Reading with Style discussion
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SU 2016 Completed Tasks
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 210 Beth wrote: "20.9 Political (Kate S's TaskI'm sorry, this is listed as YA Nonfiction at BPL, and there is no lexile. Task, but no styles.
Well, darn. It didn't even occur to me there would be YA nonfiction. Ok. I'll go back and fix my totals.
20.10 - Meta fiction:Weight: The Myth of Atlas and Heracles by Jeanette Winterson
Review:
I've only ever read one book by Winterson, "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit." I decided to go for this one because I generally like reading about the Greek gods and other mythical characters. I must say that I sadly did not really enjoy this book. Most of it went over my head. I did not understand what the point of it was, other than the general notion of each of us having our own burden to bear, and that sometimes these burdens are not real. I get that, but the rest of it was actually quite boring. Heracles was reduced to a brainless sex-crazed superman. The only bit I found interesting was Atlas meeting Laika, the Russian dog in space in the end. It was so random, but an interesting idea. Sure, she writes well, but the whole book stirred no emotion in me.
+20 task
+10 combos (10.2 Picador/Virago - author mentioned as an introduction writer on the Picador blog and 20.2 The Gods! - preapproved on the help thread)
+10 review
+10 Lost In Translation (my native language is Estonian, and I read the Estonian version of the book, translated from English)
Task total: 50
Grand total: 80
10.2 Picador/ViragoWouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now by Maya Angelou
On Virago list
I finished this book over a lunch break but I could have lingered over it for hours if I'd been so inclined. Angelou packs a lot of living into these short essays. The writing is very clear.
There are some things that are very universal, such as not believing in being fired, and others that are very much about being a woman, such as not accepting a title that is lesser than that a man would hold (she is definitely not a poetess), and some that are featured more on race, such as when a white man said to her about helping the black soldiers and "our boys" who were fighting. She asked him to think about what he'd just said.,.
I don't think I'd ever actually read Maya Angelou before, although I was certainly aware of her. I'd like to read some more.
+10 task
+10 review
+5 combo (20.7 MA - Massachusetts)
Task total: 25
Grand total: 510
From Post 222Marie wrote: "20.1 South America
Of Love and Shadows by Isabel Allende
Born in Peru
+20 Task
+20 Combo (10.2; 10.7; 20.7; 20.10)
+10 Lost in Translation (published in Spanish, read i..."
Sorry, Marie, this does not work for 10.2. Only authors listed on the linked blog post qualify.
20.7 USHigh Fidelity by Nick Hornby
+20 Task (N.H.)
+5 Combo (10.4-Light)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 60
20.10 Meta FictionA God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.10)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 85
15.4 FYTS: Time Traveler1965-2015 (1980 skipped)
Helliconia Winter by Brian W. Aldiss
+15 Task
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 285
10.1 - Square PegThe Elite - Kiera Cass
(low lexile, no style points)
+10 task
Post total: 10
Grand total: 10
10.7 - First LetterPlaying with Fire - Tess Gerritsen
This book was a 5-star read for me up to the very end. I love stories with interwoven plot lines. I love novels that are vaguely maybe supernatural, maybe not. And I love WWII novels. So this book has a LOT going for it, in my opinion. It's also compulsively readable; I finished it in a day.
It's a fantastically original idea. A violinist buys an old book of sheet music in Rome, and finds another handwritten piece of music tucked inside. Once she starts trying to play it, violent acts start happening around her, with her 3-year-old daughter at the centre. Woven into this story is the story of the music's composer, Lorenzo, an Italian Jew living in Venice before and during WWII. The two stories are very different, but Gerritsen manages to make them fit together fantastically without blending the voices of the characters together at all.
But the ending lost me a bit. It just all seemed a little bit too convenient. Everything wrapped up nicely, but in a pretty far-fetched way that fit together a little too neatly. That's the only reason this novel is getting 4 stars instead of 5 from me.
