Reading with Style discussion

10.1 Square Peg

History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund

+ 10 Task


Points this post: 10
RwS total: 205
RG total: -
Season Total: 205

20.3 Ghost Story

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

+ 20 Task (shelved 6 times as Ghost Story)
+ 20 Combo (10.5, 20.4, 20.5, 20.6 one of the three main ghosts is the Reverend Everly Thomas)


Points this post: 40
RwS total: 245
RG total: -
Season Total: 245

15.1 Reading Globally

Setting: Australia (Oceania)

Sarah Thornhill by Kate Grenville

+15 Task


Points this post: 15
RwS total: 245
RG total: 15
Season Total: 260

15.2 Reading Globally

Setting: Canada (North America)

The Postman's Fiancée by Denis Thériault

+15 Task


Points this post: 15
RwS total: 245
RG total: 30
Season Total: 275

10.8 Double Letter Names (Cat's task)

Butterfly Burning by Yvonne Vera

set entirely in Rhodesia which is now Zimbabwe

I was very frustrated by this book. The author clearly knows how to turn a phrase and slip into poetic prose. For example:
“She is hidden by light smooth as a rainbow.”
Beautiful, but my frustration lies in my inability to understand what that sentence meant in the context of the story. Not just in that sentence…but many others. At first, I thought the book would be promising. It opens with a tragic hanging of 19 African men by White colonists in Rhodesia in the 1890s…now Zimbabwe. Then we are introduced to a few people in the small town a generation or two later. Phephelaphi is the main character and she has has a difficult life, her mother murdered in front of her by a White policeman who was her lover. But around 30 pages in, I didn’t care anymore. I felt that every time I was getting closer to a character, the author was pushing me away. The author uses simile after simile after metaphor so often that I couldn’t follow the story anymore. Near the end, there is a tragedy and some clarity. But not enough for the novel to be redeemed. Sorry, but 1 star.

task=10
review=10

task total= 20
Grand Total=2210

15.1 Reading Globally (second time around)

Setting: Saudi Arabia

On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines - and Future by Karen Elliott House

+15 Task

Task Total: 15
Season Total: 835

Post 809 Marina wrote: "10.9 Origins of Modern Genres

Uncle Silas by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

Approved here for this task

+10 Task
+5 Combo (20.1)
+15 Oldies (1864)

Post Total: 30
Season Total: 425"

I'm sorry, Marina. Le Fanu isn't on the list of authors for 20.1.

15.5 RG
A Small Death in Lisbon by Robert Wilson

Setting: Portugal

+15 task
Season total: 260

10.8 Double Letter Names (Cat's task)

Resisting Happiness by Matthew Kelly

A church friend distributed copies of this book one Sunday to some of us. I was not a fan of the bright yellow cover with winking smiley face, but the author is well-known in Catholic circles, I think, so I gave it a shot. He also does corporate training courses and speaking engagements and the book is certainly in that vein. The "better-version-of-yourself" catch phrase is a dead giveaway. The content (I read the 2016 paperback) is not referenced at all, although he gave quotes and anecdotes from famous people (note to Mr. Kelly/his editor: "such as Beethoven" on page 108 could not be accurate; Mozart was born before Beethoven). So, if you can accept his advice as provided, this book could be helpful in enhancing your spiritual life/happiness. I would say the ideal audience would be busy Catholics, although some advice would apply to anyone, probably, such as the tips for good listening. Each chapter is brief and ends with a key point and an action step. Some actions appealed to me; others did not (e.g., taking notes during the homily--does anyone do that?)

The book ended with a thank-you to the reader and this encouragement: "And if you ever feel discouraged or defeated, remember this: Every moment is a chance to start anew, a chance to turn it all around." Overall, this book has content and advice worthy of consideration.

