Reading with Style discussion
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FA 22 Completed Tasks
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 New York City.
The Rainbow (1974) by Pearl S. Buck (Hardback 256 pages)
A humorous aside – The Rainbow was first published in 1974. The main character’s name: Henry Potter – almost Harry Potter LOL.
+10 Task
+05 Oldies -25 to 75 years old: 5 points (1947-1997)
Task Total: 10 + 05 = 15
Grand Total: 170 + 15 = 185
From Post 159Jayme wrote: "20.2 King
Arrows of the Queenby Mercedes Lackey
combo 10.4 Series #1 in the series +5
Task +25
Grand Total: 105"
+5 Oldies
From Post 160Tien wrote: "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..."
+5 Combo 10.2
From Post 169Karen Michele wrote: "20.10 Birthday (Elizabeth (Alaska's) Task
Booth by Karen Joy Fowler
+10 Task (2022)
+10 Combo: 10.3 9, 10, 11 / 20.8 Soup's On! ("stew - iguana maybe?")
Post Total:..."
+5 Combo 10.2
From Post 179Kim wrote: "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 Mo..."
+5 Oldies
From Post 198Denise wrote: "20.10 Birthday (Elizabeth (Alaska's) Task
Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction by Patricia Highsmith
+20 task (1966)
+10 combo (10.2, 20.8-in a horrifying short story..."
+5 Oldies
From Post 199Jayme wrote: "10.4 Series
Shopaholic Takes Manhattanby Sophie Kinsella
Task +10
Grand Total: 120"
+5 Combo 10.3
15.1 EOTP The Allure of the Archives by Arlette Farge
15 pts 2013 French-American Foundation Translation Prize Nominee, Non-fiction
Task Total: 15 pts
Season Total: 35 pts
… … … … … … … … … …
20.1 … … … … … … … … …
15.1 … … … … … … … … …
15.8 EoTPR 1993 - 2002
2000 Cartier Diamond
The Last Detective by Peter Lovesey
+15 - Task
+5 - Oldies(1991)
Task Total - 20 pts
10.9 NFL!The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd
+10 task set in New York city
+20 Combo 10.2 USA, 20.8 plain soup, 20.9, 20.10 pub 2022
Post total: 30
Season total: 435
Post 203 Coralie wrote: "20.1 JemisinSisters of the Forsaken Stars by Lina Rather
+20 task Sister Ewostatewos is a person of color
+20 Combo 10.2 (born in USA), 20.8 (soup with noodles,..."
Although there are just 2 installments in this series so far, we think the author is likely to continue it. Give yourself another 5 combo points for 10.4.
Post 206 Joanne wrote: "20.8 Soup's On!Shadowfell
before I could say much at all he was ladling mushroom broth out of his tiny pannikin
This author came to my attention through her Sevenwaters series,..."
Joanne, this title is not shelved as YA at BPL, therefore all styles apply.
I see combos for 10.3, 10.4, and 20.9. If you know of others, please let us know.
15.4 EotPRThe Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 by David McCullough
+15 National Book Award History 1978
+5 < 1997
+5 jumbo
Task total: 25
Season total: 145
Post 225 Valerie wrote: "20.9 ABCsA Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers
This is the second instalment in the charming and heartfelt ‘Monk and Robot’ series. This world (a small m..."
This is another we feel confident will be a continuing series. Combo for 10.4
20.4 SaramagoThe Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar
At first, I found Gowar’s writing a little stilted or mannered, but once she and I both got fully into the story it was much better. Perhaps she was trying a little too hard (this being her first novel and all!). In the main, it was very readable. Gowar’s writing is very descriptive, so you get a real feel for the settings – from Angelica’s apartment to the shipyards. The main characters were well drawn and interesting, the premise was believable (for the late 1700s), and the ending was very satisfactory. I particularly liked that the book is about the merchant class rather than the upper crust. 3.5*
20 task
10 review
10 combo 10.3, 20.2
______
40
Running total: 450
10.3 9, 10, 11The Thin Red Line by James Jones
This was not what I was expecting. I have read a fair number of war novels (and memoirs) told from the perspective of the soldier. Most of those were WWI novels rather than this, a WWII novel. I don't recall reading one where the soldiers were filled with such hate and venom for the officers as here. And in this, many of them were also filled with hate and disgust for their fellow soldiers.
