The Late, Lamented Molly Marx, Sally Koslow

Average Rating: 7.5
Menu: Pasta!

Becky:  Cool it starts out with funeral and glad its humorous--has to finish the book, though!

Anne (8.5): Read it fairly quickly, neat that it was from above. Interested to see what happened at the end (unveiling of person involved in Molly's death). 

Tina (7): Entertaining, but not memorable. Character of Molly's was relatable and Delfine's character reminded her of "The Help". Anti-climactic ending.

Jennifer (8): Light summer read, petrified of scary mysteries, though! Disliked Stephanie character.

Rebecca (7): Expected more, not excited to read it, though.

Dana (8): Thought cheating storyline was too commonplace.  Molly's view from above was interesting, but she had an abrupt dettachment to watching the lives below, though. 

Before I Go to Sleep, S. J. Watson

Average Rating:8
Menu: Shish-ka-bobs, chocolate-covered strawberries
Rebecca (9): Intense and fun to read, skimmed the ending 2x. Some minor details didn't make sense.
Jennifer (9.5): Fairly scared at the end. Felt sorry for "husband"--and frustrated by him.
Angie (8.5): Beginning felt slow, she figured out the story's ending pretty early.
Tina (7): Wanted to know what was going to happen--interested and hooked but didn't particularily enjoy the book.
Anne (9.5): Noticed similarities to "Still Alice" novel. Wondered where her family was, hotel scene at the end was scary.
Dana (9): Intriqued by the memory loss aspect and the journal progression of the story. The real fear exists in waking up every morning not knowing who she was.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson

Average Rating:8
Menu:Chow Mein
Rebecca (8): Complicated story line--disturbing parts to it. The reason Blomquist took on the job was too nicely tied up at the end.
Anne (7): Slow beginning, bell curve in regards to her interest in the story. Hard time relating to the Vanger family. Most interesting characters: Cecilia Vanger, Salander.
Rachel (8.5): Connection at beginning was confusing. Flower sent was an insight. Swedish aspect was interesting.
Tina (8): This book was a rollercoaster--the thrill of it. Found the book complicated.
Angie (8.5): Likes pychological thrillers, thought the stealing of the money by Salander was clever.
Becky (9): Berger character was interesting, women in the book are very strong and independent.
Jennifer (7.5): Disturbing story, but good. Details were scary. Harriet finding was anti-climactic.
Dana (8): Controversy behind the writing of this tale--Swedish mafia? Enjoyed the story.

The Female Brain, Louanne Brizendine

Average Rating: 7.7
Menu: Stuffed Green Peppers

Rachel: 8 - Didn't feel the author was scientific--much makes sense, but hormone-altering meds should have been discussed. Interesting to read about the differences between male and female.

Becky: 9.3 - Learned alot and found that the book explains alot. Recommended the book to many people, commented on how it's not fair that women has to experience so many ups and downs.

Tina: 7.5 - Certain chapters were interesting to her, although alot of the same points were illustrated throughout the book. Overall it has an "Ah-HA!" factor.

Jennifer: 7 - The book justified some (bad) behavior. The downside was the author repeated topics throughout the book.

Rebecca: 7 - Beginning was the best part because of new info, repetitive later on. The author never gave recommendations for the case studies she mentioned.

Anne: 7 - Emphasis on hormones and the correct balance makes sense. Should be more openly discussed and available. Men should read this book!

Angie: 8 - Middle chapters were interesting.

Dana: 8 - Mommy brain/Baby details are pertinent.

A Prayer for the Dying, by Stewart O'Nan

Average Rating: 5.0
Menu: Chow Mein, Potstickers, Apple Pie

Anne: 5.5 Intriqued at the beginning; enjoyed the small-town living references during the Civil War--but then the story turned disturbing and made her gag.

Rebecca: 4.5 Found the book very unsettling--not very eloquent. Kept her interested--wanted to know what happened, but didn't enjoy it. It was written very well in 2nd person. Thinks Jacob was very confused and in denial.

Jennifer E: 5.0 She was confused and in denial as to whether Jacob's wife was truly dead. Read a portion of the book in the hospital and received weird glances from others. The book raises the issue of whether or not you would stay or flee in the instance of a plague.

Angie: 5.0 Lost alot of respect for Jacob--he was a coward not to quarantine the town sooner, how he burned the woman in the house alive, and how he handled the impending fire. There were gaps in the story as to what we as the reader knew.

