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WI 15-16 RwS Completed Tasks - Winter 15/16
20.4 Elfriede JelinekThe Back Room by Carmen Martín Gaite
+20 Task (born in Spain, translated from the Spanish)
+10 Combo (10.2, 10.9)
+5 Oldies (1978)
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 995
10.2 Noel, NoelBad Intentions by Karin Fossum
+10 Task
+15 Combo (10.8, 20.4, 10.09)
+10 Series
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 1020
10.9 Realistic RatingsLet the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
+10 Task
Post Total: 10
Season Total: 1030
10.2 Noel, NoelThe Anatomist's Apprentice by Tessa Harris
+10 Task
+5 Series
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 1045
20.9 Winnie-the-PoohThe Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
+20 task (first published 1896)
+10 oldies (1896)
+10 combo (10.3, 10.9 - 3.71)
Task total: 40
RwS Total: 270
Dominoes Total: 100
Grand Total: 370
10.9 Realistic RatingsThe Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland
This is a biographical novel about the British Columbia artist Emily Carr. When I started this, I had never heard of Emily Carr. That is a loss now corrected. Vreeland takes some liberties about the life of Emily Carr: in the novel she has four older sisters, whereas in real life Emily was the second youngest of nine children; she says in the author afterward that some of the characters "are inventions. or derivations of actual people."
I don't think Vreeland exaggerated Carr's passion for her art, which was pretty much all-consuming. She was driven to document the part of the earth in which she found herself, which was largely that of the Native peoples of the area. Their way of life was threatened by white settlement - first from disease brought by them and then from white domination both religiously and governmentally.
For many years Carr was not appreciated by most in British Columbia. Her use of color was new and not "English" and the very subjects of her work was not respected.
There are many examples on the web of Carr's work and this one is included in her Wikipedia article. While this specific painting is not mentioned in the book, several chapters and references are made to Kitkwancool. It was obviously dear to Emily Carr - and to Susan Vreeland who spent so much time chronicling one five day visit there.
This may not be literature, but I am most grateful to the online friend who brought it to my attention. Ketchikan has two of the largest totem pole collections in the world (or so it says on the internet), a third is in Sitka. Fortunately, totems are still being carved and raised and respected.
+10 Task (3.66 rating)
+10 Review
Task Total = 20
Grand Total = 435
20.1 Grazia DeleddaWest with the Night by Beryl Markham
Review:
"West with the Night" is the memoir of a woman who loved adventure. Beryl Markham spent most of her childhood in British East Africa (Kenya) where her father owned a horse farm. She grew up playing with the native African children, spending her time playing games and learning to hunt with the young boys rather than making friends with the native girls. As an adult she became a horse trainer and a pilot. Beryl Markham is most famous for being the first woman to pilot a plane from east to west across the Atlantic in 1936. As both a horse trainer and a pilot, she was a woman doing work in a man's world.
Her love of Africa and her connection to nature are evident in the book. She shows the reader the sights, smells, and sounds of the continent. She admires the natives' skill in hunting, and enjoys the African culture and storytelling. Her dog and her horses are very important in her life. Although she seems to respect the jungle animals in her early life, she works as a pilot spotting elephants for the big game hunters later. As the book moved on, it shows more effects of colonialism and the buildup of defenses in northern Africa in the early 1930s.
The book is well-written, and the author knows how to build up suspense as she tells about the dangerous situations Markham finds herself in during her adventures. She has selectively written about certain areas of her life, but does not include memories of her mother, her governess, her three marriages, her son, or her numerous affairs. The reader will have to pick up another book to learn about the rest of her life.
Her third husband, Raoul Schumacher, was a professional ghost writer. There is a question of whether he actually wrote the book after he read her notes and listened to Markham's stories. At the very least, it is thought that he edited her writing. But even if we don't know the true author of the book, it is a wonderful story of a remarkable woman and of Africa in the 1920s and 1930s.
+20 task
+ 5 combo 20.9
+ 5 oldie (pub 1942)
+10 review
Task total: 40
Grand total: 525
15.3 Book DominoesHome by Nightfall by Charles Finch
+15 task (author is born in the U.S. like the author of 15.2)
Grand Total: 460
15.4 Book DominoesA Pleasure and a Calling by Phil Hogan
+15 task (published in same decade as 15.3 - this is in 2014, that was in 2015)
Grand Total: 475
15.6 DominoesThe Mystery Box by Eva Pohler
same birth country as 15.5
Task total = 25
Grand total = 235
10.2 - Noel, NoelA God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
I'm not a huge fan of Kate Atkinson except for Life After Life, which I loved. I found the first 100 pages or so of this one quite hard going, and if I was the kind of person to give up on more books, I would have done. But it did hook me in the end, especially in the second half, because we start seeing the same events from different points of view.
