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FA 21 Completed Tasks
20.9 Anniversary The Bishop's Secret by Fergus Hume
20 pts 20.9 Anniversary p. 17 Lolling all day long on a sofa, and taking glasses of champagne between doses of iron and extract of beef; then giving receptions and wearing herself out.
5 pts 20.10 Musical Mysteries. The victim was a violinist
5 pts 10.7 Service. Army Captain George Pendle is a main character
10 pts Review
A late Victorian mystery with an unusual plot device that would have been potentially scandalous if the circumstances actually occurred at the time it was written. A dead man is found and the bishop of the town is acting strangely. While there is not really a detective, several people are involved in trying to figure out what happened including several self serving busy bodies. The book has everything: a murder, true love, backstabbing and gossip. Fun read but it does get a little preachy in parts.
Total task: 40 pts
Total Season: 485 pts.
… 10.2 ... ... ... ... 10.7 ... ... ...
20.1 ... 20.3 ... 20.5 ... 20.7 ... 20.9 20.10
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
20.3 RatingsArabian Nights: More Marvels and Wonders of the Thousand and One Nights, Volume II of II by Jack D. Zipes
I was glad to finally finish this volume. Certainly the Arabian Nights are part of our cultural heritage....from films to other adaptations. BUT.... after having read Volume 1 and then this one, the device of having someone's life spared by their talent for never-ending stories grew tiresome. Also, I had my fill of kings and princesses and ransoms and fantasy beings such as mermen and jinns. I think I would have enjoyed these tales more if I had taken them in in smaller doses. Nevertheless, this is an important historical read and glad I trudged through at the end. I think however I would have preferred the version by Richard Burton which kept all the naughty bits intact.
Task=20
Combo= 5 (10.3-Zipes is a retired professor)
NaN =10 (stories)
1001=10
Review=10
Task Total=55
Grand Total= 135
15.7Sphere by Michael Crichton
+15 task
Task total: 15
Season total: 360
10.1;..;10.3;10.4(x2);..;..;10.7;..;..;..
..;15.2;..;..;15.5;..;15.7;..;15.9;..
..;..;..;20.4;20.5;20.6;..;..;20.9;20.10
15.3 Counting on AuthorsThe House in Charlton Crescent by Annie Haynes
+15 Task (11 letters)
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 735
20.2 Anti-heroSong of Solomon by Toni Morrison
This is the story of Macon Dead Jr known as Milkman, the son of a property developer in the town of Mercy, Michigan, set mostly in the 1960s, but with tendrils stretching back into Macon's past and the lives of his parents and grandparents. While his mother's position is established by her being the only child of the first black doctor in the town, his father and aunt Pilate have a more shadowy background with roots in Virginia. Macon is pulled in many directions by different family members and his best friend, Guitar, with magic also playing a strong part in his life.
Magical realism is not my favourite genre and this book certainly has it, but it grows through the novel, so I didn't find myself putting up walls as I sometimes do. My sympathies shifted from character to character, sometimes for Macon and sometimes against, and this helped to create a sense of many layers to the story.
20.4 Non-linear: Mostly set in the 1960s, but dipping back into times before the main character was born
+20 Task
+25 Combo (10.3 in GR profile, 10.5, 20.3, 20.4, 20.6)
+10 Review
+10 1001 list
Task Total: 65
Season Total: 800
20.1 SeriallyCarnets d'enquête d'un beau gosse nécromant by Jung Jaehan
I added infos in the help thread
+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.2 - Nécromant = who’s practicing necromancy, the practice of black magic allowing to communicate with the dead ; 20.4 - written with several flashbacks)
Task total = 30
Season total = 305
10.1 ; 10.2 ; 10.3 ; … ; … ; 10.6 ; 10.7 ; 10.8 ; 10.9 ; …
… ; … ; … ; 15.4 ; … ; 15.6 ; … ; … ; … ; …
20.1 ; … ; 20.3 (x2) ; 20.4 ; 20.5 ; 20.6 ; … ; … ; 20.9 ; …
15.20Extinction Edge by Nicholas Sansbury Smith
+15 task
Task total: 15
Season total: 375
10.1;..;10.3;10.4(x2);..;..;10.7;..;..;..
..;15.2;..;..;15.5;..;15.7;..;15.9;15.10
..;..;..;20.4;20.5;20.6;..;..;20.9;20.10
20.2Grendel by John Gardner
This was a TBR for me since the late 90s. For some reason, back then this book has a huge display at my local Borders. I was intrigued… but I was also sick to death of Old English literature (well, mainly sick of learning OE grammar and attempting translations) so I skipped this.
I should have read it then, when I would have really dug into it and gotten a lot from it. Young me would have *loved* this.
