Reading with Style discussion
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WI 11-12 Completed Tasks
Deana wrote: "It does, but doesn't the title of the book have to reference it? Or does it just have to be present....she goes through several titles for her work, etc. but the title of the book "Barcelona Calling" is not one of them....I wasn't sure if this would work for the combo points...if it will, great!..."20.8 - Fictional Fiction: Read a novel that includes references to a fictional book (a non-existent book created specifically for the work of fiction).
It sounds like Barcelona Calling fits.
15.8 CiVE-F | 461-500 | 1989-2000
Birdsong: A Novel Of Love And War by Sebastian Faulks, 483 pages, pub. 1993
+65 points
Grand Total: 625 points
Task 15.7 – Christmas in Vegas1989-2000 P-Q-R 461-500/861-900
7th book claimed – 55 points
The Stress of Her Regard (1989) by Tim Powers (Paperback, 470 pages)
Nominated for Best Novel – World Fantasy 1990
Winner for Best Novel – Mythopoeic 1990
Quick Review: A fantasy novel set 1816-1822 starring Lord Byron, John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley and dealing with their struggle against parasitic vampires. Overlong (though it fits that 461-500 page category!). Also, it was sometimes hard to figure out why the characters were doing what they were doing. I liked Power’s pirate novel On Stranger Tides much better. I wouldn’t recommend this one.
Grand Total: 860 + 55 = 915
20.1 200th AnniversaryA Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
I was supposed to read this book in ninth grade. I only made it through half of the first chapter before giving up outright and depending solely on class discussions to write my final paper. Embarrassing admission. I finally decided to rectify that indiscretion with this challenge. I still had a hard time getting into it this time around (I've noticed that reading so many books in such quick succession from so many eras, it takes my head a while to acclimate to the language changes), but I'm so glad I stuck to it. While I wasn't a huge fan of Lucie and Charles (too sticky-sweet, like Cosette and Marius in Les Miserables), Sydney Carton has my heart unabashedly (I've always been a sucker for the "bad boy"). I was reading this on the treadmill at my gym, and when the guillotine falls on "Evremonde", I had tears running down my face, and when Madame Defarge (whom I kept picturing as O'Brien from Downton Abbey) met her rightful end, I cheered out loud...think I may have scared the meatheads there just a little bit with all the crying and carrying on.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+15 Oldies (pub. 1859)
+15 Combo
-20.2 (England and France)
-20.3 (#19 on Root Canal)
-20.4 (set between 1775-1789, pub. 1859)
Task Total = 60
Grand Total = 685
10.5 UnderratedEarly Native Literacies in New England: A Documentary and Critical Anthology edited by Kristina Bross and Hilary E. Wyss
Review:
This book is an immensely useful source for anyone that wishes to do Native American studies. It is essentially a collection of primary sources with accompanying essays. It covers specifically sources from New England tribes in the eighteenth century. The contributors of the essays are mostly, if not entirely, specialists in Native American studies, and highlight the interesting ways in which early encounters of indigenous tribe with colonists were often more complex than a modern audience sometimes assumes. The text addresses and deconstructs the dichotomy between oral and written texts, and demonstrates how Native methods of communication were as complex, and some times more complex, than Western forms of communication.
+10 Task (0 ratings)
+10 Review
Total: 20 points
Grand Total: 220
20.8 Fictional FictionStraight Man by Richard Russo
This book got better the deeper into it I read.
Russo again finds a middle-aged man who views life with about as much humor as one could hope. I managed to laugh out loud more than once. For some reason, the people around William Henry Devereaux, Jr. didn't find him as endearing as I did. I didn't understand why not. But perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Hank was a tenured university professor and there is something akin to stuck up in the university world. I don't know because what college I managed to acquire was at night school and I just didn't have time to pay attention to people's petty personal games.
I'll read more Russo, no doubt about it. Still, I probably have read as much Richard Russo as I'm going to read for awhile. I'll appreciate the next one if I put a little time between it and this one.
+20 Task
+10 Review
Task Total = 30
Grand Total = 790
Task 20.7 Baby It's Cold Dust by Martha Grimes (American)
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.5 - 974 ratings)
Task total 25
Total points 730
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.5 - 974 ratings)
Task total 25
Total points 730
CiV 15.8 Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold, 384 pgs, pub. 2002
A-B, 381-420 pgs, 2001-2012
+65 Task
Total Points 795
A-B, 381-420 pgs, 2001-2012
+65 Task
Total Points 795
Don wrote: "Task 20.8 Fictional FictionThe Clowns of God by Morris West..."
