Reading with Style discussion
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Spring 2012 Reading w/Style Completed Tasks
20.7 internationally acclaimed bookHamlet by William Shakespeare
+ 20 task
+ 15 combo (20.1 banned 1978 in Ehtiopia, 20.3 Harvard #88, 20.4 made into movie)
+ 10 not-a-novel
+ 10 canon
Task total = 55 points
Grand total = 55 points
AtW Circumnavigator15.3 (3rd Itinterary Stop) Australia (E 149 07)
Outback Heart by Joanne van Os
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
Task Total = 25
Grand Total = 65
my review
10.2 Space OutThe Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Review:
I was not even half way through the first chapter and I just felt in my bones that this was going to be a fantastic novel. At first it was because of the authors vocabulary, I loved it. As I continued and it was revealed that there was an Envoy (representative of a human being much like ourselves) visiting a planet of humans that are genderless except during their kemmer (a period of estrus that occurs once a month). During this time they can take on being the male or the female. The concept fascinated me, and I was all, “ooohhhh, where is the author going to take this?!”
It’s a study in cultural anthropology, fictitious cultural anthropology is a better word for it perhaps. At least, that was my initial take on it. The book is the story of the Envoy’s time on this planet (interjected with inserts from a native’s journal and traditional stories or myths of the planets people). One of the most interesting facets is that these two main characters interactions are completely misinterpreted by the other because of their cultural and physical differences. The Envoy is male and for the people on this planet he is considered a “Pervert” because to them he is perpetually in kemmer and he finds it difficult to communicate with people without trying to identify them with male or female traits.
That’s really the beginning and then it turns into this epic political intrigue and then to unjust imprisonment and then an epic journey (in the snow of course). Culminating into a story of true friendship.
Task +10
Combo +5 (20.3)
Canon +10
Review +10
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 195
Kelly wrote: "10.2 Space OutThe Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Review:
I was not even half way through the first chapter and I just felt in my bones that this was going..."
This takes place in another planet, but does it involve space travel ?
Connie wrote: "Anika wrote: "10.5 Rooting for the Bad GuyThe Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
+10 Task (Sam Spade on Wikipedia list of fictional antiheroes; #70 on Goodreads Best A..."
+ 5 Combo for being published in the 20s (1929), for 20.5 Shakespeare and Co
This book was originally published in 1930, which is what the goodreads database said when I did the data entry for this book. I've changed the publish year back to 1930, & we'll see if it sticks.
Kazza wrote: "20.4 In Honor of El Ateneo Bookstore - Book to movieLittle Dorrit by Charles Dickens
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Cannon
+20 Jumbo (985 pages)
Task Total = 60 points..."
+5 combo 10.3 - Girls Names
Amy W wrote: "Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë+10 Task
+20 Combo (20.3 Harvard; 20.4 El Ateneo – multiple movies;
+10 Canon
+5 Jumbo (608 pages)
Task Total =
I have the task totalfor this book as 40 points: It does not qualify for combo points for 20.6 as St. John Rivers is not the main character of Jane Eyre.
10.6 The Music of the SoulThe Mersey Sound by Adrian Henri, Roger McGough and Brian Patten
Review:
These poems are very much products of their time and place (Liverpool in the 1960s). The cultural references and especially the attitudes to women seem very dated. They are almost like little boys telling dirty jokes at times. It's all fish and chips, zebra crossings, Woodbines, suspender belts, eyeing up schoolgirls and having sex in rented rooms. They are quite evocative, but not in a way that gives me any wish to time-travel to that era.
Roger McGough was the only one I had heard of before reading this, but I liked Adrian Henri's poems best. Brian Patten’s are less time-bound than the others and would probably be the easiest for young people today to read.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not a Novel
Task total = 30
Grand total = 250
AtW - Circumnavigator15.1 - 1st Stop: (E 174 46) New Zealand
Faces In The Water by Janet Frame
+15 Task
15.2 - 2nd Stop: (E 149 07) Australia
The Commandant by Jessica Anderson
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
15.3 - 3rd Stop: (E 077 12) India
Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
Grand Total: 120 points
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Kelly wrote: "10.2 Space OutThe Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Review:
I was not even half way through the first chapter and I just felt in my bones that ..."
