The Books We've Read
74th Pick, August 2018 ~ Chosen by Marilyn.
Average rating 3.8 stars.
The Ninth Hour is set in early 20th century New York City and tells the story of a young Irish woman, her daughter and the parish's nursing nuns whose lives come tog...
73rd Pick, July 2018 ~ Chosen by Robin.
Average rating 3.8 stars.
The novel opens as four children sneak off to see a fortune teller who tells each of them exactly when they will die. We generally liked the book. Its premise was very i...
72nd Pick, June 2018 ~ Chosen by Pam.
Average rating 4.3 stars.
The Boys in the Boat tells the story of the young men who rowed for the United States in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Everyone liked this book. In addition to the stories of ...
71st Pick, May 2018 ~ Chosen by Barbara.
Average rating 2.3 stars.
This is a very disturbing book to read as it describes in bloody, graphic detail the brutal, horrific and terrifying events in the life of young boy forced to be a sold...
70th Pick, April 2018 ~ Chosen by Gisela.
Average rating 3.2 stars.
The Other Einstein is Mileva Maric who met Albert Einstein when they were both students in Zurich. The story covers their life together and it is not a happy one. The ...
69th Pick, February/March 2018 ~ Chosen by Kimber.
Average rating 2.9 stars.
Seveneves will appeal to certain readers but not at all to others. This book belongs in the science fiction subgenre called "hard" science fiction. After a gr...
68th Pick, January 2018 ~ Chosen by Vicki.
Average rating 3.0 stars.
We liked the second half of this book much better than the first half. We thought the first half's storyline was repetitious in making the point that two sisters were...
67th Pick, December 2017 ~ Chosen by Marilyn.
Average rating 4.0 stars.
Dead Wake tells the story of the sinking of the British luxury passenger liner "Lusitania" in 1915 off the south coast of Ireland by a German submarine. The book g...
66th Pick, November 2017 ~ Chosen by Robin.
Average rating 3.6 stars.
The Second Mrs. Hockaday is the story of a young woman in the Civil War South and how she manages after marrying a soldier who, after two days of marriage, is called...
65th Pick, October 2017 ~ Chosen by Pam.
Average rating 2.8 stars.
This novel is set among circus people in Germany toward the end of WWII. Astrid is a star trapeze performer from a Jewish circus family. Noa is a Dutch teenager disowne...
64th Pick, September 2017 ~ Chosen by Barbara.
Average rating 2.9 stars.
In the Language of Miracles is the story of an Egyptian-American family attempting to carry on in the aftermath of one family member's horrific act. The author de...
63rd Pick, August 2017 ~ Chosen by Gisela.
Average rating 2.5 stars.
When We Meet Again tells the story of Emily who begins to investigate her past after receiving a painting of her grandmother as a young woman. The plot begins well an...
62nd Pick, July 2017 ~ Chosen by Kimber.
Average rating 3.4 stars.
The Sparrow tells the story of a Jesuit-led mission to make contact with another planet and its inhabitants but it is much more than science fiction. We had mixed react...
61st Pick, June 2017 ~ Chosen by Vicki.
Average rating 3.1 stars.
This is the fictional story of Princess Jahanara and the family that built the Taj Mahal. The narrator of the story is Jahanara, whose father build the Taj Mahal in hono...
60th Pick, May 2017 ~ Chosen by Marilyn.
Average rating 3.0 stars.
The heroine of this novel is a former 'Nightingale' nurse who is hired to observe the actions of little Anna who has caused a sensation by not eating for four months. W...
59th Pick, April 2017 ~ Chosen by Robin.
Average rating 3.0 stars.
This was a thriller set on a small luxury yacht and tells the story of a journalist who is determined to find out what happened to a passenger on the ship, a passenger ...
58th Pick, March 2017 ~ Chosen by Pam.
Average rating 4.2 stars.
This thriller was a fast-moving story with lots of twists and turns that begins when a couple leave their baby safe and sound in her room while they go to a party thrown ...
57th Pick, February 2017 ~ Chosen by Barbara.
Average rating 3.9 stars.
This book begins with the British invasion of Burma and continues the story of British colonialism in India in an epic fashion through four generations of interrel...
56th Pick, January 2017 ~ Chosen by Gisela.
Average rating 2.5 stars.
Many of us were just confused by this book. The writing is poetic in places but the narrative left many of us feeling that the storyline was too disjointed and we fo...
