The October 2014 

The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich
Chosen by Leigh
Meeting held November 7, 2014

It was an interesting discussion as many of the members had not managed to finish the book.  Andrea and Melissa, declined to rate it as they hadn't finished.  It was a tale of North Dakota and some of the people who settled in one town, from after the first world war, leading up to the second.  There were many characters that we wanted to know more about, and some we felt we didn't want to know better. 

Michele had read another book by the same author was not as impressed by this work.

Nans gave it a 5, as she said it didn't keep you awake.
Ellen gave it a 6, she felt the end was hurried up.
Michele gave it a 6, she felt that the author's sense of place was incredible.
Leigh gave it a 6, it was a book that could be read in spats in the beginning, but towards the end of the book you wanted to know where it was going. 

The Martian by Andy Weir

December 2014 Book Club
The Martian by Andy Weir
Chosen by Melissa
Meeting held Friday, Jan 9, 2015

Attendees:  Melissa, Amy (first meeting), Leigh, Andrea, Nans

The consensus among all members present was that they really enjoyed the book.  The technical information wasn't too detailed or dull, we laughed out loud in parts, and most of us even read parts aloud to loved ones.  The only negative was brought up by the email feedback sent by Michele regarding the fact that our main character should have been angrier.  Melissa mentioned that he never really went through the 5 stages of grief but pretty much jumped to acceptance.  Andrea (or Leigh?) commented that there was one time where he broke down and had a bit of a hissy fit, but that was the extent of what we were told in the journal entries.  Amy mentioned the downfalls of first person narrative and it was suggested that maybe he could have had those negative feelings but just not written about them in his official record.

Ratings: (out of 10)
Amy - 9.5
Andrea - 9.5
Leigh - 9
Melissa - 9
Michele - 6.5
Nans - 9
Average: 8.75

Next books:

Nans - January book (meeting Feb 6 @ Nan's house):  Every Day by David Leviathan
Amy - February book (meeting March 6 @ TBD ): Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Note: Because Amy is unable to host at her house, she will be responsible for finding a suitable location in Millbury/Grafton area in which to hold the meeting on her months.

Schedule for 2015 (by meeting month):
January - Melissa (completed)
February - Nans
March - Amy
April - Andrea
May - Claudi
June - Leigh
July - Liz
August - Michele
September - Melissa
October - Nans
Etc.

Stiff

We had eight members attend our September meeting  to discuss Stiff.

Ellyn - 9
Claudi - 8 - loved it
Melissa - 7.5 - did think some parts dragged
Andrea - 8 - some points were nauseating but will read her other books
Michele - 9 - enjoyed the writing and enjoyed the read
Ann - our newest member - didn't finish the book
Nans - did not finish the book
Leigh - did not finish the book

Ratings for The Perfume Collector, by Kathleen Tessaro

Nans - 8.5 Leigh - 8.5 Ellyn - 8.5 Maria - 9 Michele - 8 Melissa - 8 Andrea - 8

The Circle by Dave Eggers

Our book club met on May 2nd to discuss the book "The Circle" by Dave Eggers, chosen by Melissa.  We discussed how at first the ideas and technology in the book seemed far-fetched but then we realized that they are closer than we think.  For example, Nans shared how she has a camera in her kitchen that she can watch from work to monitor her daughter's eating habits.  Just this month there was a news story regarding how a police station will have cameras on all of their officers to be "transparent."  Melissa's husband has three monitors in his office at work, as do some of our other members and their spouses.  We also discussed how personal interaction is being replaced by social media and texting.  Will there be a point where we reach the degree of control (being controlled by technology rather than controlling it) shown in the book?

The consensus was that even if the book was not something that everyone would have chosen for themselves, that it was an interesting and thought-provoking read.  Discussion came back to it several times over the evening even after the main discussion had concluded.

Ratings were given as follows:
Leigh - 6.5 (tried later to raise it to a 7, but we wouldn't let her :)
Ellyn - 9
Maria - 8.5
Michele - 7
Melissa - 8
Andrea -7
Nans - 7
Average score: 7.6

Next meeting will be hosted by Nans on Friday, June 6.  The book is "The Ocean at The End of the Lane" by Neil Gaiman
The following meeting will be hosted by Andrea on Friday, July 11. (The second week of the month due to the Fourth of July holiday.)  Book TBD.  The two options seem to be "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" by Jamie Ford or "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards.

Because of Michele's schedule (vacation in August and difficulty with Fridays), she skipped her turn for June.  However, she will be choosing the book for September.

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