Poll

Picking a selection at random to dismiss the poll from my home page. It would be a lot more convenient (and accurate) if we could dismiss the poll ourselves, or if you gave us a "none of the above" style choice.

I had a few favorite chapters.

I also have a few favorite chapters and would like to have been able to vote on all, like a ranking system.

It was hard to just pick one favorite. I chose "Found Objects" because it was opening of the book and it grabed my attention and totally involved me in the story and character of Sasha by the use of trasitioning between Coz's office and Sasha's date with Alex.

I like imagining the chapters as songs. And when I find a really good album, my "favorite song" inevitably changes over time. So right now I voted for "Out of Body," but I agree with you all--I had many favorites.

I loved the irony and unexpected closure of the final chapter.

My favorite was the chapter with the PowerPoint presentation. I work with PPTs for my job and have never thought to use them in this way. I was delightfully suprised. I love how the thoughts were visualized.

First chapter was the best. It was all downhill from there.

Amani wrote: "mlady_rebecca wrote: "Picking a selection at random to dismiss the poll from my home page. It would be a lot more convenient (and accurate) if we could dismiss the poll ourselves, or if you gave us..."

agreed, agreed

I found it difficult to make a choice, so I went with what stayed with me longer.

I had a few favorite chapters too. One answer is inaccurate.

On thenwhole i enjoyed it a lot and the way she jmbed from charactaer to character reminded me a bit of Mrs Dallaway Diid it remind anyone else of it?

Sorry for the typos due to touch screen, meant to say "jumped"

Nouf, I definitely saw parallels to Virginia Woolf's style throughout this book.

Jacqueline, Dominic, my big delem is what to read next, any suggestions? In hope it's ok to ask this here,

Nouf wrote: "Jacqueline, Dominic, my big delem is what to read next, any suggestions? In hope it's ok to ask this here,"

I finished Caleb's Crossing just prior to reading Goon Squad and loved it. I don't give 5 stars to many books, but this one was easy to do so. It is an excellent historical fiction follow up to Nathaniel Philbrick's Mayflower!

Pat wrote: "Nouf wrote: "Jacqueline, Dominic, my big delem is what to read next, any suggestions? In hope it's ok to ask this here,"

I finished Caleb's Crossing just prior to reading Goon Squad and loved it.


Thanks for the recommendation, I will look them both up.

Found Objects and A to B were tied for me. Real surprised to see how low A to B has ended up.

So many chapters were so excellent, but Safari was my favorite. Charlene's bewilderment from the exclusion of her father and brother's bound upon the advent of puberty really hit home with me -- as a woman who found that my relationship with my father irrevocably soured when I transitioned from an nonthreatening girl to a woman. His sudden display of misogyny was heartbreaking once it was directed towards me, as was his abusive need to demonize and berate any evidence or inclination of femininity and female agency.

Likewise, Charlene's bond with her brother really reminds me of how my younger brother looked up to me, and his baffling lack of original thought around my deadbeat father. When it's revealed that he committed suicide, I was moved enough to tears. My brother became disillusioned with my father in his early adulthood, and had to be hospitalized after a suicide attempt because of it.

Egan's insight into the dynamics of a divorced, successful, misogynist husband, his two children, and their abandoned mother mirrored my own past eerily well. The chapter really spoke to the authenticity of her prose, as I could feel the humanity of her characters and the realism of their situation.

I had a hard time choosing a "favorite" chapter because the book works as a whole so well. I realize it's broken into small snapshots, but the power of the novel lies in its collective picture--like one of those crazy photo montages that require the viewer to step back to appreciate the larger image.

Hard to choose my favorite chapter. There were a few I really liked. With each chapter so different from the one before, it was difficult to choose.

I liked the "out of body" one because it was such a successful use of the "you" POV - by far one of the hardest POV to pull off (most writers use the first or third person point of view). So it was something of a tour de force I enjoyed - but true, the first chapter is probably the best.

And the powerpoint chapter was the most surprising - but too gimmicky for my taste!

Each chapter is great, it was SO difficult to pick one.

It was all good and difficult to select just one.

mlady_rebecca wrote: "Picking a selection at random to dismiss the poll from my home page. It would be a lot more convenient (and accurate) if we could dismiss the poll ourselves, or if you gave us a "none of the above"..."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Would it be bad to pick the PowerPoint chapter just because it got me through this awful book faster?

John wrote: "Would it be bad to pick the PowerPoint chapter just because it got me through this awful book faster?"

I totally agree. I was not a fan at all. Started good but definitely nose dived.

mlady_rebecca wrote: "Picking a selection at random to dismiss the poll from my home page. It would be a lot more convenient (and accurate) if we could dismiss the poll ourselves, or if you gave us a "none of the above"..."

I agree I have never read such a disjointed awful book. I hated it.

I couldn't choose. I liked the PowerPoint chapter and the last chapter.

We needed an 'other' option. I really didn't get into this book and wanted it to just end already.

The style it was written wasn't good and was overly confusing. I found it fairly dull.

I picked the first chapter, since it was the one that captured my attention. I loved the whole book though. Very good book.

I think it seemed so disjointed because that's how memories are. We hardly ever remember our past in chronological order; always just fleeting thoughts and images. Since it's a book about time and how it advances and leaves nothing untouched, the way it was written seemed appropriate to me.

mlady_rebecca wrote: "Picking a selection at random to dismiss the poll from my home page. It would be a lot more convenient (and accurate) if we could dismiss the poll ourselves, or if you gave us a "none of the above"..."

I hear ya. I'm just dogging through the rest of this book so I can finish it and then remove myself from the challenge.

Laura wrote: "I picked the first chapter, since it was the one that captured my attention. I loved the whole book though. Very good book.

I think it seemed so disjointed because that's how memories are. We h..."

That is the best way to describe this book...I couldn't figure out how and then I read your post...it also shows how small of a world we live in...as everyone was connected somehow to the next.
I almost gave up on this book...really glad I didn't because it ended up being a very good read...I don't know if I would read it again, but glad that I read it once!!!

If you liked Goon Squad check out Egan's Look At Me

I agree, I would have liked to be able to rank them. My favourites were the powerpoint presentation and the safari chapter.