Reading with Style discussion
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FA 19 Completed Tasks
10.7 - A E I O U sometimes YAuthor name has A, I,E, O
Church Folk by Michele Andrea Bowen
Task: 10
Season: 10
10.4- ReplaySummer task: 10.7- Summer shorts
On a Red Station, Drifting by Aliette de Bodard
Task: 10
Season total: 20
15.4 PnM2 F1Permafrost by Alastair Reynolds
+20 Task (name begins with A)
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 60
10.7 A, E, I, O, U, sometimes Y (Anika's Task)Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zaf¨®n
YA with 850L
Review
I loved Zafon's The Cemetary of Forgotten Books series but I must say I wasn't that captivated at all by this book or the other YA of his I've read, The Prince of Mist.
Marina is told from the point of view of a 15 year old boy, Oscar Drai. A rather unassuming boy who stumbled after one strange circumstance after another. So the book was filled with other stories that he heard over a few months. On the one hand, it's an adventure of a growing boy. On the other, they were just the strangest stories one ever heard. When the secret was revealed, I couldn't help but rolled my eyes... I just wasn't impressed with these creatures (view spoiler) And the ending (not unexpected) so very unsatisfactory.
+10 Task
+5 Combo (20.4 - born 1964)
+10 Review
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 105
From Post 9Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "20.4 Boomer
The Valley of Amazementby Amy Tan
Born in 1952
Task +20
Grand Total: 20"
+5 Jumbo
From Post 16Valerie wrote: "20.10 Difficult
The Gunslinger by Stephen King
Oh, RwS¡. why do you do this to me?? With this book I am now introduced to another series that I must read! Yes, spoiler ..."
+5 Combo 10.1
From Post 32Anika wrote: "10.9 Science!
The Physics of Everyday Things: The Extraordinary Science Behind an Ordinary Day by James Kakalios
This book takes you through an "average" day (if y..."
+5 Combo 20.4
Kate S wrote: "From Post 9Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "20.4 Boomer
The Valley of Amazementby Amy Tan
Born in 1952
Task +20
Grand Total: 20"
+5 Jumbo"
and +5 for 20.8, too? At is a chemical element symbol.
20.5 Non-linearAll Clear by Connie Willis
The sequel to Blackout, but really more like one humongous book. Still time travel so still confusing, although this one felt more linear in the way it was told, despite the time jumping. There were some surprises and some references that made me want to go back and check the previous book. Mostly the tension built and built and then started resolving in a slide down the roller coaster hill. I appreciated the pacing and the continued interesting scenes. I would have liked just a little more tell vs show at the very end though, as some bits continued to confuse me. It was a satisfying read and I went through the whole thing much faster than I thought I would because I really enjoyed it.
+20 task
+10 review
+5 length (656 pages)
+10 combo (10.6 #127, 20.7 61 people)
Task total: 45
Grand total: 210
15.1 PnM2 C4Maigret and the Headless Corpse by Georges Simenon
+15 Task -- C4 Third Person Narrator
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 15
10.8 Double OThe Book of Margery Kempe by Margery Kempe
Margery Kempe (c. 1373-1440) gave us the first known autobiography of an English person, dictated to two priests because, like most laypeople of the time, she couldn¡¯t write. She was a married woman who had suffered a breakdown after giving birth to her first child, then became very religious, going in for lots of weeping and wailing - especially in church, which didn¡¯t always endear her to the priests who were trying to conduct Mass.
She travelled surprising distances, going on pilgrimage to Rome and Jerusalem and visiting Germany. Unfortunately her weeping and wailing annoyed her fellow travellers and often resulted in her struggling to find anyone to accompany her more than a few miles.
She also had long conversations with Jesus, which are recounted in a chatty style. She was clearly quite a character who luckily (or providentially) always managed to win over just enough priests and bishops to save her from being convicted of heresy ¨C for this was a time when the pre-Protestant Lollard movement was just beginning to challenge Catholicism in England, and she was accused of sharing their beliefs.
