Reading with Style discussion
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FA 22 Completed Tasks
10.9 NFLThe Golden Slipper and Other Problems for Violet Strange by Anna Katharine Green
NYC - https://www.girlmuseum.org/girls-unde...
+10 - Task
+15 - Combo(10.2-USA, 10.3-Katharine, 10.5- Violet)
+10 - Oldies ( 1915)
Task Total -35
15.4 EotPTheir Brilliant Careers: The Fantastic Lives of Sixteen Extraordinary Australian Writers by Ryan O'Neill
+15 Task 2017 Miles Franklin
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 260
10.6 Bless the AnimalsThe Absolute Book by Elizabeth Knox
+10 task there are talking ravens
+15 Combo 10.3, 20.8 (mushroom broth), 20.9
+5 Jumbo 640 pages
Post total: 30
Season total: 290
15.1 - Eyes on the Prize ReduxThis is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize for Fiction and Poetry nominee
+15 Task
Task total = 15
Points total = 110
... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; 10.6 ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ...
15.1 ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ...
... ; 20.2 ; 20.3 ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; 20.10 (x2)
20.7 CervantesNorth to Paradise by Ousman Umar
This spare and compelling recounting of the author's migration from his small village in Ghana to Spain pulls no punches in describing the harrowing and difficult path. Networks of smugglers transport migrants across borders ever northward toward "paradise" or the "land of the whites." I never quite understood what motivated this young teen to actually make this difficult journey. He estimates that he was approximately thirteen when he started out and arrived in Spain at approximately age seventeen (he doesn't have an exact record of when he was born).
There's nothing special about the writing or the style here--this is purely about the story. Ousman recounts the moments where fate turned his way while so many others on the same path perished. He loses friends, nearly dies in the desert, and is frequently on the brink of becoming a "sinker"--someone who gets partway through migration then runs out of money and can't go forward or backward.
Ousman seems like an impressive young man.
+20 Task (approved in thread)
+10 Translation
+10 Review
+10 Combo (20.1, 20.9)
Task total: 50
Grand total: 310
20.2 KingThe Cigar Factory: A Novel of Charleston. Michele Moore
Interesting historical fiction novel set in Charleston, South Carolina during the first half of the twentieth century. The POV shifts between two women, Meliah Amey Ravenel, and Cassie McGonegal, one black, one white, and their struggles to raise their families and create a better life out of poverty and despair. Both women work in the local cigar factory, and the storyline revolves around the working conditions and lengthy battle to get the union in.
There is a foreward by Pat Conroy, who is an editor for the publishing house, which really sets the tone and gives great background for the novel. This is an academic book, the author was a fellow in the English Department at Piedmont College, and the book was published by a university press. But far from being dry and uninteresting, this well researched novel is rich with historical details and worth your time to read. It was also adapted into a play, which I think would be interesting to see, as well.
I originally was going to read this for EotPR, since it won the David J. Langum Sr. Prize Historical fiction, but discovered it was the author's debut novel and slotted it here, instead.
Task Total: 20
Review: +10
Combo: +10 (20.1, 20.8 - the church brings soup to the striking workers)
Total: 40
Season Total: 270
10.2; 10.3; 10.9
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4
20.2; 20.6; 20.10;
20.2 KingArrows of the Queenby Mercedes Lackey
combo 10.4 Series #1 in the series +5
Task +25
Grand Total: 105
20.8 Soup's On! (Owlette's Task)Murder in the Mystery Suite (Book Retreat Mysteries #1) by Ellery Adams
"She might be overly fond of gossip, but Mrs. Hubbard is an angel in diguise," Jane said to herself as she finished her last bite of soup. p. 371
Review
Such a fun read! We were presented with all kinds of drinks so whether you're a tea lover or coffee lover, you'll appreciate the book. And all sorts of delicious food. And then, on top of the murder mystery, we are told that there is something extra magical at Storyton Hall. Seriously, I really wish this bookish resort is real!! I want to go there; it sounds heavenly.
Jane Steward is a wonderful character; strong, independent, intelligent, and very capable. Her family are great comic relief and her bookclub friends provide a harmonious background of the community. So many literary tidbits thrown throughout the book that it's almost like a literary hunt. I'm keen to see what happens next at Storyton Hall.
