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SU 2016 Completed Tasks
15.10 FYTS: Time Traveller1963-2008
Manhattan Noir 2: The Classics by Lawrence Block (editor)
+40 Task (2008)
+100 FYTS completion bonus - yay!
Post Total: 140
Season Total: 990
10.9 It's Personal (Rosemary's Task)Ned Kelly: The Story of Australia's Most Notorious Legend by Peter FitzSimons
Review
I have always thought Ned Kelly to be one of those historical personages who achieved their legendary status by urban myths; that is there were not many historical supporting evidence of his existence, much less his feats. This tome (848 pages = 30+ hours audio) had me revising my views. There were numerous historical data to be had and sort through though of course, there remains questions which we’ll never have answers to. Despite all this data, there also remains the debate whether Ned Kelly is a good guy or bad guy. This, as always, is a matter of personal views.
The book started with the humble beginning of Ned Kelly, his parents’ origins and his birth, to conclude by his ignominious death and consequences thereafter. To begin with, I’m a total Kelly sympathiser; I felt the indignation of the family as one of the poor (life was oh so very hard and I mean this sincerely) and being hounded by the police, some of them liars and scoundrels to boot, pushed them beyond their limits. At the halfway mark, I do question whether there is motives of greed, of self-grandiose, of narcissism. And at the end, I do feel sorry that his life ended as it was, especially with a trial where it seemed justice was miscarried; it was really unfair that he could not get a fair representation. Nevertheless, the Kelly outbreak did cause a review of the police and of the unfair treatment of the poor Irish which is what he wanted so I guess he got what he wanted, after all. And his legend lives on…
This is the second Peter FizSimons’ works I’ve had the pleasure of reading and I’ll be trolling through the rest of them soon. I’ve really liked them because they’re not dry; he has inserted some personal views (so stated) but that is precisely why I like them. It made the works personal like he’s sharing and not telling/lecturing. If you’re a hard-core historian, you may not appreciate this but for a layman like myself, utterly enjoyable.
+10 Task
+5 Combo (20.4: Australia)
+15 Jumbo (848 pages)
+10 Review
Post Total: 40
Season Total: 985
20.10 MetafictionSurfacing by Margaret Atwood
I tried her The Blind Assassin before and couldn't finish it, even though I read about 200 pages. As this was barely over 200 pages, I did manage to finish it. The problems with this are very different than why (I recall) that I couldn't finish the other.
I'll begin with the writing style. Although there seem to be complete sentences, there are also phrases and fragments appended to the sentences. I am not the stickler for good sentence structure as was my mother, but this structure - or lack of it - bothered me. This is written in the first person, which wouldn't bother me. However, it begins in the present tense and first person present tense is annoying at the very least. I settled down again when she changed to writing in the past tense. That lasted for more than 100 pages. Then, inexplicably to me, she returned to writing in the present tense. I couldn't see any reason for this, but I am not a literature scholar. Perhaps someone else understands why she did this.
The story is relatively straight forward and is what I expected from the description. This is on Bloom's Western Canon and I was trying to read with that in mind, wondering what wondrous things he saw to add it to that list. He does say that he was less sure about the 20th Century entries. I would like to think this was one of the ones he was less sure about because as far as I can see there is nothing about it which is fundamental to understanding Western culture. Still, there is the survival aspect. Unfortunately, Atwood chose to go off in some bizarre spiritual way that I didn't like.
My last problem with this is the blatant American hate. I have read some of my GR friends complain about the antisemitism of the 19th Century and how they cringe reading it. Some have even laid it aside not being able to tolerate it. I don't see how this is different. "But then I realized it wasn't the men I hated, it was the Americans, the human beings, men and women both." There were several such sentences. Would it be acceptable if Mexican or German or Japanese were substituted for American? No, it would not. Hating because of an accident of birth - whether it be race or religion or nationality - is unacceptable.
