Reading with Style discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Archives
>
SP 24 Completed Tasks
30.1 Go for the Green ReduxA Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao
Set at least 90% in Fiji
+30 task
+5 combo (10.3)
Post Total = 35
Season Total = 670
...; ...; 10.3; ...; ...; ...; ...; ...; 10.9; 10.10
15.1; 15,2; 15.3; 15.4;
20.1; ...; 20.3 (x2); ...; 20.5 (x2); 20.6 (x2); 20.7; ...; 20.9; 20.10
30.1 (x2)
How Does Your Garden Grow? 15.1Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out. Shannon Reed
Flowers:
why we read: on booKwormS, LibRARies, and jUst one more Page before lights out _LARKSPUR +5
why we ReAD: On bookworms, lIbraries, and just one More paGe before Lights out _MARIGOLD +5
whY we read: on bookWORms, libraries, And just one moRe page before lights out _YARROW
why we rEad: on BOokworms, librarIes, ANd just one more page before liGhts out _BEGONIA
why we read: on bookworms, libraries, and just one more page befoRE lightS Out _ROSE
Vegetables:
Pennsylvania - POTATO
Plants this post: 6
Total plants: 6
Flower bonus: 10
Task total 25
Season total 170
10.6
15.1
20.1, 20.7
20.5 Surprised!Every Man for Himself and God Against All: A Memoir by Werner Herzog
If you know Werner Herzog, then you know what this is going to be like. I listened to the audiobook, because again, if you know, you know.
There is nowhere on this planet that Werner has not been, there is nothing he hasn't done, and nothing he hasn't done. It is hard to remember whilst immersed in the text that this is a memoir and not a fiction, because some of his experiences and actions seem hardly able to fit into one lifetime.
This is a laugh out loud, shocking and amazing journey, but only for those who know.
+20 task
+10 LIT
+10 review
+ 5 combo (10.5 - refer to posts 9 & 10 re The God Desire)
Post Total = 45
Season Total = 715
...; ...; 10.3; ...; ...; ...; ...; ...; 10.9; 10.10
15.1; 15,2; 15.3; 15.4;
20.1; ...; 20.3 (x2); ...; 20.5 (x3); 20.6 (x2); 20.7; ...; 20.9; 20.10
30.1 (x2)
How Does Your Garden Grow? 15.2Fangirl. Rainbow Rowell
Vegetables:
Lincoln, Nebraska - Leek, Napa Cabbage
Herbs (438)
Dill, Rue, Rosemary
Plants this post: 5
Total plants: 11
Flower bonus:
Task total 15
Season total 185
10.6
15.1, 15.2
20.1, 20.7
20.2 The Virgin of the RocksWild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
This season I have read two hiking books, both National Scenic Trails across the USA, both entertaining, but with different reasoning at the core.
For Cheryl Strayed, it is about finding herself after the death of her mother, the estrangement of her family, and the end of her marriage. She is sorely under prepared and under informed. But, she is determined and full of hope.
Whilst this is a journey of self, this is a book of connection and friendships also. She meets many different people along the way, some fellow hikers, others people she meets through hitchhiking or accomodations along the way. In most cases, these are brief connections, but most are helpful in one way or another.
Ultimately, Cheryl has to rely on herself. First aid, shelter, and animal encounters all must be attended to, and the physical, mentally and emotional growth that resuls.
