Reading with Style discussion
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FA 21 Completed Tasks
10.6 BirthdayA Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
+10 Task
+10 Combo 10.8 Egypt, 20.3 rating 4.26
Task Total: 20
Season Total: 400
20.3 RatingsThe Pet and His Duke by Beryll Brackhaus
A romance novel set in a pseudo-Roman imperial world (slavery included) but with space and assorted aliens. The protagonists are a young warrior duke, Thomar, who wanted an experienced (older) companion as his pet, a legally recognized specific type of slave, and got Robert. More erotic than a stereotypical romance novel (although with less painful word choice) and in a setting that won't be comfortable for everyone, but not full out erotica. It is episodic with a satisfying emotional arc of the main characters deepening relationship and the growing independence and sense of selfhood that Robert develops as he accepts that his new owner actually wants him to be a real person. I enjoyed it and was highly amused because I realized I had actually read a small percentage of it years before when it had been posted on a fanfiction site.
+20 task
+10 review
Task total: 30
Grand total: 335
Task 10.4 Truth and Reconciliation Read a book by an Indigenous (to their own country/continent) author.
According to goodreads biography:
Waubgeshig Rice is an author and journalist originally from Wasauksing First Nation.
Moon of the Crusted Snow (2018) by Waubgeshig Rice (male)
Review: Moon of the Crusted Snow is a post-apocalyptic novel. The reader never finds out why the modern world collapsed. Instead, our heroes, members of the Anishinaabe tribe who live on a reservation in the far north of Canada, experience the aftereffects of the collapse of civilization in “the South”. No phones, and then no TV and no radio, and finally no power. The trucks delivering groceries don’t come. The members of the reservation have to adjust to life without the items that make modern life so comfortable. The tribal members who have maintained tribal traditions are better equipped to deal with the changes than those who rely on grocery stores and electrically-powered devices.
The writing is clear and straightforward. Each character can be described by one or two words – no nuances here! Conflicts between characters are quickly resolved as all energy needs to be directed at survival. Additionally, the story is told in a strictly linear style -- everything is focused on: what happens next.
I would shelve this novel as “New Adult”.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 10 + 10 = 20
Grand Total: 240 + 20 = 260
15.5 Counting on AuthorsRemote Control by Nnedi Okorafor
+15 Task (13 letters)
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 415
20.3 - RatingsAnxious People by Fredrik Backman
🍁 4.23 🍁
+20 task
+ 5 combo [20.4 - nonlinear - the story goes back and forth through time, telling each character's backstory and how they ended up in the apartment, gradually revealing how the locked room mystery was carried out]
Task total: 25
Season total: 240
10.4 - Truth and Reconciliation (Valerie's Task)The Things She's Seen by Ambelin Kwaymullina
YA: 590L - no style points
+10 task
Task total: 10
Season total: 250
20.9Beneath the Rising by Premee Mohamed
“Could be that award banquet she called me from, squiffed on champagne.”
Unfortunately this was a slog for me. I bumped it up to 3 stars because I felt bad giving it 2. It’s not a bad book, just very meh. I expected horror and this did not deliver. I mean yeah, there is cosmic freakiness, but this wasn’t scary in a horror-genre way.
Now, that isn’t a terrible thing; while I was in the mood for a supernatural creepfest the book is more concerned with real, human problems and threats. The Big Bad is not really tentacled monsters from beyond, but White Savior Bullshit, and that is interesting. Sadly, the characters never managed to draw me in, and the pacing was slow. Good ideas but meh execution for me.
This book did not make me feel anything for the main characters; it did not transport me into weird world, it did not scare me. I wanted to like it more than I did.
+20 task
+10 review
Task total = 30
Season total = 280
20.3 RatingsSaga, Vol. 4 by Brian K. Vaughan
Graphic novel, no styles
+20 Task
Task Total: 20
Season Total: 265
10.6 Birthday (Tien's Task)Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
+10 Task
Post Total: 10
Season Total: 345
20.4 Non-linearThe Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
+20 Task
+ 5 Combo: 20.3 Ratings
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 370
20.8 Gothic (Denise's Task)Lair of the White Worm by Bram Stoker
+20 Task
+10 Combo: 10.5 Classics / 10.6 Birthday
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 400
20.5 BoomerFugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells
I think the Murderbot books just keep getting better and better! As our SecUnit continues to provide security for Dr. Mensha, a dead human victim turns up on Preservation Station. Dr. Mensha forces SecUnit onto the investigation team trying to find who did it. Murderbot is somewhat hamstrung by the agreement it has made not to access many of the security systems on the station. Well darn! The next book in the series isn’t out yet.
