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

Anika’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

10.6 Author Lifetime Awards

Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood

+10 Task
+20 Combo (10.3; 10.8 https://www.goodreads.com/series/158687; 20.6; 20.7)

Task total: 30
Season total: 325

20.7 Shakespeare

Dunbar by Edward St. Aubyn

+20 Task (retelling of King Lear)
+20 Combo (10.3, 10.8 https://www.goodreads.com/series/158687, 20.2, 20.6)

Task total: 40
Season total: 295

20.8 Revisit a Friend

The Vacationers by Emma Straub

+20 Task (read my first book by her on June 21, 2018)
+10 Combo (10.3, 20.6)
+10 Young (b. 1980 https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/emm...)

Task total: 40
Season total: 255

Ooooh! That is a tough question--I like them all, because they each challenge me in different directions.
After much thought I have three that tie for first in my head, so in no particular order my favorites would be:
Lost in Translation
Not a Novel
Review (I love hearing other people's takes on books and I find so many great books this way!)

(And to get in on the 1001 vs. Bloom debate: my vote is to keep Bloom--for the mere fact of the diversity of texts: prose, poetry, plays in addition to novels)

20.10 Historical

New Boy by Tracy Chevalier

+20 Task
+10 Combo (20.6, 20.7)

Task total: 30
Season total: 215

20.9 Apollo 11

Armada by Ernest Cline

+20 Task (shelved as "space" 73 times)
+5 Combo (20.6)
+10 Young (b. 1972)

Task total: 35
Season total: 185

15.2 RG: 10,000-14,999

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms

+15 Task

Task total: 15
Season total: 145

10.8 Series

Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers

+10 Task (thanks for the recommendation, Rosemary...what a great story and great characters!)
+10 Oldies (pub. 1930)
+20 Combo (10.3, 10.9, 20.1, 20.6)

Task total: 40
Season total: 130

15.1 RG: 100,00-249,999

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown

+15 Task
+5 NF

Task total: 20
Season total: 90

Thanks, itpdx, for adding this to the All-Star list...it wasn't really on my radar before seeing it there and I LOVED it!

10.10 Group Reads

The Children of Men by P.D. James

+10 Task
+5 Oldies (pub. 1992)
+15 Combo (10.3; 20.1; 20.6--do we need to list the 9 named characters? I didn't even think of that when I claimed this for combo on my other post...)

Task total: 30
Season total: 70

20.5 London

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley (set 80% in London, 20% in Japan)

+20 Task
+10 Young (b. 1988)
+10 Combo (10.3; 20.6)

Task total: 40
Season total: 40

10.3 Scrabble

The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher

This is an imaginative/dark/magical retelling of the Bluebeard tale. Rhea is the young daughter of the miller who has become betrothed, much against her will, to Lord Crevan. She is to visit his manse before the wedding, at which time she meets the other wives--all of whom have lost their most precious gifts to Lord Crevan: the witch who lost her magic, the "clock wife" from whom was stolen her death, a beautiful maiden who was blinded, an austere woman from whom was taken her voice, a literal scarecrow of a woman referred to as the "Golem wife" has lost her life essence, and the last wife who was killed because he wanted her family home. Rhea is about to lose her youth to the aged Crevan unless she and the other wives can find a way to outwit him.
I'm a sucker for a good retelling and I love how this story was retooled yet maintained the dark, sinister feeling of the original while still finding small ways to inject levity and magic.

+10 Task ("seventh"=7 letters)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.8 "S")

Task total: 25
Season total: 1875

and that is it for me for this season. whew.

Bea wrote: "Hmm. I added my two choices but they are not showing up. Was I not supposed to join in?"

Of course we want you to join in! I know when I created the listopia, it took quite a while for it to populate the books I'd added...
You added them from the top tab that says "Add Books To This List"? And they're showing up as votes for you on the right column under "My Votes"?

As long as those two things are showing up for you, I'm guessing it's just taking a while for Listopia to catch up...

Rebekah wrote: "Love the idea but Anika! That is so hard! I have a hard time picking my favorites out of such narrow categories as Mystery Detective novel based in London with a female author born in the first half of the 20th century! Or even favorite book written by Mark Twain! Lol "

:-D Oh, I entirely feel your pain on this one! I ended up adding the two that I recommend most to people who, when they find out how much I read, want to know a "good book"--books I think that will grab them enough to get them to love reading again and start to branch out on their own. I didn't add any classics because, well, they're classics for a reason so they're universally recognized as being wonderful and it would be waaaaay too difficult to just choose two favorites. Mostly, I chose my books based on the fact that I LOVE them and want everyone else to be exposed to them in hopes that part of what I love will appeal to them as well....

