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10.2 published in a decade xx81 - xx90Coffin, Scarcely Used by Colin Watson
I bought this book because it was cheap on Amazon and the title intrigued me. The main character and his side-kick reminded me respectively of the main character and side-kick in the movie series Midsomer Murders, which I love. Although this is a police procedural, it was not a hectic, car-chase, gruesome details type of murder mystery, rather the quiet kind where the investigators use their powers of deduction to solve the murder/s. There were lots of bodies though! There was also a good sprinkling of subtle English humour, which further endeared the characters to me. I liked this story, and would read further books in the series.
10 Task
10 Review
5 Oldies (Pub 1958)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 25
10.4 AnimalThe Rabbit Back Literature Society by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.3)
+10 Lost in Translation (published in finnish)
Task total = 25
Points total = 50
10.9 SistersThe Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
Lexile 970
This book was about a year in the life of a young Ojibwa girl at the Great Lakes region in the time when their were only rumbling rumors about the colonists requiring them to move out. I expect the Lexile is primarily high for the many native nouns being used, as the sentence structure is definitely oriented towards a younger crowd. It is written more like a narrated story than a novel and was a sweet story, in many ways, as Omakayas is a loving child, and I appreciated some of the little touches about her trying to be like her older sister or hating to scrape hides. It was caring about her that drives the reader forward as it is a story with little plot, more interesting for the slice of life descriptions of hide scraping and rice harvesting and winter stories, although there are many moments of tension with the biggest one being a smallpox outbreak.
Task total: 20
GRand total: 130
10.8 Megafinish (Lagullande's Task via Tien) The Murder on the Enriqueta by Molly Thynne
+10 Task (M)
+10 Oldies (pub 1929)
Points this post: 20
RwS total: 20
AbC total: -
Season Total: 20
10.9 Sisters (Coralie's Task)My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.8 M)
Points this post: 15
RwS total: 35
AbC total: -
Season Total: 35
10.8 MegafinishNod by Adrian Barnes
Premise: One night only 1% of the population is able to fall asleep. They all dream a wonderful dream. The rest of the world slowly disintegrates as psychosis sets in resulting in the world of Nod.
Despite sounding very intriguing, the book fell flat. Rather than being a true horror or dystopian novel, it ended up being a philosophic existential musing by the protagonist Paul. An outsider author who's upcoming book on lost words becomes the Bible for the Awakened of Nod. Yes, events happened as we progressed day to day through the wreckage and yes, many things were "horrifying" but it just wasn't exciting. It was pretty much a depressing slog and had wanted it to be so much more.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 20 pts
Grand Total: 20 pts
10.1 Square Peg Chess Story by Stefan Zweig
Chess Story is a psychological thriller of one man's capture and solitary imprisonment by the Nazis in Vienna, Austria. Months of solitary confinement and relentless interrogations by his captors leave the protagonist with only one mental escape, playing games of chess in his imagination. Years later a chance encounter allows the story of imprisonment to be related.
This is a short, intense, and precise book. There is interesting character development and conflict. The book is in translation from German and there are many versions to choose from. Most people I know who have read this book have read it in one day, as it is hard to walk away from once you begin. I gave the book 4 stars, but 4.5 would have been more accurate.
+ 10 Task
+ 10 Review
+ 10 Lost in Translation
+ 10 Oldies published 1941
Task Total: 40 pts
Grand Total: 40 pts
10.8 Megafinish Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
Alas, Babylon is a book I chose to reread because other Goodreads friends were reading it. It made a lasting impression on me when I read it for the first time in about the year 1974. Alas, Babylon was published in 1959 in the height of Sputnik hysteria in the United States. It provides a look at the aftermath of nuclear war. The book is very much a product of its time. The author's hopeful outlook on the future of the human race, even in the face of nuclear holocaust made a lasting impression upon me. Sometimes when an old favorite is reread years later, it disappoints, but this book did not disappoint in any way.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+ 5 Oldie
+ 5 Combo 10.3 Scrabble (Babylon)
Task Total: 30 pts
Grand Total: 70 pts
Post 61 Lynn wrote: "10.8 Megafinish Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
Alas, Babylon is a book I chose to reread because other Goodreads friends were reading it. It made a lasting impression on ..."