I considered it space travel because he had traveled from another planet and there is a space ship that lands on the planet. It is not the main focus though, the main focus is alien contact. If not, I can use it for 20.3.
Kelly, if it includes the space ship landing, that sounds as if it fits! None of the descriptions I found included that tidbit, so had to ask.
Liz M wrote: This book was originally published in 1930, which is what the goodreads database said when I did the data entry for this book. I've changed the publish year back to 1930, & we'll see if it sticks. Oh, sorry, Goodreads had it at 1929. Thanks for the editing!
10.10 Group ReadsAngels in America, Part 1: Millennium Approaches by Tony Kushner
+10 Task
+20 Combo: 10.7 Reading is Awarding (Pulitzer/Drama 1993) / 20.1 Tattered Cover http://broadwayworld.com/board/readmessa... / 20.4 El Ateneo(HBO 2003)/ 20.9 It's Epidemic
+10 Canon
+10 Not a Novel
20.5 Shakespeare Co.
A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
+20 Task (first published 1950)
+10 Combo (10.3-Alice; 20.4-1956 film)
20.6 Selexyz Bookstore
The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh
+20 Task (Dewey Call Number 294.3)
+10 Not-a-Novel (non-fiction)
Post Total: 100
Season Total: 325
ETA: combo points for A Town Like Alice
10.10 Group Reads - Kelli's ChoiceDivergent by Veronica Roth
I loved this book. I couldn't put it down. Though I don't normally like dystopian novels I really felt like this story added something new to the idea. This book is about a young girl who lives in a world where people are divided into factions based on their dominant personality traits. There are five factions and at the age of 16 members of the society are put through a test to see what their predominant personality trait is. After taking this test they are allowed to chose which faction they want to belong to. If they chose a faction other than the one they were born into they must chose to abandon their family and must then complete initiation into their new faction. As you can imagine the author plays with the ideas of conformity and individuality and what the world would be like if everyone only displayed one personality trait instead of many. The only thing that bothered me about this book was that it didn't keep going, though I now see there is a second book set to be released this year so I am really looking forward to reading the continuation of this imaginative story. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes books that make you think. The fact that it was a YA book never crossed my mind as I was reading it and so I think more mature readers will also enjoy this story.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 40
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Karen GHHS wrote: "Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird by Vivian Vande Velde920 Lexile
When I was in college, I used to watch The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show on TV which was a varie..."
I fixed the link in my post to:
Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird
Do I need to re post the task or will the edit be enough?
RwS Tasks10.6 – The Music of the Soul
Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes
670 Lexile
If you like poetry or think you might, Bronx Masquerade would be a great book to try. It’s a mix: part novel in verse, part poetry, and part prose all put together into a cohesive story. The characters are all teens struggling to connect in their high school, and their Friday Poetry Slams help to bring them to a greater understanding of the different lives they are leading.
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
20.6 In honor of Selexyz Bookstore
Saint Joan by George Bernard Shaw
I haven’t traditionally been a fan of reading plays, but I am starting to convert. When I picked up Saint Joan, I was not expecting the humor and political commentary. I thought I was going to be reading just the play form of Joan of Arc’s life retold by George Bernard Shaw. My ignorance of this great playwright (in fact an ignorance of all but Shakespeare who I do enjoy) led me to avoid something I truly enjoyed reading. I laughed out loud through the opening scenes of the play. Of course, it was not all funny as battle and the inevitable fiery end could not be avoided, but I enjoyed getting to know the spirit, not just the story of Shaw’s Saint Joan. I plan to try more of his plays.