+10 Task (double T and double L)
+10 Not-a-novel
+10 Review

Post total: 30
Season total: 130

20.1 Gothic Authors

Gentleman and Ladies by Susan Hill

+20 task
+ 5 combo (10.8)
+ 5 oldies

Task total=30
Grand total=540

20.4 Nighttime

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk

It's New Year's Eve 1984, and octogenarian Lillian Boxfish is taking a walk to a favorite Manhattan restaurant. She had arrived in New York City in the 1930s, and eventually became the highest-paid advertising woman in the country as well as an accomplished poet. Lillian extends her New Year's Eve stroll by visiting a dozen places that were important in her life. She was successful at work in an era when women had few opportunities. She used her humor in her work and in social situations--with a barbed zinger thrown in occasionally if people trampled on her life. She had fun as a single woman, but she was open to love when it finally surprised her. She loved her son, but needed to be more than a wife and mother. There were also some overwhelming dark times in Lillian's life. As she walks around Manhattan Lillian reaches out to interact with people with respect, empathy, lots of humor, and a touch of vulnerability.

The author researched the life of Margaret Fishback, a fascinating woman who worked in advertising at Macy's and published books of poetry. (Her work can be read at the Poetry Foundation's website.) Margaret Fishback was the inspiration for the character of Lillian Boxfish. Don't miss going on a nostalgic nighttime walk around Manhattan in the entertaining company of Lillian Boxfish.

+20 task
+ 5 combo 10.8
+10 review

Task total: 35
Season total: 470

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I'm sorry, Marina. Le Fanu isn't on the list of authors for 20.1."

Actually he is, but he's listed as Sheridan Le Fanu instead of J. Sheridan Le Fanu :)

Marina wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I'm sorry, Marina. Le Fanu isn't on the list of authors for 20.1."

Actually he is, but he's listed as Sheridan Le Fanu instead of J. Sheridan Le Fanu :)"

Aha! We'll fix the list in the database so that you get your due credit!

20.9 - Satire

Scoop by Evelyn Waugh

pub 1937

This is one of Waugh's comedic satires, not his meditations on life (such as the Sword of Honour trilogy / Brideshead). I'm not sure if it is a farcical satire or a satirical farce about the newspaper industry and journalism (with a light touch on Empire & colony too). What I am sure about is that it is a lot of fun; and that not much has changed in the world.
Following a case of mistaken identities, William Boot, a novice nature columnist for a daily newspaper, is sent to be foreign correspondent to a small African nation, where civil war is about to erupt. Or is it?...
We follow our clear-eyed naif into the cesspit that is a hotel full of journalists, and see the bizarre herd mentality of the news hounds, all moving as one so they don't get scooped. When one correspondent gets off an exclusive - wrongly identifying a Soviet spy - all the others file similar stories, even though they know it's fake news, because the truth won't sell...
Like I said - plus ca change!

+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.3, 20.7)
+10 Oldie
+10 Review

Post total = 50
Season total = 2210

20.7 Single Word (Lagullande's task)
Childhood by Patrick Chamoiseau

(Entirely set in Martinique)

This is the fictional (though probably quasi-autobiographical) account of a young boy’s life in Fort-de-France, the capital of the Caribbean island of Martinique. Much is learned about the boy’s mother, Ma Ninotte, a marvel who keeps together a home full of children with little income. She does everything.We learn about how Ma Ninotte interacts with the Syrian merchants in town…and barters with others like doctors and butchers. The boy has his chores but also his imagination and other pastimes. This is normally the type of book I truly enjoy…to be taken away to a culture I have no clue about. I could find no true fault with the book but, I’m sorry, I kept finding myself drifting off. Where did I leave my keys? Read a passage. Oh, I need to defrost the chops when I go to the kitchen. Oh, I will have to re-read those last two pages because nothing stuck. I’m sure there are folks who would enjoy this work…who would be reminded of their childhoods in the Caribbean…but it did not work for me, so only two stars.

Task=20
Review=10
Oldie=5 (1990)

task total=35
grand total= 2245

15.6 Reading Globally

The Son by Andrej Nikolaidis

Setting: Montenegro (Europe)

+25 Task
+15 First to Montenegro

Post Total: 40
Season Total: 465

Task 20.1 Gothic Authors

The Tattooed Girl (2003) by Joyce Carol Oates
Review: Joyce Carol Oates writes creepy literary fiction. The tattooed girl of the title is a young woman who has had many bad things happen to her as a child, and now her soul is broken as a result. By chance, she becomes an assistant / light housekeeping live-in helper for an acclaimed, unworldly, male, physically ailing, Jewish writer. Nothing good ever happens with that combination (at least not in a Joyce Carol Oates novel). The novel really gets inside the minds of its characters. I would have given this book 5 stars but the lengthy passages detailing the hatred some of the characters have for Jews and other humans was depressing to read about. OK, the readers get it, tattooed girl irrationally blame Jews for her poor life choices! Overall, recommended for fans of literary fiction.

