Tag: book club

You said you’d stand by me in the middle of chapter three

Posted on by Shawshank

Here’s what everybody has been waiting for! Help me choose my next Book Club book!* I’m going to post my bookcase, and then write out the titles of all the books per shelf (it’s easier this way) – I’m going to try and label the books that I’ve read with (r) I’ll try and capitalize all the titles.

Ok, are you ready?!

Top shelf:

Twilight (r), Twilight (r), New Moon (r), Eclipse (r), Breaking Dawn (r), Midnight Sun (r)

Second shelf:

Ship of Theseus (r), House of Leaves (r), The Goldfinch (r), Night School, Pet Sematary, Lord John and the Private Matter, The Hunger Games (r), Catching Fire (r), Mockingjay (r), Raw Shark Texts (r), Night Film (r), The Escape Artist (r), Cats Cradle (r), The Slaighterhouse Five (r), Foucaults Pendulum (r), Red Sparrow, Verses for the Dead, The Cabinet of Curiosities, Still Life with Crows

Third shelf:

ABC and XYZ of Beekeeping, The Girl on the Train, Shōgun part 1, The Essex Serpent, Mr Mercedes, Finders Keepers, Full Dark no Stars, The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, NOS4A2 (r), Dreamcatcher, Lost Girls, The Clan of the Cave Bear, The Fellowship of the Ring (r), The Two Towers (r), Return of the King (r)

Fourth shelf:

Cemetery Dance, Brave New World, Sharp Objects (r), Die Trying, Sphere

* it would be wicked awesome if y’all had some of the same books, and we could actually chat about the books in the Book Club. But it’s all good, I write this stuff for me, and then for you guys.

Way hey and away we go donkey riding

Posted on by Shawshank

Awake. It feels like I slept in my left eye. It hurts a little to blink, like not hurt hurt, but hurt. Yanno?

And sometime today, I’ll be posting pictures of my bookcase, in hopes that You, the readers will help me choose the next book to review, and talk about in the Book Club.

But right now, it’s coffee time. Please, excuse me for a moment. Mm, kaffee.

It’s early, and I can’t think of anything else to write this morning. Later, I’ll post something else. Happy Thursyay!

I’m on a roll and ready to rock

Posted on by Shawshank

Welcome back, it’s the second week of the Lockup Library Book Club. We’re still reading The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I hope everything is going well in your reads

The Historian chapters 21-40

The action is starting to pick up a little. Our main character is with her dad, when she wakes up one morning, looks for her father, but finds a letter addressed to her instead.

“I’ve gone to find your mother…”

I was under the assumption that her mother had passed, but I guess I was wrong. So she goes off to find him. and starts her own adventure to find out her past, and the past of her father.

But the regular story from her father continues as well. By now he’s teamed up with a young woman, who says her father is Professor Rossi, the fathers advisor in university.

The mysteries continue in Budapest, and the mysteries get thicker and deeper.

What did you think of these chapters? We’re over half way through the book now. What do you hope will happen?

See you again next week!

Shaking hand with the clock I can’t stop

Posted on by Shawshank

Welcome to the first Lockup Library Book Club. We’re reading The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. First published in June 2005. Its her first book. And, it’s my first reading of this book.

The Historian; chapters 1-20

I’m really enjoying the book. It’s a slow burn for sure, but so much information so far to process.

The book starts off in 1972 with a young girl finding a book and papers in her fathers library. Her dad is a diplomat, and is away a lot of time time.

My dear and unfortunate successor

This is the introduction to the world of 1930. She reads a fantastical letter on how the writer believes that Vlad Tepes or Dracula is still alive.

From there, she’s asks that her father take her on his trips into Europe, so he can tell her how he got these papers, and how, back in 1930, he went to find out if what he read is true.

The book switches back and forth from her fathers time (1930) and her time, 1972. He father is almost nervous and afraid to be relaying this information to his daughter, but he does. And at one point, requests that she wrote down what he’s telling her. I believe that this is his way of passing the the book, and the letters from the 30s to her and a new era of exploration.

The writer, Elizabeth Kostova, really draws you in to the world that she describes. I do however, find myself wanting more of the story. She can really build up the suspense as she unfolds the father telling his story.

So far, I’m totally into this novel. What about you guys? What parts have you enjoyed so far?

But they don’t mean a thing if you’re not with me

Posted on by Shawshank

So sitting here and thinking about the book club I’d like to start, and Crystal is napping, so I can’t bounce ideas off of her, I decided to plow ahead full speed* and I decided the first book for my Lockup Library Book Club, and that is:

The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova.

There’s 79 chapters in the book so I broke it down like this:

  • Chapters 1-20 due Oct 10th
  • Chapters 21-40 due Oct 17th
  • Chapters 41-60 due Oct 24th
  • Chapters 61-79 due Oct 31st

I figure every seven days we come back and discuss the previous chapters, you know that deal – what we thought, where it’s going, etc.

* it’s better to keep my head thinking about this, otherwise, I’d really be freaking out about my mom taking my dad to the hospital 30 minutes away. His knee/leg is all swollen. I’m a little freaky-outie right now to be honest.

Big sigh