Reading with Style discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Archives
>
WI 20-21 Completed Tasks
10.4 ValentinesUnlocked by Shannon Messenger
This book does not seem to have a Lexile number, so I believe is not eligible for style points. Mods-let me know if I'm wrong here.
+10 Task
Task total: 10
Grand total: 370
20.7 LifetimeThe Father by August Strindberg
This is a short play featuring the parents of Laura having a dispute over what she should do....become an artist or a teacher. Becoming a teacher would require Laura to leave home....something her mother doesn't want. The mother, Bertha, then puts in motion a plan to provoke the Father...Captain Adolph into situations in which he will appear unhinged... and permit the mother to disregard his orders.
Another glimpse of how women were subjugated in Europe (the play was published in 1887.) I wouldn't rush out to see a production of the play...but in the hands of a good director and cast... it probably could be a compelling production. Two stars.
Task=20
Review=10
LiT=10
Task Total=40
Grand Total= 370
10.1; ....; 10.3; ....;....; ....; 10.7; ....; .....; 10.10
15.1; 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5; 15.6; 15.7
....; 20.2; .....; .....; .....; .....; 20.7; 20.8; .....; .....;
Post 452 Joanna wrote: "10.4 ValentinesUnlocked by Shannon Messenger
This book does not seem to have a Lexile number, so I believe is not eligible for style points. Mods-let me know if ..."
Correct. It's probably too newly published to have been scored.
15.7 Name of the GameRound 2
Call for the Dead (George Smiley #1) by John le Carré
Square 1B - letter R - Rating: 25,111
Square 16E - letter E - 8+ named characters
Square 4D - letter D - "Dead" in title
Word: RED
+20 Task
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 1,040
15.8 – Name of the GameLe Mystère de la chambre morne
B4 - Debut novel (author has only written graphic novels or children's books before)
D8 - Wild Card! (can be used for any letter on the alphabet) => A
B12 - Page count 75 - 199 (180)
SAD
Task total = 30
Points total = 255
20.1 Black History MonthHomegoing by Yaa Gyasi
#111 as of today
+20 Task
+15 Combo (10.4 ; 10.6 ; 20.5 - #58)
+10 Lost in Translation (written in english, native language is french)
+ 15 Prize-worthy (5 prizes listed on book page)
Task total = 60
Points total = 315
20.8 Travel (Ed's Task)From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty
Task total=20
Season total=20
10.9 The Fifth SeasonThe Bees by Laline Paull
I loved this fantasy grounded in the life cycle of a hive of bees. I learned so much! Of course it's not all possible (like, talking in words as well as communicating with dance and scents) but it was simple enough to check the facts. It's a little like Brave New World in that everyone has their assigned place and role in an ordered system and our heroine is the one who rebels to go beyond that. But I thought this was a better story.
When the list for this task was changed, at first I thought “oh no” because I had requested for Christmas a book that was on the first list and not on the second. But then I found that The Bees, which I already owned, was on the second list but not the first. So now I’m glad of the change, because I got to read this one. And the other book works for 20.1 :)
+10 Task
+10 Review
+ 5 Combo (10.4)
Task total: 25
Season Total: 535
10.5 AuthorThe Godmother by Hannelore Cayre
I thoroughly enjoyed this short novel. Like one of my favorite books, The Count of Monte Cristo, this novel features a main character cleverly using their circumstances to get the better of the authorities. Here, a woman in Paris who works as an Arabic interpreter for the police is drawn to the brink of her financial abilities. Most of her work involves interpreting the bugged phone calls of drug traffickers. A coincidence leads to an opportunity that was hard to refuse.
The story is told in the first person singular and with a straight-forward style. A few brief flashbacks. The tale is not convoluted and although improbable... if I was told that it was based on a true story... I would shake my head and think Wow...that was one clever woman. 4 1/2 stars.
Task=10
Review=10
LiT=10
Prizes=10
Task Total=40
Grand Total= 410
10.1; ....; 10.3; ....; 10.5; ....; 10.7; ....; .....; 10.10
15.1; 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5; 15.6; 15.7
....; 20.2; .....; .....; .....; .....; 20.7; 20.8; .....; .....;
10.4 ValentineThe Cold Light of Mourning by Elizabeth J. Duncan
I’ve had this series on my TBR list for awhile, and when I came across it while shelving books (at work) I thought it was just the ticket for these COVID times.