+20 Task
+05 Combo (#10.5”Joyce”)
+10 Review

Task Total: 20 + 05 + 10 = 35

Grand Total: 600 + 35 = 635

2010 Uncommon Letter

Captain Alatriste by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

+20 Task
+5 Combo 20.5

Post Total: 25
Season Total: 1015

20.8 Mother-Daughter

The Deep Blue Sea for Beginners by Luanne Rice

Well, this is serendipity. I decided to read this book because that’s what happens at this time in a RwS season – I go off track and it was in the TBR pile. However, it turns out it fits this task very well.

Sadly, I wasn’t that keen on it. Two things annoyed me, not enough to quit the book but enough to give it a low rating. Firstly, these are rich people, who can deal with life’s curveballs with expensive stays in private mental health hospitals and/or jet off to wherever they need to jet off to, too easily. I know novels are not real life, however generally this is not my ‘thing’. Secondly, I found it very jarring the way Rice switched from third person to first person (the daughter and main character). I can’t put my finger on it, but somehow the POV did not coalesce.

These annoyances were distracting for the bulk of the novel. It wasn’t until the last 18% (70 pgs) that I felt emotionally connected to the characters. So, alright – I didn’t kill any brain cells reading it – but really only worth 2.5* (which I will round up to 3 on GR).

20 task
10 review
5 combo 10.8
______
35

Running total: 1080

20.3 Ghost Story

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

So unqualified to review this play, so will write about the experience. I listened to the Librivox edition on YouTube (3 hours, 42 minutes). For some reason, the parts of Hamlet and the King were read by female voices, so in order to follow things better and have a written list of characters for reference, I found a free text on Project Gutenberg, and followed along. I enjoyed the play; it was nice to listen and read Shakespeare; had just two plays back (way back) in high school. Hamlet is dramatic, tragic, of course. Much deception and that kept it interesting. This experience (re-exposure) makes me want to seek out a live play in town of something Shakespearean (and also the colder weather seems to lead to the desire for classical literature and cocoa/tea. ) :)

+20 task (shelved 14 times as ghost story)
+15 combo (10.4 (Complete Shakespeare is #155 on list), 10.8 (William), 20.7 (single word)
+10 not a novel
+25 oldies (1600)
+10 review

Task Total: 80 or 85? I saw some websites that said Hamlet was set 1300-1499. If so, 20.5 Old would apply.

Season Total: 210

10.8 Double Letter Names (Cat's task)

The Headmaster's Wife by Thomas Christopher Greene

+10 Task


Points this post: 10
RwS total: 255
RG total: 30
Season Total: 285

10.9 Origins of Modern Genres (Karin's task)

Pudd'nhead Wilson by Mark Twain

Another enjoyable read from Mark Twain. This one is not really directed at children or young adults…but takes on the issue of slavery by switching two babies who go on to lead very different lives…that they definitely had not been pre-destined to live. One is now a slave who we don’t see again until the end of the novel and the other now free. There is of course some similarity to Twain’s Prince and the Pauper where a peasant boy’s resemblance to the Prince results in the two also being switched. In fact, in both books…. the usurper is named Tom. Here, however, Tom does not originally know that he is a usurper…but we know he is a terrible human being and that his mother Roxy is clever and willing to do anything to protect her son. Pudd’nhead Wilson is the misfit in the small Missouri town where the action takes place. His hobby of studying fingerprints proves crucial to the resolution of the story. And Twain writes a very entertaining courtroom scene (despite it being improbable in real life.)
I do have some qualms with the two slaves being the evildoers. I think a better twist would have found a way around that since Twain was clearly trying to reveal how idiotic and cruel slavery was in the confines of a light novel.
The author’s notes at the end are very revealing. Twain had originally written a very different story…but realized it was actually two stories in one and had to be edited and clarified. He explains humorously that his initial re-writes started having superfluous characters fall down a well and die. Eventually he just had to take those characters out by the root. He did however retain the Italian twins who are a key piece of the story…however, in the original version, the brothers were conjoined. I’d like to give 3 1/2 stars…but will grade on a curve and give 4.

