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Task 10.10 Group Reads

Thank You for Smoking by Christopher Buckley

Review:
It took longer than usual, but I finally finished it. Let me start off by saying that I did enjoy reading the book. I saw the movie years ago so I had an idea of the satiric elements. I don't know why I got sleepy before I had even finished reading 10 pages almost every time I picked it up! The book revolves around Nick Naylor, chief spokesman for the tobacco lobby in Washington DC. He lunches with the other member of the "Merchants of Death" (MOD Squad) consisting of the gun and alcohol lobbies. Nick is great at lying to the American public about the harms of tobacco, but ends up being kidnapped and doused with nicotine patches. He makes it out alive and then the mystery of who kidnapped him takes Nick all over the East Coast and Hollywood. It has funny bits and it was easier to finish once I got to the second half. I would recommend to those who like political satire.

+10 Task
+10 Combo (10.2-author born in US, 20.8-author published from 1986-2012)
+10 Review

Task Total = 30

Grand Total = 30

message 28:
+5 combo 20.9 - biography of Thomas Paine who was an author
Grand Total: 30 + 05 = 35


Task 20.3 collection of short stories or essays by a single author.

Nine Tomorrows (1959) by Isaac Asimov

For style points
20.8 "veteran" author, one that has published books for 20 or more years.
Isaac Asimov
Here’s a list of ALL his books (500+!!!!!)


+20 Task
+05 Style:1. Combo (5 points): (20.8 “veteran� author)
+10 Style:3. Review (10 points):
+05 Style:4. Oldies (5 to 25 points): -25 to 75 years old: 5 points (1937-1987)

Task Total: 20 + 10 + 05 +05 =40

Grand Total: 35 + 40 = 75


Review: Like Earth Is Room Enough (which I read last summer), this book is a collection of Golden Age SF, all written by Isaac Asimov and first published in the Science Fiction magazines of the 1950s. The point of the stories is the cool idea; the characters are secondary. I liked the collection in Nine Tomorrows better than the one in Earth Is Room Enough . In this one, there are more stories that meld science fiction and mystery. This collection also includes the classic novelette “The Ugly Little Boy�, the story about a Neanderthal which is frequently anthologized. Recommended for people who enjoy 1950s science fiction.

10.9 To Be Continued�
Frostbite by Richelle Mead
+ 10 task � book 2 of the Vampire Academy series
No style points because its YA, lex. 670
Task total = 10

Grand Total = 60

Task 10.2 � an author born in one of countries hosting Oktoberfest festivities: Peter Carey was born in Australia


The Chemistry of Tears by Peter Carey


And, Peter Carey qualifies for combo points 20.8 as a"veteran" author:


+10 Task
+05 Style:1. Combo (5 points): (20.8 "veteran" author)
+10 Style:3. Review (10 points):

Task Total: 10 + 05 + 10 = 25

Grand Total: 75 + 25 = 100

Review: The novel started off good � a 30ish year old woman learns that her married lover of 13 years has just died of a massive heart attack, and she goes into mourning. Nobody knows she knew him so nobody is there to help her. Our protagonist is a conservator at a British museum. She starts a new assignment restoring a mechanical duck produced in the 1850s. In the course of the restoration, she discovers journals of the man who designed the mechanical duck and commissioned its building. About midway through the novel, the characters began behaving in unlikely ways. The ending didn’t fit the novel. Maybe there was symbolism in the novel that I missed? Overall, I was disappointed with this novel, and would not recommend it. (I really liked Carey’s novel True History of the Kelly Gang and I WOULD recommend that one. Additionally, I’d give his other novels a try*sometime*. It’s THIS one I’d recommend skipping.)

Don (The Book Guy) wrote: "TASK 15.2 Know Your ABC's Book 2

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler, published 1993, BPL assignment Science Fiction"

Don, I know we discussed this book earlier & I approved it. Please be careful in your posts as this book is NOT shelved in assignment science fiction at BPL (which would trigger a lexile check & a disqualification). It's located in the regular (adult) science fiction section.

