Reading with Style discussion

Post 353 Rosemary wrote: "20.8 My Cup of Tea

Arthur & George by Julian Barnes

A fictionalised account of the lives of Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, and George Edalji, a mix..."

Do I remember George spends some time in jail in this and so would qualify for 10.8?

15.7 Blackjack

The House of Unexpected Sisters by Alexander McCall Smith

8 hearts (set at least 75% in any African country - Botswana)
10 diamonds (series has 10 or more titles)
2 clubs (has 200-299 pgs)

+20 Task

Task Total: 20
Season Total: 460

20.1 Edmund Morris

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond

+20 Task

Task Total: 20
Season Total: 480

20.8 My Cup of Tea (Owlette's Task)

Weather by Jenny Offill

+20 Task: Page 90 name is Nal la. I invited them over for tea and they came the next day...

Task Total: 20
Season Total: 500

20.8 My Cup of Tea (Owlette's Task)

Fate by Jorge Consiglio

+20 Task: “He made a cup of tea, squeezing half a lemon into the cup, and Skyped a friend in Germany.”

Excerpt From: Jorge Consiglio. “Fate.” iBooks. p34

Task Total: 20
Season Total: 520

20.8 My Cup of Tea (Owlette's Task)

The Mountain Lion by Jean Stafford

+20 Task: He took a drink of his tea and said, "The milk is sour, Mother" loc 1574

Task Total: 20
Season Total: 540

20.9 Women in Translation (Kate S's Task)

The Mussel Feast by Birgit Vanderbeke

+20 Task

Task Total: 20
Season Total: 560

20.9 Women in Translation (Kate S's Task)

Where The Wild Ladies Are by Aoko Matsuda

+20 Task
+10 Combo: 10.4 High Five Day / 20.8 My Cup of Tea “Tsuyuko took a sip of tea from her cup, leaving a sticky red lipstick mark on its rim.”

Excerpt From: Matsuda Aoko. “Where the Wild Ladies Are.” iBooks.

Task Total: 30
Season Total: 590

20.10 It's a Mystery (Elizabeth(Alaska)'s Task)

Mrs. McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie

+20 Task: not YA at BPL
+10 Combo: 10.8 Go to Jail ( 50 His mind went back again to Bentley in prison. What a dispiriting interview...) / 20.8 My Cup of Tea (Page 55 go home and make yourself a nice cup of tea.’ And so I did.)
+ 5 Oldies

Task Total: 35
Season Total: 625

20.10 It's a Mystery

Dangerous Thoughts by Celia Fremlin

+20 task
+  5 combo (20.8 - tea)
+  5 oldies (1991)

Tea quote: "We were having tea in the drawing-room, the sudden chill of the autumn evening having swept in icy shadows across the lawn and driven us indoors. Daphne was pouring tea into delicate china cups--Rockingham china, I think--and she had paused when Sally began speaking."  (Pg. 109 of hardcover edition)

Task total=30
Grand total=650

15.8 Blackjack

The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman

S7-7 letter word in title- "Amazing"
C7- pub. in '70s - 1970
H6-X in title- PollifaX
7+7+6=20

Task=30
Female=5
pub<1995=5

Task Total=40
Grand Total=725

Tasks Completed=20
10.1 (45); 10.2 (30); 10.3 (30); 10.10 (35)
15.1 (25); 15.2 (30); 15.3 (30); 15.4 (20); 15.5 (30); 15.6 (30);
15.7 (30); 15.8 (40
20.1 (45); 20.2 (35); 20.4 (60) ; 20.5 (45); 20.6 (45); 20.7 (35); 20.8 (35); 20.10 (50)

20.3 Theodore H. White

Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler

"Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person."

Rebecca Davitch, a widow and a grandmother, is still running her husband's business of hosting catered parties. She had broken off a relationship with another man and dropped out of college when she met Joe Davitch, an enthusiastic man with three young daughters. Now the middle-aged Rebecca is wondering who was her true self. Was she the outgoing party planner, or the more sedate person of her youth? Does a person change to fit the life that's given to them?

