Book Club Discussion: Why I Love Singlehood

Provisions and Paperbacks, my IRL book club, recently read Why I Love Singlehood by Elisa Lorello and Sarah Girrell. As I said in my previous post (you can read it here), I want to share some thoughts and ideas brought up during the book club and bring my blog readers into the discussion.

Not yet, but there will be spoilers. You have been warned.

Why I Love Singlehood 
by Elisa Lorello and Sarah Girrell
Published November 29, 2010
Pages: 368

Eva Perino is single and proud of it. Owner of The Grounds, a coffee shop nestled in the heart of a college town, thirtysomething Eva cherishes her comfortable life filled with quirky friends, a fun job, and no significant other. In fact, she’s so content to be on her own that she started a blog about it: “Why I Love Singlehood.” Yet when she hears the news of her ex-boyfriend’s engagement, her confidence in her single status takes a surprisingly hard hit. So begins Eva’s clumsy (and occasionally uproarious) search for love as she secretly joins an online dating site, tries her hand at speed-dating, and breaks her own rule by getting involved with one of The Grounds’ regulars. Soon Eva is forced to figure out exactly who—or what—is the true love of her life. 

Sparkling with warmth and wit, Why I Love Singlehood is a charming and insightful must-read for anyone—single or otherwise—who has ever been stymied by love.

There will be spoilers. You have been warned.

Here are some thoughts shared during our book club discussion after reading Why I Love Singlehood:

Disclaimer: We read this back in May and I didn't take any notes, so these are from memory and we actually discussed more, but this is all that's coming to back to me.

• The person who selected this book wasn't able to make the book club meeting, so we weren't able to hear her thoughts on the book and why she selected it for us to read.
• The writing style and the voices of the characters were seamless, and it wasn't obvious that Why I Love Singlehood was co-authored. However, when it seemed like the story was about to wrap up, a new story line would be introduced and we were curious if this was because the authors what to make sure that all ideas were included. This probably was not the case, but we considered it.
• We wanted to hang out at The Grounds. It sounded like a fun place to be with all of the comings and goings of interesting people.
• Reading about Eva baking made us hungry.
• As soon as Eva started writing her blog, it felt like she was trying to convince herself that she loved singlehood.When she was with her friends, she embraced the single life, but when she sat down and wrote about it on her blog, she expressed something else. 
• It was interesting to read about Eva's dates and it made us thankful that none of us were single and dating.
• There were a lot of characters (many of them were customers at The Grounds) and it was hard to keep track of them all.
• Overall we liked the book, but thought it could have been shorter and it still would have been as entertaining.

       Goodreads * Amazon * IndieBound

If you have read this book, I'd like to invite you to join in on the discussion and share your thoughts on Why I Love Singlehood!! Just leave your thoughts in the comments! Thanks!!

Up next for Provisions and Paperbacks

 

Book Club Discussion: The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison

Provisions and Paperbacks, my IRL book club, recently read The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison. As I said in the initial post (you can read it here), I want to share some thoughts and ideas brought up during the book club and bring my blog readers into the discussion.

Not yet, but there will be spoilers. You have been warned.

The Butterfly Clues 
by Kate Ellison
Published February 14, 2012
Pages: 325

Penelope (Lo) Marin has always loved to collect beautiful things. Her dad's consulting job means she's grown up moving from one rundown city to the next, and she's learned to cope by collecting (sometimes even stealing) quirky trinkets and souvenirs in each new place--possessions that allow her to feel at least some semblance of home.

But in the year since her brother Oren's death, Lo's hoarding has blossomed into a full-blown, potentially dangerous obsession. She discovers a beautiful, antique butterfly pendant during a routine scour at a weekend flea market, and recognizes it as having been stolen from the home of a recently murdered girl known only as "Sapphire"--a girl just a few years older than Lo. As usual when Lo begins to obsess over something, she can't get the murder out of her mind.

As she attempts to piece together the mysterious "butterfly clues," with the unlikely help of a street artist named Flynt, Lo quickly finds herself caught up in a seedy, violent underworld much closer to home than she ever imagined--a world, she'll ultimately discover, that could hold the key to her brother's tragic death.

There will be spoilers. You have been warned.

