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FA 2014 RwS Completed Tasks - Fall 2014
20.9 — War BabiesThe Witchcraft of Salem Village by Shirley Jackson
(Lexile 1150)
I read this interleaved with 52 Loaves: One Man's Relentless Pursuit of Truth, Meaning, and a Perfect Crust and encountered one of those delightful serendipitous moments that occasionally come from reading multiple books simultaneously. Alexander is trying to find out why bread (like many other things) always contains niacin, and discovers that it's a preventative measure against pellagra — a disease largely unknown today, but which was one of the leading causes of death in the American South for a period in the early 20th century. Hundreds of thousands of people were being infected per year, and no-one could work out what was causing it, or how to treat it. For a while, the leading suspect was ergot, a fungus that would cause both skin disease, and strange psychological reactions. This turned out not to be the cause (you'll have to read that book to find out what was), but a while later it was also discovered that the active ingredient in ergot could be used to synthesise LSD.
This neatly ties back to the earlier mass hysteria in Massachusetts a couple of hundred years earlier [...continued]
+20 task [b. 1916]
+15 combo [10.4 9, 10, 11 (Witchcraft), 10.7 Honored Authors (Shirley Jackson Awards); 20.6 Underrated (256 ratings)]
+10 review
+10 not-a-novel
+5 oldies (1956)
Task total: 60
Grand total: 2995
20.1 - 19th CenturyLady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
This wasn't the mystery I was expecting - there is a kind of twist at the end, but for the most part, the reader knows what has happened. All the same, it was gripping, and there was a lot I liked about it.
For a start, I loved the way that Lady Audley was described as this perfect-seeming, Dickensian heroine type - beautiful, gentle, charming, generous to the poor etc - but from the beginning you know she's the villain. Turns the 'angel in the house' idea on the head, as far as was possible in Victorian popular fiction.
There are some feisty women in it, too - in fact, all the women are feisty in their way. Lady Audley is a worthy foe, Alicia is a spirited girl, Clara is not very well defined but decidedly passionate - even the maid, Phoebe Marks, is realistically delineated.
The author makes no bones of the fact that women often married for reasons other than love. Lady Audley married for position and money. Phoebe married because she was frightened to say no to her childhood sweetheart. (view spoiler)
All in all, a rollicking good read.
+20 task
+ 5 combo (20.3 Victorian Mysteries list)
+10 review
+15 oldies (1862)
Task total: 50
Grand Total: 1275 points
20.1 — 19th CenturyA Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
(Lexile: 900)
I'm slightly embarrassed to note that I've never actually read any Dickens before. I'll happily read lots of stuff from the early 20th Century, but there's something about the 19th Century writing style that usually doesn't quite work for me. Dickens, however (here, at least), writes wonderfully. I did have a little trouble at first with a lot of the references and allusions, so I switched from the Project Gutenberg ebook to a Penguin edition with excellent explanatory notes, which added a lot of useful context and richness. The story is so deeply ingrained in popular culture that I pretty much knew all of it, even though I'm fairly sure I've never seen any of the adaptations of it either, but I found it surprisingly less schmaltzy than I had expected. I suspect I'll be rectifying more of my Dickens Deficit quite soon.
+20 task [193 shelvings]
+15 oldies [1843]
+10 combo [10.4 9, 10, 11 (Christmas); 20.4 Realism (page 1)]
+10 review
Task total: 55
Grand total: 3050
I loved this book and I read it when I was 12.
15.9 BtW Constant TravelerInvitation to a Beheading by Vladimir Nabokov
Published in book form in 1938 (published as a serial in 1936) - I should have checked first - does this count?
15 pt. task
15 pt. bonus
Task total 30
Grand total 400
20.6 - Underrated: The Secret History of Costaguana by Juan Gabriel Vásquez
The Secret History of Costaguana was a fascinating book, both in story and structure. The story tells of the construction of the Panama Canal from the point of view of a Colombian struggling to survive civil war and revolution caused by the ownership debate over the canal. The premise makes it interesting, though: the protagonist’s story is told to Joseph Conrad and he believes it to be stolen by Conrad when he writes Nostromo. The fine writing and the weaving of this tale from that point of view makes it all the more intriguing. I had a few slight confusions along the way which made it a 4 star book for me, but I plan to read more books by Juan Gabriel Vasquez. I am also adding Nostromo to my TBR after getting a taste of that book from this story.
