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

Anika’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

10.5 Sherlock Holmes

The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare by G.K. Chesterton

The time: Turn of the century (19th-20th)
The place: England. And then France. And then back to England.
The plot: The Anarchists are planning a bombing, the Police are attempting to infiltrate the Anarchists and stop the attack.
The caveat: The subtitle: "A Nightmare."
The book starts out straightforwardly enough: Gregory, a poet, is jealous of the popularity and charisma of the new poet in town, Syme, and decides to shock and impress him by taking him to his subversive meeting with the Anarchists. It all goes up, down, and sideways from there...at times the reader feels akin to Alice falling down the rabbit hole: NOTHING makes sense.
There were moments where I laughed at loud at the absurdity of events unfolding, but by the end I was so confused that I felt like I was just reading words to get it over and done with already.
I realize it's an allegory, but I feel like I must be missing some crucial context and it mostly went over my head.

+10 Task (pub. 1908)
+10 Review
+10 Oldies
+10 Combo (10.4, 20.10)

Task total: 40
Season total: 860

15.9 Blackjack

Goodbye, Columbus and Five Short Stories by Philip Roth

♥5 (setting +75% in one of U.S. States = 90% New Jersey)
♠5 (orig. pub. '50s of any century = pub. 1959)
♠10 (short stories or essays = short stories) = 20
+5 pre-1995 pub.

Task total: 35, 26 cards used
Season total: 820

20.10 It's a Mystery

Sleep No More: Six Murderous Tales by P.D. James

Why don't I read more P.D. James?! This lady is amazing! When I first started this I thought it was the first P.D. James book I had encountered (I've resisted James for years because my mother loves her and we seldom agree on books so I assumed it wouldn't be my jam), when I realized *duh* I loved The Children of Men and quite enjoyed Death Comes to Pemberley and those are both by James. Hmph. I suppose I need to give my mom more credit...
This taut collection of stories was just was I was in the mood for: atmospheric whodunits which were craftily concocted, masterfully written, and absolutely memorable with enough humor woven in that I found myself giggling like a crazy person whilst digging in my yard...my neighbors probably think I'm a little nuts now. Ah well. It was a quick read (or listen, in my case) and absolutely enjoyable. I don't really feel there was a weak story in the bunch.

+20 Task
+10 Review

Task total: 30
Season total: 785

20.2 August Wilson

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

I stumbled upon this one as one of the few titles where "currently available from my library's online collection" and "author listed on the requisite Wikipedia page" intersected and as it was the only title that fit the bill of what I was in the mood to read (nothing based in reality, nothing heavy, nothing politically fraught) I settled on this gem and so glad that I did! I don't know how in the world this one flew under my radar--I love post-apocalyptic books and fantasy and this is a perfect combination of both.
This book rotates between following three women (with one of the sections written in the 2nd person) (view spoiler)[who turn out not to really be three *different* women (hide spoiler)] and the timeline is all over the place which can make it a little confusing at times, but once you get over that and have grown accustomed to the unique terminology and are a little more settled into the world that Jemisin has created, it is one hell of a ride! I'm dying to get my hands on the next installment, only have a 3-week wait ahead of me :-/
Not only is her world-building impressive, her prose is perfectly suited to this genre and she is able to tackle serious issues (race, gender, climate change, etc) in a fantasy context which makes it understandable for a reader while removing their personal biases and making those issues understandable in a way that can't be done in realistic fiction or non-fiction. I especially appreciate fantasy written by women--I feel like it tends to be fuller and more detailed and so much less focused on how superb and perfect one (usually white male) character is (I'm looking at you, Patrick Rothfuss).

+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.6: 4.3 avg stars, 121,466 ratings; 10.9)

Task total: 40
Season total: 755

20.3 Theodore H White

Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams

Okay, this series is killing me. It is hilarious and all over the place and I kinda love it. I keep waiting for them to run into Doctor Who in all of their bebopping all over the universe. It's mental fluff and silliness and has a guy in it who can't die and is angry about it and sets out on a quest to insult every being in the galaxy to vent his displeasure. About halfway through, I thought this was for sure the end of the trilogy--the set-up was such that our "heroes" were going to avert the certain destruction of life, the universe, and everything--but then right at the end, you're left hanging and the door was open for another book and I hopped on goodreads to realize that *lo and behold* this is NOT a trilogy, but a 6+ book series!? Great Scott. What else can this rag-tag team get up to!? I can't wait to find out.

+20 Task (Adams)
+10 Review
+5 Oldies (pub. 1982)
+25 Combo (10.2 = 28 letters; 10.3 = "and"; 10.4; 10.6: 4.2 avg stars, 188K ratings; 20.8: "He closed his eyes and greedily inhaled the steam from his tea as if it were--well, as far as Arthur was concerned, as if it were tea, which it was.")