+20 task
+10 review
+5 combo 20.3
Task total: 35
Season total: 285
15.1You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!: A Self-Help Book for Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder by Kate Kelly
+15 task
+5 not a novel
Task total: 20
Grand total: 355
10.4 reconciliationThe Dance House: Stories from Rosebud by Joseph M. Marshall III
This book had both fictional short stories and pieces that were memoir essays. All were well done, written in straightforward language, often with lyrical word choice. Some were complicated, related to interactions with white men and thr titular story was one of those, carefully hiding how the tribe was building a new dance house with a combination of planning, distraction, and evoking emotion, just in case the tearing down of the old was not a relatively simple matter of a white man wanting money and land, but also a deliberate action the culture. Others were straightforward like a boy making it home with his horse through the snow. The essay that struck me the most was the one examining the white tendency to think they knew Indians - by reading only books other white people had written. And Marshall pulled apart miconceptions and ideas in two books considered important.
+10 task
+10 not a novel
+10 review
+10 combo (10.3, 20.3)
Task total: 40
Grand total: 395
20.9 Anniversary (Kate S's Task)The Raffles Affair by Vicki Virtue
"Nick drained the remaining champagne in his flute." p.30
Review
I'm always up for a good whodunnit mystery and being set in The Raffles (Singapore) seems like an absolutely divinely glamourous way to travel from my comfy sofa. Even if I'm not a fan of humidity, it did not disappoint with all the gorgeous description of the décor and the delicious food spread. With an easily likeable protagonist and an engaging mystery, my evening flew by without me noticing the time.
To begin with, however, I struggled mightily with the number of characters. Trying to remember who's who and how they are connected to the bride/bridgeroom to be was a nightmare. Even at the end, at the unveiling of the villain, I still had to stop for a few seconds to recall how this person fits in this set of characters. At this stage (third month of lockdown), I really don't know whether it's just too many characters or it's my mindset / lack of focus these past few weeks.
About a third of the way, as I sort of got the hang of who's who and as they mystery begins to develop, I was really drawn into trying to puzzle it out. I failed; soooo did not pick that character at all. Our protagonist, Victoria West, is in every essence a modern intelligent woman who can take care of herself. She also likes to dress well and in all this, she reminds me very much of Miss Phryne Fisher. Unlike Miss Fisher, however, Miss West did not have any kind of dalliance in this novel.
There was one thing that I had a good laugh at is how she ate rambutan by using a sharp knife to cut through the skin. This Asian gal would just use her nail and pierce that thick skin to get to the juicy bit. Granted, it's a lot messier but that is the delight of rambutan.
The Raffles Affair definitely has all the markings of a golden age whodunnit reminiscent of those of Agatha Christie's with moneyed cast of characters, a focus on human nature and their unending greed, a Poirot-esque denouement and ending with an air of tragic triumph.
+20 Task
+10 Review
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 955
15.3 Counting on AuthorsThe Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo
+15 Task (11 letters)
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 970
20.5 BoomerThe Trials of Koli by M.R. Carey
+20 Task born 1959
+5 Combo 20.3 rating 4.30
Task Total: 25
Season Total: 440
20.6 AwardedRiot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi
+20 Task World fantasy award, ALA Alex award
+5 Combo 10.6
Task Total: 25
Season Total: 465
20.3 RatingsI Hear the Sirens in the Street (Detective Sean Duffy #2) by Adrian McKinty
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.3 - as per author's GR profile)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 995
10.3 Back to SchoolReal Oxford by Patrick McGuinness
A walking exploration of the city that avoids the university. I now have two books like this, both gifts (the other is Isolarion: A Different Oxford Journey). I've enjoyed them both, and this one in particular explores some parts of the city that I don't know well.
