Online Discussion Group Arters 2021-22 discussion

How is your first book? What do you like or not like about it?

My first book was good! I liked that it wasn't exactly a story with beginning, middle and conclusion. It made it easier to keep up with, I guess you could say. However, I did not like that it wasn't exactly a biography as they claimed it was.

My first book was The God of Small Things by Roy Arundhati. Initially, I believed the story to be just a constant compilation of flashbacks. It was difficult to keep track of how the story was progressing in terms of character development and dynamic conflicts. After getting a grasp of the primary characters, such as Ammu, Rahel, Estha, and Sophie, and organizing their timelines, I managed to piece together the importance of what unfolded before my eyes.

My first book was The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson. Although it was a bit hard to follow the plotline at times, I generally liked this book and thought the storyline had a lot of potentials to keep readers excited. However, the ending did not have a cliffhanger and the loose ends of the story were hastily wrapped up. There are more books in this series but because there was no cliffhanger at the end of the story and it almost seemed like a happy ending, as a reader I don't at all feel enticed to read the rest of the series. There are more things that could be further explored in the rest of the series, however, the ending of the first book did not make me want to go and pick up the next book.

My first book was "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein. I found the book quite entertaining, as I was able to stay engaged as a reader and didn't lose interest as I usually tend to when beginning a book. The setting made the plot far more interesting, as hearing a story about World War II from a different perspective got me hooked and forced me to continue reading.

The first book I chose to read was Invincible. I really enjoyed this book because I am a big fan of football and in my opinion, this is the ultimate underdog story for a football player. It also involved the eagles which I liked. All in all, it was sort of inspiring because it shows that nothing is really over and to keep fighting for your dream.

My first book was "Daisy Jones & the Six" by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I have read many books this year, and this one definitely had a unique style. The entire book was set up as an interview, which was kind of hard to get used to at first. The book was about a rock band in the 70s, which is what mainly caught my attention because I love the music from that time period. However, it dove deeply into the impacts of being in a famous band, especially how it may be more harmful than good, mainly due to addictions. Part of it was really sad, which was something that surprised me. I liked the book, but did not love it. The main characters made some decisions that really frustrated me sometimes so I was being disappointed a lot. Although, I loved most of the side characters, and I think that without them I may not have enjoyed the book as much. The author did a fantastic job at making this seem like a real band with real problems, and I would definitely recommend it to others.

My first book was "Perfect Spy". I, unfortunately, did not like this first book and a couple of reasons were the plot and storyline. I usually prefer a fast and quick read, the book was kinda slow in the beginning first chapters and by the time it completely lost my interest. I usually like sci-fi and mystery, so as soon as looking at spy I thought this was the book but, it did not catch my hook.

"The Road" by Cormac McCarthy has been fantastic and lived up to all of my very high expectations. I had heard many good things about it leading up to reading it, and I liked "No Country for Old Men" by the same author. So, my expectations were sky-high. It exceeded all of them. "The Road" is probably my second favorite book of all time ("To Kill A Mockingbird"). The I believed the father-son dynamic the entire time (which makes sense, since some of the conversations were supposedly taken from McCarthy's real-life interactions with his son). The father being prepared to do anything to make sure his son is safe, regardless of the cost, is very compelling and heartbreaking. The violence in the story also never feels gratuitous, rather it is showing the world as it is and those moments feel like they were selected rather than just wanting to insert gore. The story also feels truly grounded. With the recent surge in popularity of fantasy and science fiction, this feels like a wake-up call. Regardless, my recommendation is that you should read it. It tugs at your heartstrings and tells the best father-son story I've read.

The first book I read was Blindsight. I liked it. It offered insightful explanations into the power of marketing with clear and concise examples. Scientific terms and examples were explained at a basic, understandable level. The authors delved into the legal and ethical concerns of marketing as well, making for a well-rounded book. I wish the authors could have gone deeper into the psychology of marketing and its history.

