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

[fatimamummy]

@blackkitty2014  And she said it a lot 😂

[itsfi]

@fatimamummy @blackkitty2014 I think I've blocked out how often that was said. I have a vague memory of a couple of lines / themes being repeated, but I really think I blocked out the frequency and volume of that particular one. 🤣

[itsfi]

The Women by Kristin Hannah

Historical fiction. Mid 1960s to Early 1980s. Vietnam War and its aftermath.

I added this to my list of books to read this year after seeing @Cissy63 post about it here. Overall, a good read, but I have mixed feelings about this one.  

The book is divided into two parts - the first, in my opinion, is the better of the two - stronger character arcs and development, fewer missed opportunities to delve deeper into a compelling topic. It's not that the second part is bad, per se; it actually touches on some interesting post-war topics, including the experiences of the servicemen and servicewomen during and after their re-entry to the US and their efforts and experiences to re-integrate into civilian life. Where it falters, in my mind, is that it seems to race through them (possibly because the author does as the second part takes place more than halfway through the entire book), telling the reader what to hear or know about it rather than showing its audience the depth and breadth of that experience from various characters' perspective, or even peeling back in greater detail the layers of those experiences and perspectives. That said, the book was fine; there were sections and storylines that I felt could have received less page space, or none at all, but overall, a good read. 

Notable Quotes:

Spoiler

"Be the best version of yourself."

"If she had learned anything during her tour, it was this – say what you meant while you could."

"Canada. You know you’re doing something wrong if you piss them off."

"Frankie had thought the passage of the Civil Rights Act was a triumphant end. Barb had shown her that it was a fragile beginning."

[Cissy63]

@itsfi  I’m glad you decided to pick this one up!  As I was a VA nurse practitioner some of this was hard to read.  I could see my Vietnam vets through the whole book.  At some points I just had to put it down for awhile.  Like you I would have liked to see more of the issue’s,  brought up in the later chapters, given more details.  But all in all I enjoyed reading it!

[ElliottR]

Let me know what to do next! Interested! 

[itsfi]

@ElliottR, welcome! Just jump right on in like you did with your post. If there’s a book you  are currently reading, let us know. If there’s one you’ve read, share your thoughts on it (just maybe keep from spoilers about the book). If someone has posted about a book, feel free to comment or reply to their post with questions, additional comments, etc. 

[jadeNY]

Is this still going on? I love to read and I have plenty of recommendations! And will take any recommendations!!! 
the power by Naomi Alderman  

(they do have a series of it on prime which is pretty darn good I I do say so myself. I'm assuming they're coming out with a second For obvious reasons)

The testament by Margaret Atwood 

which is the sequel to handmaid's tale. I am enjoyed it very much

[itsfi]

Yes @jadeNY, BIC book club is still going. 📚 Welcome! The original post includes a list of books that folks were working through when this thread started, but we're at a point where there's no reading list other than one you've made for yourself 😁 or books you may read based on the recommendations or reviews of people here. Though you are certainly more than welcome to use the list in the original post if you're interested.

[blackkitty2014]

I finished these 2 sometimes last week. The Handmaid’s Tale is not for me. Good writing though but I guess I keep waiting for the strike back or escape plan but that never come. I have the 2nd book in reserved but I doubt I will read it. 3 inch teeth by CJBox is a fun read. If you like murder mystery but in the Wild West setting you would love this. I read the whole series since last year.

[fatimamummy]

@blackkitty2014  Handmaid’s tale second book “The Testament” is all about back ground of what lead to handmaid’s tale and then the strike back you were expecting in book one. Without giving too much spoiler, It is set in the past and future of original story.

That being said I actually like the ambiguity in original story. I didn’t like second book mostly because it was extremely predictable. I was able to guess all the big reveals way before they were revealed in the book. I felt it was a commercial decision to write second book for the benefit of TV show but that are just my two cents. I know many ppl loved the second book and the author actually won some awards/prizes for it. 

[blackkitty2014]

Thx for letting me know @fatimamummy . I might read it if the 2nd one about strike back 😘 Too many books too little time 

[Mellmars1185]

I am currently reading The Push by Ashley Audrain. I picked it up at a Thrift Store. They have some great deals on books! Well this one is a page turned for sure. It is like nothing I have read before.

 

[WinglessOne]

Taking a break from the Remembrance of Earth’s Past series to reread (for the kabillionth time) one of my favorite books ever: 

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. My old paperback’s held up amazingly well, considering how old it is and how many times I’ve reread it.

I first read this in middle or high school (don’t recall which) and fell in love with it. I’ve occasionally reread it throughout the 4 decades since then. It’s a comfort zone for my brain. It was also my intro to Gabriel Garcia Marquez and magical realism. Some people find the story complicated because of the family names repeated across generations, among other things. If that kind of thing bothers you, then this book will annoy you. It doesn’t bother me. Heck, I have parts of this book memorized. 😂 And so much of the imagery is forever stuck in my head, ready for recall. 

Netflix is releasing a TV series based on this novel, and that worries me a bit. I’ll be kinda sad if they botch this story. I don’t expect a fully faithful retelling, but I hope they don’t change… let’s just say, integral parts of the story. I’m still deciding whether or not to watch it when it’s available this year. 

EDIT: ha, I just noticed this novel’s on the original book list for this thread. Makes sense: it’s an amazing classic, written by one of the best authors to have ever lived. 

[makeitup305]

@WinglessOne I love this book. I haven’t reread it since I originally read it in high school but the imagery always stayed with me. I love the magical realism. Have you read “Like Water for Chocolate” by Laura Esquivel? It’s not as intense as OHYOS but I enjoyed it as well. I’m worried about the show as well. I’m wondering how they’ll go about it.

[WinglessOne]

@makeitup305  Magical realism is one of my favorite genres, partly because I’ve been a big fan of myths, fairytales, and folklore (from all cultures) since I was a little kid. I’ve read Like Water for Chocolate (and seen the movie) and mostly enjoyed it, but not as much as Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s work—though to be fair, I’ve read nearly all of his translated novels and short stories vs. just one of Laura Esquivel’s, so this isn’t what I’d call a truly fair comparison. Still, I do like Esquivel’s writing style. 

I also read Isabel Allende’s House of the Spirits and could barely get through it. To me, it felt like a Garcia Marquez knockoff; seemed like Allende was trying too hard with it. Eh, some folks love that book though. 

Toni Morrison’s Beloved also falls under the magical realism genre, and that’s a fantastic book. Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is another good one, along with his other work. There are so many good examples of the genre out there. 

[blackkitty2014]

I bookmark this book @WinglessOne . Thx you 🌹

[blackkitty2014]

@itsfi  I just finished this. I was struggling thru the first third of the book. I thought I couldn’t finish it. But it picked up on the 2nd third and voila I finished the last 2/3 within a day. 😂🤣  I like it. Warning: a bit tear jerker at the end. Okie I will zip can’t give it away. You will like this I think. Stalking The Love of My Life to see if it will be available at my library or whether it’s on sale on Amazon 😘

[peculiarzmakeup]

I might just have to order this! What a neat read 🫶 @blackkitty2014 

[blackkitty2014]

Check out your local library @peculiarzmakeup . They might have it. Please let me know how do you like it @peculiarzmakeup 🥰

[peculiarzmakeup]

That is such a coincidence I have a library right across the street literally 20 seconds away by foot haha It would give me something to do, I will 🫶 @blackkitty2014 

[greeneyedgirl107]

Just finished this...

 

If you liked the series then it's worth looking into.  I don't think I would have enjoyed the book had I not watched (most) of the series.