Reading with Style discussion
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FA 2017 Completed Tasks
20.5 OldThe Sherlockian by Graham Moore
+ 20 Task
+ 5 Combo (10.8 - double letters)
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 290
20.10 Uncommon LetterLiver Let Die by Liz Lipperman
+ 20 Task (Z)
+ 5 Combo (10.8 - double letter)
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 315
20.10 Uncommon LetterThe Long Quiche Goodbye by Avery Aames
+ 20 Task (Q)
+ 5 Combo (10.8 - double letter)
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 340
This brings my reading and posting up to date.
10.2 SpyCasino Royale by Ian Fleming
I was not expecting much from this novel. Of course, I have seen most of the Bond movies and I remember enjoying the satirical version of Casino Royale…but don’t think I ever saw the serious adaptation. The Bond films are great for the visuals and special effects but I often get confused by the complicated story line…or bored by it…or both. Here, the story is clear… no confusion…although there may be a twist or two. I was surprised to find James Bond depicted as a multi-dimensional character. There are times when he is truly vulnerable, hurt, hesitant, contemplative, (hospitalized!) and at one point he even screams. The love interest, Vesper Lynd, evolves into a complicated relationship…not the mere sexual conquest usually portrayed in the films.
At one point, Bond has a discussion about villains and heroes and good and evil which is very fitting.
And I have to point out that Fleming does a wonderful job of weaving in a description of how to play baccarat without it seeming like a school lesson. I never thought I would be giving five stars to this book ( I chose it because it is on Boxall’s 1001 List)…but there it is. Five stars.
task=10
review=10
oldie=5 (1953)
task total=25
grand total= 1740
Post 626 Ed wrote: "20.5 OldThe Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
low lexile =620
task total= 20
grand total=1685"
Good news, Ed. We're carrying this with a Lexile 1160. Styles allowed - if you have a review, make a new post, please.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 626 Ed wrote: "20.5 OldThe Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
low lexile =620
task total= 20
grand total=1685"
Good news, Ed. We're carrying this with a Lexile..."
Oh good. I'll write one up....should I amend the old post or add it in this thread?
Ed wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 626 Ed wrote: "20.5 OldThe Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
low lexile =620
task total= 20
grand total=1685"
Good news, Ed. We're ..."
New post, but reference the original, please. I think we'd be OK with the first post, but better safe than sorry.
10. 10 Group ReadsFever Dream by Samanta Schweblin
This book was super strange. But a quick easy read and hard to put down!
+10 Task
Grand Total: 240 pts
20.1 Gothic AuthorsGwendy's Button Box by Stephen King
Love his short fiction!
+20 Task
Grand Total: 270 pts
20.8 Mother DaughterThe Good Girl by Mary Kubica
Not immediately apparent from the description but over half of the chapters are told by the main character's mother and definitely explores the gamut of a mother's changing relationship and ties to her daughter.
+20 Task
+5 Combo 10.5 Grandparents
Task Total: 25 pts
Grand Total: 295 pts
Amending Post 626 to add review and style points since I was mistaken about the low lexile. (See post 673).20.5 Old
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
Somehow, I escaped reading this Twain work in earlier years despite having read and enjoyed many others. Here, a case of mistaken identities and role reversals, the reader takes a trip in the other person's shoes. Tom Canty, a poor child, becomes "Prince" and then King through a set of misunderstandings. Tom quickly learns to adjust to his new regal environment while the real Prince has to deal with the injustices of the real world. Tom Canty's father, believing the Prince is his son, treats him awfully. The Prince, later King Edward, escapes only to find himself in more peril..legal and otherwise.