+20 task
+10 review
+10 combo (10.9; 20.5)
Post Total = 40
Season Total = 755
...; ...; 10.3; ...; ...; ...; ...; ...; 10.9; 10.10
15.1; 15,2; 15.3; 15.4;
20.1; 20.2; 20.3 (x2); ...; 20.5 (x3); 20.6 (x2); 20.7; ...; 20.9; 20.10
30.1 (x2)
How Does Your Garden Grow? 15.3What Really Happens in Vegas: True Stories of the People Who Make Vegas, Vegas. James Patterson
Flowers:
whAt Really happeNs In vEGas: trUe stories of the people who Make vegas, vegas - GERANIUM +5
what reallY haPPens in vegas: true stOries of the People who make vegas, vegas - POPPY
whaT rEaLly happens in Vegas: true storIes Of the people who make vegas, vegas - VIOLET
what reAlly happens in vegaS: TRue stories of the people who make vegas, vegas - ASTER
Plants this post: 4
Total plants: 15
Flower bonus: 5
Task total 20
Season total 205
10.6
15.1, 15.2, 15.3
20.1, 20.7
10.10 Group readsLessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
+10 task
+15 combo (10.4; 10.9; 20.6 - Elizabeth Zott, Calvin Evans, Six-Thirty, among others)
Post Total = 25
Season Total = 780
...; ...; 10.3; ...; ...; ...; ...; ...; 10.9; 10.10 (x2)
15.1; 15,2; 15.3; 15.4;
20.1; 20.2; 20.3 (x2); ...; 20.5 (x3); 20.6 (x2); 20.7; ...; 20.9; 20.10
30.1 (x2)
20.8 Fancy Meeting You Here (Anika's task)Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde
Miss Havisham; The Cheshire Cat
+20 task
+5 combo (10.5 - Good News)
Post Total = 25
Season Total = 805
...; ...; 10.3; ...; ...; ...; ...; ...; 10.9; 10.10 (x2)
15.1; 15,2; 15.3; 15.4;
20.1; 20.2; 20.3 (x2); ...; 20.5 (x3); 20.6 (x2); 20.7; 20.8; 20.9; 20.10
30.1 (x2)
20.3 The Madonna of the CatMy Life in France by Julia Child
Julia and Paul had a cat named Minette, and there is even a book about her!
+20 task
Post Total = 20
Season Total = 825
...; ...; 10.3; ...; ...; ...; ...; ...; 10.9; 10.10 (x2)
15.1; 15,2; 15.3; 15.4;
20.1; 20.2; 20.3 (x3); ...; 20.5 (x3); 20.6 (x2); 20.7; 20.8; 20.9; 20.10
30.1 (x2)
10.4 Baby BoomThe Fran Lebowitz Reader by Fran Lebowitz
+10 task
Post Total = 10
Season Total = 835
...; ...; 10.3; 10.4; ...; ...; ...; ...; 10.9; 10.10 (x2)
15.1; 15,2; 15.3; 15.4;
20.1; 20.2; 20.3 (x3); ...; 20.5 (x3); 20.6 (x2); 20.7; 20.8; 20.9; 20.10
30.1 (x2)
10.6 ModernismThe Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie
Post Total = 10
Season Total = 845
...; ...; 10.3; 10.4; ...; 10.6; ...; ...; 10.9; 10.10 (x2)
15.1; 15,2; 15.3; 15.4;
20.1; 20.2; 20.3 (x3); ...; 20.5 (x3); 20.6 (x2); 20.7; 20.8; 20.9; 20.10
30.1 (x2)
15.5 HDYGGSusan, Linda, Nina & Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR by Lisa Napoli
suSanlINDAninacokieTHeextraordinarystoryofthefoUndingmothersofnpr-DIANTHUS+
susanlindaninaCOkietheextraordinaryStoryofthefoundingMOtherSofnpr-COSMOS
susanLindaninacokietheextrAorDInArystoryoftHefoundIngmothersofnpr-DAHLIA
susANlindaninacokietheextraordinarYstoryofthefoundingmotherSofnPr-PANSY
Task: 4 flowers
Season: 14-flowers/3-vegetables/7-herbs
Task +15
+5 flower bonus
Task total: 20
Season total: 100
How Does Your Garden Grow? 15.4The Almost Nearly Perfect People: Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia. Michael Booth
Flowers:
tHeaLmostnearlyPerfectpeoplebehINDthEMythofthescandinavIanUtopia - delphinium +5
ThEAlMostnearLyperfeCTpeoplebehindthemythoftheScandInavianutopia - clematis +5
thealmostnearlyperfectpeoplebeHindthemYthoftHesCAndINavianuTopia - hyacinth +5
thealmostnearlYperfectpeoplebehindthemythoftheScandinaviaNutoPiA - pansy
