Reading with Style discussion
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FA11 Reading w/Style Completed Tasks - Fall 2011
10.2 Highly RatedShades of Grey by Jasper Fforde highly rated by Rachel
In a world of a color hierarchy that is a form of communism, what you see determines your destiny. Those who see only shades of Black and White are the lowly Greys. They are the slaves of the system. They do all the hard and dirty work. The rest of the system is based on the ROY G BIV color spectrum. This book is based in a futures dystopia where everyone who works for the good of the community. If any signs of non-conformity shown, even to improve the efficiency of a system, the culprits are sent off on the night train to Reboot. Jasper Fforde has tapped the wackiness of his imagination to write another crazy book and come up with a whole culture that denies a genre description. If you like his type of humor, satires, and mind bending status quos, then here is another book that will delight you. His genius is not for all but the ones who enjoy it, this book is a plum. Apparently it is the first of a trilogy and I for one, am eager to read the rest of the series.
+10 pts - Task
+10 pts - Review
+5 pts - Combo (20.1 I Read)
25 pts - Task Total
90 pts - Grand Total
Paula wrote: "10.8 Seasons ChangeThe Handmaid's Tale..."
+5 oldies points (pub. 1985)
Paula wrote: "10.6 Fall Freebies
Master and Commander..."
+5 oldies points (pub. 1969)
Paula wrote: "10.4 Native Reading
Night Flying Woman: An Ojibway Narrative..."
+5 oldies points (pub. 1983)
Which should make your grand total 275.
Kazza wrote: "Task 10.2 – Highly RatedThe Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
+10 Task
+10 Review..."
+10 combo (20.5, 20.10)
+5 jumbo (645ish pages)
So, I currently I have your grand total as 185.
Liz, you are awesome! Thanks for catching my missed points! I will make note for future tasks :)
Hey Liz, at task 182 I added task 10.2 highly rated for Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich and adding another 10 points for a total of 130. Unless I did the math wrong again.
Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "Hey Liz, at task 182 I added task 10.2 highly rated for Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich and adding another 10 points for a total of 130. Unless I did the math wrong again."Nope, another typo on my part. It is fixed.
20.5 They ReadThe Sins of Lady Dacey by Marion Chesney
****
I have to say, this is a higher rating than I typically give Marion Chesney's romances, for all I greatly enjoy them, but this one managed to have a slight bit more depth than the others. Not in a "meaningful" way, but it a way that rounded out the story nicely. We see a very innocent, but willfil young Recency miss encounter a peer of dubious background in an unorthodox manner. They initially dislike each other. Confusion and hijinks ensue before they end up happily married and in bed. Exactly the sort of somewhat silly, fun read I needed after finishing Gravity's Rainbow.
+20 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 305
20.4 We ReadThe Diary of Mattie Spenser by Sandra Dallas
Mattie Spenser is a newly married woman, who with her husband travels to the wild prairie of Colorado. Although her life is sparse with romance, beauty and luxury, she tries to keep herself “civilized” but soon learns how naïve she has been and that the code of the west has no need for the niceties of Victorian manners and euphemisms. At once you become sympathetic to Mattie. She is so in love. The Best Catch in town just walks up and asks her to marry him with no courtship but just a need to rush out to his claim in Colorado. Her husband, Luke, seems arrogant, even sneaky and has a secret but despite it all, Mattie blindly makes excuses for him and keeps his feathers smoothed even to denying due credit for her expert marksmanship that saved the life of their wagon train’s leader. As a lonely pioneer she confides to her diary all the strangeness she must cope with on several different fronts. Being a married woman, living in a “Soddy house”, socializing with people she never dreamed of in her former life such as the Southern Rebels who were only recently her husband may have faced as an enemy in the battlefield. To add to all this, she endures childbirth on the frontier with the aid of rugged Indian Fighter. Not to give anything away but after several horrific tragedies, Mattie grows up. She learns her husband is not that golden boy she once thought, that southerners can be your friends, and that moral codes are stripped down to helping one another survive regardless of social background.
