Reading with Style discussion
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FA 22 Completed Tasks
Post 409 Ed wrote: "15.4 EotP- 2010-TS Elliot Prize-White Egrets by Derek Walcott
Task=15
Post Total=15
Grand Total=300
---; ---; ---;10.4 (2x); 10.5; ---; ---; ---; ---; ---;
15.1; ..."
I'm so sorry, Ed. The MPE for this title has just 86 pages and doesn't qualify for EotP.
20.6 ColeridgeChronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez #81 0n list
+20 pts - Task
+15 pts - Combo(10.2-Colombia, 20.5-https://colnect.com/en/stamps/stamp/5..., 20.7)
+10 - LiT
+5 - Oldies(1981)
Task total - 50 pts
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 409 Ed wrote: "15.4 EotP- 2010-TS Elliot Prize-White Egrets by Derek Walcott
Task=15
Post Total=15
Grand Total=300
---; ---; ---;10.4 (2x); 10.5; ---; ---; -..."
The rules made an exception here, no?
"III. All books read for this sub-challenge must be at least 100 pages, based on the most popular edition. Exception: You may claim one title from one of the poetry only awards (T.S. Eliot, Poet's Prize, Dorothy Livesay) that has at least 85 pages. All other poetry claims must meet the required 100 page minimum."
Ed wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 409 Ed wrote: "15.4 EotP- 2010-TS Elliot Prize-White Egrets by Derek Walcott
Task=15
"III. All books read for this sub-challenge must be at least 100 pages, based on the most popular edition. Exception: You may claim one title from one of the poetry only awards (T.S. Eliot, Poet's Prize, Dorothy Livesay) that has at least 85 pages. All other poetry claims must meet the required 100 page minimum.""
Yes, and I had forgotten. Whew! I was feeling bad that I hadn't alerted you earlier!
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Ed wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 409 Ed wrote: "15.4 EotP- 2010-TS Elliot Prize-White Egrets by Derek Walcott
Task=15
"III. All books read for this sub-c..."
LOL... no problem.
20.8 Soup’s OnThe Harrows of Spring by James Howard Kunstler
Review
This is the last volume in The World Made by Hand series that takes place in the not so distant future in what we now call the Continental United States. After multiple catastrophes, society has gone back to the technology of the 19th century. A World War that engulfs all the Middle East and all the their oil resources, leading to nuclear bombs in strategic areas including Washington DC and Los Angeles, a devastating flu pandemic, lack of medical resources, leading to outbreaks of diseases previously controlled by standard vaccinations, wildfires, mammoth storms, and other natural disasters lead to a domino affect so that every problem becomes a major crisis. Imagine having no more oil, therefore no transportation, so no shipping, leads to no coffee, bananas, etc… There is a total loss of infrastructure, no sewage, water, internet, bridges, highways, and other buildings crumble with time. There is no manufacturing of paper, plastic and glass goods. So ok, the characters just have to “live off the grid” and go back to the way people lived only a few generations back except everyone has forgotten those skills as there was no need to pass them on.
All this chaos leads to anarchy, civil unrest, regions breaking off to form their own nations and attacking other regions, but in upstate NY, the setting for this series, the people consider themselves part of the US. Although no one is exactly sure where the skeletal remains of government now are, it is rumored to still exist somewhere in upper Michigan.
While the communities live in isolation, (media cannot exist, travel is dangerous and laborious ) the stars of this narrative come together to establish a working community. With time, they find a way to supply clean water, a primitive clinic/surgery, a justice system, basic education for children, a store and exchange system to gather supplies, a livery, farms to breed mules, goats, cattle and even social structures to blow off steam such as dances and baseball games. Life is hard but no longer hopeless for this band which isn't a common outcome for other communities across the continent. Life is precious and there is a shift in priorities and cooperation supersedes individualism.
Dystopian novels usually leave me depressed with a feeling of despair for a future that most likely will never be a reality.
