Reading with Style discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Archives
>
Winter 14/15 RwS Completed Tasks - Winter 14/15
20.4 - 1001:Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams
Review:
I've read the Hitchhiker's Guide novels about 10-15 years ago. This time the 1001-task gave me the reason to try Douglas Adams' other series. The first book started out a bit slow and I couldn't really get into it for the about 50 pages or so, but then the story took off and all manner of craziness started happening. Electric Monks, ghosts both new and old, time machines, conjuring tricks, Cambridge professors. Witty wordplays and crazy dialogue from very peculiar characters. Kind of what you would expect from Adams. I did enjoy the book and there were lots of cute little details. I'll probably read the other books in the series at some point.
+20 task
+10 combos (10.4 - Island Dreams (takes place in England) and 10.3 - 1980s (#54 on the list))
+10 review
+5 oldies (published in 1987)
Task total: 45
Grand total: 150
10.8 - Two for One In the Ravine by Anton Chekhov 39p
and White Nights by Fyodor Dostoyevsky 70p (in the Modern Library edition of "The Best Short Stories of Dostoevsky
In the Ravine is also known as In the Gully and was published in 1900. A dark and sad story. The story opens with a family of Russian merchants who live on land in a ravine in a small country town. Aksinya, the daughter-in-law is the real business person..not her father-in-law Grigory who owns the premises. After a celebration for the arranged marriage of another son, Anisem, things begin to fall apart. Aksinya's resentments result in a horrible event... but the dreary life in this small town continues with little change.
Dostoevsky's White Nights features the narrator, a 26 year-old man who is quite shy...especially with women. He has no friends. One night he finds himself saving a young woman who is being hassled by a drunk. The two become friends while meeting on 4 successive nights with a sad result for our young man.
+10 task
+10 review
+10 Non-Western
+10 oldie (In the Ravine 1900, White Nights 1848)
Total= 40
Grand Total (with several adjustments from earlier posts) = 230
20.6 - Jewish:The Trial by Franz Kafka
Review: Having struggled with Notes from Underground and The Death of Ivan Ilych already this season, could I cope with more Eastern/Central European existentialism? Well, it turns out that I just about could, although I think I'm done now!
This was much my preferred book of the three. Maybe the element of the absurd appealed to me. Or maybe I didn't feel so much pressure to get some deep all-encompassing truths from it, as I knew it wasn't really finished. Certainly there were passages that were a real slog to get through; but there were others (specifically the cathedral scene) where it felt ok simply to draw my own conclusions rather than worry about what the writer himself was trying to convey. And, finally, the fact that Kafka's friend Max Brod published the book posthumously against the author's specific instructions seemed wholly consistent with the idea of the "big machine" of authority just carrying on with its own design regardless of the effect on the individual.
+20 task (shelved as Jewish 13 times)
+15 combo (10.7 no. 59 on Dark Humour list, 20.1 pub. 1925, 20.4 no.701 on 1001 list )
+10 review
+10 oldies (pub. 1925)
Task total: 55
RwS total: 635
AtoZ total: 15
Grand Total: 650
10.8 Two for Onehttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... Home Made by Reynolds Price
Review: How has no one read or commented on this incredible little book by Reynolds Price? And how have I lived my entire life without picking up anything by this author? I found this book hidden in the stacks of the library - I was literally wandering the aisles looking for small books that would qualify for this task, and I happened upon this gem. And good grief, can this guy write.
Home Made consists of 4 very short (2 - 3 pages) stories and one longer story, "The Company of the Dead", that makes up almost half of the book. The stories are complemented by haunting black and white photographs by Roger Manley. I loved all of these, but I think my favorites were "Good Night" and "The Last News." As with most southern writers, Price focuses on the obscene, the sad, the obscure. "Good Night" is a beautiful narrative about a very old man named Dalt, a former slave, who looks forward to his neighbor Patsy's visits because he likes to rub her tired, swollen feet with Brame's Oil of Cloves. That's all, just to rub her feet and know that he is helping someone in his life to feel better:
Some deed his mother told him about before Mr. Lincoln - how the Lord bent low to wash a man's feet in pure well-water, dried him gentle with a spotless rag and then got up and walked ahead to face his cross. Dalt watched that sight till a meaning dawned, You helping this child, you strengthening her. Now go your way and take your due.