+20 pts - Task
+10 pts - Review
30 pts - Task Toyal
120 pts - Grand Total
20.3 He ReadsOliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Oliver Twist is one of those classics in which nearly everyone knows the story though few have read it. I was not one of the few and decided it was time to get the story straight from the author. The well known story of an orphan born in poverty, sent to a poor house, cared for by corrupt, greedy parish workers until he was able to escape, only to meet up with bad company in the streets of London. Although faced with enormous hardships, rescued, only to be taken again, Oliver never succumbs to any vice even if it means he will assuredly be fed and housed, even if in a mean state. Eventually he is rescued and wonder of wonders, he turns out to be actually of a high born family and coincidentally related to those with whom rescued him and with which he has formed a loving bond. While Dickens’ satire definitely threw light on the plight of the poor and perhaps instigated social change because of it, I still found his views coming across that birth and your antecedents are paramount to your character, no matter the environment. I felt more that the treatment of the poor was horrendous not just because it was bad, but because someone of high birth could fall into those circumstances and should never have been treated thus. I was also amazed at the anti-Semitism in this work. The depraved and sinister Fagin is often referred to as “the Jew”, implying that such behavior should be expected of these people. However I read that later on Dickens became friends with a Jewish man and revised the story, removing all such unsavory references to this group of people. Yet for the times, this book was quite forward thinking and socially enlightening.
+20 pts - Task
+10 pts - Review
+5 pts - Combo 10.2 (5 stars by Jayme Va)
+5 pts - Combo 10.8 (#19 on Lit for Soc Chg list)
+15 pts - Oldies (first pub in 1837)
+5 pts - Jumbo (554 pages)
60 pts - Task total
180 pts - Grand total
20.5 They ReadThe Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
Set in several of the characters’ pov, and in multiple time periods from the late 1800’s until 2005, the story jumps quite a bit. Just as the reader is about to find out a key piece of evidence through the voice of one character, the story jumps to another character in another time period. Over time, I found this to be annoying, especially when I had figured out the mystery and just wanted to get on with it to see if my surmise was correct or not. I feel many of these changes could have been eliminated and the book abridged by a couple of hundred pages without damaging the central story. However, except for all the schizophrenia of the multiple personalities and time traveling, I found the main story charming, especially the tie in with the classic book The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
+20 pts - Task
+10 pts - Review
+5 pts - Combo (10.2 5 stars by Donna Jo Atwood)
+5 pts - Jumbo (645 pgs)
40 pts - Task Total
220 pts - Grand Total
20.5 They ReadA Modern Comedy: The Forsyte Chronicles Volume 2: 4. The White Monkey, 5. The Silver Spoon, and, 6. Swan Song by John Galsworth
+20 Task
+10 Oldie (pub ~1933)
+15 Jumbo (read on Kindle, but most show this as 800+ pages)
Task Total = 45
Grand Total = 235
15.6 Psychology, Economics, Sociology, AnthropologyThe Scarlet Letter (sociology)
I know I don't need to write a review, but I feel compelled to say this... For a book about 17th century Puritannical morales, you could get schnookered 10 times over if you took a drink each time the word "bosom" is mentioned.
+15 task
+ 5 combo (written pre-1980)
Task Total = 20
Grand Total = 290
Paula wrote: "15.6 Psychology, Economics, Sociology, AnthropologyThe Scarlet Letter (sociology)
I know I don't need to write a review, but I feel compelled to say this... For a book about 17th cen..."
LOL! (It's so true...)
Task 15.5 History/GovernmentMukiwa: A White Boy in Africa by Peter Godwin
+15 Task
+5 Nonfiction
Task total = 20
Grand total = 260
10.2 Highly Rated I read "To The Nines" by Janet Evanovich I got it off Marianne's list. Task +10
Review + 10
I am really loving this series. I have grown to really like the characters. In this book, bounty hunter Stephanie Plum must find a guy who has skipped out on his visa. Samuel Singh, a quiet, computer guy is involved in a deadly computer game controlled by a guy named the webmaster. Every lead Stephanie follows ends up dead. If that isn't bad enough, someone is sending her roses and carnations with warning notes. Someone is stalking her while she stalks the FTAs. Stephanie Plum always catches her man. I also liked this because Stephanie shows more backbone is this book than she does the others.
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 150
Task 20.10 Monster Fest
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
#40 on Best Gothic Books List
This is told in flashback from 1998 to events prior during and after WWI, and I also added combo point for meta-reading. The narrator, Grace is telling the main story set pre to post WWI to her grandson via audiotape and she comments on the structure of her story.
