Reading with Style discussion
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FA 18 Completed Tasks
20.7 - A Month In the CountrySweets Galore by Connie Shelton
+20 task
+5 Combo (10.2)
Task total: 25
Grand total: 110
10.2 Next?The Skull Throne by Peter V. Brett
+10 Task
+5 Jumbo (681 pages)
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 80
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 39 Heather wrote: "20.7 - novellaPlease Do Not Taunt the Octopus by Mira Grant
+20 task
+15 combo (10.5 - Newsflesh series, 10.5 - octopus, 20.5 - Dr. Abbey..."
Misread the task. Sorry!
10.5Iron Gold by Pierce Brown
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/bo...
+10 task
+5 combo (10.2 - #4 in Red Rising series)
+5 jumbo (624 pgs)
Task total: 20
Grand total: 105
15.1 AbBY ChronologicalDate Range 1921-1925
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
+15 Task (author born 1924)
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 15
15.2 AbBY chronologicalDate Range 1941-1945
Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen born in 1941
Task Total: 20
Season Total: 35
10.1 Favorite ListsMidnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson
A vivid, raw coming-of-age story set on a planet settled by the Afro-Carribean diaspora, as well as on its corresponding planet in an alternate dimension used as an exile for the planet's worst criminals.
This book has so many faces: engaging worldbuilding that centers cultures often overlooked in the futures created by a lot of SFF, interesting technology (Eshu the AI! Granny Nanny! and let's just talk about Tan-Tan's awesome Jonkanoo hat, because I would've happily read a whole chapter all about the vine that grew it, thanks!), mythic storytelling both in the narrative and shaping the narrative, and cross-cultural dynamics between the exiled humans and one of the native species. I think that last aspect, Tan-Tan and the douen, was my favorite part of the book. There's astute societal and political observations--how the douen deal with and resist the colonization and changes brought by the human prisoners. But, really, I keep coming back to this as a coming-of-age story. There is some brutality here that merits advisory: (view spoiler). But I found Tan-Tan and her moments of redemption and self-liberation pretty wonderful and worth the read.
+10 Task -- #3713 on Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Books, claimed in post 170 by Valerie
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Season Total: 100
10.7 Crazy Rich Asians...or NotThe Tea Planter's Wife by Dinah Jefferies
Gwen is the new bride of Laurence Hooper, the widowed owner of several tea plantations in Ceylon. He's very secretive about the death of his first wife, and Gwen is not allowed to talk with the workers in the tea fields. Gwen is also confused about Laurence's relationship with a beautiful American businesswoman. His devious, emotionally needy sister is not trustworthy. Eventually it is Gwen herself who is keeping information from Laurence that could possibly destroy their marriage.
The novel has lovely descriptions of Ceylon, and the processing of tea. The women's fashions help give an authentic feel to the 1925-1934 time period of the book. The story explores serious themes of racism, British colonialism, and working conditions woven into the main story line. While it's a light read on the surface, "The Tea Planter's Wife" also contains plenty of issues from colonial history.
+10 task (author born in Malaysia)
+10 combo 10.5 (Crown/Penguin Random House); 20.1 (set 1925-34)
+10 review
+ 5 prizeworthy (Women and Home Reader's Choice)
Task total: 35
Season total: 65
20.3 Birds without WingsFrom Russia With Love by Ian Fleming
A few seasons back, I read the first James Bond novel by Ian Fleming, Casino Royale....and was surprised at how good it was (five stars). Spy novels don't usually do it for me. From Russia with Love is also excellent...although I gave it only four stars...perhaps because the surprise element was no longer present. Nevertheless, the book is so different than the Bond films which I enjoy but usually get confused by the complexities of the plot.
Fleming does not permit any confusion in his writing. Rest assured, there may be a twist or two... but Fleming methodically explains exactly how James Bond gets into the pickles he finds himself...and does so in an engaging manner.
I haven't planned on reading many books that are part of a series...but all the Bond books will be going on the TBR.
task = 20
review=10
combo= 25 (10.2;10.3; 10.5-MPE above published by Penguin; 20.8-pub.-1957; 20.10)
oldie=5 (1957)
task total=60
Grand total= 135
20.9 Arkansas (Kate's Task)Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith
Review:
A fairly interesting book that promises more than what it delivers. The book's format was the most interesting part of the story. A woman's life depicted in the form of letters to her family and friends right from her childhood until her old age is a unique format for sure.
