New Providence Memorial Library's Online Reading Group discussion

There's been a long dry spell in the NPML Online Reading Group but I am serious about re-arranging my priorities to get back to regular posting here. I have been reading, tho.

The Thursday AM book group just finished its reviews of The Art of Hearing Heartbeats. General consensus was good if a bit unlikely and unbelievable - somewhere between magical fantasy and allegory.

I liked how the story unfolded slowly and it did keep my interest. Some pointed out certain details of the story as being very unlikely like why one of the main characters did not ever return to the love of his life until the day of her death. While I agree with the points made, my expectation always in reading fiction is that the author has created their own world and that may mean that things do not operate exactly the same as in the real world.

I don't like to see strings moving and feel that I am being "manipulated" for a message like watching a Disney movie. In this case, I wasn't sure if there deeper reasons as to why one of the characters spent his time repairing old books, piecing together missing and damaged text. Was that a comment on seeing and valuing what is important in life or perhaps on finding understanding and truth with only part of the story? Or perhaps it doesn't mean anything!

Lisa,

hmmm.... i didn't give enough thought to the character fixing old textbooks in The Art of Hearing Heartbeats. that must have meant something. i like your interpretations.

look forward to next month's discussion. I LOVE the book (Year of Wonders by geraldine brooks.)

i'm currently listening to her latest, the secret chord.

hope everyone is having a good spring (as i sit here by a roaring fire in family room. brrrrrr...)

Sangeeta

Thanks...my comments when I discuss books w/ in particular 2 of my co-workers always veer off in a direction that nobody thought of. So, I usually just assume that I just overthink things!

I have started reading Year of Wonders and am thinking that I have already read it...details sound somewhat familiar. I remember the end but can't remember the middle so I will continue reading along.

I have the first in a new series waiting for me, tho. It's called Shadow and Bone written by Leigh Bardugo. I just finished the Dregs series and really liked them. They keep my interest and I like the characters. So, I am anxious to get going on it so that I can share w/ my co-worker who turned me on to these.

I find that I am having a harder time suspending disbelief lately. Is that getting older? Or just crankier? Not sure. I found that especially true in two books I just read, At The Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier (of Girl with a Pearl Earring fame) and Tell The Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt. If you haven't read these yet, don't want to give out any spoilers but I had a hard time accepting the circumstances people allowed themselves to get into in the Orchard book, and the ease with which circumstances changed on a dime in the second. I think the Wolves book was written for middle schoolers, so that may explain the overly simplistic resolution. But I found the lack of complexity annoying even as I enjoyed the good writing.

Maybe I'm getting ready to switch from preferring fiction to preferring non-fiction?

interesting. in the past 5 ish years, i've been reading a lot more non-fiction. i never thought of it as having to do possibly with getting older (or crankier, ha! ) maybe there's something to that.

i find the genre of adult graphic novels a strange one. i've read one, and it was...ok. just feels weird, like i'm sort of reading a comic book, but without action heroes. what do you all think of adult graphic novels ?

I've enjoyed a few that my daughter lent me, but I can't remember the names of them! I'll try to get the names from her. Wasn't Fun Home a graphic novel?

I will admit that I'm a graphic novel junkie. I love the visual, and some of the artists are so talented that I find their art very profound...I suppose it helps me add another layer to the story. I don't like superheros but prefer the memoirs. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic has got to be one of the best books I've ever read. (I suggested that one to my mother's book club, and I had forgotten how graphic the drawing are at one point. We'll see if they have me back!) Stitches is also incredible. Smile is a great one (for kids, and I enjoyed it as well.) Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast is very well done. I think I also like them because I can essentially finish them in one sitting....my attention span with three children is not the best at times.

I as well am going more towards nonfiction. And I'm definitely a cranky one!

I remember awhile ago there was a discussion on movies and books. I've been watching The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu, and it stays very close to the book. It's terrifying. I think generally most books are better, but every adaptation of Wuthering Heights has been better than the book. I think it works better in that medium.

i still have a couple out of the library (including the Roz Chast one that Lisa helped me find) with subject matters that interest me, so i'll keep an open mind and read them too !

yes, some of the old classics are SOOOO unnecessarily long ( eg, moby dick, ugh...couldn't get that off my bucket list, though i valiantly tried. and didn't charles dickens get paid by the word ?) the screen adaptation is much more palatable ;-)

although i did finish reading (and love) a tale of two cities and les miserables.

I'd like to break in to the "old & cranky" thread here to say that I am getting older and crankier every day, I have always read non-fiction. It is rare that I read a book that transports me to another universe and does not disappoint at the end. Mostly, I get into the story and the characters and then the story ends with the author flailing to tie up loose ends in the last 15 pages. No stories ever approach reality in terms of unlikely outcomes and odd characters and plot twists. And why not learn something while you're being entertained?

haha, i'll never give up on fiction ! it does transport me and gives me a lot of joy. even sad or difficult-to-read books are fulfilling, as long they are well-written , with meaningful plots, and about characters i care about.

i would argue that one can learn a great deal from fiction, in particular, historical fiction (reading about the past, how people lived, worked, played.) but also current fiction (eg, about life in other countries or parts of this country.) the conflicts/ resolution and character development/redemption (hopefully) are enlightening and entertaining.

although... i do get very "cranky" with rushed or contrived endings !! LOL

Sangeeta wrote: "haha, i'll never give up on fiction ! it does transport me and gives me a lot of joy. even sad or difficult-to-read books are fulfilling, as long they are well-written , with meaningful plots, and ..."

OK, you make all good points. I will continue to read fiction. One great bonus of moderating the TTBC club is reading books that I would not have otherwise. That has been fun. And it is fun to discuss with others because other people's perspectives are really enlightening.