This is just writing at its finest. I don't know how easy it will be to get your hands on a copy of this, but if you find it in your path one day, I encourage you to give it a try.
Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx
I saw the movie years ago (it would be interesting to watch it now, considering how much has changed with our country's acceptance and awareness of the gay community), so I was already familiar with this quiet, heart-wrenching story. It's been too long for me to compare the book to the movie, but this novella was raw and gripping and lovely, but just about the saddest thing I've ever read. Proulx's writing is top notch and she manages to write about two cowboys in love in a way that feels as natural and normal as can be (and she wrote this almost twenty years ago!). Highly recommended.
+10 task
+10 review
Task total: 20
Grand total: 290
15.10 U-ZUrsula by Honoré de Balzac
+ 30 Task
+100 A-Z Completion Bonus
Task Total = 130
Grand Total = 335
At first I did not notice a coincidence in this sub-challenge. I started with a biography of Balzac and ended with one of his novels.
10.1 Square PegJourney to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
Lexile 860
This young adult book is on the 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up list and deservedly so. A British schoolgirl, Maia, becomes an orphan. Her only distant relatives live in Brazil near Manaus. (It is 1910.) The Carter family has only taken her in because they need the money from her trust account. Maia and her governess become friends with a child actor on the voyage to Brazil. She also becomes friends with some local Indians. That is the scene for what becomes a set of adventures for Maia who at one point is believed to have died in a fire...but who has actually escaped to the jungle and leads a peaceful life there -or does she? Very well written...and just the right mix of unlikely but plausible events.
task +10
review +10
Total 20
Grand Total =250
Ed - you're not going to believe this. Eva Ibbotson (1925-2010) lived to be 85, so this qualifies for 20.9. Still no Square Peg, but you gained 10 points.
LOL ok.....do I need to repost or do you just record the change?
Ed wrote: "LOL ok.....do I need to repost or do you just record the change?"Kate will score it for 20.9 for you next time.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "15.10 U-ZUrsula by Honoré de Balzac
+ 30 Task
+100 A-Z Completion Bonus
Task Total = 130
Grand Total = 335
At first I did not notice a coincidence in this sub-cha..."
Congrats, Elizabeth! So you are on to Blazac now? Did you complete your readings of Zola and Trollope?
Rebekah wrote: "Congrats, Elizabeth! So you are on to Blazac now? Did you complete your readings of Zola and Trollope? "I completed Zola's 20-volume series, but none of his stand alone novels or short fiction; I have read 31 of Balzac's titles (of some 91, several are novellas); and 18 of Trollope's novels, but none of his short fiction or non-fiction.
15.9 A-ZY,B
The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir, a History by Lewis Buzbee
Task Total - 30 pts
Grad Total - 230 pts
10.3 - 1980sAn Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
I have read most of Kazuo Ishiguro’s work, and am trying to back to his earlier works that I have missed. An Artist of the Floating World attracted me because it is set in postwar Japan, and many of Ishiguro’s books that I have read are set in England, his current home. I found it entrancing and was totally taken with the grandfather’s (narrator’s) relationship with his grandson, Ichiro. Another reviewer pointed out Ishiguro’s mastery of the “unreliable narrator” which was a major element of my favorite Ishiguro,When We Were Orphans. I didn’t think about it until after reading the book and this review, but it was that element that drew me into this narration as well, although it was subtle and not a deliberate attempt to be deceitful on the part of the protagonist, but more about the ways our memories play with us as we age. It was interesting to read one of his early works and realize that the talent was there, but has continued to develop over the years. Ishiguro is a master of the craft of writing and simply weaves words into lovely and engaging books. I look forward to reading his new book,The Buried Giant when it comes out in March!
