Reading with Style discussion

November 11 is Veteran's Day here in the US. Read a book in which one of the main characters is a soldier, active duty or veteran of a war or conflict, any branch of the military (medics/nurses count!).

Thank You for Your Service

Please post any questions or discussion about task 10.7 in this thread.

I am assuming this book will fulfill the requirements of this task: The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War

Sharing clarification from Anika:

The war/conflict definitely doesn't have to be occurring during the story--in my head when thinking about this task, the Cormoran Strike series (Robert Galbraith) and the Ian Rutledge series (Charles Todd) kept coming to mind, both of which are about veterans who returned from war and became private investigators. I definitely wanted to make sure it's clear that that both fiction and non-fiction are acceptable, because the one I want to read is a memoir ;-P

In case you weren't familiar with this series: Bruno, Chief of Police will work here. He is a (French) veteran of the Bosnian conflict.

I have an odd question. Are samurai considered to be military?

I will read the next in the Sano Ichiro series The Samurai's Wife by Laura Joh Rowland

Mary wrote: "I have an odd question. Are samurai considered to be military?

I will read the next in the Sano Ichiro series The Samurai's Wife by Laura Joh Rowland"

Yes, they were military.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Mary wrote: "I have an odd question. Are samurai considered to be military?

I will read the next in the Sano Ichiro series The Samurai's Wife by Laura Joh Rowland"

Ye..."

Thanks

This would work for service members in various other branches of military of other countries besides USA, right? ie War's Unwomanly Face,
An Officer and a Spy,
The Radetzky March ?

Would other services work such as FBI, CIA, Secret Service, Border Security, Homeland Security etc?
Here are some examples of these services

(National Security Agency and Intelligence)
No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State ,
The Atomic City Girls,
The Rose Code

(CIA)
Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House,
Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001,
Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of How the Wildest Man in Congress and a Rogue CIA Agent Changed the History of our Times

(Secret Service)
Becoming Bulletproof: Protect Yourself, Read People, Influence Situations, and Live Fearlessly ,
Breaking Tecumseh's Curse: The Real-life Adventures of the U.S. Secret Service Agent Who Tried to Change Tomorrow

(Space Program)
Failure is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond,
Hidden Figures

(FBI)
Whoever Fights Monsters: My Twenty Years Tracking Serial Killers for the FBI,
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

(Homeland Security)
The Devil's Highway: A True Story ,
Storming the Wall: Climate Change, Migration, and Homeland Security,
Disaster: Hurricane Katrina and the Failure of Homeland Security,
Command Decisions: Domestic Terrorism: A Security Officer's Introduction to Prevention One Person's Terrorists, Another Person's Freedom Fighter You Have ... be Lucky All the Time, A Terrorist Only Onc,
911 commission report


Sorry. I become obsessive compulsive when it comes to making lists!

Rebekah wrote: "Would other services work such as FBI, CIA, Border Security, Homeland Security, Search and Rescue etc?"

No. The task is pretty clear this is about military service.

Rebekah wrote: "This would work for service members in various other branches of military of other countries besides USA, right?"

But absolutely yes to military from any country. It’s def not an America-centric task!

I'm getting ready to read Youth and the Bright Medusa (1920) by Willa Cather, a collection of 8 stories. If there is a service member in one of the stories, but not the others, would that "count" for this task? Thanks

I'm reading a Jack Reacher for this one. Here's a link to his 'military service' as fyi :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Re...

Deedee wrote: "I'm getting ready to read Youth and the Bright Medusa (1920) by Willa Cather, a collection of 8 stories. If there is a service member in one of the stories, but not t..."

I do know her Pulitzer Prize winner book One of Ours is about a soldier of WWI. I know that wasn’t an answer to your question. Just remarking. (Smile)

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Rebekah wrote: "Would other services work such as FBI, CIA, Border Security, Homeland Security, Search and Rescue etc?"

No. The task is pretty clear this is about military service."

I was just wondering since she said medics and nurses counted. Those are service people that can be civilians too. I was an army medic, army nurse and civilian nurse.

NASA does have a branch of Air Force Space Command as well as Army NASA Detatchment.
https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Shee...

https://www.smdc.army.mil/ORGANIZATIO...

I have the same question that Deedee posted above in message 11 about service members in short story collections. I am reading The Night in Question and the second story is about military personnel, and I suspect there will be more. Thanks.

I was hoping Anika would chime in.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "I was hoping Anika would chime in."
Okay, I suspected that was the case, thanks!

Shoot! Just saw these...my grandma passed away this week and it has been busy around here, getting ready for the funeral (she was 99, had a good life, we knew it was coming, but there's still a lot of work once it does happen...).

