Online Discussion Group Arters 2021-22 discussion

What book did you choose? Did you read the first book you chose? Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I chose to read Invisible Man by Ralph Waldo Emerson. I bought a few books from the list and after reading the short descriptions on the back of each one of them, I picked this book- it was not the first book I chose.

With many symbols of history, Invisible Man was an interesting read that made me often think of the events that I learned during APUSH. Thus, I would recommend this book to a friend because it doesn't just tell the story, it shows it.

I chose to read Push by Sapphire. I had read the summary before choosing this book and it looked like a good read; I cannot be more grateful that I picked this book. I could not put it down. With no doubt in my mind, I would recommend this book. The author has a way of getting the reader sucked in so deeply that they feel as if they are a part of the book.

I chose to read Sing Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward. I chose this book because I have read her other books in the past and I enjoy her writing style.

I would recommend this book to others because I love the symbolism that is present throughout and the extended metaphor related to the dog.

I picked Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. Since some of my friends have read other books by him and enjoyed those, I decided to pick this one since it was a realistic fiction book, which appealed to me more than his other works that were leaning towards the fantasy genre.

I would recommend this book to a friend since it has many themes about living and how to enjoy life. This book is heartwarming and frequently discusses people's philosophies.

I chose to read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I chose to read this book because I had heard good reviews about it and the Middle Eastern setting intrigued me. I would recommend this book to a friend because I believe this novel shows the western world how the Afghani people have been affected by the Taliban and the war. Due to current events, this book has considerable weight to it and gives readers the experience of being on the ground instead of watching the war unfold through a television screen. The novel has just the right amount of action and drama to engage the readers and give them a different perspective.

I chose to read A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini because I have previously read his book The Kite Runner. I really enjoyed that book because of the social topics it tackled and the writing was really well done, and I wanted to pick something I knew I was likely to enjoy. It was the first book I chose, and I would definitely recommend it to a friend because of the beautiful writing, current relevance, and developed characters.

I chose to read Push by Sapphire. A couple or friends had recommended this book to me and after reading the summary, I felt that it would be interesting and covering social issues and topics that I care about - it was the first book I chose.

I would only recommend this book to a friend if I felt they could handle the darkness of the book. While it was extremely interesting and I was invested in finishing the story, it covers some very devastating topics in graphic detail, that not all readers would be comfortable with (sexual assault being the main one).

This summer, I chose to read Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, and it was the first book I picked out of the list that was provided. I wouldn't recommend this book to a friend because although the book was written nicely, it was way to 'flowery' for my taste. The author also included chapters that had little to do with the main characters or plot of the story, which only ended up confusing me as a reader. I was also not a huge fan of the ending; however, I won't spoil it for those who haven't read it and decide that they want to.

I chose to read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. After reading the summary and looking at reviews of the novel, I decided to read it Its many symbols and themes created a profound story that I would definitely recommend to a friend. The plot and setting were intense and the bold characters all added to make a unique story that would be a thought-provoking read.

I chose to read Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. It was the first book that I picked from the list. I would recommend this book to a friend, because I really enjoyed it. The plot is set up in a unique way and the events are unpredictable, especially the ending. I learned so much about life in the 1800s and African American history.

When considering my summer reading book, I decided on The Kite Runner by Afghan-American writer Khaled Hosseini. Although the book tells a fictional, though compelling, story, it integrates very nonfictional events that decided the fates of millions. The characters of the book are people whose lives have been affected by the politics and history of Afghanistan, including the narrator. In this realistic setting, the author sets a story spanning four decades of Afghan history. It's not just a story of tragedy and hardship, but one of redemption and atonement.

I chose to read the Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. I had looked at the Goodreads ratings and small summaries of multiple books before, so it wasn't the first book I chose.

The book was just okay. The main character was quite irritating; she often forced her beliefs on others when starting her cult. The plot took far too long to progress, and many of the events that occurred in the book were unrealistic. Overall, I would not recommend the book. It was only average and not worth the time.

I chose to read 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I enjoy the magical realism genre and I realized that this book contained magical elements. Once I started, I enjoyed how it told stories and developed each character fully. For example, one of my favorite characters in the book is Ursula, the mother. I liked hearing about her conflicts and passions, and I would recommend this book to a friend solely because of how amazing Ursula is.

I chose to read Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. It was the first book I chose .

