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

[blackkitty2014]

I doubt that I would finish any book today. But for 2023 I finished 25 books. Most of them are about 350 pages. It’s hard to pick which ones my favorite. The newly released I read is Stephen King Holly which is probably the best is Holly series. For the worst book I don’t know if I should pick Stephen King If It Bleeds or David Baldacci 6:20 Man. I probably pick David Baldacci 6:20 Man for my worst read of the year. I don’t like his writing style for this series and therefore it’s tough to finish the book. 

[makeitup305]

I am a reading FIEND. I mostly read romance (it's my escape). I'm known to be up until the wee hours if the book is good. The last book I read that I would recommend if you're into fantasy and a slow burn is The Road of Bones by Demi Winters. It was unexpectedly good, since I had never read anything from her. 

[Mellmars1185]

*Update* I finished reading In Five Years by Rebecca Serle. It was really good and I have not read a book like it. I could relate to the majn character in many ways. Highly recommend. The paperback is on sale on Amazon right now too.

[blackkitty2014]

I’ll bookmark it @Mellmars1185 👍

[itsfi]

Finished Lessons in Chemistry a couple of weeks ago. It was recommended to me by a business associate. It has some great laugh-out-loud throwaway lines, profound quotes, and witty observations, many of which I underlined to go back to (and I have) because I enjoyed them so much or found them thought-provoking. A couple include: 

"Take a moment for yourself ... Every day."

"Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun." This is a quote from Marcus Aurelius in the book. 

I love reading but don’t have too many opportunities to do so outside of more technical material or work related books, some of which are also very good and worthwhile. This was my airplane book for the last few months. Started it on my trip to NY and finished it during a work trip earlier this month. I want to watch the TV series at some point when I have more time.

Need to decide what to read next. Will go through the posts to see if anything piques my interests. 

[Sunnysmom]

Great to know @itsfi ! Mine is sitting here (along with wayyy too many others that I have high goals to read soon… sure. 🤦🏻‍♀️😭 Doesn’t seem to happen often enough sadly. 🥹)  Like many I’ve heard the book is maybe a bit better than the series but I will watch it too I’m sure! Yes to the new book smell @blackkitty2014 !

[itsfi]

It’s amazing how quickly they can pile up, isn’t it @Sunnysmom? I guess the same could be said for lipsticks, nail polish, highlighter, blush … ha! ummm, we’re consistent in that regard. 😂 

I’m usually of the mindset that books are better than the adaptations for TV or film, but there are a handful of instances where both mediums are beautifully done! Hope you are able to find some spare time this or next year to get through one or two books. 🤞🏼 

[Sunnysmom]

That is such a truthful parallel @itsfi ! 😭 All those categories!  I used to just plough through books so quickly , it just bums me out how I always seem to find other stuff to do. Goals for this year and next! Very true about adaptations. Some are so great. (My Brilliant Friend comes to mind!) Also why I don’t like to read many reviews! 

[itsfi]

Same @Sunnysmom. I loved reading; still do, just a lot less time for it. Oh, I’ve not heard of My Brilliant Friend (or maybe I have and forgot about it??); will have to look it up. Pride and Prejudice comes to mind when I think about a marvelous read and a well done screen adaptation. ♥️

[Sunnysmom]

Oh do @itsfi ! Elena Ferrante’s 4 part books. Darkish but also so good about a lifelong friendship between 2 girls in Italy. I’m still waiting on the last part to come out! 😭 HBO etc. P and P is just amazing! I can read/watch it in every version forever! 

[itsfi]

Yes, I like the BBC series with Colin Firth and the movie version with Keira Knightley. Both were well done. 😍

[blackkitty2014]

Oh I see this at top seller book over Amazon @itsfi . I also understand how we never had time to read anything besides work or career related. I enjoy reading and been saying I will pick up my reading again after college but not until this year. Better 20 something years late than never right. 🤣😂 I might check that out after finish Stephen King Holly series and CJ Box Joe Pickett series.PS I see you still read book the right way 😂🤣 I’m kindle-ing everything now but I miss the new book smell. 😘

[itsfi]

oh my goodness @blackkitty2014, I hear ya on that new book smell. 😍 I have a kindle (I think it's a kindle?) and audio books as well but I do love the old fashioned book. I try to switch back between different mediums. I like the eco-friendliness and portability of a kindle and the ease of audio books, but they have their cons too - I try to limit my screen time (especially at times when I'm in front of a computer so much that I pull out pair of glasses to help, which has been far too often of late) and something like a kindle doesn't help with that. While there are some great voices with audio books (hello, James Earl Jones!) I do love being able to mark up a well loved passage, whether underlining favorite quotes or jotting down notes. 💗 I know, I'm a big nerd, unashamedly so. 

I used to read for leisure all the time blackkitty2014, before I went away to college and even then, I'd get in a book or two for fun. I feel as if for the last couple of decades I've averaged maybe 1 book every 6 or 7 years. Though not for lack of trying; one year during the covid lockdown I tried having a couple of books going; ummm, that went nowhere fast, despite my efforts to pick it back up. Le sigh. I am so impressed and absolutely inspired by how much leisure reading you have been getting done. Kudos to you!! 🙌 #goals 😘 I'm going to try to follow your lead next year, but get a jump start now, so I can be building better habits. 

[curlychiquita]

@itsfi I read this book and I think my expectations were too high after reading the reviews about how funny it was.  The writing was very witty, like you said, I liked that. But overall I found the storyline pretty sad. It was a solid book overall, though.

[itsfi]

@curlychiquita, I agree that the reviews do skew your expectations; it had been a while since I went through a non-work related book so I was happy to have the opportunity to do so. Conceptually the storyline has (had?) good potential and the book reads quickly. I like the wit and writing - I'm a big fan of words and how they are strung together. I am curious to see how the TV series elaborates, deviates or spins the details. 

[Mellmars1185]

@itsfi This book sounds great. Thank you for sharing. Iwill check this book out. Some of the recent lessons in the two books I finished also with the Midnight Library and In Five Years. Sometimes we need a reminder to shift our thinking.

[itsfi]

Completely agree @Mellmars1185. Also, just because we know something in our head doesn't always mean we do it. Guilty on that one. This one had some great witty lines that made me cackle (including on one of the airplane rides, lol), but I didn't include them here but I'm sure they're online. 

[Mellmars1185]

I just finished reading Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover. It was a really good book in my opinion. I just started In Five Years by Rebecca Searle. I actually brought this book to New York to read while in Sephoria. This book takes place in New York ( you can see by the front of the book, no spoilers). I am looking forward to reading this and will report back.

[blackkitty2014]

I haven’t read for fun for a long long time. It’s always reading a technical books or something I need to learn for work. Couple months back I was watching Joe Pickett on Paramount+. I enjoyed the first season and everyone said how much better the books are. So I picked up one….and now I’m on book 10. 😂🤣 so Yes I’m flying through CJ Box’s Joe Pickett book series. 

[Kim888]

I've been on a Ruth Ware kick - I recently finished The Lying Game and It girl. I love a good mystery! 

[quspork]

I love Ruth Ware's books, @Kim888! Both The Lying Game and It Girl were good. Have you read any of her others? I need to grab the most recent one before vacation.