The History of Love, Nicole Krauss

Average Rating: 6.4
Menu: Tortellini and Girl Scout Cookies

Dana: 5.0 - Didn't like the eldery man's character. Curious to see how it ends.

Anne: n/a - Didn't read.

Sara: 7.5 - Liked it a lot. Not sure who is actually alive at the end.

Tina: 6.0 - Think it had great potential but was too confusing. Too much going on.

Jennifer: 6.5 - Too many stories so confusing. Excited to re-read. Too many characters.

Rebecca: 7.0 - Liked writing style. Was confused by characters.

One Day, David Nicholls

Average Rating: 6.3
Menu: (Spiked) Hot Chocolate, Gorgonzola and spinach penne with chicken, Fundamiddles!

Jennifer: 4.0 - Read 1/2, tried book on tap, read synopsis, finally watched movie. It was boring. Things occurred without much meaning.

Tina: 6.0 - Took awhile to get into. Rooting for Emma; feel bad for her. Death out of left field right after getting good. Good story, somewhat memorable but not a great format.

Angie: 7.0 - Really liked it after getting into it. Reflective of life at the time. Disliked ending and had to re-read, very abrupt.

Rebecca: 7.0 - Read 1/2, skimmed rest. Hard to start but enjoyed once reading. Didn't understand parts. quick ending without much meaning. Could have been written much shorter.

Anne: 7.5 (via email)

Garden Spells, Sarah Addison Allen

Average Rating: 9.2

Menu: Greek apps, Lasagna, Bread, Salad, Mousse and cookies

Dana: 10.0 - Liked it. (Had to leave early due to sick child)

Jennifer: 9.5 - Listened to it in two sittings. Drawn in by apple tree. Liked how the author made the tree have a personality.

Anne: 8.5 - Easy read. Sister dynamic was interesting. Claire got annoying due to her neurosis. She should have taken accountability. Who is on the cover??

Becky: 9.0 - Perfect following of Still Alice. Breath of fresh air. Made me feel younger. Thought it may turn into vampire fiction, but didn't. Liked that they embraced themselves.

Angie: 9.0 - Started on Monday, finished this evening. Evanelle was my favorite. Like how they didn't make a big deal about the magic, very casual.

Tina: 9.0 - Liked the book. Good, easy, fun read. Went at a good pace. Liked Evanelle. Sydney kind of bugged me, was very immature.

Rebecca: 9.0 - Good overall read. Though the mixing of ingredients and their effects was fun and interesting. Wished Claire grew more.

Forever, Pete Hamill

Average Rating: 6.6
Menu: Artichoke Cheese Dip, "New York Style" pizza, "New York" Chocolate Cheesecake

Dana: N/A (pg. 25) - $33.50 due in library late fees since October.

Tina: 7.5 - Spans a long time. Interested in beginning and end, but middle was a little slow. Didn't get history of New York as much as expected.

Angie: 7.0 (pg. 400) - Liked it once he got to New York. Disturbed at beginning when in colony and slept with Mary. Want to finish.

Jennifer: 6.5 - Like first 100 and last 100 pages, middle was a bit painful. Annoyed that he was going to live forever. Thought he was an angry person - for killing so many people.

Becky: 5.0 (1/2 way) - Felt like it went on forever. Ready to learn about New York, but lost story of him and his character. Too many things happening.

Anne: 6.0 (pg. 418) - Excited about first 100 pages. Got confused with Pillars of the Earth. same thing over and over; war, people fight and die. Like a guy movie over and over. Sanitation made me nauseous. Not being able to leave Manhatten was weird.

Rebecca: 7.5 - Great concept, but could've been done better. Some parts were confusing, like how he got eternal life. Thought ending was good. Too many pieces of history were missing. Each part was pretty good, but didn't feel like there was a strong enough thread to keep it all together.

Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger

Average Rating: 7.4

Menu: Spring Rolls, Shrimp Curry, Edamame, Brownies

Tina: 7.5 - Hard to say...Really good but didn't like it that much. Didn't connect with book, can't explain why not. Didn't think the miracle theme was actually important to the book.

Dana: 7.0 - Male version of The Glass Castle. Like love story as a touch. Like ending, even though it was sad.

Angie: 8.0 - Like character development and love story. Courting was cute.

Anne: 6.5 (p.265) - Didn't not like the book. It took a lot of increments to finish; kind of slow. Liked Rueben's childish perspective.

Becky: 8.0 (p.200) - Weirded out that the miracles don't mean anything. They build up...then nothing. Thought it was based a long time ago, like 1850's.