I would highly recommend this book. It is a wonderful journey about a woman trying to find love, mostly self-love, and become independent. It explores many themes including self-love, nature, and how what happens to previous generations can affect current ones. Janie is a very compelling character and all characters in the story are multidimensional and entertaining to dissect.

I chose to read "Everything I Never Told You" by Celeste Ng. The first sentence of this novel was, "Lydia is Dead," so I was excited to start the book. This book is about a family that has been broken for many years, with adultery, absent parents, pressure, death, and more. Ng found a way to be able to connect with all different types of readers. The main character was around my age, so I definitely related to her the most. This book made me think more deeply than other books, keeping me guessing until the end. While some of it was underwhelming, it was definitely still worth reading. I had seen this book recommended many times, so I decided that it would be a good idea to read this, and I think it lived up to my expectations.

I chose to read "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini and it was the first book I chose. I would certainly recommend this book to a friend, as it has quite an interesting plot and an immense amount of symbolism that make the book a lot more enjoyable. However, this book may not be for everyone, as it does have a few explicit scenes. I also thought this book was interesting to read because of the current situation in Afghanistan, as there were a few parts of the book that I could better understand after hearing about Afghanistan on the news.

For the summer reading, the book I chose was The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. After reading a quick summary online, I chose this as my first book to read. I would recommend this book, to anyone who has left their hometown and moved to a different location. Jhumpa wrote the book really well, opening about each character's family and culture. She also added how it feels to be away from one's family so if someone is away, the book will provide you a little nostalgia of your hometown and the family.

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami was the first book I chose and I went into it blindly. I picked it because many of my friends have read novels by Murakami and have complimented his unique writing style. It is in the magical realism genre and is cemented in greek mythology. For that reason, I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys magical realism. However, if not, I think this book could be very confusing as the plot is very complex and can go askew.

I chose to read the book Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, and it was one of the first books I chose. I definitely would recommend this to a friend as it is an encapsulating novel of love, journey, empowerment, and independence following the travels of a young African American woman in the early 1900s. I'm not one who usually enjoys colloquial language or historical fiction, but I loved this book because of its ups and downs, spontaneity, passion, and beautiful style.

I chose The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini because of its relevance to current events and the great reviews and recommendations that it had received. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who can handle serious topics such as violence, rape, and death, as the plot was emotionally deep and the book was very well-written. However, if you struggle with such topics, I may stay clear of a book like this.

For the summer reading, I chose the book Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. I had heard that there was a tv show adaption of this book and was intrigued after I read a short summary about the plot. I would not recommend this book to anyone else because although the story is somewhat interesting, the progression of the plot is incredibly slow and predictable. I would, however, recommend this book to anyone who likes books that focus on familial relationships and deep philosophical discussions.

I chose to read One Amazing Thing by Chitra Devakurani. I did not originally choose this book, I chose Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee. But the plot was not engaging and difficult to follow so I chose a different book. I would definitely recommend One Amazing Thing, however. The reason I chose this book is because the main character is Indian, and I could connect with her character, and see the meaning behind each symbol brought up. The book does have a very diverse character log, and thus, I believe that anyone could read it and pick up a connection with one of the characters.

I chose to read The Wind That Lays Waste. I did originally choose this book by picking a random book on the reading list. Unfortunately, Barnes and Noble nor the library had it so I had to buy it on Amazon because I wanted to stick with my choice. I would recommend this book to a friend if they wanted a quick read that's realistic fiction, but if they are highly opposed to reading a novel about religion, I would not recommend it to them.

The book that I decided to read was "The Underground Railroad" by Colson Whitehead. This was not my first choice as I first started to read "Roots" by Alex Haley but it had a slow start and I could not get into it. I would definitely recommend "The Underground Railroad" to other readers. It was a book that gave me the perspective and experiences of a female slave which was upsetting but also enlightening. Since, it was a book about slavery, the story was upsetting at times so I would not recommend it to someone who is easily sensitive but I think that most people would be okay.

I chose to read their eyes were watching god by Zora Neale Hurston since I had read similar books in the past. I would not recommend this book to friends because it wasn't appealing to me and I don't think that it would appeal to my friends. Not that a book about a women's quest to overcome and find love and all that isn't great it just isn't remotely interesting to me and I don't see it being interested to any of my friends either.