15.1 ABCs

The Vanishing Act by Mette Jakobsen



+15 Know Your ABCs

Task Total: 15
Grand Total= 15

20.8 Vet's Day
Beyond the White House: Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, Building Hope by Jimmy Carter


Review
President Jimmy Carter has long been my hero and guru. After reading this book you will understand why he is so deserving of his Nobel Peace prize. That man is indefatigable when it comes to relieving suffering and is not afraid to go against popular sentiments to expose the tortuous abuse of people’s basic rights, to include peace and justice. The idea that he is in his eighties is something to keep in mind as well. I know I would have trouble keeping up with both him and his wife, Rosalynn. If it was up to me, I’d make this man a saint. He is actually practicing Christianity and following the footsteps of Jesus, and not just showing up at a church once a week. For all the work he has done, he is quite modest and willingly gives credit to the world leaders, volunteers and other partners that help him achieve these goals although many times some of these leaders are not that deserving. I listened to this on an audiobook and the last several minutes is an actual live recording of a Sunday school class that he teaches in his hometown. I find him and his books sincere, humble, and hopeful for humanity.

+20 pts - Task
+25 pts - Combo(10.4 - white,10.5 - born 1924,10.6 - governor of Georgia, 39th US President, 10.8 - pub 2007, 20.9 - his memoirs)
+10 Review

Task total - 55 pts
Grand total - 120 pts

20.3 � In honor of Poe’s Tales

Swim Back to Me: Stories by Ann Packer

+20 task
+10 review

Task total=30
Grand total=140

Know Your ABCs

15.3 Third Book

Letter C, published 1999

Vector by Robin Cook

Task Total: 15
Season Total: 45

20.8 Veteran's Day

Exile by Richard North Patterson

+20 Task (author first published in 1979)
+10 Combo (10.2-US, 10.8B-Richard is 7 letters long)
+5 Jumbo (most popular edition has over 500 pages)

Post Total: 35
Season Total: 80

D wrote: "20.3 � In honor of Poe’s Tales

Swim Back to Me by Ann Packer

"Walk For Mankind" is a story set in 1972 about two eighth-grade classmates, a girl and a boy, whose fathers are Stanford professors. ..."

Thanks for this review. I like Ann Packer - I don't think I realized this was a short story collection.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Thanks for this review. I like Ann Packer - I don't think I realized this was a short story collection. "

Task 10.2 Oktoberfest River Thieves by Michael Crummey(author born in Canada)

Review: My expectations were very different when I started the book, than what I got. I was expecting more about the Beothuck Indians than this book provides. Despite that I enjoyed the plot, the characters and the eloquently written description of life in Newfoundland in the early 19th century.

Michael Crummey is a native of Newfoundland and a good story teller. This book is part fiction and part history, although I found it a bit slow moving, I did gain an insight into the tough lives of the settlers in this harsh country, got to know the beauty of the stark landscape, and the tragic consequences of European settlements on the Native Indian population.

+10 Task
+10 Review
+15 Combo (10.8 Lucky 7(B) 7 letters in the authors 1st name. 20.2 Rural setting(Newfoundland countryside) 20.7 Bechdel Test: 2 female characters 'Cassie English settler & Mary" native Indian, talk to each other learning each others language, about items of daily use etc. and her wanting to go home, (in broken English).

Task Total = 35
Grand Total = 35)

ps. This is the 1st book I'm posting and as I'm new to RWS am not too sure of 20.7, if it doesn't fit please let me know.

20.8 Veterans' Day

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

Review: Freedom was on my list of twelve books from my to-read list I've been avoiding reading that I challenged myself to complete this year. I've heard and read things about Jonathan Franzen that put me off a little - his disdain of technology, his disdain of Oprah's book club... it just seems like every time I hear about him in the news, he's proclaiming his disdain of something. Nevertheless, I'd heard good things about his writing, and don't believe in equating an author's work with his public persona.

