The WINNERS for August's Group Read are....

[Manday]

The Time Traveler's Wife is for the regular fiction, so it does not matter when the movie is released... right?

[Becky]

Eww. Sorry, I won't be participating in The Reader. I did not care for that book at all, and wish I could have back the days it took me to read all whopping 204 pages of it... LOL

Good luck you brave souls who are going to read it! :)

[Emily]

haha I totally agree Becky...I thought it was terrible.

[Susanna]

I'm sort of glad The Reader won since I've already read it and seen the movie so I have more time to concentrate on other group reads. But I am excited about The Time Traveler's Wife :)

[Suzanne]

I am SO excited!!! They have just started the trailers for the film and it looks wonderful ... so I am starting the book ASAP!!! YAY!!!


(I am speaking of 'The Time Traveler's Wife' of course!!)

[Edith]

I'm really looking forward to The Time Traveler's Wife. I just ordered this one from B & N and it should be waiting for me when I get home today!

[Jennifer]

I read The Time Traveler's Wife a few years ago, but it remains one of my all-time favorite books. I'm so excited for the movie, and I'm really looking forward to the group discussion as well.

[Diane]

oh well. Sorry if so many folks did not care for my suggestion of The Reader : (

I just re-watched the movie as it was my favorite movie for last year. I am looking forward to reading the book. Hopefully those that voted for it will participate in the discussion and enjoy it.

[Katie]

I read The Reader a few weeks ago and really didn't like it at all. I'd said I wasn't going to see the movie because I was so turned off by the book, but maybe now I will since it will be discussed here.

[Lori, Super Mod]

Please dont confuse the Time Travelers Wife as the book and movie pair. It was nominated that way but I moved it becuase the movie doesnt come out, and the rule was no theater films... only DvD's...

Im happy about TTW becuase I have the book, I might not get to the Reader, at least for this month...

Diane, dont worry. Apparently a lot of people wanted it becuase it won :)

[Becky]

Sorry Diane.

On the flip side, you might appreciate it a lot more by having seen the movie first. Maybe Michael won't seem as annoying to you as he does to me because you'll be able to picture him as the 'too-good-looking-to-be-allowed' Ralph Fiennes.

You know, on second thought, I might pop in to the discussion for this one. I'm curious as to what the people who liked it liked about it. So far, everyone I know who's read it either disliked it or actively hated it. I'm somewhere in the middle. LOL

[Apokripos]

Yey! The Reader won! I'm kinda wonderin' why some don't like it, though apparently it won the polls? Can we blame Oprah for this? LOLz! Or is because it's just way too "deep" for a thin (204) paged book?

[Diane]

Becky, I hope I am not disappointed in the book, espcially since I am so fond of the movie. It is very unusual for me to see a movie before reading the book, but at Academy Award time I was trying to see as many movies as possible.

If you do see the movie on DVD, you may want to watch some of the extras. They added even more depth to the story for me.

[Diane]

Lori wrote: "Please dont confuse the Time Travelers Wife as the book and movie pair. It was nominated that way but I moved it becuase the movie doesnt come out, and the rule was no theater films... only DvD's....."

Thanks Lori. I think the movie/book idea was great, and I am anxious to see how The Reader the book compares with the movie. I've had it on my to read shelf forever, so now I finally will!

[Angela]

I am currently reading The Time Travelers Wife for my home bookclub, which we will be discussing on Thursday. I am excited that it won. There is also a thread in this group in Wanna Discuss this Novel.

[Lori, Super Mod]

Oh yes, Angela, thanks for reminding me. I will have to close that one and link it to the new one. We dont want two discussions going on at the same time on the same book.... that would upset the OCD in me :)

[Becky]

jzhunagev wrote: "Yey! The Reader won! I'm kinda wonderin' why some don't like it, though apparently it won the polls? Can we blame Oprah for this? LOLz! Or is because it's just way too "deep" for a thin (204) paged book?"

I don't think that it was too "deep". On the contrary, because it was so short, I expected it to have a much deeper impact on me than it did. (I even put something to that effect in my review, if I remember correctly.)