Plants this post: 4
Total plants: 19
Flower bonus: 15
Task total 30
Season total 235
10.6
15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4
20.1, 20.7
20.5 Surprised! punctuation marks in the title: BAKE: My Best Ever Recipes for the Classics by Paul Hollywood
Colon in title
( Note to Mods: Reading the rules I determined I can use a cookbook but not any styles will count. There is a lot more in this book than just pictures. I read it for my Cookbook Reading Club. If it can't be used, just let me know)
Points this task 20
Season Total 410
15.6 HDYGRThe Telling Room: A Tale of Love, Betrayal, Revenge, and the World's Greatest Piece of Cheese
Flowers
daffodil+ the teLLIng rOom: A tale oF love betrayal, revenge anD the world's greatest piece oF cheese
gardenia+ thE tellInG Room: a tAle of love betrAyal,revegNe,and the worDd's greatest piece of cheese
clematis+ The tElling rooM: a taLe of love betrayAl, revenge and the world'S greatest pIeCe of cheese
yarrow the telling roOm: a tale of love, betRYal, Revenge And the World's greatest piece of cheese
hellebore+ tHe telling room: a talE Of LovE,BEtaryaL, rEvenge and the woRld's greatest piece of cheese
aster gREAStTst
Vegetables
Guzman Garlic
Spain Spinach
Total Plants 8
Garden Total 28
"+4 flowers =20
+15 task
+20 flowers
Task Total 35
Season Total 445
15.3 HDYGGMaster of Crows by Grace Draven
Flower
Aster
Page count - 392
Herb Chamomile
Task : 15
Plants : 2
Plant total: 9
Post total : 15
Season total: 130
10.3 St. Patrick's Day The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
Published in 2023
Task 10
Combo 5 - 10.9 MPE version page count 435
Post total: 15
Season total: 145
10.4 Baby BoomThe Oregon Trail: A New American Journey by Rinker Buck
Born December 1950 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rinker_...)
Task: 10
Combo: 5- 20.5
Post : 15
Season total: 160
How Does Your Garden Grow? 15.5Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas. Vicki Delany
Flowers:
haveyourseLfadeadLYlIttlechristmas - lily
haveyOUrSelfadeadlyLiTtlechristmas - lotus
haveYourselfADeadlylittlechrIStmas - daisy
Vegetable;
Rudolph, NY - Rutabaga
Plants this post: 4
Total plants: 23
Flower bonus:
Task total 15
Season total 250
10.6
15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4
20.1, 20.7
How Does Your Garden Grow? 15.6The Lights of Sugarberry Cove. Heather Webber
Flowers:
theLightsofsugarberRyCOVE - clover
thelightsOfsuGARBErrycove - borage
Vegetable;
Sugarberry - Spinach
Alabama - Artichoke
Pages (272)
2, Lemon Verbena (12 letters)
7, Parsley
Plants this post: 6
Total plants: 29
Flower bonus:
Task total 15
Season total 265
10.6
15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5, 15.6
20.1, 20.7
15.6 HDYGGThe Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel
Flowers:
the forest of vanIShIng staRs - IRIS
No Vegetables
Herbs: 376 pages
7 - PARSLEY
Plants this post: 2
Total plants this season: 21
Task total: 15
Season total: 390
10.2 The DispossessedThe Promise. Chaim Potok
Review:
5.0 stars - This book continues the story started in The Chosen, which I loved and read 2.5 years ago. Danny and Reuven have grown up, Danny is a respected psychologist, and Reuven is a scholar studying to become a rabbi. He is brilliant, but his questioning manner upsets an important teacher who will be one of three people who examine him and grant him rabbinate.