I was expecting something mystical like the revelations of Julian of Norwich, but this is nothing like that. Very down-to-earth and unintentionally hilarious in places.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not a novel
+25 Oldies (c. 1438)
Post total: 55
Season Total: 95
10.6 WWIIWhen Books Went to War: The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II by Molly Guptill Manning
Denise gave such a comprehensive review of this book, I don't feel like I have a lot to add rather than my own impressions and not so much a review of the content...
I love the role that librarians played in placing books in the hands of soldiers and the process that they established in choosing titles. I love that publishing houses set aside thoughts of profit and competition in order to get books into that hands of those young men putting their lives on the line. It enraged me when politicians tried to censor them and was filled with glee when those very politicians were overruled! I love that it was recognized that war is not just a clash of arms but of ideas and that reading is a crucial weapon.
As they were talking about different titles available to the soldiers, I couldn't help wondering, "Which of these would my grandfathers have been drawn to? Is that what initiated their lifelong love of reading or was it a boon to have the books to feed their preexisting love of reading?" One of my most treasured possessions is a book that my maternal grandfather carried with him throughout the war which he gave to me after graduating high school (being the first grandchild has its definite advantages!)...after reading this book and realizing the precious nature of reading materials at that time, I treasure it all the more.
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-Novel
+15 Combo (10.2, 10.7, 10.8)
Task total: 45
Season total: 195
20.2 Wolf HallQuicksilver by Neal Stephenson
+20 Task
+15 Combo (20.4, 20.5, 20.7)
+20 Jumbo (927 pgs)
Task Total: 55
Season Total: 115
15.4 PnM2A6 - Set in Tasmania, Australia (100%)
Fatal Impact (Dr. Anya Crichton #7) by Kathryn Fox
+15 Task
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 120
20.7 Spec FicThey Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
As many of you know, this genre and similar genres are not my favorites. Yet, this novel engaged me despite the necessity to suspend belief.
The story involves two teenage boys who are awoken by phone calls by Death-Cast early in the morning to inform them that this is their "End Day".... their last day alive. Both boys have had troubled lives. Each boy seeks out a last friend on a website dedicated to that purpose...and they find each other. At first, each boy is somewhat suspicious of the other.... but eventually, the story evolves over the course of the day to demonstrate the growth of trust...and love.
I constantly found myself questioning the logic of the plot...I'm not good at the suspension of belief thing when the tale doesn't come to me packaged as a fable or parable.
I'd like to read something by this author that is NOT "speculative fiction". I suspect I would like it. Three stars.
Task=20
Review=10
Task Total= 30
Grand Total=110
Tasks Completed: 4
10.3 (35); 10.8 (30)
15.1 (15)
20.7 (30)
15.1 PnM2 A1Miss Kopp Just Won't Quit by Amy Stewart
+15 Task (set entirely in the USA)
Task total: 15
Season total: 55
20.5 Non-LinearWinter in Madrid by C.J. Sansom
Review:
This story is set in Madrid early in WWII, when British diplomacy is focused on keeping fascist Spain out of the war. It centers around three men who attended a public school at the same time. Bernie, a dedicated communist, had gone to Spain to fight on the Republican side during the Civil War. He had gone missing and was presumed dead. Another of the young men, Harry, had gone to Spain at the time for Bernie¡¯s parents to try to find what had happened to him and returned to England without closure. Harry has been contacted by British Intelligence to return to Spain to gather information on the third young man, Sandy, who is involved in a Spanish gold mine. Harry reluctantly agrees to go.
This is a wonderful portrayal of Spain early in Franco¡¯s reign, still suffering from the devastation and divides of the Civil War and barely surviving the British blockade. The characters assess their own loyalties and values as they make tough and life changing decisions.
+20 The book includes flashbacks to the characters¡¯ school days, and to the Spanish Civil War while it is set in the early 40¡¯s
+10 review
+10 combo (20.4, 10.6)
+5 jumbo
Task total: 45
Season total: 100
10.7 A, E, I, O, U, Sometimes YLagom: The Swedish Art of Balanced Living by Linnea Dunne
The Nordic countries are consistently in the top ten of any worldwide happiness survey. I'm always curious about how their national habits differ from the ones with which I was raised.
