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]

Historical fiction. Post-World War II. Japan. 

From (well, mostly from) the perspective of "the illegitimate child of a Japanese aristocrat and her African American GI lover"* (from Goodreads)

As with Carrie Sun's Private Equity A Memoir, this is the author's first book. It took me longer to get through this one, partly because of not having a lot of time to read, partly because there were certain sections where I needed to go back to determine which character was narrating a particular section, and in some instances,  where I just needed to go back and re-read a section over again. 

The beginning caught my attention and made me wonder where the story would end up going. Sections of the book are from the point of view of other characters and that has its pros and cons. There are also a couple of parts in this book that didn't settle well with me - some very pointed, direct, and clear in their unsavoriness, and others that were even more discomforting because of what the narrative suggested rather than what the protagonist actually said about those matters. Setting those aside, there are passages within the novel that made me think on them well after I finished the book, including the ending, as well as quotes weaved throughout the novel that demonstrate a really lovely writing style on the part of the author. 

Notable Quotes:

Spoiler

"All this time, she'd asked God for a gift. She hadn't realized that she'd been living in one all along. A sweet little bubble, filled with a combination of dreams, hope, and blatant stupidity. It wasn't a cage, as she had thought it was. It was a shield."

"We do things that we never thought we were capable of in order to protect what we love."

"The ocean seemed never-ending. But somehow, somewhere it did end.

Perhaps it was the same with her grief.

Though she could not see it."

[jaaayp]

I really wanted to wait till the end of the month to share but I think this was a month of really great books and wanted to provide recs in case anyone was in a book desert 🏜 (happens to me a lot where I'm spending hours choosing what book to read next)

These are in the orders that I recommend. Demon Copperhead was a really good read and so was None of this is True.

It Girl was good. I just saw the ending coming 😂

 

 

 

[KrissySM]

Loved Demon Copperhead. One of the best books I’ve read this year, if not the best. Also really enjoyed None of This Is True. Great reads! I can see why you couldn’t wait to share. 

[blackkitty2014]

Oh thx @jaaayp 🌹PS wow my library has all 3 😘

[jaaayp]

You're welcome! If you end up reading it, lemme know how you liked them @blackkitty2014 I know everyone's taste in books are different but hopefully you'll enjoy! Don't you love it when the library has all 3?! I was on wait list for all 3 and they all became available on the same day! Hehe 🙃

[blackkitty2014]

I’m checking out None of this is true. I know the feeling. Mist of the time I have to wait for weeks before any digital copy to be available. I’m surprised all 3 are ready to be checked out on the first search. Will report back my reading progress @jaaayp 👍

[jaaayp]

Glad I'm not the only one running to the digital hold @blackkitty2014 ! Sometimes I'll see something is on hold for like 16 weeks while 3 physical copies are available at the library 😂😂 I hope you enjoy! I actually read that one in 1 day... about... 4/5 hours (I'm an addict LOL)

[blackkitty2014]

Okie I just finished it @jaaayp . It’s kinda creepy. I keep saying oh no oh no. Great recommendation 😘 PS is Demon Cooperhead sad? I want to read it but I don’t want a sad story at least for now. 

[jaaayp]

Did you like it @blackkitty2014 ? You gotta rate it out of 10 so I know if I should recommend more or not LOLOL demon copperhead is a little sad. It's very emotionally draining. I think it took me full 2 weeks while I read other books in between because I needed the break 🫠

[blackkitty2014]

@jaaayp I do like None of this is true. I’m reading Demon Copperhead. I’m only half way thru. It’s a whole level up from the other one. Really good writing on DC. Once I read it, it’s hard to stop but oh man it is sad. Will rate them both when I’m done with DC. I hope DC has a happy ending 

[jaaayp]

I know @blackkitty2014 it's very heartbreaking. The writing I get you! I really like that he talks about all these really sad experiences but almost borderline nonchalant. Almost makes you, the reader, believe that its OK (a lot of digesting) 🫠

[Titian06]

Thanks, @jaaayp !  I'm always looking for books to add to my library wish list.

[jaaayp]

Hope we have similar taste in books @Titian06 ! I'm very into true crime and emotionally draining books LOL maybe I should've mentioned that 😂😂😂

[KrissySM]

Some books I’ve read recently.

loved Yellowface from start to finish. It’s so clever and funny. Easy read. 

Gilded Wolves was a good read, but it was hard for me to get into it, but a lot of other people said otherwise. I just thought there was a lot happening that it was sometimes hard to keep up.  It’s a mystery set in Paris in the 1800s. Oh and there’s magic. 

i love fiction, but try to throw in some non-fic every few books or so. Cobalt Red was heartbreaking but such an important read. I’ll recommend this to everyone from now until…

 

 

[blackkitty2014]

Looks liked my library has The Gilded Wolves. Added to my list. Thx @KrissySM 😘

[Titian06]

Thanks for the recommendations, @KrissySM !  I'll add these to my reading list too. 🙂

[blackkitty2014]

Just finished this book. When I was a broke college student, one of my good friends bother let me borrow one of the book in the series. He was a psychologist and he recommended his favorite author. I never finished that book. I now pick up the first one and try to read it. If you like psychology you probably like this author. It has good story but to me just too much psychology background make it slow and painful to read. Regardless it’s still a good book. 

[Titian06]

Thanks, @blackkitty2014 !  I'm in need of something new.  I'll look into this author!

[makeitup305]

I've been rereading a lot of my comfort books since I'm kind of in a book slump. I reread the Ilona Andrews's Hidden Legacy and Innkeeper Series. I love both. I finally read their Edge series but found it underwhelming. I need to reread the last books from Patricia Briggs and Nalini Singh to refresh my memory, since they've both got new books coming out this month.

I also picked up two books by Ali Hazelwood- Bride and Check Mate and loved both. I also really enjoyed Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey. That one is quite spicy so be prepared if you decide to check it out. Super adorable, though.

[AMK721]

David Grohl The Storyteller is a great book. I really enjoyed it. I listened to it on audio book.