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Winter 14/15 RwS Completed Tasks - Winter 14/15
20.4 1001 :Kokoro by Natsume Sōseki
+20 task(#744 on list)
+10 Combo (10.4-Japan, 20.1)
+10 Non-Western (Japanese)
+10 Oldies (published 1914)
Task total: 50
Grand Total: 1630
20.5 Mystery WomenThe Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
(Lexile Score 1020)
Review:
I listened to this in audiobook format. The story was narrated by the author's daughter, Lizza Aiken who also provided an introduction as to how her mother came to write the book which I found very interesting. This is a typical fairy-tale quest story. The two main characters, Bonnie and her cousin Sylvia are sent to what is workhouse masquerading as a school by their new governess, Miss Slighcarp who plays the role of Evil Stepmother.
The rest of the story is how the girls overcome great odds to restore themselves to their former life and send the evildoers to their just rewards. I enjoyed settling back and listening to the fairy tale. I rooted for the girls and their allies and hissed at Miss Slighcarp and her henchmen.
Rating: 3 stars
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.4 England, 20.9 1924-2004)
+ 5 Oldies (Publ 1962)
Task Total = 45
Grand Total = 1370
20.1 - RwS Anniversary!Le Bal Des Voleurs: Comédie Ballet by Jean Anouilh
Published 1938
+20 Task
+5 Combo (20.8 - french, exiled in switzerland)
+10 Oldies (1938)
Task total = 35
Points total = 300
20.10 Goodreads FeatureBig Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Liane Moriarty is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. Big Little Lies is her second book that I have read in the recent past and it was highly enjoyable. The story was full of mystery and intrigue and real life and the characters she develops are as real as the friends we have in our lives. Then there’s the twist. You know it’s coming but I was not quite prepared for what it was. It was a doozy and maybe in retrospect, the book went a little downhill from there, a little anti-climactic. Not enough to diminish my overall enjoyment of the story however.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.4-story takes places 99% in Australia)
Task Total=35
Grand Total=345
20.5 Mystery WomenMaisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
Review:
This book wanted to be too many things at once. It was a historical fiction WWI piece telling a woman's story as a nurse in France. But it also wanted to be a mystery. But all the characters around Maisie are such true-hearted loving folks -- her long-suffering father, her benevolent employers, her sidekick. Maisie has such amazing empathy that she can imitate the body posture of those she is speaking with and feel what they are feeling. I found this "skill" hard to believe in and sort of trite. Still, despite these complaints, I enjoyed the book and would be interested in reading the next in the series.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.4 - 75% UK, though some parts were in France, I think it was less than 25%; 20.3, 20.8 - b. UK, emigrated to USA 1990)
Task total: 45
Grand total: 655
10.5 Author AchievementsMara and Dann by Doris Lessing
+10 task
+5 combo (20.9)
Task total 15
Grand total 785
20.10 Goodreads feature(from the Summer 2014 group reads list)
The Hours by Michael Cunningham
+20 task
I gather I am at 390, so this makes my running total: 410
Valerie wrote: "20.10 Goodreads feature(from the Summer 2014 group reads list)
The Hours by Michael Cunningham
+20 task
I gather I am at 390, so this makes my running total: 410"
Which book was this from?
10.4 Island DreamsThe Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths
takes place wholly in the UK (sadly she isn't on the mystery women list)
+10 task
running total 420
10.4 Island DreamsThe Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
takes place in Australia (with an extremely minor side trip to NYC).
+10 task
running total 430
Task 20.3 - Best Historical Fiction Books that Are Actually Historical Fiction.On February 23, 2015: #123 on the list
Lady of the English (2011) by Elizabeth Chadwick (Goodreads Author) (Paperback, 514 pages)
Review:Queen Matilda was the daughter of King Henry I and the granddaughter of William the Conqueror of England. This novel begins after the death of her first husband in Germany. She returns to England, and to her father’s household. The novel follows her life from that point onwards. She eventually is involved in a destructive English Civil War between herself and her cousin Stephen. I liked that the author kept to what is known about the historical Matilda, with reasonable speculations about the parts of her life that isn’t known. The writing is in an easily accessible bestseller style. Recommended for fans of historical fiction.
