Reading with Style discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Archives
>
FA 22 Completed Tasks
EotP Redux Sample Post15.4 EotP
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
+15 Task 1995 Giller
+5 Over 500 pages
+5 Before 1997
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 425 (assumes mid-season with a previous score of 400)
15.1The Long Quiche Goodbye by Avery Aames
2010 Agatha Award for Best First Novel
Task total: 15
Grand total: 15
15.1 EotPYear's Best Aotearoa New Zealand Science Fiction and Fantasy, Vol. 1 by Marie Hodgkinson
+15 Task 2020 Sir Julius Vogel Award
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 15
15.1 EotPPrisoner without a Name, Cell without a Number by Jacobo Timerman
+15 task CWA Gold Dagger for Nonfiction 1981
+5 < 1997
Task total: 20
Season total: 20
10.3- any of author's names begins with I, J or KA Second Chance by Jodi Taylor
This Time-Travel series is pure nonsense with a side of popcorn-exactly what I needed as summer draws to a close.
In the 3rd episode of The Chronicles of St Mary's our heroine (that's being kind) Max returns from a day away from her office only to find the entire History Dept. and quite a few others have turned blue. Needless to say things only go down hill from there.
Max's "jump" of a lifetime is in the works and though it is a secret, she and Leon plan to slip away into private life when the jump is in the books. Of course, at St, Mary's, things are never that simple. Taylor takes us on an emotional roller coaster ride and sorry to say I was not a fan of the ending. It just seemed to contrived, thus my rounding down from 3 1/2 stars to just an ok 3 star read.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Season Total 20
10.3 10, 11, 12A History of the Future by James Howard Kunstler
Review
I’m really liking The World Made By Hand series. Oil runs out. We go fight in Middle East along with many nations trying to control what’s left. This is known as Holy Land War. We lose when we are hit with two nuclear bombs in Los Angeles and Washington DC. Followed by Mexican Flu that has affected every family. Infrastructure crumbles. No cars, grocery stores, electricity. Everything has to be made by hand like our pioneer ancestors. The problem is all those skills were lost as they became obsolete as we depended more and more on modern technology. Now the days of computers, refrigerators, soda pop, electric lights and most forms of transportation are gone. If it doesn’t grow or get made locally you can’t get it. This takes place in upstate New York and can’t get staples we take for granted. No coffee, black tea, wheat for bread items, no new clothes, Honey replaces sugar.
The president of the USA is hiding out with the rest of what’s left of government on an island in Lake Superior. But there’s no media so most people aren’t sure and have no idea what the west of the world is doing. No law and order. No vaccines so smallpox making a comeback along with typhoid. No hospitals or modern medical equipment. So people are trying to learn to farm, cook on wood stoves or fireplaces, hitch wagons, care for horses, one boy learning to make paper so he can start a broadsheet paper on an old hand press he found. Hasn’t said where he’ll get ink. No one has started making cloth yet although some are raising sheep to shear. But nothings easy. How to make cheese? How to get milk? How to replace broken glass? How to make candles? Dig a well?
It’s really making me think what with Covid and all that I need to learn to grow, hunt and fish to eat every day. Other skills to learn are woodworking for basic utensils, cupboards, spinning wheels, how to raise variety of animals, dig a well, black smithing, how to cook in the first place, what edible things come from forest. How to mill corn into cornmeal, how to make medicine out of herbs. There won’t be YouTube to show us! Good thing I bought those Foxfire books some time ago. A couple of groups have formed social structures using the different skills of their members to get things working and keep themselves fed and housed. One group is not a typical religious group. They are always quoting Bible scriptures but also believe in free love if both adults consent and getting drunk is a favorite past time. They set in the old high school but there is an element of the paranormal. The other group is headed by a local farmer with abundant acreage. He sets up a feudal system with himself as Lord. He houses and clothes those working for him, provides care for them when sick and everyone has plenty to eat. For special skills and jobs he pays them according to the speciality. Woman can work or with babies can care for them. When a worker becomes disabled, too old or dies, he continues to care for that worker and his family. But he is strict and acts as the sheriff, jailer, judge and orders hanging for serious crimes, but only on his plantation.
This book is set primarily in Upstate New York although one main character travels around to find out what the heck is going on. Texas/Oklahoma form their own country until Mexico invades to get it back. Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, the Carolinas, Virginia and West Virginia form a country run by a female evangelical dictator. They are planning to take Cincinnati and then push up into the north to fight the USA. History repeating?
Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana is a country run by all the black people and other minorities run out of the above states. That nation is now laying siege to Chattanooga (another repeat of history) and there is not even a pony express so nobody knows what’s going on in the western states.
Anyway you might want to get a few chickens and start raising them. I’m looking into wood burning stoves, just in case.
+10 pts - Task
+5. Pts - combo (10.2-USA)
+5. Pts - style (selfie)
Combos to add after posting new tasks
+10 pts - Combo (10.4 - World Made by Hand series, 20.8 - the New Faith People open a tavern and there is a debate on advertising “Hot Soup” or just “Soup” . A main character is served Brunswick soup that later comes back up.)
+10 pts - Review ( if not too late)
Task Total - 40 pts
15.1 Eyes on the Prize Redux A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
15 task 1995 Giller Prize
5 oldie
5 jumbo
____
25
Running total: 25
This was my carry-over book.
20.10 BirthdayLocklands by Robert Jackson Bennett
+20 task published 2022
+10 Combo (10.3, 10.4)
+5 Jumbo (544 pgs)
Post total: 35
Season total: 50
20.6 ColeridgeThe Slow Regard of Silent Things (The Kingkiller Chronicle #2.5) by Patrick Rothfuss
+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.2 - born USA; 20.9 - author's initials: PR)
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 30
20.1 JemisinBefore Your Memory Fades (Before the Coffee Gets Cold #3) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Review
"Right now, in front of you in a room that only one person can enter. If you enter it, you will be saved from the end of the world.
If the world were to end tomorrow, which action would you take?
1. You enter the room.
2. You don't enter the room."
I absolutely adore this series of interconnected short stories. Admittedly, the rules around time travel in this book sound absolutely ridiculous and this is acknowledged in the book too. However, it is what it is and you can take it or lump it. Basically, you cannot move from that spot, you have a very short & limited time, and you cannot change the past/future whatever you do/say. So, what's the point? Well, there is a point as it is illustrated by each story and I will leave you to read them for yourselves 😉
In this third book of the series, the setting changed in location. It is still a cafe owned by a Tokita BUT it is not in Tokyo!! However, we still have most of the staff from earlier books with some new additions. I do recommend that you read them in order as the lives of these people change chronologically in each story. However, each story is really more about the people to took the chance to travel in time. These stories are about their lives and struggles and how/why they made the decision to travel in time despite not being able to effect actual change.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a series I'd truly highly recommend even if time travel isn't your cup of
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.4)
+10 Review
+10 LiT
Post Total: 45
Season Total: 75
10.4 Series (Ed's Task)Legend of the Jade Dragon (Chintz 'n China Mystery #2) by Yasmine Galenorn
+10 Task
+10 Combo (10.2 - born USA; 20.10 - pub 2004)
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 90
15.1 EotP1923-1932
The Good Companions by J.B. Priestley
James Tait Black Prize 1929
+15 pts - task
+ 5 pts - pub 1929
+ 5 pts - 618 pages
Task Total - 20 pts
20.9 ABCsCloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
When I finished the last page of "Cloud Cuckoo Land," I was wondering how Anthony Doerr managed to keep so many characters and timelines woven together to create this amazing book. Doerr has combined historical fiction, fantasy, and science fiction in a story about books and libraries, the environment, and the importance of home.
A fictional fable written by Antonius Diogenes in ancient Greece is a unifying factor that connects the characters. The various characters find the ancient book, translate it, tell the story to children or the sick, and transform it into a play. Libraries lose and find the papyrus manuscript, and it is also partially destroyed by water and mold. But somehow, Diogenes' fable about the utopia of Cloud Cuckoo Land lives on.
There's lots of excitement and adventure in the book. The stories of Anna and Omeir intersect at the Siege of Constantinople in the 15th Century. Zeno learns ancient Greek from another prisoner-of-war in Korea. Zeno's story intersects with Seymour's tale in Idaho. Seymour is a troubled teenager who takes drastic measures to promote environmentalism in contemporary times. Konstance is in a futuristic timeline on a long voyage on the Argos interstellar spaceship operated by AI.
