The Night Circus

19/366 The Night Circus, a photo by clogsilk on Flickr.

January's choice (from Sally) was the Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Quite a few of the group hadn't been able to finish the book before our get together, but I think it is testament to the book that all were planning to finish it asap after the meeting!

I really enjoyed it - it wasn't the kind of book I would normally choose at all, but I suppose the beauty of a book club is that you get to read things you wouldn't normally choose and hopefully find something you like.

I did think the book had a sinister side though, but that for me made it all the more intriguing and though I found it hard to get into, once I'd got about a quarter of the way through I was well into it and by three quarters of the way in I could hardly put it down as I was desperate to find out how it ended. But of course, it ends as it begins, bringing you full circle, and that encouraged me to look again at the book as a whole rather than as a series of events.

Highly recommended.

Latest books

Just realised I haven't updated this since we read One Day!

September's book was The Summer Without Men by Siri Hustvedt. This book was not universally enjoyed I'm afraid. It's the first one I've failed to finish and I was not alone! I got up to the point where she thanks you, dear reader for sticking with it and thought, "nah". Life's too short to waste time reading books you aren't enjoying.

Which leads me on to December's pick. This was, I'm ashamed to admit, suggested by me. I thought it would be nice to have something easy and Christmassy.... The book in question was The Twelve Days of Christmas by Trisha Ashley. It was one of the most predictable books I've read in a long time. I have now finished it, however, so it beats The Summer Without Men. It was also only 99p on Kindle.

November's book was The End of Everything by Megan Abbott. This was a good read, but hard to get your head round at times.

January's pick is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Which, incidentally, is not held in a single one of Lewisham's libraries. Shame on them!

One Day

286/365 Book Clurb, a photo by clogsilk on Flickr.

October's pick was One Day by David Nicholls. I shall try not to be completely driven by what I thought of this book, because I am not a big fan of David Nicholls. That said, I completed the book within one day, so it's clearly very readable. My beef relates to the small errors that pepper this book and spoil it for me, just like the small errors in Starter for Ten.

I don't think I was the only one to find the characters a little unlikeable, although I think we all felt that made them more realistic than they otherwise might have been. Those that didn't know there was a twist were completely floored by it, whereas those that knew there was, but not what it was, were constantly on the look out for it!

A couple of us felt frustrated by the ending, although others thought it just showed that's what real life can be like, and people do have to get on with things and move on.

Overall this is an easy read, not too intellectual and not earth shattering either. After the previous month's book, which I failed to finish, that was welcome relief!

The Help

A different take on The Help from most I've seen out there (thanks Sally for sharing the link!):

http://therumpus.net/2011/08/the-solace-of-preparing-fried-foods-and-other-quaint-remembrances-from-1960s-mississippi-thoughts-on-the-help/

Some views from closer to home, which are similar to those we felt when we read the book:

http://lewishambookblog.com/2010/08/13/the-help/
http://lewishambookblog.com/2011/08/04/new-cross-wavelengths-reading-group-news-2/

I must say that reading the link from The Rumpus certainly made me reevaluate my thoughts.

September and October's choices

September: The Summer Without Men - Siri Hustvedt
October: One Day - David Nicholls

How to be a woman

August's book was How to be a woman by Caitlin Moran. I think it's fair to say that a number of the group had reservations about reading this book, as they didn't consider themselves to be feminists. As the book was my choice I was more than a little nervous about what everyone would make of it!

We met at Belgo in Bromley, where the food was tasty and the service slow, but it suited us fine and we had plenty of time to discuss the book as well as all the other important things going on right now! In fact we were the last to leave, which I think riled the staff slightly.

I'm happy to say that everyone enjoyed reading the book and thought there were some great funny moments. We could all relate to at least some of the incidents she refers to in the book, as we are all of a similar age to Moran, although we come from a range of different backgrounds. Because the book loosely follows her through her life, some of us were left wanting to know more about the whys and wherefores of the various situations she presents, and what became of some of the people involved. But the book isn't really about that, so we are left to wonder!

The great thing about it for me was that it encouraged all of us to see ourselves as feminists, whether or not we had done before we read the book and made it abundantly clear that feminism is not about burning bras or hating men.

I and others felt the book tailed off a bit towards the end, almost as if she had run out of enthusiasm for it and I wasn't the only one to find the section on abortion hard going.

I would certainly recommend it to anyone.

Here is what goodreads has to say about it.

Coming Up!

August's book is How to be a woman by Caitlin Moran.