Reading with Style discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Archives
>
Completed Tasks FA 23
15.3 CoSOur Town by Thornton Wilder
+15 Task, Canon (approved in thread, Wilder's Three Plays: Our Town / The Skin of Our Teeth / The Matchmaker is on the list)
Task total: 15
Season total: 120
10.1 Over 60The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons
Another book about a person in their twilight years, yearning for the end, then meeting someone who makes them want to stick around a little longer...
I'm not complaining! I have actually loved every single one that I've read (this, A Man Called Ove, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry--though he wasn't exactly "yearning for the end", The Story of Arthur Truluv, and I would maybe add The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot).
Eudora is ready to go. She never married. Her mother (for whom Eudora was caretaker) has recently died. She has no purpose, no joy, and no will to go on. Enter Rose, the new neighbor--anten-year-old sparkly rainbow of joy and imagination who demands entrance into Eudora's home and heart.
Every other chapter takes us back in time to hear Eudora's history and BOY is it a doozy!
I quite enjoyed the writing and adored the story and the characters were fully drawn and feel like friends by the end. Definitely recommend.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task total: 20
Season total: 140
15.3 Celebration of StylesYoung - Author was born 12/11/79, age 43
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
Task total: 15
Season total: 225
15.2The "It" Factor: Be the One People Like, Listen To, and Remember by Mark Wiskup
Style: not-a-novel
Task total: 15
Grand total: 200
15.3 Celebration of StylesFeuilles Volantes by Alexandre Clérisse
Young (born 1980)
+15 Task
Task total = 15
Points total = 190
... ; ... ; 10.3 ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; 10.8 ; ... ; ...
15.1 ; 15.2 ; 15.3 ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ...
20.1 ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; 20.7 ; 20.8 ; 20.9 ; 20.10
Post 178 Valerie wrote: "10.6 September13 Clues for Miss Marple by Agatha Christie
Of course, I had to read a Miss Marple book after the last one! However, St Mary Mead is only mentioned a..."
I'm showing this as first published in 1966, so only +5 Oldies, not +10.
15.10 Celebration of StylesFear and Trembling by Amélie Nothomb
+15 Task (1001)
+100 Finisher
+50 Finisher Bonus for 7 styles
Post Total: 165
Season Total: 400
20.1 Author! Author!Less by Andrew Sean Greer
I didn't plan to read this, but I saw Joanne had read the second book in the series, and it just happened to work for something else I needed to fill elsewhere. To be honest, until I saw Joanne's post, I knew nothing about it.
The synopsis says that Arthur Less is a failed novelist. I don't think that is really fair, he has published 2 or 3 novels, and I think if you get passed the first one you are not failing. What I would say, is that Arthur Less is someone who is a little unsure of himself, he doesn't feel he is quite good enough, and exacerbating this is the fact that his former lover is getting married and has invited him to the wedding.
To escape, Arthur takes on a trip to 5 or 6 countries around the world, which continue to prove that Arthur is not unsuccessful, he is just a little different, and this adventure is pleasant enough.
The novel seems to look at what is love, how do we love, is love forever, can you choose love, and what is happiness. I did find it somewhat predictable though, and incredibly frustrating that he is referred to as Less rather than Arthur throughout the book.
I had accidentally ordered the second book from the library first, so I will read that soon, but this was only a 3.5 stars from me.
+20 task
+10 Prizeworthy (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2018; Australian Book Industry Award for International Book 2019)
+5 multiple
+10 review
Post Total = 45
Season Total = 405
10.6; 10.7 (x3);
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4;
20.1 (x3); ... ; ...; ...; 20.5; ....; ....; 20.8; ....; 20.10 (x2)
Post 199 Tawallah wrote: "10.5 October Four Past Midnight by Stephen King
Task: 10
Oldies: 5 published in 1990
Jumbo : 10 paperback 744 pages
Prize Worthy : 5 Bram Stoker Award for Best Ficti..."