Unfortunately, I was either unable to separate the two this time, or Franzen's attitude pervades his work. I expect it was both. The story centers around a disaffected upper middle class couple, Walter and Patty, as well as their son Joey and Walter's best friend Richard, both of whom have lasting impacts on their marriage. None of the characters are particularly likable, although they have some redeeming qualities, and they are, for the most part, miserable. There is a loose plot, but it's far from the focus of the book, leaving the writing and the characters to pull the weight. Unfortunately, I've never been much for reading about the plight of upper middle class dissatisfied with their existence. Add to that large portions of the book that seem more like they belong in a textbook (or a sermon?) than in a novel, and the result is something just not made for me.

+20 Task (The Twenty-Seventh City published in 1988; Freedom published in 2010 and he continues to publish)
+5 Jumbo (562 pages)
+10 Review

Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 60

20.7 - Connie's Task - Women of Achievement Month, September

The 8th Confession by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Review: I think I skipped a book in the series at one point, but it does not matter too much. This was a decent addition. Both the Bagman Jesus and millionaire murder stories were interesting and believable enough. One of the things I usually like in this series is the interaction between Lindsay, Cindy, Claire, and Yuki. This was not seen as much in this installment, but tension does develop between Cindy and LIndsay when Cindy hooks up with Lindsay's partner. Yuki also meets a guy and that ended up in a strange way. I'm not sure what was going on there. Some name things got me confused a bit, but maybe it's going to be something in a further book.

+20 Task (There are several conversations between the women regarding murder cases)
+5 combo (20.8-both authors have published material over 20 years)
+10 review

Task Total = 35
Grand Total = 65

15.2 - 2nd Book; B 1994

The Glass Lake by Maeve Binchy

+15 task

Grand total - 30

my review

RwS Task

20.3 � In honor of Edgar Allen Poe’s Tales

The Kissing Game by Aidan Chambers

I thoroughly enjoyed the stories Aidan Chambers has written in The Kissing Game. The title story is excellent and I can understand why it was chosen for the book title, but, at the same time, the title and cover art are misleading. These stories are mature and often dark; they are not at all light romances like the title and art implies. I would have named it Santuary and used some more intense images on the cover. Aidan Chambers is a phenomenal writer and if you haven’t read any of his Dance Sequence:
you are missing out on some of the top writing for teens ever written.

+20 Task: Short Stories, YA no lexile
Task Total: 20

Grand Total: 70

RwS Task

20.7 � Connie's Task - Women of Achievement Month, September:

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

The Light Between Oceans is a moving debut novel about truth and lies and right and wrong. The emotional impact is palpable throughout and almost acts as another character in the book.Tom is the lighthouse keeper back from a grueling stint in the war. Isabel becomes his wife and they live their lives on the island isolated from the mainland and from others. One night, a boat washes up on shore that will change their lives and test their loyalties to each other and to the truth tempered by love for another and what we are willing to sacrifice for that love. The writing is gripping book gets under your skin. I also loved the descriptions of Australia where the author was born and where the book is set. I recommend this one for anyone who enjoys contemporary fiction.

+20 Task: Bechdel Test - Most of the book does not qualify, but towards the end there are some important conversations with two sisters and Isabel.
+10 Review
+ 5 Combo:10.2 Oktoberfest (Australia)

Task Total: 35

Grand Total: 105

Karen GHHS wrote: "RwS Task

20.7 � Connie's Task - Women of Achievement Month, September:

The Light Between Oceans is a moving debut novel about truth and lies and right and wrong. The emotional impact is palpable ..."

Is the title "The Light Between Oceans"? can you edit for a link?

