Reading with Style discussion
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FA 20 Completed Tasks
20.2 JournalistThe Witches Are Coming by Lindy West
"Stop doubting what you see right in front of your face."
This strong collection of essays had me cheering throughout. It dealt with serious issues (climate change, racism, feminism, abortion, politics, fat-shaming) interspersed with moments that had me laughing out loud (the essay entitled "Is Adam Sandler Funny?" was hilarious and spot on and when she called Guy Fieri "a human flip flop," I spit milk out my nose). This is the first I've read by West (despite her contributions to numerous publications and appearances on This American Life, all of which I've somehow missed), but I'm determined to grab her first collection of essays ASAP and wait on tenterhooks for more...
Just a couple more of my favorite quotes from this one:
"If we let trolls dictate the parameters of what's right and what's wrong, what's acceptable and what's taboo, we end up with Donald Trump as president."
"Personal storytelling is an engine of humanization, which is in turn an engine of empathy."
"If one was feeling uncharitable, one might describe the trumpet as a machine where you put in compressed air and divorce comes out."
Anyway, I highly recommend these essays to anyone moderate-to-left-leaning in their politics, any woman who has been judged by her looks rather than her abilities, any man who is an ally, and any person who has ever seen an Adam Sandler movie and thought, "Really? Why?" These essays are funny, smart, and searing. 5 stars.
+20 Task (has written for multiple publications including The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, GQ, and MSNBC)
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-Novel
+20 Combo (10.2: TWACLW: CLAW; 10.5, "Witches"; 10.7, essays; 10.8: Washington, New York, California and more)
Task total: 60
Season total: 635
10.7 Non-FictionThe Darkest Night: The Murder of Innocence in a Small Town by Ron Franscell
This is the story of sisters Amy and Becky who lived in Casper, Wyoming, in 1973. Their mother asked them to run to the local grocery to grab a few items. This innocent, every-day request put them in the exact wrong place at the exact wrong moment that forever changed the lives of an entire town.
I am a fan of true crime, especially when the perpetrators are caught and brought to justice. Sadly, I don't feel like there was ever justice done in this case. The horror-show ringleader is still alive and well while every other person who was roped into his madness has suffered and died.
Apparently (because it is extensively excerpted in this book), this j@*#@$$ wrote an autobiography and WOW is it telling...he is not smart, entirely delusional, and the way he can twist a narrative was on par with someone else I read about recently in the book of political essays I just finished.
This wasn't my favorite true crime author, but the fact that these girls were his next-door neighbors growing up gave it a touching emotional context that no other author could have pulled off.
+10 Task (true crime)
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-Novel
+10 Combo (10.2 TDNTMOIIASTRF: ATTRITION; 10.8 Wyoming, Montana, Arizona and more; 20.2 in goodreads bio it states he is "a lifelong journalist")
Task total: 40
Season total: 675
15.6 Power of 9No Groom at the Inn by Megan Frampton
reading 09 to 90
page # locked in message 24
(questions thread)
15 task
_____
15
Running total: 555
*wine is drunk in this short + enjoyable historical romance, if you need a book for 20.5
15.4 Power of 9pub years, numerical order
The Strange Case of Harriet Hall by Moray Dalton
+15 Task (1936)
Season total = 190
10.9 Autumn Leaves The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers
The Repairer of Reputations
So, I see why Lovecraft was inspired by this. We start in a near-future 1920’s NYC (this was published in 1895), that’s presented as a militarized, gentrified utopia. This harmony was achieved by basically getting rid of all non-whites and non-Christians. Great, another one of those books. However, as I read it seemed more like satire than Chamber’s actual idea of a great future. This has a lot more going on than I originally expected, and I’m tempted to go deep into it but there are more stories sooooo onward!
The Mask
We learn the tragic backstory of the sculptor mentioned in the first story. You know exactly where this is going, though it had a surprise ending that was abrupt. Well, now what???
In the Court of the Dragon
I liked this one. It’s a quick little mood story, a very bad trip. Effective.
The Yellow Sign
I liked this as well. The most classically creepy of the related stories, in which another artist from The Mask falls victim to the play.
The Demoiselle D’Ys
I expected this to be La Belle Dame Sans Merci, but it’s Germelshausen. Very pleasant.