Twain clearly aimed this book at young readers but the message about the inequities in the world is a lesson for all...and a warning to all to be more aware and merciful. I would give 3 1/2 stars if that was allowed..but don't think I can round up to 4...so, just three stars.
so, in addition to the 20 task points already credited, I am adding:
Review=10
Oldie=10 (1881)
add to task total= 20 points
new Grand Toal= 1760
20.7 Single WordHollywood by Charles Bukowski
+20 task
+ 5 combo (10.5)
+ 5 oldies
Task total=30
Grand total=420
15.4 Reading GloballyGame of Mirrors by Andrea Camilleri
Setting: Italy (Europe)
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 380
15.10 Reading GloballySetting: Egypt
Sugar Street by Naguib Mahfouz
+ 40 Task
+ 50 Completion
+ 100 6 continents
Post Total: 190
Season Total: 935
20.10 - Uncommon LetterHow to Murder a Millionaire byZara Keane
+20 task
Task total: 20
Grand total: 430
10.8 - Double Letter NamesMurder in Montparnasse by Kerry Greenwood
+10 task
Task total: 10
Grand total: 440
10.8 - Double Letter NamesThe Castlemaine Murders by Kerry Greenwood
+10 task
Task total: 10
Grand total : 450
10.3 DecadeDeath on the Nile by Agatha Christie
+10 Task
+10 Oldies (1937)
Task Total: 20
Season Total: 1565
10.10 Group ReadsWolf in White Van by John Darnielle
+10 Task
+ 5 Combo: 10.8 Double Letter
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 1580
20.8 Mother-DaughterTurtles All the Way Down by John Green
+20 Task: pleasant surprise - lots of mother/daughter, no lexile (too new, I guess)
Season Total: 1620
20.10 Uncommon LetterBarkskins by Annie Proulx
+20 Task
+15 Combo: 10.8 Double Letter / 20.5 Old (last 2 parts only come into the present - well over 51% old) / 20.7 Single Word
+10 Jumbo
Task Total: 45
Season Total: 1665
20.10 Uncommon LetterThe Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye by David Lagercrantz
+20 Task
Season Total: 1685
20.1- Gothic AuthorsThe Stand by Stephen King
Task: 20
Combo : 5 (10.4 - #210 on list)
Oldies: : 5 (published in 1978)
Jumbo: 1141 pages: 25 pts
Post total: 55
10.6- Governor-General AwardThe Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood found on page 13
Task: 10
Combo: 10 (10.8, 20.1)
Post total: 20
20.7 Single WordDragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
Task +20
Style: 10.8 10.4
Double letter in the last name McCaffrey
Oldies +5 (1968)
Book Total: 35
Grand Total: 290
20.6 ClergySaints in My Life: My Favorite Spiritual Companions by Benedict J. Groeschel
Task +20 (approved in message 67 of task help)
Combo +5 (20.5 Old. I think 16 of 19 saints in the book died before 1900.)
Not-a-Novel +10
Review +10
Book Total: 45
Running Total: 65
The late Father Groeschel's book covers 19 saints who were important in his life. Although a book about saints may seem like a dry topic, the author's style is personable and humorous, as if he were giving a talk at a church or at a dinner. Each saint had a unique story and as the author stated they were "real people with real lives." I especially enjoyed Father Groeschel's description of how each saint influenced his life. Recommended.
20.1 Gothic AuthorsLast Days by Joyce Carol Oates
+20 task
+ 5 combo (10.5)
+10 not-a-novel
+ 5 oldies
Task total=40
Grand total=460
10.1 Square PegThe Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian
I chose this book because it is one of One San Diego's choices... a book for the entire community to share over the next year. It is a good choice. A well-written story that brings the reader into a particular sliver of the Armenian Genocide. The story is told in two time periods. We see an American woman working with her father at the American Consulate in Aleppo, Syria as they offer as much comfort as they can to the streams of Armenian victims being brought into the deserts of Syria. A relationship develops between the young woman and one of the Armenian men (who is not being persecuted because he has protection from the Ottoman Empire's allies, the Germans.)
Jump to modern-day Massachusetts where another young woman is researching the archives to sift through the papers of her mother. This is where all the connections come together.
It's difficult to say more without presenting a spoiler.
The author does a very good job of presenting the awful history of the genocide without there being an aversion to carrying on with the book. Four stars.
task=10
review=10
Grand Total= 1780
10.3 DecadeMaking Conversation by Christine Longford
Christine Longford was billed by one reviewer as "a kind of Jane Austen with shingled hair", but in my opinion, if there was a Jane Austen of the 1930s, it was Nancy Mitford. This book is a bit like an early Mitford except that it focuses on a single character and has less plot.
