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Fall 2012 Rws Completed Tasks - Fall 2012
20.8 Veteran AuthorThe Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
Atwood has published books from 1961 to 2012
Review: This is a dystopian story set in some unspecified future time when the corporations have taken over. It centers on a religious sect called the Gardeners. They are vegetarians that grow and glean their own food and believe in reusing and recycling materials. Many no longer have official identification for one reason or another. They believe that a waterless flood is coming that will destroy much of "civilization" and they are trying to learn survival skills and create food caches. This story is intermingled with the story of a few Gardeners and former Gardeners after the flood and how their luck and skills come to bear on their survival as they begin to find each other.
As I look over this summary of the story, I find it very inadequate. Atwood's created world and story telling are much better than mine. This is an excellent book.
+20 Task
+10 Combo 20.7(b), 10.2 Canada
+10 Review
+5 Multiple
Task total: 45
Grand Total:
15.3 - 3rd book - Letter CHappy All the Time by Laurie Colwin (pub 1978) - Know your ABCs
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 290
10.2 OktoberfestThe Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño
Bolano was born in Chile.
+5 Jumbo [577pp.]
+5 Combo [10.8 B]
Points this task: 20
Grand Total: 20
20.6 DraculaOff the Gothic Novels List
The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.6-1741 elected to Parliament; 20.8-published from 1747-1768)
+15 Oldies (first published 1764)
+5 Multiple (second time completing 20.6)
Task Total: 50
Season Total: 385
10.7 MonsterfestBiting Cold by Chloe Neill
Review: This must be a prime time for Urban Fantasy, because a lot of the series I've read have new books out right now.
In the sixth Chicagoland Vampires novel, Chloe Neill is still rebuilding things and tying off plots from the fourth and fifth books. Things are crumbling in Chicago, and Merit and her friends are trying to keep things from imploding, both close to home and city-wide. An old foe in a new body is threatening the city, while politics are threatening Cadogen House.
This volume felt like a transition story - a bridge between the events of the last couple books and some sort of conclusion (not a book on which to start the series). I liked that there were bits and pieces of many things - political, personal, and action - but am hoping for a more concise next installation.
+10 Task (vampires, avenging angels with bat wings, a sorceress with a black magic addiction...)
+5 Multiple
+10 Review
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 315
Marie wrote: "20.6 – DraculaThe Turn of the Screw by Henry James
+20 Task
+20 Combo : 20.7 (the governess and the housekeeper have several conversations), 20.8, 10.7 (ghosts), 10.3
+10 Oldies (1898)
Task tota..."
Unfortunately, this does not qualify for 10.7 as it was not originally published after 2000
Ismaa wrote: "20.6 In honor of Bram StokerThe Woman in Whiteby Wilkie Collins
Review:
The Woman in White apparently set the trend for the Victorian Mystery genre, and was initially printed as a serial. A lot o..."
Ismaa-the most popular edition of The Woman in White has 672 pages, for a +5 Jumbo, instead of +10. Sorry
Don (The Book Guy) wrote: "TASK 20.7 Wome of AchievementThe Writing of Fiction by Edith Wharton, published 1925, 7 letters in her last name, published novels from 1900 to 1938
A short book about how to write by one of the..."
20.7B (author's name) requires 7 letters in the authors first name, not last.
itpdx wrote: "20.8 Veteran AuthorThe Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
Atwood has published books from 1961 to 2012
Review: This is a dystopian story set in some unspecified future time when the corporatio..."
I show a different total for you. 165 (post 196)+ 45 (this post)=210. Thanks
Ismaa wrote: "10.1 Square PegThe Snowmanby Jo Nesbø
Review:
In one word .... Superb!! Jo Nesbo a Norwegian Author is my recent discovery, although I find he has been famous for quite some time (and nobody to..."
The most popular edition of this book has only 384 pages, therfore it does not qualify for jumbo points
15.10 Know Your ABCs 10th Book, Letter J, pub 2010
A Hidden Affair by Pam Jenoff
+45 Task
+200 Doctorate Bonus
Post Total: 245
Season Total: 630
Kate S wrote: "15.10 Know Your ABCs 10th Book, Letter J, pub 2010
A Hidden Affair by Pam Jenoff
+45 Task
+200 Doctorate Bonus
Post Total: 245
Season Total: 630"
Woo Hoo! Congratulations, Kate!
15.1 - 1st book - Letter AIndian Killer by Sherman Alexie -- published 1996
Phenomenal book, by the way. I wasn't sure when I started, but this was one that I couldn't put down.
