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SU 21 Completed Tasks
20.7 Riding the MetroA Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
set in Moscow
Country: Russia
Continent: Europe
Count Alexander Rostov is living at the Hotel Metropol in Moscow after the Russian revolution, until one day he is put under "house arrest" - he may not leave the hotel. This doesn't seem too bad until he realises he must lose his lovely suite with its city view and most of his furniture, to move into a small attic. Still, as house arrests go, it is a cushy one, with plenty of opportunities to meet people and make friends among the staff and guests.
It was interesting to read this after a year in which most of us were confined to a small area and a limited amount of human contact for long periods. Perhaps it was Covid that made me feel the Count got off very lightly. I would have liked more insight into the psychology of his situation, but it was a charming story. 4 stars
+25 Task
+ 5 Review
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 810
20.6 Riding the MetroThem by Nathan McCall, set in Atlanta, GA, USA.
Task Points: 25
Season Total : 225
10.3 Page CountRead books of varying length written by different authors:
10.3 150-199p
The Virgin and the Gipsy by D.H. Lawrence, 156 pp. 1st pub'd 1930.
Task Points: 10
1st Pub'd before 1995: 5
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 240
10.7 PCMy Brother's Husband, Volume 2 (352 pages) by Gengoroh Tagame
What a great way to finish this story…it really came full-circle <3
I was a little shocked when I read that the author is mainly know for his “gay BDSM erotic manga”—I never would have guessed that based on this story and these characters! Again, I’m loving how much Japanese culture I’ve gleaned from this series and I’m sad it’s over but so glad to have encountered and read it.
+10 Task
+5 Review
Task total: 15
Season total: 1870
20.5 Riding the MetroThe Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas by Machado de Assis (published 1881)
Set in Rio de Janeiro
Country: Brazil
Continent: South America
I was very excited to read this early example of experimental literature, and it didn't disappoint. Bras Cubas is not a great person, but he's a great character. His hindsight (and humor) about his life is funny and fascinating.
This has a semi-stream-of-consciousness tone, while also being very self-conscious, conversational (with himself and the reader), and attentive to the writing and editing process. The short chapters, the asides, the seamless sprawl in a narrative that is actually quite compact: all of this makes the novel great.
+20 Task
+5 Review
+5 Before 1996
Post total: 30
Season total: 310
10.9 Page Count 450-499Bitter Grounds by Sandra Benítez (464 pages)
I didn't love this, but it was still worth a read. This is an on-the-ground, even in-the-weeds, perspective on El Salvador and its wars and massacres in the 1940s and 1960s. The first section, focused on Mercedes, was very good, and unfortunately no other section lived up to that start.
The writing was honest and un-self-consciousness, but the whole tone felt a bit larger-than-life. There was something too overt about it, especially when it came to the stilted dialogue of Maria Mercedes and her friends towards the end. It felt like I was watching a musical or a high school play, where the actors are over-projecting and over-emphasizing their facial expressions.
+10 Task
+5 Review
Post total: 15
Season total: 325
20.10 Riding the Metro (2nd round)Death Before Wicket by Kerry Greenwood
Set in Sydney, Australia, Oceania
This is the second installment in the Phyrne Fisher series that has been a disappointment. (10th in the series overall). I like the main character Phyrne.... a woman way ahead of her time in the 1920s Australia. Usually set in Melbourne, this volume finds the detective Fisher on holiday in Sydney....only to be roped into two overlapping investigations. But to me I found the mysteries to be a bit convoluted. Also, there is a ridiculous love scene in a well. I can accept that if the work was completely tongue-in-cheek...but the series seems to be taking itself more seriously now...and it just didn't work for me. Barely two stars.