+10 Task
+20 Combo: 10.4 - Island Dreams (Japan) / 20.4 - 1001 / 20.8 - Exiles and Emmigrants / 20.10 Goodreads Feature
+10 Review
+ 5 Oldies (1986)
Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 755
10.4 Island Dreams :Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch
+10 task (set in UK)
Task total: 10
Grand Total: 705
10.6 Foreign Language The Watcher in the Shadows by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
+10 task (translated from Spanish)
Task total: 10
Grand Total: 715
10.3 1980's :The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
+10 task (#147 on list)
+10 Combo (10.4 – set in UK, 20.4 - #254 on list)
+5 Oldies (published 1984)
Task total: 25
Grand Total: 740
20.7 19th Century Plus :Jonathan Wild by Henry Fielding
+20 task (published 1743)
+5 Combo (10.4 – set in UK)
+20 Oldies (published 1743)
Task total: 45
Grand Total: 785
10.5 - Author Achievements:The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
Review: I am an Atwood Newbie, so I wasn't sure whether to expect literary fiction, dystopia, a feminist fantasy or something else, judging by the genres under which her books are shelved on GR. Judging also by the prizes she has won, I suspect that this is a relatively comfortable introduction to her work. I found The Penelopiad a quick, easy read. I'm no expert on the original myths so I'm not in any position to comment on whether her take on the characters and motivations of Penelope and Odysseus are plausible or not; other reviews on GR seem divided on this. But I can say that the book made me laugh out loud, and very very very few books do that. Atwood's Penelope has a talent for pithy observations, without overdoing it and becoming snarky. I liked her a lot. And having a 15 year old son of my own, I also identified with some of the frustrations she clearly feels with her teenage son, Telemachus! I will definitely try and add some more Atwoods to my TBR for 2015.
+10 task (Asturias 2008)
+5 combo (10.10 Group Read)
+10 review
Task total: 25
RwS total: 660
AtoZ total: 15
Grand Total: 675
20.9 - Respect Elders:Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Review: Some books are helped and some are hindered by being listened to on audio rather than read on paper. I listened to this during some long car journeys over New Year and, for me, that was a good decision. Practically, it helped with the pronunciation of the African names and places. And listening to it in such large chunks helped me to feel immersed in the life of the characters and their community. It also had more of an epic feel, so I was surprised to see that the MPE on GR only has 209 pages. Some GR reviewers have criticised the book for its violence, misogyny and depiction of colonial attitudes, but for me those elements were just a reflection of the culture and attitude of 1890s Nigeria. I have added the rest of the trilogy to my TBR.
+20 task (b 1930, d 2013)
+15 combo (10.5: Lotus 1975, 20.4: no.472 on 1001 list, 20.8: b Nigeria, d USA)
+10 review
+10 non-Western
+5 oldies (pub 1958)
Task total: 60
RwS total: 720
AtoZ total: 15
Grand Total: 735
20.6 - JewishTo the End of the Land by David Grossman
I listened to this book on audio, and I don’t think it was the best choice. I enjoyed many parts of the book and it was definitely well written, but there were times when my attention wavered and I lost track of whether the story was in the past or present. That said, there were parts of the book that simply took my breath away and the overall message of a mother torn apart by love for a son in danger was beautifully rendered. I also loved many of the childhood scenes full of the quirks of growing up. Although I have a basic grasp of the history in the book, I didn’t feel I knew enough as a reader to relate to the book, but that was my failing, not the author’s problem. I had to step back and take some time to place myself in the novel and that was difficult with the audio version. I look forward to trying another book by Grossman and reading the print version. Overall, this was a book well worth reading and I recommend it especially to those with a good grasp of and connection to the the history and current issues of Israel.