I picked this from the Best Gothic Book list because it was already on my To-Read list and because I enjoyed The Forgotten Garden. While The Forgotten Garden should qualify as gothic, The House at Riverton is more of what I think of as an Upstairs/Downstairs novel. It has more in common with the movie Gotsford Park than Jane Eyre despite the afterword which explains Morton’s use of gothic elements. This is not to say I didn’t enjoy it, but I feel a bit guilty about using it for 20.10 (I’ve got other things picked for all the other tasks it combos with). There are secrets and tragedies, but no foggy moors to get lost in or insane secret wives stored in the attic.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.2 Highly rated, 10.3 Meta-reading, 20.7 The War to End all wars)
+5 Jumbo (599 pages)
Task total=50
Grand total=295
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
#40 on Best Gothic Books List
This is told in flashback from 1998 to events prior during and after WWI, and I also added combo point for meta-reading. The narrator, Grace is telling the main story set pre to post WWI to her grandson via audiotape and she comments on the structure of her story.
I picked this from the Best Gothic Book list because it was already on my To-Read list and because I enjoyed The Forgotten Garden. While The Forgotten Garden should qualify as gothic, The House at Riverton is more of what I think of as an Upstairs/Downstairs novel. It has more in common with the movie Gotsford Park than Jane Eyre despite the afterword which explains Morton’s use of gothic elements. This is not to say I didn’t enjoy it, but I feel a bit guilty about using it for 20.10 (I’ve got other things picked for all the other tasks it combos with). There are secrets and tragedies, but no foggy moors to get lost in or insane secret wives stored in the attic.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.2 Highly rated, 10.3 Meta-reading, 20.7 The War to End all wars)
+5 Jumbo (599 pages)
Task total=50
Grand total=295
20.10 Monsterfest IIIUncle Silas by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
***
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu does bone-chilling creepiness exceedingly well. This book made the hairs on my neck stand up at least twice; not the easiest thing to accomplish with fiction. The story contains several villains, with varying degrees of overt nastiness and subtlety. That being said, I found myself repeatedly grinding my teeth at or wanting to shake the heroine into using her brain at least once in a while. Admittedly, I am relatively unversed in the gothic horror sub-genre having only previously read the Bronte sisters, but I do not recall their heroines being quite so limp and hysterical. This definitely hurt my enjoyment of an otherwise excellent book. Uncle Silas is yet another book that makes me wish I had the option to give 3.5 stars. As it is, being unable to accurately give it 4, I have to downgrade it to 3.
+20 Task (33rd on Best Gothic Books)
+10 Review
+10 Oldies (1864)
+5 Jumbo (528
Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 350
10.3 Meta-Reading - The Map of Time by Félix J. PalmaI wanted to like this book, okay, I wanted to love this book, boy did I ever….but I just didn’t love it. I can say I liked it but that’s even pushing it I think.
I found my mind wandering a lot when I was reading this, I couldn’t stay focused and the farther into the book I got, the most I lost focus and got confused. I can’t say it was a bad plot, but it definitely left me confused and wanting something more. I don’t want to compare it to other time travel books, a genre that I happen to love and have read some really good books in, but it just didn’t mark up to others that I’ve read. And when it started too, it dropped off. Maybe it’s just me, I don’t know but you can decide for yourself. I invested a lot of time into it and didn’t really get that much back in return.
+10 Task
+5 Jumbo (604 pages)
+10 Lost in Translation (Nick Caistor, translator)
+10 Review
Task Total=35
Grand Total=110
Tobey wrote: "10.3 Meta-Reading - The Map of Time by Félix J. PalmaI wanted to like this book, okay, I wanted to love this book, boy did I ever….but I just didn’t love it. I ..."
Is this book told from the viewpoint of more than one person? The description makes it sound as if you should get a combo for 20.5 Multiple Narrators.
10.3 Meta-readingThe Skystone by Jack Whyte
****
I really did not care for the beginning section of the book. It was boring. Once it got past the initial stage, I really enjoyed it. The story is told as the memories of Publius Varrus, a former Roman soldier of noble blood who is also a blacksmith. Much of it concerns his relationship with Caius Brittanicus, an even higher noble who is his military commander for years and becomes a very close friend. The title comes from a rock which fell to earth thirty years prior from which Varrus' grandfather made him a dagger of an unknown, extremely hard metal. Both Britannicus and Varrus become obsessed with the hunt for more of these stones. Their search takes place against the backdrop of a Britain preparing for the Fall of the Empire. Overall, an excellent story. I look forward to continuing the series.
