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

Anika’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

60.63 I21, INFLOW

Family of Liars by E. Lockhart

Oooh, so good! I remember when I read We Were Liars, loving it so much and telling everyone I knew (well, everyone who is open to reading YA, at least) that they had to read it. Eight years later, we get the prequel. I was worried I wouldn't get it since I don't remember anything about We Were Liars other than the fact that I loved it: didn't matter.
The characters are clearly and believably drawn, the writing is spot on, the story unfolds at a perfect pace giving us *WHAT?!* moments at perfect intervals. Even if you haven't read the first book, this one stands alone just fine and is a diverting read (to put it in perspective: I'm in the middle of a book I LOVE, took a break from it to read a chapter of this to see if it was a keeper, and didn't put this down again until it was done).

+60 Task
+5 Review

Task total: 65
Season total: 2720

B 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29
N 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45
G 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58, 60
O 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75

60.62 B2, Title has 2+ Bs

Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce

I got this on Audible ages ago and never quite had the opportunity to listen to it until now. I was so excited: love Juliet Stevenson who reads it, loved the three other Rachel Joyce novels I've read, thought this had to be a sure winner....
Yet this story of a woman who travels halfway around the world in search of a never-before-documented mythic beetle felt like a hike through mud--uninspiring drudgery, irksome and just treading water until you've finally sat the thing out...until the final two chapters, which had me weeping without realizing quite what was happening. That. That surprising burst at the end saved the whole experience for me.

+60 Task
+5 Review

Task total: 65
Season total: 2655

B 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29
N 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45
G 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58, 60
O 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75

60.61 G58, Ghosts!

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

I've had this one on my TBR for ages and was combing through that ridiculously long list of books for ideas for bingo...don't remember who I'd heard about it from or where I'd encountered it. So glad I decided to pick it up.
I was a little embarrassed when I'd tell people what I was reading: a story about a girl from Louisiana who goes to boarding school in London and while there a copycat killer starts murdering people on the same days and in the same manner as Jack the Ripper (view spoiler)[but it turns out it's a ghost doing it and only four people in all of London can see ghosts and she turns out to be one of them (hide spoiler)]...it sounds so cheezy! But, honestly, it was fast-paced and the writing was my kind of snarky and I ended up loving it.

+60 Task
+5 Review
+50 Twelfth bingo: B15, I28, N40, G58, O64

Task total: 115
Season total: 2590

B 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29
N 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45
G 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58, 60
O 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75

50.60 I28, If, if, if...Speculative Fiction, Time Travel, Alternate History

Paper Girls, Volume 4 by Brian K. Vaughan

I read the first three volumes of this one last summer and quite enjoyed. Just noticed that Amazon Prime made it into a series and wanted to revisit the world to get a bit of a refresher before I indulge in the tv offering. I am SO curious to see where this goes...
I love following the badass papergirls as they bounce around through time and all of the curious characters they meet (view spoiler)[including, in one case, her adult self (hide spoiler)]. Now to get in the library queue for the next installation, sigh.

+50 Task
+5 Review

Task total: 55
Season total: 2475

B 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29
N 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45
G 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 60
O 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75

**Side note: as I was posting this I realized I'd had a typo back at post 383 on June 30 for my 30.37 task...I correctly labeled it "ITW Thriller Award" but had somehow managed to type it as I28 while ITW task is actually I25. I was worried at first that I'd somehow managed to double read a task, but after further investigation realized my error. So the correct combination for my eighth bingo would be: B7, I25, N31, G54, O72**

50.59 N45, Set in Nicaragua, Norway, Netherlands, New Zealand

The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey by Salman Rushdie

While I love a good travel book as much as the next person, there is something about one by a Writer (Steinbeck's Travels with Charley: In Search of America and Didion's Salvador come to mind) that really scratches me where I itch. This one is no different.
Written at the height of the Sandinista revolution and amidst the Iran-Contra affair, Rushdie decides to see with his own eyes what is going on on the ground. While this does talk about the beauty of the country and its people, it takes us on an in-depth look at the political situation of the time and the seedy role the US played in its continued upheaval. I love that it was written by a complete outsider who had no interest other than to tell the story so it was entirely unbiased. And the writing...
This is my first Rushdie but it won't be my last.