+20 Task
+05 Jumbo 500-699 Pages:
+10 Review
Task Total: 20 + 05 + 10 = 35
Grand Total: 670 + 35 = 705
20.5 Mystery womenWhy Shoot a Butler? by Georgette Heyer
+20 task
+5 combo
+10 island dreams (takes place wholly in the UK)
+20 rws anniversary (first pub. in 1933)
+10 oldie
____
65
running total 495
10.4 Island DreamsThe Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
takes place wholly in the UK
+10 task
running total 505
10.4 Island DreamsThousand Cranes by Yasunari Kawabata
takes place wholly in Japan
+10 task
+10 non-western (Japanese)
+5 oldie (pub. 1958)
____
30
running total 530
10.4 Island DreamsIntimate Enemies by Shana Abe
takes place wholly in the UK
+10 task
running total 540
20.8 Exiles and emmigrantsDubliners by James Joyce
born in Ireland, emigrated permanently to continental Europe
+20 task
+5 combo
+10 island dreams (takes place wholly in Ireland)
+20 rws anni.; published in 1914
+10 oldie
65
running total 605
Valerie, there may be some misunderstanding about scoring for combo points. You get 5 points for each additional task for which the book qualifies, not the points for the other task. Kate will be working on scoring in the next day or two and will be posting updates.
20.3 Historical All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
# 157 on the list
Review
Overall I liked this book. I really liked the character of Marie Laurie because not many books have a blind person as a main character and show a person of disability is a realistic light. I enjoyed her story very much. The story of Werner and Jutta wasn't as clear. Although, I did like Jutta. The book was broken up into eleven parts or I guess they could have been chapters. Then you had titled sections in those parts. The transition between characters was confusing. I had a hard time following the breaks between characters. I was also confused on why Marie Laurie's father was sent to prison. That part was unclear. I was pleased to see that the story ended well.
Task +20
Style +15 (Review, Jumbo 530pp)
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 220
10.7 - Black Humor Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore
A humorous account of Jesus' missing years. But for a slight mention of Jesus' preaching in the temple at age 12, the Gospels only tell the story of Jesus' birth and his preachings which begin at about age 30. Biff's Gospel fills in the gap. An angel comes to Earth to revive Biff in the current age to write his Gospel. Biff was childhood pals with Jesus (known then as Joshua) and Mary Magdalene (known then as Maggie). Biff is something of a doofus but is loyal to his friend. When Joshua feels compelled to find the wise men who came to his birth, Biff dutifully accompanies him. The pair have adventures on the Silk Road, meeting one wise man and his demon in Afghanistan, another in China, and the third in India. Along the way, they learn aspects of Buddhism and Hinduism and even meet up with a yeti.
The writing is very clever and I found myself chuckling quite a bit. I look forward to reading Moore's other works.
task +10
review +10
total = 20
Grand Total= 895?
20.3 HistoricalRoots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley
Review: Roots is one of those books I’ve seen on the shelf my entire life – my parents had a copy from the 70s, which is the copy I ended up reading – but I never really felt a great need to pick it up. I’ve never even seen the miniseries. But when I found it on the list of historical fiction books that have real history, I picked it up, just to get sort of confused because while it reads like a novel, and Haley even mentions that the dialogue, etc. are novelized, it turns out to be shelved as nonfiction at every library I checked. Regardless of that, the book itself is interesting and important, not least because it’s amazing how much of his family history Haley was able to trace. So few families remained pretty much intact through their time as slaves, let alone kept oral histories alive that provided enough clues to find their roots in Africa. I have to admit that I almost wish the last chapter were situated as the first one, because Haley’s search for his family tree was the most interesting part and may have made me feel more invested in the first portion of the book, which was in such an unfamiliar setting. Regardless, I’m glad I read it, if only to contribute to Haley’s goal that he states at the end – to provide the story of people who weren’t the typical winners of history.
