April 12, 2010 by pam.

Just finished “Work of Wolves” by Kent Meyers and I loved every word. I would highly recommend it.

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February 6, 2010 by pam.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was hard to get into and then, when I finally finished, I didn’t like any of the characters. It’s one of those books (and apparently series) that has caught the attention of readers … and I can’t quite understand it. My book discussion group read Dragon and, in March, will be discussing Fire. I just could get into it. Tired of vigilante justice and badly written text (maybe it’s just the translation from Swedish to English) I put in my requisite 100 pages and then gladly returned it to the library. There has to be something better in that huge pile of books next to my bed!

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January 25, 2010 by pam.

I loved every word of this book. Enger has a talent with words, sentences, and crafting a story. At times, I didn’t care about the plot … just loved reading his words, descriptions, and the “declarations” of the characters. I’ve also read “So Brave, Young and Handsome”. His words are, as I like to say, like chocolate for my eyes. “Peace” has a better plot and more themes to discuss.

Right and wrong isn’t black and white and each of the characters in “Peace Like a River” find their own way to deal with the ‘rightness’ and ‘wrongness’ of the events that come to this family.

I’m partial to Enger and his talent. I love his descriptions of North Dakota. From page 146 - “A good thing about North Dakota, it has buckets of horizon; the sun comes up and you know it is there.” And from page 151 - “Have you been to North Dakota? In good sunlight you can see someone coming eight miles away.”

Every time I’m there I always think North Dakota really deserves Big Sky as the state motto. There isn’t a place on the face of earth with more sky, more horizon, more openness. People sing the praises of mountains and woods. Me? I’d rather be on the open prairie seeing forever. I’m claustrophobic in the mountains, caged in surrounded by trees, and yearn for openness, a flatness that’s unearthly, with rows of corn and fields of waving wheat … sunflowers with their bright faces. But, I’m off topic.

“Peace Like a River” is no doubt a tragedy. Along the way it’s funny, sad, thought provoking, and a joy to read. I highly recommend it.

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May 22, 2009 by pam.

Our book discussion group got together Monday this week to discuss “Away” by Amy Bloom. The main character, Lillian, immigrates to the United States from Russia after her family is slaughtered. Lillian goes on a quite a journey in the 240 pages. It’s wonderfully written and I would highly recommend it.

The group is putting together a list of titles for the next six months. What’s your favorite book?

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October 6, 2008 by pam.

I ran across this in the journal I’ve been keeping this year. Bev gave me this journal for my birthday and I’ve been using it to record my thoughts, fears, and ideas about assessment. Here’s the quote on the page the day I traveled to Pittsburgh.

“Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill

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July 22, 2008 by pam.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote: Although I didn’t like the story/plot/characters I think Truman Capote certainly had a gift for writing. He is eloquent and it’s a pleasure to read his sentences. It’s not long, in fact, the copy I read had another short story or two printed in it.

Room with a View by Forster: I hated it from page one. I suffered through the first two chapters and took it back to the library. It was so distasteful I wanted to throw it across the room somewhere in the middle of the second chapter. I wouldn’t have even considered picking it up and only did because it’s the title for our next book discussion group. I doubt any of the book discussion group members will finish it. Maybe I’ll watch the movie.

Tortilla Curtain by TC Boyle: This is a title I would recommend if you can deal with a non-ending (as well as an unhappy ending). I think Boyle does a good job at detailing two different couples, their drastically different lives, and the issues of illegal immigration.

Then We Came to The End by Josh Ferris is a strange, funny, and nothing of a book. After the first 80 pages I thought it was a hoot but didn’t think it was going to keep my attention for another 300 pages. I was wrong. I read the whole thing, partially out of interest, partially because I’m the discussion leader next month, and partially out of curiosity. The book is about a bunch of office workers (in an ad agency) and the gossip and, sometimes, weird behavior and perspectives that they have.

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