+10 task
+10 review
Post total: 20
Grand total: 30
15.1 - FYTS - Time Traveler(1965-2015)
In Cold Blood - Truman Capote
(published 1965)
+15 task
+5 non-fiction
Post total: 20
Grand total: 50
15.2 - FYTS - Time Traveler(1965-2015)
Play It as It Lays - Joan Didion
(published 1970)
+15 task
Post total: 15
Grand total: 65
15.3 - FTYS - Time Traveler(1965-2015)
Somewhere In Time - Richard Matheson
(published 1975)
+15 task
Post total: 15
Grand total: 80
20.4 - Go for the Gold!The Light Between Oceans - M.L. Stedman
I'm somewhere between two and three stars on this one. On the one hand, it's fairly well-written and paints a very detailed picture of what life on a remote lighthouse in Australia would be like in the 1920s. But on the other hand, I can't actually say that I enjoyed this novel.
Tom and Isabel fall in love, get married and live on Janus Rock (ie: middle of nowhere) where Tom is a lighthouse keeper. Isabel has miscarriage after miscarriage, until one day, a boat washes up on their island with a dead man and a baby in it. And this is where the story loses me. Instead of doing anything even remotely sensible, Isabel puts her crazy pants on and convinces very much by-the-book Tom to keep the baby, and Tom accepts because he's a complete and total doormat with an insane inferiority complex because he doesn't feel like he should have survived WWI.
That just about sets the tone for the rest of the novel. Isabel keeps her crazy pants on throughout, and Tom tries to do the right thing by contacting the real mother of the baby, but in the most hurtful and spineless way possible. It was incredibly frustrating, because even after the birth mother, Hannah, gets involved, there's absolutely no character growth except that Tom's martyr complex comes out, and Isabel gets even more insane.
On the whole, the novel is original and the scenery is wonderfully written, but the characters ruined it for me.
+20 task
+10 review
+10 combo (10.5; 20.3)
Post total: 40
Grand total: 120
20.10 - Meta FictionA God in Ruins - Kate Atkinson
I seem to be alone on this, but this was such a disappointing read for me! I absolutely loved Life After Life when I read it earlier this year, so I was really excited about this companion novel. That excitement vanished pretty quickly once I started reading.
Nancy describes Teddy's life after the war as "plodding" at one point, and that really is the perfect term. This book just plods along with nothing really happening. Even the things that do happen end up being almost non-events because they take place almost in the background. The parts set during the war were interesting enough, but they weren't enough to carry the rest of the novel, especially considering that there were only maybe 5-6 chapters dedicated to that part of Teddy's life. Viola is a miserable character, and I couldn't feel any empathy for her at all. She's a bad person, a bad mother, and that's about it for her defining characteristics. Sunny and Bertie could have been interesting characters, but again, the each got one or two chapters and some background mentions, so their stories were never as flushed out as I would have liked.
The non-linear structure that worked so well in Life After Life turns this novel into a mess. The timeline jumps around not just from one chapter to the next, but sometimes from one paragraph to the next. It made it so that nothing that happened ever really caught you off guard, because all the big events were mentioned offhand in previous chapters before they become the focus.
The ending also really bothered me. It felt like such a copout, and it completely ruined the point of the previous 350 pages, which I already hadn't loved but still found it frustrating to have essentially the whole book made irrelevant.
I wish I could have loved this book, but I just didn't.
+20 task
+10 review
+5 combo (10.10)
Post total: 35
Grand total: 155
10.10 Group ReadOut of Africa by Isak Dinesen
After seeing the movie "Out of Africa" for the second time recently, I wondered if I would enjoy the book as well. Not to worry, the book is even better since the author was a keen observer and an accomplished storyteller.
