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Fall 2012 Rws Completed Tasks - Fall 2012
20.9 National Authors DayProust in Love by William C. Carter
Review:
I read this as a preliminary to tackling the 6 volumes of 'In Search of Lost Time' with the Goodreads group http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/7... next year. I wanted to learn something about Proust without having to read a full biography that would inevitably go over most of the plot of the novel, which I've never read. This was perfect. It brings together a lot of detail about Proust's loves and obsessions with young men and explains how these relationships relate to the novel without being an analysis of the novel itself (except perhaps for the last chapter). It’s made me feel I can’t wait to start the first volume of the novel.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+ 5 Multiple (2nd book for this task)
+ 5 Combo (20.4 title character Proust was gay)
Task Total: 40 points
Grand Total: 590
15.3 Third Book ABC's -- MThe Emperor's Children by Claire Messud (2006)
My Review
+15 Task
Grand Total: 240
Eleanor wrote: " 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 oldi..."
+5 Combo-20.7-passes the Bechdel test
Sara Grace ('00-'05) wrote: "20.8 Veteran's DayMistress of the Art of Death, Ariana Franklin
[Published between 1980-2010, also under the name Diana Norman]
Franklin certainly was ambitious in choosing the 1100s as the set..."
+5 Combo 20.7-passes the Bechdel test
20.5 Jekyll and HydeBellwether by Connie Willis
Review: Connie Willis is known for science fiction, although most of the books I've read of hers read more like historical fiction. This one has no sci-fi elements, but somehow had a sci-fi feel to me. The story centers around Sandra, a statistician who researches fads for a large company. The book has minimal plot, exaggerated characterization (of people, animals, corporations, places, fads, etc.), and wittiness that verges on obnoxious... and I loved it.
Sandy is researching fads, and since the book is set in the 1990s it could easily feel dated, but it didn't to me. Rather, I thought it could easily have been set in some alternate recent past or near future. Sadly, the silly management practices she experiences at HiTek corporation are all too familiar - perhaps a bit obvious, but oh so enjoyable to make fun of.
After reading all of Willis's Oxford time travel books, I was afraid to explore more of Willis's writings because they seemed so different, but this has convinced me. I'll be finishing her back-list for sure.
+20 Task (on Lab Lit list)
+10 Multiple (20.7 - passes Bechtel Test - Sandra speaks about work issues, fads, and books to numerous female colleagues and friends, 20.8 - Willis has been publishing from the 1980s into this decade)
+10 Review
Task Total: 40
Grand Total: 585
10.2 - OktoberfestThe Italian Lakes by Damien Simonis
According to the Lonely Planet's page about the author, he was born in Australia.
+10 Task
Task total = 10
Grand Total = 190
ABC's15.3 3rd Book
The Ladies of Grace Adieu: And Other Stories by Susanna Clarke published 2006
Task 15
Grand Total: 645
20.2 Rural Setting in honor of Wuthering HeightsRebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Review
Rebecca I would say is one of ‘the’ greatest mystery novels. Full of suspense, and intrigue, it keeps you prisoner till the very end. This is the book that traps the reader making it impossible to put down.
This engrossing mystery is doubly blessed, as the beauty of Du Maurier’s flawless prose makes it easy for the reader to imagine the sights, smells and sounds that are such an integral part of this novel. Through her words one can envision Manderley, delight in the beautiful yet haunting countryside, see the characters from her eyes, and get totally immersed in the story of the nameless heroine who struggles against events and people intent on destroying her happiness.
Read this book if you enjoy a good suspenseful mystery or read it just to enjoy the splendor of her narrative.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+5 Oldies Published in 1938
+5 20.6 Dracula: Among top 100 Gothic Novels
+5 20.7 Bechdel Test. The heroine & Mrs Danvers have many strange conversations especially about Rebecca
+5 20.8 Veteran Author
Task Total: 50
Grand Total: 715
20.6 Dracula (Top 100 Gothic Novel)Dracula by Bram Stoker
Review:
In the last few weeks I read quite a few classics that I found to be of only average quality; meaning classics that I think everybody should read at least once because they have a deeper meaning, but which I probably won’t read/listen to again in the near future. I was prepared for another of those average classics, until I began to listen to the Dracula audiobook. This is one of those classics that can be counted in the category “provides entertainment”, even after more than 200 years this story of six people trying to destroy an ancient evil remains a gripping tale. Now I see why Dracula is widely considered as the prototype of the vampire/horror novel (although Stoker didn’t invent the vampire as such) and even today often cited/taken as the basis for new adaptations of the topic.
