Reading with Style discussion
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SP 20 Completed Tasks
15.4 BlackjackSylvester: Or, The Wicked Uncle by Georgette Heyer
5 Spades (published 1957)
7 Diamonds (title begins with S for Sylvester)
9 Diamonds (set 90% in UK)
+15 Task
+5 Female
+5 published before 1995
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 285
20.8 My cup of TeaEventide by Kent Haruf
p209 He drank some of the tea and set the mug down and wiped at his mouth
+20 Task
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 215
15.5 BlackjackThe Parfit Knight by Stella Riley
8 Diamonds (originally published 1986)
Jack Clubs (K in title)
+20 Task
+5 Female
+5 Published before 1995
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 245
20.3 Theodore H. WhiteBecoming by Michelle Obama
This is a memoir that details Michelle Obama’s life from her earliest memories through to her time in the White House. This was one of the best memoirs I have ever read. It has a beautiful prose style that I found almost lyrical at times. It does an amazing job of weaving the mundane into the extraordinary to give a real sense of how her childhood in South Side Chicago helped her to become the person she is today, which just happens to be the former First Lady of arguably the most influential country in the world. It was also really interesting to learn about Barack Obama from the perspective of his wife. Regardless of your political leanings I think this book is worth picking up (though what do I know, I’m Canadian).
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.6 Richard Adams - >300,000 ratings, avg 4.56)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 45
15.4 BlackjackOlive, Again by Elizabeth Strout
Heart 7 - author initials
Club 10 - pub'd in the tens - 2019
+15 task
+ 5 Female
Task total = 20
Season total = 155
Because this was special to me, My Review.
2 owned/6 read
10.10 Group ReadsLillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney
Lillian Boxfish decides to take a long walk, around Manhattan, on the last evening of 1984 and we get to go along with her. Lillian’s route allows her to reminisce about her life in New York as well as interact with various characters along the way. This is a love letter to New York City and a life well lived. This was a tough period in New York City’s history which Lillian acknowledges, but she is a fighter (and a character) and won’t give up on her beloved city. I don’t have the backstory that Lillian has, but I hope when I’m 85 I’m as open, quick-witted and physically able as she is. A very enjoyable read. 4*
10 task
10 review
10 combo 10.2, 10.4
______
30
Running total: 335
8 owned/12 tasks
20.6 - Katherine Anne PorterThe Glimpses of the Moon by Edith Wharton
+20 task
+15 Combo (10.2, 10.4, 10.5)
+10 oldie
+10 1001 books
Task total: 55
Grand total: 275
10.9 Trilogy (Tien's Task)Pietr the Latvian by Georges Simenon
Review
I’ve been sampling a few classic detective series this month and I decided it was about time I finally got around to reading one of the Inspector Maigret stories. I’m glad I did as this will definitely be a series I return to.
The story was quite slow moving but the plot was clever and original - this certainly wasn’t a crime story where I could guess the conclusion halfway through. The writing was just what I look for in this type of book, it’s not overly simplistic like a lot of contemporary crime fiction, but it’s also readable enough that I could just enjoy the story without having to concentrate too hard. Maigret is an interesting character and I’m looking forward to seeing how he develops throughout this series (though as I believe there are over 70 books in the series it may take me a while to find out!).
+10 task (this is the first in the series and the author died in 1989 so the series can be considered complete)
+10 review
+10 oldies (first published 1931)
Post total: 30
Season total: 220
10.9 Trilogy (Tien's Task)Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré published 1974, p. 381. (Karla Trilogy #1, George Smiley Series #5)
Warning this will contain spoilers. Read at your own risk. I am not normally a reader of spy novels, so this was new. I did once read The Odessa File in the mid 1970s, so I guess this is my second spy novel.
First, the parts I found difficult were the names. There were so many characters and those had aliases. Also, because it was a story about clandestine operatives, the characters were not fleshed out early. This made it hard for me to keep up with who was who. As a consequence, I read very slowly and repeated many of the chapters.
Overall, I enjoyed the way the book ended. If not for the last three chapters, I would not have enjoyed it at all. Finally, we get some inkling of the characters' motivations. An all action narrative feels so empty to me. Poor George Smiley; he does seem to have a fatal flaw. I think his flaw is that he falls in love with people and institutions who are not faithful toward him. We see it in his marriage, his friendships, and in his work. Somehow he persists in his love of others and institution in spite of their lack of faith to him. There ya go. I focus on character interaction and motivations.
