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Spring 2013 Rws Completed Tasks - Spring 2013
Camille wrote: "Task 20.2: BBC TV series or MovieI read Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
+20: task
+5: combo 20.3
+10: review
+15: oldies (GR pub. date as 1811)
+15: task total
RwS Total: +95
REVIEW: I'm ..."
It's ok, Camille. we still love you and Jayme too! (smile)
20th Century - Chronologician15.3 From 1992 / Lexile 910
Dragon's Bait by Vivian Vande Velde
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 125
10.9 - Anika’s task – Time for Dinner:The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
I love cooking(and eating,-- probably too much) so I was excited to see a task about food related books. I was also excited because I heard Erica Bauermeister speak about her new book at the ALA (library) conference, and found out that she is also a Seattle author and her books are centered on Northwest cooking. The narrators are all attendees at a cooking class where they learn about cooking and also sometimes about life and how to maneuver through it in new ways with new attitudes. The writing was lovely, although occasionally the metaphors were overdone. I enjoyed the characters, but the cooking itself was definitely my favorite thing about the book. I miss cooking in an artistic way. There never seems to be time. Perhaps I will now be inspired enough to take the time while listening to books on my MP3!
+ 10 Task: #2 on the Nouvelle Cuisine list
+ 10 Review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 145
Chronologician Task 15.2: 1965Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
Task total: +25
That's so 20th century Total: +40
GRAND TOTAL: +90
Task 10.9 – Choose a book from the top 30 of the Nouvelle Cuisine list or a book from the top 50 from the Food-Related Fiction listAs of March 09, 2013:
Nouvelle Cuisine list : #29
Food-Related Fiction list: #30
The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones
Review:Nicole Mones is a frequent contributor to Gourmet magazine. In this novel, she includes lengthy descriptions of various traditional Chinese dishes (no recipes though). The time is 2007 (the year before the Chinese Olympics), and the setting is (mostly) Beijing. Our heroine is a 40ish recent American widow. She travels to China on business (she writes a food column in Los Angeles). This story is a gentle story of our heroine letting go of her grief, forgiving her late husband for his faults, and learning to rejoin the living. There is also a 40is American Eurasian man, living in China, who comes to terms with the facts of his extended family. Overall, this was a gentle, uplifting story of 40ish Americans, interleaved with descriptions of Chinese food.
+10 Task
+10 Style:3. Review (10 points)
Task Total: 10 + 10 = 20
Grand Total: 45 + 20 = 65
Christina wrote: "20.5 EmmaThe Opportunist by: Tarryn Fisher
REVIEW:
Holy hell. I am in tears writing this review. Tarryn Fisher is an AMAZING author and tells an incredibly emotional story. Her main character, O..."
Thanks for this review! It's on my list and I'm more excited now than before! Can't wait!
Rebekah wrote: "Camille wrote: "Task 20.2: BBC TV series or MovieI read Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
+20: task
+5: combo 20.3
+10: review
+15: oldies (GR pub. date as 1811)
+15: task total
RwS Total: +..."
Haha Thanks!
20.1 Jane AustenThe Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin
I was thoroughly delighted reading the story of this great man in his own words. I was impressed to hear how he had a hand in so many things that we take for granted now (besides the laundry list of inventions that we are all familiar with, he was also involved with: implementing street lighting, lending libraries, French/Spanish classes supplanting Latin in grammar school, and so much more). I loved that he was not afraid to talk about his mistakes ("errata"...even his wording makes it sound not-so-bad) or his faults ("a Quaker friend having kindly informed me that I was generally thought proud...of which he convinc'd me by mentioning several instances"). In his youth he experienced more dramatic twists and turns than ever graced the pages of Candide (which, in my opinion, is the most outlandish roller coaster of a story ever told). I appreciated his recipe for self-improvement. Most of all, though, I loved his humor ("Persons of good sense, I have since observed, seldom fall into it [argument and disputation], except lawyers, university men, and men of all sorts that have been bred at Edinborough.")
Upon finishing it, I feel like I ought to start re-reading it at once to pick up on all of the things that I'm sure I missed. A fascinating, brilliant, inspiring man.
