Hello All,
Before we each get too far in our first books (or probably in some cases before we start on our second), I was hoping that we could briefly reflect on the 2007 book club. For those that are new members of this book club, please feel free to add your thoughts of other great books that you read in the last year.
In general, I read a lot of non-fiction and already had two of the five on my list to read before we even began. This post is not intended as a knock on that side of the list - I throughly enjoyed all five nonfiction works. However, it was the two novels by female authors that were absolutely surprising delights (in very different ways) that really had me excited to participate again.
When I first saw the list on Christmas Day, 2006, Calamity Physics by Pessl was the one that I was the most concerned with. Why would I want to read a novel about physics? Who knew that it would be an incredibly entertaining suspenseful novel with tons of literary references and not an ounce of physics (well at least not the equation kinds). It was hard to put it down.
On the other hand, Messud's Emperor's Children was so filled with tragic characters, I wanted to put it down. I kept trying to simply put it in the mail and forget about it. I didn't have any desire to know the characters or learn more about their lives. Yet, something kept pulling me back. Finally finishing it one morning at 4 am, I promptly put Messud's previous works on my Amazon list. This one actually had real characters and intentions that could have actually lived in our real world.
So as we start 2008's list, I'm hoping that I find one work that gets me as excited as those two gems from last year. And knowing the quality from last year, I don't think I will be disappointed.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Gearing Up for a Great Year in Reading
Hello All,
Greetings from the Blog. I've sent out an email invitation to each member of the Family and Friends Book Club to join this blog. I've set this up as a "members only" blog. This means that anyone can view it, but only invited and registered members can post and comment on the blog. If you have any difficulty logging in to the blog after you register, please contact me at jessie_hayden@yahoo.com, and we'll get things sorted out.
Some other helpful hints. Be sure to save the blog URL in your Bookmarks/Favorites, so that you can easily access it. Also, once you are registered, you can sign in to the blog by simply going to the blog site (http://familyandfriendsbc.blogspot.com) and clicking on "Sign In" at the top, right-hand side of blog page. Sign in with your Blogger username and password and begin blogging.
I'm looking forward to a year of great books!
Greetings from the Blog. I've sent out an email invitation to each member of the Family and Friends Book Club to join this blog. I've set this up as a "members only" blog. This means that anyone can view it, but only invited and registered members can post and comment on the blog. If you have any difficulty logging in to the blog after you register, please contact me at jessie_hayden@yahoo.com, and we'll get things sorted out.
Some other helpful hints. Be sure to save the blog URL in your Bookmarks/Favorites, so that you can easily access it. Also, once you are registered, you can sign in to the blog by simply going to the blog site (http://familyandfriendsbc.blogspot.com) and clicking on "Sign In" at the top, right-hand side of blog page. Sign in with your Blogger username and password and begin blogging.
I'm looking forward to a year of great books!
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