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SP 19 Completed Tasks
15.4 Italy-Premio letterario Giuseppe Acerbi- on GR pageThe Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna
Task Total = 15
Grand Total= 280
20.4 NefretitiPearl of China by Anchee Min
This is an interesting fictional biography of Pearl Buck. It is told by her Chinese childhood friend. It uses fairly simple language and is somewhat choppy. I found some of the flashbacks to times that had been covered in the book previously disconcerting. Sort of “oh I forgot to tell you”. I read an advance readers copy—maybe some major editing was done before final publication. It could have used it. But I did enjoy the story.
+20 task
+5 combo 20.10
+10 review
Task total 35
Seasonal total: 75
10.5 Civil WarThe Tenth Gift by Jane Johnson
This story is based on an intriguing piece of history—Corsairs raiding England of people for slaves in the 17th century. The book follows two threads, one in the 17th century and one in present times—both are romantic and very unlikely. Johnson’s descriptions are lacking any depth or poetry. The historic tale is unraveled for the reader in an irritating way. And the story is tied up with unbelievable coincidences.
I like the historical research and imagining the story of people taken in the raid. I like the choice of the title and it is worth reading.
+10 task
+10 review
Task total 20
Season total: 95
Task 10.3 ScrabbleIn honor of National Scrabble Day on April 13th, read a book with a 7-letter word in the title.
FORTUNE
House on Fortune Street (2008) by Margot Livesey (Hardcover, 311 pages)
Laurence L. & Thomas Winship/PEN New England Award for Fiction (2009)
+10 Task
+05 Combo (#10.8)
Task Total: 10 + 05 = 15
Grand Total: 75 + 15 = 90
10.6 Public DomainLetters from England by Karel Čapek
I had never heard of this book or author and I'm so glad to have found it. I love that it's a true snapshot of a place with which I'm familiar from a time which I will never know. As the title indicates, this book is a series of letters describing the U.K. which were published in the national newspaper of Czechoslovakia. His prose is simple, clear, and often quite poetic in addition to being quite humorous. It's like taking a Rick Steves tour of England, Scotland, and Wales in 1923. In one chapter, he gives character sketches of a few people he met on his tour: G.K. Chesterton, George Bernard Shaw, and H.G. Wells among them.
It makes me sad to know he wrote of this place and its people in such glowing and admirable terms, yet not too long afterwards they had a hand in giving his country over to Hitler in the Munich Agreement.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 LiT (translated from Czech)
+10 Oldies (first pub. 1923)
+10 Combo (10.3 "letters"; 20.3--epistolary novel)
Task total: 50
Season total: 235
10.5 Civil WarThe Wolves of Winter by Tyrell Johnson
I picked this one up because I'd seen it compared to Station Eleven which I LOVED. I felt that this was only similar in that it was about a small group of people living through the aftermath of the apocalypse (fires/disease/war having killed off most of humanity) and that small group eventually coming into contact with other humans. It also jumped back and forth in time, slowly dropping pebbles of information about how the "before" caused the "now." The prose wasn't nearly as strong and I didn't feel at all hopeful by the end, as I did with Station Eleven. I wish I hadn't seen the comparison between the two, because I might not have been constantly judging this book by that standard--I might have enjoyed it more.
This one didn't rely on the writing so much as the action--it was entirely plot-driven, which isn't always a bad thing (unless, of course, it's being judged against a book that has a fantastic plot with writing to match). It was an interesting story, but the end wrapped up a little too perfectly for my taste. 3 stars for me.
+10 Task (CSA General Albert Sydney Johnson)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.4)
Task total: 25
Season total: 260
15.3- Australia : Aurealis AwardNevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
Post: 15
Season total: 100
Post 213 June wrote: "15.3- Australia : Aurealis AwardNevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
Post: 15
Season total: 100"
June, this is shelved as Juvenile Fiction at BPL and has a Lexile of 790. It does not qualify for Awards by Country.
You can move it to 10.8 Megafinish and choose a different title for your 3rd AbC book.
