Christmas book club for fun.................
7 months ago
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7 months agolast modified: 7 months ago
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How was YOUR Christmas - what did you get - did you have fun?
Comments (1)I had a very quiet Christmas, and just as well because it was a stinking hot day (35C at 7am!) and there was no energy to breathe, much less anything else. My son and his lady came for breakfast, the first of many visits they had scheduled for the day. This was just fine by me. I got them when they were full of Christmas spirit, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and by the time they left their appetites were ruined for everyone else's food! The best part of the breakfast was that THEY did all the cooking - I just 'supervised' and provided the food. We had a lot of fun and laughter together exchanging our little gifts, and when they left, I was able to recuperate by sleeping most of the day in front of the fan, or beginning to read one of the several books they gave me (from a list I'd prepared of Must Haves). My sleep was, however, disturbed by a number of phone calls from interstate friends, all very welcome. And in the evening a friend visited, ostensibly to watch Dancesport on TV with me (we are both into ballroom dancing), but mostly to escape her rowdy family at home after a mountain of a day. (She often uses my place as a refuge when things get A Bit Much.) In between these interuptions, I had the opportunity of watching all those silly little Christmas shows on TV. You know, Frosty the Snowman, The Little Drummer Boy and so on. I have a sneaking liking for these little things - maybe I'm in my second childhood! All very pleasant indeed, thank you....See MoreBook 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 MoreSpeaking of Book Clubs...
Comments (35)Well, I'm in my book club primarily for the socializing! I would read books anyway. I enjoy the social aspect of discussing books with others, and I really like the women in my group. I realized one day that while I had garden friends, and sewing friends, and friends I used to work with, I knew almost no one who lived the same town as me, despite having lived there for 18 years. I knew that the mother of one of my daughter's friends was in a book club, and asked her if they were taking new members. The rest is history, and I'm having a whale of a time. I'm even reading books I'd otherwise never have encountered on my own. Some I like, some I do not, but it does expand my horizons....See MoreBook club suggestions
Comments (24)Annie, here is our complete list from the 2015 'season' with my assessments:) The Boston Girl - didn't finish it, so boring and cliche I could not take it anymore after first few chapters The Martian - LOVED it! Definitely recommend for a book club; you need not have a smidgeon of technology interest or know how to get sucked into this well written story A Manual for Cleaning Women - I was the only one who finished this book; well written but one of the most depressing books I've read in years (it was my book too!) The Last Chinese Chef - excellent; nice blend of easy reading with some good solid thematic work on families, culture clash, belonging and finding one's passion In the Midst of Life - also very good; a somewhat challenging to find book written by a woman who was a nurse in England in the 50s-60s; deals with death and has a lot of wisdom and a very common sense though caring voice The Nightingale and The Girl on the Train - both popular fave choices. Detested The Nightingale, what a potboiler (romance novelist does WWII, nuff said). Enjoyed TGOT but it was pure formula, done well but nothing to write home about Turn Right at Machu Picchu - wonderful, wasn't at all sure I wanted to read it but a great mix of travel, history and a very funny wry narrating voice...See More- 7 months ago
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