I've read a couple of books about Hygge (the "Danish art of Happiness"), so I was curious to read a bit about Sweden's lesser-known answer to that. While hygge makes practical sense to me (coziness that is achieved using candles, warm drinks, sweaters, time spend in intimate groups, baths), lagom is a little more complex. I think of it as the Goldilocks philosophy: not too much, not too little...just right. I liked the focus it had on being ecologically responsible (trying to have as neutral a carbon footprint as possible), on putting as much energy into free time as one does their work life (you won't find a Swede at the workplace 80 hours a week!), and on being smart when it comes to physical exercise (actually engaging in physical activity without spending hours pumping iron at the gym). I find Americans are far more extreme in all of these things and definitely have a thing or two to learn from their Swedish counterparts. On a practical level, I feel like lagom makes sense and is do-able (but once there's a chill in the air and until summer is again in full swing, hygge is my philosophy of choice).
+10 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-Novel
Task total: 30
Season total: 225
20.4 BoomerThe Women of the Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell
The Women of the Copper Country is a fine example of historical fiction from one of my favorite authors. Both the framework of the historical setting and the emotions of the labor movement were realistically portrayed within a fictional context. Mary Doria Russell¡¯s imagination coupled with thorough research brought the mining community to life within a story that had many gripping scenes including one that literally had me holding my breath! With a female protagonist, Annie Clements, leading the strike effort, women¡¯s rights came into play as well. I listened to this book and the narration was excellent. I highly recommend the book to all, but especially to those interested in labor rights.
+20 Task
+ 5 Combo: 10.7 A, E, I, O, U, sometimes Y
+10 Review
Task Total: 35
Season Total: 35
20.5 Non-LinearThe Porpoise by Mark Haddon
The Porpoise was an excellent example of a non linear narrative that still made sense and made connections across time. I don¡¯t read much about books in advance because I¡¯m afraid of spoilers and I like to figure things out for myself so I did have a bit of a shock when Haddon went in a different direction with his narrative, but once I adjusted, I was interested and engaged in the parallels. I love Shakespeare and mythology retellings and I enjoyed this technique. I thought the modern day setting of parts of the book was heart wrenching. I don¡¯t think this book is for everyone and I¡¯m not sure it fulfills all of its potential, but I surely enjoyed it!
+20 Task
+15 Combo: 10.3 Andre Gide / 20.4 Boomer / 20.9 Shipwrecked!
+10 Review
Task Total: 45
Season Total: 80
20.4 BoomerOriginal Fire by Louise Erdrich born 1954
+20 task
+10 not a novel
+5 combo (10.7)
Task total: 35
Grand total: 245
20.5 Author Lampedusa by Steven Price
A very literary story - as in both it's a story about Giuseppe Tomasi and his writing of The Leopard and written in a literary style. This wasn't a book to race through, the story and style of writing is excellent, but it is definitely one where slow reading must happen.
Lampedusa is longlisted for the 2019 Giller Prize and while it is extremely literary, it seems to sit outside of the others on the list perhaps? It just has a very different sense to it - if I'm explaining that properly. It will be interesting to see if this lands a spot on the shortlist.
I enjoyed it - an excellent story of a man coming to terms with his mortality upon the news of his impending end of life and his struggle to leave a lasting memory with his book.
+20 task
+10 review
+5 combo (20.5 Non-Linear)
Task Total = 35
Season Total = 50
10.2 Book Lover¡¯s DayMr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
What a charming little love letter to books in any format. I¡¯m glad I listened to this one.
I was immediately sucked in by the mystery of the Way-Back shelves and by all the very-specific-hyper-genius characters. Every once in a while I started to prickle at the tropes but I was having too much fun to get mad about it. If you make a habit of reading my reviews, you know sometimes I seem to be on a mission to get mad, so that¡¯s some serious entertainment value.