+20 Task
+10 Combo: Girl’s Names / 20.5 Shakespeare and Co (1923)
+10 Review
+10 Canon
+10 Not a Novel
Task Total: 60
20.10 – Liz M’s Task – It’s academic
Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward (an assistant professor of Creative Writing at the University of South Alabama, source: Goodreads)
I like to keep up with award winning books and Salvage the Bones was the National Book Award Winner this year. The writing was intense, excellent and engaging for the first 150 pages of the book. The family is preparing for Hurricane Katrina as they live their lives in the poor community of Bois Sauvage. China, a pit fighter has had puppies and Skeeter is trying to keep her and the puppies alive. The relationship between boy and dog is unbreakable, and dog fighting is the bond among the boys in the community. Esch, the 14 year old sister and voice of the book, has had to grow up motherless and has just realized that she is pregnant and will have to face up to this alone. Her voice is intelligent and heartbreaking as she tries to care for her brothers, her father and herself. The last 100 pages are relentless. The writing brings the story to life with a gripping power that just won’t let go, even beyond the last page. This book will stay with me. I can feel it. In Skeeter’s words, Jesmyn Ward was able to “make them know”. This is a significant book deserving of the award honoring the American experience. This book also won an Alex Award as a best adult book for young adults. Don’t miss it!
+20 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
Points this Post: 100
Grand Total: 545
Karen GHHS wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Karen GHHS wrote: "Tales from the Brothers Grimm and the Sisters Weird by Vivian Vande Velde920 Lexile
When I was in college, I used to watch The Rocky and Bullwinkle S..."
Liz may not have gotten to that post for scorekeeping, but in any case she'll see this. Thanks!
Tobey wrote: "I can't use combo points for task 10.9...."Rebekah wrote: "You know I woke up this morning, thinking "We can't get combo points for that task!" I don't know what i was dreaming to think of that as soon as I awoke but there it is. Sorry 'bout that!..."
Just to clear up any possible confusion (and I have to find a better way to word this in the task descriptions):
When claiming a book for task 10.9, the book can earn combo points. When claiming a book for another RwS task, you cannot get combo points for 10.9.
Clear as mud?
Rebekah wrote: "I just looked back at my post for the book I read in this series and realized I didn't even take the combo points for 10.2 either. May I still have them? ..."Yes, they have been added to your total.
Task 10.3 - Girls’ Names - Read a book with a feminine name in the title.Name: Lucy
St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves (2006) by Karen Russell
Review: This is a collection of ten stories, all written by Karen Russell. She puts bizarre elements in each of her stories. Some call that “magic realism”; I wouldn’t.
There are two stories that are good:
(1) “Ava Wrestles the Alligator”, regarding a family that owns and operates an alligator park in Florida. The story was later expanded by the author into the novel Swamplandia!.
(2) “ St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves”, regarding adolescent girls who have been raised by wolves and are now being taught how to live as humans.
There is one story that is passably good: ”from Children’s Reminiscences of the Westward Migration”, wherein the patriarch of the family is a Minotaur. Literally.
The other 7 stories are equally strange and bizarre but not as clever as those three.
I’d recommend checking this one out from the library, and reading the 2-3 stories mentioned, and then returning it.
+10 Task
+ 10 Style: 2. Review (10 points):
+10 Style: 3. Not-a-Novel (10 points): Short fiction
Task Total: 10 + 10 + 10 = 30
Grand Total: 65 + 30 = 95
Did you miss my post0131 March 13, 2012 @ 09:19 PM (#10.8)
?
That post makes my total 65 not 45 :0)
and then post #0186 makes my total 95
AtW Circumnavigator15.4 (4th Itinerary Stop) United States (W 077 02)
The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
Task total = 25
Grand Total = 90
my review
Deedee wrote: "Did you miss my post0131 March 13, 2012 @ 09:19 PM (#10.8)
?
That post makes my total 65 not 45 :0)"
I did. It is fixed (still only through post 150, so I have you at 65).
20.8 It's AlphbeticAlanna: The First Adventure byTamora Pierce
What a woman!! I’ve read two books about strong women this week. One is a fantasy and one is for real.
