Reading with Style discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Archives
>
Fall 2016 Completed Tasks
Half and Half Sample Post:15.4 HaH
Mystic River by Dennis Lehane
+15 Task
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 265
This assumes you have previously claimed 250 points.
20.9 Edgar Allen PoeThe Jersey Devil by Hunter Shea
Review:
Hunter Shea's The Jersey Devil starts with a death, and the body count mounts up from there.
The Willet family has a good and mysterious reason to try and track the infamous Jersey Devil, which supposedly lives in the pine barrens of New Jersey. When reports of sightings and even attacks by the devil start to increase, the family heads out with a mini-van full of guns and other weapons.
Reality-show host Norm has spent his adult life investigating--and refuting--cases of mythical monsters such as Bigfoot. When he gets a call from long-time friend Sam Willet that the Jersey Devil has become more active, he joins the Willet family in the search.
Although this book won't be winning any writing awards anytime soon, the action and the setting of the book was enough to keep me interested in it until the end. It's a fast and entertaining read. There is a fair amount of blood, gore, and a few sexual references (I could have done without the vivid description of 80 year old Grandpa Willet's "morning wood"---EW!).
I would recommend this book for someone looking for a fast, entertaining, non-brain-taxing, gory read.
+20 task
+10 review
Points this post: 30
Season total: 30
20.6 John Buchnan-JournalistDark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer
I have heard bits and pieces about the Koch brothers and their network. Jane Mayer puts their story together and puts it in perspective. This is how a few very wealthy people have shaped politics in the US over the last couple of decades. And why the rest of us seem to end up on the losing end. The Kochs have become a third force in American politics and seem to have put together almost as much money as either party for the 2016 election. And since it appears that Trump isn't their guy, keep your eyes on state and Congressional races. This is a must read for everyone who has a vote this year. Follow the money.
+20 task
+10 review
Task total: 30
Season Total: 30
20.10 Vera Brittain Elizabeth (Alaska)'s TaskJames Herriot's Cat Stories by James Herriot
I went to the library to search for a book that fit this category...and didn't find much to my taste. I saw this little volume and had always heard good things about James Herriot's books...but had never read any. I'm glad I chose this. About ten simple but endearing stories about cats he has cared for... mostly as patients. One cat is adopted by Herriot and his wife after some sort of brutal attack and miraculously brought back to life. The cat gets well and has a regular schedule of attending yoga classes and church meetings. The strange behavior leads to the original owner learning that Herriot has the cat who has always had this strange habit. Another story has an ill old man ask Herriot to look after his cat who seems to be in a coma. The doctor fears for the worse but gives him some vitamins. The cat gets well. A few days later, another coma. The doctor is baffled until he discovers that the old man has cancer and is so weak that the only way he can take his medicine is by pouring it into a saucer. Well.... the cat was licking the saucer afterwards...mystery solved. I have two cats of my own...so, it was pleasing to read Herriot's encounters.
task = 20
review = 10
combo = 10 (10.4, 20.1- approval pending post 65)
total = 40
grand total = 40
10.1 Fall freebieGilead by Marilynne Robinson
I read this as a ‘buddy read’ in the GR classics group I belong to. I wanted to read this book, because I had read Housekeeping by Robinson and was so impressed with her writing. However, I was quite alarmed when I saw our library labeled the book ‘Christian fiction’. I’m an atheist – how is this going to go?
Her writing is spare, lyrical and beautiful, and that is what held me. The book is a letter or journal to the Reverend’s young son. The son is from his late in life marriage, and the Reverend has a serious health issue and knows his time is near. The book is a reflection on his life, reveals the influence that his Grandfather, Father, brother and friend had on his life, and some of the theological issues he has spent a lifetime thinking deeply about.
This book is about a simple life, lived with joy and grief and everything in between. I was moved and captivated (and still am) by his joy and close observation of the beauty in everyday life. This is really where Robinson’s writing shines.
Be forewarned, this is a slow moving book. There are definitely theological points that are a hard slog if that isn’t really your thing. However, I would definitely recommend it. It isn’t often that you have the opportunity to read a book by a writer in full command of her craft.
