Joanna’s Comments (group member since Nov 17, 2010)

Joanna’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

My current list:

Judgment in Death by J.D. Robb
DITS - death, no i in auth name, not "the" in title, sci fi

Betrayal in Death by J.D. Robb
RID - Romance, 2 initials, double trouble

The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
LEG - Lit map - Mitchell, b. Europe, Guardian List

When Will There Be Good News? Kate Atkinson
WIG - when, island setting, good

The Gender Game by Bella Forrest
TED - teens (2016), END, Dystopia

Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
SATE - b. S. Am., b. August, char name in title, published 1980s

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
WITH - GR choice, Into, Thriller, Auth. H

Battle Ground by Jim Butcher
HER - pub 2020, 8+ named characters, Series R

Followers by Megan Angelo
GENE - GR auth, 2+e in auth name, New to me auth, Wild Card (E)

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
DRY - Debut, 10k+ ratings, Name ends in Y

Could replace either Wasp Factor or Good News:
The Black Book by Ian Rankin
SIG/SEG - Series #5, Island setting or Auth b. Europe, No G auth

10.4 Pilgrim

Little Cat by Tamara Faith Berger

I'm not sure what made me think that I should listen to books this graphic and disturbing as audiobooks. This was the opposite of comforting listening to accompany walks or household tasks. I should have saved these books to read to fuel feminist rage through written word. These two books, packaged together here, have something political to say about female sex, pornography, desire, prostitution, and the male gaze. But I couldn't quite get to the politics because I kept being distracted by the language and use of words being read aloud that I rarely hear spoken.

In short, don't listen to the audiobook of these. Read these books in print. As long as you want to read angry, pornographic, disturbing scenes.

+10 Task
+10 Review
+5 Combo (20.5)

Task total: 25
Grand total: 1370

20.8 Bedtime

Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift

I loved this short book. The story is the remembrance of a day in 1924 by a woman looking back on her twenty-two-year-old self from the perspective of her eighty-something-year-old self. This is definitely literary fiction--some musings on writing, some musings on memory, and the way that life has specific moments that are turning points. Then, on top of the literary meta-fiction is the historical piece. The protagonist is "in service" as a maid, giving a glimpse into the fading British aristocracy. Learning her life story as it slowly unfolds through the book, we get a window into the lives of the time.

Graham Swift is a great writer--I'd like to read more of his books.

+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.4, 20.1)

Task total: 40
Grand total: 1345

20.3 Prolific

Island of Dragons by Lisa McMann
Lexile: 850

Praise be, we're finally done with this series. I read all seven books of this series aloud to my eight- and eleven-year-old kids. They enjoyed it far more than I did and I'd recommend it to middle grade readers to read independently, but there's very little of interest to adults in this series. The magical world is inconsistent and kind of a mess throughout these books, the characters don't really develop or have strong independent personalities, and overall I found the adventures repetitive and boring. The original idea--what if you were punished for being creative--is sort of interesting, but wasn't enough to carry the series through seven books.

+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.2 - IODLM=MILD; 10.4)
+5 Jumbo (544pp)

Task total: 45
Grand total: 1305

10.2 Scrabble

Stealing Cinderella by A. Zavarelli

A moderately interesting Cinderella retelling that couldn't quite decide if it was modern or set in fairy-tale times. On the one hand, the characters have cell phones and airplanes. On the other hand, they're all gushing about the King of Norway and a ball to meet bachelor princes and Nordic religious bits thrown in. This is billed as erotic romance, but I found the erotic bits not that compelling. This also falls into the over-done trope of damaged characters who were horribly abused healing through magical sex. Ugh. Can't we please have romance heroes who just like each other? Is childhood abuse the only way that authors can think of to make their characters interesting?

Also, the come-uppance for the step-family was pretty harsh. I'll take it in a true fairy tale, but in a retelling that tries to be modern, it felt unduly violent and disturbing rather than a satisfactory righting of karmic scales.