My first book was "Ready Player One". I really enjoyed this book and ended up finishing it faster than I thought I would, reading it in my free time. It was very engaging and had some plot twists that I was not expecting. The ending really shocked me, and the last quarter of the book was impossible to put down. The characters were all very realistic and personable, easy to relate to and therefore easy to root for. The 80s references throughout the book were fun to read too, as I knew a small handful but was mostly reading about them for the first time (and had a conversation starter for my dad haha).

My second book, "Anyway the Wind Blows", was alright, I felt that it was for younger teenagers as the dialect and style was 'immature' writing. I prefer reading classics or novels meant for much older audiences, so it didn't really grasp my attention. The characters constantly got on my nerves with their naive decisions and the way they talked to one another. The book reminded me too much of your standard teenage young love story movie, where they all basically have the same plot line. All in all, it wasn't horrible, but I definitely wouldn't read it again.

The first book I chose to read was The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. I was a little intimidated by Wilde’s writing style—long sentences paired with multitudes of figurative language—however I appreciated how well it connected to the themes as I kept reading. I found it interesting to read such a controversial book for its time period, as it included complex philosophy, the homoerotic relationship between Dorian and Basil, and the slow progression into the abandonment of morals. I really enjoy learning others’ perspectives on philosophy and art, so I definitely will read more books like this one.

The first book I chose to read was The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I really loved how this book had constant twists and turns that made me not want to put down this book. I loved how the story started with one character, Monique, who then interviewed the other main character, Evelyn, about her life. I enjoyed how it went back and forth between Evelyn telling her past story to Monique's present life and thoughts on what Evelyn is telling her. This made me see some similarities between Evelyn's glamourous life and Monique's average-normal life. I also loved how by the end of the book, I felt invested and attached to a lot of the characters from hearing Evelyn's story and all of the things that happened to the people she loved. I also loved how at the end, Evelyn made a big reveal that answered all of the questions I had forming in my head throughout reading the book. It made the book feel very full-circled and I wasn't left wondering about a bunch of questions I formed when reading the book, which is something I don't usually like when reading books. Overall, I would definitely look to reading similar books like this, as I really enjoyed all of the drama, twists and turns, real-life situations, and the characters.

My first book was "Push" by Sapphire. The story was dark but real, which made the book more of a meaningful read. It displayed a variety of issues, including rape, abuse, neglect, STDs, etc. The main character, Precious, dealt with general issues many women face, such as low-self esteem and lack of confidence, which made her easier to understand and gave her room to become more strong. Although it may be subjective whether the book had a happy ending, I liked that it showed how Precious could grow and find happiness and meaning in her life. The writing, plot, and characters were all-powerful and I couldn't say that I disliked anything about the novel.

The first book I have chosen/finished is Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. As this was the second book in the Six of Crows duology, its plot was built off of the first book. The first book was written about an "impossible" heist and the second book continued the story by expanding on the twist that happened at the end of the first book. Just like the first book, Bardugo is able to develop and further develop the main characters, so it felt like I had an attachment to them after I finished reading the story. Though this book is somewhat long, I still would recommend this book because it is action packed and has you wanting to read more.

The first book I chose to read was The Good Girl by Mary Kubica. This book leaves you hanging in suspense after each chapter. Before actually reading this book, I looked at what genre this book would fall under and it was " Psychological Fiction ". This was my first time reading something that falls under that category and I was pleasantly surprised. The author has a way with playing with the readers mind - thus making it an even better read. There is no doubt in my mind that others wouldn't enjoy this book as much as I did. 10/10 read.

The book I am reading is Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. I chose this book because I liked Gone Girl by the same author and my sister read it and recommended it. I currently have been enjoying the action and the way the story is told, leaving some up to our imagination and then revealing it later. Due to the first person perspective, we only get the main character's thoughts which I think is intriguing because we are solving the case with her rather than being all knowing. One thing I wish was different is the chapter length, they are very inconsistent and also very long at times. I think shorter chapters are more conducive to reading more because it is less daunting to pick up the book if you only have a short span of time.

The book I’m reading right now is The Secret Keeper: A Novel by Kate Morton. It isn’t a terrible book or anything but I’m having a hard time getting into it. There are a lot of characters involved so it’s a little hard keeping track of who is who and what’s going on.