Don wrote: "15.3 CiV
The Clowns of God by Morris West"
Don, a book can only be used to claim task points once. Do you want to use this book for task 15.3 or for task 20.8?
CIV15.5 Lord of the Flies by William Golding
G-H, 301-340 (336 pages), 1953-1964(1954)
Task Total: 35 points
15.6 Introduction to Shakespeare by Marchette Gaylord Chute
C-D, 101-140 (123 pages), 1977-1988 (book says copyright 1979, goodreads says 1988 but both fit!)
Task Total: 45 points
RWS
20.10 Play the Numbers
Damned by Chuck Palahniuk
This wasn't my favorite Chuck book... but it was still pretty good. I just feel kind of underwhelmed. It wasn't bad, it wasn't boring but it wasn't as fantastic, exciting and grabbing as some of his other writing seems to be. His perspective writing is spot on - as I've noticed in other books - I found Madison to really come alive on the page and be completely believable. I enjoyed her tale and her character, especially her spunk. The book dragged a bit in parts but mostly the story flowed well. The commentary on celebrities and social appearances was amusing. The setting descriptions are delightful, but not for the faint of stomach! (ex. the sea of Wasted Sperm) I do hope he finished the story in further book(s).
+20 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 30 points
Post Total: 110 points
Grand Total: 695 points
Task 10.3 - Home for the Holidays: Washington, D.C.The Revisionists (2011) by Thomas Mullen
I lived in and around Washington, D. C. for the first 30 years of my life; so I’ve claimed Washington, D. C. as “Home”. I started The Revisionists, expecting a time travel tale; which it is. It fits this task because the destination of the time traveler is modern-day Washington, D. C. (from context, 2006 Washington, D.C., with Bush still president and the Iraq war in full swing).
I actually was on the receiving end of a rant like this one when I lived in D.C.:
p. 62 from the novel “When people complain about Washington, a young adjunct politics professor at Georgetown was saying, “what are they really complaining about? The people of the District of Columbia? No; we have nothing to do with national politics – we don’t even have a vote in Congress, thank you very much. No, they’re complaining about the congressmen and senators. But guess where those people come from? Not from D. C. No, they send those congressmen and senators to our town. The politicians they all claim to hate are their politicians, not from Washington but from the fifty states, from their own hometowns and districts.”
The Revisionists (2011) by Thomas Mullen
Review: The novel begins with our protagonist from the future travelling the streets of D. C. He is part of the future Government, dedicated to preserving history as-is (and thereby preserving the existence and power of the future Government). Rebels from the future known as “hags” are trying to change history because they dislike the society that resulted from historical events. A Great Conflagration is due to occur within a few weeks after the start of the novel. The time travel element sets up the novel. The majority of the content of the novel is an espionage novel. I enjoyed the Washingtonian elements (hanging out at the Mall means hanging out at the rectangular grassland next to the U. S. Capitol); I understood the espionage elements; and the few women in the novel were pro-active in their situations (as opposed to woe-is-me victims). There is a bit of suspense towards the end. Recommended when you are looking for an espionage novel.
+ 10 Task
+ 10 Style: 1. Combo (5 points) (also fits: 10.5 underrated, 20.10 “2011”)
+ 10 Style: 2. Review (10 points):
Task Total: 10 + 10 + 10 = 30
Grand Total: 915 + 30 = 945
15.2 Christmas in VegasThe Tommyknockers by Stephen King, 748 pp., published 1987
I-J-K, 741-780, 1977-1988
+20 task points
Grand total: 100 points
15.2 Christmas in Vegas Kristin Lavransdatter, Part 2: The Wife by Sigrid Undset, S-T-U, 461-500/861-900, 1917-1928
+20 Task points
Grand Total: 270
20.2 - In honor of A Tale of Two Cities, read a book that takes place in at least two different countries.Around the World in Eighty Days
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.9 - Kate's Task - 11 in '11)
+ 10 Lost in Translation
+ 10 Oldies
Total Points: 45
Grand Total: 315
Task 20.10published in 2001
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Review:
Life of Pi is a unique story about a shipwreck that finds Pi, a young boy, shipwrecked in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. What makes this story different from others is that Pi isn’t alone on the lifeboat. He has Richard Parker for company, who by the way, is a 450-pound Bengal tiger.
As he struggles to survive, Pi must face the horrors of the open sea, feed himself the creatures of the deep but mostly he must survive with the tiger as his companion and establish himself as the alpha male.