There's no map, and you'd have to be a delivery or taxi driver to know all the streets he mentions, so I think a map would have been a useful addition. I've lived here over 25 years and I could follow most of it in my head, but I had to Google once or twice.
Of course there are things I thought he should have included and didn't - it's a very personal journey, and one that focuses heavily on industrial architecture. But then if it didn't have that bias, it wouldn't be showing me things I didn't already know, and it succeeds in doing that, as well as giving me a new perspective on things I pass without ever thinking about.
Recommended for people who have spent at least a few months in Oxford, either currently or in the past.
+10 Task (GR profile, "teaching French and Comparative Literature")
+ 5 Combo (20.3)
+10 Review
+10 Not a novel
Task Total: 35
Season Total: 300
20.3 RatingsHow Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease by Michael Greger
In this book Dr Greger points to a plant-based diet as the cure for all the body's ills, from diabetes and cancer to depression. He brings up a lot of evidence regarding particular diseases, but his thrust is that the more vegetables we eat, the better (which as he says, is not at all controversial) but that we should also minimise or preferably eliminate animal products and factory-produced foods (a little more controversial).
I'm giving this 5 stars for now, although very aware I've probably also given 5 stars to books that promote the opposite type of diet (palaeo or low carb) in the past. I often do this with books about food that I later find to have been one-sided or over-optimistic. But that's my problem, not the books'. This one does an excellent job of being both convincing and motivating, and it's convinced me to at least try a plant-based diet (which he doesn't call 'vegan' because this isn't about the ethical and non-food aspects of veganism).
+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.2 'die', 10.6 I posted link in the help thread https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael... )
+10 Review
+10 Not a novel
+ 5 Jumbo (576, but it would be less than 500 without the notes, pls let me know if this doesn't count)
Task Total: 55
Season Total: 355
Post 273 Rosemary wrote: "20.3 RatingsHow Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease by Michael Greger
+ 5 Jumbo (576, but it would be less than 500 without the notes, pls let me know if this doesn't count)"
Yes, it does! GR counts notes, indices, acknowledgements, "about the author" at the end, even if you don't read them.
20.5 - BoomerStork Raving Mad by Donna Andrews
🍁 1952 - on Authors We Have Read list 🍁
+20 task
+ 5 combo (20.3 - 4.08)
Task total: 25
Season total: 275
10.5 - ClassicsThe Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Classics - 15307 times
Task : 10
Bonus: Bookshelf - 10
Combo- 5 (20.6)
Post total -25
Season total: 105
10.7 - ServiceThe Forever War
Task: 10
Combo: 15 (20.6,10.5 ( 220 times, 20.3- 4.13 rating)
Post total: 25
Season total: 130
10.7 ServiceThy Children's Children by Diana Ross McCain
"Thy Children's Children" is a historical novel based on the lives of multiple generations of the Lyman family in Connecticut. John Lyman was courting Hope Hawley in 1738, and the married couple bought land for a small farm in Middlefield three years later. This would grow to be today's complex of Lyman's Orchard, a farm shop, and several golf courses. The novel follows the history of the family from 1738-1871 with a brief epilogue about modern times.
Author Diana Ross McCain is a historian who included major historical events in this compelling story. Elihu and Phineas Lyman fought in the Revolutionary War. William Lyman spoke up against slavery, and his home was part of the Underground Railroad network. David Lyman was an entrepreneur who founded a company that produced washing machines and wringers. He was also instrumental in bringing a railroad across Connecticut, connecting the state with Boston and New York City. Through it all, operations on the family farm continued.
The Lymans had large families, but had to support each other through the sadness of early deaths before the era of modern medicine. Their strong faith helped them through sorrowful times. The work of the strong, intelligent Lyman women was also important to the Lyman family's success. Some family members traveled westward for new opportunities, but faced dangerous conditions. The family honored their relatives by naming their children after their loved ones. So this 634 book is best read over a few weeks since their are multiple Johns, Davids, Elihus, Esters, etc to keep straight in your mind.
"Thy Children's Children" was an engaging historical novel. The story was even more poignant since I knew it was based on people who lived around twenty miles away from me. It made me wonder what choices my family would have made if we were living in earlier times.
