Reading with Style discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Archives
>
SU 22 Completed Tasks
20.23 N33 3 or more Ns in title Something is Killing the Children, Vol. 1 by James Tynion IV
I hope the rest of the series lives up to this start, because I loved this. The story is not complex, and the title says it all. In the quiet little town of Archer’s Peak, kids start to go missing, and then their corpses start being found. Is it a rabid bear? A serial killer that can bust through walls like the Kool-Aid man yet leave no trace? The locals are clueless, helpless, and kids are in danger…. And then Erica comes to town. She can see what the adults can’t.
Volume 1 is character introduction and a lot of action. Erica is part of something that appears to be a small monster-hunting secret society. There is almost zero backstory or worldbuilding, and if this was only one volume I’d be disappointed. But I’m hooked and I want to see what happens next.
Fantastic artwork.
+20 task
+5 review
Task total = 25
Season total = 635
B2
I21
N33
G
O
10.9 N41 - Title Includes a NumberNine Lives by Peter Swanson
Someone else posted this book earlier and described it as Agatha Christie-like - I agree! It was a good puzzle (and in fact, the author referenced a few Agatha Christie titles throughout, so I doubt it was coincidental!). The intrigue kept me hooked and guessing throughout, though I think the ending came about a bit too fast -- didn't quite feel earned. But in general a fun & relaxing read.
+10 Task
+ 5 Review
Task total: 15
Season Total: 185
20.24 G54 4 word titleThey Called Us Enemy by George Takei
This is banned right? It must be banned in like 90% of America right now because it has the audacity to teach actual history.
I was in the wrong mood for this wonderful graphic novel, because today I had the straw. And it was not one of the huge injustices of this crumbling empire, it was one of the everyday ones. So I went into this MAD, and I came out of it an unpleasant mix of depressed and tired and ready to BURN IT ALL, but also hopeful that there are enough people who care about things in the world to change it.
Takei is able to remain a positive force in the world despite all the heaviness, despite the far-too-slow movement towards something better. His father did not give up or become hateful, he did what he could for his community. I need to focus on that lesson and take that energy into some situations that I might actually be able to push the needle on. A little. I’m mad that I’m not going to be able to fix a thing but I might be able to make the next iteration less ragingly ableist… Be like the Takeis. I think I’ll watch a little Trek tonight and hopefully it will make me believe that better is still possible.
+20 task
+5 review
Task total = 25
Season total = 660
B2
I21
N33
G54
O
20.23- G52-GR Choice AwardYear of the Monkey by Patti Smith-
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Memoir & Autobiography (2019)
Patti Smith and I are both from New Jersey. We probably have little else in common. But I wish I not only knew her but was able to follow her around during her life. She is a fascinating person with amazing talent and experiences....and she is such a wonderful writer as well as a musician. This book is sort of a dreamy reminiscence of her 70th year on Earth. She starts in a motel in California called the "Dream Inn". Much of the time I couldn't detect if she was relating actual occurrences or dreams or a mixture of the two. But clearly as she reaches her 70th year in 2016 she not only remembers people she has lost in the past (family members and Robert Mapplethrope) but also those such as her friend Sandy Pearlman and her former lover Sam Shepard who die during this period. She is also a lover of books...and her knowledge of literature is so beyond my own. I love reading her just to learn about things I should read.
Task=20
Review=5
Task Total= 25
Grand Total=585
B___; ___; ___; ___;B5*;___; B7*; B8*;B9*; ___;B11: ___; ___;B14*; ___;
I___; ___;I18;I19; ___; I21; I22; ___;___; ___;___; ___; ___; ___; ___;
N__;___;N33*;___; ___;N36*;__; N38*;___;__; __;N42*; N43*;N44; __;
G _ ;G47; ___; ___; ___; ___;G52;___;G54; ___; ___; ___; __; __; ___;
O61; ___; ___; ___; ___; ___;___;___;O69;O70; ___; ___; __;___;O75
20.26 B12 Banned booksA Separate Peace. John Knowles
Appears on page 2 of Best Banned, Censored, and Challenged Books Listopia
4.0/5.0 - Set in New Hampshire at a boys' boarding school in the early years of World War II, this classic novel explores male bonding, jealousy, coming of age, and learning to deal with your truth. I was struck by the similarities to A Prayer for Owen Meany, which I read just last month.
+20 - task
+5 - review
+5 - published in 1959
Post total: 30
Season total: 730
B:
I:
N:
G:
O:
(view spoiler)
10.9 N36 Not a NovelOrwell's Roses by Rebecca Solnit
"In the spring of 1936, a writer planted roses."
