Reading with Style discussion
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SU 22 Completed Tasks
10.4 B1 Title has one word 
Troublemaker
Simply stupid... There is nothing to read, really...
+10 one word
+5 review
Total = 15pts
Season total = 65
B1
-
N31
-
-
10.5 - B7, Best Books: rating is 4.0 or better Crazy for Birds by Misha Maynerick Blaise
4.48 average rating
+10 Task
+50 Bingo (B7, I28, N36, G59, O61)
Task total = 60
Season total = 100
B: 7
I: 28
N: 36
G: 59
O: 61
15.17 B-9 MPE page count 100-199The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
+15 task 174 pages
+5 1997 or older ...pub date 1920
Post total: 20
Season total: 415
15.5-O70-pub. in the '70sThe Collector of Treasures and Other Botswana Village Tales by Bessie Head-pub. 1977
This is a set of 13 stories set soon after Botswana's independence in the 1950s. The stories make only a few references to colonialism itself... but there are quite a few that discuss conflicts between European religions and traditional local beliefs. There are references to conflicts between rural and urban lifestyles. However, I would say that most of the themes of these stories reflect upon the inequality between men and women in Botswana society. I had expected stories that relied more on folklore...but these are stories (mostly) about real people and situations...and I appreciated having the ability to look through this window into that place and time.
Task=15
Review=5
oldie=5
Task Total= 25
Grand Total=330
B___; ___; ___; ___;B5*;___; B7*; B8*;B9*; ___; ___: ___; ___;B14*; ___;
I___; ___; ___; I19; ___; I21; I22; ___;___; ___;___; ___; ___; ___; ___;
N___; ___; ___; ___; ___;N36; ___; N38; ___; ___; ___; N42; N43; __; __;
G _ ;G47; ___; ___; ___; ___;___;___;G54; ___; ___; ___; __; __; ___;
O__; ___; ___; ___; ___; ___;___;___; ___; ___; ___; ___; __; ___; O70;
20.21 B1, Title has 1 wordHamlet by William Shakespeare
No Anika-curated Shakespearean festival would be complete without the dour Dane. This play has everything: my favorite language, my favorite story line, my favorite doomed "heroine", contains a play-within-a-play which I always enjoy, and the bawdy "lower class" characters never fail to amuse (even when it's pretty dark humor, as with the gravediggers here). It also makes the most sense of any of the plays I've read this year...there are no absurd situations that make me want to scream, "BUT WHY?!" (as with Midsummer's Night and Much Ado).
+20 Task
+5 Review
+5 Oldies, pub. 1601
Task total: 30
Season total: 590
B 1, 6, 9, 11, 12
I 16, 17, 18, 27
N 35, 38, 39, 43
G 49, 52, 53, 56
O 61, 63, 65, 74
15.16. G50 Author born in the 50sThe Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker b. 1952
I’ve never seen Hellraiser. I was a kid when the movie came out and Pinhead terrified me. It’s odd - I remember seeing the Child’s Play trailer for the first time and being so scared that for years just the United Artists logo would freak me out. But I watched that movie… and while I do not have the same clear memory of fear with Hellraiser, I’ve also deliberately avoided the film. I must have been very traumatized!
And after reading this, I have no plans to change that, despite many that say the movie is even better. “Better” how? Because body horror is something I just cannot cope with, and I’m assuming that the “better” is the gore. My imagination was able to kind of lessen the effect. But still, it was upsetting and so gross.
But the writing was wonderful! Everything is so effective - yes, there are gnarly descriptions but there is a restraint - Barker does not try to describe everything in excruciating detail like the worst of splatterpunk. There is more than enough detail but it’s not belabored.
Excellent, nasty little novella.
+15 task
+5 review
+5 old (1986)
Task total = 25
Season total = 430
B
I
N
G50
O
20.22 I20, Author born in the '20sMy Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
The Durrells (mother and four children) decide to take a house in Corfu, as one does, to escape the dreadful English weather. Bouncing from house to house, the family is a menagerie unto itself, then you add in Gerry's animal obsession (water snakes in the tub, scorpions in matchboxes, dogs underfoot everywhere, magpies absconding with everything) and the whole house feels like a zoo. This is what I imagine Dr. Doolittle would have been like in his childhood. It was a fun rollick, a snapshot of a simpler time with an eccentric, enchanting family.
