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, blake leyers, karla nellenbach, and myself. we pick a book to read. we discuss via phone. we post a review on our individual blogs the 3rd thursday of the month. click on their names above and enjoy.
this month’s BOOK HUNGRY selection is:
HOSTILE WITNESS by rebecca forster
what it’s about from amazon:
When sixteen-year-old Hannah Sheraton is arrested for the murder of her step-grandfather, the chief justice of the California Supreme court, her distraught mother turns to her old college roommate, Josie Bates, for help. Josie, once a hot-shot criminal defense attorney, left the fast track behind for a small practice in Hermosa Beach, California. But Hannah Sheraton intrigues her and, when the girl is charged as an adult, Josie cannot turn her back. But the deeper she digs the more Josie realizes that politics, the law and family relationships have created a combustible and dangerous situation. When the horrible truth of the murder is uncovered could save Hannah Sheraton or destroy them both.
my opinion:
ick. ew. blerg. make it stop. do i have to keep reading? why did karla pick this? i can usually decipher why one of my gals picked a particular book, but this? this is not what i was expecting out of karla. why does everyone else in the world seem to be talking about this book too? thank goodness it was free. ugh. this is painful. do i have to keep reading?
i did finish the book, but very begrudgingly, or to give you a taste of what it felt like to read it: i picked up the book. i opened the cover. i sat down on the couch. i flipped to the page where i left off and i began to read again after i crossed my legs and leaned back against the cushions. i paused while reading, checked the time, checked all the things on the internet, fixed a snack of an apple and peanut butter, turned off the kitchen light, brought my snack back to the couch and then i read some more.
catch my drift? my whole drift? every single movement of my drift?
the details in this book were overkill. every single action was explained to ad nauseum and yet, there was little to no information about the characters and their motivations. what little there was, well, the characters were awful and not in the “they’re flawed” sort of way. in the “i could care less about them” kind of way. they weren’t relatable or understandable or funny or charming or smart. they were clueless in a way that felt manufactured by the author instead of because that’s the way some humans are.
the entire book was uneven. the pacing, the plotting, the characterization, the information dumps. UGH. basically, it felt like the author didn’t trust us as readers and the entire book was dumbed down as a result. i’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but i hated this book and if the only good that comes out of me reading it is that you don’t, well then, i’ll consider it a battle won.
Abigail Mumford 