I however couldn't really connect with any of the characters very well. The protagonist has a lovely nature but some of the choices in her life are questionable especially when they bring sorrow to people around her. The accents are well brought out in the writing style but the plot really tapers off once time passes. I wasn't really hooked on to the story or the writing towards the end of the book. Regardless, a fairly easy read. Three stars.
Task: 20
Review: 10
Combo: 5 (20.1 more than 50% of the book in set between 1913-1938)
Task Total = 35
Season Total = 35
From Post 34Ed wrote: "20.7 A Month in the Country
The Sinners by Yusuf Idris
I only gave this novella 2 stars because I found myself drifting constantly while reading it. I couldn't find ..."
+5 Oldies
From Post 48Anika wrote: "10.10 Group Reads
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
I've been in the mood for a scary(-ish) story ever since the mornings here started to get that early autumn crispne..."
+5 Oldies
10.6 NoirCold Days by Jim Butcher
Fair warning - my review is absolutely hostile. If you adore Dresden, that’s cool - everyone has problematic faves.
A long time ago I read the first two or three Dresden books, because my husband loved them. To say I did not is an understatement. I honestly don’t know why I read more than one - to see if Butcher found his footing I guess.
For some insane reason, I told hubs that Butcher fulfilled one of my RwS tasks and he was thrilled. He gigggled. We both wondered how long it would take for “Hell’s bells” to break me. We thought it would be fun.
Thus, I was prepared for the one-dimensional characters and terrible writing. I had braced myself for clunky exposition and even had a laugh when Butcher assumed his readers were idiots and thus felt the need to explain what a marina was.
I was not ready for all rape culture, all the time! On page 20, and many times after, Harry lets a woman know that he could rape her, but he’s not going to because he’s a nice guy.
I wanted to LIGHT THIS BOOK ON FIRE. But I kept going. And I took notes.
This book is a masterclass on the Male Gaze. Only *one* female character is not introduced in a sexual way, but that’s because her objectification is saved for the very end. And perhaps the worst part? Butcher totally knows this, because he calls it out a few times. But he only calls it out so he can highlight that Harry really is a good guy. Classic. I could go on and on, but you get the point.
Husband did try to argue that all of the BS was the influence of the Winter mantle, which is a valid point. However, Butcher could have written it that way, and indeed he does later. But perhaps Butcher had an uncharacteristic (and ill-timed) moment of subtlety... so I grabbed a bunch of earlier books. Suspicious confirmed. Every female character is described by where the fall on the hotness scale. It wasn’t the mantle.
+10 task
+10 combo (10.2, 10.5 Penguin MPE above)
+5 jumbo (515 pages)
+5 award
+10 review
Task total = 40
Season total = 265
15.2 AbBYHousekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
Date Range 1939-1943
+20 Task (author born 1943)
Season total: 35
15.3 - AbBYDate Range 1936 - 1940
Short Straw by Stuart Woods
+20 (author born 1938)
Task total: 20
Grand total: 130
20.6- The Stone CarversThe Sisters Brothersby Patrick deWitt
Longlisted in 2011
Task 20
Combo: 5 (10.4- on 21Century Literature bookshelf)
Prize winner: 15 - won more than 3 prizes - Governor general Literary award, Oregon Book award, Stephen Leacock memorial award, The Canadian Authors Association Award, The Rooster- The Morning News Tournament of Books
Post total: 40
Season total: 40
15.1 AbBYDate Range 1975-79
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
(Lexile 840)
+15 Task (born 1977 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gr... )
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 105
20.7 A Month in the CountryNotes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The narrator of this short novel is a man of forty, paranoid, quick to take offence, and unbearably intense. Most of the book details some events that happened in his twenties, which seem to have been the catalysts that turned him from a functioning member of society into a recluse – events that would not have been of great moment in most people’s lives. He loathes everyone, including himself. Today he might be diagnosed with a mental illness, but in the 19th century he was left to stew in his tortured mind. He’s inwardly tormented and alienated from society like Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment, but without such a good cause. A deeply unsympathetic character!
+20 task (136 pages)
+20 Combo (10.5 Bantam Notes from Underground, 10.9 underground, 20.4 approved, 20.8 Russia)
+10 Review
+15 Oldies (1864)
Task Total: 65
Season Total: 170
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I'm sorry, Tien. This doesn't work for Stone Carvers, which is restricted to those published in 2001 and later. Also, Turtleback was disallowed for pet day. Let us know which task you'd prefer this scored for."Oops, sorry, obviously didn't read the task properly!