Anne Tyler infused her book with humor, and an understanding of family connections. She writes about the warmth and the craziness of dealing with a quirky bunch of family members.

+20 task (Tyler)
+10 combo 10.2 Letters, 10.4 High Five Day
+10 review

Task total: 40
Season total: 385

20.9 Women in Translation

Hotel Silence by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir

This is a short, subtle and achingly beautiful novel. The main character, Jonas, is lost and depressed. He wants to commit suicide (not a spoiler, this is in the book’s description) but wants to do it in such a way that he won’t upset his daughter (upon finding his body). So, obviously(!) – the best course of action is to travel to a war torn country. There is humor in this book, and one of the funniest ideas is that Jonas decides to take his toolbox on the trip. Being the man with the drill in a town that has been ravaged and trying to recover is how Jonas finds himself and comes to life again. The interactions Jonas has seem real and are touching. The story speaks to the importance of being needed and having a purpose in life. 4*

20 task
10 review
_____
30

Running total: 980

16 owned/25 tasks

20.8 My Cup of Tea

One Book in the Grave by Kate Carlisle

Hmm, I don’t know what to think. This is the book I mentioned in the socializing thread that has a narrator (for the audiobook) that I didn’t like. She read in a flat manner and her accents weren’t that great. So, I think that has colored my perception of this book. I have read another in this series and rated it well. The things I liked about the story are: the bookbinding portions (there weren’t many, but they were interesting), the setting, the mystery was solid. The things I didn’t like are: it took a long time for the main character(s) to figure out what was going on, the main female character kept going on about how hot her partner was (it’s okay to mention once, but not repeatedly). This was a good “COVID” read/distraction and so, despite the narrator I will give it a 3*. (This was also a Hoopla bonus borrow.)

Ch 6 'He took another sip of his tea" "Mom poured another cup of tea and handed it to Dad.' I listened to this on the laptop, so no page number(s).

20 task
10 review
5 combo
____
35

Running total: 1015

16 owned/26 read

15.8 Blackjack

Silas Marner by George Eliot

9 Hearts (published in 19th century)
6 Diamonds (published in 60’s – 1861)
6 Clubs (George has 6 letters)

+30 Task
+5 Female
+5 Oldies

Task Total: 40
Season Total: 465

15.9 Blackjack

The Element of Fire by Martha Wells

Ace Spades(1st in series)
Queen Spades (about royalty)

+30 Task
+5 Female
+5 Oldies (published 1993)

Task Total: 40
Season Total: 505

10.8 Prison

When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka

The story is so depressing, even though it ends in survival and hope, in moving away from the time of pain, but it is written to illustrate a painful time in history, following one small family into the Japanese Internment camps of WWII. It is a slim book written sparsely, but clearly, with many well-painted moments, both visually and emotionally. The family is never given names. They stand in for many others, even though their experiences are individual. The viewpoint shifts effectively between sections. What stands out the most at the end is the shame, at just being Japanese-American, that is imbued into the atmosphere. And I checked the author's biography. The book is her own family's story at it's foundation. The family is her mother and uncle and grandparents. Depressing but worth reading and remembering.

+10 task
+10 review
+10 combo (10.2, 10.5)

Task total: 30
Grand total: 555

15.7 Blackjack

Dubliners by James Joyce

Spade 8 (I for Ireland)
Heart Ace 11 (Pub date with 2 1's--1914)
19

+20 task
+ 5 NF (short stories)
+ 5 Pub 1995 and earlier

Task total: 30
Season total: 415

15.7 Blackjack

Suddenly at His Residence by Christianna Brand

Heart 3 (3rd in series)
Club 4 (MPG Mystery)
Diamond Queen (set in UK)

+20 Task
+ 5 Female
+ 5 b4 1995 (1946)

