Connie ’s Comments (group member since Nov 11, 2013)

Connie ’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

20.6 Fall Equinox

Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani

YA at BPL, 920 Lexile

Before the extremist group Boko Haram came to her village in northeast Nigeria, a teenage girl dreamed of winning the Borno State government scholarship to further her education. She's the only girl from a large family with many brothers, and is fondly called "Ya Ta" (my daughter) by her parents. Her village has a sacred baobab tree (pictured on the cover) which provides shade for socializing, food, and medicine. It also has Nigerian folk tales connected to it.

The peace of the village is destroyed when members of Boko Haram violently attack the residents. The men are shot, the girls and women are kidnapped to be slaves, and the young male children are captured to be later trained as soldiers. Ya Ta and her best friend, Sarah, are among the women brought to the interior of the Sambisa forest where they are faced with hunger, extreme religious indoctrination, abuse, threats of death, and marriage to the Boko Harem terrorists. Ya Ta's Muslim friend, Aisha, tells her that the extremists were twisting religion to justify their violence. Ya Ta and Sarah were shocked to discover that Boko Haram buried dead bodies underneath another baobab tree, an area that is considered sacred.

The author, Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, based her fictional characters and situations on many interviews with survivors who were rescued. Italian journalist, Viviana Mazza, wrote the afterword and told about the abducted girls whose lives were shattered by Boko Haram, including the girls who were captured from their school dormitory in Chibok in 2014. I was left wondering how these girls could ever recover from the trauma.

The book is written in short chapters and is labeled YA, but most adults would find it fascinating too. "Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree" is a well-written book that I would highly recommend.

+20 task
+10 female
+10 review

Task total: 40
Season total: 345

10.4 Fall Birthdays

Selected Poems 1: 1965-1975 by Margaret Atwood

Many of the selected poems in this collection are introspective, mostly told by female narrators. They tell about emotions, relationships, and the search for personal identity. The theme of Canadian identity runs through many of the poems where nature, the wilderness, settlers, and indigenous people all play a part. In "The Journals of Susanna Moodie," Margaret Atwood imagines the life of a real pioneer woman who immigrated from England to the bush in Upper Canada. The "Power Politics" section is very dark as it portrays women being victimized by men. Poems from "You Are Happy" are lighter, with many retelling the stories of the Siren, Circe, and Penelope from "The Odyssey."

Social issues, the search for identity, and survival are examined as Atwood's narrators go on their journeys in locales ranging from the Canadian wilderness to the Greek islands to a rooming house in Boston to indigenous mythical lands. The poet often looks to the past to examine contemporary social issues. The poems were selected from six books of poetry--"The Circle Game," "The Animals in That Country," "The Journals of Susanna Moodie," "Procedures for Underground," "Power Politics," and "You Are Happy." The book gave a wonderful overview of Atwood's early poetry.

+10 task (Initials M, A)
+ 5 combo 20.2 War Babies (born 1939)
+10 female
+10 review

Task total: 35
Season total: 345

15.6 Sweet Sixteen Bingo

I5 - Book Without Chapter Numbers

The Four Seasons: Poems by J.D. McClatchy (editor)

Task total: 15
Season total: 310

15.5 Sweet Sixteen Bingo

I 1 - Title and subtitle do not contain the word "the"

Playing Nice by J.P. Delaney

Task total: 15
Season total: 295

15.4 Sweet Sixteen Bingo

O5 - Alliterative title

Fine, Fine, Fine, Fine, Fine by Diane Williams
(Don't read this book if you're looking for an alliterative title. 1 star)

Task total: 15
Season total: 280

20.5 Elizabeth's Comfort Zone

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Catherine Morland is the seventeen-year-old protagonist in this delightful coming-of-age novel. She comes from a small town but has the opportunity to visit Bath with her childless neighbors, the Allens, to act as a companion for Mrs Allen at the social events. She meets the wonderful brother and sister in the Titney family, as well as the gold-digging Thorpe siblings. She's rather naive, and does not realize how manipulative Isabella and John Thorpe behave.

The book is part homage to, and part satire of, the gothic genre. Catherine loves gothic romance novels, and her imagination is fueled by the events in the novels. This leads to some humorous scenes, as well as misunderstandings, when she visits Northanger Abbey, the home of the wealthy Titneys. Her mind imagines the home as the scene of some gothic horrors.

As in all the Austen novels, a person's wealth is a very important factor when choosing a mate. A misreporting of the wealth of the Moreland family leads to complications.

