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FA 20 Completed Tasks
10.8 - JetsetterTwist Me by Anna Zaires
+10 task - US, Columbia, Philippines
+5 Combo (10.2 - TMAZ - mat, tam)
Task total: 15
Grand total: 1200
10.8 - JetsetterKeep Me by Anna Zaires
+10 task - Columbia, Switzerland, US
Task total: 10
Grand total: 1210
10.9 - Autumn LeavesRed Harvest by Dashiell Hammett
+10 task
+10 oldie - 1929
Task total: 20
Grand total: 1230
10.4 PilgrimMurder in the Snow: A Cotswold Christmas Mystery by Gladys Mitchell
Gladys Mitchell's bizarre detective Mrs Bradley is invited to her nephew's large Cotswold country house for Christmas. Of course there's deep snow, and of course a body is found in it. Apart from one brief visit to London, Mrs Bradley abandons her psychiatry patients (until March!) and stays to solve the mystery.
Taken on its own terms, ie not to be taken too seriously, I thought this was a great cosy winter read. It made me wish for log fires and chestnuts.
There were also some good one-liners: for example, "People always expect a cooked breakfast in other people's houses."
* 10.2: letters MITSACCMGM, word MAGIC
* 20.5: "He responded with a gallantly meaningless remark and began to dispense sherry."
+10 task
+15 Combo (10.2, 20.3 this is #23 in series, 20.5)
+10 Review
+ 5 Oldies (1950)
Task total: 40
Season Total: 775
15.9 Power of 9pub years, numerical order
The House by the Medlar Tree by Giovanni Verga
+15 Task (1881)
Season total = 605
15.1 Power of 9 Round 3
In order of publication
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
2009
Task total = 15
Season total= 1895
10.6 BannedTwelfth Night by William Shakespeare
Review
I'm not a fan of Shakespeare's tragedies and while I can't say I'm a fan of his comedies either, I loved Much Ado About Nothing. However, I think that's thanks to Kenneth Brannagh & Emma Thompson rather than the actual play. Twelfth Night was a typical comedy play with plenty of misunderstandings that got sorted out at the end. It did include a much favourite trope of mine though, a girl disguised as a boy, so I did sort of like it. As it is a play, it is rather short and the ending felt rather abrupt. Unfortunately, it did not generate one LOL from me.
+10 Task
+5 Combo (20.3)
+10 Review
+25 Oldies (pub. 1601)
Post Total: 50
Season Total: 1,645
10.3 SingleGoldilocks by Laura Lam
Review
The earth is struggling. The world is not a safe place anymore and women as slowly being edged out of positions of power, workplace, and relegated once more to the kitchen. 5 women were not going to give in quietly so they stole a spaceship and went on their way to investigate a possible earth-like planet. However, there were a number of surprises which turn this journey into a near nightmare.
I found Goldilocks to be a rather slow read. To begin with, I struggle with the going back and forth in time between chapters but in the end, I was really taken aback by the way things turned out. A truly great read but you'll need some patience with it.
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.4)
+10 Review
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 1,670
My bookkeeping is lacking, and I searched the thread and did not find an entry....so pardon me if this has already been counted. It did not look like it had, but my bookkeeping indicated it had.10.2 Scrabble
The first letters of all the words in the title and author's name are your scrabble tiles. If you can form at least one word of at least 3 letters with your tiles, then you can read the book. You do not have to use all of your tiles. Required: Include the set of tiles the title and author gives you and the word or words you formed.
Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead by Christiana Miller
Tiles: STATSDCM
Words formed: sat, tat, cat, mat, dam, mass, stat, tam, act
Task: 10
Task Points: 10
Season Points: 10
10.4 PilgrimRead a book with a title starting with one of the letters in PILGRIM (leading articles may be ignored for this task).
The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco
Review:
I have mixed responses to Umberto Eco's writing. and I struggled with this book. He is an author that, for some reason, I want to enjoy his books...but this one left me thinking "never again".
My biggest issue is that it was confusing. The time it was set in was (in my opinion) entirely too much dependent on knowing Italian history, and I don't. And, as is frequently the case for me, the foreign names and places weren't familiar enough to be to be readily distinguishable. So I had difficulty remembering who was who.
I did get into the story about 2/3 of the way through the book, but by then my feelings about it were kinda formed. Perhaps if I had been more knowledgeable about the setting and time I would have enjoyed it more. (I did like the Paris portion.) Or if I were more knowledgeable about latin...but no. This book did not entertain me so much as I wished it had.
