Reading with Style discussion
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FA 22 Completed Tasks
In post 428, I posted Journey to the River Sea for 10.5.I would like to move that to 10.7 instead.
This doesn't change the number of points.
10.5 Autumn ColorsMaster of the Dark Side by Cherise Sinclair
This is an erotic romance novella from the Dark Haven series. The male protagonist is a police officer in a rural California mountain town. He meets a nurse at a club and they have a fast connection. The book is only about 150 pages, so there isn't a lot of time for character development, but the writing is reasonably good for the genre. I've read other books by this author and she's one of the better writers even if I don't always like her characters that much.
This book too serves the mindless outlet to try to stop the brain buzz that comes with overwork and undersleep that seems to be part and parcel of civil jury trial work.
+10 Task (Dark)
+10 Review
+20 Combo (10.2, 10.4, 20.8 - "He handed her a fat ham sandwich from the basket and a thermos of tomato soup. 'Eat, sweetheart.'", 20.9)
Task total: 40
Grand total: 890
20.10 BirthdayOther Birds by Sarah Addison Allen
+20 (task) (published in 2022)
+5 combo (10.2 Oktoberfest - USA)
+5 combo (20.8 Soup’s On “ The waitress proceeded to pour sweet potato soup onto the marshmallow from a small white pitcher.”
Task total 30
Season Total 250
15.4 EotP ReduxTortured Willows: Bent. Bowed. Unbroken. by Angela Yuriko Smith
+15 Task, Winner Bram Stoker 2021
Task total: 15
Season total: 850
15.5 EotP ReduxNight Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong
+15 Task, T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry winner, 2017
Task total: 15
Season total: 865
10.8 HouseThe Widow's House by Carol Goodman
Every season, I find myself gravitating towards a certain task over and over and this season it has definitely been this task (though I've been able to use the books in other categories, so this is my first time actually claiming this task). House-as-character is always so atmospheric and usually unsettling/unnerving and that is my favorite type of book for gloomy autumn days!
I remember reading The Lake of Dead Languages back when it came out and loving it...but never really picked up anything else by the author, until now. I have been missing out! She's great.
In The Widow's House we get a familiar story (think 1944's noir Gaslight) with new ghosty twists. There are multiple references to The Yellow Wallpaper and The Haunting of Hill House and their influence on the story is definitely felt (including peeling yellow wallpaper that appears to have things moving under it). The ending had me properly questioning whether the main character was delusional or truly under threat and *that* to me is the sign of some great mystery writing...makes you question everything right up until the author spells it out for you.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+15 Combo: 10.2, born in Philly; 20.8, "I'll go warm us dinner. There's that soup you made last night--and some bread. You need something warm inside you."; 20.9
+50 Half-way Finish, completed 10-point Tasks
Task total: 85
Season total: 950
20.2 KingThe Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji
A University club devoted to mysteries takes a vacation to a deserted island where an awful murder happened the previous year. They stay in an abandoned manor which had recently been purchased by the uncle of one of the students in the club. The decagon house, where everything inside--down to the dishes--is decagonal. One by one, the students are killed. Is there a madman on the island orchestrating their deaths? Is it one of them? And why?!
This read like a Japanese version of And Then There Were None. It was a little hard for me to remember who was who--the characters were so poorly drawn that they felt more like game pieces on a Clue board. And the dialog was painful. I don't know if you've seen that commercial that makes fun of people pointing out, "The leaves are changing color," because *duh*, Captain Obvious...yeah. That's what this entire book felt like.
But: it was decently intriguing enough that I didn't hate-finish it, I really wanted to know what happened and why.
+20 Task
+10 LiT, translated from Japanese
+5 Oldies, pub. 1987
+10 Review
+15 Combo: 10.4 (#1 in a 15-book series); 20.1 (all Japanese characters); 20.8 ("...Agatha, who, having tasted the soup, was looking around with a small plate in her hands."
Task total: 60
Season total: 1010
20.3 VonnegutWar Story by Steven Elliott
On that infamous day, September 11, 2001, Pat Tilman was a prized professional football player of the NFL. He completed the season, but turned down a multi-million contract from the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the US Army. In May, 2002, he was killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire by his own fellow Rangers from his platoon in a chaotic Snafu. The author of the book believes he could have been the one who actually fired the fatal rounds on a well loved man who was his friend and hero.
