Book Club #2

[Caffeine Fiend]

Hi everyone.

Thought Id make a new thread since we are almost at the end of the other one. Link to previous thread below.

Book Club January - Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Here we are! February read; How shall we go about picking books? I kind of like @nbt idea of picking books like we do thread titles here. So you could post "Book Nomination : book title" and then the one with the most likes is our choice, in a specified time frame. March book choice...

tattle.life

Time to start nominating for our book club pick for February. One nomination per post and helpful if you put the full title and author as amazon links dont work for everyone.

Shall we say 2pm on Sunday 29th January for final nominations/votes to allow Mon/Tues for purchasing?

Feel free to continue discussing Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin which was our pick for January!

 

[ordinaryjelly]

Thank you for making the new thread @Caffeine Fiend.

Yup, I will take the votes up on Sunday 29th afternoon so if we can have posted nominations by then, it will allow for any 99p purchases.

I'd like to suggest The Locked Room by Elly Griffiths. This is part of a series of books but they are all very much standalone novels, it doesn't matter if you didn't read any of the previous ones at all (I have read some but not all)

Forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth is in London clearing out her mother's belongings when she makes a surprising discovery: a photograph of her Norfolk cottage taken before Ruth lived there. Her mother always hated the cottage, so why does she have a picture of the place? The only clue is written on the back of the photo: Dawn, 1963.

Ruth returns to Norfolk determined to solve the mystery, but then Covid rears its ugly head. Ruth and her daughter are locked down in their cottage, attempting to continue with work and home-schooling. Happily, the house next door is rented by a nice woman called Zoe, who they become friendly with while standing on their doorsteps clapping for carers.

Nelson, meanwhile, is investigating a series of deaths of women that may or may not be suicide. When he links the deaths to an archaeological discovery, he breaks curfew to visit the cottage where he finds Ruth chatting to her neighbour whom he remembers as a carer who was once tried for murdering her employer.

Only then her name wasn't Zoe. It was Dawn.

Deal: The Locked Room: the thrilling Sunday Times number one bestseller (The Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries Book 14) Amazon product

 

[ScoutFinch]

I’d like to nominate My Policeman by Bethan Roberts.

It is in 1950s' Brighton that Marion first catches sight of the handsome and enigmatic Tom. He teaches her to swim in the shadow of the pier and Marion is smitten - determined her love will be enough for them both.

A few years later in Brighton Museum Patrick meets Tom. Patrick is besotted with Tom and opens his eyes to a glamorous, sophisticated new world.

Tom is their policeman, and in this age it is safer for him to marry Marion. The two lovers must share him, until one of them breaks and three lives are destroyed.

Amazon product

 

[Carapop]

I know that some of us bought this in a recent deal and it’s still a pretty good price on Kindle

Amazon product

Born in a bathtub in 1954 to a Cherokee father and white mother, Betty is the sixth of eight siblings. The world they inhabit is one of poverty and violence - both from outside the family and also, devastatingly, from within. When her family's darkest secrets are brought to light, Betty has no choice but to reckon with the brutal history hiding in the hills, as well as the heart-wrenching cruelties and incredible characters she encounters in her rural town of Breathed, Ohio.

Despite the hardship she faces, Betty is resilient. Her curiosity about the natural world, her fierce love for her sisters and her father's brilliant stories are kindling for the fire of her own imagination, and in the face of all she bears witness to, Betty discovers an escape: she begins to write.

A heartbreaking yet magical story, Betty is a punch-in-the-gut of a novel - full of the crushing cruelty of human nature and the redemptive power of words.

 

[OH.FFS]

I know that some of us bought this in a recent deal and it’s still a pretty good price on Kindle

Amazon product

Born in a bathtub in 1954 to a Cherokee father and white mother, Betty is the sixth of eight siblings. The world they inhabit is one of poverty and violence - both from outside the family and also, devastatingly, from within. When her family's darkest secrets are brought to light, Betty has no choice but to reckon with the brutal history hiding in the hills, as well as the heart-wrenching cruelties and incredible characters she encounters in her rural town of Breathed, Ohio.

Despite the hardship she faces, Betty is resilient. Her curiosity about the natural world, her fierce love for her sisters and her father's brilliant stories are kindling for the fire of her own imagination, and in the face of all she bears witness to, Betty discovers an escape: she begins to write.

A heartbreaking yet magical story, Betty is a punch-in-the-gut of a novel - full of the crushing cruelty of human nature and the redemptive power of words.

I bought this when it was 0.99 and thought that maybe I would use it in my A-Z challenge. Would love to read it for the bookclub.
I’m 75% through ‘and tomorrow’ x 3. I’m enjoying it.

 

[RattleGirl]

Does the book have to be off amazon? Sorry I'm new here

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

Does the book have to be off amazon? Sorry I'm new here

No you can nominate any book. A lot of use kindles or the app and usually find a book with a low price point more people will join in. However any book can be nominated and voted for

 

[ordinaryjelly]

Just bumping this up in case anyone else has any more suggestions?