To be stranded and how! I found this story quite exciting. The book had my attention right from the beginning with the all the details about zoo keeping and how different it is for the creature in the cages compared to their wild relatives. When Pi gets stranded in the middle of the ocean, I let myself believe that there is no way this book could have a happy ending... after all it was a tiger and not a dog, that the protagonist was stuck with. Nevertheless, the ordeal, described as it was, lasting for 7 months was wonderful. In the end, I was disheartened the way Richard Parker and Pi’s bond severs. Of course not until the very end does the entire story piece itself together.
The book had some flaws to it that bring about a slight disappointment. Too many words written on how a kid wants to practise three religions. It may not have been intended that way, but to me it was outright satire.
Definitely worth giving a shot.
+20 Task
+ 10 Combo (20.7: author from canada & 20.3: exceeded expectations)
+10 Review
Task Total = 40
Grand Total = 335
10.1 Square PegCase Histories by Kate Atkinson
This was my first Atkinson book, but it won't be my last. The reader for the unabridged audiobook did a terrific job differentiating the voices for different characters, which made for a great listen.
This book introduces Jackson Brodie, retired cop and army veteran turned private detective. His own background is intermixed with the "case histories" tracked in the book. Atkinson cleverly interconnects several storylines and manages to keep the characters interesting. There wasn't much mystery in the sense of a who-done-it here, but I remained interested in the outcomes of all the cases through the whole book.
I will definitely keep an eye out for a copy of the next Brodie book.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task total: 20
20.2 Tale of Two Cities
Tropical Fish: Tales From Entebbe by Doreen Baingana
While this book is called a set of short stories with interconnected characters, it reads best as a whole. The book tells the stories of three sisters, focusing mostly on Christine with a couple of stories from Rosa and Patti. The writing is immensely powerful and the stories are extremely compelling. In particular, the stories tracing Christine's time working in the United States (in Los Angeles and Washington, DC) before returning to Uganda tell the story of identity, race, politics, diaspora, and power in an incredible way. The book also unflinchingly reflects the beginning of the AIDS epidemic and its effect on modern Uganda through the personal story of Rosa in a letter to a former lover. Highly recommended.
+20 Task (Uganda/US)
+10 Review
Task total: 30
Grand total: 575
Christmas in Vegas15.4 Exercises In Style by Raymond Queneau, 197 pages, pub.1947
P-Q-R, 181-220, 1941-1952
30 points
15.5 Miss Buncle Married by D.E. Stevenson, 387 pages, pub. 1936
S-T-U, 381-420, 1929-1940
35 points
15.6 No Surrender by Constance Maud, 344 pages, pub.1911
L-M, 341-380, 1905-1916
45 points
Points this post = 110
Grand Total = 1460
10.5 - UnderratedKlimakriege. Wofür im 21. Jahrhundert getötet wird by Harald Welzer
published 2008, 335 pgs
review
"Climate Wars" is a non-fiction book, written by a german author that deals with the problems that lay ahead of the world because of the climate change. He points out what is likely going to happen by looking at what it already happening and moreover, what had happened in the past. With conflicts already burning up all over the world for land, resources, and survival, the global climate change will make things even harsher - especially for those countries and parts of the world, who are already in a weaker position. The last chapters deals with what can be done to change things for the better, but by being realistic about it.
+10 task (10.5 - Underrated: 15 ratings)
+10 review
+ 5 combo (The Uncommon Letter: Welzer)
Task total: 25
-------------------------------
20.2 - In honor of A Tale of Two Cities, read a book that takes place in at least two different countries.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
352 pgs, published: 2011
+20 task (two countries: United States, Great Britain)
+10 combo (20.4 looks backward in past: 1940; 20.10: published 2011)
Task total: 30
Grand Total: 205
20.5 - In honor of David CopperfieldThe Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
+20 Task
+10 Combo (20.1 - Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812. In honor of the 200th Anniversary of his birth, read a book published during Dickens' lifetime,20.3 - In honor of Great Expectations, a book that seems to be either beloved or despised,)
+15 Oldies
+5 Jumbo
Total Points: 50
Grand Total: 365
20.3 - In honor of Great Expectations, a book that seems to be either beloved or despisedThe Iliad by Homer
+20 Task
+10 Lost in Translation
+25 Oldies
Total Points: 55
Grand Total: 420
20.8 - Liz M’s Task - Fictional fiction1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
Review:
While I would not say that I did not enjoy reading this book and there were parts of it which I did find interesting. I always enjoy the way in which Murakami questions reality and our perceptions of the world and ourselves, in comparison by some of his other works I have read I have to say I did find this one a bit disappointing and do not consider it among his best works. The story did not quite captivate me in the same way that his other works have done, and while I did not dislike the characters, thee was something aloof about them. I did not find them as engaging as usual and did not really connect or relate to them.
