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Spring 2013 Rws Completed Tasks - Spring 2013
20.3 More than 100,000 ratings and and average rating of 4.35 (at the time of this posting)The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
I really enjoyed this book. Although it was not an easy read, it was a good read, in my opinion. This book is set during Hitler’s reign and it focuses on a young girl who discovers the love of reading. In fact, she begins to steal books to be able to continue her hobby of reading. While there is discrimination, mistreatment, hard times caused by the shortages of the war, I love that Liesel finds a way to share her love with the neighbors (she reads to a surley neighbor) and with the Jewish man that their family hides in their basement. She calms neighbors by reading in the neighbor’s basement during a bomb. The unique perspective that this book is written from the point of view of the Grim Reaper (or Death) lends itself for some very interesting monologues from the narrator. This is not something that you can read straight through (not for me at least), but it is comforting that even in the midst of all the horrors of war, people can still find happiness.
Task: 20
Review +10
GRAND TOTAL: 130
Deana wrote: "Square peg: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
I can't find anywhere else this fits???
I really enjoyed this book. Although it was not an easy read, it was a good read, in my opinion. This book is..."
This qualifies for 20.3. More than 100,000 ratings with an average over 3.99
Kate S wrote: "Deana wrote: "Square peg: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
I can't find anywhere else this fits???
I really enjoyed this book. Although it was not an easy read, it was a good read, in my opinion...."
ohhh! Thank you! That's even better! I will edit my post!
20.5 Written by woman and single femaile main characterCarrot Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke
I did not enjoy this book as much as I have some in the series. However, I have been following the storyline of Hannah and her two beaus, Mike and Norman, for so long, I feel like I have to finish the series to see who she chooses. In this story, there is a family reunion planned by Lisa’s family (Hannah’s partner from the bakery) and of course, there is a murder. When a family member that has been M.I.A. for several years turns up unexpectedly, everyone is so excited and awed by his expensive car, jewelry, and hand-tailored suits. Apparently, not everyone is awed, because the long-lost brother Gus turns up dead one evening. Not to spoil the plot, but if you have read a Hannah Swensen story before, you know that Hannah investigates and helps solve the murder. This one went on a bit longer than I would have liked…the story line was just not that interesting. I hope Number 11 is better!
Task: 20
Review 10
GRAND TOTAL: 160
10.7 - Rebekah’s task – Nurse it:The Birth House by Ami McKay
I am intrigued by the idea of a midwife and enjoy reading stories of this process. This is partly due to the fact that I had both my children by C-Section and so only experienced a part of the process. Additionally, I benefited from being in the hospital, but still respect other ways for those that are comfortable with the process. This book was worth it for the stories of midwifery alone, but it was also good historical fiction. The Halifax Disaster(about which I learned a lot!), the war and the influenza epidemic were also important parts of the book. I enjoyed Dora and her trials and triumphs in the small village in Nova Scotia in which most of the story takes place. Add a questionable new arrival: a doctor trying to draw the women down the mountain to the bigger town to give birth --- for a fee, and you have an engaging and informative book. Ami McKay also weaves in newspaper articles and letters to tell the story. Thanks for the nurses task -- I really enjoyed this book!
+10 Task: Midwife
+10 Combo: 10.8 - Rosemary’s task – Spell it out: AM / 20.5 - In honor of Emma
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
RwS Finish: 100
Mega Finish: 200
Points this Post: 330
Grand Total: 1690
20th Century Chronologician15.10 -- The Voyeur by Alain Robbe-Grillet, 1st published in 1958.
+15 task points
+10 bonus
+150 task completed! bonus points!
Task Points: 175 points
Grand Total: 390 points
I know I had 3 months to complete this challenge, but my personal goal was to do it in 2. I may post a few others along the way, but, in reality, I wanted to join up just to see if I could make myself read some books I've been wanting to for a while in a certain prescribed order -- a real challenge!
I set my goals based on reading a book from the 9 years before, leading up to the year of my birth - 1958. A true personal challenge.
Thanks for this opportunity!! And congrats to all of you who do so well on this challenge!
Karen GHHS wrote: "RwS Finish: 100
Mega Finish: 200"
Excellent! And a great book to have wrapped up your two finishes. That is one of my favorites!