+10 Task (narrator speaks repeatedly about the account he is writing)
+10 Review
+5 Jumbo (620)
Task Total: 25
20.8 It ain't over...
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
****
After enjoying Oryx and Crake so much, I had high expectations of The Handmaid's Tale. They were largely fulfilled. Margaret Atwood weaves a horrifying image of a society in which religious fundamentalism and fear of Caucasian infertility are taken to their furthest extremities. The rights of women are a particular area of focus. While reading this book, I began to think about the similarities between it and The Children of Men. Both deal with the concept of infertility and a totalitarian, terrorizing state. Additionally, both are written by women and were released within a small time span. Based on this, I am planning to write a piece comparing and contrasting the two books. Obviously, this is truly a thought-provoking work.
+20 Task
+5 Combo: 10.2 Highly-rated
+5 Combo: 10.3 Meta-reading (character is recording story after the fact & references this)
+5 Combo: 10.8 Seasons of Change
+10 Review
+5 Oldies (1985)
Task Total: 50
Post Total: 75
Grand Total: 425
Liz M wrote: "Kazza wrote: "Task 10.2 – Highly RatedThe Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
+10 Task
+10 Review..."
+10 combo (20.5, 20.10)
+5 jumbo (645ish pages)
So, I currently I have your grand total as 185."
Thanks, Liz!!! I'm shamefully hopeless ;p
15.1 MathPrelude to Foundation
The main character is a mathematician, and the book is spent discussing what is and is not possible in relation to combining math and history. Brilliant!
+15 task
Grand Total = 305
10.1 – List LoversEva Trout, or Changing Scenes by Elizabeth Bowen.
I am reading from the list of winners and shortlisted authors of the Booker Prize http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_.... This was number 9
Review: The blurb on the edition of this book I have says "Bowen is magnificent when she writes about...ambiguity" (Margaret Drabble). Ambiguity is right! The reader has no idea what is going on in the first scene. Each passing scene becomes a bit clearer until the last scene is crystal clear. But the whole book leaves you with a thousand unanswered questions. And, yet, the questions are not as demanding as you would have guessed half way through.
A young woman (Eva Trout), who grew up motherless and was dragged around the world by her father, who has now also died, is living with a former teacher and her husband in a small English village. She will soon take control of her considerable fortune. But how does someone who has grown up without family or affection find either?
Task: 10
Review: 10
Oldie: 5 (published 1968)
Previous total: 140
New Total: 165
Back to School Tasks:15.4 – World Literature
South Africa / Booker Prize 1983
Life and Times of Michael K by J.M. Coetzee
+15 Task
15.6 – Psychology, Economics, Sociology, Anthropology
Riven Rock by T.C. Boyle...
...is about the 1920s and the institution called Riven Rock where the real life character, Stanley McCormick is locked up with schizophrenia and treated by many different psychiatrists trying to cure him of his ailment.
+15 Task
15.10 – Study Hall (nonfiction)
Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions by Guy Kawasaki
+15 Task
+ 5 Nonfiction? (if we get these points for the required nonfiction book)
Task Total: 20
Points this Post: 50
Grand Total: 600
Task 15.5 - BtS History Kings Mountain: The Defeat Of The Loyalists October 7, 1780 by Dave DameronVery timely as I finished it on October 6! I'm taking the kids to see the battle re-enactment tomorrow at the National Park. Hope the weather stays beautiful!
+15 pts - Task
+5 pts - Non-Fiction
20 pts - Task Total
240 pts -Grand Total
Task 10.9 – Kate’s Task – In fourteen hundred ninety-two...In Observance of Columbus Day, read a book written or set during the 15th century.
