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

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

Melanie wrote: "I just finished The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. Not my favorite book, but it does make one think. I'm not reading Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff."

I hope you mean you are now reading Lost in Shangri-La...
I am too, I'll wait to compare notes with you in Book Club. I like tales of survival so that aspect of is appealing to me.

I've been listening to Gold by Chris Cleave. I loved Little Bee so much I was a little afraid to start it...would it be as good? I'm not sure about it being as good as Little Bee yet, but I am getting thoroughly wrapped up in the story about a trio of Olympic bikers. Two of them are married and have a daughter with leukemia--and then there is Zoe, whose personal life is a wreck and yet she's the one who has won the most gold medals and gotten the big endorsements. I can't wait to see where he's going to go with this story.

Christy wrote: "I just finished Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horwitz and discussed it today with my book group at work. (We used the library's book group in a bag pro..."

Our book group had a great time discussing that book too! It is certainly fascinating, I still think about it whenever I hear about Confederate re-enactors.

Abigail wrote: "I just recently finished reading the book "Runaway Girl: Escaping Life on the Streets, One Helping Hand at a Time." It was a very well-written book, but it had some parts that were difficult to rea..."

You'll have to share what you thought of Henderson's book when you are done with it, I know lots of people are excited to finally get a new book by her so hopefully it was worth the wait!

wow, sounds fascinating...

Melanie wrote: "I'm currently reading My Prison, My Home: One Woman's Story of Captivity in Iran by Haleh Esfandiari. It is about an Iranian born American woman's captivity in Iran. It is well written but I thin..."

Melanie wrote: "Deb wrote: "I'm listening to In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson. Larson really knows how to make history interesting, and this book tells the story of William Dodd--the American ambassador to..."

I could hardly believe all the stuff that she did...she got involved with so many men. She did definitely steal the show...I especially enjoy the story about her meeting with Hitler.
Devil in the White City I read for a book discussion...We had such a good discussion of that book. Extremely fascinating.

I'm listening to In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson. Larson really knows how to make history interesting, and this book tells the story of William Dodd--the American ambassador to Hitler's Germany who watches terrifying event after terrifying event as Hitler takes power.
I'm also reading Wildflowers from Winter by Katie Ganshert...a nice contrast as it is an inspirational novel about a women who goes back to her hometown to reconnect with her best friend--only to discover that the people that drove her away are still there.

Let me know if you think One Day would be a good pick for the So Many Books group...It's in our BGIB collection so we could do it sometime.

Melanie wrote: "Rapture by Lauren Kate was a good finale to the Fallen series. I didn't like the main character, Luce, in the 2nd and 3rd books, but she does redeem herself.

I'm no reading One Day by David Nicho..."

Melanie wrote: "Just finished reading Thank You for All Things by Sandra Kring for So Many Book So Little Time book discussion. I enjoyed this book. While I think Lucy may have been a bit mature for her age, I l..."

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to our discussion Sunday, we should have fun with these characters.

Yes exactly, after I graduated from college I was done with literary criticism!

We had a delightful discussion on this book. I was apprehensive, since it wasn't the easiest of read for me. But the topics it brought up, such as the treatment of women and the role of literature in our lives gave us a lot of fodder for discussion.
Our thoughts on the book: for some of us it was slow going reading it. Nafsi often discusses works of literature that we were unfamilar with. Those sections were harder to read as a result. One group member felt the book was disorganized. Indeed, most of us felt like it should have focused more on the members of the book group, and not so much on the other tangents that Nafsi wrote at length about.
One member had tried to find out if there was more information about the members of the book group and was disappointed to find that there weren't any updates. This was how we got attached to the members of the book group we met in the book.

Melanie wrote: "Finished reading Reading Lolita in Tehran today. Not a bad book, but a bit disorganized. Started Divergent today and already 1/2 finished and really enjoying. I only read this because of the hig..."

Thanks for reading it and being a part of our discussion!

Melanie wrote: "I'm getting close the 1/2 point of by David Ebershoff. I've having a hard time putting it down.

It is about Brigham Young's 19th Wife which left him and worked to make po..."

Oh yeah, I really enjoyed that one. For some reason I find the idea of Polygamy fascinating. I still think about the way the modern day polygamist group was portrayed whenever I hear about modern day polygamists--I hope they really aren't in horrible situations like that.

Melanie wrote: "I finished The Brief History of the Dead last night for the So Many Books, So Little Time discussion. I really liked the idea behind it and enjoy most of the book. I stayed up late to finish the ..."

I'm glad to see you are planning on joining our "So Many Books" discussion. I am re-reading The Brief History of the Dead for it as well. Too bad that you found the last couple of chapters disappointing, but that should give us some interesting fodder for discussion!
The Brief History of the Dead

I'm listening to the Physick book of Deliverance Dane.

It's pretty good so far, it's about a woman doing research on a historical figure -- Deliverance Dane --who just may have been a practicing "witch" at the time of the Salem trials. I can tell that there is going to be some connection between this Deliverance and the main characters family. As she researches she also finds romance and she is learning a lot about herself.

Tricia wrote: "I am almost finished with David Cullen's Columbine. After two years I have finally decided it was time for me to read it! What a great, in-dept book! I did not realize a lot of what happened and ho..."

Tricia, I recently finished listening to Columbine...I found it disturbing yet fascinating, it's definitely worth reading.

Right now I am listening to Watchers by Dean Koontz and thoroughly enjoying it. Einstein is the best dog character ever--he's a genetically engineered Golden retriever with human intelligence. It's gory and creepy in parts but most of the book is really about the couple who discover Einstein and how they form a family. It's a bit corny and contrived but a lot of fun.

The Shadow of the Wind

Discussion Question #1:

Julián Carax's and Daniel's lives follow very similar trajectories. Yet one ends in tragedy, the other in happiness. What similarities are there between the paths they take? What are the differences that allow Daniel to avoid tragedy?

Anyone care to chime in?

Here are some resources to go along with the discussion of Shadow of the Wind:

I love Carlos Ruiz Zafon's website: http://www.carlosruizzafon.co.uk/

It includes interviews, a virtual walking tour of Barcelona and a soundtrack that Zafon wrote to go along with the book. Dowload the music and listen to it while you read!
There is also another good interview with Zafon here: http://us.penguingroup.com/static/rgu...

Enjoy!

Sunday July 24th at 3 pm we will be meeting at the library to discuss Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

Here is a description of the book:
Barcelona, 1945: A city slowly heals from its war wounds, and Daniel, an antiquarian book dealer’s son who mourns the loss of his mother, finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind, by one Julian Carax. But when he sets out to find the author’s other works, he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact, Daniel may have the last of Carax’s books in existence. Soon Daniel’s seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona’s darkest secrets—an epic story of murder, madness, and doomed love. Published in 2004, 486 pages.The Shadow of the Wind