+50 Task, Nicaragua
+5 Review
+5 Oldies, pub. 1987

Task total: 60
Season total: 2420

B 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29
N 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45
G 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 60
O 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75

50.58 O64, Orange Prize and Women's Prize

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

The only umbrage I take with Madeline Miller (The Song of Achilles, Circe) is that she doesn't write books fast enough to fill my need for well-written retellings of mythic stories.
Enter Natalie Haynes and her Thousand Ships: what an absolutely stunning book! I love that it has fleshed out the end and aftermath of the Trojan War, told from the perspective of the many women whose stories are often glossed over. The writing is stellar (a little Miller, but I definitely got a bit of an Atwood vibe, especially Penelope's chapters) and well-grounded in the classic epic poems and plays it references. LOVED! If you're at all a fan of mythology, a well-written story that is hard to put down, or a fan of lovely language don't miss this one!

+50 Task
+5 Review

Task total: 55, Women's Prize Nominee 2020
Season total: 2360

B 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29
N 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43
G 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 60
O 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75

50.57 N40, Book pub'd in the '40s

The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie

I hate that I'm reading the Miss Marple mysteries out of order because I know little nuggets from earlier books are dropped and I'm missing them, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm enjoying every single one a great deal.
Someone is sending nasty letters to everyone in town (the original "trolls" the internet has seen blossom in abundance) making spurious accusations. One person took it so much to heart that they killed themselves rather than live with the shame--or did they? Miss Marple's masterful skills in untangling a murder shine as the mystery unfolds. Loved it, can't wait for #1 in the series to SOMEDAY be available at my library *sigh*.

+50 Task, pub. 1942
+5 Review
+5 Oldies

Task total: 60
Season total: 2305

B 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29
N 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43
G 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 60
O 61, 63, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75

50.56 B15, Boxall's 1001 Books

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

I can't quite put my finger on why I loved this so much.
The story and writing are simple: plain and straightforward.
No desperate need to gussy anything up, just perfectly related and utterly beautiful. Baldwin's language doesn't describe events for us: he puts us right inside of them so we see the sun setting over the Seine, we feel the desperate ache of longing and loss, we have the crises of conscience concurrent with our protagonist. It was a slim book, but the emotional impact left me hollowed out for hours afterwards. Five huge stars.

+50 Task
+5 Review
+5 Oldies, pub. 1956

Task total: 60
Season total: 2245

B 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29
N 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43
G 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 60
O 61, 63, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75

50.55 G50, Author born in the '50s

An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Helene Tursten

An elderly lady takes a trip to South Africa. On her long flight there, she falls into reverie/sleep/dreams and remembers the beginnings of her life of crime, which she continues--unwittingly--on her African vacation.
I didn't like this one as much as the first installment (An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good), but it was still a fun listen. I think this one threw me because she states how much she dislikes people, yet she does nice things for people and has friends she cares about (cares enough about those friends, in fact, to get rid of people who are making their lives difficult). I still love that it turns the "old lady" trope of mysteries on its head: rather than solving the mysteries (Miss Marple, Elizabeth and Joyce from Thursday Murder Club, and even Louise Penny's ladies of Three Pines), this old lady is the unlikely perpetrator.

+50 Task, author born 1954
+5 Review
+50 11th Bingo: B4, I29, N37, G50, O75

Task total: 105
Season total: 2185


B 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29
N 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43
G 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 60
O 61, 63, 65, 66, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75

50.54 B4, Historical Fiction

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner

An unlikely band of Austen fans find each other in Chawton, Austen's final resting place. To honor her memory, they decide to preserve a place where Jane wrote and read and walked...but crises ensues. Are their plans just misbegotten dreams?
All of the best of an Austen novel shows up here, set in post WWII England. Loved so much! We get a couple living the Persuasion storyline, a definite Elizabeth/Darcy coupling, a Marianne/Willoughby situation, and a lot more in the mix as well.
Definitely recommended for any Jane Austen fans.

+50 Task
+5 Review

Task total: 55
Season total: 2080

B 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29
N 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43
G 46, 47, 48, 49, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 60
O 61, 63, 65, 66, 68, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75

50.53 N37, Non-human main character

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

While I love a good fairy tale, especially one with plenty of metaphor going on, it took me a while to ease into this story. I think it's because I'm used to these stories being YA, but this one is clearly for an adult audience...but since it's not YA, it made it a little difficult to get around some of the writing devices which aren't normally found in adult lit.
After I got over myself, however, I was delighted by this motley cast of characters. Linus is a case worker for DiCoMY, the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He is surprised to receive an assignment which will take him to live on an island to review the orphanage on Marsyas Island, home to some of the most "dangerous" charges in the system: "a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist." The head of this group is Arthur, once a resident of Marsyas Orphanage himself, he's fiercely protective of his kids and does his best to help Linus see the importance of keeping their island home intact.
I dare say that by the end, my grinch heart might have grown three sizes.