Author Anthony Doerr writes with imagination, warmth, and an understanding of the challenges that these characters and Planet Earth face. The book has short chapters which alternate among characters. There are some readers who would not be comfortable with so many timelines and locations. While I had no trouble following the story, some of the tension was lost by so many changes in the timelines. It's best to just go with the flow and see where the book takes you. "Cloud Cuckoo Land" is an unusual experience - something out of the ordinary. And I loved the owls!
+20 task
+ 5 combo 10.2 Octoberfest (born USA)
+ 5 jumbo (626 pages)
+10 review
Task total: 40
Season total: 40
20.9 ABCs (Kate S's Task)A Lesson In Dying (Inspector Ramsay #1) by Ann Cleeves
+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.4; 20.10 - pub 1990)
+5 Oldies (pub 1990)
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 125
20.10 Birthday (Elizabeth (Alaska's) TaskPrador Moon (Polity Universe (chronological) #1) by Neal Asher
pub 2006
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.4)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 150
10.3 any of author's names begins with I, J or KThe Richmond Raid by John Brick
What a great find! Historical Fiction account of one of the biggest fiasco's of The Civil War. Known as "The The Dahlgren Affair", the Union plan was to raid the Confederate capital of Richmond, burning the city down and killing whoever got in the way. Starting with the weather, everything that could possibly hamper the raid occurred.
John Brick's writing was fabulous. The story is told through the eyes of the soldiers, many who felt that they were being led to slaughter. The reader feels the suspense, connects to the characters (both real and fictional).
Thoroughly enjoyed this short novel, it packs a punch and I recommend to any who enjoy the history of the Civil War.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Oldie (1963)
+5 Style (combo 10.1 U.S. Author)
Total Task 30
Season Total 50
15.1 EotPThe Lebs by Michael Mohammed Ahmad
+15 Task 2019 Miles Franklin Award
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 165
20.10 BirthdayThe Twist of a Knife by Anthony Horowitz
Anthony has now covered three murder investigations with private detective Hawthorne, and he’s had enough. He wants to get back to his other writing. But right after he tells Hawthorne so, a critic who wrote a bad review of Anthony’s new play is stabbed, and Anthony is arrested for her murder.
Another enjoyable adventure in the Hawthorne and Horowitz series. Hawthorne arrives at the truth through a massive coincidence (view spoiler) but there’s enough fun in the relationship between writer and detective for me to forgive that.
+20 task (2022)
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.4, 20.9)
Post total: 40
Season total: 40
15.1 EotPThe Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel
Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction (2021)
+15 task
+5 Jumbo (757 pages)
Task Total: 20
Season Total: 20
15.1;
10.5 Autumn Colors (Rosemary's Task)Color= Tickle "ME" Pink
Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman
I loved this book... the story, the setting and the writing. Elio is the 17 year old son of a professor. The family stays in a seaside Italian villa every summer...and every year the family hosts a graduate student. This year it is an American, Oliver, who is in his early thirties. Elio, who has a girlfriend, nevertheless is lovestruck with Oliver... but conceals his feelings. I know it seems that the "romance"that brews should seem creepy because of the age differences...but the author doesn't ever let it get there (well, maybe one particular 'peach-y' scene). I'm not completely sure why...but I found many of the scenes touching...and I did not want this one to end. There is a sequel,,,which I will read...but the reviews are not very promising. By the way, a wonderful film was produced based on this book...and the book is better.
Task=10
Combo= 10 (20.2; 20.10-2007)
Review=10
Post Total=30
Grand Total=30
20.10 Birthday (Elizabeth (Alaska's) TaskThe Opal Miner's Daughter by Fiona McArthur
Published 2022
Review
I really do enjoy rural romance but yet I don't read that many and this is one of my reading goals this year, to read some more! The Opal Miner's Daughter is definitely an excellent rural romance read and I'm thrilled to have been sent one for review. I must say that the title somehow led me to have had a different expectation. It just sounds more like one of those historical fiction with family tragedy etc etc but it is very much NOT. Also, I know 2 boys named Riley and having a female protagonist named Riley kind of messed with my head a bit; I kept having to check myself.
Dr Riley Brand is an intelligent and independent woman. She is a strong sensible character and I just love this to bits! She was fun, sensitive, and easy going except when it comes to a certain gorgeous doctor in town. And even then, she was open to learn. All the other women in this novel were just as amazing and the men were funny but overall this small community in Lightning Ridge was wonderfully tight-knitted.
