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10.2 Book Lover's DayThe Lost for Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland
It all starts with a book of poetry, found on the road by Loveday Cardew. Loveday works at the Lost for Words Bookshop, is a pierced, tattooed, and dyed misfit, and has had one rough go of life. She posts a "lost and found" notice for the book in the window of the shop. Enter Nathan: a Doc Marten's-wearing poet and magician whose book fell from the pocket of his black leather jacket and was rescued by Loveday. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know where this is going...but the road to love is ever a rocky one, and there are a few boulders on this couple's path.
I loved the characters in this novel--my only regret is that we didn't get a little bit more time with Archie, the eccentric and affable owner of the bookshop. Loveday's backstory slowly unfolds with every other chapter taking place during her childhood. Nathan is a wonder of a man, but still has imperfections which make him believable. While there is definitely a romance involved, there are enough other things going on that it doesn't feel like merely a "romance novel"--definitely contemporary fiction.
After reading such a heavy and harrowing book just before this, The Lost for Words Bookshop was such a joy...smart writing, simple story, couched in the love of books, left a smile on my face.
+10 Task (tagged "books about books" by 150 users)
+10 Review
+25 Combo (10.7--E, A, I, U; 10.8; 20.3; 20.5; 20.8: Sb=Antimony)
Task total: 45
Season total: 615
10.7 A E I O U (and sometimes Y!)White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg
+20 Task
+10 Not a Novel
Task total = 30
Season total= 115
20. 4 Boomer The Difference by Marina Endicott (1958)
I spent a long time reading this one, longer than I normally seem to spend reading a book - and I didn't mind one bit, I never felt I had to hurry it along, or hoped for it to hurry up and end, I simply enjoyed every chance I was able to spend reading it. There are many things to say about how wonderful this story was, the whales, the people, the writing, the story....
I found this to be extremely companionable to Michael Crummey The Innocents for reasons I cannot properly articulate. And as I reached the end, I realized it is extremely companionable as well to William Kent Krueger This Tender Land - another immensely satisfying and enjoyable coming-of-age story, with every bit the same adventure feelings, Odyssey-like, reconciliation, redemption, residential-school details (and so many more things wonderfully examined and told inside).
Why has Endicott's book been overlooked this year for Canadian literary prizes like the Giller and the now too familiar list of books on the Writers' Trust award - it features a majority of the same titles as the Giller. I so sincerely hope the Governor General's Literary Awards remedy this with their upcoming announcement - both by including Endicott's book but also giving us a wider selection of great Canadian literature outside of the ones already nominated. There is room here for the inclusion of many other titles in CanLit and I really hope to see The Difference included!
+20 Task
+ 5 10.3 Andre Gide
+5 10.7 A E I O U Y
+10 Review
Task Total = 40
Season Total = 100
20.3 AuthorAlton Locke, Tailor and Poet: An Autobiography by Charles Kingsley
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.7 AEIY)
+15 Oldies (published 1850)
Task Total: 40
Season Total: 455
20.2 Wolf HallMuch Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
Every time I read Shakespeare, I get something new from the text.
While I normally swoon/die laughing at the repartee between Beatrice and Benedick, this time the thing that stuck out for me (and bothered me) most was the story of Claudio and Hero. Not once but twice does Claudio spurn Hero (first when he thinks the Prince truly wants her and again when he sees "her" getting it on with someone else), and both times the bastard Don John is involved...come on! No one trusts the bastard for a reason!
Hero! Why in the world would you take this man as your husband after he has already proven false--taking the word of a known knave over your own sweet, virtuous self--and humiliated you in front of your entire town?! Yeah, she wouldn't--except for the fact that she was written into being by a man (and a man of the 16th century, no less). Rant over. Still love this one, easily top three of my favorites of the bard.
+20 Task (pub. 1598)
+10 Not-a-Novel
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.1)
+25 Oldies
Task total: 70
Season total: 685
20.9 ShipwreckedThe Poseidon Adventure by Paul Gallico
I dont remember the movie very well but I am pretty sure all they took from the book was the idea and a few memorable moments. I recognized the boy with all the details and the moment where the woman who used to be a swim champ finds a path underwater, but nothing else.
The book started out a little slow, since you have to set things up, but there was interpersonal tension being set in already so it still held attention.