Isak Dinesen is the pen name for the Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke who came from Denmark to British East Africa (Kenya) with her husband in 1914. Although they soon separated, Dinesen stayed to run a large coffee plantation near Nairobi. She tells stories about the customs of the native workers on the farm, the beauty of the Ngong Hills, and her British neighbors. The most important person in her life was the charismatic big game hunter Denys Finch-Hatton who tragically died in a plane crash in 1931. Unfortunately, the coffee plantation failed in the same year, and Dinesen had to leave her farm and return to Denmark. She brought back a wealth of stories with her, and published "Out of Africa" in 1937.
This book has to be read as a book written in the 1920s since it's not always politically correct by today's standards. I did cringe when Dinesen wrote about trophy hunting, although I could understand when they shot wild animals killing their lifestock. The author came across as an energetic, kind person who helped the natives with their medical problems and tried to learn about their culture. Earlier, the colonial powers had taken over land that once belonged to the native people. Dinesen made a real effort to find land for her employees to settle on after her farm was sold. This was an especially interesting memoir written by a warm, talented woman.
Great choice for a group read, Elizabeth!
+10 task
+15 combo (10.6 Biography-920; 10.7 ; 20.7 ID=Idaho)
+10 review
Task total: 35
Grand total: 300
Five Years Through Summer (1970-2015) - Time Leaper15.1 - year 2000
Buried Evidence by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg
+15 task
Grand total: 15
Five Years Through Summer (1970-2015) - Time Leaper15.2 - year 2010
A Murderous Procession by Ariana Franklin
+15 task
Grand total: 30
Five Years Through Summer (1970-2015) - Time Leaper15.3 - year 1980
Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives by Dan Millman
+15 task
Grand total: 45
20.2 The Gods!The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
+20 task
BPL = Juvenile Fiction, Lexile = 660 - no style points
Grand total: 65
20.6 WarSlaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Review:
I found this book initially very confusing. It seemed to jump around in time frame in a chaotic manner. Then I learned that Billy Pilgrim had been abducted by aliens, which gave me a reason for the chaotic time sequences. About mid-way through the book, I began to understand that the war experiences were really the reason for the strange time sequences...and then I began to understand how devastating his war experiences were. And, that is when this book began to make sense to me and that is when I began to like it. I ended up giving this book 3*. I am glad that I read it, but its confusing time frames caused me to rate it lower than I might have otherwise.
+20 task (WW II #3)
+15 combo (10.5 - Great American Novel list, 10.7, 20.10)
+10 review
Task total: 45
Grand total: 110
10.3 HolidayThe Color Purple by Alice Walker
First of all, what a coincidence that the book ends on the Fourth of July...the same day I finished reading it.
Doesn't qualify for style points.
task +10
grand total= 375
20.8 KotickThe Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (1210 Lexile)
Review: A lot of times “literary fiction� feels like a chore for me, but this is the second Jhumpa Lahiri book I’ve read and neither one was a slog. Nothing exactly happens, and there isn’t exactly a happy ending or anything, but it’s a slice of life kind of story with themes revolving around family, identity, and culture that is interesting nonetheless. I hadn’t realized that one of the main characters (THE main character?) would turn out to be an architect, but Lahiri did a passable job at describing the profession. I do think that by 1999 more people were using CAD than drafting tables, but I’m not sure since that was right around the cutoff and that was pretty minor. Gogol ends the story at about the same age I am right now, and the book did a good job of showing the changing dynamics between child and parent as they grow older.
+20 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 665
20.4 Go for the GoldDevils by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
+20 Task (Russia)
+10 Jumbo (733 in MPE-title Demons)
+10 Canon (as The Possessed)
+10 LiT
Post Total: 50
Season Total: 165
10.8 Come to the FairJoyland by Stephen King
+10 Task (amusement park)
Post Total: 10
Season Total: 175
15.4 FYTS2015-1965
Blessings From the Other Side: Wisdom and Comfort from the Afterlife for this Life by Sylvia Browne
2000
+15 Task
+5 Non-fiction
Post Total: 20
Season Total: 205
20.10 MetafictionWhite Noise By Don DeLillo
This is a difficult book to review because I think it is one that you have to think about for a while before understanding all of its parts. The GR description says it is a satire, which I suppose it is; but 31 years later (after publication) I feel like it’s a sad commentary on the state of Western culture. In fact, this novel seems like a harbinger of current consumerism, ‘white noise�/TV-internet culture, environmental issues, and other foolishness (which I can’t describe without spoiling it). I did find a lot of amusement in the narrator being an academic and the way he + his colleagues acted/interacted. DiLillo must have spent some time at universities either as part of the organizational culture or as an intimate observer.
