Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen

Average Rating: 8.3

Menu: Circus Themed Appetizers: Mini hot dogs, Animal Crackers, Cracker Jacks, Cotton Candy

Noteworthy: Erika's last book club, Angie joined book club

Erika: 9.5 - Loved this book...fast read. Wanted to know what happened. Liked characters, their relationships. Wanted to go to circus. Good story. Liked ending.

Dana: 9.5 - Also loved this book. Couldn't put it down. Was like Devil in the White City - similar era. Liked narration & photos. Recommended to others. Well written.

Rebecca: 9.0 - Fun book. Good character development. Entertaining. Liked background & circus. Was touched by old Jacob character. Depressing to hear from older person's perspective. Realized the effect of talking down. Glad to have kids at an older age so they can take care of me when I'm old.

Sara: 8.5 - Enjoyed the book. Has a thing for cute old men. Difficult to read about losing loved ones ability to take care of oneself. Liked story - love story, innocent. Wish we can all run off with the circus.

Rachel: 8.0 - Hates the circus/carnival, so was reluctant to read. Liked it once started. Reminded of The Notebook. Shocked by the ending. Impressionable book. Hated August.

Jenny: 7.5 - Was upset reading about animals. Liked anecdotes about real circus info - details about life. Wasn't that surprised by ending, but liked how the story wrapped up. Wondered if wife was Marlena. Didn't think it would have worked out.

Becky: 7.5 - Fun story about animals. Enjoyed love story. Cover was a good representation of circus. Sequins fun on surface, but behind the scenes not so glamorous - like war and military. Vivid memory of boxcar w/crippled man & dog. Connected with old man - how family always glossed over bad things and made everything to be good. Related to this while in Iraq. Wanted to hear about everything good and bad - feels real, like a part of life, reality.

Angie: 8.5 - Really liked it, but forgot about it between sittings. Liked development of Walter - started out mean, but ends up taking care of everyone. Shocked by "red lighting". Loved the ending- unexpected.

Tina: 8.5 - Fun story. Loved character development, connected with them. Really liked Rosie's character, liked historical aspect & facts of circus life. Thought the ending was convenient what happened to the elephant, monkey, and horses. Learned that I relate to old people as if they're stupid - which is not good.

Anne: 6.5 - comments to come.

Come Back, by Claire & Mia Fontaine

Average Rating: 8.0

Sara: 8.0 - (from Chicago) Enjoyed story. Characters were arrogant, wanted more background on the situation. Encouraged by story on how to overcome challenges. Wished that these tragedies could be healed by more than money.

Rebecca: 8.0 - Enjoyed the book. Would like to recommend the story to others with past abuse. Felt that the mother left many things out as this could not have been a surprise. Discovery and Focus programs were judged and criticized.

Rachel: 8.5 - Sucked in from beginning. Read in one sitting. Money provided resources. What happens to kids whose parents "don't care". Understands parental point of view. Harsh feedback would be hard to take - likely to give up. Parts about Clarie cause worry about becoming a parent.

Anne: 8.0 - Easy to read. Book hit home because Phil's brother attended Spring Creek. Heard first hand about Focus and Discovery. Cool book, now understand. Now considering participation. Micheal is now a teacher at the school.

Erika: 8.0 - Enjoyed the book. Read quickly. Had a better understanding of why people act the way they do. Enjoyed Mia's portions and wished her story was shared more.

Tina: 8.0 - Liked Mia's thoughts. Reflection on Claire as a control freak. Freaked out about thoughts as a parent. Gave perspective on why people to the things they do. Enjoyed reading the book.

Dana: 7.0 - Ditto!

The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfeld

Average Rating: 8.0

Sara: 8.0 - (from Chicago) Pulled her in and felt as though she was being given a child's nighttime story. Author and her mother were so lost without the twin. Liked discrepancies of the children.

Erika: 8.0 - Confused with authors jumping around. But liked relationships between Vida Winter and Margaret.

Jenny: 7.5 - Didn't think it was well-written, but good story. Knew ending. Was going to be let down - inevitable, not as spectacular.

Tina: 9.0 - Rates up with "My Sister's Keeper". End was great for her. Disturbed by Isabelle and Charlie's relationship. Enjoyed the mystery behind which twin survived the fire. Thinks it was Emmeline?