The Prophet’s Paradise
Prose poem that I did not bother to decipher.
The last four stories are all about artists in the Latin Quarter of Paris, all named for a street. They are pretty good stories, but so tonally different from the first half of the book that I have no idea why they are included. They are romances, nothing strange or supernatural going on. They are related to each other but not the King in Yellow.
Both halves are worth reading, but not as a single volume. I did not find them complimentary and it’s odd that they are packaged together.
+10 task
+10 review
+10 Oldies (1895)
+10 Not a Novel
+20 combo (10.2 TKIYRWC - tricky, 10.8 USA, France, India; 20.3; 20.5 “I induced the girl to sit down and swallow a glass of Marsala.“)
Task total = 60
Season Total = 785
15.6 Power of NineTo the End of the Land by David Grossman
+15 Task (born 1954)
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 315
15.7 Power of NineFuture Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich
+15 Task (263 pages)
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 330
15.8 Power of NineThe Mandelbaum Gate by Muriel Spark
+15 Task (272 pages)
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 345
10.3 SingleWaterway by Eleanor Dark
+10 Task
+5 Combo 10.2 WED->DEW
+10 Oldies (published 1938)
Task total = 25
Season Total: 370
10.4 PilgrimThe Pastoral Symphony by André Gide
+10 Task
+5 Combo 10.2 TPSAG->GASP
+10 Oldies (published 1911)
Task total = 25
Season Total: 395
10.3 Short worksSnakes and Ladders (43 p), Broken Paper Hearts (14p), The Star of New Mexico (13p), The Way Home (34p), The Lay of the Land (32p) and Target Practice (32p) all by Seanan McGuire
+10 Task
+10 Not a Novel
Task total = 20
Season Total: 415
30.1 Go for Green MaltaA Dead Man in Malta by Michael Pearce
30 pts 30.1 Go for Green Malta
10 pts Review
5 pts 10.2 Scrabble Damp tiles ADMIN MP
5 pts 20.3 Prolific
Interesting setting for a mystery with some insights into the Maltese cultur, but over all this is a fairly standard mystery. Pearce sets the book in pre WWI Malta, but somehow the time period never comes through and the British characters who are visiting the island are seem to be the center of the story. In addition, the detective has clearly figured out the guilty party well before the end of the book but the narrative holds this information back from the reader. So there are pages of oblique questions to witnesses that are rather tedious.
Task total: 50 pts
Season total: 400 pts
... 10.2 ... ... ... ... 10.7 10.8 ... ...
... 20.2 20.3 ...20.5 20.6 ... ... ... ...
15.1 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..
30.1
10.5 Monster ReduxBroom, Broom: Writing about Witches from the London Review of Books by Sam Kinchin-Smith (ed)
This is a short but dense collection of ten articles and one poem from the London Review of Books. The articles are mostly non-fiction book reviews, some more than ten pages long, and most of the reviewed books are histories of a particular "witch" or trial. For example, Hilary Mantel reviews Hellish Nell: Last of Britain's Witches, which tells the story of England's last trial for witchcraft, which amazingly took place in 1944.
These are not the sort of reviews that would be popular if posted on Goodreads, since they tell the whole story of each individual with no qualms about spoilers. But then this is non-fiction, and anyone seriously interested in the subject would probably still want to read the book. For me, however, this collection was enough, in a good way.
* For 10.2: BBWAWFTLROBSK -> BRAWLS
* For 10.8: UK, Germany, USA, South Africa
+10 Task
+15 Combo (10.2, 10.7, 10.8)
+10 Review
+10 Not a novel
Task total: 45
Season Total: 370
(Edited to remove claim for 20.5 - novels only)
20.5 WineThe Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
This is one of my husband's favorite books and I had never read it. I found an old, abridged, paperback on his shelves, that he probably bought used and that we have probably moved several times over the years and he has probably re-read several times. So I finally dove in.
A young man brings a ship home to Marseilles after the death of its captain. The young man has everything going for him-a great boss, a promising career and a beautiful fiancee. But because of jealousy, greed and fear, he ends up imprisoned for many years. He manages an escape and "inherits" a fortune. Then he sets out to take revenge on the men who had caused his imprisonment. With his cunning and the power that money can buy, he succeeds.
But he realizes that he has harmed innocents along the way.