The first quarter of the book sets the scene, and in this novel sets up the mystery. I thought this part dragged a little, and was a little concerned about my choice. However, once the police are called in to investigate the crime it really picked up. From then on I really enjoyed the book. The writing picked up, and the (main) characters seemed more interesting. The mystery itself is very contemporary, a little of London spilling over into rural Wales. The cozy elements are present, but not cloying – the village gossip, the Rector, the amateur detectives and an adult romance (gasp!….. they may be over 50!!). I quite liked how Duncan set this up as the first in a series, and can definitely see myself reading more of Penny Brannigan. 3.5*
10 task
10 review
5 prize
5 combo 10.8
_____
30
Running total: 575
20.10 Grand MasterA Red Death by Walter Mosley
The GR description says this is set in 1953. However, this was first published in 1991 and not especially in any 1950s style that I have read. Example: This is definitely not erotic, but there are more erections in the 275 or so pages than any 1950s novel would give you. Easy Rawlins was definitely more lusty here than I remember from Devil in a Blue Dress.
It seems there are plenty of plot threads and I had a hard time keeping up with them. I wasn't alone. Easy didn't seem to see how everything fit together either. (And no, it wasn't all those erections - those were just side business. We both knew they had nothing to do with the IRS and the FBI and the First African church.)
There was more dialogue than I remembered in Devil too. It is in dialect. Easy even mentions that he has enough education to talk more like white folk, but it's important to stay with who you are. I have to admit I was dismayed at the amount of racism. Not that I didn't know it went on back then, but following the summer of 2020, it felt more "in my face". Much has improved/changed since the 50s and 60s, thankfully. I'm sure I'll be up for another in the series, but I'll probably not volunteer for the onslaught soon. This is a strong 3-stars.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.4, 20.1)
Task total = 40
Season total = 440
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 417 Rachel wrote: "15.3 Name of the GameOne of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus
Square 1C - Letter R - MPG Romance
Square 16E - Letter E - Novel has 8 or mor..."
Oh darn!
Can you please shift it to
10.1 Square Peg
and so my points balance should land at 180?
Thanks
15.3 Name of the GameThe Seas by Samantha Hunt
Square 12B - Letter S - Page count 75-199 - 193 pages
Square 11C - Letter H - Author's last name begins with H
Square 5D - Letter I - Author name has no letter I
Square 13C - Letter T - Title "The +"
Word: SHIT (haha) or HITS if you prefer to be PG
+15 Task
Grand Total: 195 pts
15.4 Name of the GameThe Hangman by Louise Penny
15 pts 15.4 name of Game
Y D14 Mystery
E B2 Author entire published name has 2 or more E's
S B12 Page count 75-199
Task total: 15 pts
Season total: 310 pts
10.1 ... 10.3 10.4 ... ... ... 10.8 ... ...
... 20.2 20.3 20.4 ... ... ... ... ... ...
15.1. 15.2 15.3 15.4 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 - Four Letter Word (NoG)
delete
Word yes
10.4 Blade Runner 2049 and Philosophy: This Breaks the World by Robin Bunce249 pages of brain breaking deep thought. Essays about what it means to be human, what the difference between human and replicant actually IS, the ethics of biomedical manipulation and being able to *choose* genetic traits, whether or not a replicant as a bioengineered person is a human or a product, why the existence of a replicant child is important, whether or not a replicant or an AI IS a person, and so much more all in the context of two or more dozen different classical and modern philosophical ideologies, everything from the non-duality of Buddhism to post-humanism. The entire book is an exploration of the science of artificial intelligence and the ethical questions posed when our toys become ‘more human than human’.
ETA: this is part of a series called Blackwell Pop Culture and Philosophy. They take a pop culture phenomenon and analyze it through the lens of classical and modern philosophy, including such phenomena as The Hunger Games, Batman, The Office, Arrested Development, The Hobbit, and others.
+10 task
+10 review
+5 combo (20.4 - replicants are bioengineered, discusses the capabilities and ethical ramifications of bioengineering and AI and talks about the character who creates them extensively)
Task total: 25
Season total: 245
20.2 JazzThe Blue Diamond by Annie Haynes
A mysterious and beautiful young woman is found in the grounds of a large country house having lost her memory. The house is owned by young Sir Arthur Hargreave, who lives there with his widowed mother, his sister, and some priceless jewels. Oh and of course a houseful of servants, some of whom play a significant part in this story.