I read:
By Fire, By Water by Mitchell James Kaplan
This book was set in the 1480s in Spain during the Spanish Inquisition. Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus) is a minor character in the novel. The sympathies of the novel are clearly with the embattled Jewish community of Granada, Spain. On the one side, there is Tomás de Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition; and, on the other side, there is Mohammed bin Sa’ad al-Zagal, the emir of Granada, and his Muslim control of Granada. The overstory concerns the Spanish Inquisition; and, additionally, the Catholic Spanish reconquista of Spain. The individual story follows (primarily) a 29-year old Jewish woman, who is trying to survive in difficult times; and, a slightly older “converso” male advisor to the Catholic King and Queen. (“Conversos” are Jews who converted to Catholicism; the term also applies to the children and grandchildren of such Jews.) The events are real and the historical characters act in this novel the way they acted in real life. The fictional characters seem plausible, and are interesting to read about. There is a little bit of romance; however, romance is not the focus of the novel.
Overall, the novel is readable and enjoyable, and I’d recommend it to someone who likes historical novels.
+ 10 Task
+05 Style: 1. Combo (5 points) each (also fits 20.5 - They read)
+10 Style: 2. Review (10 points):
Task Total: 10 + 5 + 10 = 25
Task 20.1 - I read
I read historical murder mystery:
Bless the Bride (Molly Murphy Mysteries #10) by Rhys Bowen
This is a historical mystery, #10 in a series, set in 1903 in New York City, New York. Molly Murphy is an Irish immigrant. She is a private detective (see the #1 of the series “Murphy’s Law” to see how that happened), intelligent, feisty and compassionate. The author succeeds in having her characters stay true to life as it was in 1903, as opposed to having 21st Century characters in a 1903 setting.
The bulk of this installment focuses on one particular case of Molly Murphy’s, one which involves her in New York City’s Chinatown. This case has its beginning, middle and end complete in this novel. The rest of this installment concerns the ongoing story of Molly, her fiancé (and his mother!), and her friends who live next door (the always delightful Sid and Gus), plus cameos of characters from previous novels. The ongoing story pauses at the end of the novel, with a To Be Continued feeling.
I’d recommend this novel, and I’d recommend the whole series, particularly to readers who enjoy historical mysteries.
+ 20 Task
+ 10 Style: 2. Review (10 points):
Task Total: +30
Task 20.10 - Sam’s Task - Monsterfest III
A) - Read a book with one of the following in the title: Devil(s)/Demon(s), Witch(es), Vampire(s), Zombie(s)/Undead, Ghost(s), or Werewolf(s)
I read a book with “Zombie” in the title:
Zombies: The Recent Dead edited by Paula Guran
This is a collection of 24 stories (1 novella, 9 novellettes, and 14 short stories), all by different authors, all written sometime during the past 10 years, and all featuring Zombies. Every single one of the stories was readable and entertaining. Theses Zombie stories were a little bit scary and only a little bit gory. The highlights: the one novella, Tim Lebbon's "Naming of Parts" was excellent (zombie invasion as viewed by a young boy), as was "Dating Secrets of the Dead" by David Prill (teenaged zombies date!!), "Deadman's Road" by Joe Lansdale (zombies in the Wild West), “Beautiful White Bodies” by Alice Sola Kim (featuring beautiful teenaged girls), "Trinkets" by Tobias S. Buckell and "The Last Supper" by Scott Edelman (what happens after the zombie invasion?). There were no clunkers, unusual in an anthology.
I’d recommend this anthology for anyone who has an interest in fantastical stories and/or Zombies.
+ 20 Task
+ 10 Style: 2. Review (10 points):
Task Total: +30
Grand Total: 325 + 25 +3 0 + 30 = 410
10.5 Bedtime Stories "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman (recommended by Maggie Stiefvater)Task +10
Combo +5 (10.2 Highly rated Rach's list)
Review + 10
I liked Mia. I felt I really got into who she was. I liked her parents and her little brother. Contrary to some Goodreads reviews, I didn't find the story sad. I didn't cry over it. I felt Mia had good character development. I found Adam to be a one dimensional character up to the end then he wasn't so carbon copy. I thought Mia was lucky to have friends like Kim and Adam. I think it is a great book for YA. I don't think I would recommend it. I felt it didn't have enough substance for me.
Book Total: 25
Grand Total: 175
Lexile Score 830
Task 20.5 - They readThe Public Image (1968) by Muriel Spark (shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1969)
I debated whether this was 20.3 - S/he reads or 20.5 - They read, because about 90 percent of the book is told in 3rd person from the point-of-view of one person (Annabel), and the other 10 percent involves the other characters reacting to Annabel’s words and deeds. I went with 20.5 because the other character viewpoints were described during the few times in the novel when Annabel was not present.