Author Rebecca Solnit shows us how George Orwell loved nature and the environment. Orwell was a writer who also brought the natural world into his essays and novels. Even in the grim times of his book "Nineteen Eighty-Four," Winston Smith dreams of a beautiful landscape that he calls the Golden Country.
"Orwell's Roses" is a collection of 27 essays, some about Orwell's life or his writing, while others go off on tangents. For example, when Solnit writes about Orwell's ancestors, she also tells about the sugar plantations in Jamaica where enslaved Africans labored. When Solnit discusses roses, she tells about a trip to Colombia to visit the greenhouses that supply American florists, and the poor working conditions in the "rose factories." Tangents about the Spanish Civil War and the policies of Stalin accompany Solnit's discussions of Orwell's writing.
Solnit visited the cottage in Wallington where Orwell planted roses in 1936. He also planted a garden and fruit trees, raised a few animals, and enjoyed fishing. Plagued by lifelong respiratory problems, it was good for his health to get away from the coal smoke of London. He was also escaping the dangers of the blitz when he moved to the English village.
His last residence was on the remote Scottish island of Jura where he hoped the clean air would help in his fight against tuberculosis. Again, he had a large garden and loved to spend time outdoors fishing. Orwell requested that rose bushes mark his gravesite.
This was an exceptional collection of essays. While it helped to have such an interesting subject as Orwell, Solnit is a brilliant writer who finds unexpected connections in her essays.
+10 task
+ 5 review
Task total: 15
Season total: 160
20.25 - I27 Main character is a Private Eye (not a police detective)The Sentence Is Death (Hawthorne and Horowitz Mystery #2) by Anthony Horowitz
+20 Task
+50 BINGO (B5 - post #301; I27 - this post; N35 - post #302; G50 - post #334; O69 - post #322)
Post Total: 70
Season Total: 645
20.26 - N41 Title includes a number (either numerals or letters)The 6:20 Man by David Baldacci
Review
I have to admit that while I'm a huge fan of a couple of Baldacci's series (Atlee Pine & John Puller), I just couldn't get into the others. My interest in this one is really geared by the idea of this protagonist's 9 to 5 grind, which basically is also my life (thanks, Financial lines!), until life threw a huge spanner in his way. This made a great thrilling read (but I don't want that kind of spanner in my life, lol).
Travis Devine is an easily likeable character. He's highly intelligent and also physically capable man. And he wants truth and justice to prevail but sometimes, that just doesn't happen in real life. Due to a misstep, he is now punishing himself and redemption seems far away especially when the past came back to haunt him. There is no choice for Devine now but to dive in and find the killers as well as deal with the underhanded world of Wall Street.
He is definitely a hit with me. Baldacci definitely knows his craft and kept the pace tight yet the human interest of Devine and other characters were truly touching. I don't think the whole mystery is quite wrapped up yet though I could be wrong but I think, I hope, that this is just a set up (a first book) for a series. I'd love to see Travis Devine again and hopefully, see him more settled in his role.
+20 Task
+5 Review
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 670
20.27 - G49 MPE Page count 400-499The Redeemed (Jenny Cooper #3) by M.R. Hall
402 pages
+20 Task
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 690
10.8 B5 BiographyThe Last Emperor of Mexico: The Dramatic Story of the Habsburg Archduke Who Created a Kingdom in the New World by Edward Shawcross
10 pts 10.8
5 pts Review
Fascinating biography of Maximillian, the Mexican emperor placed on the throne by Napoleon III. Shawcross vreates an intriguing narrative that effectively describes the challenges faced by the emper while also illustating the inconsistencies and lack of focus of the Mexican court. Highly recommended
Task Total: 15pts
Season total: 130pts
B4 B5 B6 B7
I16 I27 I29
N38
G
O
20.25 I26 - InternationalThe Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
+20 Task
Task total = 20
20.27 G46 Set in: Germany, Guatemala, Greece, Georgia (country or US)Set in Atlanta, Georgia
Body Movers. Stephanie Bond
2.5/5.0 - Shades of Janet Evanovich. Cute sometimes, cliché others. Carlotta Wren has to raise her younger brother since the age of 18, when her parents took off to avoid legal problems. Her plans of college, marriage, and a comfortable lifestyle go down the drain. Ten years later, her brother, now 19 and immature, is causing problems of his own. Murders, mystery, and mayhem ensue.
