Reading with Style discussion
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SP 18 Completed Tasks
10.7 Neutral Name (Anika's Task)Take the Lead by Alexis Daria
A delightful, joyous romance. I love it when romance protagonists are working on a challenging project together, when their individual successes are their mutual success. So this set-up--partners on a dance competition show--was Just My Thing, even if reality television and dance are not elements I'm normally drawn toward. And, yeah, the reality television aspects of this destroyed my soul (cw for sexual harassment), though I appreciated the fakeness/disconnect versus truth/connection thematic developments.
This was a cleanly-paced romance novel that focuses on (relishes in, actually) the good stuff: the intimacy building, particularly the pleasure Gina and Stone get in learning more about each other, supporting each other, and breaking down the barriers they'd long been using to protect themselves. I sometimes wished there were more scenes from the actual competitive dances (especially the one in the rain!), but the book's ability to focus on the important scenes was one of its strong points. I think I just wanted to spend more time with the characters, really.
+10 Task -- ALEXIS
+5 Combo (10.5 -- 440 ratings)
+10 Review
Task Total: 25
Season Total: 420
20.6 Dead Souls The Blood Promise by Mark Pryor
I read the previous two books in this series quite some time ago, so it took me a little bit to get back into the world of the story. I found that it actually stands alone reasonably well, though. The series follows Hugo Marston, a US State Dept employee in Paris, as he investigates various crimes. This one was a complicated one, as it involved a visiting US Senator, plenty of aristocratic French families, and a two hundred year old secret. It was an enjoyable read - great, easy reading for subways and travel. I found by the end that I was a bit confused and didn't fully grasp the stakes involved. I wondered if it was a case of the author not leaving all the clues in the text (sort of cheating, in my opinion!) or it just being a relatively convoluted plot. So the ending wasn't everything I hoped for, but again, a light and easy read.
+20 task
+10 combo (10.3 - #3 in series, 10.5 - 746 ratings)
+10 review
Task Total: 40
Season Total: 270
20.10 My Comfort ZoneMadame Firmiani, and A Second Home by Honoré de Balzac
I thought I was getting a two-fer in my quest to be a Balzac completionist. I would happily have read Madame Firmiani on her own had she been long enough to have qualified for a task by herself. But Balzac has quite a number of stories that I will have to find companions for if they are to be allowed for Reading with Style.
I have commented before that there is a passage in one of Zola's novels that Balzac is just too sad. I have discovered at least one title where such is not so. I may have discovered that Balzac even had a sense of humor! Madame Firmiani begins with short descriptors of what various members of society might have to say of this woman. She is rich (or not), she is married (or not), etc. Life is full of gossips and most people have an opinion they will gladly share if asked. And then we meet Madam Firmiani; but to learn her story we must also meet the young man who has sacrificed his inheritance in his love for her.
As I began reading A Second Home, it felt very familiar. I checked my Balzac spreadsheet where I ostensibly keep track of those I've read. Nope, not checked off - some other author must have copied this story, which is a good one. Then this morning I looked at my Goodreads record, which is apparently more accurate, and find that I had, indeed, read this in 2015. And then I got a part of the story which I didn't recall at all. Both parts of this story are very good, but in complete contrast to each other.
Balzac is not predictable and that is very much appreciated. I see that I gave A Second Home five stars the first time I read it, and it has not faded. Madame Firmiani is good, but not quite as good. Still, I'll happily give 5 stars to this edition that includes both titles.
+20 Task
+ 5 Combo (10.5)
+10 Review
+15 Oldies (pub'd 1830/1832)
Task Total = 50
Season Total = 300
20.4 Night WatchStoner by John Williams
An infinitely sad book. The life of an ordinary man - the life that could be one of the many hundreds of people we see everyday. John Williams has narrated the story of a man, Stoner, who like many fell in love with literature, aimed to be a teacher, married the wrong woman, had an estranged relation with his daughter and died in mediocrity. Not every man is born to live a legendary life and this is exactly the reason why Stoner's life resonates so well with all of us because whether we would like to admit it or not, most of us live mediocre lives.