Once the ship rolled over the story was compelling and the characters clear, even though there were over a dozen on the journey. It was hard to stop reading. I appreciated the emotional richness that switching between characters occasionally helped to provide, although just the outer facade was also a mess.
+20 task
+10 review
+5 oldies (pub 1969)
+5 combo (10.7 a.u.i.o)
Task total: 40
Grand total: 655
15.2 PnP2D4 nonfiction
Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944-1956 by Anne Applebaum
+15
Season total: 115
20.7 Spec FicBrown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson
The setting was interesting, an abandoned but thriving inner city, and allowed for combinations of modernity and dystopia. The character choice was refreshingly different - a young mother with a baby and a grandmother concerned with her own personal issues, relatable if not always likeable. The dialect the characters spoke in was understandable and story appropriate and kept reminding me and keeping me grounded in the reality being described, even though dialect is something I usually avoid. The story itself was awesome. I loved how pieces intersected in unexpected but fitting ways, layering. I had never read this author before but would definitely like to again.
+20 task
+10 combo (20.5, 20.4 b1960)
+10 review
Task total: 40
Grand total: 695
20.8 Periodic TableEscape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West by Blaine Harden
"Escape from Camp 14" is a disturbing account of the life of Shin Dong-hyuk, a North Korean who was born in a political prison camp and knew nothing about the outside world. Every day brought hours of constant labor with the hope that he managed to find enough food to survive and avoided beatings by the guards. The children had no idea that love or morality existed, and were taught by the guards to snitch on everyone, including their families. People had been imprisoned for three generations for the crimes of their relatives.
When Shin met an older prisoner who had once been part of the elite, conversations with him opened up Shin's world. At first Shin could only think of the good food available if he escaped from Camp 14, but eventually he recognized that there was an opportunity for a better life. The book tells about Shin's escape, and his travels through North Korea to China. He journeyed to South Korea where he spent months trying to adjust to a highly competitive, highly educated country. He also was nurtured by a non-profit group in the United States that arranged for him to give talks to human rights groups. Psychologically Shin's journey was still continuing since he was haunted with feelings of guilt from some of his actions in the camp, as well as nightmares from the torture during his captivity.
"Escape from Camp 14" is a brutal story full of violence. But it's important that the world knows about the atrocities in North Korea. Between 150,000 and 200,000 people are slaves in North Korea's political prison camps. This book is a remarkable story of endurance and survival.
+20 task BH= Bohrium
+ 5 combo 20.5 Non-Linear
+10 not a novel
+10 review
Task total: 45
Season total: 320
15.1 PnM2 Round 2 D5Where Shadows Dance by C.S. Harris
+15 Task (historical fiction)
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 470
15.4 - PnM2 F3 - author name I-KWho Says You're Dead? Medical & Ethical Dilemmas for the Curious & Concerned by Jacob M. Appel
+15 task (starts with J)
Task total: 15 points
Grand total: 80 points
10.2 Book Lover's DayTalking About Detective Fiction by P.D. James
+10 task
+10 not-a-novel
Task total=20
Grand total=335
5 stars
15.1 Pick N Mix 2A1. Canada, USA, Mexico, and the Caribbean
Trial by Fire by J.A. Jance
Task total 15 pts
Season Total 300 pts
10.1 10.3 10.4 10.7
20.4 20.5 20.8
15.1
15.2 Pick N Mix 2B1 Publication Date (original publication date) 2001 or later
Web of Evil by J.A. Jance
Task total 15 pts
Season Total 315 pts
10.1 10.3 10.4 10.7
20.4 20.5 20.8
15.1 15.2
15.3 Pick N Mix 2C4 Third Person Narrator
Hand of Evil by J.A. Jance
Task total 15 pts
Season Total 330 pts
10.1 10.3 10.4 10.7
20.4 20.5 20.8
15.1 15.2 15.3
15.4 Pick N Mix 2D2 Genre mystery, thriller, crime, horror, suspense
Cruel Intent by J.A. Jance
Task total 15 pts
Season Total 345 pts
10.1 10.3 10.4 10.7
20.4 20.5 20.8
15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4
15.5 Pick N Mix 2E3. Title consists of a full sentence
Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World by William H. McRaven
Task total 20 pts
Season Total 365 pts
10.1 10.3 10.4 10.7
20.4 20.5 20.8
15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5
10.10 Group ReadsInterview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
Thank you Tien for choosing this book. I have had Interview with the Vampire in my Kindle library for over a year now, but just had not read it yet. Also thank you Beth; I shamelessly copied and pasted your points post out of sheer laziness.
