Michelle’s Comments (group member since Dec 08, 2021)

Michelle’s comments from the On The Same Page group.

Ioana wrote: "Michelle wrote: "Still reading Neuromancer. Just started listening to Pachinko."

Can't wait to hear your thoughts on Pachinko, happy reading!"

I am really enjoying it so far Ioana. I'm only at about 60% but I can't imagine that this one is not going to be a hit.

Finished the book but still trying to wrap my head around Neuromancer by William Gibson. An impressive hit!

Burned out cyberspace cowboy, Case, is pulled from the streets to do a special job for an unknown entity represented by the mysterious Armitage. Under the care of Molly, his Samuri protector, Case is reconditioned and prepared for the big job. The mission is to crack the security (ice) surrounding an AI and steal it's identity code. Get ready for one wild ride through cyberspace.

This book was a hard one to read and in the end it was not life changing. That said I am glad I finally read it. While I didn't love it I did appreciate it on several levels. One, this book is universally acknowledged as the beginning of the cyberpunk genre which makes it essential reading for any SciFi fangirl. Two, I loved the 'feel' of this book. It had that dark 80's vibe (dark 80's never being extremely dark but always mysterious and conflicted) that you can only get from books and movies created in the 80's. Three, the writing. Wow, I got the feeling that each word was carefully curated to create the setting and place of this book. It made for difficult reading, but it was beautiful writing. Four, while Gibson did not predict the future in this book (he was actually way off on certain points) he did coin the word cyberspace and actually gave a pretty accurate (though surreal) description of what it can be like to surf the web before there was really any web surfing going on. I would recommend reading this if you are a fan of Philip K. Dick (or more specifically of Blade Runner) or the Matrix.

3 call me impressed stars.

Quotable:

“The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.”
― William Gibson, Neuromancer
(Famous first lines)

“Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts... A graphic representation of data abstracted from banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters and constellations of data. Like city lights, receding...”
― William Gibson, Neuromancer

“Lost, so small amid that dark, hands grown cold, body image fading down corridors of television sky.”
― William Gibson, Neuromancer

“The nature of friendship is such that you never know who will turn out to be your friends, but once you have met them you can’t imagine that you could have gone through life without ever knowing them.”
― William Gibson, Neuromancer

“When the past is always with you, it may as well be present; and if it is present, it will be future as well.”
― William Gibson, Neuromancer

Nice list Diana! I really enjoyed The Sentence, Homecoming, and Here One Moment. Hope you do too. I'm looking forward to your thoughts on The Wedding People. That's on my radar right now.

Still reading Neuromancer. Just started listening to Pachinko.

“Let children read whatever they want and then talk about it with them. If parents and kids can talk together, we won't have as much censorship because we won't have as much fear."
— Judy Blume

He wrote until the story was there, outside him, terrible in its truth.”
― Ashley Hope Pérez, Out of Darkness

15 books
1213 pages

12 audiobooks
3 print

#13. The Haters Three pretentious teens with bad attitudes run away from jazz camp determined to find venues to play their own brand of music. This was not a grand adventure story or an inspiring coming of age story. This was mostly a waste of time. 2 yes, I’m hating on the haters stars. Fiction-YA.

#14. Out of Darkness. Against a true historical background two young sweethearts try to find a way to have a life together. Not a bad story and the historical background was interesting. I did feel like there were too many ‘issues’ being addressed and some of the sex and violence was unnecessary to the story, especially for YA. 3 sometimes too much is just too much stars. Fiction-YA.

#15. Blood of Hercules. This was not romantasy. This was not Hunger Games. This was not dark academia. This was not sexy. This was not consensual. This was a very sparse and somewhat confusing plot. This was demeaning to women. This was violent. This was so many trigger warnings strung together that I lost count. 1 yes is not consent if it is coerced stars. Fiction.

Currently reading:
Neuromancer
I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons
Pachinko

If this nation is to be wise as well as strong, if we are to achieve our destiny, then we need more new ideas for more wise men reading more good books in more public libraries. These libraries should be open to all—except the censor. We must know all the facts and hear all the alternatives and listen to all the criticisms. Let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors. For the Bill of Rights is the guardian of our security as well as our liberty.

[Response to questionnaire in Saturday Review, October 29 1960]"
— John F. Kennedy

Lillie wrote: "You’re on a roll Michelle! Love that you enjoyed The Little Prince. It’s been a particular favorite of mine since we did a play based on the book in fourth grade. I take it out and read it every so..."