+ 10 task
+ 15 Combo 10.2 20 letters, 10.8 go to jail, 20.8 tea
p. 325 "Smiley had broken off to drink some tea."
+ 10 review
+ 10 1001
+ 5 Oldie
Task +50
Season total 50
Note: I started this book on 12/31/2019 so this is the one book that I will use that I started early.
20.3 Theodore H WhiteThe Little Dreams of Lara Cliffe by Milly Johnson
Review
This book was an unusual choice for me but I was drawn to it for two reasons. The first is that it’s part of the Quick Reads programme which is intended to encourage those who don’t normally read for pleasure to pick up a book. Although the books aren’t always my cup of tea, I think it’s a good initiative and I try to support it by buying one or two of the titles they publish each year. Secondly, with everything happening in the world right now I was looking for a quick and very easy read to distract me from spending the early hours of the morning reading the news and worrying.
I found this a nice enough story but it lacked the character development that I’ve enjoyed in other books by the same author. The story is set mostly on a ferry travelling between Hull and Rotterdam which I thought was a clever setting for a short book. Perhaps inevitably for this type of book, the plot is fairly simplistic and quite predictable and there isn’t a lot of time for any of the characters to come alive. It was really just a snapshot of a couple of days in the life of the main character, but even so it was an enjoyable read and a welcome distraction from the real world.
+20 task (author shares surname with Andrew Johnson and Lyndon B. Johnson)
+10 review
+5 combo (10.2 - title has 26 letters)
Post total: 35
Season total: 255
15.4 BlackjackThis Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate by Naomi Klein
King of Spades 10 (has a title word ending in -ing) everything
5 diamonds (has 500-599 pgs) 576 p
5 clubs (Read a book with an MPG of a science (biology, chemistry, etc) science /environment and climate change
+15 Task
+ 5 Not fiction
+ 5 Female
Task Total: 25
Season Total: 135
20.8 My Cup of Tea (Owlette's Task)The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
Coincidentally, two books have recently come out centering around the traveling librarians of Kentucky, but they are two unique books and both are interesting to read. The first one I read, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, is about the real “blue people” of Kentucky and is fascinating. The Giver of Stars focuses on Alice who is from England and has met and married a Kentuckian whose father controls a local mine. The marriage is destined not to last, and she joins the librarians on mule and horseback to deliver books to the needy population. The book is light, but well written with lots of smaller interesting plots developed and a bit of romance, too. I was surprised at how much tea drinking popped up in the early part of the book, but since Alice was from England and was meeting with the ladies of the town, I probably shouldn’t have been.
+20 Task
Page 357 life, over polite chit-chat and cups of tea.
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 165
10.2 LettersA Crime in the Neighborhood by Suzanne Berne
+10 Task (23)
+10 Combo: 10.4 High Five Day / 20.8 My Cup of Tea
(A thigh? An ankle? "A spot more tea?" Mrs. Morris would ask...)
Task Total: 20
Season Total: 185
10.4 High Five DayA Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines
+10 Task
+ 5 Combo: 10.3 Conjunctions
+10 1001 Books
+ 5 Oldies
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 215
10.6 Richard AdamsA Room with a View by E.M. Forster
+10 Task
+10 Combo: 10.4 High Five Day / 10.5 Sherlock Holmes
+10 1001 Books
+10 Oldies
Task Total: 40
Season Total: 255
20.10 It's a Mystery (Elizabeth(Alaska)'s Task)Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers
+20 Task
+10 Combo: 10.5 Sherlock Holmes / 10.9 Trilogy
+10 Oldies (1923)
Task Total: 40
Season Total: 295
15.2 BlackjackConfessions of a Pretty Lady: Stories True and Otherwise by Sandra Bernhard
D-Ace (75- 199p)- 128p.
C-Queen- LGBT
Ace+Queen=20 pts.
