Reading with Style discussion

Bea wrote: "Kate S wrote: "+10 Jumbo, I show the most popular edition of The Historian at 734 pages. :)"

So that will actually increase my points by 5, since I already counted 5 points for Jumbo. Thanks, Kate."

Yes, that is correct. It is an increase of 5 points. Should have stated that clearer (maybe too much sun on the brain today!) :)

Congrats, Rebekah and Coralie, on your completions!!

Thanks for the points, Kate :-)

20.5 Emma

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Another re-read for book club that held up fantastically to the test of time.
I read this one well over ten years ago. I'd forgotten just about everything other than the fact that it was a dystopian novel and that the women wore strange uniforms. My oh my. Offred's tale still haunts and terrifies me in the most succinct guttural way that I recall it doing after my first encounter with this novel. Atwood's writing is delicate yet powerful, forcing the reader to pause and fully absorb the horror that is the nation of Gilead and to ask one's self: how does a society fall that far that fast? If I were in her shoes, what would I choose? What makes life worth living? Is just "being alive" enough?
Concurrently, I've been listening to Ann Patchett's The Patron Saint of Liars, about a home for pregnant unwed young women in the '60s and it was so strange to bounce back and forth between a story of babies not wanted and a story about an entire society built around the desire (and apparent inability) to procreate.

+20 Task
+10 Review
+5 Oldies (pub. 1985)
+5 Combo (10.8, Margaret Atwood)

Task Total = 40

Grand Total = 1675

In Honor of Pride & Prejudice

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Rating 4.24

+20 Task
+10 Non-western (author born in India)
+10 Review
+5 Jumbo

Marion and Shiva Stone may be twins, but they are as different as night and day. This story is told from Marion's point of view and is filled with his angst over being abandoned by his birth father. The reader learns mostly of Shiva through incidents when Shiva does not act as Maarion expects his twin to act. Both brothers are drawn to medicine but, as their personalities are different, so is their interest in things medical.

The story was very compelling as much for what happened to the characters as for the historical background of India and Ethiopia that it provided to me.

Definitely a recommended read!

Points: 45

Total Points: 235

In Honor of Pride & Prejudice

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Rating 4.26

+20 Task
+10 Review

This is the story of a boy (Miles) who becomes infatuated with a girl (Alaska) and then she dies. Although the book does not definitively tell the reader that she committed suicide, I believe she did. And, that is why it was depressing.

Otherwise, it was at times funny and tragic as the reader watches this young man try to adjust to boarding school, make friends and deal with his puberty issues. The story takes Miles, Chip (his roommate) and Alaska through a year of pranks, classes and relationship issues.

The author dated his story by including chapter titles that were a countdown to and from the unknown event...Alaska's death.

I gave this book 4*.

Points: 30

Total Points: 265

In Honor of Northanger Abbey

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

On Parody list

+20 Task
+10 Review

A thoroughly interesting read. I had to keep telling myself that it was Historical FICTION, as it read as if it was from a real diary or historically real record. Yet I am not one who believes that vampires really exist, so I was able to manage not to view this as totally historical. :)

I gave it 4* for inventiveness in meshing history and fiction so well and for the overall really interesting read.

Points: 30

Total Points: 295

10.5 - Global Youth Service Day
Sputnik Sweetheart by Murakami Haruki
Jerusalem Prize laureate 2009

+10 Task
+10 Non-Western (Japaneese)

Task total = 20

Points total = 315

10.6 - Ides of March

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

+10 Task (shelved as murder by 41 people)

Task total=10
Grand total=880

20.10 Initially
The March by E.L. Doctorow

Review:Doctorow's historical fiction based on Sherman's March to the Sea. It is interesting having a good writer imagine the thoughts and feelings of the particants in historical events both the actual historical figures and imagined characters. Doctorow does this from General Sherman and his staff to soldiers on both sides (including two who switched sides) and civilians, rich and poor, black and white. But this fell a little flat. It maybe that Doctorow's scope is too broad. He tries to include troop movements and strategy as well as the experiences of a disparate number of characters--an English reporter, an intelligent southern spinister swept up into a Union field hospital, a wealthy wife and mother losing her moorings, etc. etc. I felt there were just too many characters for one story.
+20 Task
+10 15 Combo (10.5 Commonwealth prize 2000, 10.3, 10.7)
+10 Review
Task total: 40 45
Grand Total: 640 645

10.2 Memory Day

A Year by the Sea by Joan Anderson

Review:
The author's vulnerability and desire for growth and self-discovery were quite compelling, but overall, the book didn't really work for me. At a crisis point, feeling trapped and insecure, the author decided to separate from her husband and live for a year in their beach home on Cape Cod. I loved the bits of her daily life that came through as she became friendly with year-round residents and did some clamming and worked at the local fish market. I got bored with her flowery language and metaphors comparing women to tides and oceans and nature and shells and such. All that said, I think I might send the book to a female friend who I think might enjoy it.