+15 Task
Grand Total: 130 points
20.4 In Honor of CarmillaLGBT author
The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
+20 Task
+15 Combo (10.3, 10.8C 20.8)
+10 Oldies (first published 1927)
Post Total: 45
Season Total: 675
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Kate S wrote: "15.10 Know Your ABCs 10th Book, Letter J, pub 2010
A Hidden Affair by Pam Jenoff
+45 Task
+200 Doctorate Bonus
Post Total: 245
Season Total: 630"
Woo Hoo! Congratulations, Kate!"
Thanks, Elizabeth!
Congratulations Kate! Wow that was so quick! :)
Congratulations Kate!Task 15.3 - 3rd book - letter Q (1990)
Northern Edge (1990) by Barbara Quick
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 315 + 15 = 330
Review: Barbara Quick’s first novel, loosely based on her summers spent in Alaska. The positives: women doing scientific research (and not just man-hunting); descriptions of Alaska. The negatives: unlikeable heroine (and the story is told solely from her viewpoint); male characters acting in unlikely ways. I don’t recommend this one.
10.5 - ElderlyInsomnia by Stephen King
Review: I’ve been on a bit of a Stephen King bender lately, so I was excited to read one of his “lesser appreciated” works (I know that plenty know of Insomnia, but I don’t place it in the same group as Misery, It, Carrie, The Stand, etc.) All in all, I’m actually not quite sure what to make of the experience. I really loved it at first, and was surprised by the negative critiques I’d heard about it (and surprised that King himself mentioned in On Writing that he didn’t think this novel was very good). However, as the book wore on, I began to like it less. I think I like King more when he’s writing psychological thrillers, even though they always tend to have supernatural elements (with the exception of Misery). With this, however, it started to go a bit too “fantasy” for my tastes, with the Greek mythology influences and the other worlds and whatnot. Overall, I enjoyed it (because I tend to like King no matter what), but I don’t think I’m a fan of the sci-fi/fantasy turn that the novel took, and I’m not sure this leaves me really wanting to read the Dark Tower series. I’d recommend it if you tend to like fantasy/sci-fi more than horror, but if you like King’s typical Shining/Misery type horror novels, it’s probably not up your alley.
+10 Task (It is mentioned several times that the protagonist, Ralph Roberts, is seventy. In fact, all of the main characters are in their 60s and 70s).
+15 Combo (10.8 - Seven letters in "Stephen," 20.6 - Nominated for Best Novel in 1994, 20.8 - King has been publishing for well over 20 years, with his first publication in the early 1970s and his latest publication in 2012)
+10 Review
+5 Jumbo (my copy is 787 pages, but it looks like the most popular edition on Goodreads is the paper back, which is only 663. Please let me know if I can add in an extra 5 points, though!)
Task Total: 40
Grand Total: 235
20.4 CarmillaDress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
Since reading Me Talk Pretty One Day, I've been a huge Sedaris fan. Having subsequently heard him on This American Life several times, it was impossible to read this without hearing the author's voice and inflection in each of his stories, adding exponentially to the wry hilarity he serves up in this group of stories. This is another collection of Sedaris doing what he does best: exploiting stories of his colorful family. I, in equal measure, wish I could meet his family and witness some of the tableaux he describes and am glad that I've never met them for fear of being included in one of these stories. Yes, reading his stories is tinged with a little schadenfreude...but also pure delight at his skillful use of language and his deadpan delivery.
+20 Task (LGBT author)
+10 Review
+10 Combo
-20.3 Essay (814/.54)
-10.8 Lucky 7s (seven word title)
Task Total=40
Grand Total=120
10.10 Group ReadsMadame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution by Michelle Moran
Wow. This was not at all what I was expecting. While I was fascinated to learn what it requires to create a wax sculpture, I was absolutely dumbfounded to realize how completely OFF my understanding of the French Revolution was. It was by turns thrilling to be swept along as Marie meets the most influential people of her era (kings and queens, leading scientists and philosophers, writers and revolutionaries) and terrifying to understand (as best as one can when reading fiction) what a tenuous and precarious situation existed for the populace of France as the Revolution engulfed the nation (the forced atheism; the new calendar; the guillotine-enforced ethnic cleansing to name a few). I liked that Michelle Moran gave us a bit of a love story...otherwise, this tale might have been too heavy to bear. It was quite the experience--thanks for picking if for the group read, nsfancy!