Soon though, the mystery started rolling on a bit too fast, each clue lead to the next too easily, and I felt cheated. Everything wrapped up in a nice tidy twee bow. MAD.
And then the final lines. Suddenly I had real tears in my eyes!
I got it. This was a children¡¯s book for adults. It managed to capture for a moment that sense of fun and wonder that a very few, special books leave you with forever. This book itself will not end up in my internal Way-Back, but it¡¯s a lovely reminder of past treasures and a prodding to keep reading.
+10 task
+5 combo (10.8)
+10 Review
Task total = 25
Season total = 25
20.5 Non LinearSkitter by Ezekiel Boone
Plot told by multiple characters and narrative, in the style of World War Z.
Review: An excellent sequel to The Hatching
It's your typical contemporary virus outbreak, zombie apocalypse novel except with spiders, and it's very well executed. Creepy, fun, engrossing. As above, it's written in the same style as World War Z, so the reader gets a bunch of different characters experiencing the spider invasion all around the world at the same time. There are some people that you get to follow back and forth throughout the events and some that are just a one off. I hate spiders and the book definitely gave me the creepy crawlies, so why am I reading this? Because I do enjoy a good horror book or movie.
The writing is good enough that you care about the characters you get to go back to and you want to know why this is happening and if/how we can stop it. Onward to the finale!
+20 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 30 pts
Grand Total: 30 pts
10.5 BannedThe Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
This is the only collection of short stories that was published in Jackson¡¯s lifetime. As with any collection, some of the stories stand out. Jackson had a real ability to depict what was going on beneath the surface (the civilized veneer). She also was very adept at depicting children and their casual cruelties. The world she writes about is very much our own (as it was in the early 1940s), yet the undercurrents leave you feeling disoriented.
This collection seems to be classed as horror by a fair number of readers. That held me back from reading it for quite a while. However, I would not say these stories are horror. They are subtle and very well written examples of ¡®pulling back the curtain¡¯ on human behaviour (which often isn¡¯t pretty). 4*
10 task
10 review
5 oldie
10 not a novel
5 combo 10.7
_____
40
Running total: 200
10.7 - AEIOU sometimes YKingdom of Exiles by Maxym M. Martineau
It's been a while since I've read a fantasy and this one delivers.
The good:
- The characters make this novel. They're complex and shaped by their pasts in real and meaningful ways. Hangups are spun out slowly, both to other characters and to the reader, and motivation and character arcs ring true.
- There are heaps and heaps of plot once the story gets going, which is the escapism I wanted while stuck inside during a windy typhoon. The ending strikes a nice balance between wrapping things up and unresolved storylines.
- Themes include found family, finding home, redemption and forgiveness, and how to take care of those we love. Love itself is explored on many dimensions - romantic of course, but also platonic, material, familial, and love for those you are responsible for.
- Queerness is natural and a given - stated as fact and not commented on beyond that. When Leena turns on her charm both men and women get starry eyed. While some characters seem to prefer a particular gender for romantic partners, several others are attracted to more than one.
The less-than-good:
- There are some first novel wobbles where details don't come together or quite make sense.
- The worldbuilding is good but not perfect. It took a while for me to get my head around the world.
- There's an index of all the beasts mentioned but beware using it as a reference while reading - many spoilers are contained within.
10 task (AEIUY)
10 review
Task total: 20 points
Grand total: 35 points
20.10 DifficultBeloved by Toni Morrison
"And if she thought anything, it was No. No. Nono. Nonono. Simple. She just flew. Collected every bit of life she had made, all the parts of her that were precious and fine and beautiful, and carried, pushed, dragged them through the veil, out, away, over there where no one could hurt them. Over there. Outside this place, where they would be safe."