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.4)
+10 Review
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 515
10.5 Autumn Colors (Rosemary's Task)Blue Nights by Joan Didion
+10 task
+ 20 combo (10.2; 10.3; 10.9 (New York and Los Angeles); 20.10 (2011))
Post Total = 30
Season Total =150
20.10 Birthday (Elizabeth (Alaska's) TaskThe Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
+20 task (first published 2011
+ 10 c0mbo (10.3; 20.6)
Post Total = 30
Season Total = 180
15.5 EotPRBluebird, Bluebird. Attica Locke
I think this quote sums up the book for me:
...for every story about a black mother, sister, or wife crying over a man who was locked up for something he didn't do, there was a black mother, sister, wife, husband, father, or brother crying over the murder of a loved one for which no one was locked up.
Darren Matthews is a black Texas Ranger, who chooses to look into the death of another man, much like himself, and a young, white woman, whose deaths in a small Texas town he believes to be related.
And he does it despite great peril to himself, his life, and his career.
Task Total: 15 Edgar Award Winners (2018)
Total: 15
Season Total: 285
10.2; 10.3; 10.9
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4; 15.5
20.2; 20.6; 20.10;
10.6 Bless the AnimalsCat Playing Cupid by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
+10 - Task
+20- Combo(10.2-US, 10.4-Joe Grey #14, 20.8 - Egg Drop Soup, 20.9-2009)
Task Total - 30 pts
10.8 HouseThe Elementals by Michael McDowell
+10 pts -Task
+ 5 pts - Combo(10.2-US)
+ 5 pts - Oldies (1981)
Task Total - 20 pts
10.2 OctoberfestOh William! by Elizabeth Strout
+10 task (born in USA)
+10 Combo: 10.4 Series / 20.9 ABCs (Kate S's Task)
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 95
10.5 Autumn Colors (Rosemary's Task)The Blue Room by Hanne Ørstavik
+10 Task
+15 Combo: 20.8 Soup's On! (Vegetable Soup) /20.9 ABCs (Kate S's Task) / 20.10 Birthday (1999)
+10 Lost in Translation
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 130
20.9 ABCs (Kate S's Task)Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
+10 Task
+10 Combo: 10.2 Oktoberfest (Australia) / 10.3 9, 10, 11
+. 5 Oldies (1967)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 155
20.10 Birthday (Elizabeth (Alaska's) TaskBooth by Karen Joy Fowler
+10 Task (2022)
+10 Combo: 10.3 9, 10, 11 / 20.8 Soup's On! ("stew - iguana maybe?")
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 175
+5 Adjustment: 180
15.4 EoTPR1953-1962 W H Smith Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee
+15 - Task (1960)
+ 5 - Oldies
Task Total - 20 pts
10.3 9, 10, 11Date with Deceit (The Dales Detective Series #6) by Julia Chapman
Review
I binge-listened to the first 5 of this series on audiobooks and had to stop and wait for this publication. It was just so much fun, a light humorous read with engaging mystery and intriguing romantic sparks. After the last book, I thought, we'd get more of the romance in this one but nope... it's too early yet! And at the end of this book, well... let's just say, I need to get on to book 7 asap.
Beautiful setting in the Yorkshire Dale as season is just turning a little warmer. At first, I thought, due to certain characters, that the novel was a little dark and venturing into the crime than cozy mystery. However, in the end, Date with Deceit is a whodunit with a bit of locked room twist. If you haven't tried this series yet, do! You'll love it!
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.4)
+10 Review
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 540
15.6 EotPRInvisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men. Caroline Criado Pérez
This book surprised me in several ways. I had expected this to be a slow, dry read but it turned out to be a page turner filled with interesting insights that made me look at the world in a different way. From public restroom issues (equal doesn't mean equal - women often have children with them, and for obvious reasons take, on average 2.3 times as long to use the bathroom), to the real reason GDP went up in the 1970s (women moved from doing "unpaid" work in the home to being in the paid workforce and having to buy many of the goods and services they previously provided such as meals from scratch, clothing and childcare), the book showed many of the problems and misconceptions that come about when data is gathered with only one sex in mind. A simple (?) solution of having women more involved in governance, research and data design and collection is suggested.