Welcome to Reading with Style, Lynn! You can claim a combo for 10.3 because Babylon is 7 letters.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 61 Lynn wrote: "10.8 Megafinish Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
Alas, Babylon is a book I chose to reread because other Goodreads friends were reading it. It made a l..."
Thank you for the welcome and correction. This looks like a lot of fun.
15.2 Awards by CountryUnited Kingdom - Man Booker Prize
Milkman by Anna Burns
+15 Task
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 70
20.6 Ellen FosterEllen Foster by Kaye Gibbons
+20 pts - Task
+10 pts Combo (10.8, 20.1)
+ 5 pts - oldies
Task Total - 35 pts
Season Total -60 pts
20.4 NefertitiThe Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict
Hedy Lamarr had an amazing life, and was much more than a beautiful actress. She lived with her Jewish family in Vienna when Hitler was threatening to invade Austria. She married an older, wealthy man, Fritz Mandl, who manufactured munitions. During her marriage she overheard conversations between military and political leaders from Austria, Germany, and Italy. They were unguarded in some of their conversations because they only saw her stunning beauty, and didn't realize she also had a brilliant mind. Hedy escaped from her controlling husband before the Nazis invaded Austria, and eventually came to Hollywood. In addition to acting, Hedy invented the concept of a torpedo steering system (using frequency hopping) with the help of George Antheil. She also supported the cause of the Allies by selling millions of dollars of war bonds.
This work of historical fiction is a fascinating look at a talented woman who had both beauty and intelligence. It also showed the plight of the Jewish Austrians who were targeted by Hitler, and Hedy's survivor guilt that she could not do more to help. "The Only Woman in the Room" covers a ten year period in Hedy Lamarr's life. I wished it had been longer to find out more about this interesting woman.
+20 task
+10 review
Task total: 30
Season total: 65
10.2 DecadeNeuromancer by William Gibson
I didn’t understand much of this. OK, none of it. Which makes it hard to write a review.
It reminded me a little of ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep’, the book that became the Bladerunner movie, but ‘Neuromancer’ is much more confusing.
There are AIs in it – artificial intelligences — and a guy called Case who is on a race against time to do something (not sure what) before toxins implanted in his body break down and make him wish he were dead.
It's certainly fast-paced, like a hardboiled thriller set in cyberspace, and I expect it would be a great book for someone who is more used to reading futuristic settings and jargon.
+10 Task (1981)
+ 5 Combo (10.8)
+10 Review
+ 5 Oldies
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 95
20.10 Asia (Elizabeth (Alaska)'s Task)The Rozabal Line by Ashwin Sanghi
Review:
Another book given by someone. I think the concept of the book is okayish....along the lines of the Da Vinci code but the fact that the narration is below average kills the entire novelty of the book. There are pages and pages of some weird theories. I get that the author has done some strange research in theology and has some funny ideas on migration theories and evolution of religions. This could have still been packaged better. The author triumphantly fails at having the reader involved in the story. The story just felt simply all over the place. Narrative failure, I suppose. To compare this with Dan Brown's top two is a gross injustice to Brown's works.
Interesting concept, badly written. A generous 2 stars, merely for a couple of interesting coincidences in the book.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo: (10.3)
Task Total = 35
Season Total = 50+35 = 85
10.5 Civil WarCome, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant
It took me a little while to get into this novel, but once I understood the quirkiness (of both the heroine, Audrey, and the book itself) I loved it.
The story is told in Audrey’s voice, and from Winnifred’s (the tortoise’s) voice. Yes, we get wry commentary from the tortoise, which is particularly funny when she is with the people who are looking after her while Audrey is back in Newfoundland. Audrey, according to her school, has a low IQ. I think she just has a different way of thinking, which leads to all sorts of situations. She had to go back to St. John’s because her Dad is in a coma (and dies while she is on route – not a spoiler). This is the beginning of the story, and Audrey’s adventure.
There are a lot of puns and word play in the novel. I experienced quite a few ‘laugh out loud’ moments. Along the way, you get to know her and her quirky family. The story also becomes very poignant, and yes I cried.