Catherine is a likable protagonist, and the descriptions of the social interactions at Bath are witty. She has two men interested in courting her which provokes jealousy. The novel was published posthumously in 1817 with "Persuasion." This is a charming addition to the list of Austen novels that I'm reading this year.

+20 task
+10 female
+10 review

Task total: 40
Season total: 265

There is a list on Listopia for books with no labeled chapters. Many of them use a date instead of a chapter number.

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...

Some more suggestions here:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

20.2 War Babies

Surfacing by Margaret Atwood

"Surfacing" is an introspective novel where an unreliable narrator is trying to resolve some traumas from her past. The novel starts with the unnamed narrator, her boyfriend Joe, and a married couple--Anna and David--traveling to a lake in northern Quebec. The narrator is searching for her father who has disappeared from his home on an island.

The island brings back memories of her childhood. She also has disturbing memories of a previous relationship and a baby. Both of the couples are having difficult times while they are staying on the island, especially Anna and David. David is a womanizer who enjoys intimidating Anna. She is so anxious to please him that she won't be in his presence without makeup.

Themes of Canadian national pride (with anti-American feelings), and the conservation of the Canadian wilderness run through the book. Published in 1972, themes of women having to deal with the social expectations of the time and misogyny are also present. The most important theme is one of a journey to finding her true identity.

The narrator is the illustrator of a fairytale anthology. The ending has a bit of a fairytale quality as she faces her repressed memories, her mental state deteriorates, and she goes through a transformation. This process of change could also be considered "surfacing" after a deep dive.

The book is realistic in some parts and dreamy in others. Margaret Atwood is also a poet, and the writing about the wilderness is lovely and lyrical. It's an unusual book, but one I enjoyed.

+20 task (author born in 1939)
+ 5 combo 10.4 Fall Birthdays (initials M, A)
+10 review
+10 female

Task total: 45
Season total: 225

15.3 Sweet Sixteen Bingo

N1 - A book by a winner or finalist of the Neustadt International Prize

Dancing Girls and Other Stories by Margaret Atwood

+15 task
+ 5 oldie (pub 1977)

Task total: 20
Season total: 180

15.2 Sweet Sixteen Bingo

O2 - Author with a six letter last name

Cane by Jean Toomer

+15 task
+ 5 oldie (pub 1923)

Task total: 20
Season total: 160

10.9 Cheese!

The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick

After her move to a new upper middle-class housing development in Virginia, Margaret Ryan decides to ask several neighbors to form a small book club. Her new artistic neighbor, Charlotte, suggests Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique for their first discussion. It's 1963, and the book resonates with the housewives who feel like something is missing in their lives. Margaret and Charlotte are joined by Vivian, a former Army nurse with six children, and Bitsy, a horse lover who wanted to be an equine veterinarian but instead married one.

The book group called themselves "The Bettys" and read more feminist literature after finishing The Feminine Mystique. Each of them made changes in their lives since they found they needed an interest beyond marriage, children, and housework.

Some real-life women appear in the book including Katharine Graham, the owner of the "Washington Post." She shows the importance of making connections with other women, and "paying forward" by making recommendations of talented women for jobs and educational opportunities.

As might be expected in the early 1960s, some of the husbands are more supportive than others about their feminist ideas. One of the husbands is working a job that he dislikes, but feels the obligation of supporting his wife and children. The best marriages in the group were the ones where they had good communication and worked as a team so they both felt fulfilled. While solutions to their problems seemed to work out easier than expected in real life, there was a lot of food for thought in this novel.

While I was still a child back in 1963 when the book was set, I did feel like The Book Club for Troublesome Women did reflect the position of women back in that decade. The constant smoking and drinking seemed a bit excessive for a bunch of neighborhood housewives. The background--from historical events to the food--had a '60s vibe. Even the cover had the popular colors at the time--gold and olive green! The topics of 1960s feminism, friendship, and the challenges faced by the four women would probably spark interesting discussions for book clubs.

For Cheese on page 46: "Margaret made four different appetizers for the book club. . . and smoky salmon cream cheese spread--a bright pink concoction with the consistency of library paste. . ."

+10 task
+10 female
+10 review

Task total: 30
Season total: 140

15.1 Sweet Sixteen Bingo

G1 - Author's 1st, 6th, or 16th book

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Task total: 15 (author's 1st book)
Season total: 110

20.8 Touch of Magic

The Lantern of Lost Memories by Sanaka Hiiragi

There is a Japanese myth where Yomotsu Hirasaka is a slope or liminal place at the boundary between the living and the dead. In "The Lantern of Lost Memories" that space is located in Mr Hirasaka's photography studio. People go there soon after death and get to view photographs of their lives. They also have the opportunity to go back invisibly to view and take a photo of a special moment in their life before they go to the afterlife.

