The World According to Garp - John Irving

I really liked this book. If you read my thoughts along the way, you know that it did take me a little while to get into it.

I especially liked the way that Garp's writing was intertwined in the themes and storyline of the novel. I admit that at first it annoyed me, because I wanted to keep going on with the story, not read this character in the book's short story. But then as it got closer to the end of the book, I realized how important it was to infuse those stories into the novel because they revealed so much about Garp's character.

By the time you reach the end of the book it feels like a whole interconnected story - like the "narrator," who at the beginning seems so disconnected from the story, is Garp, because he has taken on so many of the literary qualities that we have learned about Garp and incorporated them into his own writing in the book.

The story itself is creative and very ironic. How Jenny Fields, a very independently thinking woman, accidentally becomes a feminist icon, and how Garp's distaste for the feminists and his mother's fame, ultimately lead to his own fame.

I have so much more to say, but I don't want to give away too much of the story - please read for yourselves.

I recommend this book!

A Million Little Pieces - James Frey

I don't often read memoirs, and this book reminded me that memoirs are a type of nonfiction that I really enjoy. Beware there are some greusome scenes toward the beginning of the book - especially when James goes to the dentist. But I found this book refreshing, and Frey's honest voice and story about his time at rehab very compelling.

I am looking forward to reading his new release, "My Friend Leonard," about James' continued relationship with one of the notorious characters in this book.

APPROVED.

Larry's Top Ten

Ok, so my top ten (in no particular order) are as follows:

She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb
I Know This Much is True, Wally Lamb
Fall on Your Knees, Ann-Marie MacDonald
The Other Boleyn Girl, Philippa Gregory
Bridget Jones' Diary, Helen Fielding
All the Harry Potter books, J.K. Rowling
The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger
The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown
The Shopaholic series, Sophie Kinsella

One more left!

Leah's Top Ten

I have a funny picture, TOO!

In no particular order:

1) The Red Tent
2) Da Vinci Code
3) She's Come Undone
4) The Lovely Bones
5) Harry Potter #4
6) My Sister's Keeper (although it could have been a trilogy -- it felt a bit rushed)
7) The Time Traveler's Wife
8) The Other Boleyn Girl
9) The Five People You Meet in Heaven
10) Bridget Jones's Diary

Life of Pi - Yann Martel

I had heard that this was a great book from several people. I'm glad that I read it, but it wasn't my favorite book. The author is very descriptive from the beginning, starting with a several page description of one fascinating animal: the slug. Besides that one criticism, the characters (both people and animals) were very well developed. I also enjoyed the first person voice. The journal-style writing, mixed with extremely detailed descriptions of places and events made me turn back to the cover of the book several times to make sure that this is in fact fiction. The story also has a great moral and a thought-provoking ending.

This is not a beach book, but if you're looking for something that is slower paced, I recommend it.

Black and Blue - Anna Quindlen

Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen

Think "Sleeping with the Enemy" with a 10 year old in tow. Another very well developed character. The author also does a nice job of leaking out details as the book progresses so there's always another peice of the puzzle ...

APPROVED

The Red Tent - Anita Diamant

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

I would re-read this one in a heartbeat. I really felt like Dinah was my friend throught the book -- really great character. It is the fictionalized sotry of the life of Dinah, a biblical character. Remember Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat? Well, there was Joseph and all his brothers -- and their sister, Dinah. There isn't a lot of actual historical documentation of her life, so this author created a life for her. VERY well written. Another possible topic for our meeting: historical fiction and how much I like it because it makes me want to know more about the time period. I really like it when the characters are real people that I can research.

APPROVED

AHEB - Lorna Landvik

Angry Housewives Eating Bon-Bons by Lorna Landvik

This book made me want to start the book club (FOR REAL THIS TIME) and also all move to the same culdesac so we can all be friends AND neighbors. :o) This is one of the few authors I have read that pulled of the multiple narrators speaking in different persons (is that grammatically correct?). In contrast, The Ya Ya Sisterhood book needed to go through another round or two of editing because the formatting and "voice" was not consistent. AHEB was well done -- I always knew who was talking because the characters were so well developed. PS -- If we were to all move to the same block and have families and book clubs, I would not wish abusive husbands or divorces on any of us -- we will all live happily ever after on that culdesac in Kentucky ...

APPROVED