10 task
10 review
___
20
Running total: 20
15.1 - HaHThe Heart is Deceitful Above All Things by J.T. LeRoy
+15 Task
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 15
20.5 John dos PassosThe Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain
Another 1001 list book that, although not bad, was a disappointment for me. I rated it just 3 stars. I had seen the movie version many years ago...and remember liking it. Well... the book reads almost as a script with language one might find in any 1940s detective story. The story is short and "sweet": drifter gets a job at a gas station from a man who has a stunning wife. They all live together.... and the drifter and wife almost immediately have a torrid affair. They soon plot the murder of the husband. They get away with the murder.... but not really. Add in some attempted blackmail, an affair with another woman, an expected baby and distrust between the parties...and voila!.... we are back where we started.
Again...worth the read..... I just don't think it belongs on the 1001 Books You Must Read list. Interestingly, the Good Reads blurb for the book indicates it was an inspiration for Camus' The Stranger...which I really did enjoy.
task =20 (born 1892)
review = 10
combo = 20 (10.5-1934; 20.1; 20.2: 20.6)
oldie - 10 (1934)
task total= 60
grand total = 100
15.6 Half And Half - All Males, No RepeatsThe Bridges by Tarjei Vesaas
Letters used to date : T, V
+15 Task
Task Total = 15
Grand Total = 15
15.1 HaHD.E.D Dead (Alby Murdoch #1) by Geoffrey McGeachin
Author Initial: GM
+15 Task
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 15
10.6 Literature MapGetrude Stein
Three Lives by Gertrude Stein
Ugh. I really enjoyed Stein's Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas..but this set of three stories rubbed me the wrong way. Okay.... it is considered an experimental novel... so, I was willing to give some leeway. But Stein is so repetitive...and repetitive in ways that I don't see a need for. The stories are simple - focussing on ordinary people...all young women. The stories are more an exploration of how emotions and decisions evolve and are made with all the twists and pressures life brings. But, the dialogue is unbelievable. I had the same reaction as when I read Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls- I wanted to scream that NOBODY TALKS THAT WAY! (Not surprised when I saw the Good Reads blurb for the book indicates that she had a strong influence on Hemingway.) And the second story about a young Black woman is replete with racial references that are unnecessary and offensive...and of course...repetitive. One star.
Task = 10
Review= 10
Combo = 5 (20.1
Oldie =10
total= 35
grand total = 135
10.3-George OrwellStation Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
+10 Task
Points this post: 10
RwS total: 10
HaH total: -
Season Total: 10
10.4 Hubert SelbyGrendel by John Gardner
+10 Task
+5 Oldies (published 1970)
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 15
20.5 John dos PassosN or M? by Agatha Christie
I’m a big fan of Agatha Christie, and have always liked her Tommy and Tuppence stories. This one takes place in WW2, and Tommy (and by her own initiative, Tuppence) are recruited to unravel a mystery involving fifth columnists. It takes place in a small seaside town, specifically in a boarding house that is full of characters (in every sense). As with most, if not all, of her novels there isn’t a lot of ‘action’(although there is some); instead it is about Tommy and Tuppence interacting with the various characters and trying to determine if the person is actually who they seem. Of course, there are a couple of red herrings! Despite both Tommy and Tuppence (separately) running into serious trouble with the fifth columnists the good guys prevail. Interestingly, there is a (very small) side plot at the end which I don’t recall being part of the next Tommy and Tuppence book – I guess I’ll have to read it to see!
20 task
5 oldie (1941)
5 combo 10.4
10 review
______
40
Running total: 75
10.2-Ishmael BeahAdé: A Love Story by Rebecca Walker
I learned about this book after reading The Color Purple last season and noticed that Alice Walker's daughter was also an author. If someone described the story to me I would not be interested in what seems an improbable romance. Well....I would be wrong. In this short novel, Rebecca Walker somehow makes the improbable into a moving and believable poetic story. A young American woman, Farida, travels to Africa with a friend. After some minor adventures elsewhere, the pair land on the Kenyan island of Lamu. Farida meets Ade, a young Moslem man and their relationship quickly grows into a romance and the pair soon are planning a wedding....while Farida learns the customs of the island and marriage and family rituals. Things become complicated. Sounds formulaic right? not interesting, right? Well...ignore that. Give this novella a try. Five stars...
PS...just checked out the Wikipedia page for the author...and learned that a film is going to be made...with Madonna directing!