Task Total: 15 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Science and Technology (2019)
Total: 15
Season Total: 300
10.2; 10.3; 10.9
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4; 15.5; 15.6
20.2; 20.6; 20.10;
20.8 Soup's On! (Owlette's Task)p.28- "He brought in two bowls, half full of soup, out of which arose a mound of meat squares, potatoes and carrots, pale turnips and steaming whole onions…”
In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck
Somehow, I didn't know or didn't remember that John Steinbeck had been a Communist sympathizer. I even visited his museum in Salinas California a few years ago.(I imagine the curators did not highlight that fact.) Anyway, this novel is the story...and it reads like a reporter's true account...of a strike by apple pickers in California in the 1930s. The main characters are Party activists who encourage the strike. Steinbeck doesn't make angels of any of the characters... but it is clear where his sympathies lie. The strikers are all tough guys who have been beaten down by life...and by the system. Mostly good honest men. The portions which most resonated with me were when the men questioned whether their own leaders were selling them out or not. (I spent my entire career as a Union Representative for public employees...and had a few instances where my loyalties were challenged. I suppose it is natural.) The end of the novel is a mixed bag... as are most struggles. By the way...my further cursory research reveals thats Steinbeck later became more conservative...even becoming a friend of LBJ and a supporter of the war in Vietnam. Good sober read. (Note, in addition to Dickens, I am also reading Steinbeck's works in chronological order.)
Task=20
Review=10
Combo= 20 (10.2; 10.3; 20.5; 20.9
Oldie= 10 (1936)
Post Total=60
Grand Total=180
---; ---; ---;10.4; 10.5; ---; ---; ---; ---; ---;
15.1; ----; ----; ----; ----; ----; ----; ----; ----; ----;
----; ----; ----; ----; ----; ----;----; 20.8; ----; 20.10
15.3 EotPHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
Lexile 950
+15 Task - 2003 Bram Stoker Award
+ 5 Jumbo
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 270
20.6 ColeridgeThe Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell
This book, written before WWI, follows a group of painters/decorators in an English town who are employed when business is good and dropped when it's not, so that although most of them are skilled or semi-skilled tradesmen, their average wages are barely above starvation levels. They are called 'philanthropists' ironically in the title, because their work enriches their employers, not themselves. We meet the families too, and there are some heartrending stories, but with some humour mixed in.
The thrust of the book is socialist, but not communist in the complete sense. I was surprised how much of what was proposed by the socialists here actually came to pass in Britain over the following 50 years - although that was partly because of two world wars.
Not nearly as dry as I expected, although with some long political discourses that slowed things down.
20.2 Debut novel: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/t/ro...
20.8 Soup: p 436: "There was soup, several entrées, roast beef, boiled mutton, roast turkey, roast goose..."
+20 Task
+10 Review
+20 Combo (10.2 Ireland, 20.2, 20.8, 20.9)
+10 Oldies (1914)
+ 5 Jumbo (608 pages)
Post total: 65
Season total: 335
20.2 Read any debut novel. The Devil's Half Mile
I was attracted to this book first by it's cover, then the blurb on the back of the book hooked me. Paddy Hirsch is financial reporter and author, this being his first novel.
The story begins in NYC in 1799. Legislators are trying to abolish slavery in the state and some are trying to regulate Wall Street (known back then as "The Devil's Half Mile"). Fresh out of law school, Justice “Justy” Flanagan has just returned from Ireland and he is on a mission to uncover who killed his uncle before he left to study.
Historical Fiction, Mystery and Thriller all describe the book. The characters are well thought out and Hirsch did his research on the time period. A great start to a new-to-me series that I will continue. Those who enjoy these genres should give this little known author a try.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.4, 10.9, 20.4)
Task Total 45
Season Total 285
15.5 EoTPR1963 - 1972 Edgar
The Laughing Policeman by Maj Sjöwall
+15 pts - Task (1971)
+ 5 pts - Oldie
Task Total - 20 pts
10.1 TBRRules of Civility by Amor Towles
on my TBR since Feb. 5, 2013!