This is the story of this highly trained member of an elite Airborne Ranger battalion. As a farm boy from Kansas he had always admired his WW II veteran grandfather, the father figure of his childhood. In September 2001 he was attending University with excellent grades and prospects but felt called to leave to enlist in the US Army. He was determined to be part of the very selective and rigorous training that few soldiers can achieve and did so with highest of marks. He was assigned to the battalion where he met the men he would go to Bagram with, including Pat Tilman and his brother, Kevin Tilman. The group are necessarily tight knit, a true “band of brothers”. This was young Spec. Elliott’s first deployment. He was concious of the danger and fear of death but with his training and faith in his leaders, he was determined to engage the enemy with honor and valor.
The military’s strictly structured hierarchy naturally leads to subordinates depending upon their chain of command for guidance and instructions especially in combat situations. This is exactly what Spec Elliott did. Their platoon’s mission was ordered by an officer who would not be accompanying them, that put them in a very vulnerable position. Because of multiple factors; the splitting of the platoon, loss of communications, dusk and dust causing low visibility, their position in a deep wadi with no escape, flashes of fire seen on the the mountain above them and knowing they were in a high conflict zone, Spec Elliott’s squad felt they had no choice but to hunker down and engage in firing back. Later they learned two of their members had been KIA, a local Afghani attached as support and Pat Tilmon. Two other casualties were maimed for the rest of their lives. The squad was devastated about the loss of their brother-in-arms. Pat Tilman’s brother, Kevin flew out with his brother’s body. Meanwhile, Back in the camp, the rest of the platoon learned he had died by American rounds of the type they had just fired and based on position of the spent shells, the trajectory came from the Humvee Spec Elliott was with.
Because of Tilman’s high profile, the media immediately picked it up and the family were told by the army their beloved had died with honor at the hand of the enemy. This was report local command had given in an attempt to cover up their own mistakes in the mission due to their ill advised orders which they had issued. Eventually the true info leaked, causing anger, confusion, guilt, and pain to the soldiers involved and a rift between those who were fired upon against those who were firing. Because the Tilman family wanted the truth and answers, several interrogations were endured by the soldiers concerned when they returned to the States. The four men with the identified Humvee became pariahs in the station although quite a few stood by them. There were all given Article 15’s and removed from the battalion as the Army tried to figure out what to do with them. Little attention was given to the emotional devasation, the guilt, sense of failure and mental condition of the soldiers involved. Due partly because of the tough man culture of the Rangers and partly because the Army was trying to deal with all the political and military ramifications and handling the public’s perception of our military. As the four men of the squad were dispearsed, they were placed away to separate duty stations, far from any support, and in Elliott’s case, his future wife. The community of the new assignments were unaware of their participation in the publicized killing of a famous athlete since the Army did not release names. Elliott’s loss of support, status, esteem, and self worth caused his discomfort with groups of civilians, his loss of faith, his fear of being discovered as the failure he felt he was, destruction of his marriage and alcoholism. The insignia required to be worn by military members tells another member much about each other. Aside from the pay grade, there is also the branch of service, number of years in service, special training, places you have served and whether you have been in combat. Other soldiers knew he was a ranger and had been in combat but couldnt understand he was away from his battalion and driving a general around. He was always fearful of discovery of his part in the killing of Pat Tilmon.
While those of us who have never been in combat can never truly know what the experience entails, we can sympathize with this particular warrior’s agony as well as get a grasp of what all combat veterans may be dealing with. We can also know that despite all the improvements, the VA, GI bill and other services, it is still not near enough to compensate for their sacrifices. No wonder so many feel as if they are merely “bullet stoppers” for the government to obtain objectives that become dehumanized from the conference rooms and offices of Washington. How far are we willing to go to push the limits of humanity in relation to our soldiers? Stephen Elliott has taken many years to begin his recovery but has now taken on the cause of the epidemic our soldiers are falling victim to; suicide. He stresses that like himself, many appear to be okay, getting good jobs and continuing their civilian lives, nut the truth is many are suffering pain they can only heal with death. Here are some stats;
6,828 American soldiers died in our War on Terror, 2001 - 2022
6,146 American Veterans commiteed suicide in 2020 alone
20 years suicide deaths of vets was 6000+
125,000+ deaths by suicide of veterans since 2001
This does not include failed suicide attempts
Should we continue to add to our arsenal of deadly weapons with tax money or add to an inadequate arsenal of means to combat this unholy loss of life or those who will willing to go in our stead?
https://stopsoldiersuicide.org/vet-stats
+20 pts - task
+ 5 pts - combo(10.2 - USA)
+10 pts - Review
Task Total - 35 pts
20.9 ABCsThe Camp Fire Girls' Careers by Margaret Vandercook
20 pts 20.9 ABCs
5 pts 10.2 Oktoberfest (US)
5 pts 10.4 Series
5 pts 10.9 NFL (New York, New England)
10 pts Review
10 pts Oldies
The Campfire Girls are now on their late teens and early twenties and are embarking on “careers” including marriage, acting, studying medicine. A few are moving a little beyond the stereotypical house and home focus; bur, true to the time period, that is seen as a worthwhile pursuit.