Task=25
review=5
Task total= 30
100 points finisher bonus
50 points for reading cities in 10 different countries
100 points for reading cities on at least 5 continents
Season Total=1270
10.1; 10.2; 10.3;10.4 10.5; .....; 10.7; 10.8; 10.9; 10.10
✔20.1; 20.2; 20.3; 20.4; 20.5; 20.6; 20.7; 20.8; 20.9; 20.10
✔2nd round: 20.1; 20.2; 20.3; 20.4; 20.5; 20.6; 20.7; 20.8; 20.9; 20.10
20.1 RtM round 2Playing Beatie Bow by Ruth Park
City: Sydney
Country: Australia
Continent: Oceania
Task Total - 20 pts
10.3 Page Count 150-199The Expert System’s Champion by Adrian Tchaikovsky
192 pages
+10 Task
Post Total: 10
Season Total: 1675
15.3 TDoSRound 2
The Prison Healer (The Prison Healer #1) by Lynette Noni
Rated 5-stars by Kate and Kendyl
+20 Task
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 1,560
15.6 TDoS Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood
ThIs is the first of the Hogarth Shakepeare project that I have read and it is excellent. Hag-Seed is a retelling of The Tempest. Margaret Atwood manages to embed a play within a play within the novel to create a very clever novel about a washed up director who is working in a prison acting program. The setting is unique, the plot is compelling and I learned more about one of my least favorite Shakespearean plays
30 pts 15.6 Anika and Karen Michelle Burns
5 pts review
Total Task 35 points
Total Season: 505 pts.
10.1 10.2 10.3 ... 10.5 10.6 ... ... ... 10.10
15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 ... ... ... ...
20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 20.6. 20.7 20.8 ... ...
Countries: England, United States, Australia, Japan, Germany, Ghana, Ireland, Cuba,
Continents Europe, North America, Oceania, Asia, Africa, South America
20.6 RtMThe Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar
Set in Bombay (Mumbai)
Country: India
Continent: Asia
Bhima has cleaned Sera’s home for twenty years, made her food, run her errands. Over that time husbands have been lost, children have died and disappeared, and tragedy has struck both of them. Bhima lives in Bombay’s slums with her granddaughter; Sera lives in an opulent upper-middle class apartment with her pregnant daughter and son-in-law.
This luscious character-driven novel moves like the tide at Chowpatty Beach: slowly and inexorably. I definitely took my time with this one and I don’t know if it was because of the subject matter (abuse of power, educational inequality, caste system, poverty, etc) or the fact that there’s not a lot of action to draw the reader in, but I’m glad I stuck with it.
+25 Task
+5 Review
Task total: 30
Season total: 1900
20.5 - Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor NoahBorn A Crime is the memoir of The Daily Show host Trevor Noah. It’s a compendium of shorts about his life growing up as a literal crime in apartheid South Africa, his sheer existence illegal because his parents are of differing races. It’s at times funny, at times sad, but always quite readable. It’s not at all what I expected but then again, I’m not exactly sure *what* I expected in the first place. I quite enjoyed it.
+20 task
+5 review
Task total: 25
Season total: 270
10.1 ; 10.2 ; 10.3 ; 10.4 ; 10.5 ; 10.6 ; 10.7 ; 10.8 ; ... ; 10.10
… ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; …
20.1 ; 20.2 ; 20.3 ; 20.4 ; 20.5 ; … ; … ; … ; … ; …
Cities: Perth, Edmonton, London, San Francisco, Johannesburg
Countries: Australia, Canada, England, US, S. Africa
Continents: Oceania, N. America, Europe, Africa
20.2 RtM round 2Hypothermia by Arnaldur Indriðason
City: Reykjavik
Country: Iceland
Continent: Europe
Task - 20 pts
Round 2 10.8 Page Count 400-449 pagesWhen Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson
Thirty years ago, six-year-old Joanna was able to run away and hide while a deranged man knifed her mother and her two siblings. Detective Chief Inspector Louise Monroe warns Joanna that the convict is going to be released from prison. Joanna is now a doctor, the mother of a baby boy, and the wife of a man who is involved in some questionable business dealings. She has hired a teenager, Reggie, to be a mother's helper. Reggie's mother had recently died, and Joanna helps fill the void with her warm, maternal personality.
Meanwhile, detective Jackson Brodie boarded the wrong train, and is traveling to Edinburgh instead of London. The lives of the characters intersect by the railroad tracks. Jackson and Louise were almost lovers years ago, still feel an attraction, but now are married to other people. When Joanna and the baby go away unexpectedly, Reggie is upset and contacts Louise. Why did Joanna leave her purse and phone behind? Several other plot lines also intertwine with the main story.