The book takes place in postwar Brooklyn, where Hassidic Jews live side by side with Orthodox Jews, and where their beliefs and practices clash. It is a world of which I know nothing, but the author draws the reader in, and lessons of tolerance, understanding and listening are woven throughout the text.
Highly recommend.
Task 10
Review 10
Total 20
Season total 285
10.2, 10.6
15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5, 15.6
20.1, 20.7
20.10 World of CrimeThe Hummingbird by Kati Hiekkapelto
I previously read the third in this series, The Exiled and liked it enough that I knew I would eventually read others. Some of the praise for The Hummingbird suggests this is more mature than one should expect from a debut. I felt this is better than most debuts, but still a bit rough around the edges.
Presented in italics, this begins with a first person crying out for help, that they would kill her. The girl who has sent this message is the daughter of Muslim immigrants from Kurdistan. Her messages and dialog are interspersed throughout the novel. It is soon clear that this girl isn't the focus of the novel, that there is another young woman who is murdered while out on a running track. The murder is somewhat graphically protrayed.
Anna Fekete, after whom the series is titled, is new on the job in the Violent Crimes Unit. There seemed to be more of her background and her own immigrant status than I needed. Certainly that is integral to who she is and how she relates to others and she to her, but I thought there was too much of it. I do have the next installment which I will read eventually, but I hope this aspect has now been well-established and that I don't need to be reminded of it over and over. Once will be sufficient. There are Hungarian expressions which have not been translated. I am assuming these appeared as Hungarian in the original Finnish and therefore remained. I looked up only one of the expressions which turned out to mean "dammit". I just skipped over all of the others which I decided I didn't need to understand.
Other than the first person accounts by the young girl, nearly all of this is from the viewpoint of Anna. There is one chapter from the viewpoint of a victim and the perpetrator. The perpetrator isn't named, however, and it isn't until the last about 15 pages that we know who wielded a high-powered rifle. There are bits of conversation between the officers that are entirely "off screen" and about which we know nothing - sometimes not even that the conversations took place. This was OK - eventually we learn it all - although I think I prefer the type of mystery where the reader tries to solve the crime alongside the detectives.
In the end, this doesn't live up my earlier read by this author. 3-stars.
+20 Task (Finland)
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.2, 10.3 - 2013, 20.6 - Anna, Victim, young girl)
+10 LiT (Finnish)
Task total = 55
Season total = 750
20.3 The Madonna of the Cat The Glimpses of the Moon by Edith Wharton
I picked this for my next audiobook after seeing from Valerie’s review that it was on the 1001 list. Nick and Susy are a just-married impoverished American couple who before their marriage lived mostly on the generosity of their friends. They fell in love and decided to marry on the basis that if they asked for all their wedding presents in the form of cash and stayed at friends’ houses in Europe as much as possible, they should have enough money for a year-long honeymoon. Things are blissful at first, but then there’s trouble.
This is a short book that would have been even shorter, perhaps not existed at all, if the couple had not caused and then prolonged their difficulties by not talking to each other. I usually find this an annoying trope, but I enjoyed spending time with Susy, so I didn’t mind it in this case. Susy’s main survival tactic is that her friends are willing to support her because she’s so likeable, and it worked on me!