(view spoiler)
+10 task
+10 review
+ 5 combo (10.9 - rating 3.92 at time of posting)
Task total: 25
Grand Total: 1215
20.2-Sigrid Undset (1928)The Wreath by Sigrid Undset
+20 Task
+25 Combo: 10.2 Noel, Noel / 10.8 Winter Solstice / 20.1-Grazia Deledda (1926) / 20.4-Elfriede Jelinek (2004) / 20.9 Winnie-the-Pooh (1920)
+ 5 Series 1
+10 Oldies (1920)
Task Total: 60
Grand Total: 1080
10.2 Noel, NoelThe Water's Edge by Karin Fossum
+10 Task
+15 Combo: 10.8 Winter Solstice / 10.9 Realistic Ratings / 20.4 Elfriede Jelinek
+15 Series 3
Task Total: 40
Grand Total: 1120
15.1 – Dominoes (round 2)The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 1160
20.2 Sigrid Undset (1928)Beauty and the Beast by Hannah Howell
Review: This book left me feeling basically… blah. Maybe it was my mood. Maybe it was the setting. Maybe it was the publication date – a little earlier than I’ve been tending toward in romances. Whatever the reason, I didn’t enjoy it the way I should have. The good: mainly the main female character, who was pretty awesome. The not as good: “Beauty and the Beast” was really a misnomer, since the main physical flaw the guy has is that he’s large and red haired. Also, Howell’s writing wasn’t awful, but she’d get stuck on words. Most of them would just be used a few times close together (words like “hirsute”), although one continued to recur (“howbeit”). It was distracting and unnecessary, making an already plodding plot even more drawn out.
+20 Task (set in 1365)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.9 – 3.86)
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 1195
I’d like to change Edge of Dark by Brenda Cooper from post 396 from 10.9 to 10.1.New totals:
+10 Task (http://www.locusmag.com/Magazine/2015...)
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.2, 10.9 – 3.26)
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 1200
Thanks!
I’d also like to switch Three Moments of an Explosion: Stories by China Miéville from post 694 from 20.8 to 10.3.New Totals:
+10 Task
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.2 – 3.62, 20.8, 20.10)
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 1190
Thanks again!
20.9 Winnie-the-PoohMr Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood
Review:
Christopher Isherwood wrote the fictional "Mr Norris Changes Trains" based on his experiences in Berlin in the early 1930s. He left England to work in Berlin as an English tutor since Berlin was much more liberal toward homosexuals. The character William Bradshaw (named after Isherwood's middle names) acts as a narrator and an observer in the book.
Mr Norris, based on Isherwood's friend, Gerald Hamilton, is a charming, nervous, middle-aged man whose lifestyle is supported by conning people, selling secrets, and other criminal activities. He's a bit of a comical, prissy figure with a wig that has a tendency to sit off-center. He has regular appointments with Anni, a woman with tall boots and a whip.
William meets Mr Norris on the train to Berlin, and they become good friends. Mr Norris introduces William to a group of people who engage in drunken, sexual partying. He also involves William with the Communist party leaders in Berlin. This was a difficult economic time in Germany. The Nazis were gaining power with their efficient brutal organization. The political scene is viewed through the eyes of the young, politically naive William.
The book is engaging with its entertaining, well-drawn characters. It is also a historical look at a changing Germany as the Weimar republic was ending.
+20 task
+10 combo (10.2 Noel, Noel; 10.9 Realistic Rating of 3.78)
+10 oldie (pub 1935)
+10 review
Task total: 50
Grand total: 575
20.4 - Elfriede Jelinek:The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson (the author is a Finnish woman and the book is written in Swedish)
Review:
This was the first novel for adults by Jansson that I've read, so far I'd only read the Moomins books. The general style is the same: very understated, Nordic, leaving you wondering what's happening, rather than laying it all out for you.