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Karen GHHS wrote: "RwS Task

20.7 � Connie's Task - Women of Achievement Month, September:

The Light Between Oceans is a moving debut novel about truth and lies and right and wrong. The emotional ..."

oops! - yes, will do

15.1 1st book � letter K
Captains Courageous By Rudyard Kipling, first published 1897 � lexile score 1020
+15 points

Grand Total: 75

20.7 Women of Achievement Month

The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbøl & Agnete Friis

I had a bus trip to take this weekend, and this was my outbound reading material. It was perfect for that type of reading -- it was interesting enough to hold my attention despite the growing pain of my knees being banged into the seat in front of me and it was light enough that I could understand it despite the noisiness of my various fellow travelers. The structure of the story felt disjointed at first, as we see the story and the mystery coming together from different points of view, each adding a new bit of information. However, once I had a handle on the main players in the story, I came to enjoy the narrative structure, since I knew I'd get more information from another source soon. It was definitely the kind of book where the solution wasn't obvious to me from the beginning but as soon as it came clear, I realized that the plot was cleverly done, even with a few events that required some wiling suspension of disbelief.

+20 Task: Bechdel Test - Nina Borg, the woman more or less solving things, talks to her friend Karin, the boy's mother, and another woman (Anne) about details of the crime and medical issues on a number of occasions.
+10 Review

Task Total: 30

Grand Total: 75

Ismaa wrote: "Task 10.2 Oktoberfest River Thieves by Michael Crummey(author born in Canada)

Review: My expectations were very different when I started the book, than what I got. I was expecting more about the B..."

Welcome, Ismaa! Your post looks fine, except for the combo with 20.2-rural setting. This task requires you to use a book from the top 150 of the linked list. Thanks!

20.9 - Elizabeth (Alaska)'s Task - National Author's Day, November 1st

The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

+20 task
And no style points as it is a graphic novel

Task total: 20

Grand Total = 55

10.7 - Monsterfest

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris (includes Vampires, pub. in 2012)

Review:
I liked this latest installment of the Sookie Stackhouse books better than some of the previous books. It had quite a bit of surprise in it and there were several Sam-Moments that I loved.

But this just means that in my opinion this book is a good average and not much more. The Sookie Stackhouse books weren’t among my favorites to begin with. They are always a short read for entertainment in-between more serious or longer books and once I started a series I’ll usually finish it unless it is really bad. Still I can’t deny that I’ll actually be glad when the series is finished with the next book.


+ 10 Task
+ 5 Combo (20.8: first published book in 1981)
+ 10 Review

Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 120

10.9 - To Be Continued ...

Fearless by Cornelia Funke
(This is the second book in the series and was just published a few days ago in German; Cornelia Funke mentions that she is working on a third book on her Website, the sub-page about Fearless.)

Review:
I loved Cornelia Funke's Inkheart books and was a bit disappointed by the first Reckless book. I liked it but something seemed missing. I just finished the second book and liked it much more. The story continues where the first book left off. Jacob tries to find a way to counter the fairy curse that will kill him if he doesn't succeed. He is accompanied by the shapeshifter Fox. After every other measure Jacob knows of and tries fails to help against the curse, his last option is a magical crossbow that may save his life. But to find the crossbow Jacob first has to find three other objects that will reveal the crossbow. His search is made even more difficult by the fact that another treasure-hunter wants to find the crossbow and is determined to beat Jacob.

In this book Cornelia Funke shows again how much imagination she has. The world she created behind the mirrors is based on our own and there are many fairy tale elements to be found throughout the story. This doesn't prevent Funke from creating her very own world with vivid characters. I enjoyed every sentence of this book.

Rainer Strecker read the German audiobook. As usual he does a great job with it.


+ 10 Task
+ 15 Combo (10.2: Cornelia Funke was born in Germany; 10.7: includes several "monsters", among them so-called Goyle (approved in help-thread); 20.8: first published book in 1988)
+ 10 Review

Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 155

RwS

10.4 Celebrate Fall - White Night by Jim Butcher

(I admit, I'm not sure if this qualifies for this task as I can't say for sure if the color is referring to the Night but I think so)

Hells bells, I really enjoyed this installment of the Dresden files. The story flowed nicely, wasn’t too confusing for me as I find that sometimes, some of the plotlines are hard to follow. Harry is becoming a favorite character of mine and there were a lot of laugh out loud moments in this one from Harry as well as his co-horts. What I do find about this series is that sometimes there’s too much mumbo jumbo about things that I can’t keep straight in my head but there wasn’t as much in this book and what was there, came towards the end so I didn’t have to worry about it too much. Doesn’t that sound terrible? I read a lot of fantasy but for some reason, I have trouble keeping the different councils and bad guys straight. Still, a good read, can’t wait to find out what happens next.

