Book Lovers Club
Comments
-
Artemis was good but was short on time so read the start and end but skimmed the middle. I wasn't as into the science & tech in this book as was with The Martian. Got through a third of An American Quilt before had to return (to mom's library) but enjoying it so will get through my library.
This week picked up The Rooster Bar (2017) by John Grisham, and Before We Were Yours (2017) by Lisa Wingate.
0 -
I liked Quiet Neighbors so much, that now I am reading mysteries by the same author, Catriona McPherson, one after another. They keep you guessing right through the end, and you have a chance to resolve them with the main characters. Reading the Dandy Gilver series now.
0 -
I finished Room of White Fire last night and was reminded of how Grisham writes himself into a corner and uses some slight of hand to end his books. I was never satisfied with his endings. The author of White Fire did tie the plot threads together. I hope somebody else reads this book because I would like another reaction. The author has an admirable command of language.
0 -
Just finished The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan. This was a well written book on the creation of the atomic bomb in Oakridge, TN (also known as the Secret City). The author interviewed women who lived onsite in the early 1940s and nicely interplayed this info with the scientific knowledge of the creating the bomb. It was highly secretive and extremely urgent. It was meant to put an end to WWII and Japanese invasion. It was also difficult to glimpse the past and read how not all folks living onsite were treated equally in that time period.
0 -
Sandi - my Uncle worked there in the 50s so I'd find it interesting. Thanks.
Just finished the 3rd book by Alex Kava about FBI Profiler Maggie O'Dell. The books aren't new and I didn't read them in order, but in each one you had no idea who was really the "villain" until the end. Usually someone whom you least suspected. I'll look for more by this author.
0 -
I just got down with a couple good books:
* My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton by Stephanie Dray & Laura Komoie. The authors were inspired to write this book about the wife of Alexander Hamilton after watching the play. She didn't leave much of a paper trail but it is pretty interesting how the authors weaved the story around the known facts.
* The President is Missing : A Novel by Bill Clinton and James Patterson is a good thriller.
0 -
Started to finally get to Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising.
0 -
Just finished The Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg - 2010. It's about people going back to a 40th & last HS reunion - and each has their own story, joys, hopes, hurts, dreams. When I read her books, I always feel like she's lived in my head - or walked in my moccasins as the case may be. The hardback is only 240 pages. Quick summer read. Here are some comments/reviews about her books:
"Once you open this book you will miss all your appointments because...you will read it straight through...Berg's writing is to literature what Chopin's etudes are to music - measured, delicate & impossible to walk away from until their completion." (that's specifically about this one)
"Written with humor and elegance. A wise & generous heart beats in it's center"
"Truth rings clearly from every page. Berg captures the way women think - and especially the way they talk to other women..."0 -
Here's my Book Club today at Barnes & Noble celebrating our 20th Anniversary. As a group, we have read and discussed 236 books (so far).
0 -
Wow Ruth. What a wonderful achievement - 20 years.
0 -
You might be interested to know that since our Book Club's inception, four of us have been diagnosed and have undergone treatment for BC. I am glad to report that we are all still very much alive, kicking, and (of course) reading!
0 -
That's impressive, ruthbru! I'd love to know which book you enjoyed most & whether there was ever a selection that engendered a serious difference of opinion within your group.
0 -
Oh gee, that is a very interesting question. After 236 books, it would be impossible to choose one favorite. Quite a few of the books I've recommended here were Book Club books. The way we do it is; the host for the month picks the next month's book (and serves a marvelous dessert), so we get a wide variety of books. We are all teachers, or former teachers, so we are pretty open minded and like the fact that reading other people's picks gets each of us out of our own personal comfort zones. And even if I don't like a book, discussing it with someone who does gives me a different perspective than I had before. I must say that I was really shocked that no one liked my recent pick, Lincoln In The Bardo, because I LOVED it!!
0 -
Hi everyone!! I just found this thread and hope it’s ok to join right in. I love reading and can go through a book a day. My favorite author is Jodi Picoult.
I just read The Rosie Project and The Rosie effect by Graeme Simsion. They were both very funny and a bit romantic. The main character is on the spectrum and he is the narrator of the story. The way he sees and thinks of things is just so humorous sometimes. They’re a quick read and a good laugh!
So glad I found this thread! I love getting recommendations of what to read next. With the Amazon Prime day, I received five new books for free since I have the Kindle Unlimited membership. I’m going to be busy for awhile!!
0 -
Hi Ruthbru, did anyone keep a running list? I would love to see what you read. My book club is five years old and we have 21 members. We really do discuss our book selections and there are rules to keep us orderly!! We take turns selecting the book and announce the title the month before.
0 -
Ruthbru, that's interesting about Lincoln in the Bardo since I'm one of those readers who put it down early because I just couldn't get into it. Maybe I'll give it another try ....
On a little different subject, have any of you ever gone back & re-read a book that you loved when you were younger & found it affected you in a totally different way when you were older?
