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

[itsfi]

The Sicilian Inheritance by Jo Piazza 

 

Historical fiction, murder mystery

Early 1900s Sicily and modern day East Coast & Sicily

Murder, romance, and drama are set against the backdrop of Sicilian history and culture. There are two protagonists in this novel, each narrating their respective story in alternating chapters.  

Sara Marsala is an American who, to honor the dying wish of her great-aunt Rosie, travels to Sicily to scatter her great-aunt's ashes in the latter's birthplace, to determine whether a deed to Sicilian land in the name of Aunt Rosie's mother is valid, and to look into the death of Serafina Forte, Aunt Rosie's mother. Her story initially starts in present day America but she spends all but a chapter or two in present-day Sicily. 

Serafina Forte's storyline takes place in the fictional Sicilian rural village of Caltabellessa in the early 1900s. We are introduced to Serafina as a 15-year old girl going to visit the town healer with her best friend Cettina, and the book follows her (and to a lesser extent, Cettina) as they grow up and grow older.

The storylines focus on family secrets and a murder, abounding with references to the Sicilian landscape, mafia, culture and cuisine, particularly in the chapters involving Sara's search into the mystery regarding her family's land. There are also  overarching and recurring themes of family (the ones we're born into and the ones we choose), misogyny and feminism (sometimes overgeneralized, imo) in the telling of Serafina's story. Some of the twists and turns can be seen coming; others take you by complete surprise, or it did me, in a good way. 3-1/2 stars. 

Notable Quotes:

Spoiler

"I started as a butcher, so I still think in terms of joints and muscles, the connective tissue of life. Cut the right one and you end up with a perfect steak. Cut the wrong one and the whole system breaks down. The meat falls apart in the places where you want it to stay close to the bone. Once you make that single wrong cut it's nearly impossible to keep everything else intact."

"Cu picca parrau mai si pintiu. Those who speak little never have regrets."

"Oh yeah, I see you and I'm here for all your crap."

Physical book / Kindle vs. audio book: 

I went through portions of this book on my Kindle and portions as an audiobook. I prefer the former. The audio book format is convenient in that it allows for multitasking, but even when I just listened (no multitasking) to the book being read, I didn't feel as engaged with the story or as connected to the characters. I don't know whether it was this story specifically, or this genre of books, or if I just have a natural proclivity or personal preference for books/Kindle. I may try another book in the audio book format next year, maybe something from the James Patterson or John Grisham books @blackkitty2014 shared about this year; or, perhaps The Bourne series that @Samtian mentioned.

Recap: 2024 Books Read

This book is the last one for me this year. I had a goal of reading one book per month and was able to meet and exceed that goal, with 16 books read, all listed in the below spoiler with how I rated the book. I didn't start rating books until part way through the year so I went back and rated the earlier books based on how they stacked up against the latter ones. I haven't decided whether I'll keep to the one book a month next year, but have started a short list of books I'd like to read. A couple of the books folks talked about here are on that list and I'll go through past posts to see if there are any additional books to add to the list. 

Spoiler

5 stars: masterful; highly recommend
🔖  The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
🔖  The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris by Daisy Wood

4.5 stars - almost masterful; recommend
📖  The Love of My Life by Rosie Walsh
📖  Code Name: Helene by Ariel Lawhon

4 stars - Great read, worth your time
📔  The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
📔  First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

3.75 stars - Very good read
📕  The Women by Kristin Hannah
📕  Never Lie by Freida McFadden
📕  The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

3.5 stars - Good 
📗  The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
📗  Absence of Grace by Ann Warner
📗  Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
📗  The Sicilian Inheritance by Jo Piazza

3.25 stars - Has some promising moments
📘  Private Equity A Novel by Carrie Sun
📘  Fifty Words for Rain by Asha Lemmie

3 stars - Okay
📙  A Midlife Holiday by Cary J. Hansson

[Samtian]

@itsfi You've done great! I have been lazy and haven't read for a while haha. I need to get on that. 

[itsfi]

@Samtian, thank you. I feel like my leisure reading isn't ever consistent - there are periods where I just go through book after book after book, and others where it's so painstakingly slow to get through a chapter. With the latter, it's often less the story and more me. 😅 Going to take a break with the holidays and we'll just see what 2025 looks like.