This abridgement is 440 pages long. The full book is 1000 pages so, obviously, a lot has been left out to the detriment of the story. Some characters appear and disappear without much explanation. And I found the denouement inexplicable. But at least I know the outlines of the story that is part of our culture.
Wine: The book is set in France and Italy, so lots of wine drinking. The reference I liked best: "Villefort, who, until then, had not touched any of the three or four glasses of extraordinary wine placed before him, quickly picked up one of them and drank it down in one gulp."
Scrabble: tiles: TCOMCAD, words: cad, mad, cot, dam
+20 task
+5 combo (10.2)
+10 review
+15 oldies
Task total: 50
Season total: 220
Post 241 Marie wrote: "10.2 Scrabble! Oz: Ozma of Oz by Eric Shanower and Skottie Young
OOOESSY => SOYS
+10 Task
(no style points, graphic novel)
Task total = 10
Poin..."
Marie, and others. We use only the first named author for tasks, so the Y for Young does not count toward a word. However, there is a word oose which can be made without Skottie Young and we will accept this for this task.
10.10 Group ReadsMr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi
This never quite came together for me. Perhaps it was the audio format rather than reading the words. There were beautifully crafted sentences, and entertaining moments, but it never congealed into a pleasurable experience or into a plot that was going somewhere. I generally love fairy tales and am not put off by some amount of metafiction. And the idea here is clever. But but but...I had to force myself to finish this. I kept thinking longingly of other books I could listen to instead.
Everyone else seems to love this book, so maybe it's just me. Or just this moment. But the magic wasn't there.
It didn't help that I found the narrator's efforts to do different voices mostly annoying. I won't seek out this narrator again.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.2 - MFHO - Ohm, 10.4, 20.5)
Task total: 35
Grand total: 380
Post 259 Ann wrote: "10.9 Autumn Leaves The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers
The Repairer of Reputations
So, I see why Lovecraft was inspired by this. We start in a near-future 192..."
Ann, in case you keep track of such things ... 20.5 Wine requires a novel - BUT - we class short stories as not a novel and therefore non-fiction, so you get the combo for 20.7 instead.
Post 265 Coralie wrote: "10.4 PilgrimThe Pastoral Symphony by André Gide
+10 Task
+5 Combo 10.2 TPSAG->GASP
+10 Oldies (published 1911)
Task total = 25
Season Total: 395"
Coralie, did you read a physical edition in English? I need to help you out with page count as the edition that should count doesn't have an ISBN, nor page count so I can't fill it in. The English language Kindle edition has only 82 pages.
Post 268 Rosemary wrote: "10.5 Monster ReduxBroom, Broom: Writing about Witches from the London Review of Books by Sam Kinchin-Smith (ed)
This is a short but dense collection of ten artic..."
As in my post to Ann above, 20.5 Wine requires a novel - but this is non-fiction so you get the combo for 10.7. No change in score.
10.4 PilgrimThe Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton
The lives of three women intersect as a deadly hurricane heads toward Key West, Florida in 1935. Mitza Perez's family had great losses during the Cuban Revolution of 1933, and she was on her honeymoon after an arranged marriage to a wealthy man. Times are hard for the families of Americans Helen Berner and Elizabeth Preston during the Great Depression.
As the powerful hurricane approaches the Keys, pregnant Helen has an opportunity to leave her abusive husband. Elizabeth is searching for a World War I veteran who is helping to build a railroad across the Keys, and is living in a flimsy tent in a work camp. Mitza has concerns that her new husband's business ventures involve some dangerous people. The tension builds as the hurricane draws nearer, and each woman has to trust someone she recently met.
Author Chanel Cleeton writes her novels with a good mix of historical events, love, and suspense. Although there were a few unlikely coincidences, the book is a real page-turner as the characters showed strength and courage during one of the worst hurricanes of the 20th Century.
Wine: pg 57 "I'm too nervous and tired to eat much, but Anthony had a crate of champagne sent down from New York, and he toasts our marriage in an extravagant fashion."
+10 task Last
+10 combo 10.8 Jet-Setter (Florida, New York, Cuba, Wash. DC); 20.5 Wine
+10 review
Task total: 30
Season total: 320
20.10 - Another BirthdayThe Daughter by Jasmine Cresswell
+20 task (1941)
+15 Combo (10.8 - Colorado, Florida, Ohio, 20.3, 20.5 - Maggie waited for the bartender to pour two glasses of Zinfandel before approaching him.)