Task total: 60
Season total: 715

10.10 Group Reads

Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad

This was the perfect book to read after Moral Disorder and Other Stories--they reminded me so much of each other in the bouncing around of the timeline and the figuring out how people and their stories which seem so dissimilar are entirely interconnected. It was lushly written, made me homesick for a place I've never been, and eternally had me craving Pad See Ew and Tom Kha Gai from my local Thai restaurant. I loved the bits written from the points of view of the dogs and birds. I finished this one yesterday and am having a heck of a time trying to start something else...it was such an epic, sprawling story that I don't feel I'm quite ready to leave it. Thank you for the great recommendation, Kate!

+10 Task
+10 Review

Task total: 20
Season total: 655

10.7 In Memoriam

Moral Disorder and Other Stories by Margaret Atwood

I don't know if it was by design or as a result of listening rather than "reading" this one, but it took me a little while to realize that the stories were all about the same people. The stories bounce back and forth in time and the spotlight shines on different characters, some of them omitting names altogether, which is why it took me a while to figure out that they were the same characters showing up again and again.
I read another review of this book that describes the experience perfectly: it's like your grandma going through a box of pictures and explaining them and the stories surrounding them in detail--the pictures are all jumbled together and in no particular chronology, but the stories don't need a timeline to make them relevant as they are perfectly contained moments in and of themselves.
As always, Atwood leaves me smiling and fulfilled with her glorious use of the written word. She is a treasure.

+10 Task (Margaret)
+10 Review

Task total: 20
Season total: 635

15.8 Blackjack

The Rosie Result by Graeme Simsion

♥3 (3rd in a series)
♣ 3 (300-399 pages=376 pages)
♣6 (author first name=6 letters, Graeme)
♠9 (pub. date ends in 9= pub. 2019) = 21

Task total: 30, 23 total cards used
Season total: 615

15.7 Blackjack

King Henry IV, Part 1 by William Shakespeare

♠A (1st in series)
♠Q (book about royalty)
+5 pre-1995 pub.
+5 Not-a-Novel

Task total: 30, 19 total cards used
Season total: 585

10.6 Richard Adams

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams

Perhaps it's because I was already familiar with the first one (and, thus, not as surprised or excited by it) or because this reader was amazing (Martin Freeman!) but the second installment of this series is now my favorite.
While it does follow the continued kicking-through-the-universe of hapless Arthur Dent, much of this one is spent following Zaphod and Ford and poor, depressed Marvin the Paranoid Android (who knew Radiohead were such Douglas Adams nerds!).
Douglas Adams sure knows how to make satire fun. I like that he's not heavy-handed with it and can come up with situations that have me choking on my tea because I'm laughing so hard and so unexpectedly. Speaking of tea: they almost die because Arthur tries to teach the computer that runs the ship how to make a good cuppa and the computer is so overwhelmed by it that it can't function to run away from imminent threat...death by tea!? I love it! Can't wait for book three (which I will be on hold for foorrreeeevvveeerr--worst part about shelter-at-home? everyone who has discovered electronic materials from the library--the waits have doubled!)

+10 Task: 4.22 avg stars, 218,825 ratings
+10 Review
+5 Oldies (pub 1980)
+15 Combo (10.2 = 34 letters; 20.3; 20.8: "On the delivery plate of the Nutri-Matic Drink Synthesizer was a small tray, on which sat three bone china cups and saucers, a bone china jug of milk, a silver teapot full of the best tea Arthur had ever tasted a a small printed note saying, 'Wait.'")

Task total: 40
Season total: 555

10.9 Trilogy

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

The first time I read this was in 1993, sent to me by a friend who was adamant that until I read it I was not a complete "person". He needed me to understand why 42 is the correct answer and the significance of mice and fish and so many other things he'd make passing reference to which completely went over my head.
I was a late-adapter of modern British humor: didn't take in my first Monty Python until senior year of high school, never really took to the British comedies my mom would sporadically watch on PBS, had never even heard of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or Doctor Who or Red Dwarf...but once exposed, I couldn't get enough. It's so quirky and smart and convoluted and I adore it.
Reading this for the second time nearly 30 years later, I feel nostalgic for that girl who was experiencing it all for the first time. It's still a witty, funny, convoluted book, but not a revelation the way it was the first time. I never made it past the first installment my first go round and think I'll try book two in the series to see if I can get that feeling back...

+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Oldies (pub. 1979)
+10 1001-Books
+20 Combo (10.2 = 30 letters; 10.6: 4.22 avg stars, +1M ratings; 20.3: Adams; 20.8: there are many tea situations, but this is my fave "He had found a Nutri-Matic machine which had provided him with a plastic cup filled with a liquid that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea.")

Task total: 55
Season total: 515

10.1 Thirst for More

Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater

This is the first installment of a new trilogy which follows one of my favorite characters from the Raven Boys series, Ronan the dreamer.
His ability to dream specific dreams and bring things back with him from those dreams (a car, a brother, unnameable monsters...) played a crucial role in the earlier series, but in this one he might lose his life for it. A secret cabal is trying to locate all of the "dreamers" in the world and kill them since they are convinced that a dreamer will usher in the apocalypse. Each chapter follows a different story line to fabulous effect and I can't wait to see what happens next.
This is my sixth book by Stiefvater. I love the worlds and characters she creates!