There are three interlocking tales about three very different people in this charming book. Mr Hirasaka is a patient, thoughtful guide when his patrons recall their memories, prompted by the photographs of their lives. It's a book that makes the reader think about memories, preserving our recollections in photos, and how the past makes us what we are today.

Small Japanese translated books have become very popular lately. I've seen them labeled as cozy reads, comfort reads, sentimental books, healing fiction, inspirational books, and "feel-good" reads. "The Lantern of Lost Memories" is one of the more enjoyable books of the genre.

+20 task (MPG Magical Realism)
+ 5 combo 20.10 Fall Vacation (set 100% in Japan)
+ 5 combo 10.6 Nineteenth (pub 2019)
+10 female
+10 review

Task total: 50
Season total: 95

10.2 Bookshops of Melbourne

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

"Half of a Yellow Sun" is a fascinating book about Nigeria before and during the Nigerian Civil War (1967-70). The early part of the book shows intellectuals discussing the ethnic, religious, cultural, economic, and political tensions in Biafra, a state in the southeastern part of the country where the Igbo lived. Missionaries came to the southern part of Nigeria so the more westernized people obtained administrative jobs from the British, especially in the southwest area around Lagos. The Igbo region in the southeast became the most educated with a large intellectual group. The British favored the ethnic groups in the northern region for the important military jobs. In very simple terms, after several coups d'etat, civil war broke out. During the war for Biafra's independence, there was a violent genocide of the Igbo population. Starvation was widespread especially for children suffering from kwashiorkor, severe protein deficiency.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie does not concentrate on the national and international forces involved in the civil war, but focuses on the effect of the war on the people. She grew up hearing about her own family's experiences during the war which prompted her research into this devastating time.

The book is mostly told from the points of view of three characters--Olanna, Richard, and Ugwu. Olanna and Kainene are twin sisters from a wealthy family. Olanna, an educator, is in love with a politically active professor, Odenigbo. Richard is a British writer who is attracted to Kainene, a businesswoman who knows how to take charge in challenging situations. Ugwu is a village boy who becomes a houseboy in Odenigbo's home. As Ugwu becomes educated and matures, he is able to see situations from the views of both the villagers and the privileged class. They are constantly moving to more rural areas to get away from the fighting, but food sources are scarce.

The flag of Biafra showed three wide strips of red, black, and green with half of a yellow sun in the center. The title of the book comes from the national symbol. "Half of a Yellow Sun" is not an easy book to read because it is truthful about colonialism, war, violence, and genocide. There are also tender moments of love, and people helping others that balance some of the sadness. One can also see the divide between the early intellectual discussions about politics, and the later reality of the genocide. Adichie is a good writer who created some memorable characters and situations. I'm glad I read the book since it was an informative experience.

+10 task (328X as Literary Fiction)
+10 female
+15 for 3 awards
+10 review

Task total: 45
Season total: 45

Thanks, Rosemary.

Books of poetry and plays have been considered nonfiction for some tasks in the past. Are they both OK for this task?

It's great to see you back and on the road to recovery, Ed.

15.30 FU 2023 Favorites

Read 10 books that fit your favorite 20-point tasks from prior seasons.

WI 2021-22 20.8 Dead Sea

Read a book in which the author's first and last initial can be found in "KHIRBAT QUMRAN"

Child of My Heart by Alice McDermott

+15 task
+ 5 oldie (pub 1984)

Task total: 20
Third sub-challenge completer bonus: 150
Season total: 820

15.29 SU Favorites

Read 10 books that fit your favorite 20-point tasks from prior seasons.

FA 2024 20.10 Zalphabetical

Read a book whose title contains at least three words that appear in reverse alphabetical order.

Why Read Moby-Dick? by Nathaniel Philbrick

Task total: 15
Season total: 650

15.28 SU 23 Favorites

Read 10 books that fit your favorite 20-point tasks from prior seasons.

SP 24 20.3 The Madonna of the Cat
Read a book where a character has a pet cat. Tell us the name of the character (and if you like, the name of the cat).

Cold Snap by Lindy Ryan

Christine and Billy Sinclaire have a cat named "Haiku."

Task total: 15
Season total: 635