Task total: 35
Grand total: 335
20.7 P.I.The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith
Goodness, I like these books. They make me happy. The mystery in this instalment was more complex than usual, yet still spoke to human nature. If you’ve delved into this series you know that cattle are cultural signifiers of wealth. Bad things happen to a couple of cows (I didn’t like that) and Mma Ramotswe has to determine what exactly happened.
The main plot point here is Mma Matuksi’s upcoming wedding. Mma Matuski is the prickly counterpoint to Mma Ramotswe’s more generous and forgiving worldview. It will be interesting to see how McCall Smith handles this turning point in future books. 5* (Yes, I’m a pretty generous rater, but up until now none of these have gotten more than 4*. I felt things came together well in this instalment, and deserved 5*).
20 task
10 review
15 combo 10.2*, 20.3, 20.10
____
45
Running total: 600
*tsbtwpams = stamp
10.5 Monster ReduxAll the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny
Aficionados of Inspector Gamache rejoice! This newest installment is a triumph! I was a bit leery, seeing as we weren't going to be in Three Pines--no Clara, no Ruth, no Gabriel or Olivier, no Myrna...no swearing duck!? While I missed them terribly, we still get Gamache and his Reine-Marie with the entirety of their clan--and all of the delicious descriptions of decadent dishes. And death. We definitely get death. And intrigue and red herrings and the twistiest of twisty plot lines. (view spoiler) I think my only criticism would be of the audiobook reader--I hated the way he read Daniel (Gamache's son)...he sounded so snotty and irritating when doing that voice. That being said, I cannot wait for number seventeen to come out already...
+10 Task, "Devils"
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.2 ATDAHLP: HALT; 10.8 France, Canada, Patagonia--which is co-"owned" by Chile and Argentina! I had no idea...; 20.5 lots of wine drunk while in France)
Task total: 35
Season total: 710
10.1 Short WorksVivons Livres!
Anthology of several authors and illustrators of their love for librarians and bookstores
+10 Task
+10 Not-a-novel (collection of essays, poems and illustrations)
Task total = 20
Points total = 210
20.5 WineThe Saint by Tiffany Reisz
I enjoyed continuing to read more about these characters. I have to say, I'm tired of the theme that every romance hero or heroine has a traumatic childhood. Can't normal people have romance relationships? This book gives more complete details about the truly horrific childhood of the priest protagonist here. So horrific it was actually hard to read, even for this relatively jaded reader.
This series is erotica and pretty intense stuff at that. This isn't for the feint of heart and it isn't for everyone. Probably not even for most people. But I'm enthralled by these characters and the strength of the writing (for the genre, mind you).
+20 Task (lots and lots of wine in this one)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.8 - France, Germany, Connecticut)
Task total: 35
Grand total: 415
10.7 Non-FictionThe School of Sophisticated Drinking: An Intoxicating History of Seven Spirits by Kerstin Ehmer
Suffers from a lack of narrative thread...it’s choppy and shallow. A collection of trivia that is not fleshed out into anything substantial. This makes for fun tidbits to learn at a bar, but as a book it does not work. Not that it needed to be a deep-dive, but it’s just lazy. Example: in a section about pests, there is this: “Even NASA scientists are busy saving the grape.” And that’s it. *What* is NASA doing? Why even have that line when you can’t be bothered to pursue it further?
The focus is very pop-culture. In the chapter on Rum, multiple pages are devoted to colorful pirate anecdotes, but there is only a paragraph on the slave trade.
The book is at its best when it talks about actual production. Those sections were interesting and informative.
+10 task
+10 review
+10 not-a-novel
+10 combo ( 10.2 TSOSDAIHOSSKE-assisted, 10.8 France, England, Germany, lots more)
Task total = 40
Season total = 825
20.3 ProlificThe Iron Gates by Margaret Millar
This story deserves to be read without any spoilers-the GR description says more than it should-so I won't give many details about the plot. The Morrow family consists of Dr. Morrow, his second wife Lucille, and the two grown children of Dr. Morrow and his deceased first wife Mildred. Also Dr. Morrow's unmarried sister Edith lives with them, and there are two young servant girls. Soon we learn of tensions in the household, grudges, suspicions, nightmares, and paranoia. There is an old unsolved murder, and then some new ones. Millar keeps revealing new bits of information that destroy any theories a reader develops.