+5 Multiple (previous post 159)
Task 10.7 Scrabble (Anika's Task) Read a book whose title would score at least 23 points using the Scrabble scoring system.
Scrabble Score: 43
The Secret Ingredient of Wishes (2016) by Susan Bishop Crispell
Review: The Secret Ingredient of Wishes is a Magic Realism novel, set in a small town in North Carolina. Our heroine, Rachel, can make wishes come true. One would think this is a good thing, right? But it isn’t. The wish coming true often has unintended negative side effects. Even when the wish coming true is beneficial to the wisher, there are others for whom the wish results in a negative outcome. Rachel, when she was 10 years old, got annoyed with her 4 year old brother Michael, and wished him out of existence. So much out of existence that she was the only one who remembers that Michael used to exist. No matter what she tried, she couldn’t get Michael to return. Her parents thought she was delusional, and so Rachel spent a lot of time in insane asylums. Now an adult, Rachel has sworn to never grant wishes again. The only person who believes her about Michael and the wishes is her best friend Mary Beth. (It is necessary for her mental health that SOMEONE believes her, so Yeah! Mary Beth.) One day, as an adult, Rachel grants a random wish. Shaken at breaking her resolve never to grant wishes, she quits her job, hops in her car and starts driving for the beach. Her car breaks down in a small town in North Carolina (nowhere near the beach). A very peculiar small town, where many people have a touch of magic at their command. The story proceeds from that point. There’s a sense of surprise throughout as the reader never knows when a new magical ability is uncovered in the magic-friendly small town. The author also includes conventional family drama intermixed with the magic, and a romance. Recommended for fantasy readers.
+10 Task
+05 Repeat a task
+10 Review
Task Total: 10 + 05 + 10 = 25
Grand Total: 105 + 25 = 130
20.8 MorrisonDescendant of the Crane by Joan He
Mmmm I really wanted to like this one but I. Did not. So much about the royal court and the trial made no sense. The MC is pursuing a murder trial, which you would think puts her on the prosecution side, but she does not actually have a suspect in mind, so it's up to the Investigation Bureau to accuse people and present evidence, which is wrong to her again and again so she ends up being defense instead. The lawyer that she hires is a bad boy criminal who the story selects for her just... because. Maybe I can overlook how forced that is if these two characters had chemistry, but they don't really, and they don't even interact that much. After a certain point in the book, the love interest isn't even essential to the plot, so his existence really feels unnecessary. There are some twists in the second half of the book that maybe would have been interesting if I wasn't so checked out from the beginning. I mostly read the book because I was interested in the world building of a Chinese-themed royal setting with magic, but the world building was kind of lacking to me.
+20 Task
+10 Review
Task total: 30
Season total: 95 + 30 = 125
15.5 Celebration of StylesSuite Française by Irène Némirovsky
Young, Irene Nemirovsky was 39 when she died
+15 task
Post Total = 15
Season Total = 420
10.6; 10.7 (x3);
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4; 15.5;
20.1 (x3); ... ; ...; ...; 20.5; ....; ....; 20.8; ....; 20.10 (x2)
15.3 Celebration of Styles -OldHonored Enemy by Raymond E. Feist-Born in 1945
Points this Task 15
Season Total 150
15.4 Celebration of StylesCrying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
+15 Task - Not-a-Novel (it's a memoir)
Task total: 15
Grand total: 275
20.7 ChristieEpitaph by Mary Doria Russell
20 pts 20.7 Christie 1880s to c 1950
10 pts Review
5 pts Prizeworthy Ohioana Book Award Winner
5 pts Jumbo
A sequel to the story of Doc Holliday and the Wyatt brothers in Dodge KS, this novel is set in the runup to and aftermath of the shootout at the OK Corral. Generally interesting, especially with the interpersonal relationships between the protagonists. Unfortunately, the novel gets bogged down in the details of posses riding out to avenge some wrong. Frankly, even the numerous gunfights got a bit tedious.
