June's Selection

Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures  by Vincent Lam

Our entire club was able to meet for the review of this month's selection, including Melissa's mom Linda who thrilled us all with her provocative, yet accurate performance depicting the trials and tribulations faced by so many in the medical field.

Overall, the book received fairly negative grades.  We agreed that the author just fell flat when he was trying to bring his characters to life.  The characters were not developed enough to neither love or hate any of them.  They came off as empty shells and leaving all of us wanting to know more, or feel something for anyone that was more than a fleeting feeling at the moment.  We agreed there was no story arch-and the collection of short stories was not adequately strung together to make a cohesive story or fluid experience.  The ending was abrupt and left us wanting more.

Ratings:
Lee (6):  enjoyed some of the characters, but really need more information to care about them.  She was totally crushing on Siri.

Melissa (4.5):  thought there could have and should have been more.  There were elements were Lam almost "teased" you with the idea that things were going to come, but then fell flat and left you hanging.  Hated the ending! 

Michele (4):  though it was unsatisfying.  Not coherent, the author had no vision or voice.  There was no story arch.  Overall, the entire story and it's characters were very "beige"

Maria (4.5):  had trouble getting over the "purple parrot" element-this muddied and confused any sense of meaning.  She did like the schizophrenia story line

Ellyn (3):  The character of Ming really bothered her and gave the impression that the author had issues with woman.  The characters were very 1 dimensional.

Liz (5):  There were scenes and characters I could have cared about-but without the development there just wasn't enough.

Andrea (7):  giving it the highest rating of the group found the book overall interesting and entertaining

Nans (N/A):  did not complete book at the time of our meeting

Lori (5):  I gave this book a rating of 5 because it was not what I thought it would be...in a bad way.  For someone who never reads book jackets, I finally did, got excited for the proposed plot, and than felt incredibly disappointed through the reading.  BOOO to false advertisement!!!

Linda (not the highest rating)  based strictly on the high-brow, yet interesting discussion of ours.

Thanks for coming everyone-see you next month!!!!

 Beautiful Creatures review

So at a smaller meeting last night, do to life arranging conflicts we met at Liz's house and discussed the book 'Beautiful Creatures'.  The general feel was that we all enjoyed the book, but found that a couple of days after reading it, we didn't remember as much as we had with previous books.

Leigh- 8, I pretty much read it in one feel swoop, would like to read the rest of the series.
Melissa- 6.5- liked it but didn't love it.
Nans- still working on the book, but enjoying it, she said.
Andrea-  5- Thought that there were a lot of dangling tidbits that needed to be better wrapped up and  that the lack of resolution on little issues throughout the book was frustrating.
Liz- I think deferred since she had read it when it first came out.
Michele- a weak 7 average, she gave one aspect a 6 and another an 8- no interest in reading the rest.
Maria- 7.5 enjoyed the book but felt it didn't stay with her, but tempted to read the rest of the series.
Ellen- busy chaperoning the very tiring 4 day field-trip.
Lori- 8 is currently reading the rest of the series.

Next meeting will be on May 2nd at 7:00, at my house discussing the book 'The Art Forger' by B. A. Shapiro.


Lori's Book for June is 'Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures' by Vincent Lam

First time posting -- wish me luck!

Ratings from last meeting, on The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao:
Maria-9
Ellyn-6
Leigh-4
Liz-didn't read it
Nans-withholding rating until she's done
Andrea-5.5
Michelle-didn't read it
Melissa-5
Lori-2

Comments ranged from "like a snake crawling though glass" to "couldn't put it down," so we're all over the place!

May Book

For May, the book selection is:

The Art Forger ; A Novel, by Barbara Shapiro

It is a 2012 release, but there are currently 12 of 93 copies available through CWMARS.  I don't expect any trouble getting our hands on this book over the next couple of months! 

August Book

I'm way ahead of schedule and have chosen my book for my next turn which I believe will be August, so here's the heads up.  :)

Sandman Slim
by Richard Kadrey

Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly

February 2013
Discussion 
In general everyone liked the book. Melissa read it in 2 days and rated it 9! The ratings ran from 5.5 to 9 and the average was 7.125.

We all enjoyed the first part of the book that was set in Ireland. There was a noticeable difference in the pace of the story between the Ireland/Michael story and the Chicago/Patrick story. Michele thought the author should have actually split the story into two separate books. The second half had a lot less detail than the first, even though it covered many more years. Sometimes things were a little jarring, like when Honora’s brother’s children show up with Patrick.

We wanted to hear more about the romance of Honora and Patrick. Melissa wanted a naked man to emerge from the sea. Lori thought the descriptive writing made you feel you were there.

We learned a bit about history. Wow, the English truly hated the Irish and wanted them to die! Chicago was really involved in the Civil War. Irish soldiers from the north and south had to fight each other, but hoped to reunite after the war and invade Canada.

 Description
In a hidden Ireland where fishermen and tenant farmers find solace in their ancient faith, songs, stories, and communal celebrations, young Honora Keeley and Michael Kelly wed and start a family. Because they and their countrymen must sell both their catch and their crops to pay exorbitant rents, potatoes have become their only staple food. But when blight destroys the potatoes three times in four years, a callous government and uncaring landlords turn a natural disaster into The Great Starvation that will kill one million. Honora and Michael vow their children will live. The family joins two million other Irish refugees--victims saving themselves--in the emigration from Ireland. Danger and hardship await them in America. Honora, her unconventional sister Máire, and their seven sons help transform Chicago from a frontier town to the "City of the Century." The boys go on to fight in the Civil War and enlist in the cause of Ireland's freedom. Spanning six generations and filled with joy, sadness, and heroism, GALWAY BAY sheds brilliant light on the ancestors of today's forty-four million Irish Americans--and is a universal story you will never forget.

April Book

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl.