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SU 21 Completed Tasks
20.8 Riding the MetroDeath in the Rainy Season by Anna Jaquiery.
Phnom Phen, Cambodia -- Asia
Task Points: 25
Previous Points: 825
Total Points So Far: 850
20.9 Riding the MetroBury Your Dead by Louise Penny
takes place in Quebec City, Canada -- North America
Points This Post: 25
Previous Points: 850
Total Points So Far: 875
10.8 Page CountOnce Broken Faith by Seanan McGuire
420 pages
This was my first October Daye book and I’m happy to report that you can jump in anywhere and McGuire makes sure you’re not lost. There is plenty of “Previously on” details, which as a newbie I appreciated. Not sure if it would annoy the longtime fans, although to me the exposition was pretty natural. The downside of jumping in is that I don’t have 9 books of history to make me super invested in the characters. There was one Big Moment that for me was just action rather than emotion.
The characters are engaging and the descriptions are lush. I couldn’t help but compare this to the Dresden files, because they are both about detectives bound to the Fae. If you like the ideas in Dresden but hate the writing, go with this series. Far better.
+10 task
+5 review
Task total = 15
Season total = 1125
10.4 Page Count 200-249 ppRound 2
Pied Piper by Nevil Shute
I had no idea this book existed until I saw an Audible offer and found it on one of my challenge lists. And it was such a lovely story!
Published in 1942, when the outcome of World War II was still unknown, it was set in the summer of 1940 at the time of the fall of France. John Howard, an Englishman in his 60s, has gone to deepest France on a fishing holiday as usual, distracted by grief, but never expecting anything much to happen, any more than he would if he went to Cornwall.
However, with the Germans advancing in the northeast, he decides to return to England, and is asked by some other people staying in his hotel to take their two small children with him. He agrees, but a circumstance delays their journey, which becomes more and more difficult and dangerous with every passing day. To add to his problems, he becomes responsible for another child... and then another...
I'm so glad I didn't miss this undemanding but rewarding story. The audio narration was perfect, but I think I would have enjoyed reading the book just as much.
+10 Task (246 pp)
+ 5 Review
+ 5 Pre-1996 (1942)
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 1420
15.9 TDoSRagtime by E.L. Doctorow
Rated 5* by Lisa and Hilary.
This book is a look at the early 20th century in New York, with all its booming growth, rampant racism, ruthless business tycoons, and toxic mix of hope and repression. Doctorow captures it all beautifully. It's all a backdrop for the story of Coalhouse Walker and Sarah, the woman he loves. Intermingled are moments spent in the perspectives of real people (J.P. Morgan, Evelyn Nesbit, Harry Houdini, Henry Ford) that further the drama.
I love the choice to leave most of the fictional characters nameless. It's true to life -- history remembers the famous, and the infamous (like Coalhouse) and no one else.
+45 Task
+5 Review
+5 Before 1996 (pub’d 1975)
Post total: 55
Season total: 600
Claimed to date:
10.1 10.2 - - 10.5 10.6 - - 10.9 10.10
15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7 15.8 15.9 -
20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 20.6 - - - -
20.3 Riding the Metro (Round 3)set in London, UK, Europe
Stone Cold by Robert Swindells
This novella reminded me of George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London. Here, Link, a smalltown teenage boy, leaves his family due to an abusive stepfather. He is unprepared for living on the streets in London. His only good luck is to pair up with another homeless person who guides him through their difficulties. But that person disappears. The book begins from the point of view of the person responsible for the disappearance...so, it is not a mystery to the reader...but an engaging enough story...aimed at younger readers. 2 1/2 stars.