Thanks Lillie! The Little Prince was recommended to me by my 5 year old grandson. I can’t believe I had never read it.

Lindsey wrote: "2nd book finished -The Wedding People . 5 stars! 💙💙💙💙💙

I just loved this book! I honestly didn't know exactly what it was about, and I thin..."

I’m seeing great reviews everywhere on this one. Looks like I better move it to the top of the TBR.

You've really been reading some interesting books Lillie. Glad to see you liked We Solve Murders. I loved that one.

Patricia wrote: "I completed 2 this week: #2 Year of the Snake What Darkness Brings (2013).

#15 A book with a strong female character: [book:Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woma..."

I read Grandma Gatewood's story a few years ago. What an amazing story. Glad you enjoyed it!

Alissa wrote: "Completed my first book off my 2nd 12+4 list!

The Wedding People by Alison Espach



4 STARS
Book

A depressed, down on ..."

You make this one sound so good! I think I'm going to have to work it in.

Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez is my next completed banned read.

In this historically based novel, sweethearts try to find a way to be together in 1930's East Texas. Obstacles abound and everything comes to a head when the local school explodes due to gas leaks, killing hundreds and making it necessary for the lovers to take immediate action.

I enjoyed this book, but I feel that it lacked focus. The story line tried to deal with history, racism, class, violence against women to name a few issues and I just felt it didn't quite make the cut in any one area. I think the argument would be to present a realistic picture of Texas in the 1930's but I doubt it did that either, skewed as it was towards certain aspects of the story. I also felt that there was way more explicit sex and violence in this book than there should have been in a YA book. It was unnecessary and could have easily been avoided without diluting the message. Again, I think the argument for including these passages would be realism, but I think the same events could have easily been conveyed without explicit content. In fact, I think without the distractions the book might have had even more impact. On a good note, the historical aspect of the book was fascinating and should possibly have been a larger part of the story.

Should it be banned? No. But it should probably be available to older students. It could definitely use better editing. Focusing one aspect of the story and leaving out the gratuitous sex and violence would have made it not only more appropriate but also a better story. This book and my previous read, The Haters, make me wonder if sometimes questionable content is included to invite the ban and possibly boost readership. This book definitely makes me feel that current trends in the publishing industry do not encourage writers to do their best work. I feel that publishers want longer books and often do not encourage writers to hone their story down to the essence. And I think that particularly in historical fiction the trend is to focus on history seen through a modern lens. Not necessarily a bad thing but it encourages the inclusion of certain hot button issues in pretty much any historical fiction published. This would have been a better book if it didn't try to push so many buttons.

3 less controversy more focus stars.

Quotable:

“To touch her braid was to remember her mother. The code was simple: when her mother had a braid, she belonged to Naomi.”
― Ashley Hope Pérez, Out of Darkness

“There are so many funerals that the pews in churches have no time to cool.”
― Ashley Hope Pérez, Out of Darkness

“the dead are not always right. The dead are not saints. But the dead are ours. We carry them with us like it’s our job. And maybe it is.”
― Ashley Hope Pérez, Out of Darkness

Currently listening to Out of Darkness.

Finished The Haters by Jesse Andrews. Haters got to hate I guess.

Feeling misunderstood and underappreciated at jazz camp three young musicians embark on a their very own "world tour". Leaving jazz camp behind they drive south in search of an audience. Mayhem and confusion plague most of their attempts but nothing stops them from trying.

So here is where I get to be the hater. A book this full of pretentious angsty teenagers, crude male humor and unfunny jokes involving anatomy really needs to culminate in a wise, life-affirming message for the world. That did not happen here. I'm not going to say it should be banned. Obviously, I don't believe in banning books, but I am going to say there wasn't much of redeeming value in this book. I personally would not be too mad at any school librarian that just dropped it from the catalogue but I also would not spend any time trying to get it banned. That would be a huge waste of time. There was some bad stuff in this one. Stuff I didn't appreciate and wouldn't recommend for school age children but spending a lot of effort on banning this book seems like lending it way too much importance. I just really didn't find anything redeeming enough here to merit that much attention. The one good thing I am going to say about this book is that the author has a gift for simile. His wacky comparisons did make me laugh a few times such as when he compares one of the teens overprotective parents to retrievers.

2 hoping that teens at jazz camp don't really talk like this, dude stars.