+50 Task, the main characters are all different sorts of creatures, with Linus being the sole "human"
+5 Review

Task total: 55
Season total: 2025

B 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29
N 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43
G 46, 47, 48, 49, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 60
O 61, 63, 65, 66, 68, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75

50.52 B10, Author born in the '10s

Inner Landscape and Coming into Eighty: Poems by May Sarton

I wanted to read a collection from the beginning of her writing career and something from the end.
Inner Landscape, pub. 1939
It was hard for me to read many of the poems in this collection because the rhyme scheme is so in-your-face I found myself only focusing on the final word of each line, not the message of the lines themselves. My favorite in the collection, "Greeting," was written on New Year's Eve 1937: "It is raining everywhere/ As if the rain were mercy,/ As if the rain were peace,/ Peace falling on our hair." It is a snapshot of hope after years of war, utterly naive as to what was ahead.
Coming into Eighty: Poems, pub. 1994
In the forward, Sarton tells us that she does not sleep well as she's getting older...the early hours have been kind to her, though, putting poems fully formed into her head and hands. These are the thoughts of a woman who is nearing the end of her life and her thoughts on aging and death are absolutely transcendent. I'd borrowed this from the library and upon finishing immediately purchased a copy for my personal library.

+50 Task, born 1912
+5 Oldies
+5 Review
+50 Tenth Bingo: B10, I26, N32, G48, O71

Task total: 110
Season total: 1970

B 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
I 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29
N 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43
G 46, 47, 48, 49, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 60
O 61, 63, 65, 66, 68, 70, 71, 72, 74, 75

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Anika wrote: "For O62, does the book have to have been shelved prior to the start of Summer season? Also: does it have to be shelved on their "Read" shelf, or on any of their shelves?"

Any of thei..."
Yay! Wonderful news! Thank you <3

Hope your surgery goes well, Coralie!

I have high hopes of a blackout bingo...but I keep finding books I really want to read and having books I've had on hold forever finally come through from the library yet can't find a way of making them fit :-( Agh!!

For O62, does the book have to have been shelved prior to the start of Summer season? Also: does it have to be shelved on their "Read" shelf, or on any of their shelves?

Re: post 527, task 30.49

I'd like to move Later from G58, Ghosts, to N32, Neighbors (on the Stephen King Fans bookshelf).
It hasn't yet been used in a Bingo.
Thank you!

50.51 O75, 75 Years: Author is Aged

Montana 1948 by Larry Watson

Based on the title, I was expecting a pastoral-type novel, a little A River Runs Through It a little Kent Haruf-y. Not at all what I was expecting, but it was not a disappointment by any means. The writing was luminous. The story was tight, the crises of conscience were intense and absolutely believable. The characters were strong and sympathetic. This read like a short story (intense, immediate impact, jump right into the action) but felt more complete. My first Larry Watson novel, certainly not my last.

+50 Task
+5 Review
+5 Oldies, pub. 1993

Task total: 60
Season total: 1860

30.50 O71, One: First book in a series

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

Mary! Thank you so much for your review of this book! I never would have found it otherwise and I insanely loved it.
What a great mystery and sparkling cast of characters...I can't wait to see more of them. It was like reading a cross between a Three Pines mystery and one of Helene Tursten's Elderly Lady books. This was fun and the pacing is on-point and I want to be friends with all of the characters (I've already cast the movie in my head). I don't want to give anything away, but if you're a mystery fan: GO PICK THIS UP NOW. You won't regret it.

+30 Task
+5 Review

Task total: 35
Season total: 1800

30.49 G58, Ghosts

Later by Stephen King

King's writing is *SO GOOD* but I'm always a little wary--I feel like his endings either KILL or are the worst endings ever and that ratio is about 1:7. This was one of the few good endings I've read in a hot minute. Jamie sees ghosts. Normally that's okay, but sometimes things go real bad real quick. It has all the trademark King-things: something unexplainable, a kid, weird sex stuff, but the writing keeps getting better and better and I can't recommend this enough. SO. GOOD. Could not put down. Read this in one night on the plane...

+30 Task
+5 Review

Task total: 35
Season total: 1765