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FA 2014 RwS Completed Tasks - Fall 2014
10.3 - Leif EriksonBoy: Tales of Childhood by Roald Dahl
Review: ★★★
This is a collection of mildly amusing anecdotes from Dahl's early life — family holidays in Norway (in the days before commercial air travel, when it took four days each way), childhood pranks, sweets (lots of sweets, even if some of them were made from rat blood), and canings (lots, and lots, and lots of canings). This isn't really autobiography in the strict sense (as he says in the introduction, he could never write such a thing), and it's certainly not a confessional — you won't really understand Dahl the man, or even really Dahl the boy, much better from reading it (other than the occasional glimpse of where some of the ideas and characters in his book might have arisen from). As such, it's little more than a collection of snapshots, with the constraint that they have to be things that (mostly) happened to him. And whilst there's a certain charm to many of them, largely because he's such a good storyteller, it doesn't really stack up so well against the ones where he could let his giant imagination run that little bit more freely.
[NB: This has a Lexile score of 1090, which I'm assuming is to do with a lot of English, Norwegian, and early-20th-century-boarding-school vocabulary. This is definitely Juv rather than even YA.]
+10 task [shelved as Norway 6 times]
+10 combo [9, 10, 11 (Childhood); 20.9 War Babies (b. 1916)]
+10 not-a-novel
+10 review
+5 oldies (1984)
Task total: 45
Grand Total: 1390
10.4 9, 10, 11Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill
+10 task (Lovecraft)
Task total: 10
Grand Total: 200
Coralie wrote: "10.4 9, 10, 11Locke and Key: Welcome to Lovecraft #2 by Joe Hill
+10 task (Lovecraft)
Task total: 10
Grand Total: 200"
Coralie, I was only able to find this with fewer than 100 pages - both 25 and 32 - can you point to an edition that has the requisite 100 page minimum?
20.3 - Thieves & Mysteries:Burglars Can't Be Choosers by Lawrence Block (#62 on the list of thieves)
+20 task
+5 oldies (pub. 1977)
Task total: 25
Grand Total: 65
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Coralie wrote: "10.4 9, 10, 11Locke and Key: Welcome to Lovecraft #2 by Joe Hill
+10 task (Lovecraft)
Task total: 10
Grand Total: 200"
Coralie, I was only able t..."
Sorry Elizabeth, I have edited with the correct book.
Memo to myself - when posting check links.
Deedee wrote: "Task 10.4 - 9, 10, 11: 10= Pathfinder
Pathfinder (Pathfinder #1) (2010) by Orson Scott Card (Hardcover, 657 pages)
Lexile 920L
Review:This is a young adult science fi..."
+5 jumbo
From Post 266Norma wrote: "20.6 - Underrated
A Murderous Yarn by Monica Ferris
+20 task
+5 Combo (10.4 9, 10, 11)
Task total: 25
Grand total: 170"
+5 Combo 20.9-author born in 1943
From Post 282Rosemary wrote: "10.3 - Leif Erikson
Hunger by Knut Hamsun
Review:
A powerful and disturbing study of a mind unravelling under the pressure of near-starvation. The unnamed narrator is ..."
+5 Combo 20.1
From Post 289Heather wrote: "10.3
A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen
+10 task
+10 not a novel
+10 oldies (1879)
+10 combo (20.1 - 19th c. 83 times, 20.4 - Ibsen)
task total: 40
grand total: 400"
+5 Combo 10.7
Kath wrote: "20.10 Higher Education Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett
+20 task
+ 10 oldie (1929)
Task total 30
Grand total 255"
+5 Combo 10.7
10.4 - 9, 10, 11We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
+10 task
Task total: 10
Grand Total: 10
(This is my first post, so apologies for any errors)
20.1 - 19th CenturyFrankenstein
+20 task
+10 combos (10.2 - Halloween, 10.5 - Dr. Salk)
+15 oldies
Task total: 45
Grand Total: 55
Lagullande wrote: "10.4 - 9, 10, 11We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
+10 task
Task total: 10
Grand Total: 10
(This is my first post, so apologies for any errors)"
No need to apologize, the format is good - if you missed any points, Kate will likely post. And welcome!