+20 Task (the Fulmer children have a kitten)
+20 Combo (10.5 moon, 10.6, 10.9, 10.10)
+10 1001 list
+10 Review
Post total = 60
Season Total = 820
10.9 Anniversaries (Apple's task)Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
+10 task
Post Total = 10
Season Total = 855
...; ...; 10.3; 10.4; ...; 10.6; ...; ...; 10.9 (x2); 10.10 (x2)
15.1; 15,2; 15.3; 15.4;
20.1; 20.2; 20.3 (x3); ...; 20.5 (x3); 20.6 (x2); 20.7; 20.8; 20.9; 20.10
30.1 (x2)
15.4 - How Does Your Garden Grow?Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Rose (BefORE the Coffee GetS Cold)
Jalapeno (Japan)
Tomato (Tokyo)
Parsley (227)
+15 Task
Task total = 15
Points total = 420
10.1 (x3) ; 10.2; 10.3 ; 10.4 ; … ; … ; … ; 10.8 ; … ; …
15.1 ; 15.2 ; 15.3 ; 15.4 ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … (12 plants)
20.1 ; 20.2 ; 20.3 ; 20.4 ; 20.5 ; 20.6 ; 20.7 ; 20.8 ; … ; 20.10
15.5 HDYGG?The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman's Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay, and Disaster by Sarah Krasnostein
Flowers
thE tRauma cleaner: One woman'S extraordinary life in the business of death , decay and disaster ROSE
the trauma cleaner: one woman's extraordinary life in the business of death , decay and disASTER ASTER
the trauma CleaneR: one wOman's extraordinary life in the bUSiness of death , deCay and disaster CROCUS
the trauma cLeaner: one woman's extraOrDINAry life iN the business of DEath , decay and disaster DANDELION+
the trAuma cleaner: one woman's exTraordinary LIfE in the BusineSs of death , decay and disaster ASTILBE
the trauma cleaner: one woman's extraordinary life in the business of death , decAY and DISaster DAISY
THe traUmA cleaner: one woman's extraordinary life in the busINesS of death , Decay and disaster DIANTHUS+
Plants used this post =7
Total plants used = 28
+15 points
+10 flower bonus
Post Total = 25
Season Total = 880
...; ...; 10.3; 10.4; ...; 10.6; ...; ...; 10.9 (x2); 10.10 (x2)
15.1; 15,2; 15.3; 15.4; 15.5;
20.1; 20.2; 20.3 (x3); ...; 20.5 (x3); 20.6 (x2); 20.7; 20.8; 20.9; 20.10
30.1 (x2)
Post 342 Marie wrote: "15.2 - How Does Your Garden Grow?Lonely Planet Scotland by Neil Wilson
Peony (lONElY Planet scotland), Garlic (Great-Britain) and Chives (496)
+15 Task
Task total = 15
Point..."
Just to note, this is your task 15.3, not 15.2.
I have now combined this edition with other editions, which changes the MPE, but as it was not combined when you read it, we will accept it as claimed.
20.2 The Virgin on the RocksThe Golden Mole: and Other Living Treasure by Katherine Rundell
This is a book of short essays on a variety of endangered animals. Rundell (obviously) has gathered facts, but she crafts interesting and personal essays about each animal. She wrote this as a call for humans to wake up and see what we are losing – every day. There are many similar books, but I have to say this is the most lovingly written, sharing the joy of the world around us and marvelling at these creatures. It also is not a book that hits you over the head with all the terrible truths, which is nice but somehow makes it all the more heartbreaking. 4*
I also would like to mention the actual book itself, which is just beautiful. My copy is hardback with a thick board cover and beautiful graphics on it. The page edges are gold and there are lovely patterned end papers. Each essay has an illustration by Talya Baldwin on the heading page. The hardback itself adds quite a bit to the reading experience.
20 task
10 review
5 combo 20.5
______
35
Running total: 875
How Does Your Garden Grow? 15.7God Save the Sweet Potato Queens. Jill Conner Browne
Flowers:
God Save the SWEET PotAto QuEenS - sweet peas +5
Vegetable;
Jackson - Jalapeno
Mississippi - Mung Bean
Pages (261)
6, Chives
1, Horseradish (11 letters)
Plants this post: 5
Total plants: 34
Flower bonus: 5
Task total 20
Season total 305
10.2, 10.6
15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5, 15.6, 15.7
20.1, 20.7
In post 373, Kim wrote: "10.2 The Dispossessed
The Promise. Chaim Potok
Review:
5.0 stars - This book continues the story started in The Chosen, which I loved and read 2.5 years ago. Danny and..."