Even after reading so much of on the ground in the midst of battle, I still cannot imagine the fear of being a target. I can imagine the revulsion of seeing others being the target. I understand why some soldiers cannot live with what they were forced to see. And, as if that were not enough, so many could not live with what they were forced to do.
This was a straight up anti-war novel. Even winning a battle was shown as a loss for the men who prevailed. And I get it. War can be said to have no winners. That does not mean I believe when attacked we should not defend ourselves, that we should not do everything possible to prevent further attacks. In this, there were some who believed we should not have been fighting at all. I'm not buying that.
The writing style was good enough. There was some jargon/acronyms that I had to look up. LCI (landing craft infantry), MG (which I recognized as machine gun), CP (command post) and I think others. There were a lot of characters, only a few of which were distinguishable. The names were too similar and not enough characterization. Doll and Dale, Bell and Beck for example.
I wish this had been at least good enough for 3 stars. There were parts - the actual battle scenes, perhaps - that make this more than 2 stars. But there was not enough to have me coloring in that 3rd star.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+ 5 Selfie
+20 Combo (10.2, 10.4, 10.5, 20.3)
+ 5 Oldie (1962)
Task total = 50
Season total = 295
PS - There was a bonus that was a reading motivator despite my dislike: The novel takes place on Guadalcanal which is in the Solomon Islands. I'll happily add it for our Group Project.
10.7 - Geocaching The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Lexile score - 770, so no styles
Task: 10
Post total : 10
Season total: 160
20.8 Soup's OnLovely War by Julie Berry
Colette and Hazel help make and serve cabbage soup for German POWs.
Task: 20
Combo - 10 (10.3- first initial J; 10.2 - Author born in US)
Post total : 30
Season total: 190
10.2 OctoberfestWeeds by Edith Summers Kelley
"Weeds" is a forgotten novel of the 1920s that was reissued several times in the 70s, 80s, and 90s during the feminist movement. It's a character study of Judith, an effervescent child of nature who followed her father around the farm helping with chores. She was full of energy, had an artistic talent, and took great joy in observing the outdoor world. Her life changed as the wife of a Kentucky tenant farmer and the mother of three children. She found that the endless cycle of household chores, difficult pregnancies, and constant childcare was a soul-crushing existence. Even though she had a hardworking husband, the weather could wipe out any hope of escaping poverty. Judith went through times of anger and depression dealing with her unrelenting duties.
Uncle Jabez, an old man and the neighborhood fiddler, seemed to be the only one who understood the young woman. Joy in the beauty of the world, laughter, and contemplation were qualities they shared. He took the time to watch the beauty of a sunset, and compared life to the vivid changing colors which gradually muted to gray:
"It's a heap like a man's life, hain't it. . . . It begins happy an' simple, like them innocent pinks an' blues; then turns flame colored when he grows to be a man an' learns to know the love o' wimmin. But it don't stay that color long. First thing you know it's gray, like his hair, what he has left of it. Yaas, Judy, the young time's the on'y time."
This naturalist novel about the hard life of a farming family is notable because it's told from the point of view of a woman. Both a farmer and his wife did backbreaking work, but often had little more than corncakes to feed their families by mid-winter. Pregnancies and nursing took their toil on the malnourished women, and they aged quickly. Author Edith Summers Kelley and her artist husband raised tobacco as tenant farmers in Kentucky for several years so the experiences of a restless young farmer's wife and her neighbors feels brutally authentic.
Chicken broth pg 43 "But when the chicken broth was made Mrs Pippinger could eat none of it."
+10 task (born in Canada)
+15 combos 10.3 9, 10, 11 (K); 20.2 King (debut); 20.8 Soup's On!
