Reading with Style discussion
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SP 19 Completed Tasks
From Post 545Joanna wrote: "10.3 Scrabble
The 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 i..."
+5 Combo 20.7
15.9Canada - Prix Aurora 1996
The Terminal Experiment by Robert J. Sawyer
Task total: 30
Grand total: 930
CORRECTED IN POST 60115.4 AbC
United Kingdom. A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro Winifred Holtby Award 1982
Task total 15 pts
Season total 820 pts
Task 10.1Venus (The Grand Tour #18) (2000) by Ben Bova (Paperback, 405 pages)
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 315 + 10 = 325
Task 10.3 ScrabbleIn honor of National Scrabble Day on April 13th, read a book with a 7-letter word in the title.
EXP LAI N
Men Explain Things to Me (2014) by Rebecca Solnit (Paperback, Updated Edition, 159 pages) [305.42]
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 325 + 10 = 335
Task 10.3 ScrabbleLetters of Two Brides by Honore de Balzac
10 task LETTERS
5 Combo 20.3 Epistolary
10 literature in translation
15 Oldie (1842)
10 review
50 task total
Season total = 780 pts
I did not have any expectations when I began this book. I was given a copy of this edition Memoirs of Two Young Brides published in 1902 and wanted to read it. That edition was translated by Lady Mary Loyd. After six Chapters I downloaded this edition Letters of Two Brides translated by R. S. Scott. and read the rest of the book from it. This translation is modern.
I really loved this book. It was not an easy read, and took me quite a while to complete. I had to begin by studying titles of French aristocracy and something of the Bourbons of the time period. The book begins by dropping numerous names in society, government, and fashions in clothing and furnishings. Also, I spent a little time on geography.
Next, the story itself was surprisingly filled with suspense, although it is about love affairs, marriages, and families. The author Balzac amazed me with his comprehension of motherhood. There are sections that seem silly and overblown in the details of romance, but it all makes sense in the end. Another surprise is how much de Balzac caused me to care for his characters. In particular, the fact that I would care about members of French aristocracy and their romances is rather astonishing to me.
Addendum: After having a chance to sleep on it, I had more thoughts on the construction of this novel. Balzac deserves his reputation as a great writer in my opinion. He carefully constructs his characters and they then travel on the inevitable pathways they are cast upon. In this book, he brilliantly explores two sides of every person: the rational vs. the emotional. His device for this exploration is to have two girls as his characters. He actually has them mention on several occasions how they are two parts of one whole person. One represents the rational side of life and is concerned with duty while the other follows her passions even to the point of casting aside family, friends and society for passion. The moral of the story is that passion unchecked leads to its own demise.
Lynn wrote: "Task 10.3 ScrabbleLetters of Two Brides by Honore de Balzac
10 task
5 10.8 Megafinish
10 literature in translation
15 Oldie (1842)
10 review
50 task total
Season total = 780 pts"
Don't forget to post your review here! (And I look forward to it, as a Balzac enthusiast.)
10.9 SistersConquer Me by Geneva Lee
Completely escapist non-literature. This is almost like Shades of Grey fanfic except that it's an overall more healthy relationship than in that book. These characters started to get tiresome in this book--the whole notion that the naughty prince is dangerous/has darkness felt exaggerated and repetitive in this book. The unreasonable amount of sex even managed to get tiresome--ugh, is he shoving her against a wall again? Get on with it already. I had felt like the female lead was at least not a doormat through the first book, but her level of angsty-worrying was tiresome here. The last quarter of the book picked up enough that now I'm tempted to read the next book just to follow the plot through. At least these are fast reads.
+10 Task (Clara's sister Lola is here)
+10 Combo (10.3 - conquer, 10.5 - Lee)
+10 Review
Task total: 30
Grand total: 660
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Task 10.3 ScrabbleLetters of Two Brides by Honore de Balzac
10 task
5 10.8 Megafinish
10 literature in translation
15 Oldie (1842)
10 review
50 task total
Season to..."
Opps, I was trying so hard not to mess up, and you caught me mid-editing. I hope the review does not disappoint. I did really love that book. I am still in "Book afterglow" from it at the moment.
10.8 MegafinishGranny's Got a Gun by Harper Lin
This was a cute cottage mystery in an everyday small town with a little twist that the sleuth is a retired CIA agent. And you knew frequently that she was older, and bored, and slower than she used to be. But the voice was pleasant and a bit sassy even with repetition. The mystery progressed steadily along and came to a satisfactory conclusion. There was no shoehorned in romance, which was a relief. I doubt I will pick up another one in the series because the tale is ultimately forgettable, but I expect that others would also be simply satisfying, as I found this one to be.