I don't want to get into the discussion here, but the short answer for why I didn't care for it was that I hated the characters. All of them. Without exception. Michael especially though. *shrug* I actually do look forward to the discussion now, to see what I've apparently missed. :)

[Vicki]

Ooo... I actually just started The Time Traveller's Wife yesterday so I am excited for that discussion.

[Yvette]

The picks for this month are fantastic. I just ordered both books last night. I can't wait to dig in. This is the best book club and I am so glad I joined!!

[Leila]

I think this is the first time ever a bookclub has chosen two books and I have already read both of them XD

Loved The Time Traveler's Wife and I actually enjoyed the Reader :) Maybe it was because it was the last book we read for our exams and it was quite different LOL :D

Btw, is it "Traveller" or "Traveler"? O_o My spell-check keep underline the latter...

[Felina]

I haven't seen The Reader but everyone I know that saw it didn't like it. I'm a HUGE Kate Winslet fan but I decided not to risk it however...Oddly enough I'm digging the controversy about it. I wasn't going to read it but now I want to so I can see what all the rage is about.

I really love this bookclub.

[Diane]

Yvette wrote: "The picks for this month are fantastic. I just ordered both books last night. I can't wait to dig in. This is the best book club and I am so glad I joined!!"

Yvette, I think you also nominated the Reader?

[Yvette]

Diane wrote: "Yvette wrote: "The picks for this month are fantastic. I just ordered both books last night. I can't wait to dig in. This is the best book club and I am so glad I joined!!"

Yvette, I think you a..."

Diane, you are correct, I did. The book and movie appealed to me. Just never had a chance to engage in either. Now, I will. I am so thrilled.

[Carol]

I have already read both books. I am looking forward to others opinions about both books. I will need to refresh my memory as I have read them several months ago.........

[Diane]

Akittykat wrote: "I have already read both books. I am looking forward to others opinions about both books. I will need to refresh my memory as I have read them several months ago......... "

I like your name :)
I also have trouble "remembering details" after I've read a book. To help me remember things, I've started putting small post-its on the pages that have scenes or characters that I want to remember or that I think are important to the story and would make an interesting point to discuss.

[Apokripos]

Perhaps you should use The Memory Book The Classic Guide to Improving Your Memory at Work, at School, and at Play to improve your memeory... this one really works... it really is... though a lot of input you must exert...

[Athira]

I have read The Reader and didn't like it at all. In fact, I was way too disappointed after all the hype over the movie. I didn't like any of the characters and found the Mike character way too depressing. Anyways, I've always been wanting to read The Time Traveler's Wife, and am eager to dig into it!

[Lisa]

I have The Reader to pick up at the library. I had requested it before it became the August read. Now I will be able to see what others think of it as well.

I loved The Time Traveler's Wife. I might have to fit it in as a re-read soon.

[JSou]

I read both of these last year, so I'm looking forward to hearing what all you guys think!

[Lori, Super Mod]

So funny that the Reader seems like such a love it or hate it kinda book. Im tempted to grab it the next time I see it just to see which side of the fence I fall on :)

[Carol]

The Time Travelers Wife-I thought as a romance novel , it was somewhat successful.But as a science fiction novel it left me without the unexpected excitment you get when reading a really well written science fiction book. So I suppose I am saying I liked the romance part but forget the other.

[Apokripos]

Maybe it's like a chick-lit science fiction, that Time Traveler's wife...

[Carol]

Acurate discription.I hope the movie is better. It was hard to follow as a book. I dread to think how they will link it as a movie...I am not a chic lit or bodice buster reader as a rule. But sometimes I like a light read.