Who knows why I let this languish so long on my TBR. It was fantastic. It is a very well written debut, in a snappy and thoughtful way which makes it very readable. The main character is the kind of woman you can really root for and wish that you were. I liked the structure of the novel too, although at first, I wasn’t sure that it would work. Then there is New York City – a character in it’s own right and this story couldn’t have been set anywhere else. I have a real hankering to go to NYC now. 5*
10 task
30 combo 10.2, 10.9, 20.2, 20.8*, 20.9, 20.10
10 review
______
50
Running total: 220
*'Seafood bisque followed by tenderloin…" pg 62
20.8 Soup's On! Montana 1948.Larry Watson
A small book, tightly written, and wonderfully told, Montana 1948 is a coming of age story, set in a small Montana town in 1948. The Haydens are town aristocracy, the grandfather, the retired sheriff, his two sons, the town doctor and current sheriff. It is told from the perspective of twelve year old David Hayden, as he remembers it forty years later. It is the day he stopped being a child and lost his innocence, when he realized that adults were not infallible, and those he loved could do monstrous things. As he relates the story to his wife, he discovers things about that time he had realized before, looking now through the lens of adulthood, not as a young boy.
I can't say enough good things about this novel, it's succinct, thought provoking, and beautifully written. Highly recommended.
Task Total: 20 (She made me chicken soup and jello).
Review: 10
Combo: 15 (20.2-US, 20.9, 20.10 - 1993)
Total: 45
Season Total: 345
10.2; 10.3; 10.9
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4; 15.5; 15.6
20.2; 20.6; 20.8; 20.10;
10.2 OktoberfestThe Star of Istanbul by Robert Olen Butler
I'm so glad I stumbled onto this series. I read the first in the series because I had been alerted that there was something about Mexico, Germany and the US early in WWI, and I wanted to get a taste of what that was about without having to get bogged down in some academic nonfiction. Neither The Hot Country nor this is what any of us would expect of a war novel. Christopher Marlowe Cobb is a war correspondent turned spy.
As can be told from the title, this installment has us visiting Turkey. First, however, Kit Cobb has to get there and early on we find him on board the Lusitania. As Cobb is the series MC and there are more installments, we can assume he makes it off the sinking. It is what goes on *before* the sinking that sets the stage for what is to come.
I will not suggest that characterization is what endears me to these. Still, Kit Cobb has feelings and we are exposed to them. He is attracted to the beautiful actress Selene Bourgani, almost like a moth to a candle. Almost - he's really too good to get so close it might be fatal. The writing is above the standard one might expect for a thriller.
Anyway, his story builds with each novel. I am reading in order. I think each installment could be read as a stand alone, but I believe they are enhanced by the knowledge of what goes on before. At least this one was. I'm sorry to see there are only two more. There were four years between the third and the fourth, so with fingers crossed Butler hasn't finished yet. 5 stars? No, but 4 really good ones!
+10 Task (US)
+10 Review
+ 5 Combo (10.4)
Task total = 25
Season total = 210
15.2 EoTPR2011 David Langum Prize
The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
Task=15
Post Total=15
Grand Total=195
---; ---; ---;10.4; 10.5; ---; ---; ---; ---; ---;
15.1; 15.2; ----; ----; ----; ----; ----; ----; ----; ----;
----; ----; ----; ----; ----; ----;----; 20.8; ----; 20.10
20.9 ABC'S Hide by Kiersten White
Review: Read the book. Enjoyed the book! Read the review. Everyone else hated the book. Haha!
But to be fair, I understand the other reviewers points. There are definitely inconsistencies in the narrative and the switching points of view does not make for the smoothest read. I would also agree that the prologue and premise of the book is really strong and the back half of the book takes some weird turns and doesn't deliver on that basis.
However, I'm sick and not inclined to be picky at the moment. The story kept me interested enough to see how it would all turn out.
I didn't find that the pacing dragged out and even think that some of the plot points and back stories could afford to be fleshed out a little further.
This is more horror than mystery so if you don't like "genre fiction" this won't be for you. This is my first read of White's and I am inclined to see what else she has out there.
