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 Frozen River: A Novel by Ariel Lawhon is a historical-fiction mystery about a 54-year old midwife who investigates two crimes in the late 1700s in a small New England town. The story begins with a body found frozen in a Maine river in the winter of 1789. The town's midwife (and our protagonist) is called to identify cause of death, which she determines is murder. 

 The main character, Martha Ballard, was a real-life 18th century midwife who, at a time when most women could not read or write, kept diaries for a 27-year period, documenting the weather, political and social issues, and her midwife duties and practices. The story itself is not based on any specific entry into her diaries (as the author fully discloses in the informative notes section at the end of the book). The author exercises some creative license in putting together a story of our heroine's investigation into two crimes*.

Spoiler

* trigger warning

Spoiler

The book contains portions discussing violence, including murder and r@pe.

Captivating storyline, excellent heroine, great narrative; I really enjoyed reading this book. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 stars! It was deemed one of NPR's Book of the Year for 2023 and having read it, I can definitely understand why. It is my favorite read of the year so far. 

Notable Quotes:

Spoiler

"This is what it means to age, I think. The days are long, but the years are short."

"Memory is a wicked thing that warps and twists. But paper and ink receive the truth without emotion, and they read it back without partiality. That, I believe, is why so few women are taught to read and write. God only knows what they would do with the power of pen and ink at their disposal.”

[Titian06]

This sounds really good, @itsfi !  I'll have to add it to my library wish list. 📚

[KrissySM]

This sounds like a great read. Thanks for sharing @itsfi 

[itsfi]

@Titian06, I was very happily surprised how much I liked this read. I've been circulate books among friends and I can see this one being liked by many. I have a couple of of books that I have yet to get through but after those, I will see about the other books from this author. This is her sixth book and as she has noted, it is the one where she adds more to or make up storylines. It'll be interesting to see how her other books read.

[KrissySM]

Just finished The Measure by Nikki Erlick. The concept of this book is quite unique. The reader is constantly prompted to ask themselves, if you could find out exactly when you’d die, would you choose to know? How would you live your life if you learned you had a short life? What about a long one? You’ll find yourself constantly asking yourself this question throughout. My own answer changed several times. It also served as a great reminder that no matter how much you plan and prepare for life, what will be will always be. 

 

[blackkitty2014]

I bookmark this. My library has it. Sounds very interesting. Thx @KrissySM 🌹

[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…