+10 task
+10 review
+5 combo (10.3)
Task total: 25
Grand total: 975
10.8 MegafinishMurder With Peacocksby Donna Andrews
Task +10
Combo +5(10.4 Name of animal in the title-Peacocks)
Total: 15
Grand Total: 80
15.5 AbCFlights of Love: Stories by Bernhard Schlink
Germany Welt-Literaturpreis 1999
Task total: 20
Season total: 515
10.8 MegafinishShow Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered By Austin Kleon
Task total: 10
Grand total: 985
10.6 Public DomainA Lost Lady by Willa Cather
The only other book I've read by Willa Cather is O Pioneers which I liked, but I enjoyed this one much more. The woman in the title is Mrs. Forrester. As the short novel weaves its way through a rural setting (never specified), we learn that Mrs. Forrester is really a fish out of water. She is an urbane woman who through circumstances has found herself in this rural setting. She is not bound by country expectations. Although married to a good man she admires...it is a question how much she really loves her husband.
Cather does a good job keeping the reader's attention even though there is not a lot of action...but the story keeps taking small turns that become significant at the end. In many ways, the story is more about the young neighbor man Niel Herbert who becomes enamored of Mrs. Forrester.
Surprisingly, O Pioneers is on Boxall's 1001 Books to Read list...but A Lost Lady is not. I would reverse that.
4 1/2 stars
Task=10
Review=10
Combo 5 (10.8
Oldie= 10 (1923)
Task total= 35
grand total= 865
15.10 AbCThe Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail - But Some Don't by Nate Silver
USA - Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science 2013
Task total: 40
Finish Bonus 10 countries: 150
Grand total: 1175
15.7 AbC 2nd RoundUkraine - Ars Translationis
Who Killed Palomino Molero? by Mario Vargas Llosa
Yes, a Spanish language novel that won an award for being translated into Ukranian that I read in English. I never would have expected it!
Task total = 20
Season total = 605
Corrected in post 59910.3. Scrabble
Mission to Kala by Mongo Beti
Mission to Kala is the story of a young African man who has received a European education and his journey to a remote village on a mission to « recover » a relatives wife. While there he discovers that his education makes him a curiosity and that he doesn’t quite understand how to live within the society.
The book is an insight into the society of Cameron and colonialism and is an interesting read. In many ways this is a classic coming of age novel but the surprising ending leaves the reader wondering what might have been
10pts. 10.3 Scrabble
5 pts. Megafinish
10 pts Translation
10 pts Review
5 pts Oldie
Task Total 40 pts
RwS finish 100 pts
Season total 960 pts
20.2 RebeccaThe King's Falcon: Volume 3 by Stella Riley
+20 Task
+5 Jumbo (618 pages)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 900
10.9 SistersOxygen by Carol Cassella
This book was recommended to me by a friend who is a neighbor of the author.
A child dies on the operating table under the care of Dr. Marie Heaton, anesthesiologist. The medical and legal gears start turning as Marie tries to understand why. She turns to her friend, Joe another anesthesiologist and her sister, Lori, for understanding and distraction. Marie also faces her father whose health is declining and who has had a long standing rift with Marie.
This is well-written and, for me, has the right amount of medical science so that I can understand without being overwhelmed.
I look forward to exploring more of Carol Cassella’s writing.
I thought this was going to be my square peg, but I think that the main character’s sister plays a big enough role to qualify for this task.
+10 task
+10 review
Task total: 20
Season total: 365
20.10 Asia Siddartha (Set in India) by Hermann Hesse+ 20 task
+ 10 review
+ 10 In translation (from German)
+ 10 Combos 10.8 Megafinish, 20.7 Anna Karenina
+ 10 Oldie (1922)
60 task total
840 season total
In many ways this book Siddartha reminds me of Candide by Voltaire. Both have a protagonist who tries many different lifestyles and philosophies and who finds peace and a creed of sorts by the end. In both books we are exposed to various possibilities which are tried and discarded. As to the specifics of the creed that Siddhartha (the character) adheres to, I am not sure that really matters. The book is about finding peace and harmony. It is also about how each one must learn through experience to gain wisdom or else it is impossible to attain peace. There is a glossing over of many Hindu beliefs and some Buddhist beliefs. There are lapses into hedonism. It is not beneficial to debate the exact labels to attach to this ultimate harmony, and this is one of the main points in the book. Second hand knowledge from teachers can never bring the wisdom necessary to attain peace. Also, at each stage of life new ways to fall out of harmony appear, each seeming to be a good way, but in the end each is a cycle that can lead to excess and unhappiness.
