Reading with Style discussion

December = 12; January plus February = 12 (1, 2). Read a book that has 12 or fewer letters in its title, including leading article if any. Task applies to title only, but your book may have a subtitle.

Please post any questions or comments about task 10.4 in this thread.

This came about because of an old RwS Winter 11/12 task, the preamble of which was:

The winter Challenge is held in 2011 and 2012, in the 12th, 1st, and 2nd months.

We missed repeating it last winter (21/22 would have been perfect!), but we found a way to use it, and turned only slightly on its head. It has you looking for very short titles as we've had for the Winter Solstice (or summer for those of you 'down under') but not one-word titles.

What are you penciling in?

Again, over planning ...

Chef by Jaspreet Singh

and combos!

Adeline: A Novel of Virginia Woolf by Norah Vincent
The Master by Colm Tóibín
The Gate by Natsume Sōseki
Death of a Dude by Rex Stout

I had a very quick look at my tower of owned books and, interestingly, I was able to easily come up with 2 books.

So far, my tentative choices are:
Horse Heaven
The Hot Kid

Also so far, my combos are:
Ultramarine
Parade's End
Labyrinths: Selected Stories & Other Writings

I have liked both Jane Smiley and Elmore Leonard. I gave Horse Heaven 4 stars, but have not read that Leonard title.

I read and likes Adeline: A Novel of Virginia Woolf previously, and The Master is already on my dedicated season shelf of books.

Planning on knocking some more off my Joan Didion reading:

Democracy
Salvador and
South and West: From a Notebook

should all work, leaving
A Book of Common Prayer
Let Me Tell You What I Mean and
Where I Was From

for other tasks.

I'm not sure what I will use for this task, but I have a few where this will at least be a combo.

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid - finished
White Noise by Don DeLillo - started
The Botanist by MW Craven
H(A)PPY by Nicola Barker
Parade's End by Ford Madox Ford (canon)
The Diviners by Margaret Laurence
Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer
Rabbit Is Rich by John Updike

Oh, I hope you actually get to The Diviners. This was my first by Laurence. I am disappointed my library has zero (none, nada) books by her on the shelves. Have you read anything by her before?

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Oh, I hope you actually get to The Diviners. This was my first by Laurence. I am disappointed my library has zero (none, nada) books by her on the shelves. Have you read anything by her before?"

Yes, I've read The Stone Angel and A Jest of God. I really enjoyed them both and requested The Diviners for my birthday last February. I've planned it for every challenge since but haven't got to it yet, I think because my copy is a jumbo, although I see the MPE is only 390 pages. I'll really try for this season!

if a book has an ampersand can you count it: Blood & Ivy: The 1849 Murder That Scandalized Harvard

Joanne wrote: "if a book has an ampersand can you count it: Blood & Ivy: The 1849 Murder That Scandalized Harvard"

It's just the letters, but for this one it wouldn't matter.