+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.9)

Task total: 25
Season total: 460

Thanks for the reminder on World Book Day! I love a good free kindle book :-)

Lynn! I'm so glad that you loved The Travelling Cat Chronicles, too! Your review made my day. It always makes me happy to share a good book with a friend.

So, I have fewer than I thought (apparently my husband took a box to Goodwill without my realizing it when I was last at work :-/ )...but do have a giant TBR pile and am more motivated to complete them now and will add them here as soon as I can pass them along ;-)
These are books prepared to go to a new home:
The Powerbook by Jeanette Winterson
A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You by Amy Bloom
The Art of Happiness by Dalai Lama XIV
A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit
The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
The Little French Bistro by Nina George
Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

I know this wouldn't be terribly fair to our non-U.S. members, but I have a lot of books on my shelf that I've read and don't really plan on keeping. I normally give them to my local Goodwill or leave them at the crew lounge for other flight attendants/pilots to take, but I'm off work for the next two months and would be more than happy to send them out to Reading with Style members who'd be interested in those books to help them fulfill tasks until libraries open again... Domestic media mail prices at the USPS are pretty inexpensive and I wouldn't mind paying for it--cheaper than my cup of Starbucks that I'm not getting anymore ;-) Unfortunately, those rates only apply to addresses in the U.S., so I wouldn't be able to help out anyone abroad :-/
Once I have a list of titles available, I'll post it and if you want a book to help you fulfill a task just message me with your address and I'll send it your way.
Unless that is somehow breaking a RwS protocol/etiquette, in which case never mind...

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Sheesh. I guess my post above might have been a tad confusing. Amanda's original post with the map and her spreadsheet are what I've archived.

There is still the "Countries Still to Go" thread, an..."

Yay! Okay, I understand now...I was worried that we were benching the group project as we (perhaps?) prepare for a new project. I still have a few books on my TBR that I put there specifically to work on our group project and will hopefully get to the them soon--dependent upon when they re-open our local library to the public. :-)

20.6 Katherina Anne Porter

In Morocco by Edith Wharton

Since my traveling life is currently on hiatus and will be for the foreseeable future, I thought I'd visit one of my favorite countries through the eyes of a knowledgeable and wealthy tour guide: Edith Wharton.
It was a little jarring to hear her speak of harems and eunuchs and slaves and then describing aspects of Marrakesh that I feel were exactly as I saw them only a handful of years ago. And the doors that were open to her, being a wealthy American (even though she was a woman) were astounding: French military escorts, invitations to the wealthiest homes in Morocco, glimpses of lives that would be closed to the general public...
The travelogue section of the book was wonderful, though she ends it with a chapter on history and one on art of the region which were interesting but which I feel would have served her better to discuss concurrently with her travels.

+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Oldies (pub. 1919)
+10 Combo: 10.5; 20.8 "With preternatural vigilance she watched each movement of the Caïd, who never spoke to her, looked at her, or made her the slightest perceptible sign, but whose least wish she instantly divined, refilling his tea-cup, passing the plates of sweets, or removing our empty glasses, in obedience to some secret telegraphy on which her whole being hung."

Task total: 50
Season total: 430

Set 100% in Morocco, which would be the third book for that country for the group project...but I don't know if such things are still being recorded ;-)

15.6 Blackjack

Church of Marvels by Leslie Parry

♣A (one hit wonder)
♠7 (7-letter word in title="Marvels")
♥10 (historical fiction +100 years from date of pub=pub. 2015, set in 1895) = 21
+ 5 Female

Task total: 25, 17 total cards used
Season total: 380

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: “(OK, maybe I'll break down and try one again next time we have a task, but don't hold your breath.)"

LOL!!! You crack me up, Elizabeth :-)
Nothing beats reading an actual book—the feel of the paper, the connection to the written word, the smell of it...so many senses engaged in the experience. But I’m a book addict (it’s a problem...) and will take them in any form I can get them so long as it will inject a story into my head and since the dishes will always need doing and the weeds won’t pull themselves I turn to audiobooks and have found true joy in them.

Valerie wrote: "That's funny you should mention the difference a reader can make, Anika. The last two I've listened to had fantastic readers, but I just started another (a Hoopla bonus book again) and as soon as she started reading I thought 'oh no.... I'm not going to like this as much'. She reads in a 'flat' voice. I'll try to ignore that and rate the book fairly. “

I’m impressed that you’re sticking with it—if I listen to the sample of a book and the reader doesn’t grab me, I know I’m either going to find a hard copy of the book or just write it off altogether. I *hate* flat narrators! That being said, there is one book I check out from the library all the time which has a pretty flat narrator about the history of the English monarchy and I listen to it to help me fall asleep ;-D I’ve never heard more than the first twenty minutes of it...