The Opal Miner's Daughter is a light-hearted romantic read; one that ended with my sigh of contentment. However, it also tackled tough issues such as stigma of illness, infertility, depression, and a few other things, and done in such beautifully sensitive way that didn't make the reader sad but hopeful. An utterly delightful and pleasing read.
+20 Task
+5 Combo (20.9 - author's initials: FM)
+10 Review
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 200
20.5 FaulknerMaigret's Boyhood Friend by Georges Simenon
Another fun installment in this series. Maigret is so cerebral! The crime is presented to him by a schoolmate who he hasn't seen for at least 20 years. Florentin was the class clown, but Maigret didn't like him much in school and nothing has happened since then to endear him. But Simenon makes us "see" Florentin, and this is one of Simenon's strengths. And Florentin pulled one of those faces which had once amused his classmates so much and disarmed the teachers. It was as if his long countenance with its well-formed features was made of rubber, the way he managed to twist it in all directions.
Maigret feels there is just something all wrong with the way the crime has been presented to him. Of course he works it out! Very satisfying. I tend to rate all of these 3-stars, but I think this one just hops over the line into 4-stars.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.4, 20.9)
+10 LiT
+ 5 Oldies (1968)
Task total = 55
20.1 JemisonBought by Em Brown
I knew better than to read this. It's sort of Fifty Shades fan fiction that has proliferated into the BillionaireBDSM genre. The actual sentence structure isn't bad, but the story is stupid, and stupidly chopped into several short books when it should be one. I guess this author usually writes historical romance books, and I imagine she might be okay at that. But this attempt to capitalize on this billionaire-trope is a flop. At least the book is reasonably well-narrated by the author and is available on scribd, and I needed something completely brainless to get me through a weekend of belated spring cleaning.
I'm going to read the next one to complete the story arc that abruptly ends practically mid-sentence, but I don't recommend that anyone bother with this series.
+20 Task (main characters are a Chinese billionaire and a Black woman)
+10 Review
+5 Combo 10.4
Task total: 35
Grand total: 35
10.5 Autumn Colors (Rosemary's Task)The White Cottage Mystery by Margery Allingham
Review: During the pandemic I had a hard time focusing on reading. Sure I read a few books here and there but not the volume I expected from having little else to do. Then 1 year ago, I was lucky enough to get some work (I'm in the arts), well some work turned into a lot of work and I've simply been too tired to read a lot. But I've missed it! I'm hoping to dive right back in this fall.
All that to say, if you are looking for a great gateway drug, this book is it. I'm shocked that I'd never heard of Allingham before. This title popped up on some list somewhere and I pulled it from the library right away. It's very Christie, cozy , charming and easy to read.
The plot is good with enough twists and turns to keep you interested. The narrative is written in third person but I kept expecting it to go to first person. I have to confess I guessed the end but I would bet that 20's audiences might have not seen it coming!
Definitely a great little read to curl up with during tea time.
+10 Task - White
+10 Review
+10 Oldies - orig pub 1927
Task Total: 30 pts
Grand Total: 30 pts
20.10 Birthday (Elizabeth (Alaska's) TaskPlaying with Myself by Randy Rainbow pub. 2022
I was an early admirer of Randy Rainbow's works...it was difficult to understand how my friend Kathy had never heard of him when I mentioned that I had just finished his new book. So, for those who don't know, Randy Rainbow (that's his real legal name!) is a satirical comedian who became famous by making online videos injected with political commentary, lots of humor and Broadway songs. This memoir discusses his difficult childhood, the similarities of his Dad to Donald Trump, his wonderful Mom and Nanny, his slow ascendancy to "stardom" in New York...and the entire trip is a funfest. Carol Burnett and Patti Lupone are just two of the stars who become his friends. Can't wait for the next volume.
