Laura's Book Club #3

Book club happened again!

It was held in its usually-lately format where we each recommend a book or two and discuss the books we read last month.

Last month I chose to read Bill Bryson's A Walk In The Woods, which, aside from sometimes being a little too non-fictiony, was actually kind of light and funny and had a good set of interesting (albiet real and non-fiction) characters. I'd recommend it, for sure!

Also, the photo to the left is our snack spread this month, which has the usual selection of fruits, nuts, and cheeses.

Anyway, here are my two recommendations for the month:

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson

This is a prose-y book that follows the life of 16-year-old Bobby when he is thrown into single-parent, teenage fatherhood. After the baby’s mother, Nia, suffers from irreversible brain damage, Bobby is left to try to find a balance between school and friends (who don’t comprehend his new parenting role) and his beautiful, breathtaking love for his baby daughter, Feather.

The book alternates between “then” (before Feather) chapters and “now” (after Feather) chapters, making Bobby’s whole progress and simultaneous regress a mix of beautiful, touching, happy, and sad.

This book won the 2004 Coretta Scott King Award and the 2004 Printz Award. If I had my own book award, I’d give it to this book too.

How We Are Hungry by Dave Eggers

This short story collection by Dave Eggers does what many other Dave Eggers books do:

1. Gives us a deep look into complex, compelling, and troubled characters brains.
2. Analyses funny, thought-provoking, and sometimes awkward social situations.
And 3. Takes us on a descriptive and beautiful journey around the world and, specifically, to countries we’d probably never even consider visiting (so much Africa!)

These are some of my favorite things to read about and each story, as many Dave Eggers books are, is absolutely beautifully written.

Other books recommended at book club:

Forever by Pete Hamill

Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures by Emma Staub

Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon

Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Walking Dead by Tony Moore

A Box of Matches by Nicholson Baker

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

January First by Michael Shofield

Anyone read any of these?

Laura's Book Club #2

Book Club met again this past Sunday and I figured I would again share my two recommendations, as well as the books recommended by my friends. Hope you enjoy! (Remember, many of these are adult titles!):

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

This book, written with precise detail and told in alternating perspectives, is about a circus, open only from sunset to sunrise, that arrives without warning and leaves without warning. It's called Le Cirque des Rêves, and from the outside, it is an exciting, magical, fanciful place comprised of numerous, smaller, black-and-white striped tents, as opposed to one gigantic one.

Behind the scenes, however, the circus is a different story. There's a fierce competition involving Celia and Marco, two illusionists who have been trained to compete since childhood, and who’s coaches, Hector Bowen and Chandresh Christophe Lefevre, in fact, have been battling in this kind of fashion for years.

The rules, goal, and game play of their competition is hazy at first. The two illusionists have no idea how to win or even make moves, but eventually they figure out what to do, and learn that the entirety circus was designed specifically as a stage for their battle. Then there's the other problem: the deep, passionate love that Celia and Marco have found in each other.

Even while in love, the game must go on, and pretty soon, everybody who's even visited this circus's fate is on the line.

The Eternal Smile by Gene Luen Yang & Derek Kirk Kim

This graphic novel tells three stories that perfectly border the line between fantasy and reality.

In the first story, "Duncan's Kingdom", set in a lush medieval Europe, Duncan, a brave prince, is embarking on a quest to win the hand of a fair lady... except there are peculiar and wrong-seeming details that seem to pop up in his dreams and around him, such as a modern Snappy Cola bottle. In a smooth transition between fantasy and reality, suddenly Duncan's world is confusing and may or may not be what he thought it always was.

The second story, "Gran'pa Greenbax and the Eternal Smile", seems like a witty, anthropomorphic, statement about capitalism and religion. In Frogsville, USA Gran'pa Greenbax, a rich and greedy frog has a dream: to be able to dive into a pool of money and not hit his head. Unfortunately, this is not so easy. After a lot of trying, his lackey, Filbert, discovers a giant smile in the sky. This lets Gran'pa Greenbax start a new religion and make more money, getting him a step closer to his pool dream. But, as things are with evil people, the situation is just not straightforward.

In the last story, "Urgent Request", a very regular (if not somewhat frumpy) lady starts receiving the notorious Nigerian Prince emails. With a combination of kindness, hope, and naiveness (I know that's not a word but I don't know the correct noun form of "naive"), she answers the emails and even sends money to the prince. Is he real, maybe? Or not? This, again, considers what reality and fantasy really mean.