I am enjoying the book I am currently reading, Confessions of a Sociopath. I love how the book gets into the mind of Thomas, the main character. It gives you details that the reader can piece together where the manipulative behavior stems from. However, I tend to get bored at the repetitive sections with little conflict.

I liked my first book a lot. It kept me interested with every chapter. “The Unhoneymooners” wasn’t like all the cliché love stories and the twist definitely kept me interested. The main characters Olive and Ethan are the perfect love hate story.

I'm currently reading A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway. It took me a while to adjust to his writing style, which is very straightforward and plain at times. However, I've grown to appreciate an author who doesn't waste time describing unnecessary details.

My first book was "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt, which I found to be a pretty entertaining book. Tartt took an interesting approach by beginning the book with the end of the chronology and then retracing the events that got to that point. This strategy was effective because, although the readers already knew the ending, they stayed engaged because they wanted to observe how the characters and their relationships evolved to get to the dramatic climax. However, once the climax occurred, the book lost a lot of steam as there was little to write about after it.

I read Moby Dick by Herman Melville. My favorite scenes were the ending and the action between the ship and the whales they hunted. But a lot of it was "padding" and filler, information about whaling and anything tangentially related to whaling, so it was a lot to get through.

My book was great, it was the 6th of 7 books in the series. I love how much action and mystery flows throughout the pages of this book. The main characters are easy to care about and I found myself connecting with some of the hardships they face. The formula the author uses for his books is very predictable, however. The formula he uses is that any new character introduced in the current story being read that becomes close with one of the main characters, will turn out to be the villain. All in all, I really like the series and I would highly recommend it to someone who loves to solve mysteries.

My first book was Ty Cobb a Terrible Beauty. The book was very interesting because it showed the real history of Ty Cobb and it illuminated on a very prominent figure in the history of baseball. Also it was neat to compare it to the more inaccurate reporting that was done on him during his lifetime.

My first book was "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte. I really enjoyed the book because of the characters and style. The two main characters are some of the most flawed characters I've ever seen, yet, while reading the novel, I found myself rooting for them cause they belong to each other in their own weird, twisted, and dark ways. Because of this, I really liked the book because it portrays characters in a very human light as they both let their egos and social norms get the worst out of them and set them on a destructive path.

My first book was "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck. I thought that the book was pretty good and enjoyed it moderately. I liked how Adam who stated that he mostly hated his father essentially became his father throughout the story and I also liked how Cal was able to contain himself and his rage rather than succumbing to it. The parallels between the characters were done really well.

My first book was "The Guilt Trip," by Sandie Jones. Overall, the book was captivating and really intriguing as I enjoyed it very much. I particularly liked the many plot twists throughout the book. Initially, I thought the book would be very predictable and straight forward but I was pleasantly surprised that the characters, Will and Ali, did not follow the plot that I thought they would follow.

My book "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" was very interesting. It was recently released as a new addition to the "Hunger Games" series. I really enjoyed being able to see the upbringing of President Snow. This answered a lot of questions from the other novels about why he conducted these cruel games. Additionally, it showed why he may have had conflict with Katniss, the female tribute from District 12. Snow was the mentor for a female tribute from District 12, and she ran away making it so that he was never really able to close off that chapter of his life. Ultimately, I found this novel really interesting because of the connections that could be drawn to the other three books.

I quite like my new Independent Reading book "Islands of Mercy" by Rose Tremaine. I love the imagery used throughout it to describe Baths and Northern Europe. Additionally, I like the protagonist a lot too. I enjoy reading about her and I like that I can relate to her about her struggles. Like Jane, I want to learn to become and live life vicariously and independently of other's judgement. I have always enjoyed reading historical fiction, and the setting of Islands of Mercy in 19th century Europe and India is really exciting for me to read about.