I was disappointed that it was such a slog for me as I had looked forward to reading it for quite a while. I gave it 3* but only because of the last 1/3 of the book.
Task: 10 (ignoring the "the", title starts with P)
Review: 10
Task Points: 20
Season Points: 30
10.7 Non-Fiction (Ed's Task)Read a Non-Fiction book that is NOT a biography, autobiography or memoir.
Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horwitz
Review:
First it should be noted that I grew up in Virginia and that the Civil War was treated as current history in my section of the country. In fact, it was so much a part of my DNA that when I first visited a museum in the northern states covering this history, I was shocked to see it was different from what I knew...it was from the North point of view! And, I was in my 20s at that point of my life!
I have also lived in TN, VA, and NC and currently reside in SC. Thus a lot of this book covered land that I was familiar with both as history and home.
Yet, the book brought much of that home in a new way. It awoke in me a new desire to know more. I got onto ancestry.com and looked up my ancesters and tree. I discovered that there is no mention of my own ancesters taking part other than a note that 2 sold apple shine to the Confederates! (They were moonshiners!)
But, what dismayed me was the current day antagonistic view of the south, the battle flag, and history overall. I am well aware of the battle flag controversy as it is current history in the south where even statues are being pulled down. I am equally aware of the desire to remember the Southern gracious living and forget the atrocities visited on people help in slavery.
I am a child of this. I, too, would like to remember the graciousness, but it is not my history. My ancestors never had much...and one even had a slave family it is said. I haven't figured out how to meld the different parts of this history any better than Tony did. However, his book was and is important in trying to do so.
Task: 10
Review: 10
Combo: 15 (10.2 cat, hat, that, act, tic - Tiles: CITATH; 10.8 - GA, VA, NC, KY, AL, SC; 10.2 author = journalist)
Task Points: 35
Season Points: 65
15.1 Power of 9Years chronologically: 1909
The Man in Lower Ten by Mary Roberts Rinehart
Task Points: 15
Season Points:80
15.2 Power of 9Years chronologically: 1918
The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley
Task Points: 15
Season Points: 95
15.3 Power of 9Years chronologically: 1927
The Big Four by Agatha Christie
Task Points: 15
Season Points: 110
15.4 Power of 9Years chronologically: 1936
Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie
Task Points: 15
Season Points: 125
30.1 Go for the GreenAnil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje
Scrabble: AGMO Word: GAM
"One village can speak for many villages. One victim can speak for many victims."
Anil Tissera, a forensic pathologist, returned to her native Sri Lanka after studying abroad. She is sponsored by a human rights group to investigate the mysterious deaths and disappearances during the civil war. The people were living in constant danger with atrocities committed by all three groups fighting in the 1980s war--the government, the separatists, and the insurgents.
Anil is paired with archaeologist Sarath Diyasena. They unearth four skeletons in a government-controlled area which they nickname Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, and Sailor. The first three skeletons are ancient, but Sailor is a recent victim who has been reburied. Sarath is immersed in history while his brother, a surgeon, deals with the victims of terrorism on a daily basis.
"Anil's Ghost" is partially a detective story as they work to identify Sailor. But this is literary fiction written in Michael Ondaatje's style with small glimpses or fragments of events, mixed with flashbacks, that all come together at the end. This is a story about identity, grief, and the futility of war. The characters are loners, devoted to their work, but often overwhelmed by tragedy. The beauty of the island of Sri Lanka, south of India, contrasts with the darkness of the story. Ondaatje, who is also a poet, wrote the book in beautiful prose. A glimmer of hope at the end kept the story from being relentlessly tragic.
+30 task (Set mostly in Sri Lanka)
+20 combo 10.2 Scrabble; 10. 5 Monster Redux; 10.8 Jetsetters (Sri Lanka, England, Guatemala, Oklahoma, Florida); 20.10 Another Birthday
+10 review
Task total: 60
Season total: 1080
Post 720 Bea wrote: "15.4 Power of 9Years chronologically: 1936
Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie
Task Points: 15
Season Points: 125"
Bea, Power of 9 requires 10 different authors, so you cannot have 2 books by Agatha Christie. We can score this for other tasks.
20.3 WineThe 8th Confessionby James Patterson
"The waiter poured the wine." p 205
Task +20
Combo 20.3 Prolific +5
Book Total: 25
Grand Total: 265
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 663 Rebekah wrote: "10.8 JetsettersWith Malice Toward Some by Margaret Halsey
A couple from NY travel to Devonshire in England for the husband’s year long excha..."