+20 - task
+5 - review
Post total: 25
Season total: 755
B:
I:
N:
G:
O:
(view spoiler)
20.28 O68 Author name does not contain the letter OThe Cousins. Karen M. McManus
Although I read a lot of authors like Stephen King and Dean Koontz in my younger years, I find myself avoiding from suspense/thrillers these days. Fortunately, this was a lightweight entry into those genres. We started listening to the audio version on a recent trip, but my husband predicted the ending and lost interest, so I ended up reading the print for the rest.
Bingo #5: B4, I24, N42, G46, O68
+20 - task
+5 - review
+50 - Bingo
Post total: 75
Season total: 830
B:
I:
N:
G:
O:
(view spoiler)
10.9 N32 New to me authorThe Bride Wore Black by Cornell Woolrich
My first by Woolrich will definitely not be my last. While this was not his debut novel, it was the first novel that gained him any attention. It was made into a movie by a French director and I wonder why not in the US. I see in the wikipedia entry for Woolrich, many others of his stories and novels have been made into films, including Hitchcock's Rear Window based on the story It had to Be Murder.
There are 5 vignettes, each involving a murder. The reader can easily recognize they are perpetrated by the same woman. However the police take some time to consider the murders might be connected in some way. The reader has no knowledge of why and until one policeman begins to piece together the why, no apprehension could be made.
This is certainly a different way to present a mystery novel! It isn't a format I would like reading regularly, but it worked well here and I can't complain. This was first published in 1940 when other US crime writers such as Dashiell Hammett, Erle Stanley Gardner and Raymond Chandler were also publishing and Woolrich can be thought of alongside those greats. 4-stars for originality.
+10 task
+ 5 Review
+ 5 Before 1997 (1940)
Task total = 20
Season total = 220
20.25 B4 Before Historical FictionThe Lioness by Chris Bohjalian
+20 task
+50 5th Bingo: B4, I28, N36, G56, O63
Post total: 70
Season total: 680
20.26 B5, Biography, Autobiography, MemoirThey Called Us Enemy by George Takei
I've always been vaguely aware of what happened to Japanese-Americans after Pearl Harbor, but it was so powerful to hear the story as told by someone who lived it.
I hate that America keeps making the same awful, emotion-driven mistakes over and over throughout its history...this past week especially has driven that home. I just keep hoping, as Takei did, that there are still good people out there...his hope, grace, and fortitude after everything he went through in the internment camps was inspiring and comforting to say the least.
+20 Task
+5 Review
Task total: 25
Season total: 780
B 1, 5, 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
20.27 I19, Author's first name is Ian/Iain, Isaac, Ivan/a, Isabel, IrisWe Trade Our Night for Someone Else's Day by Ivana Bodrožić
Set in Croatia after years of political upheaval, violent racial war, and unbridled corruption, this is touted as an "extraordinary noir page-turner" which a lot of people loved...but I found it so confusing. The way it bounced around between time lines and story lines and maybe it's because I listened to it that there wasn't clear definition of what was what, maybe there was stuff lost in translation, in any case I didn't love. I never had a strong sense of any of the characters, didn't feel any connection or urgency about the story. Not my jam.
+20 Task
+5 Review
Task total: 25
Season total: 805
B 1, 5, 6, 9, 11, 12
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 27
N 35, 36, 38, 39, 43
G 49, 52, 53, 56, 60
O 61, 63, 65, 68, 74
20.28 N33, Title has 3+ NsAmerican Ronin by Peter Milligan
More noir, man this has been one dark summer in my brain.
At least this one had a decent message, one that keeps popping up in different stories I've been reading: empathy is the key to this whole living thing.
The way it told the story though, holy cow--dark and twisty and sci-fi and Tarantino-on-steroids. A ronin in feudal Japan was "a wandering samurai who had no lord or master"--the American Ronin was a super-human created by a corporation to do its bidding but he escapes it (the whole "no lord or master" part) and decides to take the corp down. Only he's not the only genetically modified super-human and now he has a monster on his tail...
+20 Task
+5 Review
Task total: 25
Season total: 830
B 1, 5, 6, 9, 11, 12
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 27
N 33, 35, 36, 38, 39, 43
G 49, 52, 53, 56, 60
O 61, 63, 65, 68, 74
20.29 G46, Set in: Germany, Guatemala, Greece, or GeorgiaThe Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler by John Hendrix
This was not your typical graphic novel.
The art was spare and haunting, entirely colored in red, black, teal, and white (if you've ever played the board game "Secret Hitler," you'll be familiar with the color scheme--and I know that game sounds awful, but it's downright thrilling when you finally find and stop the fascist bastard).
It's so hard for me right now to read about the seeds of fascism taking root (it's a little too real in the world right now), but it was a beautiful testament to the many people who saw Hitler and his cronies for what they were and tried to stop him, even unto forsaking their lives.