My first book is Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. I had other books that I wanted to read before starting this one, so I haven’t finished it yet but am almost done. I like how the story is always foreshadowing the next big event and the adventures that follow. If it wasn’t then I would stop reading the book. I also like that Pachinko has taught me about Korean and Japanese history and their differing cultures. I don’t like the length of the book because it’s taken a while to get close to the end and that takes away from my enjoyment. Although it constantly introduces a new event, the book drags on and could be much shorter to prevent boredom. Currently, I don’t feel attached to this book, but that might change once I finish it.

My first book is the Prince of Tides, the beginning is a little slow and pretty depressing. This book takes place at a time and then flashes back to when the main character was young and keeps telling stories that build his character. I like it because it does leave suspense on who he is and where he came from and keeps me interested.

My first book was "The Loneliest Girl in the Universe", and it was about a girl who is alone in a spacecraft floating away from Earth at a little under the speed of light. She is by herself and will be tasked with colonizing a new planet, so she has to complete many tasks throughout the day, such as cleaning the spacecraft and fixing materials aboard the ship. What I disliked originally is how it moved a little slowly, although I did not mind it much. Towards the end, however, it got really intense and I found it fascinating, because the twist at the end was something I did not expect (I had predicted 50% of what would happen correctly, but got the other half completely wrong).

So far, I am enjoying my first book, David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell. I love Gladwell's writing because he picks interesting topics and makes his book like an essay. He defends his points on an overall thesis, but does so using varied types of stories that intrigue the reader. I get to learn interesting psychological concepts from his books but also history and current events. While it is not fiction, it sometimes reads as though it is. I think some of the references may be over my head at times, but even so he explains them well.

The book I chose to read is "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and so far I am really enjoying it. I really like how the book is told from two different perspectives, but each of the perspectives relates to each other in some way. The first perspective is from Ifemelu who had finished her fellowship at Princeton and was moving home to Nigeria. The second perspective was from Obinze who had struggled to find a job until he met "Cheif" who helped him acquire a practice although illegal and form a family. But, the underlying connection between the two is that they were each other's first loves and still thought about and kept in contact with each other to that day. I live that from Ifemelu's perspective we get to see the struggles of being a person of color in a predominantly white area, while with Obinze we see a different type of struggle in which race stills plays an important factor in the role he plays in society. I love how this book does a good job of describing each character's emotions ad opens our eyes to the real struggles that minority people experience in a way that is uncensored and honest. However, during some of the more complicated backstories presented in the story, I can sometimes get lost with what is happening and it took a while for the story to get exciting.

It's not often where a book can hold my attention for long periods of time, but "Ready Player One" has succeeded. And I think it is mainly due to the allusions it makes for real games, video games, and movies such as dungeons and dragons, joust, and Star Wars. The concept of the story is also something that I enjoy. I frequently imagine a world where we had this huge popular virtual universe we can visit whenever we wanted where we could be completely different people.

The first book that I chose was Angels and Demons by Dan Brown and I really like it so far. It was kind of slow at first, but when it started picking up, I found the story very intriguing and it is hard to put the book down. Something that I dislike about the book is that it includes a lot of complex concepts and does not spend time explaining them. But, I still really enjoy the excitement and complexity of the story and its concepts as well as the intensity of the characterization and plot.

I'm reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt and I am about halfway through the book. I liked The Secret History which is also written by Donna Tartt and since The Goldfinch won a Pulitzer Prize I thought it would be a good choice. The writing is really good, and it has very complex well-developed characters that are able to make the really grim sad nature of the plot come to life. Theo the main character struggles with the line between adolescence and adulthood and the concept of love after his mother passes away from a terrorist attack. His mother was obsessed with art, and that plays a big role in his own obsession with a painting. There is a lot of detail, which does make it drag sometimes, but it is written in a way that is still captivating and not boring.

Originally I was going to read Nothing to See here but decided that with all the stuff going on in my life I needed a nice light read so I chose looking for Alaska by John Green. I enjoy his books and find comfort in the familiarity of his writing. However, one thing that I find interesting is that all of his novels, at least YA, are almost the exact same. They all have a young female protagonist who are a “wild child” if you will. However, with Alaska, I felt that her character was more real than Margo. Her backstory was well thought out and it helped to understand her motives behind her actions.