 

[Smca53]

I haven’t had as much time to read this month as I’d have liked and so I’ve only just finished Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. No one is as surprised as me that I’m giving it 4/5 s. Random ramblings below…

Spoiler

I don’t know how to properly explain how I feel about this book. I wasn’t gripped by the first 15% ish, and I disliked the last 20% ish. And yet that bit in the middle was so fantastic that I have to give it a high rating.

I adored so much of the writing, the storytelling was beautiful. The characters felt genuinely real to me and despite their (numerous) flaws I liked them all.

I didn’t feel much when Marx died (despite liking him) but Sam and Sadie trying to cope with their grief independently afterwards tugged at my heartstrings. Particularly Sam - him adopting a “what would Marx do” approach to everything and trying to care for Sadie from afar.

I thought Sadie was far too harsh towards Sam a lot of the time and her reasons for not speaking to him for literal years on end weren't great, in my opinion. Not speaking to him after Marx died because… she blamed Sam? Because he was the one being publicly controversial - but over things such as supporting gay marriage? Why not blame Ant for coming back down to the office and causing the shots to be fired? I wasn’t feeling any of that. Sam never meeting baby Naomi just felt wrong.

I also felt like I missed a bit - did Unfair Games still exist at the end? Had they ended the company? They both spoke as if it wasn’t still going (with Sadie at MIT and Sam suggesting they should make a game together again, neither having made anything for years).

I like that it ended on a note of hope. I just wish the build up to the end hadn’t disappointed me in the way that it did. But still - genuinely enjoyed the writing and so my rating still stands.

I never would’ve chosen this book to read without this book club

---

I should add that I still thought the overuse of obscure words was nonsense and took away from the story/writing.

 

[Smca53]

I thought I would go through the 99p Kindle deals to throw another option in to the mix for the next read. I thought I should go for something sort of in the romance genre because February but honestly it’s just not me so none of them appealed to me instead I present to you…

Amazon product

The Housewarming by S.E. Lynes

“Everyone is going to the housewarming party. All the same people who lived on the street the day Abi vanished… Will her mother finally learn the truth?

Ava only left her daughter in the pushchair for five minutes. The buckle was fastened, and she was sure it was safe. But when she came downstairs, the door was open and Abi was gone – she walked down the road, past the Lovegoods’ house, and was never seen again.

A year later, the Lovegoods are planning their long-anticipated housewarming party. Ava doesn’t want to go. She can’t bear to look down that end of the road, to see the place where Abi vanished, and she doesn’t want to spend time with people who don’t share her grief. Her husband Matt persuades her: he’s worried about her. A night out might do her good.

But as her friends and neighbours chat, and the drink and gossip flows, Ava learns something new about the day she has re-lived a thousand times. A throwaway comment which could change everything.

Ava thought she knew every last detail of that day.

She’s about to find out she was wrong…”

 

[ordinaryjelly]

For the first time we have a 3-way tie of winning book suggestions -

Betty - 6 votes
My Policeman - 6 votes
The Locked Room - 6 votes

So I did an online spinner to find our winner, I tried to screen record but my phone acted like a donkey and wouldn't let me.

Please trust me the wheel suggested @Carapop's suggestion of Betty by Tiffany McDaniel at first spin.

I know a lot of people downloaded it when it was 99p, unfortunately it has gone back to full price now. I was lucky enough to be gifted a physical copy at Christmas.

Happy reading!

 

[Albrouze]

The Shameless podcast have an episode up about Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow if anyone is interested in listening. It was also their bookclub pick this month.

 

[ordinaryjelly]

As a complete aside, at the end of this month our book club is a whole year old

I want to do some kind of poll/voting system to find our Book of the Year. I was thinking
maybe I could post 12 posts with just the title and do it that way? Someone would have to help (please!) doing the alternate ones so I don't have to wait ages to do the next one without the posts merging. I have kept an entire document on my phone of books/votes/suggesters.

We would have to do it at the end of this month in case Betty is our winner but perhaps before March suggestions happen .

 

[Smca53]

As a complete aside, at the end of this month our book club is a whole year old

I want to do some kind of poll/voting system to find our Book of the Year. I was thinking
maybe I could post 12 posts with just the title and do it that way? Someone would have to help (please!) doing the alternate ones so I don't have to wait ages to do the next one without the posts merging. I have kept an entire document on my phone of books/votes/suggesters.

We would have to do it at the end of this month in case Betty is our winner but perhaps before March suggestions happen .

Can @Caffeine Fiend add a poll even though the threads been created for a while, or maybe just post a list of the books that you want on the poll and then report your post and ask a mod to add a poll to the thread using the list from your post?

 

[ordinaryjelly]

Can @Caffeine Fiend add a poll even though the threads been created for a while, or maybe just post a list of the books that you want on the poll and then report your post and ask a mod to add a poll to the thread using the list from your post?