+ 20 Task
+ 10 Review
+ 10 Oldies (pub. 1897)
+ 10 Combo (20.2; 20.8)
Task Total: 50
Grand Total: 610
10.5 International Day for the ElderlyThe Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side by Agatha Christie
+10 Task (Miss Marple is over 60)
+10 Combo (10.8A-seven words in title, 20.8)
+5 Oldies (published 1962)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 1105
20.9 National Author's DayJane Austen by Carol Shields
+20 Task
+5 Combo (20.8)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 1130
20.4 - CarmillaBabyji by Abha Dawesar
This book was a totally pleasant surprise to me. It was one of those books that I took off the library shelf while browsing because I had heard the name somewhere. I saw something on the cover about "the Indian Lolita" and flipped through. I was surprised to find that it was an entire book detailing the romantic exploits of a teenage girl in India who is juggling up to 3 women at a time! Something in the writing of the first few pages drew me in and I found myself a bit entranced. Never mind the fact that this girl has, at 17, a FAR more exciting romantic life than I do at in my thirties -- the real point of interest here for me was how perfectly the author captures a teenager's point of view. It may feel like my teen years are long over but MAN did they come rushing back while reading this! The narration was pitch perfect, in that awkward way that makes you really, really glad you're not 17 anymore.
+20 task (LGBT narrator)
+10 combo (10.2 - author born in India according to this link, 20.7 - the narrator has many conversations with many other female main characters, mostly about their romantic life together)
+10 review
Task Total: 40 points
Grand total 230
10.2 Octoberfest
by Carol Plum-Ucci(US)Task +10
Grand Total:80
10.9 - To Be Continued...The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
Review: When I look back on my experience reading the first book, I sometimes can’t believe that I found it so “eh” that I didn’t think I would even finish the trilogy. I’m so glad that I picked up the second book and made myself keep reading! Although I liked the second book in this series the best, I still enjoyed the third quite a bit. It did drag at points, and I found some of the names/plot points a little difficult to keep track of. I still think that I like the second book the most out of the series, since it had the most action and the most thrilling plot – as others have pointed out, this was a little too “procedural drama”-ish. However, I thought it was a good ending for the series, and it was very gripping.
+10 Task (This is Book #3 in the "Millennium" series; I've already read Books #1 and #2 in the series)
+10 Review
+10 Combo (20.7 - Several conversations between protagonist women that don't involve men. For example, on p. 35, Erika Berger [main character] talks to Annika Giannini about Giannini representing Lisbeth in trial, Berger leaving her job & accepting a new job, etc.)
+5 Jumbo (Most popular version = 563 pages)
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 300
Oops - in message 463, that should read "+5 Combo," but the final totals of 30 and 300 are correct.
10.9 To Be ContinuedLirael by Garth Nix
Lexile 950
Review:
This second-in-series is even better than the first, Sabriel, in my opinion. Lirael has grown up as an orphaned Daughter of the Clayr and longs to develop the Sight like the others, but her destiny lies elsewhere. Meanwhile Princess Ellimere and Prince Sameth, the children of Sabriel and Touchstone, are growing to maturity: one happy with her role as heir to the throne, the other a reluctant Abhorsen-in-Waiting. When the forces of Free Magic threaten to take over the Old Kingdom again, Lirael and Sameth have to tackle them together … and make some surprising discoveries. I loved this and I’m looking forward to the third book in the trilogy.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.2 Australian author; 10.7 scary magic monsters; 20.7 Lirael has conversations with other female Clayr about magic)
Task Total: 35 points
Grand Total: 625
15.3 - ABC's 3rd Book - CVeronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho
Published 1998
Task total: 15
Grand total: 155
15.4 - ABC's 4th Book - DBlake's Therapy: A Novel by Ariel Dorfman
Published 2001
Task total: 20
Grand total: 175
20.1 FrankensteinEllen Foster by Kaye Gibbons
Review: The consistency of this story told through a realistic eleven-year-old perspective was impressive. The author resisted the temptation to provide background details that would have been outside the knowledge of the first-person narrator and the book was much more powerful because of it. I can definitely see why this book won a prize for first fiction. The voice of the narrator is so compelling--a strong, lovely girl in a terrible situation, but without self-pity or complaint, just continual making-the-best-of-things drive. I believe that many years later, the author returned to this character and wrote a second book, which I also own a copy of and think I'll read sooner rather than later before I forget the details of the narrative voice here.
