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FA 21 Completed Tasks
20.3 RatingsDeath Blow (Veranda Cruz #3) by Isabella Maldonado
avg. 4.41
+20 Task
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 150
20.4 Non-linearMaybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb
+20 pts - Task
+5. pts - combo (20.3- 4.37 stars)
+10 pts - Not a Novel
Task Total - 35 pts
15.5 CoA 13 lettersMiracle on Buffalo Pass: Rocky Mountain Airways Flight 217 by Harrison Jones
+15 task
+5 NAN
Task total: 20
Season total: 75
Edited because initially posted with the wrong task number
20.9 AnniversaryMurder and Mendelssohn by Kerry Greenwood
14% through "Phryne drank more champagne. It was fine to be alive."
This book was fun for the characters and not so much for the mystery. I mean, there were deaths in there, and investigations were happening, but the real draw of the book was the highly accomplished and free spirited Phyrne (who had been an ambulance driver in WWI) helping her old companion John Wilson (cough, Watson) (who had been a medic in WWI) get together with his dear friend Sheffield, who is explicitly referred to as a being a real life Sherlock Holmes and comes with a personality and appearance more like the modern BBC depiction. This book was so much like fanfic. Well done M rated fanfic, with self-indulgent little rambles, interesting side characters and a romance hijacking the plot. The mysteries do get resolved, so that is good. The music is throughout the book, from beginning to end and some of the singing and commentary is part of that self -indulgent feel. The author was clearly happy to be writing this book and has some great little notes at the end.
+20 task
+10 review
+20 combo (20.10, 20.5 born 1954, 10.7, 10.2)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerry... for bday
Task total: 50
Grand total: 120
20.3 RatingsKilling Grounds by Dana Stabenow
+20 Task (rating 4.16)
+10 Combo 10.2, 20.5 (born 1961)
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 85
20.9 Anniversary (Kate S's Task)Murder at the Dolphin Hotel (Miss Underhay #1) by Helena Dixon
"Kitty took a fortyfying sip of champagne." @42%
+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.2 - murder; 20.3 - avg 4.02)
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 180
10.5 ClassicsLittle Birds by Anaïs Nin
+10 Task (shelved as "Classics" 118 times)
+10 Not-a-Novel
Task total: 20
Season total: 95
20.6 AwardedMortal Engines by Philip Reeve
Lexile 990
In a future world, long after the devastation of modern civilisation, towns and cities have become mobile, roaming the lands in search of fuel by preying on smaller entities. Apprentice Tom is flung from his home into the static outside world after he prevents a disfigured girl from killing his chief. His later adventures call into question everything he has believed in.
This steampunk-style YA story has a lot to offer. There is also a lot of bloodshed and death, some of it coming as a shock. Most of the strongest characters are women or girls, which was refreshing. Altogether a solid 4 stars.
+20 Task (Nestlé Smarties Book Prize and Seiun Award for Best Translated Long Form)
+ 5 Combo (10.2 mortal)
+10 Review
Task Total: 35
Season Total: 55
20.4 Non-linearSilence Is My Mother Tongue by Sulaiman Addonia
I did not expect the reading experience I got here. This novel is fascinating - characters, structure, plot, all of it.
Saba is a beautiful character, sometimes wise beyond her years and sometimes terribly unknowing. She's smart and sensitive, and takes care of everyone she feels empathy for. Her brother above all, but also friends and fellow refugees who are outsiders in ways large and small.
There are really tragic and brutally violent moments, including sexual violence and coercion. Addonia is deft - he doesn't shy away from the details but he also doesn't overwhelm with them or create drama for drama's sake. It's brutal truth, but it's truth, and no more.
NON-LINEAR STRUCTURE: The structure was interesting and includes several experiments. They don't all work, but they are all interesting. We start at the end, then go back to the beginning. The bulk of the rest is linear, but with several events (mostly those of violence, including a near circumcision) mentioned in a quick sentence in their linear sequence, then told in real visual detail in a later chapter. It felt as though we saw key events in Saba's life only when she was old enough and ready to come to terms with them. I thought this smartly done, and like that Addonia didn't overuse it.