+10 task (Elihu and Phineas Lyman served in the Revolutionary War)
+ 5 combo 20.3 Ratings (4.00 locked in help thread)
+10 review
+ 5 jumbo (634 pages)
Task total: 30
Season total: 345
20.1 SerialAutobiography of a Pocket Handkerchief by James Fenimore Cooper
20 pts 20.1 Serial
5 pts 10.6 Birthday
10 pts Review
This novel is written in the first person and describes French and American society from the point of view of a very elaborate handkerchief. Using the format of an autobiography, the novel begins with the handkerchief’s “childhood” in a flax field and continues thru to a happy ending. Cleverly, Cooper establishes the political views of handkerchiefs ( liberal or conservative depending on whether they are made from the left or right edge of the puece of cloth). Through a number of owners, the handkerchiefs adventures are structured to allow Cooper to comment on the inequities of society and the injustices faced by the less affluent.
I enjoyed the book but it may seem to be a dated novel to some readers. Just a little quirky!
Total task: 35 pts
Total Season: 305 pts.
… 10.2 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
20.1 ... 20.3 ... 20.5 ... 20.7 ... 20.9 20.10
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
10.10 Group ReadsBraiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. Robin Wall Kimmerer. 9.28.21
3.5/5.0 - It's hard for me to review this book. I am surprised at how high a rating it has after >39K people have read it. I'm not saying that it's bad, just that it might be the highest rated book (4.56) I've read (with that many ratings). What I liked: the philosophy of the indigenous people, their history, stories about the plants and the respect for the earth. What I didn't care for was the way the book jumped around, both in subject matter and timeline.
Compared to The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson, this book had more plant lore - that part was fascinating, but The Seed Keeper told a similar story in a more readable manner. True, Braiding Sweetgrass is a non-fiction book, but The Seed Keeper is the one I will remember longer and moved me more. Both books told of the tragedy of children removed from their families and their cultures and the long term effect it had on their people, and also the indigenous philosophy of honoring and stewarding the land.
This author will be speaking at the Writers Forum at Brockport in October, and this title is the October reading for the college book club, so I expect there will be some good discussions forthcoming.
+10 - task
+10 - Review
+25 - combo (10.3, 10.4, 20.3, 20.5: 1953, 20.6: Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award (2013), Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers Award for Nonfiction (2015))
+10 - Not a novel
Total task: 55
Total Season: 230 pts.
… ... 10.3 10.4 10.5 ... ... ... ... 10.10
... ... ... ... .... ... ... ... ... ...
... 20.2 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
20.3 RatingsThe Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
+20 Task (ave rating 4.32)
+15 Combo (10.5, 10.7, 20.5)
+20 Jumbo
Points this post: 55
RwS total: 55
CoA total: -
Season Total: 55
.... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
.... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
.... .... 20.3 .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
15.1 Counting on Authors.9 or fewer letters
Kanthapura by RAJA RAO
Previous Points: 175
Task Points: 15
Season Total: 190
15.2 Counting on Authors.10 letters
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Previous Points: 190
Task Points: 15
Season Total: 205
15.3 Counting on Authors11 letters
Her Silhouette, Drawn in Water by Vylar Kaftan
Previous Points: 205
Task Points: 15
Season Total: 220
15.9 Counting on Authors18-19 letters
Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente
Previous Points: 205
Task Points: 15
Season Total: 235
10.6 BirthdayDead on Arrival by Matt Richtel
I wouldn't normally give this one a second glance: the cover is so pulpy, the title so meh, not my normal cup of tea. BUT the first sentence in the summary I read on my library website stated: "Michael Chrichton meets Stephen King" and I was sold. I was in the mood for something creepy...
A plane lands in Steamboat Springs, CO, but something is going on with the communications on the plane because they can't reach anyone at ATC...
This was creepy and bizarre and the social commentary that was woven throughout was a little too close for comfort: I enjoyed it. It was a little bit Misery, a little bit Silicon Valley gone terrifyingly awry, a little bit S1E1 The Walking Dead (at least atmospherically speaking).
+10 Task (2 Oct 1966)
+10 Review
+10 Combo: 10.2 "Dead", 20.4
Task total: 30
Season total: 445
Task 20.6 Awarded2 or more awards
Hugo Award for Best Novella (2019)
Locus Award for Novella (2019)
For Combo #20.5 Boomer
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_...