I always knew I would not be reading any of Atwood's dystopian fiction because I don't read dystopian fiction. I had been looking forward to this - and also her Alias Grace. But I think I'll cross that off the list. I can't get to everything anyway. (2 stars)
+20 Task
+15 Combo (10.2, 10.7, 20.7)
+10 Canon
+10 Review
Task total = 55
Grand total = 610
From Post 630Valerie wrote: "10.4 Opposite lists
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
10 task
____
10
Running total: 375"
+5 Combo 10.8
From Post 631Valerie wrote: "20.8 Kotick
Kim by Rudyard Kipling
20 task
10 canon
____
30
Running total: 405"
+5 Combo 10.9
From Post 604Rosemary wrote: "10.5 - Mod Task
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
+10 Task
+10 Combo (10.3, 20.7)
+10 Canon
+5 Bingo, team 5, line 2, claimed on 31st July, post 69 in t..."
+5 Combo 10.4
20.7 USUnder the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan
Robert Louis Stevenson and Fanny van de Grift Osbourne had a marriage that was both supportive and stormy before they were finally laid to rest "under the wide and starry sky" in Samoa. They met in an artists' colony in France in 1876, and Louis fell hard for the exotic American woman. Fanny had come to Europe with her children to study art and leave her unfaithful husband. Louis, a decade younger, had finished a law degree but wanted a life as a writer. Louis had trouble with his lungs, but had an optimistic, adventurous personality. Fanny had a love of writing, art, and gardening. It was difficult for Fanny to manage financially since women had so few opportunities in that era, but she made the most of her limited resources.
During their years of marriage, Louis alternated between times of poor health and healthy periods of great productivity as a writer. When they found that the sea air helped Louis' lungs, they traveled to the South Seas. Fanny tolerated two years at sea even though she was constantly sea sick. She nursed him back from death's door multiple times. Louis did his part when Fanny descended into periods of madness in her older years.
I enjoyed reading about the Stevensons, and felt the book was well researched. I found the descriptions of Louis' creative process--often inspired by dreams--especially fascinating. My one quibble is that the book dragged in some parts and could have been edited down into a stronger story.
+20 task (NH-New Hampshire)
+10 review
Task total: 30
Grand total: 745
10.1 Square PegThe Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald
+10 Task
+10 Translation
Post Total: 20
10.6 Traveling the DDC WayLions of Kandahar: The Story of a Fight Against All Odds by Rusty Bradley
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
10.10 Group ReadsMurder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers
+10 Task
+ 5 Combo (20.5 - #43)
Task Total: 15
20.10 Meta FictionThe Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje
+20 Task
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 295 (includes 10 Bingo points)
15.5 FYTS: Time Traveler2016-1966
Bound Feet & Western Dress by Pang-Mei Natasha Chang
Pub. 1996
+25 Task
+5 Nonfiction
Task total: 30
Grand total: 840
15.4 FYTS - Time Leaper1951 - 1996
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
+15 task
Task Total = 15
Grand Total = 580
10.10 Group ReadsEvicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
by Matthew Desmond
+10 pts - Task
+ 5 pts - Combo (20.7 - Maryland)
Task Total - 15 pts
Grand Total - 290
Bea wrote: "20.10 Meta FictionThe Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje
+20 Task
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 295 (includes 10 Bingo points)"
Combo with 20.7 - MO is abbreviation for Missouri
20.10 MetafictionArt & Lies: A Piece for Three Voices and a Bawd by Jeanette Winterson
This is one of Winterson's earlier works, where I just don't get it on the first read. Most of her earlier works are like that for me, and it seems that this is probably the last of those, and I can handle all the ones that follow fairly well.
I sometimes think that with these earlier works she is trying to be too clever, and the narrative, I am presuming there is an overall narrative, suffers with the exercises in style and language that she is performing.
There was a little twist at the end that I wasn't expecting, which will make an interesting point on a re-read to see how it changes the perception of one of the characters, but I think it will be a long while before I re-visit this.
