On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family by Lisa See
3 votes
Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu by J. Maarten Troost
1 vote
Carrie brought these in and Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire was chosen as our book for May.
Loved It
3 Liked It
3 Neutral
2 Disliked It
Hated It
Comments:
• This was super cute although at times, I was a little bored. However, at the end, I must admit, I did cry. He has a very conversational style which worked well to tell a series of Marley mishap stories but it just did not read like a novel or a good memoir hence the boredom at times. – danica
• The book did not have so many funny dog stories. The book should have been called “Me, My Wife, Some Kids and Oh, Yeah, We Have a Dog”. – Sarah
• When I remembered that the author is a columnist, it explained why the chapters were so short and choppy. It seemed like he included things about his life because he was writing a book. Sometimes the dog-in-my-life theme was too loosely tied in. I appreciate that he and his family liked their dog, but at the end of the day I didn’t really care. – Kerry
• I could have done without the long descriptions of the breed’s qualities and it dragged out a bit at the end, but as a dog lover and owner of a “bad dog”, I empathized and cried at the end. – Brandi
• I couldn’t get through it. It was just not my thing. – Melissa
• Quick and easy read. Some cute stories. Reminded me of my old dog at times. I would only recommend this to a dog lover, specifically a Labrador lover. – Carrie
• Easy book to get through. Enjoyed most of it, but wanted to read more about the dog. Cried at the end! It’s a good read for animal lovers. – Rachelle
• Really enjoyed the stories about Marley and how he and his wife brought up their family with their dog. Very sad but expected ending. Very easy reading. – Tami
Conclusion: While a fun book for those who have and love dogs, it is definitely not the perfect book club book.
Because it was our 5th birthday, we decided to have gift exchange again and decorate Steph’s tree. It has been a great year with some new members, fun adventures, great books and wonderful conversation.
1 Loved It
3 Liked It
2 Neutral
3 Disliked It
Hated It
Comments:
• I thought the book was easy reading. I enjoyed it. It was fun and very predictable. – Tami
• I thought this book was great. It was fun and written differently. Quick easy book. – Sarah
• Quick was about the only thing good about it. Very generic. The “hate-him, hate-him, love-him” bit is tired. I thought the email thing would be more interesting than it was. – Brandi
• This was such fluff! Girl meets boy, girl hates boy, girl hates boy, girl hates boy and then all of a sudden they are in bed, the end. I am not unhappy that I read this one but it definitely did not enrich my life. What is a greater time suck, this or a video game? It would have been either one so I guess it really doesn’t matter in the end. – danica
• I almost hated it. I finished it but it never got better. I didn’t like the characters, the style, the story… it wasn’t fun or light – just ANNOYING. – Steph
• I haven’t finished it yet, but I’ve been entertained so far. Not a book I’d typically read, but a nice change. – Kerry
• A bit too fluffy from a girl who really likes marshmallows! There was some cuteness, but overall I was glad to have finished. The format had potential, but the story lacked depth. – Marlo
• Obviously too unrealistic. Quick read. Couldn’t relate to or enjoy the characters. Outcome is predictable by back cover. Just didn’t really enjoy it. – Carrie
• I liked the writing style. A fun, easy read. – Melissa
Conclusion: If you like the beach read genre, this book was cute although really formulaic.
Loved It
Liked It
1 Neutral
5 Disliked It
3 Hated It
Comments:
• I was kind of confused about what was going on most of the time. Not enough back story. – Sarah
• Wasn’t interested enough to finish it. – Brandi
• I read both (as promised) but didn’t care for it. – Kerry
• I really much prefer fiction to reading plays. I would rather see a play staged than read one. These two plays did not engage me or draw me in. I read them and don’t remember much about them two days later. – danica
• I barely got through the plays… Just read quickly and prayed for an interesting ending. Sadly, I was disappointed. – Rachelle
• It was not my favorite. I read them in two days but was not pleased. – Tami
• If it had taken more than 2 days, I wouldn’t have finished it. I fell asleep reading multiple times and didn’t even bother re-reading. – Carrie
• Although I finished both plays, I couldn’t wait to be done. Had they been any longer, I would have just given up. I didn’t wonder what the heck was going on and never really found out. – Marlo
• I just didn’t get it. – Steph
Conclusion: It is pretty obvious that we didn’t like this one! These plays won awards etc and maybe we just missed some nuances but still that makes them very non-accessible.
