Welcome to Litsy!

My first exposure to Makkai, certainly won‘t be my last. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

April #doublespin (Kindle Read)

I enjoyed this despite it being a slow read. I live on a boarding school campus, so it was extra interesting to see that perspective through the MC‘s eyes. I needed to know who the killer was and it felt a bit like a true crime novel itself.

This was a slow burn but very worth all the layers unfolded in this dark academia, murder mystery the story revolves around and is narrated by Bodie a true crime podcaster, she is asked to teach a class at her alma mater that brings up her past time at the school and a mystery of its own that has haunted her much was wrapped up in this story and brings so much to light on many topics but was so well written
#MarvellousMarch#Readaway2024

Podcaster Bodie returns to her former boarding school and wades deep into the murder of her former roommate.

Rebecca Makkai was just such a lovely person! I'm glad I got the chance to meet her and tell her how much I love her work! 🥹💕📚

Last night was the Rebecca Makkai author event at my local bookstore! It was for sure the most chill author that I have ever attended! There were only about 30 people there total, and I got to sit in the front row! She talked for a little bit, read from the tagged book, answered questions, and then signed everybody's books! This was actually my first time at this bookstore since it opened, and I'm already obsessed! 💕📚

FRIENDS, I HAVE THE MOST EXCITING BOOKISH NEWS EVER! 💕📚💕📚💕📚

On February 21st a bookstore near me is hosting Rebecca Makkai! AND I'M TOTALLY GOING! 🥰 I'm not sure yet if she'll be signing books or if it's just a talk, but either way I'm so hyped for this! I Have Some Questions For You was one of the best books I read last year!

I liked this, it‘s not what I expected. Some parts felt a bit long and flat, but I liked the MC -imperfect as she was in many of her actions & responses, her reminiscence of high school around the time period was sometimes cringingly familiar. Bodie Kane returns to teach a journalism course at her old high school, her students investigate the death of her roommate there in the 90s, through the lens of more social awareness in the BLM & #metoo era.

It‘s a low pick for me. Great Believers is one of my very favorite books, so I had high expectations for this one. It was ok but not a top pick. I liked the insight into the criminal justice system & how hard it can be to actually free an innocent person. How police were under pressure from the family & school to find a suspect. Bodie Kane starts to question the death of her former roommate when she goes back to her former boarding school to teach

I was really looking forward to this book, but it‘s a pass for me. It was way too long and drawn out. Nothing happened for so long. It pulled you in with the premise of a murder and finding out what really happened and then just drug on for so long about so much that really didn‘t enhance the story. This needed to be cut down by a lot and refined. It just wasn‘t for me.

I‘m fascinated by the mixed reviews of this one. I enjoyed it, and while I can see that some elements were unnecessary, it never felt bogged down to me. The audiobook narrator is great. It touches on a lot of issues, but what I liked most was watching Bodie‘s perspective shifts as she uncovered new-to-her details of the people and events surrounding the murder of her boarding school roommate. #auldlangspine

I couldn‘t put down this story of high school misfit Bodie Kane returning to her boarding school alma mater as a teacher. As Bodie reflects on her time at school and finds herself re-investigating a classmate‘s murder, Makkai adroitly plumbs the depths of traumas big and small. I was captured by the mystery but it‘s the deep dive into violence against women, validity of trauma, cancel culture, and justice system bias that will stick with me.

Good. Definitely could‘ve been shorter. The lover was an unnecessary character unless I missed something there. Solid enjoyable read.

I understand the mixed reviews about this book but it did work for me. I enjoyed the meandering of the various storylines. Especially the main one, about the murder of Thalia in 1995. Bodie was her roommate and is now a true crime podcast host, who returns to their former boarding school to teach a class. She has to face the past and the maybe wrongly conviction of Omar for the murder.

Thalia Keith, a teenaged boarding school resident, is murdered after her performance in that year‘s musical. One of the few black staff members on campus is convicted and has served years in prison. Bodie Kane a tangentially involved student has been obsessed and, now an adult, has an opportunity to right wrongs. Set in the “me too” climate. Adults acting like bumbling teenagers. I almost bailed. At least the end wasn‘t neat. Not her best work.

I bail at p168.Maybe I should hang in there?Makkai addresses sexual assault,femicide&how terribly normal it is(she lists numerous cases).The story is engaging, well written, with complex characters. But to me it‘s overwritten &what made me throw in the towel -because it‘s too much! - are the subplots (the narrator‘s husband and lover). Not interested in that at all. I might get back to it or read her short stories but right now - nope.

This is so good, a Secret History for the 21st century. Absolutely dove down the rabbit hole of this fantastic propulsive fevered novel.

Soft pick.

I liked the plot, but there was so much unnecessary things in here; it could have been shorter. Also, the word “said” is used way way too much.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

#botm

“It was easier to believe she was lying than that lightning loves a scarred tree.”

Wow! I‘ve seen mixed reviews for this one but I thought it was well plotted, compelling and the right parts mysterious and thrilling. So good! #BookspinBingo #BOTM @TheAromaofBooks

A true crime podcaster goes back to teach a class at the elite New England boarding school where she was once a student, only to revisit the case of a murdered classmate that she had long since considered solved. A great critique on true crime as a genre (though I do love it), and on the way communities can be complicit in violence even when they are not aware they‘re doing it.

I am reading I Have Some Questions For You and always like to have at least one Litsy post for every book I read (true goal is a Blurb/Quote/Review for every book!! You, too?) and I also want to show everyone my pies. This is a No-Bake Watermelon Pie and it was SO good! Happy last week of August 2023!
#CaresPieShow #ILovePie

Laps done, new pool book begun . . .