+20 Task - K-W
+5 Combo 10.2 - Born in U.S
+5 Combo 10. 3 Initial K
+5 Combo 20.10 - Published 2022
+10 Review
Task Total: 45pts
Grand Total: 110pts
10.9 NFLGwendy's Magic Feather by Richard Chizmar
Review: A re-read for me as I noticed there's a third book in the series out! I like this as a sequel to Gwendy's Button Box however the title is misleading. The feather doesn't come up until about page 200 and plays a pretty small plot in the plot.
Chizmar does a good job of picking up Gwendy's story 20 years later. I love a good continuation. This book is less action-packed than the first but has enough suspense to make you keep reading. There are a few open-ended threads, pretty typical of King (Chizmar writing in the same style here) but no gaping holes. Like Button Box, this is a quick and easy read, I polished it off in a couple of hours.
Intrigued to see how the third one will play out.
+10 Task - Set more than 75% in Maine -( New England )
+5 Combo 10.2 Author born in US
+5 Combo 10.4 #2 in Series
+10 Review
Task Total: 30 pts
Grand total: 140 pts
20.3 VonnegutThe World That We Knew. Alice Hoffman
All the beauty and pain and wonderful writing I've come to expect from my favorite author. No one quite tells the Jewish experience likes Alice Hoffman, or makes you weep with her characters, or understand the strength of women and the love of mothers for their child like she does. This story takes place during World War II and touches on the resistance, the horrors of the Holocaust, and the goodness of people in the midst of it all. I could read this again and again, and see something new each time.
This book won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Fiction (2020) if anyone is looking for a book to fulfill it, I highly recommend it.
Task Total: 20
Review: 10
Combo: 15 (10.2-US, 20.9, 20.8 - Hardship Soup)
Total: 45
Season Total: 390
10.2; 10.3; 10.9
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4; 15.5; 15.6
20.2; 20.3; 20.6; 20.8; 20.10;
20.8 Soup's On!The Secret River by Kate Grenville
"No one had ever spoken to him of how a man might fall in love with a piece of ground."
This award winning novel tells the story of the settlement of the New South Wales colony in Australia. William Thornhill, an impoverished boatman in London, was convicted of the theft of a load of timber in 1806. He was deported to the New South Wales penal colony with his family as a way to avoid swinging from the gallows. After serving his time in Sydney, Will claimed a beautiful piece of land along the Hawkesbury River in the frontier. However, this was land that the Aboriginal people had loved and considered their territory for years.
Kate Grenville wrote wonderful descriptions of the hard life of a boatman on the Thames, the relationship between Will and his wife, the difficulties of a new settler, and the confrontations with the indigenous people. The characters come so alive on the page that they are hard to leave at the end of the book.
An attempt to make kangaroo soup on pg 228: "They ended up with a kind of soup with a scum of hair that had to be strained through muslin."
+20 task
+20 combos 10.2 Octoberfest (Australia); 10.3 9, 10, 11 (Kate); 10.4 Series (Thornhill Family #1); 20.10 Birthday (2005)
+10 review
Task total: 50
Season total: 270
20.10 Birthday Gwendy's Final Task by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar
Review: Another quick read for me. Boy, being sick really does wonders! This one is a big MEH. I have a friend who says King can't write endings... I don't know if she's correct but this book felt unnecessary. Obviously written during the pandemic, there are so many current references that I imagine it will quickly feel dated.
Did we need to have a third chapter in Gwendy's story? No! The second book was one thing but this all felt rather forced. The plot was okay and full of smart connections and twists and turns.
Most of the book takes place in space as Gwendy is entrusted with care of the Button Box for the third time. While some of the characters get some thorough development, others get a pass, making you wonder why there were there in the first place.
King takes the opportunity here to tie the mysterious box and Ricahrd Farris back to The Dark Tower Mythos . We also have Bobby and his friends, but as I have not finished the Dark Tower series, who are never fully explained. That and a few other details really leave this book feeling flat for me. But personally authors do have to work hard to make me love the last book in a series. I'm definitely a Beginning and Middle fan!
+20 Task Published 2022
+5 Combo 10.2 Both US Authors
+5 Combo 10.3 K
+5 Combo 10.4 Series Book 3
+10 Review
Task Total: 45 pts
Grand Total: 205 pts
10.1 TBRBrook Evans by Susan Glaspell
In the Mid West in the 1880s, Naomi Kellogg is swept off her feet by young love. In Colorado nearly 20 years later, the same thing almost happens to her daughter. And then there is a third section, set another 20 years on.