Overall, this is an uncomfortable read � not because anything horrific or really(?) awful happens. Instead, there is a lot of inane ordinariness and academic rambling that just seems sad that this is the sum of our/their lives. I am glad that I read this novel, and would recommend it (but don’t expect to be uplifted!).
20 task
10 review
10 canon
5 combo 10.5 (#44 on list)
____
45
Running total 300
20.4 Go for the Gold!The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
Review:
Oh my goodness! I thought I knew where this book was going, but was I surprised...at least by the epilogue. This book that I thought was going to be light and chicklit-like turned out to be very thought-provoking and deeper than I anticipated.
Cecilia had a typical suburban life until she found a letter and learned her husband's secret. A secret that impacted the lives of others she knew and interacted with on a regular basis. A secret she was torn about keeping until ... well, that's the rest of the story.
I gave this story 4*...yet it really deserved 4.5* at least. It left me wondering about the lives of people I have known and the impact of decisions and outcomes of choices I have made.
Wow! Not as light a book as I had thought!
+20 task (Australia)
+10 review
Task total: 30
Grand total: 140
Revised Grand Total (Kate S found 5 more points for me): 145
20.6 WarA Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
#4 on World War One Literature
Review
I must confess to not being too impressed with this whole novel. I didn't like either characters; they were neither too good nor bad, just average people. I guess that might be the whole point; the average people experiences in war. Even the whole telling of the story felt like that so it could be that which made the book a 'must-read'. I guess I was expecting so much more that I got a little disapppointed.
One other thing I didn't appreciate was how they appear to clung together as a couple; it just irks me that 'I am no one without you' note. Lastly, THAT ending would have traumatised me if I read this book a decade ago. I was heart-broken and am now trying very hard to forget it.
+20 Task
+10 Canon
+10 Review
Post Total: 40
Season Total: 275
10.2 Picador/ViragoThe Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood
Review:
I had a lot of fun listening to this book. It's best read as a satirical dystopia, not to be taken fully seriously, but the dark side hits right in the gut. I loved the images of life-sized sex dolls/robots, the communities of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe impersonators (playing all roles from stage performer to nursing home entertainer to escort service). The Positron premise made little sense: a town is created with the idea that for one month half the town will be incarcerated in an upscale prison, then the next month, they'll switch with their "alternates." The idea is that this would guarantee full employment and reduce the amount of housing stock needed. So, a little bit of commentary on the prison industrial complex, but not enough to really grab me. None of the follow up questions were really explored -- instead, it's just a cover story for a dark corporate enterprise. But the prison side seemed like a strange appendage rather than a meaningful part of the enterprise.
Quibbles aside, I really enjoyed the book. And the narrators were excellent on the audiobook.
+10 Task (Virago)
+10 Review
+10 Combo (20.7 - MA, 20.10)
Task total: 30
Grand total: 370
15.3 5YTSTime Traveler
Girlbomb: A Halfway Homeless Memoir by Janice Erlbaum
Published 2006
+15 Task
+5 Nonfiction
Task total: 20
Grand total: 390
Post 254 Deedee wrote: "Task 10.6 Traveling the DDC wayRead a book shelved in the 900s (900-999)
940.1
The Dark Ages (Historia Universal Asimov #8) (1968) by Isaac Asimov (Hardcover, 256 page..."
Deedee, I don't find this book shelved at BPL. If I missed it, a pointer would be appreciated. Otherwise, it doesn't qualify for 10.6.