Sethe, a runaway slave, would rather see her precious children pushed into the afterlife than to experience her brutal life on the plantation. "Beloved" is a powerful novel haunted by ghosts and by memories. It alternates between life in the present 1870s, and Sethe's traumatic past on the plantation, and her difficult escape and journey to her free mother-in-law's home. When her friend, former slave Paul D comes to visit, he keeps his past in a "....tobacco tin buried in his chest where a red heart used to be, its lid rusted shut" so his painful memories don't overwhelm him. Slaves were treated as commodities to be traded, not as human beings, which destroys a person's identity and sense of self-worth.
Author Toni Morrison uses magical realism to show how trauma and guilt haunt Sethe's mind, especially as it concerns her daughter Beloved. Morrison was inspired by an 1856 newspaper article about Margaret Garner, an escaped slave mother who killed her child rather than sentence her child to a life of slavery. As I read "Beloved", I had no doubts that every horror of slavery and its psychological aftermath in the book actually described some slave's reality.
+20 task
+15 combo 10.5 Banned (# 17 on list), 20.5 Non-linear, 20.8 TM=Thulium
+10 review
+ 5 oldie (pub 1987)
Task total: 50
Season total: 80
20.1 Inaugural My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
This was a phenomenal way to start the season! Set in Nigeria, the title kind of sums up the big idea of the book. Korede, the main character and a hospital nurse, is keeping her a secret for her sister, Ayoola -- Ayoola has killed 3 of her boyfriends. And she always calls Korede to pick up the pieces for her (sort of literally!). Now, Ayoola is dating someone Korede knows and cares for. The book is described on GR as "blackly comic" which is partly a good description -- it felt light, with spare prose, easy to read -- but there's a powerful emotional undercurrent as you read on and learn more about the girls' present and past. And the implied ethical dilemmas around protecting family, doing the right thing, friendships, secrets, and more, are compelling. I couldn't put it down!
+20 task (2019 long list)
+10 combo (10.7, 20.5 - chapters set in the past alternate with storyline)
+10 review
Task Total: 40
Season Total: 40
15.2 B5Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Published in 1818 after the authors death.
+15 task
Task total = 15
Grand total =30
Christine wrote: "15.2 B5Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Published in 1818 after the authors death.
+15 task
Task total = 15
Grand total =30"
I just realized that although Austen is on the canon, this book is not, and some editions are listed as YA. There are multiple Lexile scores, most over 800, so I think it qualifies for
10.2
Assuming that,
+10 task
Task total = 10
Grand total = 25
Hopefully this is correct now. Let me know if I¡¯m mistaken.
20.8 Periodic Table (Owlette's Task)Cruel Shoes by Steve Martin
The author is the well-known comedian from Saturday Night Live. I have always admired his work there...as well as having seen at least 3 of his plays which have been staged in San Diego. At least one of those wonderful plays included music that Martin wrote. So, I came away very disappointed from this small book of sketches...because I expected so much. (I also enjoyed his short novel Shop Girl )
The stories....many of which are incomplete, so it seems to me, so really are more short sketches, are intended to be humorous...but I barely giggled. I'm sure if the text was delivered with the author's physical comedy or fleshed out more, I would have had a different reaction. Just two stars.
Task=20
Review=10
NaN=10
Oldie=5 (1977)
Task Total= 45
Grand Total=155
Tasks Completed: 5
10.3 (35); 10.8 (30)
15.1 (15)
20.7 (30); 20.8 (45)
Post 87 Christine wrote: "Christine wrote: "15.2 B5Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Published in 1818 after the authors death.
+15 task
Task total = 15
Grand total =30"
I just realized that a..."
We carry that with a Lexile 1120, so it's perfectly OK for PickNMix2 - let us know if you want to leave it there or move it.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 87 Christine wrote: "Christine wrote: "15.2 B5Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Published in 1818 after the authors death.
+15 task
Task total = 15
Grand total =3..."
Well I do, but the FAQ says YA cannot be used for the 15 point tasks? Am I misunderstanding?