+20 Task
+10 Review
Post total: 30
Season total: 30
Claimed to date:
- - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - -
- - - 20.4 - - - - - -
10.10 Group ReadsKim: Call Your Daughter Home by Deb Spera
+10 task
+5 Combo (20.3 - 4.27)
Task total: 15
Season total: 15
10.9 OxfordOur Story Begins: New and Selected Stories by Tobias Wolff
+10 Task (new)
+ 10 Combo 10.3 (teaches at Stanford), 20.3 (rating 4.15)
+10 Not-a-Novel (short stories)
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 115
10.3 Back to schoolAct of Faith by Kelly Gardiner
No Lexile
+10 Task (teaches at La Trobe University)
Task Total: 10
Season Total: 125
10.4 Truth and ReconciliationJonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead
This was so good, powerful, and harsh but beautifully written. Whitehead is another fresh contemporary urban Indigenous voice, who I think is one to watch (the other being Tommy Orange). Whitehead identifies as Two-Spirt/Indigiqueer and his protagonist is the same, so the voice is very authentic. The story (which on the face of it is small, but expands greatly in the telling) is told in a non-linear fashion, which I found slightly confusing a couple of times. Jonny is living in Winnipeg as a young adult and reflecting on various experiences (from his childhood and his time in Winnipeg) before going back to the ‘rez’ for a funeral. Real life Winnipeg is not a good place for Indigenous people, so I have to admit I was always worried something really bad would happen to them (but it doesn’t). Some readers may be put off by the fact that Jonny is a sex worker, but this emotionally complex story definitely worth reading. 4.5*
10 task
10 review
10 combo 20.3 (4.0 as of Sept. 8), 20.4
____
30
Running total: 90
15.3 Counting on AuthorsThe Divine Fire by May Sinclair
+15 Task (11 letters)
+ 5 Jumbo (528 pgs)
Task toal = 20 (first post of the season)
10.4 Truth and ReconciliationThat Deadman Dance by Kim Scott
+10 Task
+20 Combo 10.2, 10.3, 20.5, 20.6 – 8 awards!
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 155
15.5 Counting on AuthorsTwo Caravans by Marina Lewycka
+15 Task (13 letters)
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 195
10.5 ClassicsThe Napoleon of Notting Hill by G.K. Chesterton
+10 Task shelved 106 times
+5 Combo 20.9 p51…the King, in the course of his researches into a bottle of champagne…
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 170
10.9 OxfordThe New Girl by Kid Toussaint
New College
+10 Task
(No combo, graphic novel)
Task total = 10
Season total = 60
… ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; 10.8 ; 10.9 ; …
… ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; …
… ; … ; 20.3 (x2) ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; …
10.3 Back to SchoolThe Ghost Writer by John Harwood
See his response to the first question interviewer asks - http://www.societynineteenjournal.com...
+10 pts - Task
+15 pts - Combo (20.5- http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/H_A... , 20.6 - 2004 International Horror Guild Award for First Novel https://horroraward.org/prevrec.html#... and 2004 Dracula Society Children of the Night Award http://www.thedraculasociety.org.uk/t...- #43 on Best Gothic list )
Task Total - 25 pts
20.3 Ratings The Mousetrap and Other Plays by Agatha Christie. 4.03 rating.
Style Points =
Not-a-novel. Play collection = 10 pts.
Jumbo. 705 pp = 10 pts.
Previous Points: 45
Task Points: 40
Season Total: 85
20.3 - RatingLet Me Go by Willow Rose
+20 task- 4.32 rating
+5 Combo (20.9 - Liam sipped his champagne)
Task total: 25
Grand total: 105
Task 20.5 BoomerRead a book written by an author born 1946-1964.
I checked viaf.org to get the birth year of David Michie (author of The Dalai Lama's Cat) - birth year is not listed here on goodreads - here's the viaf.org link:
https://viaf.org/viaf/60881755/#Michi...