However, with this series i feel very much that is a warning because many of the circumstances that lead to the ruin of the culture has happened on smaller scales in our lifetime. There are no attacks from outer space creatures or Zombies taking over. These are events that we see and that can get out of hand. Yet this series also gave me encouragement and a hope for the future. We have it within us to start again. To be sure though, I’m keeping my land with the fresh water spring, wild turkeys, blackberries, a fishing stream, and i’m learning to preserve food!
Most meals consist of soups or stews and cornbread. The kinds are based on what vegetables are in season, or the occasion of a hunt or slaughtering a farm animal. Meat is scare overall.
+20 pts - task
+20 pts - Combo(10.2, 10.3,10.4, 10.5 - spring green, )
+10 pts - Review
Task Total - 50 pts
10.4 SeriesMurder House by Jordan Castillo Price
+10 Task
+10 Combo (10.2 USA, 10.3)
Post total: 50
Season total: 1275
15.7 EotPThe Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
+15 Task - 2010 James Tait Black Memorial Prize
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 1290
Post 448 Rebekah wrote: "10.2 OctoberfestIreland
The Dead House by Billy O'Callaghan
+10 pts - task
+15 pts - combo (10.9, 20.2- although had published short story collections, this was ..."
Re: 10.9 combo claim. The description indicates this takes place in Ireland. Does the story move to one of the cities for the 10.9 task or did you mean a different task?
10.10 Group ReadsWest with Giraffes. Lynda Rutledge
This book is based on a true story, set in the late 1930s, when America was in the depths of the Depression, facing the rise of Hitler in Germany, and trying to survive the effects of the Dust Bowl. It was a simpler time, and the country was looking for some relief and hope. Belle Benchley, director of the San Diego Zoo was hoping to provide that with two young giraffes, whose cross country journey is chronicled in this book.
There were so many things I loved about this book, the format - almost epistolary with its telegrams, news blurbs and alternating chapters written as a love letter, its accurate depiction of a historic time in America with the importance of trains, hoboes, Hoovervilles, etc., and finally how it reminded me of other books I've read. I kept thinking of The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, whose plot is similar. Also, the young adult book Someplace to Call Home tells the story of three siblings who are trying to escape the Dust Bowl by traveling in a homemade caravan and staying wherever they can find food and work.
I highly recommend this article: https://zoohistories.com/2021/02/11/w... for more information about the actual event and a great picture of the giraffe wagon.
Task Total: 10
Review: 10
Combo: 10 (C10.2 - TX, 20.9)
Total: 30
Season Total: 800
10.2; 10.3; 10.4; 10.5; 10.6; 10.8; 10.9;10.10
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4; 15.5; 15.6; 15.7; 15.8
20.1(x2); 20.2; 20.3; 20.5; 20.6; 20.7; 20.8; 20.10;
10.2 - OktoberfestTents, Trails & Turmoil by Tonya Kappes
+10 task - USA
+10 Combo - 10.3, 10.4
Task total: 20
Grand total: 595
10.4 - SeriesKickbacks, Kayaks, & Kidnapping by Tonya Kappes
+10 task
+10 Combo - 10.2 - USA, 10.3
Task total: 20
Grand total: 615
20.2 - KingGirl One: Murder by Molly Black
+20 task
+10 Combo - 10.4, 10.9 - Cleveland
Task total: 30
Grand total: 645
20.8 Soup's On!The Social Graces by Renée Rosen
I just could not warm to this story about the Gilded Age, Alva Vanderbilt and Caroline Astor. The story was told in 3 POV's, these two women and "society" being the third. The voice of society was the only one that I enjoyed.
I have read a few books on this subject, both fiction and non-fiction and in all honesty, I found the voice of Caroline Astor the most irritating. It just did not seem to be the voice of the woman I have come to know about through the other great books I have read. I know I am in the minority here, so many found the writing and research just perfect. I read a lot of non-fiction so I tend to place Historical Fiction writers in the position "prove to me you have done your research and make sure the writing is, especially conversations you were not there to hear, superb. This one just did not make the grade for me.