Task=20
review=5
pre-1996= 5 (1993)
Task total= 30
Season Total=1485
✔Page Count: 10.1; 10.2; 10.3;10.4 10.5; 10.6; 10.7; 10.8; 10.9; 10.10
Page Count 2nd round: ....; .....; 10.3
✔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; 20.2; 20.3
20.9 Riding the MetroQueen of the Flowers by Kerry Greenwood
City: Melbourne
Country: Australia
Continent: Oceania
Task total: 25
Season total: 840
20.10 Riding the MetroThe Time of the Hero by Mario Vargas Llosa
set in Lima
Country Peru
Continent: South America
+35 Task
+5 Before 1996 (published 1962)
Post Total: 40
finisher bonus 100
10 different countries 50
5 continents 100
Season Total: 2350
20.8 Riding the MetroThe Snowman by Jo Nesbø
City: Oslo
Country: Norway
Continent: Europe
Oh my this was GOOD! There are many things to like in this instalment of the Harry Hole series. The writing is propulsive. Nesbo allows his main characters to grow and change, as real people would. The plot itself is complex but not so complex that you lose threads or can’t keep up. I’ve enjoyed the previous six in the series, but this is the best yet. 5* (As an aside – this was made into a really terrible movie, which has the lowest score I’ve ever seen on Rotten Tomatoes (7%!). )
25 task
5 review
_____
30
Running total: 1405
20.10 Riding the MetroShenzhen: A Travelogue from China by Guy Delisle
Shenzhen, China, Asia
+35 Task
+100 finisher's bonus
+50 different countries (France, Greece, Canada, USA, Australia, Botswana, Brasil, Guinea, UK, China)
+100 5+ continents (Europe, North America, Oceania, Africa, South America, Asia)
Task total = 285
Season total = 580
10.1 ; 10.2 ; 10.3 ; 10.4 ; … ; 10.6 ; … ; … ; 10.9 ; 10.10
… ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; …
20.1 ; 20.2 ; 20.3 ; 20.4 ; 20.5 ; 20.6 ; 20.7 ; 20.8 ; 20.9 ; 20.10
20.1(2nd) - Riding the MetroNowhere Girl by Magali Le Huche
Paris, France, Europe
(Paris is mentioned in several french reviews which i intended to link, but apparently i cannot add links in comments anymore so if needed let me know !)
+20 Task
Task total = 20
Season total = 600
10.1 ; 10.2 ; 10.3 ; 10.4 ; … ; 10.6 ; … ; … ; 10.9 ; 10.10
… ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; …
20.1 (x2) ; 20.2 ; 20.3 ; 20.4 ; 20.5 ; 20.6 ; 20.7 ; 20.8 ; 20.9 ; 20.10
10.10 - Page Count - 500+ - Round 3True Evil by Greg Iles
+10 task - 512pgs
+100 bonus
Task total: 110
Grand total: 690
Task 20.9 Riding the MetroSetting – Rome
Country – Italy
Continent – Europe
Venus in Copper (Marcus Didius Falco #3) (1991) by Lindsey Davis (Mass Market Paperback, 275 pages)
+25 Task
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 320 + 25 = 345
20.9 Riding the MetroMy Brother's Husband, Volume 1 by Gengoroh Tagame
City: Tokyo
Country: Japan
Continent: Asia
25 task
____
25
Running total: 1430
20.4 Riding the Metro (Round 3)set in Caracas, Venezuela, South America
It Would Be Night in Caracas by Karina Sainz Borgo
This was a very good though disturbing read. A woman's mother dies during politically unstable and dangerous times in Venezuela. Mobs rule. The government doesn't govern...it preys on the people or allows others to prey on the helpless. But Adelaida Falcon is going to find a way to survive. She is shoved out of her home by a gang. She has to take desperate measures. I was always on the edge reading this very realistic account. I wouldn't be surprised if the sad events actually happened to the author or someone close to her. I will be adding her other works to my TBR. 4.5 stars
Task=20
review=5
Task total= 25
Season Total=1510
✔Page Count: 10.1; 10.2; 10.3;10.4 10.5; 10.6; 10.7; 10.8; 10.9; 10.10
Page Count 2nd round: ....; .....; 10.3
✔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; 20.2; 20.3; 20.4
15.10 TDoSLaughable Loves by Milan Kundera
Rated 5* by Hilary and two other members.
Each of these stories is about sex, and the games and schemes that people use to get it, enjoy it, or (often, in this collection) ruin it. There's quite a bit of sex here, but more often the stories are about the chase, or a character's inner monologue.