I'm so sorry. This book is shelved as Assignment at BPL and does not have a lexile score. It counts for points, but no styles.
-10 review style
How Does Your Garden Grow? 15.8Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout. Cal Newport
Flowers:
sLow ProdUctIvity thE lost art of accomplishmeNt without burnout - lupine
slow productTvIty the Lost art of accomPlishment withoUt burnout - tulip
slow productivity the lost aRt Of aCCompliShment without bUrnout - crocus
Slow proDuctivity the lost Art of accomplIshment wiTHoUt burNout - dianthus +5
Vegetable;
Pages (256)
5, Thyme
Plants this post: 5
Total plants: 39
Flower bonus: 5
Task total 20
Season total 315*
*Removing 10 points per message 382
10.2, 10.6
15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5, 15.6, 15.7, 15.8
20.1, 20.7
In Post 380,Valerie wrote: "20.2 The Virgin on the Rocks
The Golden Mole: and Other Living Treasure by Katherine Rundell
This is a book of short essays on a variety of endangered animals. Ru..."
You gave yourself 10 combo points, but only listed one combo. I don't immediately see another place where this fits, but let me know if there's a second combo. Otherwise -5 combo points.
Joanna wrote: "In Post 380,Valerie wrote: "20.2 The Virgin on the Rocks
The Golden Mole: and Other Living Treasure by Katherine Rundell
This is a book of short essays on a vari..."
You are correct - I realized it was only 5 combo while posting and I guess I didn't change it here! I fixed it in the post.
20.6 Fruit dish, bottle, and violinLight Bringer by Pierce Brown. POV: Lyria, Darrow, and Lysander (among others).
Light Bringer is the 6th and penultimate book in the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown. I picked this one up after a long hiatus from the series and I’m really glad I came back to it. Brown did a fantastic job of digging right back into the drama and intrigue of an interplanetary factional war headed by a megalomaniac and her sociopathic genius of a right hand, a pair of reluctant antiheroes, and a rebel leader who just wants her husband and son back but knows her people are more important. This is definitely not something you’d just pick up blind – there are five books of building societal discontent and conspiracy to catch up on before you’d EVER understand this one but I definitely recommend the entire series if you like epic space war stories.
+20 task
+15 combo (10.3 - published 2023, 10.9 - 682pgs., 20.9 - side plot about a conspiracy within a conspiracy to bring down an empire)
+5 jumbo
+10 review
Task total: 50
Season total: 50
10.1 Rewind to WinterThree Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie
+10 Task
+10 Combo: 10.3 "Three" in title; 10.6, pub. 1934
Task total: 20
Season total: 585
10.10 Group ReadsBambi by Felix Salten
+10 Task
+10 LiT, translated from German
+10 Combo: 10.9 MPE page count 192; 20.2
Task total: 30
Season total: 615
10.8 Elemental (Tien's task)Under Fire by Henri Barbusse
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.6 - pub 1916)
+10 LiT
+10 1001
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 410
20.9 Beware the Ides of March La Bête 2 by Zidrou
The graphic novel revolves around 2 conspiracies (one group of kids, and one group of adults), who both wat to steal the eponymous beast who is in the dog pound at the beginning of the book
+20 Task
No style point, graphic novel
+50 Half-way Finish
Task total = 70
Points total = 490
10.1 (x3) ; 10.2; 10.3 ; 10.4 ; … ; … ; … ; 10.8 ; … ; …
15.1 ; 15.2 ; 15.3 ; 15.4 ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … ; … (12 plants)
20.1 ; 20.2 ; 20.3 ; 20.4 ; 20.5 ; 20.6 ; 20.7 ; 20.8 ; 20.9 ; 20.10
15.6 HDYGG?The Man Who Spoke Snakish by Andrus Kivirähk