+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.7 - all kinds of bad guys present, mostly beginning on page 183 with an assortment of ghouls)
+10 Review

Task Total=25
Grand Total=65

Thank Kate S, will make take out 20.2 Rural Setting from the Task
:)

Task 10.10 Group Reads
Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution by Michelle Moran

Very interesting book and very well written! Being a fan of historical fiction I was really looking forward to learning about the life of the famous Madame Tussauad. This book is not just the story of her life, but is a gripping and often harrowing account of the French Revolution.

Moran draws you effortlessly into the dangerous days of anarchy and bloodshed during the turbulent days of the revolution and its brutal impact on the French population. The narrative is crisp and simple, the story engrossing and fast-paced., Moran makes sure that her powerful story telling holds you captive till the very end.

I had not read up on the Revolution in detail, so for me reading this book was a bonus, as I got a thorough description of this tragic era in the history of France.

+ 10 Task
+ 10 Review
+ 10 Combo (10.2 Author born in USA. 20.7 Marie & her Mother Anna have many conversations about Revolution related events.

Task Total=30
Grand Total=60

1. My edition had 600+ pages but I'm not getting Jumbo points am I, the most popular edition has 400 odd pages?

2. Kate S pointed out an error in my Combo from my earlier post #73 for Task 10.2, so I have deleted 5 points for 20.2 Rural Setting and readjusted the total.

Know Your ABCs

15.4
Fourth Book, Letter D, published 2000

The Empty Chair by Jeffery Deaver

+20 Task

Post Total: 20
Season Total: 100

Ashes of Honor (Seanan McGuire) - 10.9 To be Continued...

'Ashes of Honor' is the sixth installation in one of my favorite urban fantasy series. As usual, the main character, half-fairy October Daye, ends up in search of a child in trouble, getting herself and her friends into all kinds of trouble in pursuit of answers. Finding missing and hurt children is Toby's specialty, which can be heart-wrenching in a way that other mysteries would not, but spending time with the characters is always like hanging out with old friends.

The book takes place a year after the last, and while I wasn't a fan of the way things turned out in that one, the character development in this one finally moved the story forward. I wouldn't recommend starting with this one, I do highly recommend the series. (view spoiler)[Oh, and yay! Tybalt!!!! (hide spoiler)]

+10 Task
+ 5 Combo (10.7 Monsterfest - the bad fairies are definitely scary)
+10 Review

Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 85

20.4 Carmilla

Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy by Bil Wright
(lexile 820)

Review:
I wanted this to be better than it actually was. There are not a lot of books with characters like Carlos Duarte. He's a fabulous makeup artist who starts living his dream while in high school. He has the requisite female friend, a crush on a rocker boy, and a mom and sis with their own problems. The story sucked me in and I read it in two sittings. The small problem was that I found it just too predictable and a bit anti-climatic. It just felt a bit awkward at the end and I just wasn't entirely satisfied. Maybe it's just me. Anyway, if you like stories about boys with style and an uplifting gay story-this one is for you.

+20 Task
+10 Review

Task Total = 30
Grand Total = 95

Task 20.4 written by an LGBT author.

Joanna Russ, Lesbian:


Picnic on Paradise (1968) by Joanna Russ
Nebula Award Nominee for Novel (1968)


Also fits Task 20.7 Bechdel Test: the work must (i) have at least 2 female characters who (ii) talk to each other about (iii) something other than a man/men
pp. 56-57: Tough Trans-Temporal Tour Guide Alyx speaking with fashionable tourist Maundy, one night after they stop for the night:

“I’m a living doll,� Maundy was saying. I’m a living doll, I’m a living doll, I’m a living doll� interspersed with terrible sobs.