20.3 - #25The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle
+20 task
+10 oldies (1914)
task total: 30
grand total: 435
15.4 - 1921/2The Wolves of God and Other Fey Stories by Algernon Blackwood
+10 task
task total: 10
grand total: 455
15.6 - 1923/4The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs
+10 task
+15 bonus
task total: 25
grand total: 490
15.7 - 1927/8Armageddon 2419 A.D. by Philip Francis Nowlan
+10 task
+15 bonus
task total: 25
grand total: 515
20.8 - Middle EastThe Gabriel Hounds by Mary Stewart
Review:
Mary Stewart was a master of romantic suspense and this is an example of her at her best. Set in Lebanon in the 1960s and rich in atmospheric detail, it gives us her usual enjoyable formula of feisty, beautiful heroine, obvious hero/romantic interest and equally obvious villains.
There's no mystery to speak of - the reader realises what's going on long before the heroine does - but I liked the idea of eccentric Aunt Harriet living alone in a ruined Arab palace trying to be a latter-day copy of Lady Hester Stanhope, and the sheer enthusiasm of the plot carried me along very happily.
+20 task (set 92% in Lebanon and 8% in Syria)
+ 5 combo (20.9 born 1916)
+10 review
+ 5 oldies (1967)
Task total: 40
Grand Total: 705 points
20.10 Higher EducationThe Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman
This was a fascinating book. I had read good reviews of it before, which is why I picked it up despite not having any special interest in medicine or in Hmong culture. The book dives deeply into the case of Lia Lee, a young Hmong girl in California who develops a severe seizure disorder. With almost zero background information, I still found it engaging and thought-provoking. Some big questions raised included how can medical professionals best take patients' cultural beliefs into account in their treatment? What responsibility do they have to do so? When beliefs come into conflict, how do you decide whose beliefs win out? The only thing I didn't like as much about the book was the interspersed chapters explaining the history of the Hmong people. Although a lot of the history was helpful in understanding the main thrust of the book, the writing in these sections dragged a bit for me.
+20 task (UPenn List)
+10 combos (10.4 - 9 letter word collision, 10.5 - #16 on list)
+10 review
+10 not-a-novel
Task Total: 50
Grand Total: 200
20.6 - UnderratedAlias the Saint by Leslie Charteris
Review: ★☆
This one was quite a struggle to get through. Very little of the traditional Saint-ly charm is in evidence here, doubtless because, as I wish I'd known in advance, these aren't really Saint stories at all, but thinly repurposed early Charteris tales with the character names substituted later — or, in the case of “The National Debt” (aka “The Secret of Beacon Inn”), not even so much substituted as having the lead character, Rameses Smith, simply turned into an alias for Templar. The first, “The Story of a Dead Man” at least has a few positive glimpses of what was to come later, but in general these are all rather poor.
+20 task [115 ratings]
+10 review
+10 not-a-novel (short-stories)
+10 oldies (1931)
Task total: 50
Grand Total: 1440
10.6 Short StuffThis Is How You Lose Her by Junot Díaz
I had been looking forward to reading this for a while now, and I was not disappointed. This series of interconnected stories about love all revolve around Diaz's character Yunior, the same one we read about in his other two books. Each story in the book excavates a different relationship Yunior has had, told in different voices and with such precision it feels as you read it that all of the extraneous noise of the relationship has been muted until all you have left is a painful, piercing reality. None of it is happy, and much of it left me anxious and upset as I read because I cared so much about the characters. I can't help liking Yunior, even when he behaves as badly as he does, but he is likeable because he is reflective, and honest, and willing to change.
10 pt. task
+10 review
+10 not a novel
Task total: 30
Grand total: 160
10.8 - Comfort Read Edge of Eternity by Ken Follett 9/29/14
I really like Ken Follett and previously gave 5 stars to The Pillars of the Earth, World Without End, and Winter of the World
Review:
Having read the first two books of Ken Follett ‘s Century Trilogy, I had looked forward to the release of Edge of Eternity. While certain aspects (to be included in a spoiler below) kept me from rating this book a 5 star read, I did find it well worth my time. The main characters are the next generation of the characters in the earlier books, with homes in Russia, Germany, England, and the United States. The time frame begins in 1961, the year the Berlin Wall went up, and ends in 1989, the year that same wall came down.
For me, the book was like a walk down memory lane, touching on the highlights of world events during my formative years… the Cold War and the Berlin Wall…The Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassinations of President Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Bobby Kennedy…Lyndon Johnson’s time in the White House... The Vietnam War…Nixon’s tapes and his resignation…Rock and Roll…drugs…Flower Children…the Reagan years…the Berlin Wall comes down.
