Matthew’s Comments (group member since Mar 08, 2015)

Matthew’s comments from the Reading List Completists group.

Part 3 - back to peace - Pierre is very popular now that he is rich and a Baron!

I have been seeing advertisements for the new War & Peace mini-series on A&E, Lifetime, History, and BBC One. It started a couple of days ago (rather timely for our pick) and looks pretty good. Now I just have to finish reading it first!

Finished Volume 1, Part 2 - Lots and lots and lots and lots of war . . . perhaps Part 3 will be peace?

I could try and explain how suspenseful this poll is, but it speaks for itself!

Thanks Rachel - nice addition!

I need to work on this - I have only read 5!

This is quite a race - Lolita has pulled into a tie for second with The Blind Assassin - they are only two behind Atonement. And, don't count The Sound and the Fury out - if the next 5 people who vote are Faulkner fans it could make a surprise run to victory!

Wow! This poll is going great - lots of votes and any of the 4 could still win! Atonement is still in the lead, but it looks like Lolita is gaining some momentum!

Lots of stories based around the mix of people in the war. Aristocrats mixed with Proletariats. Intelligent mixed with not so bright. Tactful mixed with buffoons. It makes for some eye opening experiences.

Matthew wrote: "There was a lot of interest in Dead Wake in our last poll - any interest in a buddy read in February?"

Checking in again . . . I am probably going to do this as an audiobook in February. I can go it alone, but since there were several votes, I just want to double check the possibility for a buddy read.

I removed On the Road as an option. I was the only one who had voted for it, so I figured that any additional voting can focus on the titles that have been getting attention during the few days the poll has been up.

Thanks to all for voting! And, if you haven't yet, come on out and join us!

Janina wrote: "I'm at 29 on this list.

It's certainly a bizarre combination of books .. :) .. interesting though (except for the multiple Pratchett ones as I simply can't read him .. other than his serious work..."

Justin wrote: "Agreed. I read The Color of Magic and I don't think I got it like I was supposed to... Maybe it gets better but the first book didn't leave me wanting.more."

I've been wanting to try Prachett - your commentary does not sound promising!

Matthew wrote: "28 for me - Harry Potter helped a lot on this one!"

Up to 32 now!

Dang! Yet another tight race - Atonement and The Blind Assassin are tied - but Lolita is making a push.

With only 17 votes so far in a 100+ member group its is still anyone's game. Vote - vote - vote! :)

Okay - I made it to the end of Book 1 - but I am not sure if that is the equivalent of Part 1 in the last above. But, I am pretty sure I am still in Volume 1!

For February, we are going back to where it all began - The Time 100 Poll. Please vote for which one you would like to read in February (no obligation to read it in February - reading should be low pressure, right?)

February 2016 - Back to Basics Time 100 Poll

Ah . . . a fight between people who think they are the rightful heirs and an illegitimate interloper. A classic tale from the classics!

Ha! Not knocking Stein or Pike - just sayin' that's all we had for young adults back then until Harry Potter rolled in.

Yeah, a lot of people read this one already . . . it looks like so far the displeased are the main commentators..

Janina wrote: "It seems to me like in total there's more variety and diversity in the book market now compared to 20 years ago. Probably also due to us customers having more power via the internet vs depending on publishers, bookstores and libraries as it used to be back in the dark ages. "

I agree with this a lot! And, in order to stress that I am not really cynical about genre saturation, I am kind of glad this has all happened. Whether or not all the books are good quality - a lot more people and age groups have been encouraged to read.

For example, when I worked in the book store in the 90s, we had a very small teen readers section (and it was limited to R.L. Stein, Christopher Pike, etc.) Now bookstores and libraries have gigantic areas dedicated to this age group - and this is a very good thing! If it requires more John Green, vampire romance, post-apocalyptic/dystopian to encourage young readers - then keep them coming! :)

Also, people I know who never read before now say - well I have to read Gone Girl or The Fault In Our Stars or whatever the buzz book is right now. There are book clubs everywhere!

In an age of modern technology, it is good to know that books and reading are stronger than ever!

As you can tell - Justin and I are bitter grumps! ;)

Please don't let us discourage you from posting your thoughts (positive or negative) here about The Girl on the Train.

To add to something that Justin said, and kind of what I was getting at earlier - a generalization about genres: I feel like we have entered an era where one person writes a successful book/series and everyone tries to write the same books/series. I don't think this started happening until about 10 years ago.

I worked in a bookstore in the 90s and we did not have a Teen Vampire Romance Section, but Barnes and Noble has one now (actually, I think it is called Paranormal Romance).

Every teen coming-of-age novel now is compared to John Green - and you can tell a lot of authors are trying to be John Green.

I have seen lots of book series that are into S&M romance since 50 Shades of Grey.

Post-apocalyptic/dystopian teen novels anyone? (Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner, etc.)

And, finally, there is the everyone trying to be Gone Girl genre - hateable characters with a twist! :)

Again - I don't think this is always a bad thing. I probably sound cynical, but some of the genres where this happens I actually like a lot of what has been put out. But, when a genre starts to get saturated, it can become difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff.

I recently said to my wife, "Do you want to go to The Girl On The Train movie when it comes out? If so, I will gladly watch the kids while you go."