For those of us of a certain age, the name "Interview With the Vampire" is very familiar. I had only seen parts of the movie as it played on TV so although the storyline was somewhat known to me, the movie did not present any spoilers.
This is the type of "horror" story that I enjoy. I am not a fan of slasher, blood-and-guts stories. This novel had just the right balance of horrific events described in a subtle manner and character development to make the story interesting for me. I would call it spooky fun. It was gripping. I think Anne Rice was able to spin her story in a way that makes a reader want to know what happens next.
There are big themes present like, "What exactly does it mean to be alive?" or "What must we do to survive?" or even "When is survival not enough?" Still, the book overall is meant to entertain not teach. It was a light enjoyable read.
+10 task
+10 review
+5 age (1976)
+5 combo 10.1 - Tien read in July 2019 for 15.10
+5 combo 20.6
+5 combo 20.5 - although whole story is a conversation in a setting, so is linear, the narrative is not linear because it goes back and forth between immersing you in the past and the interview setting in the "present"
Task total: 40
Season total 80 points
15.5 B3. The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle
+20 Task (Published 1901-1950:)
Task Total: 20
Season Total: 420
15.6 Pick N Mix 2F5 Author's Name (as published) Begins With... P-S
The Benson Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine
Task total 20 pts
Season Total 385 pts
10.1 10.3 10.4 10.7
20.4 20.5 20.8
15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6
15.6 D5. Inland by Téa Obreht
+20 Task (genre: historical fiction, romance, adventure, western)
Task Total: 20
Season Total: 440
15.7 D1The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury 800 Lexile
+20 Task (genre: sci-fi, fantasy, steampunk, time travel, paranormal)
Task Total: 20
Season Total: 460
Additional Points -- Thanks Kate! 10
Season Total: 470
15.7 Pick N Mix 2D4. non-fiction, biography, autobiography, memoir
A Factory of One: Applying Lean Principles to Banish Waste and Improve Your Personal Performance by Daniel Markovitz
Task total 20 pts
Season Total 405 pts
10.1 10.3 10.4 10.7
20.4 20.5 20.8
15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7
15.8 Pick N Mix 2B2 Publication Date (original publication date): 1951-2000
Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neill
Task total 20 pts
Season Total 425 pts
10.1 10.3 10.4 10.7
20.4 20.5 20.8
15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7 15.8
20.4 BoomerNo Groom at the Inn by Megan Frampton
A fake engagement romance (between two complete strangers) set during a Regency house party over Christmas. This was low-angst and lightly-developed.
The biggest draw for me was Sophronia and her wordplay. A game of Dictionary (one obscure real word, accompanied by two fake definitions and a real one) is contained between the book's chapters, and is eventually played within the narrative. Sophronia's internal life, her own narration, is littered with wordplay that she clearly delights in and that connects her to her late father: she's both clever and silly, and I enjoyed that combination, and her character as a whole, a lot.
I found James pretty vague in contrast, and he also quickly embodied the Colonial Cool that I detest so much in historical romances (where profiting in direct colonialism is a way to make British characters sophisticated/special/angsty/interesting/educated erotically). His vague occupation is apparently traveling and purchasing and selling other cultures' treasures. Like, this passage I think was sometimes to portray his silvertongue charm, but it left me thinking what an imperial ass he is: "Jamie had once successfully negotiated the purchase of artifacts that were reportedly the only things keeping the town from being destroyed by angry gods, so he thought he could handle the relatively minor endeavor of persuading his mother and the guests at a house party that he was, indeed, engaged to be married. Even though he rather wished he were back facing those superstitious villagers rather than attempting this subterfuge." Blech.
(I did like this other passage, though, where Sophronia picks apart a term that romance novels usually use unthinkingly: "The jacket was warm from his body, and was redolent of his scent, a mix of soap and something that smelled spicy and faintly exotic. Of course, faintly exotic to Sophronia was anywhere outside London, so perhaps his cologne or whatever it was came from York or Devon or something.")