I had never heard the name Dietrich Bonhoeffer before, but I am so glad to have heard his story of bravery, faith, and sacrifice.
+20 Task
+5 Review
Task total: 25
Season total: 855
B 1, 5, 6, 9, 11, 12
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 27
N 33, 35, 36, 38, 39, 43
G 46, 49, 52, 53, 56, 60
O 61, 63, 65, 68, 74
20.30 O66, Title has a repeated wordWhat We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver
The first couple of stories in this collection had me slitting my eyes: really, Carver? You're gonna just end those stories like that? Hmph.
The next couple, I was loosening up a bit: okay, I see you. I see what you're doing.
By the end, I was sold.
The man can write. Even when I don't like a character, it's because he's so well-drawn that I can recognize him as people I've known...an entire life and personality conjured in the matter of two sentences.
It was masterful. Even when I didn't love the stories, I still recognized his talent.
+20 Task
+5 Review
+5 Oldies, pub. 1981
+50 Sixth Bingo: B5, I19, N33, G46, O66
Task total: 80
Season total: 935
B 1, 5, 6, 9, 11, 12
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 27
N 33, 35, 36, 38, 39, 43
G 46, 49, 52, 53, 56, 60
O 61, 63, 65, 66, 68, 74
15.16 - O64 - Orange Prize & Women's Prize (winners and nominees)The Observations by Jane Harris
Bessy Buckley (not her real name) stops on her walk from Glasgow to Edinburgh in the 18th century to help a lady catch a pig, and ends up working in the house as the maid. But the lady has an unusual interest in Bessy's inner life, and they both have secrets in their past.
I really enjoyed this, my second book by this author. It reminded me of the work of Sarah Waters, (view spoiler)
+15 Task
+ 5 Review
+50 Bingo: Second Bingo; B10, I19, N38, G50, O64
Task Total = 70
Season Total = 410
15.17 - I28 - If, if, if ... Speculative Fiction, Time Travel, Alternate HistoryChildren of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
With humanity warring on Earth, Dr Avrana Kern plants the seeds of evolution on a distant planet. Many centuries later, people arrive in desperate need of a new home. But life on the experimental world hasn’t turned out the way Dr Kern expected.
Adrian Tchaikovsky has an amazing imagination! I love the way he describes “enhanced” animals (here and in Dogs of War) and their different evolution in both thought and engineering – for example, in this book they never invent the wheel because it isn’t useful for them, but they come up with creative solutions to problems, which can turn out to be better than ours.
+15 Task, 65 shelvings as Speculative Fiction
+ 5 Review
+ 5 Jumbo
Task Total = 25
Season Total = 435
20.21 N45 Set in: Nicaragua, Norway, Netherlands, New ZealandNorway
The Caller by Karin Fossum
+20 Task
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 420
20.25. O63 ORPHANPrism Stalker, Vol. 1 by Sloane Leong
This was trippy, disorienting, and ultimately frustrating. This is not a stand alone collection, but an introduction… unfortunately is appears that the series was cancelled, and Vol 1 is all that there is. (I did see that a sequel is expected late 2022, so hopefully that will complete an arc).
Vep is a humanoid refugee that has spent her life tending to an alien hive. The reader does not know what happened to her home world, only that it was apparently made inhabitable in a terrorist attack. Survivors were “rescued” by Sverans, who separate the children from adults and put them to work in their disturbing nursery/food tourism business. The children are severed from their language and culture, retaining just enough memory to know they’ve lost something important.
Vep is selected by a representative of The Chorus (seems to be the main societal power in universe) to be a foot soldier in their colonization efforts of a different planet. But it’s not bad according to The Chorus… the planet only has lower life forms. Nothing to feel bad about killing and subjugating.
Vep has her doubts though.
And that’s pretty much where it ends. There is SO MUCH going on, and while it’s a bit like drinking from a firehouse it’s very effective and affecting.
+20 task
+5 review
+50 BINGO
Task total = 75
Season total = 735
B2
I21
N33
G54
O63
30.31 B8, Author first name Bob, Brian, Barry, Beverly, BarbaraEx Machina: The Deluxe Edition, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan
Mitchel Hundred, a civil servant and engineer by training, becomes a real life superhero: think Spiderman, but instead of being bitten by a spider he's "bitten" by a machine. Now he can "talk" to all machines and they follow his will. He makes a costume and a jetpack and becomes a vigilante superhero, trying to stop crime and help people but ultimately realizes he's hurting just as many people in his attempt to help.
So he runs for office and is elected mayor of NYC.