Task = 10
Review = 10
combo = 5 (20.6)
total = 25
grand total= 160
20.5 John Dos PassosThe Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain
James Cain is an author I probably wouldn't have read without this group, so that's another win for Reading with Style! As an avid mystery reader, it is fascinating to see the evolution of the genre. Cain is all about devious and clever plots, in this case a plot by a drifter and a woman he meets to kill the woman's husband to pave the way for their love. Character development, setting, theme, and anything else takes the backseat to clever plot development (though there is some morality embedded, usually suggesting that lies and deception rarely end as planned). But Cain's noir style is also notable here -- as I read it felt like I could almost hear the sounds of a black and white detective movie. I didn't like this one quite as much as Double Indemnity, but still worth reading.
+20 task (born 1892)
+20 combo (10.4 - 1934; 20.1; 20.2; 20.6)
+10 review
+10 oldies (published 1934)
Task Total: 60
Grand Total: 60
20.8 J. D. SalingerThe Secret of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton, pub. 1912, #4 in the Father Brown series.
The Secret of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton is the 4th in a series of short stories abut the little priest. If your idea of Father Brown stories is based on the current BBC series, it is partly true but mostly false. Father Brown is a priest that moves around a lot and never seems to be assigned to a set parish for very long. He sometimes is in the country, but can be in the city or even in other countries. I love this series and this has a couple of my favorite Father Brown stories. He solves the crime through observation and a deep understanding of people and what motivates them. Chesterton was a practicing Catholic and his deep belief in Christianity comes through and his love for all people. If you are a fan of Christie or Sayers mysteries I would recommend this series.
+20 Task
+10 Combo, 20.6, 10.9
+10 Oldies
+10 Review
Task Total: 50
Grand Total: 50
10.6 Literature MapUnder the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
Frances Mayes bought a neglected villa in the Tuscan town of Cortona. The house was called "Bramasole", meaning "yearning for the sun", and the sunshine and warmth of Italy comes shining through Mayes' enthusiastic descriptions.
One gets a sense that Mayes is being reborn. After a midlife divorce, she is in a relationship with her future husband, Ed. The two poets both have demanding jobs as the heads of creative writing departments in their California universities. Both worked hard, along with Italian craftsmen, renovating the house in Tuscany during their summer and mid-winter breaks. They fell in love with the Italian culture, pace of life, and food.
The sense of time is so different in Tuscany with their villa surrounded by fascinating things from ancient times--an Etruscan wall, a Roman road, old churches, and a nearby Medici fortress. The walls of the old villa were thick slabs covered with plaster. Various owners had added on more rooms over the years so it was always a surprise to see what was under the last coat of plaster.
The Tuscan food is simple, fresh, and picked when perfectly ripe. Mayes' descriptions of the food and wine are sensuous, and she included a few recipes. Her tables are often topped with fresh flowers from the many gardens they planted.
I enjoyed the book, but wished I had spread the reading out more instead of reading it over three days since there is so much description. The mood of the book is upbeat, joyous, and often humorous. The Tuscan sun has definitely warmed up Mayes' life.
+10 task
+ 5 combo 10.4 (pub 1996)
+10 review
Task total: 25
Grand total: 25
10.4 Hubert SelbySo Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell
William Maxwell wrote a semi-autobiographical novel about two lonely boys whose lives briefly intersect. Although he is now an old man, he still feels guilt that he did not reach out and offer support to his friend after a tragedy.
The narrator's life fell apart when his mother died in the influenza epidemic of 1918. His family members each grieved privately, but no one talked about their feelings. It was a difficult time for the sensitive ten-year-old boy.
The second great loss occurs a few years later in the Illinois farmland where his friend Cletus resides. Told from multiple points of view, the troubles in two unhappy marriages lead to a love triangle. Passions ignite, friendship is betrayed, and tensions mount. A shot was heard in the second paragraph of the book so the reader knows there will not be a happy ending. The human characters don't always fully express the depth of their feelings. But Cletus' dog vocalizes for the two families as she howls in the night, expressing her feelings of loss and abandonment.
Maxwell is best known for his work as the former fiction editor at "The New Yorker". His own writing, using a spare, understated style, certainly packs an emotional punch in this slim volume.
+10 task (pub 1979)
+ 5 oldie
+10 review
Task total: 25
Grand total: 50
20.8 J.D. SalingerElizabeth Costello by J.M. Coetzee
I had read Life and Times of Michael K and enjoyed it. I abandoned In the Heart of the Country as I just couldn't get into the style of it. I really don't think I would have stuck with this one if I was reading the text rather than listening to it.