It's mostly dialogue, so the title fits. It follows Martha Freke, a girl growing up in a small town in England who passes from a local girls' school to Oxford without much happening to her. The ending comes out of nowhere and doesn't sit too well with the rest.
I found it enjoyable enough and certainly witty, but in a consciously clever way that isn't very attractive.
+10 task (1931)
+ 5 combo (10.7)
+10 review
+10 oldies
Task Total: 35
Season Total: 855
From post 637Karin wrote: "20.9 Satire (a novel by an author on one of those lists linked)
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Review
What does one write about a 300 year old novel that hasn't alread..."
+5 Combo 10.4
From Post 639Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "10.2
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter
333 times spy
Review
This is the first book in the series. Cameron Morgan is a spy. She goes..."
+5 Combo 10.8
From Post 634Jenifer wrote: "15.4 Reading GloballySetting: United States
The Curse of Tenth Grave by Darynda Jones
+15 Task
Post Total: 15
Total Points: 60"
Please see Elizabeth's post 628 about reading globally. This is your second claim for a country starting with U.
From Post 652Deedee wrote: "Task 10.7 Big Words (Tien's task)
Read a book with a word in the title ending in -sion, -tion, or -cion.
The Dimension Next Door (2008) edited by [author:Martin H. Greenberg|6436872..."
+5 Combo 10.8
From post 676Rachelccameron wrote: "20.1 Gothic Authors
Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King
Love his short fiction!
+20 Task
Grand Total: 270 pts"
+5 Combo 20.10
From post 647Rachelccameron wrote: "20.9 Satire
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
+20 Task
+5 Combo 10.3 Decade - published 1932
+5 Combo 10.4 Thankful
+5 Oldies
Task Total: 35 pts
Grand Total: 230 pts"
This should be +10 Oldies.
From Post 107Anika wrote: "10.5 Grandparents
The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
+10 Task (Mary)
Task total: 10
Season total: 150"
+5 Combo 20.8-see post 677
10.4 - Thankful One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
Task: 10
Oldies: first published in 1967- 5 points
Post : 15 points
20.7 Single wordNemesis by Agatha Christie
As you may recall, I am a big fan of Agatha Christie. So, it is very curious to me that I have never read this novel before – and it was SO good!
Miss Marple is at the height of her ‘powers’ here. She has to resolve a ‘cold case’. She is set upon her task by a character from a previous novel, Mr. Rafiel, from ‘A Caribbean Mystery”. He has been in ill health for some time and finally dies, and one of his directives is to send Miss Marple as a nemesis in the interest of justice. First she has to determine what the mystery is (Mr. Rafiel doesn’t explain), and then she has to bring it to a conclusion.
I liked everything about this novel. The writing is good (not surprisingly). Miss Marple is exactly as she should be – fluffy on the outside and tough and righteous on the inside. The mystery is not obvious (I had some suspicions, but in the end I was slightly off base), and there is some true evil here. That is one of the things I like about Christie, she does write ‘cozy’ mysteries – but there is a core of evil (she had good insight into the human psyche). 5*
20 task
10 review
5 oldie
____
35
Running total: 900
10.9 Origins of Modern Genres (Karin's task)Persuasion by Jane Austen
Review
A re-read of an old favourite. A re-read always, for me, is accompanied by nostalgia… of that first encounter. How I struggled (I was, then, at least a decade younger than Anne Elliot and now I’m a decade older) and how I triumphed (the school librarian too as it was her recommendation). It was still slow at the beginning though I don’t find it as much as a struggle as my first read and that’s because I know the ending and how it all is worth it. I enjoyed the more mature character, Anne Elliot & Captain Wentworth, and the rather more mature romance though not in any way less passionate if not more. If you haven’t read this book, I can highly recommend it though you do need to persevere with the slow start.
I just bought this new edition, Persuasion, (yes, I do need another copy) which included a deleted scene/chapter (the chapter) that did not have the letter as part of its climax. It’s, uh, just not right! And definitely rather lacking in the passion that was so conspicuous with the letter & later events.
