not make me realize how significant Eleanor came to be.
She was married, and had the marriage annulled after bearing only two daughters and no heir, to Louis VII of France. In this novel, the further impetus to have this annulment approved is her meeting Henry FitzEmpress (who is to become Henry II) and the lust that ignites between them. This is where the story begins.
Henry is not portrayed as an easy man to live with, especially for the intelligent and headstrong Eleanor who wishes to rule her own domains in her own right. However, lust manages to carry them through for quite a number of years, until Eleanor appears to support a revolt ( yes, no, kinda sort of ) by their eldest three sons (Henry the Young King, Richard - the Lionheart - and Geoffrey. Their fourth son, John, was the third of their sons to be crowned King of England), and after this Henry imprisons her for 16 years.
It's a lusty tale, full of sex and intrigues, but Eleanor shines throughout as a strong-minded and fair woman, and whilst I finished the book with a great admiration for her, I don't think I really enjoyed the story, just not my cup of tea or perhaps just too long in the telling. I learned a lot (although this is a fictionalization the events portrayed are factual and existing) about this time in Europe and its sovereignty, but somehow I still prefer the My Royal Diaries series over this.
+20 task
+10 review
+5 comb (10.9 - 3.62 rating)
Task Total = 35
Grand Total = 360
20.4-Elfriede Jelinek (2004)Indiana by George Sand (Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin) a French novelist who wrote this novel in French
Melodrama! There is no hero here, not even Ralph, and while Indiana is the main protagonist she is not what I’d call a heroine. All four of the main characters are treated sympathetically, even through their mis-steps.
The story is narrated by a self-aware outside party, which is made sense of at the end of the book. I found some of the additional judgements and comments made by the narrator to be unnecessary. But it does allow the story to be told from an appropriate outside perspective.
I’m not sure how this book argues against the marriage laws at the time, except perhaps to point them out. Indiana proclaims against them, but there is no indication that she would have tried other ways to get out of her marriage if she had resources, merely that she would have considered it what she’d promised to do instead of what the law demanded. It’s more a protest about how joining in a marriage was a required state for both Indiana and Ralph. Raymon creates his own problems with the help of his ego.
I liked it well enough, but couldn't always read much at once due to my eye-rolling. But that's my personal taste in stories. I think it was well written and worth considering.
+20 task
+10 review
+15 age (1832)
+15 combos (10.2 No L using the author's Goodreads room, 10.9 rating 3.51, 20.7 #220 on the feminist list)
Task total: 60
Grand total: 1045
Coralie wrote: "20.6 Svetlana AlexievichNotes on the Cuff and Other Stories by Mikhail Bulgakov
+20 task
+5 Combo (10.9 rating 3.63)
+5 oldies (first published 1978)
Task total: 30
..."
+10 Oldies (first published 1940-according to book record here on GR)
+5 Combo (20.9)
20.10 Leap Year Secrets Behind the Veil: Memoirs of an Expatriate Woman in Saudi Arabia by Ludmilla
I read this book to get a window onto the author's experiences in a place many US citizens don't go. And it did that, as a head nurse, as an expatriate in a bubble, and as a Western woman trying to accept and work within the cultural rules of Saudi Arabia. But I found it only okay as a book because of the writing and the organization. Ideas and experiences were loosely grouped but I couldn't always figure out what happened when or what was timeless or how experiences interacted with each other. The writing style was also acceptable but it didn't capture me in any way.
+20 task - all in the word expatriate
+10 review
+5 combo - 10.9 rating 3.11
Task total: 35
Grand total: 1080
20.5-Alice Munro (2013)The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
Won the 2011 Governer General's Award
This was an unexpectedly fun book and it’s all tied up in quirks of language and little bits of life and the perspective of the main character. There’s no place it’s obvious why it’s funny, at least to me, and Eli’s plain-spoken perspective feels natural to him. The main plot is a slow trip, with detours, (although it doesn’t feel slow) while Eli questions his profession as a killer, followed by what happens when they finally reach their goal that affects them both.
I liked how deWitt revealed the characters subtly, never actually explaining that they are really well-known contract killers for example, just mentioning the reactions people have to their names. I liked how Eli’s not perfect, even aside from his profession, but he’s relatable to and the first person is written in a way that lets you see him a bit more through his own perception of himself.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a good journey.