In essence this is a collection of lectures either given by the fictional author Elizabeth Costello or witnessed by her. I don't know how well it translates to the written form, as it seems to me they are better presented in spoken form.
It wasn't until the acknowledgements at the end that I found that all of the chapters or "lessons" had been printed separately elsewhere prior to being collected in this work, which probably is why there wasn't any real flow or overall cohesiveness.
A very literary work, with many references to other works and writers, in particular Kafka, which offers a lot of food for thought.
If you want to stretch your mind a little then this might be up your alley.
+20 task
+10 review
+15 combos (10.4 - 2001, 10.5 - longlist, 10.6, approved)
Task Total = 45
Grand Total = 60
10.2 - Ishmael BeahWhite Gold: The Extraordinary Story of Thomas Pellow and North Africa's One Million European Slaves by Giles Milton
This was an interesting read. I had no idea "white slavery" was anything more than a tiny issue, but there were apparently a million European slaves captured and taken to Africa both from ships at sea and from coastal towns in their own countries, in the 17th and 18th centuries. North African pirate raiders went around the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, taking slaves from France, Spain, Portugal, Britain and even as far as Iceland. This book focuses on slaves held in the massive city-palace of Moulay Ismail, an 18th-century ruler of Morocco.
The big difference between slaves taken from Europe to North Africa and those taken from other parts of Africa to the USA and the Caribbean was that the European slaves, if they survived long enough, could expect their home countries to at least try to ransom them in groups after a decade or two. However, those who were "persuaded" to convert to Islam (like Thomas Pellow from Cornwall who was captured aged 12 on his first voyage as a sailor) couldn't hope for rescue, as their home governments considered them renegades who might as well be dead.
This book doesn't contain many of Pellow's actual words but summarises his story, mixed in with evidence from letters from other slaves and the records of the envoys sent by governments and the Catholic church to try to recover their captured citizens. It isn't told in a very lively way, but the facts are interesting enough to have kept me fascinated by themselves.
+10 Task (77% takes place in Africa)
+10 Review
+ 5 Combo (10.4 pub. 2004)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 55
20.3 - PoetsSerious Concerns by Wendy Cope and
If I Don't Know by Wendy Cope
Wendy Cope is a poet whose work is often dismissed as “light verse” because it mostly rhymes and can be funny. I wanted to read Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis because I liked the title, but the library didn’t have it when I went, so I picked up these two others. Then my mother thought she had Making Cocoa but when I visited, it turned out to be If I Don't Know, so we both sat with our copies giggling over the poems.
Serious Concerns has many poems about the joys and pains of dating, while in If I Don't Know, published 9 years later, the poet appears to be in a settled relationship . Both are a good read on a rainy day, whether real or emotional ‘rain’. I think my favourite verse is the first one from "Men and Their Boring Arguments" from Serious Concerns:
One man on his own can be quite good fun
But don't go drinking with two -
They'll probably have an argument
And take no notice of you.
She can be scathing about 'heavy' poetry by male poets. She's written a 5-verse parody/summary of The Waste Land - I'll seek this out for light relief when I get to T.S. Eliot's work, which I have planned for later in the season.
+20 Task (on the Formalist Poets list)
+10 Review
+ 5 Combo (10.4 pub. 1992 & 2001)
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 90
10.5 BookerThe Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Longlist 2012
+10 Task
Post Total: 10
Season Total: 40
10.6 Literature MapFirst Rider's Call by Kristen Britain
+ 20 Task (Elizabeth Moon's map)
+ 10 Combo (10.4 – published 2003, 10.9)
+ 5 Jumbo (596 pages)
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 65
10.4 Hubert SelbyTell No Tales by Eleanor Taylor Bland, 7th in the Marti McAlister series, pub. 1999.
Tell No Tales is the 7th in the Marti McAlister detective series by Eleanor Taylor Bland. Marti is a former Chicago police detective now living in a suburb, Lincoln Prairie and recently married to an EMT with the fire department. Bland does a great job of letting us see her family life and telling a great detective story. I like reading about the procedures of detective work but also getting the feel for a community that is changing and how the main characters are having to change with it. I also like that Bland changes how she tells the story each time so that the series stays interesting. 4 stars, highly recommended
+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo, 10.9
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 75
10.1 FreebieRez Life: An Indian's Journey Through Reservation Life by David Treuer
Part memoir, part history of Indians in the US, part introduction to the culture of the Ojibwa people, part status report of Indian nation at this time.
