Beastmomma

I am very slow with completing books as I adjusted to married life in the New England area. I thought it would be fun to track my reading progress each week. The Sunday Salon is  an online reading group where all the participants set aside time to read every Sunday and blog about the experience. To learn more or to join, click on the picture above.

Even though I did not do much blogging about books over the past week, I did have a few book-ish adventures.  On Wednesday evening, I attended a book club meeting at the local library where we discussed Once Upon a Day by Lisa Tucker.  You can read my review here.  I was a little bit nervous because I did not care for the book too much.  At the meeting I discovered that not only did others feel the same as I did, but they were quite fierce about their opinions. I have been in quite a few book clubs in my day, but I have never been to a meeting with people who were so intense about expressing their opinion of the book.  The members ranged in age from retirees to young professionals.  There was one man who I actually felt sorry for because he had to defend his preference for long hair.  It sounds totally random, but I kid you not. 

On Friday night, I attended the first meeting of a book club that I started.  In my head, I have named the club "Partners of Professors" because we are all connected to a professor at a local college.  Our first selection was Julie & Julia by Julie Powell which I actually finished about forty minutes before I had to leave.  I am telling you that to explain why I have not written a review of the book yet :) The host served a yummy dinner and wine.  We enjoyed the discussion and I liked getting to know the members better.  We talked about a lot of other things, in addition to the book.  I am excited to return to both of these meetings next month.

As for my reading today,  I read a few more pages of Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon.  I started the book earlier this week and I am really drawn into the story. Getting the perspective of a fifteen-year-old autistic child who is working on solving a mystery is really engaging.  The main character is very observant and good at picking up random details.  When Partner and I were looking at bed's earlier today, I thought about what Christopher (the main character in the book) would look for in a bed and a headboard.  It was a fun exercise to take into account the opinion and potential reaction of a fictional character in my shopping adventure.  I think that thinking about Christopher helped me from purchasing a headboard prematurely.

I am very slow with completing books as I adjusted to married life in the New England area. I thought it would be fun to track my reading progress each week. The Sunday Salon is  an online reading group where all the participants set aside time to read every Sunday and blog about the experience. To learn more or to join, click on the picture above.

I need some serious motivation to write up a review of Blindsight by Robin Cook, but I did not really enjoy the book very much.  I had a lukewarm reaction to it and I find myself having some writer's block.  As I mentioned in my post last week, I also had some issues with some offensive undertones in the book.  I want to expand on what I found offensive, but I feel like I need to have a lot more energy to write a critical review than one which is filled with gushing.  Does anyone else struggle with that?

As for today, I am going to continue to work my way through Julie & Julia by Julie Powell which is the selection for the book cub I am starting in town.  I started reading the book late, so I am worried that I may not finish in time for our meeting.  However, I am hoping that I can put in some long reading hours in between preparing for class, struggling through thank you notes, and continuing to unpack.  Given my pattern, I am pretty sure that reading the book will give me a good excuse to continue to ignore the last two items on the list.  So far, I find the book pretty engaging and easy to get through.  While I enjoy Julie's sassiness and drive to find her passion, there is something that is not jiving with me.  Maybe it is because I read a few of her blog entries and I also read interviews and reviews of both the movie and the book.  I feel like I know her voice and have a good idea of what to expect, so I am not very surprised.  As the book progresses, I am looking forward to witnessing more of her transformation and hopefully liking her more.

I am very slow with completing books as I adjusted to married life in the New England area. I thought it would be fun to track my reading progress each week. The Sunday Salon is  an online reading group where all the participants set aside time to read every Sunday and blog about the experience. To learn more or to join, click on the picture above.

Partner was consumed with running some code to finish up a paper that he is presenting at a conference in a few weeks.  As a result, I had a few hours to devote to reading today.  I continued working my way through Blindsightby Robin Cook.  From the moment I started the book, I kept thinking that my mother would enjoy this book.  It is a murder mystery, similar in tone to Agatha Christie novels, but not as strong in my opinion.  The premise of the book is interesting; however, I am not getting as swept up in the plot as I would like.  Also some of the details Cook puts in are mildly racist which I find very irritating and distracting.  When I write my full review, I will go into more detail on that.  Nonetheless, I find the story interesting and I am curious to see what happens next.  Plus, it is fun to get to spend most of your day immersed in a book.

This week I finished reading Once Upon a Day by Lisa Tucker; I wrote up a review.  I am looking forward to attending the book club meeting to discuss the book in a few weeks.

From Amazon:

Tucker's novel is structurally dextrous, boasting a chorus of extraordinary voices and assured parallel plot lines separated by four decades. In the present day, 23-year-old Dorothea has left her overprotective father's secluded 35-acre New Mexico estate, called the Sanctuary, where she and her brother, Jimmy, had been sheltered from current news and all modern-day innovations. Searching for her runaway brother in St. Louis, Dorothea meets a recently widowed doctor-turned-cabbie, who introduces her to the vibrant outside world he's been trying to escape. A parallel tale set in the 1970s follows the budding romance between a successful film director and the waif who becomes his muse, his wife and the object of his obsessive control. The tour de force resolution that ties both stories together is a lyrically poignant reminder of the necessity of hope.

Pages: 352 pages (hardcover)

Rating: 6 out of 10

A few weeks ago, I visited our local library. People had told me that it was quite lovely and had recently been renovated. I was also excited to find out if they have a book club.  When I entered the building, I signed up for a library card which I always think is fun . (I know NERD alert!) I asked about the book club and found out that there is a book club which meets on the last Wednesday of the month.  They also had a copy of the book which had just been returned. Even though I was not sure if I would enjoy the book based on the cover (shame on me for being so quick to judge), I decided to check it out and come to the first meeting.

Once Upon a Day by Lisa Tucker turned out to be a very interesting and engaging read.  I had it by my bed and often went to bed later than intended because I was so engrossed in the story.  The character I liked the most was Stephen who became a cabbie after his wife and daughter were killed in an accident.  The story was engaging, but I did not find it as satisfying as I was hoping.

Towards the end, the plot lines seemed to come together too neatly.  Also, some of the choices made by the characters did not have realistic consequences.  I am looking forward to the book club discussion about this book in a few weeks.  Until then, I am going to ponder some other points of discussion.

I am very slow with completing books as I adjusted to married life in the New England area. I thought it would be fun to track my reading progress each week. The Sunday Salon is  an online reading group where all the participants set aside time to read every Sunday and blog about the experience. To learn more or to join, click on the picture above.

This morning, Partner and I participated in a fundraising walk to cure cancer. Before we left, I managed to finish Once Upon a Day by Lisa Tucker.  I never would have picked up the book if I had not decided to try one meeting of the book club that is held at the local library.  I will write my review soon, but overall I enjoyed the book. 

I have realized that being able to take the train from our place into Boston gives me more reading time than I had before.  I have also been reading a little bit before going to bed and/or before getting out of bed in the morning.  I imagine that those routines will change once I get busier.  For now,  I am trying to savor the pages. 

Since my last post for Sunday Salon, I review two books.  The books were different from each other, but I enjoyed them very much.  Eva Luna by Isabel Allende was a compelling story about a young girl growing up without her mother, but also a story about the history of a country.  You can read my review here.  

House and Home by Kathleen McCleary is about a woman whose in a difficult transition.  In the midst of trying to cope with losing so many things, she has a strong attachment to her house.  You can read my review here.

I also started reading Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood earlier this week.  I started it while on the train from Boston and I missed my stop.  If the rest of the book continues to be this engaging, I am going to enjoy it very much! Although, I may have to work out a system where I pay attention to the train stops while I am reading :)