The characters seemed so real that the story felt like it could be set in contemporary times, even though it was published in 1945. I'm amazed at how good Millar's writing is, and I'm happy that there are many more of her books still to be read.
Scrabble tiles: TIGMM word: GIT
Wine quote: "Champagne," Greeley said, and sat down without taking off his hat and coat...When the bottle of champagne was gone Greeley had lost his sour look and was beginning to talk big."
+20 task
+15 combo (10.2, 10.4, 20.5)
+10 review
+ 5 oldies (1945)
Task total=50
Season total=445
(18/122 Mysteries Challenge)
20.1 - AwardSula by Toni Morrison
+20 Task (PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award 2013)
+5 Oldies (1973)
Task Total: 25
Season Total: 25
From Post 236Don (The Book Guy) wrote: "10.4 Pilgrim
The Purgatorio Dante Alighieri published 1316
The Purgatorio by Dante Alighieri is the second of his 3 extended poems about hell and heaven. Last summe..."
+5 Combo 10.2 PAD
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 265 Coralie wrote: "10.4 PilgrimThe Pastoral Symphony by André Gide
+10 Task
+5 Combo 10.2 TPSAG->GASP
+10 Oldies (published 1911)
Task total = 25
Season Tot..."
I read it in English in a book called Great Short Novels of the World which I found when clearing out my parents' apartment. It was published in 1935 and it says about the Gide:
The translation, by Thurston Macauley, used here, is from the edition published by the Nouvelle Revue francaise Paris; copyright, 1921. The story appears here for thefirst time in English, by permission of the author and publisher.
If you feel that it does not meet the page requirements for RwS I won't feel too upset. I don't aim my reading at getting the best score I can. I just read what I want for various reasons.
Coralie wrote: "If you feel that it does not meet the page requirements for RwS I won't feel too upset. I don't aim my reading at getting the best score I can. I just read what I want for various reasons."Not to worry, Coralie. I was hoping you had a stand alone copy. There was what looked to be a print edition in the GR catalog, but it had scant information. I was able to find a 1925 English language edition with 149 pages. This saves your read and am glad of it!
20.7 P.I.To Die But Once by Jacqueline Winspear
+20 Task
+15 combo for 10.2 Scrabble Tiles: TDBOJW for words jot, job, tow, bow, dot; 10.8 Jetsetters countries UK, France, Canada, Spain; 20.5 Wine - end of Chapter 8, page 134; "She took a sip of the sherry and leaned back."
Task total: 35
Season total: 35
10.7 Non-fictionAn Informal History of the Hugos by Jo Walton
+10 Task
+15 Combo (10.2 AIHOTHJW->THAW, 10.4, 20.3)
+10 Not a Novel
+ 5 Jumbo (576 pages)
Task total = 40
Season Total: 455
From Post 254Deedee wrote: "Task 20.2 Journalist
Read any book by an author who has earned a living as a journalist.
Libby Copeland is a journalist.
[book:The Lost Family: How DNA Testing Is Uncovering Secrets, Reuniting Re..."
+5 Combo 10.2
From Post 269Kathleen (itpdx) wrote: "20.5 Wine
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
This is one of my husband's favorite books and I had never read it. I found an old, abridged, paperback on his shel..."
+10 Combo 20.3, 20.9
+25 Jumbo
From Post 271Joanna wrote: "10.10 Group Reads
Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi
This never quite came together for me. Perhaps it was the audio format rather than reading the words. There were beautifu..."
+5 Combo 10.8
20.3 ProlificWeaveworld by Clive Barker
I hated the first book by Clive Barker that I read, so I didn't go into this one with high expectations. But it was much better than I expected. There was a clear story arc, and I could follow what was going on - major plus points compared to Abarat.
It's fantasy horror, which is never going to be a favourite genre for me, and I didn't like the way that the main female characters have a terrifying sexual/menstrual power that seems designed to induce gynophobia in young male readers. I don't think it should be on the The Ultimate Teen Book Guide list (the reason I read it), involving as it does non-consensual sex performed by a succubus and graphically described. But it's definitely a page-turner with a vividly imagined alternative world.