Task=20
Combo= 5 (10.9- NYC)
Review=10
Post Total=35
Grand Total=65
---; ---; ---; ---; 10.5; ---; ---; ---; ---; ---;
----; ----; ----; ----; ----; ----; ----; ----; ----; ----;
----; ----; ----; ----; ----; ----;----; ----; ----; 20.10
15.2 Eyes on the Prize Redux To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
15 task 1999 Hugo
5 jumbo
_____
20
Running total: 45
15.2 EotPUnder the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta
+15 Task 2017 International Dublin
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 65
10.4 SeriesBeartown by Fredrik Backman
+10 task
+10 Lost in Translation
Post total: 20
Season total: 85
15.1 EotP ReduxFall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald
Scotiabank Giller Prize Nominee 1996
+15 task
+5 over 500 pages
+5 before 1997
Post Total =25
Season Total = 25
10.4 SeriesThe Town by Conrad Richter
"The Town" is the third book of "The Awakening Land" trilogy about the growth of a small town in the Ohio frontier. Set in the 19th Century before the Civil War, this book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1951. "The Town" is a continuation of the life of Sayward, her lawyer husband Portius Wheeler, and their large family.
The town is changing with new businesses, more industry, a courthouse, a bridge, and a canal. Sayward becomes relatively wealthy as she sells off building lots of her land to new residents. Portius wants to move out of their log house into a new brick home which better reflects his importance as a judge and a civic leader. Once Sayward is residing in the new house, she feels nostalgic for the old way of life. Hard work and self-reliance were necessary attributes for the pioneers, and she sees a loss of those qualities even while life is getting easier for the next generation. Planting trees around the new home brought back memories of her childhood when the area was completely forested.
Much of the book focuses on Chancey, their youngest son. Chancey has been spoiled as a youngster due to his weak heart, and developed a self-centered fantasy world. His mother has to toughen him up with chores and walking, but he continues to resist. Chancy falls for a girl, Rosa, but the relationship is forbidden due to some past history known around the town. As he grows older, Chancey becomes more estranged from his family. He becomes a journalist, and develops values which clash with his mother's viewpoints.
As Sayward reaches her final years, it becomes more and more obvious how helpful she has been to various townspeople, escaped slaves, and her own family members with many good deeds done in secret. Sayward has retained her practical, "salt of the earth" qualities all her life. I enjoyed all three books of the trilogy, and would recommend reading them in order since they build upon each other.
+10 task
+15 combo 10.2 Octoberfest (American); 20.8 Soup's On! (Chapter 17-chicken); 20.9 ABCs
+ 5 oldie (pub 1950)
+10 review
Task total: 40
Season total: 80
15.2 EotP ReduxThe White Album by Joan Didion
St Louis Literary Award 2002
+ 15 task
+ 5 before 1997 (first published 1979)
Post Total = 20
Season Total = 45
20.8 Soup's On! (Owlette's Task)The Glass Magician (The Paper Magician #2) by Charlie N. Holmberg
"Tilting her bowl, Ceony scraped out the last of her bisque, but the chair across from her rattled before she could bring the spoon to her lips." @18%
+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.2 - born USA; 10.4)
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 230
20.8 Soup's OnFogged Inn by Barbara Ross
The protagonist serves pea soup and talks about which characters ate in on pg 24 and 71 of the ebook I read.
The protagonist seemed a mostly reasonable woman, whose reasons for doing her own investigation were ill advised but not ridiculous. Her re-integrating into her little beachside hometown presented a set of relationships that I didn't feel I needed to have read the previous books to appreciate. They felt realistic. The mystery unfolded in an interesting way, with new info being added at intervals naturally and some unexpected reveals. The clashesbetween our amateur and the police were multi-faceted and not simple disapproval. The ending was satisying, although a little anticlimatic. I wouldn't mind reading more of the series but won't seek them out as it's not really my favorite genre.
+20 task
+5 combo 10.2 born in US
+5 combo 10.4 #4 in mystery series
+5 10.9 set in Maine
+5 initials BR
+10 review
Task total: 50
Grand total: 65
15.1 EotPUs Conductors by Sean Michaels
+15 Task 2014 Scotiabank Award
Season Total: 15
Roster:
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014 Scotiabank Award Us Conductors by Sean Michaels
2015
2016
2017
reply | flag
10.3 9, 10, 11With Love from London. Sarah Jio
This dual timeline book features mother, Eloise and her daughter, Valentina. Eloise is from England, falls in love with one man, but ends up marrying another, who takes her to the United States. Although she misses her life in London, and her dream of owning a bookstore, she desperately loves the daughter born of the marriage. Eloise loses her daughter, only to be reunited with her after her (Eloise) death. The story is about how Valentina finds her mother, and discovers what took place during all those missing years.