Tina: 5.0 A decent book about a horrible topic. Liked the 2nd person aspect--made it more apparent you didn't feel as Jacob did. The book gave a different aspect to undertaking--they are the last person to care for the dead.

Becky: 4.0 Felt like Jacob was in denial--liked in the very end where he talks about how life is easier alone--but that's not what life is about. Overall, the book was a downer.

Dana: 5.0 It begins with a dead soldier (the source of the plague) and ends with the dead hermit (Jacob's realization he was the person who spread the disease). The story could have been told with dignity--but it wasn't. Not a very good example of a dignified funeral director/sheriff/pastor.

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".

The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant

Average Rating: 9.0

Erika: 8.5 - Liked character development, author involved the readers, didn't rush the parts.

Dija: 9.0 - Too much blood and baby deliveries and pregnancies. Easy to read; Dinah and her relationships with her moms...liked this. She is happy that she didn't live in those times.

Tina: 7.0 - (pg. 67) Thought it was hard to read...right before the juicy part! It was gross - a lot of parts, interested to get to the rest of it.

Sara: 9.5 - Excellent job of giving a beautiful story - completely engrossed in the story. A story you couldn't put down...Dinah was an excellent narrator - strange to read about Polygamy and the dynamics.

Rebecca: 8.5 - Book is all about birthing and the experience. Despite all of that, the book was good - these parts were necessary for the story and shows how pregnancy consumes a community and the women. Liked how the story was told by Dinah made her link the Bible stories to this story.

Anne: 10 - Loved it...thought initially it would be hard to read. Easily could connect the people. Liked the stories and history told in the Red Tent, bond between the women. Dinah's story was tragic and contained a lot of dynamic.

Dana: 10 - Loved it...the relationship of sisterhood between Dinah's mother was very interesting. The relationships and history of Dinah and Brother Joseph reminds me of my relationship my my brother Benno.

Broken for You, by Stephanie Kallos

Average Rating: 7.6

Dija: 6.0 - The book was hard to read, but got better as she read.

Sara: 9.0 - Was one of her favorites, characters grew together and independently; was a feel-good read, but had mediocre writing.

Erin: 8.5 - Loved it, loved the characters and the 'mystery" element of the story. Saw lots of irony in the book, would recommend to others.

Tina: 8.0 - Liked the book, thought the story of the book was the character development, looked forward to reading it and finding out what happened.

Rebecca: 9.0 - Noted that this was a very high rating for Rebe. Stopped reading Harry Potter 6 for this book. Thought the amount of valuables that Margaret had was unfathomable.

Anne: 9.0 - Like how the story brough meaning to the characters' lives and how they each helped each other find meaning. Was confused about Wanda's obsessions with Peter and how the record store incident was upsetting because it was built up so much by Wanda. Why did she put him on such a pedestal?

Dana: 6.0 - Liked the reinvention of the valuables, but thought it was a waste and the "enter and break something" ritual by the end of the book was weird. Wondered about the logistics of breaking all the things and the clean up? Thought the book was depressing.

Erika: 7.0 - Loved reading about the developing relationships between Margaret and all of her new house mates, especially Wanda. Thought there were too many small world coincidences. Enjoyed reading about Wanda's art with the pieces, as if she's putting her life back together with all the broken antique pieces.

The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger

Average Rating: 8.3

Dana: 9 - Liked the characters, "too much sex" though; the bond was phenomenal between them
Dija: 9 - Very different from before, other books
Tina: 8.5 - Was very confused about the purpose of Gomez; very hard from Charisses's point of view
Erica: 7.5 - Took a long time to get interested; getting pregnant was intriguing point; knowing the ending = bias
Rebecca: 8 - Problems with knowing the ending; some events didn't make sense; some inconsistencies
Becky: 7.5 - (half-way through) thinking "What's the plot?" Then realized that time was the plot; Upset about issues...but was more about Clare - liked that
Molly: 8 - Thought it read quickly; some events/pages not necessary; Henry was favorite character;Liked the ending - old Clare
Anne: 8.5 - Like the book because of the love story; Put herself in Clare's position and couldn't imagine how she dealt with it

Life of Pi, by Yann Martel

Average Rating: 4.0
Menu: Dinner and Chocolate Pie

Overall - Enjoyed the book as a whole, but didn't like the ending of the island part.