+20 Task: Published 2007, 217 ratings
+ 5 Combo: 10.4 - 9, 10, 11 (costaguana)
+10 Review
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 2360
Post 909 Desiree' wrote: "10.4 - 9, 10, 11(Shopaholic #1) by Sophie Kinsella
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 30"
Hi, I think these may be your first posts. Welcome! In the future, we need links to the book page here at Goodreads, which helps us do our scorekeeping tasks easier.
Post 916 Heather wrote: "10.4Sherlock Holmes, time-detective by Adrian Sherlock
+10 task
task total: 10
grand total: 1745"
I'm sorry, Heather. As we are accepting hyphenated words to include in this task, we will be counting time-detective as 13 letters, so that it does not qualify.
10.8 Comfort ReadsBrothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold
+10 task (I gave 5 stars to The Curse of Chalion)
Task total: 10
Grand Total: 650
10.4 9, 10, 11The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
Lexile 870
+10 task (fairyland)
Task total: 10
Grand Total: 660
15.5 – BtW – Constant TravelerThe Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer (pub. 1928)
+15 Task
+15 Bonus
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 1030
10.4 9, 10, 11 Letter WordGirl Genius, Vol. 12: Agatha Heterodyne and the Siege of Mechanicsburg by Phil Foglio
+10 Task (Heterodyne)
Graphic Novel – No Styles
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 1060
20.6 UnderratedUnsettled Conditions by Ann Somerville
Review: After reading and loving Cold Front, it didn’t take me long to be sucked back into Dek and Ren’s world and follow their story to the end. This is a short story and a novel set a few months after Cold Front ends. The first volume focused on Dev’s emotional well-being, and now it’s Ren’s turn. This volume introduces an additional narrator, which some people seemed to have found disappointing but I was fine with it. The world Somerville has created is fascinating, and the addition of a new central character from a different planet highlighted the different religions in an interesting way. This is a super angsty book – I actually cheated by skipping to the end at one point just to have some closure – but I loved that about it. I just wish I hadn’t started it when I was on a business trip – I was a little distracted during my meetings, just wanting to get back to the story.
+20 Task (73 ratings, published 2010)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.4)
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 1095
20.5 PoliticalHayduke Lives! by Edward Abbey
Review: I read The Monkey Wrench Gang in college and really liked it, so I was excited to read the sequel. I didn’t realize before reading it that Abbey wrote this one so much later and that it was actually published posthumously, and that could be part of my problem with it – I think some editing and rewriting was in order. I don’t remember tons of details about the first book, but I do know I was invested in the characters. Unfortunately, either this book is totally different or I have completely changed perspectives since then, because it read as the jumbled rantings of a horny guy who cares about the environment to the point of madness. I’m pretty sure I skimmed about half of it – I’m not sure I’d have finished except that I own the book and I wanted to claim it for this task.
+20 Task ( on American political novels list)
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 1125
10.2 ScaryFrankenstein by Mary Shelley
Review: I decided to read Frankenstein while I was watching Pemberley Digital/PBS’s webseries called Frankenstein, MD. It took the story and made into a modern video blog type format, focusing much more on the medicine than the book actually does. I finished the series before I finished the book, so I knew the ending, but I found it interesting how much of the feedback for the series seemed to have no clue what the book was about. Even before reading it, I knew that its main theme was the hubris humanity can have about controlling nature and even death. I didn’t realized how much character the monster actually has in the book – Hollywood has made it into a caricature. I wasn’t particularly scared while reading it, but it is definitely horrifying.
+10 Task
+15 Oldies
+10 Review
+20 Combo (10.5, 10.7, 10.9, 20.1)
Task Total: 55
Grand Total: 1180
10.10 Group ReadsTess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
Review: I could have sworn I read this book as assigned reading in high school, but I’m now questioning that since I do not remember having read this at all. I had it on my Goodreads list as five stars, so I apparently not only thought I read it, I thought I loved it. This time, I didn’t love it. I was frustrated with all the characters, and bounced back and forth between thinking it was a relatively progressive portrayal of the female experience. Tess is mostly a pawn in others’ (mostly men’s) games, but sometimes she takes hold of her life and makes decisions that I applauded. Occasionally she’d even say something and I’d think, “you go girl!” It is obvious that Hardy felt that certain restrictive societal constructs were ridiculous and harmful to women. On the other hand, Tess is quite obviously being used as a metaphor, and that rarely sits well with me. I doubt I’ll be reading all that much more of Hardy, although I’m glad I checked this one off, for real this time ;)
+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Jumbo
+10 Oldies
+10 Combo (20.1, 20.4)
Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 1225
Jenifer wrote: "Task 10.8 Comfort ReadThe Secret Place by Tana French
(I've previously rated three of her books with 5 stars)
Review:
I love Tana French. I've devoured every one..."
