Metropolitan’s Comments (group member since Aug 25, 2014)

Metropolitan’s comments from the Metro Library ReadUp group.

Hey all,
I'm sorry, but I got a little behind this month. I'll try to get the poll for July up soon.

I've heard such good things about her, and I'd be willing to read more of her work. But this one just didn't grab me.

yep, we had the rotary dial too, ha!

I don't mind reading books about horrible people, if they are compelling in some way--like realizing their flaws and trying to work through them, or being unrepentantly bad. These people just muddled around being boring.

I finished it, and I have to say this book was a disappointment. I really did not engage with Georgie or Neal at all. I thought the idea of the magic phone was very interesting but the author didn't use it so well. And I just got tired of reading Georgie's inner dialogue--it wasn't very compelling. What did you all think?

I haven't picked the book up in a couple of days because I'm reading several books at once, as usual. I just got to the part where Georgie realizes that maybe the weird stuff that's happening is supposed to be happening --because of the "we'll make our own enough" line in his proposal. This is something I always find kind of annoying in books with time travel in them--all the convoluted logic to explain what's happening.

This question is kind of interesting:
Are you old enough to remember talking on a landline? Or a rotary phone? What memories did this book bring back? What’s different about talking on a landline compared to a cell phone? How is that reflected in the story?

I am, and mainly I remember not having any privacy at all when talking on the phone as a teenager, because we just had the one phone, and it was in the living room at the end of the couch. It was also a really old phone from the 1970s, because my parents were too cheap to buy a new one. The curly cord attached to the receiver was all frayed on the inside so you'd have to jiggle it around when the line got too staticky and you couldn't hear who you were talking to! And it goes without saying, there was no call waiting, caller ID, any of the modern things that cell phones have as standard features. :)

I think that it would be difficult for anyone, male or female.

As I read further in, I'm finding Georgie and Neal to be less and less appealing characters. I hope they redeem themselves for me by the end!

Joy wrote: "I read it a while back. I found it to be original and as a working mom I really related to the main character."

What resonated with you the most about her? I can relate to her feeling of there not being enough time to do all the things that need to get done, and I don't even have kids!

I really don't see what the Neal's appeal is, personality wise or physicality wise. I can't imagine this working out in a positive way at all, but maybe we'll be surprised!

I'm in the middle of chapter 7, and I like it so far. Here are a couple of questions from the link above:

3. Was it fair of Neal to take the girls to Omaha for Christmas without Georgie? Do you think his frustration with her was justified?

I think it could have been worked out somehow if they had communicated better. He was quite obviously fed up with her never being home or emotionally available and it seems like he just decided to stop talking about anything meaningful with her. And she was so distracted and tired that she wasn't thinking about how her heavy work schedule was affecting her marriage and family. But if she had been able to present the new show as a dream come true and an opportunity for the family, which It was, then maybe they wouldn't have had all the bad feelings.

4. Do you blame Georgie for not going to Omaha with her family? For being so passionate about her career? Would you feel differently if the roles were reversed and it was Neal putting his career first?

No I don't--she says the new show is what she's been working for all of her professional life. You don't skip out on something like that if you can help it. If he was a doctor or something like that, and he was missing out on important family events it would be something people would understand.

I'm excited about this book, as I have only heard great things about the author, but I haven't started it yet. Anyone who's started reading have thoughts?

We have a winner! It's Landline by Rainbow Rowell. Discuss it here!

Here are some questions to think about while reading, from LitLovers.com:
http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guid...

Hello! I set up the poll for June, please go vote for what fun summer book we'll choose!
Also, be sure to sign up for Summer Reading! https://metrolibrary.beanstack.org/re...

Here are the choices:

Landline by Rainbow Rowell: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

The Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

The Rocks by Peter Nichols:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

The Country of Ice Cream Star by Sandra Newman:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

How's everyone's reading going?

I started reading I Wear the Black Hat, and based on some of the author's previous books I'd read, I thought it would be funnier. So far it's a bit dry and philosophical, so I 'm hoping he livens it up.

A note about John Elder Robison, author of Switched On--I saw when researching what books we'd choose from this month--he is the brother of Augusten Burroughs, author of Running with Scissors and many other books. Interesting family.

I tried to find book club discussion questions for all the books, but haven't been able to. Here are some--if you are reading one of the other books, feel free to use these to guide your reading:

Astronaut Wives Club: http://www.readinggroupguides.com/rev...

H is for Hawk: http://www.groveatlantic.com/?title=H...

So here are some generic discussion questions for nonfiction that may be helpful:
http://www.litlovers.com/run-a-book-c...

Oh no, I thought there were more copies of this in the system, and that there were some in other formats. Shoot, I'm sorry for that mistake.

If you want, we can make this month a "readers choice" type thing, and you can read whatever book you like, either one from the poll or another one you've been wanting to read, then you can tell the rest of us about it. I've heard of bookclubs that operate that way and have been curious to try that sometime. What do you guys think?

Discuss it here!

Well, it looks like the winner is Switched On: A Memoir of Brain Change and Emotional Awakening. Get your copy today!

Just finished it and I loved the final story. It was great to read more about what happened to Shadow after the events of American Gods--which you ought to read if you enjoyed this story.