+20 Task (Franklin and Austen's lives overlapped from 1776, when she was born, to 1790, when he died)
+15 Oldies (pub. 1790)
+5 Combo (10.2, shelved under Biography at BPL)
Task Total = 40
Grand Total = 165
10.1 - Square PegHow to Marry a Millionaire Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks
I picked up this book on the recommendation of a friend who said it was better than the synopsis. Said synopsis: vampire loses a fang and rings up an all night dentist to have it fixed asap. When he arrives at the office the lady dentist is being shot at. He saves the day, of course, and vows to protect her as the Russian vampire mafia closes in.
It was just as bad as it sounds.
The story had a chance to rise above the sum of its parts but the whole thing felt like a draft. The vampire mythology wasn't well thought out and the character list was longer and more convoluted than necessary. The ending was rushed and the heroine was promised everything she wanted - a big house, a big dog, a white picket fence, kids, the works. Oh yeah, our hero promised to do some DNA splicing so biological children could be possible because he's awesome like that. ~eyeroll~
I like reading paranormal stories because of the unusual twists they put on an imagined world. When an author sets up restrictions then wishes them away (did I mention the hero also invited a daylight potion?) I feel cheated. Let vampires be vampires, and let contemporary romance be contemporary romance. Let's not confuse the two.
+10 task
+10 review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 70
In Post 42 Coralie wrote: "10.2 Memory DayEx Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman
+10 Task (Biography at BPL)
+5 Combo (20.5 written & narrated by a woman)
Task Total = 15
Grand Total = 15"
I'm sorry, this is not catalogued as biography at BPL, but with a call number of 814. Do you want to move it to your combo task 20.5?
20th Century - Chronologician15.3 Tick Tock by Dean Koontz, pub. 1991
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
Task Total =25 points
Grand Total = 65 points
10.5 - In honor of April’s Global Youth Service Day
Station Island by Seamus HeaneyReading Station Island was the near perfect reading experience. I had corned beef and cabbage cooking on the stove because it was the weekend my son could come to eat and the picture on the cover reminded me of Kinsale in Ireland, the small coastal town we stayed in when visiting the country. We were there when Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland came to an agreement for peace and felt a part of that history finally reaching a more peaceful conclusion. These poems from 1984 took me back to a time before that solution was reached, but were based more on the inner life of a poet, the natural world and the legends of Ireland than on the bloody conflict, which I enjoyed. I found myself reading many of them twice through just to get a better grasp of the meanings and beauty of the language. I must admit that I first picked this one thinking we had not-a-novel points, but it was well worth it and I'm glad I read it even without those style points!
+10 Task: Commonwealth Prize Winner 1997
+ 5 Combo:10.4 Born in Ireland
+10 Review
+ 5 Oldies: 1984
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 175
Chronologician Task 15.1: 1949The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles
+15 Task
That's so 20th century Total: +15
GRAND TOTAL: +15
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "In Post 42 Coralie wrote: "10.2 Memory DayEx Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman
+10 Task (Biography at BPL)
+5 Combo (20.5 written & narrated by a woman)
Task Total = 15
G..."
No, don't move it to 20.5. I regretted adding itas a combo and would feel uncomfortable with it for that task. It may technically fit but it doesn't really fit the spirit of the task. Just leave it out altogether.
20.7 - In honor of PersuasionBetween the Acts by Virginia Woolf
+20 Task(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_...)
+5 Oldies (1941)
Task total=25
Grand total=90
Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "10.6 Ides of March-
by Patrick SuskindTask +10
Review +10
Style +5 Oldies-published 1986
Total: 25"
Jayme, please include your review to earn style points. Thanks
Anika wrote: "20.1 Jane AustenThe Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin
I was thoroughly delighted reading the story of this great man in his own words. I was impressed to hear how he had a ..."
+10 Review
Also, a slight addition error.
120 (Post 68)+40 (post 69)+10 (review)=170
Christina wrote: "20.5 EmmaThe Opportunist by: Tarryn Fisher
REVIEW:
Holy hell. I am in tears writing this review. Tarryn Fisher is an AMAZING author and tells an incredibly emotional story. Her main character, O..."
It appears Tarryn Fisher is a USA resident, so no non-western points here, sorry.
http://www.tarrynfisher.com/tarryn/
20.3 - Pride and PrejudiceA Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Oh man, I loved this book. It is quiet and wonderful, following the life of Francie, a poor girl in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Her story is both individual and universal, as all good stories should be.