The writing is first rate, emotions are very well brought out and is a fairly easy read. It is a book that kept be engrossed thoroughly despite knowing well beforehand that Stoner's life is not going to be one of "happily ever after" and that is precisely why I loved it. A well deserved 5 stars.
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.9)
+10 Review
+5 Oldies
Task Total = 40
Season Total = 170+40 = 210
20.7 Clariel by Garth Nix Lexile 990
Clariel is the 4th book in the Old Kingdom series and is an excellent addition. It’s very distinctly fairly Young Adult fantasy and follows the story of the Abhorsen and that bloodline with offshoots of royal bloodlines and neglected responsibility, familial ties, and straight up lies and deception by magical creatures. It’s exactly what I want in my fantasy and Nix never fails to deliver. It’s also a backstory of a sort, kind of backing up to tell you *who* one of the main characters in previous and subsequent books actually is and how she turned out the way she did. I was very happy with it and will probably read the fifth book next.
+20 task - main character is cousin of the King and the story has to do with a missing princess and a power struggle for the throne
+10 review
+15 combo (10.3 - #4 in the Old Kingdom series, 10.6 - main character is female, 20.5 - magic, ancient magical creatures, the Charter)
Task total: 45
Grand total: 415
Post 282 Don (The Book Guy) wrote: "20.6 Dead Souls Too Many Women by Rex Stout, pub. 1947
+20 Task
+5 Oldies
+5 Combo, 10.5
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 100"
This has too many ratings for a 10.5 combo, but I see that BPL has a Russian edition, so you get a combo for 20.4 instead. (I'll try to remember to get that edition added to GR later.)
Post 296 itpdx wrote: "10.3 SeriesMaddAddam by Margaret Atwood
It has been a loong time since I read The Year of the Flood and even longer since I read [book:Oryx and Crake..."
Shelved enough times as cultural and contemporary - combo 10.9
Post 299 June wrote: "20.4- Night Watchnumber9dream by David Mitchell
Russian Edition : Сон №9
Task +10
Combo: +10 (10.9- Contemporary, Cultural; 20.9- Jumbo)
Post: 20
..."
I'm sorry June, the MPE for this title has only 401 pages and does not qualify for 20.9. number9dream
Post 305 Coralie wrote: "10.3 SeriesDeath Masks by Jim Butcher
+10 Task #5 in the Dresden files series
Post Total: 10
Season Total: 815"
Also has enough shelvings in mystery/contemporary for a 10.9 combo.
Post 314 Coralie wrote: "20.6 Dead SoulsLaRose by Louise Erdrich
+20 Task RR
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 835"
This has been shelved enough times as historical/contemporary to qualify for 10.9.
20.6 - Dead SoulsBehind Shadows by Netta Newbound
Non consecutive N's
+20 task
Task total: 20
Season total: 200
20.9 Jumbo2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson
+20 Task
+ 10 Combo 20.4, 20.6
+5 Jumbo 561 pages
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 880
10.7 Neutral Name Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier
+10 Task
+5 Combo (20.4)
Task total = 15
Points total = 130
15.3 Reading the DecadesAt the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
year: 36
+15 task
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 665
15.4 Reading the DecadesChrist Stopped at Eboli: The Story of a Year by Carlo Levi
year: 45
+15 task
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 680
15.5 Reading the DecadesDestination Unknown by Agatha Christie
year: 54
+15 task
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 695
20.8 Silent Spring (Ed's Task)A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum by Stephen Sondheim
I had seen the play at least once and the movie several times...and of course enjoyed them. I didn't expect the humor to come through so much in the written form. I was so wrong. I occasionally chuckle when reading my daily fare...but this book actually had me in belly laughs that were so prolonged that it began to be painful. Maybe I was just in the right mood to receive the comedy...but I highly recommend that everyone give this short read a try.
