Babes with Brains Book Club

0 Loved It
2 Liked It
0 Neutral
2 Disliked It
1 Hated It

Comments:
• I couldn’t get through it, so I don’t know if it got better, but I found the author annoyingly opinionated and biased and unorganized. I felt like I kept re-reading the same thing. – Steph
• While the subject matter is very interesting and important to be written about, I found her tone very militant. I feel like the evolution of feminism has been freeing up the ability for women to chose many paths. It’s this ability to chose that is the prize of the all the hard fought battles of our predecessors, allowing many choices instead of one militant counter. The tone felt exclusive instead of inclusive and that really upset me. – Danica
• Very comprehensive, covers history, sociology, all classes and situations. I thought she presented a good description of changing demographics in today’s society. – Kerry
• The book was self indulgent and was clearly not written to forward a feminist agenda or seriously discuss single women. This book, can only appeal to people who think the same way as her. – Sarah
• I enjoyed the overview of history and current events and some of the points. For me, personally I really enjoyed the idea of studying and exploring this concept of women without the shaping of men. – Chelsea

3 Loved It
3 Liked It
1 Neutral
0 Disliked It
0 Hated It

Comments:
• Still reading the book, half way through and enjoying it. – Vicki
• I started the book and plan to finish it. I saw the movie and really enjoyed it. – Tami
• I couldn’t get into it. I didn’t really like Mark’s voice. – Steph
• Love it and love the voice on Mark, just the right amount of science, pop culture and heat. – Chelsea
• Enjoyed the book, glossed over some of the science. Very quick read. – Carrie
• I really liked the book. The only part that is a far reach was the ending. The science part of the book is really fun. – Sarah
• I loved this book. My suspension of disbelief was there throughout because of the wins and losses in getting off the planet. I liked the character and his coping mechanisms. It made me think about exploration, isolation and the spirit of humanity in a crisis situation. – Danica

0 Loved It
3 Liked It
2 Neutral
1 Disliked It
0 Hated It

Comments:
• The book was very easy to read, finished it in 2 days. However, not sure how I felt about it. Didn’t really stay with me. – Carrie
• I enjoyed the story and characters. I especially enjoyed how women lived in the time period. – Kerry
• I enjoyed the time period, as Kerry said. I learned some things about the historical time that it takes place in & I liked the tone that she sets. That being said, not special. – Chelsea
• It was boring and I just did not care. – Sarah
• I really liked the main character and her story and all of the issues that the book touched on like history, religion, women’s rights, challenges and health. I was sad when it ended. – Steph
• With my expectations being really high because I loved The Red Tent so much, I was greatly disappointed. I felt like we were  hitting the highlights of the 20th century, going from one historical event to another without really caring about or engaged in the characters lives. Because of this it felt disingenuous. – Danica

0 Loved It
4 Liked It
0 Neutral
0 Disliked It
0 Hated It

Comments:
• I was very intrigued by this book. Both by the science (though often over my head) and by the human story. – Carrie
• I read it a couple of years ago. I though it was very interesting and thought provoking. – Kerry
• I have really enjoyed reading this book – and I intend to finish it. It is very upsetting though and this is a whole world that I really didn’t know about before. The “cell culture” is new to me. – Steph
• I enjoyed the science and that it asked the moral question of what happens to your medical samples once their original intended direct personal testing is done. – Danica

3 Loved It
1 Liked It
0 Neutral
0 Disliked It
0 Hated It

Comments:
• I have loved this book since the 1st time I read it and the 4th time was great. – Chelsea
• I liked this book more than I thought I would. It was action packed and really fun. – Sarah
• I loved this book and can’t stop talking about it to anyone who loves 80’s or nerd culture. – Danica
• I liked this book. I found the characters relatable and the book fast paced. Loved all the 80’s references. Sometimes the tech was a little hard to follow. – Carrie

0 Loved It
3 Liked It
1 Neutral
0 Disliked It
0 Hated It

Comments:
• I didn’t like it as much as I did after reading it the first time. The first and last third of the book was really slow, but the middle was great. – Sarah
• I liked everything about this book! It was beautifully written and the story and characters were so compelling and thoughtful. I think it will lead to a great book club conversation about women, society, life, etc. – Steph
• I agree with both Steph & Sarah. I didn’t like it as much as I did the first time when I was 13. Bt the middle part was so compelling as a 21st century adult woman, it’s a little surreal – Chelsea
• I somehow never read this and completely don’t remember the movie, even though I know I’ve seen it. The story was fresh for me and I liked it. The religious restraint and societal constriction on women was not unknown to me but still surprising and unnerving nontheless. – Danica