Rebecca: 8.5 - Liked Sara's description of book, child's nighttime story. Didn't like the very end. Tells what happened with bibliography and her life. Liked story. Good movie?

Anne: 7.0 - Drawn in. Middle and end had to force herself to read. Seemed like a fairy tale, surreal story. Weirded out by how Miss Winter picked up that Margaret was a twin. Margaret's mother situation had loose ends. Quirky behaviors of characters.

Dana: 8.0 - Loved the base of the story. Sad with demolition of the house. The life of twins was interesting. Adeline was the twin that Vida Winter saves (in my opinion). Miss Winters strategy of using "I" vs. "We".

Beyond Knowing, by Janis Amatuzio

Average Rating: 4.5
Noteworthy: Jenny joined book club

Tina: 3.0 - Did not love the book. Got really repetitive. Same story over and over. Too much about the author. Expected to be amazed, but wasn't.

Dana: 6.0 - Expected more like her first book. Told same story in first book. Was disappointed. Would recommend first book.

Rebecca: 3.5 - Did not like the book. Was very self-promoting. Writing was poor. Was left with no though.

Jenny: 3.0 - Did not love it. Wanted more of the forensic pathologist stuff.

Sara: 3.0 - (from Chicago) Did not like her voice. She needs to get a life. Talked too much about herself.

Anne: 6.0 - Thought it would be more profound.

The Bell, by Iris Murdoch

Average Rating: 7.5
Noteworthy: Sara's last book club

Tina: 8.5 - Slow beginning but necessary for rest of book. Good story and a "coming to peace". Left some characters open-ended. Michael/Nick store quite unsatisfying. She copped out at the end. The end somewhat anticlimactic. (At 6 week of quitting and kicking ass.)

Anne: n/a - (pg. 68) Love the characters. Dora is hilarious. Excited to see where the story goes. (Went to Cafe Ena. Adjusting to not working. Will is now sleeping through the night.)

Dana: 7.5 - Similar to Crossing to Safety. Late 1950s wives but didn't get to see Dora's "wife" dutier. I liked the description of the characters. Things didn't happen until the very end. (Planning Vito's 1st birthday, pirate themed. Finished 2nd year of grad school.)

Sara: 9.0 - Couldn't put it down. Beginning slow. Wondered what would happen. Ending didn't have closure that I wanted. Irked me that Nick and Michael never ended. Religion interested me. The impossibility of high standards makes it harder to hold standards. (Moving to Chicago. I'm a doctor, life is crazy. I'm excited for shopping in Chicago, nervous too.)

Rebecca: 8.5 - Reminded me of Crossing to Safety. Love the beginning. Thought it ended in limbo. Bothered me you didn't get to know other characters, but if you did, it would have been too much. Dora's ability to take ideas from another intrigued me. (Rotating jobs again. Looking forward to summer. Got a hookah.)

The Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai

Average Rating: 5.5

Tina: 5.0 (pg. 70) - Thought story had a lot of potential but language made it hard to read. Storyline very choppy, jumped around too much. (Quit smoking almost a month ago and getting 10" haircut tomorrow.)

Sara: 9.0 - Fascinating to read while traveling through the third world. Found a lot in the book very real with trip and people/experiences. Interesting tie to colonization and the impact of the wester world on the east. (Graduated from med school today and got back from 70 day trip around the world.)

Rebecca: 4.0 (1/3 way through) - Didn't enjoy, mainly due to writing style. Too difficult to relate to characters in short stints. Story seemed very current based on experiences on trip. (Got back from 4 month trip to SE Asia.)

Anne: 4.0 (read through 20s) - Wanted to read it, very hard to connect to characters due to choppiness. Sentences too ornate. Thinks it had great potential, but couldn't get into it. (Planning 5 year anniversary trip to San Fran, w/o Will.)

Erika: N/A (Moved into her own big girl apartment 1.5 weeks ago.)

Dana: N/A (Vito is walking, he can say Mama and Dada.)

Rachel: N/A (got to page 10) - Would like to read to see what I think (vs. reviews), but writing style very tough to get through.

