Review of Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Overall, everyone agreed that they enjoyed the book. Some members felt it the book started slow and was difficult to get into immediately.

What we liked:

-        The book read like a piece of art. The words and details were thoughtful and only added to the book, never did it detract

-        The symbolism added another dimension to the story and gave us more to think about

-        The tension between Griet and Vermeer never crossed the line, it was maintained within an appropriate boundary

-        The author clearly showed the differences between the social classes and the importance of money/wealth

What we didn’t like:

-        We didn’t understand the reason why Vermeer was so insistent on Griet wearing both earrings even though only one would be seen

-        The beginning of the book started out slowly

-        We were a little confused about the significance of Griet hiding her hair. We wondered if that was common in that time period and what hiding your hair meant or what purpose it served

Review of Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

I was unable to attend this meeting but other members were able to catch me up on what they discussed. The book was not a favorite for many of the members. I personally struggled reading Catch-22 as well and ended up abandoning it. Below is a recap of what was discussed.

What we liked:

-        The book provided a lot of conversation about the issues presented

What we didn’t like:

-        It was a slow and grueling read that didn’t capture many of the members attention

-        It started off funny but then quickly changed and became very dark

-        Many of us wanted to abandon the book but continued on because it is deemed as a classic

-        Because it is a classic, we questioned what we didn’t see in the book that others did

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!

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

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.  

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

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!