This is a book I will recommend to friends, but definitely a work of fiction rather than an unbiased history. (view spoiler) Regardless, I enjoyed it!
+10 task
+10 review
+25 jumbo (1,101 pages)
Task total: 45
BtW total: 15
RwS total: 325
Grand Total: 340
10.2 HalloweenThe Woman in Black by Susan Hill
Review:
"The Woman in Black: A Ghost Story" is a classic Gothic horror story set in the early 1900s. As a young solicitor, Arthur Kipps was sent to Crythin Gifford, a small fictional town on England's marshy, northeast coast. He has to settle the estate of a woman who lived in the isolated Eel Marsh House. The secluded old home is accessible only during low tide, and visible only when the fog breaks. The story builds psychologically into terror using atmospheric descriptions, isolation, a bog with areas of quicksand, and an angry paranormal presence set on revenge.
This is a great story to get in the mood for Halloween. A few words of advice: Don't read this book right before you're planning to sleep, or the Woman in Black might haunt your dreams.
+10 task (# 35 on the Scariest Books list)
+10 review
+ 5 combo (20.9-born 1942)
+ 5 oldie (pub 1983)
Task total: 30
Grand total: 350
Connie wrote: "10.2 Halloween: The Woman in Black by Susan HillSusan Hill was born in 1942, so this would also qualify as 20.9 War Babies. And with First Published 1983, you can get +5 for Oldies for this too.
Tony wrote: "Connie wrote: "10.2 Halloween: The Woman in Black by Susan HillSusan Hill was born in 1942, so this would also qualify as 20.9 War Babies. And with First Published 198..."
Thanks, Tony. I'll edit my post.
15.2 - BtW Constant Traveler1937-38: Cause for Alarm by Eric Ambler
+15 task
+15 bonus
Task total: 30
Grand Total: 260
20.3 - Thieves & MysteriesRaffles: The Amateur Cracksman by E.W. Hornung
Review:
A.J. Raffles is a gentleman thief and first class amateur cricket player. With his sidekick Bunny, who tells the stories, he uses his position in society to liberate valuables from their owners.
Hornung was Arthur Conan Doyle's brother-in-law. The book is dedicated to Conan Doyle and these stories certainly owe something to him, although Raffles is on the other side of the law to Holmes.
The stories are fun and Raffles is an engaging character. From time to time he has to justify his dubious profession to Bunny, and I particularly enjoyed those passages.
There's a stronger homosexual subtext to these stories than with Holmes and Watson. Bunny "fagged" for Raffles at school, and he's a rather sweet young man who passionately admires Raffles but from time to time tears himself away to try to live an honest life. He's painfully jealous in the last story when Raffles enjoys the company of a young lady on a sea voyage. (view spoiler)Poor Bunny!
+20 task (on both lists)
+10 combo (10.4 cracksman, 20.6 843 ratings)
+10 review
+10 not a novel (short stories)
+10 oldies (1899)
Task total: 60
Grand Total: 765 points
20.5 - PoliticsThe Wonga Coup: Guns, Thugs and a Ruthless Determination to Create Mayhem in an Oil-Rich Corner of Africa by Adam Roberts
Review: ★★
Frederick Forsyth's The Dogs of War details an attempt to overthrow the government of a small African country — in the book called Zangaro, but well known to be Equatorial Guinea. And when I say “details”, I mean sets out in painstaking detail just how exactly such a thing could happen. And when I say “could happen”, I mean has been attempted. Twice.
The first time was the attempted coup in 1973 that mirrored the book in almost every way — other than in its failure — and of which Forsyth himself was almost certainly both the lead funder, and strategic mastermind. At the time the country was very poor and very repressive, and their goal was to replace its deranged dictator with the Biafran leader, Ojukwu.
By the second attempt, in 2004, the country’s fortunes had improved significantly, having discovered substantial quantities of oil. [… continued]
+20 task
+10 combo [20.6 Underrated (242 ratings); 20.9 War Babies (born 1940)]
+10 not-a-novel
+10 review
Task total: 50
Grand Total: 1490
10.2 Halloween 
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret AtwoodA Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is a story of an alternate America slowly turned into an extreme patriarchal society, where woman are stripped of all identity except that of the basic three: maiden, mother, whore. It is told by Offred as a remembrance of her time as a handmaid and snippets of her life before. Offred tells her story in a passive voice through most of the story, as if she is in shock. It makes one think how would I react if I were in similar circumstances. Would I react like Offred and bury my feelings and desires just to go on living? Or be like Moira and try to resist and escape?