* 20.5 Wine: "The argument went back and forth while they ate their pizza and drank their champagne"
+20 Task https://www.fantasticfiction.com/b/cl...
+10 Combo (10.3, 20.5)
+10 Review
+ 5 Oldies (1987)
+10 Jumbo (721 pages)
Task total: 55
Season Total: 425
10.2 ScrabbleDesign Fundamentals: Notes on Visual Elements and Principles of Composition by Rose Gonnella
10 pts 10.2 Scrabble. Nova tiles: DFNOVEAPOC RG
5 pts 10.7 Nonfiction
10 pts Not a Novel
10 pts Review
This a a great summary of the principles of design presented in a sketchbook fashion with graphic presentation of the concepts. Well organized, and comprehensive but still very accessible to the non artist reader. My only issue is that the presentation can overwhelm the content. It is not a book that is a handy reference as a result. It requires a bit more study to itentify the principles as a result
Task total: 35 pts
Season total: 435 pts
... 10.2 ... ... ... ... 10.7 10.8 ... ...
... 20.2 20.3 ...20.5 20.6 ... ... ... ...
15.1 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..
30.1
10.1 Short WorksThe Largesse of the Sea Maiden by Denis Johnson
This is only the second work I've read of Johnson's, but I'm recognizing some similar themes: memory plays a strong role; a definite strain of the "masculine" runs throughout (it was particularly apparent by the readers of this one: Nick Offerman, Michael Shannon, Dermot Mulroney, Will Patton, and Liev Schreiber--all actors who are normally typecast to play epitomes of near-toxic masculinity); a preoccupation with death or at least the fleeting nature of this life; characters of questionable reliability; and, a very fluid timeline. Even though there were a couple of stories that weren't really my favorites, his writing is stellar and the story which gives this collection its title was fantastic...I listened to it twice just to make sure I didn't miss a single word. This was the final work published by the author before his death, which gives it an added element of gravitas. 4 stars.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-Novel
Task total: 30
Season total: 740
15.2 Power of Nine
(publication years, not reading in order)
Symposium by Muriel Spark (published 1990)
Task total: 15
Season total: 90
(publication years, not reading in order)
Symposium by Muriel Spark (published 1990)
Task total: 15
Season total: 90
10.2 Scrabble!
The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell
+10 Task (TDOAB SB - bats)
+10 Not-a-Novel (non-fiction)
Task total: 20
Season total: 110
PS - I've just realised there were two of us with the same name in the group (I was confused as to why my total on the Readerboard was higher than it should be), so I've added an extra initial to avoid confusion. (My earlier posts were #206-208, in case they got mixed up.)
The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell
+10 Task (TDOAB SB - bats)
+10 Not-a-Novel (non-fiction)
Task total: 20
Season total: 110
PS - I've just realised there were two of us with the same name in the group (I was confused as to why my total on the Readerboard was higher than it should be), so I've added an extra initial to avoid confusion. (My earlier posts were #206-208, in case they got mixed up.)
20.3 ProlificCold Comfort by Charles Todd
20 pts 20.3 Prolific
10 pts Review
A brief vignette from WWI that focuses on Rutledges service during the war. Hamish is alive and a key player in the story but this is really fairly slight as far as story telling goes. There is a mystery and Rudledge solves it but it all seems fairly coincidental rather than truly puzzling. I can’t recommend this.
Task total: 30 pts
Season total: 460 pts
... 10.2 ... ... ... ... 10.7 10.8 ... ...
... 20.2 20.3 ...20.5 20.6 ... ... ... ...
15.1 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..
30.1
20.3 ProlificSeeker by Jack McDevitt
+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.3, 20.5)
Task total = 30
Season Total: 485
Rachel C wrote: "PS - I've just realised there were two of us with the same name in the group (I was confused as to why my total on the Readerboard was higher than it should be), so I've added an extra initial to avoid confusion. (My earlier posts were #206-208, in case they got mixed up.)"Thank you for this, Rachel. We'll get it sorted out before Kate posts the Readerboard again.