If you are looking for something really meaty in fiction about these women I can suggest A Well-Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts or The Second Mrs. Astor.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.1)
Total task 35
Season Total 820
Post 488 Deedee wrote: "Task 10.9 NFL (Anika's Task)Read a book set at least 75% in any of these cities which have a professional football team.
Novel set entirely in Los Angeles.
Not really part of a series – 14 is o..."
Goodreads consider this part of a series, so we will too. Also, Clines was born in the US.
Combos 10.2 & 10.4
10.4 SeriesThe Sussex Downs Murder by John Bude
10 pts 10.4 Series
5 pts 10.3 9,10,11
10 pts Oldies
10 pts Review
Another very good mystery by John Bude. In a small village a man goes missing and after incriminating evidence is found. A murder investigation begins. The crime is unusual and as more facts are discovered, it appears less and less obvious what happened. A straight out police procedural with clues being discovered through solid detective work. Interestingly, the motive for murder is not particularly central to the case and almost seems an afterthought.
Part of the British Crime reprints of old mysteries. If you haven’t already heard of them, they are well worth a look.
Task Total: 35 pts
Season Total: 560 pts
10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 … 10.6 … … … …
20.1 … 20.3 20.4 20.5 … … 20.8 20.9 20.10
15.1 15.2 … … … … … … … …
20.4 SaramagoJonathan Swift's Gulliver by Martin Jenkins
This is a simplified version of Gulliver's Travels. Juvenile at BPL with no Lexile score.
Like the original, it is set in the years 1699 to 1715, with about 75% from 1701 onwards.
+20 Task
Post total: 20
Season total: 1310
20.8 Soup's On!Born in a Burial Gown by M.W. Craven
In M.W. Craven's first novel, before the best-selling Washington Poe series, we meet DI Avison Fluke, back on the Cumbrian police force after a serious illness, heading a team investigating what appears to be a contract killing of a young woman whose body was hidden on a building site. Identifying her is as much of a challenge as finding the killer.
This was a very good read although perhaps not up to his later series. (view spoiler) I liked Fluke (who is very like Washington Poe) and I'll definitely be reading the second book.
Soup: "a group of farmers sitting at the bar with their pints of Jennings and bowls of soup"
+20 Task
+10 Review
+ 5 Combo (20.2 https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/m-... )
Post total: 35
Season total: 1345
20.1 JemisinKilling in C Sharp by Alexia Gordon
20 pts 20.1 Jemisin
5 pts Oktoberfest. USA
5 pts 10.4 Series
5 pts 20.9 ABCs
10 pts Review
Mystery set in an Irish village with an African American musician and the ghost that haunts the house she rents as the crime solvers. This series is entertaining if you are willing to suspend all belief. Curses occur, spirits cole back from the dead and not that innocent bystanders are killed. The ghost isn’t as much of a central character as in previous books in the series.
The premise is wearing a bit thin. I am not a huge fan of cozy paranormal mysteries and this one has relatively little to offer. Maybe one more installment !
Task Total: 45 pts
Season Total: 605 pts
10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 … 10.6 … … … …
20.1 … 20.3 20.4 20.5 … … 20.8 20.9 20.10
15.1 15.2 … … … … … … … …
20.9 ABCsFrom Dead to Worseby Charlaine Harris
Charlaine Harris
Task +20
Combo +15 (10.2 US, 10.4 Series Sookie Stackhouse 8, 20.9 Soup
"nice bowl of soup" p 150
Book Total: 35
Grand Total: 310
20.9 ABCsBluegate Fields by Anne Perry
+20 Task
+5 Combo 10.4
+5 oldies published 1984
Post total: 30
Season total: 810
20.1 JemisinBlanche on the Lam by Barbara Neely
Review
I’m writing a review on this one because it took me by surprise and I’d like to share this mystery series that had gone under my radar for so long.