+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (20.5 - female author/female main character)

Task total: 25
Grand Total: 635

20.5 In Honor of Emma

Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich

+20 task

Task total: 20
Granjd total: 850

20.5 In Honor of Emma

Killer Market by Margaret Maron

+20 task

Task total: 20
Grand total: 870

20.9
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

Style: Combo +25(20.1 born 1802,20.2 BBC TV series, 20.4 Hardscrabble Life, 10.3 The Plus, 20.3 Pride and Prejudice)
Review +10
I can see why I wasn't all that keen on reading this book. It is a whopper to read. The only parts I enjoyed were volumes 1 and 2 where you meet Fantine and Cossette and Jean Vanjean. I found the style hard to read and very tedious. I felt that they could cut a lot out of the Waterloo battle. I found it unnecessary. I absolutely hated the Thandliers and they didn't get much better later on in the novel. I thought they were the most selfish, greedy people I ever met in fiction. I won't want to read this book any time soon.
+15 Oldies
+25 Jumbo (1463pp)
Total: 95
Grand Total: 260

oh, Jayme, congratulations on finishing Les Miserables!

Never again at least for a long time.

20.9 Time for Dinner

Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy by Frances Mayes (#14 on Nouvelle Cuisine list)

Review:
This audiobook was a lovely way to experience Frances Mayes' tale of her purchase, restoration, and then holiday residence in rural Tuscany. Barbara Caruso's narration of Mayes' description were a beautiful way to spend my time commuting to and from work. I was swept away with the vivid description of the country, the people, and the food. I know had I read the book, I would have stumbled over the Italian words, so it was nice to have a reader who rolled them of her tongue with beautiful ease.

+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (20.5 - female author telling her own story)

Total task : 25

GRAND TOTAL = 565

10.10 Group Read
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

+ 10 Task
+ 15 Oldies (published 1848)

Task Total = 25
RwS Finish = 100
Mega Finish = 200
Grand Total = 1500

10.10 Group Reads

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (Lexile 1020)

Review: Whew. Well, this is no sappy YA romance – it’s basically the best bits of a book about a best friendship combined with a WWII spy thriller. The two protagonists each tell a piece of the story – one in the first half of the book, and the other in a mostly overlapping fashion in the second half of the book. I wish I could know more about these girls and their friendship and their lives in England, before their worlds were torn apart during Operation Verity in German occupied France. This was basically a heart-wrenching book – it’s quite hard to tell where it’s going to end up, and with war comes sacrifice – but it was also quite fun reading about the exploits of two young women finding their way in a world that wasn’t quite set up for them.

+10 Task
+10 Review

Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 995

20th Century - Chronologician

15.9 – Looking Around: A Journey Through Architecture by Witold Rybczynski (pub 1992)

+15 Task
+10 Bonus

Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 1020

10.6 Murder

In the Woods by Tana French

Review: This was a thoroughly engrossing but utterly FRUSTRATING book to read. Tana French’s first novel has vivid characterization, the right amount of suspense and creepiness, a clearly drawn setting, and an intriguing plot. She made me care about the narrator, Rob Ryan, and his partner Cassie with a desperation that felt devastating at times, and was not helped by the ending. There are two mysteries – one that happened during Ryan’s childhood and one that may or may not be linked, happening in the present. Thing is, at page 167 (I went back and looked once I knew I was right) I figured out the resolution that took over 200 pages to get to in the story, making the ending more than a little frustrating. Now I’ll just have to go back for more, and probably continue to have pieces of my heart torn out…

+10 Task (shelved as murder 29 times and not shelved as mystery)
+5 Combo (10.4)
+10 Review

Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 1045

Congratulations, Coralie! Nice finish!

Coralie wrote:

"RwS Finish = 100
Mega Finish = 200
Grand Total = 1500"

Excellent! And what a nice round score! Whoohoo!

20th Century - Chronologician

15.9 High Wages by Dorothy Whipple
published 1930

+15 task
+10 bonus

Task Total: 25 points
Grand Total: 635

10.7 Nurse it

Atonement by Ian McEwan

Review:
I hated this book for the first 100-150 pages. The story was moving painfully slowly and I felt distant from the characters and wanted them to hurry up to get to the center of the story. But then the perspective shifted and the book came together in a haunting and impressive way. While I'm often quite critical of novel-within-novel devices, this book was so well crafted that I ended up loving the post-script and the structure all the more than if it had merely told the first story. I'd like to see the movie; I don't know how they can convey all the intricacies of the story in a film, but I think it would be interesting now that I've read the book. Highly recommended.

