spoko’s Comments (group member since Mar 05, 2021)

spoko’s comments from the EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club group.

Thanks everyone—nominations are now closed, and the polls are open! Help us pick the next Modern read by casting your vote here.

Abbie wrote: “Was a new read-a-long book picked for March-August 2025?”

We have discontinued the Read-A-Long discussions, because they got very little participation. (Not to mention taking quite a bit more work than the monthly books.)

I second The Vanishing Half.

This begins our group discussion of our Modern book selection, Matilda by Roald Dahl, nominated by Theresa.

This discussion will be full of SPOILERS.

Did you enjoy the book? What stood out to you? Did you enjoy the antagonistic character of Matilda's parents? How about Miss Trunchbull? Were you satisfied with what happened to them? What questions were you left with?

This begins our group discussion of our Classics book selection, The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie, nominated by Estefanía.

This discussion will be full of SPOILERS.

Did you enjoy the book? What stood out to you? Did you guess the killer? How did you feel Christie handled the typical genre aspects in this novel—pacing, misdirection, intrigue, etc.? What questions were you left with?

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? has been selected as the Catch-Up title for February 2025. Please feel free to continue with points from previous discussion, or bring up something new!

Do remember that this is the SPOILER thread, in case you would prefer to finish reading before proceeding here.

I nominate The Road by Cormac McCarthy (241 p., pub. 2006).

Craig wrote: “I definitely lost interest in Dora in chapter 37 and I lost a little respect for David who still likes/loves this superficial girl.”

I’m having the same experience—at this point, between his utter obtuseness with Steerforth and his ridiculous attachment to Dora, I’ve pretty much lost all respect for him. His aunt, on the other hand, grows in my estimation every time she gets a mention.

Thanks everyone—nominations are now closed, and the polls are open! Help us pick the next Catch-Up read by casting your vote here.

Thanks everyone—nominations are now closed, and the polls are open! Help us pick the next Classic read by casting your vote here.

Thanks everyone—nominations are now closed, and the polls are open! Help us pick the next Modern read by casting your vote here.

Rae wrote: “I was surprised that some quotes I’ve heard attributed to the book weren’t in there, but perhaps they are in an edition with a different...”

Sun Tzu is also one of those people—like Machiavelli, Mark Twain, or Oscar Wilde—who frequently has quotes misattributed to him.

Kristen wrote: “spoko wrote: “Kristen wrote: “Wow, that’s some challenge! I think Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir might fit the bill, though the 4th commandment is tricky.
Are you l...”

Honestly, that’s one that’s probably broken in most mainstream books for adults. Violating that commandment is such a common part of everyday speech, even for observant believers. Unless an author is going out of the way to avoid it, I’d expect it to show up.

I think a kid’s book or a very tame YA is about the only way to meet this challenge. Or a non-narrative genre like crafting, cookbooks, etc.

Kristen wrote: “Wow, that’s some challenge! I think Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir might fit the bill, though the 4th commandment is tricky.
Are you looking for a book with a Chris...”

People take the Lord’s name in vain throughout Project Hail Mary.

Rowiey wrote: “would Life & Laughing: My Story count for that then?”

Sure!

I second The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

Rowiey wrote: “ ‘Book connected to where you live’
as in country or like area? cause i feel like ill be hard pressed to find one for my area

Tl;dr: If if feels like it’s about your part of the world, it works.

I thought it best to let each of us decide this for ourselves. For someone who lives somewhere like London or NYC, they wouldn’t be challenged to find something about their city, but they might even try to find something about their borough or neighborhood. For those of us living in rural or less-documented areas, it makes sense to think wider. I went with Nebraska, the state I live in. Others may choose a country or some other, wider space.

“ ‘Book with a subtitle’
what does this mean?”

Some word or phrase that’s not part of the main title, but follows it. So like Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA or Greater Gotham: A History of New York City from 1898 to 1919. Obviously they’re pretty common in nonfiction, but novels do sometimes have subtitles as well. For example, Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution (which actually has two subtitles), Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, or Oliver Twist: The Parish Boy’s Progress.

I second Sula, and I nominate Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo (432 p., pub. 2020).

I second The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, The Awakening, and The Red Badge of Courage.

My two daughters do a thing with two of their friends, where they annotate books for each other. One of them reads the book & leaves marginalia/underlining/highlighting/doodling/whatever, and then they give it to one of the others. Sometimes it’s just that one-to-one gift. But over time, there have been quite a few books that more than one of them have annotated, for the group. By the time three or four of them have been through it, I’d venture to say that the “marginalia” has become the content, and the text itself is mere substrate.

I’m pretty jealous of them, honestly—they have a lot of fun with it, and get a real sense of community from it.