+20 Task (#88 on list)
+10 Review
+5 Oldies (pub 1976)
+10 Jumbo (729 pages)
Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 1535
15.9 A to ZS-C
So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures by Maureen Corrigan
Task total: 30
Grand total: 685
Post 815 Marie wrote: "20.1 - RwS Anniversary!Le Bal Des Voleurs: Comédie Ballet by Jean Anouilh
Published 1938
+20 Task
+5 Combo (20.8 - french, exiled in switzerland)
+10 Oldies (1938)..."
I'm sorry, Marie. The most popular English language edition has just 71 pages and does not qualify for this task. If you can find another short book to read before Saturday, you could use it for 10.8, 2 for 1.
10.2 NutcrackerKolyma Tales by Varlam Shalamov
Kolyma Tales is a collection of short stories and sketches about life as a political prisioner in the prision camps of Kolyma in Siberia. The author spent 17 years in these camps beginning in the late thirties, and draws on stories he heard from other inmates as well as his own experiences. Before Shalamov began writing these tales, he was a poet, and that really comes through in the way he dextrously sketches his stories - so concise and restrained. He has been compared to Chekov in that he tells these dark and violent stories with objectivity and reserve, rather than moralizing the tales as Tolstoy might. None of the stories are directly linked to others, and they do not seem to be arranged chronologically, either, but the entire collection read together portrays a mosiac of experiences which feel more complete and whole than one linear narrative of a single survivor's experiences ever could be. I felt immersed in the Gulag system during the week I slowly read this book, and even though I have finished the book, I can't stop thinking about it.
10 pt. task
+10 non-western
+10 review
+5 oldies (originally published 1978)
+5 Jumbo (528 pages)
Task Total: 40
Grand Total: 685
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Valerie wrote: "20.10 Goodreads feature(from the Summer 2014 group reads list)
The Hours by Michael Cunningham
+20 task
I gather I am at 390, so this makes my runni..."
Hi Elizabeth:
I don't understand your question.
Valerie wrote: "Hi Elizabeth:I don't understand your question. "
That task was to look at the Readers Also Enjoyed feature on the pages of the books listed, not the 40 books themselves. But not to worry, this book qualifies for 20.4, so you'll get the same points.
10.8 Two for oneI was previously allowed Lady Susan by Jane Austen.
in combination with "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London (lexile 1010)
The Call of the Wild, White Fang and Other Stories
(replacing Kafka's Metamorphosis)
+10 task
Apparently I've been calculating my score incorrectly, so I have no idea what I should be at. I suspect that there will be associated oldies points with these books, but will leave that for the judges to figure out.
10.6 - Foreign LanguageChronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez
+10 task (Spanish)
+20 combo (10.5 Neustadt 1972, 10.3 1980s, 20.8 born Colombia died Mexico, 20.9 1927-2014)
+10 non-Western
+5 oldies (pub 1981)
task total: 45
grand total: 665
10.4 Island DreamsGood Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
I really liked this book – not too surprising since I’ve liked both Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman many times before. I think I would have liked it less in audio format so I'm glad I happened to pick this one up on the Kindle instead. I started it a while ago and wasn't particularly compelled to keep reading (not a great sign) but once I got a little ways in and saw how it was going to go, I thought it was hilarious. I read the bulk of it on a long airplane flight, so that also had an impact on my enjoyment -- though the fact that it kept me engaged the whole time was a great thing! There were so many great details -- I loved the Crowley descriptions, the little side notes, and the chattering nuns.
+10 task (UK)
+5 combo (10.7 - #2 on list)
+10 review
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 500
20.8 Exiles and EmigrantsA Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn
This had languished on my to-read list for a while, but I’m glad I picked it up. I have always been interested in South African history and government, and I adore a good mystery, so this was perfect. I really did enjoy the book – Malla Nunn does a great job evoking the South Africa of the 1950s (obviously I can’t speak to the accuracy from personal experience, but it rang true based on the reading I’ve done and classes I’ve taken) through the eyes of a police detective. The most interesting thing about the setting was the way that the apartheid laws, as they were put in place, changed things at different rates and in different ways. I had never really thought about it, but I suppose that if pressed, I would have imagined a more immediate roll-out of laws that, right away, took away rights and changed people’s opinions, rather than the confusing set of small changes that Detective Cooper encounters – changes that some people take advantage of and others ignore, almost like they’re imagining they are just another short lived government program.
