Anika’s Comments (group member since Dec 25, 2011)

Anika’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Anika wrote: "I didn't think Prizeworthy would work for this book since the two awards it won were both "popular" prizes: Goodreads Choice and Book of the Month Book of the Year (which was voted on..."

Thank you for the clarification! I think what was confusing me in the Prizeworthy style description is the statement "people's choice awards are not eligible" and I thought those would be considered people's choice. Appreciate the extra points :-)

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 37 Anika wrote: "20.10 Letters

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

I knew nothing about this book other than I liked the look of the cover ..."

+10 Prize worthy

I didn't think Prizeworthy would work for this book since the two awards it won were both "popular" prizes: Goodreads Choice and Book of the Month Book of the Year (which was voted on by the readers)...

Joanna wrote: "@Anika -- I also adored Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. I made my in-person book club read it, to somewhat more mixed feelings. I'm definitely right in the target audience for..."

Right?! I’m totally the target demographic for both Ready Player One and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow…I think I’m so firmly in that demographic that i can’t fathom anyone NOT loving this book!
While reading, it reminded me of a cross between Ready Player One and Daisy Jones & The Six—both of which were five star reads for me so it makes sense that i loved this one so much…

20.10 Letters

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

I knew nothing about this book other than I liked the look of the cover and knew that several people in RwS had read it and seemed to like it. I did not expect the rollercoaster of emotion I was in for.

Sam and Sadie meet while Sam is in the hospital and Sadie is visiting her sister in the hospital. A nurse sees that Sadie is bored and tells her to go to the game room where they have, among other things, some video games. Sam is there playing already and lets Sadie join. They have a conversation while playing and then it's time for Sadie to go. Such a simple beginning...
The rest of the story is how their relationship grows and breaks and becomes stronger and then almost dissolves and on and on and it's so relatable and touching and NOT romantic...
The story, while compelling, is background to the characters. They are so well drawn, so flawed but relatable, you feel as if they truly are your friends, too.
(view spoiler)[I may have sobbed uncontrollably when Marx died. At the beginning of the short section of the book told from his point of view--in second person no less, so you feel as if it truly is YOU having these feelings and thoughts--the song "River" by Joni Mitchell was invoked. It became a soundtrack in my head for the rest of his brief 2nd-person interlude. What a brilliant thing to do, on the part of the writer, to create a soundtrack for your reader in that moment...especially as there is no other song as perfect at expressing nostalgia and wistfulness and the granularity of memory when everything is lost. (hide spoiler)]

There are books that so entirely wring me out that it takes me a few days to pick something else up. This was absolutely one of those books.

+20 Task, Sadie writes a letter to Sam in the hospital, folds it in half, and writes "README" on the outside of the paper
+10 Review

Task total: 30
Season total: 30

20.10 Favorites, "Nieces" (WI20/21 20.9, Read a book shelved as "books about books" at least 60 times)

I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf by Grant Snider

+20 Task, shelved as "books about books" by 242 readers

Task total: 20
+100 10 tasks, 10 seasons (FA22, WI22/23, WI20/21, SP20, WI19/20, FA19, WI16/17, SP14, WI12/13, FA11)
Season total: 1735

Thanks for a great Summer Season! See you all in Fall ;-)

20.9 Favorites, "Birthday" (FA22 20.10, This year my age will be consecutive digits. Read any book whose original publication year is 2 consecutive digits)

Ode to a Nobody by Caroline Brooks DuBois

+20 Task, pub. 2022

Task total: 20
Season total: 1615

20.8 Favorites, "Monster Redux" [FA19 20.6 In honor of The Old Devils (1986 winner), Read a book with one of the following in the title: Devil(s)/Demon(s), Witch(es), Vampire(s), Zombie(s)/Undead, Ghost(s), or Werewolf(s).]