+20 task
+10 review
+10 combo (10.9 rating 3.83, 10.2 No L)
Task total: 40
Grand total: 1120
20.2 Sigrid Undset The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Wow! This book was SO much better than I expected! I guess I'm not quite sure WHAT I expected, except that I'm not generally interested in the medieval era (I may now have to rethink that general categorization!). The characters felt real to me - which is something I often struggle with in historical fiction (and which may leave the author open to charges of anachronism!). The plot felt like a high-end soap opera, which kept my commutes flying by. Granted, much of the time I was enraged at how the entire system of medieval justice seemed to be built around who knows who and how powerful you are. Eventually I came to care ridiculously much about whether or not this cathedral would get built! And the historical aspect was fascinating - I found myself eager to look up everything from whether all the different power players in the book were real to how flying buttresses work. Surprise 5 star for me!
+20 task (set 1123-1174)
+5 combo (10.4 - #266 on list)
+10 review
+5 oldies (pub 1989)
+20 jumbo (973 pages)
Task Total: 60
Grand Total: 445
Coralie wrote: "20.8 Best of 2015God Help the Child by Toni Morrison
+20 task (NYT notable)
+5 Combo (10.9 rating 3.71)
Task total: 25
Grand Total: 710"
+5 Combo 20.1-on spreadsheet
10.1 Design Your Own TaskThe Escape by David Baldacci
+10 Task (bought at the end of summer book sale; a.k.a. the last book sale at my library until 2017)
+5 Series
post total: 15
season total: 485
20.1 Grazia DeleddaA Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
+20 Task (author approved in Help Thread)
+10 Oldies (1843)
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 515
15.6 Book DominoesThe Ballad of the Sad Café and Other Stories by Carson McCullers
+15 Task (author died same decade as author of 15.5)
+10 Bonus
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 540
10.9 Realistic RatingsHeat and Dust by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
+10 Task (3.54)
+5 Oldies 1975
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 555
10.2 Noel, NoelThe Good Apprentice by Iris Murdoch
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.9-3.88 avg)
+5 Oldies (1985)
+5 Jumbo (522 pages)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 580
Task 10.9 Realistic Ratings 
Signal to Noise (2015) by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Goodreads Author) (Paperback, 272 pages)
Review: Signal to Noise is a debut fantasy novel first published in 2015. This is an adult novel with teenaged protagonists rather than a “young adult” novel. The story centers on three 15 year old students who are attending high school in Mexico City during the year 1988. Near the beginning of the novel, student Meche (short for Mercedes) realizes that pop music can be used to cast spells. The magic is hard to access and exhausting to use, so not much magic happens. The focus is on the difficulties our three teens encounter as they live through their teen years. Overall impression: an original and interesting novel. I was set to give it 4 stars but I thought that the ending was lame so I wound up giving it 3 stars.
The author has produced a musical playlist on youtube (accessible from America and possibly worldwide) of the music referenced in the novel.
I did not like the novel’s title or the cover. I don’t think either reflects the contents of the novel. Signal to Noise: I would think that was a science textbook or maybe a science fiction novel … not a fantasy novel starring teenagers. And the cover, with a cassette deck backed by neon colors: also does not indicate what kind of a novel this is. JMHO. Maybe if the book had a snazzier title and a better cover, it would be more popular than it is.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 10 + 10 = 20
Grand Total: 310 + 20 = 330
10.2 NoelHot Head by Damon Suede
Review: I was hesitant to read this, since it involved firefighters and I really really hate reading about fires. Luckily, there weren’t all that many “on the job” scenes, especially later in the book. This was also my first “gay for you” leaning romance, which is a trope I’ve never been all that interested in. Each man was in love with his best friend, Griff for ten years and Dante for some unspecified period of time. The convoluted plot involves Dante’s getting Griff to do porn with him to get money to save his house, and the characterization was a little all over the place. In the end, I’d read more of the series and more from this author, but I think I would’ve liked a peek into Dante’s point of view.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 640
15.7 - Dominoes Darkness Hunts by Keri Arthur
(from Cost of Repairs by A.M. Arthur – last name Arthur)
+25 Task
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 665
20.4 Elfriede Jelinek (2004) Forget Love by Babsy Tom
Review: This book was pretty unremarkable, except for the fact that it was translated. Now, translated books are rare enough in the US, but translated “women’s fiction”/romances are practically unheard of. It’s a mediocre example of a light, slightly humorous story of a woman figuring herself out much later in life than you might expect she’d have done it. Penny wakes up at the beginning of the book not remembering anything about her life, and must figure out a way forward. I found the amnesia stuff kind of unbelievable, but what do I know? The characterizations were kind of shallow as well – I feel like maybe it would be a fun series, since the side characters were cute – but in general it was nothing all that special to me.