David Treurer is a good story teller and he tells us much about Indian life through the stories of his family and friends. Some of what he has to say about health, addictions, housing and education is quite depressing but he ends on some upbeat information about strengthening of culture and having treaty rights recognized in courts.
The book could have been edited better. Besides typos there were a couple of paragraphs that did not make sense and some unnecessary repetition of information. I would have liked an index to make it easier to follow people who were encountered several times in the book.
It is particularly interesting to read this as what has been billed as the largest gathering of Indians in decades has assembled to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline.
I also recommend The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America by Thomas King.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task total: 20
Grand Total: 50
10.1 Fall FreebieLone Wolfby Jodi Picoult
Review
This is the eighth book I read by this author. I always learn something from her books. I think she researches them very well. Lone Wolf is about a man who studies wolves. He studies their behavior and wolf packs. He goes to live with them for two years. He builds a sanctuary for them. He loves the wolves so much, he abandons his human family. One day, he and his daughter are in a terrible car accident. They are rushed to the hospital. His daughter recovers but her father doesn't. He is in a coma. Hard decisions need to be made. The story is told by the different perspectives of the main characters. I found the information about the wolves to be interesting. I recommend any of her books.
Task +10
Review +10
Book Total: 20
Grand Total: 20
Task 10.4 Hubert SelbyRead a book originally published during Selby's lifetime: 1928-2004.
Cooking with Grease: Stirring the Pots in American Politics (2004) by Donna Brazile (Hardcover, 338 pages) [921/Biography]
Review: Donna Brazile was the Democratic campaign manager for the 2000 presidential campaign of Al Gore. She is presently the interim chair of the DNC (Democratic National Committee). In 2004, Donna Brazile published this memoir. The first 75 pages summarized her upbringing in Kenner, Louisiana. She was the 3rd of 9 children in a working poor, Catholic, African American family. Through hard work and a bit of luck, she attended Louisiana’s flagship university, LSU. In 1981, newly graduated from college, she moved to Washington, D. C. The rest of the memoir centered on Donna Brazile’s political education, as she learns how to run a campaign, how to get “a seat at the table”, and how to accomplish goals in the American political system. There is almost nothing about her personal life post-1981, with the exception of how she mourned the deaths of her parents. Also, in the post-1996 portion of the memoir, I got the feeling that she was pulling her punches because she still expects to work for/with the people she mentions in the memoir.
It is interesting to see what Brazile said in 2004 about political figures still politically active in 2016. Barack Obama’s campaign manager David Axelrod gets one sentence; so does 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Hillary Clinton, like Donna Brazile, was involved in organizations like the Children’s Defense Fund, and is highly praised for improving the lives of the poor. No mention of Barack Obama or Donald Trump.
Recommended for anyone who follows modern American politics.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 10 + 10 = 20
Grand Total: 00 + 20 = 20
Deedee wrote: "Task 10.4 Hubert SelbyRead a book originally published during Selby's lifetime: 1928-2004.
Cooking with Grease: Stirring the Pots in American Politics (2004) by [author:Donna Brazi..."
Added to my WTR shelf!
15.7 HaHThe Bridges Of Madison County by Robert James Waller
Letters used to date: R, T, V, W
+15 task
Task Total = 15
Grand Total = 75
20.1 VeteransJames and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Lexie 870
This is the 6th out of my 7 Roadl Dahl books that I am required to read for the Roald Dahl Readathon my daughter and I are doing. I have never come across this book before, my teacher's never read it, preferring the books with "nastier" characters which would seem more appealing to children I think.
And it is true, there aren't any really nasty characters in this one. Centipede is a bit of a pest, and the Aunt's don't survive long enough to make too much of an impression. The Cloud Men are however, I think, possible quite frightening for younger children, particularly as a way to explain how lightning, thunder, and all other weather phenomena come about.
I think reading as a child this would have been enjoyable, as would reading with children. I am, again, not the target audience, but it was pleasant enough.
+20 task
+10 review
+5 oldies
+20 combos (10.4 - 1961, 10.6 - approved,10.8, 20.2 - approved)
Task Total = 55
Grand Total = 130
20.9 Edgar Allen PoeDevil Takes a Bride by Gaelen Foley
I was happy to see this book on my bookshelf for this task, since normally I would think the task words would lead to horror or the suchlike (which aren’t for me).
