Friday, March 26, 2010

February 2010 Books

U Is For Undertow, Sue Grafton

I picked the Sue Grafton book because she's one of my favorite authors.  I like the series, I like Kinsey, the main character and I usually enjoy the storyline.  The good news is that it's a readable book ... the bad news is that it's a long running series and I think it's getting a little stale.  I thought the plot line was intersting but there were no surprises.  My suggestion to Ms Grafton is that she needs to bump up the next one. 

My vote:  BORROW IT

What the Dog Saw, Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm is one of my favorite non-fiction authors.  I love the topics he picks, I love the way he writes and I love the way he thinks.  I feel like I've sent my brain to the spa when I read his work.  I recommend two of his three other books:  Tipping Point and Outliers.

My vote:  BUY IT

A Word About the Book Discussions

Ann's problem with procrastination and writer's block

My big problem this month was coming up with a format for our discussions ... I kept thinking it had to be a "big deal" and that it should mirror the kind of discussion we'd have if we were all in the same room.

It took me a long time to figure out that I was wrong on both ideas.  I needed to remember what the original plan had been: I wanted to find new authors and new books. I wanted to read cool stuff in my favorite category - mysteries - and new/interesting stuff in new/interesting catagories.  And I needed to move my brain to the virtual world for a virtual book club ... blogs are short!

So here's my plan for our book discussions:

The chairman will offer a few comments on why she picked the book(s), what she liked about it and maybe a suggestion for something else from the same author.  This will be done as a 'posting' ... the discussion from everyone else will be done as comments.

One more idea ... how about voting on the books?
BUY IT
BORROW IT
SKIP IT