+20 task (Malla Nunn was born in Swaziland and emigrated to Australia)
+10 review
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 530
Task 20.10 Goodreads Feature - Elizabeths' Task:The Garden of Evening Mists recommends In a Strange Room
In a Strange Room (2010) by Damon Galgut (Paperback, 207 pages)
+20 Task
+10 Non-Western (author born & lives in South Africa)
Task Total: 20 + 10 = 30
Grand Total: 705 + 30 = 735
Task 10.8 - Two for One - Read a combination of 2 or more books, each under 100 pages, that total at least 100 pages when combined.
Most popular version: 42 pages
Steampunk
The Master Mummer's Mummy (Macallister Fogg #1) (2013) by Mark Hodder (Goodreads Author) (Kindle Edition, 42 pages)
Review:A pastiche is a work of literature that imitates the style of the work of another author or authors. This novelette is a pastiche of the popular penny dreadfuls of the nineteenth century, with a modern feminist sensibility. Modern steampunk elements (such as a steam-powered vehicle) abound throughout the novellette. The action was non-stop, and the explanations sparse – I would have preferred less action and more explanations. Recommended for fans of steampunk.
Most popular version: 45 pages
Steampunk
Great Great Great (And So Forth) Uncle Dragoslav (Macallister Fogg #2) (2013) by Mark Hodder (Goodreads Author) (Kindle Edition, 45 pages)
Review:I’m getting more used to the style of Hodder’s“penny dreadful” steampunk novelettes. In this installment, the action was like riding a roller coaster – a long lead-in culminating in a whoosh! of action at the end. We get a specific orientation in time (1857) and we get vampires! Recommended for fans of steampunk.
Most popular version: 32 pages
Horror
Selfies: A Tor.com Original (2014) by Lavie Tidhar (Kindle Edition, 32 pages)
Free online fiction.
http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/09/se...
Review: Straightforward horror story about a teenage girl, her phone, and the selfies she takes with her phone. I liked the writing style, and it fit the story. Recommended.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total : 10 + 10 = 20
Grand Total: 735 + 20 = 755
15.2 - E-RThe English: A field guide by Matt Rudd
+15 task points
Task total: 15
RwS total: 1125
AtoZ total: 30
Grand Total: 1155
15.3 - H-CHard Choices by Hillary Rodham Clinton
+15 task points
Task total: 15
RwS total: 1125
AtoZ total: 45
Grand Total: 1170
15.4 - U-BUnexpected Lessons in Love by Bernardine Bishop
+15 task points
Task total: 15
RwS total: 1125
AtoZ total: 60
Grand Total: 1185
10.4 Soverign IslandsThe Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
This book has been on my tbr list for a long time, but I had assumed it would be a difficult and uncomfortable read given what I'd heard about it. Instead, I sat down to start it yesterday afternoon and, even with the inevitable interruptions in my evening, I stayed glued to it until I was finished. It's been a long time since I've read anything that so clearly fits into the easy-to-read/ hard-to-put-down category.
It is really hard to talk about this book without spoilers, but I will do my best. The narrator of The Wasp Factory, Frank, is in his late teens. He has been living on an island in Scotland with his eccentric intelligent father for most of his life. Homeschooled, isolated, and suffering an (initially) unnamed disability, he is a clever, organized, and keeps himself busy playing outside. He has also murdered three people, hunts and tortures animals, and has a invented a personal philosophy and developed personal habits worthy of a psycopath. But it is his brother that has just escaped the insane asylum, and, we learn at the beginning of the book, he is heading home to visit the family. The father is clearly worried that this will happen. The book covers the time leading up to the oldest child's arrival home, and allows Frank time to retrace his life and the decisions he has made. Then Banks ends the novel with a totally unexpected (and I think unneccessary) ending.