Review: I can see why this short novel was nominated for the Booker Prize. The theme of the novel is the difference between the public image and the private reality, especially in regards to someone who is a celebrity. Annabel is a famous British actress living in Italy. The novel centers in on events of a scandalous nature, her reactions to the scandal (internally), and her actions to control her public image in the face of the scandal. The technology in the novel is quaint and antiquated – it was written over 40 years ago, after all – but the underlying reality of how the celebrity culture works, and how clever celebrities can manipulate that culture to achieve their goals, still reflects today’s reality. Recommended.
+ 20 Task
+ 10 Style: 2. Review (10 points):
+ 05 Style: 4. Oldies -25 to 75 years old: 5 points (1936-1986)
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 410 + 35 = 445
Deedee wrote: "Task 20.5 - They readThe Public Image (1968) by Muriel Spark (shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1969)
I debated whether this was 20.3 - S/he reads or 20.5 - They re..."
Thanks for the review, Deedee. I don't know this author though she has 4 books on the 1001 list. I'll be after her!
15.10 Study Hall - non-fiction+15 task
+5 non-fiction (but also waiting to see if this will stand considering the requirements of the task)
Task Total = 20
Grand Total = 325Picture Personalities: The Emergence of the Star System in America
10.6 Fall FreebieThe Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (Lexile 710)
+10 Task
+10 Translation (French)
+5 Oldie (1943)
=25 points
10.6 Fall Freebie
Midnight by Sister Souljah
=10 points
10.10 Group Read
Bossypants by Tina Fey
=10 points
15.8 Art
An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin
=15 points
20.1 I Read
Post Office by Charles Bukowski
=20 points
Total Points: 80 points
15.2 ScienceEinstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson
+15 Task
+5 Length (588)
+5 Non-fic
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 95
Rebekah wrote: "20.5 They ReadThe Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton..."
+5 combo points for 20.10 (#35 on Best Gothic Books list)
Leigh wrote: "Task 20.10 Monster FestThe House at Riverton by Kate Morton
#40 on Best Gothic Books List
I feel a bit guilty about using it for 20.10 (I’ve got other things picked for all the other tasks it combos with)...."
Don't feel guilty, the book itself discusses the Gothic elements, so it is a better fit for the task than some books that can be randomly added to a listopia list.
FYI, you can repeat tasks as many times as you like.
10.1 List Lovers-I chose ALA Banned Books from 1900-1999. I rolled a 14 and the 14th book was the Alice series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor so I read "All But Alice".Review
I started reading this series when I first heard about banned books week a couple of years ago. I have read several books in this series. The series has a total of 22 books. I do intend to read them all. This series was banned at once time because it is about a girl named Alice who is going through the "growing pains". The series covers issues all girls have going into the teen years like how do you know when a boy likes you, first kiss, what true love really is, and just fitting in. What Alice learned in this book is growing up isn't easy. She is faced with peer pressure to do what everyone else is doing or else you won't have friends and she realizes you don't need to be in a special club or have pierced ears to be liked. It isn't the hottest best seller but there are universal themes in the series that never die no matter what age you are living in.
Task +10
Review +10
Total: 20
Grand Total: 195
Karen GHHS wrote: "15.4 – World LiteratureSouth Africa / Booker Prize 1983
Life and Times of Michael K by J.M. Coetzee
15.10 – Study Hall (nonfiction)
Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions by Guy Kawasaki
+15 Task
+ 5 Nonfiction? (if we get these points for the required nonfiction book)
Task Total: 20..."
How was Life and Times of Michael K? I had a bad experience with one of his books and was ho-hum about another. This looks intriguing, having read & enjoyed July's People.
And, btw, yes you do get the non-fiction bonus for 15.10 even though non-fiction is required 'cause after all you are choosing to do the task. (I so rarely read non-fiction, I probably will skip that one).