Flowers
thE MAN whO spokE sNakish = ANEMONE
Vegetables:
Herbs: page count = 442
2 Plants this post
28 Total plants in the garden (edited)
+15 Task
+ 0 Flower Bonus
Task total = 15
Season Total = 655
10.8 Elemental (Tien's task)The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen
+10 Task: Earth in title
+10 Combo: 10.5 Golden Broadway Shows (town) / 20.6 Fruit Dish, Bottle and Violin (Alternating chapters - Philip, his father and 3+ other town members)
Task total = 20
Season Total = 675
20.3 The Madonna of the CatThe House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
+20 Task: Cat named Calliope
Task total = 20
Season Total = 695
20.5 Surprised!The Killings at Badger's Drift by Caroline Graham
+20 Task: Badger's
+10 Combo: 10.9 Anniversaries (261) / 10.10 Group Reads / 20.3 The Madonna of the Cat
Task total = 35
20 Point Task Completion = 50
Season Total = 780
10.8 ElementalDead Water by Ngaio Marsh
Ngaio Marsh hasn’t been my ‘go to’ mystery writer of the group considered to be from the ‘Golden Age’. I have read a couple early instalments of the Roderick Alleyn series and liked them well enough to rate them 3*, but I remember them only as ‘okay’. This novel is #23 in the series and was published in 1963 – so it seems after 29+ years Marsh has a handle on her craft. It did take me a little bit to get into it, but then I quite enjoyed it. It has a lot of the classic Golden Age elements – anonymous letters, a delusional person, an indomitable elderly lady and an insular village. It was a somewhat complicated mystery, and I picked that wrong person as the ‘bad guy’. Marsh did an excellent job with atmosphere – literally in this case, a really big storm comes in on the island. You really feel like you are there with Alleyn struggling through the weather to catch the killer. 4*
10 task
10 review
______
20
Running total: 895
Task 10.3 St. Patrick's DayRead a book with the word "three" in the title, the third volume of a series, or published in a year ending in "3."
Published in 2023.
Hotel Laguna (2023) by Nicola Harrison (Goodreads Author) (Hardcover 278 pages)
Review:The story is focused on a young woman named Hazel. She was a “Rosie the Riveter” during World War II, building airplanes at a plant in Los Angeles. Now it is 1946 and the war is over. The “Rosie the Riveter” jobs have disappeared. What is next for our heroine? She decides to remain in California and look for another job. Through a somewhat implausible (but totally possible) set of circumstances, Hazel gets a job as an assistant to an elderly professional painter, Hansom Radcliff. She meets handsome young men, aspiring actresses, and professional painters of both genders.
The Author’s Note at the end explains that Laguna Beach, California, started hosting the Festival of Arts in 1932. (The Festival of Arts is historical, not fictional.) The Festival of Arts stopped after Pearl Harbor, and resumed in 1946. Our fictional Hazel, as an artist’s assistant, becomes involved in all aspects of producing the Festival of Arts.
What I liked: the character of Hazel. She makes mistakes even when her intentions are pure. Hazel’s backstory informs her present decisions. It’s rare to find a fully rounded character in a book marketed as a beach read, and I appreciated finding one.
What I didn’t like: the other characters in the novel were all two-dimensional. Each person’s character can be summed up in one-two words: Narcissist; Opportunist Jerk; Boy-Next-Door; Tormented Alcoholic; and so on.
The somewhat-rushed ending did meet the requirement of a beach read, however, with the main characters all achieving their version of Happily Ever After.
Overall: Recommended for Light Reading.