3 Loved It
6 Liked It
Neutral
Disliked It
Hated It
Comments:
• Enjoyable read. – Brandi
• Very impressed by the history. The strength of the female characters – not only in the time period, but having been written by a man was also impressive. – Melissa
• I absolutely LOVED this book! I could not comprehend how a man could write a princess so well. This is probably my favorite in a long time. I can’t wait for his next novel. – Carrie
• This book was amazing. I really enjoyed hearing about the love story of the princess. I didn’t want to put it down. – Tami
• I really liked this book! Couldn’t put it down – the characters, setting and story were wonderful – great writing style. I particularly liked the ending. Can’t believe it was written by a man. – Steph
• What a beautiful novel. The relationships between the characters are so touching and relatable. I knew nothing abut the Taj Mahal and it was a great way to learn about it. These are characters that will resonate with me for a long time, and a book I will likely need to read again. – Marlo
• Phenomenal read. Enjoyed the love story. Great character development. Would recommend it to all. – Rachelle
• Was a very good read. Interesting and never a dull moment. Not any better or worse than other books in this genre. – Sarah
• I really enjoyed this book. I didn’t love, love, love it, but I really, really liked it. The characters were very engaging and believable. At points, I felt a lot of relevancy in today’s world situation concerning religion taken to a militant extreme. The story of being torn between loyalty and love kept me reading to find out what finally happens in the end and I was not disappointed. – danica
Conclusion: We all really liked this book a lot. What made it even better was that John Shors, the author had a conference call with us to discuss it. On top of all of that CBS was doing a story on his involvement with book clubs and they decided to send a camera man out to film us talking with John on speakerphone about the book! So we may be on The Early Show or on the CBS Evening News! If this does happen, I will post some stills from that as well. Again, we would all like to thank John for taking the time to indulge our questions and comments, it was a wonderful treat to be able to discuss this book with its creator. We highly recommend Beneath a Marble Sky for book clubs!
Well, the story aired on November 1st on the CBS evening News with Katie Couric and November 2nd on The Early Show. It is up at CBS.com as streaming video.
And the stills….
Loved It
9 Liked It
Neutral
Disliked It
Hated It
Comments:
• This was such an interesting read. I didn’t realize the horror of the Bolshevik Revolution and really felt for the people who had to build a new life in a foreign place. – Marlo
• I really liked this book. I liked the voice – a very unique perspective and the theme I came away with was one of hope and friendship. No matter where they were, people/strangers risked their lives to help them. – Steph
• This book is so interesting. I know so very little about this and it was so unique to hear about it from a child’s point of view. – Kerry
• It was really different than any other book I have read. Very refreshing. – Sarah
• I liked the book and the bit of history it touches on. It’s prompted me to do research on the web. – Stacey
• I liked the book. It was very interesting to hear about the voyage one needed to take to come to America. – Tami
• This was a really quick read. It is amazing how many people of that generation had similar circumstances just different settings. I grew up hearing these stories and completely related. I found it interesting that it was written from the perspective of a child although it sometimes felt a bit bratty but I understand what the author was trying to accomplish. I also found it really interesting that in all the chaos, the main character, a child, was not really told what was happening and that she was never prompted to talk about what she was experiencing. – danica
• The book was very interesting… especially seeing events surrounding the Bolshevik Revolution from a child’s eyes. – Rachelle
• This book was very engaging. Very interesting point of view. Enjoyed the history. – Brandi
Conclusion: We had a really wonderful time meeting with the author, Rose Saposnek. Everyone read and came very well prepared and I think she enjoyed us as much as we enjoyed meeting with her and her daughter. That is Rose, seated in the middle of the bottom row in the pink shirt.
Loved It
5 Liked It
4 Neutral
Disliked It
Hated It
Comments:
• It was OK. Not a very memorable book. Three weeks after I read it, I couldn’t recall the story. – Sarah
• What I read, I liked, but it made me cry and I couldn’t finish it. – Stacey
• I enjoyed it. It wasn’t my favorite book, but I couldn’t put it down. I enjoyed the way she wrote the characters. – Tami
• I liked it – I just got a little confused. – Steph
• I loved the first chapter. I really enjoyed being inside his head. The rest was okay. Nothing special. – Carrie
• I cried through most of it. I enjoyed the way that the different lives and generations intertwined. – Melissa
• The character of the old man was definitely my favorite. I thought his descriptions of his aging body were beautiful and showed such realism. The story itself didn’t engage me too much as I thought several of the loose ends were conveniently tied up. – Marlo
• I enjoyed it, but I hated the ending, I liked all the writing styles for all the characters. – Brandi
Conclusion: Although not an overwhelmingly success, most made it through the book and that is a triumph these days. There were good elements but they did not add up to a good story.