He was born in 1962.
The Dalai Lama's Cat (The Dalai Lama's Cat #1) (2012) by David Michie
Review: This novel is told from the point-of-view of the Dalai Lama’s cat. Our narrator is saved from certain death by the Dalai Lama when she was a few days old. The novel is set in north India, at the temple where the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan monks fled to after China forced them out of Tibet. (Historically true, and the sympathies in the novel are completely with the Buddhists.) Author David Michie weaves standard Buddhist beliefs into the narrative. The first half of the novel was mainly story, introducing characters and settings. The second half was mainly Buddhist teachings, revealed through vignettes involving our feline narrator, aimed at people (like me) who have minimal knowledge of Buddhism.
+20 Task
+05 Combo (#20.3 rating > 4.0)
+10 Review
Task Total: 20 + 05 +10 = 35
Grand Total: 70 + 35 = 105
Post 71 Rebekah wrote: "10.3 Back to SchoolThe Ghost Writer by John Harwood
See his response to the first question interviewer asks - http://www.societynineteenjournal.com......"
I'm sorry, Rebekah, no combo for 20.6 Awarded. As per instructions in the help thread, awards must appear on the GR book page.
20.2 Anti-heroThe Shining by Stephen King
No wonder Stephen King was less-than-impressed with Kubrick's effort...the book is SOOOOOO much better!!
I was not expecting this, but this was THE BEST haunted "house" story I've ever read. The movie made it seem like the story was about a man's descent into madness; the book makes it very clear that the Overlook is the sinister force acting against the Torrance family. Of course the Overlook's power is a metaphor for alcoholism, but that's the beauty of a book, the layers of meaning are endless...
I could only read during the day because it was that scary for me.
(And damn the casting agents for the film: Shelley Duvall was disastrous in that film. I was glad to meet the book's Wendy Torrance, a woman I could understand and respect).
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 1001
+5 Jumbo (659 pages)
+35 Combo: 10.5--shelved as "Classics" 1,395 times; 10.6--Sept. 21; 10.7--Mr. Halloran is a US Army vet; 20.3--4.24 average rating; 20.4--bounces between past and present; 20.5--1947; 20.8
Task total: 80
Season total: 175
20.7 ExophonicNight of January 16th by Ayn Rand
Review:
I have never read Rand before. I do have an imagining of what it might be like and this play does not fit that. It was a charming little piece of melodrama that I think would be so fun to put up now! The reviews on Goodreads are mixed, it seems some people thought it was an utter waste of time but to me, it has the noir period feel of The Maltese Falcon mixed in with an immersive board game and a splash each of Dial M for Murder and Deathtrap. Given that it's Rand I am sure she had some deeper themes in mind: the nature of truth, capitalism, individualism etc... However, I could easily see this as a fun night out at a dinner theatre complete with period costumes and audience participation. Might not be everyone's cup of tea but I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon reading this play.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not a Novel
Task Total: 40 pts
Grand Total: 40 pts
10.5 Classics (Ed's Task)Solaris by Stanisław Lem
+10 Task
+ 5 Combo: 10.6 Birthday
+10 1001
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 105
20.9 Anniversary (Kate S's Task)Real Life by Brandon Taylor
+20 Task p327
Golden bubbles rippled up to the champagne's surface. He lifted his cup, too.
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 125
15.5 Counting on AuthorsMrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle by Dorothy Gilman
15 task
____
15
Running total: 105
10.9 Oxford (Rosemary's Task)Murder at Enderley Hall (Miss Underhay #2) by Helena Dixon
word in title, HALL, found in Lady Margaret Hall
+10 Task
+10 Combo (10.2 - murder; 20.3 - avg 4.18)
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 215
20.9 AnniversaryDeath in Daylesford by Kerry Greenwood
+20 Task p315 The members of the household gathered, and each accepted a glass of champagne
+10 Combo 10.2 – death, 20.5 born 1954 (from group spreadsheet)
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 200
20.9 AnniversaryHappy Anniversary, Kate!
The Lost Vintage by Ann Mah
Page 72: "Sitting on the floor, drinking Champagne, talking about our plans for the future."