+20 Task: 19 shelvings
+ 5 Combo: 10.9 - Economical
+10 Non Western
+10 Review
+ 5 Jumbo (581)
Task Total: 50
Grand Total: 805
10.10 Group ReadsThe New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
I’m so glad I got to this book. Especially in light of the recent protests around the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, this book felt really useful as I consider our place in history at this moment. I learned a lot about the historical context of Jim Crow and Reconstruction, and was particularly interested to learn about some more direct parallels than I had realized existed – like the ways that convict labor worked after Reconstruction versus what I know about it now. The book made me reflect on my views about crime and justice, as well – which laws to me seem “minor” versus “major” and why? We all (well, most of us, I suppose) violate the law in various ways, from speeding on up. The book made me think that the ways that some violations of the law are handled selectively, or viewed with more or less seriousness, says as much about our beliefs about the perpetrators of violations as about the crime itself.
+10 task
+10 review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 220
20.3 Historical FictionAll the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
I loved this book! The book tells the story of two young people in the leadup to and events of WWII. One is a blind Parisian girl, the daughter of a museum’s locksmith. The other is a German orphan boy with a talent for radios and electronics. The story alternates between their perspectives until finally, their stories cross paths. I enjoyed the characters and plot, and wanted to read on, but what kept making me pause to marvel during reading was the author’s command of the structure of the book. Rarely do I actually stop to think about an author’s craft while reading, but this book forced me to, and it was a pleasure. I loved how Doerr was able to tell the two stories, which we read both forwards and backwards in time, with so much attention to what was revealed at what moment, so the whole picture unraveled in my mind slowly. I also liked his choice to write mostly very short chapters – at first it struck me as kind of pretentious but I ended up loving it because it felt so well-matched to the story, like you were getting snapshots or postcards along an already-traveled route. Definitely recommended!
+20 task
+10 review
+ 5 jumbo (544 pages)
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 255
20.9 Respect EldersCrocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
Elizabeth Peters is a great example of a writer who has long been on my radar but I never actually picked up a book of hers. This book, the first in a long series (hooray!), consists of Amelia Peabody’s recounting of a frightening series of events during her boat trip up the Nile River, while stopped at an archaeological site. I enjoyed the character of Miss Peabody, who says things like “People of that sort seldom fall ill; they are too busy pretending to be ill. Yet no sooner had we reached Rome than Miss Pritchett succumbed to the typhoid, like the weak-minded female she was.” A lot of what Miss Peabody says made me laugh out loud, like that did. She is in some ways such a caricature of this “type” of Victorian lady, but in other ways defies the type in fascinating ways. This definitely reads like a cozy mystery even though it is set in the middle of the desert – but I liked it far more than I usually enjoy that sort of mystery. I will definitely pick up the next book.
+20 task (Elizabeth Peters lived from 1927 to 2013 - 86 years)
+10 combo (20.3 - #95 on list; 20.5 - female narrator)
+10 review
+5 oldies (published 1975)
Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 300
20.9 - Respect EldersThe Princess Bride by William Goldman
+ 20 task
+ 5 oldies (1973)
Task total: 25
Grand total: 365
20.7 - 18th Century Plus:The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
Review: I had never heard of this book until I read Karen Michele's review, but as I read both The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Frankenstein in the last six months, it seemed a good idea to read something described as "the first gothic novel". But to me it seemed almost a pastiche, rather than a forerunner. It may have been scary to eighteenth century readers, but nowadays it seems rather comical - after all, it starts with a giant helmet falling from the sky onto a weedy prince!
There are plenty of other gothic staples - walking portraits, skeletons in cloaks, claps of thunder, unexplained noises, damsels in distress (annoyingly submissive ones). Obviously, the language is very old-fashioned but it isn't difficult to read. And it's short!