The story involves a slave during the Roman Empire period trying to gain his freedom by providing his master's son the woman he is in lust with. Only problem is that the woman lives in the bordello next door...and she has already been bought by someone else who is coming to get her soon. In the meanwhile, the Master, thinks that the girl is the new maid...who he intends to take advantage of. Add in a large dose of characters taking on the identities of others... the master's wife returning to also mis-read events and the general hectic series of machinations by the slave and hilarity not just ensues...but romps all over the place. 5 stars.
task=20
combo= 5 (10.2)
NaN=10
Review=10
Oldie=5 (1961)
task total= 50
grand total= 620
15.6 Reading the DecadesThe Clocks by Agatha Christie
year: 63
+25 task
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 720
20.7 The Red QueenEnchantments by Kathryn Harrison
Since watching the TV series Peaky Blinders (1920s Birmingham, England), I have become fascinated with the years between the World Wars and what happened worldwide but particularly in England and Russia. I’ve heard the basic history of the Romanovs, but the story is still surrounded by enough mystery to give fiction writers a lot of latitude in the stories they tell. Enchantments took some characters of the story, Rasputin’s daughter and Alyosha (Crown Prince Alexei), the young Romanov prince with hemophilia and built the novel around them. I enjoyed the sections when Masha reminisced about her father and those that focused on the health of Alyosha, but the overall story was disconnected at some points. I never became emotionally empathetic to the characters. The writing was solid, but I’m going to be seeking out some other historical fiction about the Romanovs and their times to compare.
+20 Task
+ 5 Combo: 10.9 Double Trouble
+10 Review
Task Total: 35
Season Total: 500
From Post 283Don (The Book Guy) wrote: "20.6 Dead Souls
Show Me The Way: Readings for Each Day of Lent by Henri J.M. Nouwen
+20 Task
+10 Not a Novel
+5 Combo 10.5
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 135"
+5 Oldies
From Post 309Gabriel wrote: "20.6 Dead Souls
The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare
+20 Task
+ 5 (combo 20.8 - not a novel AND before 1962)
+5 (combo 20.4 - Russian edition available)
+10 Review (..."
+5 Combo 20.7-fictional royalty
20.9 JumboBabylon's Ashes by James S.A. Corey
+20 Task
+5 Jumbo 538 pages
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 905
20.5 The Queen's NecklaceThe Queen's Necklace by Alexandre Dumas
I enjoyed The Queen's Necklace, particularly the second half. I knew it was the second book in a series and I broke my own rule about always reading series in order and I wish I hadn’t. I think that the first part of this book would have been clearer and I was supposed to know some of the characters from the first book. The story of Marie Antoinette’s necklace does stand alone, though, and once I got further into the book I was intrigued by the story. I liked that I could picture Versailles because I have been watching the TV series about Louis XIV. The writing was good, but I didn’t find it as compelling as Dumas’ more well known works. I have since read that he had ghostwriters for this book and that (if true) and/or the particular translation could also explain that disparity in style. I still enjoyed the mystery of this beautiful necklace and famous queen and plan to go back to the first book and read more of other works by Dumas.
+20 Task
+10 Combo: 20.7 The Red Queen / 20.10 My Comfort Zone
+10 Review
+15 Oldies (1850)
Task Total: 55
Season Total: 555
10.9 Double TroubleAffinity by Sarah Waters
Sarah Waters knows how to write great plots! Rich in its gothic style with ample evidence of influences of all the Victorian era novelists, Waters has weaved a gripping story set in 1870's London.
To call Waters the female Dickens might still be too early. Dickens sets the bar very very high, I think and to think how Dickens' descriptions come alive through his books, Waters certainly is no Dickens, but oh her sentences are ornate alright and she can perfectly set the mood in her story. Throughout the book, I could sense "Spooky" and "grey". The book started a bit slow for my taste - slow not in the description but I wasn't sure where I was heading but towards the end I laughed out loud too. On the whole though, the book was sad. I wanted things to happen - happy ever after kind but I guess I liked the way it ended. Waters gives wonderful twists to her works.
The story is not simple to summarise because it goes a bit back and forth - not the Wuthering Heights way but more in terms of journal entries of two women. Is the meeting of a rich upper class woman visiting the female ward of a prison and an inmate evolving into a forbidden romance or is there a con in play here, forms the basis of the story. Saying more would reveal way too much.
A wonderful read. I look forward to reading more of her works.