+10 review
+10 oldie (pub 1923)
Task total: 45
Season total: 455
20.1 JemisinThe Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin
+20 Task
+15 Combo: 10.3 9, 10, 11 / 10.4 Series / 20.8 Soup's On! (meat stew)
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 235
20.3 VonnegutGoing After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien
+20 Task
+10 Combo: 10.10 Group Reads / 20.8 Soup's On! (Sarkin Aung Wan was feeding him soup.)
+ 5 Oldies (1978)
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 270
10.7 GeocachingHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Lexile 920
This is the sixth book in the Harry Potter series but the first book ever to be added to Goodreads going by its book number, 1. (You can see this in the URL if you click on the book link.)
I enjoyed this much more than the previous book – the pace built more evenly, and Harry had more to do and was not so angry all the time.
The series gets very dark as it goes on. There was a death in this one that I knew was coming but didn’t expect until the seventh and last book. I’ve been aware of another major spoiler for a long time, and now I’m wondering if I’m wrong about that, too. I’m moving straight on to book seven, because the audiobook I’d planned for between them isn’t available from the library yet, so I’ll soon know.
Soup: "She tapped the pot again; it rose into the air, flew towards Harry and tipped over. Mrs Weasley slid a bowl neatly beneath it just in time to catch the stream of thick, steaming onion soup. 'Bread, dear?' "
As far as I recall, there were no talking animals in this instalment.
+10 Task (Adventure)
+10 Review
+25 Combo (10.3, 10.4, 20.8, 20.9, 20.10 2005)
+ 5 Jumbo (652 pages)
Post total: 50
Season total: 480
20.9 ABCsRandom Commentary by Dorothy Whipple
Dorothy Whipple compiled this slice of a writer's life from her diaries, not long before her death. It begins when she had just finished her first novel, Young Anne, and was looking for publishers. It flows without the interruption of dates, which makes for smooth reading but is sometimes confusing. I was glad that Persephone Books listed the publication dates of her novels inside the back cover, so I could track roughly what year we were in.
It's a charming book that focuses as much on her home life as on her writing. There are some wonderful caustic comments from her much older husband Henry. As she got better known (she was a best-selling author in her day) she began to meet and make friends with other writers, so we her about them too. Recommended for anyone who has read and enjoyed any of her books.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+ 5 Combo (20.10 1966)
+ 5 Oldies
Post total: 40
Season total: 535
10.2 OctoberfestThe Autumn of the Patriarch by Gabriel García Márquez
Review: This was a bit of a slog. There were many moments of dark humor, and interesting ideas about aging and the ways that power can be subtly given and taken away. But I really had to dig to keep my focus on the writing, because of its structure.
There are four or five chapter breaks, but no paragraph breaks at all. Sentences are absurdly long -- pages and pages. The last chapter of 50ish pages is one sentence. Reading along with only commas to delineate, I found myself feeling more and more frenzied, with no natural pauses to stop and think or let something sink in.
The more interesting structure experiment was that the narration moves fluidly between characters. Sometimes we're in the dictator's perspective, sometimes his mom or lover or other minor character, and most often in an unnamed, unknown citizen or bystander. I wish that Marquez had played just with this, and left in paragraph and sentence breaks.
+10 Task (born in Colombia)
+10 Combo (20.1 – el president is Hispanic, 20.5 - https://www.pinterest.com/pin/5685091...)
+10 Review
+10 LiT (from the Spanish)
+5 Oldies (pub’d 1975)
Task total = 45
Season total = 45
20.2 KingA Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
Review: This is an extremely impressive debut. The characters are everything here. As a reader, I could picture many of them clearly, inside and out. There's little sense of place, setting or other surrounding description - it's all about the characters.
The main focus is Amar, though we hear his voice less often than Hadia (older sister) and Layla (mother). Both feel responsible in different ways for what happens with Amar, both have information the other doesn't have. These three voices tag-team for most of the novel.
Part 4 came as a bit of a jolt - we suddenly hear from Rafiq (father) who fills in many blanks and while the source of a lot of the family's problems, is somehow more an indirect than direct cause of the major betrayals Amar faces.