+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (20.7--conversations between Marie and her mother about the revolution; between Marie and Princesse Elisabeth about sculpting)
Task Total=25
Grand Total=160
20.3 Poe's TalesThis Is How You Lose Her by Junot Díaz
I read The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao for the spring challenge...and didn't particularly love it. I loved aspects of it and the voice was original, but the story itself was hard for me to slog through. These short stories, however, sparkle and sing. I like that there are recognizable characters that migrate from story to story, catching them in different stages of life and in mixed-up chronology...like looking through a kaleidoscope which uses the same light and the same colored glass but gives you a different picture with each miniscule shift of the shaft. Though the men in these stories treat the women in an absolutely despicable fashion, as a whole I felt this to be an ode to "Woman" in all her broken, dirty, beautiful, authentic glory.
+20 Task
+10 Review
Task Total=30
Grand Total=190
...and Kate! Congrats on already killing the ABCs! You rock, lady!
Congratulations, Kate! You zipped right through that list;)RwS Task
20.8 - Kate S’ Task – Veteran’s Day, November 11th:
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
+20 Task: Neal Shusterman has published books from 1988 – 2012 Lexile: 740, no style points - 5 stars, though!
Grand Total: 350
10.10 Group ReadsThe Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad
Review:
At the moment I try to read as much book off my shelves as I can and only supplement those with books that are public domain, so I can get them free as audiobook from LibriVox or as ebook. That made The Secret Agent the obvious choice for me when deciding which group read to read. They even had an audiobook of it at LibriVox. When I downloaded that I noticed that this was the first audiobook produced by LibriVox. One also notices this by listening, because there are still some stumbles of the narrators that would have been edited out in a newer production. Still, the overall quality of the production was quite good, considering that it was the first audiobook at LibriVox.
Content-wise I found The Secret Agent one of those average books that I like well enough but where I don't feel the urge to re-read it over and over again.
+ 10 Task
+ 10 Oldies (pub. 1907)
+ 5 Combo (20.8: published between 1895 and 1923, see Wikipedia article)
+ 10 Review
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 335
10.5 Day for the ElderlyBlack Coffee by Agatha Christie
Review:
I was a bit skeptical before reading this book, because Agatha Christie didn't actually write the story as a novel but as a play. The novel only appeared in 1997, written as such by Charles Osborne. However, I have since learned that the dialogue was actually taken from the play (thanks for that info, Rosemary) and I was pleasantly surprised in general by how “Christie” the book sounded. There was no part of the book where I thought that it sounded inappropriate for a Poirot or Christie novel. If I hadn't known beforehand that the book wasn't originally written by Agatha Christie, I probably wouldn't have noticed that from just reading (in my case: listening to) the book.
I listened to the audiobook, narrated by John Moffatt. His narration was good but not extraordinary (I think that he could have done a better job with Poirot's pronounciation, but perhaps I'm just prejudiced by the really good performances I've already heard).
+ 10 Task (main character: Poirot, older than 60)
+ 15 Combo (10.4: "black"; 10.8: published in 1997; 20.8: published between 1920 and the 1970s)
+ 10 Review
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 370
Kate S wrote: "itpdx wrote: "20.8 Veteran AuthorThe Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
Atwood has published books from 1961 to 2012
Review: This is a dystopian story set in some unspecified future time when ..."
Thank you, Kate S. I have to stop trying to post when I am traveling. I inevitably make a mistake.
Congrats, Kate, on the ABC finish!
Ismaa wrote: "10.8 (A)With 7 Words in the TitleThe War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Partsby Louis de Bernières
Review:
Louis de Berniers is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. This book is a satirical tak..."
Unfortunately, this does not qualify for a combo with 20.1. Please see message 35 in the help thread (http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/9...)
Kate with reference to this, (post 197) when I open the link given in "The Task Overview" for 20.1 First Book Award, it open's on the Wikipedia page where the Commonwealth award is listed so I thought it was included. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category...
Am correcting it, but maybe the link should be updated or changed to the one you gave me in your post?
Thanks
10.6 Non Fiction book about an elected officialMandela's Way: Fifteen Lessons on Life, Love, and Courage by Richard Stengel
Review
It’s an interesting read and gives a very good view of Nelson Mandela’s life and times. The author Richard Stengel collaborated on Mandela’s autobiography and now has written this book, which, in a nut shell, is about 15 lessons you can learn from Mandela, his experiences and his wisdom to better live your life.
