Reading with Style discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Archives
>
WI 20-21 Completed Tasks
10.8 Lunar (Tien's Task)The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw
+10 Task
+10 Combo: 10.3 Winter / 10.4 Valentine's
Task Total: 20
Season Total: 695
20.1 Black History MonthSong of Solomon by Toni Morrison
+10 Task
+10 Combo: 10.4 Valentine's / 20.3 Post Modern
+10 Prize Worthy: Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize (1977), National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction (1977)
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 725
15.2 Name of the GameTwelfth Night by William Shakespeare
Square 1B - letter R - Ratings: 10K plus (157,120)
Square 8D - letter A - Wild Card! (A)
Square ND - letter N- Title has a number (all forms - twelfth)
RAN
+15 Task
+ 5 Not fiction (Not a Novel)
+ 5 Pub'd 1996 and earlier
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 800
15.3 Name of the GameZero by Gine Cornelia Pedersen
Square 12B - letter S - Page count 75-199
Square 10D - letter T - Translated: Not originally pub'd in English
Square 14B - letter Y - Setting: Italy, Norway, Hungary, or Turkey
Word = STY
+15 Task
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 815
15.6 Name of the GameThe Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
860 lexile
Square 12E - letter S - main page genre scifi
Square 3C - letter A - author born in August (born Aug 11)
Square 4C - letter D - main page genre dystopia
Word = SAD
+20 Task
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 360
15.7 Name of the GameThe Searcher by Tana French
Square 13C - letter T - The ____ title
Square 9E - letter I - set in/author born in Ireland (both true)
Square 15C - letter L - page count over 400 (451 pg)
Square 16B - letter E - author born in Europe (French is born in Ireland)
Word = TILE
+20 Task
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 380
15.4 Name of the GameIt's in His Kiss by Julia Quinn
Square 2E - letter R– Series name includes the letter R (Bridgertons)
Square 6C - letter I– IN in title
Square 8C - letter G– Goodreads Author
Word = Rig
Task: 15
Season Total: 1385
...; 10.2; 10.3; 10.4; 10.5; 10.6; 10.7; ....; .....; .....
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4; ....; ....; ....; ....; ....; .... (3x)
20.1; 20.2; .....; 20.4; .....; 20.6; 20.7; 20.8; .....; .20.10
15.8 Name of the GameRedemption Point by Candice Fox
Square 10B - letter T - published in teens (2018)
Square 3B - letter A - set in a country starting with A (Australia)
Square 7B - letter G - no letter G in author name
Word = TAG
+30 Task
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 410
15.5 Name of the GameCall the Midwife: Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth
Square 5E - letter D– Double Trouble: Title or author name has consecutive letters that are the same
Square 3B - letter E– Author entire published name has 2 or more E's
Square 9B - letter W– Author first or last name begins with W
Word = Dew
Task: 20
Not a Novel: 5
Season Total: 1410
...; 10.2; 10.3; 10.4; 10.5; 10.6; 10.7; ....; .....; .....
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4; 15.5; ....; ....; ....; ....; .... (3x)
20.1; 20.2; .....; 20.4; .....; 20.6; 20.7; 20.8; .....; .20.10
15.9 Name of the GameChase Darkness with Me: How One True-Crime Writer Started Solving Murders by Billy Jensen
Square 1A - letter R - 10K+ ratings (currently 10,233)
Square 14C - letter Y - author name ends in Y
Square 8D - letter E - wild card!
Word = RYE
+30 Task
+5 not a novel (nonfiction)
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 445
15.5 Name of the GameRound 3
Bliss by Peter Carey
Square 16C - letter E - pub. 1981
Square 14C - letter Y - author's last name, Carey, ends in Y
Square 16D - letter E - title has no "E"
Word: EYE
+20 Task
+5 Pub'd 1981
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 1,495
15.6 Name of the GameRound 3
Dear Reader: The Comfort and Joy of Books by Cathy Rentzenbrink
Square 11D - letter H - pub'd 2020
Square 2D - letter E - 8-word title
Square 6B - letter N - Not-a-Novel
Word: HEN
+20 Task
+5 Not-a-Novel
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 1,520
15.7 Name of the GameRound 3
Prince of Thorns (The Broken Empire #1) by Mark Lawrence
Square 7C - letter G - Goodreads author
Square 2B - letter E - author's last name, Lawrence, has 2 'E'
Square 10B - letter T - pub'd 2011 (teens)
Word: GET
+20 Task
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 1,540
10.9 The Fifth SeasonThe Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
I don’t recall when I’ve read such an enjoyable fantasy recently. It is contemporary but steeped in history. I felt while I was reading it that the author has absorbed Chinese and Western (war/military) history and turned it on its head into a fantasy. I particularly enjoy this type of novel where the under-estimated underdog is the ‘hero’. There are a lot of characters and history (of the wars) along the way, but it isn’t a particularly hard read. The language is very contemporary. It is propulsive though, and I was disappointed when I had to put it down. I can’t wait to squeeze the next one in the trilogy into my reading list (not only because it ended in a giant cliff hanger!!)! 4*
10 task
10 review
10 prize
5 jumbo
____
35
Running total: 1030
Post 659 Karen Michele wrote: "10.8 Lunar (Tien's Task)The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw
+10 Task
+10 Combo: 10.3 Winter / 10.4 Valentine's
Task Total: 20
Season Total: 695"
I'm sorry, Karen. This was published in 2020 and Lunar requires 2021. Let us know which of your combos you want it scored.
