Category: book club

book club

BOOK HUNGRY: natural born charmer

abby mumford

who says you have to be crowded into the living room, kitchen, and/or dining room to hold a book club? we are ladies of the 21st century. we don’t need no stinkin’ couches. so pull up a blog and join in the conversation.

the members of the BOOK HUNGRY are (alphabetically): patty blount, kelly breakey, karla nellenbach, vanessa noble, alyson peterson, cynthia reese, elizabeth ryann, and myself. here’s the deal. we pick a book to read. we discuss via email. we post a review on our individual blogs on the same day (3rd thursday of the month). we link to each other. done. i know, genius. click on each one of their names (above) and it’ll take you to their review. browse. enjoy.

this month’s BOOK HUNGRY selection is:

NATURAL BORN CHARMER by susan elizabeth phillips

the title is accurate as this book IS a natural born charmer. i read it in one sitting, or rather, one laying down. i woke up early one weekend (someone tell me why that always happens? the one day i can sleep in and i pop awake at 7am. not ok.) and had nothing on the agenda and ended up devouring this book. i am so grateful for mornings like that.

i hadn’t read anything by susan elizabeth phillips before (or at least from what i remember), but it appears i’ve been missing out. this book was chock full of characters, but each one was individualistic, unique, funny, memorable, and all around awesome. this was the exact book i needed to be reading because all i wanted to do was escape from reality.

i mean, watching blue bailey and dean robillard try to resist falling in love was as charming as their personalities were, which is to say, a lot.

in addition to everything else genius inside (the pacing, the characters, the romance!), this book made me laugh out loud. case in point: “But, even so, he blasted enough heterosexual mega-wattage to light up the entire female population. Which he’d undoubtedly been doing since he shot out of the birth canal, glimpsed his reflection in the obstetrician’s eyeglasses, and gave the world a high five.” (pg. 21)

don’t bother trying to resist, just pick it up and read it!

p.s. sister J, this book reminded me of childhood when you’d check out stacks of romance novels from the library and i’d sneak them out of your room. thanks again for sharing! i was always too embarrassed to check them out…..but now, i proudly proclaim, viva la romance novel!

p.p.s. join us next month as we tackle my choice: THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE by jandy nelson.

//

book club

BOOK HUNGRY: 13 reasons why

abby mumford

who says you have to be crowded into the living room, kitchen, and/or dining room to hold a book club? we are ladies of the 21st century. we don’t need no stinkin’ couches. so pull up a blog and join in the conversation.

the members of the BOOK HUNGRY are (alphabetically): patty blount, kelly breakey, karla nellenbach, vanessa noble, alyson peterson, cynthia reese, elizabeth ryann, and myself. here’s the deal. we pick a book to read. we discuss via email. we post a review on our individual blogs on the same day (3rd thursday of the month). we link to each other. done. i know, genius. click on each one of their names (above) and it’ll take you to their review. browse. enjoy.

this month’s BOOK HUNGRY selection is:

13 REASONS WHY by jay asher

i originally read this book after i won it in a contest hosted by karla nellenbach. admittedly, i hadn’t heard of it until then, but considering she named it one of the five books that inspired her to be a better writer, i knew i was in for a treat.

this book is an odd little duck in that if you break down the parts, it’s not really anything that hasn’t been done before, but when all the pieces are put together, well, honestly, IT KNOCKED MY SOCKS OFF. and considering my apartment is at a constant 58 degrees and i wear slippers over those socks, it takes a lot to knock them off.

the premise is this: When Clay Jenson plays the casette tapes he received in a mysterious package, he’s surprised to hear the voice of dead classmate Hannah Baker. He’s one of 13 people who receive Hannah’s story, which details the circumstances that led to her suicide. Clay spends the rest of the day and long into the night listening to Hannah’s voice and going to the locations she wants him to visit. The text alternates, sometimes quickly, between Hannah’s voice and Clay’s thoughts as he listens to her words, which illuminate betrayals and secrets that demonstrate the consequences of even small actions. Hannah, herself, is not free from guilt, her own inaction having played a part in an accidental auto death and a rape. The message about how we treat one another, although sometimes heavy, makes for compelling reading.