They do tell the truth, thought Alyx, sometimes.. “You,� she said firmly, “are a woman. A woman.�

“I’m a doll!� cried Maundy.

“You,� said Alyx, “are a woman. A woman with dyed hair. A silly woman. But a woman. A woman!�


Also fits Task 20.8 "veteran" author:



+20 Task
+10 Style:1. Combo (5 points): (20.7 “Bechdel Test�, 20.8 "veteran" author)
+10 Style:3. Review (10 points):
+05 Style:4. Oldies (5 to 25 points): -25 to 75 years old: 5 points (1937-1987)


Total: 20 + 10 + 10 + 05 = 45


Grand Total: 100 + 45 = 145


Review: This was Joanna Russ’s first novel, published in1968 and nominated for the Nebula Prize for Best Science Fiction Novel. Our heroine, Alyx, is from Ancient Greece. She has been brought forward in time to the planet of Paradise to act as tour guide to an indulged group of men and women looking for adventure. Part of the “adventure� is to remove modern conveniences from the group, including mechanical devices and mind-altering drugs. Alyx knows how to survive without the modern conveniences, hence she has been recruited as the tour guide. Overall, the novel is dated, very 1960s (Cannabis! Surprise � men cry as well as women! And �. See dialog I included to show Bechdel Test compliance). Overall, it was OK, 1960s science fiction.

20.8 Veterans' Day

Götz and Meyer by David Albahari

Review: 'Gotz and Meyer' is short and almost featureless, written in a sort of stream of consciousness style and in one long paragraph. It reads like a memoir, an investigation into a past that can never be understood.

The narrator is a man who is researching and teaching the history of the Holocaust in Serbia, where most of his family perished in trucks that functioned as moving gas chambers. In looking into the past, he runs across the names of the drivers, Gotz and Meyer, who haunt his present. The real-life men remain a mystery to him, interchangeable, but are always to some extent human. He says, "Anyone could have been Gotz. Anyone could have been Meyer, and yet Gotz and Meyer were only Gotz and Meyer, and no one else could be who they are," but questions what kind of humans they were. As much as they are no more than names, they were humans, doing monstrous things as part of their daily routines - and treating the Jews they murdered as interchangeable parts.

I've read quite a bit of Holocaust literature, but have never learned much about what happened in Serbia (perhaps because of more recent turmoil), and cannot remember hearing of the trucks that mostly predates the gas chambers in the concentration camps. The book had an occasional dark humor and quick pace, but in the end was as unsettling as a work like this should be.

+20 Task (Albahari published his first well-known collection of short stories, Opis smrti, in 1982, Götz and Meyer in 2002)
+10 Review
+5 Multiple*

Task Total: 35*
Grand Total: 120*

*Edited to fix the date of first book publication and to add +5 Multiple*

20.6 Dracula

From the Gothic Novels List

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo

+20 Task
+10 Combo (10.5-elected to National Assembly in France in 1848, 20.8)
+5 Jumbo (512 pages in most popular edition)
+15 Oldies (pub 1831)

Task Total: 50
Season Total: 150

Cory (Bigler) '00-'05 wrote: "20.8 Veterans' Day

Götz and Meyer by David Albahari

+20 Task (Albahari published his first well-known collection of short stories, Opis smrti, in 1992, Götz and Meyer in 2002)"

Cory, this is only a 10 year span. Do you have more information for an additional 10 years of publications?

ETA: Nevermind. I find he first published a volume of short stories in 1973, and the Opis smrti with a 1982 publication date and more here:

I meant 1982; I'll fix it. I wish it were a 10 year span - think it would be a square peg otherwise!

Task 10.4 Celebrate Fall
Roses Are Redby James Patterson

I like Patterson's books they always deliver on the promise of gripping suspense and this book is no exception. Roses are Red is book #6 in the Alex Cross series, it delivers a high paced drama, a sound view of the professional and personal life of Alex, and the pursuit and the investigation of a case.

