Tag Archives: Reading Groups

Celebrating One Thousand Posts

Posted on by

number1000This is the one-thousandth post for the No Charge Bookbunch.  Thanks to faithful followers and to all who just stop by now and then.  I’ve enjoyed the writing and the connection with all of you.

To mark the event, I revisited all those posts and organized them into lists of years on a new page that now appears under the masthead  The Annual Lists of Books Read – my reading and reviewing record since 2009. I hope you’ll stop by and compare notes – and send me your recommendations for good books I’ve missed.

I’m always looking for another book to devour – aren’t you?21007

Enhanced by Zemanta

Gillian Flynn Responds – Gone Girl Ending

Posted on by

In one of the few times an author has responded to my query, Gillian Flynn wrote back about my dislike of her ending in Gone Girl…

I’m sorry to hear that! I can only say I wrote the ending that was the most unsettling to me. I am a big fan of the ending of unease. To me it feels real and it feels unnerving. Because you may not know exactly what is going to happen next in Gone Girl World, but you know it’s not good. I love hearing different people’s theories about the ending—to me that’s the fun of reading a book, when you find yourself imagining the characters even after the book is over, and you find yourselves in debates with friends about it, as if the characters were two people who lived down the street (in the case of Nick and Amy, you’d probably want to relocate…).  Gillian Flynn

She’s right about my not wanting to live near or know Nick and Amy.

What did you think of the ending?

Read my review of Gone Girl – here

Book Club Picks: Give Them Something to Talk About

Posted on by

“Making suggestions for your book club can be gratifying — or terrifying.  If everyone loves the book, you’re a hero. On the other hand, if your pick is a turkey, it takes a while to live it down…people who join book clubs usually do like to read, and they are always looking for that perfect book that will please everyone…”   from Lynn Neary for NPR

Lynn Neary covers All Things Books for National Public Radio and suggests five “conversation starters” for this year:

One of my book clubs has Secret Daughter scheduled for a January discussion.

Another group is reading Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

Related Posts:

You Can Always Read a Book

Posted on by

It’s hard to make new friends when you don’t have a dog or little children.  Walking around the neighborhood pushing a stroller or tugging on a leash is bound to connect you to someone – even if it’s the Mr. Wilson character yelling at you to get off his grass.  Without the protection of  something cute to mark you as safe, your approach with a smile or conversation-starter might smack of dereliction or even criminal.

Social networking may be overrated, and the grunts of the someone in the room watching football, tennis, golf… don’t count.  You can always read a book, immersing into conversations with adventurers, soothsayers, and many whose problems will make you forget your own.

September 6th was National Read a Book Day; I missed the celebration – because I was reading a book.

This week is Book Blogger Appreciation Week, reminding me that some of the best friends I never met are reading books too.

What are you reading?

Books for the Book Club Discussions

Posted on by

If you are among friends, it’s easy to trust that your impressions of a book will be accepted with grace.  But if you are among new acquaintances whom you only see at the monthly book discussion, you might be more guarded; then, it might be best to focus on issues  – letting only a few personal tangents float in to test the waters.  Although book clubs are not seminars or college English literature classes, knowing something about the author could help steer the conversation.

Books I would have liked to discuss (in no particular order) – with someone who had read them (click on the title to see my review).  Most are fiction, but a few are not:

But it’s too late; I’ve already forgotten what they are about.


Related articles