The epilogue, what happened after the primary events of the novel, seemed a bit superfluous as well. Not enough to illuminate the effects of frontier justice on those who survived, but too much to really hold the reader’s attention.
Task Total: 40pts
Season Total: 70 pts
219
… … … … … … … … … …
… … … … … …20.7 20.8 … …
… … … … … … … … … …
20.3 DickensA Silent Witness by R. Austin Freeman
The first person narrator is accustomed to walking late at night. One night he passed a stump that stort of looked like a foot, and when he got to the end of the lane and retraced his steps he looked more closely. Yes, a foot - attached to a dead man. He quickly made his way to the nearest police station and reported it. When he showed the police where the body was, the body was gone. The police did little with the report, believing the report undoubtedly false. Dead men don’t get up and walk away.
And then, sort of nothing happens for too many pages. At least that was the way it seemed at the time. I did trust the author to tie things together, though, and my trust was well placed. The plot is good enough for the time period as are the characterizations. The writing is probably slightly above average.
I have one more by the author and then we’ll see if I’m interested in reading more of this series. I’m willing to find a 4th star for this one.
+20 Task (Freeman born 1862)
+10 Review
+10 Oldies (pub’d 1914)
+ 5 Multiple (first post for this task at #120)
Task total = 45
Season total = 285
20.6 WilderThis Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
Narrator gives age as 12, almost 13. See thread
+20 pts - task
Task Total -20 pts
15.1 Celebration of Styles The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Style: 1001 bookshelf
Task: 15
Season total: 135
10.4 Debut Reputation by Lex Croucher
https://www.fantasticfiction.com/c/le...
The GR bio is not clear on this author's gender, but in the bio printed inside the book it's "she" and "her".
+10 Task (pub 2021)
Post Total = 10
Season Total = 315
10.5 October Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Robert Maturin
A horror novel from 1820. A young man inherits a castle in Ireland along with the family legend of a cruel and evil ancestor who may still be alive, having sold his soul to the devil.
I found this a struggle because of the nested stories within stories. We quickly leave the Irish castle and embark on a long and rambling tale of a young Spanish man who is forced to become a monk. Then we have the story of a young girl who has been washed up on a desert island before returning to Spain. There was an old Jewish man in there somewhere, too. All of these people encounter the evil Melmoth, but there was too much of their back story and not enough Melmoth for me.
+10 Task (on list as Charles Maturin)
+10 Review
+15 Oldies (1820)
+ 5 Jumbo
Post Total = 40
Season Total = 355
20.6 Wilder Just William by Richmal Crompton
As posted in help thread, "William Brown is an eleven-year-old boy"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_Wi... (first line under "Characters")
+20 Task
+10 Oldies (1922)
Post Total = 30
Season Total = 385
20.10 Letters Lamentation by C.J. Sansom
Set in 1546 with several letters sent and received, eg "I saw there was a new letter from Hugh Curteys on the table."
+20 Task
+ 5 Multiple
+ 5 Jumbo
Post Total = 30
Season Total = 415
10.7 - Scrabble (Anika's Task)These Tangled Vines by Julianne MacLean
THESE = 1 + 4 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 8
TANGLED = 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 9
VINES = 4 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 8
8 + 9 + 8 = 25
+10 task
Task total = 10
Season Total = 140
10.9 GeorgiaChiefs by Stuart Woods
A well written historical novel set in a small town in Georgia from its founding about 1910 to 1963. The focus is the police department from its first chief to its first black chief in the early 1960’s. The mystery is not who did it but if he will be caught.
I have read that historical novels should be judged by the time period depicted, the time period in which it was written and the time period in which the reader experiences it.
Time period depicted in the book: 1919-1963
Time written: 1981
Time read: 2023
The language was jarring at times but probably accurate to the time and place depicted.
I don’t know if when Woods wrote this in the 80’s, he thought the U.S. had made progress in policing of Black people. But it is clear that we haven’t.
The narrator did a good job to my ear of getting the southern accents and cadences right. He did struggle with the Irish/British characters.