[blackkitty2014]

@itsfi  I really need to catch up on my reading. I said I do that on my vacation during Thxgiving but I was lazy 😂🤣 Let’s see if I can do it on Xmas break. Bookmark all your recommendations ❤️🌹 PS I tried audiobooks from Spotify. It’s hard. I can’t listen to it while doing something else 😂🤣

[itsfi]

@blackkitty2014, you are hardly lazy! Sometimes a vacation just needs to be about unplugging - from work, reading, etc. and just soaking in and enjoying the environment you're in (and the delicious food there, which you did!!!)

I'll give audio books another try but I dunno about trying to multitask while it's playing. 😬 So far, the only activities I've come up with that might be plausible to do while listening to an audiobook are cleaning the house and going through my evening skinare routine. 

[blackkitty2014]

@itsfi Strange that none of my libraries has The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris but looks liked Amazon ebook is 99 cents at the moment…weird. I buy it. Will report back on my progress 😘❤️

[raydomp]

The book club proposal offers an exciting mix of genres, featuring works like *Little Fires Everywhere* and *The Book Thief*. If you're joining, consider sharing insights as you read. For publishing needs, platforms like AuthorHouse reviews could help; explore their reviews on sites like PissedConsumer for informed decisions. Balancing both—engaging in discussions and seeking publishing tips—might enhance your literary journey.

[itsfi]

@raydomp, there are some good titles in the list on the original post. Several members of the Community worked through the list when the post iniitally went up and during the following year. There are a few books on that original post that I may look into for next year. Currently, folks are reading books from a variety of genres(though not necessarily from the above titles) and sharing their thoughts here. If you've read something you'd like to share about, whether or not it's on the list above, we'd love to hear about it. 📚

[itsfi]

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

1920's Europe; present day Dublin

Genre(s): historical fiction; contemporary romance; magical realism

This book is similar to The Midnight Library (which I read earlier in the year after reading @Mellmars1185's review of that book) in that the magical realism elements interwoven in both requires the reader to suspend disbelief to some extent to move on with the storylines. The Lost Bookshop centers on 2 timelines and 3 main characters and their connection to ... wait for it ... a bookshop, with one storyline focused on the life of a woman in Europe in the 1920s and the other on the lives of a man and a woman in present day Dublin.

This is my second book from the magic realism genre and it's lighter on that theme than The Midnight Library which centers on the adventures of one protagonist. I found each of the 3 main characters in this book to be more relatable, and easier to empathize with and relate more to than the protagonist in The Midnight Library, and that kept me more engaged, as did the twist and turns in the storylines in The Lost Bookshop. Their stories contain themes of heartbreak and trauma, along with hope, and the author does a beautiful job of telling their stories.  3-1/2 stars. 

Trigger warning:

Spoiler

This book deals with a handful of potentially sensitive topics, including, but not limited to:

Spoiler

domestic violence

Notable Quotes:

Spoiler

"... books were more than words on paper; they were portals to other places, other lives. I fell in love with books and the vast worlds they held inside..."

"You have to understand, old houses have their quirks. Some things are meant to be flawed. Therein lies beauty." 

"Lost is not a hopeless place to be. It is a place of patience, of waiting. Lost does not mean gone for ever. Lost is a bridge between worlds, where the pain of our past can be transformed into power. You have always held the key to this special place, but now you are ready to unlock the door."

" 'Hope' is the thing with feathers - That perches in the soul - And sings the tune without words - And never stops - at all - "

[Samtian]

Recently I've finished up Bourne Supremacy, from the original Bourne trilogy by Robert Ludlum. I am a big Bourne fan, I love the movies and I read a few books in high school. But that was a long time ago. Way way different the books and movies. Only part similar is the backstory in the first movie and some character names ( I have to go rewatch them). 

Anyways, I did enjoy the books for the most part. I actually had to peak to the back to make sure things turned out ok 🙊. There is a lot of repetition that got tiring. The books were wrote in the 80/90 time period so they can be rough to read. Violence against women and racism and slurs are common themes. 

Reviews for the 3rd book, Ultimatum are not good. But I'll still read it. I also don't like how it's set many years in the future and Bourne is like in his 50's especially since a new author took over. Oh well. 

[itsfi]

@Samtian, it’s interesting that the third book received such poor reviews and the movie with the same title was remarked as being the best in the trilogy. They did say that the plot in the movie is “completely different” than in the book. That seems like taking “creative license” to the extreme. 

[itsfi]

Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon 

Historical fiction. WW II - France (1939 - 1944). 

