Reading with Style discussion
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FA 2017 Completed Tasks
20.6 ClergyThe Rose Rent by Ellis Peters
+20 Task
+10 Combo: 10.8 Double Letter / 20.5 Old
+ 5 Oldies (1986)
Task Total: 35
Season Total: 505
15.3 Reading GloballySetting: China
Night in Shanghai by Nicole Mones
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 150
20.2 The HouseThe Castle of Wolfenbach by Eliza Parsons
Review
I read this book knowing it to be one of the earlier works of gothic fiction and therefore, was not too disappointed instead I rather snorted my way through it. Once you get used to the language, it was quite entertaining though I had to skim through some of the sentimental blubbers and put up with all the coincidental incidences and repentant evildoers (lots of eye-rollings happening too). There was no surprise for the ending, just punishments for the bad and ever after happiness for the deserving good. All in all, it was quite entertaining since I knew what I was letting myself in for.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+15 Oldies (pub. 1793)
Post Total: 45
Season Total: 325
10.8 Double Letter Names (Cat's task)Saving Grace (The Button Jar #1) by Fiona McCallum
Review
A rather random choice from my borrowbox account which turned out to be an okay audiobook to listen to. I liked the characters and the setting (small town community) but aside from the main event disclosed on the blurb (main character leaving her abusive husband), there really wasn’t much happening. It was a nice easy relaxing pace for the listener though maybe not for someone who’s just left her husband having to re-learn being on her own; not just the loneliness but also finances & relationships etc. I read some reviews beforehand so was pre-warned not to expect any romance though that doesn’t mean that the main character did not entertain some thoughts of it! I’m not sure if I’ll pick up the rest of the trilogy though… I didn’t feel bored listening to it but looking back, it was rather boring that nothing really happened! Maybe when I feel like a switch in pace, I may consider book 2.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 345
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Lagullande wrote: "Thanks, Kate, but actually I deliberately left the Jumbo points off this one. "Even if you read an abridged edition, you will get the points. Everyone gets the same points for ..."
Oh, go on then, I'll take the points :-)
Thank you.
15.5 Reading Globally (2nd Round)Setting: Fiji
The Fantasy Eaters: Stories From Fiji by Subramani
Task=15
First to Fiji=15
Task total=30
Season total: 655
Post 171 itpdx wrote: "10.2 SpyLiar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott
Review: After I got over Abbott extrapolating thoughts and feelings of..."
10.8The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry
10 Task
10 Not a Novel
5 jumbo (546 pgs.)
25 total
10.5 GrandparentsEvery Last Lie by Mary Kubica
Review: Clara has just had her second baby and her husband is tragically killed in a car crash. As the book unravels between her and his perspective leading up to the accident, readers learn that all marriages have secrets and not everything is always as it seems.
This was not necessarily my favourite thriller, but it did have some good explorations of themes of family, loss, grief and marriage. At times I found the writing to be a bit trite and repetitive especially in the portrayal of Clara. I am looking forward to reading The Good Girl by the same author and hoping it will be better!
+10 Task - Mary
+10 Review
Task Total: 20 pts
Grand Total: 110 pts
Post 198 Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "10.4 ThankfulThirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
#149 on the list
Review
This book is about a girl who commits suicide because she thought nobody cared about her. Sh..."
I'm sorry, Jayme. This is a YA Fiction at BPL and has a Lexile of 550. Task, but no styles.
20.5 OldThe Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Cora is a slave on a Georgia cotton plantation with a brutal master. She feels his eyes on her and fears his next move. When another slave tells her about the Underground Railroad, she agrees to his escape plan. They travel to another state, but the slave catcher Ridgeway is on their trail.
Colson Whitehead uses magical realism by writing about a secret railroad located underground in dirt tunnels. He also plays around with the time and location of events, pulling many important events from black history into the places along Cora's escape route. It was a clever and imaginative way to present the types of challenges and the cruel people that an escaped slave would encounter. Some of the horrors depicted, especially early in the book, were so brutal and inhumane that I could only read a few chapters at a time.
The book has a large number of characters since Cora is meeting new people as she moves from state to state. In the beginning of the book we get a good understanding of how Cora is feeling. But between the third person point of view and so many characters, the spotlight was taken off Cora many times as the book progressed. The reader was not inside Cora's head, experiencing the terror she must have been feeling under the circumstances or her emotional reactions to the other characters. Cora's experience was sometimes sacrificed to tell the general African American experience. It may have been the intent of the author to make the racial history the priority.