10.9 SistersWhen We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton
"When We Left Cuba" is a story about love, intrigue, and revenge set in Florida and Cuba. Beatriz is one of four daughters in the exiled Perez family. They left behind their home and sugar plantation when they escaped from Cuba during the Cuban Revolution. Beatriz wants revenge for the death of her twin brother at the hands of Castro's revolutionaries, and she is recruited by the CIA. She also becomes romantically involved with an idealistic Senator. The novel is set against the important events of the Kennedy presidency in the early 1960s--the Bay of Pigs incident, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the assassination of President Kennedy.
While this book can be read as a "stand alone" novel, I would recommend reading "Next Year in Havana" first for the fascinating tale of the Perez family during the administration of the corrupt Batiste, followed by the Cuban Revolution. I enjoyed the mix of romance, history, and espionage in "When We Left Cuba" which showed several different viewpoints concerning Cuban-American relations. It's a book that's hard to put down.
+10 task
+10 review
Task total: 20
Season total: 535
20.5 Myra BreckinridgeMoab Is My Washpot by Stephen Fry
For those who don't know Stephen Fry, he is a British writer and comedian known for his sarcastic and acerbic wit. The title is something of a clue as to how even Biblical references can be used by him irreverently to let us know that he is airing out his dirty laundry in this biography of his first 20 years.
Fry is constantly getting himself into difficult situations...usually deliberately...and partially because he knows he is smarter than most of his fellows...but not always. The book tells us mostly about his school years... and how being gay as a young boy complicated his life. About half of the book is during his adolescent years when he is love.... mostly platonic, with another boy at his school.
I was struck by how patient Fry's parents, especially his mother, were with all his shenanigans... which turns into a legal mess and incarceration when he turns 18. Fry has written 3 memoirs so far...and I'm willing to give the next one a go. 3 stars
Task=20
Combo= 10 (10.3, 10.8)
Review=10
Task total= 40
grand total= 905
10.9 SistersHalf Magic by Edward Eager
830 lexile
This was a reread with my children. We read it three years ago when they were 4 and 7. Now at 7 and 10, they both enjoyed revisiting this story and had surprisingly good recall for what was going to happen with the wishes. The premise of half-way granted wishes is a great one--this would make a good starting point for an adult fantasy novel as well. We all particularly enjoyed the trip to see King Arthur/Lancelot and a jousting match. For whatever reason, my kids have not wanted to read any of the other books in this series, so we'll move on to something else entirely.
+10 Task (4 siblings; 3 girls, one boy)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.8)
+5 Oldies (1954)
Task total: 30
Grand total: 690
20.4 NefertitiJoan of Arc by Mark Twain
I don't know how I'd never heard of this book. It's wonderful! Mark Twain is such a clever storyteller. The book is told through the narration of a friend of Joan's gives the story of her short life. In this telling, Joan is near-perfect--compassionate, strong, guided by God, pious. She follows the "voices" that tell her that she's been chosen to fight for France against the English and off she goes to lead an army. In this novel, she comes to life as a human character, with a life and a history and real emotions and love for her parents and a crazy path. But Twain sells it. She seems believable even as she does the unbelievable things that she did.
The narrator for the audio version (Mark Anthony) that I listened to did a good job getting the characters to seem individualized and pacing the story. His pronunciations of French seemed off to me, but it's been a long time since I was able to speak even a little French, so maybe it's my faulty memory of French words rather than his accent.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (20.1)
+10 Oldies (1896)
Task total: 45
Grand total: 735
15.9 AbCSweden--Nobel Prize in Literature
An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
+30 Task
Task total: 30
Season total: 955
20.4 NefertitiThree Sisters, Three Queens by Philippa Gregory
I've only read one other Philippa Gregory novel, The Other Boleyn Girl, which I quite enjoyed. She wrote history in such a way that it was memorable and the political intrigues of the day were made understandable to a modern reader.
While this one also helped untangle the messy knot of the Tudor court for me, it was insufferable. Margaret (the one who was the Queen of Scots, sister to Henry VIII--it gets so confusing with so many "Margaret"s, "Mary"s, and "Elizabeth"s floating around in this time period!) is actually the one whose story we are following--I know! From the title I too thought it'd be told in three voices! Nope. We get lots of letters from her sisters, Katherine of Aragon (sister-in-law) and Mary (her biological sister, who apparently thinks of nothing other than what's new in fashion at the time as that is about the extent of her contributions to the letters) and a couple of face-to-face visits, but that's it. The rest of it is Margaret acting like an insecure teenager, worried about having a higher status and better clothes than her sisters and getting angry and paranoid when she isn't. Each of the sisters felt very two-dimensional. Katherine was the duplicitous sister; Mary the vapid; Margaret was just plain whiny.
