The 2015 Book Genre Challenge discussion
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Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
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March Group Read - LGBTQA (Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe)
message 1:
by
Renuka , (eternal-books)
(new)
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rated it 5 stars
Mar 03, 2015 04:02PM
Our group read has been chosen!! And it's no surprise - ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE!!! I am thrilled to be reading this book! It has so many great reviews, I can't wait to start!! What do you all think? Are you ready?! :D
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Ooh everyone have fun reading this because it is amazing!
This is such an amazing book, I hope everyone enjoys it!
Awesome! Now if the person will just return the library book that I have a hold on, I can get started on it!
This is my first time reading with you guys and I've heard a lot of good things about this book! Really excited!
I'm so happy this is our book! I'm so excited and I hope everyone joins this discussion!
Such a great book!!!! Hope you all enjoy it - I'll be focusing on the individual book this month as I've read it quite recently.
Just finished this book... All I can say is wow. It was so beautiful.. I might need a few days to gather my thoughts before I can talk about it.
Lexie wrote: "Just finished this book... All I can say is wow. It was so beautiful.. I might need a few days to gather my thoughts before I can talk about it."WOW! Yes do come talk about it when you're ready! All these great reactions have made me so excited to read it, but I don't have it yet! It's on hold at my library :(
Yasmin wrote: "Such a great book!!!! Hope you all enjoy it - I'll be focusing on the individual book this month as I've read it quite recently."Aww no problem! Tell us all about your individual reads in that discussion! <3
I STARTED THIS TODAY AND IT'S SO DAMN BEAUTIFUL AND SAD AND AMAZING. I LOVE IT ALREADY.
I started this book on Sunday (as my individual read) and I'm happy it happens to be the book of the month as well. I'm about 100 pages in and I'm enjoying it. I don't know how I feel about it quite yet. I really, really, really, like how it's about to Latino boys. I never get a chance to read about characters that are Latino. Although I haven't gotten quite halfway through I find myself relating to Dante the most.
Samantha (Where's My Bookmark?) wrote: "I started this book on Sunday (as my individual read) and I'm happy it happens to be the book of the month as well. I'm about 100 pages in and I'm enjoying it. I don't know how I feel about it qu..."
As a Latina, I love reading about Ari and Dante! I never ever find books about my culture and seeing so many aspects of my everyday life, like the Catholic religion and the protectiveness of Latino mothers, makes it so good to relate to this characters, even if the setting and time period is completely different from my everyday life. I'm on page 158 so I'm just a bit ahead of you, so I'm still scared to see how this develops. I feel like this book might break my heart in the end.
AHHH I'm so jealous you already started!!! I'm number 1 on hold, but I still don't have it!! It sounds so good! What exactly is the setting?
i just finished ari and dante this afternoon. have to say it kept me intrigued for the length of its story, but i really feel like it was a bit over-hyped. i think i expected more out of it, but it was still a great read--interesting and captivating enough to keep me hooked. c:
Nickie wrote: "i just finished ari and dante this afternoon. have to say it kept me intrigued for the length of its story, but i really feel like it was a bit over-hyped. i think i expected more out of it, but it..."Glad to hear you liked it! I'm wondering how I'll like it, because lately I've been feeling the same way about some books. I definitely didn't love Everything Leads to You as much as some people did, so I'm curious about Ari and Dante. But still the majority of reviews are too good to ignore, so I'm sure I will enjoy it a lot! (Sylvia likes it, so I probably will haha!)
I really enjoyed ari and dante, hope you all do too
I'm half way in and as interesting as it is I still don't get why it's lgbtq!
I just finished this and I'm currently curled up in bed crying and holding it. It's one of the most beautiful books I have ever read in my entire life.
I started reading this one and so far, I'm loving it :)
Just started listening to this (library only had an audio copy). So far I am enjoying it, but I feel like there is a little something missing when I am listening to a book rather than reading it. But the reader is doing a decent enough job.
About the audiobooks, I think a lot depends on the reader not that I listen to a lot of them but I will recommend David Tennant reading Cressida Cowell's How to Train your Dragon books. I got nagged into listening to them by a friend and ended up loving them. Back on topic, I am glad to see people loving Ari & Dante as much as I did :)
I've never listened to audiobooks before. It's not like I wouldn't like to, I'm both a visual and an auditory learner. But to me, it's easier to summerge myself in the world when I'm reading the words. I have trouble paying attention to podcasts too! I just get easily distracted and when I notice, I've missed like 2 mins and I have to go back. That's why I think audiobooks wouldn't be the right option for me!