task=10
review=10
oldie=10 (1893)

task total=30
grand total= 2275

20.5 Old

World Without End by Ken Follett

What a fantastic book! Despite the length of the book, it raced by and I was thrilled that it kept going because I was going through a tough time and diving back into this compelling story helped me focus. The problems many people have with Follett's series are certainly true -- there are some seemingly anachronistic character traits and phrases, the characters seem to be inventing everything themselves, etc. However, the book was good enough that those problems don't bother me so much. The anachronisms I noticed, but honestly I felt like I wasn't there, how would I know whether a woman would really have felt that empowered? And the characters' too-central role just felt like a story device to me. I was okay with it.

+20 task (set in Middle Ages)
+10 combo (10.8, 20.6)
+10 review
+25 jumbo (1014 pages)

Task Total: 65
Season Total: 830

20.6 Clergy

The Bishop’s Wife by Mette Ivie Harrison

+20 task (bishop is a main character)
+5 combo (10.8)

Task Total: 25
Season Total: 855

20.8 Mother-Daughter

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

+20 task (mother/daughter relationship is central)
+5 combo (10.5)

Task Total: 25
Season Total: 880

Task 15.3 Reading Globally

Setting: United Kingdom (Europe)

Passing On (1989) by Penelope Lively

+15 Task

Task Total: 15

Grand Total: 635 + 15 = 650

Task 20.1 - Gothic Authors

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

For some reason, even though I love Atwood, and love sci-fi, and love interesting stories, I’ve not read this book before. Atwood manages to pack a remarkable number of thought-provoking issues into the book, without it becoming too bogged down: designer genetics, increasing separation of society into the haves and have-nots, consumer culture and dwindling resources. Plus a love story.
I really enjoy Atwood’s writing. She’s a deft hand at building the world without an infodump - dropping straight into the story and environment without a by-your-leave set-up, so we stand in that hot forest confused, aware of it being a changed world, and getting some of the changes, but not all - leaving us a bit scared, but not so overwhelmed as to put the book down and walk away. And then she does the same with the past too! (and Atwood has to be one of the best at running past and present storylines together) As the story unfurls, and rolls forward, we grow in our understanding of the world, and start to get glimpses of how this new world came to be.
I enjoyed the snippets of the Craker society, and loved the hints at the end that all is not hopeless.

+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.8, 20.10)
+10 Review

Post total = 40
Season total = 2250

Task 20.4

New Boy by Tracy Chevalier

This is one in the series of Shakespeare retellings, this one being a retelling of Othello, set in a 1970 DC school. The story unwinds over the course of one day in the life of our protaganists - Dee, Osei, Ian, Mimi, Rod, Caspar and Blanca, with guest appearances from a couple of teachers.
Osei is the titutular new boy - the son of a Ghanian diplomat, he’s the only black boy at the school, and is joining near the end of the school year, intruding into the established circles and patterns with all the impact you’d expect.
As our Othello remade, Osei is confident and a natural leader, and it looks like he could easily fall into the best circles of the schoolyard society, when he becomes friends with Caspar and boyfriend of Dee. Ian, the bully, obviously can’t have that, and puts his scheming mind to work...
When I saw the synopsis, I wasn’t sure that the “in-one-day” concept would work, but actually it was pretty effective. I’m not sure I’d try and sell it as 100% successful, nor 100% realistic, but overall it was a very good reworking of Othello, and the 1970s setting worked too, with flashbacks to Osei’s older sister trying to find a place in US society, trying out different ways - being part of the soul / music scene; playing on her roots; and finally joining the Black Power movement. 4*

+20 Task
+10 Review

Post total = 30
Season total = 2280

20.5 Old

The White Castle by Orhan Pamuk
(Set almost entirely in the Ottoman Empire [Turkey])