Task total = 30

Season total = 400

8 Owned/13 Read

15.9 Blackjack

Delta of Venus by Anaïs Nin

S3- 3 word title
D6-pub. in '60s- 1969
DQ-set in W. Europe- France
3+6+Q=19

Task=30
Female=5
pub<1995=5
NaN=5

Task Total=45
Grand Total=770

Tasks Completed=21
10.1 (45); 10.2 (30); 10.3 (30); 10.10 (35)
15.1 (25); 15.2 (30); 15.3 (30); 15.4 (20); 15.5 (30); 15.6 (30);
15.7 (30); 15.8 (40; 15.9 (45)
20.1 (45); 20.2 (35); 20.4 (60) ; 20.5 (45); 20.6 (45); 20.7 (35); 20.8 (35); 20.10 (50)

20.5 Jeffrey Eugenides

Swag by Elmore Leonard

This suspense thriller is set entirely in 1970s Detroit. Reading Swag is just like watching a Leonard movie – fast paced and fun. There is action, girls, crime, guns, and plenty of suspense. From about the half way point (until the end) I had that ‘pit of the stomach’ feeling that something bad was going to happen to Frank and Stick. Frank and Stick are two guys who would rather lead a life of crime than work a regular job. They aren’t really the brightest bulbs in the basket, but are they ever lucky. Some of the 1970s language and attitudes are a bit eye-rolling inducing, but since it was written then it is very authentic. I would imagine, if you hadn’t lived through the 1970s you might think it is a bit over the top. I really like the way Leonard keeps the story moving and interesting. While I was reading this novel I felt Leonard had been influenced by the ‘classic’ writers of hard boiled fiction (eg. Hammitt or Chandler). 4*

20 task
10 review
5 oldie
5 combo 20.8*
_____
40

*pg 179 Emory Parks ordered roast lamb and lima beans and hot tea. Pg 185 '…..while Emory Parks finished his roast lamb and poured himself more tea.'

Running total: 1055

17 owned/27 read

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 353 Rosemary wrote: "20.8 My Cup of Tea

Arthur & George by Julian Barnes

Do I remember George spends some time in jail in this and so would qualify for 10.8?"

Oh yes, he does! Thank you. He spends 3 years in jail. So can I please add 5 combo points? :)

10.8 Go to Jail

Three Novellas by D.H. Lawrence

All of these novellas are set during or just after the First World War, showing the effect of the war on men, and the effect of those altered men on women.

'The Fox' was the only one that meant much to me. I thought that if the other two had been written by women, they’d have been dismissed as romantic fluff: I could imagine them flowing from the pen of Elinor Glyn, for example. But because they were written by a man, they’re amazing emotionally revealing literature, apparently :)

I wonder if Lawrence was influenced by Glyn? I wouldn’t be surprised.

+10 Task (author on the preapproved list)
+10 Review
+10 1001 (approved)
+10 Oldies (1921)

Post total: 40
Season Total: 490

15.1 Blackjack (Rd 2)

HIS CONVENIENT FIANCEE by Barbara McMahon

4 Diamonds - 'his'
5 Hearts - San Francisco
Ace (11) Diamonds - 192 pgs

15 task
5 female
_____
20

Running total: 1075

BTW - very enjoyable and light 'COVID lock down' read

18 owned/28 read

10.6 Richard Adams
Lilac Girlsby Martha Hall Kelly
183,939 users, 4.29 rating
Task+ 10
Combo +10 20.8 "I made tea in the kitchen as it grew dark.", 20.5 50% set in New York
Female + 5
Book total: 25
Grand total: 140

10.5. Sherlock Holmes

What Maisie Knew by Henry James

10 pts 10.5 Sherlock Holmes
5 pts 20.8 My cup of tea P. 110. « Sir Claude set down his tea cup »
10 pts Oldies
10 pts 1001 Book
10 pts Review

Written in 1897, this book is the story of Maisie who is ar the center of a custody battle and ends up as a pawn between her parents and her stepparents. While this seems to be a very modern story, the language used by James is unnecessarily complex and distracts from the story. At first the complexity of the writing seems to stand for the difficulty that Maisie has in understanding her situation, but it soon becomes clear that this is not a literary device. James has overwritten the entire novel to the extent that it becomes virtually unreadable. I cannot recommend this book even though it is a classic.