4 Loved It
4 Liked It
Neutral
Disliked It
Hated It
Comments:
• I really liked this book. I genuinely cared about the main character. – Steph
• This book had so much drama. I loved it. – Sarah
• Liked the book, but it was hard to get into it. – Stacy
• This was a great read. The premise took me absolutely by surprise, but I liked the conflict. I would have liked more development of the romantic relationship. The tattoo was very intriguing and I love anything set in the Renaissance Period. – Marlo
• The historical aspect that was woven through the story – or, rather, the story was woven through the history – was refreshing. The growth of the main character was a driving force. – Mellissa
• I really liked the book. There were times when it slowed down, but once I got into it, I never put it down. – Tami
• I enjoyed the book and especially the development of the main character. It was interesting to watch her growth and understanding through the years. – Carrie
• The prologue hooked me right away and I wanted to see where it was going and how it was going to end up encompassing what was revealed. – danica
Conclusion: I think this was a hit! Everyone read it and most really really liked it.
7 Loved It
3 Liked It
Neutral
Disliked It
Hated It
Comments:
• A fast read – completely engaging with a great story and characters. I’ve recommended it to lots of friends. – Steph
• I enjoyed reading this book. I’ve read so many in this time/place, but learn something every time! – Kerry
• Well written and I loved the way the author painted a picture of the event/story. – Stacy
• Beautiful and touching story. Although on the surface a story of friendship, I really felt it was a love story. – Marlo
• I really enjoyed this book. I loved seeing this culture from the women’s perspective. – Carrie
• Very good read. Loved how it told the history though the characters. -Brandi
• Excellent book… Foot binding fascinated me. Also, the development of characters was thoroughly interestingly. – Rachelle
• This book was so good and interesting! I loved it. Such an easy read. – Tami
• Fun read. This story is more unique than other stories of this genre. – Sarah
Conclusion: Everyone read it, most finished it, everyone really liked it. This is a definite recommendation to other book clubs!
3 Loved It
2 Liked It
1 Neutral
Disliked It
Hated It
Comments:
• It was a really good book, but I would not recommend the extended version. It got a little too political with a rant about Socialism. – Sarah
• I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Except for the end, too political. I couldn’t put it down. – Carrie
• This wasn’t quite the non-stop meat packing horror I expected. It seemed more focused on the plight of the immagrant families and the lack of support in society. Although I liked the storyline of the main character involved in politics, the Socialist commentary at the end was too contrived. – Marlo
• I thought this book was increadibly insightful and still relevant. – Steph
• I thought this book was a really important read – a real look into the life back then. Makes me glad to be a vegetarian – Brandi
Conclusion: We sure had a chatty book club and didn’t even get down to business until 9PM. I think we all miss each other and the time was well spent even though we weren’t discussing the book as much. We did get down to it at the end and we all had similar feelings as demonstrated in the comments.
Loved It
1 Liked It a Lot
3 Liked It
1 Neutral
2 Disliked It
Hated It
Comments:
• The writing style was too muh like A Million Little Pieces to really get into it. – Sarah
• I really enjoyed this book. Would have said “Loved It” but got sick of the long monologues. Paragraghs and sentences are not meant to be 2 pages long. – Carrie
• I have only read the 1st few chapters. What else is new? So far, it’s good. – Tami
• The relationship between the brothers was very touching. I loved the silly games that were described and how they were so rude to each other, yet there was so much love between them. I enjoyed the first half of the book much more than the second. – Marlo
• I didn’t really like the stream of consciousness narrative. I was kind of worn out by A Million Little Pieces and for this to be only a month after, I was burnt out. Nonetheless, I did read it and finish it almost as a challenge although I was annoyed most of the way through. – danica
• Didn’t quite finish but… got sick of the MTV interview part, otherwise enjoyed the story. I’ll finish it eventually. – Brandi
• The best part of the book was the title. I read the whole thing, but never got into it. Found it boring. – Steph
Conclusion: Not an overwhelming success. I think the comments pretty much cover how we all felt.