Nick wrote: "+150 task completed! bonus points!"
Well done! Personal challenges is what it's all about!
20.6 Northanger AbbeyTaras Bulba by Nikolai Gogol
This is one of Gogol's earliest works, and written before he'd hit his satirist stride. This takes place in the 15th Century, and Gogol calls these Cossacks "half-civilized." This story is based in fact - half civilized is a good description. I might have gone all the way to barbarian.
The beginning has his sons return from the monastery, and Bulba wants to celebrate before taking them to where the Cossacks congregate.
"Enough, you've howled quite enough, old woman! A Cossack is not born to run around after women. You would like to hide them both under your petticoat, and sit upon them as a hen sits on eggs. Go, go, and let us have everything there is on the table in a trice. We don't want any dumplings, honey-cakes, poppy-cakes, or any other such messes: give us a whole sheep, a goat, mead forty years old, and as much corn-brandy as possible, not with raisins and all sorts of stuff, but plain scorching corn-brandy, which foams and hisses like mad."
There are a few descriptions which clearly show that Gogol loved his native Ukraine.
In the evening the whole steppe changed its aspect. All its varied expanse was bathed in the last bright glow of the sun; and as it grew dark gradually, it could be seen how the shadow flitted across it and it became dark green. The mist rose more densely; each flower, each blade of grass, emitted a fragrance as of ambergris, and the whole steppe distilled perfume. Broad bands of rosy gold were streaked across the dark blue heaven, as with a gigantic brush; here and there gleamed, in white tufts, light and transparent clouds: and the freshest, most enchanting of gentle breezes barely stirred the tops of the grass-blades, like sea-waves, and caressed the cheek.I gave this only 3 stars (although it brushes the top of that range) because, in spite of those previous paragraphs, there was just too much fighting. Ok, yes, I know that's what these fellows lived for, but it's not what I live for.
+20 Task (satirist list)
+ 5 Combo (20.1 1809-1852)
+10 Non-Western
+10 Review
+15 Oldie (pub 1842 - revised edition outside of Ukraine)
Task total = 60
Grand Total = 590
Nick wrote: "20th Century Chronologician+150 task completed! bonus points!
That's great, Nick!
Congratulations Don, Nick and Karen!(and anyone I missed!)
Karen GHHS wrote: "Mega Finish: 200Points this Post: 330
Grand Total: 1690 "
Congratulations, Karen. Your accomplishments in this group are truly inspirational!
Nick wrote: "+150 task completed! bonus points!"
Congratulations, Nick, on the 20th Century finish and accomplishment of your personal reading goal!
20th Century Chronologician15.9 Birds of Prey by Wilbur A. Smith published 1997
My Review
Task: 15
Bonus: 10
Total Task: 25
Grand Total: 365
Wow! Congrats to finishers!
20.9 HereticallyThe Third Man by Graham Greene
+ 20 Task (on the Others list)
+ 5 Combo (10.5 winner of Jerusalem Prize 1981)
+ 5 Oldies (published 1949)
Task Total = 30
Grand Total = 675
20th Century - Chronologician15.7 The Ship Who Searched
published 1992
+15 Task
+ 10 Bonus
Task Total = 25
Grand Total = 700
Sara Grace ('00-'05) wrote: *Hi everyone! Thought I would pop by and see if an..."
Welcome, Sara Grace! It's nice to see you on our board!
20th Century - Chronologician15.5 The Santaroga Barrier by Frank Herbert published in 1968
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
Task Total +25
Grand Total = 380
20.5 EmmaHer: A Memoir by Christa Parravani
What would you do if you lost your reflection, if one day you looked into an open casket and saw it lying there?
Cara and Christa were identical twins. They struggled through a difficult childhood with an abusive father, then a cruel step-father, and a young mother who tried her best to protect them.
The girls turned to books and writing and art and photography and to each other. They excelled in school, receiving scholarships to attend university. The world was filled with hope and possibility.
Cara married young--at 22--and Christa followed her lead, marrying at 24. Not long after Christa's wedding, Cara was out in the park near her home, walking her dog, when she is repeatedly and brutally raped and beaten.