The story starts with Africans being loaded into slave ships, and ends with some hope as some slaves escape to the north and west. While things are better today, there is still a segment of the population that shows extreme prejudice against people of color. "The Underground Railroad" reminds us that African Americans have experienced a horrific history. Colson Whitehead's inventive presentation of that history has nudged people to discuss an important topic.
+20 task (set in the 1850s)
+10 review
Task total: 30
Season total: 140
10.8 Double Letter NamesThe Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli
+10 Task (LuiseLLi)
+10 Review
Post total: 20
Season Total: 20
---- (Review)---
I really wanted to get more out of this book than I did. That being said, I did enjoy it while I was there. It is a strange little book...one with a somewhat strange, yet remarkably accessible premise. For me, the movement of the book seemed as a series of loops. Something might have happened, but you weren't sure until the next iteration whereby you either saw the same event from a different angle or had it confirmed as a past event. I didn't mind this, but it seems a bit disjointed at times, and whether or not that was intentional did not convey well. I really liked the premise, although one of my major complaints is that I really wanted some pith from it. I wanted more reflections and conclusions about the nature of collections, art, etc. Because of this lack, I felt like I was reading 'art for art's sake," and reacted to it very similarly to visual arts for the same purpose. Perhaps I felt as if I were missing a point (there are many a literary subtlety that I am 100% certain flew beyond me, even if I saw it happening). Or perhaps I just wanted a little more from the author relative to her understandings of the subjects presented...something more to take away. It was still nicely written and worth the read.
One note: without giving up any spoilers, I found the afterward to be incredibly illuminating and would recommend that anyone who reads this book be sure not to skip it. I almost wonder if I would have gotten more from the book had I read it first...but it does give some bits away...so perhaps not.
20.5 Old Setting: 1813
Where the Dead Lie by C.S. Harris
Review:
This is one of my favorite current series. I love how C.S. Harris brings her characters to life and adds in additional dimensions to keep them interesting. Typically, her books are a ‘guilty pleasure’ for me, as I work my way through various lists (Dr. Boxall, you’ve kept me busy!). This latest book in her Sebastian St. Cyr novels, however, ended up being a bit of a challenge to read. The plot and characters, as always, were good, but the topic itself was hard to read. This mystery, set in the early 19th century, involved the violent murder of some orphaned and homeless children living in one of London’s poorest neighborhoods.
While it is critical to bring to light these kinds of issues, particularly as poverty and homeless children are still issues, 200 years after the setting of this book, and need attention and support, I do feel a bit whiney as I sit here, safely secure and knowing my child will never have to live that life, to complain that a book wasn’t as ‘fun’ as it normally is to read. I would say, in summary, thank you Ms. Harris, for pushing my comfort zone and still providing a story that is gripping, well thought-out, and then ended with an event that leaves me waiting impatiently for the next book to be published!
+20 task
+10 review
+5 combo (10.8, double letters in haRRis)
Task total: 35
Season total: 100
From Post 170Jenny wrote: "1984George Orwell
Is this really a required read for high school kids? Yuck. I had to skim over the book within the book. All that talk of the various kinds of governments..."
+10 Combo 10.4 and 20.7
From Post 200Karen Michele wrote: "10.3 Decade
Candida by George Bernard Shaw
+10 Task
+ 5 Combo: 20.6 Clergy
+10 Not-a-Novel
+10 Oldies (1934)
Task Total: 35
Season Total: 305"
+10 Combo 10.5, 20.7
From Post 211Ashley wrote: "10.1-Square Peg
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
+10 Task
+10 Oldies
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 50"
This book is #296 on the list for 10.4. I have scored it as 10.4 and show your Square Peg is still available.
From Post 171itpdx wrote: "10.2 Spy
Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott
Review: After I got over Abbott extrapolating thoughts and feelings of..."
+5 Jumbo
10.8 Double LetterBraiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Review:
Robin Wall Kimmerer describes herself as "an ecologist, a writer, a mother, as a traveler between scientific and traditional ways of knowing". This is a collection of her essays that weave all of these together. I especially enjoyed a couple of the pieces. "Learning the Language of Animacy" describes her experience trying to learn the language of her grandfather. She says that 70% of the words in the language are verbs. That certainly calls for a different way of experiencing the world. "Witness to the Rain" describes the coastal forest near where I live--"here in these misty forests those edges seem to blur, with rain so fine and constant as to be indistinguishable from air and cedars wrapped with cloud so dense that only their outlines emerge. Water doesn't seem to make a clear distinction between gaseous phase and liquid." And "Burning Cascade Head" describes the native people's ritual to call home the salmon and care for the land. This a lovely book with lots of wisdom for the reader.