0 Loved It
6 Liked It
1 Neutral
0 Disliked It
0 Hated It

Comments:
• I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. It is a really cute grumpy old man story and was funny. – Sarah
• I enjoyed this book. It was sweet and kept my interest – a little unbelievable – but still OK with me. – Steph
• Fast and easy read. Feel good story. Predictable but fun. – Carrie
• I found some of the characters interesting but didn’t love the overall story. – Shannon
• Very fast enjoyable read. I found the characters fun. – Vicki
• Very fast. Finished it. Woohoo! Enjoyed it! – Tami
• This book held my interest and I thought it was very cute and fun. I found myself telling people it was so French and cute which intrigued them. – Danica

0 Loved It
0 Liked It
1 Neutral
4 Disliked It
0 Hated It

Comments:
• This is it? That was what this all built up to? I was so disappointed. – Danica
• I didn’t like anything about this book. I think the contradictions were meant to be clever or funny  but I didn’t find them so. – Steph
• I usually like odd books like this, but I found that I just did not care. None of the characters were relatable. – Sarah
• Really hard to get into and follow. First half was slow and boring. I finally got interested toward the end, but overall not impressed. – Carrie
• I agree with Carrie, the first half just plodded along and I didn’t think the payoff was worth it. I think it is probably more successful as a podcast. – Chelsea

2 Loved It
3 Liked It
0 Neutral
0 Disliked It
0 Hated It

Comments:
• I read this in high school and was so excited to re-read it. It did not disappoint! – Carrie
• It was a very interesting book. Well written, through at times a bit too detailed. – Kerry
• I read this book every few years. It is always really good and interesting. I wish the author would do an update based on the most recent outbreaks. – Sarah
• I though this was so very interesting. I learned a lot – glad to have read this. – Steph
• I loved this and found it infinitely interesting, especially in light of the latest outbreak in the last few years. It made me think about a much larger picture of our viral past and our overpopulated future. – Danica

0 Loved It
1 Liked It
4 Neutral
1 Disliked It
0 Hated It

Comments:
• Most of the story I just didn’t care. It could have been way shorter. – Sarah
• I enjoyed the story. By the end of the Fates story I was interested to read the Furies. – Kerry
• I was indifferent to most of it and just wanted to make it through to the end. The prose getting real tricky and then going in and out really bothered me. The main idea that stuck with me was that of a creative partnership and what lengths you will go to for your partner to be successful. – Danica
• I only read half and couldn’t understand why it was so one-sided. Then, I got to the Mathilde part – but by that time I didn’t care! – Steph
• I agree with the previous statements. In the beginning I just didn’t care. Then I didn’t like them and I didn’t care. But I was drawn in enough to finish. – Carrie
• Some shining moments with language and imagery, I really enjoyed the plays. Not a lot to like in the characters. – Chelsea

1 Loved It
4 Liked It
1 Neutral
0 Disliked It
0 Hated It

Comments:
• The start was a little slow and the end was abrupt, but I really enjoyed the middle. – Sarah
• I liked the book, interesting concept and easy to read. Thought the author managed the 2 story lines well. However, I didn’t really like or relate to the characters. – Carrie
• An interesting take on the Freaky Friday paradigm. I liked the concept and some of the execution but I enjoyed his other books way more. – Danica
• I was surprised that the book really ended growing on me; especially the characters. I thought the writing was really compelling. – Chelsea
• It kept me interested enough to read to the end, but I like Brenner’s other books better by far. – Kerry

0 Loved It
6 Liked It
0 Neutral
0 Disliked It
0 Hated It

Comments:
• I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. Some parts were not great but overall the book was good. – Sarah
• I am enjoying it. Not finished. – Tami
• Really enjoyed reading this familiar topic with a new perspective. – Kerry
• Really enjoyed getting to know these characters so well. I like the layout of the book and the story. – Carrie
• I liked this story and the structure of the writing. I could have done without the epilogue but I enjoyed how the characters collided. – Danica

0 Loved It
0 Liked It
3 Neutral
0 Disliked It
0 Hated It

Comments:
• Couldn’t get into it. – Carrie
• Tried – couldn’t get into it. – Tami
• I did not love it as a whole, but there was small parts here and there that I really liked. – Sarah
• There were elements about the world that Dick builds that I really liked and only one of the story lines I felt was compelling. I understood their place in setting up the story but I still couldn’t fully become engrossed. – Danica

0 Loved It
0 Liked It
2 Neutral
3 Disliked It
0 Hated It

Comments:
• The story dragged and there were too many characters, but I was brought right back to my childhood reading her writing again. – Kerry
• I was really looking forward to reading the book as Judy Blume was one of my favorite authors growing up. The book fell short of my expectations. Too many characters and they had no appeal. Could have been shorter, very slow. – Vicki
• This was a marathon with no payoff for me. It went on and on about a story I was once excited about until I actually read it… – Danica
• Another book I finished. It was an easy read. Hard to follow at first, with so many characters. But, I enjoyed her writing as a kid and it felt nice reading her writing again. – Tami
• I was really boring and I just did not care. – Sarah