Task 15.04 Name of the GameThe Last One (2016) by Alexandra Oliva
For Square 16D - Letter 'E': There is a ‘Survivor’ type game with 12 named contestants, plus the moderator, plus the husband of one contestant and a few random people not involved with the game.
Square 6D – Letter N – New to You Author
Square 16D – Letter E – Novel has Eight or more named characters
Square 10B – Letter T – MPG Thriller
Word = NET
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 275 + 15 = 290
20.2 JazzAnaïs Nin - Sur la mer des mensonges by Léonie Bischoff
Set in the beginning of the 30's, it is set when Anaïs Nin first meets Henry Miller
+20 Task
(no style points, graphic novel)
Task total = 20
Points total = 405
20.7 LifetimePinocchio by Carlo Collodi
First published 1883
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.2 - #260)
+10 Lost in Translation (published in italian, read in french)
Task total = 35
Points total = 440
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 659 Karen Michele wrote: "10.8 Lunar (Tien's Task)The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw
+10 Task
+10 Combo: 10.3 Winter / 10.4 Valentine's
T..."
Oops - sorry!
Please score it for Winter - thanks-
15.9 Name of the GameWhen Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson
Square 8C - letter W - when
Square 9B - letter I - island setting
Square 7E - letter G - good
Word = WIG
Task total: 30
Grand total: 580
10.4 Valentine'sThe Hot Spot by Charles Williams
The original title for this is Hell Hath No Fury and that is the more appropriate title. I think we all know the rest of that phrase is as a woman scorned. I have to be honest and did not pay attention to that information before reading this. Had I done so, I might have had some idea what I was in for, though I can't promise I would have liked it more.
The story is told in the first person by Harry Madox. There is little back story, but he seems to have found himself in trouble in other cities before we find him in this small town. There is no report of criminal activity. What a surprise, therefore, that he is contemplating arson and bank robbery! That is quite a jump from bar fights.
For this reader, there was lots of eye-rolling and sighs. Too much of it was just silly. Other parts seemed padded. I can't remember when I've tolerated so much blatant mysoginy. (Had I noted the original title, I might have been prepared.) I did finish this, so as much as I disliked it, I'll let it crawl into my very small 2-star group. I doubt I'll be reading any more by this author.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task total = 20
Season total = 625
15.1 The Name of the Game - Round 2The House in the Mist by Anna Katharine Green
Square 12B - letter S = short, 116 pages
Square 3E - letter A = published 1905
Square 14D - letter Y = mpg: mystery
Word = SAY
15 task
5 oldie (1905)
____
20
Running total: 1050
15.8 Name of the GameRound 3
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy #1) by Douglas Adams
Square 12E - letter S - MPG: Science Fiction
Square 13D - letter T - "To" in title
Square 3D - letter A - MPG: Adventure
Square 7D - letter G - #19 on The Guardian's list
Word: STAG
+30 Task
+5 Pub'd 1979
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 1,575
10.1 Square PegThe Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
Review
★★★½ rounded down to 3
Fantastic cover though rather intimidating in size. I read it with a couple of friends over a period of 5 weeks with me pacing the read at 2 or 3 chapters per day. The first couple of weeks (approx. first 300 pages), it was really rather boring as nothing truly happens. Primarily, these 300 pages were used to set up this new intricate universe with a lot of politics, religion, and cultures described in detail. While it could rather interesting, unfortunately, it was just too long and I didn't find her prose particularly engaging so it was difficult to put the book down after 2 chapters to read a different book.
The plot started to pick up around page 300 or so but the pace really didn't pick up until about page 600+. I did find it difficult to put down near the end because the battle was really quite exciting. But I really think she killed off the wrong character - out of all of them, a minor character was killed and while I found this annoying, it didn't really break my heart so if that was the goal, should've killed someone else!
Overall, this book is an okay read. You really have to invest a lot of time and energy to get to the good bits so I'm really not sure if it's worth it. Ultimately, I reckon the book should be 250-300 pages shorter for me to really love it.