But I am tired. In print, I just could not. This is a thinking book, a short but slow book, and my current attention span was NOPE. I did much better with this as an audiobook I listened to while knitting. But still, it was just really well-crafted words rather than a plotty escape. I enjoyed it while listening, but it did not stay with me.
This is Serious Literature and I was not in any such mood.
+20 task
+ 10 combo (10.3, 10.5)
+ 10 review
Task total = 40
Season total = 445
10.8 SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard
Most of this book really is about Rome the city. Some reaches into the larger empire, but less than 30%. It's a bit long and it feels it sometimes, but I took a break partway through and it went fine.
I was interested in the cross reference of the literature and written past to the historical records - with the result being that much of how the earlier years are discusses is framed in the understanding of the later. Early Rome would not have recognized itself.
I have been reading Star Wars Mandalorian related things in fanfiction and in websites that combine what is canon to summarize and I was struck by how much, by some path, Lucas had picked up some Roman inspiration. Or maybe just the fanon did. But the book kept reminding me.
I now have a much better understanding of what the Republic and the Empire meant, not that I could tell it to you. I was starting from that vague elementary school knowledge.... And I really appreciated how Beard pulled in information from different sources and put it in context with weighing of bias. Her writing is clear and very readable.
+10 task
+10 review
+10 not a novel
+10 combo (10.3, 10.5)
+5 length (606 pages)
Task total: 45
Grand total: 625
20.4 Non-linearOryx and Crake (MaddAddam #1) by Margaret Atwood
+20 Task
+15 Combo (10.3 - teacher; 10.5 - 139 users; 20.3 - avg. 4.0)
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 1,330
20.7 ExophonicThe Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.6 & 20.5 - born 8 November 1954)
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 1,360
20.1 SeriallyFramley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope
+20 Task
+10 Combo 10.5 (shelved 279 times), 20.3 (rating 4.04)
+5 Jumbo 573 pages
Task Total: 35
Season Total: 795
20.6 AwardedThe Mussel Feast by Birgit Vanderbeke
+20 Task
+5 Combo (20.5 born 1956)
Points this post: 25
RwS total: 125
CoA total: -
Season Total: 125
.... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
.... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
.... .... 20.3 .... 20.5 20.6 .... .... .... ....
10.9 Oxford (Rosemary's Task)To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 by Adam Hochschild
+10 Task (ALL Souls College)
+20 Combo (10.3 "teaches writing at the Graduate School of Journalism", 10.6 Oct 5 1942 - from link to Wiki on Goodreads Bio, 10.7, 20.3 4.12)
+10 Not a Novel
Points this post: 40
RwS total: 165
CoA total: -
Season Total: 165
.... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... 10.9 ....
.... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
.... .... 20.3 .... 20.5 20.6 .... .... .... ....
20.5 BoomerThe Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
This is definitely an epic adventure and ‘bigger than life’. I thought this novel was fantastic in all the meanings – it is well written, and the characters are interesting and you care for and empathize with them. Everything is spot on, including the cover art which is as important as a character in the story. As well as being an ‘adventure’ it is a touching story of people struggling to be their true selves (esp. Clay). I found the sub-plot of Clay and Bacon to be very moving. The way Chabon moved the story along through time was effective and made sense, you could feel/imagine the tension of WW2 and the excitement of being on the leading edge of a new art form (comics). 5*
20 task
10 review
10 1001 books
5 jumbo
10 comb 20.3, 20.6
______
55
Running total: 385
15.8 Counting on Authors The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
I highly recommend the audiobook narrated by Nadia May.
15 task
_____
15
Running total: 400
20.6 AwardsPostcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Díaz
+20 task
+10 not a novel
+5 combo (10.4)
Task total: 35
Grand total: 660
20.8 Gothic (Denise's Task)The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde
+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.5; 10.6)
Task total: 30
Grand total: 690
From Post 374Bucket wrote: "10.9 Oxford
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (Target word: New)
Missed this one in high school somehow...
This is a problematic text (especially the stereotypes of indi..."
+5 Combo 20.2
From Post 412Ann wrote: "10.5
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
This had been on my TBR list forever. I was a very little kid when the movie came out, but I remember being absolu..."
+5 Combo 20.8
From Post 425Karen Michele wrote: "20.3 Ratings
Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
+20 Task
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 585"
+5 Combo 20.6
Denise wrote: "Hi Kate, I am showing that I have 5 points more than the readerboard shows. Maybe the discrepancy is from post 368 where I substituted a different book for task 15.7? The original book I posted was..."Corrected. Should look better now. Thank you for the quick head's up!
From Post 433Deedee wrote: "Task 20.3 Ratings
Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket: Stories (2021) by Hilma Wolitzer
+20 Task
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 365 + 20 = 385"
+10 Not a Novel
20.5 BoomerHour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian
"I have no desire to meet the Devil. Not ever. I have seen too much of His likeness here in Boston, even among the saints."
