Reading with Style discussion

From Post 703

Mary wrote: "20.2 Journalist

True Grit by Charles Portis

20 pts 20.2 Journalist
5 10.8 Jetsetters Arkansas Oklahoma Tennessee
10 pts Review
5pts Oldies

It surprised me that the c..."

+5 Combo 20.8

From Post 704

Tien wrote: "20.1 Award
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

Review
Elwood Curtis is a good boy. One mischance and the following injustice found him incarcerated in a reform schoo..."

+5 Combo 20.2

From Post 712

Tien wrote: "10.6 Banned
Twelfth 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 [book:Much..."

+10 Not a Novel

From Post 715

Bea wrote: "10.4 Pilgrim

Read 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..."

+5 Combo 10.2

From Post 716

Bea wrote: "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 [author..."

+10 Not a Novel

From Post 720

Bea wrote: "15.4 Power of 9

Years chronologically: 1936

Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie

Task Points: 15
Season Points: 125"

After moving this to task 20.7 and adding the point Elizabeth reported, there is also a +10 Combo 10.8 and 20.5

From Post 723

Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "20.3 Wine
The 8th Confessionby James Patterson
"The waiter poured the wine." p 205
Task +20
Combo 20.3 Prolific +5
Book Total: 25
Grand Total: 265"

If you are keeping score, I have recorded this as 20.5 (wine) with a combo for 20.3.

+5 Combo 20.10

From Post 728

Bea wrote: "20.6 Civil War

Read 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 g..."

+5 Combo 10.2

From Post 739

Kathleen (itpdx) wrote: "20.1 Award
Legends of the Fall by Jim Harrison

Three short works steeped in testosterone—violence, war, sex (from male POV), paternity, alienation, male bonding. Harr..."

+5 Oldies

Joanna wrote: "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"

Moved. thank you for the original post number.

Kate S wrote: "From Post 716

Bea wrote: "10.7 Non-Fiction (Ed's Task)

Read a Non-Fiction book that is NOT a biography, autobiography or memoir.

[book:Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished C..."

Yep, I found this one later...posted about it.

Kate S wrote: "From Post 728

Bea wrote: "20.6 Civil War

Read any work set at least 51% during the American Civil War (1861-1865).

The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War by [author:Howard Bah..."

Thanks for the points. I didn't consider the subtitle for this one.

Kate S wrote: "From Post 720

Bea wrote: "15.4 Power of 9

Years chronologically: 1936

Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie

Task Points: 15
Season Points: 125"

After moving this..."

I don't see the 10.8 combo here. Yes, the action took place in different places...but they were homes/cities, not states or countries!

10.2 Scrabble!

The Book of Cairo: A City in Short Fiction by Raph Cormack

+10 Task (TBOCRC COB)
+10 Not a Novel

Task Total: 20
Season Total: 840

20.5 Wine

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

+20 Task: 810 Lexile (
Page 293 cheeks are red, probably from the table wine. I like him as soon…
+ 5 Combo: 10.2 Scrabble! (WTFOHEA WHAT)

Task Total: 25
Season Total: 865

20.9 Initiated (Kate S's Task)

The Plague by Albert Camus

+20 Task
+20 Combo: 10.2 Scrabble! (TPAC CAP) / 10.4 Pilgrim /20.2 Journalist / 20.5 Wine (Page 103 'But won't you drink something? I've some wine." Rieux declined. H…)
+ 5 Oldies

Task Total: 45
RwS Finish: 100
Season Total: 1010

10.2 Scrabble!

The Embossed Tea Kettle and Other Stories by Hakuin Zenji

I apparently reserved this at the library in March, then the library closed for 3 months. By the time it reopened I had no recollection of making the reservation, but I picked up the book anyway. Then they extended all return dates until November. Now they’re operating a limited service and the book is due back in January… but I decided not to put it off any longer.

The book is a collection of talks and other writings by an 18th-century Japanese Zen master, and I found it rather heavy going. The clearest parts were a letter to a nun and some of the “sermons” given to the local people living near his monastery. The rest was too crowded with allusions that were obscure to me.

+10 task - letters TETKAOSHZ, word SHAKE
+ 5 Combo (10.7)
+10 Review
+10 Not a novel
+20 Oldies (going by author death date, 1769)

Task total: 55
Season Total: 890

10.10 Group Reads

Laura by Vera Caspary

I don't know where to start with a review of this one without giving anything away. There’s a murder mystery, but mostly it’s a study of infatuation and obsession, as the detective on the case becomes fascinated by the life of Laura Hunt, the woman whose murder he’s been assigned to investigate. And he’s not the only one who’s fallen for her.