Review
Alanna is training to be a knight. Her twin brother is training to be a sorcerer. He is sent to a convent to learn under priests and she is sent to the palace to become a page, training in skills needed in combat. The problem is, Alanna was meant to go to the convent to learn the arts of being a lady and her twin was doomed to be trained at the palace for a knight. Alanna, the physically adept one and something of a tomboy desperately wants to be a knight while her studious but physically clumsy brother wishes only to study magic. Naturally they decide to switch places. This will be more difficult for Alanna for only males can become knights. A la Mulan, Alanna changes her name to Alan, cuts her hair and avoids swimming with the boys. After a few years, destiny catches up with her, making the subterfuge much more difficult , but by then, she is the best in her class and though she is smaller in size than the other pages, she learns to use her brain and rigorous practice to beat those older and larger than she. She is so impressive that the heir to the throne decides he wants her for his squire, especially when her own magicking healing power brings him back from near death during a vicious plague of the Sweating Sickness that attacks the city and the palace. I’ll say no more to keep the suspense but I listened to this as an audiobook with my own 10 yr old boy/girl twins and it is one of the few that kept both of them interested as well as my 22 year old and myself! I gave it 4 stars because I hate endings that leave me hanging until I get the next book. Especially when it involves clamoring children insisting we get part two ASAP!
+20 pts - Task (FiRST)
+10 pts - Combo (10.3-Girl's name, 20.9-epidemic "Sweating Sickness")
+10 pts - Review
Task Total - 40pts
20.4 - Book into Movie
The Prize Winner Of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids On 25 Words Or Less by Terry Ryan
Review
My next wonder woman is a true to life lady named Evelyn Lehman Ryan. Married to an alcoholic husband and with ten children to raise in poverty, Mrs. Ryan uses her talent for words to keep the family going with prize money and gifts. Back in the 40’s – 60’s, contesting was a huge hobby that many housewives engaged in for fun as well as to win. Mrs. Ryan had her own system and all her children were involved, mostly in finding bottle caps or brand labels wherever they could be found so that multiple entries could be made. Not only does this remarkable woman win enough to buy a house, keep the house in appliances, make possible Christmas gifts, pay taxes and allow the family transportation, she is the sole manager of family and home. She makes all repairs, meets all crises, does all the housework and cooking for this large family long before microwaves and dishwashers. When she is hurt and needs to go to the hospital for stitches, the family becomes totally discombobulated so that she must take care of her own first –aid needs and instruct everyone how to clean up before having her husband take her for medical treatment. Her children idolize her but learn to appreciate much more what she sacrificed to be their stay at home mother. A career in writing or journalism seemed to be a large possibility for this valedictorian and typesetter before she met her husband. After questioning her all those years about why she would give up her dream, they learn the reason after her death. Always living on the edge of penury, she was able to be cheerful and optimistic through it all and even had a miracle or two. The book is interspersed with some of the jingles and limericks she came up with during her contesting days and is a treasure as well as a glimpse into life for a housewife in those years between the Depression and walking on the moon.
+20 pts - Task (last page states the author who is also a daughter consulted on the movie version)
+10 pts - Combo (10.9-family (mother), 20.8-alphabetic DEFiance)
+10 pts - Non-Fiction
+10 pts - Review
Task Total - 50 pts
Grand Total - 285 pts
Don wrote: "Task 20.5 Shakespeare and CompanySaint Joan by G. B. Shaw, pub. 1923
+20 20.5 Shakespeare & Co. (pub. 1923)
+15 Combo 10.3 (Girls name-Joan), 20.4 Made into a movie, 20.6 Religious
+10 Not a novel (Play)
+10 Canon
Total 55..."
+5 combo for 10.4 - Classic Kid's Lit
Karen GHHS wrote: "20.6 In honor of Selexyz BookstoreSaint Joan by George Bernard Shaw
+20 Task
+10 Combo: Girl’s Names / 20.5 Shakespeare and Co (1923)
+10 Review
+10 Canon
+10 Not a Novel
Task Total: 60..."