Ok I give up. I could have sworn I read she was a columnist for the Newyorker and this diary was kept for that publication. So I looked at GR author page, Wikipedia, and other websites and I couldn’t find it there either. So I even dug the book back up to see if it as on jacket flaps or cover. Wasn’t there either so have to concede. Did I see it for another author and was confused or did I dream it?
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 720 Bea wrote: "15.4 Power of 9Years chronologically: 1936
Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie
Task Points: 15
Season Points: 125"
Bea, Power of 9 require..."
Oh, no...well, I was probably not going to finish this anyway.
Elizabeth, would it fit 20.7? For a professional private eye. It is a Hercule Poirot story.
20.3 ProlificRead any book by an author who has published at least 20 book-length titles (100+ pages) of either fiction or nonfiction, or a combination of the two mediums.
Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts
Task: 20 (author has written over 200 novels per GR)
Task Points: 20
Season Points: 130 (adjusted. removed 15.4 from count)
20.6 Civil WarRead any work set at least 51% during the American Civil War (1861-1865).
The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War by Howard Bahr
Review:
Oh, my goodness! I did not know what to expect from this story, after all. I thought it would be one of those nice stories of a young man and girl where he goes off to fight and she stays home. Well, yes...and no.
The story is mostly told from the viewpoint of Bushrod Carter, a 26 year old young man who is now considered a veteran soldier as he has been in several battles. On this day, he is about to face battle again in Franklin, Tennessee.
Before battle, he reflects on some of his fellow soldiers with whom he grew up...and on fighting...and on the desire to go home.
At the same time, the battle is planned to be fought near the home of a family who have consented to the use of their home and property as a military hospital for the Confederates. A young woman is visiting her aunt (the mother of the family) in the hopes that she would be safe. So then we have her reactions to this safe place taken over by the Confederates and the nearby battle.
The characters are well written and totally real. As a reader, I was in the midst of the despair, the hope, the bewilderment, and the loss.
I ended up giving this story a rare 5*. It read as a true account and left me feeling sad at the loss that battle brings...and hope that memories can bring of moving forward into life. I highly recommend this book about war as it is more about life and memories and the power of both.
Task: 20 (setting was a battle in 1864)
Review: 10
Combo: 5 (author born in 1946)
Task Points: 35
Season Points: 165
Task 15.2 Power of 9Year: 18
A Lady's Guide to Etiquette and Murder (Countess of Harleigh Mystery #1) (2018) by Dianne Freeman
Grand Total: 560 + 15 = 575
Bea wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 720 Bea wrote: "15.4 Power of 9Years chronologically: 1936
Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie
Elizabeth, would it fit 20.7? For a professional private eye. It is a Hercule Poirot story.
"
We'll be glad to score it there. It also fits 20.3 and 10.2 and you'll get 10 Oldies points.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "We'll be glad to score it there. It also fits 20.3 and 10.2 and you'll get 10 Oldies points."Thanks. I am grateful for the help.
I'd like to claim an additional 10 points for post 716 Non-fiction. It is not a novel.That makes task points = 45 for 10.7 and my season total points now = 215.
From Post 661Deedee wrote: "Task 10.9 Autumn Leaves (Mary's Task)
Read a book which includes an autumn leaf color (orange, red, brown or yellow) in the title or author's name. Any alternative for these four color names also q..."
+5 Combo 20.5
From Post 665Valerie wrote: "30.1 Go for the Green
Death by Betrayal by Jaden Skye
I know…you’ve been waiting with baited breath for the next ‘death by’ instalment from me. I have to admit, I..."
+5 Combo 20.3
From Post 668Ed wrote: "30.1 Go for the Green
New Caledonia: Essays in Nationalism and Dependency by Michael Spencer
I knew so little about the history of New Caledonia that I anticipated..."
+5 Combo 10.2
From Post 693Karen Michele wrote: "10.5 Monster Redux
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
+10 Task
Task Total: 10
Season Total: 695"
+5 Combo 20.5
From Post 699Tien wrote: "10.7 Non-Fiction (Ed's Task)
The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater
930L
Review
A story has two sides. Whi..."
+5 Combo 10.2
20.10 Another Birthday?Cost by Roxana Robinson
Julia Lambert is an artist, mother, and university teacher, spending the summer in her run-down house on the coast of Maine. Her parents are visiting, which presents her with problems: she doesn't get on with her father, and her mother is becoming vague. But then her elder son arrives with news that sends shockwaves through the whole family: he thinks his younger brother has become a heroin addict. And soon that's the only thing Julia can think about.