+5 Combo 20.2: Author born in Ireland
Karen Michele wrote: "20.4 - Realism: An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen
The play An Enemy of the People was amazingly quite relevant to environmental issues of today in it’s subjec..."
+5 Combo 20.10
From Post 83Jama wrote: "20.1 19th Century
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
I think I would have liked this book better if I knew what kind of book it was from the outset. I had some inkling that ..."
+10 Combo: 10.9, 10.7
From Post 317Lagullande wrote: " 20.1 - 19th Century
Frankenstein
+20 task
+10 combos (10.2 - Halloween, 10.5 - Dr. Salk)
+15 oldies
Task total: 45
Grand Total: 55"
+10 Combo: 10.7, 10.9
10.4 9, 10, 11Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home by Rhoda Janzen
Mennonite has 9 letters
+10 task
+10 Not-a-novel (non-fiction)
Task total: 20
Grand Total: 280 (including the 10 from post 937)
Kate S wrote: "From Post 317Lagullande wrote: " 20.1 - 19th Century
Frankenstein
+20 task
+10 combos (10.2 - Halloween, 10.5 - Dr. Salk)
+15 oldies
Task total: 45
Grand Total: 55"
+10 Combo: ..."
Thanks for the windfall, Kate!
Kate S wrote: "Karen Michele wrote: "20.4 - Realism: An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen
The play An Enemy of the People was amazingly quite relevant to environmental issues o..."
Thanks, Kate -- I didn't even think to look for it there!
20.6- Underrated.The Relapse by John Vanbrugh
+20 Task
+10 Not-a-Novel
+20 Oldies (p. 1696)
Task Total: 50
Grand Total: 340
Note: The original publication date on Goodreads is wrong. Here is a link to the Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Relapse
20.4 Phineas ReduxLetters from the Earth: Uncensored Writings by Mark Twain
+20 pts - Task
+10 pts - Combo (10.4 -Uncensored, 10.7 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Twa...)
+10 pts - Oldies (1892)
Task Total - 40 pts
Grand Total - 430 pts
20.6 - UnderratedThe Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb: A Spirituality for Leadership in a Multicultural Community by Eric H.F. Law
59 ratings https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
+20 task
+10 nonfiction
+5 combo (10.4 - 9, 10, 11 "leadership")
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 205+35 = 240
20.7 Make It StrangeBlindness by José Saramago (on page 9 of the list)
Review:
A man sits in his car, blocking traffic, while drivers behind him sound their horns. When other motorists reach him, he keeps repeating, "I am blind." He was the first to experience "white blindness." When he was examined by an ophthalmologist later that day, there were no signs of disease. But everyone waiting in the ophthalmologist's office was experiencing the "white blindness" within a day. The government decides to quarantine the victims in an unused mental hospital. When the doctor is picked up, his wife pretends that she is also blind so that she can take care of him. No one knows why she is the only one immune to this blindness, but it lets the author reveal more about the situation through her eyes.
The conditions at the hospital are awful--shortages of food, filth everywhere, and armed guards shooting anyone who comes near them. A group of quarantined men with a gun gain control of the food. The starving people must give in to their demands or they will not be fed.
Soon the "white blindness" has spread through out the country. We see how interdependent people are in the modern world with food, water, electricity, and transportation soon disappearing. There is a breakdown of society, with small pockets of people who show kindness in helping others, sharing resources, and trying to maintain their dignity.
Saramago does not give his characters names, although they do have distinct personalities. They are identified by phrases such as "the doctor," "the girl with the dark glasses," and "the boy with the squint" so they could really represent any of us in society. Saramago's style is very different. He writes in multi-page paragraphs, uses no quotation marks, and separates dialogue with commas. However, it was easy to adjust to his style after a few pages. I found myself completely caught up in the story, and thinking about it days after I turned the last page.
+ 20 task
+ 5 combo (10.7 Honored Authors)
+ 10 review
Task total: 35
Grand total:565
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 909 Desiree' wrote: "10.4 - 9, 10, 11(Shopaholic #1) by Sophie Kinsella
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 30"
Hi, I think these may be your first posts. Welcome! In the future, we need ..."