+20 Task - Won the Sue Kaufman Award for First Fiction 1988
+15 Combo (20.7 [lots of conversations between first-person female narrator and other women about lots of things]; 20.8 [this book published 1987, recent book published 2011]; 10.8C [published 1987])
+5 Oldies
+10 Review
Task total: 50
Grand total: 225
20.2 Wuthering HeightsA Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Review: The reader for the 30+ hour audiobook did an excellent job reading for all the different characters and helping me keep them straight while listening to this book. I have found that I much prefer these sorts of battle-rich fantasy novels in audio format (see also Eragon et seq., which is way worse than this one in terms of overwritten language). Generally, I didn't find the plot of this book particularly original, but at least a few of the characters were interesting enough for me to care what happened to them and I didn't mind the chapter-by-chapter perspective switching. I could do with a bit less feasting and a bit less sex with ten or twelve year old girls, but generally found my drive livened up by listening to this and would definitely be willing to listen to the second book if my library has it available for download or if I see it on special at audible.
+20 Task - #100 when I checked the list
+10 Combo (20.7, 20.8)
+10 Review
+15 Jumbo
Task total: 55
Grand total: 280
20.3 Poe's TalesSh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern
Review: This book should have translated perfectly to the audio format, but somehow it didn't quite work. I think the anecdotes were often too short and the chapter titles too long to properly entertain. I also think maybe the author should have read this one himself. The reader gave a sort of forced voice to the father's words that made it seem more ridiculing than I think the book actually intended. Ultimately, the book was pretty funny and surprisingly touching in its own way, but I should have read the print version instead of listening to it. I loved the way that his father in his personal bull-in-the-china-shop way was continually pushing for what he thought was right and encouraging confidence in his kids. Recommended for a bit of humor with just enough sweetness to give the book some substance.
+20 Task (shelved as 814H at BPL)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (20.9 - this is a memoir/diary about the author's time spent living at home with his father)
Task total: 35
Grand total: 315
20.4 CarmillaOranges are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson
Review: I wanted to like this book much more than I actually did. I've really enjoyed some of Winterson's other books and this one seems to be one of her most famous. But somehow the characters all fell flat for me. While the reactions to the main character's coming out (or, more accurately, being discovered) as a lesbian were horrendous, it didn't have much emotional power and ultimately just felt sort of detached and distant - like a story seen through fogged up car windows while driving through a grim part of town. Then again, maybe if I'd read this book closer to the time it was published, it would have seemed more raw and powerful.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+5 Oldies
+10 Combo (20.7, 20.8)
Task total: 45
Grand total: 360
20.6 DraculaHaunted by Chuck Palahniuk
Review: Ugh. I really despised this book. In fact, I tried listening to it last December and gave up. But I decided to give it another try this year. Maybe I'm more prudish than I realized, but I didn't find these grotesque, vile stories thought-provoking or interesting. I just found them gross and purient. I hated the characters, not only because they were dispicable, but because they were often boring. The names they took felt childish and indistinguishable rather than clever. I didn't think the interconnected stories actually fit together in an interesting way. A few of the isolated stories might have entertained me if I hadn't been so underwhelmed by the book as a whole. I've read and really enjoyed several of Palahnuik's novels, but this set of short stories was not a favorite at all.
I didn't like the reader for the book either, but it's hard for me to say whether it was really the material that I didn't like or if I genuinely had a problem with the reader's voice and characterizations.