+10 combo for 10.4 - Classic Kid's Lit, 20.4 - Book into movie
Shannon wrote: "20.10 Liz M - It's AcademicExtremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
(Faculty member at NYU)
+20 Task
+ 5 Combo (20.4 - book made into a movie)
Task..."
+5 combo for 20.1 - Tattered Cover (banned books)
Phoebe wrote: "20.7 internationally acclaimed bookHamlet by William Shakespeare
+ 20 task
+ 15 combo (20.1 banned 1978 in Ehtiopia, 20.3 Harvard #88, 20.4 made into movie)
+ 10 not-a-novel
+ 10 canon
Task total = 55 points..."
+5 combo for 10.5 - Anti-hero
Liz M wrote: "Kazza wrote: "20.4 In Honor of El Ateneo Bookstore - Book to movieLittle Dorrit by Charles Dickens
..."
+5 combo 10.3 -..."
Thanks, Liz. I wasn't sure whether to claim this combo or not as whilst 'Little Dorrit' is a nickname for the female main character, 'Dorrit' is actually a last name.
Liz M wrote: "Shannon wrote: "20.10 Liz M - It's AcademicExtremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
(Faculty member at NYU)
+20 Task
+ 5 Combo (20.4 - book made int..."
Thank you Liz M, I didn't realise it had been banned! Can't think WHY? I thought it was awesome!
Liz M wrote: "Phoebe wrote: "20.7 internationally acclaimed bookHamlet by William Shakespeare"
+5 combo for 10.5 - Anti-hero
Thank you Liz! I have overlooked that one.
That would make a Task Total & Grand Total of 60 points for me then. :D
Liz M wrote: "Karen GHHS wrote: "20.6 In honor of Selexyz BookstoreSaint Joan by George Bernard Shaw
+20 Task
+10 Combo: Girl’s Names / 20.5 Shakespeare and Co (1923)
+10 Review
+10 Canon
+10 Not a Novel
Thanks so much, Liz- wow, that was a great one for combo points!
AtW - Circumnavigator Task 15.3 (3rd Itinerary Stop) Cuba (W 082 23 )
Havana Red by Leonardo Padura
This is one of the “Havana Quartet”. I am the kind of person that usually insists on reading a series in order, but I knew this was not the first book in the series. Instead, its the first book that was translated in to English. Since this was the one available at my library, I went with it thinking that it must be able to stand alone or they wouldn’t have published the translation out of order. I had no trouble following the plot, however there was quite a bit of backstory missing that I think would have explained Conde’s relationships with his friends and co-workers. I really wish I’d chose the first book written rather than the first book translated. Next time, I’m listening to my instinct for order.
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
Task Total = 25
grand total=195
Havana Red by Leonardo Padura
This is one of the “Havana Quartet”. I am the kind of person that usually insists on reading a series in order, but I knew this was not the first book in the series. Instead, its the first book that was translated in to English. Since this was the one available at my library, I went with it thinking that it must be able to stand alone or they wouldn’t have published the translation out of order. I had no trouble following the plot, however there was quite a bit of backstory missing that I think would have explained Conde’s relationships with his friends and co-workers. I really wish I’d chose the first book written rather than the first book translated. Next time, I’m listening to my instinct for order.
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
Task Total = 25
grand total=195
20.9 It's EpidemicThe Constant Gardener by John le Carré
This books is about developing a drug to combat an outbreak of an advanced strain of Tuberculosis
+20 Task
+5 Combo [20.5: 2005]
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 60
RwS10.8 It's A Family Affair - Sister: A Novel by Rosamund Lupton
When I picked this book up to read it, I had no expectations for what it would be like other than it satisfied a task for this challenge. I mean, it was on my TBR because I thought the description sounded interesting. I was pleasantly surprised and pleased at how much I did enjoy this one. It was well written, though I found that there was a time during the middle of the story that it did drag a bit but not too much. There were some surprises that left me with an out loud “oh!” but I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who likes thrillers or something along that genre.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total=20
Grand Total=80
Kazza wrote: "Thanks, Liz. I wasn't sure whether to claim this combo or not as whilst 'Little Dorrit' is a nickname for the female main character, 'Dorrit' is actually a last name. "Maybe that's where the girl's are getting their names! One of the finest long-distance racewalkers in the world is a woman named Dorrit Attias.