Each story in this book is quick, yet touching and beautiful. And, even though the stories are short, the characters are deep, complicated, and easy to connect with. The whole book can be read in an hour and will leave you thinking for days. I think this would be good first graphic novel for non-graphic novel readers who are secretly afraid of them.

Additionally, here is the list of the books recommended by my friends:

Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart
Summer of the Bear by Bella Pollen
How Did You Get This Number by Sloane Crosley
Girlchild by Hassman Tupelo
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
What is the What? by Dave Eggers
Bodega Dreams by Ernesto Quiñonez
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

If you're interested in reading or recommending any books from/for my book club (and you're an adult!), leave me a comment. We can book-chat online!

Laura's Book Club #1

My best friends and I have a monthly book club. For our first official meeting we all read an old, but somewhat classic book called The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. Or, at least we were supposed to. As it turned out, my one friend (Angela) was the only person to actually finish the book! We just weren't that into it! Despite this, we managed to hold a successful book-chat, however we decide that we should change the format of Book Club.

Book Club, now in its current state, involves each of us bringing two or more book recommendations to our group and then reading whichever of these we'd like for the next month's meeting. This way we don't get bogged down reading something we're not that into and, no matter what, we know there's at least one other person in the group to book-chat with.

Our next meeting is this Sunday but I thought, perhaps, I'd share my recommendations from last month here, in case any of you were looking for something to read. However, beware, because not all of my friends are into YA and children's literature (Some have actually grown up and moved on to adult books!) these books will run age-level gamut, as well as the genre gamut. Check your library, if you're unsure about whether or not you should read any of these recommendations.

And without further adieu, here's my recommendations for last month:

The Lost Girls: Three Friends, Four Continents, One Unconventional Detour Around the World by Jennifer Baggett, Holly C. Corbett, and Amanda Pressner

This book opens up with Jennifer, Holly and Amanda, three close friends in their late-20’s, who are on vacation in at Iguassu Falls in Brazil, discussing all the dreaded work that they have to face once they return to NYC. Jokingly, they discuss what it would be like to take off of work for a whole year and just travel around the world.

Then…they do it!

Not long after their vacation in Brazil, the three of them meet up to discuss turning their year-long dream trip into a reality. They save up for a year, sketching out an itinerary of all the places they want to visit, including how much time and money they’ll spend at each location and how much this trip will cost them regarding their careers and personal relationships as well. Not really knowing what’s in store they find themselves heading to their first stop- Peru.

In chapters that rotate between the three of their perspectives, Jennifer, Amanada, and Holly cover foreign bugs, bathrooms, people, language barriers, miscommunications, exercise, food, scenery, boys/dating, self-discovery, and pretty much EVERYTHING I like to read about. From the people they meet, to the new things they try, to the arguments and laughs that they have with each other, I think it’s the self-reflection that really makes this book so relatable for women in their 20’s and 30’s (like us!). This is the kind of book that sticks with you for a long time after you put it down. A warning, however– this book will cause extreme travelust.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

It's the late 1970's, and Miranda (who’s 12-years-old and living in New York [I’m sorry, I’m a children’s librarian but I swear this book is AMAZING]) loves A Wrinkle in Time. Except for the fact that her mom is preparing to be a guest on $20,000 Pyramid, life’s pretty normal for Miranda. But then there are a few weirdish events. For instance, first, her best friend Sal, for what seems like no reason at all, is punched in the face and then decides he doesn’t want to be her friend anymore. Then, she starts getting a series of mysterious notes. As they arrive, Miranda realizes that the sender seems to know things before they happen. They are found in weird places and they are all strange, cryptic, and seeming to allude to future. For example, one note says "I am coming to save your friend's live, and my own."

The book is a quick read but also a page turner. It reads like realistic/historical fiction, but then teases you with a bit mystery too! It’s like a puzzle, the kind of book where every single word is a clue until you get to the end.

Additionally, here are a few of the books recommended by my friends at Book Club last month:

A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
The Keep by Jennifer Egan
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
Milkrun by Sarah Mlynowski
A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore
Birds of a Lesser Paradise by Megan Mayhew Bergman
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

If you're interested in reading or recommending any books from/for my book club (and you're an adult!), leave me a comment. We can book-chat online!