Most of the men here are awful, some are predatorial. Most of the women are timid play-things for the men. However, these stories still appealed to me. I enjoyed Kundera's lack of reserve, his playful ideas, and his understanding of how sex can hide or change one's identity in someone else's eyes, or even in one's own eyes.
+45 Task
+5 Review
+5 Before 1996 (pub’d 1970)
+100 Finished all 15-point tasks!
Post total: 155
Season total: 755
Claimed to date:
10.1 10.2 - - 10.5 10.6 - - 10.9 10.10
✔ 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7 15.8 15.9 15.10
20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 20.6 - - - -
10.7 Page Count (Rd 2) 350 pg - 399 pgMy Brother's Husband, Volume 2 by Gengoroh Tagame
10 task
_____
10
Running total: 1440
20.8 RtM Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
City; Barcelona
Country; Spain
Continent; Europe
Task total - 25 pts
15.6 TDoSLost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly
Rated 5* by Jayme VA and Krista
+30 Task
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 865
20.10 Riding the MetroHausfrau by Jill Alexander Essbaum -- Zurich, Switzerland. – Europe
Task Points: 35
Finisher BONUS for Riding the Metro: 100
10 Countries BONUS: 50
4 Continents BONUS: 50
Treading Air. Tellinn, Estonia – Europe
Child of the Dark. Sao Paolo, Brazil – South America
The Monogram Murders. London, England – Europe
Crick, Crack Monkey. San Juan, Trinidad – South America
The Drowning River. Florence, Italy – Europe
Them. Atlanta, GA, USA – North America
The Redundancy of Courage. Dili, Timor-Leste – Asia
Death in the Rainy Season. Phnom Phen, Cambodia -- Asia
Bury Your Dead. Quebec City, Canada – North America
Hausfrau. Zurich, Switzerland. – Europe
Previous Points: 875
Total Points This Post: 235
Total Points So Far: 1110
CHALLENGE COMPLETION BONUS: 100
Total Points Final: 1210
20.2 RtMPaper Girls, Vol. 3 by Brian K. Vaughan
Set in Cleveland, Ohio
Country: USA
Continent: North America
This story is getting weirder and weirder yet I can't quit it...I love the characters and am dying to see if they ever make it back to their normal existence in 1988. Again with this one it felt like it was an abrupt ending point, but of course that's intended so that the reader will run right out to get the next installment...and I know imma fall right into that trap ;-)
+20 Task
+5 Review
Task total: 25
Season total: 2485
20.3 RtMThe Lonely Hearts Hotel by Heather O'Neill
Set in Montreal
Country: Canada
Continent: North America
This is the story of Pierrot and Rose, orphans making their way through the world in the 1920s/30s. The Goodreads description for this book compares it to The Night Circus which I can kind of see...the magical realism, the lovely writing, the doomed love aspect.
There were parts I intensely loved, some passages that I had to add to my reading journal because they were *that good*, and the setting/mood was right up my alley. But: there were other aspects that were irksome/offputting (especially the nonstop focus on Pierrot's erections) that I could have done without. Overall, it was a four star read for me.
+20 Task
+5 Review
Task total: 25
Season total: 2510
10.1. PCKiller Fashion: Poisonous Petticoats, Strangulating Scarves, and Other Deadly Garments Throughout History (56 pages) by Jennifer Wright
A Study in Emerald (88 pages) by Neil Gaiman
I loved Wright's It Ended Badly: Thirteen of the Worst Breakups in History and Get Well Soon: History's Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them: microhistories which are well-researched and wittily written. This short volume is about killer fashion trends, as in: fashion which has killed people. The vignettes are short--only a page per fashion statement--and they're accompanied by an Edward Gorey-esque illustration and a short poem. I think the only improvement would have been if the poems had been limericks instead...they would have fit the tone and rolled off the (brain)tongue a bit better than the four-line stanzas did.
A Study in Emerald is essentially the Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet, with a Lovecraftian twist. I liked the idea of it, but the execution left me with so many questions...
+10 Task
+5 Review
Task total: 15
Season total: 2525
10.3 PCAmerican Vampire, Vol. 1 (192 pages) by Scott Snyder and Stephen King
I've read introductions to graphic novels by Stephen King, but this is the first one he's actually written for. Using characters created by Scott Snyder, King and Snyder alternate chapters in this series. Snyder's chapters take place in L.A. in the 1920s while King's are in the wild West of the late 1800s.