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 10
20.2 - BirthplaceTransAtlantic by Colum McCann
This was my first book by Colum McCann and he took me through generations of history through a series of linked stories. Even though this was not a story collection, I reacted to it much as I do to short stories. I felt some of the sections of the book, particularly those with historical figures as the main characters, were stronger than others. I enjoyed reading about Frederick Douglass’ trip to Dublin in the midst of the famine the most. I drifted a little as the stories of Lily (an Irish housemaid influenced by Douglas to cross to America) and her descendants unfolded, but all in all the book and story had a feeling of completeness. The prose was strong and I will be seeking out more of McCann’s work.
+20 Task: Colum McCann was born in Ireland
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 765
20.9 War BabiesThe Cider House Rules by John Irving
Average rating on GR is above 4 stars, and many of my friends rated this one 5 stars. I was glad to finally get to it.
I must have read a different book. I don't know what everyone sees in this. The prose, while not exactly boring, isn't very interesting either. Except for the medical terminology, the vocabulary is rather simple, and the sentence structure leaves much to be desired. I admit that I feel the same for much of contemporary fiction, so my reaction should not be laid completely at the door of John Irving. I found the characterizations not especially good, although, to be fair, they are a bit more than flat or one-dimensional.
My biggest problem is the subject matter. I agree with Irving on the subject of choice. Unfortunately, he chose to think that he had to hit people over the head on the subject. Since I already agreed with him, the club was unnecessary. It has been my experience that presenting an argument on a controversial subject in the manner of clubbing him will never sway opinion. The dissenters will just become more firmly entrenched, and those in agreement were, well, already in agreement.
I reserve 1-star for books I couldn't finish or for those I truly hated - like Swift's Gulliver's Travels. This wasn't as bad as that, but pretty close.
+20 Task (b. 1942)
+ 5 Combo (10.5)
+10 Review
+ 5 Oldies (pub 1985)
+ 5 Jumbo (612 pgs)
Task Total = 45
Grand total = 265
10.4 - 9, 10, 11Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote 9/30/14
Breakfast has 9 letters.
Review:
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote is actually a collection featuring a novella and three short stories. All of these had a lot of human interest, quite different from what I expected from the author of In Cold Blood.
The novella for which the book is titled, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, is told from the viewpoint of the narrator and centers on the character Holly Golightly, who lives in the same apartment building. Holly is an eccentric socialite who lives off the money and gifts she receives from the men she associates with. Initially, I was turned off by this self-centered woman, but as her background is disclosed, I found more empathy for her, hoping at the end that she ultimately found the happiness she sought.
The short stories were interesting, too. “House of Flowers” tells of an island girl who ends up working in a brothel and what happens when a young man wants her to become his wife. “A Diamond Guitar” is set in an Alabama prison, and tells of the friendship between an older convict and a new arrival. “A Christmas Memory” is the best of all – a touching story of a young boy and the older woman who is his only friend.
+10 task
+5 combo (10.7 - Capote is on the approved list of Honored Authors)
+10 review
+10 not-a-novel (Collection - novella plus 3 short stories)
+5 oldies (pub. 1958)
Task total: 40
BtW total: 15
RwS total: 365
Grand Total: 380
10.8 - Comfort Read The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters 10/4/14
I previously rated Sarah Waters' Fingersmith 5 stars.
Review:
The Paying Guests is Sarah Waters’s latest novel, released less than three weeks ago. The setting is post World War I England, and the year is 1922. Mrs. Wray, having lost her husband and then her two sons in the war, is now hard-pressed to make ends meet. She can no longer afford to have servants to keep house, and her daughter Frances must now take care of that as if she were a char woman. As the story opens, they have decided to take in boarders, or “paying guests,” and they await the arrival of Lilian and Leonard Barber, a young married couple of the “clerk class.”
Though the story starts slow, it quickly gains momentum. As in her previous books, Sarah Waters really develops her characters, in this case with devastating results. What I’ve mentioned thus far is what I knew about the book when I started reading. Without giving anything away, I can say that the story was much more than I expected, and really held my interest. I finished it in three days.