Yes, Elizabeth (Alaska) this is my first posting. I did post both the book and the author like everyone else; however, I am having some trouble understanding the rules and how to participate. I don't know how to link a book page. This is my first time with HTML. Please help! I do want to play. Thank you.
15.4 - 1925-1926 Constant TravelerThe Professor's House by Willa Cather
first pub 1925
+15 task
+15 bonus
Task total: 30
Grand total: 945
20.7 - Make it StrangeWaiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
+20 Task
+5 Combo (20.2 - Ireland)
+10 Not-a-Novel (play)
+5 Oldies (1952)
Task total = 40
Points total = 210
20.9 War BabiesIn Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination by Margaret Atwood
Review:
I listened to this book which is read partly by Atwood herself and partly by a reader because Atwood says her voice would not hold out for the whole reading. Count me as an Atwood fan girl. This book discusses The Handmaid's Tale, Oryx and Crake, The Year of the FloodThe Year of the Flood, and a little of The Blind Assassin, all of which I enjoyed. The essays here also focus on the societal, mythological, literary, and historical routes of science fiction. Hearing the critical essays made me think I should read more literary criticism and reviews. I loved hearing Atwood's take on the definition of genres and the stories that we tell. Highly recommended to Atwood fans. Those who aren't already fans should probably read her speculative fiction first rather than starting by listening to her essays.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not a novel (essays/short stories)
+15 Combo (10.4, 10.9, 20.6)
Task total: 55
Grand total: 930
Desiree' wrote: "I did post both the book and the author like everyone else; however, I am having some trouble understanding the rules and how to participate. I don't know how to link a book page. This is my first time with HTML."Welcome Desiree! You are playing -- Kate even has got you on the readerboard already!
You don't need html to link to the book pages -- above the comment box it says "add book/author". Click on the link and a pop-up box appears. Enter your book's title or author or ISBN # in the search box & click search. At the bottom there are two radio buttons, make sure the one for "link" is selected.
Then scroll through the results and when you find the correct one click on the "add" button. To add the author, click on the "add book/author" link again, click on the "author" tab and either search for the author or if you haven't cleared the results scroll to find the correct author & click the "add" button.
20.6 — UnderratedThe Devil in Dover: An Insider's Story of Dogma v. Darwin in Small-Town America by Lauri Lebo
★★★★★: In 1987 the US Supreme Court ruled that religious beliefs on creation cannot be taught in school science classes. Fundamentalist groups were outraged, but swiftly came up with a new approach: that of Intelligent Design. They positioned it not as a religious belief, but as a scientific alternative to ‘Darwinism’. And, simultaneously, they set about undermining the entire concept of science, explicitly trying to replace the dominant scientific worldview with a version that fit with their own theology. In many countries, this would likely be about as successful in this as someone trying to promote the idea that the moon was built by humans from the future. In some parts of the US, however, things run a little differently.
This book details the story of the first school board — in Dover, PA — who decided to introduce Intelligent Design into their science curriculum, and the legal battle that ensued. […continued]
+20 task: [151 ratings]
+5 combo [10.4 9, 10, 11 (Small-Town)]
+10 not-a-novel (non-fiction)
+10 review
Task total: 45
Grand total: 3095
10.4 - 9, 10, 11God'll Cut You Down: The True Story of a Murder in Mississippi
Mississippi has 11 letters
+10 task
+10 not-a-novel
+10 review
I received this book as a goodreads giveaway. I don't really know anything about the author, John Safran, but I guess he's something of a celebrity in his home country of Australia, known for being a bit of a rabble-rouser and a rebel. "God'll Cut You Down" is the true story of the gruesome murder of a white supremacist in rural Mississippi by his young black neighbor. There are so many layers here that I can only begin to unravel them in this review, but Safran attempts to discover the truth behind the crime: should we believe the rumors that Barrett was a closet homosexual who only has a thing for black men? Did Barrett attempt to rape Vincent, the black murderer - and was this the reason for the crime? Was Vincent his long time lover who one day snapped? Or did sex even play a part in this crime at all - was that just an excuse to deflect from the racial issues still at play in Mississippi, or from the evil nature that lurks in all of us, that could cause us to snap and react with our most primal instincts when tested?