+20 Task (debut novel)
+5 Combo (20.1 – all four major characters are Indian (South Asian))
+10 Review
Task total = 35
Season total = 80
20.4 SaramagoBrookland by Emily Barton
Review: This was a page-turner for me. I really enjoyed Prue's story, including all the minutiae of running the distillery and building the bridge. The book is very rich with detail and it's easy to picture the environment. Prue as a character is also full of depth. We see everyone else through her eyes - for better and worse. There are incredible moments of tension and sadness throughout the book too. The ending is devastatingly sad.
I wanted more from Pearl though and sort of wished that the author had chosen an all-knowing narrator perspective to better understand the build-up of tension between Prue and Pearl. Prue was blind to it for most of her life and the novel is meant to be Prue's letter to her daughter - telling what happened with speculation on what Pearl was thinking that Prue missed while she lived it. It's Prue's story, but I wanted to understand better what Prue was missing. Even a little more hindsight from Prue would have helped.
+20 Task (set in 1780s and 1790s)
+20 Combo (10.2 – born in US, 10.9 – set 95%+ in NYC, 20.8 – pg. 42 “But willfully or not, Johanna did not hear her; and she doled out their soup without saying another word.”, 20.10 – pub’d 2006)
+10 Review
Task total = 50
Season total = 130
20.5 FaulknerChess Story by Stefan Zweig
Review: Very readable and engaging, short and simply told. I was interested in Zweig's choice to tell this story from a remove (second-hand perspective) rather than diving in to Dr. B's perspective. It's very consciously done - our narrator even says at one point that Dr. B told him the story in "much more detail" than he's relating here. I suppose it lends itself to the novella form more easily, and keeps the psychological intensity at a lower level.
It's a story about Nazism and, really, about surviving psychological torture, but the second-hand perspective and the laser focus on chess make what could have been a terrifying, psychological thriller of a read more of an intellectually interesting read. I don't know that many authors would make the same narrative choices but with these parameters in place, it is beautifully done.
+20 Task (Stamp: https://www.ebay.com/itm/184591499153)
+5 Combo (20.9 - SZ)
+10 Review
+10 LiT (from the German)
+10 Oldies (pub’d 1941)
Task total = 55
Season total = 185
20.8 Soup’s On!Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
Review: This was a lovely, magical read! Tita is a beautiful, strong character. The book is blazing with feeling, drama and food, from cover to cover. I enjoyed the recipes - so detailed you can taste them, yet seamlessly enmeshed in the story, never clunky add-ons. There is quite a lot of magic here. Flirting, perhaps, with becoming more magic than magical realism.
There are so many sensory moments - taste, smell, touch, sound, color, all of it - as we flit back and forth in time, emotion, and realistic vs. magical. I never had whiplash though; such a fun reading experience!
+20 Task ("She noticed a smell that struck her. A smell that was foreign to this house. John opened the door and stood there with a tray in his hands and a bowlful of ox-tail soup!")
+20 Combo (10.2 – born in Mexico, 20.1 – all major characters are Latino/a, 20.2 – debut novel, 20.7 – MPG Spanish Literature)
+10 Review
+10 LiT (from the Spanish)
+5 Oldies (pub’d 1989)
Task total = 65
Season total = 250
20.9 ABCsThe Elephant's Journey by José Saramago
Review: The story is Saramago’s imagining of a historical event - when an elephant was transported from Portugal to Austria in 1552.
The narrative perspective is that of Saramago himself - novelist turned historian. The tact he takes is to draw attention to this perspective all throughout. This isn't straight fact and it isn't straight historical fiction. Saramago interestingly rides the fine line between and the narrative voice makes sure we know it. It's unusual, and I really enjoyed it.
Saramago doesn't pretend to know what he does not. For example, he points out his glaring lack of knowledge about what crossing the Alps would have been like 500 years ago. He admits that the narrative is focused on subhro's thoughts to avoid subtly pointing out this glaring lack (that he's just overtly pointed out).
The story is told like a novel (vivid and visual, strong characterization) while full of reminders that it's not what it seems. Saramago points out his decisions and tactics. He references his tools (major vs. minor characters, setting, description, the element of surprise). He reminds us that we aren't at all in the moment of the story by musing on how modern technology or sensibility might have changed the journey.
