Reading with Style discussion
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Summer 2012 Rws Completed Tasks
10.4 - Hot Summer NightsThe Time Machine by H.G. Wells
+10 task (#10 on list of Top 100 Steampunk)
+15 Combo 10.7 -died 1946, male, born in UK;
20.8 - Serially "The story was first published in serial form in the January to May numbers of William Ernest Henley's new venture New Review." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_time...
20.9 Fatherly - father of G.P. Wells, co-author of The Science of Life; "The Science of Life is nine books in three volumes written by Julian Huxley and G. P. Wells, edited by H. G. Wells and published by The Waverley Publishing Company Ltd[1] in 1929-30, describing all major aspects of biology as known in the 1920s." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._P._Wells and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scie...
+10 Oldies (published 1895)
Task total=35
Grand total=255
Task 20.5 Making History - took place between the 10's-20'sIn Joy Still Felt: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov, 1954-1978 (1980) by Isaac Asimov (Hardcover, 828 pages)
Born: January 02, 1920 in Petrovichi, Belarus
+ 20 Task
+ 05 Style: 1. Combo (5 points): 10.2 Underrated
+10 Style: 3. Not-a-Novel (10 points): Non-fiction
+ 05 Style: 4. Oldies - 25 to 75 years old: 5 points (1937-1987)
+15 Style: 5. Jumbo (5 to 25 points): -800 Pages: 15 Points
Task Total: 20 + 05 + 10 + 05 + 15 = 55
Grand Total: 215 + 55 = 270
Review: Isaac Asimov kept a diary for most of his life. He used that diary to write his autobiography. I picked Volume II of his autobiography, which begins in 1954, because (1) it covered most of his writing career; and, (2) I wanted to read how the changes in America during the 1960’s and 1970’s affected him. He has a straightforward style, very easy to follow. He’s also careful to include anecdotes that show his flaws as well as his virtues. There was a surprising amount on the mechanics of how he got his books published (and paid for!). Amusing to read about carbon copies, IBM selectric typewriters, and looking for a pay phone when he was stuck in traffic and wanted to call home (cell phones didn’t exist then.) Recommended for those interested in “Golden Age” science fiction and for those interested in American life 1954-1978. If your reaction is: “Who is Isaac Asimov? I’ve never heard of him!” then this autobiography probably isn’t for you.
TDoS15.2 Second Book
Rated 5 stars by Anika and Don
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
+20 Task
Post Total:20
Season Total: 470
20.2 - Scandanavian NoirThe Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly (nominated best Novel Edgar in 2003)
+20 pts - task
+5 pts - Combo (20.6-alliteration)
Task Total - 25 pts
Grand total -
15.4 TDoSCrocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
Rated 5-Stars by Rach & Miss GP
+20 Task
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 300
TDoS15.10 - Animal's People by Indra Sinha
Rated 5-stars by Miss GP
+45 task
+100 Completion bonus
Grand Total: 450 points
congrats on finishing your TDoS Liz!
Liz M wrote: "TDoS15.10 - Animal's People by Indra Sinha
Rated 5-stars by Miss GP
+45 task
+100 Completion bonus
Grand Total: 450 points"
Woo Hoo!!!!
20.8 SeriallyKidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
Lexile 990
+20 Task (first published in the magazine Young Folks from May to July 1886)
+10 Oldies 1862-1936 (pub.1886)
Task total = 30
Grand total = 435
(including 3 x 5 extra combo points for 20.2-B for books by Ed McBain, see messages #253 & #255)
Congrats, Liz15.4 Fourth Book rated 5 stars by Rebekah and Anika
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
My Review
+20 Task
Previous Total: 215
Grand total: 235
10.4 - Hot Summer Nights Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Book is #13 on http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/61...
+10 Task
+ 10 Combo - 10.7 (died 1905, He’s male and French, I’m female and born in NZ), 20.9, he’s the father of Michel Verne who was also writer
+10 Lost in Translation -originally written in French, i'm a native english speaker
+10 Oldies - originally published in 1870
Task Total: 40
20.2 A. Scandinavian Noir
The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbøl - danish author.
+20 task
+10 Lost in Translation(originally in Danish)
Task Total: 30pts
Points this post: 70
Previous Total: 40
Grand total: 110
itpdx wrote: "Congrats, Liz15.4 Fourth Book rated 5 stars by Rebekah and Anika
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
My Review
+20 Task
Previous Total: 215
Grand total: 235
"
I'm glad you liked this one, even if not 5 stars worth. It would be on my all time Top Ten if I were to settle down and actually make such a list.
