Anika’s
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(group member since Dec 25, 2011)
Anika’s
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from the Reading with Style group.
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Yay, Elizabeth! How wonderful for you :-) Congrats on the new addition to the family <3
20.5 The Queen's NecklaceAccordion Crimes by Annie Proulx
This book documents the life of a simple green button accordion.
It was made in Sicily in the 1800s and made its way to the U.S. when its owner emigrated. (view spoiler)
The accordion continues its journey around the U.S., making its way to Maine, Chicago, Montana, and Mississippi, where it meets its demise.
I love how the accordion is the perfect instrument to slide in and out of these different immigrant populations: Italian, German, French-Canadian, Polish, Mexican, Creole...I can conjure in my mind exactly the style of music unique to each of these groups that could only be played by an accordion. I love how she uses it to highlight the immigrant story.
It almost seems like the accordion becomes a curse to each person who possesses it, but I think that it has to be that way to keep the story progressing. It may sound like a depressing book from the spoilers; rather, it shows the full spectrum of life: the joy and despair, the triumph and sorrow.
Proulx's writing is incredibly descriptive, the characters she creates are so real it seems she's describing actual acquaintances, and I adore how she injects humor into even the grimmest circumstances. I quite enjoyed this.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo (20.3: won Pulitzer in 1994 for The Shipping News; 20.4: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...)
Task total: 40
Season total: 700
Congrats, Katy! Such exciting news!
20.10 My Comfort ZoneLord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories by Oscar Wilde
I love Oscar Wilde something fierce...he has been at the top of my favorites list since high school. I haven't revisited his stories in quite a while and this was a fun reminder of his sharp wit and wicked humor. The collection I had included "Lord Arthur Savile's Crime" (his crime being a murder which he is told he will commit by someone who read his palm--so he sets out to commit a murder so he can be done with it and get on with his life. It is laugh-out-loud funny and quite cinematic...his skills as a playwright are on full display in this story), "The Canterville Ghost" (the funniest ghost story you will ever read! I was listening to it while cooking dinner and my husband heard it from the front room and couldn't stop laughing...the ghost is absolutely scandalized by and terrified of the American family who has moved into his haunt), "The Sphinx Without a Secret," and "The Model Millionaire" (which were fine, but not nearly as good as the first two--probably because they were considerably shorter). The collection also contained "The Nightingale and the Rose," "The Remarkable Rocket," "The Happy Prince," and "The Devoted Friend." All of these are considered fairy tales, but I find them to be so much more. His writing is exquisite and his capacity to understand and convey love, sacrifice, waste, selfishness, and foolishness is unparalleled. 5*
+20 Task (pub. 1891, author born in Ireland)
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-novel (short stories)
+5 Combo (20.8)
+10 Oldies
Task total: 55
Season total: 660
15.1 RtDFeast: True Love in and out of the Kitchen by Hannah Howard, 2018
Task total: 15
Season total: 605
20.8 Silent SpringAlcestis by Euripides
Admetus, king of Thessaly, knows he will die soon. Luckily (?) for him, Apollo is his "friend" (he had been banished from Olympus to serve in a house on Earth for a year--Admetus's house had the honor of being his host). Apollo gets the Fates rip-roaring drunk and procures a favor from them: Admetus won't die if he can find someone to take his place--a life for a life.
Admetus asks his parents if one of them will give their life for his. I mean, come on, they're old and what parent wouldn't make that trade? Apparently: his parents, that's who. Finally, his wife, Alcestis, says she will die in his place.
As the house is in mourning, Hercules comes to town to seek shelter and rest after completing one of his Labors. Admetus acts as if it is merely a minor person from his household who has died and prepares to feast and entertain Hercules. Later, the hero finds out who has really passed away and decides to snatch her back from the underworld.
This play is strange on so many levels, I don't know where to begin. The whole parental situation; the fact that Admetus would let his wife take his place rather than manning up and accepting his own fate; Apollo giving this "boon" which seems more like something up Hermes's alley (the trickster-god aspect, as the boon seems like a good thing but is rather an agent of chaos); Admetus throwing a party and acting like it's not his wife that has just died...yes, it was odd to say the least, but a thought-provoking premise and I quite enjoyed the ride.