Kate Atkinson has created complex characters that the reader will care about. There's some wonderful humor about life, marriage, family, and class differences woven into the story. The author surprised me with and unexpected twist that I did not see coming. This entertaining crime read is the third book in the Jackson Brodie series, but can be enjoyed even if you have not read the previous two books.
+10 task (400 pages)
+ 5 review
Task total: 15
Season total: 635
15.4 TDoSRound 2
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
Rated 5-stars by Kendyl and Angelbis
+20 Task
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 1,580
20.3 Riding the MetroBlack Water Sister by Zen Cho
set in George Town
Country Malaysia
Continent: Asia
+20 Task
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 1695
10.4 PCSacred Cows: A Lighthearted Look at Belief and Tradition Around the World by Seth Andrews (212 pages)
Task Total - 10 pts
15.10 TDoSThe Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
Rated 5* by Cassie + Clara
The description spoilt this psychological thriller for me because it makes it clear from the outset that the "I" character is not the jealous wife she appears to be. From there it was not too hard to guess a fair bit of what was coming. So I was waiting for the reveals, which made it seem slow. (view spoiler)
+ 45 Task
+ 5 Review
+100 TDoS Completion Bonus
Post Total: 150
Season Total: 960
15.9 Riding the MetroThe Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee
City: Hong Kong
Country: Hong Kong, UK colony
Continent: Asia
The GR description had me believing this was a WWII novel. I admit it would have helped had I read the entire description. Claire Pendleton, the eponymous piano teacher, doesn't arrive in Hong Kong until 1952. I wasn't expecting alternating timelines, Part I is a chapter in the 1940s, then a chapter in the 1950s, back and forth. Part II is all the 1940s while Part III is all the 1950s, except when it gets a little muddied.
This was easily read and it never occurred to me to abandon it. I was rewarded for having stuck with it because the last 50 pages redeem the mundaneness of first 275. No, those 275 pages aren't a slog, just that they weren't much better than 'meh'. That's really too darned long for the foundation and build up. Reading about the conditions in Hong Kong during the Japanese Occupation were hard reading and maybe more graphic than I needed.
I think this should have been titled "Will Truesdale". Though there are two women - Trudy Liang and Claire Pendleton - this is more his story than either of theirs. None of the characterizations were well done. Alternating the timelines weakened the effect of the conditions and Hong Kong society of 1950s as all of the characters, other than Claire Pendleton, had lived through the Occupation. I have nothing to complain about the writing. It is better than much that is churned out in the 21st Century when so much has been dumbed down. (Maybe authors think we're too tired at the end of the day to enjoy rich prose.) 3-stars.
+25 Task
+ 5 Review
Task total = 30
Season total = 650
15.7 TDoS The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Excellent book! Sympathetic portrayal of a group of troubled teens who cannot find their way in the world and depend on their close relationships when they can’t count on anything else. More than just a coming age story. Full of raw emotion thar rings true. Ponyboy is a teen who is torn between his loyalties and a sense that there might be something else he can’t quite imagine. Highly recommended.
30 pts 15.7 Karen Michelle Burns and Lisa
5 pts review
5 pts pre 1996
Total Task 40 points
Total Season: 545 pts.
10.1 10.2 10.3 ... 10.5 10.6 ... ... ... 10.10
15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7 ... ... ...
20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 20.6. 20.7 20.8 ... ...
Countries: England, United States, Australia, Japan, Germany, Ghana, Ireland, Cuba,
Continents Europe, North America, Oceania, Asia, Africa, South America
15.6 - TDoSOut of Africa by Isak Dinesen
Rated 5* by:
Rebekah and Lisa
+30 Task
+ 5 Before 1996 (1937)
Task total: 35
Season total: 150
15.7 - TDoSO Pioneers! by Willa Cather
Rated 5* by:
Lisa and Natalie
+30 Task
+ 5 Before 1996 (1913)
Task total: 35
Season total: 185
10.7 PC 350-399Undermajordomo Minor by Patrick deWitt
352 pages
One reader has described this as a mythical fairytale. To that description I would add it is humorous. But a fairytale should have a moral and I am not sure that I have found it. Mythical works: madness, debouchery without consequences among the privileged, war without purpose, return from the river Styx, making up stories, and honorable thieves are among the mythical themes found here. It ends with a “love conquers all” possibility.