it came out in 2007, but it’s particularly timely with all of the bullying in the headlines these days. high school is hard and the students don’t make it any easier for themselves or each other. we may learn it in class, but this book really shows us how each action has an opposite and equal reaction.

unfortunately, all of those events pile up on hannah and it becomes too much for her to bear. she creates a set of tapes (yes, tapes) as a suicide note/type of revenge, and on them, she points out how certain individuals’ actions drove her to despair. this in turn reveals/reminds us just how interwoven our actions and our lives are, especially in high school when every class, project, and party feels oh so important. hannah is self-aware enough to realize that she is as guilty as everyone else she names, so she doesn’t leave herself or her actions out of the tapes. it’s brave, and in a weird twist, it’s the very plotting of her death that reveals the true strength of her character. she is crafty, organized, stubborn and smart. if only she could see herself as the readers do, maybe then she wouldn’t have gone through with it.

and clay, oh clay. he’s sweet and quiet and had almost worked up the nerve to spill his feelings for hannah to hannah. he’s exactly the kind of guy you wish had a crush on you.

the structure of this book adds to the overall haunting feeling. hannah and clay are both the narrators and their alternating viewpoints transition continuously and seamlessly from one to another. hannah’s words are eerie and vengeful while clay’s voice is honest, sad, hurting, and yet, romantic. the combination of hannah’s version of events plus clay’s own memories is terrifying and nerve-wracking and you can’t help but wish you didn’t already know the end result.

verdict: read this book and be prepared to be stunned in a way that educates, uplifts, and ultimately, inspires you.

p.s. join us next month as we read kelly’s pick:  NATURAL BORN CHARMER by Susan Elizabeth Philips.

//

book club

BOOK HUNGRY: never let me go

abby mumford

who says you have to be crowded into the living room, kitchen, and/or dining room to hold a book club? we are ladies of the 21st century. we don’t need no stinkin’ couches. so pull up a blog and join in the conversation.

the members of the BOOK HUNGRY are (alphabetically): patty blount, kelly breakey, karla nellenbach, vanessa noble, alyson peterson, cynthia reese, elizabeth ryann, and myself. here’s the deal. we pick a book to read. we discuss via email. we post a review on our individual blogs on the same day (3rd thursday of the month). we link to each other. done. i know, genius. click on each one of their names (above) and it’ll take you to their review. browse. enjoy.

this month’s BOOK HUNGRY selection is:

NEVER LET ME GO by kazuo ishiguro

i have a confession.

i didn’t finish the book.

i can’t say that about many books, but this one? heck, i didn’t even make through the first 100 pages. i only reached page 69 (tee hee) and i can’t even remember the main character’s name. (ok, it’s kathy. i peeked.) i found the prose to be dull and lifeless and vague and confusing and i see from an amazon.com review that “misdirection” is an intended side effect, but ishiguro misdirected me right out of the book. i couldn’t get into it nor did i want to. the only reason i made it as far as i did was because of the external pressure i felt knowing others in my group were reading it, but there are far too many other books out there for me to waste my time on a book that i find unrelatable and uninteresting.

i know, i know, i’ve said that reading all kinds of books (even bad ones) is important because from them you learn what to do and what not to do in your own writing.

but, yet, this book is a different beast. i mean, ishiguro is a successful author. this is his sixth novel. it was turned into a movie! still, i couldn’t finish reading. i could barely even start reading and i’ll have you know that it wasn’t just me. out of the group, only patty finished it. isn’t that odd that only one person out of nine could complete it? we’re all readers and yet this story didn’t grab any of us? i know publishing is subjective and all, but i think the masses have spoken. book = bad. hey, maybe this is the exception to the “book is always better than the movie” rule. see for yourself:

it looks mildly entertaining, slightly creepy, but ultimately watchable, right? so what am i missing? why aren’t the words beckoning like usual? am i right to have given up so soon? should i have incurred the library fine and kept reading? what do you do when you find yourself reluctant to read? do you plod ahead? do other chores? put down the book for good? watch the movie instead?

in other reading news, these are the books i read instead of the book club selection: WHITE CAT by holly black, REVOLUTION by jennifer donnelley, and NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL by justina chen headley. all of which had action and drama and real life moments that punch you in the gut. yes, i want to be slugged while reading. emotionally socked. aww, you know what i mean.

and i know that next month’s book (13 REASONS WHY by jay asher) will provide the punch. why? because i’ve already read it.

