Tag: Book Club

This is our June book club read.  I just got the book in my hand today and have to admit that I am skeptical going in.  I hate to say that because I try to keep an open mind on our book choices – and I really am hoping that the book proves me wrong….

Stay tuned…

Twice-divorced Dawn is the product of a fantastically dysfunctional family (Dawn’s sister, Halley, is an overly enthusiastic life coach, her mother is a struggling entrepreneur and her former smalltime rockabilly musician father invests “a lot of time into perfecting… authentic fifties outfits”); her dog, Chuck, begins talking to her after dud radio-DJ boyfriend Paxton dumps her. Though other dogs can also suddenly communicate with Dawn (including Johnny Depp, a friend’s dog), Chuck remains the leading pooch as he plies his master with sage advice and astute observations—”He seemed humpy,” Chuck opines about one suitor; “Who doesn’t like puppies? That’s psychotic,” he muses about Paxton—as she negotiates the standard fare of chick lit (losing her job, getting mixed up with wacky beaus, aiding her friends through their respective crises, finding a place to live). Until, that is, Chuck runs away, forcing Dawn to realize her true love may not be a biped. Off-beat enough to stand out of the pack.

The book gave me a “Janet Evanovich” feel almost from the start.  The quirky too involved family members rang a little too “Stephanie Plumisk” for me and while I am well aware of the great following the Plum series has drawn… I am not one of the fans.

I do have to admit that this book while in parts offensive (Halley dating Scott Peterson hit me as tasteless and insensitive)… there were other times I caught myself laughing out loud with some of the humor.

Overall the book was a skimmer.  I did not find any likable characters – not even the dogs.  The only person I think I liked  was Collin.  The ending tied up a few wildly loose ends but the overall point of the book was missed, at least by me.  I can’t rate this beyond a 2.5.

June 14 (update from our Bookies book club review):  Our book club met last week to review this read.  It is always fun to see if it just me when I find a book “incredible!” or “disappointing!”  In this case, while for the most part we all agreed that this book was not in the running for our Bookies read of the year, the group found it a  slightly below average read.

A couple of the girls rated it extremely low… agreeing that character development was not strong, the book had no real plot… to a few of the girls finding it just a humorous fun read that you don’t take too seriously just enjoy.

The Wednesday Sisters: Set during the summer of 1968 in Palo Alto, California, Clayton’s novel chronicles the lives of five women who conduct a weekly writing group at their neighborhood park. Frankie is an unassuming midwesterner whose inventor husband brings them to the burgeoning Silicon Valley. She meets Linda, the all-American athlete; Kath, the southern belle; Brett, the enigmatic scientist; and Ally, the shy bohemian. The women share their feelings about marriage and motherhood and together mourn the assassination of Robert Kennedy and watch as man walks on the moon and feminists protest the Miss America pageant. They support one another through illness, infertility, racism, and infidelity—and encourage each other through publishers’ rejections. Readers will be swept up by this moving novel about female friendship and enthralled by the recounting of a pivotal year in American history as seen through these young women’s eyes.

I stumbled upon this book while looking for something to recommend to our book club for May.  I loved the fact that the book was about strong women and apparently a bit before their time.  I excitedly brought it into the vote but it did not win.

I could not let it go so I used the gift card I received from Brad and Justin for Mother’s day to purchase this among a few other treasures.  I brought it with to the cabin for Memorial Weekend and devoured it word for word.

This book featured excellent characters that I not only could relate too, but almost wished that i too could be a Wednesday Sister and join them as they discuss children and husbands, lives and dreams.  I loved that they all tried their hand at writing… I loved Linda’s strong personality, Kath’s sweet heart, Ally’s insecurities, Brett’s secret heartache, and Frankie’s wisdom.  These five made a group that was a delight to read about!  I even pulled a couple ideas out of the book to use for our book club including one great idea to have a “come as your favorite fiction character” party.  I already know who I will be……

There was a line in the book (of course I can’t find it now) that talked about how most women are lucky to have even one really close friend in a lifetime… I really thought about this and it is true.  I am blessed to have many friends through the years that I would say I am very close too.  What a great gift friendship is.

I enjoyed this book and will be looking for more from this author.  her characters were alive and real and what a privilege to spend time with these amazing women! A HIGH FIVE rating!  I will be bringing this to book club again for another try!

See Meg Waite Clayton’s website here ***Also – see where Meg added part of this review to her website!!! (Thanks Meg!)

Jacob Jankowski says: “I am ninety. Or ninety-three. One or the other.” At the beginning of Water for Elephants, he is living out his days in a nursing home, hating every second of it. His life wasn’t always like this, however, because Jacob ran away and joined the circus when he was twenty-one. It wasn’t a romantic, carefree decision, to be sure. His parents were killed in an auto accident one week before he was to sit for his veterinary medicine exams at Cornell. He buried his parents, learned that they left him nothing because they had mortgaged everything to pay his tuition, returned to school, went to the exams, and didn’t write a single word. He walked out without completing the test and wound up on a circus train. The circus he joins, in Depression-era America, is second-rate at best. With Ringling Brothers as the standard, Benzini Brothers is far down the scale and pale by comparison.

How did I read this book I procrastinated on getting to until three days before the review?  Very quickly!  I started at the YMCA where the first few chapters hit so close to home for me that I found myself crying on the elliptical one moment and then writing on a paper towel my thoughts from the tread mill the next.  Then reading while I road with Al to Crosslake to look at a job on Sunday and finally finished it this evening while Al watched The Big Bang Theory.

But – to the review.  I found this book enlightening.  I enjoyed the circus background – the details of what went on in a 1930’s circus from the traveling by train, the lack of pay and less than ideal living situations.  I dove into the life of Jacob and how he made his way into the new and exciting life of working on a circus.  The relationships built throughout this book felt genuine and I felt for Camel and loved the friendship that developed between Jacob and Kinko (Walter).

The circus workers seemed real and I could picture them with their rugged clothes, sad stories of broken homes, and childhood dreams.

I could have lived without all the words of Barbara and there was a couple parts that I would take out of my memory bank – but overall I can not fault the book.  The writing is good, very good and I loved the flashbacks as Jacob tells the story of his circus days from his nursing home at the age of 90… or 93.

Highly recommended- don’t give up on the book when you run across the bit visually graphic parts…. they are few and the book is good.

Oh – and for the record.  I would have killed him too.  4 rating

***Update May 12th Book review:  This was an excellent review for us.  The book rated high, mostly high 4’s and 5’s.  We loved the circus theme and while we did discuss the crude parts of the book, found it necessary to stay true to the theme and the times.  This book felt real with vibrant characters and plot themes.  We loved the ending and overall had a wonderful discussion.