Kim’s Comments (group member since Nov 20, 2020)

Kim’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

Does this work?
He tore up the stale pound cake, produced curds from sour milk, cooked the apricots into jam, and soaked the cake in coffee. Then he produces a bar of chocolate from his pocket, melted it, added it to the last of the coffee, which he then poured over the top. The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl

How Does Your Garden Grow? 15.10

Love Finds You in Sunset Beach, Hawaii. Robin Jones Gunn

Flowers:
Love Finds You in Sunset Beach, Hawaii - astilbe
Vegetable:
Heart of Palm - Hawaii
Herbs
0, Peppermint - 320 pages


Plants this post: 3
Total plants: 46
Flower bonus:

Task total 15
Finishing bonus +150 for 45+ plants
Season total 505

10.2, 10.6
15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5, 15.6, 15.7, 15.8, 15.9, 15.10
20.1, 20.7

How Does Your Garden Grow? 15.9

The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love: A Fallen Southern Belle's Look at Love, Life, Men, Marriage, and Being Prepared. Jill Conner Browne

Flowers:
the sweet potato queens' book of love: a fallen southern belle's look at love, life, men, marriage, and being prepared - hellebore+

The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love: A Fallen Southern Belle's Look at Love, Life, Men, Marriage, and Being Prepared - allium

The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love:A Fallen Southern Belle's Look at Love, Life, Men, Marriage, and Being Prepared - anemone

The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love: A Fallen Southern Belle's Look at Love, Life, Men, Marriage, and Being Prepared - gardenia+


Plants this post: 4
Total plants: 43
Flower bonus: 10

Task total 25
Season total 340


10.2, 10.6
15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5, 15.6, 15.7, 15.8, 15.9
20.1, 20.7

How Does Your Garden Grow? 15.8

Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout. Cal Newport

Flowers:
sLow ProdUctIvity thE lost art of accomplishmeNt without burnout - lupine
slow productTvIty the Lost art of accomPlishment withoUt burnout - tulip
slow productivity the lost aRt Of aCCompliShment without bUrnout - crocus
Slow proDuctivity the lost Art of accomplIshment wiTHoUt burNout - dianthus +5

Vegetable;

Pages (256)
5, Thyme

Plants this post: 5
Total plants: 39
Flower bonus: 5

Task total 20
Season total 315*
*Removing 10 points per message 382

10.2, 10.6
15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5, 15.6, 15.7, 15.8
20.1, 20.7

How Does Your Garden Grow? 15.7

God Save the Sweet Potato Queens. Jill Conner Browne

Flowers:
God Save the SWEET PotAto QuEenS - sweet peas +5

Vegetable;
Jackson - Jalapeno
Mississippi - Mung Bean

Pages (261)
6, Chives
1, Horseradish (11 letters)


Plants this post: 5
Total plants: 34
Flower bonus: 5

Task total 20
Season total 305

10.2, 10.6
15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5, 15.6, 15.7
20.1, 20.7

10.2 The Dispossessed

The Promise. Chaim Potok

Review:
5.0 stars - This book continues the story started in The Chosen, which I loved and read 2.5 years ago. Danny and Reuven have grown up, Danny is a respected psychologist, and Reuven is a scholar studying to become a rabbi. He is brilliant, but his questioning manner upsets an important teacher who will be one of three people who examine him and grant him rabbinate.
The book takes place in postwar Brooklyn, where Hassidic Jews live side by side with Orthodox Jews, and where their beliefs and practices clash. It is a world of which I know nothing, but the author draws the reader in, and lessons of tolerance, understanding and listening are woven throughout the text.
Highly recommend.


Task 10
Review 10
Total 20
Season total 285

10.2, 10.6
15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5, 15.6
20.1, 20.7

How Does Your Garden Grow? 15.6

The Lights of Sugarberry Cove. Heather Webber

Flowers:
theLightsofsugarberRyCOVE - clover
thelightsOfsuGARBErrycove - borage

Vegetable;
Sugarberry - Spinach
Alabama - Artichoke

Pages (272)
2, Lemon Verbena (12 letters)
7, Parsley

Plants this post: 6
Total plants: 29
Flower bonus:

Task total 15
Season total 265

10.6
15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5, 15.6
20.1, 20.7

How Does Your Garden Grow? 15.5

Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas. Vicki Delany

Flowers:
haveyourseLfadeadLYlIttlechristmas - lily
haveyOUrSelfadeadlyLiTtlechristmas - lotus
haveYourselfADeadlylittlechrIStmas - daisy