+10 Task
+15 Jumbo (827p)
+10 Review
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 1,610
10.8 LunarA Gracious Plenty by Sheri Reynolds
"A Gracious Plenty" is a magical story that pulls at the emotions. When Finch Nobles was a toddler she pulled a pot of boiling water off the stove, burning her face and shoulders. The resulting scars made her an outcast, and she was taunted by the children in the small town. After her parents died, Finch took over the job of caretaker of the cemetery located on her family's land.
Finch is able to communicate with the dead in the cemetery who still have unfinished business before they eventually "lighten" and ascend to their final reward. They also control the weather, help the growing crops, and keep the four seasons on track. A former beauty queen, a crying baby, and a man with a secret past are among the dead that Finch befriends. Her path crosses that of the local policeman as she tries to make things right between the ghosts in the cemetery and the living people they left behind.
Finch is a likable character with lots of spirit. As the book progresses, we see her opening up to friendship which is difficult after all the rejection she faced as a child. This Southern story is compelling and heartwarming.
+10 task (pub 1997)
+10 review
Task total: 20
Season total: 430
15.9The Devourers by Indra Das
I recommend this book - it is an intriguing, readable take from an Indian Asian/Western European perspective on dangerous werewolves and the fluidity of identity. As fair warning, there is eating of humans and a rape, referenced repeatedly, but in a brutal magical realism sort of way, not a dark Twilight sort of way.
5B - I - author born in India
13C - T - title of The plus a single word
15E - L - mpg LGBT
6E - N - new to me author
LINT - which is my third word of four or more letters
Task total: 30
Grand total: 940
20.9 Nieces (Kate S's Task)A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Review:
4.0/5.0 - I did not expect to like this, paranormal and vampires not being my thing, so I was surprised at how quickly it pulled me in. It probably helped that it started out in the Bodleian Library (aka Oxford University Library), and that in my past life, as an Interlibrary Loan librarian, I used to occasionally get books from there. So immediately, I was drawn into the setting. The main characters, Diana, a witch who doesn't wish to use her powers, and Matthew, a very powerful vampire, who revels in his, are attracted to each other despite their desires not to be. Throughout the book, they grow, as creatures and lovers, Diana becoming much stronger, and Matthew, becoming less secretive and slowly opening little by little to Diana. Secrets are revealed, families are introduced and enlarged, and the book leaves both satisfied and set up for the next book in the series.
Task: 20
Review: 10
Combo: 15 (20.4 - MC is scientist & 10.5 is historian author & 10.3- Deborah)
Jumbo: 5 (579 pages)
Prize: 5 (SCIBA Award for fiction)
Task total: 55
Season Total: 1465
...; 10.2; 10.3; 10.4; 10.5; 10.6; 10.7; ....; .....; .....
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4; 15.5; ....; ....; ....; ....; .... (3x)
20.1; 20.2; .....; 20.4; .....; 20.6; 20.7; 20.8; 20.9; 20.10
15.2 The Name of the Game - Round 2The Case of the Corner Cottage by Christopher Bush
Square 4E - letter D = cottage = tt
Square 16B - letter E = author born in Europe
Square 6E - letter N = author new to me
Word = DEN
15 task
5 oldie (1951)
_____
20
Running total: 1070
15.9 Name of the GameThe Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante
Square 10D - letter T - translated
Square 11B - letter H - MPG Historical fiction
Square 14B - letter Y - setting Italy
Word = THY
+30 Task
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 845
20.8 TravelIsolarion: A Different Oxford Journey by James Attlee
Like me, the author of this book lives in a side street off the Cowley Road in East Oxford. Our area began as marshy ground across the river from the university city. It was home to the medieval leper hospital, and it is still very different from the Oxford that most tourists see – multicultural and fast-changing, with a high percentage of Oxford’s Muslim population alongside students in shared houses, families who can afford the rocketing house prices, immigrants of all nations, and support services for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts.
James Attlee has a short chapter for each of the many business owners and residents that he interviewed on his doorstep pilgrimage, interspersed with his own experiences on a consultative body that planned “improvements” to the road in the 2000s. It’s fun to dip into, and I think he writes well enough to appeal to someone who doesn’t know the area.
I believe there is an updated edition, but I have the first one, published (by the University of Chicago Press, oddly) in 2007, and most of the shops and restaurants that he visited are long gone. Leases change hands very fast here. But I do remember a lot of them, and it was fascinating to read about some of the places I walk past all the time but will never enter, like the facilities for asylum seekers or the Mikvah pool for orthodox Jews.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+ 5 Combo (10.3)
Task total: 35
Season Total: 880
20.1 Black History MonthTheir Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Review
I thought this was going to be a hard read so it's been languishing on my tbr forever. It was a hard read but not in the way that I thought it was going to be. But it was totally worth it.
At first, it was hard to get into the story, the language, and even the protagonist. While I can understand writing dialogue as they would've spoken added that bit of authenticity to a story, I struggled a lot with it and have had to re-read sentences over (sometimes more than once) to understand. I just had to persevere to about the halfway mark when the story to me over and at the end, I came to admire the protagonist very much. A beautiful love story in the midst of a world that can be so ugly at times.