This book never grabbed me…barely brushed against me. I had never read anything by Orhan Pamuk but had high expectations. Here, the narrator, an Italian, is captured during a sea battle by forces of the Ottoman Empire. He passes himself off as a doctor and gains favor with the Pasha who eventually gives him as a slave to Hoja,. Hoja is a favorite intellectual of the Pasha, and Hoja remarkably resembles the Italian. The story involves various episodes of carrying out tasks for the Pasha and Sultan…but most of the contemplations are about Hoja and the narrator’s identities over the decades. They constantly compare their histories and attributes. It seems that the reader is expected to find this compelling…I did not.
(Just a coincidence, but I read two other books for this season’s challenge which also dealt with two pairs of people who were nearly identical….Mark Twain’s Prince and the Pauper and also his Pudd’nhead Wilson…both fun to read.)
The best part for me was the ending which introduces the reader to Evilya Celebi who meets the narrator when he is in his 70s. Celebi was a real person, who I had never heard about, but he was an 18th century traveler…and I have put one of his books on my TBR list. I expect it to be better than this one…and I’ll give Pamuk another chance too. But, for this, just two stars.

task=20
review=10
oldie=5 (1985)

task total=35
grand total= 2310

Task 10.6 - Governor General's Award

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki

+10 Task
+100 RwS finisher
+200 Mega finisher

Post total = 310
Season total = 2590

15.6 Reading Globally

Set in Russia

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Task total: 25
Season total: 495

20.5 Old

Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin

+20 Task (published 1990; set at the same time as The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which was published in 1886, with no indication that it was set any later)
+5 Oldies (1990)


Points this post: 25
RwS total: 280
RG total: 30
Season Total: 310

20.4 Nighttime
Before I Fallby Lauren Oliver
approved in the help thread
Review
I thought this was an interesting premise. A teen girl who is self absorbed dies in a car crash and she relives the day over until she can right her wrongs. She tries to go back and correct the events of the day but it goes deeper than that. Earlier events set into motion other events as the main character finds out. When she finds out what she needs to set right, only then can she be free. I read other reviews and they describe the main character as a mean girl. I didn't feel she was one. She was self absorbed but I don't think she was outright mean. As she goes through the process, she does change. She is not the same person she was in the beginning of the book.

Task +20
Style +10 Review
Book Total :30
Grand Total : 365

10.4 Thankful

Snow by Orhan Pamuk

+10 Task (#294 on list)
+5 Combo 20.7

Post Total: 15
Season Total: 1030

20.10 - Uncommon Letters

Ash and Quill by Rachel Caine

+20 Task

Season total = 2610

10.1 Square Peg

Culottées #2 by Pénélope Bagieu

+10 Task

Task total = 10

Points total = 155

10.2 Spy

The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth

In 1963, after several failed attempts to assassinate French president Charles de Gaulle, the chiefs of a political group blaming him for Algerian independence hire a paid killer, an Englishman, to make one last attempt. The killer is codenamed The Jackal, and the story follows his preparations and his attempts to throw off pursuit with four false identities, as well as the efforts of the French police to catch him, before the final showdown.

I enjoyed this, in fact I found it riveting, once I got past all the political and historical detail at the beginning, and the long back stories of a huge cast of characters.

Shelved 91 times as "spy" (although there's no espionage - which perhaps added to my initial confusion, because I was waiting for the spies to show up).

+10 task
+10 review
+ 5 oldies (1971)

Task Total: 25
Season Total: 1220

20.7 - Single Word

Choke byStuart Woods

+20 task
+5 Combo (10.8)

Task total: 25
Grand total: 545

10.3 Decade

Our Town by Thornton Wilder

The first time I ever saw this play performed was my freshman year of college. I had never read it before, had no idea what it was about, and only ended up going because my roommate had an extra ticket.
I left with a drastically altered heart and frightfully puffy eyes.
This is the first time I've revisited Our Town, and it left me in the same pitiful and transcendent state.