This is the second book I've read by Annie Haynes. I enjoyed the country house setting more than the London police-procedural setting of the last one, and the characters were more rounded. There wasn't much mystery to either story, but perhaps that was Haynes's method. The suspense is more about what will happen before the villains are unmasked.
+20 Task (pub 1925 and set at that time)
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.4, 10.8)
Task total: 40
Season Total: 575
10.6 NotableFreshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
I am thoroughly impressed with this novel. It's the kind of debut novel that shows tremendous promise for a new and interesting voice. It's also a very hard book to describe--it's a spiritual book, it involves a character with multiple personalities or perhaps multiple spirits contained within one body. It touches on some very difficult experiences--cutting, gender transition, female genital mutilation, rape. I read that the author considered this semi-autobiographical, which is disconcerting given the experiences and the disassociating. The story is told from different perspectives of the different personalities/spirits within the main character.
I listened the the author read the audiobook version and she did an excellent job with the narration.
This is an author that I'm excited to see how she develops as an author.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Prizeworthy (Otherwise Award)
Task total: 25
Grand total: 395
15.7 Name of the Game Heat Wave by Richard Castle
13B - Letter S - Page count 75-199 (198)
14E - Letter T - Title includes the name of a character. (Nikki Heat)
15D - Letter Y - MPG: Mystery
Word: STY
Task: 20
Season total: 805
....; ....; 10.3; ....;10.5; ....; ....; ....; .....; .....
15.1; 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5; 15.6; 15.7
20.1; 20.2; .....; 20.4; .....; 20.6; 20.7;.....; .....; .....
15.8 Name of the GameHow to Raise an Elephant by Alexander McCall Smith
11E - Letter T - Title has no "The"
3B - Letter E - Author entire published name has 2 or more E's
4C - Letter A - Author born in August (August 24)
Word: TEA
Task: 30
Season Total: 835
....; ....; 10.3; ....;10.5; ....; ....; ....; .....; .....
15.1; 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5; 15.6; 15.7; 15.8
20.1; 20.2; .....; 20.4; .....; 20.6; 20.7;.....; .....; .....
20.4 ScienceThe Scientist and the Spy: A True Story of China, the FBI, and Industrial Espionage by Mara Hvistendahl
This one took me longer than expected to finish...while the science was interesting and the espionage Bond-worthy, it just wasn't grabbing my attention the way I'd hoped (view spoiler)
+20 Task (approved in thread)
+10 Review
+5 Combo 10.4
Task total: 35
Season total: 570
10.2 ChristmasThe Reader by Bernhard Schlink
I've not seen the movie so had no idea what I was in for.
I don't quite know how to review this without giving a lot away, so forgive me that it's a "spoiler" of a review...
(view spoiler)
This book dredged up so many uncomfortable and ethically difficult ideas that my brain is still reeling, but I loved every second of it (well, the Lolita-esque bit was meh, but necessary so we'll let it slide) and even though I knew how it was going to end it still had me swimming in a lake of my own tears. The writing is simple and straightforward which worked well to let your brain marinate in the ethical quandaries rather than get distracted by the words.
+10 Task (#176)
+10 Review
+10 Lost in Translation (from German)
+15 Prizeworthy (Exclusive Books Boeks Prize 1999; Prix des libraires du Quebec 1997; Prix Laure Bataillon 1997)
+10 Combo 10.4, 20.9--shelved as "books about books" 82 times
Task total: 55
Season total: 625
15.7 The Name of the GameAgent Running in the Field by John le Carré
Square 10B - letter T = pub. 2019
Square 5C - letter I = 'in' in title
Square 15D - letter L = last novel
Square 13B - letter T = born 1931
word: TILT
20 task
____
20
Running total: 595
This was SO good! Wow!
Post 473 Valerie wrote: "15.7 The Name of the GameAgent Running in the Field by John le Carré
20 task
____
20
Running total: 595
This was SO good! Wow!"
We need squares!
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 473 Valerie wrote: "15.7 The Name of the GameAgent Running in the Field by John le Carré
20 task
____
20
Running total: 595
This was SO good! Wow!"
We ne..."
I know, you were just faster than me! I posted because I needed to move away from this window and didn't want to lose my info.