+10 Task
+05 Combo (#20.1 Viewpoint character Hazel modeled for a professional painter)
+10 Review
Task Total: 10 + 05 + 10 = 25
Grand Total: 260 + 25 = 285
30.1 Go for the Green ReduxCayman Islands
Paula Roberts Private Investigator - Cayman Islands by Daniel Easterling
While the plot line is creative, this mystery suffered from uneven editing. Paula and Carla are on the trail of fraudsters and end up in the Caymans chasing their targets. Unfortunately it is never quite clear how they determined that the Cayman Islands were the place that the bad guy went. But even if you let that slide, the dialogue is stilted and could have been improved if it were simply read out loud. Descriptions are a little overblown and a satisfying end to the mystery is then prolonged unnecessarily for another 50 pages.
Despite appealing characters and a fairly strong plot, I probably won’t be searching for other books in the series
30 pts 30.1 Go for Green Redux. Cayman Islands
5 pts 10.5 Golden Broadway Shows — Private
5 pts 20.5 Surprised
5 pts 20.7 International Travel. Russ, Carla and Paula visit the Cayman Islands
5 pts Beware the Ides of March
10 pts Review
Task Total: 60 pts
Season total =725 pts
Post 397
… 10.2 … … 10.6 … 10.8 … 10.10
… 20.2 20.3 … 20.5 … 20.7 20.8 20.9 20.10
15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 (30 plants)
15.4 HDYGGLight from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
LighT frOm Uncommon Stars - lotus
Setting:
San Gabriel, CA - spinach
Page count:
372 pp - parsley
3 plants this post
17 plants in my garden
+15 task
Task total: 15
Grand total: 315
20.4 The Fighting TemeraireThe Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
#74 on the list
1140 lexile
I had to find an alternate book for this task, since my original choice has been borrowed. The original would have been WAY more points, but I highly doubt it would have been as much fun. I don’t know when I first read this, certainly more than 50 years ago. I have always remembered it fondly. Happily, I enjoyed this charming book very much.
Mole starts the adventures off by having a little spring fever and decides to get out into the wider world (than his tunnel). He quickly falls in with Ratty, a water rat who lives on the river – and has a boat. They become fast friends and Mole experiences life on the river. Mole learns to respect the river and how to handle the boat. Over the course of a year (or more) Mole meets Mr. Toad, Badger, the otters and others. He seems to have a case of wanderlust, so he keeps dragging Rat into adventures. Mr Toad is highly entertaining, but silly and keeps getting himself into trouble. His stalwart friends (Rat, Mole and Badger) have to save him (most often from himself).
I particularly like this type of children’s story. The reader is not ‘talked down to’; the expectation is you can manage the level of the language. Also, the lessons are subtle – be friendly, remember your manners, help your friends, etc., and woven into the narrative. 4*
20 task
10 review
_____
30
Running total: 925
15.6 HDYGG?Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell
Herbs
310 pages
HORSERADISH
Flowers
jULIe and julia: 365 days, 524 reciPes, 1 Tiny apartment kitchen TULIP
julie and jULia: 365 dayS, 524 Recipes, 1 tiny aPARtment Kitchen LARKSPUR+
julie And julia: 365 days, 524 reCIpes, 1 tiny aparTMeNT kitchen CATMINT
Plants used this post =4
Total plants used = 32
+15 points
+5 flower bonus
Post Total = 20
Season Total = 900
...; ...; 10.3; 10.4; ...; 10.6; ...; ...; 10.9 (x2); 10.10 (x2)
15.1; 15,2; 15.3; 15.4; 15.5; 15.6;
20.1; 20.2; 20.3 (x3); ...; 20.5 (x3); 20.6 (x2); 20.7; 20.8; 20.9; 20.10
30.1 (x2)
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us (other topics)Code Name Hélène (other topics)
The Teacher (other topics)
A Man's Head (other topics)
Redoubt (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Ed Yong (other topics)Ariel Lawhon (other topics)
Freida McFadden (other topics)
Georges Simenon (other topics)
Mercedes Lackey (other topics)
More...
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
+20 Task
+15 Combo (10.6, 20.6, 20.9 previously claimed)
+10 1001 list
Post total = 45
Season Total = 760