--Witness testimony of Mary's friend, Constance Winston
Mary Deerfield, an attractive 24-year-old woman with a fine mind, is the daughter of a wealthy English merchant who settled in Boston. Mary's older husband, Thomas, is physically and emotionally abusive, but he commits his cruel acts when there are no witnesses. Mary's father imports some three-pronged forks, but the Puritans consider them "the Devil's tines." In a drunken moment, Thomas plunges a fork through Mary's hand, breaking some of the small bones. Mary fears for her life and files for divorce.
The 1662 court hearing is a sham with the evidence twisted around so it is Mary's behavior which is being scrutinized. Mary is considered to be a disobedient wife. She is also accused of witchcraft by some witnesses. After the divorce trial, life for Mary becomes even more intense and the pace picks up in the second half of the book.
Chris Bohjalian wrote a well-researched book of historical fiction. "Hour of the Witch" shows a woman who has reasons for revenge, but also has a strong conscience. The Puritans explained the unknown by accusing people of possession by the Devil. Crowds of people worked themselves into mass hysteria. The court was just as guilty of mistreating women as Mary's husband. Religion was used as an excuse for cruelty, and exerting control over others. There were attitudes present in 1662 regarding the treatment of women that still exist in certain groups today, so this is a very thought-provoking novel.
+20 task (born 1962)
+10 review
Task total: 30
Season total: 535
20.8 GothicGad's Hall by Norah Lofts
#106 on Best Gothic Books of All Time
+20 Pts - Task
+20 pts - Combo (10.3-https://www.fantasticfiction.com/l/no..., 10.9- Lady Margaret HALL, 20.4 - story told in different time periods starting in modern then going to past Victorian age, 20.9-p116 “ I am happy to be sharing so happy an occasion.’ It was an occasion for champagne.“)
Task Total - 40 pts
Task 15.9 18-19 lettersOnce There Were Wolves (2021) by Charlotte McConaghy (Goodreads Author) (Hardcover, 256 pages)
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 395 + 15 = 410
20.9 AnniversaryLady Killer by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
Well, that was fun….. if you can use that word for a psychological thriller/mystery. The action takes place on a cruise (apparently in the Caribbean). The atmosphere is very noir, and odd or suspicious characters abound. Our heroine is a beautiful blond, so of course no-one takes her particularly seriously when she uncovers danger. The book was written in the early 1940s so there is a small amount of cultural typecasting, but it is not egregious.
Holding was admired by Raymond Chandler, who was her contemporary in the business of writing hard-boiled detective fiction. Unfortunately, she seems to be less well known now. If this novel is representative of her mystery novels she is worth seeking out. 4*
20 task*
10 review
5 combo 10.2
______
35
*at 10%: 'She was pleased to see the steward coming with the champagne cocktails.'
Running total: 435
20.9 Anniversary (Kate S's Task)Murder in a Scottish Garden (A Scottish Shire Mystery #2) by Traci Hall
"Natalya excused herself from the group by the fire, sipping her champagne, her long crimson fingernails shiny." @48%
+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.2 - murder; 20.3 - avg. 4.21)
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 1,390
15.8 16-17 lettersThe Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
+15 task
+5 NAN
Task total: 20
Season total: 345
10.6 BirthdayThe Stand by Stephen King
21 Sept 1947
+10 pts - Task
+35 pts - Combo (10.3 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen...,
10.5, 20.2, 20.3, 20.4, 20.5, 20.8)
+25 pts - Jumbo ( 1152 pages)
Task total - 70 pts
10.6 BirthdayKlara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
"Klara and the Sun" is an unusual book that raises questions about the poetic meaning of the human heart, that "something that makes each of us special and individual." Klara is an Artificial Friend, a robot who is very observant and intelligent, but still has some childlike qualities. Klara, who is solar-powered, thinks of the sun as a life-giving god. Parents can purchase an AF as a companion for their child at a high-end store.
The reader learns about a futuristic society through the eyes of Klara. Many workers are unemployed because they have been replaced by artificial intelligence. In order for their children to compete in this highly selective world, parents can take a risk and have their children genetically "uplifted." Josie, a young teen, chooses Klara to be her Artificial Friend. Josie is not feeling well, and the author presents some possible scenarios that might transpire if she does not recover.
I enjoyed this science fiction novel because author Kazuo Ishiguro raised so many interesting questions about artificial intelligence, futuristic lifestyles, love, loneliness, and what it means to be human. The reader is left to discover their own answers to the questions that the thoughtful novel presents.