The story is told in the first person in different sections by three characters, all of whom are unreliable narrators in their own ways. The style varies to fit their personalities. It’s dark, intense, and firmly in the noir genre.

*20.5: "'Laura, my precious babe,' I said to her, 'we shall drink to your frock in champagne.'"

+10 task
+20 Combo (10.3, 10.4, 20.3, 20.5)
+10 Review
+10 Oldies (1942)

Task total: 50
Season Total: 940

Kate S wrote: "From Post 703

Mary wrote: "20.2 Journalist

True Grit by Charles Portis

20 pts 20.2 Journalist
5 10.8 Jetsetters Arkansas Oklahoma Tennessee
10 pts Review
5pts Oldies..."


Kate

Thanks for catching that this qualifies for 20.8! Can I move it there from 20.2?

20.3 - Prolific

Virgin River by Robyn Carr

+20 task
+5 Combo (20.5 - Have a glass of wine, get some sleep and try not to worry about Mel.)

Task total: 25
Grand total:

20.5 - Wine

Wrong by Jana Aston

+20 task - Mike orders a coke and I order another glass of wine.
+10 Combo (10.2, 10.3 - WJA - jaw)

Task total: 30
Grand total: 1375

20.7 P.I.
The Big Sleep (Philip Marlowe #1) by Raymond Chandler

Review
A re-read for my F2F bookclub as I don't remember much about the actual book/mystery. I only remember protagonist, Philip Marlowe, as I'm slowly following the series. As I was listening to this audiobook, I realised that I have a love/hate relationship with noir. I loved how the protagonist always pushed the boundaries (lots of grays there!) and I do love how the women just sound to glamorously gorgeous yet I hate that their personalities are always too wanting. Despite enjoying the setting and author's writing, at the end, I found myself always with an eye-roll at the resolution which always involved women...

+20 Task
+10 Combo (20.2, 20.3)
+10 Review
+10 Oldies (pub. 1939)

Post Total: 50
Season Total: 1,735

15.10 Power of 9
pub years, numerical order

The Flanders Panel by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

+15 Task (pub'd 1990)

+100 Completion Bonus
+ 50 All one criterion
+ 50 Numerical Order

Task total = 215

Season total = 820

10.7 Non-Fiction

Phantom Manor : l'Attraction Décryptée by Jérémie Noyer

Non-fiction book about the Phantom Manor attraction in Disneyland Paris

+10 Task
+15 Combo (10.2 - PMLADJN => DAMN ; 10.4 ; 10.8 - France, California, Florida, Hong Kong)
+10 Not-a-Novel

Task total = 35

Points total = 550

10.2 Scrabble!

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
TIOHCBS => STOIC

+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.4)
+5 Jumbo (533)

Task total = 20

Points total = 570

20.5 Wine

Black Diamond by Martin Walker

This is #3 in the Bruno, Chief of Police series. I do like this series and the characters that Walker has invested a lot of time developing. However, I found the plot in this instalment complicated, maybe too complicated at times. I listened to the audiobook, so it may be that the stop/start nature of listening to a book made it a little hard to follow. That said, it all came together in the last quarter and made complete sense. Walker has obviously thought a lot about his main character and what type of person he is, this makes for a richer than usual experience for a book classed as a mystery. I definitely will be continuing with the series. 3*

As a slight aside, I thought the narrator was quite good but it was funny listening to a British accent read a very French story.

20 task
10 review
10 combo 20.2, 20.10
______
40

Running total: 1570


*'Bill pointed to the ice bucket, where a bottle of Bollinger awaited their arrival…" audiobook 1:05:02 This is just the first example of a lot of wine being drunk in this novel.

10.9 Autumn Leaves

The Gold Bug by Edgar Allan Poe

10 pts 10.9 Autumn Leaves gold=yellow
5 pts 10.2 Scrabble TGBEAP. pea
5 pts 10.4 Pilgrim
10 pts Review
15 pts Oldies

Poe is one of the founders of the suspense/mystery/horror tale genre and this is a clever story that sets up a spooky ish situation with a challenging riddle that must be solved to win (no spoilers! )

For its time (Poe has been copied a lot), the story plot is creative and innovative ; however the African American servant, Jupiter, is described using racist stereotypes that are broad and difficult to read. In addition, Jupiter’s speech is written as a stereotypical dialect that is distracting.