Definitely worth the read but not for the feint of heart.
+10 task
+10 review
+5 oldies
+5 prize worthy
Task total: 30
Season total: 140
20.4 Golden AgeThe Hopkins Manuscript by R.C. Sherriff
+20 pts - Task
+10 pts - oldies (1939)
+50 pts - half-way finish (20 pt tasks)
Task Total - 80 pts
20.7 - Christie The Moon Sister by Lucinda Riley
🎓 events cover 1912 - 2018 (106 years) 🎓
+20 task
+10 Jumbo (742 pages)
Task total = 30
Season Total = 170
Post 199 Tawallah wrote: "10.5 October Four Past Midnight by Stephen King
Task: 10
Oldies: 5 published in 1990
Jumbo : 10 paperback 744 pages
Prize Worthy : 5 Bram Stoker Award for Best Ficti..."
+10 more Jumbo points; the MPE has 930 pages
20.10- (Owlette's Task) Read a book (fiction or nonfiction) where a character writes a letter by handRiver of Stars by Guy Gavriel Kay
Chapter IV page 78: She knows what she wants to say in this letter, how many characters, how much ink she needs, You always grind a little more than you need, she has been taught (by her father).
A beautifully told story, sensuous writing, characters that come alive. Written of the time when poetry and art were adored as much as the mandate of heaven.
I digress. Kay is my author, the one who I would read if he only had Kleenex to write on.
This book takes place 400 years after Under Heaven. The the world has become more complicated, invasion is imminent and yet it seems as though preparation is not happening. The army has fallen apart and only one man sees the future. Filled with mythology of the Far East and did I mention the beautiful writing?
Anything else I would try to say would only be gushing
Task points 20
Review 10
Jumbo 5
Prize Worthy 10
Total Task 45
Season Total 195
15.4 Celebration of Styles-OLDMoreta: Dragonlady of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
Anne McCaffery born 1926
Task Points 15
Season total 210
10.7 Scrabble (Anika's Task)The Tuesday Night Survivors' Club by Lynn Cahoon
Task: +10 (49 points)
Season Total: 100
15.4 Celebration of StylesBaptism of Fire (The Witcher #3) by Andrzej Sapkowski
+15 Task (Lost in Translation)
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 320
10.7 ScrabbleBoston Blackie by Jack Boyle
This is what I think of Pulp Fiction at its best (yes, capitalized!). Boston Blackie is a crook with a code of honor, if there is such a thing. A snitch gets what he deserves and turn about is fair play. If a man has been wrongfully convicted, pulling every trick to get him out of prison is the right action. The women are so loyal they'll do anything for their man - lie and steal, even confess to a crime they didn't commit if necessary.
Could I almost smell the cheap paper and ink with this? Yes. I wouldn't want a steady diet of pure pulp, no way. I feel so lucky that lately I've been given to read what exactly fits my reading needs at the moment. I know I won't go out and look for this genre in future, but I won't turn away should I find I've been drawn to it unthinkingly.
For pulp, this is probably 4-stars and I'll go out on a limb and color in that 4th star. But only because - for pulp - this is so good. But be fair-warned - I'm not trying to deceive you.
+10 Task (23 points)
+10 Review
+10 Oldies (1919)
+ 5 Multiple (first post for this task at #137)
Task total = 35
Season total = 320
15.4The Nonexistent Knight & The Cloven Viscount by Italo Calvino
Style: translated
Task total: 15
Grand total: 230
20.1 Author! Author!The Push by Ashley Audrain
Blythe comes from a family line of women who neglect and abuse their children, and lack warm maternal feelings. She's a short story author who lets her daughter cry for hours in her crib while she works. So when Blythe's preschool daughter, Violet, is suspected of causing harm to a toddler, we wonder if it is nature or nurture that is responsible for her behavior.
"The Push" is written mostly in second person as a manuscript for Blythe to give to her ex-husband. She's hoping that he will open his eyes and stop ignoring Violet's behavior. But Blythe herself is disturbed so she might be an unreliable narrator. Blythe is dealing with childhood trauma, the breakup of her marriage, and grief.