I found this book unnerving, but for some reason I was not uncomfortable or disturbed as I read it. I thought Banks did a great job describing Frank's perspective, mixing the realistic and imaginative play of a child with Frank's dark and disturbed psychology. I am not convinced Banks was right about the narrator's motivations, and the ending was hard to swallow. The resolution felt tacked on and unrealistic. I don't think I can say anymore. Hopefully I didn't say too much. I did like the book quite a bit, though, and I will definitely be reading more of Banks' work in the future.
10 pt. task
+10 review
+5 oldies (1984)
+10 combo (10.3, 20.4)
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 710
10.7 - Black HumorGood Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
I enjoyed the book more than I expected. I chuckled through many sections, but I did find some of the humor a little dated and wondered if a younger person would get all of the references. I did lose the thread of the book a few times, but overall it was a quick 4 star read for me. I enjoyed the plot itself and thought it was cleverly characterized. I have read many books by each of these authors separately, and this collaboration has been on my radar for a long time. I would like to listen to the radio show that was recently done and hear the characters brought to life.
+10 Task
+ 5 Combo: 10.4 - Island Dreams (UK)
+ 5 Oldies (1990)
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 1985
10.2 NutcrackerMother by Maxim Gorky
The novel begins with the Mother being beaten by her husband...a nearly daily event. And it is evident that this is the custom with most men in this pre-revolutionary Russian town. The husband dies, and the son becomes enamored with socialist literature. When his like-minded friends come to visit, the Mother, gradually becomes aware of their issues and bravery. Her son becomes an admired leader in the movement and eventually is arrested. The mother carries on and begins to distribute books in the factory and eventually in the countryside. The novel is much too simplistic. The reader learns about the awful treatment of working people and is expected to just accept that socialism will cure it all. At one point Gorky even suggests that the "Truth" is a new religion. Read this for its historical value... not for much else.
task +10
combo +10 (20.1-1906; 20.4)
review +10
non-western +10
oldie (1906) +10
total= 50
grand total= 945?
20.5 Mystery Women :The Green Mill Murder by Kerry Greenwood
+20 task
+5 Combo (10.4-Australia)
Task total: 25
Grand Total: 1655
From Post 797Karen Michele wrote: "10.4 - Island Dreams
The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde
+10 Task: United Kingdom
+10 Oldies (1887)
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1955"
+5 Combo 20.8
Lagullande wrote: "Kate, I think you might have omitted to deduct the 10 Non-Western points I included in error in post 741? Elizabeth (Alaska) noted my mistake in post 743, and I posted a revised total of 1140 in po..."Yeah, I caught this, it should be corrected now (or after I post the readerboard). Thanks for the head's up.
From Post 805Tuyen wrote: "10.4 - Island Dreams Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser
+ 10 Task
Grand total: 450"
+5 Combo 20.9-author born 1932
From Post 808Krista wrote: "10.3 1980's
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
Review:
Having read, and really enjoyed Marilynne Robinson’s second book, Gilead– I was surprised by how nonp..."
Congratulations on your Mega Finish, Krista!!
+100 RwS Finish
+5 Combo (20.10)
I have found and fixed the 10 point discrepancy.
From Post 813Coralie wrote: "20.4 1001 :
Kokoro by Natsume Sōseki
+20 task(#744 on list)
+10 Combo (10.4-Japan, 20.1)
+10 Non-Western (Japanese)
+10 Oldies (published 1914)
Task total: 50
Gra..."
+5 Combo 20.10
From Post 824Valerie wrote: "10.4 Island Dreams
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
takes place in Australia (with an extremely minor side trip to NYC).
+10 task
running total 430"
+10 Combo 20.10 and 20.8
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (other topics)Dirty Cop (other topics)
Ghosts (other topics)
One Con Glory (other topics)
The Winner (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Milan Kundera (other topics)Kyle Adams (other topics)
Paul Auster (other topics)
Sarah Kuhn (other topics)
David Baldacci (other topics)
More...
Just Breathe by Janette Paul
+20 Task
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1490