My last few reads had been rather intense, three of them had the word “death” in the title and not really in the cozy mystery way. So i had downloaded this book from audible as one of the free selections from the Plus catalog. It sounded funny and light enough to reboot my emotions for the next round of heavy books. At first it sounded silly and I just planned to lay back and float along, but the more
I listened, the more captivated I became with the personality of the protagonist, and just couldn't leave her alone, not even to sleep! As a Southern woman, (raised in Southern US),
I could relate to her and her history that I too have shared except from the more comfortable side of the Southern church pew because of my color. Barbara Neely deftly struck the perfect tone between entertainment and humor with the wounds of the South that we are still sorting out, and now seems to have spread far beyond Dixieland. Simply put, race relations. From my side of the fence, we grew up with certain assumptions, cultural mythology and traditions that we were fed from our bottles so that everything seems natural and normal. Yet some of us grew beyond that by becoming “woke” if I may use that term. Maybe from education or experience or being fortunate to have a mother with Quaker roots, all of which I was lucky enough to enjoy as well as a questioning rebellious nature, so my teen mission was to question all rules, regulations and traditions. That is when skepticism of these assumptions sets in. We come to realize how wrong, how degrading and how ignorant a lot of those ancient beliefs were.
Yet there is always that knee-jerk reaction of annoyance when reading the words of Blanche about her total distrust of whites, that all of them are basically still racist and while some appear not to be, its almost part of the white DNA to turn on a black person. She really doesn't like them. The voice in my head automatically says “but you are stereotyping all white people as basically evil, the way you accuse white people are stereotyping all black people as lazy or immoral” Is it reverse discrimination? Maybe my ancestors bought and sold people, worked them to death or refused to let black people use their phone but I didn’t do that. I cant be held accountable for their bad judgement. It’s an automatic reaction but I’ve learned to shut out the voice and listen to the message. The character’s pov is very important and it does have validity. In this way Barbara Neely bridges the divide although with hard steel, not cushy pillows. Our two races think differently based on our backgrounds and experiences. However, rather than be easily offended at the criticisms or becoming defensive about these views, let’s just listen. We don’t have to agree, but we really do have to put ourselves in the other position and think how we would feel about the receiving the same treatment.
Blanche has these moments too as she tries not to become too sympathetic with one of the characters who is white but suffers from Down’s syndrome. They recognize one another as invisible people. She resists being thrown into the movie role as a caretaking mammy, but she also uses those roles and expectations to her advantage as it is so easy to fall into these patterns that we grew up with for generations and hoodwink the ones who cling to them.
I am absolutely delighted with Blanche White and would like to have her as a friend but sadly, I know it would be a superficial friendship because of this history we just can’t seem to get around.
My final take away was a feeling of bittersweet in more than one way. I love this book and its protagonist and look forward to reading the rest of the series and want more from this author. She even shares a birthday with my favorite-est author. The bitter part is the author only wrote 4 books for this series, and she sadly passed away in 2020. The agony of being introduced to this fascinating series only to go to author’s page to find more books by author, maybe send her an email of appreciation and then learn no such thing will ever happen?!
+20 pts - Task
+35 pts - Combo (10.2 -USA, 10.4, 10.9- North Carolina, 20.2, 20.8 - Blanche is cook/housekeeper and made cold cucumber soup and chicken soup, 20.9, 20.10 )
+10 pts - Review
+ 5 pts - Oldies (1992)
Task Total - 70 pts
20.2 KingTerra Nullius by Claire G. Coleman
+20 Task
+15 Combo 10.2 born in Australia, 20.1, 20.8 he was allowed a small bowl of watery soup
Post total: 35
Season total: 845
20.7 CervantesAbel Sánchez and Other Stories by Miguel de Unamuno
+20 pts - Task
+10 pts - Oldies(1917)
+10 pts - LiT
Task Total - 40 pts
20.10 BirthdayAll the Lovers in the Night Mieko Kawakami
+20 task pub 2011
+10 LiT Japanese
Post total: 30
Season total: 180
20.8 Soup's On!The Chalk Pit by Elly Griffiths
Forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway becomes involved when plans for an underground restaurant in Norwich turn up some bones in a network of underground tunnels that criss-cross the city. Meanwhile, a homeless woman has disappeared and one of her friends is found with a knife in his chest on the steps of the King's Lynn police station, drawing DCI Nelson and his team into a murder investigation. Then another woman disappears...