+10 Task
+5 (Combo, 20.4)
+10 Review
Total: 25
Season Total: 25+210 = 235
20.10 My Comfort Zone (Elizabeth (Alaska)'s Task)Middlemarch by George Eliot
The presence of a noble nature, generous in its wishes, ardent in its charity, changes the lights for us: we begin to see things again in their larger, quieter masses, and to believe that we too can be seen and judged in the wholeness of our character.
Sunset and Sunrise, Chapter 76
I want to be judged and judge others by the wholeness of our characters and this quote near the end of Middlemarch jumped out at me as the kernel of what George Eliot was trying to portray in this book. Relationships were not purely stereotypical and although the plight of the female in marriage in a patriarchal society was portrayed, the faults of women had a part to play as well. I read for many different purposes and when I take on a classic I expect to discover the works’ place in history, a window into the beliefs of the time period and a book that has stood the test of time, hopefully, but not always, because the writing is good. Middlemarch fulfilled my expectations and the writing itself was often brilliant and sometimes quite funny! I don’t have to like the characters in a book to enjoy it, but I do like it better when I can relate to them. There were good and bad traits I could see in myself throughout this book. I am not one who always thinks that classics have become classics because they are the best of literature, but Middlemarch ranks among the favorite classics I have read.
+20 Task
+10 Combo: 20.4 Night Watch / 20.9 Jumbo
+10 Review
+10 Oldies 1871
+20 Jumbo 904
Task Total: 70
Season Total: 625
20.4 Night WatchMephisto by Klaus Mann (Russian edition: Мефистофель. История одной карьеры)
+20 Task
+10 Oldies (1936)
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 185
20.8 Silent Spring (Ed's Task)The Malcontent by John Marston
I've been reading a series of old old plays...and not enjoying them much. This one is a little better than the lot but just three stars from me. Perhaps I'm just not in the right mood for these mostly dark cynical tragedies. In the beginning, Marston actually uses a device of having an actor (depicting an audience member) surmising that the play he is about to see is a stolen version of The Spanish Tragedy (which I read recently).
Anyway...here again, we have the former and deposed Duke of Genoa (Malevole) return from exile in disguise. (They must have made disguises so convincing in those days.) He seeks revenge on the man who overthrew him.... but, wait for it, Malevole discovers that a third party (Mendoza) is trying to overthrow the second Duke... and Malevole convinces the second Duke to also don a disguise so that they can more easily determine Mendoza's plots. Infidelity and cuckoldry, or the fear thereof, let the women have their turn at treachery too. Will Malevole retake his throne? Well you have to read it to find out.
One takeaway from reading all these plays is to appreciate Shakespeare more. Yes, Shakespeare stole many if not most of his plots from earlier plays... but he seemed to know intuitively when to balance a tragic scene with a comic one...or better yet, mix the two. I'm sure some of Marston's attempts at this go over my head... but, if it does, time has not been as kind to him as it has to the Bard.
task=20
combo=15 (10.2-Genoa; 10.5; 20.7)
Review=10
NaN=10
Oldie=25 (1605)
task total= 80
grand total= 700
Heather wrote: "20.7 Clariel by Garth Nix Lexile 990
Clariel is the 4th book in the Old Kingdom series and is an excellent addition. It’s very distinctly fairly Young Adult fantasy..."
Can we move this one to 10.6? Clariel is the female main character's first name. That should put me at 405.
10.3 SeriesZack by M. Malone
I first started reading this two years ago, but I set it aside because I wasn't in the mood for the immediately deep and heavy emotions. I knew from the opening chapter that it would be Too Much. But now I was ready for it, and while I forgot some of the details of the ongoing plot arc, it worked out okay; the suspense related plot was ZERO in this (aside from Gabe being post-stabbed in the opening--I forgot the details about that, alas, but he's okay! and Sasha is still wonderful!).
So this is a short but satisfying friends-to-lovers story, with both Josie and Zack long thinking their love was unrequited, and most people around them assuming the two of them annoyed each other. There's something about Malone's writing style that I really enjoy: the way her characters narrate their emotions (it's dual first-person) is so straight-forward and so steady and so vulnerably honest, and I love the way that builds through the book. They're honest with themselves, even when they can't be honest with the wider world, and there's no emotional wishy-washiness, even as they work through what's holding them back.