The book is set in a snowy village somewhere in western Finland. It centers around a simple-minded brother who is only interested in boat building and a clever sister who's known for being good at maths and walking around with her huge dog. The rest of the villagers don't quite know what to think of them and mostly avoid them. The sister then decides that in order to secure a financially stable future for her brother, she must find a way to earn the trust of an eccentric artist, an old lady who lives in a fancy villa at the edge of the village. The story is about the complicated relationship that develops between two women. Should they trust each other? What do they want with each other? Who benefits from the other more and who is truthful and who is not?
I don't think I quite understood the character's motivation and acts at all times, which is why the book left me with a slightly confused feeling. But it was a good read nevertheless.
+20 task
+10 review
+5 oldies (published in 1982)
+15 combos (10.2 Noel, Noel; 10.9 Realistic Ratings - average of 3.85; 10.8 Winter Solstice - author born in Finland)
Task total: 50
Grand total: 305
15.10. DominoesElegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear (author born in UK as previous author, Ali Smith)
+30 pts - task
+100pts - completion bonus
+25 pts - all female authors
Task total - 155 pts
Grand Total - 710 pts
20.9 Winnie the PoohThe Sword in the Stone by T.H. White
(lexile 1120)
I have no idea how I managed to get to this age (past midpoint) without reading this book! It has everything I love – adventure, magic, talking animals, humor, a dragon (?),…. Of course, this is the classic telling of the tale of King Arthur before he became King Arthur. For some reason, I thought it would be dry and difficult and full of British history. However, it’s not. White ties in fantasy, evolution, religion, magic realism and a coming of age tale. There are parts, particularly when we first meet King Pellinore, that I am convinced the members of Monthy Python must have read in their youth and been greatly influenced by. Anyhow, it is quite a tale with some rip roaring moments that I thoroughly enjoyed.
20 task
10 review
10 oldie (1938)
5 noel, noel
5 20.2 set in 15C
5 real rating of 3.92
_____
55
Running total 725
20.2-Sigrid Undset (1928)Henry V by William Shakespeare
What struck me the most about this play was the side bits - the bits beyond the dramatic speech I remember hearing from the movie. Actually, about that - in the play he doesn't seem to be speaking to all his soldiers, just to his generals. Anyway, not that I liked the side bits particularly, although they were less ridiculous than the ones in Henry IV, but just that they were odd. Scheming clergy. Katherine learning English. The bravado arguments matching up with Henry's walks among the truth. Tennis balls! It just seemed odder to me than I'd remembered from seeing a performance - perhaps the performance was trimmed or perhaps it was my memory. The main pieces, of the conflict between England and France, were riveting and Shakespeare used the chorus to good effect.
+20 task
+10 review
+25 age (1599)
+5 combos (10.9 - 3.85)
Task total: 60
Grand total: 1460
10.9 Realistic Ratings (Cory Day's Task)-Brush Up Your Poetry! by Michael Macrone
I read this book in bits and pieces, which matched the way it was written. Macrone presents snippets of poetry spanning English and American literary history that also have embedded within them some familiar sayings from today. By including a handful of lines, the reader gets a flavor for the piece, and by including context, the reader learns a bit about the literature, the author, and the intent.
I was familiar with most of the poets and some of the sections and it was nice to revisit them. The context sections were plainly written and easy to understand. I liked it as a dip into the span of English poetry when I didn't feel like going further but I think it would also serve as an introduction.
+10 task
+10 review
Task total: 20
Grand total: 1480
20.2-Sigrid Undset (1928)His Fair Lady by Kathleen Kirkwood
Decent medieval romance novel. But one in which a familiar trope - the King demanding the collection and marriage of the heroine - is drawn out extensively while traveling and in the complete rejection of the heroine of the whole concept, partially because it's not a world she grew up in. It was weird, because I was conscious of the wrongness of it in a way I hadn't been the last time I read a similar novel (which wasn't recently), even though the tone was still the familiar one of a romance novel. I suspect if I'd read it years ago I would have been happy by how the tension was heightened and how the heroine grew and changed and how the romantic leads developed a relationship before making commitments.
+20 task
+10 review
+5 combo (10.9 - 3.96)
Task total: 30
Grand total: 1510
20.9 Winnie-the-PoohGoodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood
Review:
Christopher Isherwood lived in Berlin in the early 1930s, recorded his experiences in his diaries, and later created the fictional "Goodbye to Berlin". Although Isherwood was raised in an upper middle class home in England, he had a more frugal life in Berlin as an English tutor. To stretch his money, he lived in boarding houses where he met some memorable characters. This book is composed of six chapters (or interconnected short stories) that should be read in order.
