The March was mixed - Posted for Nancy K

Opinions of The March were mixed. Amy and I really liked it, Nancy V and Kathy were so-so. We wound up discussing a lot about Sherman, his war tactics and whether he was brilliant or evil incarnate. Our discussion took place around a campfire in my backyard with pecan pie and Georgia peaches being served.
Interestingly, Suite Francaise will be a nice counterpoint to The March. It is about the German "March" thru France and occupation of it during WWII, But it is not a war story by any means.

Short Report on the Year of Magical Thinking

The Year of Magical Thinking discussion was held at Brit's. All present loved the book as did I, but couldn't help mention Didion's incessant namedropping and luxury hotel snootiness.
Even so I just bought a copy for a friend who lost her beloved husband over 7 years ago.
Looking forward to seeing the play with the group in April.

Reading List 2002 - 2006

OK here's the next bunch in no particular order:
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Caucasia by Danzy Senna
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
White Teeth: A Novel by Zadie Smith
The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Heir to the Glimmering World by Cynthia Ozick
Three Junes by Julia Glass
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Children of God by Mary Doria Russell
House of the Winds by Mia Yun
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
The Book of Joe by Jonathan Tropper
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
A Son of the Circus by John Irving

Our Reading List 1991 - 2002

As I recall it, Ellen C. and I began talking about starting a book group in Amy D.S.'s house while our toddlers crawled around the carpet. That was in Feb 1991. Now our teens are driving us nuts, but we're still discussing books. Let's start writing about the reading.

One of our terrific former members, Wendy, was kind enough to document our readings up to 2002. Because I've taken the first step here, I'll take the liberty of adding my profound one-phrase comment alongside. The next post will list our more recent books.