+20 task
+10 review
+20 oldies (pub 1764)
Task total: 50
RwS total: 770
AtoZ total: 15
Grand Total: 785
20.4 1001Kokoro by Sōseki Natsume
Some languages/cultures have a single word that can only be expressed in English in phrases or even a full sentence. The Japanese word Kokoro is such a word. It translates simply to "heart" but if we think of it as the organ, or even the emotion, we are doing the expression a disservice. It encompasses intellect, temperament, fortitude - what makes a person who he is.
Kokoro is written in 110 very short chapters, broken into three parts. The first two parts are written in the first person by an unnamed university student. In the first part, our narrator befriends - and is befriended by - an older man who he calls Sensei (teacher). Our narrator years to learn about life. The second part our narrator is called to his country home where his father is dying.
The third part is a letter from Sensei to the young man telling him of his past and how he came to be what he is. We learn that Sensei has never confessed to anyone some parts of his early life.
Our kokoro is a becoming. I don't think we ever reach our full potential, and each stage of life is influenced by our previous experiences. It is influenced as much by the circumstances of those experiences as they happen as it is by our perspective on them.
As can be expected with Japanese fiction, the prose is spare. I'm very glad to have read this, but I'm probably not going to read anything else by this author. I'm probably too western to appreciate him as he should be appreciated.
+20 Task
+15 Combo (10.4, 20.1, 20.10)
+10 Review
+10 Non-Western
+10 Oldies (pub 1914)
Task Total = 65
Grand Total = 400
Ed wrote: "10.1 Square PegJourney to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
Lexile 860
This young adult book is on the 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up list and de..."
+5 Combo 20.8-born in Vienna, died in England
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "15.10 U-ZUrsula by Honoré de Balzac
+ 30 Task
+100 A-Z Completion Bonus
Task Total = 130
Grand Total = 335
At first I did not notice a coincidence in this sub-cha..."
Congrats on you A-Z Challenge, Elizabeth!
Lagullande wrote: "20.9 - Respect Elders:Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Review: Some books are helped and some are hindered by being listened to on audio rather than read on paper...."
+5 Combo 20.3 historical #116 on the list
Lagullande wrote: "20.7 - 18th Century Plus:The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
Review: I had never heard of this book until I read Karen Michele's review, but as I read both [book:T..."
+5 Combo
20.9 Respect Elders :Madam, Will You Talk? by Mary Stewart
+20 task (born 1916, died 2014)
+5 Oldies (published 1955)
Task total: 25
Grand Total: 810
20.10 Goodreads Feature :Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish by David Rakoff
+20 task (task)
Task total: 20
Grand Total: 830
20.9 - Respect EldersBridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Lexile is 810
+ 20 task
+ 5 oldies (1977)
Task total: 25
Grand total: 395
I think my grand total is right. I'm just basing it off of the scoreboard now since the total in my posts don't seem to match.
Kate S wrote: "Lagullande wrote: "20.9 - Respect Elders:Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
+5 Combo 20.3 historical #116 on the list"
Kate S wrote: "Lagullande wrote: "20.7 - 18th Century Plus:
The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
+5 Combo 20.8 20.9 (1717-1797) "
Hi Kate. Thanks for the extra combo points for Things Fall Apart. But are you sure I am entitled to combo points for 20.9 for The Castle of Otranto? Horace Walpole was born on 24 Sep 1717 and died 2 Mar 1797, so he was still only 79.