+20 Task - Bram Stoker 2005
+10 Review
+5 Combo (20.3 - these are short stories)
Task total: 35
Grand total: 395
ABC's15.2 - 2nd Book (Letter B) The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
+15 Task
Task Total=15
Grand Total=165pts
Know your ABC's15.5 - 5th book - letter E (1992)
Naughty Neighbor by Janet Evanovich
+20 Task Points
15.6 - 6th book - letter F (1994)
Fool's Puzzle by Earlene Fowler
+20 Task Points
15.7 - 7th book - letter H (1997)
The Dead Cat Bounce by Sarah Graves
+30 Task Points
New Grand Total = 135
Arow wrote: "Know your ABC's15.5 - 5th book - letter E (1992)
Naughty Neighbor by Janet Evanovich
+20 Task Points
15.6 - 6th book - letter F (1994)
Fool's Puzzle by Earlene Fowler
+20 Task Points
15.7 -..."
Arow, would you mind reposting these with one book per post? Thanks.
20.8 Veterans DayThank You, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
Review:
This was not in my reading plan for this month but it leapt into my hands in the library!
In this full length novel, Jeeves resigns because Bertie Wooster refuses to stop playing songs like 'I Lift Up My Finger And I Say Tweet-Tweet' on the banjolele. Jeeves is swiftly employed by Bertie's old friend Chuffy who has fallen for an American heiress who turns out to be one of Bertie's old flames. Mayhem and misunderstandings ensue, but Jeeves saves the day in the end.
There's some dressing up as black minstrels which would be offensive these days and a sad lack of aunts (Bertie's aunts are my favourite characters in the series after Bertie himself and Jeeves) but it still had me laughing out loud.
+20 Task http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/w/p...
+10 Review
+ 5 Multiple (4th book for this task)
+10 Oldies (pub.1934)
Task Total: 45 points
Grand Total: 670
Arow wrote: "Know your ABC's15.5 - 5th book - letter E (1992)
Naughty Neighbor by Janet Evanovich
+20 Task Points
15.6 - 6th book - letter F (1994)
Fool's Puzzle by Earlene Fowler
+20 Task Points
15.7 -..."
Did I miss G?
20.8 Veteran's DayAlanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
+ 20 Task (Alanna was Pierce's first book, published in 1988; her latest book was released earlier this year)
Only 690 lexile, so no style points;
Grand Total: 645
20.4-CarmillaThe Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan
This is one of the best books I've read this year. It's a super fast read due to its conceptual form (it's written in the form of dictionary entries, but they don't sound like dictionary entries). It was moving, and the prose was simple but beautiful. While there isn't a traditional narrative structure, the characters are well-developed and the love they describe is real and sometimes harsh and devastated, but there are plenty of happier moments. It's definitely worth reading. It was published in 2011 and it definitely fits in among the other gems I've read from 2011 like The Night Circus and The Tiger's Wife, though completely different in form and content.
+20 task (LGBT Author)
+10 Review
+5 combo (10.2 - Oktoberfest, born in United States)
+5 Multiple
Task Total: 40 points
Grand total: 145
20.2 - Wuthering Heights (Rural Setting)The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Review:
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is nothing more and nothing less than the story of a young boy’s childhood/youth. It doesn’t have a large plot (although there are some elements in the story that span from the beginning to the end). Instead it details the everyday life of Tom Sawyer, his little woes and pleasures and what pranks he played.
As with the previous Mark Twain books I read, I thoroughly enjoyed The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. His way of telling a story makes even the most everyday occurrences to something special and the book repeatedly made me smile. I listened again to the narration by John Greenman (which is available for free at LibriVox.org) and found that this wonderful story was improved by such a great narrator.
+ 20 Task
+ 10 Review
+ 10 Oldies (pub. 1876)
+ 5 Combo (20.8)
Task Total:45
Grand Total: 690
Task 10.8 (B) with 7 letters in the author’s first name ANTHONY
And, Anthony Horowitz qualifies for combo points 20.8 as a"veteran" author:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_...