+10 task
+10 combo (10.2 - Seattle, WA; 20.8 - tomato soup @26%)
+10 review
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 50
10.3;
15.1;
10.7 Geocaching (Kim's Task)Personal (Jack Reacher #19) by Lee Child
MPG Adventure
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.4)
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 245
Task 20.1 JemisinRead any book whose main character is a person of color.
This memoir was written by Ann Mah. Her parents immigrated to California from China. Ann was born and raised in California. She is of Chinese ancestry.
Mastering the Art of French Eating: Lessons in Food and Love from a Year in Paris (2013) by Ann Mah [641.5944]
Review: Ann Mah was an aspiring editor at a New York publishing firm when she met and fell in love with Calvin. They got married. Calvin works for the US State Department as a mid-level member of the diplomatic core. Every 2-3 years he gets transferred to a different country. Ann had some resentment about being constantly uprooted, but in time she’s adjusted. Part of that adjustment was pursuing her career on a piecemeal, freelance basis – mainly temporary jobs where they are stationed and commissioned articles from various publications. She’s also written three novels (including The Lost Vintage, a 5 star read of mine from 2021) and this memoir.
Calvin was assigned to Paris for 3 years. Then, powers that be altered his assignment. He will spend 1 year in Baghdad, Iraq, followed by 3 years in Paris. During that 1 year Calvin is in Baghdad, Ann will be in Paris. This book is her memoir of that year. She divided it into 10 chapters. Each chapter, she goes to a different province of France, and eats the local specialties. She included a bit of history, an anecdote or two from her life, and exhaustive descriptions of the food she ate. Each chapter ends with recipes. They all seemed too complicated for a home cook like me to make, but I don’t think she expected her readers to actually cook from the recipes.
By the end of the book, the anecdotes seemed repetitive, the history bits too brief, and the food descriptions too long. There was a lot of information on French food, so I’d recommend this for anyone with that particular interest. Additionally, for a very interesting and involving novel, I’d recommend Ann Mah’s novel The Lost Vintage.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+15 Combo (#10.2(born USA), #20.8 Soup (Chapter 5: Soupe au Pistou, all about soup in Provence), #20.9 (initials: A. M.))
Task Total: 20 + 10 + 15 = 45
Grand Total: 00 + 45 = 45
20.9 ABCs The Night Portrait: A Novel of World War II and da Vinci's Italy by Laura Morelli.
This is my second Morelli work and she is now on my list of what I call my "in-between" authors. These are authors that I can reach for when my brain needs a break from heavy non-fiction, or expansive fantasy books. Simple, well written, stories that I can unwind with.
The Night Portrait tells the story of Da Vinci's painting Lady with an Ermine. The story begins with 4 time-lines -1476, 1489 & 1939, 1944. Eventually the earlier years, in the two groups, catch up to the later and bring together the stories of Da Vinci and the Lady/A Polish Art restorer and The Monuments Men of WWII.
Laura Morelli has a Ph.D. in Art History so I trust her research. In the 2 books I have read, there has been a section in back to explain her thoughts and she supplies an extensive list of books you can follow up with on the subject at hand.
Recommended for Art and History readers
+20 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.2)
Task Total 35
Season Total 85
10.4 Series (Ed's Task)Hypothermia by Arnaldur Indriðason
+10 task
+15 Combo: 10.3 9, 10, 11 / 20.10 Birthday 2007/ 20.9 ABCs
+10 LiT
Post total: 35
Season total: 35
15.2 EotP2011 Jerusalem Prize (author Ian MacEwan) Black Dogs by Ian McEwan
+ 15 2011 Jerusalem Prize
+ 5 1st pub’d before 1997 (1992)
Points This Post: 20
Season Total: 35
Roster:
2008
2009
2010
2011 Jerusalem Prize Black Dogs by Ian McEwan
2012
2013
2014 Scotiabank Award Us Conductors by Sean Michaels
2015
2016
2017
20.10 Birthday (Elizabeth (Alaska)'s Task)Learning to Talk. Hilary Mantel
2.5 stars - I just finished and enjoyed The Mirror & the Light, when I saw this book of short stories by the same author on the new book shelf at my library. That seems a little odd, since the book was originally published in 2003, but was reissued in 2020 in response to the popularity of her award winning Wolf Hall trilogy. I confess I just didn't enjoy this book very much. Literary fiction and short stories are not something I gravitate to, although recently I have enjoyed several of these. The main issues I had with the book was the fact that sometimes it felt like a memoir (in fact the last chapter, 'Giving Up the Ghost' is the name of her memoir), but a few chapters are written from a male character's point of view. It was just too confusing and inconsistent for me.