+10 Task (SCAZ = SAC)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.8 - France, England, Norway)

Task total: 25
Grand total: 1260

I posted The Siren by Tiffany Reisz to 10.8 in Post #81.

I'd like to move that to 20.5 instead.

+10 Move

Grand total: 1235

10.8 Jetsetters

All Inclusive by Farzana Doctor

If I describe the plot of this book, it will sound like the most ridiculous story. But stay with me for a minute. The protagonist is a Canadian who finds herself drifting along through random jobs and lands in Mexico where she works at an all-inclusive resort. She likes hooking up with couples and finds plenty of interest among the tourists passing through. But also, there's the ghost of her dead father trying to connect with her and help her find out about him. And the cross-cultural examination of the native-Mexican employees versus the imported Canadians. Oh, and the protagonist is actually half-Indian.

So, it sounds like this book should be a complete mess. But this author makes it work. First, kudos to the author for how sex-positive this book is. The protagonist likes hooking up with couples, sometimes ones of the same sex. And she's okay with that. And, mostly, so are the people around her. But it's realistic as well--the feelings of both pleasure and loneliness, the questioning of her own desires. The sex here is part of the psychology of the character, not played for eroticism. Second, I can't believe that I liked the ghost story aspect of this book, but I did. My normal reaction would be eye-rolling (and, I'll admit to an initial eye-roll when the ghostliness was introduced). But again the author surprised me with how well it integrated with the story.

I want to read more of this author's books.

+10 Task (Canada, Mexico, India)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.2 - AIFD=FAD)

Task total: 25
Grand total: 1225

15.9 Power of 9

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman

+15 Task (author born 1981)

Task total: 15
Grand total: 1200

30.1 Go for Green

The Lover by A.B. Yehoshua

The audiobook for this was excellent. A cast of narrators read each of the different characters, giving them distinct personalities and really bringing the story alive. Although I have the hardcopy of the book, I was so enthralled by the audio that I didn't really end up switching back and forth.

Though this book was written 40 years ago, it feels fresh. These characters are searching for meaning in daily life, are thinking about the future of Israel, and are wrestling with the ethnic conflict inherent to Israel. There is a strong sense of place here as the neighborhoods in Israel come to life through the eyes of these characters. I would like to read more books by this author.

+30 Task (Israel)
+10 Review
+5 Oldies (1977)
+10 Combo (10.2 - TLABY=LAB; 10.4)

Task total: 55
Grand total: 1185

15.8 Power of 9

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

+15 Task (author born 1972)

Task total: 15
Grand total: 1130

10.2 Scrabble

How to Train Your Dom in Five Easy Steps by Josephine Myles

I wanted to like this British straight guy falls for gay man romance. The characters had funny moments. But there was so much misogyny here that I couldn't quite hold together the romance-dream-world necessary to enjoy the book. And while there was an effort to make the sex playful, it came across as overly clinical instead of erotic. I think the target audience for most of these books is actually women, not gay men. But I couldn't really imagine this book appealing to either women or gay men. But I seem to be in the minority, since the book has glowing reviews from lots and lots of women. I'd read something else by this author--there's a glimmer here of an author that might be able to write a good book, even if this one didn't quite excite me like I wanted it to.

+10 Task (HTTYDIFESJM - FETISH)
+10 Review

Task total: 20
Grand total: 1110

20.1 Award

An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo

Also as part of my effort to read things that make me feel good while feeling anxious about the upcoming election, I pulled this book of poetry. I basically know very little about poetry and read less of it than I always mean to. Whenever I read good poetry, I feel all warm inside. But then I forget about poems for months and months before remembering to pick something at the library. I picked this because the author was the 2019 Poet Laureate of the U.S., which seemed like a good recommendation for her work. These poems tell the stories of her Native American ancestors, the Trail of Tears, and more modern moments. There are snippets of history interspersed with the poems. I'm very glad to have found this book.