+20 Task, author born 1925
+5 Review
+5 Oldies, pub. 1956
Task total: 30
Season total: 620
B 1, 6, 9, 11, 12
I 16, 17, 18, 20, 27
N 35, 38, 39, 43
G 49, 52, 53, 56
O 61, 63, 65, 74
20.23 N36, Not a NovelMuch Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
This is my favorite of the comedies, but every time I reread it I remember how much the Claudio/Hero situation makes me NUTS. I get so blinded by the delightful Benedick/Beatrice banter that it overshadows the inanity of the rest of the story.
WHY would Don John disguise himself to propose his suit instead of Claudio himself doing it?! WHY would you take the word of the untrustworthy, dastardly Prince John over the virtuous Hero? WHY in the world would Margaret be okay with her lover loudly calling her "Hero" and list all the things they've done together in flagrante delicto? And, seriously, WHY does the friar suggest a fake death for the heroine...that didn't work out so great for Juliet, just saying.
Despite my annoyance with that fiasco, Beatrice/Benedick and Dogberry make up for it to make this the perfect finale for my festival.
+20 Task
+5 Review
+5 Oldies, 1598
Task total: 30
Season total: 650
B 1, 6, 9, 11, 12
I 16, 17, 18, 20, 27
N 35, 36, 38, 39, 43
G 49, 52, 53, 56
O 61, 63, 65, 74
20.24 G60, Book published in the '60sThe Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side by Agatha Christie
Even the title of this one evokes a strange and ominous, cinematic atmosphere...Marina Gregg, a glamorous Hollywood actress, has moved into town. She and her husband have purchased Gossington Hall (scene of the crime in The Body in the Library ) and have an open house to meet the town. Heather Badcock is particularly excited to meet the her idol--she'd met her once before and was excited to renew the acquaintance. Too bad for Heather that this party is to be her last.
The story was fast-paced with great characters (the more I read of Miss Marple, the more I'm enamored of her) and just enough red herring to make for a fabulous mystery.
+20 Task, pub 1962
+5 Review
+5 Oldies
Task total: 30
Season total: 680
B 1, 6, 9, 11, 12
I 16, 17, 18, 20, 27
N 35, 36, 38, 39, 43
G 49, 52, 53, 56, 60
O 61, 63, 65, 74
20.25 O68, Author's name does not contain an "O"Bad Mother Vol. 1 by Christa Faust
What? More noir and this one set in the suburbs with a soccer mom as the protagonist? Yes, please!
You definitely don't expect much from April, the slightly overweight, middle-aged wife and mother who has dedicated her life to supporting her family, so much so that she's near invisible.
But you don't poke the mama bear...with her husband out of town and her son away for the weekend, her daughter disappears and the cops don't take it seriously. April takes things into her own--very capable--hands. This was Tarantino-level badass, noir elements creeping in where you're not expecting them. I loved every second of this.
+20 Task
+5 Review
+50 Fifth Bingo: B1, I20, N36, G60, O68
Task total: 75
Season total: 755
B 1, 6, 9, 11, 12
I 16, 17, 18, 20, 27
N 35, 36, 38, 39, 43
G 49, 52, 53, 56, 60
O 61, 63, 65, 68, 74
15.12 - I22 Title has 2 wordsParanormal Bonds (The High Council Witch Chronicles #1) by Julie Catherine
Review
Paranormal bonding is one of my favourite tropes so it was an easy decision to pick this one up. It’s a very easy & fast read with easily likeable protagonist. The mystery behind her mother and the people in this town was intriguing. I really liked the cast of characters although I do have to wonder at the protagonist’s pick of the person who could be her best friend…
Paranormal Bonds is the first book of The High Council Witch Chronicles however I felt that as a first book, it was overlong in the introductory part so I felt like I was reading more of a prequel… I expected for the ‘High Council Witch’ to be more prominent / involved but they were very non-existent in this novel. I also wish that the magic was better explored. Otherwise, a rather enjoyable read.
+15 Task
+5 Review
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 255
15.16 N42 New release: pub'd in 2021 or 2022Adult Assembly Required. Abbi Waxman
Laura leaves NYC to start life fresh on the west coast after suffering a traumatic accident two years ago. Her family and ex-finance are anything but supportive, but she makes a group of friends that help her find her way back to her confident self. She even finds love along the way. I particularly liked the way the relationships developed over time, and how several of the characters were featured in earlier books.
