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

Metropolitan’s comments from the Metro Library ReadUp group.

Good to meet you, Cheryl!

I agree with you on Go Set a Watchman--I read about 50-60 pages and nothing was happening, so I abandoned it.

I hope you enjoy our laid back, online book club. Feel free to read or comment on any of our previous reads if you like!

You can see clips and even some of the actual movies mentioned in the book on YouTube.

I like it so far. I just finished chapter 7, and there is a lot of interesting stuff happening. We're still meeting all the players, but we know there are a lot of secrets!

Also this made me laugh out loud: In Pennsylvania, state appointed moral guardians had even snipped out scenes of "a woman sewing baby clothes on the ground that children believe that babies are brought by the stork." What was next, asked the New York Times. "Will it be a crime to show a picture of a man giving his wife a Christmas present on the ground that it tends to destroy faith in Santa Claus?"

Discuss here!

Here are our choices for this month:

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Struck by Genius: How a Brain Injury Made Me a Mathematical Marvel by Jason Padgett:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

There Was A Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me by Brooke Shields: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood by William J. Mann:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Travels with Casey by Benoit Denizet-Lewis: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Please vote in the poll, which will be open until Friday!

I'm working on generating a list for us to vote on right now.

I thought it was really interesting how many things the 3 main female characters had in common: Rachel, Megan and Anna thought and did a lot of the same things. Some of it was through manipulation by Tom, but some of it seemed to just naturally occur.

After I finished, I was struck by what I saw as the author's gimmick: using pronouns with unspecific references--like when Megan keeps thinking about "him" and you think it's one person, but in the end it turns out to be another person. At the time it is confusing, then when you've read the whole book it seems like a trick!

You're right, it's like real-life suspense as you read, hoping that she will be ok in the end! Glad you liked it.

Good point Allie, I wonder how familiar the author is with addiction? Not being an addict, but having known some, I'm not sure about how authentic the point of view was.

I agree with you, Jennifer--I think if you have nothing good happening with which to occupy yourself, like Rachel, you could easily get carried away and become over-involved in things that you shouldn't.

MJ, I felt horrible for Megan too, her life before she got married sounds harrowing. I don't want to give spoilers but the reason she left her previous relationship was pretty devastating. Given her bad experiences previously, you can kind of understand why she did some of the dumb things.

I got a little mixed up on the timeline too, and thought that things were happening in ways that didn't make sense, but I just had to take some extra time making sure I was reading the chapter headings correctly.

I think by the end Rachel is probably ok and will move on and cool it with the drinking. (I hope she would anyway.)

I think Rachel kind of appeals to our worst sides--like "there but for the grace of God..." I felt so bad for her! Addiction is terrible and misunderstood, and I think this character really shows a lot of that.

Also, this was one of the saddest most heartbreaking parts: "Women are still only really valued for two things--their looks and their role as mothers. I'm not beautiful and I can't have kids, so what does that make me? Worthless!" That's one of those shout at the imaginary person you're reading about moments right there.

I finished it this weekend, and it was one of those suspenseful, can't put it down books. I think because of how you aren't sure which character is the reliable narrator, and you're not sure what's going to happen next.

It was pretty painful and depressing too. I had to read funny stuff after finishing this one!

Discuss! This is one that has a lot of buzz.

Here are some discussion topics:
http://www.penguin.com/read/book-club...

The winner is The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins! Get your copy today!

Hello! As promised I'm setting up the poll for what we'll read in August. Vote in the poll for one of these:

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

While Beauty Slept by Elizabeth Blackwell: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Wolf Winter by Cecelia Eckback: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Nice to meet you both! I love Jane Eyre and Anne of Green Gables too.

I thought the same thing. She's barely out of her teens!

I was just thinking that this is another book that could be a really good movie. Lo and behold, it's supposedly going to be made into a movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3704700/?...

Question 2 above: The characters in Brain on Fire—friends, family, medical personnel, and even Cahalan herself—frequently consider if she may be suffering from some form of mental illness. What does the book reveal, then, about our way of thinking about mental illness? For instance, what does Cahalan’s story suggest about the relationship between psychology and neurology? What reconceptions does it reveal about our understanding of mental illness as a society? How does this story help to highlight the necessity of compassionate responses to those who are ill?

Her story shows that mental illness has physical roots and causes, and that we need to remember to treat it as an illness with a cause, not just scary weird stuff that makes people act in frightening ways. There's still a big stigma surrounding mental illness, that makes treatment a challenge.

It's terrible to think of all the people who may have had her illness that were misdiagnosed with mental illness and left to die. This is one of the reasons why this book is so important.