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.8 - pub. 1937)
+10 Review
+5 Prize-worthy
Post Total: 40
Season Total: 1,650
15.9 Name of the GameRound 3
August Heat (Commissario Montalbano #10) by Andrea Camilleri
Square 10D - letter T - translated
Square 1E - letter R - series includes "R"
Square 8D - letter A - "wildcard"
Square 14B - letter Y - setting: Italy
Word: TRAY
+30 Task
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 1,680
10.8 LunarA Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life by George Saunders
Writer George Saunders has been teaching creative writing for years, including a course about 19th Century Russian short story writers. Reading this book feels like attending a mini college class with the professor you wish you had as a teacher. Saunders is enthusiastic, warm, and humorous with a conversational tone.
The book consists of the texts of seven short stories, discussions of techniques used by the Russian writers, and an afterthought about how it relates to Saunders' own writing. The seven stories are "In the Cart," "The Darling," and "Gooseberries" by Anton Chekhov; "Master and Man" and "Alyosha the Pot" by Leo Tolstoy; "The Singers" by Ivan Turgenev; and "The Nose" by Nikolai Gogol. Saunders also discusses issues with translation from Russian to English. He shows how ambiguous endings keep us wondering, and sometimes have different meanings depending on the translator. Gogol used lots of plays on words in his writing, but we miss some of his humor because it doesn't come through when the words are translated. My favorite story was Tolstoy's "Master and Man" where characters make repetitive bad choices, and that makes the story work. In several stories Saunders shows how a writer keeps escalating the action to keep the reader's interest. "A Swim in the Pond in the Rain" can be enjoyed by both writers and readers to make their interactions with short stories more meaningful.
+10 task (published 2021)
+ 5 combo 10.4 Valentines
+10 review
Task total: 25
Season total: 455
15.10 Name of the GameAcross the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire
Square 15D - Letter L - most recent novel
Square 2B - Letter E - 2+ Es in auth name
Square 12C - Letter S Series #4-7
Square 8D - Letter S - Wild Card (S)
Word = LESS
Task total: 45
+100 Finish
+100 four letter words
Post total: 245
Grand total: 825
20.2 JazzDouble Indemnity by James M. Cain
Review:
I am reading Peter Swanson's Eight Perfect Murders which references a list created by a book seller of murders that he felt to be perfect. When I finish that book I will include the unfortunate fact that Swanson's book reveals all sorts of spoilers for the books on the list. Regardless, I was inspired to explore the titles on the list. Double Indemnity is one of them. Deathtrap is another, but I can't claim that one because the page count is too low. The Postman Always Rings Twice was slotted in on my list for this task but I haven't gotten there yet.
This is a really great noir mystery. It has all the trappings of the charming old style mystery; a narrator not so much unreliable as disingenuous, a femme fatale, a murder and lots of twists and turns. I will certainly be trying to track down a copy of the film. I think it would translate very well. The imagery is clear and cinematic as noirs often are.
It's hard to say too much about this book without revealing any spoilers. I would highly recommend this for fans of The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep and other noir mysteries. I think it would also appeal to Agatha Christie fans. There is something similar about the plot pace and characters here, perhaps the publication date of the 1930's but Double Indemnity if far less cozy than a Miss Marple. Think more Murder on the Orient Express.
Critiques:
There was room for more elaboration on Phyllis' backstory. Some of the dialogue lacks clarity and there was one moment where they were discussing two hers and a him in which it was hard to track who was being referred to in the moment.
It's a short book. Worth the read!
+20 Task
+5 Combo 10.3 Winter Author Name begins with J
+5 Combo 20.10 Grand Master Mystery
+10 Review
Task Total: 40 pts
Grand Total: 320pts
20.1 Black History MonthTwelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup ~ #39
Lexile: 1200
+20 task
+5 combo (20.7 - published 1853)
Task total = 25
Season Total: 70
20.1 Black History MonthDevil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley
LA, 1948. World War II veteran Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins just wants to pay his mortgage and keep the first home he’s ever owned. So when he’s offered a hundred dollars to track down a white girl, just after he’s been fired from his job, he can’t afford to turn it down. But he has a bad feeling about the whole thing, which turns out to be right on point.
It was hard to believe this hard-boiled private eye story was the author’s first novel. It seemed very accomplished. There was some eye-opening discussion of racial issues which is hard to go into without spoilers, but definitely added to the narrative. Only a massive coincidence at the end took it down from 5 stars for me.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+ 5 Combo (20.10)
+10 Prizeworthy
Task total: 45
Season Total: 925
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...
They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems by David Bowles
+10 Task (850 Lexile)
Task Total: 10
Season Total: 600