+20 Task (a play, written pre-1962)
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-novel
+25 Oldies (written -438)
+10 Combo (10.6, 20.7--about the King and Queen of Thessaly)
Task total: 75
Season total: 590
10.5 Green StoneThree Minutes to Doomsday: An Agent, a Traitor, and the Worst Espionage Breach in U.S. History by Joe Navarro
Joe Navarro was an FBI agent assigned to assist on a routine interview: Rod Ramsay was acquainted with another soldier who had recently been arrested in Germany for espionage and they were sent to glean any additional information Rod might have for them. Joe notices Ramsay's cigarette slightly tremble every time a certain subject is raised. This one, tiny foible is grounds for Navarro to make continued interrogatory contact with Ramsay.
As the story continues, we find out that Ramsay has a photographic memory and the second highest ever recorded IQ in the military--and has been selling extremely sensitive secrets. More and more, the interviews feel like a high-stakes chess game and the winner holds the key to American security.
The fact that this is *real* is terrifying.
The way it is written...well, it's readable, but DAMN I do not like Agent Navarro. He's a jerk. The way he degrades people for doing their jobs in a conscientious manner--calling them out in an utterly juvenile fashion--yet expects everyone to give him a break because he's just trying to do his job...the hypocrisy is not lost on me. He was an absent father, a wretched husband, a self-centered partner, and an all-around douchebag. Thank you, Agent Navarro, for doing a great job protecting America--but, really, you don't need my thanks, as this entire book was a giant pat on your own back. 2.5*, and only because the history/material itself was fascinating.
+10 Task (295 ratings)
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-novel
Task total: 30
Season total: 515
10.5 Green StoneDeath Coming Up the Hill by Chris Crowe
This book was written in verse (haiku, to be precise), with one syllable for each American soldier who died in Vietnam in the year of 1968 (so: 16,592 syllables/boys killed).
So, yeah, in case you didn't guess from that: this book is set in 1968 and deals with war--and not just the War.
Ashe is 17. His parents love him a lot--but love each other not at all. His home life is its own sort of war. His girlfriend's brother is a soldier and they haven't heard from him in a while. College is looming, but that is only a four year deferment...
This is told by a thoughtful, insightful teenager--a kid who not only contends with the usual awakenings which happen at this age, but also with the very real possibility of being sent to a jungle with a gun in the near future.
In the "Historical Note" at the end of the book, there is a link to a Life magazine article entitled "One Week's Dead." In addition to the photos and names of every soldier who died that week, it contains a letter from a soldier written shortly before he died--which Crowe uses as the last two stanzas of his book.
While this book is short in reading time (it took me about 45 minutes to complete), it is long in memory.
I HIGHLY recommend this one. To everyone.
+10 Task (931 ratings)
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-novel
+ 5 Combo (10.7)
Task total: 35
Season total: 485
10.6 JustineCirce by Madeline Miller
If you enjoyed The Song of Achilles, you're in for a treat!
This re-telling of the story of Circe was beautiful. I love Greek mythology but was only glancingly familiar with Circe and her story. This not only fleshed out the connections to the other stories we're all more familiar with (view spoiler), it was done in such a poetic, beautiful way that you don't realize you're being REtold a story. I never wanted it to end. I could read Miller's writing every day for years...I wish she had more out. If her future efforts hold up to this standard, she's well on her way to making my top ten favorite authors ever. She can take a goddess and make her relatable, humanize her, even make you feel empathy and compassion. She explains the inexplicable actions of the gods in such a way that it makes absolute sense.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task total: 20
Season total: 450
Oedipus the King is on the list....I just want to make sure the MPE qualifies as being long enough. When you search for the title, the first book to pop up is a compendium of three of Sophocles’s plays, which I’m not reading; the second title listed is only a study guide; the third title listed—the individual play itself—is 104 pages. I just want the green light to avoid the embarrassment of posting it just to find out it’s not acceptable for the task ;-)
I’ve finished reading Death Coming Up the Hill which currently has 928 ratings but don’t have time to post it with a review—can i lock it in now i’m case the total rises before i have a chance to post?
10.3 SeriesStarted Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson
This is the first book I've read by Kate Atkinson...in fact, it wasn't until I rated the book that I realized it was part of a series.
I love the characters! I specifically love that there are two law-abiding, upstanding figures (both former police officers) who find themselves taking possession of individuals in peril (Tracy finds herself taking over custody of a little girl; Jackson finds himself taking a dog who was being abused) under questionably-lawful circumstances. The characters were realistic and intelligent, funny and flawed. The situations they found themselves in were believable (even if they were a little outlandish--but that's what makes fiction so great, no?). I cannot wait to read more in this series!
