Reading with Style discussion
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SP 19 Completed Tasks
10.7 Olive Kitteridge (Rebekah's Task)My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
+10 Task
+10 Combo (10.8 - M for My; 20.2 - born London 1907)
+5 Oldies (pub. 1951)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 540
15.3 AbC United Kingdom2017 Arthur C Clarke Award.
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Task total 15 pts
Season total 760 pts
15.4 AbCUK - Betty Trask Award (1992)
Never Mind by Edward St. Aubyn
+15 Task
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 490
10.5 Civil WarBlood Red, Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick
Lexile 840
+10 Task
+ 5 Combo (20.4 approved)
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 505
20.9 True CrimeCatch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake by Frank W. Abagnale
+20 Task (190 shelvings as True Crime)
+ 5 Oldies (1980)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 530
10.8 MegafinishAnother Castle: Grimoire by Andrew Wheeler
Graphic novel
Task total: 10
Grand total: 805
15.9 AbCNew Zealand - Ockham New Zealand Book Awards
Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
+30 Task
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 570
15.8 AbCChile: National Prize for Literature
In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende
+30 Task
Task total: 30
Season total: 920
20.1 Moll FlandersAdèle by Leïla Slimani
Task = 20 points
Combo = 5 points LiT (French)
Total = 25 points
From Post 481Mary wrote: "10.10 Groupreads
Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively
This book is told from multiple perspectives with the main character being a woman (Claudia) on her deathbed. The contra..."
+5 Combo 20.5
From Post 482Anika wrote: "20.8 Poetry
The Romantic Dogs by Roberto Bolaño
I was reminded it is National Poetry Month here in the U.S. when I went to pick up some holds from the library and sa..."
+5 Oldies
From Post 483itpdx wrote: "10.8 Megafinish
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
I like books that look at something differently from the commonly accepted point of view..."
+10 LiT
From Post 488Joanna wrote: "10.6 Public Domain
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
I've heard so many of the lines from this as quotes before without knowing the origin. I was not in a contemplative en..."
+5 Combo 20.7
10.3 ScrabbleThe Mueller Report by Robert S. Mueller
+10 Task
+ 5 Combo: Megafinish
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 825
10.3 ScrabbleYoga for Healthy Aging: A Guide to Lifelong Well-Being by Baxter Bell
+10 Task (about 180 pages of text without pictures)
Task Total: 10
Season Total: 835
10.8 Megafinish (Lagullande's Task via Tien)Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
Task Total: 10
Season Total: 845
10.8 Megafinish (Lagullande's Task via Tien)Elevation by Stephen King
Task Total: 10
Season Total: 855
10.8 Megafinish (Lagullande's Task via Tien)A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
+10 Task
+ 5 Oldies
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 870
10.8 Megafinish (Lagullande's Task via Tien)More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon
+10 Task
+ 5 Oldies
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 885
Kate S wrote: "From Post 483itpdx wrote: "10.8 Megafinish
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
I like books that look at something differently from the co..."
I didn’t see any indication that the book had not been originally written in English?
20.4 NefertitiBecoming Madame Mao by Anchee Min
This novel was set up a bit oddly, alternating between first and third person regularly, often on a paragraph by paragraph basis. I still found it easy to understand the writing and the chronological time frame, although I think I would have gotten more out of it if I understood more of the history. But in another way the history is irrelevant. The building of power by Mao and the grasping for power and chaos at the end are shown unmistakably and with heavy emotion. The protagonist is not particularly likeable, although in many places she is very relatable, but Min does a great job of showing flaws while in the middle of a character thinking well of her own self, mostly, even when the reader might not. Overall I found it a solidly good novel with a unique view on the world.
+20 task
+10 review
+5 combo (20.10)
Task total: 35
Grand total: 840
Post 532 itpdx wrote: "Kate S wrote: "From Post 483itpdx wrote: "10.8 Megafinish
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
I didn’t see any indication that the book had not been originally written in English? "
It was originally written in Hebrew.
https://www.worldcat.org/title/sapien...
10.1 Square PegTransAtlantic by Colum McCann
+10 Task
+10 Lost in Translation (originally published in english, read in french)
Task total = 20
Points total = 90
20.2 Rebecca Nemesis by Lindsey Davis
Is this the last Falco mystery? I have enjoyed most of this series of Lindsey Davis’s books set in Roman times. In this one she sets up Falco’s adopted daughter, Albia, to become an informer and I see there is a series that features her.
Like most of the Falco series we quietly learn a lot about Roman society of the time—how freed slaves are not fully accepted, how not being of Roman descent is a disadvantage. The story is told with Falco’s sarcastic humor and his ethical point of view even in a slippery pond.
