Member Profile
| Name : | Pam H. |
My Reviews
All 8 book club members rated this book a 5! We found it so funny and gives real insight into those with different social abilities. Several members of the group went on to read The Rosie Effect because they found the characters so engaging.
Our club enjoyed this book very much, especially the parts dealing with Fritzi's Polish family. Almost no one knew about the history of the WASPs in WWII, so it was great to learn about the part of women in American history.
We liked the book overall; many of our club members did additional research on the people and the time period. Some members thought it slow at times and skipped over huge chunks of time and belabored others. We had a lively discussion about the different characters!
Our club did not like this one. It moved slowly and never really got anywhere. Most members did not like the occult scenes, especially being buried in a coffin! The were some good erotic parts, but it wasn't enough to save the book.
Everyone in our club loved this book. The information about the history of America's northwest was fascinating and none in the group knew about it! The author went smoothly from the present day to the past time story lines. We enjoyed both love stories in the book! We laughed, we cried, we loved it!
Our club did not like the book at all. We were curious to read something by Rainbow Rowell, but this was not the one! Went round and round without much point, and the insertion of this magical phone element only confused the story more! We just didn't care about these characters.
Our club liked the book overall, but found many of the vignettes sad and depressing. Several didn't like it at first, but began to enjoy the treatment of the characters and their situations. We'll never forget the hospital scene! We're looking forward to viewing the HBO mini-series.
Several of our group members had trouble getting into the book, finally started to like it and then felt dropped in the end. The characters were well drawn, and the whole idea was a new one for most of us. Middle of the road for our club.
We chose this book for December so we could have a Christmas party to discuss the book. The story began well, but then became ambling and pointless until it came to an unsatisfactory abrupt end. Bah Humbug! We had a great party anyway!
Our club really enjoyed this read! It is quite long, but once you got used to the pace and language, it was a fantastic story. Great characters with secrets that kept you guessing until the end. Some of our members just loved the language and style of this classic old mystery.
Everyone in our club was affected by this book. We had more discussion on this book than any other; the scenes were so vividly written and emotion laden. We disagreed about some of the characters actions, but everyone in our group admitted the cried over it!
Our club agreed that the descriptive language about the setting was almost poetic. But overall, we found the characters unengaging and strange. Several members were put off by the change in setting and characters from paragraph to paragraph and we missed quotation marks!
The members of our club either loved this one or disliked it so much they didn't finish it! Most felt the introductions and the notes put in by Goldman throughout some of the funniest parts of the book. It gives more info than the movie.
We had mixed feelings about this one. We loved the mix of real life characters in a real life setting blended with the fictional story. We also liked the glimpse of the beginnings of forensic science, but several thought the story line overly complicated and the action a bit slow.
Some members of the book club found this very flat, while others enjoyed the more uplifting ending. Was middle of the road for us.
Everyone in our club enjoyed this one as a light, summer read. It ended happily and read quickly. After reading some "heavier" books lately this was a breath of fresh air.
Members in our book club either loved it or hated it! Some thought the author clever in the way she wove Austen's characters in (Wick and Ham!) but others thought she did not do anything but plunk the characters in without much development. (see NYT review) We had a good time at the meeting anyway!
We received this book as a freebie from Book Movement. Sadly, no-one in our club liked it at all. We were very frustrated with the characters in the book and the jump in time that happened. Things included seemed pointless and things left out confusing.
Everyone in our group enjoyed the small town quirky characters and the satisfying happy ending. Most of all we talked about the power of books and reading to change outlooks and lives.
There was so much in this book; drama, history, mystery, romance; all centered around food! What's not to like? We had the best book club discussion talking about our food memories and talents.
We had a difference of opinion on this one. Several members felt the characters too awful and irredeemable to read about and the sheer number of characters hard to sort out. Others felt the ending was uplifting enough and hopeful enough to make this a meaningful read.
We found this to be an interesting and unusual look at many topics: immigration, class in America, intercultural relationships, aging, and the relationships in families. It gave a more detailed view of the Japanese Internment Camps in the US during WWII.