+10 task
+5 review
Task total: 15
Season total: 275
Task 20.8 Riding the MetroSetting – Tokyo
Country – Japan
Continent – Asia
Set approximately 95% in Tokyo.
The Typist (2010) by Michael Knight
Review: This short novel is told in first person by a young American soldier who is stationed in Tokyo after World War II. He’s an excellent typist (hence the novel’s name), and he’s been assigned to General MacArthur’s office staff. The novel follows our protagonist through his life, 1945-1947. He’s part of the American occupation force in Japan (and all that means), as well as part of a family back home in Alabama. The style is exemplary – sparse but with sufficient detail to follow the story. Recommended for readers of literary fiction.
+25 Task
+05 Review
Task Total: 25 + 05 = 30
Grand Total: 250 + 30 = 280
10.1 Page Count, two or three short works adding up to 75-150 pagesRound 2
Dead Man's Quill by Jordan Castillo Price (84 pages)
plus
Saint Benedict and Christianity in England by Patrick Barry (40 pages)
Dead Man’s Quill is the fourth in a series of lighthearted novellas about two guys who create magic spells together. I had the first four as an omnibus on audio. The first episode was definitely the best, and I don’t think I will go on with the series although I like this author.
St Benedict and Christianity in England is a very short history of the Benedictine influence in England with chapters on St Augustine, the dissolution of the monasteries, and other important figures and moments.
+10 Task (total 124 pages)
+ 5 Review
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 975
10.9 Page Count 450 - 500Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, 476 pp.
Task Points: 10
Total Points So Far: 250
20.5 Riding the MetroA Most Wanted Man by John le Carré
City: Hamburg
Country: Germany
Continent: Europe
Le Carre had the knack for drawing you in, and then keeping you interested. The characters are distinct, and interesting. He also keeps you off balance pretty well the whole time. There are a lot of spies involved – German, British, American – but who are the ‘good guys”? The ending is not what you expect (at all), but not terribly surprising considering the contemporary context. 4*
20 task
5 review
______
25
Running total: 1310
10.2 PC- 100-149Benjamin Lay 1677 - 1759 A Pioneer Quaker Abolitionist And Activist by Benjamin Lay
100 pages
Task Total - 10 pts
15.9 TDoSPachinko by Min Jin Lee
Rated 5* by Rosemary and Erin (NY)
+45 Task
Post Total: 45
Season Total: 1740
10.1 Page Count 75-150Ark by Veronica Roth - 33 pgs
A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí Clark -43pgs
Ajax Penumbra 1969 by Robin Sloan - 65pgs
141 pgs
Review: All 3 of these charming novellas dive into the permanence of objects and the meaning behind "things". I enjoyed all 3. Ark is part of a multi-author sci-fi collection exploring how to go Forward from the end of the world. Dead Djinn takes place in an alternate 1912 Cairo. The first of his writings to take place in this world, I look forward to reading the novel length Master of Djinn released this past May. After adoring Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Book Store last season, this novel takes us back in time to the origins of Penumbra's work at the store. I'd love further adventures!
During the pandemic when both attention span and motivation have been low, these 3 are wonderful snapshots into other worlds without the lengthy commitment of a novel.
Task Total: 15 pts
Grand Total: 80 pts
10.9 - Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand - 492pgUnbroken. Well, this was another nice surprise. I’m not generally a big fan of WWII stuff, especially historical pieces nor am I usually a fan of sports history but this was something very different. I think approaching this story beginning from Zamperini’s childhood made a big difference in whether or not you bought in to it and it explained a lot about both his endurance and his big heart. Very interesting read.