As might be expected, love intervenes and several of the plotlines are tied up with a proposal. However, this is not really a romance novel. Prior relationships grow into love, but that is really not the focus of the novel.
Interesting view of increasing independence of young women but still very constrained by social conventions. Even those undertaking unusual careers are carefully chaperoned and move within a parentally sanctioned range of activities
Task Total: 55 pts
Season Total: 730 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 15.3 … … … … … … …
20.10 BirthdayA Grave Denied by Dana Stabenow
+20 Task published 2003
+25 Combo 10.2 born in USA, 10.4, 20.1 Kate is Aleut, 20.8 moose stew, 20.9
Post total: 45
Season total: 1230
20.1 JemisinLight from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
+20 Task
+15 Combo 10.2 born in USA, 10.5 Light from light blue, 20.8 miso soup,
Post total: 35
Season total: 1265
20.9 ABCs The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
This was one wild ride...
Ted.
Ted has lived on Needless Street his whole life. He is a single dad with a daughter and a cat, he takes care of the birds who comes to his yard, he is open and unassuming and a good guy.
Or is he?
Olivia is his cat. She has a lot to say about what happens in the outside world. She notices what her Ted does, but also notices all the other "Teds" and we get parts of the story that Ted doesn't see.
Dee's sister disappeared eleven years ago. Her mother left soon after the disappearance and her dad died not long after. All Dee has left is the hope that her sister is still out there somewhere. And she has reason to believe that Ted has something to do with it.
NOTHING is as it seems.
You're constantly questioning what is true, what is real, and where in the world things are going.
Right when you think you know what is going on, something happens to prove you entirely wrong.
The story is told from alternating points of view, switching regularly between Ted, Olivia, and Dee. The way this unfolded was perfectly paced and understated and the way it ended was wild.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo: 10.2 (born in Washington DC), 10.6
Task total: 40
Season total: 1050
20.7 CervantesThe Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
+20 pts - Task
+35 pts - Combo (10.4 - Niebla #2, 10.5 - midnight blue, 10.8- title palace is home of ghosts and demons and a train of fire, 20.1- Indians from Bengal, 20.5 - on list, 20.9, 20.10 - 1994)
+ 5 pts - Oldies
+10 pts - LiT
Task Total - 70 pts
10.4 SeriesHome from the Seaby Mercedes Lackey
# 7 in the Elemental Masters series
Task +10
Combo +5 10.2 Octoberfest US
Book Total: 15
Grand Total: 370
20.7 CervantesInés of My Soul BY Isabel Allende
+20 task
+10 Lost in Translation
+15 combo (10.2; 10.3; 20.10)
Post Total = 45
Season Total = 825
20.10 birthdayA Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting by Sophie Irwin
+20 task pub 2022
post total: 20
season total: 280
20.1 JemisinBecoming. Michelle Obama
I had mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it was interesting to hear about her family and the sacrifices her parents made. The part of the book that focused on family was the most interesting to me. The political part, though, exemplified everything I hate about politics, that is, one party making out the other to universally be the problem.
Task Total: 20
Review: 10
Combo: 15 (10.2 - US, 10.9 - Chicago/Washington,DC, 20.9)
Total: 45
Season Total: 1490
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; 15.10; 15.11
20.1(x3); 20.2; 20.3; 20.4; 20.5; 20.6; 20.7; 20.8; 20.9; 20.10;
20.2 KingQuartet by Jean Rhys
Jean Rhys said that she couldn't invent, she could only write versions of things that happened to herself or others. This novel, set in the seedier hotels and streets of Paris, apparently gives a version of her affair with the married writer Ford Madox Ford.
The quartet of the title is made up of the main character Marya (English, despite the name), her Polish husband Stephan, who deals in goods of shady provenance and spends much of the novel in prison, and another married couple, Hugh (HJ) and Lois Heidler. Marya is soon involved in a sordid affair with HJ in which Lois is apparently consenting and complicit, but the imprisoned Stephan is not.