The House of Silk: A Sherlock Holmes Novel by Anthony Horowitz
+10 Task
+05 Style:1. Combo (5 points): (20.8 “veteran” author)
+10 Style:3. Review (10 points):
Total: 10 + 05 +10 = 25
My records show me with 505 points -- the Readerboard says 515 -- not sure where the extra 10 points came from --
Grand Total: 505 + 25 = 530
or
Grand Total: 515 + 25 = 540
Review: The Arthur Conan Doyle Estate chose Anthony Horowitz to write an "authorized" Sherlock Holmes novel; The House of Silk was the result. The novel stays true to the standard Holmes story, full of Sherlock Holmes’s deductive analysis, mysterious individuals acting in mysterious ways, Holmes catch-phrases (the game’s afoot!) and Dr. Watson around to record it all. Various individuals from Doyle’s original stories make appearances in this novel (it would be spoilers to include exactly who!) The resolution of the mystery is (mild spoiler) (view spoiler), and it is not an ending that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle could have written in the 1890s. Overall,this book is an entertaining Sherlock Holmes mystery. Recommended for fans of Sherlock Holmes.
First, we have a point difference. I think I've picked up all of the extra points you've found for me, but I could be wrong. The other thing to check, though is whether you gave me 20 extra points for The Brides of Rollrock Island. I posted it as a task with no style points first, and then when it got a high lexile score I posted just for the style points.ABCs Task
2nd Book
15.2 C: Cormier, Robert 1988
Fade by Robert Cormier(990 Lexile)
+15 Task
Grand Total: 710
RwS Task20.8 - Kate S’ Task – Veteran’s Day, November 11th:
Frenchtown Summer by Robert CormierLexile 1380
Robert Cormier was one of the authors who really raised the bar for YA literature. His books are classics and I have never been disappointed when I’ve picked one up. I read Fade and kept coming across interesting descriptions of Frenchtown where the story takes place, so I decided to read Frenchtown Summer, a book in verse, as a companion book. It is a book in verse and an early member of that genre. It is a wonderful glimpse into a small town of Canadian immigrants, their factory work during the Depression and the relationship of a son to his father, strengthened in one small act involving an airplane. The verse is vivid and the writing so strong as it is in all of Cormier’s works.
Fade is an unusual and powerful thriller. Stephen King says on the cover, “Imagine what might happen if Holden Caufield stepped into H. G. Wells’s The Invisible Man, and you’ll have an idea how good Fade is. I was absolutely riveted.” I was, too and although I don’t have the clout that Stephen King does, I highly recommend the book!
+20 Task: Cormier published from 1960 – 1999
+10 Review
+ 5 Multiple
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 745
ABC's Task 15.5 EQueenmaker: A Novel of King David's Queen by India Edghill 1999
Task 20
Grand Total: 735
10.5 International Day for the Elderly (Noah one of the main characters, (its a love story) is over 60 yearsThe Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
Review
So if you are ever in the mood for a sappy, romance type romance you can safely pick up the Notebook. It is sappy, cheesy, romantic and typical chick lit. If you are expecting more than this, give it a miss.
The book is not bad despite the very positive or very negative reviews it gets; it’s a romantic novel as romantic novels go. I had already seen the movie otherwise I might have been a bit lost with regard to character visualization. I found the writing a bit weak, and then I remembered that this is actually his first novel and one can understand why it is so.
Read it if you enjoy a love story now and then and are not averse to soppiness and cuteness but give it a miss you are looking for a great work of fiction.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 775
20.7 Women of Achievement MonthA Little Stranger by Kate Pullinger
Review:
Fran can't stand being cooped up all day in her London flat with the baby while her husband works, but they apparently can't afford childcare for her to go back to work. So one day she gets on a plane and takes off to Las Vegas.
That makes this book sound very dramatic, but in fact it's not. Nothing much happens to Fran, her husband or the baby. The interesting part for me was the focus on Fran's family in Vancouver, especially her alcoholic mother, a woman of Doukhobor heritage that I knew nothing about until I read this and researched them online. They sound like a Russian cross between Amish and Quakers. I wouldn't recommend it for that, though - I'm sure there are better books about them. I gave this 3 stars.
+20 Task (Fran has conversations with female friend Leslie about Leslie's daughter, and sister Sarah about their mother)
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.2 Canadian author; 20.8 http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/p/k...)