+10 Task -- Blue-Collar Billionaires #4
+5 Combo (10.7 -- M.)
+10 Review
Task Total: 25
Season Total: 445
20.2 The Blazing WorldEloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper
"When it came to books, my mother always obliged."
Dr. Brittney Cooper writes about black girls and women, about power and anger and fear, and about why and how she's a Black Feminist. I prioritized reading her book after reading this interview and appreciating how she was focusing on the idea of process and a commitment to engaging beyond criticism.
When I started Eloquent Rage, I was finding it a solidly good read: beautifully written, grounding the work of life in theory and theory in the work of life. The final few chapters, however, were astonishingly transcendent, as Cooper pulled together so many strands of her life and her work. Then I started reading the book from the beginning again, and I was impressed by how gracefully cohesive the whole project is. The chapters aren't quite discrete, which I appreciated greatly, as I'm not really an ideal reader for essay collections, and they definitely build, and elegantly so.
As accessible as this book is (Cooper sharply and smoothly breaks down big concepts, then builds them up again, and she cites and integrates a lot of important theoretical tools in straightforward ways), I don't think this is the book for readers who want to argue about basics of feminism or anti-black racism. She's looking beyond that. At the same time, there's very little that's didactic or soapbox-y here, but she examines the place of anger, and she argues for the future of Black Feminism. A favorite passage:
Curiosity is often the first casualty of the politics of fear. Sometimes the things we fear most are our questions. More specifically, we fear the questions to which we don't have answers. When we are afraid, we stop asking questions and start seeking short-term solutions. The work of my hands is the work of teaching students how to ask more and better questions. It is the work of rescuing curiosity from the clutches of fear. What kind of world can (white) fear really create? What is the end game of white supremacy? And what would it mean to start from the fears of the marginalized and build a world that is safe for them?On a slightly different note, I was delighted to read that Cooper is a fan of romance novels and shares a favorite trope of mine (second chance reunion)!: "When I'm not railing at the patriarchy and reconsidering whether a traditional marriage is for me, I spend my time reading romance novels. My favorite romance story plot is always about young lovers who lose touch, reconnect, and then live happily ever after."
+20 Task -- "feminist" in subtitle/description/genre
+5 Combo (10.5 -- 229 ratings)
+10 Not-a-Novel
+10 Review
Task Total: 45
Season Total: 490
10.5 Green StoneEverything You Love Will Burn: Inside the Rebirth of White Nationalism in America by Vegas Tenold
+10 Task (92 ratings)
+10 Not a Novel
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 195
20.9 JumboWhen Montezuma Met Cortés: The True Story of the Meeting that Changed History by Matthew Restall
+20 Task (560 pages in MPE)
+5 Jumbo
+5 Combo (10.5-28 ratings)
+10 Not a Novel
Post Total: 40
Season Total: 235
10.9 Double TroubleThe Tokyo Zodiac Murders by Soji Shimada
Well, this was a pleasant surprise! An impulse pick at the library and I didn't even look at it that closely before bringing it home. This is considered an orthodox mystery and was first published in Japan in the 1980s.
The basic premise is two amateur sleuths are going to solve a 40-year old mystery and they are going to do it within a week. They lay out the clues and the suspects and puzzle out the solution. The author stops by once in awhile to remind the reader that they have all the clues and encourages the reader to make a guess. I enjoyed this.
There was a lot of information about astrology (shocker, based on the title), and I did not follow all of it. But in no way did I feel that detracted from my ability to enjoy the mystery.
I will be looking for future titles from this imprint.
+10 Task (Mystery and Cultural>Japan)
+10 Review
+5 Oldies (1981)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 260
10.7 Neutral NameMeg by Steve Alten
I like stories about sea monsters! Yes, this does require me to suspend my disbelief, but once in a while with a fun story, I can manage it. I would have liked this book better if there wasn't that terrible scene at the end where Jonas (view spoiler).
I have read this series a bit out of order, as I found the second one and read it first. I think I am glad I waited to read this one as the author updated it and included a prequel. The background information about where the Meg had been living and how it came to be in shallower water was very interesting. The author stated in his acknowledgements: "twenty years have matured me as an author." He reworked his book and improved the writing style, which I am sure I appreciated.