20.7 LifetimeNarrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
It's always a difficult thing to read the first-hand accounts of former slaves...even harder to read when so many of his words, calling out the hypocrisy and perceived grievances of the white man, could have come directly out of the mouths of modern day pundits--truly, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
I am also always amazed at the resilience, fortitude, and drive exhibited by the exceptional individuals whose accounts I have read. While I was only familiar with Frederick Douglass from high school history and from Don Cheadle's portrayal of him in a Drunk History episode, I didn't know much of his story. He is absolutely amazing and brave and all of the superlative adjectives...his brain is a marvel.
One think I kept thinking over and over (which was also a theme in another book I recently read) was what an absolute freedom it is to be able to read and write...it opens your mind to the understanding of ideas that it would never otherwise encounter, it gives you facts which lead to options and possibilities which would otherwise be obscured. It's something I have always taken for granted and I was given a renewed gratitude for these things.
+20 Task (1845)
+10 Review
+5 Combo, 20.1
Task total: 35
Season total: 660
Valerie wrote: "I know, you were just faster than me! ."It was Anika's fault. ;-)
I had the notification for her post and yours was there too.
10.5 AuthorYour Story, My Story by Connie Palmen
In high school, I was angsty and pretentious and morose and all of the things that a good "mod" kid was...lots of black clothes and smudgy eyeliner...my friends and I would sit at Denny's for hours, reading poetry aloud over cheese fries and herbal tea. In a word: we were nerds. But that's where my love of poetry began and that was where I was first introduced to Sylvia Plath.
Sylvia, the patron saint of lost little girls everywhere...little girls who are pretty sure that they have something big inside of them but are also pretty sure that said big thing is bound to explode and kill them in the process. I gobbled up every word of hers I could find and my thrift store hardback copy of The Bell Jar was my constant companion.
And, OH, how I hated Ted Hughes. I didn't know a whole lot about him other than he was a man whore and a spotlight thief.
Years have passed and I am (blessedly) no longer that tortured kid, but I still have a soft spot for Sylvia (and a chip on my shoulder when it comes to Ted) so when I saw this book as an Amazon First Read selection, I didn't bother reading the blurb I just clicked the button to make it mine.
I didn't realize it was going to be entirely in Ted's voice.
I didn't realize how much I was going to end up liking the guy, rather than reviling him as was my knee-jerk reaction.
I didn't ever really consider how difficult it would be to be caught up in Hurricane Sylvia--all day, every day, for years.
I didn't realize how amazingly well the author was going to inhabit his voice...what an absolutely poetic book! The writing is *so good* (since it's translated, I have to wonder if it's the author that is so great or if it's that the translator is absolutely transcendent?) and it was incredible to be a fly on the wall in the home of these two literary phenoms--even though it's a fictional home...the author did extensive research to get these two right, so it feels like indisputable reality.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 Lost in Translation (from Dutch)
+10 Prizeworthy (Libris Literatuurprijs 2016, De Inktaap 2017)
Task total: 40
Season total: 700
15.9 The Name of the GameTough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For by Susan Rice
Square 10B -Letter T-pub. In 2019
Square 15C-Letter L- over 400 pages
Square 15D-Letter L- author’s most recent book
Square 8D- wild card using for letter A
Word: TALL
+30 task
+5 not a novel
Task total 35
Season total: 260
15.5 Name of the GameToo Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man by Mary L. Trump
20 pts 15.5 name of Game
5 pts Not a novel
H E11 Highly Rated: Read a book rated 5 stars by another RwS member
I D8 Wild Card! (Can be used for any letter of the alphabet)
T D13 Title words of To, Too, or Two
WORD. HIT
Task total: 25pts
Season total: 335pts
10.1 ... 10.3 10.4 ... ... ... 10.8 ... ...
... 20.2 20.3 20.4 ... ... ... ... ... ...
15.1. 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 ... ... ... ... ... ... 2 - Four Letter Word (NoG)
15.4 Name of the GameThe Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
Square 11 D-Letter H-Hot off the press 2020
Square 5 B-Letter I-Born in India
Square 4 B-Letter D-Debut novel
Word: HID
Task total: 15
Season total: 320
From Post 375Sarah wrote: "20.3 Post Modern
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Four Stars
I listened to this as an audiobook and I loved that it was narrated by Neil Gaiman hims..."
+5 Prize worthy (total of 15)
From Post 412Nick wrote: "10.8 Lunar (Tien's Task)
The New Year, 2021 will be The Year of the Ox.
Read a book first published in a year of the Ox: 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021.
[book:Foucault|2080..."
