Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Amy 

murder mystery

Camille has escaped her rotten childhood and small hometown by becoming a newspaper reporter in Chicago.  But, she has been assigned a story about a possible serial killer back in that hometown and has to go "back home" to cover the story. 

Amy's Review

I was not looking forward to reading this one but it was a Book Club book.  I had enjoyed Gillian Flynn's novel Gone Girl because of the way it was crafted.  But, I heard that Sharp Objects had more disturbing characters.  The sick characters had really bothered me in Gone Girl. So, I hesitantly decided to read this novel despite knowing it would make me uncomfortable. As far as mysteries go (of which I’m not a huge fan), this one interested me and I kept reading to find out the gory details. However, I had deduced the two most likely guilty parties by page 69. So, it wasn’t nearly as complex as Gone Girl. It was more like a terrible news story about which you want to read for some closure but you get more upset the more you read. I could not empathize with the actions or feelings of most of the people in the book—they were so odd and behaviorally challenged. But, it was about what I expected after reading Gone Girl and understanding the author’s tendency to fill her novel with unwell people. I really have no desire to read anything else by Flynn.

I was not looking forward to reading this one but it was a Book Club book. I enjoyed Gillian Flynn’s novel Gone Girl very much because of the way it was crafted. But, I heard that Sharp Objects had disturbing characters. The disturbed characters had really bothered me in Gone Girl. So, I hesitantly decided to read this novel despite knowing it would make me uncomfortable. As far as mysteries go (of which I’m not a huge fan), this one interested me and I kept reading to find ou

The Stand by Stephen King

Amy      
Lynnie 

fantasy, mystery, post-apocalyptic

This version of The Stand is the "uncut" version to which Stephen King added 500 pages of material which had originally been cut when the book was first published in 1978.  The story tells of the deaths of most of the world's population due to a super-bug and then the aftermath for the few survivors.  The remaining people find each other via mysterious dreams and have to decide how they plan to live their new lives. 

Amy's Review

This book took me over 6 weeks to complete. Yes, it’s a really long book at just under 1200 pages. But, that’s a very slow pace for me. Part of the reason was that I haven't had enough time to read. I’ve been busy lately. But, the other part of the truth is that this book just didn’t make me want to keep reading it each day. Sure, it was interesting enough for me to not give up on it, but it didn’t call to me. I didn’t care about any of the characters enough, I suppose. Nick Andros was the only one I really loved. I did finally get interested when the four men headed from Boulder to Las Vegas. But that was about 2/3 of the way in and late to finally start caring about the outcome of the novel. I actually began to resent the length of this book as all the other books I wanted to be reading for my book clubs and new releases were piling up. So, although this book seems to be beloved by many, I have to say that it was a good book for me but nothing amazing.  I do give credit to the author/publisher for not making it into a trilogy, which would have been easy to do.  Perhaps trilogies weren't so popular back in 1978.

I thought the premise was extremely interesting and scary. A super bug that wipes out most of the human and animal populations is a devastating idea. I enjoyed reading about how things played out in the aftermath, the choices people made, and the way some characters grew. The religious/spiritual stuff did not particularly appeal to me. But, I suppose that without people being called to specific geographic locations, it would have taken a much longer time for any communities to form and wouldn’t have been nearly as interesting. So, I see why King added that to the story and made it all about good vs. evil. But, I didn’t appreciate that device.

Mostly, I’m glad to be moving on to other books!

Lynnie's Review

I first read The Stand in high school. Stu Redman was my second fictional boyfriend (with apologies to all who've come since, Ponyboy Curtis is still number 1). I have always loved this book- my husband might tell you that I am occasionally obsessed with it & its goofy mini-series counterpart. Thinking back, it was probably my first foray into post-apocalyptic dystopian futures & I was fascinated by the potential future that Stephen King put forth in large part because the premise- the spread of a biological weapon which wipes out large swaths of humanity- doesn't seem as far-fetched as I wish it would.

What follows as the remnants of humanity try to figure out the future and the confrontation of the personifications of good vs. evil (which way will the survivors turn?) have always resonated with me. I particularly enjoyed that neither the heroes nor the villains are completely black & white. In this novel, what side of the fence you end up on is largely based on personal choice. Very few people are all good or all bad- they are just people who've made decisions which determine the course of their future, like all of us. I like to think that it's the choices we make which determine our path in life.

That said, as I get older and re-read some of my favorite books I find that I'm more disturbed by, or more sensitive to things than I remember being in the 80s or 90s. I'm sure it's a combination of age, perspective, being a parent, and a multitude of other factors but there are definitely times in this book that I was startled by what I read; events that I'd often glossed over in my memory of the story. In the end though I still think The Stand, and the ideas behind it, are powerful ones. Once again I find myself thinking of the book and the characters days after I've read it.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

Amy    
Lynnie 

As Amazon describes: 
The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon away from life as a San Francisco web-design drone and into the aisles of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. But after a few days on the job, Clay discovers that the store is more curious than either its name or its gnomic owner might suggest. The customers are few, and they never seem to buy anything--instead, they "check out" large, obscure volumes from strange corners of the store. Suspicious, Clay engineers an analysis of the clientele's behavior, seeking help from his variously talented friends. But when they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, they discover the bookstore's secrets extend far beyond its walls. Rendered with irresistible brio and dazzling intelligence, Robin Sloan's Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore is exactly what it sounds like: an establishment you have to enter and will never want to leave.

We read this book back in 2012 & it was on both of Favorites lists that year.  Since we're currently reading a LONG book, we'll throwback to a book we loved.

Amy's Review

Wow. What a cool book. It was a mystery full of wonderfully quirky, lovable characters of all ages. It was set in luscious places like a 24-hour bookstore 3 stories high with ladders and shadows, trendy living spaces, and a secret, underground library you can only reach via a passage hidden behind a bookshelf. It involved elements of so many things I enjoy: books (!), nerds, art, technology, sci-fi, fantasy, puzzles, codes, and treasure hunting. Then, it added perfect embellishments like references to other books and movies I enjoy (like the hamster McFly and a secret society hinged on hidden codes) and created new references as it ran parallel to a fabricated sci-fi/fantasy series. On top of that it was funny and never took itself seriously.

I did have a few annoyances like too many characters wearing cardigans and too much blue and gray and only disgusting food being mentioned. (Do most San Franciscans really eat that stuff?) I also found the depiction of Google to be distracting in its unbelievability. And, the cover---I seriously didn't read this book for a long time because it seemed too generic. With all the creativity packed in this novel I'd have expected more than that boring cover. But, alas, none of my complaints amount to a hill of beans with this charming novel.

Lynnie's Review

Delightful, mysterious, adventurous, quirky, unusual; there are endless adjectives to describe this book. It was such a joy to read this book as it wound its way through so many different things and wove them together without feeling forced: books, computers, puzzles, friendship, secret societies... and a tenacious man who grabs on to an idea and won't let it go until he's seen it through to its conclusion.

The characters in this book jump off the page right into your mind and after reading it, I find myself wishing I could have spent a bit of time wandering Mr. Penumbra's. Any book that makes me wish I could wander through the places in the book myself, and brings a smile to my face so many times is a treat and Mr. Penumbra's definitely qualifies.