I finally got it and I AM LOVING IT!!!! It's so raw and honest but funny and adorable and AHHH I LOVE THE CHARACTERS. Why did I wait so long to read it?! I definitely love Ari's voice.
Renuka wrote: "I finally got it and I AM LOVING IT!!!! It's so raw and honest but funny and adorable and AHHH I LOVE THE CHARACTERS. Why did I wait so long to read it?! I definitely love Ari's voice."YAY RENUKA YAYYYY!!!! These are the best characters, they're so great and vulnerable.
I JUST FINISHED AND OMG. I really loved it. I really loved Ari a lot. All that anger and emotion. Plus I really, really loved their relationships with their families. So loving. I love how the book accurately captures families that love each other, but also don't always function properly. It was just so realistic and honest. Favorite quote:
Another secret of the universe: Sometimes pain was like a storm that came out of nowhere. The clearest summer morning could end in a downpour. Could end in lightning and thunder.
The audio is making this a difficult book for me, but if I can get my hands on a copy I will definitely actually read it. @ Paul, I am listening to as I run also, so there is probably a distraction there. It might be different if it was a book I have already read....@ Frogli, I agree, the reader has everything to do with it. Maybe why this is goodreads, not goodlisten... : )
I had no faith in this book. I don't know why, guess it was because everyone seemed to loved it and I've had bad experience with books people adore so much. I'm happy to say I was SO wrong, it's such a beautiful story. I can relate to the characters, especially Ari (who's my favorite character, but I'm attached to Dante and other characters a lot too). I haven't finished yet but I'm pretty sure by the end it'll be one of my favorite books (I'm stuck at 25% because I haven't had time to read but as soon as I do, I will try to finish it.)
Julieta wrote: "I had no faith in this book. I don't know why, guess it was because everyone seemed to loved it and I've had bad experience with books people adore so much. I'm happy to say I was SO wrong, it's su..."I had the same feelings going in as well! I was scared that I wasn't going to like it because it seems so hyped up, but I totally understand the love people have for this book.
I finished it last night and I enjoyed it very much. Unfortunately, I feel like I don't freak out over books as much as I did before (It's kind of sad. I miss fangirling over stuff). So, I'm not screaming from the rooftops (although, I wish I was) about this book. Although, I think it's going to be on my personal recommendation list.
Alire Saenz's prose is beautiful and both Ari and Dante have such unique voices. I found myself relating to both of these characters. I think that's especially great (and important) because I'm not a teenager anymore, but I felt such a great connection to them. Honestly, I'm not going to be surprised if this book becomes a YA classic. It's so good.
@Jamie - See if you can get a physical copy, because it's actually really nicely written too! I loved it!@Julieta - I am so happy you are enjoying it!!!! I am always nervous starting books that are very popular because I often find myself disappointed by the hype too! But this was one that didn't fail me, so I hope you love it too!!
@Sam - YES! YES, absolutely! It's so beautifully written, and it was so touching. I loved it, and the characters were amazing. Ari was such a real character. I'm glad that this book is becoming more well-known because it deserves it.
Finished the book two days ago and still not over it. I loved it a lot more than I was expecting to honestly.
Finished it this morning and I actually nearly started crying on the train. Beautiful beautiful book.
I finished it a couple of days ago and I enjoyed it immensely. It wasn't what I expected (although I'm not really sure what I was expecting) but I could relate to Ari so much. I think I'm going to have to re-read it relatively soon though because I got a point where I was just reading for the ending and so didn't take in much of the second half.Also, on the topic of Audiobooks, I have to agree that they really depend on the reader - I'm currently listening to the Artemis Fowl books read by Nathaniel Parker and I'm really enjoying them!
Cliff wrote: "I think I'm going to have to re-read it relatively soon though because I got a point where I was just reading for the ending and so didn't take in much of the second half."YES! That's exactly how I feel. Now that I know how it ends, I feel like I should read it again, but this time read it slowly and really take my time.
message 35:
by
Silvia, (grangerandherbooks)
(last edited Mar 14, 2015 02:46PM)
(new)
-
rated it 5 stars
Hey guys! Sorry I've been kinda absent. I work as the journalist of one of the main institutions that studies volcanoes and earthquakes in my country and one of the biggest volcanoes had huge eruptions since Thursday, so I've been so busy!Did you see that there's going to be a second book of Aristotle and Dante??? It's not a sequel, but a retelling from Dante’s point of view! All info on this sequel/second book is on Benjamin’s twitter.
