A Visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan

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The Art of Racing in the Rain, Garth Stein

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Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt

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The Innocent Man, John Grisham

Average Rating: 5.85
Menu: Pizza Luce, cookies, and cupcakes

Dana: 6.0. - Read like facts, good learning about death row, could tell what was going to happen. Mental problems poorly dealt with given how recent it took place.

Anne: n/a - Didn't open book... but agrees with Dana! Was distracted by Twilight series (New Moon)

Angie: 6.0. - More than halfway through. Read very fact like. Very frustrating to read, with justice system and poor treatment of mental health.

Becky: 8.0 - Sean read in 3 days. Wanted to read a Grisham. Pictures too distracting. Changed a lot since HS picture. Coming out of prison- smelling air, etc. parallel with coming back from Iraq, adjusting back to life outside. Shared w/soldiers.

Jennifer: 5.0 - Book on tape- boring at times. Could've been 30 page story. Frustrated- too slow, too much detail.

Rebecca: 4.0 - Basis of story disheartening. Wanted to read a Grisham. Rambled. Skipped around too much- lose concentration. Random tidbits not relevant/interesting. Could've been told better.

Tina: 5.0 (p. 122) - Couldn't get into, repetitive- maybe because of knowing what happens. Poor representation of Grisham vs. fiction. Tried to stay true to facts but too many uninteresting facts.

Rachel: 7.0 (100 pages left) - Very disappointed in justice system- eye opening. Psychology very interesting.

The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood

Average Rating: 8.4
Menu: Bok Choy Salad, Cashew Chicken Stir Fry w/Jasmine Rice. Dessert- Strawberry Shortcake

Anne: 6.0 - Not as good as the hype. Enjoyed learning about the culture and cultural differences.

Jenny: 8.0 - Really into it at first. Parts were really disturbing, seemed right on that it could happen, supposed to be better for women - thought that was interesting - bad trade off.

Jennifer: 8.5 - Seemed real but didn't understand how - found it frustrating.

Tina: 8.5 - Kept reading, disturbed, thought a lot about it. Author made it fictional enough but seemed it could happen. Liked the historical notes - provided answers and ending. Internal reflection on people regarding group think and acting like sheep.

Dana: 8.0 - Similar to another book a few years ago, very disturbing, thought about it a lot. Scary the change of power, trying to revert back to something, old men trying to reproduce.

Rachel: 9.5 - Like it more now vs. when read in high school. Interesting view and role of women (vs. other book like the Divinci Code). Disturbing that this could happen, good sci-fi - specific to women.

Angie: 8.0 - Into it in the beginning but tapered off. Overly descriptive (ie. room in the house). It was very 'piece y' and got impatient, but liked it in retro.

Rebecca: 8.0 - Intriguing. Initially would have given it a 9.5 but looking back it hasn't held my attention. Like how author put in tidbits making things second nature to the book, but it made you think. Wanted to know more about how things got that way. Historical notes could have had more info to answer all the Whys.

Becky: 9.0 - Believable and scary - men taking back all power. Intriguing and like how she appreciated all the simple things like clean air, TV - I could relate (all things are relative). Hid something in her dress to feel powerful, similar to Angry Housewives Eating Bonbons. Liked quote on pg 121 about "man's a strategy..."

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 Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards

Average Rating: 6.7

Tina: 6.5 - Liked idea of story, wanted to see what happened very surface level, does a mother "know"? Would she be different if Phoebe actually died? David probably did Caroline/Phoebe a favor.

Anne: 6.0 - Excited about concept by disappointed in direction it went. Premise of how a secret affects relationship, didn't like Rosemary story. David - bad father. Thought Paul was gay. Secret is what tore family apart.

Dana: 7.0 - Didn't like Norah's character, didn't like David or their marriage, was afraid of Al and thought he'd do something bad. Another Tangent. Great idea for story but marriage was a turn off.

Sara: 6.5 - Good premise, but thought it was shallow, didn't understand Norah's long term grief. Thought Caroline was made out as a hero but also made mistakes - selfish to take Phoebe. Al was weird.

Rebecca: 6.0 - Idea had potential but writer screwed it up. Went into too much background about David but could have taked more about other characters. Anti-climatic when Paul and Phoebe meet. While did Caroline contat Norah? Thanks that Norah/David coldn't have survived children anayway and it would not have been any better if they kept Phoebe.

Rachel: 7.0 - Beginning good, didn't stay as interesting. Character development weak, didn't explain their motivations. Didn't go more into twins of mother's intuition. No big moment.

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini

Average Rating: 8.3

Rachel: 8.5 - Liked how it tied together. Amazed by how it was/is in Afghanistan.

Molly: 9.0 - Too convenient at end, but liked it. Afghanistan now/then.

Erika: 8.5 - Appalled kite part. Happy/sad emotions.

Erin: 6.0 - Interesting (Afghanistan). Didn't like Amir, no courage. Liked end.

Tina: 9.0 - Liked how it came together at end. Fiction should be what you want it to be. Main character bothered her but grew up that way.

Rebecca: 8.0 - Beginning tough to get into (p. 20) but liked it. First half mini stories more tied together than last half.

Dana: 8.5 - Beginning slow but then got into it. Liked father. Changed throughout the book. Didn't like Soharb's attempted suicide.

Becky: 9.0 - Taxicab conversation foreshadowing. Are we doing the right thing in Afghanistan? Hated Amir, coward, kept tallies. "You never knew Afghanistan" (cab driver to Amir)