After having recently read "Kafka on the Shore" I have to say in retrospect that 1Q84 did not feel very original. The ideas presented within the book had many similarities to "Kafta On the Shore" and I found several parallels between the two stories. While at first it seemed interesting after a while it had the feeling as if 1Q84 was just a more drawn out version of "Kafka On the Shore" and the author just wanted to see what would happen if he took that same basic story and tweaked it a bit or presented it in a different way.
The heavy use of repetition within the book became quite maddening at times for it seemed as if Murakami was writing the book with the presumption that the majority of his audience suffered from short term memory loss. There were several facts that were repeated and things which were elaborated on which did not seem to be truly necessary to the enjoyment of understanding of the book. It also felt as if it was made a lot longer than was truly needed. Particularly in Book 3 there seems to be a lot of details added in that just feel like "filler" and do not serve any greater purpose.
One of the things which I found most interesting about the book was how the idea of the two different moons, at various different points throughout the story seemed to represent and symbolize a variety of different things. I liked the ideas of duality that were presented within the story.
+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.8 - Karen's Task - Chinese New Year,20.10 - Sam’s Task - Play the numbers)
+10 Review
+10 Lost in Translation
+20 Jumbo
Total Points: 70
Grand Total: 490
Task 10.6 - The Uncommon Letter: author name includes the letter Q, X, or Z.Western Union (1939) by Zane Grey (Hardcover, 297 pages)
Review: The perfect Western. This novel has everything – covered wagons, dancehall girl (with a heart of gold), prairie fires, Indian attacks, stampeding buffalos, a gunfight or two, and more. Our hero is a Yankee medical school dropout; he’s also the narrator. He’s hired on to work on the extending the Western Union telegraph wire from Gothenburg, Nebraska to Fort Bridger in Wyoming Territory. (Also to provide medical care to the other workers.) The sense of adventure, the lack of hero worship, and the breezy style makes this 1939 novel a quick and enjoyable read. Recommended for when you are in the mood for a Western.
+10 Task
+ 10 Style: 1. Combo (5 points) (also fits: 10.5 underrated, 20.4 in the past)
+ 10 Style: 2. Review (10 points):
+ 05 Style: 4. Oldies (5 to 25 points): -25 to 75 years old: 5 points (1936-1986)
Task Total: 10 + 10 + 10 + 05 = 35
Grand Total: 945 + 35 = 980
10.4 Love Is in The Air
by Jeffrey EugenidesReview:
I was looking forward to reading this book... unfortunately I was disappointed. This book is not really a story of the Lisbon sisters. Instead, we as the reader, are stuck outside the decrepit house of the girls "deeper than death" demise and forced to read what is essentially a love letter- an obsession- to the mysterious girls who the narrator and his companions are infatuated with. Too much exposition, a pseudo-biography. I did find phrases and moments in the book that jumped out and made me feel profoundly sad and satisfied at the same time. I have to say as an author I think Eugenides is a beautiful, poetic writer... I had just hyped this book up too much in my mind to enjoy it.
+10 Task (# 7 on crazy love listopia)
+10 Review
Task total = 20
Grand Total = 135 points
20.4 A Christmas CarolThe Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
Pub 2011, set in the early 1980s (1982, I think)
Review:
What first drew me in to Eugenides' writing was his style, his compelling, willful and yet natural voice as an author. This seems somewhat lost to me in The Marriage Plot; there are parts that are written beautifully (hence 3 stars, and not 2), yet for most, it read somewhat plain. But maybe it isn't fair comparing The Marriage Plot to Middlesex or Virgin Suicides, maybe it would be fairer to compare this book with its other predecessor, namely the Regency and Victorian novels that deal with a marriage plot. Setting out from the question whether this plot (aka Damsel with one or more suitors trying to find/decide on the best husband; think Austen, Bronte, Eliot etc) is still viable and valid today, Eugenides tries to envision a scenario in which not only the plot but also its deconstruction still works and ends up with a triangle of college graduates, none of them engaging, interesting, or even likeable - and in a way, that is why those books still are great to read, because you take a deep interest in the personage, are delighted by their wit, and it starts to matter to you whether they become happy in the end (and, as I gather from numerous reviews, the prime suitors still appear quite desirable and hunky to a huge number of today's female population... [not me though, I can do without the brooding]) - and that was, what really let me down about The Marriage Plot: the fact that I didn't care much who marries or doesn't in the end, because I didn't care much for any of them.