+10 task (Born Nov 8, 1954)
+10 combo 20.5 Boomer; 20.7 Exophonie
+10 review
Task total: 30
Season total: 565
10.1 TBRAll the way home: A play in three acts by Tad Mosel
10 pts 10.1 TBR
10 pts Review
10 pts. Not a Novel
Pullitzer Prize winning play about a family facing a tragedy. Mosel deftly shows the love of the extended family and suggests the possible weaknesses and challenges that might underliy the accident. A meditation on when and why death comes. The little boy Rufus is the centerpoint of the play and while the events are not described through his eyes, he does highlight a lack of understanding that exists in all the characters. There is some racist language that is unnecessary for the plot that would likely be cut or rewritten in a modern production of the play with little if any effect on the plot.
Total task: 30 pts
Total Season: 515 pts.
10.1 10.2 ... ... ... ... 10.7 ... ... ...
20.1 ... 20.3 ... 20.5 ... 20.7 ... 20.9 20.10
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
20.3 RatingsSurvival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi (Avg. rating 4.24)
I've read more than a few memoirs and novels about the Holocaust over the years, but this one really stood out. It's a very detailed account of one man's experiences in Auschwitz. Levi is almost clinical in his descriptions of life (and death) in the camp, but not without emotion. His deep dives into the very physical and short-term cares and concerns of the prisoners show very clearly the lack of hope that existed. Then, when moments of hope or even just of humanity appear, it feels like a deep breath after nearly drowning.
Levi's book is about death and survival and the narrow line between. It's about the strange juxtaposition between regimentation and lawlessness that were core features of Auschwitz. And it's about the ways that human-ness can be stolen well before life ends.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-Novel
+10 1001 Books (Under its original title “If This is a Man”)
+5 Combo 10.5 (Shelved 334 times)
Post total: 55
Season total: 515
Claimed to date:
10.1 - 10.3 10.4 - 10.6 10.7 - 10.9 10.10
15.1 – 15.3 - - 15.6 - - - -
- - 20.3(x2) 20.4 - 20.6 - - 20.9 -
15.8 Counting on AuthorsThe Sea Watch by Adrian Tchaikovsky
+15 Task (16-17 letters letters)
+ 5 Over 500 pages
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 835
20.10 - Musical MysteriesDead Beat by Val McDermid
+20 task
+10 Combo (10.2 - dead, 20.5 - 1955)
Task total: 30
Grand total: 580
Counting on Authors - 15.5Dangerous Secrets by Lisa Renee Jones
+15 task - 13 letters
Task total: 15
Grand total: 595
Counting on Authors - 15.6Turbo Twenty-Three by Janet Evanovich
+15 - 14 letters
Task total: 15
Grand total: 610
Counting on Authors - 15.4Family Secrets by Shawn McGuire
+15 task - 12 letters
Task total: 15
Grand total: 625
20.9 - AnniversaryTender Mercies by Kitty Thomas
+20 task - Grace took a sip of the champagne, trying to hide her surprise
Task total: 20
Grand total: 685
Counting on Authors - 15.3Triple Chocolate Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke
+15 task - 11 letters
Task total: 15
Grand total: 700
10.4 T and RBraiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
+10 - Task
+25 - Combo (10.3, 10.10, 20.3, 20.5, 20.6)
+10 - Not a Novel
Task Total - 45 pts
10.6 BirthdayVoice of the Whirlwind by Walter Jon Williams
The emotion in this book was so dry. The main character had emotional upheavals, sure, relating to his ex-wife, his child, his memories of fighting in a war, being tortured, being betrayed etc. But they were all detached, somehow, they didn't feel real. Which was probably an intentional tone for this particular action novel and this particular type of manly hero, but it was a bit disconcerting. Overall, I enjoyed the puzzle of the read, because it was as much a mystery as an action novel, and it held together well, as different events revealed new information. The ending was pretty cool, unexpected, and clever. And yet I don't feel I can really recommend this book to anyone else. It's just so stand-offish.
+10 task - October birthday
+10 review
+10 combo (10.7, 20.5 b1953)
Task total: 30
Grand total: 720
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
Beyond This Point Are Monsters (other topics)Justified Secrets (other topics)
Merciful Secrets (other topics)
Silent Secrets (other topics)
Veiled Secrets (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Margaret Millar (other topics)Shawn McGuire (other topics)
Shawn McGuire (other topics)
Shawn McGuire (other topics)
Shawn McGuire (other topics)
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Last of the Red Hot Lovers by Neil Simon
10 10.7 Service. I didn’t go to college. I went right from the army into the Queen of the Sea.
10 pts Review
10 pts Not a Novel
Very dated. Barney is trying to have an affair because he feels he is missing out on the 1960s. Each of the women seems to be a stereotype and they are all somewhat extreme portrayals. It is hard to care about the characters and their lived experience. The comedy is broad and really not very funny. This is a Pulitzer Prize winner that reflects its time and place. It didn’t age well.
Total task: 30 pts
Total Season: 445 pts.
… 10.2 ... ... ... ... 10.7 ... ... ...
20.1 ... 20.3 ... 20.5 ... 20.7 ... 20.9 20.10
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...