From the Bookshelf of 2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge…

Water for Elephants

Sara Gruen

Start date: September 1, 2020

Finish date: September 30, 2020

Discussion: November 2025 Group Read

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Showing 2 of -14 topics — 179 comments total

November 2025 Group Read

The Travelling Cat Chronicles: Mid-Reading Discussion
By Winter , Group Reads · 3 posts · 21 views

last updated 13 hours, 28 min ago

The Travelling Cat Chronicles: Pre-Reading Discussion
By Winter , Group Reads · 5 posts · 28 views

last updated 15 hours, 50 min ago

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What Members Thought

Dec 05, 2008 Noel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, 1001-books-to-read, rabck-ed

I was so excited to receive this book that I totally forgot to journal it! Well, I finished it yesterday and oh my gosh did I enjoy it. This book was well written, well researched and well plotted. I cared about all the characters, from Jacob to Bobo the chimp, and I cared about their stories. Perhaps more meaningful to me than the original circus story, was the story of ending one's life in a nursing home/assisted living. Of looking back on a full life and wondering if this is how it ends, with ...more

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Mar 13, 2011 Missy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nook-books, 2011-reads, fiction, historical-fiction, favorites

I thoroughly enjoyed Water for Elephants. I found myself thinking about the story and the characters throughout my day and was just tickled to get to sit down and dive back into the circus world every night. The love triangle, the animals, the circus life made this a very memorable novel. I definitely recommend it.

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May 15, 2011 DJ rated it it was ok

I expected a lot more from this book. With all the hype around it, I thought it would be amazing. It was just ok. I did like the story, but I think that there could have (and should have) been more contact between Marlena and Jacob, so it was a little hard to swallow that they were SO in love. It was a good, quick read, but not fantastic.

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Apr 23, 2011 Amanda rated it it was ok

Shelves: historical-fiction, circus-carnival

Good story with some elements that drew me in, but overall the characters lacked depth. To be honest, I couldn't figure why some of the characters were even drawn to each other, except that the author told us so.

But overall, I liked it. While the flashbacks were more enjoyable, I think the moments with older Jacob actually packed a more literary punch. More like a 2.5/5 ...more

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