I feel like this is a quintessential Newfoundland/Canadian novel. 4*
10 task
10 review
5 combo 10.4
_____
25
Running total: 110
20.5 Myra BreckinridgeLeah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli
Low lexile
Leah is bisexual, and the book is all about her falling in love with another girl and coming out.
+20 Task
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 115
From Post 19Norma wrote: "10.8 - Megafinish
Faithless by Karin Slaughter
+10 task
Task total: 10
Grand total: 10"
+5 Jumbo
From Post 39Don (The Book Guy) wrote: "10.3 Scrabble
Charles Evans Hughes by Merlo J. Pusey, pub. 1951
Charles Evans Hughes is a great example of why I read history. Hughes was a lawyer who became gove..."
+15 Jumbo
10.8 MegafinishMessenger of Truth by Jacqueline Winspear
Mystery set in 1931 that has as its underlying theme the long term effect of World War I on British society. In this book 15 year old events underlie the resolution of the mystery tied to the horrors of WWI. The identification of the murderer is a bit of an anticlimax but overall the book is a good read.
The author also focuses more on the detective’s assistant and their struggle to cope with the challenges of depression era London life.
While affecting, these sections seem to be a detour from the main mystery’s plot line. There is never any real integration of the Beale family subplot back into the novels overall structure. Also, the subplot seems to be in conflict with the protrayal of Maisie as a benevolent employer. Billy and his family are living too close to the edge financially to be consistent with the assumed social concience of Maisie.
10 pts 10.8 Megafinish
10 pts review
Task total 20 pts
Season total: 150 pts
10.3 ScrabbleSherlock Holmes vs. Dracula by Loren D. Estleman
+10 Task (Dracula)
+5 Combo 10.8
+5 Oldies (published 1979)
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 100
10.8 - MegafinishSleeping Together by Kitty Cook
(this is my one carryover book from last season)
I picked up this book on Netgalley because it is listed as a romance but touches on unromantic issues, and I wanted to see how it was handled. Put short, it wasn't handled well. Vanessa is happily married to a lawyer and he wants kids while she has trouble even confronting the thought. She and her handsome coworker steal experimental sleeping pills from work, she gets addicted, and things go from there.
The writing annoyed me, quoting movie lines is treated as the highest form of humor, side characters are underdeveloped, I saw the end coming, and there are all kinds of trigger warnings including rape, sexual assault, infidelity, and addiction. And in the end it isn't even a romance! I think the author was trying for a "happily ever after for now" but loose ends and underlying awfulness make that impossible. Not a fan at all.
+10 task
+10 review
Task total: 20 points
Grand total: 20 points
20.5 Myra BreckinridgeStone Mad by Elizabeth Bear
+20 Task
+5 Combo 10.8
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 125
15.1 AbCPoland: Nike Literary Award (Nagroda Literacka Nike) (2008)
Flights by Olga Tokarczuk
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 45
10.1 Square PegWarlight by Michael Ondaatje
One thing I know about Warlight is that it’s opening line...“In 1945 our parents went away and left us in the care of two men who may have been criminals”... belongs on lists of best first lines. I am a fan of Ondaatje and this book was no exception. His writing is top notch. The book had plenty of secrets and some were revealed and some were not, but the unveiling of the backstory kept me turning the pages. I loved the way WWII was a part of the story not directly described; it drove the story, but didn’t overshadow the other themes in the book. The prose tends to win over the plot when I read Ondaatje and I looked back to see that I have rated most of his novels as a 4 star reads. Even with the mysteries, that contest ended the same way, but this time the book deserves all 5 stars.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 70 (adjusted)
Task 10.2 DecadeRead a book first published in xx81-xx90 (any century will be accepted.)
1988
Sourcery (Discworld #5) (1988) by Terry Pratchett
+10 Task
+05 Combo (#10.8)
+05 Oldies -25 to 75 years old: (1944-1994)
Task Total: 10 + 05 + 05 = 20
Grand Total: 00 + 20 = 20
15.1 AbCFinland Tahtivaeltaja
Gun, With Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 140
10.6 Public DomainThe Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie
I strayed off plan to read a ‘guilty pleasure’ book rather than the prize winning one that was supposed to be next. And what a pleasure it was! I had it in my mind that this was one of the Christie’s that I wasn’t as keen on, however I was mistaken.