In stories occurring over three years we are introduced to characters from all segments of society, and see the deep division between the wealthy and the poor. As the stories move on to 1933 there is an increase in unemployment, poverty, and homelessness, banks are closing, and there is an escalation in violence. People were looking for scapegoats, and someone to lead them out of desperate times. There were clashes between different political factions.
His characters are unforgettable, and often sleazy, unlikable people. Sally Bowles, a self-centered cabaret singer who was trying to sleep her way to success, was later made famous by Liza Minelli in the movie "Cabaret". Otto Nowak is an annoying adolescent, a "user" of both men and women. The wealthy Jewish Landauer family own a huge department store, and are a potential target for the Nazis. Motherly Fraulein Schroeder, his gossipy landlady, has little interest in politics and is just trying to survive in a changing world. Isherwood uses very different dialogue for each character so they seem like unique individuals.
Isherwood left Berlin in 1933 as the city became dangerous and violent. The Nazis were rising to power in Germany. It was the end of an era, and time to say "goodbye" to Berlin.
+20 task
+10 oldie (pub 1939)
+ 5 combo (10.9 realistic rating of 3.95)
+10 review
Task total: 45
Grand total: 620
20.9 Winnie the PoohThree Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie - pub. 1934
Sometimes there is nothing like a quick little taste of Agatha to get your reading mojo flowing again.
Not too much Poirot in this one, which reminded me of another one I'd read relatively recently. He pops in at the start, and then about 2/3 of the way through. Which isn't a bad thing, as sometimes he can be a bit much.
And I am sure that one of the victims ( when is there only one in these books? ) was familiar from another Christie, Dr Bartholomew Strange, but again, I couldn't remember which one.
The usual twists and turns and red herrings, so I had no idea how this one was going to turn out and was quite surprised by the ending, which is always nice.
+20 task
+5 series ( Hercule Poirot #11)
+10 oldies
+10 review
+10 combos (10.2, 10.9 - rating 3.79)
Task Total = 55
Grand Total = 600
20.8 Best of 2015The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud
+20 task (on NYT Notable list)
+5 combo (10.9 ave rating 3.58)
Task total: 25
RwS Total: 295
Dominoes Total: 100
Grand Total: 395
10.9 Realistic RatingsForest of the Pygmies by Isabel Allende
+10 task (rating 3.73)
+5 Series
Task total: 15
Grand Total: 1110
10.4 Valentine's DayMaurice by E.M. Forster #340 on list(wow...when I put this on my to read list for this challenge, the book was at #311 on the list!)
Maurice is a closeted gay man in London in the early 1920s (as almost all gay men were at the time). He meets a fellow student, Clive, at Cambridge and the pair fall in love. Eventually, Clive convinces himself that he needs to change. After taking a trip to Greece, he comes back and informs Maurice that he is off men and will marry a woman. Maurice goes into a depression and eventually seeks the help of doctors and a hypnotist...to no avail. Then, one day, while staying with his "friend" Clive and his wife, Maurice has a one-night stand with the gamekeeper, Alec. Afterwards, Maurice realizes that he has opened himself up to a serious blackmail risk...and when Alec continually tries to contact him, Maurice is convinced that is the case. To say much more would serve as a spoiler. Forster did not publish this novel during his lifetime because it surely would not have been appreciated at the time. Until recently, all gay characters in literature seem to be killed or die of suicide. I enjoyed the novel and will put the movie version on my to-watch list. Four stars.
Task +10
review +10
combo +10 (10.2, 20.1-post 195)
oldie +5 (1971)
total = 35
grand total= 695
20.9 Winnie-the-PoohMr Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood
+20 task
+10 combo (10.2 Noel, Noel; 10.9 Realistic Rating of 3.78)
+10 oldie (pub 1935)
Task Total: 40
Grand Total: 1160
20.8 Best of 2015The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud
+20 task (on NYT Notable list)
+ 5 combo (10.9 ave rating 3.58)
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 1185
20.9 Winnie-the PoohThe Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares
+20 task (published 1940)
+10 Oldies
Task total: 30
Grand Total: 1140
20.1 Grazia DeleddaThe Eye of the Sheep by Sofie Laguna
+20 task (http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2015...)
Task total: 20
Grand Total: 1160
From Post 779Rosemary wrote: "10.2 - Noel, Noel
A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
I'm not a huge fan of Kate Atkinson except for Life After Life, which I loved. I found the first 10..."