55th Pick, December 2016 ~ Chosen by Kimber.
Average rating 2.7 stars.
We had a split decision on this novel. Half of us really liked the characters and the action and adventure of the story. The other half, while appreciating the auth...
54th Pick, November 2016 ~ Chosen by Vicki.
Average rating 4.7 stars.
All of us agreed that The Nightingale is one of the best novels our group has read. The story of the two very different sisters during WWII in France was very well d...
53rd Pick, October 2016 ~ Chosen by Marilyn.
Average rating 3.1 stars.
We liked the story line of this book about the title character, Sara de Vos. The author's descriptions of the painter's life, her paintings and details about the Gu...
52nd Pick, September 2016 ~ Chosen by Robin.
Average rating 2.3 stars.
We were unanimous on this one: very disappointing, especially the ending. The promise of the book – the story of a woman deciding to take 100 items from her old lif...
51st Pick, August 2016 ~ Chosen by Pam.
Average rating 3.5 stars.
We all agreed that this is an entertaining, fast-paced story that, while predictable in parts, is very readable and enjoyable. It's a mix of family drama, mystery and th...
50th Pick, July 2016 ~ Chosen by Barbara.
Average rating 3.0 stars.
The consensus on The Secret History was mixed with the majority or us not caring enough about the plot or characters to recommend this book. While some were drawn in b...
49th Pick, June 2016 ~ Chosen by Gisela.
Average rating 2.7 stars.
The Lake House generated mixed reviews ranging from several 2.0 stars to 3.5 stars. Many had difficulty with the huge number of coincidences that really strained the su...
48th Pick, May 2016 ~ Chosen by Kimber and Kathy.
Average rating 4.2 stars.
Could a non-fiction book about the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition be interesting to a group of fiction lovers? The answer is a definite YES. This book relat...
47th Pick, April 2016 ~ Chosen by Vicki.
Average rating 4.2 stars.
The verdict on this book was unanimous: we all liked it for various reasons. The novel is set in the tenement neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, between 1900 and 1...
46th Pick, March 2016 ~ Chosen by Marilyn.
Average rating 4.1 stars.
We all found this novel difficult to read, especially the beginning, but those who read it to the end were rewarded with a novel containing many points for discussion...
45th Pick, February 2016 ~ Chosen by Marilyn.
Average rating 4.1 stars.
"He who learns must suffer. And, even in our sleep, pain, which cannot forget, falls drop by drop upon the heart, until in our own despair, against our will, come...
44th Pick, January 2016 ~ Chosen by Robin.
Average rating 2.5 stars.
It was not unanimous but some of the group felt the plot was rather convoluted at the same time empathizing with the nightmare of the protagonist's life. We had a go...
43rd Pick, December 2015 ~ Chosen by Pam.
Average rating 3.5 stars.
This was a well-written historical fiction that generated a good discussion. The story of Beryl Markham begins in Kenya where she grows up as a wild child after bein...
42nd Pick, November 2015 ~ Chosen by Gisela.
Average rating 2.9 stars.
We liked the historical aspects of this story set mostly in 1930s and 1940s San Francisco that tells the tale of three young Chinese showgirls. On the one hand, we...
41st Pick, October 2015 ~ Chosen by Kimber.
Average rating 4.0 stars.
We liked this story of a woman whose life takes unexpected turns after the death of her father brings family secrets out into the open. For this genre, it's a myst...
40th Pick, September 2015 ~ Chosen by Vicki.
Average rating 4.2 stars.
Set in the Belgian Congo at the time of its struggle for independence and spanning almost 40 years, this is the story of the impact of an unbending preacher's mis...
39th Pick, August 2015 ~ Chosen by Marilyn. Average rating was 3.8 stars.
This is the story of six people and what they do and what happens to them in wartime Chechnya. Not an easy read but stick with it. It's a book with a great range ...
Our July 2015 pick! Chosen by Robin. (#38)
Most of the group liked this story of a woman who marries a plantation owner only to find herself "convicted" of madness and sent to a mental institution when she tries to escape from her marria...
37th Pick, June 2015 ~ Chosen by Pam..
Average rating was 3.6/5 stars. Most of the group enjoyed this story, the NYC setting and the historical incidents incorporated.
Meeting Highlights ~ We met at La Via. In attendance: Nadine, Kimbe...
36th Pick, May 2015 ~ Chosen by Nadine.