Although she tells us she is in love, there is little joy in this affair for Marya. She presents always as a victim of circumstances, persuaded against her will to join the Heidlers at their country cottage or to meet them both in restaurants when she would prefer not to see Lois at all. Her self-esteem is so low that she seems to wallow in self-loathing. I can understand if some readers hate the book for this. I might have had a problem it if it had been long, but I can handle and even admire 144 pages of this intense emotional honesty.
20.8: "On this particular evening, he served first the soup and then the fish with his own hands"
+20 Task (https://www.fantasticfiction.com/r/je... )
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.3, 20.8, 20.9)
+10 Oldies (1928)
Post total: 55
Season total: 1695
20.9 ABCsTrust: Meghan & Quint by Lilia Moon
This is the fifth book in the
These books are my cotton candy space fillers for times when I'm really busy at work and need something to help me shut down the whizzing brain to get some much needed sleep. I find thirty minutes or so of a mindless audiobook generally does the trick. I've got one more week of trial and I'm going to finish this series before it ends, so I'm going to have to find another set of books for this particular book need.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.4, 10.9)
Task total: 40
Grand total: 930
20.3 VonnegutThe Absolutist by John Boyne
In 1919, Tristan Sadler sets out from London to Norwich to return a packet of letters to Marian Bancroft, who wrote them to her brother Will who didn't make it home from the war. When Tristan and Marian meet, there's tension on both sides, which only increases as the day goes on and we hear about Tristan's relationship with Will.
I was expecting a sweet but tragic WWI gay love story, but this book is definitely not that. (view spoiler) Will Bancroft became a conscientious objector, which (view spoiler)coloured the whole of this novel, which definitely has an anti-war theme.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.2 Ireland, 10.3, 20.10 2011)
Post total: 45
Season total: 1740
20.4 SaramagoJoseph Andrews by Henry Fielding
Joseph Andrews is purportedly the brother of Richardson's Pamela, whose "Mr B" is named Mr Booby by Fielding. A close relation, the widowed Lady Booby, employs Joseph, and falls heavily for his youthful good looks and manly form. Joseph is as determined to preserve his virtue as his sister, and flees his angry employer with very little in his pocket. He soon meets up with the unworldly curate Mr Adams from the Boobys' country parish, and together they make their impoverished way through various comic episodes back to the village that is home to Adams' family and Joseph's sweetheart, the beautiful Fanny, who joins them along the way.
I really enjoyed this! There are some long passages on various theoretical matters from politics to religion to authorship and publishing, but Fielding gives his readers permission to skip these if they wish. It's helpful to have read Pamela (or at least a summary of it), especially if you found the heroine tedious and unrealistic, which will put you in harmony with the author of this parody/sequel.
+20 Task (published 1742 and set at that time)
+10 Review
+20 Oldies
Post total: 50
Season total: 1790
20.5 FaulknerA Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
I first read this in 2015 and didn't enjoy it at all, apart from the beginning with Dr Watson meeting Sherlock Holmes for the first time and gradually understanding Holmes's role as a detective. Then it goes off into a long story about evil Mormons in Utah decades earlier, not coming back to Holmes and Watson until the very end.
This time, listening to it as an audiobook, I didn't mind that. It may be because I enjoy anything Stephen Fry reads, or I'm more forgiving of audiobooks because I'm usually doing something else at the same time, so I don't get cross about wasted time in the same way. But I do think the Holmes stories improved as Doyle got into the swing of them, and this isn't the best - if only because there is very little Holmes in it.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+20 Combo (10.4, 10.5 scarlet, 20.9, 20.10 1887)
+10 Oldies
Post total: 60
Season total: 1850
20.5 FaulknerAnniversaries, Volume 2: From a Year in the Life of Gesine Cresspahl, April 1968–August 1968 by Uwe Johnson
This was my carryover book. I have read the two massive volumes over almost a year, volume 1 in our winter/spring seasons and volume 2 in summer/fall.
This volume contains the last two of Johnson's four-book series. The daily entries become longer so this covers only the last four months of the year, 20 April to 20 August 1968. By the end it is clear why we finish on this date, although most readers today will have to check the history.
As in the first volume, we have three strands: the news of the day via the New York Times, which includes the assassination of Robert Kennedy and the ongoing war in Vietnam; the daily activities of Gesine and her daughter Marie, mostly in New York; and Gesine's past history in Germany, which I found became quite confusing as more and more names are introduced of her schoolmates, teachers, and people affected by political events in her East German town.