I was glad to get my hands on the deluxe edition, which combined volumes one and two...that way I got to read the story line of Mayor Hundred conducting the first gay marriage in New York (this was first published on the heels of the first gay marriage in US history, so I love that the author is showing his support through his story).
+30 Task
+5 Review
Task total: 35
Season total: 970
B 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 27
N 33, 35, 36, 38, 39, 43
G 46, 49, 52, 53, 56, 60
O 61, 63, 65, 66, 68, 74
30.32 I22, Two word titleThe Guncle by Steven Rowley
I was totally sucked in by the cover and title. I knew it was gonna be funny and sweet and it didn't disappoint...though I felt a little meh about it by the end.
GUP (Gay Uncle Patrick) used to star on a tv show and when the show was canceled, he ran to the desert to hide.
Maisie and Grant, his niblings, have just lost their mother (Sarah, Patrick's best friend) to cancer and their father (his brother) to rehab and find themselves leaving their East Coast home to stay with him in Palm Springs for the summer.
I loved the characters and the tender, humorous way the story is told. I adored the flashbacks to Patrick and Sarah's friendship in college and afterwards living in NYC.
I did not love it read by the author. He voiced Patrick wonderfully, but often the kids ventured into shrill and annoying. I hated that details would be dropped in such a way that they were gonna be a "thing" in the story, and then they just fell off the face of the earth.
It was a 3-star, fun-ish summer read for me.
+30 Task
+5 Review
Task total: 35
Season total: 1005
B 1, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 27
N 33, 35, 36, 38, 39, 43
G 46, 49, 52, 53, 56, 60
O 61, 63, 65, 66, 68, 74
30.33 B7, Best books, rating 4.0 or betterThe Weary Blues by Langston Hughes
This is Hughes's first published collection of poetry. He was just twenty-four and the man had already lived hard and wide: he'd lived all over the US before finishing high school then signed onto a ship where he saw the world.
This seasoned-beyond-the-author's-years collection has jazz beats and sings the world. It contains odes to women, cries for equality, strains of hope and sorrow. It's got some of the greatest hits in here: Epilogue ("I, too, sing America"), Proem, and my longtime personal favorite, Mother to Son ("Well, son I'll tell you: / Life for me ain't been no crystal stair").
Love. Love love love.
+30 Task, 4.45 avg rating
+5 Review
+5 Oldies, pub. 1925
Task total: 40
Season total: 1045
B 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 27
N 33, 35, 36, 38, 39, 43
G 46, 49, 52, 53, 56, 60
O 61, 63, 65, 66, 68, 74
30.34 N41, Title includes a numberYear Zero Vol. 1 by Benjamin Percy
This graphic novel follows the stories of five people around the world (Antarctica, Mexico, Japan, Afghanistan, USA) at the dawn of the zombie apocalypse. I'm not normally a fan of zombie fiction, but every once in a while I'm pleasantly surprised (Zombieland, Warm Bodies, and the iZombie tv series specifically). This will definitely expand my "pleasantly surprised" list.
It not only shows us our patient zero (which is normally the thing that makes me crazy about zombie stuff--I want a HOW zombies happened and not just a "take it on faith" situation), but shows different scenarios as they play out on the world stage.
Now if I could just get my hands on volume two :-/
+30 Task
+5 Review
Task total: 35
Season total: 1080
B 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 27
N 33, 35, 36, 38, 39, 41, 43
G 46, 49, 52, 53, 56, 60
O 61, 63, 65, 66, 68, 74
30.35 G47, GothicNorthanger Abbey by Nancy Butler
I love me some Austen, but I will be the first to admit that the language sometimes trips me up. I have to develop an ear for it (it's the same reason that I tend to read a lot of Shakespeare at once: it takes me a while to remember how to "hear" him, so once I've got that developed I want to indulge in it before I step away). Often, if I'm familiar with the story, it's easier to just jump in. Well, Northanger is the only Austen I'd never read, seen a production of, or even known an inkling of the plot...so I thought I'd ease into it by reading this graphic novel adaptation.
Now I know why I've never encountered it before. It was *annoying*. I realize it was written to poke fun at the gothic novels that were so popular at the time, but it has lost its piquancy in the intervening years I fear. Perhaps when I read the novel itself (now that I'm familiar with the plot/characters/relationships) I won't find it so, but I fear I will (the graphic novel was essentially an abridged version of the novel, the language taken directly from the book).