+20 task
+10 review
+5 combo (10.2)
Task Total = 35
Grand Total = 615
10.2 Picador/ViragoThe Taxidermist's Daughter by Kate Mosse
+10 Task
Grand Total: 880 from my last total (not sure it's correct according to the readerboard)
10.4 Opposite ListsThe Shining by Stephen King
+10 Task: The Darkest Books of All Time
Grand Total: 900
20.9 Political (Kate S's Task)Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist by Sunil Yapa
+20 Task
+ 5 Combo: 10.7 First Letter (Tien's Task)
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 975
20.10 Meta fictionLighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson
+20 Task
+10 Combo: 10.2 Picador/Virago / 10.7 First Letter (Tien's Task)
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 1005
10.4 Opposite ListsThe Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Canon, 1110 Lexile
Robert Louis Stevenson's story ideas often came to him in dreams. He was awakened by his wife when he was thrashing around during a "fine bogey-tale". He developed it into this novella by writing straight through three days and nights. His wife suggested that he should add allegorical aspects to the horror story so he burned the first story, and rewrote it in another marathon writing session.
Dr Jekyll, a client and a friend of the lawyer Mr Utterson, has willed all his worldly possessions to Mr Hyde. Mr Utterson has heard terrible stories about Mr Hyde, and wants to preserve the reputation of the good doctor. The lawyer tries to obtain more information about Mr Hyde, a vile, depraved man who has been violent toward helpless, innocent people. Eventually, a letter from Dr Jekyll surfaces which explains his scientific experiments and shows the duality of human nature--a virtuous side and an evil alter ego.
Stevenson uses wonderful Gothic descriptions of the dark London streets with fog swirling around in the moonlight whenever the story is centered on Mr Hyde. Written in 1885, the story has a Victorian feeling to it because of the dark descriptions, and the emphasis on good vs evil, civilized vs primitive.
I saw the stage play "Jekyll and Hyde" years ago, but this is the first time I read Stevenson's story. I wish I hadn't waited so long because this is a great classic horror story.
+10 task (#46 on dark list)
+10 canon
+10 review
Task total: 30
Grand total: 775
15.2 FYTS: Time Traveler2015 - 1965 (Skipping 1990)
2010
Snow Angels by James Thompson
+15 Task Total
Grand Total: 1020
15.3 FYTS: Time Traveler2015 - 1965 (Skipping 1990)
2005
The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch
+15 Task Total
Grand Total: 1035
15.4 FYTS: Time Traveler2015 - 1965 (Skipping 1990)
2000
Spinning Into Butter by Rebecca Gilman
+15 Task Total
Grand Total: 1050
20.9 PoliticalTruman by David McCullough
Review: This is an excellent time to read an outstanding biography of a president, who is becoming recognized as one of our greats. McCullough has written a very readable and thorough biography of a man of the people who was thrust into the presidency in very perilous times. Truman faced unprecedented events and decisions. He surrounded himself with wise men and loyal friends (who weren't necessarily wise) and "did his best". His goals were world peace and the best for common Americans.
McCullough sticks to the events that impacted and were formed by Truman. The reader has to know or look for some of the background but it is a good review of world and national history.
McCullough is a sympathetic biographer. I appreciated an understanding of the qualities we should be looking for in a president that I found in this book.
+20 Task
+15 combo (10.6 BPL Biography, 10.9, 20.3 Lionel Gelber Prize 1992)
+25 jumbo
+10 review
Task total: 70
Grand Total: 215
20.4 Go for the GoldThe Cossacks by Leo Tolstoy
+20 pts - Task
+10 pts - LiT
+10 pts - Canon
Task Total - 40 pts
Grand Total - 330 pts
15.3 FYTS: Time Traveler1966-2016
Imaro by Charles R. Saunders (pub 1981)
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 1050
10.7 First Letter Caught Running by Madeleine Urban
Review: I have a weakness for these authors – they wrote my beloved Cut & Run series. This one was written before Cut & Run, and it kind of shows. The drawn out tension that makes that series so frustrating yet delicious isn’t done as well here. The first half is almost devoid of anything sexual or romantic, but by the end of the book the characters are in love and ready to live together, if not be completely out. I think they must have realized they work better doing series where that process can be drawn out, but this was still fun to read. If I paid too close attention I noticed the writing quirks that some other reviewers pointed out, but I enjoyed my day hanging out with Jake and Brandon.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 1070
10.2 Picador/ViragoSepulchre by Kate Mosse
Review: I read the first in this series, which I THINK is more loosely connected than anything, years ago. I don’t remember much about it, but I didn’t need to in order to understand Sepulchre. That being said, it took a while for me to figure out what WAS going on. I don’t mind when books switch back and forth in time, but this was maybe just slow at the beginning, making it more confusing. I much preferred the contemporary story, since it wasn’t as steeped in the occult as the past storyline, but by the end I kind of had a soft spot for all the characters. The book reads overall like it’s trying to be magical realism, but really ends up not being out of the ordinary much at all, which makes it straddle the line in a way that I wish it hadn’t.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Jumbo (560 pages)
+5 Combo (10.7)
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 1100
From Post 655Rosemary wrote: "20.8 - Kotick
A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul
Salim is a young man of Indian ethnicity whose family have lived on the coast of Africa for many generations and risen ..."