15.8 Art, Music, DanceMusicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks
Task: 15
Nonfiction: 5
Task total: 20
Previous total: 165
New Total: 185
15.6 Psychology/Economics/Sociology/AnthropologyHarmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children from Sex by Judith Levine
****
We live in a society where fear and ideology are the basis for many of the decisions made regarding children and sexuality, from the ever present panic about sexual abuse to the prevalence of abstinence only education despite the predominance of evidence that it does not work. This is underlying message Judith Levine describes in Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children from Sex, a thought-provoking and intense work chronicling how we got to the place we are today and how these attitudes are dangerous and can damage our children. She discusses how both left-wing feminism and right-wing religious ideology created this environment and have helped it flourish. Thoroughly researched with extensive documentation, this is a work well worth reading attentively and carefully.
You can read a more comprehensive review on my blog.
+15 Task
+5 Non-fiction
Task Total: 20
10.2 Highly-rated
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
****
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is more of the same delightful fun with which J.K. Rowling filled the first two books of the series, but with a darker bent and twice the pages. In it we again see Harry, Ron, and Hermione embarking on a new school year. The have yet another new Defense of the Dark Arts teacher. They learn why having Hagrid as a Care of Magical Creatures teacher is not an entirely good idea. Malfoy continues being a jerk. The main difference is the combined subtlety and darkness of the villains. The danger felt more real and the suspense was artfully built. I'm looking forward to the next one!
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Post Total: 40
Grand Total: 465
15.3 Literature - your country (I live in the US)The Awakening (includes some short stories, which I think I liked better than the main work)
+15 task
+5 Written pre-1980 (1899)
= 20 task total
Grand Total = 345
Bobbie wrote: "10.6 Fall FreebieThe Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery..."
Unfortunately, this book does not meet the 100 page minimum.
Bobbie wrote: "10.10 Group Read
Bossypants by Tina Fey
=10 points..."
+5 combo for 10.2 Highly Rated
I show your grand total as 60 points.
Liz M wrote: "Karen GHHS wrote: "15.4 – World LiteratureSouth Africa / Booker Prize 1983
Life and Times of Michael K by J.M. Coetzee
I liked Michael K quite well. I enjoy journey stories like this was and although it was not a happy story it really spoke to how much we should value freedom. I'm glad to hear you liked July's People because it's on my list for this challenge, too. I'm with you on non fiction, but I did get some good ideas from Enchantment for my work in the library.
10.2 Highly RatedThe Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
Rated 5 stars by Jayme VA, among others...I've had this on my TBR shelf for awhile, and it was such a lighthearted, yet cleverly deep book, much like the first hitchhiker's book!
+10 Task
+5 Oldie (p. 1980)
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 110
10.2 Highly RatedLamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore
(rated 5 stars by Miss GP)
The narrator for the unabridged audiobook did an excellent job bringing this story to life. The characters had distinct voices, many of which were sort of silly, but fitting for the irreverent tone of the book generally.
Christopher Moore never fails to amuse me. This book was actually somewhat more serious than others of his that I've read -- there were few appearances of demons or supernatural creatures. The book traces the story of Levi, known as Biff, who is best friends with a young Jesus Christ, known as Joshua. The book imagines the youth and young adulthood of Jesus as they go off in search of the three wise men (the three kings of orient) and find themselves studying yoga, Buddhism and other eastern philosophy.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task total = 20
15.7 Foreign Languages
The Nubian Prince by Juan Bonilla
I really liked this book and gave it 5 stars. Also, I think it would qualify for meta-reading as the narrator frequently wishes for an omniscient narrator and might also qualify for 20.1.
+15 Task
Grand total: 295
15.9 Gym/HealthThe Man Who Couldn't Eat by Jon Reiner
*
Ugh. The amount of self-pity Jon Reiner displays throughout this book made it nigh unreadable. When I entered the giveaway for The Man Who Couldn't Eat, it was based on descriptions of the book as unique, compelling, and a very real depiction of what it is like to have Crohn's disease, from the point of view of someone with a special relationship with food. Instead, I received a book which seems to have been written from the point of view of a man who feels he is unique in having what is actually a sadly common disease. There are references to how hard it is for others to cope with his illness, but they seem to still be in light of how it makes him feel. Overall, this is not a book about a disease, this is a book about a man wallowing in self-pity.
Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy of this book for free through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway program.
+15 Task
+5 Non-fiction
Task Total: 20
10.2 Highly-rated
Watchmen by Alan Moore
****
Pretty much brilliant.