+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.5 - Commonwealth 2007)

Task total: 25
Grand total: 660

Cory (Bigler) '00-'05 wrote: "20.6 Northanger Abbey

The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie

Review: This book basically befuddled me. I think I’m missing something – either a more intimate knowledge of classic spy novels or a better u..."

I tried to read this last year and could not get into it. I put it down less than half way through--you summed up my feelings exactly in this review. I was so disappointed because I enjoy Laurie's acting. (Guess he has better writers than he is!)

Bea wrote: "In Honor of Pride & Prejudice

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Rating 4.26

+20 Task
+10 Review

This is the story of a boy who becomes infatuated with a girl and then she dies. Although the book..."

Hey Bea,

Reviews need to be a minimum of 100 words. Can we get a little bit more of your impressions of this highly rated book?

Bea wrote: "In Honor of Pride & Prejudice

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

+10 Non-western (author born in India)"

Sorry, Bea. Abraham Verghese was born in India, but is a resident of the USA and is therefore not qualified as non-western.

Coralie wrote: "10.10 Group Read
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

+ 10 Task
+ 15 Oldies (published 1848)

Task Total = 25
RwS Finish = 100
Mega Finish = 200
Grand Total = 1500"

Congrats, Coralie!

+5 Jumbo as the most popular edition has 535 pages.

Cory (Bigler) '00-'05 wrote: "20.6 Northanger Abbey

The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie

Review: This book basically befuddled me. I think I’m missing something – either a more intimate knowledge of classic spy novels or a better u..."

+5 Combo (10.6)

Bea wrote: "In Honor of Northanger Abbey

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

On Parody list

+20 Task
+10 Review

A thoroughly interesting read. I had to keep telling myself that it was Hi..."

+5 Combo (10.6)

itpdx wrote: "20.10 Initially
The March by E.L. Doctorow

Review:Doctorow's historical fiction based on Sherman's March to the Sea. It is interesting having a good writer imagine the thoughts and feelings of the..."

+5 Combo (10.7)

Coralie wrote: "10.10 Group Read
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

+ 10 Task
+ 15 Oldies (published 1848)

Task Total = 25
RwS Finish = 100
Mega Finish = 200
Grand Total = 1500"

+5 Combo (20.2)

Kate S wrote: "From Post 69:

Anika wrote: "20.1 Jane Austen

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin

I was thoroughly delighted reading the story of this great man in his own words. I was im..."

Sorry, Anika. I should have looked at this again. 20.7 requires a novel, this does not qualify for the extra combo points.

Rebekah wrote: "20.1 In Honor of Jane Austen
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin: with Related Documents by Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)

Review

Benjamin Franklin was one member of the enlightened group of ..."

Sorry, this does not qualify for 20.7 as it is not a novel.

20.10 Initially:
The Guide by R.K. Narayan

The novel begins with a peasant gazing reverentially at Raju. Raju has recently been released from prison and having no ties to a particular place or person, has stopped to rest at a shrine. The man, mistaking Raju for a holy man, treats Raju accordingly and Raju "had experienced a feeling of importance. He felt like an actor who was always expected to utter the right sentence." Unwittingly, Raju falls into the role assigned him by Velan, the peasant man, and eventually the role becomes reality. Interspersed with Raju's present is the narrative Raju relates to Velan in an attempt to refute the role thrust upon him.

I thoroughly enjoyed the the present-tense storyline about Raju's transformation into a holy man. The author was able to show, not tell, the power of societal expectations to influence and even alter behavior. The dichotomy between Raju's thoughts and his actions subtly raised questions about the nature of faith. The novel ends somewhat abruptly, leaving the reader to choose what happens next and to decide if Raju is a holy man or not.

+20 task
+5 combo (10.3 - The Plus)
+10 non-Western
+10 review
+5 oldies (pub. 1958)

Task Total: 50 points
Grand Total: 735 points

10.3 The Plus

The Double by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

+10 Task
+15 Oldies (1846)
+10 Non-Western (Russian)

Post Total: 35
Season Total: 2060

10.3 The Plus

The Double by José Saramago

+10 Task

Post Total: 10
Season Total: 2070

10.3 The Plus

The Nun by Denis Diderot

+10 Task
+15 Oldies (1796)

Post Total: 25
Season Total: 2095

10.8 Spell it Out

Foreign Body by Robin Cook

+10 Task

Post Total: 10
Season Total: 2105

20.4 Mansfield Park
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

I am not a Dickens fan. Typically, I find his style far to cumbersome and wordy and the coincidence-driven plots tend to make my eyes roll. Even worse, I read Oliver Twist not too long after reading Bleak House, arguably Dickens's best novel. While the style was everything I kew it would be (only worse), the storyline was not as familiar as I thought it would be. Oliver spends very little time in the streets of London and never attains the precocious cleverness of Orphan Annie or Gavroche; I had always pictured him as saucy street-urchin. If you can get past the unwieldy, badly constructed sentences and the cardboard characters, there are moments of stunning writing, such as the most grisly scene in the book which is as horrifying as Poe's best work.