Fine, the lessons are there and are very inspirational, but for me the most enjoyable part was reading the anecdotes from his life, narrated both by Nelson Mandela himself and those who know him (I have already forgotten what the lessons were!). While I knew a little bit about Mandela from different sources, this particular book gave me insight into what happened to him in his fight towards his vision and how he coped with great difficulties and how he emerged as the icon he is today. Kudos to the author on being a good story teller otherwise this book would only have been on the self-help list.
The only issue I faced was that I kept visualizing Morgan Freeman in Invictus instead of the real Nelson Mandela himself!!!!
+10 Task
+10 Review
+ 5 Combo 10.8 A: 7 Words in title, including unique sub titles
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 315
20.5 In honor of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Lab lit/Realistic Scientist State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
Review:
I loved this book, I hated this book. I loved it for taking me deep into the Amazon jungles with the expected adventure’s and misadventures and I hated it for its unnaturally cold and super quick ending. I also took particular offense at a certain incident towards the end; abandoning one person to save another just did not work for me. But then, that is the author’s prerogative, and different readers will respond differently to the way the story ends. (but this is the reason I did not give it 4 stars)
It is an excellently written book, a bit slow to start but once it does it is hard to put down. The story is engrossing and Ann Patchett takes you not only into the heart of the Amazon but also into the hearts and minds of the characters.
If you like to jump into an Amazonian adventure with eccentric scientists, dedicated bug bitten researchers, enigmatic native tribes, furious writhing anacondas, determined rescuers, exotic bird sightings, flora and fauna galore and an assortment of interesting characters this book is just the thing.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+5 Bechdel Test Marina Singh and Dr. Annik Swenson have many conversations about drug research and other subjects.
+5 10.5 One of the main characters Dr. Swenson is 60+ (she is one of the main characters but not the only one, does it count?)
Task Total 40
Grand Total 355
Know Your ABC’s15.4 4th book - letter D (1990)
Catering to Nobody by Diane Mott Davidson
+20 Task
Grand Total: 65
20.9 - National Author's DayIgnatius Rising: The Life of John Kennedy Toole by Rene Pol Nevils
This biography of the author of the Pulitzer-winning A Confederacy of Dunces was interesting and informative. The two authors were able to interview several of the people who were close to Toole during his short lifetime, and several people who personally knew only his mother, Thelma Toole. This is important, given the dominant role she played in his life and the eventual fate of his book. She is portrayed as quite a colorful character. The authors also had access to many of the documents and memorabilia left by Toole's mother. The first part of the books covers the actual events of his life, from his birth in New Orleans, his education and years spent as a college professor, his time in the U.S. military, and his eventual tragic suicide. The next part of the book covers his mother's relentless, and ultimately successful, efforts to get his manuscript published. The end of the book covers the efforts, still ongoing, to have the book made into a movie. Early on, John Belushi was considering accepting the role of Ignatius Reilly. Sadly, Belushi died just a few days before a scheduled meeting with a producer, Scott Cramer. The book also covers the legal fight over the inheritance rights to Toole's other, quite different book, The Neon Bible. Overall this biography was reasonably well-written. It was interesting how various people who knew Toole sometimes had conflicting memories of details about his personality or events he was part of. This biography would be worthwhile reading for anyone who enjoyed Dunces.
+20 Task
+10 Review
Task total=30
Grand total=305
RwS Task:20.1 – In honor of Mary Shelley’s debut novel Frankenstein:
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
I have wanted to read House of Leaves for a long time. I really enjoy delving into experimental literature and it was certainly that! Stories within stories, extended footnotes and words going sideways and upside down, just like the very frightening house itself. Sometimes all of these distractions got to be a little much, but all in all it drew me in and the intensity of some of the scenes was incredible. I was left with a lot of questions that were unresolved, but I like that. I particularly enjoyed the poems and letters near the end of the book. I think I would benefit from a re-read, but it will be awhile before I want to take on the 709 pages again! Recommended to those who enjoy a really different reading experience!
+20 Task: Stoker First Novel 2000
+ 5 Multiple
+10 Review
+10 Jumbo (709 pages)
Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 395
Thank you all for the congrats! :)RwS
20.8 Veteran Authors
Sphere by Michael Crichton
+20 Task
+5 Multiple
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 700
Task 10.2 OktoberfestSlumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup
(India)
Review: I saw the movie when it was in theaters and I am glad I finally read the book. The format is similar to the movie. A young man has won the top prize on a TV trivia game show. The problem is:How could a waiter who has never read a newspaper or received an education answer all twelve questions correctly? Ram's life story unfolds as a lawyer questions him after he is arrested. I liked the way the author sis this. Going back and forth through time really helped me see what has happened to him throughout his life. It is quite sad. I do not know a lot about Indian geography, but I don't think that was necessary to enjoy the story.