+10 task
+10 review
+10 not a novel essays
Task total: 30
Season total: 120
15.7 RG. a-zPalestine
The Collaborator of Bethlehem by Matt Rees
+25 - Task
+15- first visitor
Task Total - 40 pts
Season Total - 320 pts
From post 50Jenny wrote: "20.1. Gothic author. The Castle of Otranto
Horace Walpole
20. Task
20. Oldies. Published 1764
5. Combo 20.2
45 total"
+10 Combo 20.3 and 20.5
From Post 200Karen Michele wrote: "10.3 Decade
Candida by George Bernard Shaw
+10 Task
+ 5 Combo: 20.6 Clergy
+10 Not-a-Novel
+10 Oldies (1934)
Task Total: 35
Season Total: 305"
I think there is a minor addition error here. In post 159, you had a total of 275, adding the 35 points you claimed in this post should give you a total of 310.
From Post 190Katy wrote: "10.8 Double Letter
Shadow of the Lions: A Novel by Christopher Swann
This has the feel of a classic literary mystery, which I love. It tells the story of a flound..."
I show an addition error here. In post 154, you had 140 points, add the 20 points in this post should put you at 160.
Task 20.5 - OldIstanbul by Bettany Hughes
98% set over 100 yrs ago; only the last couple of chapters touch on more recent events
800 pages
A brilliant look at the history of Byzantium, Constantinople and Istanbul - a unique city with multiple identities over the millennia.
I'm a sucker for this sort of history - if it weren't for the fact that we cover thousands of years and a dizzying array of characters and events you could almost call it a microhistory. Let's call it a biography of the city.
And actually, biography isn't far wrong, as the city does become a distinct character, growing and changing and yes, diminishing, over the course of history.
Hughes is passionate about the city, and that comes out very clearly in every description of Istanbul, and the excitement that archaeological discoveries are still turning up new insights into this complex city (oldest wooden coffin!) She uses modern events to compare, contrast and highlight similarities and differences in society, in a way that makes even ancient history seem relevant.
At the end of the book she makes the sad point that we view other ancient civilisations very differently - ancient Rome, ancient Greece, ancient Egypt are all treated very differently to this city which occupies a unique place in the geopolitical landscape. Certainly I am now desperate to go and visit Istanbul!
+20 Task
+15 Jumbo
+10 Not a Novel (non-fiction)
+10 Review
+5 Combo 10.8
Book total = 60
Season total = 585
15.7 Reading Globallysetting: Paraguay (South America)
Who's Killing All the Gringos?: A Paraguayan Murder Mystery by David LeRoy Nelson
(Can I just say: Worst. Title Ever!)
+25 Task
+15 first visitor to Paraguay
Task total: 40
Season total: 275
10.4 Thankful (see post 2 in thread)Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
+10 task
+10 review (see below)
=
total: 20
season total: 40
---
What can I possibly say about finishing this book and the HP series? About the book: coming into it, I knew there was a lot of work to do to tie up the series...I almost worried that the ~750 pages wouldnt be enough. I worried a little more when after 250 (or so) not much seemed to have been accomplished. But, as will not shock a single one of you, the plot gets all wrapped up...and satisfactorily so. I will readily admit that a LOT happens in the last few chapters, but that is definitely how it had to be, and there is no hint of cheap suspense to it. It is a fitting conclusion to the series and lived up to the hype.
As for the series, I am very happy that I finally got around to reading it. I suspected, as a younger man, that I would when my children read it. I didn't think my son would read it quite as early as he did...but we have had some wonderful family conversations about the twists and turns, and watching him light up with imagination and the joy of reading will be forever treasured. Rowling, herself, deserves all of the accolades she receives...even if I can argue the relative literary merits of this or that...the imagination and love of reading she has inspired in MILLIONS of children (and adults who might not have been inclined prior) is enough. I do feel as if I am a part of a cultural phenomenon, and am glad to be among those who know.
20.9 Satire A Tale of a Tub by Jonathan Swift
Review:
Often, my favorite aspect of books written 100 or more years ago (or over 300 years ago, in this case) is the beauty of the language and the use of words that people don’t use today. English authors used words like “umbrage” and “libations,” which I think are enjoyable to hear in my head as I’m reading. This book, by Swift, has the same, but is also one of the funniest books I’ve read in a while.