+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-Novel
+15 Combo (10.2 - AASJH - ASH; 10.7 - Nonfiction; 10.8 - OK, AL, LA)

Task total: 55
Grand total: 1090

20.2 Journalist

How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals by Sy Montgomery

In the run-up to the U.S. election, I need some feel good things to think about. I pulled this audiobook from the library's virtual shelves knowing nothing about the book or the author because it looked like it would be heartwarming and not about politics. It fit the bill perfectly.

This is a collection of essays about different animals that the author has studied or kept as pets--dogs she's had, her famous pig, but also a group of emus, an octopus, large spiders, and others populate these stories. The author talks reverently about the animals and their "superpowers" that she observes. While the essays were a bit repetitive, I loved hearing the stories and the whole audiobook is less than four hours, so there isn't too much time for repetition.

+20 Task (approved in help)
+10 Review
+10 Not-a-novel
+10 Combo (10.2 - HTBAGCSM - STAG; 10.8 - Canada, Australia, Papua New Guinea)

Task total: 50
Grand total: 1035

15.7 Power of 9

Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton
Author born 1963

+15 Task

Task total: 15
Grand total: 985

What about Sy Montgomery

After five years working as a science journalist at a daily newspaper, my father gave me the gift of my dreams: a plane ticket to Australia.

from: http://symontgomery.com/news/

15.6 Power of 9

Two Girls, Fat and Thin by Mary Gaitskill

+15 Task

Task total: 15
Grand total: 955

20.5 Wine

Nobody's Hero by Kallypso Masters

I'm so disappointed by this book. I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was looking forward to reading more about these characters that were introduced in the first book. But this book had everything I hate in romance novels: a hero who can't express his feelings and makes dumb decisions based on thinking he knows everything, characters dealing with trauma and using sex as the cure, virgin to sexpot in 48-hours, and constant replaying of he-loves-me-he-loves-me-not inner dialogue. There were one or two good sex scenes, but not nearly enough to make up for all the whining these characters did through the book. I can't believe I actually finished it. I think I may be done with this series since it looks like the next book delves even more into the sex-as-abuse-healing theme that I just find improbable and boring.

+20 Task (champagne at wedding)
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.8 - Colorado, California, Illinois)

Task total: 35
Grand total: 955

Anika wrote: "20.3 Prolific

"author has published 30+ books (including titles published under her pseudonym, Mira Grant)

This alerted me to a missed combo. In post 228, I claimed Feed by Mira Grant.

I'd like to add +5 for 20.3.

Grand total: 920

20.5 Wine

The King by Tiffany Reisz

I got sucked into this series earlier this year as I began seeking escapist romance novels to distract me. These books are best read in order, so if you are finding your way here without reading the rest of the series, you should go back and read The Siren. If you like it, read the series. If it isn't for you, no reason to be here. These are popular enough that I was able to download them from my library.

This book goes back and tells the backstory of one of the most intriguing characters of the series - Kingsley Edge. He's built an empire as the King of the kink underworld. This book tells how that empire was built and why. Most of the book is him telling this story to someone much later, but it's written as if happening fresh. There's thick plotting and lots of kink here-no traditional romance though. I'll definitely be finishing out this series now that I've read six of the eight books.

+20 Task ("Kingsley took a sip of his wine.")
+10 Review
+5 Combo (10.8 - England, France, New York)

Task total: 35
Grand total: 915

20.5 Wine

Nobody's Angel by Kallypso Masters

This is a bodice ripper of medium quality. There are real characters having complete conversations and real interactions, but the emotional connection is assumed rather than explained or felt. There's a suspenseful plotline in the background to give the book more than just a string of sex scenes and the plot actually helps drive the romance to some extent. But at the end of the day, the reason to read these books is for easy escape. This isn't improving my brain or deepening my understanding of the world. This isn't making me a better person. It's just giving me a few hours break from worrying about the state of the world. And right now, I need that so much.

+20 Task ("Angelina took another sip of wine and bit into the last pretzel.")
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.2 - NAKM=MAN, 10.8 - Colorado, Iraq, Afghanistan)

Task total: 40
Grand total: 880