I will be enjoying future books in this series, too.
+10 Task (Steve is on the list of nicknames)
+10 Review
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 280
While the title appears to be a woman's name, it is not, it is short for Megalodon.
20.6 Dead SoulsCandy Apple Dead by Sammi Carter
I did not like this book. I thought it was a sloppy offering in the world of cozy mysteries.
(view spoiler)
I did not connect with the characters, the mystery was not great. And I felt like there were several plot lines dropped along the way. With a little more time and development, I think the story could have been much stronger. I will not be reading more books from this series nor by this author.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo 10.7-nickname
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 315
20.1 The DoubleThe Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas
Review ******Spoiler Alert******
I had heard of this book for as long as I can remember but never read it nor saw a film adaptation. As a lover of mysteries, I was excited to read it. Who was the mysterious prisoner? I had a vague idea that Dumas had claimed it was a brother to the king who may have had a superior right to the throne but wasn’t sure the circumstances. Almost immediately the identity is uncovered and by the end of the first half of the book the prisoner was re-incarcerated in a much more secluded fortress, very much isolated and given the penalty of wearing a mask to disguise his likeness to King Louis XIV as his identical twin. The story is not really about this ersatz king but more of a continuation of the story of the Three Musketeers saga and indeed is subtitled in its serial form as The Vicomte of Brageloone or Ten Years Later , the Vicomte in the title being Musketeer Athos’ only son. But even then, this section about the Iron Mask man is not as much about the Vicomte either as it is about the demise of the Musketeers.
Musketeer Aramis, now a bishop contrives to substitute the corrupt and spoiled King XIV on the throne with his identical twin and do it in such a way that no one would be the wiser of the replacement having occurred. The virtues of honor, hospitality, etiquette, and loyalty ruin this plot just as it is accomplished so that Aramis and his unknowing accomplice, the Musketeer Porthos are charged with treason and must flee. The Captain of the Musketeers, their beloved brother in arms, D’Artagnan, must now pursue his lifelong friends to bring them to justice. Then the adventures, battles, escapades and hijinks run high and keep the reader enthralled in the thrilling twists and turns. But the book ends very much as a final completion to the “All for one!” quartet, as the death of each is recounted including that of Athos’ son, leaving only Aramis alive but in exile in Spain.
+20 pts - Task
+20 pts - Combo (10.9-historical & mystery, 20.4*,20.7-King Louis XIV figures prominently as one of the main characters, 20.10)
* "about 1859, he moved to Russia...... where his writings were enormously popular" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexand...
+15 pts - Oldies (1850)
+10 pts - Review
Task Total - 65 pts
Season Total - 245 pts
Post 349 Rebekah wrote: "20.1 The DoubleThe Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas
Review ******Spoiler Alert******
I had heard of this book for as long as I can remember but never read it n..."
Russians were fluent in French, so the wiki reference does not necessarily indicate the book was actually published in Russian. I have spent some time looking for a Russian edition, including searching the National Library of Russia and do not find a Russian edition of this title. If you have a link to a specific edition, we'll accept the combo.
20.8 Silent Spring (Ed's Task)Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
It is surprising to me that having been an avid theater patron ( I have subscribed to 3 or 4 theaters simultaneously for over thirty years) that I had never seen a production of Death of a Salesman. I also have never seen any film adaptations. So, it was a pleasure to read this play without any prejudices...and it IS worth the read.
My first reaction is that Miller credibly relates dialogues between the characters. So many plays and novels use so much artifice that it interferes with my enjoyment of the work. (That is almost always my complaint about Hemingway. I can never imagine real people having the conversations he puts to paper.)