Lagullande wrote: "Hi Kate. Thanks for the extra combo points for Things Fall Apart. But are you sure I am entitled to combo points for 20.9 for The Castle of Otranto? Horace Walpole was born on 24 Sep 1717 and died 2 Mar 1797, so he was still only 79. "
We track only birth/death years, and we'll count him as 80.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Lagullande wrote: "Hi Kate. Thanks for the extra combo points for Things Fall Apart. But are you sure I am entitled to combo points for 20.9 for The Castle of Otranto? Horace Walpole was born on 24..."Lovely. Thank you for the windfall :-)
10.1 Square PegCold Days by Jim Butcher
Cold Days is the 14th book of the Dresden Files series which follows the adventures of wizard Harry Dresden. Considered to be Urban Fantasy, author Jim Butcher has been delighting and most recently annoying me with Harry’s continued story. I will admit to being quite pissed off at the last two books but I was reassured that Harry’s story would get better. It did. I think part of the reason I enjoy this series so much is that I find myself quite like Harry a lot of time – confused…and entertained. Butcher constantly keeps me entertained with Harry and his plethora of characters, human and non human alike.
I highly recommend this series to anybody who enjoys urban/paranormal fantasy if they don’t mind investing a lot of time into their reading.
Task +10
Review +10
Jumbo +5
Task Total=25
Grand Total=150 pts
10.8 Two for OneRest and Be Thankful by Joanna Chambers (25,570 words)
and
The Battlefield: A Short Story by George Bedell (4,580 words)
Review: Rest and Be Thankful is a surprisingly well developed romance for its length. At only approximately 85 pages, I managed to thoroughly buy into the character growth and relationship development between Cam and Rob, two supposed nemeses in the Scottish Highlands. I kind of want to read stories about all the inhabitants of the small town now, as well as to see the ‘happily ever after’ beyond the tentative ‘happy for now’ the story promised. I’ll read some more by this author.
Honestly, I found The Battlefield: A Short Story on Smashwords in an attempt to grab a story that was set in the UK and was close to 4,500 words so that I could just fit under the two for one minimum. This is obviously self-published, and the story wasn’t all that great, but now I want to know more about the author. The tone of the story read like a grandpa telling a tale to his grandkids, and that part delighted me, even if the story did not.
+10 Task (just over 30,000 words total)
+5 Combo (both are set entirely in the UK)
+10 Review
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 525
10.8 Two for OneWaiting for Winter by L.B. Gregg (15,690 words)
and
Baby, It's Cold by Josh Lanyon (18,810 words)
Review: Both of these stories are based on the same basic premise – couples that used to be together, broke up, and want to be back together (although each man doesn’t know his partner feels the same way), who get stuck in cabins in the snow at Christmastime. Waiting for Winter deals with a long-term relationship gone south, and the power dynamics bothered me some – Winter is the much older, more financially stable partner, and his decision to take a job in Germany without telling Luke was unacceptable to me – but he manages to be vulnerable and even kind of nice in the end, so he won me over. Baby, It’s Cold deals with friends who had a brief love affair that didn’t work out because they were both too scared, but the story itself has an extra person, a lot of cooking, the flu, and not that much romantic interaction until the last couple of paragraphs. In the end, both were cute and promising, but as with most short stories I was left wanting much more.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 545
20.5 Mystery WomenSurvivor In Death by J.D. Robb
Review: This is the 20th Eve Dallas book, and I’m not even really halfway through the series. J.D. Robb, who is Nora Roberts using a pen name, can just churn books out with minimal compromise in quality. That being said, the basic framework is pretty much always the same, so I have to spread these books out. I’ll read one, then wait until I need to visit with old friends, and then go back to them. This one was particularly difficult to read from the crime standpoint – if you don’t like ‘kids in peril’ stories, I’d suggest staying away from this one. It’s gruesome and actually made me cry at one point, which is pretty unusual for me, especially in a crime novel. At this point in the series, there are a TON of side characters, which I kind of love. The only quibble I have, and it happens with every J.D. Robb novel, is that I prefer not to see the little glimpses into the criminals’ viewpoints. She never does it more than a few pages per book, but it pulls me out of the story and makes me feel like I can’t look for the clues along with Dallas since I’ve got a little bit of additional knowledge.