+15 - task
+5 - review
Post total: 20
Season total: 330
B:
I:
N:
G:
O:
[Bingo #1: B9, I17, N31, G48, O61]
15.13 - B6 BEARDS: First letter of title is found of "beards"Red Ice (Lachlan Fox #5) by James Phelan
+15 Task
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 270
Task 10.4 G59 GYPSUM: First letter of title is found in "gypsum"gypSum
Some Kind of Fairy Tale (2012) by Graham Joyce (Hardcover, 310 pages)
Review: Most of Some Kind of Fairy Tale is a mainstream novel about a middle class family living in Leicester, England, and their interactons, past and present. Our main protagonists are all middle aged. Peter is 40ish year old, happily married, and the father of four children. His sister, Tara, disappeared when she was 16 years old; her body was never found and she was never seen or heard from again. Then, one Christmas morning, Tara returns. She claims she’s only been gone 6 months, and that she was ‘taken’ to another realm … a realm that sounds a lot like Tir na Nog, where the faeries live. There is very little ‘fantasy’ in the novel, which disappointed me as I enjoy fantasy novels. Others may feel that a little fantasy goes a long way, especially in a primarily mainstream novel about adult relationships.
+10 Task
+05 Review
Task Total: 10 + 05 = 15
Grand Total: 40 + 15 = 55
B: B3
I: 16
N:
G: G51, G59
O:
10.5 N36 (not a novel)Vinegar Hill: Poems by Colm Tóibín
Review:
Poetry is one of those things I keep trying to get into, but struggle with. I've also long been intending to read something by Colm Toibin. When I found out that at 67 this prolific writer had finally turned his hand to poetry, I decided it might be just the opportunity to read a little poetry and experience a new-to-me author.
Vinegar Hill was actually a lovely experience. My gripe with poetry, often, is that I read a poem and I straight up just don't understand it. I don't think I should have to read something several times in order to grasp it's basic meaning. I understood most of the poems in this book. A few were beyond my grasp, but many of these poems tell a clear and beautiful story.
Themes include travel, sexuality, religion, aging, death. If you're interested in those things told in a more straightforward manner than many modern poets manage, this one might be a good fit for you.
BINGO Progress:
B9
I16
N37
G58
O_
B
I
N36
G
O
+10 task
+5 review
task total =15
grand total = 75
15.14 G57 - Guardian 1000The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Tóibín
+15 Task Family and Self
Task total = 15
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 280
10.6 B9 MPE Page count 100-199Aiding and Abetting by Muriel Spark
Page Count = 166, MPE = 176
Review:
I am not sure what I thought about this story.
It seems to have been a story with many layers but none of them hung quite evenly together for me.
There is a psychiatrist who was a fraud in younger days...and feels like a fraud now. There are two patients who claim to be the same man, one who killed the nanny and attempted to kill his wife. Are either of them the man? There are other characters who move in and out of the story in the attempt to offer understanding who the real murderer is.
It is a story of not knowing who people really are...and the fraud that is shared by all in hiding behind a mask...and the help each gives to allow the other to hide.
I think it was too deep for my current reading status. Not something I really wanted to delve into at this time. Thankfully it was short.
Task Points: 10
Review Points: 5
Total Task Points: 15
Season Points: 90
B - 6, 9
I - 27
N
G - 58, 59
O - 67
10.7 N31 New to Me AuthorThe Spirit Child by Alison Naomi Holt
New author for me
Review:
Loved this creative fantasy!
First, the characters of Bree, the Dutchess, and of Kaiti, the wild child, and their interactions were delightful! What feisty people! And, I loved the fact that both were coming from hurt and fear and yet learning to bond.
Then you add in Becca, Bree's friend and a healer, Nashotah, a Shonah healer, and the wise grandfather and his grandson. Then there are feelings and understandings and mystical spirit animals. What a creative world!
Most definitely will continue to follow this series.
BINGO! (B6, I27, N31, G58, O67)
Task Points: 10
Review Points: 5
Total Task Points: 15
BINGO bonus: 50
Season Points: 155
B -
I -
N -
G -
O -
10.8 N32 Neighbors - on another GR group's bookshelfI used the Cozy Mysteries group.
Bookmarked for Death by Lorna Barrett
Review:
Cozy mystery. Requirements: investigator is an ordinary person who doesn't think the police are interested or trying hard to solve the murder; friends who are interested in getting murder solved and are willing to help; and characters are ordinary people who feel like friends and acquaintances one might know. It also helps if the setting is a place the reader would like to be.
This story ticks all of those requirements. The protagonist is a mystery bookstore owner, Tricia Miles. She lives in a small struggling town in New Hampshire that is trying to get know for being a bookstore town. Tricia has an author signing...which seemed to be going well until the author is killed in the bathroom at the end of the night.