Christine wrote: "Well I do, but the FAQ says YA cannot be used for the 15 point tasks? Am I misunderstanding? ."Only those with a Lexile below 800 cannot be used for 15-point tasks, so you're definitely OK for this one.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Christine wrote: "Well I do, but the FAQ says YA cannot be used for the 15 point tasks? Am I misunderstanding? ."Only those with a Lexile below 800 cannot be used for 15-point tasks, so you're de..."
Excellent. Thank you. I definitely want to keep it at 15.2 then.
20.7 Spec FicThe Testaments by Margaret Atwood
September 8, 2019
I finished the book two days ago (yes, I was one of the early birds*) and have been thinking about my review while reading the professional reviews now published and I¡¯m ready to take a stab at it, but I won¡¯t be putting anything online until the original date of publication. I think Atwood¡¯s choice to set the book 15 years after the original Handmaid¡¯s Tale was an excellent one. This gives her license to create what she wants to create, but also gives room for the popular Hulu series to do the same. Aunt Lydia¡¯s voice is the most well developed, engaging and most reminiscent of the devastating world we are introduced to in the original book. The voices of the two teenage girls are a connection to the lives of women in Gilead and allow us to continue to experience the horror of the handmaids while bringing in the feelings of other girls facing marriage in an extremist patriarchy. It¡¯s a page turner and is written in a thriller style, in other words, it is more like the original tale than later Atwood books like The Blind Assassin and Alias Grace. (view spoiler) I think the story of the Handmaid¡¯s Tale is more intense and focused. The world building is so chilling and that feeling just can¡¯t be achieved again in the follow up simply because we already know what Gilead is like. The Testaments ended up a 4 star read for me.
*I obviously do buy some books from Amazon, but I also buy from local independents, use my local library extensively and read on audio and Kindle. I have lots of thoughts on technology and the reading world (that are beyond the scope of this review) and I¡¯m so glad I am a part of it, including the connections I make on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ with other readers.
+20 Task
+10 Combo: 10.3 Andre Gide / 20.1 Inaugural
+10 Review
Task Total: 40
Season Total: 120
10.10 Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
I read this book around when the movie came out, at the end of high school/beginning of college, although it was only a few scenes from the movie I remembered when I began it this time. This tale is so very gothic, which I wasn't really expecting. The drama, the deep emotions, the swirling sensation (with near disregard to any sexual connotation) reminded me so much of Otranto and a few other period books I have read (mostly for this group :) ). The thrills of psychological horror were definitely hit hard, and sometimes successfully, even with the hardening of decades of vampire movies and my own middle age. Louis felt like an unreliable narrator, but perhaps that was knowing that Lestat would become the protagonist in future books. I remeber him being more appealing, but am not certain if that was because of the movie portrayal or rhe age I was when I read the book.
+10 task
+10 review
+5 age (1976)
+5 combo 10.1 - Tien read in July 2019 for 15.10
+5 combo 20.6
+5 combo 20.5 - although whole story is a conversation in a setting, so is linear, the narrative is not linear because it goes back and forth between immersing you in the past and the interview setting in the "present"
Task total: 40
Grand total: 285
20.9 Shipwrecked!In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick
The sinking of the Essex was (apparently, as I have never read it) the inspiration for the climax of Moby-Dick, or, the Whale. And while the story of this angry (in this case, sperm) whale was fascinating--that was just the tip of the iceberg!
Drug addicted Quaker housewives (granted, that was just one little tiny throwaway detail, but, COME ON! Opium addicted Quaker housewives on Nantucket in the 1820s!? Scandalous!), a string of terrible decisions made by the Captain (well...really made by the first mate to which the Captain capitulated. DUMMY! As Philbrick points out: "In disaster decisions must be made quickly and firmly"...Captain Pollard--who had all of the best and safest ideas, as history would prove--gave in to the voice of the crowd, ultimately culminating in the deaths of much of the crew), and a not-so-brief foray into cannibalism.