Don wrote: "AtW--Frequent FlierThese High, Green Hills by Jan Karon
+15 Task 15.6 (6th stop) USA
+10 bonus for 6th-10th countries
Total 25
Grand Total 215"
Don't forget your task number when posting! (You're moving right along with this, too - good job!)
20.9 It's EpidemicWorld War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
This book is written as though it were a collection of interviews with survivors of a zombie epidemic. In this book the zombies are caused by a disease that originates in China and quickly spreads. This book is set in the near future and so it is interesting how the author is able to work current political concerns (such as tension in the middle east) into the flow of the story. I think I would have preferred if this book was written as a regular narrative instead of as an "oral history". I found that the characters were not distinguishable enough and I kept having to flip back and forth as their stories were told in fragments. Overall this book is an essential read if you are a zombie aficionado, otherwise I would skip it.
+20 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 70
AtW - Circumnavigator15.5 5th Itinerary Stop - Asia-Laos E102 36 - The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill
The Coroner's Lunch
+15 task
+10 bonus
Task total: 25
Total points: 115
AtW- Circumnavigator15.3 Africa: South Africa (E 028 11):
Youth by J.M. Coetzee
Review: Coetzee is one of my favourite writers: his prose is a scalpel dissecting false sentiments, and his stance towards his creations is of an icy, scientific compassion.
"Youth" was an short read, about his fictionalized journey to become a poet, struggling with the realities of life as they make his inner conviction slip. Yet, everything he experiences is measured against what he assumes will make a great poet or against the lives of poets he admires, however much that may mislead him. He is haunted by his decisions, unable to maintain a social persona, yet he is convinced that he will become a great poet and a decent human being when he finds the right woman (much like, unfortunately, a lot of people) - though I figure his chances are pretty slim of either of those.
All in all, I found this enjoyable, but I've read better books of his.
Task: 15
Bonus: +10
Task Total: 25
_____________________________________________
20.5 Shakespeare and Co
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
pub 1955
Review: I'm lost at what to say - everything I could say seems falling short of the book. I could say it's dazzling, but that would be ignoring how revolting it is. Or vice versa. I could say it's a masterpiece, but that would be neglecting the vulgarity of the subject. I could say it's a cunning parabel on old-world-views in a new world, about obsession and guilt, yet that leaves aside the reality it conveys. I could say it is humorous, lascivious, learned book, yet that would cast off, how shocking and sad it is.
I will say, however, that a book that continues to be shocking, and continues to be admired in spite of that, surely belongs among world literature, and deserves to be read with an open mind and unprejudiced. Whether you love it (umm, it's hard to love, but some people like challenges), or you hate it, or you love to hate it, you should decide for yourself.
Task: 20
Combo: +30 (10.3 / 10.5 / 20.1 French officials banned it for being “obscene,” as did the United Kingdom… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_boo... / 20.4 / 20.3 / 20.7)
Review: 10
Canon: 10
Task total: 70
Grand total: 135
20.9 It's epidemicI am Legend by Richard Matheson
This classic horror novel was published in the 1950s and set in the 1970s. The book is a vampire story that treats vampires with a quasi-scientific bent. The main character is the last or one of the last living non-vampires. As he stays in his house at night and hunts and kills vampires during the day, he also studies the bacteria/ germs that cause the transformation to vampire. I enjoyed this story more than the 2007 movie version of this. I actually wish the author had made this into a longer book. I would have like more description of the outbreak of the disease that left him alone and more description of the state of there world during his daily trips out to provision himself and keep his house supplied. The ending was excellent.