Here, Miller presents Willy Loman, an aging salesman who is failing in his business, his health...and perhaps as a father and husband. Almost all the action centers around the complicated family relationships...and we can discern each character's motivations. No cardboard stereotypes here. 4 and a half stars.
task=20
Review=10
NaN=10
Oldie=5 (1949)
task total= 45
grand total= 745
20.7 - title character is apprentice and half sister to Queen SabrielGoldenhand by Garth Nix No Lexile listed
Goldenhand is the 5th book in the Abhorsen trilogy and ostensibly the last, although I’m not sure about that based on the ending. The story kind of wraps back around to the beginning and through the rest of the books, pulling in the Abhorsen Sabriel, the Abhorsen-in-Waiting Lirael, Chlorr of the Mask, Mogget, Touchstone, Nicholas Sayre, and plenty of others and creates a very tightly interwoven plot. It was very well written, although I didn’t like it as much as I did the first three. I’m very curious to see if Mr. Nix decides to end the series here or if he continues it.
+20 task
+10 review
+10 combo (10.3 - #5, 20.5 - the Charter, ancient magic users)
Task total: 40
Grand total: 445
20.8 Silent Spring (Ed's Task)What Is Man? by Mark Twain
I am a Mark Twain fan...but, as with any author, even one's favorites, there is likely to be a clunker...and this is that one for me. The book sets forth Twain's philosophy that man is but a machine in the form of a dialogue between a young man and an old man. The old man is assuredly Twain's counterpart....and has all the answers. The philosophy can be boiled down to man acts out of complete self gratification....just as all animals do. There is no free will. There is free choice...but that choice will always be in line with what best gratifies one's self. There is no self sacrifice because one is simply acting in a way that will satisfy one's own interest. Man is a machine controlled by "OUTSIDE" forces....a term used much too often and simplistically. Those outside forces include training and nurturing... but, be assured, men do no independent thinking.
The young man...and this reader are exasperated by the old man's arguments. On a purely molecular level the old man is correct...but as the young man attempts to argue... there is no room left for considering the man as a whole...a being of several parts...not just a body that serves the brain. As Twain puts forth these arguments, there are some obvious problems and inconsistencies. He makes errors about some animal behavior...perhaps things unknown to him at the time. He claims that the supreme outside factor is God...but seems to discard all other important religious theories...such as FREE WILL. He also makes an argument in the beginning that he can predict a man's religion by knowing where he was raised...thus, Indians are Hindus.... because of the outside influences...not reasoning and free will. Yet, near the end, he raises a point by presenting the case of two journalists who change their religion and political associations due to "outside" factors.
Frankly, there is no way to win an argument with the old man.
There is a reason that Twain did not have this published while he was alive....and perhaps it should have been left unpublished. 2 stars
task=20
combo=5 (10.5)
Review=10
NaN=10
Oldie=10 (1905)
task total= 55
grand total= 800
10.9 - contemporary/mysteryEnd of Watch by Stephen King
Well, that was exactly what I was waiting on. The first two books were pretty much straight noir, which wasn’t bad, but End of Watch is stereotypical King, chock full of the WTFery that was only alluded to in the end of Finders Keepers. As is typical for King, he doesn’t delve too deep into *why* things are the way they are, except for on the surface – if he had, it’d be hard sci fi, not the horror or noir he’s so good at. That said, it’s well written and interesting. Definitely something to check out if you’re a King fan.
+10 task
+10 combo (10.3 - #3 in the series, 20.4 - a defunct line of expensive handheld games is a major plot point)
+10 review
Task total: 30
Grand total: 475
20.10 My Comfort ZoneArmance by Stendhal
Stendahl was a wonderful author, but it is not this debut novel that made him so. For more than the first half I felt a lack of focus, a lack of why he was writing. There was so much of the young protaganist Octave, that I wondered why this wasn't called Octave and Armance.
Octave, at 20, vowed he would never fall in love and most assuredly would not marry before age 26. Armance is a penniless cousin with whom he has a friendship. Oh yes, we can see where this is going. Still, there is much denial on both sides of this friendship.
Stendhal's excellent prose does not come through until the last 1/3 - 1/4. In this case, I don't think it is the translation that makes it feel clunky. The characterizations are thin at best. Despite these two negatives - and those are the most important elements of a novel for me - I kept reading. I cannot even say why for certain, except that I wanted to see where Stendhal would take this. And I *was* rewarded. Finally, the prose began to approach why I want to read more Stendhal and the story itself gained some focus. This was enough for it to rise to the 3-star level, but only just.