Eleanor wrote: "10.4 - Hot Summer Nights Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Book is #13 on http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/61...
+10 Task
+ 10 Combo - 10.7 (died 1905..."
+5 Combo 20.8 The introduction to the edition that I am reading says:"Twenty Thousand Leagues first saw daylight as a magazine serial. It emerged in installments between 20 March 1869 and 20 June 1870 in Hetzel's Magasin d'education et de recreation".
10.9 I Scream, You Scream...The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.8)
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 315
10.10 - Group ReadsWhite Noise by Don DeLillo
+10 Task
+5 Oldies (published 1985)
+5 Combo (20.1)
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 95
Tien (aka Kazza) wrote: "Task 20.10 Liz M's task - ModernlyDoctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
My Review
+20 Task
+10 (20.7, 10.7 - died 1960, born in Russia, male)
+10 Lost in Translation
+10 Oldies (pub. 1957)
+5 Jumbo ..."
Sorry, Tien, Published in 1957 only gets 5 points, not 10.
Rebekah wrote: "20.7 Poet's Non-poetryCaptains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling
+20 pts - Task
+15 pts - Combo (10.7-British male d.1936, 20.6-alliteration, 20.8-serially http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captains......"
Rebekah, there is an addition error in this post. I show your previous total to be 260+45=305.
So, I show your new total to be 330 as of post 271.
20.6 AlliterationRevolutionary Road by Richard Yates
+20 Task
+5 Oldies (pub 1961)
20.9 Fatherly
The Stand by Stephen King
+20 Task
+5 Oldies (pub 1978)
+25 Jumbo (1152 pages)
Post Total: 75
Season Total: 570
Kate S wrote: "Rebekah wrote: "20.7 Poet's Non-poetryCaptains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling
+20 pts - Task
+15 pts - Combo (10.7-British male d.1936, 20.6-alliteration, 20.8-serially http://en.wikipedia.org/wik..."
Well thanks! I was just thinking how good I'd been lately with my math!
Rebekah wrote: "20.2 - Scandanavian NoirThe Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly (nominated best Novel Edgar in 2003)
+20 pts - task
+5 pts - Combo (20.6-alliteration)
Task Total - 25 pts
Grand total - 315 355 p..."
Never mind
15.1 TDoSHarry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Rated 5-Stars by Meg and Lisa Sokol
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 150
20.6 AlliterationThe Year of Yes by Maria Dahvana Headley
+20 Task
+10 Not-a-Novel (memoir)
Task Total = 30
Grand Total = 470
15.1 TDoS "Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children" by Ransom RiggsChristine and Butterflycager both gave it 5 stars.
Task: 15
Grand Total: 60
20.4 - Literature MapThe Beginner's Goodbye by Anne Tyler
Using Literature Map of Charles Dickens
+20 task
Grand total=275
RwS Tasks20.2 A. Scandinavian Noir (Fall 2010, 20.9)
A little different from the detective series I've been reading, but very "noir" psychological thriller and debut of a new Scandinavian author:
Drowned by Therese Bohman
+20 Task
+10 Combo: 10.2 Underrated 61 when started / 10.5 Teddy Bear’s Picnic (Hot New Releases)
+10 Lost in Translation
Task Total: 40
20.4 – Literature Map (Fall 2010, 10.2)
Literature Map for Chuck Palahniuk: This turned out to be a great choice! I have lots of authors to get through and I'll probably have many left over.
Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art by Christopher Moore
This one will probably eventually make it onto a dark comedy list, but it isn't yet. I really liked the book, but it wasn't as laugh out loud funny as others by Christopher Moore.
+20 Task
Task Total: 20
Points this Post: 60
Grand Total: 270
20.8 SeriallyGryll Grange by Thomas Love Peacock http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gryll_Gr...
+20 pts - Task
+20 pts - Combo (10.2 - 12 ratings, 10.7 - British, Male, d.1866, 20.6 - alliteration, 20.7 - poet's non-poetry http://www.thomaslovepeacock.net/ )
+15 pts - Oldies (first appeared in Fraser's Mag in 1860)
Task Total - 55 pts
Grand Total -
Jokingly I was going to claim LiT for this book and Captains Coureageous. The latter for all the maritime expressions and to add to the confusion, all the language of the sailors was written in the venacular. While reading Gryll Grange I used the dictionary feature continously on my Kindle. It often did not help as there were so many references to Latin, Greek, Nordic, French and ancient literature. It made me feel so dumb! I later read that the author died following injuries he received from refusing to leave his library of Greek, Latin etc.. texts when it was on fire!