This book is a historical romance, and takes place in Edgar Allen Poe’s lifetime. I liked this book because it has a strong female protagonist, who isn’t just a piece of titled ‘fluff’. In her capacity as paid companion, she meets “Devil” and despite his reputation they find they have things in common. His aged Aunt (whom she is companion to) devises a slight bit of trickery to throw them into each other’s company so that a relationship can develop. Of course it does. Throughout the book there is a significant storyline involving nasty and useless titled men, which I suppose appeals to the socialist in me. I particularly liked that storyline and the associated action, and the more innocent interactions between the female and male leads. I wasn’t so interested in the sex scenes which seem to be requisite in modern romance novels – it’s really difficult to write well about people having sex. Overall, I enjoyed this book quite a bit, it has more substance than is often found in romance novels.
20 task
10 review
____
30
Running total: 105
15.6 HaHLetters used so far: SV
The Garden Where the Brass Band Played by Simon Vestdijk
task = 15
grand total= 175
10.5 BookerCloud Atlas by David Mitchell
I thought this would take me a while to read, but instead I devoured it. It was better than I expected, even knowing the award nominations and so forth that it had received. It's not straightforward, and I don't know if I'd recommend it to someone who expects to take longer than a couple weeks to read it, but it was very good.
The nesting stories were all very different in tone and writing style and had minimal connections between them, a birthmark here, a name there, with a couple of those connections being surprising - at least until the final moments where the themes were brought sharply into focus. Other reviews have gone into more detail on those with much success. I found each individual story appealing as I moved forward in time and was able to slide easily back into them when they came around again as we slid backwards.
Of particular note was how well the older travel-log capture the tone of period pieces I'd read like Daniel Defoe's Two Years Before the Mast and that I wasn't completely turned off by the captured dialect of the capstone far future story. I actively avoid reading those kind of stories, even though I know it's done for a reason, unless I'm feeling like expanding my mind. But I was interested enough in knowing what happened next that I kept going and he did a good enough job making the made-up dialect readable that it didn't feel like too much trouble.
I think I'd like to see the movie adaptation as well, which I'd passed over when it came out.
+10 task
+10 review
+5 length (509 pages)
+15 combo (10.3 dystopia, 10.4 pub 2004, 20.7 #11 on corporatocracy list)
Task total: 40
Grand total: 40
Ed wrote: "20.10 Vera Brittain Elizabeth (Alaska)'s TaskJames Herriot's Cat Stories by James Herriot
I went to the library to search for a book that fit this category...and didn..."
This is listed as part of a series with more than 2 books. It qualifies for 10.9.
Valerie wrote: "10.1 Fall freebieGilead by Marilynne Robinson
I read this as a ‘buddy read’ in the GR classics group I belong to. I wanted to read this book, because I had read [book:..."
+5 Combo 10.4
Valerie wrote: "20.5 John dos PassosN or M? by Agatha Christie
I’m a big fan of Agatha Christie, and have always liked her Tommy and Tuppence stories. This one takes place in WW2, ..."
+10 Combo 10.6-literature map, 10.9-series
Don (The Book Guy) wrote: "20.8 J. D. SalingerThe Secret of Father Brown by G.K. Chesterton, pub. 1912, #4 in the Father Brown series.
The Secret of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton is the 4t..."
+10 Combo 10.4-Selby, 10.6-Literature Map
Rosemary wrote: "10.2 - Ishmael BeahWhite Gold: The Extraordinary Story of Thomas Pellow and North Africa's One Million European Slaves by Giles Milton
This was an interesting read. ..."
+5 Combo 10.8-PTSD
10.8 - PTSDStranger In Paradise by Robert B. Parker
+10 task
+5 Combo (10.9 - Next)
Task total: 15
Grand total: 15
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
Flowers in the Attic (other topics)Prince Caspian (other topics)
The Dressmaker (other topics)
A Darker Shade of Magic (other topics)
Extinction End (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
V.C. Andrews (other topics)C.S. Lewis (other topics)
Kate Alcott (other topics)
V.E. Schwab (other topics)
Nicholas Sansbury Smith (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.
Reading with Style (RwS) Sample Completed Post:
20.6 John Buchan
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
insert 100+ word review here
+ 20 Task
+ 5 Combo (20.1)
+ 10 Non-Western
+ 10 Review
+ 20 Jumbo (979 pages)
Post Total: 65
Season Total: 250
This assumes 185 points have been previously claimed.