10.3 ScrabbleThe Unwinding of the Miracle: A Memoir of Life, Death, and Everything That Comes After by Julie Yip-Williams
Julie Yip-William's early life involved a series of miracles. She was born in Vietnam with congenital cataracts causing blindness, and the surgeons had fled the country at the end of the Vietnam War. Her grandmother wanted the disabled girl to be given a lethal poison, but the herbalist refused. Then her family escaped to Hong Kong on an overloaded, leaky boat. They eventually came to the United States where she had surgery on her eyes. She was still legally blind, but could read with a magnifying glass. Julie was resilient and extremely intelligent, going on to graduate from Harvard Law School and traveling to seven continents. She met her husband while working at a prestigious New York law firm, and they had two young daughters.
Julie faced her largest challenge in life when she was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer at age 37. Life became five years of hopes and disappointments, doctors visits, scans, side effects from chemo, precious time with her family, and rage that life was so unfair. She loved her husband and daughters, and tried to spend quality time with them. Julie put plans into place so that her daughters would have caregivers and mentors to help them when she died.
Her two young daughters watched videos of fatal airline crashes, and nature documentaries showing animals hunting their prey in the wild. This is on top of seeing their mother dealing with episodes of pain, depression, and rage for five years, starting when the sisters were toddlers. I often felt it overloaded their young minds with so much emphasis on death. I hope readers will check with professionals about the best way to help children through the difficult journey.
The writing in this book is full of emotion and emphasizes living with joy, although she is honest about times of pain and depression. The book was made from Julie's blog posts so there was quite a bit of repetition, especially as she told about her early life. It would have been a better book if it had been edited down more. I would recommend this book to people who are close to someone going through cancer treatments. Julie is not afraid to honestly put all her feelings out there, and she exhibited amazing courage.
+10 task
+ 5 combo 10.9 Sisters (the two daughters of the author)
+10 review
Task total: 25
Season total: 135
10.3 ScrabbleBlack Fortunes: The Story of the First Six African Americans Who Escaped Slavery and Became Millionaires by Shomari Wills
I had expected a book that was six chapters with six short bios, but Wills made it much more of a story by telling a little of one life and a little of another, going forwards chronologically, and sometimes a little backwards when it made more sense for storytelling. The book was well written and flowed nicely. He provided solid historical context, personal details when appropriate, and excessively helpful conversions to modern dollars whenever he talked numbers. I did sometimes have more difficulty holding on to who was who than I would have in a novel, due to the jumping between them when most were not connected and the lack of personal voice, as none left their own records behind. It was a valuable book and a solid read.
+10 task
+10 review
Task total: 20
Grand total: 365
Hi Elizabeth, sorry about that. Forgot to check the Lexile score. No problem with the switch to 10.8 for MEGAFINISH10.8- MEGAFINISH
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
Task: 10
No style points
Season total: 95
10.3 ScrabbleThe Golden Tresses of the Dead by Alan Bradley (Tresses)
+10 pts - Task
+ 5 pts - (10.8)
Task Total - 15 pts
Season Total - 170 pts
15.4 Awards by CountryAmerican Gods by Neil Gaiman
Israel - Geffen Prize
15 task
____
15
Running total: 370
20.10 AsiaMurder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie
I recently watched the BBC production of this from 2000, starring David Suchet as Poirot. Although David Suchet is Poirot for me and no one else is even in the race, I felt something was lacking from the production, so I wanted to reread the book.
When I did, I realized that the thing that was lacking was fear. The story is set at an archaeological dig in Mesopotamia (Christie met her second husband, Max Mallowan, while digging at Ur in Iraq). In the book, the wife of the leading archaeologist is so terrified following a series of death threats that everyone thinks she is mentally ill, and a nurse is hired to watch over her. None of that terror appears in the BBC adaptation.
I also missed the sense of sexual desperation in the lives of the expats. All of this is in the book, so I’d recommend it over the TV show anytime.