+5 Combo 20.8-NPR List
From Post 780Karen Michele wrote: "20.2-Sigrid Undset (1928)
The Wreath by Sigrid Undset
+20 Task
+25 Combo: 10.2 Noel, Noel / 10.8 Winter Solstice / 20.1-Grazia Deledda (1926) / 20.4-Elfriede Jelinek (20..."
Undset was born in Denmark, which is not on our list of approved countries for 10.8.
Valerie wrote: "15.10 Book DominoesLittle Black Dress by Susan McBride
same word as in previous title (black) (see message 11 in Domino plan thread)
30 task
100 completion woohoo!..."
Congrats, Valerie!
Coralie wrote: "RwS Finish 100"Well done, Coralie!
Cory Day wrote: "I’d also like to switch Three Moments of an Explosion: Stories by China Miéville from post 694 from 20.8 to 10.3.New Totals:
+10 Task
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.2 ..."
Got both of these. Thank you for including original post numbers!
Rebekah wrote: "+100pts - completion bonus+25 pts - all female authors"
Nicely done, Rebekah!
Task 10.9 Realistic RatingsSurrender, Dorothy (1999) by Meg Wolitzer (Hardcover, 224 pages)
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 345 + 10 = 355
10.9 Realistic RatingsThe Star Side of Bird Hill by Naomi Jackson
+10 Task
Post Total: 10
Season Total: 1060
20.10 Leap YearOut of the Shoebox: An Autobiographic Mystery by Yaron Reshef
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.9)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 1105
15.9 Dominoesthem by Joyce Carol Oates
+15 Task (published same decade as 15.8)
+15 Bonus
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 1135
10.10 Group ReadsMy Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
Review: I don’t exactly know what I expected from this book, but I didn’t really expect it to be as engaging as it was. Maybe it’s because I’ve heard so much about it from more “literary” circles, or because it’s a sprawling saga, but I thought I’d be kind of bored by it. Instead, I found myself continuing with it even after downloading a romance I really wanted to read. My Brilliant Friend is good, although I did find the writing (or translation?) kind of clunky. It still tells a story that was just different enough to be interesting, opening the world of post-WWII Naples in a way that made me feel like I was learning something. I almost wanted to continue straight to the next book since this one doesn’t exactly have a satisfying ending, but I have too many other books out of the library for that!!
+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Series
+10 Combo (10.9 – 3.96, 20.4 – Italian woman – it’s a pen name but everything I’ve read says she’s female – and originally written in Italian)
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 1225
20.8 Best of 2015Fever Pitch by Heidi Cullinan
Review: Fever Pitch is the sequel to Cullinan’s Love Lessons, which I read last year. I think I liked this one even better than that one (and it looks like I gave it an extra star, so there we go). Aaron is a very confused new high school graduate when we meet him, and Giles is an out gay guy anxious to leave for college in order to escape his closed minded small Minnesota town. When they run into each other at a party held by one of their classmates, they share an evening that neither can forget. They soon end up in college, and despite some silly misunderstandings caused by not talking to each other they have a sweet romance together. I liked that the main conflict in the book ended up being external to the romance. It also looks like it leads nicely into the third in the series, which I’ll have to restrain myself from finding right away. I wish my libraries (and I have three library cards!) carried more of Cullinan’s books.
+20 Task (NPR Book Concierge)
+10 Review
+5 Series
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 1260
20.10 Leap Year (EXTRA)The Troublemaker Next Door by Marie Harte
Review: The Troublemaker Next Door is a good example of the kind of straight contemporary romance that is just fine, but never really connects with me. I’ve never been sure why, since new adult and most male-male romances are set in the present day (and I love both of those genres), those featuring straight couples outside of college are much more hit-or-miss. Anyway, this was fine, and a quick read to finish up my RwS challenge early, but I never really connected with it. There’s a LOT of sex in this book, and while it never really got all that kinky, they do use a lot of dirty talk, which is really not my thing at all. The side characters in many ways stole the show, so I’m hopeful that the later books might be more satisfying. I’m not in any hurry to pick those up though.
+20 Task
+5 Series
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.9 – 3.81)
Task Total: 40
RwS Completion Bonus: 100
Mega Finish: 200
Grand Total: 1600
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Reading with Style
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Stardust by Neil Gaiman
YA 970
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.3)
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 960