This awful event becomes the catalyst for her destruction. She can't bear to be touched by her husband, she begins abusing drugs--beginning with the prescriptions given her for the pain after her attack, then moving into harder drugs leaving track marks and collapsed veins in their wake. She cheats on her husband and eventually divorces. She starts desperately sleeping with men, trying to fill the hole that he has left. She is admitted to rehab several times, has attempted suicide, and finally dies of an overdose.
But this is Cara's story. She tells us what happens to Christa as a way of setting the stage for her experience. The feeling of having lost half of her. Of trying to become as different from Cara as possible (becoming anorexic, dropping from 115 to 86 pounds), and yet following in her "older" sister's footsteps: cheating on her husband, abusing prescription pills, planning ways to kill herself.
This is a story of walking right up to the brink, dangling one foot out over the edge ready to jump...and then choosing to step back to safety.
It's the story of what it is to hit bottom and we see both possible outcomes: hitting bottom and being buried there, or hitting bottom and rising from the depths.
+20 Task (written by a woman, who is also the sole narrator)
+10 Review
Task Total = 30
Grand Total = 935
And to Karen, Nick, and Don: CONGRATS and woo hoo!!
Wow, Congrats Karen! Nick, so glad you enjoyed the 20th Century challenge -- I've been intrigued by several of your selections! Don, nicely done on your 20th Century finish!
15.10 - 20th Century - ChronologicianEnduring Love by Ian McEwan, pub. 1997
+15 task
+10 bonus
+150 finisher bonus
Grand Total: 485 points
Liz M wrote: "+150 finisher bonus"
Yippee! Good job!
20.2 In honor of Sense and SensibilityCase Histories by Kate Atkinson
Case Histories is a British drama television series based on the Jackson Brodie detective novels by Kate Atkinson.
Case Histories Link
+20 task
Task total: 20
Grand total: 655
10.1 Square PegThe Blood Sugar Solution: The UltraHealthy Program for Losing Weight, Preventing Disease, and Feeling Great Now! by Mark Hyman
+10 task
Task total: 10
Grand total: 665
10.7 Nurse itCall the Nurse: True Stories of a Country Nurse on a Scottish Isle by Mary J MacLeod
Review
Mary MacLeod and her husband decide to leave the fast paced life of Southern England and move to Hebrides of Scotland where her husband’s ancestors once lived and where they had enjoyed many holidays. MacLeod applies for the job of District Nurse in this widespread but sparsely populated area of the 1970’s. Her story tells of moving to a primitive “croft” and living the more simplistic life, easily becoming a welcome asset to the community. She describes the uncluttered horizons of the rocky islands and the cold, gray sea, the wild birds, the bewitching sunsets so that I can imagine it perfectly. Add the unique people whose customs are both strange, yet endearing, a kind, helpful group whose warm hearts make the cold winters feel cozy, and I’m ready to go there myself. Yet as beguiling as the simplicity of life, there are also the dangers of the rough and cold sea on which she ferries daily to visit patients among several islands. Islands whose only inhabitants may be the patient’s family. Relying on the nearly mystical “jungle telephone”, she is often saved from near catastrophes while attending her patients in the snow and ice. She describes the cold as they gather around peat fires in a main, with no indoor toilets and I’m very grateful I don't have to spend the harshest and longest of seasons there. Some of her stories are humorous, tragic, surprising but hardly predictable and gives this book entertainment value as well the descriptions of this area lost in time.
+10 pts - Task
+10 pts - Review
+5 pts - Combo (20.5 - told entirely in the first person but the author)
Task Total - 25
Grand Total - 760 pts
Liz M wrote: "15.10 - 20th Century - ChronologicianEnduring Love by Ian McEwan, pub. 1997
+15 task
+10 bonus
+150 finisher bonus
Grand Total: 485 points"
Congratulations, Liz! This is one of my favorite McEwan books.