+10 Lost in Translation
From Post 427Nick wrote: "20.3 Postmodern
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
Task Points = 20
Combo = 5 (10.3 1st name begins with J)
Total Task Points = 25
Season Total = 505"
+5 Combo 20.1
From Post 434Valerie wrote: "20.10 Grand Master
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
Christie is always a comfort read for me. After ‘The Memory Police’ I needed something lighter a..."
+5 Prize worthy
From Post 439Beth wrote: "20.6 Caribbean
Crossing the Mangrove by Maryse Condé
This story takes place entirely on the island of Guadeloupe. It is the kind of book where multiple voices and per..."
+10 Lost in Translation
10.6 NotableThe Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin
2017
HALL OF GREATNESS RIGHT HERE.
The best epic fantasy series I’ve read BY A MILE. This took me forever to finish because I did not want it to be over.
What a finale. Everything is explained, the hows and whys and whats unfurl as we reach the climax. The pacing is unbelievable. Perfection. One plot is the “now”, and another is “then”, weaving together so the full picture come into focus just when it should. And as in book 1, nothing is a twist or gimmicky...we learn the truth of the world in a natural way. Suspicions are confirmed, details and motivations clarified.
I cannot write a decent review because I don’t want to spoil anything even a little. I just want to lavish praise. This deserved all the awards. It masterfully wraps up an epic fantasy, while commenting VERY CLEARLY on the world we readers inhabit, and it perfect.
+10 task
+10 Review
+15 Awards
+15 Combo (10.4, 10.7,10.9)
Task total = 50
Season total = 235
(I missed 5 pts somewhere in my spreadsheet so the total above is based on the Readerboard 185)
15.4Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect? Police Violence and Resistance in the United States by Maya Schenwar
NEW
N - 6B Not a Novel
E - 2D 8+ word title
W - 8C Title Who/What/When/Where/Why
+15 task
+5 Not a novel
Task total = 20
Season total = 255
10.2 ChristmasA Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (Lexile 1310)
I have to pass on a rating of this for now. Though the book was well written, the content - from the violence, robbery and rape done by the juvenile criminals, to the brainwashing done by the state in retribution, this was a very uncomfortable read. I found the Introduction to be a very interesting part of the book. In it, Burgess explains that he doesn't care for the book, especially the American version which Stanley Kubrick turned into a famous film. That was an incomplete version, only being 20 chapters. He felt the symbolism of 21 was important, being the accepted age of adult responsibility. (Also reading this in 2021 seems significant to me.) It is in this last chapter that Alex, having been a terrible person as a teen, then "rehabilitated" by the government while in prison, then let out where both former friends and victims turn against him, to finally be deprogrammed and given the power of choice.
task +10
review +10
combo 10.4 +5
prize +5 (2008 Prometheus Hall of Fame Award
Task: 30
Season total: 865
...; 10.2; 10.3; ....;10.5; ....; ....; ....; .....; .....
15.1; 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5; 15.6; 15.7; 15.8
20.1; 20.2; .....; 20.4; .....; 20.6; 20.7;.....; .....; .....
10.1 Square PegNight School: A Reader for Grownups by Zsófia Bán
+10 Task
+10 LiT (Hungarian -> English)
Points this post: 20
RwS total: 180
NoTG total: -
Season Total: 180
10.1 .... 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 .... .... 10.10
.... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
.... 20.2 .... .... .... .... .... .... .... 20.10
15.9 Name of the GameThe Tigers of Subtopia and Other Stories by Julian Symons
Square 6B - letter N - not a novel
Square 14D - letter Y - mystery
Square 16B - letter E - author born in Europe
Word = YEN
+30 task
+ 5 not-a-novel
+ 5 pub'd 1982
Task total=40
Season total=270
10.5 AuthorThe Military Philosophers by Anthony Powell
In this 9th in the series of 12 books, set towards the end of the Second World War, Nick Jenkins finds himself with the rank of Major, acting as liaison officer for those members of the Belgian and Czech armed forces who escaped occupation and are in London. When their countries are liberated, he visits France and Belgium with some of them. As the war draws to a close, he meets up with various old acquaintances and hears of others who haven’t survived.
There are a lot of national stereotypes described in this book, which is a little jarring, and it didn’t seem to me to go so deeply into the characters. Not one of my favourites of the series, but I’m not far from the end now so I won’t give up!