I thought this was superb. It moves from one point of view to another in a way that shows how we misunderstand each other, while never losing focus. My attention never wavered and I didn't find it overwhelmingly sad, despite the difficult subject. Most of the characters were flawed, and it all felt very real.
* 10.8: Maine, New York, Washington State
* 20.5: "they'd emptied a second bottle of wine"
+20 task (born 1946)
+15 Combo (10.3, 10.8, 20.5)
+10 Review
Task total: 45
Season Total: 820
20.1 AwardLegends of the Fall by Jim Harrison
Three short works steeped in testosterone—violence, war, sex (from male POV), paternity, alienation, male bonding. Harrison writes beautifully, able to set a vivid scene in a few well chosen words. Many of the male supporting characters are also well-drawn.
The three stories in the book have different settings and very different conflicts.
In “Revenge” a man falls in love with a Mexican drug lord’s wife. It is set along the Mexican-Arizona border maybe in the 70’s. And as you would expect it is all about “honor”. I thought as I read it that it has been made into a movie. It has. But I wonder if it has the same ending.
“The Man Who Gave Up His Name” seems also to set in the 70’s. It is about an introverted man trying to decide what he wants to do with the rest of his life after a successful career, a divorce and his daughter reaching adulthood.
“Legends of the Fall” is a family saga set mainly in Montana in the early 20th century. This is the best of the three. It pulls in many strands of history and many challenges of life.
Scrabble lotfjh loft
“After dinner they played pinochle all evening with Pet and Isabel winning owing to the wine and brandy Ludlum and Decker had consumed.”
+20 task
+25 combo 20.3, 20.5, 10.2, 10.2, 10.8 Mexico, France, UK, Cuba, US
+10 review
Task total: 525
30.1 Go for GreenThe Lover by A.B. Yehoshua
The audiobook for this was excellent. A cast of narrators read each of the different characters, giving them distinct personalities and really bringing the story alive. Although I have the hardcopy of the book, I was so enthralled by the audio that I didn't really end up switching back and forth.
Though this book was written 40 years ago, it feels fresh. These characters are searching for meaning in daily life, are thinking about the future of Israel, and are wrestling with the ethnic conflict inherent to Israel. There is a strong sense of place here as the neighborhoods in Israel come to life through the eyes of these characters. I would like to read more books by this author.
+30 Task (Israel)
+10 Review
+5 Oldies (1977)
+10 Combo (10.2 - TLABY=LAB; 10.4)
Task total: 55
Grand total: 1185
20.6 Civil WarThe Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers
Wine: Pg 55: "I rewarded him with a bottle of muscadine wine I had managed to put up the previous fall."
Inspired by true events, "The Second Mrs Hockaday" tells the story of a new wife who was left behind to manage a South Carolina farm while her husband fought in the American Civil War. Placidia was only 17 years old when she met Confederate Major Gryffth Hockaday. She married him after only knowing him for one day. Two days later, Gryffth had to leave with his troops. He eventually was captured by the Union soldiers so was unable to return home for two years. Shortly before his return, Placidia was pregnant with a baby who died mysteriously. Placidia was accused of infanticide, and taken into custody.
Told in letters, diary entries, and court documents, the truth comes out about the pregnancy. Women lived in constant danger of bandits, deserters, and scavengers. Soldiers, both Union and Confederate, would steal food to feed the troops which left the women, children, and farm hands in a precarious state. The book also included heartbreaking scenes of slaves being beaten, raped, and separated from their families.
This was an interesting historical mystery. Both Placida on the home front, and Gryffth as a soldier suffered through two hellish years. One wondered if their short relationship would be enough to sustain the love between Major Hockaday and his "darling girl" during those challenging times. The story started with Placidia under arrest, and the author keeps us in suspense as the events of two years are revealed.
+20 task
+10 combo 20.5 Wine; 10.8 Jetsetters (SC, VA, NC, OH)
+10 review
Task total: 40
Season total: 1120
20.10 Another BirthdayThe Collected Works Of Billy The Kid: Left Handed Poems by Michael Ondaatje
20 pts 20.10 Another Birthday
5 pts 10.2 Scrabble TCWOBTKLHP MO. Mock
5 pts Jetsetter New Mexico Arizona Louisiana
10 pts Review
5 pts Oldies
10 pts Not a Novel
This is a very unusual book. Generally classified as poetry, it is a comilarion of poetry, prose poems and slightly more narrative pieces with old photographs from the American west. Outlaw Billy the Kid’s stlory istold including descriptions of his friends, women, and the places he has been. There is little focus on his criminal exploits per se but it is clear that he has an unsavory career which ultimately ends in his death.