+10 Task
+15 Combo (10.7 - persuaSION; 20.1; 20.7)
+10 Review
+15 Oldies (pub. 1817)
Post Total: 50
Season Total: 1,180
15.4 Reading GloballySet in India, Asia
Teatime for the Firefly by Shona Patel
Task total: 15
Season total: 420
15.5 Reading GloballySet in Antarctica
At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft
Task total: 15
Season total: 435
10.8 Double Letter Names (Cat's task)Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss
One starts to read this book feeling a bit superior. I am above average in my knowledge of punctuation...or so one thinks. Then, when presented with examples of misuse or nonuse (commas seem to be the most common culprit) the reader realizes that he or she may also have made a mistake or two in their writings. The author points out several differences between British and American punctuation which I did not know about. For example, the Brits don't call a period a "period" but a "full-stop." I probably made an error with my use of quotation marks in that last sentence. Also, the Brits and Americans differ on whether the quotation marks come inside or outside the period or full stop.
Almost all the anecdotes are humorous. However, there are a few examples of British eccentrics doing things like challenging shop owners because of an error on their signs...something I don't think I would ever do. (Oh boy, I probably made more errors there with my use of ellipses!)
Very enjoyable. A quick and easy read. Four stars.
task=10
not-a-novel=10
review=10
task total=30
grand total= 1810
20.6 ClergyThe Cross by Sigrid Undset
This is the third and final book in the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy, a historical series written around 1920 and set in medieval Norway. It’s hard to review without spoilers for the earlier volumes, but briefly Kristin is approaching 40 when it opens, with her oldest son around 18 or 20.
Kristin continues to struggle in her relationships and make the same mistakes she's always made. In fact, her stubbornness is even more frustrating in this book. In the very last chapter, a priest says to her, "child that you still are in your old age," and it is so true! I wanted to shake her (and her husband) many, many times.
But I’m glad to have read it, and I’d give the trilogy as a whole 4 stars.
+20 task (view spoiler)
+ 5 combo (20.5)
+10 review
+10 oldies
Task Total: 45
Season Total: 900
Task 10.5 GrandparentsGrandparents' Day is September 10. Read a book whose author's first name is the same as one of your Mod's grandparents' first name: Charles, Jessie, George, Ida, Joseph, Elizabeth, Jean, Ernie, Joyce, Tom, Mary. Names must match exactly.
Tapestry of Fortunes (2013) by Elizabeth Berg
Review: This is a contemporary novel about women who are middle class, middle aged, and are looking back over their adult life. They make decisions to change whatever they see that they don’t like. A lot of the plot contains unrealistic wish-fulfillment scenarios – one woman sells her house for her asking price the day she lists it; better jobs are offered just when needed; relationships are healed after ONE soulful conversation. And – the four women become instant best friends the day they meet!
This novel is a break from reality – nothing wrong with that! One striking element is that women get 98% of the “screentime”. Sometimes the women talk about men, but otherwise, this novel is a male-free zone. All the action and almost all the conversations are women interacting with women. (There are several mother-daughter conflicts and conversations, but they are not the main focus of the story so no 20.8 combos.) Recommended for when you are in a waiting room and want something undemanding to read to pass the time.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 10 + 10 = 20
Grand Total: 555 + 20 = 575
10.5 GrandparentsThe Muse by Jessie Burton
+ 10 Task
+5 Combo (10.8)
Points this post: 15
RwS total: 120
RG total: -
Season Total: 120
20.2 HouseThe Secret of Spellshadow Manor by The Secret of Spellshadow Manor
I read this because it was being touted as the next Harry Potter series. Nope, nope, nope.