+20 Task (Robb is on the list, and Eve Dallas is the main character and main narrator)
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 575
10.8 Two for OneMuscling Through by J.L. Merrow (29,934 words)
and
The Gift by Katriena Knights (2,490 words)
Review: Muscling Through is a short book, but probably just about the perfect length for its style. The story is told in the first person from the point of view of a man named Al, a self-proclaimed “poof” who looks like a brute and isn’t the intellectually smartest man. His narration takes some getting used to – he doesn’t use proper grammar, and he doesn’t always understand what’s going on around him. Subtext is particularly challenging for him – he takes things very literally. He meets art professor Larry in an alleyway. The much smaller, much ‘cleverer’ man is believes Al is trying to mug him, when in reality he’s just trying to help him home. They begin dating, and the story follows the progression of their relationship (with, warning, LOTS of sex scenes). We also get to see Larry’s encouragement of Al’s artistic talent. I loved meeting these characters, and while I’m not sure I’d want to read whole novels in Al’s narration, I’m glad I spent just under 100 pages with him.
The Gift is a really short story of a woman in 14th century Scotland whose unrequited love is finally fulfilled – it was cute but very brief.
+10 Task (32,424 words total)
+5 Combo (both are set entirely in the UK, Muscling Through in Cambridge and The Gift in Scotland)
+10 Review
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 600
20.8 Exiles and EmmigrantsA Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev
Review: I’d heard pretty much nothing but outrageous praise for this book, so I went into it with some hesitation – I rarely find books live up to the hype. For the first couple chapters, I was afraid that’s what happened – it wasn’t catching my attention. Then the book hit its stride and I was off – ending with a five star rating.
This is a romance novel – the story is about the couple’s getting together. It’s also written accessibly, with a nice quick pace. But it’s also more than that – it’s a story about two people finding themselves as they find each other. The last third of the book had me laughing and tearing up all at once – the blend of humor and emotion was perfect. I loved it, and yes, the hype was pretty much true for me, including the warnings that the book will make you want to consume large quantities of Indian food. I only wish the next book would have the same characters – I wanted more time with all of them.
+20 Task (Dev was born in India but lives in the US)
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 630
10.3 1980sRedwall by Brian Jacques (Lexile 800)
Review: Redwall is the story of a mouse named Matthias, who is in training at an Abbey in a peaceful village whose inhabitants have sworn to do no harm. Matthias, however, wants to be a warrior like the great legendary hero from Redwall’s past. It looks like he will be stuck being a non-combatant until a rat comes to take over, threatening the entire way of life. Defending the abbey is allowed under the moral code, and suddenly Matthias is thrust into a quest to find a legendary sword and lead his friends in battle. Unfortunately, the quest takes up a lot of the book, so his friends are fighting without him for the vast majority of the war with the rats, but in the end he fulfills his destiny. It’s a cute book, but for whatever reason it did not consistently hold my attention. I think reading it to a child would be tons of fun though, and I may at some point go back to Redwall and read some of Jacques’ other books.
+10 Task (#97 on list)
+10 Review
+5 Oldies (published 1986)
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 655
10.4 Sovereign StatesSweet Disorder by Rose Lerner
Review: Sweet Disorder uses some of the trappings of traditional historical romance novels, but flips a bunch of them pretty much on their heads. The heroine, Pheobe, is a widow, so she’s not a blushing virgin. She’s not an heiress or the daughter of a titled man or anything like that. She’s plus-sized. She’s independent and does not want to be married again – her first one was no cakewalk. But she finds herself, in order to protect her sister, in a position where getting married seems to be the only solution.
Nick is the middle son of an earl, part of a family heavily involved in politics. He served in the army, but has had to return to England after a bad leg wound. He is dared by his mother to go solve a political problem in Pheobe’s hometown – in order to help Nick’s younger brother to win the election, Pheobe needs to marry one of his supporters. The town gives certain voting rights to the eldest daughter of voters without male heirs, so a marriage will mean another voter to whatever party prevails.
