The County Library discussion

We are super excited to start this year's One County, One Book program, and start talking about Ordinary Grace!

Please check out our OCOB website to see a list of related events and a special message Krueger made just for Salt Lake County: http://www.saltlakecountyonebook.com/

Here's a link to the Facebook event page, too: https://www.facebook.com/events/48787...

So, any preliminary thoughts? Has anyone already read the book?

I enjoyed the book immensely. My first thought when I started reading it was that it reminded me of the movie "Stand By Me" which is based on Stephen King's short story "The Body". In the movie an adult Richard Dreyfus is recalling a summer in his teens in the 1960s when he and his friends went on an adventure to find a dead body on a railroad track. The narrator's brother had just died as well. Other than that, the story is quite different.

There are so many interesting elements to the story that I can't wait to see what other discussions come up!

Meghan wrote: "I enjoyed the book immensely. My first thought when I started reading it was that it reminded me of the movie "Stand By Me" which is based on Stephen King's short story "The Body". In the movie an ..."

That's funny- it made me think about Stand By Me, too! It had a similar sense of atmosphere to me, I think.

I also thought of Stand By Me. That could be the reason the book pulled me in so fast. I read it in two sittings, was surprised how much I loved it since it's not the type of novel I would normally pick up. But that's the fun of the One Book, it gets us to read different books outside of our "comfort zone." I'm actually looking forward to re-reading it before the author visit in October...

I loved this book. I thought it was a beautiful story, perfectly told. I found all of the characters to be compelling and complex and just struggling to live as well as they knew how. It was moving, meditative and satisfying as a mystery as well.

One of the reasons I didnt like the book was because it felt like something I had read before! I kept thinking-havent I seen a movie of this?

I just finished this terrific book and look forward to the events. I loved the flavor of the book, the atmosphere, the imperfect characters. Beautifully written.

I just finished the book. It took me a long time to slog through the first 150 pages, frankly. I almost gave up on it, but every time I'd close it up, I would see that "Edgar Award Winner for Best Novel" seal of approval on the cover, and I'd think about everyone in the county reading the book and I'd say to myself, "Man, this *must* get better..." so I'd pick it up again in a few days. It finally got more interesting when the primary mystery was finally introduced in chapter 18! I enjoyed the last half of the book a lot more than the first half needless to say.

Krueger writes beautiful prose. Several times I just had to stop and linger on his imagery. I was so delighted when I got to the part in the story that gives deep meaning to the title. That was a touch of genius.

All in all, I rate the book 3.5 stars: 2 stars for the first half, and 5 stars for the second half. :)

I'm glad you stuck with it. I really enjoyed Ordinary Grace and was able to see the author Kent Krueger when he came to the Viridian in October. He was awesome!

I liked the author's style of writing. It is not a book I would have picked to read myself, so I am glad that it was chosen as a feature book. I enjoyed my visit to New Bremen, MN and my time with the Drums.