10.2 UnderratedTrackers by Deon Meyer
+10 Task (226 ratings as of today)
+10 Lost in Translation (according to the bio on Goodreads and his website, he writes all his books in Afrikaans and this has then been translated to English)
Task Total: 20 points
Grand Total: 20 points
Katy wrote: "(according to the bio on Goodreads and his website, he writes all his books in Afrikaans and this..."Hey, are you reading a paper copy? Does it credit a translator anywhere?
From his website about Trackers: Beautifully translated from the original Afrikaans by K. L. Seeger, Trackers is a sweeping saga as lush and unforgiving as the African veldt." -I'll add Seeger to the record.
10.2 UnderratedMountain Sisters: From Convent to Community in Appalachia by Helen M. Lewis & Monica Appleby
+10 pts - Task (3 ratings)
+10 pts - Not a Novel
Task total - 20 pts
Grand total -
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "From his website about Trackers: Beautifully translated from the original Afrikaans by K. L. Seeger, Trackers is a sweeping saga as lush and unforgiving as the African veldt." -I'll add Seeger to..."
Thanks, Liz and Elizabeth! I was reading it on my Kindle...
10.2 UnderratedThe Hafez Poems of Gertrude Bell: With the Original Persian on the Facing Page by Hafez
I started reading Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia about Gertrude Bell. In it, there were a few quotes of Hafiz's poetry. I had to have more. As far as Middle Eastern poetry is concerned, I'm sadly ignorant. "To many Persians, Hafiz occupies the place that is filled by Shakespeare in the minds of many Englishmen." Who knew? I quite enjoyed reading his verse and was extremely grateful for Bell's introduction, explaining historical context, ghazal rhyme scheme and structure, and a brief sketch of the poet himself (and amazed at the fact that Gertrude Bell translated these verses and wrote her introduction in her 20s! These translations are still widely regarded as the best available).
+10 Task (27 ratings)
+10 Lost in Translation (originally written in Persian)
+10 Not a Novel (poetry)
+25 Oldies (original pub. date set at 1375)
+5 Combo (10.7; Male, Persian, died in 1389/1390)
Task Total = 60
Grand Total = 530
Task 10.2 Underrated (<250 ratings) 58 ratings on June 22, 2012, which was the day I started reading it.
The Long Earth (2012) by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter (Hardcover, 336 pages)
+ 10 Task Total
Grand Total: 270 + 10 = 280
Review: A jumpy and disjointed science fiction novel, very inventive in terms of science fiction ideas. However ….. sometimes while I was reading I wondered "okay so where is the plot?". Despite Pratchett being one of the co-authors, the humor quotient in this novel was very low. Recommended only for hardcore science fiction fans.
20.9 FatherlyTravels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck
+ 20 Task (father of John Steinbeck IV)
1010 lexile
+ 5 Oldies (pub 1962)
+ 10 Lost in Translation (I read the German translation Die Reise mit Charley from our local library)
+ 15 Combo (10.3: dewey classification is 917, 20.8: http://www.biemiller.com/steinhol.htm, 20.10: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernis...)
+ 10 Not-a-Novel
Task Total: 60
Grand Total: 200
20.6 AlliterationThe Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
+ 20 Task
+ 15 Oldies (pub 1859)
+ 5 Jumbo (672 pages)
+ 15 Combo (10.7: Collins was born in England, I in Germany; 20.3: story is told through letters, diary entries and reports; 20.8: according to wikipedia entry serialized in 1859–1860)
Task Total: 55
Grand Total: 255
20.8 SeriallyThe Dark Tower, Volume 1: The Gunslinger Born by Robin Furth
At first I was very into this. I read each of the Dark Tower novels as they came out, and was eager to fill in the gaps of the story. However, knowing how it all ends made this rather depressing, and ruins the narrative tension.
Most impostantly though, I did not care for the art. It's got an overly digitally-polished quality that really does not work for the subject. Of course I'm biased because I much prefered Dave McKean's work in Wizard and Glass.