Cards used 15.1 -15.5 = 13

Task total: 45 pts
Season total: 420 pts
10.1 .... 10.3 .... 10.5 10.6 .... 10.8 .... ....
15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 . .... .... .... .... ....
.... .... 20.3 .... 20.5 .... .... 20.8. .... ...

20.1 Edmund Morris

Just Kids by Patti Smith

+20 task National Book Award 2010
+ 5 combo 20.8 pg 250 "I poured a glass of tea and thought better of wearing my shirt, knowing that I'd get olive oil on the front of it."

Task total: 25
Season total: 440

15.2 Blackjack (Round 2)
Hush Hush (Detective Harriet Blue #4) by James Patterson & Candice Fox

9 Spades (published 2019)
9 Diamonds (set 100% in Sydney, NSW, AU)

+15 Task

Post Total: 15
Season Total: 900

20.6 Katherine Anne Porter

Tales of Natural and Unnatural Catastrophes by Patricia Highsmith

+20 task
+10 combo (10.2; 10.3)
+  5 oldies (1987)


Task total=35
Grand total=685

(edited to add 10.3 combo)

20.9 Women in Translation (Kate S's Task)
Moshi Moshi by Banana Yoshimoto

Review
Moshi Moshi is a novel of grief and of healing. The protagonist, Yoshie, is living yet not living. Her outlook is murky and she is seeking the way out of the fog of grief.

"There's no use me doing anything with anyone right now--I'm living in Dad's shadow, like someone who's just had their heart broken. I keep looking for him, because he's the one who's on my mind. I feared I might have to live with this condition for the rest of my life. That was a prognosis I was hardly prepared for. What a mess I was in! There was no way of knowing whether I'd ever make a full recovery."

She's moved out of her childhood home in a bid to escape her father's shadow and came to Shimo-kitazawa where she has had a very good memory of a day spent in her father's company. She was just beginning to find a space for herself, an independent life, when her mother came to beg that she be allowed to live with her so she can also heal. Together, they took each day as it came but yet...

"We'd been carrying around a sense of someone missing--someone we might be able to find if only we knew where to go, then things might become clear."

Due to the circumstances around her father's death, they also had to grapple not only with lost but with a sense of betrayal and unanswered questions. Moshi Moshi is Yoshie's journey in finding herself and to live again.

"You can't compare yourself with when things were find or good. It's better to remember how far we've come from the worst time."

A poignant yet hopeful novel that will speak to many of its readers' hearts especially those who has experienced loss.

+20 Task
+5 Combo (20.8 - "Mum and I had drunk the tea down, momentarily forgetting everything else" @88%)
+10 Review

Post Total: 35
Season Total: 935

From Post 176

Anika wrote: "20.1 Edmund Morris

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert

This book so much reminded me of my first couple of years in college: the integra..."

+5 Combo 20.7

From Post 248

Ed wrote: "20.1 Edmund Morris

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

I just read Coates' novel The Water Dancer a few days ago and enjoyed it....in fac..."

+5 Combo 10.6

From Post 315

Tien wrote: "10.9 Trilogy (Tien's Task)
Fall of Giants (The Century Trilogy #1) by Ken Follett
Edge of Eternity (The Century Trilogy #3) described as "the sweeping, ..."

+10 Combo 10.8, 20.8

From Post 329

Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "20.8 My cup of teaA Scandal in Batterseaby Mercedes Lackey
"Nan pointed triumphantly and finished her tea." p 100
Task + 20
Female + 5
Total: 25
Grand total: 115"

+5 Combo 20.6

15.9 Blackjack

A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper by John Allen Paulos

Jack of Spades - John can be shortened to Jack
5 of Clubs - science mpg
6 of Clubs - last name is six letters long
Hand of 21

+30 task
+5 nonfiction
+5 pub 1995

Task total: 40
Grand total: 595

20.10 Mystery

A Breach of Promise by Anne Perry

I liked the novel. It read well. I was a bit surprised that a key ending seemed to happen near the middle of the book and a bit surprised about two things that tied together later, which got an eye roll, only in a mystery novel would this happen kind of response, even though it was interesting.