Rachel: 7.0 - Well written, well done, but not drawn in. Quick, easy to follow, but not great.

Jennifer: 7.5 - Got into it and then got distracted. Loved the last part. Great ending.

Rebecca: 7.5 - Good book. Interesting story, good plot, fun characters, but just didn't connect with it. Wanted to be wow'd but wasn't and not sure why not.

Naked, by David Sedaris

Average Rating: 8.4
Menu: Lasagna, Salad, Bread, Ice Cream and Choc. Covered Strawberries
Noteworthy: Jennifer joined book club

Anne: n/a

Becky: 8.0 - Refreshing. Started off thinking it was messed up. Then thought it was so real. Wondered if I could go to a nude camp. Last chapter was a little long. Makes me want to read more of his books.

Jenny: 9.0 - Read awhile ago. Liked nudist part. Funny. Loved reading about family. Interesting how smoking calmed him.

Jennifer: 8.5 - Liked nudist part. Remember parts, but not as a whole - interesting. Laughed a lot.

Tina: 8.5 - Didn't get it at first. Then appreciated humor. Developed relationship with writer through books. Refreshing. Different and easy to read.

Dana: 8.0 - Liked it. Reminded me of Glass Castle. Enjoyed family dynamics. Good connection. Mom had good aspect. OCD dropped off of subject, only at beginning.

Rachel: 9.0 - Read awhile ago. Nice reading about crazy family. Liked that it's essays. Reading more of his books makes him and books more likeable.

Angie: 8.0 - Hated him in first chapter. Then realized he was kidding and loved it. Liked last chapter. Made her think what it would feel like.

Rebecca: 8.0 - Liked listening to Me Talk Pretty better. Enjoys his smart writing alongside his humor. Unfortunate you never hear about his true feelings about his mom's death. Very real.

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 Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Average Rating: 8.5
Noteworthy: Erin's last book club

Erin: 8.0 - (1/2 way through) Intrigued by Gatsby. Reminds me of Mr. Big in SITC. Covers up how Daisy has tortured him.

Rachel: 9.5 - (1/2 way through) All time faves from high school. New money/old money very interesting. Change encouraging - women valued for looks.

Dana: 8.0 - Read in high school. Soft spot because Justin tested her with Pet Boys song and book.

Sara: 9.0 - Favorite. Gets better every time. Intro and end (some don't have) very interesting. He wrote it to be "Great American Novel". Punctuation based on talk, not writing/grammar. Like how end portrays people as bad, choose easy way out.

Tina: 8.5 - (1/2 way through) Through "I" was Gatsby. Confused. Caught on and re-read. More interesting after getting into writing style.

Anne: 8.0 - Enjoyed. Liked dynamics between men and women, also 20s era. Kept thinking of Gatsby as a Hugh Heffner. Everyone went for the party - not him.

Rebecca: 8.5 - Good overall book. Wished I paid more attention in high school to understand all the symbolism, etc.

Wicked, by Gregory Maguire

Average Rating: 7.2
Menu: Grilled chicken salad

Rebecca: 7.5 - Overall thought it was fun. Parts were confusing and not enough Oz related.

Erika: 8.0 - (1/2 way) Love it so far. Disturbed/confused by goat murder.

Erin: 8.0 - Liked it. Slow read at times. Characters struggled and had themes.

Tina: 8.0 -Not enough Oz or consistency. Liked absolute truths and good versus evil.

Rochelle: 5.0 - Overly ambitious. Lots of interesting topics, too many.

Dana: 6.5 - Couldn't relate to characters. More about Elphie & Nessie's relationship.

Anne: 7.0 - Loved first two sections. Got lost in parts. Good thoughts - guilt you put upon yourself. Poor ending.

Becky: 9.0 - Issues with disconnect of Oz. Liked having so many unanswered questions. That defines good and evil.

Rachel: 6.0 - Have issues with non-human characters that talk. Too little about Oz/Dorothy. Too much in college years, but liked Elphie overall. She was MISUNDERSTOOD!

The Feast of Love, by Charles Baxter

Average Rating: 8.0

Molly: (did not finish)
Anne: 7.5 - liked how life experiences were intertwined and how chapters began (did not finish)
Becky: 7.5 - very real, liked varying perspectives on one story (did not finish)
Jess: 9 - liked writing style, how stories intertwined (did not finish)
Dana: 7 - liked every "relationship has one really good day" (did not finish)
Rebecca: 9 - loved writing style, how characters were built
Tina: 8 - great character development. Liked how as the book went on, it felt like you got to know the people. (did not finish)