I chose to read Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami and it was my original first choice for summer reading. I have read several other books by Murakami (Kafka on the Shore and The Wind-up Bird Chronicle) and enjoyed his writing a lot so I thought it would be good to read his most popular work, Norwegian Wood. It is a sort of coming-of-age novel about a young Japanese boy who is navigating getting over his friend's death and also new love interests. One thing I really liked about Murakami's work is the magical realism element, so I was a bit disappointed to see that it wasn't present in Norwegian Wood. The writing is still very whimsical and it touches on darker themes (a lot of death), so I would recommend it to people who enjoy reading about those things.

I chose "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison for my summer reading. I primarily chose this book because I found the title of the book interesting and wanted to know more about why its named the way it is. So, when I read the summary I realized that it was a very touching and a heartfelt story. I wanted to travel with the main character and follow her journey. I would definitely recommend this book because I think that it has a story to be heard.

I chose to read "Everything I Never Said" by Celeste Ng. This was my first choice book. I would definitely recommend this book to pretty much any teenager. I loved the way that it was written with the ending in the front and going back to see how they got there. It was also interesting to read about Lydia's story and what she went through.

The book I chose to read was "Blindness" by José Saramago. This was the first book I chose because I found the premise of the book really intriguing. I like the idea of novels that take place in dystopian settings such as this book where there is a plague of 'white blindness' because they show lots of connections to themes and issues in modern society. I would highly recommend this book to everyone because it had lots of unexpected twists and it was really easy to empathize with the characters and their situations even though the events of the story are likely to never occur in real life. It had lots of good instances of symbolism and by the end of the book, I was left wondering and pondering what had just happened.

I read the book "Blindness" by Jose Saramago for my summer reading assignment. I chose this book because I was intrigued and interested by the idea of being able to read from a different perspective; in this case, that of the blind. After completing the story, I would definitely recommend it to a friend. The writing style of Jose Saramago is very unique and I think it is something everyone should get to experience!

The book that I had originally chose to read was a scientific book which I did not finish because, I read over the summer reading questions and I figured it be rather challenging to answer them. Therefore I changed to my second option which I did enjoy and would definitely recommend to a friend. I would recommend it because, it's a really fast paced book so it never gets boring!

The book I chose to read was "Blindness" by Jose Saramago. Initially, I chose to read the novel "Obasan" but found it relatively boring so I decided to move on to a new one. I would definitely recommend Blindness to anyone who enjoys a fast-paced story with lots of action!

I read The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates over the summer, and I did end up using this as my summer reading novel. I love historical fiction, and I thought it was interesting, but towards the end, it did slow down quite a bit compared to the action of the first half. I would not strongly recommend this book, but I would not discourage someone from reading it either (50-50).

I chose to read the book Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. I did end up reading the first book that I chose. I would recommend this book to a friend because I found it to be interesting. There are some times where the plot slows down a bit or becomes hard to understand, but Janie's story is compelling to read, and Hurston's commentary on society in regards to women's rights and racism is great.

I choose the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I did read the first book I choose, it was hard to get into at first but I pushed through and didn't have to pick a different book. I would recommend this book to my friends but I would have to give them a fair warning that it is a little depressing. I felt as if the entire time I was reading that everything that could go wrong was going wrong and nothing was going right. It was frustrating trying to read this and just know that your character is going to be sad once again or lose someone. But at the same time, this book has broadened my knowledge of the Middle East, specifically Afghanistan. Now that it is always in the news I feel like I had to gain an understanding of what was going on there anyway and I liked that I could follow the life of one man in Afghanistan before 9/11 occurred and how life had been a mess for them as well as Americans. It was nice to read about a culture I was unfamiliar with.

I chose to read Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng which tells the story of the Lees: an Asian American family dealing with the loss of their daughter, Lydia. This book was my first choice and I was led to select it after enjoying another of Ng’s works, Little Fires Everywhere. I would recommend this book to anyone because I genuinely enjoyed it despite its solemn nature. What this book does best is demonstrating the impacts of societal expectations on people of color, women, and the struggles of mental health.

I chose to read Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez. When choosing my book I went through the summaries of each book on the list to decide what interested me. I narrowed it down to two books but ultimately decided a novel about a murder would be more interesting.