Task total: 45 pts
Correction post 755 +5 pts
Season total: 1215 pts

... 10.2 ... 10.4 ... 10.6 10.7 10.8 10.9 ...
... 20.2 20.3 ...20.5 20.6 ... 20.8 20.9 20.10
15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7 ... ... ..
30.1

Post 778 Marie wrote: "10.7 Non-Fiction

Phantom Manor : l'Attraction Décryptée by Jérémie Noyer

Non-fiction book about the Phantom Manor attraction in Disneyland Paris

+10 Task
+15 Co..."

Looking to fill in biographical information for the database, it says he is a journalist, so adding 20.2 for combos.

(And a note, which had me laughing out loud, Google translate changed his name to Jeremy Walnut.)

10.3 Single

Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson

10 pts 10.3 Single
5 pts 20.5 Wine p. 32 “Devi mostly sits quietly in the corner and sips a glass of white wine without ever finishing it”
5 pts 10.2 Scrabble ASK A KSR
5 pts 20.3 Prolific
10 Review

I am not a science fiction fan but I really enjoyed this novel about 2000 people sent on a 175 year trip to colonize a planet orbiting Tau Ceti. To avoid spoilers ... the best character is drawn from an unexpected source and the description of the key challenge in the book is engaging and pulls you throughout the story wondering whether the mission will be successfully completed. The ending is a bit disappointing and perhaps a bit too philosophical for my taste, but I would recommend.

Task total: 35 pts
Season total: 1250 pts

... 10.2 10.3 10.4 ... 10.6 10.7 10.8 10.9 ...
... 20.2 20.3 ...20.5 20.6 ... 20.8 20.9 20.10
15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7 ... ... ..
30.1

15.6 Power of Nine
publication years, numerical order

A Ghost At Noon by Alberto Moravia

+15 Task (pub 1954)

Task Total: 15
Season Total: 955

10.2 Scrabble

Stealing Cinderella by A. Zavarelli

A moderately interesting Cinderella retelling that couldn't quite decide if it was modern or set in fairy-tale times. On the one hand, the characters have cell phones and airplanes. On the other hand, they're all gushing about the King of Norway and a ball to meet bachelor princes and Nordic religious bits thrown in. This is billed as erotic romance, but I found the erotic bits not that compelling. This also falls into the over-done trope of damaged characters who were horribly abused healing through magical sex. Ugh. Can't we please have romance heroes who just like each other? Is childhood abuse the only way that authors can think of to make their characters interesting?

Also, the come-uppance for the step-family was pretty harsh. I'll take it in a true fairy tale, but in a retelling that tries to be modern, it felt unduly violent and disturbing rather than a satisfactory righting of karmic scales.

+10 Task (SCAZ = SAC)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.8 - France, England, Norway)

Task total: 25
Grand total: 1260

15.3 Power of 9 3rd round
In order by pub date
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
1927

Task total = 15
Season total = 1925

20.6 Civil War

Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens

I’ve finally finished! As I mentioned in the chat thread, I was reading it in the ‘instalment plan’ to try to experience this book, even in a small way, as the original readers would have. It’s interesting to me that Dickens was able to put writing ‘x’ number of pages (for pay) to much, much better and more readable effect than others who were paid by the word (eg. Henry James).

My goodness, this book is good. It’s funny, sad, readable, makes a social and moral statement, has memorable characters, and just when you can’t imagine how it will all tie together – bam – Dickens makes you sit up in your chair! In fact, I thought I was reading one kind of story and then it ends up I was reading quite another (this is a good thing). Dickens describes the atmosphere(s) and settings so skillfully you feel like you are in the room with the characters or walking along the murky and dank streets.

I enjoyed this thoroughly, so much so that if my TBR list wasn’t so long I would consider reading again in my usual ‘one big gulp’ way. This was his last completed novel, and definitely deserving of ‘classic’ status. 5+*

20 task
10 review
15 jumbo
15 oldie
20 combo 10.2 omfcd = cod, 20.2, 20.3, 20.5*
_____
80

Running total: 1650

*pg 116 'to take glasses of champagne.' (at the Lammle's wedding lunch)

15.4 Power of 9 Round 3
In order of pub date

At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
1936

Task total = 15
Season total = 1940

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 778 Marie wrote: "10.7 Non-Fiction

Phantom Manor : l'Attraction Décryptée by Jérémie Noyer

Non-fiction book about the Phantom Manor attraction in Disneyland..."