I appreciated that this was scary--these vampires are not your Anne Rice/Stephenie Meyer brand...these are Nosferatu-level creepers which are terrifying to behold. I loved that: I'm already in a fall reading mood, which inevitably has ghosts and ghoulies and all sorts of dark, creaky things popping up on the pages I seek out.
+10 Task
+5 Review
Task total: 15
Season total: 2540
10.5 PCYou Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington (261 pages) by Alexis Coe
I've never read a biography of the first US President until now, and I'm glad I chose this one. I hate reading biographies which fawn and gawk at historical figures, understating their faults and shortcomings because we ALL have them and its disingenuous to pretend otherwise. My takeaway of these figures was definitely on the negative side: Mary was a wretched mother to all of her kids except George; George wasn't the noble and ever-virtuous man that every kid in America is taught to believe; Martha died on a REALLY bad note: Washington left express wishes in his will that his slaves should all be released upon her death...instead, she ignored this and divvied up their slaves between her grasping kids, tearing families apart. Blech. While the writing was informative and light, the stark facts left a bitter taste in my mouth.
+10 Task
+5 Review
Task total: 15
Season total: 2555
10.4 PCBecoming Unbecoming (224 pages) by Una
This was the heaviest graphic novel I think I've ever read...
"Unbecoming explores gender violence, blame, shame, and social responsibility. Through image and text Una asks what it means to grow up in a culture where male violence goes unpunished and unquestioned." There were no better words to describe this, so I had to borrow it from the book description...
1977 Yorkshire, there's a serial killer on the loose. Luckily for him, he focuses on killing prostitutes so the police largely ignore it (DISGUSTING!). In the meantime, Una is navigating her way through childhood and into adolescence largely on her own (absent father, alcoholic mother) and when she is molested by a babysitter, she has no one to tell--and no one would believe her anyway: who would take the story of a ten-year-old girl over an adult man's insistence that she's lying? (DISGUSTING!) This paves the way to her being raped not many years later, and the condemnation of society begins: "slut," "whore," "you asked for it"...(also: DISGUSTING!)
It was equal parts heartbreaking and infuriating.
I liked that it was told in the form of graphic novel, as the pictures tell the story of how she's feeling and what is happening in a way that wouldn't be nearly as hard-hitting if it were only the prose.
+10 Task
+5 Review
Task total: 15
Season total: 2570
10.9 Page CountThe First Mrs. Rothschild by Sara Aharoni
Gulte Rothschild's life story is presented by diary entries. Her father gave her a blank notebook when in her teens. An early entry has her sitting looking out the window from their house on the Judengasse, the narrow street in Frankfort that is the Jewish ghetto. One day she notices Meir Rothschild. She surprises herself by not having noticed before how tall he has become, how he carries himself with such confidence. And then one day, he looks up at the window and bows. This is the beginning of a lifelong love.
Despite this love, this book is not in any way a romance. Gulte raises her children and runs the household while Meir Rothschild begins what will become the world's greatest banking dynasty. I thought this was a unique way of telling such a story, because it is truly Gulte's story, the wife. Meir travels and Gulte is at home. She bears him children, not all of whom survive. The children grow, marry, and give her grandchildren. Through all this, she knows how Meir makes their living, why he travels, what rules his life. Both Rothschilds are shown to have enormous wisdom.
I thought the translation excellent. Well, I didn't read the original, so I guess I ought not to make a comparison. What came through, though, was that this was not written by a native English speaking woman. The cadence of the language on the page almost had an accent to it, if that is possible. This enhanced, rather than detracted, the story.
I so want to give this 5-stars, but it just doesn't quite make it. I could have done without the last couple of entries. Gulte Rothschild lived to the age of 94, far outliving her husband. As it is her story, of course we must have her old age, but there were conversations with visitors not of the family. This I thought the story did not need to feel complete. Still it's definitely 4-stars worth.