Shenanigans ensue, Nick and Phoebe fall in love, yada yada. It was so fun seeing people of different classes – this isn’t a book that happens in a ballroom, and Nick is not as much of a spoiled rich man as many sons of earls would be. His family doesn’t save the day and money is important but doesn’t solve problems. Phoebe does not always have a perfect accent, which would matter in certain social circles, but she is actually better educated than Nick. I could just keep going on with how interesting the world and characters are.
The only major criticism I had was that there was so much plot that the romance suffered a little bit – the two main characters don’t spend all their time together, so it felt a little rushed at times. But other than that, I loved it, and I want to read the other books set in this town.
+10 Task (set entirely in the UK)
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 675
10.4 Sovereign StatesPressure Head by J.L. Merrow (69,823 words)
Review: Pressure Head has elements of romance, urban fantasy, and classic mystery to it. It’s also a very British book – the narrator talks a lot about the different classes and locations in his town, spends a lot of time in pubs, and regularly uses slang. Tom Paretski is a plumber with a ‘gift’ – he can find things that people are hiding. The book opens with the police asking him for help finding a body. Then he meets a private investigator named Phil hired by the murdered girl’s family, and it turns out they were in high school together. They didn’t get along back then, their relationship culminating in a horrible accident that both of them hold Phil partially responsible for. In a lot of ways, that accident seems to have shaped both of their lives, although Tom is the one who has physically lived with its results.
Phil and Tom start spending time together investigating the murder, and begin a tentative romantic relationship. I’m thrilled this is part of a series, because otherwise I’d be frustrated with the character development in this installment. Tom and Phil need to have a couple serious talks in order to be on the same page, but I expect that’ll happen in the books to come.
+10 Task (set entirely in the UK)
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 695
10.4 - Island DreamsHow I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
+10 Task (over 90% set in UK)
Grand Total = 160 points
10.9 Economical Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi
The novel opens with the death of Kweku Sai in Ghana, his homeland. But we learn that he had once been a prominent doctor in Boston. He had a beautiful wife, 4 kids including a set of twins and we see him and his wife lose a prematurely born child. Kweku eventually abandons his family in Boston and returns to Ghana. His death stages the structure of the work in which we learn about each member of the family from their own point of view....and as perceived by the other members of the family. His funeral brings the family together and acts a catalyst for more revelations.
I found the last third of the novel to be so much better than the beginning. Perhaps I had to become accustomed to the author's style. But, overall, a very good read.
+10 task
+10 review
total=20
grand total= 285
may qualify for 20.8 combo points? Book jacket indicates that the author was born in London, raised in the US and lives in Rome?
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
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...
Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee
Waiting for the Barbarians takes place in the outskirts of an unnamed Empire. The Magistrate of the settlement, who narrates the story, finds his comfortable position upset by the incursion of the Empire's military police, who come to the town to investigate (or provoke) hostilities with the nomadic "barbarians" living nearby. Upset by the police force's violence, the Magristrate tries to take a stand. Unlike the other two books I have read by Coetzee (Disgrace and Age of Iron) which profoundly and directly grapple with the impossible colonial inheiritance in South Africa, WftB's allegorical setting gives it some distance from messy political realities, while at the same time perhaps the distance from South Africa helps it resonate more closely with readers from other parts of the world. Coetzee, as usual, peels back all the comfortable lies we use to excuse ourselves, but I am not sure if he has any solutions to suggest. Near the end of the novel, the narrator suggests that the whole town had been preparing their souls for the coming of the Barbarians. The soul-searching and refusal to allow for excuses is perhaps the point. This was another excellent novel by Coetzee! I very much like his books, and eventually want to read all of them, but they are grim and intense, so I need to space them out.
20 pt. task
+10 Review
+5 oldies (1980)
+15combo (10.3, 20.4, 20.8 - he moved to Austrailia)
Task Total: 50
Grand Total: 290