So much to say! I've been putting off this post until AFTER we had book club so I could tell you about it.
Being in a book club was seriously on my bucket list. I crave talking to people about books. It is one of my one true passions in life. Obviously you guys share the same passions as well or else you wouldn't be reading this. I love blogging, and having this online community who understands my love for books and participates in that, so to sit with a group of people face-to-face and do it is really a dream come true for me.
We read Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants. I didn't particularly LOVE the book ( 3/5 id say) so I was a bit nervous about our discussion. I had a hard time believing in the love between Marlena and Jacob and found the characters to be lacking. To be honest, after reading The Night Circus, no circus will ever be able to compare. And, if you're looking for an Elephant fix, the movieOng Bak 2tops my list. So really, after reading Water for Elephants, I found it only sub-par.
The women at the book club however seemed to just LOVE it. I didn't want to be the Negative Nancy of the club, especially on my first meeting.
Once we got to talking about the book I was SO into it. We didn't just say who liked it/didn't, we actually talked about certain aspects of the characters, and themes of the books. Hearing the ladies thoughts and perspectives was fascinating to me. It didn't end up being a question of whether the book was good or not, but more of the whole picture.
This didn't really change my initial opinion of the book itself. It's still not really my style of a read, but it definitely helped me to appreciate the book more, and also to gain a bit more perspective. I was so satisfied just to be able to discuss a book, good or not!
And with that, I'll leave you with the Goodreads synopsis for Sara Gruen's Water For Elephants.
Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell.
Jacob was there because his luck had run out - orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive 'ship of fools'. It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an act - in fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival
Paperback, 335 pages
Published April 9th 2006 by Algonquin Books
Being in a book club was seriously on my bucket list. I crave talking to people about books. It is one of my one true passions in life. Obviously you guys share the same passions as well or else you wouldn't be reading this. I love blogging, and having this online community who understands my love for books and participates in that, so to sit with a group of people face-to-face and do it is really a dream come true for me.
We read Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants. I didn't particularly LOVE the book ( 3/5 id say) so I was a bit nervous about our discussion. I had a hard time believing in the love between Marlena and Jacob and found the characters to be lacking. To be honest, after reading The Night Circus, no circus will ever be able to compare. And, if you're looking for an Elephant fix, the movieOng Bak 2tops my list. So really, after reading Water for Elephants, I found it only sub-par.
The women at the book club however seemed to just LOVE it. I didn't want to be the Negative Nancy of the club, especially on my first meeting.
Once we got to talking about the book I was SO into it. We didn't just say who liked it/didn't, we actually talked about certain aspects of the characters, and themes of the books. Hearing the ladies thoughts and perspectives was fascinating to me. It didn't end up being a question of whether the book was good or not, but more of the whole picture.
This didn't really change my initial opinion of the book itself. It's still not really my style of a read, but it definitely helped me to appreciate the book more, and also to gain a bit more perspective. I was so satisfied just to be able to discuss a book, good or not!
And with that, I'll leave you with the Goodreads synopsis for Sara Gruen's Water For Elephants.
Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell.
Jacob was there because his luck had run out - orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive 'ship of fools'. It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an act - in fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival
Paperback, 335 pages
Published April 9th 2006 by Algonquin Books
Lan | January 30, 2012 at 12:54 AM
I am so jealous right now. I love the idea of being in a face to face book club, but I don't think I'm assertive enough to be able to say what I really think/want to say without being self conscious about it. I've been curious about Water for Elephants but I don't think it would be my kinda book.
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