1. This week! Today for my younger kid, Thursday for my young-adult kid, and Saturday for me. I'm already exhausted. How long until winter break?

2. I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai.

Thanks for the tag, @The_Penniless_Author !

@TheSpineView #Two4Tuesday

1. For my oldest, it started July 10 (Montessori); for my youngest, it started August 10 🏫 ✏️
2. Tagged! Read recently and really liked it 👍🏻
Thanks for the tag, Randy! @The_Penniless_Author #Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView
I‘ll tag @Amiable @Librariana @dabbe 😊

I thought this was good & ambitious, but a low pick because the length of the book, with the story being extremely drawn-out, isn't really worth what little it finally ends up saying about most things. This is an "issues" book, but for a terminally online person like me it feels like a rehash of a twitter thread or an online article, without a satisfying payoff. Litfic writers doing genre shouldn't be afraid to go big with plot like Birnam Wood!

4🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Book club pick! I really liked this one; though I didn‘t think the ending was very satisfying. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️😭

Loved this one! A 40 something woman returns to her boarding school to teach a class, and ends up digging into a murder that happened while she was a student. I thought Makkai skillfully weaved together a compelling mystery while also exploring what it means to be “into” true crime and the ramifications it can have on victims and their families.

I read this for book club and really liked it. It was long but drew me in from the beginning and I had a hard time putting it down. Can‘t wait for our discussion next week!

This was a bit ramble-y and drawn out at times, BUT I really liked it. I appreciated how the book brought more attention to crimes committed against women - how so many remain unsolved or not even investigated, how so many victims never get justice. I‘ll admit I wanted the ending to turn out differently (who wouldn‘t?), but admire how it wasn‘t really “resolved.”

😂😂😂😂

I have never in my wildest moments thought about emailing an author, much less emailing them over something like this.

A high school misfit (much like myself :), begins digging on a murder at her high school some 20 years later. With the help of young, fresh eyes, they uncover some new but very plausible suspects.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

7/2023

Stepping outside my comfort zone and what a delight! I‘ve been moving this weekend, and it got to the point where I just had to know how it ended, so I almost fully finished unpacking all the kitchen boxes while listening to this.

There was a lot going on - but I love a book that delves deep into the why of ‘why do people do the things they do?‘ - the Miss Marple in me was absolutely enchanted.

I really enjoyed this book. It's quite gripping and moving. Bodie Kane goes back to teach at the school she went to, where her roommate was murdered. She begins to wonder if the man convicted is actually innocent. She begins to investigate alongside some students.

My FICTION bracket for June was more of a default because I mostly read nonfiction and the tagged book was the best of the 3 fiction books I did complete. It was a decent read but no match for “The Covenant of Water,” which moved all the way to the semifinals against “The Latecomer.” It was a tough decision because I loved both books. But the scope and sweep and beauty of “Covenant” tipped the scale and propelled it into the finals.

This was great! I did part of it as an audio book and the rest in print. Other than one recurring stylistic thing that I found mildly annoying, I liked the writing style, and I definitely got invested in the characters and dual timeline story. Even though it was over 400 pages, it felt like a fast read. I recommend it!

Finally after waiting for months I was able to pick up "I Have Some Questions For You" by Rebecca Makkai from my local library. Absolutely loved "The Great Believers" and believe it should have won the Pulitzer Prize. It along with "The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier & Clay" are two of my favorite books of all time and I highly recommend both.

This book is expertly written and has a lot to say. The characters, especially protagonist Bodie, felt so alive and really came off the page. Everyone is flawed, messy, and complicated. The central mystery focuses on the murder of Thalia Keith, and whether or not the person convicted actually did it, along with plenty of themes on social justice. This was sometime overshadowed by various subplots, but overall I enjoyed this one. 4/5⭐️

I had a strong opinion about every character in this story. It turned out I was wrong about a few of them. I really liked the particular "voice" that the author used for Bodie. I just like HER. The ending of the mystery was very New Hampshire. I appreciated the insight into the justice system.

I gave this book 5 stars. I would recommend it. It is not fast-paced or a thriller, but it is a really good story.

I loved The Great Believers so to say I was looking forward to this is a massive understatement. Sadly, I was underwhelmed. I didn‘t dislike it, I just wish it had been tightened up a bit. It seemed to go on FOREVER and she wasted too much time on tangents that brought nothing to the central arc. I‘m glad this was a #BorrowNotBuy.

This just made me laugh out loud. When I lived in Los Angeles, my mother did the exact same thing. 😂

#bookspinbingo #june2023
#bookspin Dispatches by Herr
#doublespin Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant

You‘ve heard of her, I say - a challenge, an assurance.

#firstlinefridays
@ShyBookOwl

Ending an absolutely-glorious-weather holiday weekend with a campfire and a new book.

I enjoyed this. There were aspects that really bothered me, though — like why was Bodie so invested even though she was tertiary at best to the situation. I kept waiting for a big detail to drop right at the end. But ultimately, this left a lot unanswered, with a ton to bemuse and think about. Some things were done so well, post-#MeToo, and yet so much was brought up as a crumb to be totally ignored.

I really like how Makkai unspools her stories, leading readers through the conflicting assumptions, fears, and motivations of characters trying to navigate their personal lives within the context of our culture. I enjoyed the exploration of the positives and negatives of coming of age as the last of the GenXers (*raises hand*) compared with the experiences of today's teens. She conveys well how imperfectly we decide who matters and who doesn't.