+20 task
+15 combo (10.3, 10.8,10.5 Davis)
+10 review
Task total: 45
Season total: 345
15.4 AbC 2nd RoundFrance - Prix Goncourt
The House of Scorta by Laurent Gaudé
+15 Task
Season total = 545
15.8 UK - Arthur C Clarke Award 2015
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Task total: 30
Grand total: 870
20.10 AsiaPachinko by Min Jin Lee
I loved the emotional warmth that was present in Min Jin Lee's writing. "Pachinko" is a Korean family saga spanning four generations during the 20th Century. Although there were many characters, the reader will feel like they have seen into the heart and mind of each one through their actions. The author also weaves Korean and Japanese history into her story, including the hardships of World War II.
Sunja, a teenager in a Korean fishing village during the Japanese occupation, is seduced by Hansu and becomes pregnant. Unknown to her, Hansu already has a wife so he cannot marry her. Isak, a kind missionary heading for Japan, saves her from disgrace by offering to marry her. The story follows Sunja's mother, Isak and Sunja, their two sons, and their families in Japan.
The Koreans live in poverty in Japan where they are treated like second-class persons. Even after several generations of Koreans have been born in Japan, they still must register as outsiders because they do not have a Japanese bloodline. One character decides to pass as Japanese to create a better future. Only certain jobs are open to Koreans, including working at Pachinko parlors. Pachinko is a game similar to a pinball machine. Sunja's younger son, Mozasu, "believed that life was like this game where the player could adjust the dials yet also expect the uncertainty of factors he couldn't control".
The younger generation had their own set of challenges in the final, weakest section of the book. They had more education and money, but also more temptations. It was sad leaving this hardworking, loyal family at the end of the book. They did what it took to survive, and help the next generation. But the question of national identity still hangs over them as Koreans living in Japan.
+20 task
+ 5 combo10.5 Civil War (Lee)
+10 review
Task total: 35
Season total: 495
Task 10.3 In honor of National Scrabble Day on April 13th, read a book with a 7-letter word in the title.
SAI LIN G
Sailing to Byzantium (2000) by Robert Silverberg (Paperback, 432 pages)
Review:This is a collection of 5 novellas, all written by Robert Silverberg during the course of his career. In 2004 the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America awarded Robert Silverberg with the Grand Master Award, signaling his importance to the field. Three of the 5 novellas in this book were nominated for or won awards for “Best Novella of the Year”, either Hugo or Nebula or both. None of the stories passed the Bechdel test but all of the stories are respectful of its female characters. Silverberg’s writing style is clear and straightforward. The main character is always a white male (write what you know!), but that almost doesn’t matter because the focus of the stories is the CONCEPT not the character. The stories include now-standard science fiction elements: time travel, space travel, generation ships, sentient alien life, global warming. Overall, good old-fashioned concept-driven stories written by one of the founders of the Science Fiction field. This book is strongly recommended for fans of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
+10 Task
+ 05 Combo (#10.8)
+10 Review
Task Total: 10 + 05 + 10 = 25
Grand Total: 290 + 25 = 315
20.3 Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in LettersThe Light and the Dark by Mikhail Shishkin
+20 Task
+10 LiT
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 600
10.3 ScrabbleNine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
I've read a lot of Moriarty's other books and enjoyed them a lot -- I feel like she is an author who gets categorized (and a bit denigrated) as "chick lit", but while I often don't enjoy other authors lumped into that category, I do really enjoy her work. This was a strange one. I enjoyed it, and by the end found it hard to put down, but it was certainly bizarre. The premise is that nine people arrive for a health retreat -- they'll turn in their electronic devices, have massages and fasting and juices, healing walks, and so on. When they arrive, things immediately seem a little different than anticipated. The guests justify things, try to give it a go, but as a reader you're left wondering if this will turn into some kind of horror thing (don't go in the basement!) or just a weird health resort. It's a bit of a combo, actually. And well worth reading.
+10 task
+5 combo (10.8)
+10 review
Task Total: 25
Season Total: 180
10.3 ScrabbleThe Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
1000 lexile
I read this three years ago with my older child and enjoyed sharing this classic with him. Now, I reread it with both children...
my now ten year old and my seven year old who had no patience for this book three years ago. Both kids loved the book this time around. The ten year old was much more able to understand the word play and both kids especially liked hearing about all the demons from the land of Ignorance. The book really is quite clever and manages to talk through different puns and word twists in a way that is both entertaining and tangible enough for my small literalists -- subtraction stew (where you get hungrier the more you eat), the Doldrums, the Watchdog (who can fly, because time flies).
+10 task
+10 review
+5 Oldies (1961)
Task total: 25
Grand total: 595
10.3 DecadeThe Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
Pub 1988
I kept this whole trilogy to read later after I read them in the 90s/early 2000s. Williams is writing a sequel trilogy, so I figured it was time. I had actually remembered only the main character and a couple key facts that won't be mentioned until other books, although other people seemed familiar once I got going. I don't remember reading the battle and politicking scenes at all. It is possible I did not, exactly, read them, but rushed past them. I appreciate them now.