I thought this was an excellent instalment in the Ruth Galloway series. It's true there is not much archaeology, and one of the mysteries is not really solved, but all the rest was tied in well, and we are left with an intriguing cliffhanger in the relationships of the main characters.
+20 Task (free soup is served to the homeless people)
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.4, 20.9)
Post total: 40
Season total: 1385
15.9 EotPRThe Widows of Malabar Hill. Sujata Massey
Winner of the 2018 Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel
This is a new cozy mystery series set in 1920s Bombay, featuring the first woman lawyer in India. Perveen Mistry is the beloved daughter of a well off Zoroastrian family, who works in her father's law firm at a time when women were not allowed to appear in court in India. When her father must represent the three widows of Mr. Omar Farid, a wealthy Muslim mill owner who are in seclusion, Perveen meets with them to make sure they are aware of their rights. When the household agent is killed while there, she gets more deeply involved in protecting them.
The book moves back and forth between this time period and a few years earlier, when Perveen, who has fallen in love, gets married to someone not of her family's choosing. This story is skillfully interwoven and you get a good picture of the people that they are.
I have read several books set in India in the last few years, and I enjoyed the way it portrays the culture of that time period.
Task Total: 15
Total: 15
Season Total: 815
10.2; 10.3; 10.4; 10.5; 10.6; 10.8; 10.9;10.10
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4; 15.5; 15.6; 15.7; 15.8; 15.9
20.1(x2); 20.2; 20.3; 20.5; 20.6; 20.7; 20.8; 20.10;
10.10 Group ReadsEverything Under by Daisy Johnson
+10 Task
+20 Combo (10.3 - J for Johnson; 20.2; 20.8*; 20.9 - DJ)
*"They sat at the small table to eat. Gretel talked very fast and dropped the soup Sarah had made down her front." -p. 163
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 850
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 448 Rebekah wrote: "10.2 OctoberfestIreland
The Dead House by Billy O'Callaghan
+10 pts - task
+15 pts - combo (10.9, 20.2- although had published short sto..."
Oh no! I meant 10.8 - house. The entire book was in that house in Ireland.
20.4 SaramagoLes Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos+
+20 pts - task
+ 5 pts - combo (20.2)
+15 pts - oldies (1782)
+10 pts - LiT
Task total - 50 pts
20.5 FaulknerThe Three Tragedies: Blood Wedding. Yerma House of Bermarda. Alba by Federico García Lorca
(On list)
+20 pts - task
+ 5 pts - combo (20.7)
+10 pts - oldies (although the three plays published in one volume has a date of 1953, the three plays were first published in 1932, 1934 and 1936 respectively) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federic...
+10 pts - LiT
Task Total - 45 pts
15.8 EotPThe Wings of the Sphinx by Andrea Camilleri
+15 Task - 2011 CWA International Dagger
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 1400
20.10 BirthdayInherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence
+20 pts - Task
+25 pts - combo (10.2-USA, 10.3, 10.9 - Tennessee, 20.6- #156 on list, 20.9)
+ 5 pts - oldies (1955)
Task Total - 50 pts
20.2 KingSwimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski
What a debut! I loved this novel. Having recently read Call Me By Your Name and loving it, I thought it would be a while before I read another LGBT novel that rivaled it. But here it is. I sure hope it is made into an English-language film. The story is set in Poland during the turbulent 1980s when Solidarity was provoking labor unrest and challenging the Communist authorities. Two young men meet. One has dreams of getting to the West. The other accepts the inevitability of Poland's political reality and doesn't intend to resist or challenge it...in fact, he is comfortable making friends and connections with people in powerful situations. That conflict sets up a strange romance full of tension. I visited Poland right after the Berlin Wall fell...and what a mess it was...and this novel helped me put my experience there in better context. I suggest you consider adding this to your TBR list.
Task=20
Combo= 15 (10.3; 10.5-"dark"; 20.8*)
Review=10
*p.120- “'Zupa',” she said, meaningfully. ‘Poppy-stem soup.’"
