Miss Benson's Beetle | 
pickI enjoyed this book. It‘s about the power of female friendship. The two main female characters are very well drawn and I liked them. It has an interesting plot line although I thought some of it was a little drawn out. All in all a great read. The moral of the story, I think, is follow your dreams, your vocation even.
I‘m reading this with my online book group, https://thereadingloft.groups.io/g/main.
pickWhat a fantastic book 📖! Absolutely loved 🥰 this little gem , a wonderful story of friendship , second chances and travel 🧳 a perfect 🤩 summer read , it‘s one of those books which is a genuine page turner. Can‘t recommend it highly enough 😊
This book is an absolute delight only just started it but off to porto in Portugal 🇵🇹 today for own our adventure but beetle 🪲 free , it has me laughing 😂 out loud “ they made a ridiculous pair as they chased the porter , a brown ostrich coupled with a pink hatted canary”.
Thank you for the tag @Eggs #WondrousWednesday
1. Tagged
2. It is a story of female friendship and discovering one‘s own self worth. It is about holding others up and not tearing them down. It is just a wonderful tale.
3. I love stories set in a place I‘ve never been. I don‘t get to travel much anymore, so it‘s a way for me to travel.
pickWhat a wonderful story this was! And the author‘s note at the end just added to it! Who would have thought that a book about a beetle would be so good? I just loved the 2 main characters. There was very little that I didn‘t like about this book. I highly recommend it!
pickWhat a wonderful book! Margery Benson has lived a hum-drum life since her father‘s death. But one crazy day, Margery decides to go hunt for the Golden Beetle of New Caledonia that her father told about. Thus it begins…
This is a story of life, of death, of discovery of oneself and discovering the importance of friendship. It is about a journey, physically, spiritually and mentally. It is about being okay with you, and it has stolen my heart.
pickI truly loved this book. I saw it compared to Thelma and Louise set in 1950 and I agree. I loved the writing and Margery and Enid are characters that will stay with me a long time, as well as their story. A beautiful tale of friendship, bravery, going after what you want, and not letting the judgment of others get in your way. #bookspin
@TheAromaofBooks
pickI enjoyed the funny parts. And then the sad parts threw me. But then I accepted it as that's how life is, the ups and downs. I gave this 4⭐ but will probably change it to 5. This is about 2 very opposite women who become best friends.
When Margery was ten, she fell in love with a beetle.
#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl
Y‘all know I do the get-book-read-book thing whenever I can. I received MISS BENSON‘S BEETLE on Sunday, started it yesterday, and should finish it tomorrow. (I don‘t have quite enough time tonight.) While I‘m not sure it‘ll stick with me for long, it‘s highly readable and exactly what I need right now. Poorly-lit Casey agrees.
📖 Jack (Marilynne Robinson)
🖌 Rachel Joyce ( tagged)
📽 Jane Eyre
🎤 Jewel
🎼 Jersey Girl (Bruce Springsteen)
#manicmonday #letterJ
bailedI took a chance on this one, knowing it wasn‘t a genre a typically enjoy, because it was highly recommended. The audiobook is narrated by Juliet Stevenson, who I adore, but sadly, her narration wasn‘t enough to keep me going. Enid‘s baby obsession irritates me to no end, and I‘m not fond of Miss Benson. I think I‘ve given the story a fair shot. I‘m just not interested enough in the fates of the characters to carry on.
When Margery was ten, she fell in love with a beetle. #FirstLineFridays
pickWhen you‘re looking for a warm hug of a book with exceptional narration this book delivers 💛a middle age spinster and a flamboyant free spirit join together to undertake an expedition to New Caledonia in search of the elusive golden beetle 🪲 #AllTheFeels
Back in Miami after a quick trip to Atlanta. Went for an early morning walk while listening to this delightful audio 🎧 🪲😄
pickNot quite what I was expecting. I liked that Miss Benson decided to follow her dream at age 47. But really, she‘s not that old. The misogyny was disturbing but probably accurate for the time period. The ex-POW was really annoying and I could have done without him. The book was good but not memorable.
“You might travel to the other side of the world, but in the end it made no difference: whatever devastating unhappiness was inside you would come, too.”
pickThis was just what my soul needed. I really enjoyed the beautiful friendship between Enid and Margery, the adventures they had and the little bit of the suspense that Joyce wove through the narrative.
Novel 3/3 for #NovelNovember
pickYou know a book is in your wheelhouse when you are torn between rushing to find out how it ends and pacing yourself because you don‘t want to be finished. The audiobook narrator, Juliet Stevenson, is absolutely fabulous. She truly brings the characters to life. I love this book!