+20 task
+10 combo (20.4, 20.5)
+10 review
Task total: 40
10.2 Space out
Children of God by Mary Doria Russell
This sequel to The Sparrow is almost like the second half of the same book rather than a separate book. It picks up immediately where the other book ended and assumes complete knowledge of the characters and story. I'd definitely recommend reading them together and don't think this book would be nearly add good as a standalone novel. That said, I didn't like the new characters in this book as much as I liked those in the previous book. The priests in this book (other than Emilio, the main character of both books) seemed relatively interchangeable and underdeveloped. I liked Nico, but found him perhaps too sweet. This book continues the exploration of first contract with an alien planet and uses the relativity effects of time to allow 40 years to pass on the planet without having to age the lead character too much. This book is more violent and angrier than the first one, but it still has a Strand of optimism running under the surface. Recommended to anyone who enjoyed the first book.
+10 task
+10 combo (10.8, 20.6)
+10 review
Task total: 30
Grand total: 175
10.2 Space OutEnder's Game by Orson Scott Card
My husband recommended this book to me as he read it over the Christmas holiday, however I was hesitant to read it as I don't usually enjoy Sci-fi. When I saw the space out challenge I decided to give it a try and boy was I surprised. This book is very psychological, it is set in the future during a war with an alien race called the Buggers. The story revolves around a young boy named Ender Wiggins who is a genius and from the age of 6 is groomed to become the commander of a fleet of spaceships with the goal of destroying the Buggers. This training takes many years and for the most part is conducted at Battle School which is located in the asteroid belt. At this school Ender along with other children participate in mock battles in zero gravity. This story has twists at every turn and is not at all scientifically technical like so many other sci-fi novels. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a plot with many twists and turns.
+10 task
+10 review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 90
10.3 Girl's NamesThe Rise and Fall of Alexandria: Birthplace of the Modern Mind by Justin Pollard
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 70
AtW-Circumnavigator15.3 (3rd Stop) Asia/Afghanistan (E 069 09)
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 350
10.8 It's a Family AffairThe Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
Review:
This is cruelly humorous and often violent, but there is an unreal element to it that I think makes it easier to accept the violence, as in cartoons. The cover helps with that. If there is an award for book covers, this one should definitely win it.
In case you don't already know, Eli and Charlie Sisters are hitmen during the California gold rush. Travelling in search of their latest victim whenever Charlie is not too drunk to ride a horse, they become embroiled in all kinds of side issues. You have to feel sorry for Eli, dominated by his older brother, but even sorrier for his one-eyed horse. As for the minor characters ... be prepared for just about everyone that they meet to come to a sticky end.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task total = 20
Grand total = 270
10.2 Space OutShip of Fools by Richard Paul Russo
This novel takes place primarily on a large spaceship, the Argonos, which has been traveling through space for multiple generations. The group has been traveling for so long, in fact, that no one can remember where they are from or where they are going. The book is narrated by the captain’s advisor, a strange man, hated by most of the ruling class. There is upheaval in the plot when the Argonos encounters a planet with the remains of human inhabitants and a grisly secret. A transmission from this planet leads them to a seemingly dead, empty, and very alien spaceship floating alone in the depths of space. Religion plays a large role in shaping the story, as well, through the conflicts between the captain and the bishop and the relationship between the narrator and a female priest. Ship of Fools was very suspenseful, with a fast moving plot and creepy, though unseen, aliens. I enjoyed it!
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total = 20 points
10.4 It’s Your Birthday
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
I haven’t read this book since I was a child, but once I started, I remembered the main character and the plot very well. It was a very nostalgic read. The story is about a girl who is stranded on an island when her people are leaving on a ship to the mainland. She jumps overboard when she realizes that her young brother has been left behind. He, sadly, dies very soon after the ship leaves and she is left alone on the island. At first, she waits for the ship to return for her, but gradually realizes that it will not return. She hunts, fishes, builds a home, explores the island, and tames a wild dog for a companion. The book is somewhat amazing to me, in that the author manages to write a lovely, engaging story with only one character and one setting.