Task=15
Non-Fiction=5
Female=5
Pub'd 1995 and earlier=5
Task Total=30
Grand Total=355
Tasks Completed=9
10.1 (45); 10.3 (30)
15.1 (25); 15.2 (30)
20.2 (35); 20.4 (60) ; 20.6 (45); 20.7 (35); 20.10 (50)
15.5 BlackjackBeyond Engineering: Essays and Other Attempts to Figure Without Equations by Henry Petroski
10 of Spades - essays
King of Spades - title word ended in -ing
Total of 20
+20 task
+5 not a novel
+5 pub 1986
Task total: 30
Grand total: 205
10.9 - TrilogyCity of Glass by Paul Auster
+10 task
+5 oldie (1985)
+10 1001 books
Task total:25
Grand total: 300
10.1 Thirst for moreRat Race by Dick Francis
I find Dick Francis novels SO enjoyable. Because I ration them out now – rather than gobbling them all up in a row – I always wonder: how does he do it? How does he draw you in so quickly without any superfluous words or information. By time this novel was written, Francis had eight novels under his belt and that shows, in that he knows what his readers want and what his style is. Of course, there are horses and/or racing involved. In this case, it is more peripherally. The ‘hero’ is a pilot who flies various characters to races. I did know that his wife helped him with his books (mostly with research) but I didn’t know she had actually learned to fly and was operating an air taxi service just prior to this novel. The horse world can be grimy and filled with entitled people. I’ve always liked that Francis’ main characters are ‘regular’ folks who’ve had some ups and downs in their lives, and they generally have to use their brains and dig deep to resolve the mystery. I guess it makes it seem that given half a chance any one of us could figure out the solution to the mystery. 4*
10 task
10 review
5 oldie
5 combo 20.10
_____
30
Running total: 365
9 owned/13 tasks
15.1 BlackjackThe Book of Life by Deborah Harkness
3 of Hearts - 3rd in series
Jack of Clubs - Title has a K ("Book")
5 of Diamonds - 500-599 pages
+15 Task
+5 female
Task total: 20
Grand total: 115
15.2 BlackjackUnder the Net by Iris Murdoch
Q of Diamonds - set 75% in UK
5 of Spades - orig pub date in 50s (1954)
3 of Spades - three word title
+15 task
+5 female
+5 pre-1995
Task total: 25
Grand total: 140
15.6 BlackjackThe Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice
Jack of Hearts - Antiheroes
Eight of Diamonds - pub 1985
Hand of 18
+20 task
+5 female author
+5 pre 1995
Task total: 30
Grand total: 235
20.1 Edmund MorrisThe Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert
This book so much reminded me of my first couple of years in college: the integrated biology and geology courses--there's a lot here about the birth of paleontology, about evolution, about the delicate balance that makes this world work that is no longer in balance. It read like a textbook at times, yet still tries to keep things light...it had to. Otherwise, it reads like a horror story. Species are disappearing at an unprecedented rate (there's a part that describes bats nudging their dead friends that had me in tears) and we have long ago passed the tipping point.
My main takeaways from this one: humans are horrible and the world is doomed because of homo sapiens. I had to take a nice long break in the middle of this one because it was too heavy to bear at times. The science is good--which makes it all the more depressing.
+20 Task (Pulitzer for General Nonfiction, 2015)
+10 Review
Task total: 30
Season total: 285
15.5 BlackjackBloodstorm (Karl Kane #1) by Sam Millar
A Spades (1st in a series)
8 Spades (author born in Ireland)
+20 Task
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 305
Task 10.2 LettersRead a book with more than 20 letters in the title.
Into the Beautiful North (2009) by Luis Alberto Urrea (Goodreads Author) (Paperback, 343 pages)
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 55 + 10 = 65
15.3 BlackjackMohawk Trail by Beth Brant
D8- originally pub. in the 80's (1985)
C-Jack- Title has a J or a K
D8+C-Jack=18
Task=15
Non-Fiction=5
Female=5
Pub'd 1995 and earlier=5
Task Total=30
Grand Total=385
Tasks Completed=10
10.1 (45); 10.3 (30)
15.1 (25); 15.2 (30); 15.3 (30)
20.2 (35); 20.4 (60) ; 20.6 (45); 20.7 (35); 20.10 (50)
15.9 BlackjackThe Whole Story and Other Stories by Ali Smith
10 Spades (short stories)
Queen Clubs (LGBT)
+30 task
+ 5 female
+ 5 not-a-novel (short stories)
Task total=40
Season total=255
15.8 BlackjackGifts of the Crow: How Perception, Emotion, and Thought Allow Smart Birds to Behave Like Humans by John M. Marzluff
5 clubs - science
Jack spades - 'Jack'
3 clubs - 300-399 pg
30 task
5 not a novel
____
35
Running total: 400
10 owned/14 tasks
10.1 Thirst for MoreThe Woman Who Died a Lot by Jasper Fforde
Just the sort of book I want to be reading right now--nothing too heavy, but smart enough to keep me engaged in this zany world. What I love about this series is that the world created by Fforde is wonderfully wacky (book characters becoming real, time travel, libraries with extensive budgets and corporate naming rights), but has an internal logic all its own. The time travel concept here is extremely clever, though quite hard to explain without revealing too much of the plot.