Quotable:

“You cats mind if I make it a trio?' he asked me, and it was not a huge surprise that a dude of his appearance was speaking in Jazz Voice.”
― Jesse Andrews, The Haters

“Jazz camp was mostly dudes. It was just a scene of way too many dudes.”
― Jesse Andrews, The Haters

Don't not read The God of the Woods on my account. It was a good book, just not earth-shattering. If it had been a little shorter and tighter, it would have been a hit for me. I've read all of your above hits except Greenlights. I agree with your assessment on them all, so I guess I better get busy and read Geeenlights.

The hits keep coming with The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters.

A family of migrant blueberry pickers in Maine find themselves unable to accept the loss when their youngest daughter disappears. The book follows the family as they struggle through the coming years particularly the youngest family members. This book dealt with loss, grief and guilt, combining them with a little bit of mystery to draw the reader into the family circle.

I added this book to the list because it was another recent release that was getting a lot of hype. Unlike The God of the Woods, I felt like this one exceeded expectations. It was a quiet book but I was not bored and I loved the characters. Well written. Not earth shattering but I'm definitely glad I didn't miss this one.

4 family secrets and inherited guilt stars.

Quotable:

“I found it strange that no word exists for a parent who loses a child. If children lose their parents, they are orphans. If a husband loses his wife, he’s a widower. But there’s no word for a parent who loses a child. I’ve come to believe that the event is just too big, too monstrous, too overwhelming for words. No word could ever describe the feeling, so we leave it unsaid.”
― Amanda Peters, The Berry Pickers

“When you’re an only child, semi-imprisoned, books become more than paper between hard cardboard, more than the alphabet organized into words and printed on a page.”
― Amanda Peters, The Berry Pickers

“Even people who exude light and happiness have dark secrets. Sometimes, the lie becomes so entrenched it becomes the truth, hidden away in the deep recesses of the mind until death erases it, leaving the world a little different. Secrets and lies can take on a life of their own, they can be twisted and manipulated, or they can burst into the world from the mouth of someone just as they are starting to lose their mind.”
― Amanda Peters, The Berry Pickers

“Fate is a trickster. He likes to set up all the clues just to see if you can put them together and make sense of the things you never thought to make sense of in the first place.”
― Amanda Peters, The Berry Pickers

“Words are powerful and funny things, said or unsaid.”
― Amanda Peters, The Berry Pickers

12 books
1213 pages

9 audio
3 print

#10 The Berry Pickers This was a complicated story about family and guilt with a little mystery thrown in for good measure. I really enjoyed it. 4 are our true selves molded more by nature or by nurture stars. Fiction.

#11 The Little Prince I loved this classic children's story. I only regret that I waited until I was grown up to read it. 4 warm fuzzies stars. Fiction-Children.

#12 William Henry Harrison: Young Tippecanoe Before you click on the link and ask yourself "What is Michelle playing at?", let me explain. I'm looking at my President's challenge and thinking that if I want to finish it without buying a bunch of large dusty history books, then I'm going to have to get creative especially with some of the lesser-known Presidents. So, this book, which is actually a young reader chapter book from the Young Patriot series, was available from my library and I thought I would give it a try. It was bare bones as far as history is concerned and certainly a rosy version of history, so I probably won't look to this series again (though I'm not ruling it out). I did learn a few facts about our 9th president though so I feel I can fairly count it. What facts you ask? Harrison was descended from original Jamestown settlers. His father signed the Declaration of Independence and was a governor of Virginia. Harrison served the shortest term of any president - 1 month. He was the first president to use a campaign slogan in his campaign - "Tippicanoe and Tyler too!" 3 what more would you need to know about William Henry Harrison stars. Nonfiction-Children.

Currently reading:
Neuromancer
The Haters
I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons

But if you come at just any time, I shall never know at what hour my heart is to be ready to greet you.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

I have lived a great deal among grown-ups. I have seen them intimately, close at hand. And that hasn’t much improved my opinion of them.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Karol wrote: "The White Lady, by Jacqueline Winspear, 1/16/2025

I am off to a frustratingly slow start this year, partly because of a beloved family member who came on New Year's E..."

The White Lady was my first Jaqueline Winspear as well Karol. Like you I moved on to the Maisie Dobbs series. It is very good. I hope you enjoy!

Lillie wrote: "Michelle wrote: "My first hit! The Little Princeby Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

A sweet children's classic about a little prince who leaves his planet, learns many thing..."

It's the kind of book that is not only memorable but creates memories as well. No matter how old you are when you finally read it.

Ioana wrote: "Michelle wrote: "My first hit! The Little Princeby Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

A sweet children's classic about a little prince who leaves his planet, learns many thing..."

It is I don't know how I have missed it all these years.