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FA 2017 Completed Tasks
10.8 Double LetterA Pound of Cure: Change Your Eating and Your Life, One Step at a Time by Matthew Weiner
As diet books go, I liked this one a lot. Enough to give it a try.
The theory is much like Dean Ornish or Joel Fuhrman, i.e. lots of vegetables and fruit, less meat and grains, and very little sugar or processed food. But he's more relaxed about it. After a two-week "metabolic reset" a.k.a. the tough kickstart that most diet programs start with, he lets you go almost back to your normal way of eating and change things step by step in 12 steps which could take a year.
The title sounded odd to me but I discovered online it's part of a quote by Benjamin Franklin: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
+10 task
+10 review
+10 not a novel
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 430
Post 303 Kazen wrote: "20.7 - Single WordSunshine by Robin McKinley
I love this book so. much.
The good:
- As much as I love vampires they have been done (and overdone) poorly in the years ..."
I'm so sorry, Kazen. This is YA Fiction at BPL and it doesn't have a Lexile. Task, but no styles.
15.1 RG (2nd round) z-aVanuatu
Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu by J. Maarten Troost
+15 - task
+15- first visitor
Task Total - 30 pts
Season Total - 755 pts
15.8 Reading Globallya-z
Namibia
Counting Teeth: A Namibian Story by Peter Midgley
25 task
15 first to Namibia
___
40
Running total: 340
15.7 Reading Globally Tonga
American Taboo: A Murder in the Peace Corps by Philip Weiss (set about 70% in Tonga)
+25 task
+15 first visitor to Tonga
Task Total: 40
Season Total: 270
20.7 Single WordPaint by H.M. Mann
+20 Task
+5 combo (10.8 Double Letter Names)
+5 combo (20.2 The House, see thread post # )
+10 Review (see below)
====
Task Total = 40
Season Total = 80
----
Eh? Pulp fiction. This was entertaining enough, and had plenty of promise...but it also was pretty corny, predictable at times, and thin. I'll give the author plenty of credit...he wrote, published, and publicized this enough that I found it and read it. And it was a kind of fun premise (depressed man is able to communicate with the dead who are able to travel/appear on paint who then help said man to rebuild a broken life) but it got itself a little lost along the way. There is a lot of forgive...and that's part of the lower rating. Rebuilding broken things and people happens remarkably quickly. Complicated processes and even personalities get boiled down into condensed tv-version soups. There are plot off-shoots that sort of advance the book, but are also frolics that could have been avoided. In any case...with a decent amount of salt, and just reading for the sake of the story, this was an enjoyable quick read. Perhaps a bit of October-y pablum if you need to read a ghost story but don't really want to be spooked?
10.5 GrandparentsRemnant Population by Elizabeth Moon
+10 Task
+10 Combo 10.7, 10.8
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 350
15.6 Reading GloballySetting: Greece
The Messenger of Athens (The Greek Detective #1) by Anne Zouroudi
+15 Task
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 450
10.8 Double Letter NamesI Dare You! by Farrah Rochon
I feel I have to start by saying – I quite enjoyed this book.
Because the next thing I am going to say is….. how disappointed I am that it doesn’t take place in Turks + Caicos as described (much less than 51%!). Yes, I am 2 for 2 on the Reading Globally strike out today.
I thought – Turks + Caicos, that is a locale that romance novels would be set in, which is how I found this book. I gather Rochon is a popular romance writer and I can see why. This short novel has character development, steamy sex, a back story and a social conscience. If you like descriptions of locales and other extraneous details, this may not be the book for you. It is well written and a nice zippy read – and of course, it has a happy ending! 3.5*
10 task
10 review
____
20
Running total: 360
20.10 Uncommon LetterZofloya
Charlotte Dacre
This book written in 1806 had many elements that up to then were not written about. This book written by a female talked about SEX. Certainly not graphic by today's standards. The women in this story took what they wanted without regard to children or the men in their lives. Murder was a means to an end without hesitation. The author also included a relationship between a black man and a white woman. Again not written about in 1806 by a female author. There were a few parts gasp worthy and sad. BUT one of my pet peeves is misspelled words and punctuations where they do not belong. I am no grammar expert. I usually stop reading a book when I come across these errors. The over use of words such as "bosom" and "countenance" drove me nuts. I enjoyed this Gothic Novel much more than The Castle of Otranto but it is time to move on past the Gothic period.