This is her second novel involving Poirot. Having read all of her mysteries (many times) I would say this one is still fresh. She hasn’t totally worked out the formula yet. As I mentioned in a previous review – I love a side kick, and Hastings is in full force here! Of course, he narrates the story; but he also is full of a young man’s enthusiasm for more active methods (than just Poirot’s gray cells), going off on tangents, and easily falling prey to charming young women.
It is a complicated mystery – some of which I suspected, however I had no idea who the ‘bad guy’ was until the end. As with most of these golden age mysteries you do have to suspend disbelief, particularly at the access Poirot has to the crime scene and witnesses and everyone’s lackadaisical attitude to fingerprints. I think this is fine because the point of her novels was escapist pleasure, and that is delivered in spades here! 4*
10 task
10 review
10 oldie
5 combo 10.8
----
35
Running total: 145
20.7 Anna KareninaAlice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll
#26 on the list
Well...this is another book that I should have but didn't read as a child...and two(!) more notches on my way through The 1001 Children's BooksI Must Read Before I Grow Up List. (Both books of this compilation are on the list...AND they are both on Boxall's list of 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list...another of my challenges.)
Having said that... I was surprised how much of the book I had absorbed just through popular culture (and Grace Slick). The two books are hardly two stories...a little girl who apparently sinks into two dreams of silly adventures underground. There, hardly anything makes any sense. Carroll has fun with the English language with riddles and nonsense poems. I was introduced to all the characters I had previously come to know through Disneyland and other references...and then realized, I really hadn't missed out on any story or stories. Just silliness. When I read The Wizard of Oz, I had the challenge to decide whether it was truly some type of parable about the gold standard and the economy. I didn't discern an ulterior motive by Carroll other than just fun for children....and that's ok.
2.5 stars.
task =20
combo= 15 (10.3-"through"; 20.6; 10.8)
Review=10
Oldie= 10 (1871)
task total= 55
grand total= 110
Post 54 Shannon wrote: "10.2 published in a decade xx81 - xx90Coffin, Scarcely Used by Colin Watson
I bought this book because it was cheap on Amazon and the title intrigued me. The main c..."
Shannon, for 10.2, the title needs to be published between '81-'90, so this won't work for that task. I don't immediately see it for another task, so we'll score it for your Square Peg.
10.9 Sisters Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr.
Task + 10
Review + 10
Oldies (1948) + 5
Combo 10.3 Scrabble +5
Task +30 Season total 100
This will be the one book that I started reading before 3/1/2019.
Cheaper by the Dozen is filled with loving affection for parents and siblings. It is a memoir that celebrates the best memories of growing up in a family of twelve siblings with a mother and father who worked together. The household is unconventional due to the "motion studies" the parents run as research, Mr. Gilbreth's tremendous love of life and laughter, and the unique educational ideas that Mr. Gilbreth uses to rear his children. Mother is a warm and loving character. Sometimes it is nice to read about happy, loving relationships and look through the rose-colored glasses of an author. The short vignettes filled with humor made this a very enjoyable book to read. Rating 5 stars.
10.8 Megafinish (Lagullande's Task via Tien)And De Fun Don't Done (Les Norton #7) by Robert G. Barrett
Review
As of now, I've read 4 books in this series. The last time (3rd book) I read (listened) to this series, I told myself never again! It seems that I have forgotten that & only remembered at about halfway through this 4th book :/
I think this book is meant to be humourous so it's chock-a-block full of political incorrectness. I'm not so straight and narrow that I can't laugh at some political incorrectness BUT when I said 'chock-a-block' full, I mean this book is full of it from beginning to end. 14 hours of listening! It wasn't even that funny; no LOLs from me. What really annoyed me though was attitude towards women & sexist comments. Maybe this book is meant to be a spoof? Or maybe it truly reflects men's attitudes towards women in the 80s? But really, mate, NO More!
And for some reason, I thought this series is meant to be some sort of mystery but there's bugger all. No plot, no direction and just full rambling of the 'adventure' of an Aussie bloke with money to throw around having a holiday in the US & Jamaica. Ugh. Why did I go for the 14 hours' listening? Because I kept thinking, oh, this is it, here comes the mystery bit. Well, I just set myself up for a disappointment.