+10 Task (#4 in the Jackson Brodie series)
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.9: shelved 673 times as "Mystery" and 32 times as "Contemporary"; 20.4 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... 20.6: AtkiNsoN)
Task total: 35
Season total: 430
20.4 Night WatchBorn to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall
This book only took me two months to read...it would lead one to believe that it was a slog, impossible to read, that I didn't like it but forced myself to finish it.
You would be mistaken! I loved this one! On the surface, it's a look at a hidden tribe in the Copper Canyons of Mexico, the Tarahumara, and their insane ability to run incredible distances quite quickly.
As with all the best non-fiction, it isn't solely about this topic: it incorporates physiological science, historical examples of great runners, profiles of some of the great ultra-distance runners on the scene now, and a rip-roaring story of an unprecedented (and unseen by anyone but the remote natives and the runners themselves) race...it's not just about one thing and I love that in my non-fiction. The style of writing was infinitely readable and I loved all of the characters I "met"--I would love to be friends with any one of the people with whom he ran. I took my time reading this because every time I sat down to read it, I found inspiration to get up and get running again. If you're interested in running or lost tribes or just looking for a true story that'll get your heart racing, I highly recommend this!
+20 Task (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...)
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-novel
Task total: 40
Season total: 395
20.7 The Red QueenKatherine by Anya Seton
This book read so much like a soap opera it makes me wonder how much of it is based on actual incident as opposed to historical conjecture--but, much as a soap opera, it's hard to pull your eyes away and you're dying to know what happens next!
It is set in the 14th Century, an era about which I know very little. Katherine, the orphaned daughter of a man who was knighted on the battlefield shortly before dying (i.e.: not exactly established in the gentry), was raised in a nunnery and at the age of fourteen is sent for by her elder sister (who works directly for the queen). She is, as in all fairy tales, stunningly beautiful and doesn't quite understand that fact. She finds herself engaged to a knight whom she does not want to marry (for crying out loud, she's only fourteen!), but the desires of a teenage girl matter exactly zilch at this point in history. The marriage happens and she returns with him to his crumbling estate. Before the marriage, though, she meets the dashing (happily married) Duke of Lancaster. Of course, the Duke is struck by her grace and beauty. After the death of his own wife, he knows that Katherine is the one, her husband be damned.
This book takes us on a ride from Snow White (fixing up the crumbling estate and a virtual poisoned apple) to Rapunzel (pilgrimage in the wild to "atone" for her perceived sins), Katherine is most certainly a fairy tale princess--though this fairy tale is apparently true.
I enjoyed (but didn't LOVE) it.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+5 Jumbo (500 pages)
+5 Oldies (first pub. 1954)
+15 Combo (10.6; 20.4 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1..., 20.9)
Task total: 55
Season total: 355
Hi! Before I get to posting my books for this month, could I please switch The Book of Mirrors by E.O. Chirovici (which I currently have as filling the 20.6 task) to 10.7? I also need to move Allegiant by Veronica Roth from 10.3 to 20.9.
Since I've moving a 10 point task to a 20 point and also changing a 20 point to a 10 point, it won't effect my grand total (though my grand total is currently showing 305 on the official reader board, but my records show I'm at 310--I think the +5 noted in post148 may not have been factored in my official total).
10.2 RavioliLavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin
I only vaguely remember having read The Aeneid back in my college days and certainly don't remember the story of Lavinia being in it. Apparently, despite the fact that she was Aeneas's third and final wife and with whom he establishes an empire, she doesn't speak a word and is only minimally mentioned.
This book gives Lavinia her voice.
I loved the rich writing, the clear and strong characters, but mostly the story construct. Time is never quite linear, bouncing back and forth between past, present, and future (I'd noticed that it was tagged as "Historical Fiction/Sci Fi/Social Science" in my library's audio book and was a little confused how "Sci Fi" fit in there--I think it was referring to the twisted timeline). She meets the "wraith" of Virgil, a man on his deathbed who, in his own era, is struggling to finish writing his last and finest historical epic. He apologizes to her that he has misrepresented her, that he'd imagined her so much differently. He tells her the history that he has penned--her future that she is yet to live.
I love that this strong, powerful, devoted woman has finally been given the voice she was denied by the first writer of her story.
