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

[Samtian]

@itsfi Ooh those are good quotes! Sounds like a good book, I do hate timeline jumps. 

[itsfi]

There were some great quotes to choose from @Samtian. I usually pare down the number of quotes to a just a fewe but I really enjoyed these and decided to forego another round of edits with the quotes.

I tried hard to keep track of the different storylines to connect them in my mind based on time, chronologically. Then, at some point, I just gave up and read on through without even thinking about where in the timeline a chapter fell. I mean, in that regard, the woman on which the story is based lead an interesting and adventure-filled life but I couldn't tell you what happened when or which alias she was using or which spy organization she was a part of at any time. 🤣 

[KrissySM]

Just finished reading The Only One Left by Riley Sager. This book has received a great deal of positive reviews, but mine may be a bit more critical.

I appreciated Sager’s writing. I found the book to be well written and it’s why I’d give it an overall rating of three stars out of five. 

However, I think what I disliked about the book is what many enjoyed. I find the issue with many books in the thriller/mystery/suspense genres is that it’s too predictable. Either that or it’s so outlandish it’s no longer easy to suspend disbelief. The Only One Left feel slightly into the latter. While the outcome wasn’t predictable, it seemed like Sager kept throwing wrenches in to make it more shocking, but it got to the point where I was just like okay, let’s wrap it up now. 

While my reviewing isn’t as enthusiastic as many others, I would recommend this book if you’re looking for a relatively good suspense. I just wasn’t crazy about the ending, but that is typically the case for me with these books. 

Anyone else read this? What were your thoughts? 

 

[Titian06]

I read this one over the weekend.  I'm watching the series on PBS and wanted to read the book since I knew there would be differences.

[blackkitty2014]

Bookmark this @Titian06 😘

[itsfi]

@Titian06, I looked up the book and read up a little on the plot; it sounds like a good series. 🔍

[itsfi]

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

This falls in the thriller / mystery / suspense genre. A quick-and-easy read, I finished it over the course of a couple of days, but if you have the inclination and the time, I can see this taking just a day to get through. This was my book of choice for my trip to Atlanta, GA last month. After hearing that  both @fatimamummy and @jaaayp like this novel, how could I not reach for it?! 

In my mind, this is an ideal book to read on vacation - it's not overly deep in its plot or subject matter, but there's enough meat / substance to the storyline that it hooks your interest and keeps your mind engaged with its twists and turns, without making it too heavy or complicated to follow. The story is well written and the characters are nicely developed and layered.

The author writes the main character and her actions honestly, matter-of-factly, and effectively - it is clear that most of our protagonist's undertakings are criminal, but even as the reader spends several parts of the book questioning the central character's actions and trying to deduce her ultimate end game, the reader also finds themselves (or, at least this reader did) hoping she not only comes out of it unscathed, but with a happy ending;  or, at least as happy an ending as one in her situation could have.

- this one is worth reading. 📚

Notable Quotes: 

Spoiler

“There’s an old saying: The first lie wins. It’s not referring to the little white kind that tumble out with no thought; it refers to the big one. The one that changes the game. The one that is deliberate. The lie that sets the stage for everything that comes after it. And once the lie is told, it’s what most people believe to be true. The first lie has to be the strongest. The most important. The one that has to be told.”

“...blunt honesty has more value than blind worship.”

“Don't forget who is a friend and who is a foe. And don't forget, sometimes a person can be both.”

"The pig gets fat but the hog gets slaughtered."

[greeneyedgirl107]

@itsfi I saw this at Target and the title intrigued me.

[itsfi]

@greeneyedgirl107, the title is what initially caught my attention. 👍🏼 

[alexasteph]

@itsfi This one piqued my interest when I was browsing some Kindle Unlimited books. I should definitely consider it then! 

[itsfi]

@alexasteph, it’s one of those books to keep on your list of books to read. 

[Samtian]

My sister-in-law took me to Southern Utah earlier last month. I've been before but she wanted to see stuff and just take a trip anyways. Picked these books up at the National Parks/Red Canyon Visitor Centers. 

I forgot this one in her car so I grabbed a picture from the internet.

[itsfi]

Ohhh, the photos on the cover of the book on Utah's national parks are captivating @Samtian! I'm hoping you had a chance to visit one or more of them, and to take photos of your own! 📸

[Samtian]

@itsfi Thank you! It's about 8-10 hour drive to those parks from my house so I've been to them all. But I need to explore them all and someday I really want to save up to do a photography workshop in those areas to learn how to get the pictures I want. 

[Titian06]

@Samtian - A great way to remember your vacation and to learn something new. 📚

[Samtian]

@Titian06 Thank you!

[itsfi]

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

This book asks the question "Can love make a broken person whole?" Literally, this is the first thing written on the inside jacket sleeve. It's actually what drew me to purchase the book. 

Love in "Hello Beautiful" covers many facets of love - familial love, love between friends, and romantic love. The book deals with mental health, the function of family (as well as its disfunctions), and how these elements can affect how we see the world and our relationships. 

Each of the main characters is broken in some way, with that brokenness being more recognizable in some than others. The book, in that regard, provokes thought and offers insights that transcend more than just a character's storyline. To some extent, the reader might find a little of themselves in a few of the characters and that, in my mind, is what makes this book a worthwhile read. The storylines themselves, though, may lose some people's attention, or cause it to wane. There were a couple of instances that made me pause and wonder if or how I might continue to try to relate or empathize with one or more of the protagonists in the novel, or to even continue that particular story arc. That said, overall, i give this book 3-1/2 stars. 

NOTE: The book makes several, and I mean, several, references to basketball and Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. If neither is your thing, this book may not be either. I'm good with both, though, to be fair, I could have done with less of the characters saying how much they or other characters were like the sisters in Little Women. Tell me once or twice, and then just go on with the story and let me draw that conclusion (or not) myself. 

Notable Quotes:

"We look out the window, or into ourselves, for something more."

"Sometimes words were like pebbles thrown against a window, and what she was reaching for was the window itself."

"Adults are idiots. My goal is to grow up and not be an idiot"

"Excellent goal,"

"For a time, ... knew me better than I know myself. I think sometimes...we need another pair of eyes. We need the people around us."

[KrissySM]

@itsfi I absolutely loved Hello Beautiful. 

[itsfi]

@KrissySM, did you have a favorite character(s)?

[Samtian]

@itsfi I think Chatgp could learn from you. You write everything so well. I love how you include the quotes. 

[itsfi]

Awwwwhhhh ... I'm feeling flattered and very shy about that compliment; blushing. 😊 Thank you @Samtian for your kind words and praise. I don't think I'm deserving of them, but it's very good of you to say. I love words (word choice, their meaning, how they're strung together, the thoughts or feelings they may evoke, etc.) so it's fun for me to include quotes in my review - it can be challenging to pick ones that don't give away too many things about the story or narrowing down the amount to include.