+ 5 Multiple (2nd book for this task)
Task Total: 45 points
Grand Total: 715
10.9 To Be Continued Garment of Shadows by Laurie R. King
In my defense, I was taking quite a bit of cold medicine at the time, but when I took a nap partway through reading this book, I woke up definitely convinced that I, like Mary Russell, had amnesia. It's one of my favorite things when a writer can get into my head that way and make me really feel like I am part of the book in a real (and in this case slightly dangerous) way! The story is terrific and despite knowing the series and being pretty good at predicting mystery outcomes in advance, I was surprised by a number of plot twists and turns. Beautiful establishment of setting, too! All in all, a strong addition to the series.
+10 Task (Book #12 in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series which I've read the rest of)
+10 review
Task Total: 20 points
Grand total 250
20.3– In honor of Edgar Allen Poe’s Tales(Repeat)
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
+20 task (collection of 8 short stories)
+ 5 multiple
Task total=25
Grand total=430
10.7 - Monsterfest IVAloha from Hell by Richard Kadrey
As I mentioned previously I've been on an urban fantasy trend for my fluff reads lately. This is the third book in the Sandman Slim series and it is just as gritty and action packed as the first two books. The monsters in the series are primarily explained in terms of heaven/hell but there are other creepy asides like zombies, vampires, etc. In this book, Sandman Slim has to go back to Hell to save the soul of his past girlfriend. It's a trip that allows the reader a good look at the landscape of Hell as he traverses it with the aid of first one of the Fallen Angels and then with what turns out to be the soul of Jack the Ripper. A fun series but definitely more on the gritty, action-packed side of the genre.
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.8B)
+5 Multiple
+10 Review
Task Total: 40
Grand Total: 245
20.9 - Author'sAncient Greek Literature and Society by Charles Rowan Beye
On the other side of what I've been reading these days is this really great overview of Greek literature in Fourth to Fifth Century BCE. Some non-fiction books when dealing with a subject matter like this sound like they're speaking to only those in the know and manage to make a fun topic sound very obtuse. Beye, on the other hand, writes in such a way that is immediately accessible and fun. I definitely paid the most attention to his chapter on Tragedy in Ancient Greek Theater. He pays the most attention to Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles but sets up the feeling and trends of theater at that time in general. It is definitely one of the best overviews that really gives a sense of what it must have been like to see one of those plays and the current moods at the time in response to them. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the topic.
+20 Task
+5 Combo (20.4 - author)
+10 Review
+5 Oldie
Task Total: 40
Grand Total: 285
20.2 Wuthering HeightsCranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
Many of my 1-star books are those so awful I couldn't finish. I did get to that last page of this, but only out of pure stubbornness.
There is no plot and no characterization and therefore no point to this. The women are the most shallow one-dimensional creatures ever to find print. Surely this set any women's suffrage movement back 50 years. Women who think only about their clothes surely should not be voting.
This is included in the 1001 books you should read before you die. If you are attempting to read all on that list, I could recommend this be near to your final volume.
+20 Task
+ 5 Combo (10.3)
+10 Review
+15 Oldies (pub 1853)
Task Total = 50
Grand Total = 265
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
Endgame (other topics)The Sirens of Titan (other topics)
Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis (other topics)
Lost Memory of Skin (other topics)
Round The Red Lamp (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (other topics)Timothy Egan (other topics)
Arthur Conan Doyle (other topics)
Jeanne DuPrau (other topics)
Joan Hess (other topics)
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Triangle: The Fire That Changed America by David von Drehle
+10 Task
+10 Style:3. Review (10 points):
Task Total: 10 + 10 = 20
Grand Total: 485 + 20 = 505
Review: Journalist David Von Drehle’s book focuses on the horrific Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire which occurred on March 25, 1911 in New York City. (We use the word “blouse” now instead of “shirtwaist”.) The first third of the book focuses on immigration in the 1910s, Tammany Hall politics, and garment union activities. The second third consists of a minute-by-minute description of the fire and how the workers tried to survive (some did, 146 did not). The last third focused on the “aftermath”: law changes, court trials, and political/union winners and losers. The appendix lists the names, ages, and a few details of those victims positively identified (140 of the 146). Overall, the style is very readable. Recommended for anyone interested in reading a non-fiction book about disasters, fires, union politics and/or New York City.