The book is basically a critique and satire of all other books, from the authors to the dedications, to the overall content of the books. At the end he even says, “I am now trying an experiment very frequent among modern authors, which is to write upon nothing, when the subject is utterly exhausted to let the pen still move on…” There is also an underlying story about a man and his sons, but that is really more of a vehicle for the satire, not the real story being told here.
I will say, with the content a bit dense and hard to follow in some spots, I did find myself going back over sections and realizing that I hadn’t actually absorbed anything in the last several minutes. I was thankful for the humorous bits to keep me engaged; otherwise it took a lot longer to get through this short book than it should have!
+20 Task
+10 Review
+20 age (originally published in 1704)
Task total: 50
Season Total: 150
15.6 Reading Globally Setting: Singapore
Singapore Noir by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan
+25 task
+15 first visitor to Singapore
Task Total: 40
Season Total: 230
20.4 NighttimeThe trumpet in the dust by Constance Holme
+20 Task
+10 Oldie (published 1921)
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 200
Thank you Kate S. for those extra 20 pts I missed.
10.1. Square Peg. The Short Drop. Matthew FitzSimmonsThis is book 1 of a series of 3 thrillers with Gibson Vaugn as the main character. This is my favorite genre. I am pushing myself in expanding into other genres but I just had to take a break and go back to my comfort zone. The main character is a likeable guy. He messed up his life when he was arrested for a cyber crime. We catch up with him after he paid his dues but he is dragged back into his past. You are not sure if the other characters are the good guys or the bad guys. Not everything is all bundled up neatly at the end which encourages one to read the second book in the series. This was a nice easy read. I'm sure I will read the next book especially because I will need something lighter after I am done reading my current Oldie.
10 task 10.1
5. Combo 10.8 double letter
10 review
25 points
15.4 Reading GloballySetting: Saudi Arabia
Days of Ignorance by Laila Aljohani
+15 Task
+15 first to visit
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 230
15.8 Reading Globally setting: Rwanda (Africa)
Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin
+25 Task
+15 first to visit Rwanda
Task total: 40
Season total: 315
Task 20.5 OldRead a book with a main story line set 100 years (or more) before publication.
Novel set in the 1890s and published in 2016.
The Essex Serpent (2016) by Sarah Perry
Review: This quirky historical fiction novel is set in the 1890s. In the afterward, the author reveals that the inspiration of the novel came from a real event that occurred in Essex, England. The novel follows an ensemble group of characters, the majority of whom are economically comfortable. There are men and women of leisure; medical doctors; a vicar and his family; and their privileged children. We also are introduced to a beggar and a working class man, but their roles in the novel are small. The style of the novel is such that I kept expecting it to veer into ‘magical realism’ territory but it never quite does so. The plot – such as it is – revolves around a “serpent” that may or may not exist near the Essex coastline, and how our characters interact with the “serpent” mystery (when they are not busy interacting with each other). Recommended for fans of low-action literary fiction.
+20 Task
+05 Combo (#10.8 double letters)
+10 Review
Task Total: 20 + 05 + 10 = 35
Grand Total: 145 + 35 = 180
The vicar is part of the ensemble cast of the novel. He is one of the main characters – but there are 6 main characters – and his “screentime” is not the majority one. I therefore didn’t include a 20.6 Clergy combo. Now, if our moderators thinks Rev. Ransome’s presence justifies a 20.6 combo, I won’t complain – it’s a borderline call either way.
Task 10.8 - Double Letter NamesMidnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew J. Sullivan
I enjoyed this book, but ultimately it fell a little short of what it set out to achieve. Weaving a complex web of plotting, sadly some of the character development got lost, leaving me frustrated to understand quite why some of the characters reached the point they did. Lydia's reactions were certain very odd and unrealistic - veering from reclusive and private with the man she’s been living with the for last few years to immediately opening up to a long-lost childhood friend who coincidentally happens along just when things in her life are getting confused. I don’t buy the lack of wariness that Lydia showed...
But clever, and with promise - I can see the potential in the author, and this is, after all, his debut work.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Book total = 20
Season total = 605
Post 237 Jenny wrote: "10.1. Square Peg. The Short Drop. Matthew FitzSimmonsThis is book 1 of a series of 3 thrillers with Gibson Vaugn as the main character. This is my favorite genre..."
Jenny, the Square Peg is a task for books that don't fit anywhere else. As this fits 10.8 Double Letter, we'll put it there, and you'll still have your Square Peg available for something else.