Her sister owns the store next door - a cooking store. A friend owns the French pastry place. And then there are the bookstore employees, town people, cops, reporters...and the book world. Then throw in a long missing mother, a niece of the author, and a question of authorship of the published author's books. It was fun. And, I kinda figured it out.
Task Points: 10
Review Points: 5
Total Task Points: 15
Season Points: 170
B -
I -
N -
G -
O -
BINGO (B6, I27, N31, G58, O67)
10.9 G54 Title has 4 wordsWell Read, Then Dead by Terrie Farley Moran
Review:
Another cozy mystery off my list.
This is a story set in Fort Myers Beach, FL, an area I got to know due to family living in Fort Myers and on Sanibel Island. So, the setting made it a fun background for me.
Sassy and Bridgy own a restaurant/bookstore together. Bridgy and Hector (the cook) are the restaurant side...Sassy is the book person. The area has a lot of characters from Augusta and her cousin Delia to Blondie, a neighbor of Austusta's, to Skully...a bum/handyman who makes shell jewelry as an avocation, to the pastor John and his wife Jocelyn, to Ophie - Bridgy's aunt.
There are Southern lady manners to food to bookclubs. There are the requisite local cop to the hot Lieutentant characters. And, of course, there is murder...and questionable characters like wreckers and real estate pirates.
What a wonderful romp with fantastic but believable characters to a surprising but satisfying ending.
Task Points: 10
Review Points: 5
Total Task Points: 15
Season Points: 185
B -
I -
N -
G - 54,
O -
BINGO (B6, I27, N31, G58, O67)
10.10 O63 ORPHAN: First letter of title is found in "orphan"American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson
A found in orphan
Review:
I had mixed feelings to this book, partly because it was about a disturbing issue (American activities in Africa) and partly because I had to keep reminding myself that it was basically one big letter to her kids or rather several journal entries.
This is a story of sisters and their ambition to be spies. Both succeed but at a great cost. One sister is killed, and the other made into an assassin by the circumstances of her life.
This story deals with CIA, FBI and the difficulty of being a woman in that world. It deals with the struggle to do life well and the contradiction of that in the context of such work and family history.
For me, it was not a book that was comfortable or fun. At times it was a struggle, and yet I am glad that I read it. The author did a good job with integrating the work and the emotional struggles of Marie. I never identified with her, but I am glad I met her in this book.
Task Points: 10
Review Points: 5
Total Task Points: 15
Season Points: 200
B -
I -
N -
G - 54,
O - 63,
BINGO (B6, I27, N31, G58, O67)
15.11 O74 Title has On, Off, Out, Over, OnlyThe Diva Runs Out of Thyme by Krista Davis
Out found in title
Review:
Another cozy mystery. I am working on a game where I planned all the books to be cozy mysteries, thinking it would be a quick game for me. It is and it isn't.
I enjoy cozy mysteries as a break from heavier stories, because they are light and fun...and quick reads. But, when trying to read several, they do tend to blend into each other a bit as the formula and setting are so similar.
This one involves, as an aside almost, a cooking competition where the ingredients are mixed up. Was it sabotage? And when one of the judges informs a contestant that he will pick her up for a date, is that sabotage? Especially when she barely knew him and he did not ask? And, then when he turned up dead? And, it is the second body discovered by Sophie.
Can she solve the murder and get herself off the suspect list? And so the story unrolls...
Task Points: 15
Review Points: 5
Total Task Points: 20
Season Points: 220
B -
I -
N -
G - 54,
O - 63,
BINGO (B6, I27, N31, G58, O67)
10.5 G54 Title has 4 wordsAn Unkindness of Ravens by Ruth Rendell
From the GR description: The raven: not a particularly predatory bird, but far from soft and submissive, adopted as the symbol of a militant feminist group... Yes, the ravens referenced in this title are a militant feminist group. Such a sad depiction, too, for women need only demand equal opportunity and not dominance.
Edgar Allan Poe, now Ruth Rendell, and probably not a few other authors have maligned the wonderful raven. Ravens mate for life. They often fly just for the fun of it. Take a moment and google 'ravens sliding in snow" and look at a couple of the videos. They are simply fun-loving birds who enjoy their relatively long 10-15 year lives. These are not the birds Poe would have had you believe they are.
Not that I've finished that rant ... The mystery here is pretty good. Wexford comes home from work and his wife tells him a neighbor in the next street is worried about her husband. Wexford learns the man went away for 3 days a week ago and hasn't been seen nor heard of since. A week turns into a month and an investigation is opened. In the meantime, two men have reported being stabbed by young girls.