An engrossing book, the only axe to grind for me is that I intensely dislike books that leave you with a cliff hanger!!! I like the books to finish the story they have started, even if it’s part of a series, I strongly feel the author should end the story. Patterson has done that in his previous books, at least in the one's I have read, leaving the reader the option of reading the next book in the series or not. But not this one, the cliffhanger makes sure I will be searching high and low to find the next book! Well done, Mr. Patterson, Well done!!! (humph)

+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (20.8 Veteran Author, James Patterson has been publishing books for more than 20 years)

Task Total = 25
Grand Total = 85

15.2 2nd book � letter L
The Woman and the Puppet By Pierre Louys, first published 1898
+15 points

Grand Total: 90

RwS Task

20.8 - Kate S� Task � Veteran’s Day, November 11th:

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Ari (aka Aristotle) and Dante meet during their 15th summer at their local swimming pool and come of age as best friends. Ari narrates the story and comes to grips with his feelings about life and love through knowing Dante. It’s a beautifully told story. I liked the parents in the story as much as the boys which is not always the case in YA literature, especially in “coming out� stories.

+20 Task Benjamin Alire Saenz 1991-2012 Low Lexile

Task Total: 20

Grand Total: 125

20.3 Poe’s Tales

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

+20 task
+5 Combo 10.2 (US born author)

Grand Total: 40

10.2 Oktoberfest
Animal's People By Indra Sinha
+ 10 task, author born in India
+ 10 combo (10.8 published 2007, 10.10 Liz M’s read) I’m assuming that his translation of The Love Teachings of Kama Sutra: With Extracts from Koka Shastra, Anaga Ranga and Other Famous Indian Works on Love doesn’t count for 20.8?
Task total = 20

Grand Total: 110

15.1 ABCs

D, 2002

I, Lucifer: Finally, the Other Side of the Story by Glen Duncan

Task Total = 15

Grand Total = 45

20.6: Bram Stoker

Misery by Stephen King

Review: Wow. WOW. I’m a big Stephen King fan already, but I can honestly say that I have never loved a King novel as much as I loved this one � I can’t believe I didn’t read it earlier than this (crazy, I know). It’s actually very hard for me to feel truly scared by a book � I didn’t even really feel “scared� by It or The Shining. Yet I found myself actually holding my breath and nervously gripping the book while reading this one. The pure psychological thrill of having no idea what was going to come next was just unbelievable. I honestly don’t know how King does it...he’s a genius. He just is. Simply phenomenal; easily one of my favorite books now.

+20 Task (Won the Bram Stoker award for Novel in 1987)
+10 Review
+20 Combo (10.3, 20.2, 20.8, 10.8 [Original publication year was 1987])
+5 Oldies

Post Total: 55
Grand Total: 140

10.8 - Rosemary's Task - Lucky Sevens

California Demon: The Secret Life of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom

+10 task

task total = 10

Grand Total=10

20.1 � In honor of Mary Shelley's debut novel Frankenstein

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri



+20 task (2000 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award)
+10 Combo (10.3 #824 on Garfunkel's list; 20.3 short story collection)
+10 Review

Task total=40
Grand total=180

Kme_17 wrote: "10.8 - Rosemary's Task - Lucky Sevens

California Demon: The Secret Life of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom

+10 task

task total = 10

Grand Total=10"

For the Lucky Seven, it needs to either have a) a 7-word title; b)first name of author is 7 letters; or c) original pub date ends in 7. This meets none of these critera.

0h sorry put the wrong one down

10.7 - Karen GHHS' Task - Monsterfest IV

California Demon: The Secret Life of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom

+10 task

task total = 10

Grand Total=10"

Kme_17 wrote: "10.7 - Karen GHHS' Task - Monsterfest IV

California Demon: The Secret Life of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom

+10 task

task total = 10

Grand Total=10""

LOL - that makes more sense! Thanks for being right on it!