I will definitely read other books set in this world, or pretty much anything that Fforde writes.
The narrator for the audiobook is excellent. She hits just the right balance of comedy and drama.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (20.8 - "You want some tea?" End of Ch. 33 [I listened to the audiobook, so don't have the exact page number])
Task total: 25
Grand total: 165
Re: Post 102I'd like to move All of Us and Everything from 10.3 to 10.4. Points remain the same. Thank you!
10.3 ConjunctionsPill City: How Two Honor Roll Students Foiled the Feds and Built a Drug Empire by Kevin Deutsch
This was another one chosen by husband. It was very much like watching an episode of The Wire. You get the story from all sides: law enforcement, community activists, drug dealers, enforcers, and kingpins (in this case: a couple of nerdy kids who are *really* good with computers/navigating the dark web and who created a drug version of Grubhub to serve their customers), and the addicts who keep the gangs in business.
It was a disheartening look at the opioid epidemic in this country. It was dark and violent and utterly unbelievable at times. Unbelievable that this journalist was able to get this level of access--and there's the rub: controversy surrounds this book as to its truth (all you have to do is google "Kevin Deutsch veracity" and a slew of articles pop up, from Wikipedia to the Baltimore Sun, from BuzzFeed to Rolling Stone, picking apart the fake news constructed by Deutsch). It definitely read more like fiction--I would get very frustrated at times because the author (a *journalist*, no less) would narrate what someone is thinking/feeling--someone who is now dead and was at the time of writing...that isn't reporting, that's fabrication, which as far as I'm concerned is *fiction*.
I'm heading back to work and am so excited to be able to choose my own books for a while--no input from the husband, not gonna read anything chosen by my book club, just whatevs I want to read and I kinda can't wait!
+10 Task ("and" in the subtitle)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (20.7)
Task total: 25
Season total: 310
15.2 BlackjackShinju by Laura Joh Rowland
15 pts Blackjack
Jack of Diamonds set 75% in an Asian country (see list)
10 of Hearts history/historical fiction set 100 or more years before orig pub year
5 pts Female
5 pts pre 1995
Task total: 25 pts
Season total: 140 pts
.... .... 10.3 .... .... .... .... 10.8 .... ....
15.1 15.2 .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
.... .... .... .... .... .... .... 20.8. .... ...
Post 158 Norma wrote: "20.6 - Katherine Anne PorterThe Glimpses of the Moon by Edith Wharton
+20 task
+15 Combo (10.2, 10.4, 10.5)
+10 oldie
+10 1001 books
Task total: 55
Grand total: 275"
Sorry, Norma. This title is exactly 20 letters, and 10.2 requires *more* than 20 letters.
Post 160 Lynn wrote: "10.9 Trilogy (Tien's Task)Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré published 1974, p. 381. (Karla Trilogy #1, George Smiley Series #5)
Warning this will con..."
Lynn, how does this fit 10.8 Go to Jail? Is it the book or the author?
10.1 - Thirst for MoreA Cold Trail by Robert Dugoni
+10 task
-5 error on post 158
Task total: 5
Grand total: 305
Post 177 Tien wrote: "15.5 BlackjackBloodstorm (Karl Kane #1) by Sam Millar
A Spades (1st in a series)
8 Spades (author born in Ireland)
+20 Task
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 305"
Just a note: We will allow this as author born in Ireland because the author's GR page showed as such. However, he was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which is the UK. I have changed the GR record to reflect the correct information. I am posting this note in case anyone questions it.