I'm glad there are more in the series! Once I got over my displeasure of the ravens being maligned, I found this a page turner. It slips across the line into my 4-star group.
+10 Task
+ 5 Review
+ 5 Oldies (1985)
Task total = 20
+50 Bingo: First Bingo - B10 O67 N38 I17 G54
Post total = 70
Season total = 150
10.5 G50 Born in the 50’sFlight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver (born 1955)
A young mother faces her season of discontent and finds a forest full of Monarch butterflies. Kinsgsolver weaves together the challenges of a family farm, a poor educational system, climate change activists, a fading small town, scientific experts, a faltering marriage, and religious beliefs with her wonderful prose. She subtly underlines the influences that increase the distrust of the rural population for elites. The biggest disconnect for me was the sudden relocation of the Monarchs’ wintering grounds from Mexico to Appalachia.
I listened to the audio read by the author. She did a wonderful job although her accent for Ovid Byron seemed a bit off.
+10 task
+5 review
Task total 15
Bingo B11, I29, N42, G50, O75
+50
Season total: 120
15.15 O68 - author name does not contain the letter OThe Good Neighbours by Nina Allan
+15 Task
Task total = 15
+50 Third Bingo B15, I30, N34, G57, O68
Post Total: 65
Season Total: 345
10.6 O68 no OThe Tempest by William Shakespeare
Shakespeare scholars say that this is the only totally original plot of Shakespeare’s plays and that it was the last one that he wrote completely by himself. What I had missed about Shakespeare’s writing is that the Americas were being colonized during his lifetime and that imperialism and patriarchy may have been in his and the audiences’ minds when this play was first produced. I don’t feel that. The revenge theme is comes across most strongly to me. But I find it hard to believe that after 13 years of exile, Prospero is so willing to forgive and forget.
3 stars
+10 task
+5 review
Task total: 15
Season total: 135
15.6-N33-3 N's in titleSpinning Into Butter by Rebecca Gilman
This is another sobering play. The play is set at a university in Vermont. An incident concerning one of the African-American students acts a catalyst for much soul-searching and multiple missteps by the faculty and administrators. One Dean in particular questions her own thoughts about race and finds herself deficient. This is an important work which acknowledges that so many people are not as "woke" as they may think they are...but also that the path to finding solutions is to examine the issues seriously and honestly. I'd love to see this performed on the stage.
Task=15
Review=5
2ND BINGO= N33, N36, N38, N42, N43=50
Task Total= 75
Grand Total=405
B___; ___; ___; ___;B5*;___; B7*; B8*;B9*; ___; ___: ___; ___;B14*; ___;
I___; ___; ___; I19; ___; I21; I22; ___;___; ___;___; ___; ___; ___; ___;
N__;___;N33*;___; ___;N36*;__; N38*;___;___; ___;N42*; N43*; __; __;
G _ ;G47; ___; ___; ___; ___;___;___;G54; ___; ___; ___; __; __; ___;
O__; ___; ___; ___; ___; ___;___;___; ___; ___; ___; ___; __; ___;O70
10.6 O71 (first in the series)Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Review
I'm surprised by how enamored others are with this book/series. No, I know I'm not the target audience for this, being 47 years old. But, I can enjoy kids and young adult titles, and I had previously read and very much enjoyed the author's adult novel Ninth House. So I had relatively high expectations that I would enjoy this one.
Taken by itself, this isn't a bad book. But it's far from original. It feels like so many other books I've read. To boot, it's drawn out and repetitive. I won't be reading any more of this series.
+50 BINGO
+10 task
+5 review
Task total = 65
Grand total = 140
BINGO 1 = B9, I16, N37, G58, O71
Next BINGO progress B_, I_, N36, G_, O_
15.17 B7 Best Books: rating is 4.0 or better (currently 4.31)The Book Woman's Daughter. Kim Michele Richardson
This book was a page turner for me. When Honey Lovett's parents are arrested and taken away for miscegenation (her mother is blue, her father is not), she travels back to her family homestead in Troublesome Creek to avoid being taken away and put into a children's prison herself. She takes up the mantle of providing library service to people in the hollers, and shows herself to be courageous and resourceful.