+10 Task
+5 Combo (Lexile = 1000; 20.4 – Movie made in 1964)
+10 Review
Task Total = 25 points
10.6 The Music of the Soul
Horoscopes for the Dead: Poems by Billy Collins
+10 Task
+5 Combo (20.10 – He is a “Distinguished Professor” at Lehman College of the City University of New York)
+10 Not a Novel
Task Total = 25 points
10.9 Please, Sir, I want some more
Celebrity in Death by J.D. Robb
+10 Task
Task Total = 10 points
Post Total = 80 points
Grand Total = 130 points
edited to remove a combo and correct my points
Task 20.4 Read a Book that has been made into a movie.Doctor Fischer Of Geneva: Or, The Bomb Party (1980) by Graham Greene
Review: A middle-aged man living in Switzerland falls in love with a cute young thing; and, wonders of wonder, miracles of miracles, she falls in love with him. The complication: our hero is a middle class ex-pat from England; she is the daughter of an eccentric, emotionally remote millionaire. The surface story follows the romance; the understory details how the pursuit of riches corrupts the soul. The book was made into a movie in 1985 starring Alan Bates (he’s the actor who played the boyfriend in the 1966 movie Georgy Girl). From the imdb reviews, it sounds like the movie focuses on the last quarter of the book (the part with The Bomb Party) rather than the character building of the first 3/4ths of the book. Recommended for when you’re looking for a quick and interesting read.
Here’s the link to the movie based on this novel:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089049/
+ 20 Task
+ 10 Style: 2. Review (10 points):
Task Total: 20 + 10 = 30
Grand Total: 95 + 30 =125
Amy W wrote: "10.2 Space OutShip of Fools by Richard Paul Russo
+10 Task
+5 Combo (20.6 – The Bishop and Father Veronica are main characters.)
+10 Review
Task Total = 25 points..."
It looks like the main character of this book is Bartolomeo Aguilera. Is the book ever told from the point of view of The Bishop or Father Veronica?
20.3 Harvard BookstoreDealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
I discovered this book for the first time when I was 10 years old and fell in love with the way that Wrede was able to integrate so many aspects of fairy tale into a single story. However I had completely forgotten about it until I saw it on the list of Harvard top sellers. This is the story of a young princess who doesn't like to do typical princess things, she would rather take fencing lessons, and learn to make cherries jubilee. As a solution her parents decide to marry her off to a prince from a neighbouring kingdom. When she finds out she runs away and volunteers to be a dragon's princess. This is a wonderful little book and I would recommend it to anyone who loves fairy tales and doesn't need a challenge to enjoy reading.
+20 Task
+10 Review (830 Lexile)
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 120
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
Hard Times: For These Times (other topics)The Age of Grief (other topics)
The Barn at the End of the World: The Apprenticeship of a Quaker, Buddhist Shepherd (other topics)
BoneMan's Daughters (other topics)
Marie-Blanche (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Charles Dickens (other topics)Jane Smiley (other topics)
Mary Rose O'Reilley (other topics)
Ted Dekker (other topics)
Jim Fergus (other topics)
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David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Review:
One of my favourite Dickenses. This one is right up there with Bleak House, for me. Even though it's long, it doesn't wander like some of his others. The plot justifies the length, following David from birth through the vicissitudes of life to success as an author (it's the closest to an autobiographical novel that Dickens wrote).
There are some wonderful characters including David's aunt Betsey Trotwood; Mr Micawber, forever in debt; Steerforth the older boy whom David worships at school, unwisely; the Yarmouth fisherfolk related to his servant Peggotty; and of course the 'humble' Uriah Heep. Not to be missed if you like Dickens at all.
+20 Task http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026266/
+ 5 Combo (10.4)
+10 Review
+10 Canon
+10 Jumbo 700+ (716 pages)
Task total = 55
Grand total = 220