I'll move it to 10.3, thanks!
20.7 A Month in the CountryThe Moorland Cottage by Elizabeth Gaskell
143 pages
Review
The beginning of this novella did not grab me at all but the ending turned out fine. At first, I was rather discouraged by Maggie’s character which, I thought, was rather bland when compared to Margaret Hale from North & South. When conflict arrived, I was afraid of the choice she’d make but I needn’t have worried at all. In fact, it was probably the only time for me that her character shone through. Despite being looked as an angel and everything good by all around her (this also did not impress me), this decision of hers clinched my goodwill for this novella. The dramatic & romantic ending, I feel, a little out of character of the feel of the rest of the novella but if you’re complaining that nothing seems to happen, take heart & keep on reading ;)
+10 Task
+5 Combo (20.8 - pub. 1850 & author born in England)
+10 Review
+15 Oldies (pub. 1850)
Post Total: 40
Season Total: 115
10.9 9, 10, 11The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
Lexile 930
+10 Task
+15 Prizeworthy
+ 5 Oldies (published 1979)
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 110
10.4 BookshelvesThe Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
on first page of the Next Best Book Club list
I had previously read Hinton's Rumble Fish (which I just realized I haven't recorded on GR) and remember thinking it was ok...probably three stars. I expected The Outsiders to be better because I have noticed it on so many lists of books one ought to read. I suppose its worth noting that Hinton was only 16 when she wrote the book...and also that it probably had more resonance at the time it was written...but it does not seem to have aged all that well.
The book seems to have been the inspiration for the musical "Grease".... but with no humorous side depicted. Set in Oklahoma in the 1950s or 60s (I never thought of John Travolta and Olivia Newton John sparring in Oklahoma!), the novella focuses on two boys who are "Greasers" and how they are challenged by their rivals...the "Soc's". The name of the main character is "Pony Boy"...and his brother is "Soda Pop". Those are not nicknames... but their legally given names...that's a bit bizarre.
I'm being generous in giving the work three stars. I would give it 2 1/2 if permitted....and perhaps less if the author was an established author.
task = 10
review=10
combo= 15 (10.5-MPE published by Puffin; 10.9-Outsiders; 20.7-192p.
prizeworthy= 5 (Books I Loved Best Yearly (BILBY) Award)
oldie=5 (1967)
task total=45
Grand total= 185
20.9 Arkansas (Kate's Task)The Marrow of Tradition by Charles W. Chesnutt
"...the old wound still bleeding, the fruit of one tragedy, the seed of another."
So this was a novel! Given the subject matter, it could be dismissed as simply political or social problem fiction, but I found it very good as a novel, with complicated characters, skillful build-ups of plot developments, some pretty immense moments of irony, and a lot of clever prose. Chesnutt portrays a wide variety of human behavior, thought processes, and philosophies among his characters, both black and white. He's attuned to not just racism but also to colorism, to classism, to generational differences. His characters all have complicated relationships to the system of race relations that's slowly suffocating them all.
Chesnutt provides no straightforward answers, but he has a lot of observations and a lot of insights into the ways people deceive themselves and each other, how they rationalize to themselves their own lack of moral fortitude: "Selfishness is the most constant of human motives. Patriotism, humanity, or the love of God may lead to sporadic outbursts which sweep away the heaped-up wrongs of centuries; but they languish at times, while the love of self works on ceaselessly, unwearyingly, burrowing always at the very roots of life, and heaping up fresh wrongs for other centuries to sweep away." At the novel's conclusion, we have an example of characters overcoming their different degrees of selfishness, but it's at a high cost, and we don't linger long enough to see what happens afterward.
It's not an easy read--this is full-frontal racism, its climax is a fictionalized version of the 1898 Wilmington massacre, and the dialect was sometimes challenging to wade through--but I found it often riveting as a novel and also really engaging as a historical artifact.
(I feel a little uncouth for pointing it out, because the book is obviously about something serious and awful and tragic, but the subtle humor in Chesnutt's prose is still noteworthy. On a white child's christening: "They named the Carteret baby Theodore Felix. Theodore was a family name, and had been borne by the eldest son for several generations, the major himself having been a second son. Having thus given the child two beautiful names, replete with religious and sentimental significance, they called him--"Dodie."" On a performer on public transportation: "A musically inclined individual--his talents did not go far beyond inclination--produced a mouth-organ and struck up a tune...")
