Non-book-club book club happened again this week in NYC!
We read An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. And guys, GUYS, I hate to admit this, but not one of us really liked it. Sure we liked bits, but the full story just didn't do it for any of us. We talked about how this made us feel guilty, since we like John Green and loooooove The Fault in Our Stars. Do you ever feel this way when you don't love a book you want to love?
So recap of our thoughts: I thought the flashbacks to the Katherines were boring, but I loved the shenanigans of Gunshot, TN and the repartee between Hassan and Colin. I maintain that I would basically read anything about Hassan. More Hassan! I also thought the "...." in the dark were adorable.
One friend liked the footnotes, and another swears she is going back to finish the appendix and get a better feel for the math. So at least we liked these portions.
I would like to hear what other people thought about this book. I know Crazy Camper and her BF liked it. (See her review)
Have no fear, the book club was still a success. I mean, who DOESN'T want to drink sangria outside on Stone Street (pictured) and talk books? You would have to be crazy.
And for our next book we decided on Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Since the world is agog at the new The Great Gatsby movie, we thought we would revisit Fitzgerald. Since we have all read Gatsby more than once, we are jumping into the highly acclaimed Tender is the Night. Feel free to join us!
It is the French Riviera in the 1920s. Nicole and Dick Diver are a wealthy, elegant, magnetic couple. A coterie of admirers are drawn to them, none more so than the blooming young starlet Rosemary Hoyt. When Rosemary falls for Dick, the Diver's calculated perfection begins to crack. As dark truths emerge, Fitzgerald shows both the disintegration of a marriage and the failure of idealism. Tender is the Night is as sad as it is beautiful. (GoodReads).
Hmmm... other than Will Grayson, Will Grayson, I have yet to read a John Green novel (much less a solo written one). But wait! Don't come at me, pitchforks a'blazin yet! I bought Paper Towns. And I will read it. So please let me live long enough to get through that one and we can all discuss the literary genius that I hear JG to be.
ReplyDeleteAs for Fitgerald, I think you'll find a noticable theme and similarly tragic figures in many of his books. But let's leave that for book club-y discussions. Enjoy Tender is the Night!
Ooooh, I meant to read this this month, but I didn't get to it. I might just read Tender Is the Night with y'all though.
ReplyDeleteI read Looking for Alaska about 4 years ago and didn't like it. I like parts of it and I thought his writing style was cool, not your typical style, but the overall story just didn't do it for me. Then I read TFiOS last summer and it went to the VERY top of my favorites list!!! ADORED!!! LOVED!!! MORE than Okay'd it :D And I really like John Green and Hank Green so I'm definitely a fan. Then I tried Paper Towns and I only made it half way through. So my thought is that John Green's stories are improving as he goes along and his next books will be the history-making ones :)
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