+15 - task
+5 - review
Post total: 20
Season total: 350
B:
I:
N:
G:
O:
[Bingo #1: B9, I17, N31, G48, O61]
15.18 G-59 GYPSUM first letter of title in....Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Reid has become an author I will always read. I found Maybe in Another Life to hinge on everyday choices. My favorite character is Henry, a night nurse, who helps Hannah state her preferences instead of choosing all ( as in pudding flavors ). This story confirms my belief that you have to own your life choices and have a positive attitude, if happy-ever-after is your goal.
+15 task
+5 review
Post total: 20
Season total: 435
10.4 N31 - New to Me AuthorGild by Raven Kennedy
Review - honestly, it was slow-paced as hell. with scenes mostly compromised by Auren either moaning about being held captive in her gilded cage or idolizing and pining over Midas from afar. was about to DNF but I wanted to give this series a chance and read until the second book, y'all say it's better.
+10 Task
+ 5 Review
Task total = 15
Post total: 15
Season Total: 20 + 15 + 15 + 15 = 65
B — 1;
I — 22;
N — 31;
G —
O — 71
15.18 N40 Book pub'd in the 40s, any century(first published 1941)
Mildred Pierce. James M. Cain
+15 - task
+5 - 1997 or earlier
Post total: 20
Season total: 370
B:
I:
N:
G:
O:
[Bingo #1: B9, I17, N31, G48, O61]
10.1 B1 - Title has one wordLightseekers by Femi Kayode
This was delightful (as much as a book involving some grisly murders can be delightful). It was well written - Kayode has a great way with words - and a whole set of characters I was compelled by and liked. It also introduced me to a setting and topic I wasn't as familiar with in the Nigerian university system.
+10 Task
+ 5 Review
Task total: 15
Season Total: 15
10.2 I22 - Title has two wordsThe Dark by Sharon J. Bolton
Sharon Bolton is one of my favorite writers and I always will pick up one of her mysteries. This was a pleasant surprise because it was book 5 in the Lacey Flint series which I thought had perhaps ended. I don't think I liked this one quite as much as the others, but it was satisfying to get some more of her backstory (some big revelations!) and the mystery itself was interesting and full of action.
+10 Task
+ 5 Review
Task total: 15
Season Total: 30
10.3 N33 - Title has 3 NsThe Perfect Nanny by Leïla Slimani
This was an intriguing read. I read a review that mentioned it was more of a character study and less of a mystery and I would say that's true. The book starts, page 1, with the end of the story, so there's no suspense in that regard. Throughout, Slimani does a good job keeping the narrative tension going, but it's in the service of creating a collection of interesting (but not very likeable) characters.
+10 Task
+ 5 Review
Task total: 15
Season Total: 45
10.4 O66 - title has a repeated wordSmaller and Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan
I really enjoyed this. Set in the Philippines (I had intended to read it last season but ran out of time!), it's a mystery surrounding child abuse, the priesthood, and class in that country. Despite very grim subject matter, the main characters (priests who also serve as investigators) are honorable and likable people, and gave me hope in again, a very depressing storyline. I would read more by this author, though it looks like she primarily has short stories out aside from this novel.
+10 Task ("smaller")
+ 5 Review
Task total: 15
Season Total: 60
15.19 I24 In search of ...adventureSomething Wilder by Christina Lauren
+15 task on 3 GR lists of Adventure
Post total: 15
Season total: 450
15.17 B3 Booker prize nomineeNo One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood
I was not prepared.. The first half was sharply funny - made even more so by me trying to explain to my husband why I was suppressing snort laughter in bed. “It’s written by Miette’s mom. … you know, Miette… Jail! Jail for mother for one thousand years!… “ while he stared blankly at me and found none of it amusing. The book had me both a little thrilled at being online enough to get the jokes and slightly horrified that I was online enough to get the jokes.
And then the second half. Husband came in from grocery shopping to see me absolutely destroyed on the couch, eyes and nose red and running.
It’s so beautiful.
+ 15 task
+ 5 review
Task total = 20
Season total = 450
B3
I
N
G50
O
15.7- I18-InspirationalThe Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
What a beautiful and yes- inspirational little book. The author has suffered a stroke...and when he awoke from his coma, he is left with the very rare "locked-in syndrome" in which he is paralyzed throughout his entire body. The only muscle he can control is in his left eyelid...and he learns to communicate through that eyelid. In fact he dictated this book. He remembers key moments of his life, as well as his current experiences which are almost all internal. Reading this account inspires me to give thanks every morning for all the mundane things that I take for granted. I urge you all to put this on your TBR list.