+10 Task (492 pgs)
+ 5 Review
Task total = 15
Season total = 1160
20.5 - Riding the MetroCity of Echoes by Robert Ellis
City - Los Angels
Country - USA
Continent - North America
+20 task
Task total: 20
Grand total: 710
20.6 - Riding the MetroThe Devil's Claim by Gemma James
City - Portland
Country - USA
Continent - North America
+20 task
Task total: 20
Grand total: 730
10.7 Page Count 350-399 ppRound 2
There Were No Windows by Norah Hoult
Claire Temple is an aging writer with a chequered romantic past who still has charm but is losing her memory. Rattling around in a big house in Kensington with nobody but a feisty young cook, she becomes increasingly hard to manage. And the Blitz is on, so it matters when she objects to the blackout or fails to understand the sirens.
This is apparently based on a real person, but you don't need to know that to appreciate the way that Norah Hoult draws out Claire's charm and confusion, her sense of entitlement, and the impossibility of living with her. Her lifestyle wouldn't be possible these days - unless extremely rich, she would be in a care home well before the end - but back then there were no care homes, there were only asylums, of which she was rightly terrified.
Even though the subject matter is sad, it is leavened with kindness and humour.
+10 Task (352 pp)
+ 5 Review
+ 5 Pre-1996 (1944)
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 1440
20.3 Riding the MetroRound 2
Money from Holme by Michael Innes
Sleazy art critic Mervyn Cheel is at the opening of an exhibition at a small gallery when he sees the artist, who is supposed to be dead. The paintings are commanding high prices because of the artist's untimely demise in an African revolution, so Cheel sees an opportunity to make some money out of the man's reappearance.
A black comedy crime caper that works well enough but seems very dated now. It has its moments, but Innes wrote better books than this.
set 100% in London
Country: England
Continent: Europe
+20 Task
+ 5 Review
+ 5 pre-1996 (1964)
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 1470
10.6 Page Count 300-349 ppRound 2
Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
Twelve-year-old Edward Adler is the only survivor of a plane crash that kills his family and 188 other people. In dual threads we follow his life in the months and years after the crash, interspersed with the trivial events and connections of a coast-to-coast domestic American flight leading up to the fatal moment.
My fear of flying makes me a sucker for plane crash stories, but I'm pretty sure I would have enjoyed this anyway. It is a tearjerker that never gets too dark or heavy, so perhaps a little superficial, but just right for my mood, and I spent most of a day unwilling to be separated from it.
+10 Task (340 pp)
+ 5 Review
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 1485
20.9 RtM 2nd roundHidden History of Chattanooga by Alexandra Walker Clark
City: Chattanooga
Country:USA
Continent: North America
Task Total - 25 points
15.9 TDoS Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
A true romance with all of the twists and turns you expect of a mid nineteenth century novel. Everything turns out well in the end, and the final result is somewhat predictable, but this was a very enjoyable read. I was surprised by the descriptionsof the English countryside, the is a real sense of place in Hardy’s writing. I would recommend it if you are looking for a classic — and it was originally published as a serial.
45 pts 15.9 Maggie and Madly Jane
5 pts review
5 pts pre 1996
Total Task 55 points
Total Season: 655 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 15.8 15.9 ...
20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 20.6. 20.7 20.8 20.9 ...
Countries: England, United States, Australia, Japan, Germany, Ghana, Ireland, Cuba,
Continents Europe, North America, Oceania, Asia, Africa, South America
10.5 Page Count 250-299Knight of Shadows by Roger Zelazny
251 pages
+10 Task
+5 before 1996 (published 1989)
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 2365
10.4 Page Count200-249p
The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
MPE = 242p (I read an ebook.)
Task Points: 10
Before 1996: 5 (1971)
Season Points: 160
10.7 Page Count350-399p
The Traitor's Wife by Kathleen Kent
Pages = 352p
Task Points: 10
Season Points: 170
10.10 Page Count500p or more
The Gravedigger's Daughter: A Novel by Joyce Carol Oates
MPE = 582p (I read an ebook.)
