Review of Otherwise Normal People, by Aurelia Scott

We met on January 9, 2014 to discuss the book "Otherwise Normal People" by Aurelia Scott, which was a non-fiction book about the people who raise roses for competition.  The reactions to the book were mixed and not everyone had finished the book, but did say that they were going to finish it. We all who had read the book felt that it was very informative, and that at times a little too informing.  The ratings were as follows:

• Andrea- 5, She felt it was hard for her to get into and rated it a 5 compared to other books.  Overall thought it was okay.

•  Michele- 5 also, She thought that the book was poorly organized and thinks it needed a better editor.  Felt the author told the things she learned in the order she learned them, which was not always the best for telling a good story.
• Melissa- 5 as well. She felt  inundated with too  much rose information.  Didn't love the book, but didn't hate it either.
•  Lori- 7.  She enjoyed the book.  The people pulled her in and felt that the author really conveyed how this was their passion, that they were really excited raising roses for show.  Enjoyed reading the book at night.
• Liz- has not read the book yet, but plans to in future.
• Ellen- 5.  She thought that the first few chapters were good, but then blurry as the different people sort of blurred together.  The subject matter didn't speak to her.
• Leigh- 7.5   really enjoyed the book.  Felt that it was very informative and it inspired her to do more with the one rose she has.  But also, she has a slightly different perspective as she grew up with a father who took pride in growing lovely roses to enjoy, but not to show in competition.  She picked the book because Donna Andrews, who is an author she enjoys had recommended reading it and that the book had actually inspired the setting for one of her novels.

It seemed as though one either really enjoyed the book and the people, or one got through it.  The general consensus of all was that the last chapter needed to be placed in a different spot, that the material in it was interesting, but felt tacked on where it was. Andrea's  Cupcakes were greatly appreciated and tied in beautifully with the book as she had piped beautiful roses on each one.

Next month we will be meeting at Claudi's house in February to discuss the Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst.

Review of Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House

Shoot, I must have misplaced my paper with the rankings. Most people rated the book about a 7. Liz, I think, said 8. Melissa and Maria saw it as a precursor to other scary stories, like The Shining. Though, The Haunting of Hill House wasn't that scary. More spooky. Was the actual house the source of the evil? Ellyn says - you should never start a sentence with "no offense, but..." Also, one of her friends was snuggling with a "roof rat" in Florida. Leigh says Superior Oil was actually giving her a hard time about her energy consumption! Hmmph. Superior has gone downhill since they joined up with CKSmith. Ellyn likes Noar's, Liz likes something else - was it Mass Energy? You pay a yearly fee and they charge you 40 cents off the going rate? Michele says her mom and sister arrived safely at her house and will be staying for an undetermined amount of time. Melissa says Intel helps AMD with technology in order to help them stay in the market. (Tony's boss denies it.) Sorry if I forgot something. I like that roof rat story. I found the ratings. Michele-7 Maria - 7 Liz - 8 Leigh - 7 Ellyn - 6 Melissa - 7 Andrea - 7

February Title

Here's the title I selected for our February meeting: The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst. Happy Holidays!!! -Claudi M.

Sorry Michele! Spelled your name wrong.

Dec meeting recap

Book: Life Among Giants Ratings: Leigh-4 Nans-7 Liz-7.5/8 Michelle-6 Melissa-6 Lori-7 Claudi-6 Maria-hadn't read enough to rate Andrea-7 Ellyn-9 Jan book: Otherwise Normal People, by Aurelia Scott Everyone have a wonderul Christmas and New Year's. See you all in Feb.!

January 2014

 Leigh will be hosting to discuss her pick for January, Otherwise Normal People: Inside the Thorny World of Competitive Rose Gardening by Aurelia Scott.  

October Book Club

It was a pleasure to meet in Nans new house. Everyone was amazed that she'd unpacked so quickly and that her home was so inviting given that she'd only moved in a super short time.  The bar was set mighty high....

The food was delicious as usual. Apparently we all had a sweet tooth as well since all but one dish was sweet!

The book, Vampires, Vikings, and Mailmen was a challenging book to finish an the ratings reflected that fact. No names will be used to protect the innocent.

6.5 - liked it after she got into it after page 200
3 - higher if edited a bit more
2 - not finished reading
2.5 - Chief needed more dimension, Hard to follow story line
2 - The story telling was hampered by the poor editing and mechanics
4 - Entertaining for a guy - some things didn't make sense
4 - Thought there was too much detail on things that weren't needed and wanted more detail on characters
2 - nothing linked up - jumped around  - told us but didn't show us

Next up is Andrea with Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.

December book is Life Among Giants by Bill Roorbach.