+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.5 MPE is Penguin Classics, 10.9 TRADITION)
+10 Review
+10 Oldies
Task Total: 50
Season Total: 150
15.2 AbBy in orderrange 1906 to 1910
Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein born 1907
Task total: 20
Grand total: 35
20.7 A month in the countryIsland of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell Lexile 1000
A children's classic that tells the story of a young native girl left alone on her island in the 1800s. The story is based on the true account of the Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island, one of the Channel Islands in the Pacific Ocean, 75 miles west of Los Angeles. The U.S. National Park Service has a web page with history and education about "the Island of Blue Dolphins." The author must have done a bit of research, at least, to have been able to describe the island's geography, survival techniques, and historical events. I especially enjoyed her development of friendships with the animals: wild dogs, birds, otters; a clear message about living in harmony with nature. Somehow she survived alone, from age 12 to young adulthood, the last of her tribe, I think. This book brought out my inner island child.
+20 Task (194 pages)
+15 Combo 20.5, 20.10, 10.5 Penguin UK https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
+5 oldie (1960)
+15 Prizeworthy (Newbery medal and 3 more awards)
+10 Review
Task Total: 65
Season Total: 185
15.1 Authors by Birth YearReverse chronological order
La Mémoire de Babel by Christelle Dabos
1980 - 1985 (1980)
+15 task
Task total = 15
Points total = 55
10.6 NoirCity of Bones by Michael Connelly
LA detective Harry Bosch is called to a cold case--human bones dug up by a dog that appear to be 20 to 25 years old. But the bones are a child's, and there are signs of long term abuse, so there's huge pressure from the media to find a solution. At the same time, Bosch is getting involved with a female rookie cop who's on a mission of her own, and dealing with leaks of sensitive information from somewhere in the team.
I have a friend who is a big fan of Michael Connelly and his Harry Bosch books, so I thought I'd try one. Sometimes she likes crime stories that are too gruesome for me, but this one was fine. I'd definitely read more in the series.
+10 Task
+ 5 Combo (10.2)
+10 Review
+10 Prizes (2 wins)
Task Total: 35
Season Total: 205
15.2 AbBYDate Range 1970-74
The Martian by Andy Weir
Low lexile, but I think it's been grandfathered in as a non-YA book in the database, because I can see people have claimed it for subchallenges in the past.
+20 Task (born 1972 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Weir )
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 225
10.2 NextCut by Annelie Wendeberg
Micka is fifteen--she has just finished her schooling and doesn't have a lot of prospects, being the "village idiot" as she refers to herself. The world she lives in is bleak to say the least (the original title of this book was 1/2986--which refers to the number of people who didn't die in the Great Pandemic). On the day she has decided to kill herself, she is invited by a Sequencer (which is a big deal in their society, even though it takes a while to figure out quite what they are) to apprentice with him. She jumps on the chance.
In the first week, she starts to find out some pretty bleak things about their world, the ways in which their history books lied: we ruined the climate, which raised the level of the oceans, which contaminated the water tables and people started becoming sick (the Great Pandemic)...but it wasn't the Pandemic that killed most of the billions who died, it was humans murdering humans and now humans have between ten and fifteen years left before they become extinct.
A lot of the other reviews I read compare this to a more adult version of The Hunger Games, but I feel the only likeness is the fact that they have tough female protagonists.
I've never read anything by this author before and can't wait to get my hands on the next one in the series...I am entranced with this world and the characters she has created. Added bonus: she is a scientist as well as being an author so her science isn't hokey in the books, it's quite sound--and terrifying.
+10 (book 1 of 3-book series)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.8)
Task total: 25
Season total: 200
20.2 To Conquer HellDead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson
I LOVE Erik Larson's brand of non-fiction! I love the depth and breadth of his research. I love that it's not so tightly focused on the title subject, yet everything ties back to it--German code books and the British code breakers who deciphered it; President Wilson's love life; and, the history of the submarine, just to name a few. I quite enjoyed that he bounced back and forth between the Lusitania and U-20, the submarine that launched the torpedo that sank it--it not only humanizes the "bad guy," but you come to understand that if put in the same position, the "good guys" would have done the same thing. I love that he explores the lives of some of the more notable passengers on the ship--some of whom had already survived the sinking of the Titanic, one of whom was to finally meet his end on the Hindenburg. I especially love that he goes into details about less-notable passengers as well: the stowaways, the mother traveling alone with an infant and a toddler, the maid of a famous architect.
