Thursday, August 11, 2022

Update on Book Club

 

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In January of 2020 I wrote a review on Book Clubs.  If you are interested in starting a book club, I would recommend you read that review here Review of Book ClubsIn that review you will find out how the book club I belong to is set up and how we handle the meetings.  In this post I will update you on what we have been doing since that last review and a little bit about some of the books we have been reading.

Our Book Club in 2020/2021

As you can all imagine 2020/2021 was a bit challenging for our bookclub.  With the pandemic we had to look at how we could do it differently.  We didn't meet at all for the first few months, but then in the summer of 2020 we all ventured out and met on my deck, where we could wear masks and social distance with each other.  We hadn't picked any one book to read, but rather all discussed what books we had been reading.  During the rest of 2020 we only met one more time in someone's family room where we could spread apart.  In 2021 we decided to venture out and start choosing monthly books.  A few didn't make it at first, but eventually most of our members returned to our monthly meetings.  

We read 11 books in a year, skipping the month of December where we all meet for a holiday luncheon instead of our regular meeting.  In the next section I will discuss the last 11 books we have read.


Books we have Read in the Last Year

  • When we started meeting again on a regular basis one of the first books we read was Educated by Tara Westover.  It was a very thought-provoking book that gave us lots to discuss.  Fellow reviewer Olivia Morris has also read the book and wrote a review which will tell you a lot more about the book. Educated
  • The next book we read was The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Piccoult.   Jodi Piccoult is a favorite author that always spends a lot of time researching the books that she writes.  This book deals with Egyptology along with discovering the relationships of the people involved.  Most of our members really liked the book, although a few wished it had a bit less technical items on Egyptology.
  • The Giver of Stars was a book we read by Jo Jo Moyes. This book takes place in depression-era America in the hills of Kentucky.  It starts with Alice who has married a rich American to escape the stifling rules of her parents in England.  She soon finds that the hills of Kentucky can be just as stifling, and she signs up to be a traveling librarian from Eleanor Roosevelts new plan to bring books to rural America.  The book shows us the brave women who worked this program and their relationships.  It is based on a true story, and we found it very intriguing.
  • The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson is another book about the traveling book program.  You can read more about it in the review that I wrote.  The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek and also one that fellow reviewer Dawn wrote Here .
  • The next book we read was Gray Mountain by John Grisham. This book deals with mining and many of the legal battles the ensue when it is abused.  It is very well written, and you can really become involved with the characters.
  • The Hypnotists Love Story is a novel by Liane Moriarity.  We have read several books by this author and know they will always give us a lively discussion. This one did not disappoint.
  • The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton is a wonderful mystery that takes place in Australia in the early 1900's.  It is a work of historical fiction.
  • The Husband's Secret is another book by Liane Moriarity.  Everyone enjoyed the discussion on this book, and we delved a lot into secrets and what we would tell and what we would not.
  • Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman was our next book. It was a very interesting book about a young woman who lives a very structured life.  She struggles with everyday social skills and tends to say exactly what she is thinking.  This all changes when she meets Raymond.  You must read this book to find out more!
  • Wish You Were Here by Jodi Piccoult.  This was my favorite book this year.  In this book Jodi tackles a very timely subject as the book begins in March of 2020 just at the start of the pandemic.  I wrote a review of the book which you can find at Wish You Were Here. 
  • A Divided Loyalty by Charles Todd is a detective story which takes place in England.  It features Scotland Yard detective Ian Rutledge and is an interesting mystery.  We had a good discussion on the methods used to solve the mystery.
  • The last book on my list is the one we will be discussing this month.  I have read the book and thoroughly enjoyed it.  It is Mitch Albom's Finding Chika. Fellow reviewer Pat Austin (aka Wednesday Elf) has written a review on this book. Finding Chika

I Hope you enjoyed hearing about these books and perhaps you will find one or more you'd like to read yourself.  Happy Reading!!




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6 comments:

  1. Your book club selections and subjects are always very interesting, Mary Beth. Interesting to see that several of your selections throughout the year have been reviewed here by you or one of our other reviewers on ReviewThisReviews. Obviously, many of us enjoy the same books. I really loved "Finding Chika" and glad to hear you did too.

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  2. What a great book list! I have read some of these, but not all. Thank you for the additions to my growing TBR list.

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  3. Oh I have read many of these books and can understand how they would result in some lively discussions. Book clubs are not something that I have gravitated towards, but maybe it's time for something new! Thanks for letting us in on how this all works@

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  4. I love the idea of a book club, Mary Beth! I think it is so cool that you have all remained so committed to the group. I appreciate you sharing the list of books your group has read. It is always so hard to select a new book to read. I tend to stick to certain authors, but I really like the idea of a book club that encourages you to step outside of your own boundaries and read something new.

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  5. I have always liked the idea of a book club, too, but my aversion to certain popular genres would likely make many of the selections unpalatable for me unless I were able to find or form a book club with literary tastes similar to mine. Based on the books your club has chosen this far, I think I’d really enjoy one like yours! Thanks so much for sharing your reading list and book club experience.

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  6. That discussion on secrets would have been fun. I would like to be in a book club one day if I can find a book tribe that fits with my leaning towards memoirs and other nonfiction genres. Thanks for the update on what you all have been reading (and how you coped with the constraints of the pandemic, etc.).

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