+10 task
+5 review
Task total: 15
+100 completion
Season total: 385
10.1 ; 10.2 ; 10.3 ; 10.4 ; 10.5 ; 10.6 ; 10.7 ; 10.8 ; 10.9 ; 10.10
… ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; …
20.1 ; 20.2 ; 20.3 ; 20.4 ; 20.5 ; … ; … ; … ; … ; …
Cities: Perth, Edmonton, London, San Francisco, Johannesburg
Countries: Australia, Canada, England, US, S. Africa
Continents: Oceania, N. America, Europe, Africa
10.3 - Page Count - 150-199 - Round 3113 Minutes by James Patterson
+10 task - 160pgs
Task total: 10
Grand total: 570
10.4 - Page Count - 200-249 - Round 3The Poet by Stephanie Jo Harris
+ 10 task - 237pgs
Task total: 10
Grand total:
20.1 Riding the Metro (Round 3)Fear and Trembling by Amélie Nothomb
set in Tokyo, Japan, Asia
Wow. What an eye-opener. This apparently quasi-autobiographical novel depicts a Belgian woman, born and raised in Japan beginning a menial job at a huge Tokyo corporation. Told in the first person, the main character, who has the same name as the author, is constantly meeting cultural biases. She copes as best she can while trying to adhere to her Western ideals...but to little avail. Her menial job keeps becoming even more menial...until she is reduced to cleaning bathrooms. She is able to keep a healthy attitude about the whole ordeal....but this was a VERY interesting novella. I highly recommend it. Five stars.
Task=20
review=5
Task total= 25
Season Total=1295
10.1; 10.2; 10.3;10.4 10.5; .....; 10.7; 10.8; 10.9; 10.10
✔20.1; 20.2; 20.3; 20.4; 20.5; 20.6; 20.7; 20.8; 20.9; 20.10
✔2nd round: 20.1; 20.2; 20.3; 20.4; 20.5; 20.6; 20.7; 20.8; 20.9; 20.10
3rd round: 20.1
10.1 PCYou Have Arrived at Your Destination (46 pages) by Amor Towles
Randomize (28 pages) by Andy Weir
The Last Conversation (56 pages) by Paul Tremblay
Thank you, Rachel, for reminding me about the Forward collection! I'd downloaded the Amor Towles story ages ago and had entirely forgotten it languishing unread on my kindle...
In these selections from the sci-fi collection we get a terrifying dip into designer genetics, a lark of a story about ripping off a Vegas casino using quantum technology, and a post-pandemic Frankenstein-ian tale. They each delivered a different brand of thrill and chill and I can't wait to start my next round of "Page Count" so that I can read the other three stories in the series!
+10 Task
+5 Review
Task total: 15
Season total: 1915
Task 10.3 150-199pAcross the Green Grass Fields (Wayward Children #6) (2021) by Seanan McGuire (Hardcover, 174 pages)
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 280 + 10 = 290
Round 2 10.9 Page Count (450-499 pages)
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
Alice fell and hit her head at the gym. When she woke up, she had lost ten years of her memory. She thought she was twenty-nine, expecting her first baby, and blissfully in love with her husband. The reality was quite different--she was the mother of three young children and their marriage was on the rocks.
As her memory returns, Alice realizes that she doesn't like some of the qualities she's acquired over the past ten years. In addition to Alice's point of view, we also see the relationship difficulties between Alice and her sister, Elizabeth, from the journal that Elizabeth writes for her therapist. Their honorary grandmother also writes letters with news about the extended family.
Like the other Alice who goes down the rabbit hole, this Alice has to figure out what's real and what's imaginary. "What Alice Forgot" is humorous, engaging light fiction that shows the joys and challenges of marriage and parenting.
+10 task
+ 5 review
Task total: 15
Season total: 650
10.6 Page Count (300-349 pgs)Mystery of Mr. Jessop by E.R. Punshon
There are clues that Bobby doesn't understand (nor did I, of course). Next to the body is a 2-week old piece of newspaper with a photograph of the duchess. Then there is the missing of two pages from the most recent newspaper - those pages would have included the football results. Both of these facts are causing some nervousness in a man who never shows his nerves. Why? Added to this is the fact that at the center of it all is a missing diamond necklace. The necklace isn't just any necklace, of course, but a very valuable (£100,000 in the 1930s!) and movie-star famous diamond necklace.
There was really more plot than I wanted to keep up with, but it all began to come together in one of the best car chases I've had the opportunity to read. Had it been just two cars, it would have been nothing. Would you accept a scene in the waning hours of the day with three or four cars? How about when it turns dark and you already know there are at least 6 cars, a moving van, and a motorcycle? For me, this made the novel.
Also quite good is Bobby's cynicism over the self-importance of the aristocracy and, to some extent, the self-importance of the higher-ups at Scotland yard. This, as we know, even though Bobby's uncle is an Earl and that he aspires to be one of the higher-ups at Scotland Yard. I continue to enjoy this series, but this isn't my favorite and comes in at another 3-stars.