So: the novella itself is cute but insubstantial, I hope James gets scurvy, Sophronia was delightful and I would have preferred reading a romance between her and Miss Green or even Mrs. Asher or the vicar, and maybe I am incapable of enjoying standard Regencies these days.
+20 Task -- born 1964 (as per BPL)
+5 Combo (10.8 GROOM)
+10 Review
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 210
20.4 BoomerElsewhere, Home by Leila Aboulela
A strong collection of short stories focused on the inner lives of global citizens.
I've read and enjoyed two novels by Aboulela before, and in the short form, she can really showcase her ability to illustrate the intersections of internal and external landscapes in characters navigating the assumed boundaries of cultures, countries, family lives, and their own abilities to love and learn. She draws upon an array of characters, differing in gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, and relationships to their own faith, and she brings depth to private dramas and to quiet personal revelations.
Her writing style is very light and unobtrusive, and it's used to great effect to accumulate details and to allow her characters to narrate precisely at the angles of emotional honesty they're able to. I liked that from story to story, there was often similarities and overlap in character situations and living situations, because it allowed the differences in individual characters and stories to give a kind of mosaical impression of the themes that Aboulela explored.
+20 Task -- born 1964
+10 Combo (10.7 EIAOU; 20.8 La = Lanthanum)
+10 Not-a-Novel (short story collection)
+10 Review
Post Total: 50
Season Total: 260
Posts 234 & 235Jackie wrote: "Hello! I just discovered this group yesterday and am very excited to join in! The first book I finished as of September 1st-10.10 Group Reads
The Sellout by [author:Paul Beatty|4..."
Hi Jackie! Looking more closely, 10.4 is the Instant Replay task. You could claim this book for that task and get the same score. It is a use once task and cannot be used as a combo when claiming a title for another task. Let us know if for some reason you don't want to do this on Post 234.
However, you will lose one of your combos in Post 235,
Post 255 Anika wrote: "10.2 Book Lover's DayThe Lost for Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland
It all starts with a book of poetry, found on the road by Loveday Cardew. Loveday works at ..."
I'm sorry, Anika. (I hate it that most of my corrections start with "I'm sorry".) Anyway, the MPE for this title is Lost for Words - no bookshop in it, so no combo for 10.8.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Posts 234 & 235Jackie wrote: "Hello! I just discovered this group yesterday and am very excited to join in! The first book I finished as of September 1st-10.10 Group Reads
[book:The Sellout|222..."
No worries Elizabeth, I think I meant to claim it for the Group Reads task since I don’t have a copy of any of the other books but I forgot that it wasn’t eligible for combo points when I made my post. So this brings my total down to 110, correct?
Jackie wrote: "So this brings my total down to 110, correct?"There are 2 combos for Post 256 as Nancy Isenberg also works for 20.4 and 20.8. I think what you lose/gain equals out! But Kate will be checking things twice for us in the next day or two.
15.1 Pick N Mix 2 E6 - Title has q, x, or z
Squeezed: Why Our Families Can't Afford America by Alissa Quart
+15 task
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 55
15.2 Pick N Mix 2 A3 Set in Europe
Out of Bounds by Val McDermid
+15 task (set in Scotland)
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 70
20.4 BoomerWhen the Ghost Screams: True Stories of Victims Who Haunt by Leslie Rule 1958
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesli...
+20 pts -Task
+10 pts - Combo (20.6, 20.8 - Lawrencium)
+10 pts - not a novel
Task Total - 40 pts
Season Total - 245 pts
Task 20.5 Non-LinearRead a book with a non-linear narrative.
Lost Children Archive (2019) by Valeria Luiselli (Hardcover, 385 pages)
+20 Task
+15 Combo (#10.7(a,e,i,u), #10.10(group reads), #20.8(LV= Livermorium (atomic number 116))
Task Total: 20 + 15 = 35
Grand Total: 190 + 35 = 225
20.3 AuthorGin & Daggers by Jessica Fletcher
I think this is the first book I have ever read in which the real author and the fake author (being the same person) share credit. This mystery novel is the first in the Murder She Wrote series....which was also a television series starring Angela Lansbury. I remember watching some of those shows many many moons ago. It made it easy to imagine not only the main character of Jessica Fletcher...but also the tongue in cheek tone of much of the book.