Btw, do NOT listen to this audiobook with children around... unsuitable contents & language.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+ 5 Oldies (pub. 1993)
+5 Jumbo (513 pages)
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 115
10.5 Civil WarMorningstar: Growing Up With Books by Ann Hood
Ann Hood grew up in a big Italian family in the Rhode Island mill town of West Warwick. While there were not many books around their home, her large extended family entertained each other with storytelling.
"Morningstar: Growing Up With Books" is a memoir that uses books to tell the story of her early life. Hood was an early reader, and was taking adult books out of the library as a ten year old. She learned about emotions, war, sex, other cultures, and the world through fictional books. Although other books are mentioned, she concentrates on the ten books that were especially meaningful to her. This book did not have the "warm conversation over tea" feeling that I enjoyed in some "books about books". But I remember the same historical events, and I had read many of her favorite books so it was a fun trip down memory lane.
+10 task (Hood)
+10 combo 10.3 Scrabble, 10.8 Megafinish
+10 review
Task total: 30
Season total: 95
10.4 Name of an Animal The Wolf and the Watchman by Niklas Natt och Dag
+10 task (Wolf)
Task Total: 10
Season Total: 45
From Post 46Karen Michele wrote: "10.4 Animal
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
The atmosphere and voice created from the first page of the book absorbed me in the story immediately. This was ..."
+5 Combo 10.3
From Post 47Rebekah wrote: "20.9 True Crime
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
+20 pts - Task
+ 5 pts - Combo (20.7)
Task total..."
+5 Combo 10.3
20.5 Myra BreckinridgeAncillary Mercy by Ann Leckie
This excellent conclusion to the Imperial Radch/Ancillary trilogy is a sensational book. The author deftly manages the world that she's built and easily blends daily life and small domestic interactions with the space opera and gender-bending society so carefully crafted over the previous two novels. Breq continues to be a fantastic protagonist--a ship turned individual, sort of--and really comes into her own in this novel. I'm tremendously impressed that this author managed to string all of these different elements together into a book that still had character development, suspense, and a fun plot.
The narrator for this audiobook is the same as the one for book two, but not the same as book one, which means the pronunciations all changed from book one, but I got used to it during book two, so didn't find it troubling here.
+20 Task (book explores complicated gender issues; protagonist is an AI/ship, but occupies a body referred to by most characters as she, has a relationship with a female officer on the ship)
+10 review
+5 combo (10.8)
Task total: 35
Grand total: 35
10.8 MEGAFINISHSubmission by Michel Houellebecq
Scandalous and offensive, yet also literary and satirical political commentary. I couldn't quite get past the ennui mixed with the graphic sex scenes to focus on the political commentary or the literary dialogue with Joris-Karl Huysmans (French author and strange punk favorite). Houellebecq writes depressing books that focus on all the angst of meaningless lives.
Here, the meaningless life is being lived by a washed up literature professor who has hit middle age and is starting to think there's no pleasure left in life. Then, France elects a conservative Muslim government and only professors who convert to Islam can continue to teach at the universities. The book agonizes about whether being matched with a couple of child-wives won't improve his overall outlook.
On the one hand, this is impressive writing that manages to offend everyone but has an actual political point to make. On the other hand, maybe it's really just an excuse to play out all of the author's most offensive fantasies in the name of satire. I'm lost somewhere in the middle of the thought experiment.
+10 Task
+10 LiT (from French)
+10 Review
Task total: 30
Grand total: 65
10.8 MegafinishA Sentimental Journey by Laurence Sterne
Well, this little story is equivalent to an amuse-bouche! Or perhaps an amuse-cerveau…..