10.5 Global Youth DayThe Counterlife by Philip Roth
Review
I’ve read a couple of Philip Roth’s books and find this one is quite different from the likes of American Pastoral and Portnoy’s Complaint. Yes there is still the immigration of recent forebears being a first or second generation of Americans living in the New York- New Jersey area. There is still the Jewish angst, probably more pronounced in this book than the others I have read. Also, more so the feeling as if the book was part autobiographiful especially as the book is mostly told in the first person of two brothers and a mistress and the brothers’ separate stories give this feeling, although one cannot tell which brother is himself and he is probably both. This leads to the specific difference I noted earlier. This book reminded me of the Arthur Phillip books with all the twists and turns and never knowing who is who and what is what. The narrator is not reliable as it jumps between brothers and the fictional stories one of them writes for a living. There is what happened, what may have happened, what was fiction, what was truth, and what was supposedly the truth that keeps the reader on her toes from chapter to chapter. I like this kind of brain twisting story with surprises at the end and in this book I got surprises all the way through. I really enjoyed it much better than the other two Roth books that I have read.
+10 pts - Task
+10 pts -Review
+10 pts - Combo (10.3 - The Plus, 10.8 Spell it Out)
+5 pts - Oldies (pub 1986)
Task Total - 35 pts
Grand Total - 795 pts
Deana wrote: "20.3 More than 100,000 ratings and and average rating of 4.35 (at the time of this posting)The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
I really enjoyed this book. Although it was not an easy read, it was a ..."
Unfortunately, this book is classified as YA with a Lexile of 730. Your 20 points is good, but no style point.
Coralie wrote: "20.9 HereticallyThe Third Man by Graham Greene
+ 20 Task (on the Others list)
+ 5 Combo (10.5 winner of Jerusalem Prize 1981)
+ 5 Oldies (published 1949)
Task Total = 30
Grand Total = 675"
Unfortunately, this is classified as YA Assignmnet and there is no Lexile. Task points, but no styles.
20.5 EmmaVoyage in the Dark by Jean Rhys
+20 Task-female author/female main character
+10 Oldies (pub 1934)
+10 Non-Western
Post Total: 40
Season Total: 1060
20.5 EmmaA Different Sun by Elaine Neil Orr
+20 Task-female author/female main character (coincidentally named Emma)
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 1080
20.7 Persuasion-Posthumous NovelYou Can't Go Home Again by Thomas Wolfe
+20 Task (author died 1938, published 1940)
+10 Jumbo (720 pages)
+5 Oldies (pub 1940)
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 1115
20th Century15.10-Chronologician
published 1997
American Pastoral by Philip Roth
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
+150 Completion Bonus
Post Total: 175
Season Total: 1290
Kate S wrote: "20th Century15.10-Chronologician
published 1997
American Pastoral by Philip Roth
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
+150 Completion Bonus
Post Total: 175
Season Total: 1290"
Yay, Kate! Congrats!
Kate S wrote: "+150 Completion Bonus"
Very nice!
20.5 - In honor of EmmaBeasts by Joyce Carol Oates
+20 Task (author and sole narrator are female)
+ 5 Combo (10.5 - Common Wealth Award)
Task total=25
Grand total=705
15.8 20th Century--ChronologicianMars and Her Children: Poems by Marge Piercy, pub. 1992
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
Task Total = 25
Grand Total = 960
Congrats on the finish, Kate!!
20.6 In honor of Northanger AbbeyLet's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris (listed in the Modern Satirtist category)
Review:
Well this was just the tonic I needed after a difficult week. It picked it up yesterday and am finished a day later. I really needed some good laughs and David Sedaris's latest collection of essays did the trick. This is similar to his other books in that he lovingly pokes fun at his family - his father especially in this book. He has a talent for taking mundane stories like trying to learn a foreign languages or being on a book tour and the next thing you know, you are in stitches. I realize that he exaggerates some of these stories for effect, but that is fine with me. It was a fun, quick, easy read and I welcomed the distraction.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+30 Total Task
Grand Total = 410
20.5 - In honor of EmmaHattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson, Low Lexile
+20 Task: Female author and main character Hattie
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1710
10.3 - The plusStenhuggaren The Stonecutter by Camilla Läckberg
This challenge brought me to my new love of Scandinavian noir and mysteries. I like Camilla Lackberg's work because there are less grizzly details than some in the genre and they keep me guessing. I'm also fond of Patrick Hedstrom and his personal life story. I found The Stonecutter especially interesting. A separate story (although, of course, one that will undoubtedly connect at some point) starts in the early 1900s. Lackberg's characterizations are strong as well. In this book, she does an excellent job portraying a young man with Asperger's Syndrome. He is believable and so are the methods his mother and some of the police officers use to communicate with him and illicit his cooperation. Just as I thought I had something figured out, another twist would come into play. I highly recommend this series!