I‘m almost halfway into the audiobook version and am loving it! The narrator, Juliet Stevenson, is wonderful! I hope the story holds up through the end.
so-soI liked the descriptive writing and loved the progression of Margery and Enid's friendship but I found it difficult to pick this up once I'd put it down. Poor Mundic's struggles touched my heart but I felt his storyline muddied the waters and was completely unnecessary. I hated the end.
(📷: pinterest)
so-soThis one was between a Pick and So-So for me.
Margery Benson has set out to find a golden beetle that has never been discovered before. Out of all people, she is joined by Enid Pretty who seems to be the opposite to Margery. The story follows their journey to New Caledonia and female friendship.
It was an interesting read with many unexpected turns but it dragged a little bit while reading.
so-soThis was another book club pick. It started off with promise but sadly it fell short for me.
pickMargery Benson is a lonely and increasingly diminished home economics teacher who impetuously walks out of her job. She‘s been fascinated since she was a child by tales of the search for a golden 🪲 beetle and gives herself a good shake to organize an expedition (advertising for a companion) to an island jungle. It‘s a wild journey of self discovery, female friendship, grit, betrayal, surprise, and hope. Grudging admiration turned to liking!
pickWhen I started reading this book I didn‘t really know what to expect. I didn‘t think I was going to be so drawn into the story and the characters. I really enjoyed it and I couldn‘t put it down! I‘m so glad I received it in my Once Upon A Book Club box. 🌟🌟🌟🌟!
pickCharming book about an adventure and an unexpected friendship. I love historical stories about women doing science.
I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join the fun if you want.
This is day 216
#BooksToRead #TBRPile #TBRMountain
#Bookspinbingo #bookspin #20 #doublebookspin #1
Here is my July bingo card, each book matching the number given on the card. # 20- The Clue; #1-Hamnet. Thanks @TheAromaofBooks
pickI debated reading this book and almost didn‘t because a book about a search for a rare beetle didn‘t grab me. But it‘s not about a beetle - it‘s a beautiful story about friendship. I‘m so glad I read it! Margery and Enid have stayed with me. The ending made me route for all women with a dream. Loved it!
I'm looking forward to reading this one and opening my Once Upon a Book Club gifts while doing so. Use my rep code of Trithardt10 to get 10% off your first order from them. 🥰📚 https://www.onceuponabookclub.com/
Decided to go with this one next! It's Victoria Day holiday today here in 🇨🇦🍁 so I'm sitting outside in this beautiful weather and cracking a new book open.
pickTwo unique characters set off from London in 1950 on an adventure to the jungles of New Caledonia to find a potentially mythical golden beetle. This was an enjoyable read, it surprised me 🙂 ⭐⭐⭐.5
pickJoyce writes with a unique style, and her characters are eccentric and truly lovable. Thanks to Net Galley and Dial Press for the chance to read and review this book. Margery never fit in anywhere. But she loved working with beetles and remembered her father telling her about a golden beetle in New Caledonia that has never been seen. And so with her assistant Enid Pretty, she begins her journey to find the elusive beetle. ⬇️
so-soI was charmed and laughed out loud and cheered on these two women as they stumbled towards their best friendship. But the last 20 pages were so disappointing and the end flat and while this was well-written, a thoroughly creative idea and lively and quirky plot, ultimately, it just shrivelled. So sad. 3.5/5
pickWhat a delight! Two strangers head out to New Caledonia in search of a beetle, with murder, crime, and jealousy trailing behind them. I loved this female bonding book.
“Look how marvelously different we are, you and I, and yet here we are, together in this strange world!”
Reading Envy Podcast Episode 214: Extreme Hiking with Mina
New guest Mina speaks with Jenny about her 2021 reading goals, a book club with an amazing life of its own, and books we've read and liked recently.
Listen and subscribe:
https://tinyurl.com/ReadingEnvy214
pickMargery Benson is a spinster obsessed with finding a beetle that no one has ever seen. It‘s 1950 and Margery decides to go all the way to New Caledonia to find this beetle. She ends up bringing along an assistant who is full of surprises and secrets. Lots of challenges and funny moments but this is ultimately a book about how friendship can grow and flourish in the most unlikely of situations. It‘s fiction but love how it‘s based on a real photo!
I laughed way too hard at this...I need to get out more😳.
pickThe characters and adventures are memorable! I was even a tad bit surprised by an event near the end, which is always a good thing. My seemingly common complaint these days though is that the story could have been pared down - I felt in some places the scenes were unnecessarily drawn out or in ways repetitive.
You can‘t go wrong with Juliet Stevenson narrating! She‘d make a cereal box entertaining. 😄