The choice of subject combined with the atypical structure make for an interesting read. Ondaatje has a very lyrical style and his choice of words draws memorable characters and places
Task total: 55 pts
Season total: 1165 pts
... 10.2 ... 10.4 ... 10.6 10.7 10.8 ... ...
... 20.2 20.3 ...20.5 20.6 ... ... 20.9 20.10
15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7 ... ... ..
30.1
Post 718 Bea wrote: "15.2 Power of 9Years chronologically: 1918
The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley
Task Points: 15
Season Points: 95"
Bea - and all - the original publication date was entered incorrectly on the GR book page. Because you should be able to rely on such things, we will allow 1918 for Power of 9. But if you're keeping track for the Mysteries Challenge, you should use 1919, the correct date.
15.9 Power of 9My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman
+15 Task (author born 1981)
Task total: 15
Grand total: 1200
10.8 JetsettersAll Inclusive by Farzana Doctor
If I describe the plot of this book, it will sound like the most ridiculous story. But stay with me for a minute. The protagonist is a Canadian who finds herself drifting along through random jobs and lands in Mexico where she works at an all-inclusive resort. She likes hooking up with couples and finds plenty of interest among the tourists passing through. But also, there's the ghost of her dead father trying to connect with her and help her find out about him. And the cross-cultural examination of the native-Mexican employees versus the imported Canadians. Oh, and the protagonist is actually half-Indian.
So, it sounds like this book should be a complete mess. But this author makes it work. First, kudos to the author for how sex-positive this book is. The protagonist likes hooking up with couples, sometimes ones of the same sex. And she's okay with that. And, mostly, so are the people around her. But it's realistic as well--the feelings of both pleasure and loneliness, the questioning of her own desires. The sex here is part of the psychology of the character, not played for eroticism. Second, I can't believe that I liked the ghost story aspect of this book, but I did. My normal reaction would be eye-rolling (and, I'll admit to an initial eye-roll when the ghostliness was introduced). But again the author surprised me with how well it integrated with the story.
I want to read more of this author's books.
+10 Task (Canada, Mexico, India)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.2 - AIFD=FAD)
Task total: 25
Grand total: 1225
I posted The Siren by Tiffany Reisz to 10.8 in Post #81.I'd like to move that to 20.5 instead.
+10 Move
Grand total: 1235
10.5 -Monster reduxDevil's Bride by Stephanie Laurens
+10 task
+10 Combo (20.3, 20.5)
Task total: 20
Grand total: 1250
20.3 - ProlificPieces of Her by Karin Slaughter
+20 task
+15 Combo (10.2-POHKS - shop, hop, 10.3, 10.8 - US, Germany, Norway)
Task total: 35
Grand total: 1285
20.5 - WineOn Dublin Street by Samantha Young
+20 task (I was curled up on an armchair, sipping from a glass of wine...)
+15 (Combo - 10.2 - ODSSY - sod, 10.8 - US, Scotland, England, 20.3 )
Task total: 35
Grand total: 1320
15.2 Power of 9 Round3In order of publication
Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
2018
Task total = 15
Season total = 1910
20.8 BedtimePurple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
+20 pts - Task
+10 pts - Combo (10.4, 20.5 - took communion wine at church)
Task total - 30 pts
10.1 short works my own collectionThe Adventure of the German Student by Washington Irving (8) pub 1824
Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne (48) pub 1835
Hunted Down by Charles Dickens (44) pub 1859
Advice to Little Girls by Mark Twain (24) pub 1865
Total pages - 124
+10 pts - task
+15 pts - oldies
+10 pts - not a novel
Task total - 35 pts
Season Total - 775
10.3 SingleEverblaze by Shannon Messenger
810L
+10 Task
+10 Combo (10.2 : ESM = Ems; 10.8 - California, France, Himalayas)
+5 Jumbo (624 pages)
Task total = 25
Points total = 515
15.5 Power of Ninepublication years, numerical order
Holy Disorders by Edmund Crispin
+15 Task (pub 1945)
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 835
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (other topics)Animal Dreams (other topics)
The Willows (other topics)
This Mournable Body (other topics)
This Mournable Body (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
John Berendt (other topics)Barbara Kingsolver (other topics)
Algernon Blackwood (other topics)
Tsitsi Dangarembga (other topics)
Tsitsi Dangarembga (other topics)
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Sisters of Shiloh by Kathy Hepinstall
+20 task
Task total: 20
Grand total: 1185