+10 Task (Nick Jenkins is an author, as well as being temporarily in the army)
+10 Review
Task total: 20
Season Total: 595
20.2 JazzThe Other Lady Vanishes by Amanda Quick
Three Stars
I have really been enjoying this series that is set in California in the 1930s. In this installment the main character is a woman who has escaped from a sanatorium and is hiding out in the seaside community of Burning Cove which is a popular vacation spot for Hollywood Stars as well as mobsters and con artists. This story had many twists and turns that kept me guessing at how it would end. As with the first in the series there is a good mix of mystery and romance and the author does a really good job of invoking the feeling of the late 1930s. I also appreciate that each installment follows a different set of main characters but the main characters from the previous stories appear as supporting characters. It makes me wish I could visit Burning Cove.
+20 task
+10 Review
Post Total: +30
Season Total: 320
10.4 Valentine’sClose Up by Amanda Quick
Four stars
I really enjoyed this book. The main character Vivian has been cut off by her wealthy San Francisco family because she has chosen to follow her passion and become an art photographer. Unfortunately that work doesn’t pay the bills so she becomes a paparazzo. When she helps out the police she attracts the attention of a killer and she becomes a target. Enter the strange Nick Sundridge who has had a vision that leads him to Vivian’s doorstep. This is the fourth in the series and as the series has progressed the “supernatural” element has become increasingly important to the story. Previously the male leads have all had some sort of power or ability, but in this one Nick doesn’t just get a feeling or a hunch, he has full blown psychic visions. This made me enjoy the story even more as I love a touch of the paranormal. I also really appreciate that all of the women in this series have a career which makes them a little different than the norm for women in the 1930s.
+10 task
+10 review
+5 Combo (20.2)
Post Total: +25
Season Total: 345
10.3 WinterGrave Phantoms by Jenn Bennett
Two Stars
I almost didn’t finish this one. I kept putting it down. The third in the series it follows the youngest Magnusson sibling, Astrid. Always in the shadow of her older brothers and their success in bootlegging and artifact hunting respectively, Astrid is truly a rebel without a cause. The reason I wasn’t enjoying this book was because there wasn’t any plot. We start with a mysterious yacht appearing after being missing for a year and a strange magical idol hints at dark magic onboard. But instead of following up on this intriguing mystery we get 300 pages of will they won’t they between Astrid and her older brother’s Chinese assistant Bo. I appreciate that the author was exploring the idea of inter-racial romance during the 1920s, but I was so over it after about 50 pages. I also really disliked Astrid as a character, she grew up rich and entitled and she didn’t seem to understand her privilege.
+10 task
+10 review
+5 combo (20.2)
Post Total: +25
Season Total: 370
10.1 Square PegThe Answer Is…: Reflections on My Life by Alex Trebek
Three Stars
I listened to this as an audiobook. It was narrated mostly by Ken Jennings which at first I found very strange but he did a lovely job and I did eventually get used to his voice. As far as memoir goes this wasn’t very good. There was no narrative whatsoever and each chapter was just an anecdote from Alex Trebek’s life. I found some of the information included to be very interesting but the way it was written was lackluster. The stories from his childhood were my favorite and his stories from Jeopardy were interesting, but the stories about his illness were mostly just depressing. If it weren’t for the fact that I am a huge Jeopardy fan and that I was devastated when I found out that Alex Trebek had passed away, I probably wouldn’t have picked this up. I don’t think I would recommend this unless you are a megafan of Jeopardy and want a behind the scenes peak.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Post Total: +20
Season Total: 390
15.10 Name of the GameThe End Of Her Honeymoon by Marie Belloc Lowndes
Square 2E - letter E - "End" in title
Square 3C - letter A - author born in August (August 05, 1868)
Square 10B - letter T - pub'd in teens (1913)
Word = TEA
+45 task
+ 5 pub'd 1913
Task total=50
Completion bonus=100
3 or more 4 letter words=100 (LINE, DISH, WAIT)
Post total=250
Season total=520
15.7 The Mortal Word by Genevieve Cogman
Square 3D - Letter A - MPG: Adventure
Square 15C - Letter L - Page count over 400 (433)
Square 16E - Letter E - 8 or more named characters (Irene, Kai, Vale, Coppelia, Lord Silver, Sterrington, Mu Dan, Bradamant, etc,)
Word: ALE
+20 task
Post Total: +20
Season Total: 410
20.9 Nieces (Kate S's Task)The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain
This is an easy read and I enjoyed it. The premise is something of a mix one seldom encounters...a mystery and romance. A missing purse and the search for its owner. The purse recovered...and then the search for the person who recovered it. Like the two main characters who are drawn to each other even though they haven't met or know each other, I found myself liking this story despite its simplicity. The reader knows more about the purse-loser than the purse-finder does...and yet, the reader learns more about her as the purse-finder sifts through her things and notebook. The purse-finder commits some violations....which become understandable and forgivable. 3 1/2 stars.