Here goes:
Author ~ Title ~ Comments
Adams, Douglas ~ The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul ~ My first – still mentioned as a bad book.
Agee, James ~ A Death in the Family ~ OK.
Allende, Isabel ~ The House of the Spirits ~ Very well liked.
Allende, Isabel ~ Daughter of Fortune ~ Great.
Alvarez, Julia ~ In the Time of the Butterflies ~ I forget
Auster, Paul ~ Moon Palace ~ Well liked, esp. by me
Austin, Jane ~ Pride and Prejudice ~ Great.
Banks, Russell ~ The Sweet Hereafter ~ Everyone else liked it.
Baxter, Freddie Mae ~ The Seventh Child: A Lucky Life ~ I forget.
Bellow, Saul ~ Henderson the Rain King ~ I liked it.
Boyle, T. Coraghessan ~ East is East ~ I liked it a lot.
Bronte, Emily ~ Wuthering Heights ~ Catherine!!!!! Unforgettable.
Brown, Rosellen ~ Before and After ~ I forget.
Browne, Sylvia ~ The Adventures of a Psychic ~ Dopey.
Byatt, A.S. ~ Possession ~ Very well liked.
Chevalier, Tracy ~ Girl With a Pearl Earring ~ Very well liked. (Watch the video, too.)
Cohen, Leah Hager ~ Train Go Sorry ~ Well liked. (Chosen by a teacher of the deaf.)
Conway, Jill Ker ~ The Road from Coorain ~ Very, very well liked.
Crutcher, Chris ~ Ironman ~ I forget.
Cunningham, Laura ~ Sleeping Arrangements ~ Well liked, written by a friend of an early member.
Delany Sisters ~ Having Our Say ~ Well liked.
Diamant, Anita ~ The Red Tent ~ This will be a winner. Star. Star. Star.
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor ~ Crime and Punishment ~ Tough.
Erdrich, Louise ~ Love Medicine ~ Eh.
Esquivel, Laura ~ Like Water for Chocolate ~ Very well liked.
Evans, Nicholas ~ The Horse Whisperer ~ Huh?
Fiske, Edward B. ~ Smart Schools Smart Kids ~ Mine, well liked because it was timely for us.
Flagg, Fannie ~ Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café ~ OK
Flaubert, Gustav ~ Madam Bovary ~ A little tough, but most of us were glad to read it.
Frazier, Charles ~ Cold Mountain ~ Well liked.
Golden, Arthur ~ Memoirs of a Geisha ~ Very well liked. This will be a winner.
Gordon, Mary ~ Final Payments ~ OK
Gutersen, David ~ Snow Falling on Cedars ~ Yawn
Hamilton, Jane ~ A Map of the World ~ Sad, sad, sad.
Hardy, Thomas ~ Tess of the D'Ubervilles ~ ZZZZZZZZ
Hegi, Ursula ~ Stones from the River ~ I loved this holocaust book. That’s saying something.
Hegland, Jean ~ Into the Forest ~ I forget.
Heller, Joseph ~ Catch-22 ~ My pick not well received, but terrific.
Hersch, Patricia ~ A Tribe Apart: A Journey into the Heart of American Adolescence ~ ???
Hillerman, Tony ~ A Thief of Time ~ Picked apart but good for what it is.
Hockenberry, John ~ Moving Violations ~ I forget.
Hulme, Keri ~ The Bone People ~ Sad.
Hurston, Zora Neale ~ Their Eyes Were Watching God ~ Terrific. I loved this. A little tough to get her dialect.
Irving, John ~ Son of the Circus ~ Very, very good.
Ishiguru, Kazuo ~ The Remains of the Day ~ Our first. Quiet, lovely. (Great video.)
Kingsolver, Barbara ~ The Poisonwood Bible ~ I thought it was boring.
Krakauer, Jon ~ Into the Wild ~ Different.
Lessing, Doris ~ The Fifth Child ~ Painful.
Mahfouz, Naguib ~ Palace Walk ~ Terrific. You’ll never forget these characters.
Malouf, David ~ Remembering Babylon ~ ?
Marquez, Gabriel Garcia ~ Love in the Time of Cholera ~ Great. (Steve Martin’s advice from ‘Pure Drivel’: Love is a great start for the title of a book, but Cholera? This guy is shoulda worked a little more on this….)
Massie, Robert K. ~ Nicholas and Alexandra ~ zzzzz
McCourt, Frank ~ Angela's Ashes ~ Sad, boring for me; but the ladies liked it.
McDermott, Alice ~ Charming Billy ~ Sad, but worth it for me.
Morrison, Toni ~ Beloved ~ Oprah style sad. I couldn’t follow it or didn’t care to.
Oates, Joyce Carol ~ Because it is Bitter and Because it is my Heart ~ Sad, tough.
Oates, Joyce Carol ~ We Were the Mulvaneys ~ Sad, tough, boring.
O'Brien, Tim ~ The Things They Carried ~ Wonderful. This will be a winner.
Otto, Whitney ~ How to Make an American Quilt ~ OK
Pagnol, Marcel ~ Jean de Florette & Manon of the Springs Great. ~ Sad but great.
Peck, M. Scott ~ The Road Less Traveled ~ Good for this kind of thing.
Pilcher, Rosamunde ~ The Shell Seekers ~ I forget.
Proulx, E. Annie ~ The Shipping News ~ Good.
Quindlen, Anna ~ One True Thing ~ I forget.
Ragen, Naomi ~ Jepthe's Daughter ~ ‘Bodice ripper’. Panned.
Rhys, ~ Wide Sargasso Sea ~ OK
Roth, Phillip ~ American Pastoral ~ Sad, but I still remember those tortured characters.
Rowling, J.K.~ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ~ My pick. Our oldest kids showed up.
Rushdie, Salman ~ Haroun and the Sea of Stories, a Novel ~ My pick. I loved it.
Sacks, ~ The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat ~ My pick. I loved it.
Schlink, ~ The Reader ~ Good.
Sesson, Jean P. ~ Princess ~ Maddie was being born.
Shields, Carol ~ The Stone Diaries ~ Very good.
Silko, Leslie Marmon ~ Ceremony ~ ???
Smedley, ~ Daughter of Earth ~ ???
Smiley, Jane ~ A Thousand Acres ~ Modern Lear. OK, but dopey.
Smiley, Jane ~ Moo ~ Rare comedy. Good.
Sobel, Dava ~ Galileo’s Daughter ~ I think I was on vacation.
Speigelman, Art ~ Maus 1 ~ Powerful.
Speigelman, Art ~ Maus 2 ~ Ditto.
Stegner, Wallace ~ Crossing to Safety ~ Wonderful, quiet character study.
Steinberg, ~ As a Driven Leaf ~ I forget.
Stone, Irving ~ Lust for Life ~ Ditto.
Tan, Amy ~ The Joy Luck Club ~ Terrific. The perfect women’s book club book.
Tan, Amy ~ The Kitchen God's Wife ~ Almost terrific.
Tannen, Deborah ~ You Just Don't Understand ~ Great non-fiction. Everyone will have stories.
Tremain, Rose ~ The Way I Found Her ~ Good, I think.
Tyler, Anne ~ The Accidental Tourist ~ Good.
V, Bob ~ My Life of Crime ~ Local author, not published.
Wells, Rebecca ~ Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood ~ Just too good as a women’s book club book.
Wharton, The Age of Innocence ~ Terrific.
Wharton, Edith ~ The House of Mirth ~ I forget.
Williams, Donna ~ Nobody Nowhere ~ I forget.
Wright, Richard ~ Native ~ Too tough for superficial me.
Yolen, Jane ~ Briar Rose ~ Good.

Total books to date: 95