Donna's comments (member since Jul 26, 2008)

Donna's comments from the The Next Best Book Club group.

Brilliant! Thanks for linking that, Charity!

Lori, you are awesome!

I just read The Road in early July while on vacation - I kinda burned through it, not quite one sitting but very quickly, and the book (literally) started falling apart on me so I ended up tossing it in the trash instead of bringing it home. So maybe some of the details, like whether "war" was mentioned, got past me, and I don't have the book to skim through and verify. My husband read it immediately before I did and we ended up agreeing that it seemed like a catastrophic natural disaster had occurred, an asteroid or massive volcanic eruption or something similar. If it had been nuclear war, the survivors would be suffering from radiation sickness or at least concerned about it, but nothing similar is even alluded to.

The Road is sitting at the opposite end of the spectrum from Stephen King's The Stand - in one, the world is fully fleshed out, you understand nearly every character's flaws, motivations, and feelings, you pretty much have a flow chart to the end of the world. In the other, you're left guessing every step of the way. And that isn't what I ultimately didn't like about The Road, there's nothing wrong with a book that makes you think or leaves you hanging, although it's much more satisfying to tie up loose ends and have answers. The thing for me was that I got bogged down in McCarthy's language so many times, there were some sentences that were wading through a tar pit. Not that I have a quota, but when I've stopped a certain number of times because there are passages that are the equivalent of chewing gristle, I become very conscious of "reading" and not of the storytelling. (Since I threw my shoddy paperback away, I can't torture myself, or you, with any of these gems, but I did read them aloud to my DH as I found them. The word "vestibular" sticks in my mind.)

So I did enjoy the story, I appreciate his approach, but it wasn't a book I loved reading.

thank you so much, everyone, for your warm welcomes! Luke is very appreciative of the compliments, he's getting a little sensitive about his weight since he turned 8 and saw the word "senior" on his chart at the vet's office. :-P

As much as I love the snugglin' there are a few times when I wish he was a little more like a cat. When we travel, he has to have an overnight dog sitter and they have to be warned that he will sleep with them. Luke was a rescue - luckily, just an emotionally neglected owner-surrendered dog who went into purebreed rescue, not a shelter dog - but we think his upbringing and the rescue experience enhanced his natural neediness.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets sucked in by the disasters. I appreciate the rec, Val, because I really enjoyed both of the Krakauer books that you love. I have been through phases where it's been surviving disaster stories (the whaleship Essex, plane crash in the Andes, etc.), the Galveston hurricane, the Hartford Circus fire... I do mix it up with some light and fluffy reading, I promise.

Off to see what everyone's been talking about! Thanks again for the enthusiastic welcome!

Hi to everyone! I've been on Goodreads for a few months now but this is my first discussion group. I've loved reading since I was a little kid, in fact I don't remember learning to read - it was just always there. The story is that I just started reading along with my older brother when I was about three. Although I am especially fond of biographies, historical fiction, and disaster books (I'm not sure where my morbid streak comes from) I think I can enjoy any genre when it's well written, so I try to keep an open mind. I guess I'd place myself square in the middle between the too-fluffy and the too-academic (but I occasionally stray to either end of the spectrum and end up liking it!)

The picture in my avatar is my bull terrier, Luke - he's an only child, just a little spoiled, and quite an accomplished snuggler when I'm curled up with a good read.

I don't have a count right now but I am sure the number will embarrass me - I would guess at least 20 or 25. This weekend I'm planning to go through my shelves and get some books together to lend to friends, so that will pare down the ratio of what I've read to the books that are waiting for me.

The used book store is the worst for me - it's so hard to pass up the opportunity to grab something appealing for a couple dollars even if it's not high on my list.

Hi all, after reading through some of the discussions and recognizing my new friend Jim in the spammers circle, I think I might love this group. =) So I joined. Then took a look at the bookshelves and promptly (albeit accidentally) deleted a book *zoinks!* So please forgive the newbie and someone please put A Dirty Job back where it belongs... I promise not to touch the bookshelves ever, ever again. I plead insufficient caffeine - and this is the first book group I've joined here! Anyway, looking forward to the book recs, discussion and getting to know you guys.