20.7 Single WordMaddAddam by Margaret Atwood
I really enjoyed this last book in Margaret Atwood's trilogy, but I didn't think it was quite up to the inventiveness of Year of the Flood. This book brings everything together (with a few too many coincidences ... how come ALL of the 10 people left alive knew each other from way back?) but doesn't introduce anything new.
We get Zeb's back story, which I loved because I loved Zeb. However, Toby's insecurity over Zeb got a little irritating at times. Realistic, but did we have to hear so much of it?
I also loved the Crakers. (view spoiler)
Note: There are two characters who could be called clergymen, Adam and "the Rev" (father of Adam and Zeb), but I'd say they're secondary characters. We only see them through Zeb's eyes.
+20 task
+ 5 combo (10.8)
+10 review
Task Total: 35
Season Total: 295
10.10 Group ReadsMy Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
After the unexpected death of his cousin abroad, a naive and sheltered young Cornish man deals with the arrival of the mysterious widow to his house and into his own life. Did she have a hand in his cousin's death? What are her intentions now? Typically of Daphne du Maurier, the story is beautifully, excruciatingly tense at times, and narrator Philip Ashley--loathsomely arrogant and misogynistic, childishly foolish, desperately mercurial and lonely in his feelings--is both fascinating and repellent. Du Maurier doesn't falter in depicting and developing his worldview and his perspective, or in keeping the story moving squarely inside that constricted construction. While it was tiresome at times, being stuck in the POV of a manchild for the entire book, I was still impressed by the depth and commitment to character, and nearly every time I felt too fed up with Philip, he did something that made me feel for him and hope he would start getting a clue. I didn't have the irritation I usually feel in regard to unreliable narrators, because Philip lays out his uncertainty and doubts in the very first chapter, and du Maurier isn't trying to trick or outsmart the reader--rather, just seduce them with mysterious ambiguity. I was happy to be seduced, in this case!
I have to admit, however, that I expected a little more drama--because when du Maurier brings the drama, she brings the draaaama, and c'mon I want to know more about that duel in Rachel's backstory!--and I found the ending (view spoiler). Not my favorite of du Maurier's books, but still a compelling read.
+10 Task
+5 Combo (20.1 Gothic Authors)
+10 Review
+5 Oldies (published 1951)
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 180
10.4 ThankfulThe Boy in the Striped Pajamasby John Boyne
#78 on the list as of 09/16/17
Lexile score of 1000
Review
This is the first time I read this book. It is a story told from a nine year old's point of view. His father is a commander in Hitler's army. The boy Bruno, doesn't know this. In fact, he has led a very sheltered and privileged life. One day, his family moves to a house near Auschwitz concentration camp or as it is pronounced in the book, OutWith. When I first started reading this, I couldn't believe how naive the main character was but then I realized that Bruno probably would not have been told about what his father did as a job. All Bruno knew was his father was a soldier. Once Bruno arrived at his new house, he realized there were no other children. The only other people around were the people in the striped pajamas. He meets a boy named Shumel who is a Jew living in the concentration camp. Again Bruno doesn't know the significance of this. Bruno just knows he is glad to have a new friend. I gave this book five stars because even though the content is sensitive, I thought it was a great story about friendship. The only thing I didn't understand was why his parents didn't try to find Bruno in the end.
Task +10
Review +10
Book Total: 20
Grand Total: 145
20.1 Gothic Authors11/22/63 by Stephen King
+20 Task
+15 Jumbo (849 pages)
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 265
15.8 RG A-ZSyria
The Rise of Zenobia by J.D. Smith
+25- Task
+15- first visitor
Task Total -40 pts
Season Total - 360 pts
15.4 Reading GloballySetting: Ethiopia / Africa
Beneath the Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste
+15 Task
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 535
20.10 Uncommon Letter (Elizabeth (Alaska)'s Task)Reputations by Juan Gabriel Vásquez
+20 Task
+10 Combo: 10.7 Big Words / 20.7 Single Word
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 565
15.4 Reading GloballySetting: Ghana
Death by His Grace by Kwei Quartey
+15 Task
+15 First visitor to Ghana
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 210
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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)
More...
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)
More...
Rooms by Lauren Oliver
+20 Task: Ghosts that can't move on live in the walls of the house and the book is divided into sections titled by the rooms in the house where they observe the family.
+10 Combo: 20.3 Ghost Story / 20.7 Single Word
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 470