+30 Task
+5 Review
Task total: 35
Season total: 1105
B 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 27
N 33, 35, 36, 38, 39, 41, 43
G 46, 47, 49, 52, 53, 56, 60
O 61, 63, 65, 66, 68, 74
30.36 O70, Book published in the '70s any centuryThe Water is Wide by Pat Conroy
This is my carryover book from last season. It shouldn't have taken me so long to read, but the only time I'd read it was a few pages before bed every night so it took a lot longer than it should have.
This is the memoir of Pat Conroy, who taught black children in the '60s on an island off the coast of South Carolina. It was beautifully written and fearless, showing not only the insidious racism and prejudice of the whites in power but also of the people on the island and of the author himself. While at times infuriating, this memoir told with generosity and humor was a worthy read.
+30 Task, published 1972
+5 Oldies
+5 Review
+50 Seventh Bingo: B8, I22, N41, G47, O70
Task total: 90
Season total: 1195
B 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 27
N 33, 35, 36, 38, 39, 41, 43
G 46, 47, 49, 52, 53, 56, 60
O 61, 63, 65, 66, 68, 70, 74
30.37 I25, ITW Thriller AwardJar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier
This was dark and moody and a little past belief, much like the city it's set in. Seattle, late 90s: Angela, the popular cheerleader, and her less-popular sidekick, Geo, go to a party. Craziness ensues; only one of them survives. Angela's body is found years later, after Geo has graduated college, quickly risen the corporate ladder at a pharma company, and gotten engaged.
Everything comes tumbling down as layers of history are uncovered.
It was a compelling story, but only a three-star read for me: the characters were meh and the ending was GARBAGE--a little too "ta da!" turns into "blah" for me.
+30 Task, winner 2019
+5 Review
Task total: 35
Season total: 1230
B 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 25, 27
N 33, 35, 36, 38, 39, 41, 43
G 46, 47, 49, 52, 53, 56, 60
O 61, 63, 65, 66, 68, 70, 74
30.38 N31, New to me authorThe Cat Who Saved Books by Sōsuke Natsukawa
Rintaro is a high school student whose grandfather has just died and left him his secondhand bookstore. He knows he needs to sell it (I mean, he IS just in high school, for crying out loud!), but he loves it so every spare second he has he's there. One day, Tiger the tabby shows up and demands his help to "save books." What follows is a fable about reading today, with Tiger as our Virgil leading us (and Rintaro) through strange circles of madness: to men who keep books as prisoners on their shelves, men who chop up entire books into synopses so people can read them faster, and men who throw books out windows unless they're wildly popular and can make him mounds of money.
This was a sweet and simple read and as both a cat and book lover, the cockles of my heart were warmed that it was a cat on a mission to save the written word.
[Side note: one FASCINATING thing I learned in the note on translation--"Japanese lacks true pronouns"!? What!? That's AMAZING! There is so much hullabaloo in English when people choose different pronouns--how wild (and wonderful?) to have a language where it would be a non-issue! People could just BE, without the inherent judgement attached by requesting pronouns other than the "expected".]
+30 Task
+5 Review
Task total: 35
Season total: 1265
B 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 25, 27
N 31, 33, 35, 36, 38, 39, 41, 43
G 46, 47, 49, 52, 53, 56, 60
O 61, 63, 65, 66, 68, 70, 74
30.39 G54, Title has four wordsThe Lives of Saints by Leigh Bardugo
I love the world that Leigh Bardugo has built. Love even more that she has published works that are central to that world, namely a collection of the fairy tales that are referenced (The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic) and this, the story of the saints revered in Ravka.
I started reading King of Scars and after many references to saints and the church, I remembered about the existence of this book so took a break to brush up on my saints (view spoiler).
SO GOOD. And the art! There is a picture depicting each saint at the beginning of their story and the art is absolutely lovely.
+30 Task
+5 Review
Task total: 35
Season total: 1300
B 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 25, 27
N 31, 33, 35, 36, 38, 39, 41, 43
G 46, 47, 49, 52, 53, 54, 56, 60
O 61, 63, 65, 66, 68, 70, 74
30.40 O72, Set in Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, or OntarioOut of the Dust by Karen Hesse
I was a messed up kid...most kids were scared of the dark or the boogeyman or spiders: I was terrified of another Depression and the dust bowl happening again, i.e.: climate disaster. Reading books about these things gave me a specific kind of terror and still does a bit...
So, sure, why don't I pick up a dust bowl book! I thought: it's a kids book! it's a novel in verse! It'll be fine...and it was for the most part...only a little residual anxiety :-/
Billie Jo has known hardship: not only has she endured personal tragedy, she's living through one of the worst times in American history. But she's still a young girl, one with a passion for music, bemoaning the monotonous chores of school and home, and a crush on the cutest boy in class. I love that the author puts this looming event that has terrified me for so many years into a proper perspective: yes, it was awful, but it becomes background noise to Life and Life endures.