Kate, a sommelier, is staying with her cousin Nico's family in Meursault, France while she's studying for the difficult Master of Wine test. She has not been back to the vineyard since she broke off a serious relationship with their neighbor around ten years ago. Kate volunteers to help with the harvest of the grapes. She also helps her best friend, Nico's wife, clean out their cellar storage area. They find World War II-era items belonging to Kate's great half-aunt Helene, as well as some valuable items in a secret hiding place.
Kate's uncle is unwilling to talk about Helene or World War II. There is conflicting evidence so Helene's descendants don't know if the family was involved in the Resistance, or if they were collaborators with the Germans during the Occupation. The missing pieces to the puzzle are found when they locate Helene's diary.
"The Lost Vintage" is a wonderful family saga with a contemporary 2015 timeline, flashbacks to a romance around 2005, and my favorite--Helene's 1940-44 timeline from the war years. The history of the Occupation with some people helping the Resistance, and others collaborating with the Germans was terrifying for those who lived through it. After the Liberation, many women who had relationships with German officers were excessively held up to public shaming and barbaric treatment, but sometimes their only other choice was to let their children starve. Helene wrote, "The most enthusiastic persecutors were the war's most spineless cowards--traitors, informers, racketeers--hoping to expunge their record by pouncing upon this most convenient scapegoat."
Author Ann Mah is also a food and travel writer. She included great descriptions of wine-making, French food, the Burgundy region of France, and the prestigious Master of Wine designation. "The Lost Vintage" is even more enjoyable if you pour a glass of your favorite wine.
+20 task
+15 combo 10.8 Mediterranean (France); 20.3 Ratings (4.03); 20.4 Non-Linear (Back and forth through the years 2015, 2005, and 1940-44)
+10 review
Task total: 45
Season total: 165
15.1 Counting on AuthorsBlack Water Sister by Zen Cho
+15 Task (9 or fewer letters)
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 230
20.9 AnniversaryThe Children's Book by A.S. Byatt
From chapter 42: “He had a sweetly uncertain look about him. He was drinking champagne as though it was lemonade.”
Review: This is a lot -- too much really. There are too many characters, so that many (most?) go less-than-fully explored. There is too much detail about the historical context (art, literature, politics, social custom) that distracts from the narrative. The plot is thick, threads are dropped and picked up over and over and only messily woven together at times.
BUT I still loved it. I loved the sprawl of it, the mess of it, the overwhelm of it. I love the imagination in the children's stories. I love the insertions of French and German. I love the mix of history (and real historical figures) with the invented characters. I love the way most of the book is infused with both magical child-like wonder and sinister darkness all at once. It's Grimm-esque.
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.7 Many of the MCs serve as soldiers, medics or nurses in WW1 including Julian Cain, Philip Warren, Dorothy Wellwood, and more)
+10 Review
+10 1001 Books
+5 Jumbo (675 pages)
Post total: 50
Season total: 80
Claimed to date:
- - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - -
- - - 20.4 - - - - 20.9 -
15.1 COAFortune and Glory: Tantalizing Twenty-Sevenby Janet Evanovich
Task +15 (15 letters)
Grand Total: 35
Message 54 should be 15.5. Apologies.I have edited it in case you haven’t counted it yet.
20.8 GothicThe Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde
+20 task (# 35 on Best Books to Read for Halloween)
+10 combo 10.5 Classic (listed 2,042 times); 10.6 Birthday (Oct 16)
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 195
20.9 AnniversaryThe Siberian Dilemma by Martin Cruz Smith
20 pts 20.9 Anniversary P. 3. “The bear was a towering beast but his customary roar was weakened by alcohol. His mate, Masha, sat on her rump, a half-empty bottle of cham pagne pressed to her breast. A plaque on the zoo guardrail read, ‘Sasha and Masha, American Brown Bear’. . . . “
5 pts 10.4 Truth and Reconciliation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_...