Vegetable;
Rudolph, NY - Rutabaga

Plants this post: 4
Total plants: 23
Flower bonus:

Task total 15
Season total 250

10.6
15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4
20.1, 20.7

How Does Your Garden Grow? 15.4

The Almost Nearly Perfect People: Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia. Michael Booth

Flowers:
tHeaLmostnearlyPerfectpeoplebehINDthEMythofthescandinavIanUtopia - delphinium +5
ThEAlMostnearLyperfeCTpeoplebehindthemythoftheScandInavianutopia - clematis +5
thealmostnearlyperfectpeoplebeHindthemYthoftHesCAndINavianuTopia - hyacinth +5
thealmostnearlYperfectpeoplebehindthemythoftheScandinaviaNutoPiA - pansy

Plants this post: 4
Total plants: 19
Flower bonus: 15

Task total 30
Season total 235

10.6
15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4
20.1, 20.7

How Does Your Garden Grow? 15.3

What Really Happens in Vegas: True Stories of the People Who Make Vegas, Vegas. James Patterson

Flowers:
whAt Really happeNs In vEGas: trUe stories of the people who Make vegas, vegas - GERANIUM +5
what reallY haPPens in vegas: true stOries of the People who make vegas, vegas - POPPY
whaT rEaLly happens in Vegas: true storIes Of the people who make vegas, vegas - VIOLET
what reAlly happens in vegaS: TRue stories of the people who make vegas, vegas - ASTER

Plants this post: 4
Total plants: 15
Flower bonus: 5

Task total 20
Season total 205

10.6
15.1, 15.2, 15.3
20.1, 20.7

How Does Your Garden Grow? 15.2

Fangirl. Rainbow Rowell

Vegetables:
Lincoln, Nebraska - Leek, Napa Cabbage

Herbs (438)
Dill, Rue, Rosemary

Plants this post: 5
Total plants: 11
Flower bonus:

Task total 15
Season total 185

10.6
15.1, 15.2
20.1, 20.7

How Does Your Garden Grow? 15.1

Why We Read: On Bookworms, Libraries, and Just One More Page Before Lights Out. Shannon Reed

Flowers:
why we read: on booKwormS, LibRARies, and jUst one more Page before lights out _LARKSPUR +5
why we ReAD: On bookworms, lIbraries, and just one More paGe before Lights out _MARIGOLD +5
whY we read: on bookWORms, libraries, And just one moRe page before lights out _YARROW
why we rEad: on BOokworms, librarIes, ANd just one more page before liGhts out _BEGONIA
why we read: on bookworms, libraries, and just one more page befoRE lightS Out _ROSE

Vegetables:
Pennsylvania - POTATO

Plants this post: 6
Total plants: 6
Flower bonus: 10

Task total 25
Season total 170

10.6
15.1
20.1, 20.7

For the herbs, if you have two books, one with 368 pages and one with 309 pages, and you use Rue/Chives/Rosemary for the first book, can you still use Peppermint/Chamomile for the second, disregarding the "3" because you already used it?

10.6 Modernism

The Maltese Falcon. Dashiell Hammett

Review:
I alternated reading the book with watching the movie, which helped me better understand the story. It was interesting how closely the movie followed the book. Sam Spade is private investigator, called on by a beautiful female client to help her find her sister. Her "sister" turns out to be a jewel-encrusted falcon statuette lost during the Crusades. There is a cabel, consisting of Brigid, Joel and Gutman, all conspiring to find it, at any cost. Spade is smarter than they are, though, and foils the attempt. One caveat I have, though, is it was a period piece, with period biases and writing style and dialog. You have to be able to accept that, or at least put it aside, to be able to enjoy the book. It's a bit of a stretch for me to do this, but I did enjoy the period piece.