Task: +20
Review: +10
Combo: +10
(20.2: US and India; 20.10: pub 2011)
Total: 40
Grand Total: 400
10.1 UnderratedDoctor Who: I Am A Dalek by Gareth Roberts
published 2006, 105 pgs
my review
+10 task (underrated: only 170 ratings)
+10 review
task total: 20 points
Grand total: 225 points
RwS Tasks20.7 – Elizabeth (Alaska)’s Task – Baby it’s cold outside
Norway:
To Siberia by Per Petterson
To Siberia is a wonderful brother and sister coming of age story set against the backdrop of WWII in Denmark. Per Petterson is a masterful writer and paints a clear picture of the life in this cold northern village and the changes wrought by Nazi occupation and the resistance actions of the Danish people, including the actions of the brother, Jesper. Jesper dreams of visiting Morocco with its warmer climate, but his sister longs for Siberia. All of their dreams are threatened by the war and Jesper's resistance efforts; everything but their bond threatens to come unglued. Petterson also tells a story by moving the reader backwards in time and back to the present seamlessly. He is an enjoyable writer to read and his characters steal your heart.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo: 20.2 Tale of Two Cities (Denmark & Norway) /10.5 Underrated (680)
+10 Lost in Translation (Norwegian)
Task Total: 50
20.10 – Sam’s Task – Play the numbers
Bitter Melon by Cara Chow 2010
730 Lexile
When do parental expectations cross the line of acceptability? Bitter Melon looks at this question through the eyes of a successful Chinese American debate student struggling to be good enough for her overbearing mother. I enjoyed the way the author confronted both sides of this difficult question yet still established the right and wrong of it. I also liked the way the full debate speeches were included and the whole debate scene was described. Anyone who has dealt with heavy parental expectations, difficult decisions about the future or who has had trouble finding the balance between selfishness and self concept will enjoy reading Bitter Melon.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo: 10.5 Underrated (216) / 10.8 Chinese New Year (Author and Subject)
Task Total: 40
Points this Post: 90
Grand Total: 1675
20.3 Exceeded Expectations
by Suzanne Collins #3 and last in the seriesI finally finished these. This was one of those series that I intertwined with other books that I was reading. It was an interesting story line and a quick read. This book doesn't make me want to write a review as I am sure most Reading with Style readers have already read it.
+ 20pts - 20.3 (Exceeded Expectations, #131)
+ 5 - 10.6 (Uncommon Letter, Suzanne Collins)
+ 5 - 20.10 (Play the Numbers, Published 2010)
Total points 30
Grand Total 185
Deedee wrote: "Task 10.6 - The Uncommon Letter: author name includes the letter Q, X, or Z.Western Union (1939) by Zane Grey (Hardcover, 297 pages)
Review: The perfect Western. ..."
Have you read Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey. Great story!
10.10 Group ReadsThe Tragedy of Arthur by Arthur Phillips
+10 pts - Task
+20 pts - Combo(10.2 710 ratings,20.2 USA,Italy, England & the Czech Republic,20.8,20.10 pub. 2011)
+10 pts - Review
Review - Spoiler Alert
Wow! This book really scratched my head! I kept waffling back and forth on the question, is this for real? Is this based on real events but enough facts were changed to call it a novel? This was my first time to read this author and I’m impressed. I’ve had The Egyptologist on my to-read list ever since it was published but still haven’t read it yet. Now it’s definitly getting bumped up. I really was so falling for the whole thing that I had to Google Prof. Roland Verre and Arthur Phillips. In fact, Phillips does share a birthday with Shakespeare, but that was the only “fact” from the book I could verify. As far as the Prof. was concerned, he only exists in the reviews of this book according to Google search. I read Phillips was a five time winner on Jeopardy! and I believe it! I’m no Shakespeare scholar but I even liked the actual play as there are so many riddles and clues, totally unexpected, that jump up at the reader throughout. I guess I’m right on giving 5 stars. Even Michiko Kakutani of the NY Times and Stephen Greenblatt (author of Will in the World), gave this book rave reviews and he can count Elizabeth Peters and Stephen King among his fans. Now I am one for sure and can’t wait to read his other works as well as Greenblatt’s biography of the Great Bard Will himself! Thanks, Sam!