(born September 1, 1964)
Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries #2) (2018) by Martha Wells
+20 Task
+10 Combo (#20.3 Ratings > 4.0, #20.5 Boomer)
Task Total: 20 + 10 = 30
Grand Total: 260 + 30 = 290
20.3 Ratings2 Sisters Detective Agency by James Patterson & Candice Fox
avg. 4.57
Review
Truth to tell, I haven't been reading much of James Patterson's books as I just haven't been interested in any of them BUT when it comes to Candice Fox, well, I've just GOT to. Her name is like a siren call to me, "Read Me!". 2 Sisters Detective Agency has got the Patterson's hallmark of short chapter bursts and Fox's offbeat cast of characters which made the book to be a very entertaining page turner.
The book description is rather succinct and yet, the book is so much more. There were so many interesting characters and there were just so much packed into this 352 pager that I'm finding myself at a lost on how to describe it. The story wasn't just told from Rhonda's or Baby's views but a number of others as well. With that consideration, I'm so surprised that I wasn't troubled or confused with keeping up with who's who.
I think I see Candice Fox's fingers in Rhonda Bird's characters where she can just mouth off straight-faced and gets away with it; reminds me a bit of Amanda Pharrell. Her mouthing off isn't to the point of rudeness but just a very creative way to circumvent whatever situation she happens to be in. The fact that she's super strong, confident, and generous was just icing on top. Baby, despite her young age, complements Rhonda and together, they are a delight to read.
While we move from chapter to chapter with different characters, it was very easy to follow the story. Even as it felt a little bit all over the place when I was in the middle of it, at the end, when everything falls into its proper place, I really felt that it was all one big circle and I think it was neatly done. The ending itself was rather hairy and... somewhat unfinished so I hope to see more of these sisters.
The pace and tone of the book was set by the very first sentence, "She was a killer", and I was hooked. Tension gripped me and it just kept on going til the very last chapter. The short chapters probably didn't help because I keep thinking, "just one more [very short] chapter...", and suddenly, one hour had past and I really had to run for the ladies'... So yes, this is a fantastic read! Do yourself a favour, read this before lockdown ends because you don't really want "life" to interrupt your reading.
+20 Task
+10 Review
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 1,000
20.9 AnniversarySam's Letters to Jennifer by James Patterson
This is a romance, and in case the title leads you astray as it did me, I will tell you at once that Sam is Jennifer’s grandmother. Jennifer is a young widow and Sam is an elderly one. The novel opens with Jennifer being called to Sam’s bedside where she is in a coma following some unspecified medical emergency. In Sam’s house, Jennifer finds a series of letters revealing a long-hidden secret.
This was sent to me as a book circle read. I've enjoyed the two James Patterson thrillers I've read, but when he applies the same principle (short chapters, no fluff) to romance, it doesn’t work so well.* For example, to keep the story uncluttered, Jennifer’s parents are dead, her aunt and cousins never come to visit their critically ill mother/grandma, and Jennifer has no friends. On the positive side, this made it a quick, easy read.
* At least not for me. This qualifies for 20.3 Ratings, so I’m clearly in the minority here.
+20 Task: "Candles winked, glasses clinked, silent waiters served lavish dishes, and the wine kept coming - champagne too."
+10 Combo (20.3, 20.5 on spreadsheet)
+10 Review
Task Total: 40
Season Total: 395
15.2 CoA, 10 lettersThe Flick by Annie Baker
+15 Task
+10 Not-a-Novel (play)
Task total: 25
Season total: 470
10.7 ServiceShards by Ismet Prcic (Mustafa is a soldier – see summary on book page)
Review:
"He thinks he can recreate a shell by putting together all the shards. Insane!"
Shards is a fantastic novel. Non-linear for combo: The structure is as it's called - it's shards. We move back and forth in time and perspective and form.
We see Ismet's life in California and his youth in Bosnia and trip to Scotland, sometimes through journal fragments, sometimes letters to his mom, sometimes straightforward narrative.
We see the experiences of Mustafa (who may or may not be Ismet) as a soldier and we see him appear and disappear in Ismet's life - through narrative that occasionally drifts into the second person, or repeats whole paragraphs, verbatim, that we've already read.