+10 task
+10 review
+5 jumbo (576 pages)
Task total: 25
BtW total: 15
RwS total: 390
Grand Total: 405
15.3 - BtW Constant Traveler1935-36: They Shoot Horses, Don't They? by Horace McCoy
+15 task
+15 bonus
Task total: 30
Grand Total: 290
10.5 - Dr. SalkThe Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee
I tried to listen to this as an audiobook, which may not have been a good choice. I think I listened to the whole thing, but I didn't retain much. Subtitled "A Biography of Cancer", I was hoping to be more interested than I was. While the personal stories of the various doctors/scientists/philanthropists were well-told, there was too much technical information and not enough of a story arc for this to work for me as an audiobook. On the other hand, since I rarely read any non-fiction, I should add a star just because it was good enough that I finished reading it.
+10 task
+10 review
+10 not-a-novel (non-fiction)
+5 jumbo (592 pages)
Task total: 35
Grand Total: 325
20.6 - UnderratedMonkey: The Journey to the West by Arthur Waley
This is an abridged version of the much longer classical Chinese novel Journey to the West. I can only describe it as China's 16th century Looney-Tunes. All the stories have the same pattern as they center around a mischievous, ill-mannered creature that outsmarts everyone and ends with an explanation of how a particular temple or custom came to be. And, of course, there is some silly violence. I was fascinated by how irreverent the novel can be--as an allegory for spiritual enlightenment it does not seem to take religion very seriously. Monkey's actions and desire for enlightenment seem selfish, more of a desire to be superior to others than a desire to be better person. So, while I can see how more episodes of the same could be rather tedious, I am not sure this abridgement does the full story justice. It seems to convey more of the satire and absurdity than the spiritual journey. All in all, the abridgement is good fun.
+20 task
+10 review
+25 oldies (1592-ish)
Task total: 60
Grand Total: 380
10.2 HalloweenThe Hot Zone by Richard Preston
+10 task
+5 combo (10.5, #8)
+ 10 not a novel
Task total 25
Grand total 295
15.1 BtW - Constant Traveller1920 . The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
+15 task
Task total: 15 pts
Grand total: 160 pts
Rosemary wrote: "20.8 - Middle EastThe Gabriel Hounds by Mary Stewart
Review:
Mary Stewart was a master of romantic suspense and this is an example of her at her best. Set in Lebanon ..."
I read this book about 10 yrs ago and found Aunt Harriet intriguing myself. Like the old British ladies that stayed on in India keeping all their servants and trying to hold on to the past. Also I'm envious about how easy it was to travel to these ancient sites as opposed to all the trouble going on now. Who knows when that area will ever be like that again.
Kath wrote: "10.10 Group ReadsThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
+ 10 task
Task total 10
Grand total 270"
+10 Oldies
+5 Combo (10.4-WONDERFUL)
From Post 338Angela wrote: "10.2 Halloween
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret AtwoodA Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is a story of an alternate America s..."
Welcome, Angela. I am sorry, but this book is listed as YA-Assignment at the Brooklyn Public Library and has a lexile score of 750. It qualifies for the task, but does not qualify for any style points. I have it recorded for 10.2 for 10 points right now. You could choose to move it to 20.7 or 20.9 for 20 points if you prefer, just let me know.
From Post 319Heather wrote: "20.3 - #25
The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle
+20 task
+10 oldies (1914)
task total: 30
grand total: 435"
+5 Combo 20.1
From Post 325Heather wrote: "10.2
Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin
+10 task
+5 oldies (1967)
task total: 15
grand total: 530"
+5 Combo (10.4-ROSEMARY'S)
From Post 341Theresa~OctoberLace wrote: "10.4 - 9, 10, 11
Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote 9/30/14
Breakfast has 9 letters.
Review:
Breakfast at Tiffany's by [author:Truman Capote|431..."
+5 Combo
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Reading with Style
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
Beekeeper's and Apprentice both have 10 letters in the title.
Task +10
Style +10 (Review)
If someone told me this book was about Sherlock Homes, I would have read it so much sooner. I am a big fan of Sherlock Holmes. In this book, he is retired. He mentors a young girl named Mary Russel who is just as intelligent as Holmes. He teaches her in the art of deduction. She is a modern woman for the times. It takes place in 1915. Overall, I enjoyed the book. I liked the character of Mary and I saw her as the next generation to carry on Sherlock Holmes's work. Their partnership turned into friendship and eventually love for each other. I will probably read the next book in the series. My only negative comment is that the pacing could have been more consistent.
Book Total: 20
Grand Total: 45