I only knew the bare facts of pre-WWI New York (Tammany Hall, tenements) so it was interesting to see how normal families were affected. A big theme throughout the whole story is the battle between the dependable and the passionate. Is it better to marry a solid man or a passionate one? Is it better to be rich or happy, if one has to choose? Katie and Neeley have made their choices, and by the end of the novel Francie is considering hers.
This is a book I can see myself coming back to in five or ten years' time to see what else Francie and her family can teach me. Highly recommended.
+20 task (>3.99, 100,000+ ratings)
+5 combo (20.5 - female author, female main character)
+10 review
+5 oldie (published 1943)
+5 jumbo (528 pages)
Task total: 45
Grand total: 115
Camille wrote: "Task 20.2: BBC TV series or MovieI read Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
+20: task
+5: combo 20.3
+10: review
+15: oldies (GR pub. date as 1811)
+50: task total
RwS Total: +95
REVIEW: I'm ..."
+5 Combo 20.01
Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "Review +10http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/..."
Jayme, you need to post it here in the completed thread, not just a link. Thank you.
10.6 Ides of March-
by Patrick SuskindTask +10
Review +10
This book was odd. The history on perfume was interesting. How perfume was made and why it was used and popular was interesting. You meet Jean Baptiste as an infant and I felt sorry for the main character. Being tossed from wet nurse to orphanage to apprentice and then just dumped and thrown out into the world. However after that I stopped feeling sorry for him . I felt he went a little crazy. Why would he want to live in a cave for seven years was odd to me. I get that he is a hermit but that just seemed like an odd decision. I didn't understand why he made his own odor. It was confusing to me. I really didn't get his great plan for life.
Style +5 Oldies-published 1986
Reposted
Total: 25
Reposted
Kate S wrote:+10 Review
Also, a slight addition error.
120 (Post 68)+40 (post 69)+10 (review)=170
D'oh! Oops! I should know by know not to post when I'm delirious...I'm no good at math to begin with, but then factor in sleep-deprivation and it's a lost cause altogether. :-) Thanks for fixing it for me!
15.2 That's So 20th CenturyChronologican - Book 2
May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons: A Journey Among the Women of India by Elisabeth Bumiller pub 1990
+15 pts - Task
+10 pts - Bonus
Task Total - 25 pts
Grand Total - 155 pts
20.10 - InitiallyThank You, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
+20 Task
+5 Combo (20.6)
+10 Oldies (1934)
Task total = 35
Points total = 35
20th Century - Chronologician15.1 - Wittgenstein’s Mistress by David Markson, pub. 1988
+15 task
Grand Total: 15 points
20th Century - Chronologician15.2 - Inland by Gerald Murnane, pub. 1989
+15 task points
+10 bonus
Task Total: 25 points
Grand total: 40 points
20th Century - Chronologician15.3 - Amongst Women by John McGahern, pub. 1990
+15 task points
+10 bonus
Task Total: 25 points
Grand total: 65 points
20th Century - Chronologician15.4 - Mao II by Don DeLillo, pub. 1991
+15 task points
+10 bonus
Task Total: 25 points
Grand total: 90 points
20th Century - Chronologician15.4 Doomsday Book by Connie Willis, pub. 1992
+15 task
+10 bonus
Task Total = 25 points
Grand Total = 90 points
20th CenturyTimeline: 1990-1999
Chronologician
15.1 - Published in 1990
Hocus Pocus - Kurt Vonnegut
+15 task
Task total: 15
Grand total: 15
10.6 Ides of MarchA Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Review: I was introduced to this series by the HBO series based on the books. I honestly never would have picked up this book if it hadn’t been for the HBO series. Fantasy is just not one of my usual genres.
I did enjoy Game of Thrones and mostly enjoyed Martin’s writing, although at times, it did seem a bit simplistic. It is hard for me to truly judge the book because it ties so closely with the t.v. series. They really did an incredible job at converting the book to screen. Maybe even too good of a job. It actually too me a while to get through the 800 pages of Game of Thrones. I think this is because having seen the book brought to life on the television screen, there were no surprises for me. But, that doesn’t mean that anyone who is a fan of the show should avoid books…quite the contrary. I think the two make excellent companions.
Even if you think you don’t like fantasy, I would definitely suggest giving George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones a try….