+20 Task (Babsy Tom is a woman from Germany who wrote this in German)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.9 – 3.09 – oops, I reduced it from 3.11 with my review)
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 700
10.3 Science Fiction DayThe Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
+10 Task
+ 5 Combo: 10.9 Realistic Ratings (3.74)
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 805
20.7 Feminism The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
+20 task (no. 62 on Best Feminist Fiction list)
+25 combo (10.3 no. 61 on Science Fiction list, 10.4 no.335 on Love Stories list, 10.8 author born in Canada, 10.9 ave rating=3.93, 20.1 approved in message 169)
+5 jumbo (637 pages)
Task total: 50
RwS Total: 205
Dominoes Total: 100
Grand Total: 305
15.7 Book DominoesGirl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland
born 1946 (wikipedia)
+15 Task (born within a decade of author in 15.6 - Elizabeth Lowell aka Ann Maxwell -born 1944 (Wikipedia))
+10 bonus
Post total: 25 points
Total points: 870 points
15.8 Book DominoesCat on the Edge (Joe Grey #1) by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
published 1996
+15 Task (published within a decade of 15.7 - pub. 1999)
+10 bonus
Post total: 25 points
Total points: 895 points
I seem to have 5 extra points on my spreadsheet in comparison to the Readerboard and I can't seem to trace back where I've miscalculated?Thanks!
15.8 Book DominoesThe Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett
same citizenship as 15.7 (US) (see message 11 in Domino plan thread)
25 task
______
25
(corrected) Running total: 435
10.1 Design Your Own TaskRead a book set in New Zealand or by a New Zealand author
Potiki by Patricia Grace
Review: I will be visiting New Zealand soon and picked this book as one recommended by several sources as a good reading to understand the country. It is a story set in a Maori village that faces a developer that wants to develop the hills behind their village. This village has been working to be self sustaining and has maintained some of their culture. They have a common hall and a spiritual building.
It is a challenging book to read because many Maori words are used without definition and it was not always easy to pick up the meanings from context. I was having to look them up and I suspect that I missed some of the subtleties. I also think that the story reflects and incorporates some Maori mythology, about which I know nothing.
I did come to understand some about the Maori culture and traditional mindset.
+10 Task
+10 combo (10.2, 10.9, 3.63)
+10 review
Task total: 30
Grand Total: 240
Oops. Forgot the oldies points
+5 oldies (1986)
Grand total: 245
20.2-Sigrid Undset (1928)-Henry IV, Part 2 by William Shakespeare
If Part 1 felt like climbing a hill to a climactic battle, Part 2 felt more like sliding down the other side. There was a lot of worry and concern, interspersed with the lower behavior of Falstaff and his companions. I still don’t think he’s particularly funny, but some of the scenes were. And I’m sure some were quite bawdy and I just wasn’t getting the full innuendo.
I liked the scenes where the Prince was becoming King the most and how they echoed and fulfilled the promise he made to the audience and himself at the beginning of Part 1. There were some very good sections, even though the play overall was perhaps not as effective.
+20 task
+10 review
+ 5 combo 10.9 (3.79)
+ 25 oldies (1599)
Task total: 60
Grand total: 1180
15.3 DominoesNights at the Circus by Angela Carter
+15 (Carter died in 1992; author of 15.2 died in 1996)
Grand Total: 45
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
The Night Ranger (other topics)The Drop (other topics)
Shoot the Dog (other topics)
The Whites (other topics)
Between the World and Me (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Alex Berenson (other topics)Brad Smith (other topics)
Harry Brandt (other topics)
Ta-Nehisi Coates (other topics)
Alex Berenson (other topics)
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Deedee wrote: "Task 20.3-Toni Morrison (1993)-
Read a book from the Charleston Syllabus.
The House Behind the Cedars (1900) by Charles W. Chesnutt (Paperback, 256 pages)
+20 Task
+..."
+5 Combo 20.9