Fun to read as a story, and also fun to examine - it's not often that experimental novels manage both!
+20 Task (JS)
+20 Combo (10.3 – J name, 20.1 – MC subhro is Indian (South Asian), 20.5 – https://colnect.com/en/stamps/stamp/7..., 20.10 – pub’d 2008)
+10 Review
+10 LiT (from the Portuguese)
Task total = 60
Season total = 310
15.3 Ladies of Horror Best Novella 2021Goddess of Filth by V. Castro
Task total = 15
Season total= 230
20.9 ABCsOf Thee I Sing by George S. Kaufman
20 pts 20.9 ABCs
5 pts 10.2 Oktoberfest. US
5 pts 10.3 9, 10, 11
10 pts Review
10 pts Oldies
This was the first musical to win a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The review spoke about how cutting edge and politically astute it is . . . It hasn’t aged well. The plot is trite, the jokes corny, the music ( I also listened to the recording from the 1930s cast) is not good. Not worth spending any time on.
Plot summary — Presidential candidate runs on a love platform promising to marry the winner of a country-wide beauty contest. Falls in love with a non-contestant who makes great corn muffins (can’t make this up). Elected but then impeachment threatened but love wins the day.
I rarely give one star but this is that bad. Biggest surprise is that there was a revival relatively recently.
Task Total: 50 pts
Season Total: 85 pts
… … … … … … … … … …
20.1 … … … … … … …20.9 …
15.1 … … … … … … … … …
Post 283 Mary wrote: "20.9 ABCsOf Thee I Sing by George S. Kaufman
20 pts 20.9 ABCs
5 pts 10.2 Oktoberfest. US
5 pts 10.3 9, 10, 11
10 pts Review
10 pts Oldies
This was the first musica..."
This doesn't fit the task - it's that pesky middle initial S. Let us know which task you'd like to move it to.
10.2 OctoberfestSo Far From Home: the Diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1847by Barry Denenberg
Author lives in US
Task + 10
combo 10.9 +5 (set in Massachuesetts)
Grand Total: 170
10.10 Group ReadsRivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
+10 task
+10 combos (10.4; 20.10 - first published 2011)
Post Total = 20
Season Total = 350
20.4 SaramagoThe Wind Rises by Timothée de Fombelle
Set in 1786-87
+20 Task
+15 Combo (10.4 - identified as a trilogy on the editor's site : https://www.gallimard-jeunesse.fr/978... ; 20.1 - the heroin, Alma, is black; 20.8, roughly translated :“the soup is so sticky that if he returned the pot entirely it wouldn’t go out of the pot” - it is suggested later that the soup is drank)
Task total = 35
Points total = 175
... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; 10.6 ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ...
15.1 ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ...
... ; 20.2 ; 20.3 ; 20.4 ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; 20.9 ; 20.10 (x2)
20.8 Soup's On! To Drink and to Eat Vol. 1: Tastes and Tales from a French Kitchen by Guillaume Long
Several mentions of soup in this graphic novel revolving around food : a recipe of black raddish soup, and also when the author visits Budapest he tells about a deer soup served in a bread loaf he ate in a restaurant (sorry if i made you hungry ;)
+20 Task
(no style, graphic novel)
Task total = 20
Points total = 195
... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; 10.6 ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ...
15.1 ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ...
... ; 20.2 ; 20.3 ; 20.4 ; ... ; ... ; ... ; 20.8 ; 20.9 ; 20.10 (x2)
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 283 Mary wrote: "20.9 ABCsOf Thee I Sing by George S. Kaufman
20 pts 20.9 ABCs
5 pts 10.2 Oktoberfest. US
5 pts 10.3 9, 10, 11
10 pts Review
10 pts Oldies
Thi..."
Rats! Don’t know how I missed that. Please move to 10.1. Here’s a repost
10.1 TBR
Of Thee I Sing by George S. Kaufman
10 pts 10.1 TBR
5 pts 10.2 Oktoberfest. US
5 pts 10.3 9, 10, 11
10 pts Review
10 pts Oldies
This was the first musical to win a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The review spoke about how cutting edge and politically astute it is . . . It hasn’t aged well. The plot is trite, the jokes corny, the music ( I also listened to the recording from the 1930s cast) is not good. Not worth spending any time on.