Task=20
Review=10
LiT=10
combo= 5 (10.4)
Prizes=5
Task Total=50
Grand Total= 510
10.1; ....; 10.3; ....; 10.5; ....; 10.7; ....; .....; 10.10
15.1; 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5; 15.6; 15.7
....; 20.2; .....; .....; .....; .....; 20.7; 20.8; 20.9; .....;
20.2 JazzWinter by Christopher Nicholson
He gave me a particular look, a look that I have come to know well, intended to convey the message that he was impervious to all argument, however reasonable.This is not a humorous book, but I couldn't help myself in highlighting this sentence. For years, comedians have referred to wives giving husbands "the look". I simply want to make note of the fact that wives have been on the receiving end of the look, too. Thank you Christopher Nicholson for acknowledging that fact.
The Goodreads description accurately tells us that the novel is told from three points of view: Thomas Hardy, his second wife, Florence, and the young woman Gertrude Bugler who plays Tess in the amateur theater group The Hardy Players. The novel takes place in the Winter of the year Thomas Hardy is eighty-four, about 1924 or 1925. The characters look back from that vantage point, and sometimes nto the future.
The several sections/chapters told by Florence and the two chapters told by Gertie are in the first person. I think Nicholson does a good job of writing from the viewpoint of a woman and making clear which woman is telling the story. Florence is simply a shrew of a woman. I don't mean that she is domineering at all. Instead she is an A Number One whiner without a shred of self esteem or self-confidence. In these chapters I found Hardy to be long suffering. Florence, of course, thought her self long suffering and through this apparently self same attitude the novel is brought to a climax. Gertie is a young woman who simply wants to be an actress. She has played the lead in several of the Hardy plays to date.
The chapters with the point of view of Thomas Hardy - about half of the novel - are told in the third person. Nicholson did a fair imitation of Hardy's writing style in these. Though in the third person, we see how Hardy looks at the world. We are privileged to view the fields, the birds, the sky, just as Hardy writes. We also come to know about some of those who have peopled his life and how he views his writing. This quote is very early in the book and I could have highlighted many more such paragraphs.
Her hair was a conspicuous feature; thick and very black, with tresses that shone in the light of the fire, it was the kind of hair that in a former age might have adorned the head of a Cleopatra or a Helen of Troy, and a man with an imaginative cast of mind might have wished himself transmuted into a comb, merely for the pleasure of being drawn through its length.I woke up last night and couldn't get back to sleep. I was glad to have 40 or 50 pages left to read. It is not a flashy novel and I was very glad for the quietness of the Hardy sections in particular. This novel reminded me that I have more Hardy to read. I hope I get to them without letting too much time pass. 5-stars, although it's probably in the lower 1/4 of that group.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+ 5 Combo (10.5)
Task total = 35
Season total = 475
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
Gods of Jade and Shadow (other topics)The Inn (other topics)
Rogue Protocol (other topics)
The Inn (other topics)
The Escape (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Silvia Moreno-Garcia (other topics)James Patterson (other topics)
Martha Wells (other topics)
James Patterson (other topics)
David Baldacci (other topics)
More...
Read any book whose title begins with the letters in CHERUBS.
Hope Never Dies (Obama Biden Mysteries #1) (2018) by Andrew Shaffer (Goodreads Author) (Paperback, 304 pages)
Review: “Hope Never Dies” is a light-hearted, humorous novel starring Barack Obama and Joe Biden as amateur detectives. Joe Biden is the first person narrator, prone to saying folksie phrases like “son of a buttermilk biscuit”. Biden suffers from a “bum knee” and likes wearing “Hawaiian shirts”; he’s also deeply compassionate and remembers everyone he’s ever met. Barack, in contrast, is the epitome of “cool”, the most intelligent person in the room – and he KNOWS it. The mystery is implausible but one reads this novel for the buddy interaction between Barack and Joe, and not for the mystery. I found the novel to be entertaining. I will caution that readers who dislike Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Democrats or government workers probably would also dislike this novel.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 10 + 10 = 20
Grand Total: 200 + 20 = 220