15.6 BlackjackThe Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
10 Spades (collection of short stories)
9 Hearts (pub. 1839)
+20 Task
+5 Not-a-Novel
+5 Pub before 1995
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 335
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Just a note: We will allow this as author born in Ireland because the author's GR page showed as such. However, he was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which is the UK. I have changed the GR record to reflect the correct information. I am posting this note in case anyone questions it."Whoops, sorry & thanks, Elizabeth. I didn't pay attention to the city... I just saw 'Ireland' and that's that.
20.4 Great American Novel#3 on list
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark TwainHuckleberry
Lexile 980
I thought I had read this a long time ago, but definitely not, and it was not what I expected. The story was rather disjointed and near the end I just couldn't stand Tom Sawyer making everything so complicated for his idea of an adventure. Ugh. It was the echo as the more light-hearted episode at the beginning of the book, so it wasn't out of place in the story, but I did not enjoy it. The Duke and King did more actual wrong, but were more entertaining at it.
I did enjoy Huck's point of view and its odd, sidewise step from what I was really expecting. I found his wavering moral compass interesting, leavened with practicality as it was. And I was especially taken by his struggle between seeing Jim as a piece of stolen property and as a person.
+20 task
+10 review
+10 age ( pub 1876)
+10 1001 books list
+20 combos (10.2, 10.4, 10.6, 10.8 Jim is imprisoned in a shed until his owner can fetch him)
Task total: 70
Grand total: 305
20.5 Jeffery Eugenides Seven Guitars by August Wilson
20 pts 20.5 pts Jeffery Eugenides
5 pts 20.2 August Wilson
5 pts 20.3 Theodore White
10 pts Review
I generally enjoy reading plays because, if well written, you can visualize the setting and when reading the text you sometimes get a sense of nuance that is easily missed when a play is acted. This is a play I have seen on the stage and it is better seen performed than read.
None of the characters challenges and struggles seem to jump off the page and the story arc to the ultimate tragedy seems rather uneventful without the drama of a live performance. Definitely see the play if you have a chance. But unlike other August Wilson plays this is not a must READ.
Task total: 40 pts
Season total: 180 pts
.... .... 10.3 .... .... .... .... 10.8 .... ....
15.1 15.2 .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
.... .... .... .... 20.5 .... .... 20.8. .... ...
10.2 LettersAre You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler
28 letters
Review
Firstly, I had no idea who this Chelsea Handler is...
Secondly, I usually had a hard time with this type of humour anyway. All the overblown exaggeration and supposedly-to-be-funnies only got me eye rolling & scoffing. Just totally unbelievable. I guess, it’s not really meant to be believable even if all are based on true story – her life story.
But then, around chapter 8 (of 12), I had a bit a wine and everything seems to be funny. I was actually giggling and laughing out loud! Well, friends, this is a book for which you must consume wine at reading ;)
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.6 - avg. 3.85 & 149,041 ratings)
+10 Review
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 360
15.10 BlackjackThe Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
Jack Hearts (#138 on Best Anti-heroes list)
King Clubs (Castle)
+45 task
+ 5 Pub'd 1995 and earlier (1962)
Task total=50
Finishers Bonus, 26 cards used=150
Season total=455
10.3 ConjunctionsCutter and Bone by Newton Thornburg
The GR genre section has this as mystery and that is what I expected. It isn't, and I'll remove it from my mysteries shelf. Crime is also shown, and there is an element of crime, and even that is a stretch. Yes, the novel opens with Richard Bone seeing a body being dumped in a trash can. It is dark, late at night. He does not really see who has dumped what he thinks might be golf clubs. Told from the point of view of Bone, his actions and those of his friend, Alex Cutter, are mostly driven by this murder.
Cutter is a Vietnam vet. He lost an eye, part of a leg, and most of one arm serving his country. War changes men and Cutter suffers more than just the lost of some body parts. Richard Bone did not serve, managing to get deferments. He, too, has some psychological problems. In fact, while it appears he tries to help Cutter, I saw him as the weaker of the two men.
The prose is good. There are several sex scenes, not necessarily graphic, but I didn't have to do much guessing either. Some novels include gratuitous sex. I think the sex in this novel was necessary for the novel, but perhaps gratuitous in the lives of the participants.