This is the second book I've picked up from this author; the first, The Frozen River, earned 5-stars from me. The bar was set high going into this book, and while it stumbled slightly with some of its format, the story itself did not disappoint. It was riveting. A must read.

Code Name: Helene is based on the true story of real life Australian-born World War II heroine, Nancy Wake, a journalist, wife, spy, and the most decorated servicewoman of World War II. She joined the French Resistance and later the British Special Operations Executive during the Second World War. The author draws upon the real life activities of Ms. Wake as documented by historians, other writers, and even Ms. Wake herself. Ariel Lawhon does exercise some creative license with dates and details, which she shares in the Afterward - [NOTE: for the sake of the story, I would highly recommend that you not read the Afterward until after finishing book - it'll make for a better read of the book and the afterward.] 

The book is divided into 5 parts, and the chapters are from the point of view of various characters, including Nancy Wake (or one of her aliases) and her wealthy businessman husband, Henri Fiocca, and told in interweaving timelines. It's this latter storytelling element that made me dock off the 1/2 star. I really wanted to give this book 5-stars, but the scattered narratives from different timelines were a distraction - it wasn't uncommon to have one entry or chapter from 1940 (with one section from the point of view of the protagonist and the next narrated by her husband) turn into another chapter that takes place in 1944 told by one of her aliases, and then return to 1940. I was fine when the time period was the same, but it was a different narrator and/or taking place in  different location - that worked exceptionally well in instances where the narrators were in different places. It was when the story switched from one chapter to the next but each chapter related to a different time even it the story pertained to the main character's work during that time (usually under a different code name) that made it hard to follow - 1940 to 1944 (Madame Andree) to 1939 (Nancy Wake) to 1944 (Madame Andree) to 1942 (Lucienne Carlier) to ..." I've no doubt the author had a reason for this approach but for myself personally, I would have preferred the read to be more sequential in time - just that change alone in the structure of how the story was told would have garnered this novel 5 stars. 

This book has a little bit of everything - drama, suspense, humor, a love story. I laughed. I cried. It was a captivating read, made more so because the events talked about in this novel actually happened, and, sadly, similar events are likely happening today. 

  4-1/2 stars. Highly recommend. 

Nancy Grace Augusta Wake (aka Nancy Fiocca) Aliases: 

Notable Quotes:

Spoiler

"I wear my favorite armor ... red lipstick."

"Warm and sweet and rich. Aged vanilla with cloves but woodsy as well, with a hint of cedar and orange peel. It's like bourbon, only better, somehow, as though bourbon got dressed up and went out for drinks."

"Sleep, when I'm able to get it, is like falling into a deep, dark cavern that swallows me whole."

"Luxury is an odd thing. You don't know you have it until confronted with someone else's lack."

"I was never violent before the war - had never harmed so much as a spider. Something has shifted in me, however. It is deep and primal and fearful. I am no longer afraid to use my own hands to render justice. I am no longer afraid. My capacity for hate has also grown. It is deep and virulent ... I am no longer a nice person..."

"There is nothing like machine-gun fire being pelted at your a*se to prove that your gym teacher was correct. You can run faster than you think."

"Sometimes being right isn't as satisfying as I would like it to be."

[blackkitty2014]

My library has this so I reserve it. I have a confession to make… I haven’t read any book since last time I posted on this thread. I’ve been lazy 😂🤣 thx giving just a month away so I hope lots of relaxation and eating and reading during that time @itsfi 

[itsfi]

@blackkitty2014, it's all good. Sometimes we just need a break. Or, life gets busy. Since we're confessing - I'm planning on taking a reading break, maybe an extra week, or two. And then, I may go with a shorter book. I've been finding it takes me longer to get through a book, not because the one I'm working through isn't interesting but distractions happen. Ha!

[Titian06]

@itsfi @blackkitty2014 - I'm reading a book that's only about 250 pages and I skimmed some of it, but I still had to renew it! 🫣  How embarrassing!

[Titian06]

Thanks, @itsfi !  I added this to my library wish list along with Frozen River.  I read I Was Anastasia in 2019.  Apparently it didn't leave an impression because I don't remember it. 😄

[itsfi]

@Titian06, that's the third of the author's historical fiction pieces (and I believe the first one she wrote). For some reason, I haven't been motivated or inspired to pick it up, even though I really enjoyed the other two historical fiction pieces. I may read one of her other non-historical fiction novels, but I have a handful of books I need to work through first. 

[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?