[Carol]

I only watched The Reader because of Ralph Fiennes. The book was ok. Nothing spectacular or outstanding to my mind. But then again you have to know my mind or maybe not ha ha

[Apokripos]

I'm bothered how chick-lits has come to invade literature today. Is it the result of the growing women population or is it that most of the people reading nowadays are women only? As you might recall chick-lit invaded the vampire mythology via Twilight... now science fiction... what next? Maybe we'll expect a chick-lit Harry Potter soon... LOLz... ^_^... just joking... :-p

[Carol]

okay . If we can make as much money as they do lets go for it. We can call our first book Harriet Goes To Pot. lol

[Lori, Super Mod]

jzhunagev wrote: "I'm bothered how chick-lits has come to invade literature today. Is it the result of the growing women population or is it that most of the people reading nowadays are women only? As you might reca..."

Jzhunagev, chick lit is not really invading anything. It's always been out there. Twilight isnt considered chick lit, you know, it's shelved as YA, and sure, authors out there tend to "borrow" ideas that already existed and change and mold them and add new spins to them to fit thier writing tastes....

Christopher Moore put a different spin on vampires too.... a humorous one :)

I enjoy seeing what authors come out with... hey, we now have classic chick lit (aka Pride and Prejudice) turned into contemporary dick lit (aka PP&zombies!!)

[Becky]

Lori!! P&P isn't chick-lit. Chick-lit is mindless crap like Confessions of a Shopaholic... P&P is a classic!

[Lori, Super Mod]

Well, I did say "classic chick lit"... hee hee.
I do it give it props for it's status of classic-ness :)

[Becky]

LOL For shame! Just because a book centers around a female character and appeals to females doesn't make it chick-lit!

Changing it to make Lizzie an ass-kicking ninja zombie-slayer only made the book appeal to men's fantasies... So I'll let your "dick-lit" term stand! LOL

I really hate how everything is being lumped under that chick-lit umbrella now. It's insulting to books that actually have substance.

[Lori, Super Mod]

Yeah, I hear you. The Tongue in cheek term "chick lit" tends to become all encompassing, you are right. I fall into that group of people tho too.

Classic chick lit
Mature chick lit
Contemporary chick lit

Where do we draw the line???? I say, if the plot/story line grabs you, whether it is fluff or serious, pick it up and read it. Male or Female.

Let's break the Chick Lit mold. And let's focus on the Dick lit novels :)

[Becky]

LOL Sounds good to me.

WAR AND FIGHTING AND DEATH! YAY!

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads]

jzhunagev wrote: "I'm bothered how chick-lits has come to invade literature today. Is it the result of the growing women population or is it that most of the people reading nowadays are women only? As you might reca..."

I'm not sure what you mean by "Is it the result of the growing women population or is it that most of the people reading nowadays are women only?"

I could construe that several ways.

I like Chicklit sometimes. I like what my friend Bettie calls "testosterone trash" sometimes.

[Becky]

Susanna wrote: "jzhunagev wrote: "I'm bothered how chick-lits has come to invade literature today. Is it the result of the growing women population or is it that most of the people reading nowadays are women only?..."

I'm not saying that I don't like it Susanna, just that I don't consider certain books to be chick-lit. I think of chick-lit as a contemporary phrase that applies to contemporary books, like the one I mentioned.

Everyone needs a little fluff in their life sometime. We can't read Tolstoy and Dickens and Gaskell and Hemingway only. Well, most people can't. We need something light and fun, and chick-lit fills that gap.

[Apokripos]

Guess I've fanned a new discussion here.
Now, you ladies demarcate what chick-lit is and what is not... I'm just airing my opinions here. Not that I'm saying chick-lit is bad or something. I'm just bothered by it, that's all. And it's a recognized genre now.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads]

How would you say it was "honored"?

[Carol]

Do you think it will be time honored or just a passing fad? As I understand Dumas books were written as weekly serials. I am sure no one thought they were literature at that time. Oh how wrong they were.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads]

Not sure about Dumas as serials (certainly possible) but I can't think of a Dickens that wasn't serialized before it was published in book form.

[Becky]

The Count of Monte Cristo was written as a serial, I know, but I'm not sure about his other books.

Akittykat, what are you referring to when you ask if it will be time honored or a passing fad?

[Carol]

Oh sorry I was talking about chic lit. I keep thinking people can read my thoughts hehe