*pulls out boxing gloves*

i’m ready for ya.

//

book club

BOOK HUNGRY: the host

abby mumford

who says you have to be crowded into the living room, kitchen, and/or dining room to hold a book club? we are ladies of the 21st century. we don’t need no stinkin’ couches. so pull up a blog and join in the conversation.

the members of the BOOK HUNGRY are (alphabetically): patty blount, kelly breakey, karla nellenbach, vanessa noble, alyson peterson, cynthia reese, elizabeth ryann, and myself. here’s the deal. we pick a book to read. we discuss via email. we post a review on our individual blogs on the same day (3rd thursday of the month). we link to each other. done. i know, genius. click on each one of their names (above) and it’ll take you to their review. browse. enjoy.

this month’s BOOK HUNGRY selection is:

THE HOST by stephenie meyer

a quick synopsis from amazon: Stephenie Meyer, creator of the phenomenal teen-vamp Twilight series, takes paranormal romance into alien territory in her first adult novel. Those wary of sci-fi or teen angst will be pleasantly surprised by this mature and imaginative thriller, propelled by equal parts action and emotion. A species of altruistic parasites has peacefully assumed control of the minds and bodies of most humans, but feisty Melanie Stryder won’t surrender her mind to the alien soul called Wanderer. Overwhelmed by Melanie’s memories of fellow resistor Jared, Wanderer yields to her body’s longing and sets off into the desert to find him. Likely the first love triangle involving just two bodies, it’s unabashedly romantic, and the characters (human and alien) genuinely endearing.

i’ve now read this book twice. once, when it first came out and second, just before i wrote this review. i will say this for meyer, she sure knows how to create memorable characters. as with the TWILIGHT series, her writing isn’t the most luxurious or profound, but her characters jump off the page and nestle into your brain and you’ll find yourself thinking about them long after you’ve put the book down.

the first time i read this, i read it right after i had finished the TWILIGHT series. in that series (this won’t be spoilery, promise), there is a lot of talk about souls and who has them and who doesn’t, so when i went from that discussion to THE HOST, where the main character is an alien called a soul and well, the juxtaposition was fascinating. from no soul to all soul. the second time i read this, i seemed to focus more on the alien, sci-fi feel of the soul. i read it as more similar to ET than a heavenly being and that left quite a different flavor in my mouth. or my brain. or umm, yeah, you know what i mean.

the first time i read this, i (unintentionally) focused on the author. it was her first book that wasn’t part of her massively successful series and i wanted to see how she fared. it’s a hefty book at 656 pages and i felt like i was reading for weeks. that’s a really long time to be more aware of the author instead of the story. the second time i read this, i got lost in the story. i zipped through the book in a couple of days and yet the characters, their choices, their actions, their environment stuck with me. i couldn’t stop thinking about them and what it all meant and what would i do if i was them (aliens or humans) and where can i get some of their medicine and how do the aliens really work and why is Wanderer considered bad ass when she’s so gentle and caring and is it because of Melanie’s body or because of her (Wanderer) having lived on seven other planets and what are intersecting love triangles called and are these aliens really making Earth a better place and is that really an ethical decision?  THIS was what i was expecting that first read.

the first and second times i read this, i thought, man this is long. where were the scissors? i think a lot of passages could be cut out trimming this book down to a more manageable size without jeopardizing the integrity of the story. but, silver lining, i could multitask while reading because it doubled as a dumbbell. bicep curls, anyone?

the first time i read this, i read it to see where the story ended up. the second time i read this, i was able to look around at the scenery, stop and smell the caves, and get to know the secondary characters in addition to the primary ones. the second read was much more fulfilling and a lot more fun. as i read, i’d stop and think “what if” which in the context of this book is a very scary and, surprisingly, exhilarating question.

in short, give this book a read. an intriguing journey awaits. it’d be a shame to miss it.

p.s. see you next month when we read NEVER LET ME GO by Kazuo Ishiguro.

//

book club

tower of books

abby mumford

as most of you already know, i read A LOT. i pretty much have to read every day or i become one cranky monkey. on the worst days, all i get to read is a page or two before i fall asleep. on the best days, i read until i reach the end. although, sometimes, reaching the end really sucks either because i don’t like the ending or because i’m sad the story is over.

here’s a list of books i’ve read this year in no particular order:

adult:

GODS IN ALABAMA by joshilyn jackson

BECOME YOUR OWN MATCHMAKER by patti stanger (yeah, that one worked out well for me.)

