BIC book club!

[prettyinpa]

Some of us here have expressed an interest in a book club, myself, @mermadelove, @LCResz, @ZombieMetroAnt, @Mcakes. If you'd be interested in joining, reply below. My initial thought was to mail the books around but if it means that some people can't participate, then I'm all for dropping that requirement. I'd love this to be a place where we nominate our favorite book and others can read it and comment. Something fun for the new year!  ETA: the booklist:

1. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (16)
1. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (16)
3. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (13)
4. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (11)
4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (11)
4. Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie (11)
7. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid (10)
7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (10)
7. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (10) Discussion begins 8-13.
7. The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck (10) Discussion begin 9-2.
11. The Fault in our Stars by John Green (9) Time to discuss 9-26
11. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (9) Now discussing below.
11. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (9)
11. What Happened by Hilary Clinton (9) Now discussing below.
11. Fall of Giants by Ken Follett (9) Start reading now.
11. The Woman on the Orient Express by Lindsay Ashford (9)
11. milk and honey by Rupi Kaur (9)
18. A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (8)
18. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (8)
18. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (8)
18. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (8)
18. Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence (8)
18. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (8)
18. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (8)
18. The Paper Magician by Charlie Holmberg (8)
18. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (8)
18. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo (8)
18. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman (8)
18. The White Queen by Phillipa Gregory (8)

Participants in spoiler

Spoiler

Participants:

PrettyinPA

AlexaSteph

Beadshopgirl

LCResz

Kim888

SoBeautiful

Fatimamummy

ZombieMetroAnt

PalomaFoster

k617

bakeamuffin
Susubee
Skcfan
Lazybeautybeast
SpaceLlama
greeneyedgirl107

Mermadelove
Mcakes
Aaliaa
Serenely
Myinsidevoice
MissPuff
juliehnguyen
lmi82
Knowledgebeauty
Titian06
quspork
darlyndar
KellW
misscg
EuniceO
Elles117
ClassicallyFab
ShiraBT
melanito
Heylady14
ChicagoEngineer
Imightneedthis
PrettyPaint
rachface2921

[IndyQT317]

Hey BIC! I'm interested in dropping in, but had a quick question. What is the timetable on reading the book then discussion? A week? For example, if I pick up the Exit West and start to read it would it be too late?

[Titian06]

Hi, @IndyQT317!  Welcome to the book club!  I've been done with the book for a while, but @prettyinpa just got her copy from the library earlier this week.  You're definitely not too late.  Enjoy!

[prettyinpa]

How did you like Exit West, @Titian06? I thought it was really interesting and the writing style so rich. I didn't quite get the part about the doors, was it a metaphor or something?

[Titian06]

@prettyinpa - Here's what the author says about the doors (from an interview on PBS Newshour earlier this year):

So, right now, most of us have a little black rectangle in our pocket or our backpack or our purse. And when we look at it, our consciousness goes far, far away from our bodies, like magically appearing somewhere else, looking at your phone, and suddenly you’re reading about the moon or Mars or Antarctica.

And I thought, what would happen if your body could move as easily as your mind can move? I think technology is obliterating geographic distance. And so the doors in a way give life to that.

I didn't care for the story itself, but I did like how it was written.  I liked that it is narrated with occasional dialog from the characters.  I also liked the sudden shift to a portal scene.  Totally unexpected.  I'm not sure why it is publicized as a "romance"; I did not get romantic anything out of the story except at the beginning of Nadia & Saeed's relationship.  I feel it's closer to, but not quite, sci-fi.  Actually, it boarders on several categories and romance is probably the least controversial.

I found it interesting in how this topic was written in today's environment vs. how this type of topic was depicted (movies, tv, books) during the Cold War.

[fatimamummy]

@prettyinpa My understand is that passing through the doors is a metaphor used for immigration to other countries? As in today’s time ppl from most every country immigrate to other places for jobs, refuge or other purposes. I think that is the theme of this book but I can’t be sure. I would love to know what others think too.

[prettyinpa]

Welcome to the club, @IndyQT317! You can participate in the discussion anytime, I try to have one book per month so people have time to get it from their libraries, so you really have the whole month to discuss while we read the next book on the list. We are very informal here, just jump in anytime.

[IndyQT317]

Great, thank you @prettyinpa

[prettyinpa]

Well, ladies, what did you think about Exit West? I really liked it, the imagery was so full and the conflict was so real.

[prettyinpa]

I got my copy of Exit West from the library today, so we can start discussion on Friday if that's ok with everyone? I should be done by then easily. Can hardly wait, the book review sounds fascinating.

[Titian06]

@prettyinpa (and anyone else) - I'm done with Exit West.

[prettyinpa]

@Titian06  I'm still waiting for my copy on hold to become available at the library. If you ladies want to start the discussion without me, feel free, I can catch up later.

[Titian06]

@prettyinpa - I checked my Kindle Fire to see if I could loan the book to you.  Unfortunately, this book can't be lent.  What a bummer!  The book reads fast, at least it did for me.  It's around 230 pp.

[prettyinpa]

@Titian06-  So what did you think of Death on the Nile?  It was interesting to see the take on stalking in those days vs today. Once again, the plot was pretty predictable, it seemed obvious right from the start that something fishy was going on with the 2 former lovers.

[Titian06]

Hi, @prettyinpa!  It was interesting to read the book again after 40 years.  It was quite similar to the other book.  To me, it was pretty obvious who was involved.  Today's detective shows always say "follow the money."  That's all you had to do.  Since Jacqueline didn't have any money and she was looking for a job for Sam, how was she able to afford to travel all over the world to stalk Sam and Linnet?  You're right about the stalking.  Back then, women were dismissed as "too feeble" to be a problem.  Today, they'd be slapped with a restraining order.  What I found "fishy" was when Jacqueline was drinking in the saloon and Sam decided to stay after playing bridge, Jacqueline insisted upon Cornelia Robson staying.  You just knew something intentional was going to happen that required a witness/alibi.  I still enjoyed the book, just not as much as my teenage self.

[prettyinpa]

Are any of you ladies finished Death on the Nile and ready to discuss?  I just got the book, it took forever to get it from the library. If you want to start discussion without me, that's ok, that way we can move on to the next book and I can finish the Agatha Christie at leisure.

[Titian06]

@prettyinpa - I just started reading it today while waiting to get my hair done.  I was planning to read it this weekend since it's a long weekend.  If others would rather skip and go to the next one, I'm OK with doing that too, though I would prefer to read.

[prettyinpa]

@Titian06-  Since you and I are both reading it,. lets discuss after this weekend when we will both be finished. Everyone else can get started on the next book and we'll all catch up together.

[Titian06]

This works for me, @prettyinpa!

[RachFace2921]

I'll get started on Exit West and meet you ladies back here in a week or two! 

@prettyinpa, @Titian06, @greeneyedgirl107

[greeneyedgirl107]

@prettyinpa I never got around to getting it, and haven't read it before nor have I seen the movie.  SO, I don't think I'll be participating in this one!  🙂

[prettyinpa]

How did everyone like The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo?  I really liked it, it took awhile for me to get used to his style, though I think some of the problem was in that it was translated from Swedish. But the ending, wow! I would have never guessed that ending, I'm starting the Girl Who Played with Fire, the next in the series.