+20 Task (set 99% in Iraq)
+10 Review
+ 5 Combo (10.8 M)
+10 Oldies (1936)
Post Total: 45
Season Total: 310
20.5 Myra BreckinridgeTentacle by Rita Indiana
Oh wow, this book. It's a vibrant, layered novella about ecology, colonialism, art and seeing, and the stuff of life. And it sprints. I thought the pacing and the size of the story were well-matched. I did actually keep having to backtrack and reread in the first chapter, and I still didn't always pay attention to what I probably should have been paying attention to. And still, looking back at the earliest chapters, there are so many little pieces of worldbuilding that I want to know more about.
And as a time travel fan, I loved this approach. It was inventive and, I thought, unusual, and above all, it was well executed: it had serious implications for the plot and for the character development. The first sentence of the GR summary kinda makes this sound like it'll be a stereotypical "hero's journey" approach to saving the world: there's a prophecy, and only this one humble person can save the oceans and humanity! This is way weirder and way deeper. This is definitely literary sci-fi, and I loved it for that. The prose/translation was a joy to read.
There's a lot of sexual violence depicted in explicit detail, and violence in general. And another heads-up: one of the POV characters is a seething mass of insecure misogyny and hatefulness and self-pity. I felt physical revulsion during some of his scenes. So, you know, intensely well done, but not an experience I would indiscriminately recommend to other readers.
+20 Task -- protagonist is transgender
+10 LiT
+10 Review
Post Total: 40
Season Total: 245
10.10 Group Reads10 task
20 combo 10.2, 10.4, 10.8, 20.5
10 review
5 Oldie
+ 45 task
285 Season total
Moon Tiger This review is disjointed like the book. Claudia is non-linear, dazzling, emotional, despicable, repulsive, and she made me cry with sympathy for her. The story is told through her relationships. I hated the way she treated her daughter, was repulsed by the relationship with her brother, and admired her relationship with Laslo yet understood her daughter's feelings. Then there is Tom. Do we all live the life we would never have chosen for ourselves, or was it simply her fate? Perhaps it was the fate of the generations of the Twentieth Century so damaged by war after war?
20.7 Anna KareninaHamlet by William Shakespeare
Prince Hamlet of Denmark is visited by his father's ghost who instructs him to take revenge for his murder by the hand of Claudius, Hamlet's uncle. Claudius took the throne and married Hamlet's mother. The play is brilliant in that we don't know if Hamlet is mad--or pretending to be mad--as he discovers the truth and plans his revenge. Both Hamlet's actions and Claudius' plans set off a series of tragic events in a domino effect.
The play features beautiful soliloquies, punchy phrases, and humorous plays on words. The sad events are broken up by occasional amusing scenes with the actors using double meanings or riddles. Corruption, passion, deception, insanity, and revenge can still resonate with people four hundred years after Shakespeare wrote the tragic play. People are still trying to figure out the multi-faceted, tortured character of Hamlet. It's a fabulous classic!
+20 task
+ 5 combo 10.8 Megafinish
+10 review
+25 oldies (1600)
Task total: 60
Season total: 195
15.3 AbCJapan - Nishon SF Taisho Award
Orbital Cloud by Taiyo Fujii
+15 Task
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 240
Heather wrote: "20.5 - Jack is Trans, discussed in 1st book of series (Every Heart a Doorway)..."
Task 20.5 Myra Breckinridge
Read a book in which the protagonist is LGBTQ.
Every Heart a Doorway (Wayward Children #1) (2016) by Seanan McGuire (Goodreads Author) (Hardcover, 170 pages)
Hugo Award for Best Novella (2017)
Nebula Award for Best Novella (2016)
+20 Task
+10 Combo (#10.3(doorway), #10.8)
Task Total: 20 + 10 = 30
Grand Total: 90 + 30 = 120
15.5-Brazil- Prêmio Jabuti for Literatura Adulta (1972)Sergeant Getúlio by João Ubaldo Ribeiro
Task Total = 20
Grand Total= 300
20.3 Ella Minnow Pea Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar
+20 point task
+10 bonus - 20.4 and 10.9
Task Total = 30
Season Total = 75
Post 186 Ed wrote: "10.4 AnimalOf Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
I read this book when I was either in high school or possibly grammar school. (I was precocious.) So, this was a re-read for ..."