Average rating was 2.3/5 stars. None of us really enjoyed the way this story was told. Everyone agreed the parallel narratives were too disjointed, lacked focus and failed to achieve the apparent ...
35th Pick, April 2015 ~ Chosen by Adriane.
Average rating was 3.1/5 stars. Three members enjoyed it most, enjoying the humor and characters. Others felt it was just OK, overly long with too much forced suspense.
Meeting Highlights ~ We...
34th Pick, March 2015 ~ Chosen by Kimber.
Average rating was 3.4/5 stars. Most thought it was a quick read and a couple members even completed the trilogy.
Ethan's investigation kept us turning the pages to find out what was going on ...
33rd Pick, February 2015 ~ Chosen by Vicki.
Average rating was 4.5/5 stars. Strong story. Some members felt the writing was ahead of its time and didn't feel like a book published in the 1930s. We enjoyed Wang Lung and O-lan's story of ...
32nd Pick, January 2015 ~ Chosen by Marilyn.
Average rating was 3.6/5 stars.
Meeting Highlights ~ We met at Brio. In attendance: Nadine, Kimber, Robin, Pam, Vicki, Adriane and Marilyn. The meeting lasted about 2.5 hours.
Pam nominated...
31st Pick, December 2014 ~ Chosen by Pam.
Average rating was 3.9/5 stars. Everyone enjoyed this book except Nadine, who was mostly bored by it and thought it was overly long (which most agreed it was), too uneven in the writing style an...
30th Pick, November 2014 ~ Chosen by Mary Ann.
Average rating was 2.7/5 stars. Interesting premise of a NYC psychiatrist who after 20 years of marriage should have known her husband wasn't who he seemed! We all agreed the narrative styl...
29th Pick, October 2014 ~ Chosen by Robin.
Average rating was 3.3/5 stars. Everyone enjoyed the POV of a surgeon with Alzheimer's who happens to be the prime suspect in the murder of her best friend, but some felt being limited to her d...
28th Pick, September 2014 ~ Chosen by Nadine.
Average rating was 3/5 stars. Everyone agreed the characters were all very dysfunctional and there wasn't really anybody to root for. The story kept your interest, though it felt drawn out i...
27th Pick, August 2014 ~ Chosen by Adriane.
Good discussion book. Average rating was 3/5 stars. It was a serious family drama where you get to know the characters pretty well. But everyone agreed this story's pacing was uneven, and the ...
26th Pick, July 2014 ~ Chosen by Vicki.
Average rating was 4/5 stars. Only two members found it to be an average, predictable read, everyone else really enjoyed it! For most members it was the first time they'd heard about the history o...
25th Pick, June 2014 ~ Chosen by Kimber.
Average rating was 2.2/5 stars. Only two members enjoyed it and found it engaging enough to finish. The others couldn't finish, finding it too long and tedious, with an unfocused writing style an...
24th Pick, May 2014 ~ Chosen by Marilyn.
Average rating was actually 3.4/5 stars. Some enjoyed it more than others. Some felt it predictable with pretty flat characters, and not a very good blend of the genres it comprised. Others enjoy...
23rd Pick, April 2014 ~ Chosen by Robin.
Average rating was actually 3.5/5 stars. We enjoyed this book overall. It was like an Australian Desperate Housewives. It had that type of dramedic tone. The only critique was that some members f...
22nd Pick, March 2014 ~ Chosen by Pam.
Average rating was a 3.5/5 stars. Good discussion with some members feeling Grisham left too many unanswered questions but enjoyed the legal procedural aspect of the probate case.
Meeting Highligh...
21st Pick, February 2014 ~ Chosen by Nadine.
Average rating was a 2.5/5 stars. Three members gave it 3.5 stars, the rest were 1-2.5 stars. It started with intrigue but ended very unsatisfying. Mary Ann was the only one who enjoyed the r...
20th Pick, January 2014 ~ Chosen by Terry.
Average rating was a 2/5 stars. The consensus was that the story had a very intriguing premise, but the execution missed the mark. The story came across rather disjointed, with various characte...
19th Pick, December 2013 ~ Chosen by Sarah.
Average rating was a 1.5/5 stars. Vicki was the only one who thought it was witty enough to give it 3 stars, but even she skimmed heavily through the middle, LOL. Everyone else gave it anywher...
18th Pick, November 2013 ~ Chosen by Kimber.