0 -
Yes Sandi, we keep a list; but don't rate the books on it, so I can't even remember what some of them were about. We read every kind of book. One lady almost always picks a British detective type, another usually picks a thriller, another usually picks something depressing (to me), another is more into the classics, some pick current best seller. A couple of us are all over the place. I think we are burned out of World War II books at the moment. If you tell me what kind of books you are interested in, I could give you titles of some of the books I've liked.
And, yes, I often go back and re-read books I loved when younger. Usually I still really like them, but from a different perspective for sure.
Welcome, Warrior!
0 -
Thank you, Ruthbru!
0 -
Hi Ruthbru..maybe list YOUR favorites!
Our group selects like your group. We are also a little burned out on WWII books, too. In saying that, I really enjoyed Denise Kiernan's The Girls of Atomic City. I enjoy fantasy and science fiction, too - but this group would rebel against me! I am currently reading a Father Downing mystery, Desert Sinner. I am leaving for a long trip soon and I have already packed the following: Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult, Less by Andrew Sean Greer, The Wisdom of Wolves by Jim and Jamie Dutcher, A Morbid Taste of Bones by Ellis Peters, Eleanor Oliphant by Gail Honeyman, BearTown by Fredrick Backman, Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann and When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Kay Enman. I haven't downloaded anything new on my Kindle at this time. Where I am going..probably won't have consistent electricity!
0 -
So many good books Sandi! The Storyteller is my favorite by Jodi Picoult, but I think they’re all great. I loooved Eleanor Oliphant! It was a good story.
0 -
Eleanor was very wonderful!!
*when I have a chance, I will look at my list and TRY to pick out a few very favorites.
0 -
Picked up The Private Lives of the Tudors yesterday
0 -
Interesting question about re-reading. I just read somewhere about how the endings are different 40 years down the road (wish I could remember the source). I've certainly been hit by vastly different issues when I re-read after a lot of years that I never really addressed or understood when I was younger. Can't remember if I mentioned it here, but had to pull out "The Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock" a couple of weeks ago. That's a good example of how we see & understand differently at 20 and 40 and 60 and.... "I shall wear my trousers rolled...."
0 -
About re-reading: I love to re-read books! As a matter of fact, that’s exactly what I am doing right now: enjoying Gone With the Wind for the third time. I first read it in Russian translation when I was a teenager back in Ukraine. Then I bought it in English about 15 years ago, I think, and read it in the language of the original. The effect was mind blowing. With the exception of the dialect spoken by the slaves, the translation was excellent. The dialect was lost completely, though. No way to translate something like that into Russian, I guess. Now I am 45 year old, so the book is evoking completely different experiences this time around. It’s wonderful. I do have a list of favorite books I re-read quite often. Mostly Dostoyevsky, whose novels sparkle with new colors every time I pick them up.0
-
welcome Warrior2018!
The Rooster Bar was OK - three law students are ripped off by a scam school and fake being lawyers in a scheme to dig out of debt. Meh.
Before We Were Yours was much better but way sadder - historical fiction based on the Tennessee Children's Home scandal of children stolen for adoption.
Still have An American Quilt so only got one library book this week: The Other Typist (2013) by Suzanne Rindell. Apparently, it's being made into a movie so came out of the stacks and onto the "staff picks" shelf.
0 -
Badger, I recently finished Before We Were Yours & also found it sad but fascinating. Hard to imagine it was based on a true story - there truly is evil in the world, isn't there? It's been either hot & humid or rainy here lately. The good news is that the horrible weather gives me a perfect excuse to stay home & read even more!
0 -
Hi Warrior! I love Jodi Picoult as well. I am hoping to go to a book signing by her in October. I haven’t bought my ticket yet, but I have a little time.
I just read The President is Missing and absolutely loved it. I wasn’t sure how Patterson and Clinton would work, but it was very well written and I think I read the whole book in one day.
Today I went to a signing with Robert Beatty for his Willa of the Woods book. Very cool talk before about the Blue Ridge Mountains and the way he was inspired for this book and the way he writes. I can’t wait till school starts and I can share this with my students. They are going to LOVE it.
While I was in the book store I picked up 2 books on a whim. Nyxia by Scott Reintgen and the sequel Nyxia Unleashed. It’s a space adventure series that looked very intriguing to me. I love sci-fy so hopefully these are good.
In other book news, I haven’t even started on my Battle of the Books list for the Fall. Maybe next week...
0 -
Hi TaRenee! A book signing with her sounds awesome! I can’t wait to hear all about it!!
0 -
the Man With the Sawed -Off Leg and Other Tales of a New York City Block. Written by New York Times editor and reporter Daniel Wakin...Ruth...reads like an Erik Larsen book. Only short on pages and long on interesting facts...one chapter devoted to the caper and the next devoted to the interesting habitants of the Upper.West Side of Manhattan block. The caper occurs in my childhood neighborhood, so I know most of the streets mentioned...
0 -
I don't know if I could be in a book club and read books I would never choose for myself.
0