I did not know much about the Lusitania--I knew it was a luxury liner that went down (so, a lesser-known Titanic, as far as I was concerned)...I didn't realize that it had been torpedoed or that it was the spark that eventually got the U.S. into WWI. I also didn't think it was possible for a ship of that size to sink in EIGHTEEN MINUTES, but it did. Eighteen minutes to go from enjoying the sight of Ireland in the distance while eating a lush meal and chatting about shuffleboard, to running around trying to find your family and life jackets for them all and praying there's room for you in a lifeboat (of which, only six made it into the water). It's cinematic, it's intense, and it's all true. 5 stars.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.5--https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... 10.9--nine letters in "Lusitania")
+10 Prizeworthy
Task total: 50
Season total: 250
Post 81 Anika wrote: "20.8 AutumnCut by Annelie Wendeberg
Micka is fifteen--she has just finished her schooling and doesn't have a lot of prospects, being the "village idiot" as she r..."
This doesn't work for 20.8 because it needs to have been published in 1678-1958. Let us know which of your combos you'd like it scored for.
10.2 NextIron Kissed by Patricia Briggs
number 3 in the Mercy Thompson series.
Task +10
Grand Total: 10
20.8 autumnThe Man of Property by John Galsworthy
+20 Task
+10 combo 10.2, 10.5 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
+10 Oldies (published 1906)
Task Total: 40
Season Total: 155
10.6 NoirThe Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett
I read Hammett's Maltese Falcon a while back and was disappointed...but still gave it three stars.
The Thin Man is better but still in three star territory for me.
Here things are less frantic...the main character, Nick Charles, is now a retired detective in New York City with his wife on a Christmas holiday. The family of a former client run in to Nick and involve him in a search for the missing father...who is suspected of fleeing from a murder. Charles, reluctantly and incompletely assists the police in unwrapping the mystery. I don't recall seeing the film version of this novel...but it could be screwball film noir comedy drama...a new genre perhaps. The family is a nest of problems, liars and despicable people. I also remember that I had a problem with the unrealistic dialogue in Maltese Falcon. In this novel, that is much less of an issue. Sexism is still an issue...but that is almost to be expected in a work published in 1934 unfortunately.
task = 10
review=10
combo= 10 (10.5- Penguin- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... ; 20.2)
oldie=10 (1934)
task total=40
Grand total= 225
Post 52 Norma wrote: "20.7 - A Month In the CountrySweets Galore by Connie Shelton
+20 task
+5 Combo (10.2)
Task total: 25
Grand total: 110"
I'm sorry, Norma. The MPE is this print edition. I don't know why there would be such a difference in page count. We'll score it for 10.2.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Post 73 Coralie wrote: "10.9 9, 10, 11The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
Lexile 930
+10 Task
+15 Prizeworthy
+ 5 Oldies (published 1979)
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 110"
Combo with 10.5 - The Neverending Story
Post 74 Ed wrote: "10.4 BookshelvesThe Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
on first page of the Next Best Book Club list
I had previously read Hinton's Rumble Fish (which I just realized I haven'..."
I'm sorry, Ed. This book is YA at BPL and has a lexile of 750. Task, but no styles.
Post 84 Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "10.2 NextIron Kissed by Patricia Briggs
number 3 in the Mercy Thompson series.
Task +10
Grand Total: 10"
This also qualifies for 10.5 - see Iron Kissed.
Post 86 Ed wrote: "10.6 NoirThe Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett
I read Hammett's Maltese Falcon a while back and was disappointed...but still gave it three stars.
The Thin Man is better but..."
I'm sorry, Ed. This is another that has been shelved at BPL as YA Assignment and has no Lexile. Task but no styles.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 86 Ed wrote: "10.6 NoirThe Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett
I read Hammett's Maltese Falcon a while back and was disappointed...but still gave it three stars.
The Thi..."
Jeeeez...I gotta start checking that.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 81 Anika wrote: "20.8 AutumnCut by Annelie Wendeberg
Micka is fifteen--she has just finished her schooling and doesn't have a lot of prospects, being the "v..."
I entirely missed reading that part of the task :-/ OOPS!
I'll use it for 10.2, please...I'll edit it in the original post? (So, instead of 40 points for that book, it's 25.)