That was the first review I wrote of Watchmen when I read it a few years back. I still feel that way, for all it is not my favorite of Alan Moore's works. A postmodern view of the 1980s that still feels relevant, this graphic novel is truly a literary work. Based on the concept of washed up superheroes, the book builds a sense of dread and questions the very concept of life and its worth. The discovery of a megalomonomaniacal figure pulling the strings of the world leaves a fair amount of uncertainty as to whether he is a hero or a villain. Ultimately, the question of whether or not the ending is good or bad remains. I have my own opinion. What is yours?
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Post Total: 40
Grand Total: 505
Here is my first posting this challenge:10.2 – Highly-rated
The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde
(I gave it 5 stars as well)
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.3 Metafiction)
Task Total: 15
10.3 – Meta-reading
Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde
(I gave it 4 Stars)
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.2 Highly Rated)
Task Total: 15
10.3 – Meta-reading
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
(I gave it 5 stars)
Jasper Fforde has an elegant flow and use of English language and a brilliant imagination. The alternate world that he has created with the ‘Thursday Next’ series took me completely by surprise. It has been on my to be read shelf for over a year and it was only after I read a review by Christopher Moore that I decided that now is the time for me to read this story.
Jasper Fforde takes the reader on a literary journey through all the classics and provides a different view and spin with them. I have never been able to read Jane Eyre but after the adventures that Thursday Next takes within the story it is being moved up in my reading list.
The Eyre Affair has everything from time travel, adventure, mystery, romance, comedy and honesty. It is because of this and the depth of the story that I gave it 5 Stars. I also started to read the second novel in the series ‘ Lost in a Good Book’ immediately after finishing which is always a good sign.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.2 Highly Rated)
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 55
15.6 – Psychology, Economics, Sociology, AnthropologySpider Bones by Kathy Reichs
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
15.10 – Study Hall
The Story of the Coco Palms Hotel: The Grace Buscher Guslander Years 1953-1985 by David P. Penhallow
I recently went on vacation to Kauai (and yes I realize how lucky I am). My husband and I went for a delayed honeymoon at the end of August. I have always been a fan of Elvis Presley's movie Blue Hawaii and little did I know that the condo we would be staying at for two weeks was right beside the (uninhabited) Coco Palms Hotel.
I love history and once I started to understand my surroundings I dove into the history of the area. Lucky for me the people we rented the condo from had a copy of 'The Story of the Coco Palms Hotel' and I was able to read it at night through out our stay.
David P.Penhallow has arranged many stories and tidbits that people remember from the Grace Buscher Guslander years. He has spoken with people who worked closely together with Grace as well as entertainers who played over the years.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves history and has been to Kauai. It really helps explain how the tourist industry was built in the 50's and 60's.
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
New Grand Total: 85
20.3 - S/he reads (B)The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
(I gave it 4 Stars)
+20 Task
+5 Oldies (published in 1980)
+5 Combo (10.2 Highly Rated)
Task Total: 30
20.5 - They read
Bite Me: A Love Story by Christopher Moore
+20 Task
Task Total: 20
New Grand Total: 135
20.1 - I readThe Selected Works of T. S. Spivet by Reif Larsen
+ 20 Task
+ 10 Combo (10.2 – Highly-rated ; 10.3 – Meta-reading)
Task total : 30
15.5 – History, Government, Philosophy, Religion
J'aurais préféré vivre by Thierry Cohen
(this fiction book's plot is a lot about judaism)
+15 Task
Task total : 15
Grand Total = 140
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Reading with Style
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Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie.
The author is a Spokane Indian and the main characters in the short stories are also Indians.
Review:
This book is a delightful collection of short stories by Sherman Alexie. In each story we experience the pain and joy of being human but Alexie writes from the perspective of Spokane Indians. Most of the stories are set in Seattle, so urban Indians--from the homeless to the well-off. The picture of the author on the back of the book shows him laughing joyously. His stories take us from joy to heart-break, from wisdom to blindness, from giddy first-love to the last moments of a life-time love. My two favorite stories were The Life and Times of Estelle Walks Above and Flight Patterns. In Flight Patterns, a middle-class Indian hears the story of a black Ethiopian Moslem immigrant. There are points that they can identify with each other and places were the Native American can appreciate what he has. This book touched my heart strings and made me laugh out loud.
Task: 10
Review: 10
Previous Total: 120
New Total: 140