THE HELP by kathryn stockett (started this as an audio book, which i highly recommend because hearing the southern accent really influences how you read the rest of the book.)

NO PLOT? NO PROBLEM! by chris baty

BEAUTY by robin mckinley

THE HOST by stephenie meyer

LIFE AFTER YES by aidan donnelley rowley

ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL by james herriot

WHERE LOVE GROWS by cynthia reese

young adult:

*HUNGER GAMES, CATCHING FIRE, and MOCKINGJAY by suzanne collins

*INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER by julie halpern

GET WELL SOON by julie halpern

THE SECRET YEAR by jennifer hubbard

*IF I STAY by gayle forman

WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON by david levithan and john green

BREAK by hannah moskowitz

*THIRTEEN REASONS WHY by jay asher

*BEFORE I FALL by lauren oliver

SEA by heidi kling

THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS by e. lockhart

SISTERS RED by jackson pearce

ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by stephanie perkins

PARANORMALCY by kiersten white

THE DUFF by kody keplinger

*THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO, *THE ASK AND THE ANSWER, *MOSTERS OF MEN by patrick ness

THE REPLACEMENT by brenna yovanoff

LINGER by maggie stievater

BALLAD, LAMENT by maggie stievater

GIRL PARTS by john cusick

ZOMBIES VS. UNICORNS, AN ANTHOLOGY edited by holly black and justine larbalestier

THE MOCKINGBIRDS by daisy whitney

YOU by charles benoit

HOW TO SAY GOODBYE IN ROBOT by natalie standiford

*LIAR by justine larbalestier

BRIGHTLY WOVEN by alexandra bracken

THE MAZE RUNNER by james dashner

*LOVE IS THE HIGHER LAW by david levithan

*THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE by jandy nelson

FLY GIRL by sherri l. smith

FALLEN by lauren kate

HUSH HUSH by becca fitzpatrick

MERMAID’S MIRROR by l.k. madigan

*FLASH BURNOUT by l.k. madigan

WHEN YOU REACH ME by rebecca stand

THE DARK DIVINE by bree despain

IF YOU COME SOFTLY by jacqueline woodson

LIPS TOUCH by laini taylor

FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH by carrie ryan

MAGIC UNDER GLASS by jaclyn dolamore

THE DARK DAYS OF HAMBURGER HALPIN by josh berk

BIRTHMARKED by caragh o’brien

RAMPANT by diana peterfreund (first book in series is ASCENDANT)

MORNING GLORY by diana peterfreund (which, incidentally, was written from the movie script, not the other way around. i didn’t know this was an option. pretty interesting turn of events. now i have to see the movie to compare to the book!)

middle grade:

*PRINCESS FOR HIRE by lindsey leavitt

CAMILLE MCPHEE FELL UNDER THE BUS by kristen tracy

THE VIEW FROM SATURDAY by e.l. konigsburg

IT’S RAINING CUPCAKES by lisa schroeder

*AS IF BEING 12 3/4 ISN’T BAD ENOUGH, MY MOTHER IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT by donna gephart

*THE CASE OF THE CASE OF THE MISTAKEN IDENTITY by mac barnett

8th GRADE SUPER ZERO by olugbemisola rhuday-perkovich

audiobooks:

INSATIABLE by meg cabot

*IF I STAY by gayle forman (danger alert)

THE HELP by kathryn stockett (first two chapters. it’s all i could download. don’t mind me and my technological difficulties.)

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALFBLOOD PRINCE by j.k. rowling

i’m sure i’m missing some and as you know, december’s not even over yet so my reading continues, but sheesh, when i write it down like that, it looks like i have no life and all i ever do is read. not that there’s anything wrong with that. but maybe all this reading is getting in the way of me writing… OR…. it is research helping me to understand the industry better. all i know is thank goodness for the cambridge public library because if i didn’t have that, i’d be buried under a pile of books instead of typing this blog post.

what have you read this year? this month? this week? see any books not on my list that are must reads? i’m always open to recommendations.

*denotes the books i LOVED.