Plot summary — Presidential candidate runs on a love platform promising to marry the winner of a country-wide beauty contest. Falls in love with a non-contestant who makes great corn muffins (can’t make this up). Elected but then impeachment threatened but love wins the day.
I rarely give one star but this is that bad. Biggest surprise is that there was a revival relatively recently.
Task Total: 40 pts
Season Total: 75 pts
10.1 … … … … … … … … …
20.1 … … … … … … … … …
15.1 … … … … … … … … …
20.9 ABCsBlood on Snow by Jo Nesbø
20 pts 20.9 ABCs
5 pts 10.3 9, 10, 11
10 pts Review
10 pts Lost in Translation
Gory Nordic Noir. Main character is a hitman who Nesbo tries to make somewhat sympathetic. Unfortunately there are too many corpses to succeed. The hitman double crosses his employer, creates his own targets and is filled with angst. Angst the reader is privy to through the hitman’s thoughts and interior monologue. It is a bit confusing at times.
This is the first of a two book series, but I don’t know if there is much left at the end to build on. Despite the gore, this book is well written.
Task Total: 45 pts
Season Total: 120 pts
10.1 … … … … … … … … …
20.1 … … … … … … …20.9 …
15.1 … … … … … … … … …
10. 2The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
Disappointing! The premise is good - a bunch of late 80s/early 90s final girls have a long-standing support group, which has helped most of them get on with their lives. And then someone finds out about it and decides to kill them all. It’s up to the most messed up and paranoid final-final girl to figure out who the killer is and save them all.
Unfortunately, the execution here was lacking. In fact, this retroactively makes me dislike his vampire book. In both of these books, it seems like Hendrix is going to examine some problematic bits of the genre, but he just says “hey, this is problematic” and then keeps going on his merry way.
But even without that, this book was BORING. At least the vampire book was a page-turner. Main character Lynette is one-note and the rest of the girls are more defined in their source slashers (lol, in other words they are just templates).
Ugh, the more I think about this book the more I hate it.
+10 task
+10 review
+5 combo (10.9 LA]
Task total = 25
Season total = 255
20.8 Soup's OnDon't Cry by Mary Gaitskill
Mary Gaitskill is not the author for maiden aunts. Her stories are harsh, kinky (but not erotic), and replete with dysfunctional people just trying to make it through the day. Their unvarnished inner thoughts (often the cruel and violent kind) are on view here. It's hard to like any of these individuals, but it's impossible to miss their ultimate humanity. Gaitskill is a skillful writer--she made me want to keep reading even when, maybe especially when, the story ha a shocking or violent edge. I want to read more of her work, but definitely need to read something more light and uplifting before I could manage it.
+20 Task ("I sat on the bed next to Thomas and tried to coax a spoon of soup into his mouth.")
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.2, 20.10 - 2009)
Task total: 40
Grand total: 455
10.2 Oktoberfest Sidelined: Sports, Culture, and Being a Woman in America by Julie Dicaro
This was not what I expected but an interesting read nonetheless. I sort of expected more about female athletes and this was definitely about the world of sports media and women in that field. (And the Goodreads summary kind of contributes to that!). However, once I figured out what the topic was, I did come to enjoy the book. It was a look into a field (sports media) that I have very little knowledge of and hadn't really thought about. Unsurprisingly, it's rife with minefields for women breaking in, and in our current era, it's also full of really awful situations with fans on social media - I'm sure journalists in any field experience this but it seems to be heightened in sports media where there already is a bit of that culture in place. I did walk away with some new things to think about and I will definitely notice a little more the next time I watch a game and listen to commentary!