20 Task 20.10
5. Combo 20.5 pub 1806. Set 15C
5. Combo 10.8 double letter in author's name
10. Review
15. Oldies. Pub 1806
5. Combo 20.7 single word (not sure since various titles)
Total 60
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I'm so sorry, Kazen. This is YA Fiction at BPL and it doesn't have a Lexile. Task, but no styles."No worries! I should have thought to check it.
From post 232Gabriel wrote: "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 ca..."
+10 Jumbo
From post 265Paula wrote: "10.5 Grandparents
A Suitable Vengeance by Elizabeth George
Review:
This is book 4 of the Inspector Lynley mystery series and my favorite so far. The setting is chro..."
+5 Oldies
15.8 Reading GloballySetting: France, Europe
Delicacy by David Foenkinos
+25 task (reading Z-A)
Task Total: 25
Season Total: 455
From Post 21Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "20.10 Uncommon Letter
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
Review
I had high hopes for this book but it fell flat. I did like the main characters of Cora and Will. I fel..."
+10 Combo 20.5, 20.6 (see post 240)
From post 231Anika wrote: "15.7 Reading Globally
setting: Paraguay (South America)
Who's Killing All the Gringos?: A Paraguayan Murder Mystery by David LeRoy Nelson
(Can I just say: Worst..."
I show an addition error here. In post 183, you had a total of 260, add the 40 points here, I show 300 to be your total through post 231.
15.2 RG (2nd round) z-aUruguay
How Coffee Saved My Life: And Other Stories of Stumbling to Grace by Ellie Roscher
+15- task
+15 - first visitor
Task Total - 30pts
Season Total - 785
Task 10.5 GrandparentsThe Amazing Dr Darwin: The Adventures of Charles Darwin's Grandfather (2002) by Charles Sheffield (Paperback, 343 pages)
Review: This book is a collection of 6 standalone novelettes, originally published 1978-1998. Charles Sheffield was a science fiction author (emphasis on “science”). The stories in this book are not really ‘science fiction’; instead, I would describe them as fictional mysteries starring scientists and featuring scientific concepts (electricity or oxygen or even the Loch Ness monster). All the stories have, as their main protagonist, medical doctor Erasmus Darwin acting like a detective, (like Hercule Poirot or Sherlock Holmes), and co-stars Col. Pole as his friend & assistant (similar to Holmes’ Dr. Watson). Both Erasmus Darwin and Col. Pole really existed in the real world– although, Sheffield informs the reader, there is no evidence that they were close friends in *real* life. Erasmus Darwin, in *real* life, was the grandfather of Charles Darwin and a noted 18th century scientist. Recommended for readers who like Sherlock Holmes or who enjoy the sub-genre of “science fiction mysteries” – and who doesn’t mind reading a collection of stories that fail the Bechtel test.
+10 Task
+10 Combo (#10.8 double letters, #20.1 set 100 years (or more) before publication)
+10 Not-a-Novel: short story collections
+10 Review
Task Total: 10 + 10 + 10 + 10 = 40
Grand Total: 235 + 40 = 275
Kate S wrote: "From post 265Paula wrote: "10.5 Grandparents
A Suitable Vengeance by Elizabeth George
Review:
This is book 4 of the Inspector Lynley mystery series and my favorit..."
Hi! I dont know the exact year of the setting but dont think this qualifies as an oldie. Definitely more current.
@Paula, I think that the Oldie points are for the publish date (1991), not a combo for the task
10.7 Big Words (Tien's task)Generations in Black and White: Photographs from the James Weldon Johnson Memorial Collection by Carl Van Vechten
Carl Van Vechten was a patron of the Harlem Renaissance...as well as a writer and photographer. Here, he uses about 80 of his photographs of prominent African Americans in the early years of the 20th century...and pairs them with biographies of those figures. I learned about this book from Nella Larsen's novel "Passing" which was semi-autobiographical and featured a character intended to represent Van Vechten. Larsen is one of the figures, in turn, featured here. Some of the photos are now iconic. Other Renaissance figures discussed include William E.B. Du Bois, "Bojangles" Robinson, Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters, Paul Robeson, Langston Hughes...and many other writers, entertainers and activists. I found myself referring to Wikipedia for even more information about certain people...especially those who had somehow previously escaped my attention. A good read...and view.
task =10
review=10
not-a novel=10
oldie=5 (1991)
task total= 35
grand total=1090
Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "15.1 Reading GloballySalem Falls by Jodi Picoult
Task +15
Book Total: 15
Grand Total: 160"
Hi Jayme, you haven't put what country you are doing. Whilst I can see it's us from checking the book it might make it easier for tracking if you include in post, thanks!