Here are some thoughts shared during our book club discussion after reading The Butterfly Clues:

• So many of the characters weren't known by their real names: Flynt, Sapphire, Bird, and even the main character Lo. Why didn't they use their real names? Did this allow them to create a "street" persona or did it free them from their past? Naming themselves allowed them to be who they wanted to be, eliminated expectations.
• Lo's OCD stalled her, "But since Oren disappeared it has gotten worse" (page 15) At first it seemed like a quirk, but as we continued to read, it was apparent that it was debilitating. 
• The OCD affected us as readers. Some of us even arrived to book club saying, "tap, tap, tap, banana" - this was something that Lo did frequently before she could do anything else. Reading her OCD habits was exhausting, halted the flow of the story, but there was a point to this. It stressed what it was like to live with this behavior. As readers we couldn't continue reading progressively until Lo did her rituals.
• It was easy to be suspicious of Flynt. Did he know Oren? Had their paths crossed? Why did Flynt lie so frequently? Was he the killer? He was connected in too many ways to not be involved somehow. We didn't want to be suspicious of him because he had a certain kind of charm.
• Lo's OCD puts her in dangerous situations. Her need to know more, to make sense of everything, made her blind to these dangers. The obsession drove her. It's not clear if she realized the danger that she was putting herself in. 
• Flynt understood these dangers and even though he was sketchy, it said a lot about him that he took risks and was willing to help her. He understood to "rules" of the streets and knew that he was putting himself in danger as they tried to find out what happened to Sapphire (and Lo).
• The character "The Prophet" did prove to be prophetic - even though he was blind he knew everything about everyone.
• It was a shock to see Lo's OCD through the eyes of her parents. Her "collecting" of objects didn't seem that bad (we only knew it from her perspective). It was only when her dad described her room that we could understand just how out of control it was. 
• The Butterfly Clues was an interesting read, a mystery that wasn't easily solved. There are many layers to it and offered a lot to be discussed. It was a great book club pick.

        
Goodreads * Amazon * IndieBound

I'd like to invite anyone to join in on the discussion and share your thoughts on The Butterfly Clues!! Just leave your thoughts in the comments! 
Thanks!!

Up next for Provisions and Paperbacks

Book Club Discussion: Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park

Provisions and Paperbacks, my IRL book club, recently read Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park. As I said in my previous post (you can read it here), I want to share some thoughts and ideas brought up during the book club and bring my blog readers into the discussion.

Not yet, but there will be spoilers. You have been warned.

Flat-Out Love 
by Jessica Park
Published April 11, 2011
Pages:389

Flat-Out Love is a warm and witty novel of family love and dysfunction, deep heartache and raw vulnerability, with a bit of mystery and one whopping, knock-you-to-your-knees romance.

Something is seriously off in the Watkins home. And Julie Seagle, college freshman, small-town Ohio transplant, and the newest resident of this Boston house, is determined to get to the bottom of it.

When Julie's off-campus housing falls through, her mother's old college roommate, Erin Watkins, invites her to move in. The parents, Erin and Roger, are welcoming, but emotionally distant and academically driven to eccentric extremes. The middle child, Matt, is an MIT tech geek with a sweet side ... and the social skills of a spool of USB cable. The youngest, Celeste, is a frighteningly bright but freakishly fastidious 13-year-old who hauls around a life-sized cardboard cutout of her oldest brother almost everywhere she goes.

And there's that oldest brother, Finn: funny, gorgeous, smart, sensitive, almost emotionally available. Geographically? Definitely unavailable. That's because Finn is traveling the world and surfacing only for random Facebook chats, e-mails, and status updates. Before long, through late-night exchanges of disembodied text, he begins to stir something tender and silly and maybe even a little bit sexy in Julie's suddenly lonesome soul.

To Julie, the emotionally scrambled members of the Watkins family add up to something that ... well ... doesn't quite add up. Not until she forces a buried secret to the surface, eliciting a dramatic confrontation that threatens to tear the fragile Watkins family apart, does she get her answer.

Flat-Out Love comes complete with emails, Facebook status updates, and instant messages.

There will be spoilers. You have been warned.

Here are some thoughts shared during our book club discussion after reading Flat-Out Love:

Flat-Out Love was another book that everyone in the book club raved about. Even before we met, I received these messages:

"I have finished the book for our next meeting and whoever picked it two thumbs up it was great.""I finished the book last night and can’t wait to talk about it Tuesday. I’ve been telling my boss lady . . . about our book club and gave her the names of some of the books we’ve read and the book we’re reading for our Tuesday meeting. She finished it in two days or something like that."