Task=15
Review=5
oldie=5
Task Total= 25
Grand Total=425
B___; ___; ___; ___;B5*;___; B7*; B8*;B9*; ___; ___: ___; ___;B14*; ___;
I___; ___;I18;I19; ___; I21; I22; ___;___; ___;___; ___; ___; ___; ___;
N__;___;N33*;___; ___;N36*;__; N38*;___;___; ___;N42*; N43*; __; __;
G _ ;G47; ___; ___; ___; ___;___;___;G54; ___; ___; ___; __; __; ___;
O__; ___; ___; ___; ___; ___;___;___; ___; ___; ___; ___; __; ___;O70
15.19 I30 Book pub'd in the 30s, any century(first published 1933)
Down and Out in Paris and London. George Orwell
George Orwell writes of the plight of the poor, unemployed or underemployed in Paris and London between during the 1920s. In Paris, he often goes days without food, pawns everything he owns, including his clothes, and finally ends up as a plongeur in a fancy restaurant, working 17 hours a day, in the most menial tasks, but happy to have food. His description of how the food is prepared and served and under what conditions puts me in mind of The Jungle with its filth and squalor (and this in an upscale restaurant). Finally done in by the endless hours, he moves to London, and describes his life as a tramp, which he describes as an Englishman out of work, forced by law to live as a vagabond, because they cannot stay more than 24 hours in one place. He describes the various options open to them. He closes by saying that he feels he has seen no more than the fringe of poverty, but it has forever changed how he looks at the down and out.
Bingo #2: B1, I30, N32, G50, O62
+15 - task
+5 - review
+5 - 1997 or earlier
+50 - BINGO #2
Post total: 75
Season total: 445
B:
I:
N:
G:
O:
[Bingo #1: B9, I17, N31, G48, O61]
15.16 I27 - Private EyeWhen Falcons Fall by C.S. Harris
+15 Task
Task total = 15
Post Total: 6155
Season Total: 360
10.6 N-44 Author has 2 sets of double letters in name.The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett
I needed the name of a place to go, someplace far away, where women had babies and left them behind, like pieces of furniture too heavy to move. . . I was going to Saint Elizabeth's."
Rose Clinton was unhappy with her life. The thing she really loved was to drive, and she dreamed of escape from a marriage to a nice guy who she did not love. When she found she was pregnant, Rose went to Saint Elizabeth's with the intention of giving up her baby, but fate intervened.
"The Patron Saint of Liars" is told from several characters' points of view, including Rose, Son (the handyman at Saint Elizabeth's), and Rose's daughter. Sister Evangeline had a special gift where she could foresee the futures of the pregnant girls that came into her kitchen. Saint Elizabeth's Home is sheltering girls who have secrets, and Rose shares a small part of her past with Sister Evangeline. Rose is beautiful and mysterious, and tends to ignore the feelings of others. Are the characters being directed by messages or signs from God? We wonder what the future will bring for Rose and several other characters as the book ends.
I enjoyed Ann Patchett's writing with its religious symbolism and complicated characters. However, the ending was so abrupt that it left me wanting more of the loose ends tied up.
+10 task
+ 5 oldie (pub 1992)
+ 5 review
+50 first Bingo
First Bingo:
10.4 B9
10.2 I21
10.6 N44
10.1 G52
10.3 O75
Task total: 70
Season total: 160
10.7 G47 (Gothic)The Me You Love In The Dark by Skottie Young
Review
It doesn't get much better than this so far as I'm concerned. The story feels like a classic haunted house story (the main character moves into an old house because she needs to make a change). But this is not an old-fashioned story. There's a really adult, modern edge to this one, and the "ghost" is not exactly a ghost, but something more interesting. The artwork is full color and gorgeous. I just loved this one.
+10 task
+5 review
task total = 15
grand total = 155
Numbers Used so far 9, 16, 36, 37, 47, 58, 71
First BINGO B9, I16, N37, G58, O71
Second BINGO B_, I_, N36, G47, O_
15.14 - N39 MPE Page count 300-399The Falcon (Nina Guerrera #3) by Isabella Maldonado
334 pages
Review
Special Agent Nina Guerrera is definitely one of my favourite fictional crime buster. She's oh-so-broken but yet oh-so-kick-ass!! And her loyal teammates are just the perfect foil to her solitary warrior outlook. As the mystery to her background was pretty much resolved in the last book, I was curious where the author was going to take Nina next and whether it will be comparably thrilling... no worries there, she's definitely got me engaged and I really can't wait to see Nina develop as a character in future.