Post Total=45
Grand Total=410
---; ---;10.3; 10.4 (2x); 10.5; ---; ---; ---; ---; ---;
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4; ----; ----; ----; ----; ----; ----;
----;20.2; ----; ----; ----; ----;20.7; 20.8; ----; 20.10
10.7 Geocaching (Kim's Task)Outdoor Kids in an Inside World: Getting Your Family Out of the House and Radically Engaged with Nature. Steven Rinella
While the book was fine, it didn't really offer anything new to me. The author talked about the importance of raising children to be active, fit and self-sufficient, by frequently doing things as a family outdoors. Mainly these things included camping, foraging for food, hunting and fishing. It was a relatively short book, so I didn't feel like a wasted a lot of time reading it, but I don't think I would recommend to anyone.
**This officially was the hardest task for me to find a book to read, Ironic, isn't it?
Task Total: 10
Review: 10
Combo: 10 (10.2 - MI, 20.10 - 2022)
Total: 30
Season Total: 845
10.2; 10.3; 10.4; 10.5; 10.6; 10.7; 10.8; 10.9;10.10
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4; 15.5; 15.6; 15.7; 15.8; 15.9
20.1(x2); 20.2; 20.3; 20.5; 20.6; 20.7; 20.8; 20.10;
10.1 TBRFrankland. James Whorton
This book has been on my TBR for a few years. The author was a colleague of mine at the college I recently retired from, and when I found out he was leading a book club discussion on this book, I knew the time to read it had finally arrived. While a good deal of my enjoyment of the book comes from that personal connection, the fact that it is set in Tennessee and mentions many places I am familiar with, certainly adds another level of enjoyment.
The plot centers around a NYer, a would be historian who heads to Tennessee to uncover a deep secret about President Andrew Johnson (a native Tennessean), and is absurd and quirky, and reminiscent of A Confederacy of Dunces.
Task Total: 10
Review: 10
Combo: 25 (10.2- US, 10.3, 10.9, 20.8, 20.10 - 2004)
Halfway Finish: 50
Total: 95
Season Total: 935
10.1; 10.2; 10.3; 10.4; 10.5; 10.6; 10.7; 10.8; 10.9;10.10
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4; 15.5; 15.6; 15.7; 15.8; 15.9
20.1(x2); 20.2; 20.3; 20.5; 20.6; 20.7; 20.8; 20.10;
Task 20.1 JemisinRead any book whose main character is a person of color.
Main character is a Navajo – Native American.
The author, Rebecca Roanhorse, is American, having been born in Conway, Arizona. Here’s the link that shows her birth place:
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?...
For 20.8 Soup/Stew: our characters eat elk stew!
p. 251: “We make our plans over a pot of elk stew and thick fluffy tortillas that Grace and Freckles whip up.”
Not sure if it qualified for “series”, so I did not include 10.4 as a combo. Two books in the series have been published, #1 in 2018, #2 in 2019. They list as “untitled” books #3 and #4 of the proposed continuation of the series, with no publication date associated with #3 or #4. Meanwhile, the author has begun writing and publishing a new, different series. Here’s the series link for this book:
https://www.goodreads.com/series/2241...
Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World #1) (2018) by Rebecca Roanhorse (Goodreads Author) (Hardcover, 287 pages)
Review:Rebecca Roanhorse’s debut novel is full of action, from the first page until the final page. The world has changed drastically from today – global warming has caused a dramatic rise in sea levels, wiping out coastal communities and collapsing modern civilizations. A Navajo reservation in northeastern Arizona has built a wall to keep non-Navajo people out. The Navajo mythic heroes have come to life, as have the monsters from the old tales. Our heroine, a Navajo woman, called the Monster-slayer, is kept very busy fighting the monsters and protecting the remaining Navajo humans. In between the monster fights, our heroine has brief encounters with her fellow humans. She starts to have feelings for some of the humans. She resists becoming something other than a killing machine. I found her constant rejection of love and affection tiresome.