The Good Soldier, by Ford Maddox Ford

Average Rating: 6.4

Sara: 8.5 - Character development spectacular. Beginning slow and confusing. Told like fireside story. By the end understood why it was so confusing at the beginning. Hard time deciding who was bad. Can look at it in different ways and come out with different answers. Wanted to know more.

Tina: 6.0 (pg. 163) - Confusing. Realized I like straight forward writing, don't need "golden sentences". Likes more journalistic writing. More like him thinking than straight forward. Thought narrator was stupid. Makes you realize how times have changed.

Rachel: N/A (through part 1) - Language hard, want to have read.

Dana: N/A (don't have book)

Anne: N/A (just finished The Glass Castle)

Rebecca: 7.0 (pg. 137) - Beginning confusing. Don't like randomness, but appreciate it (due to how I would tell the story). As well, his lack of realization reminds me of how I would look at the situation. If I would have known the story in advance, I think I would have enjoyed reading it more.

The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls

Average Rating: 8.4

Erika: 8.0 - Like the author, detail in description. Was hard to read. Couldn't understand grandparents and parents - very dysfunctional. Couldn't stop reading. Wanted to know what happened to youngest sister. Author was interviewed and said sister was still estranged, having problems.

Rachel: 8.0 - Knew parents were dysfunctional but they redeemed themselves. When dad was drunk they were horrible, but great when sober. Mom was lazy. Found parents lives interesting - that they chose to live as they did. Amazed at authors success based on childhood.

Dana: 10.0 - Loved it. Started on Sat while in Arizona - liked being in the desert. Didn't like Virginia chapters as much. Felt author had regrets about Maureen, how she grew up. Jeannette didn't live up to her promise to always protect Maureen. Was sad when dad died. Didn't like mom - she was selfish. Would recommend.

Anne: 8.0 (pg. 152) - 1st book she didn't finish. Having trouble sympathizing with parents. They are always overly optimistic - delusional. Amazed that story is true - UHaul, molestation - sad for authors upbringing. Feels for the kids.

Sara: 8.5 - Liked seeing things through authors eyes - turning some things into games. Virginia time was interesting as Jeanette started to see things as reality. Shocked by moms land ownership. Mom was terrible - very selfish. Felt bad for dad as alcoholic.

Rebecca: 8.0 - Agree with others. Like the beginning more - had hope for family. Interesting how much more narration time spent on younger years vs older (1st 1/3 of book based on years 3-6ish). Though about it a lot, but not sure if I really liked the book - was disappointed at the beginning of each chapter. Thought father was a better person than mom. Was most disappointed by uncle molesting kids and parents not standing up for them.

Tina: 9.0 - Loved the book. Thought about it for months after reading it. Drew parallel between mom's treatment of kids and Jeannette's ultimate treatment of Maureen - she promises to take care of her, but ultimately didn't. Loved that the author wrote her story objectively, without self pity.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See

Average Rating: 8.4

Rachel: 8.0 - really like it, the characters. Cuagher by surprise by Snow Flower's background. Disppointed by actions when Snow Flower was publicly humiliated.

Dana: 9.0 - liked Lily and Snow Flower's relationship. Very interesting book - winter, food. Good read, liked separation of parts - the Hair Pinning Days, etc.

Sara: 8.5 - well written. Aspect of history was unknown - the role of women. Miscommunication between Snow Flower and Lily - was upset by it but understood why.

Rebecca: 8.25 - Liked the first 3/4. Started to get bored with the part in the caves. Very interesting story. Liked the metaphor from the first fan from Snow Flower about feeing the flower. Parallels with The Red Tent (roles of men and women.) Good read.

Anne: 8.5 - Really enjoyed the book. Liked the characters - matchmaker. Could easily visualize the characters. Compared to the Red Tent with women and society. Cool that the loatong relationship was closer than with your husband.

Tina: 8.5 - Really liked the women's perspective on history. Patriarchal societies set themselves up similarly - similarities between Red Tent and Secret Fan. Didn't find the women's place as shocking as other because the way she was raised. She could relate to the book.

Erika: 8.5 - Looking back, book appears as a movie due to the vivid images. Felt many emotions while reading.