The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R.M. Romero

Task total: 20
Season total: 1595

20.7 Favorites "She Writes" (WI19/20 20.3, One of our early, popular tasks: Read a book written by a woman with a woman main character)

A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow

Task total: 20
Season total: 1575

Just want to verify: Three Plays: Our Town / The Skin of Our Teeth / The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder is listed on the the Bloom Canon list...
is reading one of those three plays sufficient to fill the task (assuming it is +100 pages)?

20.6 Favorites "Retellings" (WI16/17 20.7, Inspired by my reading of Hag-Seed, read a retelling of a classic tale (be it Shakespeare or otherwise). To qualify, the book must have been shelved as a "retelling" by at least 20 users)

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

+20 Task, shelved as "retelling" by 469 readers

Task total: 20
Season total: 1555

20.5 Favorites, "In Honor of Winter Trees" [WI12/13 20.4, Read a book whose author was born during Sylvia Plath's lifetime (1932-1963)]

How to Fly in Ten Thousand Easy Lessons by Barbara Kingsolver

+20 Task, born 1955

Task total: 20
Season total: 1535

20.4 Favorites, "Othello" (SP14, In honor of Othello, read a book where the narrator or protagonist is a member of a minority ethnic/racial group of the country in which the book is set. If a work has multiple protagonists all must qualify)

Walking Gentry Home: A Memoir of My Foremothers in Verse by Alora Young

Task total: 20
Season total: 1515

20.3 Favorites, "Ratings" (WI22/23, In memory of Ron Goulart and Robert Goolrick, read an extremely underrated book with fewer than 1000 ratings on GoodReads, or a popular book with over 75,000 ratings)

The Complete Book of Aspen by Danna Smith

+20 Task, 9 ratings

Task total: 20
Season total: 1495

20.2 Favorites, "Theodore H. White" (SP20, Read a book by an author who shares a surname with one of the U.S. Presidents)

The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin by Kip Wilson

+20 Task, Woodrow Wilson

Task total: 20
Season total: 1475

20.1 Favorites, "They Read" (FA11 20.5, Read a book that has multiple narrators, a narrative mode in which parts of the story are told from the points of view of different characters)

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Task total: 20
Season total: 1455

20.10 Favorites, "Dead Souls" (SP18 20.6, The authors of Dead Souls and Dead Souls each have a surname with non-consecutive repeating consonants. Read a book by any author whose surname consists of non-consecutive repeating consonants)

The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson

+20 Task, johNsoN

Task total: 20
+100 Ten Tasks, Ten Seasons (FA10, SP11, WI11/12, SU14, WI14/15, FA15, SP18, SP20, FA20, FA22)
Season total: 1435

20.9 Favorites, "Austria-Hungary" (SU14 20.10, The Great War began on 28 July 1914 when the Austro-Hungarians fired the first shots in preparation for the invasion of Serbia. Read a book about or set in (more than 75%) Austria-Hungary -- Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine.)

The Cypress Maze by Fiona Valpy

+20 Task, set 100% in Italy

Task total: 20
Season total: 1310

20.8 Favorites, "Just the Facts, Ma'am" (FA10 20.8, Read a non-fiction book that has a minimum of 200 pages. The book can be about any subject)

The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner

+20 Task, nonfiction 336 pages

Task total: 20
Season total: 1290

20.7 Favorites, "My Cup of Tea" (SP20 20.8, Read a novel in which a character drinks or brews a cup of hot tea. Please include the sentence when claiming the book for points.)

The Darkest Flower by Kristin Wright

+20 Task, "I sat down and made myself some tea, starting out my search with an easy warm-up."

Task total: 20
Season total: 1270

20.6 Favorites, "Soup's On!" (FA22 20.8, Read a book where one of the characters makes, serves, or eats soup. Quoting the text is not mandatory, but please let us know what kind of soup. "Soup" also includes chili, stew, or chowder.)

What Comes Next and How to Like It by Abigail Thomas

+20 Task, an entire chapter is about making chicken soup with dumplings

Task total: 20
Season total: 1250