UB Libraries Book Group discussion

hey All --
A reminder that Becky will be leading our next book discussion in July on The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and the Quest to colonize the Cosmos. Time and place to be firmed up soon.
Thanks!

Hey All —
A reminder that Becky Burke will lead our in-person discussion of The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos next week.

Date: Tuesday, July 16
Time: noon
Place: outside Starbucks

If the weather doesn’t cooperate, we will meet in the in the comfy seats outside the top level of the Student Union Theater (across the plaza from Lockwood Library) where we’ve met before.

Hello everyone!
We held our in person book club meeting today to discuss this book, "The Space Barons." It was very serrendipitous that this is the 50th anniversary of the walk on the moon. I did not plan it at all.
I presented several questions to the group. Feel free to post your thoughts regarding these questions:
1. What was your initial reaction to the book?
2. What did you think of the style of writing?
3. What was your favorite quote or passage?
4. Did the book change your opinion or perspective? Do you feel different now than you did before you read it?
5. Do you want to go into space?

Marlies commented that the book had a lot of dates at the beginning that made it difficult to get in to the book, but once past that to a more storytelling style, it was a fast and interesting read. Ellen's initial reaction to the book was that she really had not realized how far along in the development of space we were, it not being her main focus. Marlies thought her favorite character was Richard Branson, due to his flamboyance. Ellen liked Jeff Bezos for his measured style. I liked all of them, each for their differences. People did not really have a favorite quote but I brought up a joke from the book. "How do you become a millionaire in space? Start out a billionaire." No one's perspective was changed but we felt more informed about the current outlook on space. On the topic of going to space, Ellen mentioned she did not trust the safety at this point. Marlies was more interested in going to all the wonderful places on Earth, though she said her husband would love to go into space if he won the lottery. I would go in a heartbeat.
We had a few late comers to the meeting but had not had a chance to read the book. They were interested in our input and the conversation continued.
Let us know what you think!

Now to the topic of next year's books. Kathie, please let us know how you would like us to record or add books to be considered. Ellen did a wonderful job printing up some titles from her GoodReads list. We passed them around. If no one objects, we picked a book for September to get us started. That leaves time to fill in the rest of the year, 6 in total as we will meet every other month.
We all liked "The Darwin Affair" by Tim Mason. Marlies volunteered to be the sponsor for September. We thought meeting toward the end of September in person would work well with the semester start.
Another book we all liked was "The Paragon Hotel" by Lyndsay Faye. "Mrs. Carnegie's Maid" by Marie Benedict was mentioned and people liked that as well. Marlies brought up the series, "Tales from the city."
Once Kathi lets us know if we should add titles here or if there is a more automated way in Good Reads, we can do that.
Looking forward to everyone's additions. Even if we don't get to use the books in the club, it gives ideas for personal reading.
Thanks everyone!

Here are some books I think the group may like. Click on the book to see ratings and reviews. Please forgive my excessive enthusiasm. barreling on in, I'm just happy to find a group that is both local and online.

High on my wishlist:
The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote - [I've been searching for books on the suffrage movement to celebrate the 100 year anniversary in 2020.]
Still Alice by Lisa Genova [This book is about a college professor with Alzheimer's. It's written by a neurologist who writes beautifully. Fiction.]
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption [A timely social justice book with many awards and accolades.]
The Alice Network [WWII spy fiction]
This is How It Always Is [highly recommend book, about family with a transgender kid]
When All Is Said

Some of my favorites this year:
The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne {Incredibly moving novel about a gay man's life from mid 19th century Ireland to the present day. Stellar reviews.]
Educated By Tara Westover. [Don't prejudge it. It is so much more than I expected.]
Circe by Madeline Miller [Beautifully written story about a minor character from the Odyssey. You don't need to know a lot about mythology to enjoy it.]
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Catherine Boo [Narrative non-fiction from a Pulitzer prize winner.]
A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne. [This one is wickedly clever, while Heart's Invisible Furies is deeper and more heartfelt.]
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. [1920's NYC, by the author of A Gentleman in Moscow.]

Daisy Jones & The Six [A purely fun book about a 70's rock band. The audio version is a must. It might have a long wait list still at the public library.]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the group, but I'm very active on goodreads, and I'm happy to answer questions or provide tips on shelves, tags, groups, etc. I'm also a moderator in another group, so I'm familiar with the behind the scenes tools.

Many groups solicit nominations and comments in a thread just like this one. Then the moderator can narrow them down based on discussion or set up a poll. You can set up a poll with the top choices, and send out an announcement message to the entire group. It will appear in each person's email or notifications tab depending on their settings. Of course, if they don't usually visit here, they might not see it at all.

I found this group when I read your previous book about the Expo, but I missed out on this book.

Suggestions with links added:

The Darwin Affair
Carnegie's Maid
The Paragon Hotel
Tales of the City

Thanks for the tips and book suggestions, Nancy and welcome to our group.