This book is of special interest to me because I spent the first part of my childhood in the Mississippi Delta, perhaps the most poverty-stricken area in the entire United States. The average annual family income in the Delta is $6,000. Although I was ten when we moved away, I remember Mississippi well, and I remember it fondly, but it's a confusing nostalgia because you can't ignore the racism and injustice that is so engrained in MS society. The fact that politicians are still using these tactics (not only in Mississippi, but all throughout the southern US) to keep blacks disenfranchised is disheartening, disgusting, and criminal. It's so clear in Safran's reporting that the Ku Klux Klan still has a hold on politics in the south, that the criminal justice system is set up to exploit blacks and poor people, and that anyone can buy "justice" with the right amount of money and political influence.
For true crime lovers, and those interested in southern history and politics, I can't recommend this enough. And although it sounds super heavy and depressing, Safran's tone is often humorous and the clean, clear writing keeps this book from sinking under the weight of these issues.
task total: 30
grand total: 385
20.7 - Make It StrangeWas by Geoff Ryman
+20 task
Task total: 20
RwS finish: 100
Mega finish: 200 :-)
Grand Total: 1595 points
Rosemary wrote: "RwS finish: 100
Mega finish: 200 :-)"
Well done!
Task 10.4 9, 10, 11Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Review:
It be a few pages to realize but I really really loved this book. It took a few pages because this being my second Gaiman novel, I am still getting used to his ideas and style of writing. We jump right in with two parallel stories of a Scottish man named Richard Mayhew and a strange girl named Door in a strange place with a some bad guys possibly trying to kill her.
Door is the type of girl that can open doors where there are no doors and can speak to rats when necessary. Richard is your ordinary businessman engaged to a woman he thinks he loves. The story is strange. The setting is even stranger. But with Gaiman's writing, it is just spectacular. I don't know what it is about his writing style and word choice but I absolutely love it.
Neverwhere is another one of those books that I was enjoying so much I didn't want to be away from it so I ended up buying the audio version as well. That way, when I was unable to sit and read, I could listen to Neil Gaiman reading his own story to me while I washed dishes or drove in my car.
Reading (or listening to) a Neil Gaiman novel is like wading through a dream. Things are never how you expect them. I don't think he is everyone's cup of tea but if you don't mind insane imagery and a bit of darkness, you will love Neverwhere.
+10 task
+10 review
Task Total = 20
Grand Total = 145 points
Task 10.5 - Dr. SalkRead one of the top 150 books from this list of Medicine and Literature
On November 20, 2014 this novel was #80 on the list.
Regeneration (Regeneration #1) (1991) by Pat Barker (Paperback, 252 pages)
Review: The novel, set in 1917, takes place at the Craiglockhart War Hospital (located near Edinburgh, Scotland). The War Hospital is where soldiers are sent if they have a nervous breakdown as a result of their experiences as soldiers during World War I. The book centers on poet Siegfried Sassoon's stay at Craiglockhart War Hospital. Sassoon, a military officer who had received medals for bravery during his time in France, had begun to write letters to newspapers opposing England’s continuing the war. His friend Robert Graves had arranged for Sassoon to be admitted to the War Hospital rather than see Sassoon court martialed. The novel focuses on the men in the hospital and on the psychiatrist who is treating them. The setup enables philosophical discussions between the characters regarding whether or not war is moral. There is also a focus on what war does to the mental health of soldiers (what we today call PTSD / Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). The back of my edition calls this “a war saga in which not a shot is fired”. I agree. Recommended for those who like literary fiction, and for those interested in arguments about the moral dimensions of war.
+10 Task (#10.5)
+05 Combo (#20.9 born 1943)
+10 Review
+100 Reading with Style Finish!
Task Total: 10 + 05 + 10 = 25+100 = 125
Grand Total: 1235 + 125 = 1360
20.6 - UnderratedQualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation by Sharan B. Merriam
80 ratings https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...
+20 task
+10 nonfiction
+5 combo (10.4 - 9, 10, 11 "qualitative")
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 240 + 35 = 275
Rosemary wrote: RwS finish: 100
Mega finish: 200 :-)
Congrats!
Thanks everyone! 20.6 - Underrated
Unique by Alison Allen-Gray
Review:
There's a dystopian element to this story, set in 2017, which was about 15 years into the future when it was written - but it's not far off now, and things haven't changed as much as the author foresaw.
