December 2, 2014
Update!
In November, we read Of Mice and Men, however we were unable to meet because of the craziness holidays bring. Since there was no meeting, we will not have a review of November's book. For the rest of 2014 our book club will not be meeting. We will meet again at the end of January! I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in 2015!
November 15, 2014
Review of Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
This book was definitely a huge change from our
previous reads. And the change was a good one; the group found this book to be
a welcomed change of pace.
What
we liked:
-
There were plenty of laugh out loud
moments
-
Some group members related to the stories
about Brosh’s two dogs
-
The fast pace and how it was more like a
comic book
What
we didn’t like:
-
The end of the book felt like it lost the moment
and the voice of author, it was a little flat
-
The depression sections of the book lost
some of the group members interest
October 3, 2014
Review of Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
When
Vonnegut’s book was suggested, some of us were reluctant to read yet another
Science Fiction book. Except, this book was not heavily laden with Sci-Fi!
Instead we all really enjoyed the read and were intrigued by the many ideas
presented in the story. We found ourselves discussing what “So it goes” meant
and why it was only said after death. Slaughterhouse-Five
also has a lot of theories surrounding the themes that appear within it. Our meeting
was full of questions and discussion; there was never a dull moment.
What we liked:
-
We
liked the layout of the book; we felt it wouldn't have had as much of an impact if it were more linear.
-
We
found the quirkiness of Billy Pilgrim to be interesting and lightening. It
helped make an upsetting topic like war, less emotional.
-
We had a lot of things to discuss, from the Tralfamadorians viewpoints of time and death, to Billy's peculiarities and possible coping mechanisms.
What we didn't like:
-
For some of us the ending wasn't very memorable, and for others it didn't feel like an ending.
August 25, 2014
Review of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
For the most part we all really
liked the book. We all agreed the middle of the book began to drag and felt
very unnecessary. We didn’t think it was fair we had to suffer along with
Dorian during that phase of his life. Another thing that we wished the book
gave us was more thorough descriptions of the characters background and why
they are the way they were in the book. Despite the great descriptions and
detail there wasn’t much detail about the main characters. Overall, this book
was enjoyable and the ending made up for the excess detail in the middle.
What we liked:
-
The complexity and absurdity of Lord Henry intrigued us
-
The set-up of the beginning of the book had many of us hooked
and wanting to read on
-
The ending happened quickly and renewed our interest in the
book after the dull middle portion of the book we had read
-
The story was very interesting and different and made this a
good read
-
The description in the book was very detailed and well
written
What we didn’t like:
-
The
middle of the book with the description of jewels, tapestries, and so forth
lost our attention and many of us skimmed over that part
-
Wilde
didn’t fully develop Basil, Lord Henry and Dorian. We wanted to know more background
about their lives and how they grew up
-
Also,
Wilde glossed over eighteen years of Dorian’s life, so we don’t know what all
did happen or didn’t happen
July 28, 2014
Review of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
We all loved reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. It was a
refreshing and light read that went quickly. For our book club we did notice
our discussion was slightly distracted because there wasn’t too much to
discuss. If I were to do this book over again I would have us read the first
book (which is only 150 pages) and the following book. That way we have more to
discuss. However, this was a wonderful read and made as all want to continue
the series to find out what happens next. It is easy to see why this book has
been popular for such a long time and continues to be so.
What
we liked:
-
The humor and sarcasm in the book had us
laughing.
-
The randomness and absurdity of the
story kept us turning the pages.
-
There were some great lines that stuck
in our memory and made for hilarious recollection moments.
-
It was very lighthearted and enjoyable.
-
It felt like a more grownup read
compared to Ender’s Game.
-
The storyline was so intriguing all of
us want to read the next four books in the series.
What
we didn’t like:
We
had absolutely no complaints!
June 30, 2014
Review of On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac’s book On the Road was not well received by the group. Only one
member really enjoyed it. After researching the book some, I found out many
colleges and high schools have students read this book. Which makes me wonder,
if my group disliked it, did the majority of students dislike it too? Despite
the lack of love for Kerouac’s book, we are happy that through book club we are
continually exposed to books we may not normally read.
What we liked:
-
There were moments of humor throughout
the book. It was a nice break from all the craziness that occurs.
-
It gave us insight into a
time that we never experienced and opened our eyes to a different world.
What we didn’t like:
-
None of the women characters
were written in an appealing and uplifting light.
-
It was not a page turner
kind of read, some of us had to push ourselves to continue reading.
-
There were too many
characters introduced into the book that it was hard to keep track of who was
who.
-
We couldn’t really relate or
connect to the story. The time the book was written about was so long ago and
so different from life today.
-
There was too much focus on
drugs, sex, and other criminal activities. It was a story full of criminals
with little ambition to achieve something more (ex: keep a stable and
consistent job).
May 9, 2014
Meeting Update
Hi everyone! I have cancelled the meeting for June 1st.
We will resume on June 29th. The book we are reading for June
is “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac.
Hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!
April 27, 2014
Review of Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Ender’s Game
appealed to the non-Science Fiction lovers and the Science Fiction lovers. It
was very surprising that the book could captivate such diverse tastes in a book
club. This was a great book and we would recommend it to others. However, this
may not be the best book for a book club. There wasn't as much to discuss like our
previous books. Even though it is a less discussion provoking book, we still
recommend it.