It does have differences from the movie, but I think they both are good in their own right. Because there were differences, I was surprised at the end which is always a good thing!
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total = 20
Grand Total = 145
Kate S wrote: "Marie wrote: "20.6 – DraculaThe Turn of the Screw by Henry James
+20 Task
+20 Combo : 20.7 (the governess and the housekeeper have several conversations), 20.8, 10.7 (ghosts), 10.3
+10 Oldies (18..."
I've noticed afterwards The Turn of the Screw also fits 20.2 so if not too late, can I add a combo point?
That would put back the task total to 50, so
Grand Total = 135
20.3 – Edgar Allen Poe's TalesDelicate Edible Birds and Other Stories by Lauren Groff
+20 Task
Task total = 20
Grand Total = 155
10.4 Fall Colours Anne of Green Gables By L.M. Montgomery
+ 10 task
+ 15 combo – 10.2 author born in Canada, 20.2 #2 on list, 20.8 – published between 1908 and 1935 (with Mistress Pat)
+ 10 oldies – first published in 1908
Task total = 35
Grand Total = 215
20.8 Veteren’s Day Playing For Pizza by John Grisham
+ 20 task first published 1989, he also published a book last year
Task total = 20
Grand Total - 235
10.9 Anika's Task- To be ContinuedRed Lily by Nora Roberts
Review
This is the last book of In the Garden Trilogy by Nora Roberts. This one I would classify as Women’s Fiction – Magical Realism genre, instead of chick lit, or pure Romance. It gives a great mix of romance, (with toned down sex scenes unlike her other books,) bonds of friendship, family love, emotional moments, funny repartee, lots of interesting information about flowers and gardening, and last but not the least a vindictive yet pitiful ghost thrown in for good measure.
It’s an easy read and quite enjoyable, I haven’t read the second book yet, but did not feel lost in reading the conclusion of the story that began in Blue Dahlia. It was interesting to catch up with the characters from Blue Dahlia and see how the story progresses and how it ends, and was quite satisfied with Nora Roberts conclusion of this trilogy.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 10.4 Celebrate Fall. Has color Red in title
+5 10.7 Monsterfest. Has a scary ghost
+5 20.7 Bechdel Test. Has 3 female characters who discuss ghost related matters (ghost is female)
+5 20.8 Veteran's Day. Nora Roberts 1st book was printed in 1987
Task Total = 40
Grand Total= 395
Ismaa wrote: "Ismaa wrote: "10.8 (A)With 7 Words in the TitleThe War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Partsby Louis de Bernières
...Kate with reference to this, (post 197) when I open the link given in "The Task Overview" for 20.1 First Book Award, it open's on the Wikipedia page where the Commonwealth award is listed so I thought it was included. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category...
Am correcting it, but maybe the link should be updated or changed to the one you gave me in your post?
"
This was not high-lighted as a winner, that's why it doesn't apply to the task.
Marie wrote: "Kate S wrote: "Marie wrote: "20.6 – DraculaThe Turn of the Screw by Henry James
+20 Task
+20 Combo : 20.7 (the governess and the housekeeper have several conversations), 20.8, 10.7 (ghosts), 10.3..."
Yes, we will add that book to the list for 20.2 and you will get combo points for it. Thanks for bringing the change on the list to our attention.
20.7 Women of AchievementVarious conversations on forensics as well as magic
Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland
I've been on an Urban Fantasy kick lately as it usually combines action with mystery and the fantasy elements I love. This book tended more on the Romance side of the genre and yet the lead female character, Kara Gillian, was still shown to be strong and independent (character traits that usually seem to be missing in Romance heroines). The series combines specifically detective work along with the element of summoning and the bad guys ranged from serial killer to a more morally grey area. It was a lot of fun to read and I definitely think I will pick up the next in the series.
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.7)
+10 Review
Task Total: 40
Grand Total: 80
Christin wrote: "20.7 Women of AchievementVarious conversations on forensics as well as magic
Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland
I've been on an Urban Fantasy kick lately as it usually combines action with myste..."
Please claim only one book per post. Thank you.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Christin wrote: "20.7 Women of AchievementVarious conversations on forensics as well as magic
Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland
I've been on an Urban Fantasy kick lately as it usually combines ..."
Sure thing! Just edited the above post and I'll include the second book in a separate one ^_^
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Reading with Style
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15.1 - 1st book - letter K
The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
1994, Lexile 1100
+15 Task
Grand Total: 325