This Months Book
The Cell
by Stephen King
please read along with me and send me your thoughts on thisbook. auntybernice17@optonline.net
I have to confess CELL was my first Stephen King book. I never watch violent or gory movies or read books that are scary. That said I really liked this story. It held my attention and didn’t upset or frighten me at all.
The novel starts with Clay Riddell, an artist from Maine, joyously walking up Boylston Street in Boston. HIe has just landed a comic book deal that will change his life. All of a sudden a lot of people on the street start going berserk. They are assaulting each other and acting crazy. Clay and a few desperate survivors who join him suddenly find themselves surrounded by chaos and carnage. What caused all this to happen? We immediately realize its cell phones; anyone using their cell phone is immediately transformed into something other than human. It is a very interesting premise.
The characters drew me in and I enjoyed reading this book, right up until the end. I was disappointed with the ending. I don’t like to be left hanging, I like everything wrapped up in a neat bow, and the author didn’t do that. It left a lot to the reader’s imagination. But of course that’s just me. Oh well, maybe there will be a sequel. |
The first books I remember reading were the Nancy Drew Mystery Series. I’m pretty sure I read every one and although I cannot remember any of the details I do remember I wanted to be Nancy Drew. When I married and had children life became complicated in addition to demanding and my reading of books decreased until it was almost nil. My reading material consisted of newspapers, magazines and the occasional book.
When I moved into my present home, in a brand new community, there was a clubhouse with lots of activities including a book club. After the original organizer had to withdraw I was persuaded to take over. Since I wasn’t reading very much at that point and had no previous experience, I had a lot of apprehension, nevertheless I realized these were my neighbors and friends so I decided I would give it a try.
I spent many hours researching how to run a discussion group and what kinds of questions to ask. Our group has met once a month since June 2002 and have enjoyed reading and discussing over 40 books. So now I’m looking forward to using this website as another venue to hold discussions about books. I hope you’ll join me often to discuss our monthly selections, give me your opinions, thoughts, ideas and share my love of reading.
Email address, auntybernice17@optonline.net |
Last Months Book
ATONEMENT
Making of amends: the making of reparation for a sin or a mistake
ATONEMENT, by Ian McEwan, is about the enjoyment, pains, and risks of writing, and perhaps even more, about the challenge of controlling what readers make of your writing. The story is divided into three parts.
The first section of this novel takes place on a sweltering hot day that changes the lives of almost everyone present. We are introduced to overly imaginative 13-year-old Briony, who accuses Robbie, her sister's childhood friend and their housemaid's son, of raping her cousin.
The second part of the book takes place five years later and focuses on Robbie. He is freed from jail and part of the British Army that was cornered and eventually evacuated by a fleet of small boats at Dunkirk during the early days of WWII. This is a wonderfully written interpretation that shows the pain of what Britain in later years came to see as a kind of victory.
The third part is about how Briony seeks atonement first through a career in nursing and then through writing. Having mistakenly cast her sister Cecilia, and Robbie in a story that totally misrepresented them, she seeks to retell their story with the compassion and understanding that she lacked as a thirteen-year-old girl.
I found it took a few chapters to really capture my attention. Although ATONEMENT was not one of my favorites it is well written, although there was too much description for my taste. I thought that because Ian McEwan is English, the cultural differences probably accounted for some of my feelings.
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