Kate S wrote: "From Post 222Marie wrote: "20.1 South America
Of Love and Shadows by Isabel Allende
Born in Peru
+20 Task
+20 Combo (10.2; 10.7; 20.7; 20.10)
+10 Lost in Translation ..."
Sorry, Marie, this does not work for 10.2. Only authors listed on the linked blog post qualify.
Hmm that is not how I read the task. I thought the list was provided in the blog as a suggested starting point, not as definitive.
15.2 FYTSTime traveler: 2016-1971
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Published in 2011
+15 task
Task total: 15 pts
Grand total: 235 pts
10.10 Group ReadsMurder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers
Review: I haven't really read any Dorothy Sayers before, but I have heard of Lord Peter Wimsey, and I'm glad of this chance to make his acquaintance. The story is a very Golden Age detective story, along the lines of Agatha Christie, but Sayers adds an extra layer of satire by poking fun at the advertising industry.
Lord Wimsey (using the nom de guerre of "Mr. Death Bredon" is hired by the proud owner of an advertising agency, Mr Pym, to look into some possibly shading goings-on at the agency. His attention is caught immediately by te death of Mr. Dean, which might be less of an accident than it seems.
Wimsey has to learn how to write a good slogan, help the police unravel a drug trafficking ring and solve the puzzle of Mr. Deans death, all the while managing two different identities.
It's a nice well-written story and very recommendable as a cozy crime.
The translation was good, but the copy editing was horrible. I've never thought much of copy editing and how well it is normally done before being confronted with this mess of typos and wrong punctuation.
+10 task
+10 combo (10.7, 20.5)
+10 LiT (read in Danish)
+10 Review
Task total: 40 pts
Grand total: 275 pts
15.1 FYTS Time Traveler2014-1969
Sixth Cycle by Darren Wearmouth
Published 2014
+15 Task
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 150
15.4 Time TravelerLearning Journeys: Top Management Experts Share Hard-Earned Lessons on Becoming Great Mentors and Leaders by Marshall Goldsmith
(2000)
+15 task
+5 non-fiction
Task total: 20
Grand total: 530
From Post 281Bea wrote: "20.6 War
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Review:
I found this book initially very confusing. It seemed to jump around in time frame in a chaotic manner. Then..."
+5 Combo 10.4-Darkest
From Post 292Tien wrote: "20.6 War
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
#4 on World War One Literature
Review
I must confess to not being too impressed with this whole novel. I didn't like eit..."
+5 Combo 10.5
itpdx wrote: "Hmm that is not how I read the task. I thought the list was provided in the blog as a suggested starting point, not as definitive."I'm sorry for any confusion. I will work on clearer language for future tasks. Our standard has been linked lists with no additional clicks unless otherwise spelled out, but there may be a better way to state this.
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Reading with Style
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Bonds of Trust by Lynda Aicher
Erotica review under the spoiler.(view spoiler)[
This book started off really well but went downhill from about 50% on. Not horrendously bad, just troubling.
The good:
- It's a newbie joins too-good-to-be-true BDSM club story, but Cali is not the usual newbie. She's in her 40s, divorced, and more sure of herself than the "natural subs" that are often heroines. Submitting is only partly natural and she gets better at it as she goes.
- Hot sex scenes, especially in that first half.
- The ex-husband becomes a source of conflict in a realistic way that does not involve stalking. (I'm sick of stalking.)
The not-so-good:
- The trust thing is harped on over and over again. "Do you trust me?" "Thank you for giving me your trust tonight." "You have to trust your Master." I got sick of the word very quickly.
- After being clear that boundaries would be respected there are cases of dubious consent. The kind of things I would expect apologies or explanations for afterward, but no. Ick.
- The daughter's turnaround is a little too quick and convenient.
Not bad, but it didn't live up to its early promise. (hide spoiler)]
+20 task (author LA)
+10 review
Task total: 30 points
Grand total: 110 points