Our Town is set at the birth of the 20th Century in Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, a sort of Everytown, USA. It's a small town--population 2,642--and, as the Stage Manager (who acts as the narrator for this play) says, "In our town we like to know the facts about everybody," which includes those 2,642 residents and the residents who came before, those currently populating the graveyard.
There are three acts in this play. To quote the Stage Manager again: "The First Act was called the Daily Life. This act is called Love and Marriage. There's another act coming after this: I reckon you can guess what that's about."
Yes. That third act. I started crying as soon as I started reading it and couldn't stop for a good while after completing the play.
This work makes you feel so big and so much and so entirely insignificant, how short this time we have on this earth, yet how very much there is in it. As Emily says, "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it?--every, every minute?"
This play is a Whistler painting, "Christina's World," and "American Gothic" put in words. It is simple and direct and profound. It is the breadth and depth of life conveyed in folksy chat.

If you have never seen or read this: DO. Now. It's short and so, so sweet. Just have a box of Kleenex handy.

+10 Task (1938)
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-Novel
+10 Oldies
+5 Combo (20.2, approved in thread)

Task total: 45
Season total: 1330

10.6 Governor General's Award

Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro
(this wasn't listed on the Goodreads link, but here is where I found that it was a nominee: http://ggbooks.ca/past-winners-and-fi...)

Sometimes collections of short stories are hard for me to take--so abrupt, a mish-mash of ideas and styles. Sometimes, they're just perfect, a feeling that you're looking through a photo album and the author is describing for you the story behind each photo. This collection would fit in the latter category. While the stories were sometimes shocking (murder, cheating, betrayal), they were firmly grounded in humanity and didn't feel contrived or exaggerated. At times, you felt uncomfortable and wanted to scream, but that is a sign of a strong short story (in my opinion) that it can elicit such a strong reaction in so few pages.
One of my favorite moments is when one of her characters buys the book of someone she has recently met and is dismayed to find out is a collection of short stories: "'How Are We to Live' is a collection of short stories, not a novel. This in itself is a disappointment. It seems to diminish the book’s authority, making the author seem like somebody who is just hanging on to the gates of Literature, rather than safely settled inside." The fact that this was written by a Pulitzer Prize-winning author of exclusively short stories made me chuckle.
The titular short story in particular fascinated me--you find out, after reading the tumultuous events, that it was based on a real woman.
Munro's use of language is master craftsmanship at its finest. Highly recommend.

+10 Task (Nominee in 2009)
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-Novel
+5 Combo (20.1)

Task total: 35
+100 RwS completion
+200 MegaFinish

Season total: 1665

20.5 Old

The Unbroken Line of the Moon by Johanne Hildebrandt

We love the History Channel show, "Vikings, here in my house, so when our local Natural History Museum opened its special exhibit on Vikings, we jumped at the chance to go. My husband and brother-in-law wanted to kill me by the end of our visit: I read every plaque, engaged in every interactive exhibit, pored over the artifacts...I was only half-way through and they were ready to leave. I am absolutely fascinated by the ancient Scandinavian culture: the lifestyle, the unique and complex mythology, the strong role that women played (at least when compared with any contemporaneous culture).
With memories of that exhibit swirling around in my head, I found this book available through Kindle Unlimited and pounced.
This book follows the intertwined fates of three individuals: Sigrid, daughter of Toste, who is betrothed to King Erik of Svealand (Sweden); Emma, a girl enslaved after a Viking raid in England; and Sweyn, a warrior and bastard of King Harald of Denmark who has plans to take his father's crown.
Sigrid is a devout follower of the old gods, Freya in particular. She has a vision before she departs her father's house where she sees her husband and son and feels an incomprehensible joy and surety that this is what her future holds. Yet on her journey to her betrothed's kingdom, she meets the man from her dream and he is not Erik, her future husband. He is Sweyn, a man chasing his own destiny, seeking to validate himself to his father and to create his own fortune. He immediately falls in love with Sigrid, vowing to one day claim her as his own.
Then there is Emma. Living in a nunnery in England, Emma longs to return to her birthplace in Denmark. She detests the monks and nuns who use and abuse her. When a Viking raiding party (led by Sweyn) descends on her village, she is hopeful that they will help her return home and bring destruction to these people who have made her life a living hell. Before the raiders arrive, however, a monk locks all of the women and children in a building--ostensibly to hide them and keep their virtue intact--and sets the building on fire. In the midst of the smoke and flames, Emma cries out for the protection of the old gods and is answered in the form of a visitation from Kara, a Valkyrie, who saves her from her imminent destruction. After this near-death experience, Kara possesses Emma from time to time, prophesying through her and stating the will of the gods to Sigrid and her subjects.
Was that convoluted enough for you? The whole book feels that way for a while. But once you've cut through all the strange names, deciphered the ancient geography, and cemented the relationships in your mind, this epic saga was wholly satisfying. It is definitely not for the faint of heart--the brutality and blood, rape and savagery are thoroughly and awfully described.
Embarrassingly enough, I didn't realize this was a work of historical fiction until a week after I'd completed the book. I don't know why I assumed it was pure fiction, but no: Sigrid, Sweyn, Erik, Harald--they were all real and all related in the ways described in the book.
It was 4 stars for me and I look forward to the rest of the series being translated (this is the first to be translated from the original Swedish).