I found the main romance rather forced, although perhaps it had been built up more earlier in the series, and the ranting of Rathbone a bit unrealistic for the times, although depicted in a way that you could believe a man in Victorian England would come to hold such views. I really liked the side story about the war vet and his wife.

Overall it was a solid mystery that began with a seemingly trivial issue but became more. I have yet to try something by Anne Perry that I don't like, even though I pick up her books spottily and out of order.

+20 task
+10 review

Task total: 30
Grand total: 625

10.2 Letters

Dragons of Spring Dawning by Margaret Weis

The concluding novel swept me off my feet enough that I didn't start mapping things to The Lord of the Rings until later (captured hero, final success due to self-serving motives in destruction of key artifact, etc) although I think there might have been fewer instances.

I particularly enjoyed the moral struggles of Tanis, although I cringed through them as well, and the ending that all this was to put the world into balance, not for good to win. I was satisfied with the endings of the characters.

I looked up some info on the next trilogy and sequels, which I own and read those 15-20 years ago, and am not sure I want to continue the reread or let it all find new homes. I did enjoy revisiting Krynn, but don't know if I will do so again.

+10 task
+10 review
+5 combo (10.7)
+5 age (pub 1985)

Task total: 30
GRand total: 655

Task 15.3 Blackjack

The Many-Coloured Land (Saga of the Pliocene Exile #1) (1981) by Julian May (female) (Hardcover, First Printing edition, 415 pages)
Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel (1982)
Nebula Award Nominee for Best Novel (1981)
Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1982)

+01 = Ace of Spades (#1 of series)
+03 = Three of Spades (three word title)
+01 = Ace of Hearts (pub date has two 1s)
+04 = Four of Hearts (has 400-499 pgs)
+08 = Eight of Diamonds (orig pub date in the 80s (any century))
Sum Total = 17

Task Points:
+15 Task
+05 Female author
+05 Pub'd 1995 and earlier

Task Total: 15 + 05 + 05 = 25

Grand Total: 165 + 25 = 190

10.9 Trilogy

Travels of Thelonious

1st of a trilogy (the 3rd book description indicates it is the last)

+10 Task

Task total = 10

Points total = 175

20.4 Robert Penn Warren

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

+20 Task
+10 Combo: 10.4 High Five Day / 20.8 My Cup of Tea (p36 He collapsed on the bed but was up early in the morning to a quick mug of tea.)

Task Total: 30
Season Total: 655

20.6 Katherine Anne Porter

Passing by Nella Larsen

+20 Task
+10 Combo: 20.2 August Wilson / 20.8 My Cup of Tea (Page 13 they had sat there smoking and drinking tea and filling in the gap)
+10 1001 Books
+10 Oldies (1929)

Task Total: 50
Season Total: 705

15.6 Blackjack

NW by Zadie Smith

9 of Clubs - Title starts with N
9 of Diamonds - 75% Commonwealth Country - UK

+20 Task
+5 Female

Task total: 25
Grand total: 450

20.3 Theodore H. White

The Name of the World by Denis Johnson

Denis Johnson can really write. His turns of phrase and insights are impressive. He has the knack of taking seemingly dull characters--washed up middle-aged history professor in this case--and making them into something more. The people in this book are all flawed and slightly fuzzy and slightly incoherent, but in Johnson's hands this makes them seem raw and vulnerable and real and vivid.

This book doesn't have the same down-and-out gritty characters found in the other Johnson books I've read (Angels and Jesus' Son). Instead, this book is full of academics and graduate students. I know these people better because they populate my own life, though perhaps less fantastically random than the ones in this book. But I missed reading about the harder torn folks from the other Johnson books.

I'll definitely read more by this author.

+20 Task (Johnson)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.4)

Task total: 35
Grand total: 485

For message 359, I missed that Jean Stafford is on the 20.6 Katherine Anne Porter list, so I'd like to add that combo, please.