+30 Task, set in Oklahoma
+5 Review
+5 Oldies, pub 1997
+50 Eighth Bingo: B7, I28, N31, G54, O72
B 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 25, 27
N 31, 33, 35, 36, 38, 39, 41, 43
G 46, 47, 49, 52, 53, 54, 56, 60
O 61, 63, 65, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74
Task total: 90
Season total: 1390
15.12 - N39: MPE 300-399Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon
MPE: 325 pages
Published in 1996
Task: 15
Before 1997: 5
Post total: 20
Season total: 230
B 4,7,6
I 24,21
N 34,44,39
G56,52
O 65,66
20.29 B10 Author born in the 10s (xx10-xx19) any centuryLilian Jackson Braun was born June 20, 1913
The Cat Who Saw Red. Lilian Jackson Braun
This is the first book that I've read in this series, and I definitely could see myself reading more of them. Things that stuck out for me: (view spoiler) all the murders (?) take place off page, way off page, this book was written 20 years after the previous installment, and then the author wrote 25 more books in the series over the next 20 years. The character is a reporter, the timeframe is the 1980s, so the book brings you to a different time and place than the average cozy mystery available today. Although I'm not a pet person, myself, I did find Koko and Yum Yum, the two Siamese cats to be adorable.
+20 - task
+5 - review
+5 - published in 1986
Post total: 30
Season total: 860
B:
I:
N:
G:
O:
(view spoiler)
10.4 N44 two sets of double letters in nameThe Fortnight in September by R.C. Sherriff
The Fortnight in September is a beautifully written story of a family-of-four's annual September beach vacation at Bognor on the coast of England. The story could be very boring to some readers looking for a page turner, but to those enjoying a gentle, nostalgic read about everyday life, this one is a winner. While at the shore, past and future worries and incidents are remembered and some are resolved -- the story is full of regular life details, too. Recommended to fans of 1930s fiction. A sample of the lovely atmospheric writing: "But the encroaching nights of September add a new scene to the panorama of the day: the music from the band seems to flow from a crown of sparkling jewels.." and the pretty words continue until the end of the paragraph and beyond. Easy 4 stars.
+10 Task
+5 Review
+5 Oldie
Task Total: 20
Season Total: 70
20.26 G52 - Good reads Choice AwardsCloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
+20 Task
+5 Jumbo 626 pages
Task total = 25
+50 Fifth Bingo B13, I20, N40, G52, O73
Post Total: 75
Season Total: 665
20.27 G48 - Go in titleWhere the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire
+20 Task
Task total = 20
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 685
10.5 B3 Booker Prize winner or nomineeThe Marrying of Chani Kaufman by Eve Harris
This book was on my TBR for a long time and thanks to this challenge, it fits a task or two. At first, I thought the author was degrading the life of this religious sect (Orthodox Jewish, Charedi) because of the use of dismal, earthy adjectives describing the people and places (please, no more "congealed" or "steamy") but gradually the characters' lives and choices became very interesting. Chani and Baruch are a young London couple entering an arranged marriage for life. The Rabbi's wife is the third main character and the timeline for her story begins in the 1980s in Jerusalem. The writing was well done; describing religious life could be tricky. Very interesting. I wonder why she didn't write another book (or did she?) Easy 4 stars.
+10 Task (longlisted for the Booker)
+5 Review
+50 First Bingo B3 - I18 - N44 - G50 - O74
Task Total: 65
Season Total: 135
20.26 O65 5 word titleA Special Place for Women by Laura Hankin
Not for me. Not at all.
This book is all “white feminism is problematic” and then shrugs and goes deep into aspirational-lifestyle-porn.
I mean. I just cannot. I’m all for opulent fantasy… luxury is fun to dream about. But this book seems ashamed of the desire to be one of the elite, and so it snarks at it to disguise the covetousness. Tries to add social commentary about the dangers of a social structure that it still wants to uphold.
This was a teaspoon shallow YA ugly duckling plot, that should have just stuck to the cute romance that it really wanted to be. It would have been much less boring if it picked that lane and stayed in it.