20.3 ProlificA Dram of Poison by Charlotte Armstrong
Based on the book's title and the fact that it won the Edgar Award for Best Novel in 1957, I was expecting something much different. The only "mystery" was the location of a misplaced bottle of unnamed poison which is supposed to kill instantly and painlessly. (Is there such a thing?) There was some discussion about whether there is such a thing as an accident, or is everything people do caused by subconscious wishes or even predetermined by their genetics. Otherwise the plot is a mix of light romance and subdued squabbling. Near the end there is a silly episode involving a car ride in which several characters are picked up one by one, and all pile into a DeSoto in search of the poison. This isn't a bad book if you want something light. I think I have caught on to this author's pattern and will probably avoid her.
Scrabble tiles: ADOPCA word: CODA
Wine quote: "They drank a little wine. They ate hugely of one delectable dish after another, and Mr. Gibson teased by refusing to explain the reason for the reckless expense of this expedition."
+20 task
+10 combo (10.2, 20.5)
+10 review
+ 5 oldies (1956)
Task total=45
Season total=490
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Rachel C wrote: "PS - I've just realised there were two of us with the same name in the group (I was confused as to why my total on the Readerboard was higher than it should be), so I've added an e..."Thanks Rachel! That's my fault. I was finally able to edit my profile and I adjusted from Rachelccameron to what it is now. I was going to alert the mods in my next post :)
10.7 Non-Fiction The Cripple of Inishmaan by Martin McDonagh
Review:
I have been lucky enough to find a small acting class that has been to restart during the fall! We are being very careful but it's so nice to be at least slightly back in the saddle of the entertainment industry again.
Thus, I am attempting a play-a-day challenge for 4 weeks! You won't see all of them on here (low page count) but hopefully quite a few will qualify.
This is the first McDonagh work that I have read although I believe I saw a university production of The Pillowman (that one's a wild ride!).
I quite enjoyed the script. I'm not sure if there is a word to describe the genre but it provides snapshots of life in 30's Ireland. Geographically-centered maybe?
There is a plot, there is some great character work but the purpose seems to be highlight the lifestyle of this small community. In some ways, it is very reminiscent of Billy Elliot... working class town, not a lot of money, not a lot of happiness, people looking for escape.
The Cripploe of Inishmaan is funny, it's sad, it's charming, it contains irony (both dramatic and otherwise). Well written, well paced. I'm not sure how it would do in a 2020 (ignoring CoVid) North American market but I certainly enjoyed reading it.
+10 Task
+5 Combo 10.2 Scrabble TCOIMM = COT
+10 Review
+10 Not a Novel
Task Total: 35 pts
Grand Total: 100 pts
20.3 ProlificA Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
Review: Ahh this play and I have a long history. My Grade 12 drama teacher absolutely murdered it with a dull and bloody axe for me. I think it was the only thing we worked on/learned about all semester. It was done to death and so I have avoided it over the past decade. One of my acting class mates is doing a scene from it and I thought I would give it another go.
It's still not my favourite BUT I did enjoy the re-read. People often have an opinion of classic American (musical) theatre being "normal" or "boring" but hell there is some pretty wild stuff in here. Also Rogers and Hammerstein's Carousel is both heavy AND weird show. More to be said on that once I've read Lilliom.
Marlon Brando and Vivian Leigh's iconic performances in the film are well remembered. The play is very similar. Stella's character is absolutely fascinating as is the exploration of marriage, love and abuse through the lens of the 1940's.
The language and the writing are both well executed. The characters flawed and mostly dislikable but still somewhat compelling and interesting. Fully faceted, showing our complex psychologies.
+20 Task
+5 Combo 10.2 Scrabble ASNDTW = Sand
+5 Combo 10.7 Non-Fiction
+10 Not a Novel
+10 Review
+5 Oldies
Task Total: 55 pts
Grand Total: 155 pts
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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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Read any book by an author who has earned a living as a journalist.
Libby Copeland is a journalist.
The Lost Family: How DNA Testing Is Uncovering Secrets, Reuniting Relatives, and Upending Who We Are (2020) by Libby Copeland [929.107]
+20 Task
+10 Combo (#10.4(begins:PILGRIM), #10.7 non-fiction that is non-memoir)
+10 Not-a-Novel: non-fiction
Task Total: 20 + 10 + 10 = 40
Grand Total: 175 + 40 = 215