Which I find somewhat ironic, as the whole reason that they chose to bypass several islands closer to the site of the wreck was that they wanted to avoid the cannibals on those islands (despite the fact that, if they had read ANYTHING published by other sea voyagers of the time they would have known that the tales of cannibalism were untrue. To quote Philbrick: "Only a Nantucketer in November 1820 possessed the necessary combination of arrogance, ignorance, and xenophobia to shun a beckoning, albeit unknown, island and choose instead an open sea voyage of several thousand miles." Nantucket was the world capital of whaling at that time, so clearly they knew everything. The hubris.
Philbrick's telling of the tale draws you along with the action, but weaves in science, psychology, and history to give it more gravity and introspection than mere storytelling.
+20 Task
+10 Not-a-Novel
+10 Review
+15 Combo (20.4--b. 1956, 20.5, 20.8--NP=Neptunium)
Task total: 55
Season total: 280
Task 10.1 Sub-SandwichRead a book that one of our members read for a sub-challenge within the last year (Fall 2018-Summer 2019).
Convenience Store Woman (2016) by Sayaka Murata; translated from Japanese by Ginny Tapley Takemori
BTBA Best Translated Book Award Nominee for Fiction Longlist (2019)
Akutagawa Prize ½æ´¨ýˆÖ®½éÙp (2016)
±¾ÎÝ´óÙp for 9th place (2017)
Review: This short translated novel has been longlisted for English-language prizes. It is told in first person by Keiko Furukura. She is a 36 year old Japanese woman who has worked in a convenience store in Japan all of her adult life ¨C and she LIKES it. Her problem: family and friends want her to move on, find a better job, get married, have babies. Keiko is happy where she is and does not see the point of moving on to new situations.
Keiko¡¯s character reminds me of Murderbot from The Murderbot Diaries. Both have difficulty in deciphering human behavior. In Convenience Store Woman, this gives the author the opportunity to slip in social commentary on Japanese society. The details of the Convenience Store workplace seem authentic. Overall, a quirky, literary fiction short novel. Recommended.
+10 Task
+10 Review
Task Total: 10 + 10 = 20
Grand Total: 50 + 20 = 70
In post 57, I claimed Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zaf¨®n for task 10.7I would like to move it to task 10.1
+10 Task
+10 Combo (10.7; 20.4 - born 1964)
+10 Review
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 135
20.4 BoomerPerihelion Summer by Greg Egan
+20 Task (born 1961)
+5 Combo (20.8 Germanium)
Task Total: 25
Season Total: 160
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The Way Home: Tales from a Life Without Technology by Mark Boyle
I find myself reading more and more about finding one's way back to a more simple time, a more simple life. I read A Pig in Provence: Good Food and Simple Pleasures in the South of France last season which was rediscovering food and life on a more simple? primitive? natural? level. I'm always dipping into Walden for reminders of what it is to be human yet to be part of Nature and Desert Solitaire is never far from my mind since it's right in my back yard.
This one felt like a Walden for the modern day...yet the author had so much more to adjust to than dear Thoreau. The abandonment of technology when you've been submerged in it your entire life is quite an adjustment. No consulting Google when you have a question. No quick purchases on Amazon to fill your every need/whim. No hopping in the car to run to the store when you're out of milk. No email or phone to communicate with friends or family.
While the author was content living in the moment, the book itself bounced back and forth between three times: the early settlement of Blasket Island (in Ireland, not far from the homestead he has established for his year of no technology) and the way that the people there lived without technology up until the day that it was abandoned in the 1950s; the author's youth/college years, when he was most submerged in technology and the rat race; and his "present" moment, the year he is documenting for this book.
While it didn't make me want to give up all of the modern conveniences to which I'm accustomed (like using my computer to participate in this group or reading books on my kindle or using electricity to cook or illuminate my house when it's dark out), it did make me take a look at my habits and find ways I can reduce my use (and abuse) of technology--which, in the long run, may not have a huge impact on the environment, but will definitely have a huge impact on me. If you're at all interested in ecological issues, checking out of society, or have a soft spot for Walden, I'd definitely recommend it!
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-Novel
+5 Combo--10.7 (a, e, o, y)
Task total: 45
Season total: 145