From 359:

20.8 My Cup of Tea (Owlette's Task)

The Mountain Lion by Jean Stafford

+20 Task: He took a drink of his tea and said, "The milk is sour, Mother" loc 1574

+ 5 Combo: 20.6 Katherine Anne Porter

Adjustment Total: 5
Season Total: 710

15.8 Blackjack

Friends and Relations by Elizabeth Bowen

Diamond A - 159 pgs
Spade 3 - 3 word title
Diamond 3 -pub date 1931

+30 Task
+ 5 Female
+ 5 b4 1995

Task total = 40

Season total = 440

9 Owned/14 Read

15.3 Blackjack (Round 2)
Long Road To Mercy (Atlee Pine #1) by David Baldacci

2 Spades ('to' in title)
4 Hearts (404 pages)
5 Hearts (100% in US, primarily in & around Grand Canyon)
10 Clubs (published 2018)

+15 Task

Post Total: 15
Season Total: 960

15.10 Blackjack

Close Range by Annie Proulx

S-Ace-1st in a series
C4-Western
C2-200-299 pages (285p.)

Ace+4+2= 17

Task=45
Female=5
NaN=5
25+ CardsBonus= 150 points

Task Total=205
+5 Kate found for my 20.1 book
Grand Total=980

Tasks Completed=22
10.1 (45); 10.2 (30); 10.3 (30); 10.10 (35)
15.1 (25); 15.2 (30); 15.3 (30); 15.4 (20); 15.5 (30); 15.6 (30);
15.7 (30); 15.8 (40; 15.9 (45); 15.10 (205)
20.1 (50); 20.2 (35); 20.4 (60) ; 20.5 (45); 20.6 (45); 20.7 (35); 20.8 (35); 20.10 (50)

20.6. Katherine Anne Porter

Crucial Instances by Edith Wharton

20 pts 20.6 Katherine Anne Porter
5 pts 10.5 Sherlock Holmes
10 pts Review
10 pts Oldies

This is a book of short stories that I enjoyed. The stories range from a gothic tale with the standard eerie twist to stories where the characters discover a truth about themselves. Iparticlariky enjoyed "The Recovery ” about a praised artist whois the classic big fish in a small pond and who discovers that in Paris. His reaction to the discovery is well drawn. Other stories are a bit more predictable but stillworth reading

Cards used 15.1 -15.5 = 13

Task total: 45 pts
Season total: 465 pts
10.1 .... 10.3 .... 10.5 10.6 .... 10.8 .... ....
15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 . .... .... .... .... ....
.... .... 20.3 .... 20.5 20.6 .... 20.8. .... ...

15.4 - Blackjack

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

Jack diamonds (set in Asian country)
10 clubs (published in 10s)
= 20

+15 task
+5 female author

Post total: 20
Season total: 330

10.1 Thirst for More

The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny

This is #11 in the Armand Gamache series, which I really like. I have listened to all of them, including this one, on audio, although this one is the first to have a different narrator. At first it was jarring, as I loved the old narrator, but I got used to it, and while I still don't think he's perfect at bringing the town of Three Pines to life, he's pretty good! The series is based around Chief Inspector of the Quebec Surete, Gamache (though he is retired in this book) and many of the books are set in the small village of Three Pines. In this installment, we're away from some of the drama and intrigue of the last two books (one excellent, one just all right) and back to a typical mystery - but an intriguing one. A child is murdered after claiming to find a giant gun in the woods -- and meanwhile, a serial killer's play is potentially being produced in town. I love the plots of these books as well as the calm, lovely atmosphere (funny choice of words for a murder mystery!) -- I would 100% go and live in Three Pines, even with the frequent murders!!

+10 task (I've read 10 books by her before March 1, 2020)
+10 combo (10.4, 20.8)
"Once inside, she got towels to dry themselves off, stoked the woodstove, and poured tea, hot and strong" in chapter 28
+10 review

Task Total: 30
New Total: 140