Sorry, Ed. This title is YA Assignment at BPL and has a Lexile of 630. Task, but no styles. (And just a note, for 10.5 Civil War, the name match is for the last name only.)
10.5 Civil WarBeyond Bad: The Life and Crimes of Katherine Knight, Australia's Hannibal by Sandra LEE
Review
The crime was horrific. In fact, it was very very disturbing and not at all a wonder how the detective is still going to counselling and very sad that one of the forensic officers has not gone back to work! And I only listened to this. I can't imagine what they went through.
Even though the perpetrator was deemed sane in the psychological assessment, there's definitely something not right if she could do anything like this. This was like psychological thriller come to life! It would be a terrifying read through her perspective (and No, I will not be reading that book ever).
+10 Task
+10 Review
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 260
10.4 Animal The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle10 task
10 review
10 Oldie
5 Combo Megafinish
Task + 35
Season Total 320
I have read several Sherlock Holmes short stories and have of course seen many television and movie adaptations. Sherlock Holmes is a classic character who has influenced literature immensely. The Hound of the Baskervilles is a good read, and I gave it 4 stars. It has merit, but it did seem to drag on a bit. There are almost too many details and the last two chapters simply repeat the entire story for those who missed something along the way. There is a tremendously good audiobook version by Greg Wagland. I listened to at least an hour of the story in the car. I also read a physical copy (when not driving.)
20.3 Ella Minnow PeaThe Ides of March by Thornton Wilder
This is Wilder’s epistolary novel about Julius Caesar; specifically, the time period just before his assassination. The book was very readable, and in parts quite funny. However, it didn’t catch my attention as well as it should have. Not surprisingly, it put me in mind of “Memoirs of Hadrian” although that novel is much more dense and complex. Wilder imagines Caesar as the man who was also the ruler. I did find this approach interesting and brought to life that brief period. Most of the letters or snippets of ‘documents’ were from Caesar, but a few were from various players of consequence at that time. I was obligated to refresh my memory about ancient Roman history which I appreciated. 3.5*
20 task
10 review
5 combo 10.8
5 oldie
______
40
Running total: 410
20.4 NefertitiPope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross
Fictionalized biography of Pope Joan a 9th century priest known as John Anglicus who became Pope despite being a woman. The story explains how the girl Joan’s love of learning and a series of events leads her to impersonating her brother, joining a monastery and eventually being chosen as pope. The book is a good read and captures the readers interest — you want to find out what happens!
However, the style of writing includes several historical fiction conventions that are jarring and cause the reader to pause and try to figure out what is going on. For example archaic or Frankish words are used with little reason. Similarly medieval position titles both within the society and the church with little explanation of what the the function of the position is. It is obvious that having the title “superista” is important but it is never really explained why.
Lastly dialogue is written in a somewhat stilted style. Apparently contractions and other more casual language cannot be incorporated into dialogue in a story set in the medieval period!
Despite these shortcomings it is an intriguing story and one that has an apparent basis in fact. Was there a female pope? This book makes the case for the legend of Pope Joan as being based on truth
20 pts. Nefertiti see task thread
10 pts review
Task total 30 pts
Season total. 375 pts
10.9 Sisters (Coralie's Task)Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones
+10 Task
+10 Combo: 10.3 Scrabble / 10.8 Megafinish
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 210 (I think we are 10 points off from each other, but couldn't figure out why, so just let me know if I have to make an adjustment)
10.10 Group ReadsThe Orange Girl by Jostein Gaarder
I didn't get a review written, but I really enjoyed this book.