Ah indeed thanks ! And indeed, if you translate it, his name is Jérémie Walnut tree :)

10.5 Monster Redux

le réveil des sorcières by Stéphanie Janicot
The Witches' Awakening in English

+10 Task
+25 Combo (10.4 ; 10.8 - France, Argentina, Haïti ; 20.2 ; 20.3 ; 20.5 - Roughly translated : "I thanked him for the cool Muscadet glass he was serving in an antique, finely crafted wineglass)" (Muscadet is a white wine from the west of France)

Task total = 35

Points total = 610

20.9 Initiated

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind

Scrabble: PTSOAMPS Word: SOAP

Wine: Pg 86 "And then he invited Grimal to the Tour d'Argent for a bottle of white wine."

"Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" tells the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille who starts his life as an unwanted, abused orphan in 18th Century France. He has an exquisitely sensitive sense of smell, although his own body possesses no smell of its own. He becomes an apprentice parfumier who wants to possess the most perfect scent in the world. He had followed the alluring smell in the wind to discover a beautiful adolescent girl. The twisted fairy tale goes on from that disturbing day.

The premise behind the plot is that smells subconsciously play an extremely important influence on human behavior. The story mixes realistic events with the weird and fantastic. The book definitely is not for everyone since there are many descriptions of putrid smells, depraved infatuations, and a grotesque protagonist. But one can also feel a little bit of empathy toward the unloved foundling who has no emotional bond with other humans. Some readers might find "Perfume" to be too dark and twisted. But others will feel that the tale is clever, original, full of dark humor, and contains interesting information about perfume and the 18th Century. This was a best-seller in Germany, and has been translated into many languages.

+20 task
+20 combo 10.2 Scrabble; 10.4 Pilgrim; 20.5 Wine; 20.10 Another Birthday (author born in 1949)
+10 review
+ 5 oldie (pub 1985)

Task total: 55
RwS Completion Bonus: 100
Season Total: 1275

20.4 Similar

Educated by Tara Westover

* 10.2 Scrabble letters ETW, word WET

+20 task (locked in on help thread)
+15 Combo (10.2, 10.3, 10.8 Idaho, Utah, Mass., UK)
+10 Not a novel

Task total: 45
Season Total: 1000

10.1 Short Works

-> my own collection

Joy by Celina Grace (40 pgs)

The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse by Alan Bradley (27 pgs)

Both of the following are from: The Malahat Review (which is a quarterly literary journal from the University of Victoria), issue 187

Mask by Dora Dueck (26 pgs)
Still Life with Birds and Dust by Christopher Gudgeon (10 pgs)

Joy by Celina Grace

A short story involving her series character, Kate Redman. Short and to the point, as you would expect. Of course, it was a little hard to develop empathy for the characters, but you get the sense that Kate cares for the homeless man who is accused of being the ‘bad guy’ (in general). Hits topical issues, but I think it could have been better. 3*

Mask by Dora Dueck

A moving story about the aftermath of war. It starts when the narrator, Jane, is a teenager and unexpectedly, accidentally, sees her Father’s face without it’s mask. He wears a mask because of his facial injury incurred during WW1 at Ypres. The story is about how her Mother has built a life with Jane’s traumatically injured Father. Well done. This story was the 2014 Novella Prize winner, which the Malahat Review gives out. 4.5*

Still Life with Birds and Dust by Chris Gudgeon

This is a very short (10 pages) story that packs a punch. It is the story of the wedding day of two men, while at least North America, is experiencing what seems to be an apocalypse. Because Gudgeon has narrowed the focus to these two people and their perceptions the reader has a lot of unanswered questions which I suppose is how a real apocalypse would be. I don’t think I’ve ever read a story that takes place while the apocalypse is happening. Very interesting and readable. 4.5*

The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse

Flavia in a nutshell! This is a little amuse bouche of a story. Flavia is called to the scene of a death, just down the road at her Father’s old alma mater. All the action takes place in the campus of the boy’s school, and because she’s been there before she is able to quickly move around the relevant part of the campus gathering clues. This story would only make sense to a fan of Alan Bradley’s series. 3*

10 task
10 review
10 not a novel
_____
30

Running total: 1680

20.4 -

Educated by Tara Westover

4,5/5 points!

One of the best books I've read so far this year. A dramatic history of a childhood and a family very different from my own. It is easy to write off Westover's family as religious conspiracy lunatics, however I find that the book becomes more interesting if you try to understand how they behave as they do. For me, this was a thoughtful reminder that communication and family life is really hard, and that the same story will sound completely different, depending who tells it. I'm by no means saying Westover is lying, and I truly believe this book to describe her upbringing how she remembers it. However, I also believe our memories are flawed and with a non-perfect understanding of other peoples behaviours and intentions.