I would recommend this book to a friend. When I first started reading I found the book so frustratingly repetitive. The novel is basically the same story being told over and over again by different people. There were slightly different details in each version of the story that at first made me think I was remembering wrong. It wasn’t until about halfway through the book that I realized everyone was lying, which made the book so much more interesting! By the end of the story we still have no idea what actually happened on the day of the murder, and are left in shock. I think I would’ve enjoyed the novel much earlier if someone had explained to me that not everything was what it appeared to be. That being said once I realized what was happening it made up for the earlier half.

I chose to read The Kite Runner. I did follow through with the first book I chose. I would recommend it to a friend, it kept me engaged and turning the pages. It was very entertaining and also easy to follow, my mom recommended this to me because she really liked it.

The book that I chose to read was Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day. I read a summary of the book and it sounded interesting enough. The Remains of the Day was the first book that I chose. I would recommend it to a friend as it was a quick read yet was thematical dense and the few characters in the book were compelling.

I decided to read The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline. This was not the first book that I looked at, however, I was interested in the dystopian setting of The Marrow Thieves. And the book did not disappoint, I felt immersed in the story frequently. I would definitely recommend this book to others as I enjoyed the plot and ending very much.

The book that I chose to read was The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. This was the first book that I chose, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I would recommend this book to any friend that is interested in following the story of an immigrant family. The book had no dull moments, and I enjoyed the emotional and deep parts.

I chose to read Confessions of a Sociopath by M.E. Thomas. I was asking my sister for recommendations and the first one she gave me sounded really good since she knows what books I enjoy reading. I would recommend it to a friend because I find books about psychology interesting and it is easy to follow.

I chose to read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. This was my first choice of book as it was recommended by my junior year English teacher. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend. The book goes over friendship, guilt, innocence, hardship, and many other themes. This is one of the few books where I am disappointed.

I chose to read Children of Blood and Bone (by Tomi Adeyemi), primarily for two reasons - first, it is of fantasy genre, and second, it was incredibly easy to obtain a PDF online.

Despite being a fantasy novel though, the book was a complete letdown. The main character's decisions are so infuriatingly senseless. I shall refrain from going to the specifics of these decisions, so as to not spoil the novel, but I shall say this - a huge proportion of Children of Blood and Bone's plot is devoted to transforming enemies to lovers, only to then, unsurprisingly, have that relationship shatter apart.

I say that this is unsurprising, since it seems that the main character is the only one oblivious to what is going to happen. Any reader can easily predict the ending of the book, and even the other characters within the book itself warn the main character.

Clearly, I won't recommend Children of Blood and Bone to anyone. But if you happen to choose to read the book regardless, I must let you know that the sequel is even worse. Truly, I beg you to reconsider reading this series and to spend your time more wisely on some other book instead. (If you're a fan of fantasy and sci-fi, I recommend the webnovel Worm, by Wildbow!)

I chose to read the Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan because we have read excerpts of her books before so I was interested in reading something written by her. It was the first book that I chose. I would recommend this book because it is very interesting to see the context of certain actions by characters later get revealed since the book is a collection of stories about the women of the Joy Luck Club and their daughters.

I read Junji Ito's take on the Frankenstein story. This was the book I first read over the summer and I enjoyed it. The illustrations are gruesome and intriguing. It would take a certain type of person to enjoy this book. If they, like me, enjoy modern takes on classic literature they would appreciate this book. I enjoyed this book a lot and I am curious about the rest of Junji Ito's work.

I read “Ugly Love” by Colleen Hoover, this was the first book I chose, It was recommended in tik tok. I absolutely loved it it was a love story that had a lot of dark moments and it wasn’t like it was easy for them to be together they put in a lot of work. I would definitely recommend this to a friend, if you love a love story you’ll love this. It teaches you that you don’t always know the demons people face from their past.

I read " All the Bright Places" and this was the first book I chose. I had watched the movie on Netflix and remembered that there was a book too. I loved the storyline of how two people struggling found each other and did not realize how much they really impacted each others lives. I would recommend this to a friend because of how it teaches you about how you never know what someone else is going through and how your actions affect other people.

The first book I chose for summer reading was Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend, as I liked how the book took me through a whole timeframe of Janie's life. The story was constantly moving forward, which I like in a book, so my interest was kept throughout the whole book. I became attached to Janie and felt sympathy for her on some of the events she experienced. I liked how I saw her learn a strong sense of self towards the end of the book and I saw her accept her independence as a woman and appreciate it.