The Handmaid's Tale
vee_new
6 years ago
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What makes a book the perfect book club choice?
Comments (24)Thank you all for you responses. You've given me some good ideas, and some names of books that just might spark some discussion. I'm always a little leery of books about the Holocaust; I often find them too upsetting to read. But The Sunflower sounds like it goes beyond just relating the horrors to some deeper reflections on human nature. My library doesn't have a copy, nor a copy of A Thread of Grace, but I think I'll look elsewhere for them. I like the idea of the reading kits. I believe our local library has a few of those; I'm not sure how many. I went to one meeting of the library book club. We discussed Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth, a fabulous book, but I was disappointed in the discussion. It was dominated by a woman who wanted to discuss current-day politics, and the leader/librarian, couldn't seem to slow her down. The discussion ended exactly one hour after we started, even though we had lots more to discuss....See MoreIdeas or wordcraft?
Comments (15)I guess I am oblivious to style when the ideas engage me, because I'm one of those who loved the first couple of Dan Brown's I read (reverse order starting with TDVC.) Janalyn, can we credit Atwood with marrying ideas with style if the ideas have been done to death by other authors? Cindy, I enjoyed reading Picoult's The Pact for my book club, but have felt no need to read her further. How do you see her as beating one over the head with her ideas? I tend to lump her with the current crop of writers who I swear are on assignment from their therapists. They don't realize they can use many literary devices to get their points across without tedious blow by blow accounts of dysfunction. Hmmmm. Maybe that means I only buy into the stories if the ideas are those I like. Btw, I once read a George Elliot (or maybe it was a George Sand, I've tried to wipe it out of my memory) short story in which the entire first page was one sentence. Martin, you are right, it isn't exclusive to science fiction. However, I will use a science fiction example to note that I'll probable endure inadequate writing for the ideas more than I'll endure empty style. I don't like the writing style of Arthur C. Clarke at all, but he did have some fascinating ideas. (ducking for cover now) Does Kate Mosse have any fresh ideas? I thought she was reusing old stories. Anya, I've never gotten around to reading Sturgeon, but you have just moved him up on my list. Venusia, sure you didn't have too high expectations of The Birth of Venus what with your self-identification with the goddess? ;) I would have said that David Mitchell's prose, at least in Cloud Atlas showed a wide repertoire of style. I like your description of "lots of tell as opposed to show." I completely agree; it is one of my pet peeves. Mary, Mitchell's narrative approach was what kept me reading Cloud Atlas. Well, that and the fact that we were discussing it here. Sebald is another writer I want to read. I guess I come down on the side of ideas. I read all of Eco, even though I don't particularly like the writing, or maybe it is the translating in his case....See MoreThe Handmaid's Tale
Comments (29)I think in 1985 when I read it, it was fairly far fetched, except that the inability of women to control their own reproduction rang true to me even then. After living through the times when abortion was illegal and criminally prosecuted, when women couldn't get birth control pills unless they were married, some parts of the novel didn't seem too far a leap to me. With the political climate we're living with...it wouldn't seem so futuristic now. I was so excited to see that it was a series, but I haven't been able to muster up the emotional strength to watch it. Someday....See MoreFavorite Reads of 2017
Comments (10)I get most of my books from the Boston Public Library and a large library system in which our town participates. This was in my email today. I read The Girl on The Train, The Goldfinch, Hillbily Elegy, A Man Called Ove and am still on a waiting list for Handmaid's Tale and All the Light We Cannot See. I read e-books on my iPad using Overdrive. Boston Public Library’s Top Borrowed Titles of 2017 It's no secret that Boston loves books, and now you can see which books Bostonians of all ages loved best in 2017 with BPL's top ten most-borrowed books lists. BPL's Top Ten Borrowed Adult Books of 2017 The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty The Girls by Emma Cline Commonwealth by Ann Patchett The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr...See Moremartin_z
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