Comments on: the posh deluxe reading club: meeting #3

By: erin

erin — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:06:49 +0000

I’m totes a fan of reading, but I have to say, my attention’s been diverted to Chuck Bass and his geometry lessons. OMG CHUCK BASS THREE MORE DAYS, BB!!

By: olivia

olivia — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:40:09 +0000

Hey, I have that book, and have read some stories in it, and liked them, and then stopped reading it… I’m not reading anything very good; basically the whole time I was in Israel/West Bank I read the New Yorker, as it was easy to carry around and pull out on the bus.

I am now reading What Was Lost, which is a pretty good debut novel from a young writer from Birmingham (UK). I picked it for my book club, and I think it’s okay but not awesome. But it gets such good reviews from Guardian and Independent and stuff, I assume it will get better; we’ll see. It’s kinda young adultish, so I’d be curious to hear what you thought, if you got around to it…

By: talena

talena — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 03:24:44 +0000

Well considering I’m currently reading yet another cheesy romance, I don’t think I’m contributing much to the book club. But if you’re feeling like a bit of romance, I’d recommend Nora Roberts’ latest Tribute. I was thoroughly entertained.

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:08:01 +0000

I’ll have to add it to my list. I’ve been reading things that haven’t been particularly intriguing but are at least interesting and important. Wait, I take that back, I have started something that was intriguing. I picked up Tom Wolfe’s ‘I am Charlotte Simmons’ for $1 at Barnes and Noble the other day so I’m now 200 pages into that sixty-gajillion page oeuvre.

I’ve also been working my way through

Making the big move : how to transform relocation into a creative life transition (like I said, important but not particularly intriguing)

Save the cat! goes to the movies : the screenwriter’s guide to every story ever told (I’ll admit, this one has been more entertaining than I thought it would be)

and

One person/multiple careers : a new model for work/life success (which has been interesting because it’s started to give me insight on how I might want to try and set up how my various work lives function in the future.)

I think I’ll stick you book in my queue at the library and tackle it next.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:30:48 +0000

so, apparently, everyone else hates reading right now. would it help if i brought donuts to the next meeting?

By: Erin

Erin — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:22:32 +0000

What a great recommendation! Another book I still can’t get through without stopping every few pages to cry profusely is Joan Didion’s “Year of Magical Thinking.” (It’s about the year following her husband’s death and her life without him.) Can I get a boo to the hoo?

By: Meredith

Meredith — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:10:57 +0000

There are actually lots of food descriptions, because one of the main characters is a caterer! But, you know, it’s British food, so it all sounds vaguely revolting.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:14:19 +0000

meredith, i am SO reading that. you basically checked off everything on my “best book ever” checklist except for maybe “dazzling food descriptions.”

ellen, hi!

By: Ellen

Ellen — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:55:52 +0000

I liked this book a lot. I meant to send you my copy after I finished it a while ago, but it got lost on the list of to-dos. It was one of those that I thought while reading… I bet Sarah would really enjoy this.

By: Meredith

Meredith — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:48:52 +0000

Oh that book sounds wonderful! I’m a huge fan of the short story. I’m sold!

I’ve been looking forward to the next installment of the Posh Deluxe Reading Club for over a month, because I have a great recommendation! Barbara Vine’s The Minotaur. I’ll start by saying this book has something for everyone–it’s an intriguing mystery, razor-sharp character study and great cultural commentary no matter what your usual reading preferences are. However, for my girls–and some boys (as Sarah’s Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 experience taught us never to make generalizations based on gender)–out there who are fans of Victorian literature, particularly of the gothic genre, this book is TOPS.

The Minotaur’s got all the juicy elements of your classic gothic novel: large, spooky estate, a governess/nanny/nurse character that the audience can’t help rooting for, mysterious family secrets, a forbidden wing. But it’s a sardonic send-up set in 1960s England with a liberal Swedish nurse narrating the twisty events. If you’re a fan of the Brontes, Jane Austen, Edgar Allen Poe or le Fanu, The Minotaur is for you.