I did not enjoy this one at all, but do feel I understand the ins and outs of this historical period a bit better from having read it.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.3: "Sisters"=7 letters; 10.9)
Task total: 40
Season total: 995
10.3 ScrabbleKingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny
I love this series SO MUCH. I love the characters, the setting (I want to move to Three Pines...if only it truly existed), the description of art and food and poetry, the swearing duck... It's all so cozy! But this series would be nothing without the murders and drugs and Inspector Gamache on the edge of ruin. I'm always willing to jump into the world that Penny has built, but some of her devices are getting a little overused(view spoiler). Despite this, she drops a bomb on us there at the end and I am waiting with bated breath for the next installment to drop!
+10 Task, "Kingdom"=7 letters
+10 Review
Task total: 20
Season total: 1015
15.8 AbC 2nd RoundUK - Walter Scott Prize
Days Without End by Sebastian Barry
+30 Task
Season total = 635
(I might say I'll be spoiled for choice for my group reads for summer, and, though my decision isn't yet final, don't be surprised if I tip in favor of this one. My review.)
15.10 AbCUSA--Nene Award
Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers (830 Lexile) (This was my first time reading this! I loved it...boy, did the movie take liberties!)
+40 Task
+150 AbC Finish, 10 countries
Task total: 190
Season total: 1205
Mary wrote: "10.3. ScrabbleMission to Kala by Mongo Beti
Mission to Kala is the story of a young African man who has received a European education and his journey to a remote vi..."
oops . . . I jumped the gun here on the RWS finish -- had an error in my spreadsheet! Only one more book to read but this wasn't it!
The scoring is correct -- just got the wrong category to claim the RwS finish!
Mary wrote: "15.4 AbCUnited Kingdom. A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro Winifred Holtby Award 1982
Task total 15 pts
Season total 820 pts"
Please ignore this posting as well -- the next one is the right entry for this book
10.2 DecadeA Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro
This is a fantastic book! The story of an Japanese immigrant to the United Kingdom who is struggling after the death of her daughter. She recollects her life in post-war Nagasaki and the difficulties. Specifically, she remembers a friend who lived in the wasteland next to her apartment building with her daughter. The friend was a short term acquaintence with whom she was friendly when she was pregnant.
To avoid any spoilers, the book ends with a great twist -- not clear what exactly happened . . . The characters are well developed and engaging. A very good read!
10 pts Decade
10 pts Review
5 pts Oldies
5 pts Megafinish
5 pts Asia
Total Task 35 pts
RWS Finish 100 pts
Season Total (please verify this!) 980 pts
20.7 Anna KareninaDon Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
#94
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.3 - Quixote)
+10 LiT
+25 Oldies (pub 1605)
+25 Jumbo (1,023 pages)
Post Total: 85
Season Total: 685
10.3 ScrabbleCaptain Marvel: Earth's Mightiest Hero Vol. 1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick
Graphic novel
Task tota: 10
Grand total: 1185
20.10 AsiaBanished! by Dong Han
This book is the story of a revolutionary cadre family (parents, grandparents and grandparents) sent to a country village during the Cultural Revolution. The story follows their six years in the country and how they adapt to their new lives.
While interesting, I don’t know what to make of the book. It seems to skirt the edge of history and the likely response of the family and villages to the circumstances forced on them. Although some elements of politically driven persecution exist, they are largely glossed over and I never really had a sense of how the main characters dealt with being forced to radically change their lives. Similarly, the emotional realities of moving to a very small rural community are not explored. Lastly, there are hints of how the parents try to prepare their son for the most successful future possible but even that topic is not explored in depth. A good book, but it could have been much more.
20 pts Asia
10 pts. Review
10 pts Translation
Task total. 40 pts
Season total 1020 pts
Task 10.8 MegafinishInheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love (2019) by Dani Shapiro(Goodreads Author)(Hardcover, 252 pages) [818]
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 335 + 10 = 345
Task 10.8 MegafinishHow to Love a Jamaican (2018) by Alexia Arthurs (Goodreads Author) (Hardcover, 243 pages)
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 345 + 10 = 355
Task 10.3 ScrabbleIn honor of National Scrabble Day on April 13th, read a book with a 7-letter word in the title.
GOO DBY E
The Beginner's Goodbye (2012) by Anne Tyler (Hardcover, 198 pages)
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 355 + 10 = 365
Task 20.8 Poetry Read a book of poetry written by an author born in the 20th century (1901 to 2000).
author: Mary Oliver b. 1935
Books:
Felicity (2015) by Mary Oliver (Hardcover, 85 pages)
AND
American Primitive (1983) by Mary Oliver (Paperback, 88 pages)
+20 Task
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 365 + 20 = 385
10.8 MegafinishSeason of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih
+10 Task
+10 Lost in Translation
+5 Oldies (published 1966)
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 920
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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)
More...
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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The 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 ..."
Haha!! I do not know why counting is so hard for me!! Thanks.