Although, calling it a story is glorifying it. It is a silly amusement, and (apparently) a satire on travelogues of the time. Of course, the time is 1768 so the language is flowery, the inferences delicate, and the sentences long. I did find it funny, although the convoluted way of expressing things almost defeated me at times. Initially, I thought I would be pleased when we finally got to the end of Vol. 2; but by the time it arrived I was invested and would liked have heard about his ‘adventures’ in Italy. It is a short book and worth the detour back to the 18th century! 3.5*
10 task
10 review
20 oldie
5 combo 10.3
_____
45
Running total: 190
10.3 ScrabbleTempest by Beverly Jenkins
When her stagecoach is beset by robbers, mail-order bride Regan doesn't hesitate to return gunfire. After thwarting those robbers--killing one of them--she continues to protect herself and the driver on her way to their destination of Paradise, Wyoming Territory. Then when strangers approach them on horseback, she shoots again, and this time, the man she hits is the widower Dr. Colton Lee, her intended husband and part of the posse that was tracking said robbers. It's not the sweetest or most romantic of introductions, but both Regan and Colton make the best of it.
This book is immensely kind-hearted, asking Regan and Colton to bring the best of themselves, the most generous and honest sides to themselves, to each other, and the romance itself is pretty feel-good. It's also enjoyably funny at times, because Regan just says things. All the things, in fact. (Please tell me she eventually runs for mayor.) Jenkins, unsurprisingly, made a lot of good choices in letting the characters grow and tackle the challenges in front of them with open minds and open hearts. While Regan is a very memorable heroine, the cast of characters include multiple awesome women, so there's no real moments of Not Like Other Girls with Regan.
And as always with Jenkins, there's a lot of real history here, including the horrifying Rock Springs massacre (Colton witnesses the aftermath, and the events are referenced directly and explicitly, though not graphically).
This is the third in the series, but it can easily be read and enjoyed as a standalone. (I only read the first book, during which Regan was a young child.)
+10 Task - TEM-PES-T
+10 Review
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 90
10.2 DecadeSir Gawain and the Green Knight by Unknown
I thoroughly enjoyed this Arthurian Romance! The translation by Simon Armitage made this Middle English poetry completely accessible. After the entire translation was read the old language was included and getting to listen to the sound of the original poetry as well was a treat (but I definitely couldn’t grasp what was actually being said). I appreciated the length of the book. It was compact and focused on a single tale. Earlier this year, I listened to the lengthy Morte d’Arthur and, though I enjoyed the whole legend, the many battles got a bit old! I hope to listen to parts of the book again and also take a look at the print version where the two versions are side by side.
+10 Task (1390)
+ 5 Combo: 10.8 Megafinish
+10 LiT
+10 Review
+25 Oldies
Post Total: 60
Season Total: 130
20.7 Anna KareninaCandide by Voltaire published 1759
+ 20 task
+ 10 review
+ 10 in translation
+ 5 combo 10.3 Scrabble
+ 20 Oldie
Task total: 65
Season Total: 165
I have heard the name Candide for years in classrooms and perhaps was put off a bit by that. I was afraid it would be a heavy philosophical text. This is a very quick and enjoyable read. Like all great satire the book is filled with laughs that the reader quickly apprehends to also be profound insights. The introduction to my version stated that Candide said as much in its short, quick prose as any classic of the 1000 page variety. I agree. The breakneck speed of Voltaire's writing, where he addresses multiple philosophies and cultures, makes a powerful point about the foolish arguments and ultimately futile striving that people exhaust their lives upon. It is better to tend one's own garden. 5 stars.
15.3 Awards by CountryJapan - Akutagawa Prize 芥川龍之介賞
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
+15 Task
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 105
10 .1. Square PegThe Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts by Joshua Hammer
While described as a book about the saving of Mali’s cultural heritage of ancient manuscripts, this book is probably more accurately described as a survey of recent and turbulent events in Mali. The rescue of the Malian cultural heritage is the hook to a narrative about the Islamist invasion of Mali and the subsequent struggle to liberate the country. The author provides the typical reader an accessible and compelling survey of recent Malian history in the context of a longer tradition of trade and scholarship in and through Timbuktu. The books are saved due to the efforts ofone visionary and dozens of Malian citizens who value deeply their cultural heritage.
10 pts. Square Peg
10 pts. Review
Task total. 20 pts
Season total. 170 pts
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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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Germany-Deutscher Krimi Preis for 1. Platz International
The Dragon Man (Inspector Challis #1) by Garry Disher
+15 Task
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 85