+10 Task (set in ancient Italy)
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.6; 20.4; 20.7--she was daughter, husband, and mother to kings, a queen in her own right)
Task total: 35
Season total: 310
10.3 SeriesAllegiant by Veronica Roth (830 Lexile)
I bought this book the week it came out (back in 2013). I knew I was heading to work and didn't want to haul that massive book with me, so I lent it to my sister--she, her husband, and two of her three daughters read it before I ended up getting it back. By then, I was several books deep into my TBR and this book just kept getting shoved to the back of the pile.
Flash forward five years and I've finally gotten around to reading it. It was a giant "meh." I loved the first books and was so intrigued by the world Roth had created, I couldn't wait to see how it unfolded. Having waited so long, though, I constantly felt like I was playing catch-up: trying to remember characters and their relationships, trying to piece together the drama that had been lain in Insurgent, trying to feel anything for the characters and their plight. I failed--and that is entirely on me. If I had gone back and read the first two books, I'm sure I would have like this so much better!
I will say that I appreciated that the ending felt more authentic than I was expecting. Dystopian genre aside, if it's YA I'm anticipating a "happily ever after." I was pleased that this was not the case. It would have been disingenuous. 3.5*
+10 Task (Book 3 of the Divergent series)
+10 Review
+10 Combo (20.4 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... ; 20.9, 526 pages)
+5 Jumbo (526 pages)
Task total: 35
Season total: 275
20.6 Dead SoulsThe Little Book of Feminist Saints by Julia Pierpont
I loved the format of this book: "The idea came from the Catholic saint-of-the-day book, the kind one might read as a source of daily inspiration throughout the calendar year." I wish that there had been a full complement of "matron saints" to fill the entire year; there are only 99 women included (leaving one day for you to fill in with your own personal "matron saint") and I was left hungry for more. On each "feast day" assigned to the women (whether that date be their birthday, the day they did something notable, a holiday date that corresponds to their essence, etc.), you are treated to a brief history or anecdote to get you to the essence of what made them notable. In addition to well-known scientists/athletes/performers/writers/politicians/activists, I met so many inspiring ladies whom I never knew existed! I can't wait to read more about the "Night Witches"--the pilots of the all-female 588th Night Bomber Regiment of the Soviet Air Force whose rickety crop dusters made of plywood and canvas sounded like broomsticks knocking together, thus the nickname given to them by the Germans: "Nachthexen". They dropped more than 23,000 tons of bombs on Nazi invaders from planes that were so old, they couldn't bear the added weight of parachutes, radios, or radar. And Mary Edwards Walker, surgeon during the Civil War and the only woman to this day to have received the Medal of Honor for her service. And the list could go on and on, but I'll just let you read it for yourselves ;-) 5*
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-Novel
+10 Combo (10.5--94 ratings, just came out at the beginning of this month!; 20.2)
Task total: 50
Season total: 240
Wondering if Katherine would work...I think it might, based on the Goodreads blurb, but want to make sure before I decided to jump into this one!
20.2 The Blazing WorldHunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein
You may know Carrie Brownstein from her role on "Portlandia" or from her years in the band Sleater-Kinney. Or, like me, you may not know her at all (I've only seen one episode of "Portlandia" and didn't have any idea who she was and I missed the whole Sleater-Kinney bandwagon--I was living in Europe when they hit it big and by the time I was back in the U.S., my musical tastes had passed the punk/grunge/riot grrrl stage). I have friends who'd read and recommended this one and I've been in the mood for memoir and it was available at my library: the trifecta which creates the perfect storm for My Next Book. Speaking of trifectas--this girl could not describe ANYTHING without giving it three modifiers...most of which were just a list of three synonyms. Irksome. And towards the end of the book, EVERYTHING was "quotidian." :-/ Grrr.
While it was interesting to get a behind-the-scenes look at being in an "it" band of the '90s, as a narrative it was unfulfilling. She started with talking about her family life when she was young, but only glancingly. Fine. I get it. You don't want to divulge, keep some things private. I, as a reader, want to read a book that isn't choppy, disjointed, and meandering. I did not get that.
The rest of the book talks about the evolution of the band: their feminist leaning, the creative process of the songs and albums, life on the road, the health problems she suffered while touring.
While her writing style was often overwrought and several topics she began felt underdeveloped and jerky, it was an interesting look inside the head of an extremely creative, passionate young woman. 3*
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-Novel
+5 Combo (20.6)
Task total: 45
Season total: 190