+10 Canon
From Post 661Rosemary wrote: "10.4 - Opposite Lists
Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
A series of scenes from the points of view of young drug addicts and their friends and acquaintances, set mostly in..."
+5 Combo 10.2
From Post 666Don (The Book Guy) wrote: "10.7 First Letter
Secret Warriors: The Spies, Scientists and Code Breakers of World War I by Taylor Downing
Secret Warriors: Key Scientists, Code Breakers and Prop..."
+5 Combo 10.6
From Post 674Bea wrote: "10.6 Traveling the DDC Way
Lions of Kandahar: The Story of a Fight Against All Odds by Rusty Bradley
+10 Task
Task Total: 10"
+5 Combo 10.7
From Post 675Bea wrote: "10.10 Group Reads
Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers
+10 Task
+ 5 Combo (20.5 - #43)
Task Total: 15"
+5 Combo 10.7
From Post 680Rebekah wrote: "10.10 Group Reads
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
by Matthew Desmond
+10 pts - Task
+ 5 pts - Combo (20.7 - Maryland)
Task Total - 15 pts
Grand To..."
+5 Combo 20.9
Task 10.7 First Letter (Tien's Task)Read a book with a title that starts with a letter found in OLYMPICS.
Mr. Splitfoot (2016) by Samantha Hunt
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 450 + 10 = 460
Thanks for the extra points, Rebekah and Kate. I forgot to check further for combo points as I was trying just to get my books caught up, which is the reason I left out the reviews. Missed the combo points on all three for different reasons.
15.5 FYTS - Time Leaper 1951-1996Foundation by Isaac Asimov
EDIT: I PUT THE WRONG BOOK!! I'm blaming still being sick after 4 weeks
Fantastic Voyage by Isaac Asimov - 1966
+20 task
Task Total = 20
Grand Total = 635
20.9 Political (Kate S's Task)Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell
Another great history lesson from Sarah Vowell. A delight to listen to her read her account of the assassinations of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield & McKinley with some celebrities making cameo appearances to read quotations from historical figures. Vowell informs us that one of the reasons she became interested in this subject is the eerie list of coincidences we have all seen between the Lincoln and Kennedy assassinations. But she reminded me of a few other weird events...such as Lincoln's son Robert Todd Lincoln... having his life saved by the brother of John Wilkes Booth...just months after his father was assassinated. Also.... Robert Todd Lincoln was in the same city at the time of the assassinations of his father, McKinley and Garfield. I will be adding Vowell's other histories to my To Be Read list.
Task +20
Review +10
Combo +5 (10.6)
total =35
grand total = 945
10.6 Traveling the DDC WayThe Wright Brothers by David McCullough
How did two brothers without any funding or engineering education become pioneers in aviation? David McCullough answers that question in his superb book, "The Wright Brothers". Wilbur and Orville grew up in a family that loved learning. They were also very intelligent, focused, persistent, and hard working. The brothers owned a bicycle shop, possessed exceptional mechanical ability, and designed their own bicycles. They were interested in flight, and gazed at birds for hours to study how wings were tilted to catch the air before they set up their first experiments. They had caught the spirit of invention that was prevalent in America at the turn of the century.
In 1900, they flew their first glider which was funded from sales of their bicycles. In 1903, the first motorized plane carrying a pilot was flown on the sandy Outer Banks of North Carolina. The brothers not only built the plane, but also had to build a shed for storage and housing, and dig a well to obtain fresh water. They faced dark swarms of mosquitoes, sandstorms, and freezing temperatures in the Outer Banks. They risked their lives, and Orville was seriously injured in 1908. France was the first country to embrace the Wright brothers, and a good portion of the book is about their work there.