+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.8, 20.6--approved in thread)

Task total: 40
Season total: 1705

10.8 Double Letter Names

Dad Is Fat by Jim Gaffigan

After some of the emotionally heavier reading I've been doing, a little comedy seemed to be in order. The fact that this was available as an audiobook through my library cemented it. I love Jim Gaffigan. His comedy is clean (I'm not a prude by any means, but there is something to be said for a comedian that I can listen to and not need to rush to turn off if my very prudish mother drops by), his timing is ON, and his voice alone cracks me up. This collection focuses on marriage, family, and parenthood--specifically, raising five kids in Manhattan. Looking back on this (I finished it last week), I can't remember any specific anecdote that sticks out...I just remember laughing out loud and texting everyone I know who has kids that they need to listen to this book.
This quote, though...this one I did remember and it still makes me laugh: “The nerds are rich and successful, and those jocks are dumb divorced guys with beer bellies. By the way, in high school, I also played football and, yes, I have a beer belly. Jeannie can’t divorce me. We are Catholic. Thank you, Jesus.” Oh, Jim, you are my favorite ultra-pasty fat dad by far. Thanks for letting us share in your fun.

+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-Novel

Task total: 30
Season total: 1735

20.7 Single Word Title

Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Review:

The basic plot of Frankenstein is too well known for me to write one here--Frankenstein makes a humanoid creature and then makes him come alive. This book is not like any of the movies, naturally. I did not like it, and not simply because I don't care for the story. I am rounding it up from 1.5 stars.

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley wrote this when she was 19, and to me that shows. It's not that she wasn't able to write prose or that 19 year old people can't write excellent novels (rarely that early but it certainly has happened), but there is a great deal of youthful immaturity in this book. When I read how this book came to be started, that made a lot of sense. Sometimes I wanted to knock more sense into this novel. On one hand, I think that what she was trying to do could and would have been done much better had she been older when she wrote it. There were so many great things she could have done with this had she done that. Not that I would have loved this book, but I might have actually liked it.


+20 Task
+15 Oldie
+10 Review
+10 Combo - 10.8 Double Letter Names (Cat's task) and 20.1 Gothic Authors (under Mary Shelley, which is what people usually say, of course)
+5 Combo 10.8

Task Total - 55

Season Total = 300

(5 books read and posted here so far--finally!)

20.6 Clergy

Wine of Violence by Priscilla Royal

+20 Task (main character is a nun)
+10 Combo (10.8 Double Letter Names, 20.5 Old -- set in 13th century)

Task Total: 30
Season Total: 865

10.3 Decade

The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers

Perhaps a Dorothy Sayers was what I needed just now, but I'm not sure this was it. There was a *lot* of technical stuff about change ringing church bells - excerpts from various books on the subject. For example, after a list of numbers, meaning the order in which the bells are to be rung is:

Out of the hunt, middle, in and out at 5, right, middle, wrong, right, middle and into the hunt (4 times repeated).

and

Out of the hunt, wrong, right, middle, wrong, right, in and out at 5, wrong and into the hunt (4 times repeated.)

I not only didn't have a clue what any of this meant, I didn't care. But then it didn't seem as if it mattered that I understood - or maybe it did matter and I missed something along the way.

The story about the murder was good enough. However, it wasn't much of a mystery - and I'm terrible at guessing these things, so it must have been as plain as the nose on my face. I do love Bunter. I think it absolutely amazing that Sayers can provide such a good characterization of someone whose primary dialog is "Very good, my lord."