+20 Task (similar to The Underground Railroad)
+15 Combo (10.2 - Wet, 10.3, 10.8 - Idaho, Utah, Mass., UK)
+10 Not a novel
+10 Review
=55 points

Season total: 55 points

20.8 - Bedtime

Eleanor Olliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Another 4,5/5 points

Eleanor Olliphant is 100% fine – not. She is probably an alcoholic, she has some mysterious scaring on her face and she is rude and dismissive to other people. I have a tendency to get annoyed by socially awkward protagonists, but Eleanor Olliphant is an exemption. The clever writing in this book slowly makes you understand several of the factors that have made her this way, and your impression of her slowly changes. For me, this was an easily read "feel good, but not overly so"-book. Some humour, some sadness, some anger, some love, some hope, some mystery (sort of). Could you ask for more, really?

+20 Task (20.8)
+15 Combo (10.9 - Honey, 20.5 - p142 "I finished by cup of wine and poured some more", 10.2 - FOG)
+10 review
=45 points

Season total: 100 points

20.2 Journalist

Flash Crash: A Trading Savant, a Global Manhunt, and the Most Mysterious Market Crash in History by Liam Vaughan

+ 20 Task (20.2 - Approved)
+ 10 Not a novel (Business non-fiction)
+ 5 Combo (10.7)
=35 points

Season total: 135 points

10.7 Non-fiction (Ed´s task)

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson

+10 Task (10.7 - Non-fiction)
+10 Combo (20.2 - Journalist, 10.2 - PART)
+10 Not a novel (Non-fiction)
=30 points

Season total: 165 points

20.5 - Wine

Normal People by Sally Rooney

+20 Task (20.5 - page 178 "Connell finishes his wine and unobtrusively Marianne refills his glass")
+ 5 Combo (20.4 - similar to Underground Railroad)
=25 points

Season total: 190 points

Task 20.1 Award
Read any book by one of these recipients of the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award.

The Color of Air (2020) by Gail Tsukiyama

+20 Task
+05 Combo (#10.2 tiles: TCOAGT, word:GOAT)

Task Total: 20 + 05 = 25

Grand Total: 590 + 25 = 615

20.9 Most Begun

Walden by Henry David Thoreau
#57 on list

+20 task
+15 oldies (pub 1854)
+10 combo (10.3, 10.7 approved in help thread as more than memoir)
+10 not a novel

Task total: 55
Grand total: 190

10.2 Scrabble

Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski
Letters: b o e a s. Word: BASE

Task total: 10
Grand total: 200

10.7 Non-Fiction

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds

Lexile 1000

Although this is the young people's version of Ibram X. Kendi's book Stamped from the Beginning, it's really its own book (a remix, as the authors call it) - bringing Kendi's research together with Reynolds' powerful voice and style - and it's great. I learned a ton, including things that I wish I had learned in school, and came to some new thinking about the ways that racism has always been deployed in the service of capitalism and that racist thinking, like all lines of thinking I suppose, has a history that we can trace (and then dismantle). I am an educator and I think this would be a great text to have available to kids and spark discussion. It also is a fantastic example of a powerful writing voice in nonfiction.

+10 task
+5 combo (10.2 - SRAAYJR --> JAR)
+10 review
+10 not-a-novel

Task Total: 35
Season Total: 870

10.8 Jetsetters

Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson

No lexile score

+10 task (action in GA, NY, NJ among other states!)

Task Total: 10
Season Total: 880

20.8 Bedtime

The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers

In this Peter Wimsey installment, he and Bunter end up in a small village due to a broken car, where he fills in for an absent bell ringer for New Years. He makes friends in the town and is therefore called back to help when a body appears. This was probably my least favorite of the Sayers books I've read - I absolutely LOVE Gaudy Night and I also liked the other 3 I've read pretty well. This was fine but not more than that. I liked it well enough to keep reading, but not enough that I didn't get distracted and turn to other books in the middle! I read Elizabeth's review and I agree - there was a LOT about change bell ringing, probably more than I needed in my life, though it was interesting to learn what that was.

+20 task
+10 combo (20.3 - more than 20 works including mysteries, nonfiction, and poetry collections; 20.5 - "They made his lordship welcome and offered him a glass of homemade cowslip wine" ch 8)
+10 oldies (pub 1934)
+10 review

Task Total: 50
Season Total: 930