Hi. I've forgotten about coming here. Enjoyed everyone's comments.
I've been wanting to read "Shadow and Bone" for a while now - have to come back and see if there are any comments about it.
I've only read a couple of adult graphic novels. Well, I got them from the 'teen' section. Cannot actually say I liked them, nor disliked them.
Well, I'm one "old and cranky person" who prefers FICTION. I don't mind at all being "taken away' to something that's not real, to be entertained. I'm currently reading "Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu" for a discussion group and I'm struggling to get through the beginning. It's almost like the author just keeps putting in facts and I'm tired of reading that. I'm told to stick with it and it gets better.
I like reading historical fiction, especially if the author indicates at the end of the book where she 'filled in' what she learned in her research. I frequently find myself researching a historical event or person or time after I've finished the book, to learn more and/or find out what history says happened.
I too enjoy discussing books with others. I think mainly because they 'see' things that I do not. I've gone into a discussion thinking that the book was just "so-so" and come out appreciating it more after the discussion.

hi Marilyn, come on back to the NPL book clubs :)

agree with Lisa and you on both points about book clubs: they make me read books i'd never have otherwise picked up (and usually end up enjoying) AND yes, discussing a book makes me appreciate it more and clues me in on things i've missed.

i got Shadow & Bone on Lisa's recommendation and look forward to it.

and i often do the same, google the time/place/situation from a fiction (or NF) book to learn more. great example (i remember we spoke about once) was Hannah Kent's Burial Rites which got me learning a lot about Iceland and its people , and looking a beautiful/interesting pictures !

Girls Waits with Gun BC tonight. that was fun b/c it's based on a true story of one of America's first female detectives in Paterson NJ (!)

After my comments about moving toward non-fiction, I have to tell you I just finished A Gentleman in Moscow and I loved it. I got the audiobook and often sat in the car an extra 15 minutes just to listen. Hadn't read anything in a while that really enveloped me in another world.Takes place in the 30 years after the Bolshevik revolution from the perspective of Count Rostov who has been sentenced to house arrest at the Metropol Hotel in Moscow for the rest of his life. I didn't know anything about this so learned something while enjoying the wonderful world the author creates in this limited environment. Best book I've read in a while.

Thx. I'll put on my to read list

I have A Gentleman in Moscow sitting on my end table in line after When Breath Becomes Air. Both of these books had a lot of hype around them, just haven't had much time to read at home.

Though currently I am making my way through Something Wicked This Way Comes on my train rides.

"when breath becomes air" was heartbreaking and beautiful.

Sangeeta, I agree. I was so moved and touched by that book; I'll never forget it.

A Gentleman in Moscow and When Breath Becomes Air are on my "to read" list. Right now I'm thoroughly enjoying a trilogy by Petra Durst Benning. The first is The Glassblower, loved it, and now onto the second The American Lady, still holding my interest. She is a new author for me and so glad I found her. Happy summer reading; there certainly are enough interesting genres to go around!

Have question about "When Breath Becomes Air" - is it depressing? Emotional? What about for a person recently diagnosed with metastatic cancer - would it be depressing?

It is sad, not depressing, and I think there's a difference. You know from the beginning that he has terminal cancer and it was very emotional for me.

If I had metastatic cancer I'd be OK reading it but might suggest something lighter.

I did not know that Girls Waits w/ Gun is based on a real life NJ lady detective...now it's on my list!

And Burial Rites is about Iceland? Gotta read that before my trip next year.

What I really need is more time & a speed reading course..;-)

Oh, I read Something Wicked back as a teenager and loved it. It started a love affair w/ Ray Bradbury. That's somebody who writes about the eerie very well and transports you into a whole different reality.

Non-fiction alert:

I am now reading Elizabeth Rosenthal's An American Sickness. It is about the healthcare system. Ms. Rosenthal is an NY Times writer and formerly practiced medicine. She discusses what is wrong w/ the system and what she prescribes as fixes.

You would think this would be dry but I am finding it riveting and highly disturbing. It explains a lot of things and answers a lot of questions. I have been reading sections out to my husband b/c I just can't believe what she's saying and how things got so screwed up.

I would certainly recommend it.

ok, i put An American Sickness on hold. and now i want to ready Ray Bradbury again !

Burial Rites is set in Iceland, and educates about the life & times, but i wouldn't say it's "about" Iceland. it would provide interesting historical background to your trip !

I read "Burial Rites" a few years ago and liked it. I believe I gave it 4* on goodreads, which is a high rating for me. Interesting especially since based on real events and people, I think.

i liked it too ! it was on a lot of "best of ..." lists. it's labeled a "novel" but is an imagined narrative based on a real person and situation (last woman/person to be set for execution in Iceland, even though the facts in the case were sketchy.)

here's a blurb from The Guardian: Burial Rites, based on the novel by Australian author Hannah Kent, is the story of a woman sent to an isolated farm while she awaits execution for murdering her former employer in 1829. The family that owns the farm is suitably horrified at the prospect of sharing their home with a killer.

The novel was longlisted for the Guardian's First Book award earlier this year. Sarah Moss labelled it "beautiful and compelling" … "with the flaws of a good first novel", adding: "The allure of the tale is obvious and one can see why Kent was haunted by it. The dynamics of a small group of people on an isolated farmstead are disrupted by the arrival of a disturbing stranger, who turns out to be uncomfortably familiar."

it is supposedly a movie "in production" with Jennifer Lawrence.

Is there a summer challenge at the library?

Just finished Illumination Night by Alice Hoffman. So well written I couldn't put it down.