I don't want to give too much away but The Falcon was an intriguing mix of Egyptology, psychology, falconry, technology, and so many other interesting bits which made the read really fascinating. There were some images which may be a lot paper in print but I had to skip reading because it was just too small on my basic kindle. Plus, one particular incident which didn't quite make sense to me but as I read an uncorrected proof, this might've been fixed for the final print. Otherwise, this series is becoming one of my favourites and I can't wait for book 4.
+15 Task
+5 Review
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 290
10.5 I24 - In search of ----------- Adventure!Imagine Me by Tahereh Mafi
Review - halted around 70% in, finished it after a month. I suppose it was a nice ending for a long-ass series, you think? That's probably the reason why I decided to take a break from the series, it was super duper long and I had, I guess you could say, that I got kinda bored of it. Had to miss it first before I started reading it again.
Nonetheless, it was good.
+10 Task
+ 5 Review
Task total = 15
Post total: 15
Season Total: 20 + 15 + 15 + 15 + 15 = 80
1st BINGO:
2nd BINGO:
B — 1;
I — 22; 24
N — 31;
G —
O — 71
Post 246 soph ♡ wrote: "10.5 I24 - In search of ----------- Adventure!Imagine Me by Tahereh Mafi
Review - halted around 70% in, finished it after a month. I suppose it was a nice ending..."
Oops! It doesn't look like you have a Bingo here. A bingo is either all one letter or one each of the 5 letters. You have 2 I tasks and no G task. You'll need a G task to earn a bingo.
15.6 G59 GYPSUM: First letter of title is found in "gypsum" Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim
Ibrahim states this story is true. I don't know if she meant that it is literally true or if it is situationally true. In either case it is believable. Certainly the attitudes displayed by the plantation owners is everything we have been told to believe. If it is possible to be benevolent while being a slave owner, some are. Others are either uncaring at best and physically punitive at worst. Ibrahim does her best to show this spectrum while concentrating on telling her story.
The story itself is the relationship between a black wet nurse and the plantation owner's new born daughter. The child's mother has little true maternal interest while the slave does more than her duty and truly cares for the child. Mattie, of course, has her own family in the Quarters - how else could she serve as a wet nurse? Twice each day she looks out of the nursery window to see her own son and grandfather. As Elizabeth becomes not just a toddler but a little girl, she watches too. Mattie is allowed to visit her family on Sundays and eventually Elizabeth also meets Mattie's real family. The relationship between Mattie and Elizabeth is always that of slave and owner and at the same time much more than that.
The prose is not special but far from being anything I might complain about. It is the characterizations of the two main characters and the situation they find themselves in that makes this worthwhile. This is the first in a series. I look forward to seeing what Ibrahim does with the others.
+10 task
+ 5 Review
Task total = 15
Season total = 165
15.20 I20 Author born in the 20s, any century(author born in 1928)
The Queen's Gambit. Walter Tevis
I purchased this from Audible a few years ago, but didn't get around to listening to it until now. I really enjoyed it, hearing about her journey to become world champion. I kept waiting for her to flame out, and was glad that she didn't. Now I might have to see if I can find the limited series that came out a few years ago and watch that, too.
Bingo #3: B5, I20, N33, G52, O71
+15 - task
+5 - review
+5 - 1997 or earlier
+50 - BINGO #3
Post total: 75
Season total: 520
B:
I:
N:
G:
O:
[Bingo #1: B9, I17, N31, G48, O61
Bingo #2: B1, I30, N32, G50, O62]
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
When Bad Things Happen to Good People (other topics)The Lord Is My Shepherd: Healing Wisdom of the Twenty-third Psalm (other topics)
The Fairy Caravan (other topics)
Before the Coffee Gets Cold (other topics)
Fascination In France (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Harold S. Kushner (other topics)Beatrix Potter (other topics)
Toshikazu Kawaguchi (other topics)
Barbara Cartland (other topics)
C.J. Sansom (other topics)
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The Houseboat by Dane Bahr
Review:
This is a tough one to rate. Dane Bahr writes beautifully, truly, but he turns his talent to the hideous. I could definitely lived a happier several hours if I had chosen to read almost anything else. There is no sweetness and light in this book. Even when we're given hints of something nice (like a husband and wife who have loved each other for decades), it soon turns to something depressing or disturbing.
Definitely not for the faint of heart. I do hope that this author will write something else because he certainly knows how to turn a phrase, but fingers crossed that it won't be something so relentlessly awful.
+10 task
+ 5 review
task total = 15
grand total = 60
Bingo Progress
B9
I16
N37
G58
O _