Some of the entries are so long and detailed, involving only minor characters, that my eyes glazed over. That's my main reason for giving this volume three stars while the first one had four.
+20 Task: "We made soup out of goosefoot."
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.2 Germany, 10.3, 10.4)
+10 LiT (from German)
+ 5 Oldies (1983)
+10 Jumbo (787 pages)
Post total: 70
Season total: 1920
20.9 ABCsThe Killings at Badger's Drift by Caroline Graham
81-year-old retired teacher Emily Simpson discovers a rare orchid in her local woods - and sees something she shouldn't have seen at the same time. That night she dies, and her friend Miss Bellringer is convinced it's murder. She persuades Chief Inspector Barnaby and his reluctant Sergeant Troy to investigate, and they soon discover that there was another suspicious death in the village only two years before.
I've never watched Midsomer Murders, but I was curious to read one of the books that inspired the long-running TV show. This was the first, and I really enjoyed it. I don’t know how the series passed me by at the time.
20.8: "Barnaby took the soup gratefully and drank deep."
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.4, 20.8)
+ 5 Oldies (1987)
Post total: 45
Season total: 1965
20.9 ABCs (Kate S's Task)Sing, Unburied, Sing. Jesmyn Ward
Such a powerful book, the ending gave me chills. Jojo and his toddler sister, Kayla, live with their grandparents, Mam and Pop, and the occasional presence of their drug-addicted mother, Leonie, on a farm on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Their father, a white man named Michael, is just being released from Parchman prison, a place that is central to the story. Parchman is a place of evil, where men and women are treated less well than animals, burned alive for escaping or set on by dogs to be torn apart. Pop did a stint there as a young man, and the ghosts follow him still.
This book won many awards, most noticably: National Book Award for Fiction (2017), Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction (2018), PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction Nominee (2018), Los Angeles Times Book Prize Nominee for Fiction (2017), Dayton Literary Peace Prize Nominee for Fiction (2018), National Book Critics Circle Award Nominee for Fiction (2017), Hurston/Wright Legacy Award Nominee for Fiction (2018), Women's Prize for Fiction Nominee (2018), Andrew Carnegie Medal Nominee for Fiction (2018), Kirkus Prize Nominee for Fiction (2017), and several others. It is easy to see why, even if it isn't an easy book to read.
Task Total: 20
Review: 10
Combo: 20 (10.2 - US, 10.3, 10.4, 20.1)
Total: 50
Season Total: 1540
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; 15.10; 15.11
20.1(x3); 20.2; 20.3; 20.4; 20.5; 20.6; 20.7; 20.8; 20.9(x2); 20.10;
20.1 JemisinNothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
Review: I had high hopes for this book as a creepy fall read. It was recommended on a few lists via BookRiot etc. It tops 3 stars max for me. To summarize, a bunch of "friends" reunites at this haunted house in Japan. Creepy, bad, weird things happen. They go home and pretend it was all an accident. The end.
Perhaps my disenchantment with the book comes from my lack of knowledge of Japanese folklore. The development of the house/ghost figures was adequate. What I couldn't get behind was the characters' messy past. They all have a messy history with one another and as more and more of it comes out, it makes the reader wonder why they would even be in this situation and why they would call themselves friends in the first place. The author tries to weave this history of ghost hunting etc. but it's perfunctory and not significant enough to trauma bond the group.
+20 Task
+ 5 Combo 10.3
+ 5 Combo 10.8 House - haunted house is definitely a character with wants and plays tricks on the characters
+5 Combo 20.8 they eat ramen
+5 Combo 20.9 ABC's
+ 10 Review
Task Total: 50 pts
Grand Total: 470 pts
10. 6 Bless the Animals The Bees by Laline Paull
Review:
A really interesting book. The author clearly did a lot of research into the science of bee communication and hive operations.
A friend asked me what the book was about. The answer is "bees". The book is actually about bees. Margaret Atwood describes it as a cross between Cinderella and Handmaid's Tale and I would agree. This hive is divided into castes as per the flower from which your progeny came. There are rules and edicts and religious ceremonies to follow. Our protagonist Flora 717 comes from the lowest caste and works her way up higher, learning secrets, getting privileges and interacting with the hallowed male drones and the Holy Queen and her entourage.
The book is a fascinating social commentary on belonging and social expectation without being too heavy-handed. It incorporates and well-paced plot and world building (our world from the bee perspective).