I enjoyed this first book and the way Williams overlays the young man's coming of age story on a larger stage. I was amused that the range of societies and kingdoms were pretty obvious twists of ones from our own history, like Norse and Roman. In some ways it felt lazy, but in some ways the side step from familiarity felt helpful to my mind's eye. Like many story arcs of this type, it starts slow with normal life and builds with tension until the end is both a personal battle and a army battle in different locations. I could feel the weight of destiny gathering on Simon and thought it was effectively done with subtlety, even though I am pretty sure I remember where that part is going.
+10 task
+10 review
+5 age
+5 length (672)
Task total: 30
Grand total: 900
15.2 AbC Ireland - The Irish Book Award (2009)
The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
Task Total - 15 pts
Season Total - 490
I had my last Total was 470 with my post #475 but in post #503 Elizabeth pointed out it did not qualify for the task which would have my score at 450. But the Readerboard says my score is 475, so I’m just going with that since I have a history of muddling my scores. Plus I like your score better (Smile)
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 475 Rebekah wrote: "20.8 poetryFlora, Fauna, Fairies and Other Favourite Things by Ann Perry
+20 pts - Task
+10 pts - Combo (10.3, 10.8)
Task total - 30 pts
..."
You know, I didn’t even notice the spelling difference of Ann. I just thought it was Anne Perry. I’ve not read any of her books although they have been on my tbr shelf for years. I didn’t even know she wrote poetry! Haha now I know she hasn’t published any! You can score it the way you said.
Karen Michele wrote: "10.3 ScrabbleThe Mueller Report by Robert S. Mueller
+10 Task
+ 5 Combo: Megafinish
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 825"
I just got my preordered copy yesterday. I’m trying to decide if I should keep on with my challenge books, or break off to read it
20.9. TrueCrimeSex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History by Ben Mezrich
I am not a fan of true crime so I was looking for a book without any violence and this fit the bill. Unfortunately, while it is a quick read it is not a very good book. The story is about Thad, a brilliant student hoping to become an astronaut. He is talented but also insufferably arrogant and since the author is writing from Thad’s perspective, the book reads as an apology for Thads actions.
In addition, the reconstructed dialogue and narrative reads like implausible fiction. The book could easily have been a magazine length article. Not worth the time to read almost 300 pages.
20 pts. 20.9 True Crime
5 pts Scrabble
5 pts 10.8 Megafinish
10pts Review
Task total. 40 pts
Season total 805 pts
Post 508 Lynn wrote: "10.5 Civil WarThe Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
10 task
10 review
5 Oldie (1959)
15 Combo 10.3, 10.7, 10.8
40 task
735 Season total
The Haunting of Hill House is a psy..."
I'm sorry, Lynn. I don't see this working for 10.3. I counted "haunting" at least 6 times, thinking I must not be seeing right, but it still has 8 letters. ;-)
10.5 Civil WarCommand Me by Geneva Lee
This book is of the Fifty Shades of Grey and Crossfire genre. Absolutely predictable cotton candy reading, but perfect for a rainy grey day when I was home sick from work. Requires very little concentration and completely takes my mind away from real life stress. The twist here is that the hero is the Crown Prince of England, so the poor heroine of the story is pulled into the tabloids and can't just have a regular relationship with a new beau--it's all fraught with the Royals. There are seven books in this series, plus a spinoff series. I don't know that I'll have interest in these characters for long enough to read all of them, but I enjoyed this one.
+10 Task (Lee)
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.3 - command; 10.9 - the heroine's sister is in the story)
Task total: 30
Grand total: 625
Post 514 Rosemary wrote: "10.5 Civil WarBlood Red, Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick
Lexile 840
+10 Task
+ 5 Combo (20.4 approved)
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 505"
I have added the combo for 20.10. The list includes Russia as an Asian country, although it straddles the continent boundaries.
Post 543 Tien wrote: "20.3 Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in LettersThe Light and the Dark by Mikhail Shishkin
+20 Task
+10 LiT
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 600"
Does this take place at least 75% in Russia? (Russia is on the Asia list, so would qualify for 20.10 also)
15.10 AbCFinland-Tähtivaeltaja Award-
The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks
ugh!
Task=40
10 country bonus= 150
grand total= 830
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
The Enormous Room (other topics)The Address (other topics)
The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter (other topics)
Sense and Sensibility (other topics)
My Brilliant Friend (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
E.E. Cummings (other topics)Fiona Davis (other topics)
Theodora Goss (other topics)
Jane Austen (other topics)
Elena Ferrante (other topics)
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Hovering at a Low Altitude: The Collected Poetry of Dahlia Ravikovitch by Dahlia Ravikovitch
+20 task
+10 translated
+5 combo (10.8)
Task total: 35
Grand total: 795