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20.8 Autumn (Karin's Task)The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
I am never disappointed by Thomas Hardy's novels. He so satisfyingly evokes a certain time and place. Here, romantic couples become mis-matched. Hardy, unusual for his age it seems to me, knows how to develop female characters who are real individuals with motivations that have nothing to do with the men in their lives necessarily. Hardy also portrays an array of male characters. At some point I need to read a biography of Hardy because I suspect that he writes about the wounds he suffered in his personal relationships.
I plan to re-read Tess of the D'Urbervilles soon...but I worry about completing all the novels. (I very rarely re-read books.)
5 stars
task=20
review=10
combo= 10 (10.5- this edition https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4... is by Penguin; 20.10)
Oldie=10 (1878)
task total= 50
grand total= 870
AbBY 15.7-Reverse Chronological Order1940-1944
(1945-1949 skipped)
Dusklands by J.M. Coetzee
task total= 30
grand total= 900
15.6 AbBYChronological / Date Range 1964-1968
Brick Lane by Monica Ali
+30 Task (author born 1967)
Points this post: 30
RwS total: 365
AbBY total: 135
Season Total: 500
15.7 AbBYChronological / Date Range 1969-1973
The Lives of Others by Neel Mukherjee
+30 Task (author born 1970)
Points this post: 30
RwS total: 365
AbBY total: 165
Season Total: 530
15.8 AbBYChronological / Date Range 1974-1978
Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman
+45 Task (author born 1976)
Points this post: 45
RwS total: 365
AbBY total: 210
Season Total: 575
15.9 AbBYChronological / Date Range 1979-1983
Melmoth by Sarah Perry
+45 Task (author born 1979)
Points this post: 45
RwS total: 365
AbBY total: 255
Season Total: 620
15.10 AbBYChronological / Date Range 1989-1993 (skipped 1984-1988)
Normal People by Sally Rooney
+60 Task (author born 1991)
+100 AbBY Finish Bonus
Points this post: 160
RwS total: 365
AbBY total: 415
Season Total: 780
Apologies for the rush of posts at the end - I was struggling to finish one book. Thank you for a Fabulous Fall - looking forward to a Wonderful Winter.
10.6 Noir
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.2)
+10 Oldies (published 1939)
Task total: 25
Season total: 590
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.2)
+10 Oldies (published 1939)
Task total: 25
Season total: 590
20.1 War's EndBirds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear
+20 Task
+15 Combo 10.2 Next? / 10.5 Pet Day (Penguin) / 20.5 Singled Out
+ 5 Prizeworthy (1)
Task Total: 40
Season Total: 1685
....and on to Winter!
20.4 Birdsong:Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
+20 task
+10 combos (9, 10, 11 - "dragonfly" has 9 letters, 10.2 Next? - second book in the Outlander series)
+10 review
+10 jumbo (MPE 743 pages)
+5 oldies (first published in 1992)
Task total: 55
Grand total: 55
After having watched the TV show based on the series, I decided to have a go at reading the books. I don't normally read romance novels, because they are often poorly written, but this series feels different. There is so much history in the books that it reads more like historical fiction in my opinion. Yes, there is romance, and the relationship between Claire and Jamie is in the very centre of the plot. But the writing style is enjoyable and good, and the author has the ability to bring the historical settings to life in a believable way. The second book was perhaps a little less enjoyable than the first, mostly due to the fact that the court intrigues in Paris were not as appealing as the lives of the Scottish highlanders in the first book, but I still wanted to finish and will very likely read the rest of the series too.
20.8 AutumnClarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady by Samuel Richardson
Review
Too long and far too redundant is this epistolary soap opera. To be sure, Richardson was making a point, as the subtitle, after a colon on the original title page, says "Comprehending the most important concerns of private life, and particularly showing the distresses that may attend the misconduct both of parents and children, in relation to marriage."
This could have been done, far more effectively, in about 1000 pages, not the 1500 + crammed pages of the unabridged edition I'm reading (Penguin)! This is more like watching a daytime soap opera, but with so little action much of the time, just letters, often very long letters, rife with necessary verbiage.
That said, if you like this sort of thing, by all means read it. It certainly deserves to be a classic still in print, and it certainly points out just what is suggested in the subtitle quoted above. I'm not even saying that this is all completely unbelievable. I do believe that there were and are parents and family in this world so ready to marry someone of to a person she reviles (and perhaps even he) for various and sundry reasons that have nothing to do with the happiness, joy or true benefit of that child/sibling/ward. I also fully believe that there are people out there as black-hearted, conniving and vile as is Lovelace. It's also good to see people advocating for either social reform or improvement in family relationships in fiction, even if we don't see much of this here. Is everything completely believable? Well, this is fiction, so not necessarily.
Had this been the length I mentioned, I'd have liked it somewhat better. I can't say that I'd have loved it, unless I read it when I was a teenager. I might have been enthralled by this entire book as long as it is if it had been in our house. I had a great deal of tolerance for this sort of thing back then, and far more patience to wade through a behemoth of a novel and simply enjoy every letter. After all, I was a big snail mail letter writer back then.
No spoilers on the ending, not even in a spoiler bit. If you really want to know what happens, read the book.
Jumbo +25
Oldie +20
Review +10
10.3 Real Place, Clarissa, MN, USA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clariss... , 10.5 Pet Day Penguin, 20.10 Clarissa, or the History of a Young Lady
Task total = 90
Season Total= 430 for 5 books
Post 864 Rachel wrote: "10.6 NoirThe Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.2)
+10 Oldies (published 1939)
Task total: 25
Season total: 590"
There is an edition published by Penguin - The Big Sleep - so 5 combo points for 10.5 Pet Day.
Post 866 Kätlin wrote: "20.4 Birdsong:Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
+20 task
+10 combos (9, 10, 11 - "dragonfly" has 9 letters, 10.2 Next? - second book in the Outlander series)
+10 rev..."
The MPE is published by Bantam, a type of rooster, so 5 combo points for 10.5 Pet Day.
15.8 AbBY Chronological
1974-1978
All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation by Rebecca Traister (1975)
+45 task
Season total: 430
Well done, everyone! On to Winter!
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
All the Single Ladies (other topics)Infidel (other topics)
Dragonfly in Amber (other topics)
The Big Sleep (other topics)
The Big Sleep (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Rebecca Traister (other topics)Ayaan Hirsi Ali (other topics)
Diana Gabaldon (other topics)
Raymond Chandler (other topics)
Samuel Richardson (other topics)
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I'd like to just use these five books to maximize my strategic reader average.
The Small House at Allington post #547
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All post #653
Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady post #796
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling post #712
The Diary of Samuel Pepys post #853
Thank you! I'm really glad for being able to use this challenge to read some of those jumbo books and mostly classics I've had on my shelf for years!
Looking forward to backpacking through Europe without needing lots of money! (smile)