+10 Task
+10 Review
+ 5 Jumbo? (1st listed English version is 565 pages, but the Swedish version is 404.)
Task Total: 20 or 25
Grand Total: 1730 or 1735
message by Anika: 15.9 20th Century--Chronologician
We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier, pub. 1991
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
Task Total = 25
Grand Total = 985
Karen GHHS wrote: "10.3 - The plusStenhuggaren The Stonecutter by Camilla Läckberg
This challenge brought me to my new love of Scandinavian noir and mysteries. I like Camilla Lackberg's work because there are less..."
Yes, the Jumbo applies. Our rule is the most popular English language print edition.
Don (The Book Guy) wrote: "10.5 Global Youth Service DayMy Invented Country: A Nostalgic Journey Through Chile by Isabel Allende. Won 2004 Commonwealth Award.
Review: I like this book, but it is hard to say why. It is no..."
Sorry, Isabel Allende is a US citizen, and doesn't qualify as non-western.
10.8 - Rosemary’s task – Spell it out:Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
I came of age in the late 60s, so I was pretty sure I would fall into the camp of those that love this book. I was right! I like "quirky character" books in the first place, so that was a big plus. I also had "San Francisco" envy in my younger years: "if you're going to San Francisco make sure to wear some flowers in your hair" --and did have a chance to visit there during the general time period in which the book is set. My husband had a gay relative (who had never managed to come out of the closet) living there at the time and I'll never forget our visit to Glide Memorial Church, an urban, liberal, lively congregation right in the heart of "The Tenderloin" area of San Francisco. All of the characters in Tales of the City could have been in those pews. Yes, the writing style is light and the plot does smack of a soap opera as other reviewers have stated, but I loved reading about this bygone time!
+10 Task: AM
+10 Review
+ 5 Oldies: 1978
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 1820
20.10 - Elizabeth (Alaska) task – Initially:Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen Low Lexile
+20 Task: A.G.
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1840
20.5 EmmaData, A Love Story: How I Gamed Online Dating to Meet My Match by Amy Webb
Amy was in a relationship, and then that relationship ended. That's how most relationships play out, statistically speaking. You date, you get into relationships, and those all end until you meet someone and marry (and, 50% of the time in America, that relationship will end, too, and then the whole cycle starts all over).
After being set up on several horrible dates by well-meaning friends and family members, she decided to take matters into her own hands and join a few online dating sites. Several disastrous dates later (including a hot, funny, interesting guy--who wasn't exactly divorced yet and a foodie who ordered almost $200 at their meal--then left her to pay the bill), she re-evaluated the system and found it wanting. Amy, in addition to being wicked funny, is wicked smart. She takes the system of online dating apart on a mathematical level, approaches it from the other side (i.e.: joins her chosen site as several different men that she has created in order to gather data on her competition), then creates a "super profile" to find the man of her dreams.
This was such a fun read and I actually learned a little in the process (about algorithms and the significance of "8" in Japanese language/culture and the understated brilliance of George Michael as a musician). Recommended.
+20 Task (written/about Amy Webb)
+10 Review
Task Total = 30
Grand Total = 1015
From Post 666:Karen GHHS wrote: "10.7 - Rebekah’s task – Nurse it:
The Birth House by Ami McKay
I am intrigued by the idea of a midwife and enjoy reading stories of this process. This is partly due to the fact that I had both my..."
Congrats on your Mega Finish!
There is an addition error in here somewhere.
1425 (post 639)+100+200+25(this post)=1750.
As of post 710, it appears your correct score is 1795.
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
The Betrothed (other topics)Brighton Rock (other topics)
The Princess Diaries (other topics)
Insatiable (other topics)
The Storyteller (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Alessandro Manzoni (other topics)Graham Greene (other topics)
Meg Cabot (other topics)
Tess Gerritsen (other topics)
Elizabeth Bowen (other topics)
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Homicide in Hardcover by Kate Carlisle
+20 Task
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 310