It seems appropriate, with this weekend being daylight saving time, that we hit the reset with our book club's blog which has been long neglected. So, without further ado, welcome to the book summary lightning round:
ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE
I'll start with the ratings: Archimedes, Baron, JB - 4.5; Cat, Indy - 5; Deuce - 4.75. As you can see, this book was well liked and, in our opinion, well written. Apparently, we have good taste, because this book won a Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, a Carnegie Medal for Excellence, and probably a slew of other awards. What stands out in my memory was the great writing - descriptive without going overboard - and the interwoven stories. The characters were complex and interesting. This is one of those books that stays with you long after you finish it. Unfortunately, I can't give our deep and interesting discussion of the themes, symbolism, and implications of the story their full due in this lightening round, so I'll just say that this complex book made for a great read and an even better book discussion.
THE CURIOUS CHARMS OF ARTHUR PEPPER
This book had a wider range of ratings: Baron - 5; Cat - 4.5; JB - 4; Deuce & Archimedes 3.2; Indy - 2. Apparently, A MAN CALLED OVE is to blame for Indy's low rating. She had just read OVE before PEPPER, and the writing in PEPPER just couldn't compare. Those who rated the book highly liked the main character's development over the course of the book, the comedic situations he found himself in, and the overall positive message of the book.
THE CHRISTMAS TRAIN
Apparently we were all a little Grinch-y around Christmas (some more than others), based on our ratings: Diesel, JB, & Cat - 3.5; Deuce & Indy - 3; Archimedes & Baron - 1. No need to re-live what the biggest Grinches didn't like. This was a rare bit of fluff for the book club, appropriate to the Christmas season and everyone's hectic schedules. I think everyone agreed this was Hallmark channel fare, which made us all think about jumping on a cross-country train for an adventure.
CATCH 22
This meeting was our first attempt at the new, more standardized rating system (see Baron's meeting notes blog entry): Indy, Archimedes - 4; JB, Cat, Deuce, Baron - 3.5; Diesel - 3. This was a funny book with MASH-like humor. As a veteran, Baron recognized many of the personalities satirized by the story. The group's biggest gripes were the repetitiveness and the treatment of women throughout the book. I, for one, was glad to have finally read this literary classic.
THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
This was another of the Novel Spirit's "greatest hits": JB, Cat, Baron, Archimedes - 4.5; Indy & Deuce - 4. This book was hard to read at times due to the stomach-turning subject matter. It certainly isn't a pleasure read. However, especially in these troubling times, I think it's important to read things that make you uncomfortable from time to time. While this is a fiction novel, it is well-researched and doesn't flinch away from the very real brutality of slavery.
Thanks for playing Novel Spirits' Book Discussion Lightning Round! I really hate to give such short shrift to our book discussions, especially because almost without fail they make me see a different perspective and think about the book in a different way. Hopefully, now that Baron and I are caught up, we can have a fresh start and will keep the blog up to date. *Fingers crossed* Thanks for your patience and forgiveness. :)
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