I enjoy books that have more worldbuilding and less violent action. This book had more violent action and less worldbuilding. I picked it up because it was nominated for several fantasy / science fiction awards:
Hugo Award Nominee, Best Novel (2019)
Nebula Award Nominee, Best Novel (2018)
Locus Award, First Novel (2019)
World Fantasy Award Nominee, Best Novel (2019)
Compton Crook Award Nominee (2019)
I theorize a factor in the novel being nominated by so many awards is the uniqueness of the fantasy world being based on traditional Navajo stories rather then the usual European ones. Recommended for those who enjoyed Mel Gibson’s ‘Mad Max’ action/adventure movies.
+20 Task
+15 Combo (#10.2 born USA, #20.2 Debut Novel, #20.8 soup’s on!)
+10 Review
Task Total: 20 + 15 + 10 = 45
Grand Total: 305 + 45 = 350
10.9 NFL! (Anika's Task)Miami by Joan Didion
+10 task
+5 oldie (first published in1987)
+10 combo (10.2; 10.3)
Post Total = 25
Season Total = 615
20.1 JemisinBroken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch
(not been well the last few days, audio books much easier and really enjoying this series, thanks Mary for the introduction :) )
+20 task
+5 (10.4)
Post Total = 25
Season Total = 640
10.4 Series (Ed's Task)Read a book that is part of a series.
The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
Book #2 of a 4 book series.
+10 Task
Season Total: 10
20.10 Birthday (Elizabeth (Alaska's) TaskRead any book whose original publication year is 2 consecutive digits. (e.g. 1944, 1880, 2006).
Belgrave Square by Anne Perry
First published 1992. Consecutive 9s.
+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.4 series, 20.9 author initials)
Season Total: 40
20.9 ABCs (Kate S's Task)The Last Tribe. Brad Manuel
Written five years pre-COVID, this book imagines a world where a virus (called the rapture?) breaks out and kills billions of people. The handful of known survivors include the Dixon family, four adult brothers and most of their children. Unfortunately, they are scattered across several states, but before all communications break down, make a plan to meet up in their childhood home in Hanover, NH. The first to arrive is Greg, a 14 year old who was at prep school when the pandemic happened. Along the way he meets up with Rebecca, a 13 year old genius, who has been living alone for several months after her parents died. They make it to Hanover and figure out a place where they can survive the winter. Eventually, two of the uncles show up from Ohio, and the rest of the group after that, stopping to gather other survivors along the way.
While most post apocalyptical novels are dystopian, this read more utopian to me. The people came together, offered their many skills (vet, pilot, surgeon, religious leader and football quarterback) for the good of the tribe. Any violence takes place off screen, the government is mentioned as having done government-type bad things, and amazingly, riots and looting happened elsewhere. And there was a happily ever after ending that I won't spoil here.
Yeah, there were several plot holes, like those I just described. But, it was a book that my husband and I listened to together, looking for excuses to hear more, and having many discussions over meals about what we would do differently, or what they did that was smart. It was a long book (23 audio hours, 720 pages) which normally is too long to keep my interest, but this one did. Perhaps some of that was the narrator, Scott Brick is my favorite 21st century reader.
Task Total: 20
Review: 10
Combo: 10 (10.9- New England, 20.8 - soup was served often)
Jumbo: 10 (720 pages)
Total: 50
Season Total: 985
10.1; 10.2; 10.3; 10.4; 10.5; 10.6; 10.7; 10.8; 10.9;10.10
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4; 15.5; 15.6; 15.7; 15.8; 15.9
20.1(x2); 20.2; 20.3; 20.5; 20.6; 20.7; 20.8; 20.9; 20.10;
20.9 ABCWylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand
+20 pts - task
+5 pts - combo (10.8)
+200 pts - Mega Finish
Total = 225 pts
20.4 SaramagoAlex and Eliza. Melissa de la Cruz
Book one in a trilogy about Elizabeth Schuyler and Alexander Hamilton, it takes place from 1777-1780. Eliza is the middle of three older daughters in the Schuyler family, very patriotic and supportive of the war for independence effort, and not looking to have a beau when she meets Alexander Hamilton at a ball given by her parents. Initially she wants nothing to do with him, especially since he is the messenger sent to tell her father he is being court martialed over the loss of Fort Ticonderoga. But time changes things, reveals things kept secret, and eventually the two fall in love.