Ugh. Just: ugh. This one started out interestingly enough: Alex and his mom are a team--she's suffering a serious illness (don't ask me to remember what it was as I started this book a month ago...it took me A MONTH to read this, always a bad sign) and he has a little side business coding apps to bring in a little extra money. It's his senior year and his mom wants him to get out more--so she decides they're going to house an exchange student. Enter Natalie. She's French (yet speaks impeccable English), she's cute, quirky, and smart and she likes Alex. Only drawback: she has a giant skeletal specter following her around, making her sick. No one can see it, though, except for Alex. One day, she gets so sick that she leaves the school to go home...only the specter is leading her elsewhere and she is zombified at this point so follows blindly. Alex can see what's happening and feels the need to protect her so starts to follow her in hopes of helping her escape the clutches of this evil thing. As he's following, suddenly a road he's never seen pops up with a huge building behind tall, iron gates. The specter opens the gate, leads Natalie in, and lets the gate close behind him--during which time, Alex is able to sneak in.
Welcome to Spellshadow Manor--a school for magically-inclined children, sought out and retrieved by "Finder" (the specter), a place you can enter but can never leave. Everything is covered in gray vines and everything about the place is old and run down and once you're inside, the halls keep leading in different directions and changing locations (it has a very Wonderland, or House of Leaves feel).
Up to this point, I was sold on this book. It was well-paced, the story was unique enough to make you want to keep reading (even though it does feel very Harry Potter/The Magicians), and you really DO want to know the secret of the place and if they're ever going to be able to escape. But that all happens in the first 40 pages...there are still 370 to go....and, boy, did they drag.
It was hard not to compare it to Harry Potter: they're both in a school of magic; both lead characters are going from being just normal kids to extraordinary; they're both trying to save themselves from an evil in their world and recruiting friends to help in the process. BUT: this school of magic is dark and sinister and not very well developed, always feeling somewhat nebulous and confusing and very claustrophobic--in contrast, you know every room, every corner and cranny, every talking picture in Hogwarts and that makes it so much richer. Harry, while learning along with all the other kids, knows he's a wizard from the get-go; Alex thinks he's just pretending to have been brought there by "Finder" so that he doesn't get killed for being a non-magical person brought to this place--though WE know he's going to be more, he doesn't until somewhere around page 300. While in Potterworld, you are along for the ride, learning every magic trick right along with the wizards, learning all of his friends names and quirks and even getting glancing views of other students; in all 400 pages of this one, you only ever meet Alex and Natalie's roommates (so, three more characters) and they make reference to the magic they're doing as if you're supposed to be familiar with it even though it's the first you've heard of it.
This book DRAGGED so badly...it was a struggle to finish. And you want to know the worst part? There was no conclusion whatsoever! You have to read the whole series, I guess, to find out whether or not they ever get out alive. I just don't care enough to find out.
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.8)
+10 Review
Task total: 35
Season total: 1170
20.1 Gothic AuthorsThe Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
I recently read Tennessee Williams’ Memoirs and was inspired to read some more of his work. I had only previously read Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and was impressed. Here again, Williams presents a wonderful play, tightly written and so believable.
I recall watching the movie decades ago and enjoying it but my memory is that it was a bit stilted. Not so the written work. First of all, the stage directions probably helped me understand things I didn’t see in the movie…such as that the story is a “memory”. Williams instructs how the set, lighting, music and projections will convey this sense of memory. I don’t recall that coming through in the movie.
I also think that Williams handled the dialogue between Laura and the gentleman caller in such a credible fashion. (I contrast this with the dialogue in one of Williams’ contemporaries, Ernest Hemingway, whose book I was concurrently reading and which was totally unbelievable.) Having read Williams’ Memoirs, I trust he knows his characters who are a bit touched. Here, it is the Mom…probably not too much different than his own Mom. Five stars.
task=20
review=10
not-a novel= 10 (play)
combo= 5 (10.8)
oldie=5 (1945)
task total=50
grand total= 1860
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
Borne (other topics)The Woman in White (other topics)
A Few Days in the Country and Other Stories (other topics)
Slave: My True Story (other topics)
Dead Woman Walking (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jeff VanderMeer (other topics)Wilkie Collins (other topics)
Elizabeth Harrower (other topics)
Mende Nazer (other topics)
Sharon J. Bolton (other topics)
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Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly
+ 10 Task
+ 10 Not-a-novel (Nonfiction)
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 265