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

[Titian06]

@itsfi - I had a Kindle for years and loved it.  After it bit the dust, I was going to buy another one, but discovered I could read books on my (Android) tablet through my library's app, so I do that instead.  Because I use the library's app, I can read the same book on my phone too.  It's nice to have that option if I forget (or just don't want to) bring my tablet.

[itsfi]

@Titian06, the Kindle has come in handy. It won’t eliminate physical books for me but it’s convenient when I’m traveling. Out of curiosity, how long did you have your Kindle before it gave out?

[Titian06]

@itsfi - I probably had it for a 2 to 2 1/2 years and the original owner who gave it to me for the BIC Book Club probably had it for 3 or so years.  Five plus years altogether????  We both were and are avid readers.  You'll get good mileage out of it!

[itsfi]

That's a great shelf life @Titian06! I went through 4 books on vacation, and am starting a 5th now that I'm back, but am juggling that with a physical book I was working on before I left for my trip. This should be interesting... I've tried 2+  books at a time years ago but it didn't go so well. We shall see. 🤞

[blackkitty2014]

Yay you got a Kindle @itsfi . I’m too cheap to get one but I have the app on my iPad Pro and I love it. One of my library has the link to kindle app so it’s great to look up words in the dictionary or highlight or take notes etc. PS sometimes having a good old fashioned book is great too. We still buy and gift traditional hard copy books 😘

[itsfi]

I like having both physical books and the Kindle @blackkitty2014. I don’t see myself doing away with physical books anytime soon but there are options with the Kindle, like ebooks through the library, etc. 

[greeneyedgirl107]

Kathy Griffin's Celebrity Run-Ins from A to Z.  It wasn't filled with Juicy tidbits.  Disappointing. 

[quspork]

That's disappointing, @greeneyedgirl107. What's the point of a book about celeb run-ins if there's on good gossip??

[blackkitty2014]

Another quick read from James Patterson Micheal Bennett series. I’m debating what to read next. Just too many to choose from. I’m great full that I can borrow so many good reads from my local library. I wish I can transfer my digital copy to my library 

[itsfi]

@blackkitty2014, I have this on my list and am just debating when to start the series - I have a series I've just started and am trying to decide whether I should have more than 2 books to juggle at the same time. 😬

[blackkitty2014]

This series is kinda liked a tv cop show. Not deep thinking nor 5 ⭐️. Still fun read series though @itsfi 

[fatimamummy]

I just finished reading Lessons in chemistry after seeing it in this thread. It was a long library hold before my turn. In general I loved the characters and story. Other than the strong push on religion aspect without much solid logic (at least for me), It is a good read.

 

[Mellmars1185]

@fatimamummy My aunt lent me this book. I have not read it yet. I guess I will have to read it to see if I like it!

[itsfi]

This was my SEPHORiA 2023 NYC reading and what got me back into reading for leisure more so it's got some sentimentality for me. I appreicate that the repetitive "I'm a scientist" statements were probably more to drive home the point that there were not many women scientists at the time the book took place - I really must have blocked it from my memory because I'm just rethinking that with the comments from other BIC readers. In any event, had I known going into reading the book that phrase would be so oft repeated, I might have made a game out of it - buy a lipstick (or other beauty product of choice) every time she says "I'm a scientist."   @fatimamummy @blackkitty2014  Oh my goodness, maybe you could do that @Mellmars1185?!! 😃🛍 Just a suggestion ... 😇

[Mellmars1185]

@itsfi I totally understand what you mean about a book having sentimental value (especially with Sephoria '23). The book I intended to read there was about NYC. When I read it after, the memories came flooding back. I bet you I have a lipstick for every time the word scientist is said in the book...or maybe I am under estimating how many times it is said?! I already have some in my cart for the upcoming sale. I just can't resist.

[fatimamummy]

Hahaha that would have beeen fun @itsfi . I also think the repetition was intentional. Not only to highlight the fact that she was a woman scientist at a time when there weren't many but also to show the extent of misogyny she was continuously facing. She had to keep reminding everyone that she was a scientist and not a chef or a lab attendant or just a pretty girlfriend of a successful man only for the fact to be completely ignored by every man other than Calvin.

[blackkitty2014]

I like this book but I cringe every time I read “I’m a scientist” @fatimamummy 😂🤣

[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!