Here, Mrs. Fletcher is in London to attend a literary convention and visits her fellow writer friend who gets murdered during the visit. The mystery is intriguing ...and enough of a puzzle to keep the reader guessing...without confusing the characters or motives.
I think I would have appreciated the story a bit more if Mrs. Fletcher had more obstacles in her investigations. Things seem to fall in her lap. People she needs to see are almost always available to talk to her. Anyway, an enjoyable read....and I'll catch a few more in this long series. 3 stars
Task=20
Review=10
Oldie=5 (1989)
Task Total= 35
Grand Total=455
Tasks Completed: 15
10.3 (35); 10.4 (35); 10.7 (35); 10.8 (35)
15.1(E3)(15); 15.2(B2)(15); 15.3(F6)(15); 15.4(D4)(15); 15.5(F2)(20);15.6(C4)(20); 15.7(D6)(20)
20.1 (35); 20.2 (65); 20.3 (35); 20.7 (35); 20.8 (45)
10.7 A,E,I, O, U, sometimes YThe Two-Family House by Lynda Cohen Loigman
Enjoyed it. 4 stars.
+10 Task (A, E, I, O, and Y)
Task Total: 10
Season Total: 45
10.8 Double OFair Stood the Wind for France by H.E. Bates
H.E. Bates was in the RAF in World War II and I think it shows, as the opening chapters with the crew flying over France on their way home from a raid on Italy, then crash landing when something goes wrong with the plane, are the most evocative passages in the book. The crew are fortunate to be taken in by a farming family, but the pilot is injured and has to stay behind when the others leave, giving him the chance to fall in love with the French farmer's daughter.
Since this was published during the war, it carried all the insecurity of the time, when people didn't know what the outcome would be. The mutual distrust of British and French was brought out clearly. The romance was the least convincing part for me - we had everything from Franklin's point of view, and I didn't get a clear sense of "the girl" as he mostly refers to her. But everything else was magnificent.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+ 5 Oldies (1944)
Post total: 25
Season Total: 340
15.1 PnM2 B1Voices From the Street by Philip K. Dick
+15 task (published 2007)
Task total=15
Grand total=350
15.4 Pick 'n' Mix 2B2 Publication date 1951-2000
A Garden Beyond Paradise by Rumi (published 1968)
Task total: 15
Season total: 335
15.5 PnM2F4 Author's Name, L-O
The Mere Wife by Maria Dahvana Headley
+ 20 Task
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 280
15.2 PnM2 F.3 Author's Name I-K
Crow Winter: A Novel by Karen McBride
+15 pt Task
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 115
Task 15.3 PnM2 C3The Stuff of Nightmares (Sherlock Holmes) (2013) by James Lovegrove
+15 C-3 First Person Narrator
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 225 + 15 = 240
From Post 176Karen Michele wrote: "10.10 Group Reads
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver
+10 Task
+10 Not a Novel
+ 5 Oldies
Task Total: 25
Season Total: 240"
+5 Combo 10.7
From Post 209Valerie wrote: "10.6 WWII
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
What a great premise for a book – reliving your life until you ‘got it right’. Everyone else in your life stays the same ..."
+5 Jumbo
From Post 221Karen Michele wrote: "20.10 Difficult (Elizabeth (Alaska)'s Task)
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
+20 Task
+10 Combo: 10.7 A, E, I, O, U, sometimes Y / 20.5 Non-Linear
+10 Oldies (1930)
..."
+5 Combo 10.5
From Post 227Beth wrote: "10.4 Replay
Spells of the City ed by Jean Rabe
Meets task 10.7 Summer Shorts
+10 task
+10 not a novel
Task total: 20
Grand total: 540"
+5 Combo 20.4
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
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Lost in Shangri-la: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II (other topics)
Arsenic and Old Lace (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Penelope Lively (other topics)Tom Wolfe (other topics)
Mitchell Zuckoff (other topics)
Joseph Kesselring (other topics)
Mitchell Zuckoff (other topics)
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Lighthouse Bay by Kimberley Freeman
I E Y A
+10 Task
Post Total: 10
Season Total: 550