My understanding is that the book was inspired by the musical Hamilton, which I have not seen, but I'm sure would be interesting.
Task Total: 20
Review: 10
Combo: 10 (10.4, 10.9)
Halfway Finish: 50
Total: 80
Season Total: 1065
10.1; 10.2; 10.3; 10.4; 10.5; 10.6; 10.7; 10.8; 10.9;10.10
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4; 15.5; 15.6; 15.7; 15.8; 15.9
20.1(x2); 20.2; 20.3; 20.4; 20.5; 20.6; 20.7; 20.8; 20.9; 20.10;
20.1 JemisinThe Woman Who Walked in Sunshine by Alexander McCall Smith
Here we are on book 16 in this series, and it is still filled with (seemingly) effortless charm. Mma Ramotswe is supposed to be taking a holiday, but due to circumstances beyond her control she is drawn into situations that require her expertise. One of the aspects I particularly like about this series is that McCall Smith has made his characters complex and with very real human frailties. I also like that even though the overarching feeling/theme is about trying to be good and kind and do the right thing, the Botswana he portrays is real warts and all. Once again, this is a series you should read in order. 4.5*
20 task
10 review
10 combo 10.4, 20.9 (pg 115 'She ladled a helping of stew onto his plate.')
______
40
Running total: 730
15.6 EOtPRConvictions: A Prosecutor's Battles Against Mafia Killers, Drug Kingpins, and Enron Thieves by John Kroger
+15 task Oregon Book Award for Creative NF 2009
Season total: 285
20.10 publication year is 2 consecutive digitsThe Price of Spring -Pub. date 2009
Decades have passed since book # 1 and beloved characters have aged and changed with the years. It is not so often that a Fantasy writer can have me thinking so deeply about change and effect-not only in his fantasy world, but relating it all to my own real-life world. When a writer can move my emotions from joy, to despair to utter WTF-making me laugh, cry and scream No! not him, don't kill him! (until the punch in the arm comes from my husband)- Well, that's a damn good writer.
Things I have said in earlier reviews on this author: Such panache in writing style and creating interesting, complex characters, magic system and world.
If you enjoy high fantasy and have not sampled Daniel Abraham's solo work, I highly recommend you read this series. If you don't like it, well then, I am sorry we just cannot be friends.
"The evening meal was a soup of lentils, rice and a sweet, hot spice that made Maati's eyes water."
+20 Task
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.2, 10.4, 20.8)
Total Task 45
Total Season 865
20.10 Birthday (Elizabeth (Alaska's) TaskThe Last Chairlift by John Irving
Soup quote: "Colonel Zimmermann gripped the handles of the soup pot with a pair of pot holders. Elmira was ladling out the soup." location 40%
+20 task
+15 combo (10.2, 10.3, 20.8)
+ 5 selfie
+20 jumbo (912 pgs.)
Task total=60
Season total=260
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
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Dash & Lily's Book of Dares (other topics)
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Jules Verne (other topics)
Rachel Cohn (other topics)
Louise Penny (other topics)
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The Supernatural Enhancements by Edgar Cantero
That was amusing. This novel is most often tagged as horror by GR readers. Luckily for me, it isn’t what I would call horror. It is definitely a very mysterious paranormal adventure type of a story.
The structure of the novel is interesting, and potentially would put some people off. The story is told through diary entries, transcribed audio and camera recordings, and various ephemera. I liked this approach, and I think it helps keep the reader off balance. Because the telling is fragmented you never really feel you have all the information.
This novel was #37 on “The House is a Character” list shared in the help thread. Here, the house is definitely a brooding presence, and you get the sense that something is off-kilter with it from the start. The house really shines as a character in Part 3 (by then you have a good idea what it can do). 3*
10 task
10 review
_____
20
Running total: 690