+10 Task
+5 Combo 10.8 The Hive is the house and it has
+5 Combo 20.2 Debut Novel
+5 Combo ABC's
+10 Review
Task Total: 35 pts
Grand Total: 505 pts
10.3 9, 10, 11Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion
(I could not put this under Anti War, there really is nothing to indicate that. There is a piece on the counter culture of the 1960's, but that is not the same thing.)
+10 task
+5 oldies (first published 1968)
+5 combo (10.2)
Post Total = 20
Season Total = 845
15.6 EotP ReduxWe Are All Completely Fine by Daryl Gregory
+15 Task, World Fantasy Award 2015
Task total: 15
Season total: 1065
10.5 Autumn ColorsDeath in White Pyjamas by John Bude
10 pts Autumn Colors “white”
5 pts 10.3 9, 10, 11
5 pts 20.10 Birthday
10 pts Review
10 pts Oldies
British country house mystery where a woman is found on the grounds dressed in pyjamas. There seem to be a lot of suspects who are gradually eliminated with the most nagging question being why was she wearing pyjamas. Not quite a fair play mystery. The solution is ingenious but not very really guessable for the reader. The inspector and his associate have a very good working relationship (as opposed to portraying the assistant as bumbling) and really only discover the cause of the crime by accident. A fun read.
Task Total: 40pts
Season Total: 770 pts
10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 … … … …
20.1 … 20.3 20.4 20.5 … … 20.8 20.9 20.10
15.1 15.2 15.3 … … … … … … …
10.7 Geocaching Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
10 pts 10.7 Geocaching
5 pts 10.6 Bless the Animals
5 pts 20.5 Faulkner see task thread
5 pts 20.8 Soup’s On “The Fox . . . . had them bring him . . . a modest stew of various kinds of partridge, rabbit, frogs, lizards, and sweet white raisins . . .”
5 pts 20.10 Birthday
10 pts Review
10 pts Lost in Translation
10 pts Oldies
This is not the cute Disney Pinocchio story! Pinocchio is a badly behaved puppet who runs a foul of evil charactors such as the Fox and the Cat who are more than willing to rob and kill him. Every step Pinocchio takesthat leads him away for scool and his family or those who care from him, results in swift and serious punishment in the form of dangerous consequences. Originally published as a series of short storiesfor children, this presents a very black and white moralistic tale. I enjoyed it but it is a bit dark for children.
Task Total: 60 pts
Season Total: 830 pts
10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 … … …
20.1 … 20.3 20.4 20.5 … … 20.8 20.9 20.10
15.1 15.2 15.3 … … … … … … …
10.9 NFLThe Ruin of All Witches: Life and Death in the New World by Malcolm Gaskill
10 pts 10.9 NFL New England
5 pts 20.8 Soup’s On “Before he went, Anthony decided to put some broth on to simmer, something hot and nourishing to give Sarah when he returned.”
10 pts Review
This book describes an instance of witches procecuted in Springfield Massachusetts about 50years before the Salem whitch trials. At that time Springfieldwas the frontier, and in the political and moral control of church leaders as well as an influential businessman. The accused are poorly liked within the town and seen as troublemakers. That ends up in witchcraft accusations
Gaskill effectively describes the political and social pressures leading to witchcraft accusations in both England and New England. In addition, he has relied on primary documents to investigate life in Springfield and the relationships between town inhabitants. Fascinating work.
Task Total: 25 pts
Season Total: 855 pts
10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 …10.9 …
20.1 … 20.3 20.4 20.5 … … 20.8 20.9 20.10
15.1 15.2 15.3 … … … … … … …
20.10 Birthday (Elizabeth (Alaska)'s Task)The Plot and the Pendulum. Jenn McKinlay
This cozy mystery series just keeps getting better and better. Lindsay, the library director is now married to Sully, the sea captain, and they are obviously best friends as well as lovers. Lindsay's library has been gifted a collection of books, some rare and valuable, that seem to be tied to a 30 year old missing person case. Of course, the missing person "shows" up while they are there, and Lindsay and company can't resist investigating... As with all books in this series, there is a subplot of the Crafternooners, where they meet once a week to discuss a book, do a craft and share food and fun, recipes and craft instructions included.
