Women's Forum Book Club Selections - Thoughts on changing this?

[SylviaCaras]

I just finished The Piano Teacher. Set in Hong Kong around WWII, the author took me right there. Her locations and characters evoked sharp memories or imaginings. (No, I wasn't there during WWII, only once, for about 10 days, in the mid 80s, one of my early traveler adventures.)

Of the several reviews I found on line, this best reflects my experience of this book:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/books/200...ano_teach.html

Some reviews found the book lacking; I enjoyed it.

Sylvia

[sucheng]

Is the Book Club still alive? I'm reading one right now that I'm really enjoying:

Monkey Dancing: A Father, Two Kids, and a Journey to the Ends of the Earth
http://www.amazon.com/Monkey-Dancing.../dp/1586481541

Another travel-related one I really enjoyed in the past, though it may be more subject to taste, is:

An Italian Affair
http://www.amazon.com/Italian-Affair...5724500&sr=1-1

This one is an oldie, but I loved it and re-read it occasionally:

Nothing to Declare: Memoirs of a Woman Traveling Alone
http://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Declar.../dp/0312199414

[Georgia Peach]

Over the summer, I read The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein,
When Crickets Cry, Wrapped in Rain, and Where the River Ends, all by Charles Martin. All really good, but Racing and Crickets were the best.

[SylviaCaras]

> Nothing to Declare: Memoirs of a Woman Traveling Alone

Thanks Sucheng, I enjoyed this.

And, set in China, I thought this was fine writing: The Vagrants, Yuyun Li

(http://www.amazon.com/Vagrants-Novel...420867&sr=8-1#)

[l'etoile]

I also read The Art of Racing in the Rain. Enjoyed it, but not a favorite.

I'm reading Olive Kitteridge now.

I just saw Cheri on DVD and enjoyed it, but I've read that the book is better, so will pick that up next.

[b1513]

Report back on Olive Kitteridge. I looked at that book few times but didn't buy it.

I recently read The Help by Katherine Stockett. It's one of the best books I've ever read. It's very substantial. I can see why it has been on the bestseller list for such a long time.

Bobette

[obscure2k]

Loved The Help. Also loved Olive Kitteridge.

[b1513]

Originally Posted by obscure2k

Loved The Help. Also loved Olive Kitteridge.

Thanks obscure2K. Is it short stories? When I read the review that's what I seemed to think but couldn't be sure.

[obscure2k]

Originally Posted by b1513

Thanks obscure2K. Is it short stories? When I read the review that's what I seemed to think but couldn't be sure.

Yes. However, Olive Kitteridge does seem to play an important (if, sometimes, small) part of each story. It does read more as a novel. I couldn't put it down. I have to say that I read this right after the Richard Russo novel,
That Old Cape Magic . Reading those novels back to back made me a little weary of New England Women & their long-suffering lives. Fortunately, Michael Connelly is my fall-back author(on an airplane & beach) , and his new mystery was a lot of fun. Lots of action in Hong Kong.

[SylviaCaras]

I thought this was a fine book. The character of Olive Kitteridge for me was an unpleasant unhappy sometimes kind old lady whose reality seems to leap off the page to me.

Sylvia

[Tempus]

I know this book has been out for some time, but I really enjoyed reading it: Eat, Pray, Love. It's a wonderful, well written non-fiction piece.

[l'etoile]

Originally Posted by Tempus

I know this book has been out for some time, but I really enjoyed reading it: Eat, Pray, Love. It's a wonderful, well written non-fiction piece.

We had a discussion thread on this in the Women Travelers forum back when the book was first out. Kind of an interesting tidbit ...the Bali part of the movie is now being filmed in the small village of Wayan Sueta, a friend and driver to many of us here when we visit Bali. Julia Roberts is the lead.

[Analise]

I'm a fan of Phillipa Gregory's historical fiction. I've read all of her Tudor England books and have just taken out The White Queen from the library. This book is the first of a series of Plantagenet stories. Anyone else a fan of hers?