+20 Task
+15 Combo (10.5, 10.6, 20.7)
+10 Review
+15 Oldies (pub 1827)
Task Total = 60
Season total = 365
15.3 - Reading the DecadesThe Battlers by Kylie Tennant
+15 Task (published 41)
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 320
20.8 Silent Spring Eastern Approaches by Fitzroy MacLean
Occasionally, I have had the pleasure of meeting someone who has had interesting adventures and is a good story-teller. Fitzroy MacLean is just such a person and his adventures happen to be historical. This is a personal narrative of his experiences from 1937 to 1944.
The book opens with his posting to the British Embassy in Moscow. He recounts his unofficial trips to the Central Asian areas of the Soviet Union. He also witnessed Stalin’s largest show trial during his purge of leaders of the Russian Communist Party.
MacLean’s description of how he got out of the diplomatic corps and into the army and was elected as Member of Parliament along the way brings out his quiet humor. He gains military experience doing special operations in North Africa. Then he is assigned the job of assessing Tito and his Partisans in Yugoslavia.
This all makes for a fascinating story and MacLean’s personal story-telling style makes it very readable.
+20 task
+15 combo 10.8 Europe, Asia, Africa; 10.5; 20.9
+5 oldie
+5 jumbo
+10 review
+10 NAN
Task total: 65
Season total: 295
20.1 The DoubleThe Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson
Low lexile.
One of the main characters, Leo, is a twin (view spoiler)
+20 task
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 740
10.4 Book RiotThe Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
Linked stories that present sometimes as truth, sometimes as fiction, about the author's (or a character with his name's) experiences in Vietnam in 1968/9 and the consequences of those experiences in later life. Not an easy read - terrifying, in fact, to read what ordinary young men can do when we give them the "justification" of a war, and when you think that this is still happening in many places in the world and probably always will as long as there are human beings. I hesitate between being glad I read it and wishing I didn't know some of the events, but I think it's an amazing book.
+10 task
+ 5 combo (10.9 historical/contemporary) - doesn't work for 20.5
+10 review
+ 5 oldies (1990)
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 770
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
Final Girls (other topics)The Picture of Dorian Gray (other topics)
Потрет Дориана Грея (other topics)
An American Marriage (other topics)
Generation Loss (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Riley Sager (other topics)Oscar Wilde (other topics)
Tayari Jones (other topics)
Elizabeth Hand (other topics)
Connie Willis (other topics)
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The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare
+20 Task
+ 5 (combo 20.8 - not a novel AND before 1962)
+5 (combo 20.4 - Russian edition available)
+10 Review (see below)
+10 Not-a-novel (its a play!)
+25 Oldies (1611 original pub date)
____
Task Total: 75
Season total: 150
---review---
I have to be honest, I picked this play based on the fact that there is a Hogarth Shakespeare companion (The Gap of Time), it is a Shakespeare that I have not read, and, well, that's about it. I did this based on my enjoyment of The Tempest and Margaret Atwood's treatment thereof in the same series. After I decided on this undertaking I noted that the Folger is currently performing The Winter's Tale and I have tickets to see the performance in just a few days time. So...this review is based solely on my reading of the play...I am curious what effect seeing the play and reading the modern treatment will have on my enjoyment thereof.
Perhaps I expect too much of Shakespeare? This play was fine (I read that it is categorized as one of the "problem plays," meaning that it is neither/both comedy and tragedy so the critics don't really know what to make of it). Perhaps I expect that every Shakespeare I read (especially the ones that I have not been previously exposed to) will illuminate a dark corner for me? This didn't. It entertained, but didn't do much beyond that. Also, by entertained, I suppose it kept my interest. Shakespearian language is difficult for me to read, and I found I often glossed over much, getting the meaning, but not necessarily every word...and then rereading other parts to ensure I took the meaning. I am very curious how I will enjoy the play's production and whether seeing the performance has an impact.
Similar with the Hogarth treatment. This will be my second play/book in that series, and some of the upcoming companions they have planned are pretty exciting. I have high hopes for that book as well (review to come separately) but am truly hoping that it will help me see the import of THIS work better than I see it after my initial reading.