In my review of Olive, Again, I included some quotes about loneliness. My big takeaway from this novel is that here are two more ways that human loneliness can manifest itself. It is an interesting read and I'm glad for the members of my challenge group requesting extra points for reading the 1001 books, else I might not have gotten to this one as soon as did. Still, I think it just crosses the 4-star line.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 1001
+ 5 Oldies (1976)
Task total = 35
Season total = 190
3 owned/7 read
15.5 BlackjackThe Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories ed by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer.
Ten Spades Short Stories
7 Spades 7 letter subtitle word: STRANGE
Task = 20 points
Not a Novel (short stories) = 5 points
Total points So Far: 180
10.2 LettersSpring Flowers, Spring Frost by Ismail Kadare- (SET ENTIRELY IN ALBANIA)
Ok..... I think you had to be there. I really didn't get much of this novel. The main character, Mark, is an artist in post-Communist Albania. The plot (?) somehow involves a search for a book that records all the blood feuds that were frozen when the Communists came to power....and I think beginning to unravel now....or feared to be about to unravel? I don't know. Like I said, I think maybe you had to have been there. Interwoven with this melange is a parable about a woman who is forced to marry a snake who transforms into a man at night. There are also evocations of Greek gods and myths including Oedipus Rex. I'd be happy for someone to explain it all to me. I'm sure it is a deep statement about the difficulties and corruption in modern-day Albania. But I don't want to read more from this author. Two stars.
Task=10
Review=10
1001=10
Task Total=30
Grand Total=415
Tasks Completed=11
10.1 (45); 10.2 (30); 10.3 (30)
15.1 (25); 15.2 (30); 15.3 (30)
20.2 (35); 20.4 (60) ; 20.6 (45); 20.7 (35); 20.10 (50)
10.10 Group readsThe Warlow Experiment by Alix Nathan
Herbert Powys, a wealthy man from Herefordshire, is a loner interested only in books and horticulture. In 1793 he decides he wants to make his mark on science by conducting an experiment. He advertises for a man that is willing to live in solitary confinement in Powys' nicely furnished basement. The confined man will have a good supply of books and gourmet food, but he must grow his beard and nails during his seven year confinement. Powys has only one man answer his ad--John Warlow, a semi-literate laborer with a wife and six children. In return, Warlow will receive 50 pounds yearly for life. The story has first person accounts by Powys, Warlow, Warlow's wife Hannah, and several servants.
The servants have been energized by the French Revolution and Thomas Paine's "Rights of Man," and see Warlow's confinement as an example of the upper class taking advantage of a working class man. Of course, Powys' experiment goes terribly wrong with awful repercussions for everyone involved.
Alix Nathan writes well, and has some interesting ideas. But the middle of the book explores so many of the servants' concerns that the main story sometimes seems forgotten. There's been a lot of press lately about the effect of solitary confinement on prisoners and mental health patients in our modern world, so this historical story seems very timely to read. 4 stars.
+10 task
+ 5 combo 10.8 "He'll go first to the Moreham lock-up." p 200 (Warlow is charged with a serious crime, and is jailed by the police.)
+10 review
Task total: 25
Season total: 130
20.4 Robert Penn WarrenThe Awakening by Kate Chopin
+20 Task (pub'd 1899)
+ 5 Combo (10.5 Sherlock Holmes)
+10 Oldies (pub'd 1899)
+10 1001
Post Total: 45
Season Total: 45
15.6 Blackjack1636: The Kremlin Games by Eric Flint
10 hearts (historical fiction –set 17th century)
Jack diamonds (set over 75% in Russia)
+20 Task
Task Total: 20
Season Total: 265
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Reading with Style
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Chickamauga and Other Civil War Stories by Shelby Foote
This is an anthology of short stories that all take place between 1861 and 1865. The stories are bracketed by Jefferson Davis’ inaugural address in 1861 (the first piece in the book) and Lincoln’s second inaugural address in 1865 (the last piece in the book).
Unfortunately the stories vary in interest and several of them are just tedious, however the well written stories really demonstrate a range of experiences during the Civil War. If you are interested in the Civil War, the pieces by F Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe and Stephen Crane are wonderfully written.
10 pts 10.3 Conjunctions
5 pts 10.2 Letters
10 pts Review
5 pts Oldies
Task total: 30 pts
Season total: 115 pts
.... .... 10.3 .... .... .... .... 10.8 .... ....
15.1 .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
.... .... .... .... .... .... .... 20.8. .... ...