Task Points: 10
Season Points: 190
15.3 TDoSElizabeth (Alaska) and Krista
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
Task Points: 20
Before 1996: 5 (1891)
Season Points: 215
20.5 Riding the Metro (Round 3)set in Lisbon, Portugal, Europe
Pereira Declares: A Testimony by Antonio Tabucchi
This is a very engaging novella....which no doubt has much more resonance for those who lived under the Salazar regime in Portugal in the late 1930s. At the time, the Portuguese government was sympathetic to the Fascists and Nazis. This novella tracks the actions of Dr. Periera, who by mere virtue of being the literary and arts editor for a 2nd-rate newspaper...is a suspicious character. (His admiration for French authors is frowned upon.) Add in a few other colorful characters.... and trouble is likely to be precipitated. 4 stars.
Task=20
review=5
pre-1996=5 (1994)
Task total= 30
Season Total=1540
✔Page Count: 10.1; 10.2; 10.3;10.4 10.5; 10.6; 10.7; 10.8; 10.9; 10.10
Page Count 2nd round: ....; .....; 10.3
✔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; 20.2; 20.3; 20.4; 20.5
20.4 RtMFlying Too High by Kerry Greenwood
Set in Melbourne
Country: Australia
Continent: Oceania
This second installment was almost more enjoyable than the first! I feel like that's a feat with a sophomore novel...
Phryne is up to her old tricks: driving too fast, sleeping with the handsome young things, solving crimes, and of course flying too high. Her character reminds me of a younger Muzzy (from Thoroughly Modern Millie and I absolutely adore her. I was happy to see that Dot is still around, as are Bert and Cec and think we might have added a couple more regulars with the Butlers--fingers crossed. What fun :-)
+20 Task
+5 Review
Task total: 25
Season total: 2595
20.6 Riding the Metro (Round 3)set in Algiers, Algeria, Africa
Autumn of the Phantoms by Yasmina Khadra
This is the third in the Inspector Llob series....which I am happy to see has a fourth installment. I'm not quite sure why I like this series. It is dark. It is depressing. The style of writing is hard-boiled. Yet, perhaps because it seems so real (and I suspect it IS!)... and is set in a place so remote from my world...I am fascinated. Here Inspector Llob is involuntarily retired due to the extreme unhappiness of the powers that be to his off-duty novel writing which reveals the realities of fanaticism in Algiers. Published in 1990...it seems so topical with what is happening in Afghanistan now. 4 stars.
Task=20
review=5
pre-1996=5 (1990)
Task total= 30
Season Total=1570
✔Page Count: 10.1; 10.2; 10.3;10.4 10.5; 10.6; 10.7; 10.8; 10.9; 10.10
Page Count 2nd round: ....; .....; 10.3
✔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; 20.2; 20.3; 20.4; 20.5; 20.6
10.9 Page Count 450-499A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine
496 pages
+10 Task
Post Total: 10
Season Total: 2375
15.8 TDoSTender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Valerie Zink —>Lisa
F. Scott Fitzgerald can beautifully put into words ideas and feelings that are very on target and revealing. But the plot and characters in this story are so unsympathetic that it was a challenge to get through it. I got tired of being dropped into the middle of conversations and situations and then having to figure out where and when the story was. Fitzgerald’s story telling comes across as snobby and privileged as some of his characters.
+45 task
+5 review
+5 oldie
Task total: 55
Season total: 385
Season total:
20.2 Riding the MetroRound 2
Blood Work (DI Jack Delaney #2) by Mark Pearson
City: London
Country: UK
Continent: Europe
+20 Task
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 1,735
15.9 TDoSRound 2
Divine Evil by Nora Roberts
Rated 5-stars by Ana Sofia and Alicia Gordon
+45 Task
Post Total: 45
Season Total: 1,780
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El Norte: The Epic and Forgotten Story of Hispanic North America by Carrie Gibson
US history that I was taught in school focused on the British colonies along the Atlantic coast of North America. Carrie Gibson focuses this history on Spanish colonies—Florida, New Mexico (which includes the current states of Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California), Puerto Rico, Cuba. This shift of focus is fascinating. It gave me historic background for many of the challenges faced by the US in my lifetime.
This is a very readable and thought provoking history.
+10 task
+5 review
Task total 15
Season total: 330