+20 task
+5 review
Task total = 25
Season total = 760
B
I
N
G
O65
10.10 - N33, Title has 3+ NsL'institut des Benjamines by Anne Simon
+10 Task
Task total = 10
Season total = 150
B:
I:
N:
G:
O:
10.10 G56 - HumorTracy Flick Can't Win by Tom Perrotta
Hmmmm...although one of the top genres on this one is humor, I wouldn't say it was particularly funny! Enjoyable, yes, but not funny. It is very Tom Perrotta - short chapters, a distinctive style, suburban drama just under the surface. And a reemergence of Tracy Flick, from Election - a movie I watched quite a bit when I was younger. This book made me feel extremely sympathetic toward Tracy, though. She's a high school assistant principal, aiming for principal, dealing with the egos and football obsession and red tape involved, and as she was in Election, focusing on being incredibly competent at her job. However, in Election she was portrayed as almost laughable, in her hyper-focus and hyper-competence. Here, Perrotta has mellowed a little and it's clear she is just doing a better job than others, in an important role, and not getting credit for it. I actually found it kind of sad.
+10 task (shelved as Humor 10x)
+ 5 Review
Task total: 15
+50 Bingo: Second Bingo - B9, I26, N41, G56, O74
Post Total: 65
Season Total: 250
20.22 G52 Goodreads Choice Award winners and nomineesThe Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
+20 Task
Task Total: 20
+50 Bingo: Fourth Bingo - G46, G47, G52, G54, G57
Post Total: 70
Season Total: 490
15.18 - O65 - Title has 5 wordsCan Any Mother Help Me? by Jenna Bailey
In 1935 an isolated young mother wrote a letter to a magazine which resulted in a group of English, Scottish and Welsh women beginning their own newsletter by correspondence. They continued - those who survived - until 1990, writing regular articles about the joys and tragedies of their lives. Some of the articles were eventually donated to the Mass Observation social history project, where Jenna Bailey found them and sought permission from the women's families to publish a selection, first for a thesis, then as this book.
Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys social history or the type of books that Persephone Books publish. But be warned that towards the end there are some harrowing descriptions of bereavement and illness, particularly cancer treatments of the time.
+15 Task
+ 5 Review
+50 Bingo: Third Bingo; B9, I26, N39, G49, O65
Task Total = 70
Season Total = 505
15.13 - G49Flamefall x Rosaria Munda
Page count of paperback -482
Task 15
Post : 15
Seasonal total : 245
B 4,7,6
I 24,21
N 34,44,39
G56,52, 49
O 65,66
20.24-N31- New to me AuthorBooks Promiscuously Read: Reading as a Way of Life by Heather Cass White
I expected this to be a "Book About Books"... but it was really a study about why we read and what happens when we read. It could be a Masters thesis. The overall theme is reading has many attributes and the reader should be open to all of them and expect that connections will be made with some and misses with many others. But even the misses affect us. I wonder what the author would think of my reading habits? I'm not very good at getting many of the allusions or symbolic references in literature (especially if they pertain to popular culture.) Despite my abilities, I've always loved reading and the reason I join so many challenges is to make sure I'm exposed to so many different genres and cultures. And, yes, I do read books promiscuously...often picking a book up without knowing much, if anything about it.
Task=20
Review=5
Task Total= 25
Grand Total=610
B___; ___; ___; ___;B5*;___; B7*; B8*;B9*; ___;B11: ___; ___;B14*; ___;
I___; ___;I18;I19; ___; I21; I22; ___;___; ___;___; ___; ___; ___; ___;
N31;___;N33*;___; ___;N36*;__; N38*;___;__; __;N42*; N43*;N44; __;
G _ ;G47; ___; ___; ___; ___;G52;___;G54; ___; ___; ___; __; __; ___;
O61; ___; ___; ___; ___; ___;___;___;O69;O70; ___; ___; __;___;O75
20.28 B10 - Author born in 10sThe Songs of Distant Earth by Arthur C. Clarke
+20 Task born 1917
+5 Oldies pub’d 1986
Task total = 25
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 710
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
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)
More...
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)
More...
Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch
Review - this was definitely a fun read.
just like the first book did, i've never been to Ireland, but this book perfectly described it enough for me to be able to picture myself being there. in Ireland, the Emerald Isle, with Addie, Ian, and Rowan.
the family trope in this one did it for me. the four brothers and only, little sister? i was so glad to know that none of them were dicks. loved Addie and Ian's dynamic, too.
but i hoped we'd get to see more of Rowan's story. and be able to build up their relationship with Addie even more.
also, i thoroughly enjoyed the guidebook lady's excerpts. half of me hoped that they would somehow meet her by the end of the book.
+10 Task
+ 5 Review
Task total = 15
Post total: 15
Season Total: 20 + 15 + 15 + 15 + 15 + 15 + 15 + 65 + 15 = 190
1st BINGO: B1; I22; N31; G54; O71
2nd BINGO:
B — 1; 6;
I — 22; 24; 23;
N — 31;
G — 54;
O — 71; 69;