Deb’s Comments (group member since Jul 12, 2011)

Deb’s comments from the Topeka & Shawnee Co. Public Library group.

Melanie wrote: "Runner's World Complete Book of Women's Running: The Best Advice to Get Started, Stay Motivated, Lose Weight, Run Injury-Free, Be Safe, and Train for Any Distance is what I just finis..."

Yeah, rain ruined my plans to run as well. If it keeps up maybe we'll have to take up swimming instead, LOL

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
I'm reading "Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter" by Tom Franklin (which the So Many Books discussion group is talking about on Sunday). I'm not used to this much excitement in one of our book group reads--already a man has gotten shot in a chest, a dead body has been found, and there are two people who have gone missing (one in the past, one in the present). The book jumps around from the present day to 30 years before quite a bit, which is taking some getting used to. Still, I can't wait to see how it all ties together!

We had a lively discussion over this book. (SPOILER ALERT) We speculated about the true nature of the relationship between Caroline and "Father". And why he is never named. And whether or not Caroline was following in his footsteps--will she also abduct a child? Most of us could not live the way she did. We wondered what really happened between the Father and Susan. Mostly we were glad Caroline had found a way to live out her life the way she wanted, although we hoped she wasn't going to make poor choices and we wondered if things were really going to work out for her. Most of us would not recommend this book to other readers, but we think Peter Rock has an incredible interesting imagination and we had a great discussion!

Wow, sounds like we should have quite a lively discussion on it at the So Many Books discussion group meeting on Sunday!

Melanie wrote: "I just finished My Abandonment and found it to be on the creepy side. For one character I did go through a range of emotions - sympathy, hope, cheering, and finally anger. I don't ..."

I just finished listening to Defending Jacob by William Landay. It's an excellent blend of a legal thriller and and psychological suspense and also quite thought provoking. The story is told by a lawyer, a former prosecutor for the District Attorney's office of his local community, whose son is accused for the murder of a classmate. While he is focused on defending his son and proving he didn't do it, the reader is wondering if his son really could have committed the crime--and if so, how much culpability do the parents have?

Melanie wrote: "Deb wrote: "I'm excited about finally starting Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. I can already tell it's going to be great! I'm listening to it on my mp3 player and we need more warm days so I can g..."

I do it all the time, Unbroken was inspiring me to run harder as I listened to the stories of how he trained to run in the Olympics. No way I can run as fast as he did though!

I'm excited about finally starting Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. I can already tell it's going to be great! I'm listening to it on my mp3 player and we need more warm days so I can get outside and run and listen.

Melanie wrote: "Just finished Appetite for America: How Visionary Businessman Fred Harvey Built a Railroad Hospitality Empire That Civilized the Wild West and was suprised that I loved it as much as..."

Sounds like you are on quite a Kansas history reading bent.
I too am enjoying Appetite for America and learning more about Kansas/American history. I grew up in Leavenworth so I especially enjoyed hearing about Harvey's life there and the way the town was at the time. Sadly, I have never made a visit to the Fred Harvey museum there, but I would probably find it a whole lot more interesting now that I've read this book.

Miranda wrote: "I'm reading The Art of Racing in the Rain for our December Bean There, Read That selection. The book is narrated by a dog, and I can already tell that it's going to be a bit heartbr..."

Oh yes, I sure have! It is heartbreaking, but also wonderful, I love the warmth of the bonds between the family (and dog) in it.

Cheryll wrote: "Still trying to finish King Solomon's Mines. I can't always get to it when I want to. Been a good book, but it is written kind of weird. I think it is the way it was written in whatever date it wa..."

I really liked that book, it reminded me a lot of old adventure movies (maybe because some of the stuff from those movies came from this book?)

I just started listening to Her Mothers Hope by Francine Rivers. I am getting totally enthralled by the story of Marta, a young woman from Sweden with a dream to escape the torment of the relationship with her father and become the owner of her own boarding house or hotel (and her own destiny). Her mother's prayers follow her as she journeys to France, England, and now Canada.

I'm listening to We Need To Talk About Kevin. I agree, it's a tough read at times, the scene where the husband is arguing with Eva and urges her to go to counseling while they are in the waiting room after their daughter is horribly injured was so painful to listen to! I am extremely curious as to how it will end...but I will be glad when I'm through with it.

10 miles! Wowsers!

Melanie wrote: "I got interrupted on the Tipping Point to read Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen. It is an interesting true story recommended to me by a fr..."

Yes, one of the striking things to me was how little she mentioned her family, other than that she didn't want to hang herself because she didn't want them to discover her like that. But did she think it was going to be less painful for them for her to kill herself another way, and for her to send out these tapes? But then, people who are in that frame of mind must be in such mental distress that they can't think beyond themselves.

John wrote: "Wow the memories that brings back. I never read the official Dragon Knight series which I believe was started in 1990 but I read the original it was based on, "The Dragon and the George", back in t..."

I'm glad that jarred your memory. It's a really fun series to read!

The premise of this book is quite fascinating! If someone sent you a package of cassette tapes like the one's that Hannah sent Clay, what would you do? Would you tell anyone about it?

I think, like Clay, I'd feel compelled to listen to them all right away before I did anything else. The curiosity would just be too strong.

John wrote: "I was trying to remember a book series I read many years ago in high school that I wanted to revisit and can not remember any of the titles nor the author. All I can recall is that somehow a man fr..."

Your description reminds me of the Dragon Knight series by Gordon Dickson
I read one of them called The Dragon and the Djinn:

James Eckert--AKA the dragon knight--goes off on another adventure with his friend Sir Brian Neville-Smith. Jim continues his development as a magician who can turn into a dragon and do other transformations and spells at will--but who is warned to be conservative in his use of magic. Jim and his wife Angie originated in our 20th century, but were somehow transported back to an alternate 14th century version of our world where magic is real. Thus the reader gets to learn about the 14th century through the eyes of someone with a 20th century understanding of the world.

I found her writing style very vivid, I could see the events (especially the horrific ones) very clearly in my mind, which really sucked me into the book!

Anyone excited about traveling to the Far East (and L.A.)? For me it will be the only bit of travelling I'll be doing for a while.
Book description: n 1937, Shanghai is the Paris of Asia, a city of great wealth and glamour, the home of millionaires and beggars, gangsters and gamblers, patriots and revolutionaries, artists and warlords. Thanks to the financial security and material comforts provided by their father's prosperous rickshaw business, twenty-one-year-old Pearl Chin and her younger sister, May, are having the time of their lives. Though both sisters wave off authority and tradition, they couldn't be more different: Pearl is a Dragon sign, strong and stubborn, while May is a true Sheep, adorable and placid. Both are beautiful, modern, and carefree . . . until the day their father tells them that he has gambled away their wealth and that in order to repay his debts he must sell the girls as wives to suitors who have traveled from California to find Chinese brides. As Japanese bombs fall on their beloved city, Pearl and May set out on the journey of a lifetime, one that will take them through the Chinese countryside, in and out of the clutch of brutal soldiers, and across the Pacific to the shores of America. In Los Angeles they begin a fresh chapter, trying to find love with the strangers they have married, brushing against the seduction of Hollywood, and striving to embrace American life even as they fight against discrimination, brave Communist witch hunts, and find themselves hemmed in by Chinatown's old ways and rules.

Chantel wrote: "Just started reading When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin. I have never heard of the author and know nothing about the book - I just picked it up at a garage sale for a dime and decided to give it a..."

I remember good things about that book and author...very introspective and uplifting.