+10 Task (328 pgs)
+ 5 Review
+ 5 before 1996 (1937)
Task total = 20
Season total = 670
10.6 Page Count Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson
This is the second book I've read by this very funny writer. I actually listened to her read this one. It did not disappoint. My husband deals with depression and anxiety which are just two of the issues that this author faces as well. She is very upfront with how she copes and the ridiculous situations she gets in...but she celebrates her being different. Yes....the problems of mental illness are serious...but the author has found a way to lead a positive life most of the time nevertheless...with the love and support of family and friends.... and the huge network of her readers and fellow bloggers that she has developed. I encourage you to read her. 4 stars.
Task=10
review=5
completion bonus=100
Task total= 115
Season Total=1410
✔10.1; 10.2; 10.3;10.4 10.5; 10.6; 10.7; 10.8; 10.9; 10.10
✔20.1; 20.2; 20.3; 20.4; 20.5; 20.6; 20.7; 20.8; 20.9; 20.10
✔2nd round: 20.1; 20.2; 20.3; 20.4; 20.5; 20.6; 20.7; 20.8; 20.9; 20.10
3rd round: 20.1
20.7 RtMNext Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton
Set in Havana
Country: Cuba
Continent: South America (for RtM's purposes)
I learned so much about Cuban history that I'd never quite realized before, and that was the best part about this novel for me.
I never quite connected with the characters, the mirrored experience of grandmother/granddaughter was a little too spot-on, the love-at-first-sight thing always stretches the imagination a bit too far for a work of "literary fiction", and the *surprises* were pretty predictable. And I didn't love the writing style.
All that negativity aside, I loved the sense of place that the author develops...I could see/hear/smell/taste Havana and that's what I was really hoping for from this story. It delivered that in spades.
+25 Task
+5 Review
Task total: 30
Season total: 1945
20.8 Riding the MetroMy Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
set in Lagos
Country: Nigeria
Continent: Africa
Korede is a nurse in Lagos; her beautiful sister Ayoola has a habit of stabbing her lovers, and expects Korede to come to her rescue and clean up. They also share a difficult past.
This is a darkly comic book that takes some odd turnings. It made sense when I read that Braithwaite wrote it for fun and to overcome writer's block when she was feeling under too much pressure to produce something "great". It's all very improbable, but Korede's mixture of jealousy and protectiveness towards her younger sister gives it depth. I hope it was as much fun to write as it was to read!
+25 Task
+ 5 Review
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 1005
20.3 RtM 2nd roundThe Handsome Man's Deluxe Café by Alexander McCall Smith
City: Gaborone
Country: Botswana
Continent: Africa
Task Total - 20 pts
15.5 TDoSRound 2
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Rated 5-stars by Angelbis and Jama
+30 Task
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 1,610
10.4 200-249 ppA Shattering of Silence by Farida Karodia, 216 pp.
Task Points = 10
Before 1996 = 5 (1st pub'd 1993)
Previous Points: 250
Total Points So Far: 265
10.5 250-299 ppCover Her Face by P.D. James, 250 pp.
Task Points = 10
Before 1996 = 5 (1st Pub'd 1962)
Previous Points: 265
Total Points So Far: 280
10.6 300 - 349 ppDreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre, 312 pp.
Task Points = 10
Before 1996 = 5 (1st pub'd 1978)
Previous Points: 280
Total Points So Far: 295
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
The House of the Scorpion (other topics)5 Centimeters per Second (other topics)
Some Kids I Taught & What They Taught Me (other topics)
The World That We Knew (other topics)
A Poem for Every Summer Day (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Nancy Farmer (other topics)Makoto Shinkai (other topics)
Kate Clanchy (other topics)
Alice Hoffman (other topics)
Allie Esiri (other topics)
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Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Rated 5* by Joanna + Cassie
Separately, a band and a singer both start to have modest success in the 1970s world of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll. Then they join forces and everything explodes.
I loved the interview format of this, which made it all seem so real for me. At first I was having trouble remembering they weren't real people. Later, when they were famous, obviously one would have heard of them, but it all still seemed very realistic. 5 stars
+45 Task
+ 5 Review
Post Total: 50
Season Total: 780