+10 task (born in the US)
+5 combo (10.3)
+10 review
Task Total: 25
Season Total: 145
10.8 House The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
This book was tailor-made for this task! (It's even in the title!). The plot is a fairly straightforward haunted house setup - Beatriz moves to the country to the home of her new husband, and discovers a house that is alive. She sees visions, hears voices, and the house quickly begins more frightening pursuits. She befriends a young priest, Andres (who also narrates about half the story) who is not only a priest but also secretly a witch and is willing to help. I really enjoyed this - it was creepy and atmospheric, with characters I came to really root for (and even the less pleasant characters were well drawn and engaging to read about!). I became fascinated with the setting - Mexico in the wake of the revolution - and want to know more, and the author really skillfully wove in fascinating details about life in the time period, everything from clothes and food to abortion and racism.
+10 task
+25 combo (10.3, 20.1 - one MC is indigenous Mexican, 20.2, 20.8 - "...used it to fish a piece of pork from my soup", 20.10 - 2022)
+10 review
Task Total: 45
Season Total: 190
20.10-Publication year is 2 consecutive digits.Oath of Loyalty by Kyle Mills/Vince Flynn- published September, 2022
Book # 21 in the series that Vince Flynn started, Kyle Mills has done a fantastic job of continuing the story of Mitch Rapp.
The book starts where book # 20, Enemy at the Gates left off. The curve ball that was thrown at the reader at the end of that book was explosive, now we see it through Mitches eyes and even knowing what was going to happen, it is still one of the best plot twists I have ever read.
Mitch has finally found some happiness in his life, but the President is terrified of Mitch and decides he needs to make it clear to Mitch that he is untouchable. Bad idea Mr. President, nothing means more to Mitch than his new family, you poked the wrong bear.
This is one of my all time favorite series, I look forward to the annual installment.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.2,10.4)
Task Total 40
Season Total ??? 490 ??? ( Elizabeth I got lost with the added style points, so if I am wrong here I won't be surprised
20.8 Soup’s OnMaus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began by Art Spiegelman
20 pts 20.8 Soup’s On. One time a day they gave a soup from turnips
Task Total: 20 pts
Season Total: 140 pts
10.1 … … … … … … … … …
20.1 … … … … … 20.8 20.9 …
15.1 … … … … … … … … …
20.8 Soup’s OnThe Silent Companions by Laura Purcell
+20 task (Steam rose from the surface of a yellow-brown soup flicked with herbs”)
+5 combo (10.8 House, Ann’s Task)
+5 combo (20.9 ABC’s L P)
Task Total 30
Season Total 120
10.3 9, 10, 11The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison
+10 task
+20 Combo 10.2 USA, 10.4, 20.8 split pea soup, 20.10 pub 2022
Post total: 30
Season total: 470
10.2 OktoberfestFevered Star by Rebecca Roanhorse
+10 task born in USA
+20 Combo 10.4, 20.8 vegetable stew, 20.10 pub 2022
Post total: 25
Season total: 495
20.10 Birthday (Elizabeth (Alaska's) TaskThe Golden Enclaves (The Scholomance #3) by Naomi Novik
Pub. 2022
Review
A thrilling finale to this trilogy!
After hearing all about the cliffhanger ending in book 2, The Last Graduate, I purposely held off reading it until a couple of weeks ago knowing book 3 is coming... I'm so glad I did!
On the other hand, however, I was finding El completely frustrating and I thought maybe it's because I was reading them back to back. However, there is a particular thought/idea that I just didn't believe in but that I didn't realise the characters in this book fully believed until it was proven "wrong" just after halfway through. This is one reason why I was so confused and annoyed by El's actions! I had a completely different mindset than hers. It was all ok once we were all on the same page 😜
The Golden Enclaves is the thickest book in the trilogy but I found it very slow (and as per above, frustrating) for the first half. It just wasn't gripping me as the first book did. The last half was so much better with twist on twist and oh, the irony of El vs Orion from what we saw of them in book 1 to the reality we found them in now! And I do so love when everything is tied up neatly at the end. Can't wait to see what Novik will write next!
+20 Task
+15 Combo (10.2 - born USA, 10.4, 10.8)
+10 Review
Post Total: 45
Season Total: 600
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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)
More...
Where the Crawdads Singby Delia Owens
Task +20
Combo (20.9 ABcs- D-O, 10.2 Octoberfest, 20.8 Soup's On -"Soup is on the stove." p 240) +15
Book total: 35
Grand Total: 145