40 pts - Task Total
1065 pts - Grand Total
10.4 Love is in the AirSense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
From the Great Love Stories List [#6]
+10 Task
+5 Combo [20.3: From Exceeded Expectations List (#72)]
+15 Oldie [p.1811]
Task Total: 30
15.6 CiV
A-B | 101-140/501-540 | 1941-1952
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
128pp. p.1949
+45 Task
Task Total: 45
Point this Post: 75
Grand Total: 375
CiV 15.5Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier 554 pages, pub. 1999
L-M; 141-180/541-580; 1989-2000
Task Total = 35
Grand Total = 720
Task 10.1 - Square Peg does not fit any other 10 or 20-point tasks.Hercule Poirot's Christmas (Hercule Poirot #20) (1938) by Agatha Christie
Review: This novel is an excellent example of the Hercule Poirot novel: a dysfunctional English family located at an English Manor plus a handful of somewhat shady servents react to the violent death of one of its members. (There are also diamonds and a dollop of traditional English xenophobia.) Here’s a quote that sums up the novel:
“Do you mean to tell me, Superintendent, that this is one of those damned cases you get in detective stories where a man is killed in a locked room by some apparent supernatural agency?” Why yes, it is. It’s not a spoiler to say that Hercule Poirot sorts it all out by the end.
Recommended when in the mood for a classic, traditional mystery.
+ 10 Task
+ 10 Style: 2. Review (10 points):
+ 05 Style: 4. Oldies (5 to 25 points): -25 to 75 years old: 5 points (1936-1986)
Task Total: 10 + 10 + 05 = 25
Grand Total: 980 + 25 = 1005
20.6 Bleak House
Sun Storm by Åsa Larsson (main character is a lawyer)
+20 task
+5 Combo 20.7 (Sweden)*
+10 translation (Swedish)
*This had ratings in the high 900s when I started and over 1,000 when I finished, so I’m not claiming a combo for 10.5. :)
20.9 Take the High Road
Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson
+20 task
+5 Combo 20.10 (pub. 2010)
post total= 65
grand total= 530
Sun Storm by Åsa Larsson (main character is a lawyer)
+20 task
+5 Combo 20.7 (Sweden)*
+10 translation (Swedish)
*This had ratings in the high 900s when I started and over 1,000 when I finished, so I’m not claiming a combo for 10.5. :)
20.9 Take the High Road
Backseat Saints by Joshilyn Jackson
+20 task
+5 Combo 20.10 (pub. 2010)
post total= 65
grand total= 530
15.5 P-Q-R, 1965-1976,261-300pgs James Patterson, Thomas Berryman Numbers, 1976, 288 pgs
35 points
15.6 N-O, 1989-2000, 301-340pgs
Carla Neggers, Tempting Fate, 1993, 338 pgs
45 points
15.7 A-B, 1941-1952, 341-380pgs
Paul Bowles, The Sheltering Sky, 1949, 352 pgs
55 points
Points This Post: 135
Tasks Completed: 12
Total Points: 300
Books Read: 12
10.5 UnderratedClaim of Innocence (An Izzy McNeil Mystery #4 by Laura Caldwell - 50 rating
+10
+5 published 2011
10.5 Underrated
The Night I Got Lucky by Laura Caldwell - 163 rating
+10
20.6 In honor of Bleak House
Bel-Air Dead (Stone Barrington #20) by Stuart Woods (Stone Barrington is a lawyer)
+20
+10 under rated 809, published 2011
20.6 In honor of Bleak House
Son of Stone (Stone Barrington #21) by Stuart Woods (Stone Barrington is a lawyer)
+20
+10 under rated 550, published 2011
Points This Post: 85
Tasks Completed: 16
Total Points: 385
Books Read: 16
Leigh wrote: "20.6 Bleak HouseSun Storm by Åsa Larsson (main character is a lawyer)
+20 task
+5 Combo 20.7 (Sweden)*
+10 translation (Swedish)
*This had ratings in the high 900s ..."
I think what it was when you started should be the one to count on a "Good Faith" system
10.6 Uncommon Letter"Mortality For Beautiful Girls"(No 1 Ladies Detective Agency #3) by Alexander McCall Smith (letter x)
Task +10
Style +10 Review
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Book Total: 20
Grand Total: 495
Thanks, Elizabeth. I have edited my Message 688 per your comments.Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Kelli wrote: "Task 10.1 Square Peg
The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers
This southern fiction classic is a dreamy, hazy meandering walk through an unnamed sou..."
Task 20.10 Play the NumbersDivergent by Veronica Roth
I stumbled upon The Hunger Games trilogy last year, reluctantly read the first book despite the genre being one I generally don't tend towards but fell in love. It felt different and I was open to something different. I searched Good Reads for recommendations on the next book to read and the lovers of The Hunger Games consistently recommended Divergent. They were right! I read it in less than a week and was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't a regurgitation of The Hunger Games but something else fresh and new. I'm wondering if I'm now a true convert to this YA dystopian genre. Next up: Uglies.