Average rating was a 3/5 stars. Four of us enjoyed it, the other four did not. The main criticism was that the apocalypse storyline's been done and this offered little by way of originality. ...
17th Pick, October 2013 ~ Chosen by Vicki.
Most enjoyed this mystery of a rare book expert analysing and preserving the famed Jewish text, the Sarajevo Haggadah. A few grew bored with the narrative and thought the subject matter a bit m...
16th Pick, September 2013 ~ Chosen by Marilyn.
We all enjoyed this book for the most part, but thought it was about one "clever" twist too many. The author creates a rich and compelling, gothic atmosphere, but the characters are hollow,...
15th Pick, August 2013 ~ Chosen by Mary Ann.
Average rating on this one was 1.7/5 stars. Most members found the writing style to be very dry and dull and they couldn't get into it. It read like a history book and didn't engage much inte...
14th Pick, July 2013 ~ Chosen by Robin.
Average rating on this one was 3/5 stars. Those who enjoyed it most connected with Hazel Grace and Gus' struggle with cancer, and the development of their relationship. Those who felt it was OK, t...
13th Pick, June 2013 ~ Chosen by Pam.
Everyone enjoyed this story. The narrative interweaves Chinese-American, Henry Lee's life from 1942 and 1986 in a very fluid way, although many of us felt the story tended to drag through the middl...
12th Pick, May 2013 ~ Chosen by Nadine.
Yikes, yikes, YIKES! Incest is the name of the game in WIDEACRE.....As a long-time fan of Philippa Gregory's Tudor series, and some of her other works, Nadine offered up Wideacre from her TBR pil...
11th Pick, April 2013 ~ Chosen by Erika. Everyone thought it was overlong. Great premise, but execution was lacking. Very repetitive and disjointed story with Mandy's time travel and the magician element of the story.
Meeting Highlights...
10th Pick, March 2013 ~ Chosen by Kimber. Erika was the only member who enjoyed this one, giving it 4/5 stars, even though it's not her typical genre, she liked the story. Everyone else gave it 1-2/5 stars, feeling it wasn't very well-wr...
9th Pick, February 2013 ~ Chosen by Vicki. Everyone enjoyed this gothic mystery and rated 3-4 stars , save for Erika who gave 1 star and couldn't finish, and Kimber who rated it 2.5.
We enjoyed the mystery of Esme Lennox and what happen...
8th Pick, January 2013 ~ Chosen by Pam. Everyone rated 3-3.5 stars, save for Vicki & Nadine who gave it 2.
Most of the discussion was centered around the fairy tale/realism of the plot. Most were confused about whether or not the snow c...
7th Pick, December 2012 ~ Chosen by Pam. Everyone loved it except Nadine.
Was an emotional read for most. They really connected with the character's Isabel and Tom and the decision they made to keep the baby. Nadine felt the plot was to...
6th Pick, November 2012 ~ Chosen by Marilyn.
Marilyn enjoyed it most, giving it 4/5 stars, with Kimber not far behind, giving 3/5 stars. Kimber says it took a while for her to get into the language, but it picked up in the end and she e...
5th Pick, October 2012 ~ Chosen by Nadine. We all enjoyed this story quite a bit!
There are many topics: infertility, parental sacrifices, adoption, marital and abandonment issues, and much more! The setting of India was also very enli...
4th Pick, September 2012 pick ~ Chosen by Nadine. We enjoyed the setting of Northern Ireland in the early 1900s, and gaining insight into Ireland's bid for independence from England, but several members felt the writing style was element...
3rd pick, August 2012 - Chosen by Pam. We had mixed feelings on this one.
Meeting Highlights: Met for lunch Sunday 9/2 at PF Changs. Three new members. In attendance: Nadine, Pam, Robin, Marilyn, Kimber, Clista & Vicki. Clista found thi...
2nd pick, June/July 2012 - Chosen by Pam. This one wasn't for us. None of us enjoyed it, too boring.
Meeting Highlights: Met for lunch Sunday 8/5 at Campanolos Restaurant. In attendance: Nadine, Pam, Robin, & Marilyn. None enjoyed this ...
1st pick, May 2012 ~ Chosen by Nadine. A jewel of a novel, we loved it! Wonderful discussion.
Meeting Highlights: In attendance - Pam, Robin, and Nadine. Met Sunday 6/3 at Smokey Bones. We had a lovely time eating and discussing this g...