+20 Task (Contains issues 1-7 of the Dark Tower graphic novels)
Task Total:
Grand Total:
Corrected to remove style points
Ten Degrees of Separation15.5 - 5th book
5 stars by Jayme (the ghost reader) and Marianne
Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich
+30 task
15.6 - 6th book
5 stars by Marianne and Lisa Sokol
Four to Score by Janet Evanovich
+30 task
Grand total = 495
15.2 2nd Book – 5 stars by Steven and Bossy SpiceFlowers for Algernon (1959) by Daniel Keyes
YA with a Lexile Score 910L
+ 20 Task
Grand Total: 280 + 20 = 300
Review: Wow, 5*! Flowers for Algernon is a science fiction novel which is very accessible to people who don’t ordinarily read science fiction. The novel is told as a series of journal entries made by a man, aged 30ish, who is the test subject of a medical intervention. The man was born “mentally retarded” (1950s language); he undergoes a surgery which allows his IQ to progress from 70 to over 200. This novel was also made into a movie “Charley”. Amazing novel -- no wonder so many ReadingWithStyle members have it ranked 5*.
20.8 SeriallyFramley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope
+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.5, 10.7 - Englishman died 1882)
+15 Oldie (pub 1861)
Task Total = 45
Grand Total = 235
my review
20.4 - Literature Map, Honoré De BalzacBleak House by Charles Dickens
Task: 20
Combo: +15 (10.7, 20.8 - Serially, 20.9 - Fatherly)
Jumbo: +25 (1017 pgs.)
Oldies: +15 (pub 1853)
Task total: 75
Grand Total: 525 points
I am not much of a Dickens fan. I do find some moments in his writing beautiful and poetic, but those moments are buried under far too many mundane descriptions. I suspect Bleak House is one of his better works (amongst the long novels), but what others would call well-crafted, I believe is contrived. Others may praise his skill at tying-up all the loose ends, but I consider it to be too-tidy, a kind of hospital-like sterileness. And the end of Esther's story, or rather the means of procuring it, made me quite irate. Irate enough to knock off a star.
20.7 A Poet's Non-PoetrySaint Joan of the Stockyards by Bertolt Brecht
The German wikipedia article about Brecht lists 23 books of poetry by Brecht: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertolt_... .
(It was originally published in German I read it in German, so no LiT style-points.)
+ 20 Task
+ 10 Oldies (pub. 1931)
+ 5 Combo (10.2: 127 ratings)
+ 10 Not-a-Novel (play)
Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 300
Ann wrote: "20.8 SeriallyThe Dark Tower, Volume 1: The Gunslinger Born by Robin Furth
+20 Task (Contains issues 1-7 of the Dark Tower graphic novels)
Task Total:
Ann, good to see you participating again. Starting this season, we have made a few changes to the rules, based on questions that came up in the past few challenges. They are explained in the FAQ thread.
One of the changes is that Graphic Novels, while allowed for task points, cannot earn style points.
20.8 - Kate S's task - SeriallyResurrection by Leo Tolstoy
+20 Task
Combo + 5 (10.7 - Rosemary's Task - The Past is a Foreign Country)
+10 Lost in Translation
+10 Oldies
+5 Jumbo
Total Task Points: 50
Grand Total: 50
20.6 AlliterationThe Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
+20 pts - Task
+15 pts - Combo (10.7- British, Male, d.1870, 20.8 - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12... 20.9 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_...)
+15 - Oldies (1837)
+15 - Jumbo (801 pgs)
Task Total - 65 pts
Grand total -
I loved this book! Even though it was long, I was laughing the whole time!
10.8 Pick a PulitzerSwamplandia! by Karen Russell
This was one of the nominated books.
My review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
+10 Task
Task total = 10
Grand total = 505
Karen GHHS wrote: "RwS Tasks20.2 A. Scandinavian Noir (Fall 2010, 20.9)
Drowned by Therese Bohman
Task Total: 40
20.4 – Literature Map (Fall 2010, 10.2)
Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art by Christopher Moore
Task Total: 20
Points this Post: 60
Grand Total: 270
..."
Your previous total, in post 258 was 230. I have your total as 290 points as of post 300.
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
The Power and the Glory (other topics)Elephants Can Remember (other topics)
Cat Among the Pigeons (other topics)
The Mystery of the Blue Train (other topics)
The Hungry Stones and Other Stories (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Rabindranath Tagore (other topics)John Steinbeck (other topics)
Patrick deWitt (other topics)
Mary Stewart (other topics)
Frank Herbert (other topics)
More...
Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power by Rachel Maddow
My Review
+10 Task
+10 Not-a-novel (nonfiction)
Task Total: 20
+5 Additional points (jumbo 512 pages) for The Color of War: How One Battle Broke Japan and Another Changed America see post 252 (my book didn't have that many pages and I never thought to check)
Previous total: 190
Grand total: 215