My first book is Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa. Being an avid reader of fantasy fiction and romance, this book has definitely been an interesting read thus far. This book is very easy to follow, and explores a lot about Japanese culture and history. The book is told from two point of views: the girl Yumeko and the boy, Tatsumi. I was a little disappointed with Tatsumi's character development. He is almost a static character who constantly exhibits an emotionless, dry person. I look forward to, however, seeing the relationship between Yumeko and Tatsumi and how he will react upon hearing that Yumeko has the one thing that he has been looking for all his life.

My first book is A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson. The format of this Book is very good, the snippets of Pippa's Case reports about the investigation are great. They somewhat summarize all that Pippa has found about the Case and also include Pippa's personal feelings and thoughts. This book is also quite different in the way it builds up suspense. In this book, Pippa basically interviews the Suspect, Sal's brother, and the entire interview word for word in mentioned in this Book; it isn't a mere summary of the interview. Therefore, I love the way that suspense is building up and can't wait to find out the truth behind the murder.

My first book is Dune by Frank Herbert. This book is set in the far future in an interstellar society. Although I read many dystopian books, I usually stray away from the fantasy genre so this book was a bit out of my comfort level. I was quite confused on how the society was structured at the beginning of the novel and it was difficult to break into but I was able to gain more momentum as the book progressed. I am enjoying the book so far and will probably continue the series.

My first book is Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. I have been thoroughly impressed by the book, and I did not expect to like it this much. Despite being nonfiction, I found the book to be very captivating and interesting. Gladwell draws brilliant connections between background and success, and the real-life examples he gives never fail to surprise me. The book has been very inspiring to me, while also instilling a feeling of hopelessness as Gladwell explores the factors that determine success that are out of our control.

I am currently reading A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. I've heard frequent discourse on this book because of the strong, gut-wrenching emotions it has evoked in readers. A Little Life follows the paths of 4 young adults living in New York with a predominant focus on a character named JB. So far, I am enjoying this book and glimpsing into the lives of this friend group. However, I do find myself concerned as JB's childhood has clearly had negative impacts on his current self (for example a limp that has yet to be explained). The severity of the events of his childhood have not (yet) been disclosed but based on what others have said, it is a serious book with themes/subjects that aren't for everyone.

I've currently been reading The Three-Body Problem, by Liu Cixin. So far, the book is really interesting - I love fantasy and science fiction, and this story, which combines elements of both, is fascinating. I think the beginning of the story is really quite interesting, since it portrays physical concepts through a political lens. The setting is mid-1900s China, but I really do wonder whether the events in the story I read are some form of "fictional history", or whether they're actually realistically depicting the ideas of that time.

The first book I am reading is called A thousand Splendid Suns by Khalid Hosseini. This is a fiction book by the same author as my summer reading book. I decided to read more of his books since I wanted to get a better glimpse of life in Afghanistan. So far, I love this book! I liked the plot line a lot. It is very interesting to read about something not normal in our society. Mariam is her father's only legitimate child who doesn't even have permission to enter her father's house. Her life took a drastic turn when her mother committed suicide and her father forced her to marry a shoemaker. She was abused by her husband due to her failure to provide offspring (more specifically a son). That is all I have read so far. I am very excited to finish the book. It is an easy read and engaging.

The book that I am currently reading is Grapes of Wrath I think that it is unique point of view into poor people can't rely on anyone but themselves, and to also get a better view of the worker's rebellion that occurs when many people have to pick up their lives and move to California in hopes of finding a job. The book is very good and gives a lot of historical perspective into the whole conflict. I also love how the story is so destitute, there really is no happiness ever, no resolve in any of the small conflicts that are solved so far into my story.

So You Want to Talk About Race written by Ijeoma Oluo is a very informational novel about patterns seen in today's society regarding its approach to understanding racial differences. It has caused me to broaden my way of thinking and also think a bit more for myself instead of relying on others' opinions.

My first book was good. It was called Let it Snow. I was going to read it for summer reading but I decided to switch to another book. This was was recomended to me by a friend and it was good I just thought it was a little young for me to be reading.