+10 task
+10 review
+15 jumbo (864 pgs)
Task Total=35
Grand Total=35
20.6 - Northanger AbbeyThrough the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll
+20 Task
+5 Combo (20.2 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071116/)
+10 Oldies (1871)
Task total = 35
Points total = 70
20th Century - Chronologician15.2 Shallow Graves by Jeffery Deaver published 1992
+15 task
+10 bonus
Task total: 25
rand total: 65
10.8 - Rosemary’s task – Spell it out:Heroesby Robert Cormier
I recently finished two powerful books by Robert Cormier, an original master of books written for young adults. Both of the books are psychological thrillers, Cormier’s primary genre. Heroes brings a decorated veteran of WWII back to his hometown, Frenchtown, but he enters without recognition because a good portion of his face was blown off when he fell on a grenade, saving his fellow soldiers’ lives. He has brought his gun, and has plans that are not heroic, but vengeful. He is waiting for another “hero” from Frenchtown to return who he holds responsible for causing his problems. The story took a different route than I thought it would, but otherwise met my expectations for Cormier’s writing. The plots are engaging and the writing is emotional and sophisticated.
I liked We All Fall Down (20th Century) even more than Heroes. A house is vandalized by four teens and Jane’s sister is left in a coma. “And the Avenger has seen it all.” Many questions have to be answered. Who is the Avenger? Will he get revenge? And what about the four teens? Will justice be done? The book leaves you guessing right down to the wire!
+10 Task: Initials RC
+10 Review: 1050 Lexile
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 195
Jenifer wrote: "10.6 Ides of MarchA Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Review: I was introduced to this series by the HBO series based on the books. I honestly never would have picked up this book if it ha..."
It is like reading a historical fiction novel.
20th Century - Chronologician15.2 Back Roads by Tawni O'Dell
published 1999
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
Task total: 25
Grand total: 40
10.4 - In celebration of Irish American MonthThe Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien pseudonym of Brian O'Nolan
+10 Task (born in Strabane, Ireland October 05, 1911)
+10 Combo (20.6, 20.7)
+5 Oldies (1967)
Task total=25
Grand total=115
10.3 The PlusThe Magicians by Lev Grossman
Review:
This is a book about a young man (Quentin) during his " discovery years". It starts his senior year in high school when he is tested for magical abilities and is accepted into a school for magicians. It follows him through his school years and after as he tries to figure out what he should be doing with himself.
The premise is intriguing and some of the scenarios are interesting and there is the drama of love interests but some how the book did not engage me. Quentin's dilemmas seemed superficial and self-centered. By the end he may have grown and matured a little but it didn't seem to me by as much as his experiences should have stretched and deepened him.
This has been described as Harry Potter for twenty somethings. But it has a long ways to go to catch up with Rowling.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task total: 20
Grand total: 60
Task 20.5 - In honor of Emma, read a book written by a woman with a single female narrator/main character.The Best of All Possible Worlds (2013) by Karen Lord
Review:This science fiction novel is told in first person by a woman located in the far future named Grace (but she goes by Delacura).
This is Karen Lord’s second novel. Her first novel, Redemption in Indigo, won several fantasy/science fiction awards, including the 2011 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature. I think this one will be nominated for several science fiction awards in 2013 as well. The Best of All Possible Worlds is set in the far future. The Sadiri (a variant of the human race) communicate with one another telepathically. When their world is destroyed, the survivors who were off-world at the time have to confront: possible physical extinction (no descendants) and/or the permanent loss of their culture. Is it enough to ensure there are DNA descendents, even if such descendants do not follow traditional Sadiri culture? Or, is it enough to preserve the culture, even if it is non-DNA individuals who follow the culture? Or is it necessary to have both DNA descendants AND the culture? Karen Lord makes this issue INTERESTING.
The action occurs on the distant planet of Cygnus Beta. There, refugees from all over the galaxy are welcomed to settle. Our heroine and narrator works for the local government. Her mission: to help the Sadiri refugees adjust to living on Cygnus Beta; and, if possible, help them in their goals.
The story is original. It does help to be familiar with standard science fiction concepts as the author doesn’t info-dump. I’d recommend this novel to anyone who likes science fiction, especially science fiction novels like The Left Hand of Darkness and Never Let Me Go.