There's a sense that this is autobiographical, but also not. That this is Prcic as author wrestling with his demons by imaging an Ismet who is wrestling with the same demons:
"How is it that some shell that exploded long ago in Tuzla can reassemble itself, fly backward into the mouth of the mortar that shot it, get shot again, and reach me here [in California]? How is it that I can exist in both the past and the present simultaneously, be both body and soul simultaneously, live both reality and fantasy simultaneously?"
Prcic's prose is super readable and very visceral. He's not afraid of ugly images but doesn't overdramatize them. The prose and structure together make this move at a quick clip somehow, even though the story seems to be putting off getting to an ending that we already know from the start. Overall -- I recommend!
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo: 20.4 Non-linear, 20.6 Awarded (Oregon Book Award for Fiction, Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction and several more)
Post total: 30
Season total: 205
Claimed to date:
10.1 - - - - 10.6 10.7 - - -
15.1 - - - - 15.6 - - - -
- - - 20.4 - - - - 20.9 -
20.3 RatingsThe Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami (As of 9/29/21, average rating is 4.15)
Overall, I loved the reading experience - especially books 1 and 2 as the darkness of the novel's reality and the characterizations deepened. I found the juxtaposition of characters, the intensity of relationships, and the discussions of power (and its lack) really interesting.
As the third book continued, I was intrigued but it felt like Toru's thought process (how he figured out certain things, his motivation for doing certain things) was missing. It felt a little like whiplash when something would suddenly be revealed, seemingly out of nowhere (about Creta, about the hanging house, about May, about Toru's summation of where Kumiko is).
Then I read some reviews and essays on the novel and learned that the English translation is missing about 61 pages - pages that focused on Toru's relationship with Creta, his conversations with Noboru Wataya, and his working out of certain details revealed in the end. I can't help but think I'd give this 5 stars if I could read it in the original Japanese.
Most annoying to me about his translation issue is that the translator made the cuts because the publisher said it needed to be shorter. I'm willing to believe the translator made the best choices on what to cut, but I'm irritated by the reason - this isn't a newspaper article that has to fit within its allotted column inches.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 1001 Books
+5 Jumbo (607 pages)
+15 Combo: 20.1 Serially (see comment 9), 20.5 Boomer (born 1949), 20.6 Awarded (Yomiuri Prize for Fiction, Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature)
Post total: 60
Season total: 265
Claimed to date:
10.1 - - - - 10.6 10.7 - - -
15.1 - - - - 15.6 - - - -
- - 20.3 20.4 - - - - 20.9 -
From Post 202Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "10.9 oxford
The Snow Queenby Mercedes Lackey
Queen's College
Task +10
Grand total: 45"
+5 Combo 20.5
From Post 210Nick wrote: "20.7 Exophonic
A Lover's Discourse by Xiaolu Guo.
Previous Points: 125
Task Points: 20
Challenge Total: 145"
I'm sorry Nick. I do not see this author listed on either of our lists. Did I miss it?
From Post 211Nick wrote: "20.9 Anniversary. Characters drink champagne.
Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh. From Chapter 3 (Project Gutenberg):
"No one was quite soberwhen he left the dining-room; n..."
+5 Combo 10.6
From Post 227Kim wrote: "10.3 Back to School
The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty. Peter Singer. 9.22.21
4.0 stars - I first interacted with this author when I was an acade..."
I am sorry, Kim. I do not see this book listed as a 1001 book to read.
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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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Where the Water Goes: Life and Death Along the Colorado River by David Owen
20.5 Boomer https://g.co/kgs/Zq1sHQ
20.9 Anniversary “Workers with Geiger counters checked the site for contamination—‘They found none’ — and the crew at the control center celebrated with champagne”
David Owen follows the Colorado River. This is the right level of information for me on water policy in the west. There is enough detail to understand the complications without being overwhelming. Owen mixes in his experiences of the sights and sounds along the way along with some sidelight history and interviews with those negotiating the “Rules of the River”. He does not come up with the answers but sets the stage for the questions.
I would really like to find out how the accommodations are holding up under the continued severe drought that has continued since 2017 when this book was published.
+10 task
+10 NAN
+10 review
+10 combo 20.9, 20.5
Task total: 40
Season total: 250