Ashley Audrain wrote a gripping psychological suspense story. "The Push" is about the darker side of motherhood and childhood where a parent fears what her own child might be capable of doing.
+20 task (Blythe is a short story author)
+10 review
Task total: 30
Season total: 255
15.5 Celebration of StylesThe Korean War by Cameron Forbes
+15 Task (Not a Novel)
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 335
15.4 Celebration of StylesBunny by Mona Awad
Lost in Translation - written in English, first language is French
+15 Task
Task total = 15
Points total = 205
... ; ... ; 10.3 ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; 10.8 ; ... ; ...
15.1 ; 15.2 ; 15.3 ; 15.4 ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ...
20.1 ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; ... ; 20.7 ; 20.8 ; 20.9 ; 20.10
10.7 Scrabble (Anika's Task) The Castlemaine Murders by Kerry Greenwood
Scrabble score= 31
This was just a mediocre read. I DO like the characters...especially Phyrne Fisher...but the plot was a bit outlandish. Fisher who is noted as a solver of mysteries in Australia accidentally comes across a mummified body. At the same time, her Chinese lover is embroiled in unraveling a mystery of his own. There is really no surprise when the reader discerns that both mysteries are connected. The title location, Castlemaine, refers to a gold mining area in Australia. The mummy would appear to be over 100 years old...and evidence suggests Castlemaine as an origin. Her lover's mysteries involve Chinese immigrants who just happened to be working the mines in that area too. Too much coincidence.
Task=10
Review=10
Task Total=20
Grand Total=20
15.5 Celebration of StylesYoung Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin
+15 Task - Young - auth. b. 1977
Task total: 15
Grand total: 290
10.7 Scrabble Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t: Why That Is And What You Can Do About It by Steven Pressfield
+10 Task (40 Scrabble points)
+ 5 Multiple
Post Total = 15
Season Total = 430
15.5 Celebration of StylesThousand Cranes by Yasunari Kawabata
+15 Task (1001 list)
Season total = 445
15.3 Celebration of StylesDepartment of Dead Ends: 14 Detective Stories by Roy Vickers
+15 Task (Not a Novel: Short Stories)
Points this post: 15
RwS total: -
CoS total: 45
Season Total: 45
.... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
15.1 15.2 15.3 .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
.... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
10.7 ScrabbleDrawing Conclusions by Donna Leon
Maybe I am listening to too many Commissario Brunetti books at a time. Brunetti is called to an apartment where the resident is found deceased. He feels that this is more than a simple heart attack. As usual he is correct and he finds that there were two possible disruptions in the life of the dead woman.
There is much thought about what is legal, what is ethical and fair.
The thread following the organization helping victims of domestic abuse seems plausible but the Maria and Benito story and characters are not believable. Leon, what magic hat did you pull that out of?
+10 task
+10 review
Task total: 20
Season total: 160
10.7 ScrabbleThe Girl of His Dreams by Donna Leon
Commissario Brunetti and Ispettore Vianello pull the body of a girl from a canal. This book in the series explores the status of the Roma (aka gypsies) in Italy and how the Italian justice system handles (or not) juvenile criminals. If they are under a certain age, they are returned to their parents with no record or repercussions. Brunetti is haunted by the child and tries to find some justice for her.
+10 task
+10 review
+5 multiple (post 249)
Task total: 25
Season total: 185
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
The Hank Show: How a House-Painting, Drug-Running DEA Informant Built the Machine That Rules Our Lives (other topics)Dialogues and Essays (other topics)
Behold the Dreamers (other topics)
End of Watch (other topics)
Quite Frankly: Dilf Mania (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
McKenzie Funk (other topics)Seneca (other topics)
Imbolo Mbue (other topics)
Stephen King (other topics)
Mayra Statham (other topics)
More...
Ain't Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds
+15, Not a Novel (poetry/graphic novel)
Task total: 15
Season total: 105