What we liked:
- The story was engaging and kept you reading,
plus it was a quick read.
- For it being a Science Fiction book it was very
interesting and entertaining for the men in the group and the women too. That
was a nice surprise to all of us.
- The way the author explained the intelligence
and things Ender did was well written. It was also shocking to imagine someone
so intelligent at such a young age.
- The surprises and plot twists the author incorporated
throughout the story were not predictable and were well done.
What we didn’t like:
- The theory of relativity was confusing to understand,
and there wasn’t much clarification. At some parts it was hard to decipher what
age Ender was.
- Other science aspects of the books were
confusing too. We all agreed that some details and explanations would have been
welcomed. Though it wasn’t a turn off that it wasn’t all explained, just would
have been nice.
- Some of us didn’t care to read about Valentine
and Peter towards the middle of the book. We felt had it been removed the book
would have still been wonderful.March 31, 2014
Review of Wild by Cherly Strayed
Inspired by Cheryl Strayed’s book, we decided to have a picnic
for our book club meeting! It couldn't have been a better setting to discuss Wild. Our whole group enjoyed the book
and had a great time discussing it. One thing that isn't a like or dislike, it's more of an uncertainty. Currently Strayed’s book is being made into a movie.
Most of us weren't sure how good of a movie it will be. There were some slow parts
in the book and wouldn't make for a very interesting movie. And of course there
were some parts we felt they will certainly exaggerate for the sake of movie
making and creating drama and tension.
What we liked:
- We liked Strayed’s honesty. She didn't hide who she was or
withhold information from her readers.
- We liked all the people Strayed described that she met on the
Pacific Crest Trail. It gave us a sense of what it was like for her on the trail
and off the trail.
- We liked the loving moments that Strayed shared in her book
about her mom and herself.
- We liked that Strayed was able to achieve such a difficult
path physically and emotionally. She had so much baggage on her back from all
she packed, but she also had so much emotional baggage. Along her trail she was
able to sort through it and grow from both.
What we didn’t like:
- We didn't like the ending of the book. It felt too abrupt.
Some of us felt even though it was abrupt it was okay because Strayed was
letting the readers know what her life was like now. Others felt it was too
abrupt and could have been smoothed out more.
- We didn't like the scene with the horse, Lady. It was a
difficult part to read and definitely very graphic and sad.
- Not that we didn’t like this, but we were a little
suspicious if Strayed truly saw a bull on the trail. None of us thought bulls
lived in such high elevations along California. We ended up agreeing it could
have been an exaggeration or a hallucination of Strayed’s. Who knows?
March 6, 2014
Review of Run, Brother, Run by David Berg
This book seemed to receive mixed reviews from our group.
Though, overall mostly everyone really liked it. Some members of the group felt
the trail descriptions that didn’t relate to Alan’s murder were unnecessary.
Other members really enjoyed the chapters about David Berg’s trials he had, and
felt it was interesting.
What we liked:
-
We all found Dot to be a relatable person
compared to all the others in the book.
-
We enjoyed reading a book about the area we
lived in. A lot of us recognized some of the places David Berg mentions.
-
We found it interesting to get a glimpse into
how David Berg feels about Woody Harrelson.
-
We liked reading about the trials David Berg had
in the beginning of his career.
What we didn’t like:
-
We didn’t like how so many people were
introduced into the story. It made it difficult to remember who was who.
-
We didn’t like how Alan’s wife didn’t have a big
role in the book or when her husband was murdered.
-
We didn’t care reading about the trials David
Berg had in the beginning of his career, it would have been okay to skip that
chapter and still understand the book.
January 28, 2014
Review of The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Overall, the majority of the members that read The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil
Gaiman really enjoyed the book. One member even said that she felt like a child
again, and wanted to re-read the classic childhood books. Other members found
themselves missing certain details, or not fully understanding parts of the
book. Below is a brief synopsis of our likes and dislikes that we discussed.
What we liked:
- The imagery used was bare minimum, but very
descriptive and vivid.
- The book contained groupings of 3s that added
another depth and element to it.
- The symbolism used throughout the book.
What we didn't like:
- The flow of the book was confusing at times.
- The fantasy aspect of the book was hard to grasp
and get into for some of the book club members.
Favorite quotes:
“Adults follow paths. Children explore. Adults are content
to walk the same way, hundreds of times, or thousands; perhaps it never occurs
to adults to step off the paths, to creep beneath rhododendrons, to find the
spaces between fences. I was a child, which meant that I knew a dozen different
ways of getting out of our property and into the lane, ways that would not
involve walking down our drive.”
“I knew what egg was. Where the universe began, to the sound
of uncreated voices singing in the void. And I knew where rose was. The peculiar
crinkling of space into dimensions that fold like origami and blossom like
strange orchids, and which would mark the last good time before the eventual
end of everything and the next big bang, which, would be I know now, nothing of
the kind.”
January 2, 2014
Welcome!
Welcome to the Young Professionals Book Club! This is a
great opportunity for everyone to get together and discuss a new book each
month. My vision for this group is that over time we will grow closer
together and learn more about ourselves with each book we read.
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