The Book Club.
8 years ago
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Book clubs: When the book stinks.
Comments (30)What makes me chuckle when reading this thread is how often book clubs are reading the same books. Fall to Your Knees, The Memory-Keeper's Daughter, Wicked, A Fine Balance (which I loved) Water for Elephants, etc. and I've noticed this in other bookclub-themed threads. My club is 5-6 years old; most of us make a sometimes herculean effort to finish the book out of respect for the person who chose it (though every book we read has been voted on) as well as knowing that the discussion doesn't have a snowball's chance of success if the book hasn't been read. Personally, I could not finish "Seabiscuit" to save my life as I kept falling asleep while reading it. "A Beautiful Mind" was our inaugural book and nearly did our club in as almost noone could finish it. "Wicked" was also an unpopular choice with a number of members not finishing it and so was almost impossible to discuss which I found disapointing. We all read "Crossing to Safety" and enjoyed trashing it, unlike most other clubs who loved it. By and large, our best discussion come when any or all of these factors come into play: most, if not all, members have read the book; the designated discussion leader has come PREPARED with questions, background info, etc.; the book actually has some meat to discuss (please don't ever make me read Sophie Kinsella again); and the book isn't universally liked by the members. My club just had a terrific discussion using "TMKD." Even though I didn't find it well-written, it resonated with our group and had some grist for the mill. So--yes, I usually try to finish up the book, even if it is just a cursory and skimming read. I also thought "The Little Children" was an awful book with flat characters and a nonsense story line and I would have to be "locked in" somewhere to re-read and discuss it. On the other hand, my clubs meets in restaurants for dinner and drinks and I have no doubt that some late nights, the restauranteur would like to lock us out......See MoreRevisiting Book Club book lists
Comments (4)Hi Carolyn -- It's good to be remembered. I guess I just got busy. We moved (downsized) in 2011 and yet we still have two storage areas of "stuff" to go through, and, I hope, get rid of. And I waste too much time on Facebook. I still check in here on occasion, though, to see how you all are doing and what you are reading. I'll try to check in more often. Reading books for two book clubs and reading my own choices in between keeps me busy reading. But like all of you, I love it. Sorry to hijack you thread, Paula. Just to bring us back to the topic I will post some of last year's book club reads. :-) 2013 List - It was a pretty good year. CalebâÂÂs Crossing by Geraldine Brooks Heft by Liz Moore Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese Wild by Cheryl Strayed The Secrets of Mary Bowser by Lois Leveen Gone Girl and/or Psychopath Test The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar Blame by Michelle Huneven The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman...See MoreBook Club Book Lists
Comments (3)Hi Lisa - I've been in a book group since 1995, so we have read over a hundred books. I do try to keep some ratings of the books we read, but I'm not always up to date. And not all the books we've read have been rated. But according to my records, here are some of our favorites - based on how much we enjoyed reading them and how discussable they were (not necessarily in any order): A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving Bean Trees - Barbara Kingsolver A Thousand Acres - Jane Smiley Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood A Yellow Raft in Blue Water - Michael Dorris The Girls - Lori Lansens Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - Lisa See Snow Falling on Cedars - David Guterson Water for Elephants - Sara Gruen Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay People of the Book - Geraldine Brooks Some that haven't been rated but were group favorites were: Angle of Repose - Wallace Stegner Because of Winn Dixie - Kate DiCamillo (a YA book) Olive Kitteridge - Elizabeth Strout The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri Peace Like a River - Leif Enger To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee Also, The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, received a perfect 5 out of 5 from all of those who read it. Much of this is pretty standard book club fare, which is what my book group seems to prefer. The above books were not necessarily my favorites, although I agreed with many of the ratings. If I were to list my faves, they would be (not in any order): Sarah Canary - Karen Joy Fowler (Surprise!) Cider House Rules - John Irving East of Eden - Steinbeck Smilla's Sense of Snow - Peter Hoeg Motherless Brooklyn - Jonathan Lethem House of Sand and Fog - Andre Dubus Montana 1948 - Larry Watson Life of Pi - Yann Martel (close to the top of my list) Each book group has it's own personality, just as individuals do. Over time, you will discover you group's personality and will learn the types of books that work and the type that don't work. Good luck ... and happy reading and discussing....See MoreChristmas book club for fun.................
Comments (14)I finished Owl Be Home for Christmas. I enjoyed it, though it was a pretty simple and formulaic mystery, but with lots of Christmasy stuff going on. The story is set in a luxurious mountain inn where a scientific conference of ornithologists (specifically, owl experts) are meeting the week before Christmas. They get snowed in and when one college professor keels over at dinner and quickly dies, suspicion sets in. Since no one can come or go due to the snow, if it's a murder (which of course it is), the perpetrator must be present among them....See More- 8 years ago
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