You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
Group Themed Reads: Discussions
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August 2022 - Reporting
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WoFSharonBiskitI have read and discussed, as much as possible, The Secret of Clouds and discussed it in the thread. I will be traveling a good bit this month, so I am trying to get some of my reads finished. I did mean to parcel this out over a week or so to capitalize on the discussion, but I fell into the book and read it in one sitting. As a retired principal and teacher of thirty five years, especially in the areas of reading and English, I know that for a book to be meaningful to the reader it must connect in one of three ways: text to self, text to text, or text to world. I connected with all three in a rather profound way. I can say without a doubt that my students were my teachers. (view spoiler)
Sharon, which book did you read and where did you discuss it?
WoF RozI read The Secret of Clouds and discussed it in the discussion thread.
In general, I liked the book. I've read other books by this author and enjoyed them as well. What I especially liked was the location(s) -- Long Island. It was like going home. I would read "Stony Brook" and think, "I've been there" or "Route 25A" and remember all the time my family would take rides to the eastern part of the island to look for pumpkins, visit the farm stands or go to garage sales.
As far as the story goes, I liked all of the characters, except 1 and found myself smiling most often when I read about teaching methods and insights into the books the children were reading, or during the numerous discussions about baseball. That brought back personal memories of my husband and 2 sons having long conversations about the Yankees. Actually, they still do. The only minus I have is that I could have done without the "romance" parts.
WoF JaymeI read
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan and discussed it in the thread "Books With 4 or More Colors."Wow! What a ride. This book demands ones complete attention when reading because it has multiple POVs, countless characters, and mind-blowing technology with thought-provoking angst. In a nutshell it takes the ideas of Facebook/instagram/twitter to the next level where people can download their memories, thoughts, and feelings of their life's events to share with the Collective Conscious to prove they are authentic (because we all know that Facebook is really your "wanna be" persona).
I wasn't sure if this book (the second in the Goon Squad books) could stand with A Visit From the Goon Squad but it does. And in case you haven't read A Visit From the Goon Squad or it has been years since you've read it- no worries - The Candy House can be read as a stand alone. Highly Recommend.
I read and discussed (discussion leader) The Secret of Clouds. I enjoyed the story, but didn't find it as strong as some of the other books the author has written. I enjoyed the story of Yuri and his relationship with his teacher. I wish there was more development of the relationship between his mother and teacher. One of the themes was food and how it was portrayed as a way of expressing love and family traditions.
WoF MarnieI read The Secret of Clouds and discussed it in the group thread. It read like a love letter to teachers and teaching. It started with two different storylines that morphed into one. I think the idea behind this book was better than the execution. I wanted to love it but ended up just liking it.
WoF CherieI read The Secret of Clouds for the group read and participated in the discussion thread.
I enjoyed reading the story, but it felt that it was overly long in places and too over the top emotional in others. It was definitely a character driven plot. It was easy to read and well written, but could have been pared down, somewhat. I have read one other book by the same author, and felt the same. Parts were really good, and parts not so much.
WoF: KristieI read The Vanishing Half and discussed in the group read thread. I was the discussion leader.
I felt this was a thought-provoking read. To me, the end felt a little rushed and a bit jumbled somehow. Otherwise, I really enjoyed it and thought it was well-written. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting with the story being told from different character's perspectives and a lot of the story focusing on the daughters, but I think that was good. I really enjoyed seeing the different perspectives on situations.
WoF: Kira's TreasuresI read The Secret of Clouds and discussed in the group read thread.
I picked this up on a whim and didn't know what I was getting into. This was a really emotional read for me and although I didn't exactly understand the main character's actions at times, I still felt that it was a beautifully written piece. I thoroughly enjoy historical fiction and most of my reads have been war related up until now, this book gave me another area of interest and I am sure to read upon the Chernobyl disaster beyond what I got to know in this one.
I also read Sunrise over Sapphire Bay and discussed it in the appropriate thread. I had actually added this to my TBR for the road trip challenge but couldn't get to it so I am really happy that the toppler proved to be a great chance for me to dive into this one. I loved the story, and the setting was a beautiful one, I kinda wanna visit the hotel myself now lol, it sounded like a really peaceful place to spend a few days of vacation in.
WOF: Tammy's wallI read
for a book with more than 4 colors on the cover. I discussed it in the appropriate thread. Fans of WW2 Historical fiction will enjoy this book that is based on factual events and places. I enjoyed the writing style. (view spoiler).
WoF VickiRead and discussed The Vanishing Half
Not a lot of people joined in this one which is surprising as I saw it hyped a lot. I find race issues hard to discuss but I liked the book. I found no character was without flaws but it was a tough time and tough decisions were made and you can only move forward.
WoF margoI read Euphoria,
and I bloody loved it! I discovered it in the thread "August 2022 - Covers with more than 4 colors".This was the story of the meeting of three anthropologists and was based on true events. The time was shortly before the start of WW2, the place, the jungles of New Guinea. The story gave insight into the methods used to study indigenous peoples and to discover what makes them tick. It was also an insight into the petty rivalries that are rampant in the scientific community. It is a tale of passion and tradegy.
This will definitely appear on my best books read in 2022 list.
Hi I am backWOF renee.
I read the Vanishing Half. I discussed it in the thread.
I feel I learned a lot about myself from the book. When I was growing up, I was taught to believe that I could do anything. I never really understood that because of someones appearance they were made to believe they had limits.
I knew about passing but I grew up in a time where people were proud of their color. The book helped me understand that being proud is not the same as what i grew up with
WoF Laura (Lclwags)I read The Secret of Clouds and discussed it in the group thread. I enjoyed the book and the characters. The ending was kind of predictable and not exactly what I was hoping for. There was also something with the main character, Maggie's childhood that I thought would be resolved and it wasn't really.
You'll love this one...!! A book club & more
Books mentioned in this topic
The Secret of Clouds (other topics)Euphoria (other topics)
Sunrise over Sapphire Bay (other topics)
The Vanishing Half (other topics)
The Woman in the White Kimono (other topics)
More...
After you have read your chosen book(s) for this month's group theme read, please report in the thread below.
Please state what book you read (and link it), how it fits the theme, that you discussed it (and where), and briefly summarise what you thought of the book and/or link to your review if you have written one.
If you lead the discussion, please state this in your post.
Here is an example for how to report your read:
“I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and discussed it in the [Harry Potter/Buddy Read/Other books in theme] thread. I really enjoyed the book. I watched the film first so I already knew the story line but I was surprised how much I enjoyed the book more as there was more detail involved. Plus I listened to the audio which was narrated by Stephen Fry who is a superb narrator. 4 stars.”
If you read more than one book which fits the theme, please report all your reads in the same post rather than in separate posts.
Please note, there are THREE different badges that can be obtained for group reads. Those reading and discussing one of the two chosen group reads will receive a colourful badge similar to those for previous group reads. Those reading and discussing any other book in the theme will receive a stamp. The discussion leader for the two chosen group reads will receive a badge stating they led the discussion. Maximum amount of badges you can receive for the group reads is TWO - one for the chosen group read/discussion leader and one for any other book in the theme.
In order to receive a badge you must:
1. put your Wall of Fame Name at the beginning of your post as follows: WoF Name - Peggy
2. have read the book(s) before or during August 2022.
3. discussed it in the relevant thread. Discussion must be more than "I read the book and I liked it". Discussion requires something more substantial and analytical of what you read, for example, thoughts, opinions, impact it had on you, what was your favourite part, was it what you expected it to be like etc. You may also like to review the book and post a link to the review in that thread.
4. Report that you have read AND discussed the book