+20 task
+15 combo (20.1 - Austen's lifetime, 20.2 - BBC adaptation, 20.6 - Northanger Abbey)
+10 review
+15 oldies (pub. 1838)
+5 jumbo

Task Total: 65 points
Grand Total: 800 points

Camille wrote: "Cory (Bigler) '00-'05 wrote: "20.6 Northanger Abbey

The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie

Review: This book basically befuddled me. I think I’m missing something – either a more intimate knowledge of cl..."

So glad I'm not alone, Camille!

Kate S wrote: "Rebekah wrote: "20.1 In Honor of Jane Austen
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin: with Related Documents by Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)

Review

Benjamin Franklin was one member of the enlig..."

Oops. Sorry bout that

Kate, I edited my post; but, for your reading pleasure, here is my revised review for Looking for Alaska.

This is the story of a boy (Miles) who becomes infatuated with a girl (Alaska) and then she dies. Although the book does not definitively tell the reader that she committed suicide, I believe she did. And, that is why it was depressing.

Otherwise, it was at times funny and tragic as the reader watches this young man try to adjust to boarding school, make friends and deal with his puberty issues. The story takes Miles, Chip (his roommate) and Alaska through a year of pranks, classes and relationship issues.

The author dated his story by including chapter titles that were a countdown to and from the unknown event...Alaska's death.

I gave this book 4*.

Bea wrote: "Kate, I edited my post; but, for your reading pleasure, here is my revised review for Looking for Alaska.

This is the story of a boy (Miles) who becomes infatuated with a girl (Alaska) and then sh..."

Very nice! Thank you, Bea

15.8 20th Century- Chronologician - 1997

Road Rage by Ruth Rendell

+15 Task
+10 Bonus

Task total=25
Grand total=905

20.5 In Honor of Emma
A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard

Review
What a courageous, amazing woman is Jaycee Dugard! In her own words, that she reads in this audiobook, she explains what happened to her from the June day she was abducted at the age of eleven until her rescue eighteen years later. Her abductors were Phillip and Nancy Garrido, a husband and wife who worked in tandem to kidnap Jaycee. Phillip raped Jaycee, used and abused her for the full eighteen years. Over time, she was given more and more freedom in a “hidden” backyard where Dugard lived in a tent. Garrido was a registered sex offender for kidnapping and raping a fourteen year old, but despite several visits by parole officers and tips called in by neighbors, they never investigated the back yard. During the eighteen years, Jaycee gave birth to two girls in the backyard. Phillip and Nancy delivered them. With her indomitable spirit she homeschooled them and brought them up with nurturing care so that later evaluations miraculously showed them to be well-adjusted children and at the school level for their age. Jaycee’s natural voice is a young sounding voice so as you listen to her, it feels like she is still the actual eleven year old that experiences the horror. How she overcame it all and is a successful, productive member of society and a single mother is a story I highly recommend.

+ 20 pts - Task
+10 pts - Review
+ 5 pts - Combo (10.2 Memoir)

Total Points - 35 pts
Grand Total - 1500 1625 pts ?
I had my last grand total as 1465 but the reader board has 1590. Did I skip some points?

Rebekah wrote: "I had my last grand total as 1465 but the reader board has 1590. Did I skip some points?


Yes, there was a discrepancy between posts 890 and 894. You had 1475 in post 890, but then reverted to 1410 after post 894. Between then and now, we have gotten to 1590 as of post 900. Let me know if you need more information. :)

10.3 The Plus

The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

+10 Task
+10 Jumbo (over 700 pages)
+10 Oldies (1868)
+10 Non-Western

Post Total: 40
Season Total: 2145

20.10 Initially

Super-Cannes by J.G. Ballard

+20 Task

Post Total: 20
Season Total: 2160

20.3 Pride and Prejudice
The Godfather by Mario Puzo

+ 20 Task (105 092 ratings, average 4.31)
+ 10 Combo (10.3 and 10.6)
+ 5 Oldies (published 1969)

Task Total = 35
Grand Total = 1545

My final post:

15.9 20th Century- Chronologician - 1998
The Chimney Sweeper's Boy by Barbara Vine

+15 Task
+10 Bonus

Task total=25
Grand total=930