+ 20 Task
+10 Style:3. Review (10 points)
Task Total: 20 + 10 = 30
Grand Total: 65 + 30 = 95
And, maybe, Karen Lord qualifies for:
+10 Style:2. Non-Western (10 points):
Karen Lord was born in Barbados (an independent island nation). Wherever she is referred to on the web, she is referred to as a Caribbean author. I don’t see any web story that indicates that she has become a citizen of the United States or the United Kingdom (although she travels and publishes in both countries. ) I’ll leave it to our moderators to decide if Ms. Lord qualifies for non-western.
20th Century - Chronologician15.3 The Perfect Husband (Quincy and Rainie #1) by Lisa Gardner – pub. 1997
+15 Task
+10 Bonus
Task Total = 25 points
Grand Total = 65 points
20.5 - In honor of Emma...Red Velvet Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke
Review:
What can I say? I truly am a fan. I know they are not the best books but there is something about Hannah Swensen that I just love and can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series.
Red Velvet Cupcake Murder does not let us down. It is filled with the same old love triangle, along with the silly family dynamics we have grown to love and expect and let’s not forgot about the unsolved murder to figure out. The recipes in this edition left me desiring more but there were a few that I can’t wait to try.
For me it offered exactly what I have grown to expect from Joanne Fluke, so although it was not the best book in the series it is still worth the read for the true fans. I will still continue to wait to see what Hannah decides to do with her life in the next installment. Hopefully we are not waiting to long.
+20 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
Grant Total: 70
Deedee wrote: "I’ll leave it to our moderators to decide if Ms. Lord qualifies for non-western. "Nice! She does! I even found an interview where she is referred to as a Barbadian author.
20.5 EmmaThe Gathering by Anne Enright
Initially I hated this book. I didn’t like the subject matter or the writing style and could not connect with any of the characters. I think the story was about the narrator’s breakdown after her brother’s suicide. The time frame kept jumping around so that I had difficulty in getting a grip on just who was who and what was actually happening. I found it frustrating that she wasn’t telling me the story that would interest me. I would have liked to have been shown more of what her normal family life was in a family of twelve children (it didn’t sound much like the tales I have heard of my grandfather’s life as the eleventh of twelve children). It really annoyed me when they kept insisting ‘Don’t tell Mammy’ but never gave any reason why they shouldn’t. It did improve later in the book, when we had more of the family getting together and less of her imaginings about her grandmother’s sex life, but not sufficiently for me to want to read another of her books.
+ 20 Task – female author and female narrator
+ 10 Review
+ 10 Combo – 10.3 The plus, 10.4 author born in Ireland
Task Total = 40
Grand Total = 80
20th Century - Chronologician15.3 Gone, But Not Forgotten by Phillip Margolin published 1993
+20 task
Task total: 20
Grand total: 90
20.5 - EmmaWith My Body by Nikki Gemmell
I'm not sure what I think about this book. It's put together oddly and has annoying affectations, but explores interesting issues.
Pros first, as there's only one but it's a biggie - exploring female sexuality and the power it holds. To say any more would probably be a spoiler.
Cons - oo boy, I have a list. First, there are over 200 chapters, each spanning one to three pages. Each chapter starts with a quote, sometimes just a phrase, that kinda sorta relates to the content. If there were one quote to puzzle out every 20 or 40 pages I'd do just that, but every other page? It wasn't worth the mental energy so I skipped them.
Neither pro nor con - the book is in the second person. It adds an immediacy that serves the story but at other times grates.
This is not a "happy read", but a decent one none the less.
+20 task (female author, female second person narrator)
+10 review
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 145
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Reading with Style
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Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith
Review
Beginning amusingly enough as an unexpected premise, like all parodies it runs thin after the first hundred pages or so. I suppose that is why many parodies and books of humor are generally shorter in length than the average novel. I laughed at first, having just completed reading Pride & Prejudice and could see the semblances fresh in my mind. After a while I thought, “OK, I get it” but then to run the full length of the book turned the lol to yawn. It is similar to having your six-yr-old telling you the same knock-knock jokes each and every hour. Much of the prose remains the same as the original author wrote it, with the zombie jokes, ninja arts and descriptions of nauseating features of the zombies and battles with them frequently sprinkled in every chapter. A younger set may have enjoyed it more but my final verdict was “Enough Already!!”
+20 pts - Task
+10 pts - Review
Task Total - 30 pts
Grand total - 130 pts