I don't imagine that helps much, but I can't wait to see what you choose :-) xo

If you’ve already read this post in the Socializing thread, just ignore it ;-) I’m just trying to get the word out to as many members as possible:

Hey, everybody! For my summer season task, I want to get everyone involved—the old guard, the new members, the dalliers and lurkers, the hardcore reading-with-stylers...every member who’s interested in throwing in their two cents:
I’ve created this Listopia https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1... and would like to invite you all to add your two all-time favorite books to this list...the books you recommend when someone finds out you’re a reader, the two books you come back to again and again, the two that have most shaped you as a reader or inspired you in some way.
Please have your choices added by June 7th at the latest, please and thank you! xo

Tien wrote: "Wow, what a terrific idea, Anika! You may see a lot of classics...

btw: your listopia link isn't working"

thank you...that hyperlink was hating on me hard so i gave up and did it the less elegant way ;-)

can’t wait to see your picks!

Hey, everybody! For my summer season task, I want to get everyone involved—the old guard, the new members, the dalliers and lurkers, the hardcore reading-with-stylers...every member who’s interested in throwing in their two cents:
I’ve created this Listopia https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1... and would like to invite you all to add your two all-time favorite books to this list...the books you recommend when someone finds out you’re a reader, the two books you come back to again and again, the two that have most shaped you as a reader or inspired you in some way.
Please have your choices added by June 7th at the latest, please and thank you! xo

In the event that you're looking for a retelling and are unfamiliar with this series: https://www.goodreads.com/series/1586...
(I'm so excited for this task!)

20.3 Ella Minnow Pea

Bridget Jones's Baby: The Diaries by Helen Fielding

This was a fun mental palate cleanser. I'm always a fan of our hapless heroine's antics...sometimes they can be a little repetitive (Daniel vs. Mark, again; Mum is self-involved, Dad knows all the right things to say; singletons vs. marrieds, again) and a little superficial and a little silly, but that's what makes these books so delightful and easy to read. It's like eating a cream puff: light, airy, of no nutritional value, gone in a moment, but left me with a smile--at least this one won't go directly to my bum, unlike the cream puff.
I love Bridget's voice in these diaries, I love how honest she is with the reader when talking about things that are often considered taboo, I love that she's not too hard on herself--she seems so real, so much like someone that I'd love to meet for drinks after work to laugh with. You go, Bridg, you'll be a great mum.

+20 Task (written as a diary)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.3: "Bridget"=7 letters)

Task total: 35
Season total: 1850

20.5 Myra Breckenridge

All We Can Do Is Wait by Richard Lawson (900 Lexile)

I haven't read a YA book in a while. It used to be one of my go-to genres. I never thought I'd say this, but I think I might be done with it--if not forever, at least for a very long time :'-(
This one felt like it was trying a little lot too hard.
It's about a group of teenagers who meet at a hospital in Boston after a bridge collapses and they're waiting to hear if their loved ones survived: Jason and Alexa are waiting to hear about their parents; Skyler is there for her sister, Kate; Scott is waiting for word on his girlfriend; Morgan is there for her father.
Most of the book is back story, explaining the relationships that tie these kids to the people they are waiting for (or waiting with, as in the case of Jason and Alexa).
While I normally appreciate this device, each of the stories felt melodramatic and angsty.
And it feels like the author has serious mommy issues: Jason and Alexa's mom sounds like a wealthy wino who has no time for her kids; Skyler and Kate's mom abandons them to go "find herself" in San Fransisco; Morgan's mom was a nurse who became a drug addict and abandoned her family. Ugh. Maybe he was trying to show how truly imperfect everyone's family/life is even when it seems ideal from the outside looking in, but COME ON!
Also, it seemed like he was trying to tackle too many issues: homosexuality/coming out, physical abuse, cancer, first loves/first break ups, poverty/wealth divide, immigrant experience, drunk driving, drug abuse...it was a bit much is all.

+20 Task (Jason's homosexuality and first relationship is a big part of the story)
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.8: "All"; 10.9: Skyler and Kate's relationship is also a main focus of the story)

Task total: 40
Season total: 1815