THINGS REVEALED ON HIS TWITTER:
> Dante’s point of view
> Dante’s trouble with his Mexican heritage will be addressed
> It will be Benjamin’s next book after the current one The Inexplicable Logic of my Heart which also features LBGT themes, due out in September
> Someone asked him to write a few more chapters that wasn’t in Ari’s story so we could see their relationship and Benjamin replied, “I will certainly think about that!”
Here's the source: http://achilleespatroclus.tumblr.com/...
Ah yes, I read that somewhere and couldn't for the life of me remember where. So glad I didn't make it up because I wanted it lol. Looking forward to it :)
I finished reading it a couple of days ago and I really liked it. I have to say the start and the ending chapters were great, but somehow I felt a little disconnected with the middle part of the story and I don't know why. Perhaps it felt slow passed? Or maybe it was too much Ari centered? I'll have to read it again to fully digest it, I guess.I found Ari to be a lot like myself, which was surprising, and was surprised to learn what my surname is for Mexicans, heh. Both, Dante and Ari were great, and their parents were amazing!
AHHH NO WAYY! That is really exciting, especially because I felt it was really Ari centered too. I definitely connected to his character A LOT more. I am excited for Dante information.
I think we can all agree Dante is a little fluffy sunshine puppy full of rainbows and happiness. So seeing HIS side of the story is going to be very different but just as great as Ari. I can't wait.
I have been trying to read this but I only got it the other day, and have just not had time. But I really want to read it, I cannot wait! I've only been able to get to page 10 but I like it so far.No spoilers please, but can anyone warn me if this book is SUPER sad? I cannot deal with a tragic ending without some warning right now! I don't need warning if its a little sad. Just having someone tell me either "oh yes, its devastating" or "oh no, its not totally devastating!" would be great, haha!
It's not totally devastating :)
Yay, thank you! Now I really can't wait to read it! :D
Yeah hahah, it's definitely not totally devastating! :) enjoy! Tell us when you read it!
I'm on page 50-ish, and I'm already recommending it to my mom. I totally love Ari's voice, and I'm intrigued by his family especially his dad. I'm gonna go settle in for bed and get some reading in, and then hopefully have some of the day to myself tomorrow so I can get a good chunk of reading done. :)
Paul wrote: "I'm so jealous of everyone! This had been on my list for a while, and I was so excited when it was selected for this month's book, but since I started a new job, I just haven't had time. But I'm g..."Don't worry Paul you've still got time! It's really quick and you're going to love it! Good luck with the new job!
Hi all! I have been trying to decide what book to read for this month (which is my first month doing the challenge), and finally decided on this one.I can't start it right away, though- but I'm number 1 on the list at my library so hopefully I will get it soon!
I started it the other day and I'm already finished! I really liked the story it told. I was worried that it was all hyped up, but it was great. I didn't think the narrative voice was exceptional or amazing, but it fit Ari's character very well.I've read some really crappy books lately and so this one was a very nice reprieve.
So I may be in the minority, but I just binge-read it, and while it was a nice book, it wasn't the masterpiece I had hoped for. I don't want to get too harsh on it because I don't want to hurt any feelings, but yeah. I'm glad I read it, but it wasn't one of my faves.
@Shira, well I loved it but it's not a crime to disagree. Your opinions are your own, as long as you're polite about it there's no reason not to say what you think :)
Thanks @Frogli! I'm not mean, I just don't want to people to take things personally, because sometimes they do.I enjoyed the book as a whole. I thought Saenz wrote it well, and I sailed through it. It definitely wasn't one of those long-winded bores that I slog through just to say I read it, haha. It was enjoyable to read.
But I think my biggest problem with it was I couldn't relate. Perhaps I am too far out from my teenage years to remember what it was like, but Aristotle, as a character, came across to me as a whiny, obnoxious brat. And I really wanted to believe that finding himself at the end was the ticket to fixing him. But the whole progression seemed unreal. I have a lot of friends that went through a sexuality struggle at that age, and it wasn't that simple, even with loving families. I think perhaps on the whole, Saenz treated the subject matter too simply and so I couldn't get behind the real meaning or the feelings he wanted to convey.
But I totally understand that if the characters do resonate with you, or if you understand what Saenz is trying to say, it would be a magical book. It just wasn't for me.