+20 task
+5 combo (20.9 - HM)
+10 review
Task Total: 35
Season Total: 85
10.3;
15.1;
20.10;
10.4 SeriesThe Careful Use of Compliments by Alexander McCall Smith
I had dipped into this series randomly over the years, until I decided that to do them justice I need to read them in order (which I started last year). So, the beginning of this instalment seemed familiar although I didn’t remember the later details. I would not call this series mysteries, at least not in the way I think of mystery novels. Instead they are puzzles, often involving contemplation of human relations and moral obligations. Isabel Dalhousie is a philosopher, after all. This is the first book that Charlie makes an appearance. These novels are very slowly paced, and overall nice. 3.5*
10 task
10 review
10 combo 20.9, 20.10
______
30
Running total: 75
20.10 The Witch in the Well by Camilla Bruce
Review of ARC, publish date will be October 2022
Native and folklore Tik Tok have taught me that “if you saw something, no you didn’t”, and absolutely positively DO NOT invite the unknown. Elena, despite being Very Online, was not on the same side on the internet, and Cathy left some gaping holes in her research… more’s the pity.
This was much more interesting that what the synopsis had me expecting. I though this would be traditional thriller fare about a toxic friendship with a dash of horror. Elements of thriller and horror are there, but this is steeped in folklore - in this case not just witches but bäckahäst (similar to kelpie).
Both friends are obsessed with the titular witch, and each has a very clear fantasy of who they thought Ilsbeth was- seeing her as an extension of themselves. Elena is all golden privilege and believes magic is real and benevolent. She’s never had any reason to think otehrwise. Cathy is damaged and wounded and sees Ilsbeth as a misunderstood scapegoat, a tragic heroine. Everyone is deeply unlikable and unreliable, and I found that delicious.
The book starts a little slowly, but soon becomes a can’t-put-down page turner. This was beautifully crafted and I will pick up more by this author. Recommended!
+ 20 task
+ 10 review
+5 combo (20.8, “It will be just as the last time,” I warn her while pouring soup into her trough. The frog’s meat is uncooked and the water is rancid, but my mistress does not seem to mind”)
Task total = 35
Season total = 50
20.8 Soup's OnThe Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo
Lexile 970
Review: So I finally jumped into the Shadow and Bone trilogy last year and loved it. I also wanted to finish it before I watched the show, which I'll be diving into shortly! Loved the world building and the storyline. Bardugo does not fail to disappoint. The book is set up like tales from Ravka and surrounding areas but rather than being unique stories to the Grishaverse and lore, The Language of Thorns contains wildly creative versions of familiar fairy tales.
Some of the stories combine elements of 2 or 3 familiar folk/fairy tales.
I absolutely loved what Bardugo did with these stories. They are a rich read, beautifully written and communicate the sense of old stories passed down from many generations well. There are also throwbacks and slightly references back to the Grishaverse as well but nothing super overt.
I took a Fairy Tale and Folklore course in University and would love to see these pieces added to that class.
+20 Task
" she ate the stew"
+5 Combo 10.5 - Midnight
+10 Reivew
Task Total: 35 points
Grand Total: 65 pts
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
Seven Types of Ambiguity (other topics)Where the Air Is Clear (other topics)
A Fantasy of Dr. Ox (other topics)
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares (other topics)
Glass Houses (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Elliot Perlman (other topics)Carlos Fuentes (other topics)
Jules Verne (other topics)
Rachel Cohn (other topics)
Louise Penny (other topics)
More...
Please use the add book/author link for the book titles. When claiming combo points, tell how the book qualifies, and provide a link if requested in the task description.
If using an outside source to qualify a book for points or combo, please be sure to post in the appropriate task thread prior to posting in this thread.
Sample Post
20.9 ABCs
In the First Circle by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
[100 word review]
+20 task
+10 Review
+ 5 Combo (20.5)
+10 LiT
+ 5 Oldies (1968)
+10 Jumbo (742 pgs)
Post total: 60
Season total: 400 (assumes a mid-season post with a previous score of 340)