Task Total: 20 - published in 2022
Review: 10
Combo: 35 (10.2 - US, 10.3, 10.4, 10.8 - spooky house, locked room; 10.9 - New England, 20.8 - chowder, 20.9)
Total: 65
Season Total: 1605
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; 15.10; 15.11
20.1(x3); 20.2; 20.3; 20.4; 20.5; 20.6; 20.7; 20.8; 20.9(x2); 20.10(x2);
20.9 ABCThe Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
+20 pts - Task
+25 pts - combo (10.4,10.5,10.6, 20.8 - soup in general mentioned many times, 20.10 - 1884
+10 pts-oldies (1884)
Task Total -55 pts
20.9 Author's initials appear in alphabetical orderLast Train to Istanbul by Ayşe Kulin
A fictional account of events during WWII, taking place in Istanbul and, Marseilles and Paris. The story revolves around two sisters, one the wife of a Turkish diplomat in Istanbul, the other sister married to a Jew, without paternal permission, who immigrated to France to escape the rath of family.
The story is loosely based on fact. During WWII diplomats of Turkey worked tirelessly to ensure their neutral citizens were not effected by the German annihilation of the Jews. In the end they rescued approximately 15,000 Turkish and about 20,000 East European Jews from the Holocaust.
I felt a great connection to the characters, however at times the writing seemed mediocre to me. I let that go as this is a translation, and because it happened only occasionally, I figured that was the reason .
This is a part of history I knew nothing about. I am glad I read it and recommend it highly to those interested in this time period.
They walked and stopped in front of the soup caildron. They were given one ladle of soup each and drank it with their iron spoons
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Lost in translation
+15 Combo (10.3, 20.8, 20.10)
Total Task 55
Total Season 1055
20.4 SaramagoMurder in Grub Street by Bruce Alexander
Not a preface nor prologue but before the narrative begins are a couple of pages that purport to be a contemporary newspaper article. It describes a massacre on Grub Street. A printer, his wife, his sons and two apprentices have been hacked to death. A poet is found on the third floor in a bloody nightgown with an axe in his hand. John Clayton is taken into custody to appear before Sir John Fielding, Bow Street Magistrate. Sir John comes to believe something is amiss. I could share more, but that might be wandering into what I would feel to be spoiler territory. Myself, I like to know only the barest of essentials to get me going.
From reading the first in the series, I know the time period to be about 1768. Also, it is mentioned that the final volume of The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman is at the book stores. I was amused that Sir John Fielding is clearly partial to The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, which Mrs. Gredge, the housekeeper, thinks inappropriate reading for young Jeremy Proctor. But we can forgive Sir John thinking his brother's book to be a better read.
I'm so glad I discovered this series. It appears that young Jeremy Proctor will continue to be the first person narrator. Sir John Fielding was a real person and magistrate. It was brother Henry Fielding who started the Bow Street Runners, but upon his death Sir John kept it going. What little history I know of this time indicates this organization was the first of a fledgling police force. In this installment of the series, the Bow Street Runners have an integral part to play.
All of that, and I must admit there is less mystery here than I might have wanted. The solution to the Grub Street Massacre is telegraphed early. Proving it is another matter entirely and that is what kept me reading. And it is what made me look first thing this morning for the next installment. I think this is 4-stars worth, but I admit that maybe I was just very ready for it.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.4, 20.8 - "She was still stirring the stew that would serve as our meal, and confessed that it would be a bit before it was cooked proper."; 20.10)
+ 5 Oldies (1995)
Task total = 50
Season total = 795
20.4 SaramagoDragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
I can't believe I never discovered this series when they first came out. My high school self would have loved these books--right up there with the Clan of the Cave Bear books that I adored around the same time.
These dauntingly long audiobooks are excellently narrated by Davina Porter, one of the greats in audiobook narration. She carries this 39-hour book effortlessly and manages the Scottish accents enchantingly.
These books are guilty pleasures for nerdy readers. A huge step up from the trashy romances I've been otherwise reading along side this book, the book still offers plenty of passion, lots of adventure, and some entertaining bits of history. The time-travel aspect of the book here allows for a strong female protagonist with knowledge of things that she shouldn't have.
I definitely have to space these books out because they are such a long read, but this was a lovely balance between seriousness and candy. I'm sure I'll read the next one at some point, but not real soon.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+20 Jumbo (947pp)
+5 Oldies (1991)
+20 Combo (10.2, 10.4, 20.9, 20.10)
Task total: 75
+50 Mini-finish 20pt tasks
Post total: 125
Grand total: 1055
20.9 ABCsPlay: Chloe & Eli by Lilia Moon
This is the sixth book in the highly formulaic erotic romance series set in Seattle. Each book in this series features the budding relationship of two characters from that are overlapping from book to book. Here, we have the rekindling 26-years-later of two people who were each other's first relationship back when they were 16. The question at the heart of this story is whether these people who loved each other as children can make a relationship work as adults. Here, the relationship speed felt less silly because of the pre-existing connection between the characters. I'm still not convinced by the theme of this series that what every couple wants is an instant monogamous love relationship, but again, that's part of the guardrails for the romance genre.
