books – Page 2 – Julie's Bits

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

The Epilogue Book Club had a great meeting yesterday to discuss “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” by Junot Diaz.

Most members agreed that the numerous footnotes and the prolific use of Spanish words and terms throughout the book made reading the book very challenging. Most agreed that having a glossary of Spanish words and terms used in the book would have helped. All-in-all, the book club thought the book was worthwhile reading.

I, personally, found the book to be quite thought provoking. I finished the book with tears in my eyes and the characters in the book stayed with me for several days afterwards.

We meet again at 2:00 pm on Sunday, May 31 to discuss “Gilead” by Marilynne Robinson. The location for the next meeting is still to be determined.

If you’d like to learn more about the Epilogue Book Club or join us to discuss the next book, please call me at 678.321.6526 or send me an email.

The Epilogue Book Club is reading Pulitzer Prize winning novels. To view our current reading list, see Epilogue Book Club: Current Reading List.

Slavery by Another Name by Douglas A. Blackmon

I had not heard of this book until I listened to a podcast (OnPoint with Tom Ashbrook) interview between Tom Ashbrook and the author, Douglas Blackmon. This book just won the Pulitzer Prize in non fiction (2009).

The interview was fascinating and I find the subject matter very interesting. This is an important book that I will make a point to read.

See Slavery by Another Name for more information.

The Golden Compass

I decided to read The Golden Compass after seeing a sign at a local car repair shop that warned parents about letting their kids read this book….How ridiculous!

The Golden Compass is a great read, full of imagination, interesting characters and with a compelling plot. I especially appreciate that the heroine of the story is a little girl (versus a little boy – boys always seem to have all the fun in these kinds of stories). I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, the other books in this collection.

World Without End

“World Without End” by Ken Follett has been on my reading list ever since it was published (October 2007). I read Ken Follett’s earlier book, “The Pillars of the Earth,” more than a decade ago and I enjoyed that book too.

I got the electronic version of the book several months ago, and I decided it was time to give it a read. I started the book last week and am about half way through it. I expected it to be a good read, but I did not expect it to be such a fabulous read – probably the best book I’ve read in years! I just wish I knew someone who was reading it too so I could talk about it with someone who is as captivated with the story as I am.

Continue reading World Without End

Secrets of Learning a Foreign Language

I listened to this book when I was gearing up to study the Dutch language in preparation for a trip to The Netherlands. I checked out the audio version of this book from the library.

The book has several great hints and techniques about how to approach learning a new language. I thought it was pretty good and I’ll probably check it out again and listen to it again.

The Secret of Lost Things

I always enjoy a book whose characters stay with me after I’ve finished reading the story. The Secret of Lost Things is peopled with lots of unusual characters / misfits, if you will. A coming of age story with many unique twists and turns told in just enough poignant detail, it left me wanting more and I was sad to see the book end.

The book ended when it should have ended, but I can’t help but wonder what became of many of the characters in the story. A really great read and one that I recommend whole heartedly

The Book of Air and Shadows

The book did not start well for me, but I found the storyline to be quite intriguing. Unfortunately, the book didn’t get any better and eventually fell apart at about the halfway point. I stuck with it until I was more than 3/4th of the way through it when I decided I just couldn’t take it anymore and stopped reading. I found the book to be tedious for several reasons:

I didn’t care for the writing style
The story became very boring
There were far too many gratuitous sexual encounters that didn’t have anything to do with or add anything to the storyline. The encounters appeared to be interjected throughout the book at the author’s fancy.
I was put off by the overuse of the “F” word and
The characters were not well developed and were very superficial, so I didn’t care about any of the main characters in the story.

Luckily, I didn’t buy the book. I checked the electronic version of the book out of the Library, so now I can just delete it from my eReader and move on to, hopefully, a better read. I’m sorry for the time I wasted trying to get through this book, but at least I didn’t waste any money on it and since it was electronic, I don’t even have to think about how to dispose of it. There’s a small comfort!