20.4 NighttimeThe House in Paris by Elizabeth Bowen
+20 Task
+10 Combo: 10.3 Decade / 10.5 Grandparents Day
+10 Oldies (1935)
Task Total: 40
Season Total: 640
20.8 Mother-Daughter (Amanda's Task)No One Is Coming to Save Us by Stephanie Powell Watts
+20 Task: “One of the things I wanted to write about was difficult mothers and daughters. But I wanted to write about loving difficult mothers and daughters,” Watts says of Sylvia and Ava.
+ 5 Combo: 10.8 Double Letter
Task Total: 25
Season Total: 665
Repost15.1 Reading Globally
Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult
Country: United States
Task +15
Book Total: 15
Grand Total: 170
Cat wrote: "@Paula, I think that the Oldie points are for the publish date (1991), not a combo for the task"That makes so much more sense. Thanks for clarifying! The setting seemed like 1990ish so I was quite confused.
20.6 ClergyLast First Snow by Max Gladstone
+20 Task (main character Temoc is a priest)
+5 Combo 20.10
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 375
20.3 Ghost StoryThe Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
The supernatural and ghost stories are not really my thing. But as things go, this one is so contrived that it is somewhat amusing to read....well, actually I listened to the Libravox version. (And the reader on Libravox annoyingly insisted on pronouncing Otranto as Ott-ran-toe rather than what I suspect is the correct way "Oh-tran-toe".)
The novel takes place during the period of the first crusade- so roughly during the 11th century. The Lord of the castle needs an heir to keep his hold on the estate. The novel opens with his son about to be married to the daughter of a knight with a competing claim on the castle. From there, things go very awry. Hidden rooms in the castle, religious sanctuaries, spies, wickedness, unbelievable coincidences , potential incest, and a ghost enter the story.
Interestingly, when I researched the novel on Wikipedia I learned two things in particular. First, that this is considered the first gothic novel...so,it's worth giving a read just for that. But Wikipedia's article has a long section about The Castle and Shakespeare...and in particular the ghost here and the ghost in Hamlet. One of my friends is actually taking a course about Hamlet's ghost...and I referred her to the article which you can read here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cas...
task = 20
review= 10
Oldies = 20 ( Published 1764)
Combos= 15 (20.1 20.2 , 20.5)
task total= 65
grand total= 1155
15.7 Reading GloballyEstonia, Europe
When the Doves Disappeared by Sofi Oksanen
+25 Task
Grand Total = 155
20.1 Gothic AuthorsTrilby by George du Maurier
+20 pts - Task
+10 pts - Combo (10.5,20.7)
+10 pts - Oldies (1894)
Task total - 40 pts
Season Total - 825
10.4 ThankfulMr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
#51 on the list
Review: This novel is a book of adventure, friendship and a mysterious bookshop.
The main character of the book, Clay Jannon, starts off the book being unemployed due to the bursting of the dot-com bubble. By sheer chance he ends up in Mr. Penumbra Bookshop one day and becomes the new night clerk. But Clay soon discovers that Mr. Penumbra's is an odd little bookshop. The narrow, but deep, shop is filled with books, but the selection is eclectic and there's a whole section in the back with books that look like unique prints.
Despite himself Clay becomes more and more invested in the bookshop and the mystery that surrounds it, and as he delves into the mystery, he uncovers a secret brotherhood and an age-old secret.
At the heart of the novel is a story of friendship and an interesting duality of new and old technology. The best selling point is that the book is very funny and does not take itself too seriously, which in my humble opinon is very important when writing about age old secrets.
+10 Task
+5 Combo (20.2: The bookshop)
+10 Review
Task total: 25 pts
Grand total: 25 pts
10.5 Grandparents You Never Can Tell by George Bernard Shaw
+10 Task
+10 Not-a-Novel
+10 Oldies (1898)
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 695
20.9 Satire (Kate S's Task)Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh
+20 Task
+10 Oldies (1928)
Task Total: 30
RwS Finish: 100
Season Total: 835
20.2 The HouseNorthanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Review: The heroines of Jane Austen's novels come in many different versions. There's the wise, "old maid" Anne Elliott from Persuasion, sharp-tounged and shrewd Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice or the kind but snobbish Emma from, well, Emma. And then there's Catherine Morland, sweet, impressionable, very naïve and out to be introduced to society for the first time.