+10 Task
+10 LiT
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 230
10.3 ScrabbleEntropy in Bloom: Stories by Jeremy Robert Johnson
+10 Task
+5 Combo 10.5 Civil War
+5 Comb 10. 8 Megafinish
Task Total: 20 pts
Grand Total : 60 pts
20.2 RebeccaThe Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
+20 Task
+ 5 Oldies-25 to 75 years old
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 255
20.3 Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in LettersMarta Oulie by Sigrid Undset
+20 Task: told entirely through journal entries
+10 Combo: 10.8 Megafinish / 20.1 Moll Flanders
+10 LiT
+10 Oldies
Post Total: 50
Season Total: 305
20.6 Ellen FosterBunner Sisters by Edith Wharton
+20 Task
+10 Combo: 10.3 Scrabble / 10.9 Sisters
+10 Oldies-76 to 150 years old
Post Total: 40
Season Total: 340 (adjusted)
20.3 Ella Minnow PeaThe Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
Roseanne McNulty, around 100 years old, has been in a mental hospital for most of her adult life. She is now writing a secret account of that life, while her psychiatrist, Dr Grene, writes his own account of his attempts to find out the facts about her committal, with most of the relevant documents lost or half eaten by mice. What he finds does not always match with what Roseanne tells him, but Dr Grene is reluctant to believe his patient is lying.
A great book in many ways, and I did enjoy it, but it seemed to take me forever to read. Not necessarily a bad thing, of course.
+20 Task (told entirely through the two journals, as in para 2 of description)
+10 Review
+ 5 Combo (10.8 S)
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 345
Playing catch up with my notes a little bit, sorry for my tardiness.From Post 92
Penny wrote: " 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"
+10 LiT
From Post 100Karen Michele wrote: "10.2 Decade
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Unknown
I thoroughly enjoyed this Arthurian Romance! The translation by Simon Armitage made this Middle English poetry ..."
Sorry, this does not qualify for LiT
From Post 105Shannon wrote: "20.7 Anna Karenina
The Hobbit or There and Back Again by J.R.R. Tolkien
20 task
10 published 1937
Task points: 30
Season points: 55"
+10 Combo 10.3 and 10.7
From Post 160Karen Michele wrote: "10.8 Megafinish (Lagullande's Task via Tien)
The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing
This book was emotional to read. The writing is engaging and the ideas about society’s no..."
+5 Oldies
From Post 197Marie wrote: "10.3 Scrabble
La vieille dame qui ne voulait pas mourir avant de l'avoir refait by Margot D. Marguerite
+10 Task
Task total = 10
Points total = 65"
+5 Jumbo
From Post 200Joanna wrote: "10.8 Megafinish
Flashback by Shannon Messenger
Lexile: 830
An enjoyable continuation to this series. Since this is book 7, you have no business jumping into this ..."
+15 Jumbo
From Post 203Tien wrote: "10.6 Public Domain
The Inimitable Jeeves (Jeeves #2) by P.G. Wodehouse
Review
I'm afraid I'm no big fan of Wooster & Jeeves... In a way, it was a very interesting rela..."
+5 Combo 10.7
From Post 215Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "10.1 Square Peg
Cut to the Quickby Kate Ross
Task Points: 10
Grand Total: 20"
+5 Oldies
From Post 228Penny wrote: " 20.3 Ella Minnow Pea
Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar
+20 point task
+10 bonus - 20.4 and 10.9
Task Total = 30
Season Total = 75"
+5 Combo 10.8
20.5 Myra Breckinridge The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde20 task
10 review
15 Combos 10.2, 10.3, 20.7
10 Oldie
55 task
375 Season total
The Picture of Dorian Gray This classic book was the focus of controversy when published in 1890. It caused scandal due to its "corrupting influence". Sir Henry sets out to deliberately corrupt young Dorian. There is an element of the supernatural involved. Oscar Wilde died poor and in exile after the notoriety of a trial and imprisonment due to his personal relationships. This book was used as evidence against him in the trial. There are references to Wilde's lifestyle and his philosophy throughout the book. I would called them veiled references, but to a reader familiar with his biography the references are obvious. I am adding a postscript the next morning after this review. I had nightmares last night. I blame the book. I have not had nightmares like this since I was a child.
15.3 AbCHotel Silence by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Iceland--Icelandic Literary Prize for Fiction 2016
Task total: 15
Season total: 210
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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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Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier
+10 Task
Post Total: 10
Season Total: 410