The book includes many photographs, and quotes from letters from the brothers to family and others. In addition to being a good historian, author David McCullough is also an exciting storyteller. He really brought the personalities and endeavors of the Wright brothers alive for the reader.
+10 task (listed as biography at the Brooklyn Public Library)
+10 review
Task total: 20
Grand total: 795
10.1 - Square PegHidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
There is so much history that we don't know about. Some of it is hinted at in textbooks - conversations that may have taken place in closed rooms, people who may have helped behind the scenes. These are things we can imagine not knowing. But that there was a group of African-American women that worked as mathematicians at NASA, plotting our course to the stars? It never even crossed my mind as possible.
But why is that? Hmmm....
(picture every NASA movie you've ever seen - mission control filled with white guys)
All too often women and people of color are left out of our histories. Hidden Figures works to fix that.
There is way too much I didn't know about the Jim Crow South. I mean, I knew Virginia was segregated, but I had no idea of the crazy stuff they did to keep it that way:
"In 1936 a black student from Richmond named Alice Jackson Houston applied to the University of Virginia to study French but was denied admission. The NAACP sued on her her behalf, and in response the state of Virginia set up a tuition reimbursement fund, subsidizing the graduate educations of black students in any place but Virginia."
I didn't know that executive orders slowly desegregated the military and government jobs over time, providing an opening for all black people to get into more skilled professions. Other things that I already knew - minorities being shut out of the housing market, women not being promoted as quickly or paid on par with men - came to life.
Shettley focuses the the story through many lenses. What was it like to be a woman at Langley? How about a black man? How were those issues compounded in the case of the black women "computers"? And what additional difficulties did the world outside of work present? Intersectionality, I love thee.
I'm having a hard time coming up with more to say because I just want to press Hidden Figures into your hands and say, "read this." Learning about Dorothy Vaughan, who moved away from her family for a chance at a job that would be fulfilling while providing for her children, inspires me. I want my 10 year old niece to read about Katherine Johnson, a natural mathematician that took every opportunity that presented itself, along with a bunch that didn't. All the women in this book smashed ceilings, and "the best thing about breaking a barrier was that it would never have to be broken again."
So the content gets high marks from me. The writing is good, more journalistic than narrative non-fiction-y. So if you like your fact to read like a thriller this may not be the best choice for you. In fact you may just want to wait for the movie. Yes, movie! I'm so excited.
Shetterly has done us all a service by researching and speaking with these amazing women while they're still here to tell their stories. A must read for NASA history buffs, and highly recommended to anyone with an interest in the space program, civil rights, or pioneering women.
+10 task
+10 review
Task total: 20 points
Grand total: 235 points
10.7 - First LetterMarked by Aline Hunter
(erotica review under the spoiler)
(view spoiler)
+10 task (first letter M)
+10 review
Task total: 20 points
Grand total: 255 points
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
My Name Is Red (other topics)Pop Goes the Weasel (other topics)
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Signs of Attraction (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Orhan Pamuk (other topics)James Patterson (other topics)
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Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
A series of scenes from the points of view of young drug addicts and their friends and acquaintances, set mostly in the poorer districts of Edinburgh, in the 1980s. Mark Renton staggers from one heroin hit to the next, via long drinking sessions with 'friends' he doesn't much like, and clean times when he might manage to keep a job and/or a girlfriend for a while. There's a lot of drug use, obviously, often bringing HIV infection. There's violence, child neglect, and criminal behaviour of all kinds. Irvine Welsh somehow still manages to make his characters appealing and often funny.
I loved this, but then I am the right age for it, I remember that time and I always felt lucky never to have fallen into that hell myself. It's mostly written in phonetic Edinburgh Scots. I found it helped to hear it in my head (or in ma heid) and I soon got used to it. It might be more difficult if you've never heard a Scottish accent.
The end was a little sudden, coming out of the blue.
+10 Task (dark)
+10 Review
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 850