At the start of the novel, she is invited to Bath by friends of her family, and here she meets two pairs of siblings: John and Isabella Thorpe as well as Henry and Eleanor Tilney. The two pairs both invite Catherine's friendship, both they have very different ideas on morality, humbleness and friendship, and it is part of Catherine's coming-of-age to discover for herself what motivations drive the different characters.
Later on, Catherine is invited to Northanger Abbey, the ancestral home of Henry and Eleanor Tilney. As she is very fascinated by gothic novels, she finds exactly what she sets out to find, namely a haunted gothic mansion with a horrific secret at its heart. However, as the story goes on the gothic spookiness is explained quite mundanely and Austen does a great job of parodying the genre.
At first it felt a bit strange that an heroine in an Austen novel could be so gullible, but the author still manage to spear all the hypocrisy and nonsense with her mighty pen.
+20 Task
+20 Combo 10.4 (#22 on list), 10.9 (Romance), 20.1 and 20.6)
+10 Review
+15 Oldies (pub. 1817)
Task total: 65 pts
Grand total: 90 pts
15.7 Reading GloballySetting: Hong Kong
The Trophy Taker (Detective Johnny Mann #1) by Lee Weeks
+15 Task
+15 first visitor to Hong Kong
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 480
20.7 Single WordRingworld by Larry Niven
Review: Louis Wu is a bored, old man. Really old, he is around 200 years old, and so he's seen it all several times. So when a three-legged and two-headed alien invites him on a expedition to explore unknown territories in space, he accepts. Joining the two are Teela Brown, who is the result of breeding for luck through generations and Speaker-to-Animals, who is a member om a tiger-like alien warrior race.
The novel started out as an exciting adventure and a solid 4-star read: I like a good adventure and the concept of the Ringworld, which is a band of land and ocean stretching in a circle around a star, is an intriguing one.
But the misogony really got to me. It started of relatively small, when Louis Wu considers waking Teela from cryogenic stasis for the sole purpose of having sex (and it is implied to then let her go back into stasis), he ultimately decides against it, because he feels slightly grimy. However, it escalated to the point where Louis Wu offers to sell Teela Brown to a hunky local alien that she has fallen in love with. The alien believes that Louis Wu owns Teela, and so they calmly agree that the best fix is to sell her to him, instead of attempting to explain the fact that nobody owns her. It was simply to much and at the end I found my attention slipping away from the book, partly out of anger.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+5 Oldie
+5 Combo (10.8)
Task total: 40 pts
Grand total: 130 pts
20.8 Mother-DaughterComeback: A Mother and Daughter's Journey Through Hell and Back by Claire Fontaine (and Mia Fontaine)
Review: It all starts when Claire Fontaine marries the wrong guy, an artistic, but drug-addicted scion of an old, wealthy and dysfunctional New England family. They have a daughter named Mia together, but as she becomes a toddler, Claire realises that her husband sympathizes a little to much with paedophiles and when Mia is three or four years old, she reveals that her father has been molesting her. So begins the struggle for Claire to divorce her husband, get the courts to recognize that Mia was abused, but avoid having her sent into foster care.
The books begins when Mia, at the age of 15, runs away from home to live on the streets and do drugs, basically to get away from her (perhaps understandably) neurotic and overbearing mother. Detailing the arc of healing from the constant, agonizing worry of having a daughter on the streets to her admittance to an effective but hardcore, and possibly illegal, institution for troubled youth, theis book had me feeling a range of emotions from anger to pity to frustration, and on more than one occassion I really wanted to tell both of them to get over themselves.
The book is very melodramatic and slightly high-strung and self-righteous in tone, but I did enjoy the insight into a troubled young woman and a co-dependent mother-daughter relationship.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-Novel
Task total: 40 pts
Grand total: 170 pts
20.10 Uncommon LetterThe Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789 by Joseph J. Ellis
+20 Pts- Task
+20 pts - Combo (10.5,10.7,10.8,20.5)
+10 pts - Non fiction
Task Total - 50 pts
Season Total - 875pts
15.9 Reading Globally a-z
Samoa
A Footnote to History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa by Robert Louis Stevenson
40 task
15 first to Samoa
____
55
Running total: 415
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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...
Setting: Venezuela
Memories of Altagracia by Salvador Garmendia
Task=40
First to Venezuela=15
task total= 55
alphabetical order bonus=100
6 continents bonus=100
Season total: 1055