15.2 AbBY Chronological 1940-1944Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward (b. 1943)
+20 Task
Task total: 20
Season total: 270
20.2 To Conquer HellSons and Soldiers: The Untold Story of the Jews Who Escaped the Nazis and Returned with the U.S. Army to Fight Hitler by Bruce Henderson
This is a well written and engaging account of the “Ritchie boys’, who were German Jews whom had escaped to the US and then were chosen to be part of an elite intelligence unit in WWII.
Henderson focuses on six of these men and follows them from their escape from Germany with the Nazis on the rise to the end of the war. These escapes usually involved their parents having to make the terrible decision to send away the oldest son to the US. After some years of school and/or work, they either volunteered to fight or were conscripted into the US Army. Henderson provides a synopsis of the training they received at Camp Ritchie, which was very interesting and a clever initiative on the part of the military. We follow the men to the front and see the war through their eyes. There is just enough detail to bring their experiences to life but doesn’t include minutia that wouldn’t interest a general reader. Because Henderson was able to interview these men extensively, or had access to archived interviews, you feel quite personally connected to their stories.
Generally speaking I wouldn’t seek out books on war history, however I am very glad that RwS expanded my horizon. I definitely think this book is a worthwhile read. 4*
20 task
10 review
_____
30
Running total: 95
20.1 War’s EndMaisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
The excellent audiobook bumped this up to 3 stars. Had it not been for the lively and theatrical narration, I would have tossed this in my Unfinished pile.
Maisie is perfect. Gorgeous, brilliant, hardworking, and a touch psychic, Maisie is the ultimate Mary Sue. Everyone she meets adores her and her violet eyes.
(While they are most often just called “unusually deep blue”, the final time they are mentioned they are violet. I laughed out loud.)
Being gorgeous, brilliant, hardworking, and a touch psychic, Maisie has no trouble at all sorting out the investigation the book kicks off with. Oh! I forgot to mention compassionate. Before Maisie even takes her first case, she first makes sure Suspicious Husband really cares about his wife and marriage and understands that Maisie has the wellbeing of both of them in mind. That situation was straightforward, but Maisie’s spidey senses tingle and soon she’s on the trail of something darker.
And just when I was wrapped up in the cozy mystery - the book turns into the coming of age of our scrappy heroine. About 40% of the book is more of a historical romance. Well. There is a suggestion there will be romance but we barely get there before BOOM - back to 1929 and that suspicious farm....
By the time Maisie saved the day (RIDICULOUSLY), I was annoyed. Pick one story and just tell it completely, or find a way to weave the threads together. This was two distinct tales just smashed together. Each tale was interrupted just as it was building a mood.
That said, there is a place for flawless heroines solving cozy mysteries. There is nothing unwholesome at all in this book - it’s like a cup of milky tea on a chilly day. I’m not sure I would read other books in the series but for fans of the genre this might be a worthwhile pick.
+20 task
+20 combo 20.5, 10.5 (Penguin MPE linked above), 10.2, ETA 20.4
+15 awards won
+10 review
Task total = 65
Season total = 330
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 73 Coralie wrote: "10.9 9, 10, 11The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
Lexile 930
+10 Task
+15 Prizeworthy
+ 5 Oldies (published 1979)
Task Total: 30
Season To..."
I feel really stupid for missing this as I read the Puffin edition. That's what happens when you shift a book from the mini-challenge after you have checked for combos.
15.1 AbBY ChronologicalDate Range: 1926-1930
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin 970 Lexile
+15 Task (author born 1924)
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 30
10.5 Pet DayThe Passion by Jeanette Winterson
I am working my way through all of Jeanette Winterson’s work and was eager to read this earlier publication. It was full of literary gems and insights that stopped me in my tracks. I was interested, but not enthralled with the stories of Henri and Villanelle. Maybe I missed some things that others enjoyed because I don’t know the history of this time period well. I enjoyed the details and idiosyncrasies of Napoleon and his chicken cook, Henri, who gave him his loyal service. I did love the touches on magical realism (like webbed feet) woven through the story. I lost the threads here and there, but loved the writing and I liked the overall effect of the book.
+10 Task: Penguin The Passion
+ 5 Combo: 20.7 A Month in the Country, 176p
+10 Review
+ 5 Prizeworthy
+ 5 Oldies (1987)
Task Total: 35
Season Total: 65
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Reading with Style
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Santa Fe Rules by Stuart Woods
+10 task
+5 Combo (10.2)
+5 oldie (1992)
Task total: 20
Grand total: 85