This filled some waiting time, even in a somewhat noisy situation, and that is what I needed. It might be better than my 3 stars, but I doubt it.

+10 Task (pub'd 1934)
+10 Review
+10 Oldies

Task Total = 30

Season Total = 685

20.7 Single Word

Sarah by Orson Scott Card

This is the account of the life of Sarah, wife of Abraham (yes, that Abraham and Sarah, the ones from Genesis). The book starts when Sarai is ten, the first time she meets Abram. He is there on behalf of his adopted brother, Lot, to bring the bride price for Sarai's sister (this I do know is fiction--we do not know the identity of Lot's wife, but there is no indication that she was related to Sarai--but I only know that because it stated such in the afterward). He tells Sarai that he will return in ten years to marry her.
Eight years later, he is back with a herd of cattle as a bride price for Sarai, saying he couldn't wait any longer.
Thus begins a long, strong, at times troubled, oft-tested marriage. We are with Abram and Sarai as they travel to Egypt, where they have to claim that Sarai is Abram's sister; we are with them as they suffer the anguish of remaining childless, despite the fact that God has promised Abram he will be the father of many nations; we struggle with Sarai as she decides to offer up Hagar, her handmaid, in her stead to bear Abram a child (according to custom); we rejoice with her when Abram (now Abraham, having received a new name from God) and Sarai (now Sarah) are prophesied to have a child in their dotage and she finally conceives. The book ends as Abraham and Isaac are going into the wilderness--unbeknownst to Sarah that Abraham is going with the intent to sacrifice Isaac.
I really should whip out my Bible to read the section of Genesis that covers Abraham and Sarah, just to have a refresher of what was real and what imagined in this book because it all just seems so plausible (well, plausible for the Bible, which has some pretty crazy stuff in there when you think about it).
Despite the license that may have been taken with the source material, this book was more than anything a portrait of a strong woman and her marriage, grounded in faith, loyalty, and devotion. I loved that she wasn't subservient to her husband, but a true and equal partner.

+20 Task
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.8, 20.5, 20.6--approved in thread as long as Abraham was a main character, which he absolutely was)

Task total: 45
Season total: 1780

15.6 RG
This Child Will Be Great: Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa's First Woman President by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Setting: Liberia

+25 task
Season total: 285

15.1 RG2

Setting: Ecuador (South America)

The Old Man Who Read Love Stories by Luis Sepúlveda

+15 Task

Task total: 15
Season total: 1795

15.2 RG2

Setting: France (Europe)

P.S. from Paris by Marc Levy

+15 Task

Task total: 15
Season total: 1810

(yay! with that, i'm finally up to date on my posts)

20.10 Uncommon Letter (Elizabeth (Alaska)'s Task)

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz

So, I can’t believe that this book has less than a 4 star rating on Good Reads with over 184,000 reviews. This is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. I say that knowing that a lot of the allusions (and there are a lot of them) to science fiction works go right over my head.
First of all, the language and dialogue are crisp, new, exciting…mixed with Dominican slang.
The story is about a Dominican family during the years of the Trujillo dictatorship…and simultaneously as three members of the family live in New Jersey…but make visits back to the Dominican Republic. Oscar is a young man and a science fiction nerd who can’t connect with a girlfriend…that is he can’t get one. And as we follow him through his high school and college years (at my alma mater- Rutgers) his struggles continue.
The novel uses several narrators, the most important arguably is Oscar’s sister’s on and off again boyfriend who also reluctantly became Oscar’s roommate at Rutgers. The story also involves Oscar’s sister Lola and her difficulties as a teen, the mother and her difficult youthful life in the D.R. as well as her current problems. We also learn about the lives of a grandfather and an aunt, La Inca. And of course we learn about the curse, “fuku”, that has bedeviled these folks, the family and the entire population as evidenced by the cruelties practiced by Trujillo and his henchmen.
This novel won the Pulitzer Prize…and it so deserves it…and it deserves five stars too! I highly recommend it. I can’t imagine how anyone could be disappointed.

task=20
review=10

task total= 30
grand total= 2340