These books are my cotton candy space fillers for times when I'm really busy at work and need something to help me shut down the whizzing brain to get some much needed sleep. I find thirty minutes or so of a mindless audiobook generally does the trick. I've got one more week of trial and I'm going to finish this series before it ends, so I'm going to have to find another set of books for this particular book need.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.4, 10.9)
Task total: 40
Grand total: 1095
10.7 Geocaching (Kim's Task)The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
+10 task
+10 Lost in Translation
+5 oldies (first published in 1988)
+10 combo (10.2; 20.10)
Post Total = 35
Season Total = 880
20.1 JemisinThe Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch
+20 task
+5combo (10.4)
Post Total = 25
Season Total = 905
10.4 Series Plum Luckyby Janet Evanovich
10.4 Series
Combo +5 Octoberfest US
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 385
10.8 HouseMexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
+10 Task
+20 Combo 10.2 born in Mexico, 20.1, 20.7, 20.8 watery soup,
Post total: 25
Season total: 1295
10.6 Bless the Animals (Rebekah's Task)The Cat Who Saved Books by Sōsuke Natsukawa
+10 Task
+5 Combo (20.1)
+10 LiT
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 935
10.1 TBRThe Locksmith's Daughter by Karen Brooks
+10 Task
+10 Combo (10.2 - AU; 10.3 - K for Karen)
+5 Jumbo (566p)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 960
10.3 9, 10, 11Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult
+10 Task: both authors have a J initial
+20 Combo: 10.2 Octoberfest / 10.9 NFL / 20.8 Soup's On! (I heat up some soup) / 20.10 Birthday (2022)
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 510
10.6 Bless the Animals (Rebekah's Task)The Last Dog on Earth by Adrian J. Walker
+10 Task: alternating chapters are told from the dog's point of view
+20 Combo: 10.2 Octoberfest / 10.3 9, 10, 11 / 20.8 Soup's On! (foul and feeble fluid that passed for soup and tomato soup) / 20.9 ABCs (Kate S's Task)
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 540
20.4 SaramagoThe Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis
+20 Task: Published in 1796, takes place in Spain but not an MPG
+10 Combo: 20.2 King / 20.8 Soup's On! (to receive soup the nuns distributed)
+15 Oldies (1796)
Task Total: 45
Season Total: 585
20.6 ColeridgeA High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes
+20 Task: #233
+10 Combo: 10.7 Geocaching / 20.8 Soup's On! (tomato soup)
+10 Oldies (1929)
Task Total: 40
Season Total: 625
20.7 CervantesThe Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
+20 Task
+20 Combo: 10.4 Series / 20.5 Faulkner / 20.8 Soup's On! (three bowlfuls of thin soup / chickpea stew) / 20.9 ABCs (Kate S's Task)
+10 Lost in Translation
Task Total: 50
20 Point Finish: 50
Season Total:725
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
Seven Types of Ambiguity (other topics)Where the Air Is Clear (other topics)
A Fantasy of Dr. Ox (other topics)
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares (other topics)
Glass Houses (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Elliot Perlman (other topics)Carlos Fuentes (other topics)
Jules Verne (other topics)
Rachel Cohn (other topics)
Louise Penny (other topics)
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Yachine, the narrator of the story is of African descent
Horses of God
A book that is short enough to read in one sitting, but so emotionally charged that I couldn't do that. Just a few pages at a time for me.
On May 16, 2003, 14 Islamist suicide bombers descended on Casablanca. Mahi Binebine fictionalized this tragic event and tells a story using one voice, the voice of a 16 year old who was one of the suicide bombers. Yachine tells his story from the grave, as he waiting for the angels to take him to paradise.
Yachine show us his life in the slums of Sidi Moumen and he tells of the events that led up to him walking away from his life, in hopes of finding something better on the other side.
As I said, an emotional read that probably is not for everyone. I read another of Moumen's books Welcome to Paradise . He is an author who knows his subject matter and brings his characters so close to your heart, but beware gentle readers, your heart will be broken.
+20 task
+10 review
+10 Lost in translation
Task Total 40
Season Total 1000