+10 task (A Martin Brothers Wally bird, an antique avante-garde ceramic piece is the crux of the book)
+10 review
+ 15 combo (20.1 - Maltese Falcon; 20.6 - told from the POVs of Sam, Effie, Brigid; 20.9)

Task total 35
Season total 135

10.6
20.1, 20.7

20.1 The National Gallery

The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder. C.L. Miller

Review:
Freya Lookwood is at a crossroads in her life. Her daughter has left for a new life in America, her ex-husband has forced her to sell the London home she had been raising their daughter in, and the man who once meant the world to her has just died. She goes back to her hometown in a quaint English village to attend his funeral, for her beloved aunt Carole's sake. Carole and Arthur were close friends, and when Freya felt he betrayed her, it caused a rift between her and her aunt. Now he is dead.
Arthur was an antique appraiser and dealer, with a secret sideline of repatriating antiques stolen from other cultures. It is a dangerous job, and one that Freya once helped him with, until it led to the young man she loved being killed. She has always blamed Arthur for this, but with the help of Carole, finds out the real story of what happened 20 years ago.
Arthur has left her the shop, and the journals he kept of his work, and this lays the foundation for what I hope will be a continuing series.

+20 task (A Martin Brothers Wally bird, an antique avante-garde ceramic piece is the crux of the book)
+10 review
+ 10 combo (20.5 - apostrophe; 20.6 - told from the POVs of Freya, Agatha, Harry, Carole)
Task total 40
Season total 100

20.1, 20.7

20.7 International Travel (Owlette's task)

Same Beach, Next Year. Dorothea Benton Frank - 480 pages

Review:

Every year I try another book by Dorothea Benton Frank, some are better than others. The premise is that two couples vacation in the same Isle of Palms resort for more than twenty years, even though we find out early on that Adam Stanley and Eve Landers were each other's first loves, and their spouses, Eliza and Carl, are somewhat jealous and suspicious the whole time. Eve travels alone to her condo one weekend, suspecting that Carl is having an affair and trying to access what to do about it. Adam also travels to his condo, to do some repairs to the condo, and notices the light on next door. He goes over to check it out, finds Eve in tears, and spends the night there to comfort her. When the spouses show up the next day, each swears nothing happened, but the damage is done. Eliza leaves and decides to take the trip to Greece that she's wanted to make for her whole marriage, Carl moves out on Eve. Yada, yada.
It was an okay book, but really - Adam and Eve? Too many convenient plot twists and an unbelievable happy ending. It didn't really work for me.

+20 task (Eliza travels to Greece)
+10 review
+30 combo (10.4 - b. 1951; 10.5 - same, next, year; 10.9 - 480 pages; 20.3 - the Stanley have a nasty cat; 20.5 - comma; 20.6 - told from the POVs of Adam, Eve, Carl, Eliza)
Task total 60
Season total 60

20.8 Morrison In honor of Toni Morrison, read any book by a woman who is also a person of color.

Sula by Toni Morrison

I keep plugging away at her canon, although half the time I'm not sure what the message is supposed to be.

+20 Task
Oldie - +5 (published in 1973)
Task Total 25
Season Total 145

20.1; 20.2.; 20.7; 20.8; 20.10

Reposting 418 with longer review

A Parchment of Leaves

This was a new author to me, but I will look for more of his books, as I truly enjoyed this story of a Cherokee woman, named Vine, who marries a white man who she meets when he is hired to drive her people off their land. After meeting her, he refuses to do that, and over time they fall in love and marry. She leaves her beloved family behind, moving to his mountain. She makes a life for herself, but never forgets her roots. Eventually, the developer does force her family off their land, and they move to Georgia. Vine and her mother keep in touch by writing to each other.

+20 Task
+10 Review
Task Total 30
Season Total 120

20.1; 20.2.; 20.7; 20.10

Rosemary wrote: "Post 418 Kim wrote: "20.10 Letters

A Parchment of Leaves by Silas House

This was a new author to me, but I will look for more of his books, as I truly enjoyed this ..."

Thanks, it's been a while. I'll do an update to this.

20.1 Author! Author!: Read a book where an author is the focus/main character. Author can be real or fictional, and your read can be either fiction or nonfiction.

The Invisible Hour

This was an interesting addition to Alice Hoffman's list of books. She is a favorite of mine, and I was thrilled to see her as the keynote speaker at the New York Library Association conference about a decade ago. Nathaniel Hawthorne is the author featured in this book. The main character is Mia Jacob, who travels back in time and meets and fails in love with Hawthorned, after a book of his "saves" her life. She then has to decide whether to stay there, possibly changing his life, or live with the memory of his love in her own time.

+20 Task
+10 Review
Task Total 30
Season Total 120

20.1; 20.2.; 20.7; 20.10