This is the second book I’ve enjoyed by Susan Glaspell, who was best known as a playwright. It’s a very readable story, although I thought the characters did some frustrating things. They seemed divided into two types, the passionate and the dull, and never the twain should marry - although they do, with unfortunate consequences. But the character development was interesting, with sympathetic characters becoming unsympathetic as they grew older, and vice versa.
+10 Task (on my TBR since 2014)
+10 Review
+ 5 Combo (10.2 USA)
+10 Oldies (1928)
Post total: 35
Season total: 370
From Post 114Jayme wrote: "Completion Post
10.4 Series
Size 12 Is Not Fatby Meg Cabot
Heather Wells series
Task +10
Combo + 5 (Octoberfest USA)
Book Total: 15
Grand Total: 80"
+5 Combo 20.10
From Post 115Valerie wrote: "20.8 Soup's On!
Aunty Lee's Deadly Specials by Ovidia Yu
'…the age old comfort of steaming rice and rich, clear soup' (about 12% in)
Well, I always meant to get ..."
+10 Combo 20.1, 20.9
From Post 122Joanne wrote: " 20.4 set at least 51% in the 18th Century
The Sewing Girl's Tale: A Story of Crime and Consequences in Revolutionary America by John Wood Sweet
A riveting Revolut..."
+5 Combo 10.2
From Post 139Tawallah wrote: "20.9 ABC
The Night Trilogy: Night, Dawn, Day by Elie Wiesel
Task: 20
Combo: 10 (20.3, 10.2 - born in Romania)
Lost in Translation: 10
Oldies: 5 ( first published a..."
+5 Combo 10.4
From Post 147Tien wrote: "20.5 Faulkner
Life On Earth by David Attenborough
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.4)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 435"
+5 Oldies
15.5 EoTPR 1973 - 1982
1981 Pen/Faulkner Award
The Chaneysville Incident by David Bradley
+15 - Task
+ 5 - Oldies
Task Total - 20 pts
20.10 Birthday (Elizabeth (Alaska's) TaskFairy Tale by Stephen King
+20 task (2022)
+10 combo (10.2, 10.3)
+ 5 jumbo (608 pages)
Task total=35
Season total=35
20.10 Birthday (Elizabeth (Alaska's) TaskPlotting and Writing Suspense Fiction by Patricia Highsmith
+20 task (1966)
+10 combo (10.2, 20.8-in a horrifying short story, a mother makes a terrapin stew for her young son)
Task total=30
Season total=65
20.5 FaulknerCaptain Alatriste by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
This is a very satisfying story. It is set in the early 1600s, when Spain was beginning it’s decline as an empire. There are complicated politics (based on the real politics of the time), and time spent getting to know the characters (which presumably recur in further instalments); but at it’s heart this is an adventure story. A swashbuckling adventure at that!
Captain Alatriste was invalided out of the military. Life is not easy for someone with a limited skill set (sword fighting), but he gets by being a sword for hire. The story is told by the Captain’s page, a boy of thirteen. This adventure wraps up, but Alatriste has unfinished business with another swordsman neatly leaving an opening for the next instalment which I definitely want to read. 4*
20 task
10 review
10 LiT
5 oldie
30 combo 10.4, 10.7, 20.7, 20.8*, 20.9, 20.10
________
75
Running total: 305
*'…his stay was made more tolerable by the stews…" pg. 6
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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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Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy - On my TBR shelf since 8/9/2021
When Washington, reluctantly, accepted the position as President the new country was a collection of colonies turned states. Just like today, there was a political divide and Washington wanted to unite them. In an effort to do that he took what would be equal to "the grand tour". Traveling by horseback and carriage, Washington visited all 13 states to meet with, not only their leaders, but the common man.
In 2018 Philbrick decided to follow Washington's route and dug into the myths and the truths of all those signs that say "Washington slept here". This book is nothing like his other historical accounts. We do get the history of Washington's travel, however, along with that Philbrick documents his own experiences while following George. We see a whole new side of this author, the writing is lighter and Philbrick's sense of humor shines.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.2, 20.4, 20.9)
Total Task 35
Season Total 240