Good idea if that can work.

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

I can try. Anyone have a list of our books. Off the top of my head I have...

Reminders of Him - Colleen Hoover
The Club - Ellery Lloyd
Lessons in Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus
A Bit Of A Stretch - Chris Atkins
The Paper Palace - Miranda Cowley Heller
Blood Sugar - Sacha Rothchild
You Made A Fool Of Death With Your Beauty - Akwaeke Emezi
Two Nights In Lisbon - Chris Pavone
The Herd - Emily Edwards
Every Summer After - Carley Fortune
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin

Any others Ive missed?

 

[ordinaryjelly]

February 2022 Book

Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover 12 likes - @Tit4Tattle

March 2022 Book

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee - 14 likes - @epl000

April 2022 Book

The Club by Ellery Lloyd - 12 votes - @nbt

May 2022 Book

A Bit of a Stretch by Chris Atkins - 11 likes - @Katykatykaty

June 2022 Book

The Paper Palace by by Miranda Cowley Heller - 12 likes @Caffeine Fiend

July 2022 Book

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Gamus - 11 likes @noseybirdxo

August 2022 Book

Blood Sugar by Sasha Rothchild - 12 likes @Caffeine Fiend

September 2022 Book

Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone - 10 likes @Smca53

October 2022 Book

You made a Fool of Death with your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi - 8 likes @Carapop

November 2022 Book

The Herd by Emily Edwards - 12 likes @Caffeine Fiend

December 2022 Book

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune - 14 likes @ordinaryjelly


January 2023

Tomorow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow 6 votes - @Caffeine Fiend and @Tit4Tattle

February 2023

Betty - 6 votes - @Carapop

 

[PrincessConsuelaBanana666]

For the first time we have a 3-way tie of winning book suggestions -

Betty - 6 votes
My Policeman - 6 votes
The Locked Room - 6 votes

So I did an online spinner to find our winner, I tried to screen record but my phone acted like a donkey and wouldn't let me.

View attachment 1919503

Please trust me the wheel suggested @Carapop's suggestion of Betty by Tiffany McDaniel at first spin.

View attachment 1919500

I know a lot of people downloaded it when it was 99p, unfortunately it has gone back to full price now. I was lucky enough to be gifted a physical copy at Christmas.

Happy reading!

Looking forward to this one!

 

[Katykatykaty]

For the first time we have a 3-way tie of winning book suggestions -

Betty - 6 votes
My Policeman - 6 votes
The Locked Room - 6 votes

So I did an online spinner to find our winner, I tried to screen record but my phone acted like a donkey and wouldn't let me.

View attachment 1919503

Please trust me the wheel suggested @Carapop's suggestion of Betty by Tiffany McDaniel at first spin.

View attachment 1919500

I know a lot of people downloaded it when it was 99p, unfortunately it has gone back to full price now. I was lucky enough to be gifted a physical copy at Christmas.

Happy reading!

Ah man, you must have done this before The Housewarming reached 7 votes. I think Betty is the only I didn’t fancy out of this months collection. Think I’ll wait to see some reviews come in before I buy it.

---

February 2022 Book

Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover 12 likes - @Tit4Tattle

March 2022 Book

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee - 14 likes - @epl000

April 2022 Book

The Club by Ellery Lloyd - 12 votes - @nbt

May 2022 Book

A Bit of a Stretch by Chris Atkins - 11 likes - @Katykatykaty

June 2022 Book

The Paper Palace by by Miranda Cowley Heller - 12 likes @Caffeine Fiend

July 2022 Book

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Gamus - 11 likes @noseybirdxo

August 2022 Book

Blood Sugar by Sasha Rothchild - 12 likes @Caffeine Fiend

September 2022 Book

Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone - 10 likes @Smca53

October 2022 Book

You made a Fool of Death with your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi - 8 likes @Carapop

November 2022 Book

The Herd by Emily Edwards - 12 likes @Caffeine Fiend

December 2022 Book

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune - 14 likes @ordinaryjelly


January 2023

Tomorow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow 6 votes - @Caffeine Fiend and @Tit4Tattle

February 2023

Betty - 6 votes - @Carapop

I’ve read 10 out of the 12 - for October I went for the alternative choice of The Ex Hex as it was cheaper (wish I hadn’t as it was rubbish) and I never finished Every Summer After as it was so dull. May go back to it one day.

 

[Caffeine Fiend]

Ah man, you must have done this before The Housewarming reached 7 votes. I think Betty is the only I didn’t fancy out of this months collection. Think I’ll wait to see some reviews come in before I buy it.

---


I’ve read 10 out of the 12 - for October I went for the alternative choice of The Ex Hex as it was cheaper (wish I hadn’t as it was rubbish) and I never finished Every Summer After as it was so dull. May go back to it one day.

10 out of 12 for me too. Didnt do Pachinko or Lessons in Chemistry.

I DNF two nights in Lisbon though. I also read The Ex Hex