+20 Task
+10 Review
Task Total = 30
Grand Total = 305
Rebekah wrote: "I think what it was when you started should be the one to count on a "Good Faith" system ."
I'm o.k. either way. I picked this book based on a couple reviews folks posted here. The earlier readers definitely should get the points, and might have even used it for 10.5.
I'm o.k. either way. I picked this book based on a couple reviews folks posted here. The earlier readers definitely should get the points, and might have even used it for 10.5.
10.7 - Denae's Task - What's Your Type?My Type: ISFJ
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
+10 Task
+10 Combo (20.10 - Pub. 1726; 20.3 - Root Canal List)
+20 Oldies (Pub. 1726)
10.10 - Group Reads
Daughter of the Forest: Sevenwaters 1 by Juliet Marillier
Wow, I am in awe... It's been really hard going to sleep at night for the past couple of nights because this book haunts me. Mostly, because I was completely drawn into the story and had to, literally, forced myself to put the book away for the night.
The description of the book as a vivid and very detailed retelling of the Brother Grimm's The Six Swans tale set in the medieval Celctic settings, at first, did not appeal to me but I did pick it up for a bookclub read plus I enjoyed Marillier's Wildwood Dancing so... I gave it a go.
The story weaved a net around me so tightly that it's pretty much in my head nearly every minute of the day - just waiting for the next time I could read on... Sorcha was such an amazingly strong character, how can you not love her? And to have 6 brothers with such love, who can resist?
I am, however, unsure whether I'd pick up the next book soon - as the main character changes. Sorcha's role has finished with this book and it's taken up by her daughter. Unfortunately, I'm not really a fan of series which changes the main character but since I really love this book, I will pick it up in the future. For now, I'm on a high from finishing this story.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Jumbo (500+ pages)
+100 RwS FINISH
10.3 - Home for the Holidays
Fetish: Makedde Vanderwall 1 by Tara Moss
Set in Sydney, NSW, Australia
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.5 - 243 ratings)
20.10 - Sam’s Task - Play the numbers
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Published 2010
My 2 main thoughts for this book are "sad" and "thought-provoking".
SAD because what's happened to Henrietta Lacks and her children. I'm talking about the social effects of being treated differently as "coloured people" from back way when. Being of ethnic origin, I can attest to the Un-pleasantness of being treated as different (though I am lucky being different today is NOT as it was back then).
THOUGHT-PROVOKING for the book touches of 'gray areas' concerns. Is there any limit of scientific research? Privacy issues? Money issues? Progress? Cloning? Truly, the book provides no solutions nor does it propose any such thing as the purpose of the book is in CELEBRATION of Henrietta Lacks who had, inadvertently, provided the world with many healty reasons :)
Speaking for an UN-scientific minded (mine), this book is so fresh and definitely NOT boring. The very human-touch notes of the book is what really makes this book; especially to one as such myself.
+20 Task
+10 Review
10.6 - The Uncommon Letter
The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx
Meh, the ending was all right (and I'm happy for Quoyle) but the rest of the book was just okay. Obviously, am not a big fan of it.
I found the beginning to be quite choppy and took a bit getting use to. However, when you got into the pace, it's barely noticeable (only sometimes).
At first, I also found the 'captions' technique used in describing certain awkward situations to be smirk worthy but after a while, it was getting annoying. Also, if Quoyle's hand goes up to his chin one more time, I'm about to slap it away.
Oh and by the way, what colour is "...the color of oxblood shoe polish"? I get that it's some sort of red and Google has proven me close to the mark :p
+10 Task
+10 Review
20.7 - Elizabeth (Alaska)’s Task - Baby it's cold outside
Split: Makedde Vanderwell 2 by Tara Moss
Set in Canada
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.5 - 204 ratings)
Total this post: 255 points
Total to date: 1,255 points
Kelli wrote: "Thanks, Elizabeth. I have edited my Message 688 per your comments.Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Kelli wrote: "Task 10.1 Square Peg
The Member of the Wedding by [author:Carson McCulle..."
Thank you very much for letting me know you changed a post & including the number of the original post! But in the future if you cannot make the edits within 10 posts, please create a new post, identifying it as a correction to the relevant post, and include the necessary adjustments.
Kazza wrote: "+100 RwS FINISH...."YAY!!!! Congrats!!!!!!
Kazza wrote: "+100 RwS FINISH"Excellent! Good job! Congratulations!
10.3 Home for the HolidaysBright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney
Set in NYC, where I lived for about a decade before relocating to mid-Missouri a year and a half ago.
