December
Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B. Ross
This was one I thought was a lot of fun. I even laughed out loud in a couple of places. However, the reaction of a couple of the other women in the group was one of anger and frustration at the small town mentality and dynamics depicted throughout the book. I too felt that frustration, but it was good to see Miss Julia blossom into her own.
November
Eleanor of Aquitaine by Alison Weir
We were all agreed that this one was disappointing. We had all hoped for a biography of Eleanor, but what we got was a history of the Angevin empire during her lifetime. This is not to say that the book wasn't interesting, and full of fascinating detail (I definitely learned a lot)-- but it wasn't about her, rather it was about the men in her lives with a vague extrapolation of what her life might have been through them.
October
Dr. Tatitana's Sex Advice to All Creation by Olivia Judson
I wasn't able to make it to this group (it was 2nd wedding anniversary!), but that was probably ok since I also wasn't able to make it through this book. I had heard so many good things about it, but trying to read the never-ending Agony Aunt prose was an agony. I could only read a little bit before I had to put it down. However, the short "letters" would make excellent bathroom reading.
September
Ultimate Punishment by Scott Turow
I wasn't sure what to expect, but this turned out to be a very good, thought-provoking look at the death penalty. Turow did an excellent job of depicting his own struggles in coming to a personal conclusion on the death penaalty, and in doing so, it really felt like a fair and balanced view. It definitely made me take a look at my own values.
August
Sex Lives of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost
I had such hopes for this book, it got such solid reviews and was declared to be a great beach read and all that. Psffft. It did have it's moments, but the bok just fizzled out fast.
July
Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan
Everyone in the group seemed to agree on this one-- it was a great read. Sundaresan really transported me to 16th century India and wove a wonderful tale with a nice balance of historical detail, intrigue, and even a little romance. It makes me really want to pick up the sequel, A Feast of Roses.
June
Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon
A fascinating glimpse into the not-so-distant future. The book is written from various perspectives, including that of a man with autism. The questions it raises concerning society, acceptance, staying true to oneself made it a great book for discussion and it also seemed to bring out strong emotions (of anger, frustration, sadness) in each of us.
May
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
This book provided so much opportunity for discussion-- feminism, Middle Eastern history, culture, values, the power of literature, perspective, freedom, oppression, decision. It wasn't an "easy" read-- and some of the literary criticism bogs down, but it is so very worth reading (and it really gets better as you go along).
April
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
A fascinating glimpse at 1890s Chicago. Larson creates an intriguing dichotomy between the "White City" that was the World Columbian Exposition and the darkness of the city (society, industry, etc.) that surrounded it (represented by the psycho-killer plying his trade not but a mile away). Mostly, I loved the story of the World Exposition and the struggles in putting such an amazing event together.
March
Forever by Pete Hamill
I was rather suprised that the group chose this one (as it comes in at 600+ pages), but I thoroughly enjoyed it. What really got me was the way the story of New York was told. My biggest disappointment was that it didn't offer the same level of detail throughout... but then it would have been a 2000+ page book. Between this and the recent film, "The Gangs of New York," I really want to learn more about the city.
February
Emotionally Weird by Kate Atkinson
This one was kind of challenging to read. It was a strange story about a woman attending university. I had to use my dictionary a lot to get all of the Britishisms. Overall, I just didn't get it.
January
Kick Me by Paul Feig
Disappointing. When we picked it, we were thinking, "Something light!" But, it wasn't light so much as it was just kind of sad and pathetic. I didn't make it to this group (was on flight back from a funeral), but I got the impression no one was especially impressed.