I hadn't even thought of it when coming up with the task, but sure! I'm all for a main character veteran in a short story counting for this task.

Thank you, Anika. We're sorry for your loss.

Hi ! Would medieval-time kings or knights count for this task ? I'm reading the graphic novel Beauty where several main characters are either, and there are wars ongoing on the whole story.
Thanks !

Marie wrote: "Hi ! Would medieval-time kings or knights count for this task ? I'm reading the graphic novel Beauty where several main characters are either, and there are wars ongoing on the whol..."

Knights certainly serve their King. As there is actual fighting/wars going on, this should work!

I am about to start reading The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin.

Would those engaged in fighting aliens be considered military? See the synopsis at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dar...

Thanks

I am hoping to read Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 by Edwin G. Burrows ( it is huge). During this period there are many people who served in the Revolution or the Civil War. For example Jacob Leister https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_L... was clearly in the military and a character in the book (21 lines in the index of people). But because this is such a huge book, he only appears in the first 100 pages. There are probably other characters with a similar profile.

I think my question is what makes a character “major ?” Is it appearing throughout the book or is it havingan impact when they appear as in along history).

Thanks

Mary wrote: "I am about to start reading The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin.

Would those engaged in fighting aliens be considered military? See the synopsis at https://en.wikipedia...."

Not positive this is what Anika was thinking, but Wu Yue is the 2nd named character on the GR book page. Wu Yue is listed as a Captain in the PLA Navy on the Wikipedia page. It looks as if this will work.

Mary wrote: "I am hoping to read Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 by Edwin G. Burrows ( it is huge). During this period there are many people who served in the Revolution..."

I am less sure about this one and am very hesitant to say it fits. Anika may have another idea.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Mary wrote: "I am about to start reading The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin.

Would those engaged in fighting aliens be considered military? See the synopsis at https://..."

Thanks. Didn’t notice that!

Mary wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Mary wrote: "I am about to start reading The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin.

Would those engaged in fighting aliens be considered military? S..."

Duplicate please ignore

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Mary wrote: "I am hoping to read Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 by Edwin G. Burrows ( it is huge). During this period there are many people who served in t..."

Mary wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Mary wrote: "I am about to start reading The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin.

Would those engaged in fighting aliens be considered military? S..."

Thanks. Given the time period large numbers of the characters are likely to have military service which led to them being elected to office in the city but no one is going to be a continuous character in the book because of the length of time covered. Probably would just have been for a combo so not a big deal.

Ach, I've been so bad about checking this thread! So sorry!

As for Mary's question about "main character"...
As far as this task goes, the best way I can think to describe that would be: the character in question is crucial to the direction of the narrative. Sometimes that means they play a large part in the novel (Harry Bosch, Cormoran Strike, Yossarian), sometimes they are ancillary while still crucial. For example, I would consider Mr. March from Little Women a main character because he is so present in the lives and choices of Marmie, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy even though he's not IN much of the novel itself.

Don't know if that helps answer your question, hope it does :-/

Anika wrote: "Ach, I've been so bad about checking this thread! So sorry!

As for Mary's question about "main character"...
As far as this task goes, the best way I can think to describe that would be: the chara..."

Thanks Anika. I think I am going to have to read all 1200 pages ti decide whether anyone fits this category. The book might be long but it really looks good!

For combo point, Jack West Jr was in the Australian Armed Forces then SAS before retiring -ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_We...

Tien wrote: "For combo point, Jack West Jr was in the Australian Armed Forces then SAS before retiring -ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_We..."

This task is for a main character, not for author, but if his writing is from his military perspective, it works.

Nevermind. I see your book claim now.

hm, I thought I'd link to the book series as named by main character but I see it just causes confusion, sorry...

Tien wrote: "hm, I thought I'd link to the book series as named by main character but I see it just causes confusion, sorry..."

You did it just right. It was 6am when I responded. ;-)

I still could have made it clearer but I see your point, 6am!! I don't think I've been up at 6am for months; what lockdown does to one... only need to roll out of bed to be at work on time ;p

I hate to say it, but I've been sleeping in lately. I think it has something to do with gettng older. :-(

Quick question: I read The Calculating Stars for another task and I'm wondering if I can claim combo points for this task.

The main character was a WASP during WWII. I know the WASPs were a civilian organization during the war and were federal civil service employees. But I just found out that they were granted veteran status in 1977 for their service. (https://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...)

Would that work? Thanks!

Since they are considered veterans of the war, I’d say it definitely fits the spirit of the task. It’s a yes for me!

Anika wrote: "Since they are considered veterans of the war, I’d say it definitely fits the spirit of the task. It’s a yes for me!"

Thanks, Anika!