Really about 3.5 stars. This book tells the story of Manhattan in the coke-addled 1980s for twenty-somethings suffering their own version of existential angst and "quarter-life crises." The use of the second person to drive home the lead character was interesting and there were definite moments of brilliance in the writing. But I still felt like the book was mostly a lot of navel-gazing about a failed marriage and a lousy job in the Fact Verification Department of an unnamed fancy magazine. I wanted some resolution for the characters or at least some progress in thinking or organizing of life, and instead was left with what felt more like a drop-in snippet than a complete story. All that said, I can see why this book made the author famous and could feel it's autobiographical pull working within it.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task total: 20
Grand total: 595
@Kelli, I recommend "Uglies". I read it a couple of years ago and I loved it.
20.5 AutobiographyVillette by Charlotte Brontë
I have been meaning to read this book for years because of the reputation it has for the depth of character description and the strength of the female character. Lucy Snow is secretly a fiery, passionate character yet throughout the book it is obvious that much of what defines her is how she alternately suppresses this nature and gives it free reign. She has the courage to be on her own and find no sorrow in it but rather the freedom that comes from such independence. Yet because Lucy tries to suppress her passionate nature and just live contently, it made her a rather difficult narrator at times. She observed but did not want to embrace or be moved by those around her. An interesting premise to have a narrator who is reluctant about revealing her own thoughts or feelings - a trait that was supposedly also true of Charlotte Bronte herself.
The version I had made me keep wishing for footnotes though! There was a great deal of French dialogue which I was not prepared for (I've studied other languages). There was no translations so I kept feeling like I had suddenly missed important pieces of dialogue. If I ever re-read this I need to pick up a version with translations!
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo (20.1 Dicken's Lifetime, 10.4 Love is in the Air)
+15 Oldie (1762-1861)
+5 Jumbo
Task Total: 60
Grand Total: 185
20.6 Lawyer/Legal SystemBad Medicine by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
I've always loved crime novels or mystery novels...but not usually from the perspective of a lawyer or a judge. Usually I prefer to read from the perspective of the con-man or some other off-beat character. Charlie Moon is exactly that though: off-beat and yet still an extremely competent lawyer. The mixture of mystery/crime in this book along with the touches of fantasy (Charlie Moon is not only a lawyer but also a Native American Shaman) made for a really intriguing read that went extremely fast. I think I read the entire book in only a couple of sittings. Charlie investigates a medical malpractice case, along with a murder, and discovers through a mix of good practical skills along with magic the true story, and the connection, between the cases. Proviso: there is a great deal of racism and sexism discussed/depicted--which does make perfect sense when you realize that the book was published in the 1970's. From a modern point of view, though, the overtly racist or sexist comments that were slung around against Charlie Moon and his female clients/co-workers had me wincing whenever they occurred.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+15 Combo (The Uncommon Letter, 11 in '11, Underrated)
+5 Oldie (publ. 1976)
Task Total: 50
Grand Total: 235
20.10 Play the NumbersKill the Dead by Richard Kadrey
This is the second book in the Sandman Slim urban fantasy series by Richard Kadrey. Usually the second book in the series suffers from growth issues as it's not the huge draw the first book is but it's also just a stepping stone to later books in the series. This was not the case with this book which was a nice surprise. I actually found this book better than the first which gives me high hopes for the rest of the series.
These books are grittier than a lot of other urban fantasy novels I've read - emphasizing more the horror side of fantasy than the magical/faerie/sexy side. Sandman Slim himself even states explicitly that he thinks of himself as a hitting machine rather than a person who thinks anything through. However, even he has room to grow in this second book along with the rest of the world.
Zombies invade Hollywood is pretty much the premise of the book yet Kadrey approached zombies in a completely unique way that I had never seen before. For example there's at least three types of zombies with various levels of locomotive and brain control...and they're completely separate from the other undead that exist like vampires!
Overall this series has become one I will definitely follow as the stories are not only fast-paced and interesting but are continuously maturing the world and the characters.
+20 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 265
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jessica Sorensen (other topics)Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (other topics)
Margaret Mitchell (other topics)
Jane Stern (other topics)
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I read Barcelona Calling by Jane Kirkpatrick. This book was published in 2011.
My Review:
I really read this book simply becau..."
It does, but doesn't the title of the book have to reference it? Or does it just have to be present....she goes through several titles for her work, etc. but the title of the book "Barcelona Calling" is not one of them....I wasn't sure if this would work for the combo points...if it will, great!
Thanks, Rebekah!