1 Loved It
1 Liked It
1 Neutral
1 Disliked It
Hated It
Comments:
• It was an interesting story, but only got really good at the end. – Sarah
• Didn’t read it : ( – Steph
• Recommended it – I really enjoyed this story. I especially enjoyed the perspective of the little girl. It was well written and truly conveyed an eight year old experience. – Marlo
• Started it today : ( First 40 pages look good. Hope to finish it next week. – Tami
• Quick, easy read. Enjoyed it through the read, but towards the end changed my mind. – Carrie
• Neither loved it nor hated it, it was just kind of there. It took me longer to read than it should have. There were elements that I did enjoy but on a whole, it was OK. – danica
Conclusion: We ended up having a fairly small book club meeting. We spoke about the book briefly and ended up mostly socializing and talking about movies.
Loved It
3 Liked It
2 Neutral
1 Disliked It
Hated It
Comments:
• Wild ride. Interesting even if not true. What do you expect a drug addict, criminal to tell the truth??? – Sarah
• Fun to get in his head. But never really believed certain details. – Carrie
• I enjoyed reading this, although I did find some parts questionable. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel. – Marlo
• This book was enjoyable BECAUSE I knew it wasn’t all true… It was a novel, to me. – Brandi
• Enjoyed the book. Some of it is not believable. Enjoyed it as a story. – Tami
• I don’t feel any better for having read it and because of its inauthenticity, the message of triumph does not shine through as it must have once done. – danica
Conclusion: While the debate raged on about truth and lies, we did have a good discussion. If not about the subject matter, than about what the term “Memoir” means.
Loved It
2 Liked It
1 Neutral
1 Disliked It
1 Hated It
Comments:
• I read this a couple of years ago and don’t remember being impressed. – Marlo
• Hard to get into, but got better. I didn’t really like the main character – kind of irritating. – Carrie
• Stupid from the start. Waste of your time. – Sarah
• I didn’t get a chance to read it. : ( – Steph
• Liked what I read, but didn’t finish it… wanted to, though. -Brandi
• It took me forever to read it. I was only interested in the characters and the story in the middle section – the rest was just a time suck. – danica
Conclusion: It seemed like most of us didn’t get to finish it – whether we lost interest or everyday life stuff just got in the way. The few of us that did make it to the end, were not wholly impressed. Book club ended up being mostly about business and socializing this time – we did have a lot to figure out and discuss other than the book.
1 Loved It
4 Liked It
1 Neutral
1 Disliked It
1 Hated It
Comments:
• If you’re a socialist, you would like it. – Sarah
• Liked some parts of it. But overall, I didn’t enjoy it! – Sonia
• Read it twice in a row! Good sound bites still ring in my head. – Kerry
• I can’t get enough of Kurt Vonnegut – he’s one of my favorite writers of all time. – Steph
• A surprisingly fun read. I enjoyed his wry humor and shots at the administration. – Marlo
Conclusion: Most liked it and we discussed it a bit, but we didn’t have an AMAZING discussion. I think a lot of us didn’t feel like getting into a strong political debate so we just discussed a few different passages.
Because it was our 4th birthday, we decided to have gift exchange and decorate Kerry’s tree. It must be mentioned, Brandi left early and Lilac couldn’t move, therefore both are not in this picture.
1 Loved It
2 Liked It
1 Neutral
1 Disliked It
1 Hated It
Comments:
• Was interested in this cult before, good insight into what it was like living it. – Lilac
• A complete waste of tim. Reading the mundane details of someone’s childhood who you couldn’t care less about. – Stephanie
• The subject matter held my interest, but the writing style was rather dry. I would have liked to see some sort of evolution of character or mindset. – Marlo
• Was an interesting look at this boy’s life. – Sarah
• More a glimpse into the author’s life than an in-depth loook at the cult, but it was still an enjoyable read. – Brandi
• I wanted something more, but not sure what that “more” would be. I was left unsatisfied. – danica
Conclusion: Wow, we could not agree on this one at all. We also didn’t have much to say about it and didn’t even want to do the reading group questions.
