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vivaciousmuse January 27 2014, 22:55:43 UTC
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed The Scorpio Races. It's one of my favorites. :)

I've never actually read Daughter of Smoke & Bone, though it was on my to-read list. I'm disappointed to hear it portrays unhealthy relationships. I don't blame you for giving up on it.

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mabith January 27 2014, 13:38:16 UTC
Who was your buddy for the month? csichick_2
What books did they select for you to read? Little Men by Louisa May Alcott or Charles Dickens' The Christmas Books
What did you read? Little Men
Tell us about it: This is the book my father blames for ruining him for public school, though I imagine most brainy, bookish kids dislike public school for reasons unrelated to reading about a lovely miniature boarding school.

It follows Jo and Mr. Bhaer running their little ideal school where boys can have freedom to play and mess about so long as they rigorously follow the few rules set out. We see some new children added to the school, inventive methods of discipline, Jo dealing with the boys' sometimes anti-girl feeling, etc...

The book is sweet, and not really all that dated in terms of alternative school philosophies. As is evident in other books Alcott has a bit of a split personality in terms of traditions for women and writing what will sell while trying to slip the more subversive ideas in as well.
Recommendation: yes or no? Yeah, it's a nice ( ... )

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tanyareed January 27 2014, 22:30:38 UTC
I loved this book! It's one of my favorites from my childhood. The first time I read it (at age...14?), there was a bit in there with Dan that made me cry.

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mabith January 28 2014, 22:30:44 UTC
Aw, yeah. Dan was a great character, and it is a lovely book. I can see why it screwed up my dad for public school.

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perf January 27 2014, 14:49:37 UTC
Who was your buddy for the month? theviolonist
What books did they select for you to read? A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and The Book Thief.
What did you read? Both!

Tell us about it: ONE: Started with AHWOSG, which has been on my physical and virtual bookshelves for years. I've tried to read it multiple times and never got past the introduction. It's a memoir about taking care of a younger brother after their parents both die of cancer. A lot of the book is written in Dave's manic, stream-of-conscious thinking. Sentences drone on for paragraphs, and paragraphs for pages. Conversations are dramatized and the fourth wall broken. The introduction, in fact, encourages the reader to skip entire portions of the book. Dave (the "character", because I'm certain he's exaggerated for shtick's sake) is so egotistic and self-aware I wanted to strangle Dave (the author). I also wanted to give them both a hug because what do I know about being orphaned at 20 and having to take care of a little brother ( ... )

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wasureneba January 27 2014, 15:45:09 UTC
Ugh, this just makes me want to read The Book Thief even more. I need to get my hands on a copy of that.

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perf January 27 2014, 15:58:33 UTC
it's so lovely, get a box of tissues while you're at it!

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wasureneba January 27 2014, 17:35:58 UTC
Oh no. This is going to require tea, too, isn't it.

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kaitydid33087 January 27 2014, 14:51:15 UTC
Who was your buddy for the month? adaptation
What books did they select for you to read? Divergent and Silver Linings Playbook
What did you read? Neitherrrrrrr....because,I just slacked off. I know, I know. I'm bad.
Tell us about it:
Recommendation: yes or no? Sure!

This was fun Amy, I'll sign up for the next one, even if I failed this one. ♥

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amyofaquitaine January 27 2014, 14:59:26 UTC
Who was your buddy for the month? ladysophiekitty
What books did they select for you to read? The Diviners by Libba Bray & The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
What did you read? Both of 'em.
Tell us about it: The Diviners by Libba Bray: This is a supernatural mystery set in 1920s New York City. At the center is flapper girl Evie, who is sent to live with her scholarly uncle in NYC after a party "game" goes wrong in her small Ohio hometown. Evie plans to party it up in NYC but ends up helping solve a sting of ritualistic murders. Along the way, we meet a bunch of other characters who all seem to have something special in common. This book-on the surface-is right up my alley: the 1920s, flapper lingo, a supernatural element, a mystery & I *wanted* to love it but I just couldn't quite get there. I really really liked it, though. I think my main issue with the book was that a little editing would've helped (it reminded me a *LOT* of A Discovery of Witches in that respect; I had the same issue with that book…at least Evie wasn't as annoying as Diana from ADoW ( ... )

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perf January 27 2014, 18:23:08 UTC
I read The Book Thief too! It was incredible. My grandma grew up in Germany during World War II and she would've been about the same age as Liesel. Though I think she exaggerated a lot (I know she spent some time on the run and it took her through Poland, I don't know that she was necessarily dodging bullets left and right like she'd claimed, lol) it really put it in perspective. Haunting.

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currentscarryou January 27 2014, 23:46:41 UTC
I read The Book Thief (outside of this book club, on my own volition!) too! I was pretty much wrecked, it was just one of those books where I can't stop thinking about it for weeks. Especially the end, Hans Hubermann may be one of the best father figures, ever.

The movie is REALLY good, they did a great job sticking to the book, although they obviously had to take some things out. Well cast too!

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perf January 28 2014, 14:48:26 UTC
I was wondering about the movie. I'll have to check it out.

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