5 pts 10.6 Birthday
10 pts Review
Good read but nowhere near as well done as the earlier Arkady Renko mysteries. In this installment Renko travels to Siberia and becomes involved in a turf war between two oligarchs. The supporting characters (especially Bolot) are entertaining but Renko himself seems to be much more one dimensional. There is not much of a reason to become engaged with him and feel that his solving the mystery is important. All of the challenges are quickly dealt with without a sense of suspense. Quick read but I wouldn’t be rushing to read another installment of this series
Total task: 40 pts
Total Season: 70 pts.
… ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ... 20.5 ... ... ... 20.9 ...
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20.3 RatingsMurder at the Playhouse (Miss Underhay #3) by Helena Dixon
avg. 4.27
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.2 - murder)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 255
10.7 Service (Anika's Task)61 Hours (Jack Reacher #14) by Lee Child
reference to military service
+10 Task
+15 Combo (10.6 - October; 20.3 - avg 4.10; 20.5 - 1954)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 280
20.3 RatingsMurder on the Dance Floor (Miss Underhay #4) by Helena Dixon
avg. 4.33
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.2 - murder)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 305
Post 94 Tien wrote: "20.3 RatingsMurder on the Dance Floor (Miss Underhay #4) by Helena Dixon
avg. 4.33
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.2 - murder)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 305"
This is the same book as in Post 92. Did you mean to link a different book?
20.4 Non-linearThe Names of the Dead by Stewart O'Nan
+20 Task (alternates between MC's life in 1982 and his experiences in Viet Nam in 1968)
+25 Combo (10.2, 10.3-msg #11 in task thread), 10.7, 20.5-1961, 20.9-"The old man's in tails, waving a bottle of champagne around.")
Task total=45
Season total=45
20.3 RatingsExit Strategy by Martha Wells
Another delightful addition to the Murderbot series. Murderbot delivers the evidence of GreyCris’s evil doing and saves some humans who may be “friends”. It tries to deal with the feelings that surface. There is a lot of action, peril and some introspection. It is great fun to pick out the little clues to this world that Wells puts in.
+20 task
+5 combo 20.5
+10 review
Task total: 35
Season total: 110
15.1 Counting on AuthorsSummer by Ali Smith
+15 Task (9 or fewer letters / 8 )
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 140
20.3 RatingsThe Twelve Clues of Christmas by Rhys Bowen
Well, not a single glass of Champagne was quaffed (I was hoping this would fit that task). Nonetheless, this was a fun mystery. I quite like this series, and it is a ‘cozy’ even though lots of people were bumped off! I think Bowen laid the mystery out well, I didn’t figure out who might be the bad guy(s) until she revealed it. The premise was clever. This mystery (and most of the series) takes place before WW2, so there is the mix of the post-War crash and the bright young things of the 30s which works well in Bowen’s hands. 4.5*
20 task
10 review
_____
30
Running total: 135
10.5 ClassicsPan by Knut Hamsun
230 users tagged
I do not understand this book. Man who should have stayed in touch with nature destroyed by how he treats women? Perhaps. The parts where the man is hunting or out in the woods are the best. the language is lyrical. The parts describing how people are acting are frustrating and many things have no apparent reason and other things are not explicitly stated and easy to miss. I guess I can understand why some readers praise the "emotional cycle" and how it is depicted but I just didn't like it most of the time. I don't want to try to interpret underlying themes. The main character is a military Lieutenant of some sort, either retired or on a year long leave, and essentially a young man and probably an unreliable narrator.
+10 task
+10 review
+5 combo (10.7)
Task total: 25
Grand total: 145
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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)
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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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Kim wrote: "10.4 Truth and Reconciliation (Valerie's Task)
The Seed Keeper. Diane Wilson
5.0 stars - I loved this book. It was thoughtfully written, told a sad but hopeful s..."
+5 Combo 20.5