Everyone in our club really loved this one. The setup of the ship had some of us a bit confused, but the story kept everyone guessing. We had a lively discussion about this book.
Our club enjoyed this read. We liked the characters and found them interesting in the ways they played into Katey's life. The beginning at the photography exhibition was a great way to start the story. Very Gatsby like in character.
We all enjoyed the book very much; we had lots of discussion over the things we learned from reading. Had some good discussion about the characters, their relationships and motives. Great author!
Our book club thought it was a fun read and we learned a lot about Milwaukee that we didn't know!
Our club had a great time talking about the book. We had one member not finish reading so the rest of us had fun telling all the ins and outs of the story. One member just had to close the book at times as the characters made dreadful decisions! Great ending. We're anticipating the movie out soon.
Our book club enjoyed this book and its exploration of wealth, the media, and art. We all liked the structure of the plot, with the crash coming immediately and then the exploration into each of the characters' lives. Some members thought the ending was a bit blah-but a good read none the less!
Our group was saddened by this book, but the themes were so important today as when the book was written, that we had good discussion. I can't really say I enjoyed the read, but I'm glad I read it and will think about it often.
I have read several other books by this author and this one was not my favorite. It had a long slow set-up to the story that and it seem slow and hard to get into. The climax comes close to the end, and most of the resolution comes in an epilogue at the end.
The group liked the book, but found some characters and situations a little frustrating. Not an entirely likable heroine for some in our group. It was a good read for us between two "heavier" selections.
Our group was unanimous in our regard for the way the author shined a light on the hillbilly culture. We were interested in how he told his unvarnished story and is clearly still working through the echoes of his upbringing.
So interesting; with information I never knew about these well-known historical figures. I never knew what a stinker Thomas Edison was!
Our actual average rating was 3.5. Some really liked it for the description and just the fantasy aspects, while others were bothered by the back and forth in time and change in narrators.
Some of our members thought it was sad; but most enjoyed Krueger's wonderful prose and the tender relationships between the characters. We had a great discussion using the questions from the Book Movement web site.
Our group loved this book; once you started you flew through to see what would happen. Harper let out clues and information in such a way that it kept you guessing until the end. We're hoping for more books with Aaron Falk!
Our club was very frustrated with the main character of the book. Most members had multiple children and never sank this low. Most of us wanted to slap her. Her character did not ring true and many said they had to force themselves to finish it.
We were lukewarm to this one, at best. No real character development, rambling story, keystone cops. We began to wonder if the translation wasn't accurate or the cultural differences too great. Won't be reading the sequels!
Our Book Club loved this book. We liked the idea of the main character being a woman around 60 (the average age of our ladies!) in a thrilling suspenseful novel. Many of our group members have gone on to read the other two books in the series, because the author can really tell a tale well!
Our club rated this book relatively low, because most felt you had to work too hard to read it! It is written in a way unlike any other! We did think that some of the images and ideas in the book were unforgettable and we had a lively discussion.
Our group thought that this book was wonderfully written, Lillian was so interesting, and the premise of the walk through New York was fascinating. We'd all have liked to talk with Lillian Boxfish and have a Negroni!
Our group enjoyed this book as an easy read on a topical subject. We had a lively discussion about the issues raised in the book and about the characters depicted. Watching Monica Lewinski's TED talk added to our discussion.
Several in our club had read The Martian, so we were eager to read this one. The premise was so interesting; a heist caper in a moon city! However...we could not warm up at all to the smart-mouthed main character and struggled with all the scientific minutia the author included. The pen pal thing dropped in the middle was really weird. Our party for the book was better than the book! This was clearly written for another movie deal.
Our club liked the book overall, had a bit of trouble getting into it, keeping all the characters straight. But the idea of the friends gathering in their retirement years in a unique location was compelling. We liked how the characters came together at the end.
A well written story, with surprising twists and turns all through. Some in our club were disturbed with the child abduction in the story, but most of us couldn't put it down. The ending was a shocker!
My book club split on their opinion of this one. Some liked it, while others were confused by the constant change of narrator. We felt like the ultimate conclusion came out of nowhere.
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