Anyway, it's an interesting plot about a teenage boy who discovers he had an eerily similar older brother, who died before he was born. When he uncovers the big family secret, he puts himself and several other people in mortal danger.
Unfortunately Dominic, the main character, was like no teenage boy I have ever known. He seemed to do nothing but run away, cry, and look for an adult to solve his problems. If he'd been more proactive, instead of reactive, it could have been a much more exciting story. I enjoyed it, but felt it fell short of its potential.
+20 task (298 ratings)
+10 review
Task total: 30
Grand Total: 1625 points
Post 941 Ashley wrote: "20.6- Underrated.The Relapse by John Vanbrugh
+20 Task
+10 Not-a-Novel
+20 Oldies (p. 1696)
Task Total: 50
Grand Total: 340
Note: The original publication date on ..."
Thanks, Ashley - got it fixed.
Post 956 Debra wrote: "20.6 - UnderratedQualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation by Sharan B. Merriam
80 ratings https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...-..."
Found her birthdate at LOC as 1943.
+5 combo 20.9!
20.1 - 19th CenturyA Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen
Review:
I really enjoyed this full cast recording from Librivox of this classic play. It had been so long since I've read this play that all I could remember was the ending with the shutting (or, depending on staging, slamming) door. I'd totally forgotten what the underlying crisis was that caused Nora (the wife) to rethink her role. I'd also forgotten just how rigid Torvald (the husband) was. Maybe the actor here just really hammed up the diminutive references (Skylark, especially). In any event, I'm quite glad that so many other people read this book this season, which encouraged me to revisit this play. It holds up well even all these years later. And bravo to Librivox for producing these public domain recordings.
+20 Task: on realism list of authors
+15 Combo: 10.3, 10.7, 20.4
+10 Review
+10 Not a Novel (Play)
+10 Oldies (1879)
Task Total: 65
Grand total: 995
15.5 1927-1928 Constant TravelerDeath Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
pub 1927
+ 15 task
+ 15 bonus
Task total = 30
Grand total = 975
15.6 1929-1930 Constant TravelerThe Virgin and the Gipsy by D.H. Lawrence
pub 1930
+ 15 task
+ 15 bonus
task total = 30
grand total = 1005
20.6 - 254 reviewsThe Big Book of Conspiracies by Doug Moench
+20 task
+10 not a novel
task total: 30
grand total: 1765
20.10 — Higher EducationMacbeth by William Shakespeare
★★★★☆: When I studied Macbeth in high school, it was with a teacher who was presumably in thrall to the Intentional Fallacy. Everything you needed to know about a text was contained entirely within it — knowing anything about the author, or the historical context, was not just unnecessary, but probably harmful. The key example I usually give for this is of studying Animal Farm purely as a story about power and corruption, with no reference whatsoever to the Russian Revolution, but Macbeth seems to be an interesting example too. Sure, it can be read purely as a tale of ambition and guilt, and the fact that it works so well even at so basic a level presumably explains a lot about its continued popularity.
But even the most cursory contextualisation starts to add nuance and depth [...continued]
+20 Task [UTexas]
+10 Combo [10.7 Honored Authors (Shakespeare Prize); 20.4 Realism]
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-Novel
+25 Oldies
Task total: 75
Grand total: 3170
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Reading with Style
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Read one of the top 150 books from this list of Thieves.
On November 15, 2014
#02 on list
The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard #1) (2006) by Scott Lynch
Review:This is the debut fantasy novel by Scott Lynch. It is the first of a series. Goodreads lists 7 books in the series , with the first three novels having been published and the fourth novel expected in 2015. Our hero, Locke Lamora, is a thief. The novel begins when Locke, an orphan, is added to a street gang in the city of Camorra. It is obvious that the gang –and- children setup is inspired by Dicken’s Oliver Twist. The novel proceeds by chunks of time until Locke, now a young man, is running his own gang. He specializes in robbing the wealthy via elaborate sting operations that play on the greed of those he is robbing. And then …. Sorcery enters Locke’s life, and the second half of the novel is controlled by sorcery rather than by thieving. Additionally, the second half of the novel has the influences of George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series and also influences of The Godfather. I’ll probably pick up Book #2 of the novel sooner rather than later. That said …. It is very striking how few females are in this novel, and how briefly they are “onstage”. Recommended for fans of adventure fantasy novels.
+20 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 20 + 10 = 30
Grand Total: 1205 + 30 = 1235