•  Flat-Out love was nominated for our book club by our newest book club member. She wasn't familiar with the author but the book popped up time and time again as an "Amazon recommends"
• At first it wasn't obvious what the deal was with Finn and they thought that the little sister just missed him and the Flat-Finn was just a place-holder until he returned. Other readers picked up on it pretty early on, but gave in to the idea so they could be swept up in the story. 
• Some readers questioned if there was an incident between Finn and Celeste that kept him from coming home.
• The banter between Julie and Matt was witty and clever, easy and immediate, and made the book incredibly enjoyable to read. Both Julie and Matt kept each other on their toes.
• The Facebook status updates added to the story and I was always trying to figure out if true identities or motives would be revealed through the updates. Were there any obvious clues?
• The character Seth wasn't convincing as a real possible love interest for Julie, but he is in one of my favorite scenes - when he goes back and forth with Celeste answering all of her questions about his intentions of getting to know Julie. 
• We all loved Celeste and her quirks and mannerisms. She did seem wise beyond her years but she had dealt with a lot in her family which is what made her seem older in someways (even though she dressed very young for her age). And Julie probably identified with her so easily because Julie saw so much in herself in Celeste - her intelligence, her awkwardness, and this was why they were connected almost instantly.
• We didn't talk about Matt's mother too much, but we did recognize that her depression played a major role in how the family interacted and how many of the decisions were made based on what she wanted.
• Another favorite scene - after Julie is stood up by her dad, drunk dials Matt and asks, "Are you a skilled lover?" This is quite possible one of the best moments of the book.
• When Julie sets up Matt with her friend Dana, you're not quite sure what really happened between the two of them because Dana just laughs it off. No spoilers here, but you must read Flat-Out Matt to find out what really happened. 
• We don't plan to read Flat-Out Matt for book club, but we all plan to read it. (I've already read it and love the extra before and after chapters. And I was glad that it wasn't the complete story as Flat-Out Love just from Matt's POV.)
• I personally liked reading about places I have visited when I traveled to Boston. It was pretty cool to know some of the locations described in the books and yes there are a ton of Dunkin' Donuts in the area. Reading about them made me want to go out and get a Coolatta, but unlike Boston, and more like where Julie is from, there isn't one on every other corner.
• The Book Cover - It's cool how hints of the story are incorporated in the letters of Flat-Out Love. Some of us picked up on it, but others didn't at all. And what was so obvious, the hinges connected the letters together (and the hinges are important to the story) - I didn't even notice those at all!  
• Flat-Out Love was a hit with the book club - it drummed up a lot of conversation (not all was captured here) and is one of those books that you want to share with your friends. There is a lot of humor, but it's not all good times. It exposes the struggles a family goes through after a huge tragedy.

       Goodreads * Amazon * IndieBound

I'd like to invite anyone to join in on the discussion and share your thoughts on Flat-Out Love!! Just leave your thoughts in the comments! 
Thanks!!

Up next for Provisions and Paperbacks

 

Book Club Discussion: Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate

Provisions and Paperbacks, my IRL book club, recently read Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate. As I said in my previous post (you can read it here), I want to share some thoughts and ideas brought up during the book club and bring my blog readers into the discussion.

Not yet, but there will be spoilers. You have been warned.

Eve and Adam  
by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate
Published October 2, 2012
Pages:291

And girl created boy…

In the beginning, there was an apple—

And then there was a car crash, a horrible injury, and a hospital. But before Evening Spiker’s head clears a strange boy named Solo is rushing her to her mother’s research facility. There, under the best care available, Eve is left alone to heal.

Just when Eve thinks she will die—not from her injuries, but from boredom—her mother gives her a special project: Create the perfect boy.

Using an amazingly detailed simulation, Eve starts building a boy from the ground up. Eve is creating Adam. And he will be just perfect... won’t he?

There will be spoilers. You have been warned.

Here are some thoughts shared during our book club discussion after reading Eve and Adam:

• Eve and Adam didn't receive much love from the book clubbers. It wasn't a complete disappointment but it wasn't as thrilling as some anticipated. The book clubber who selected Eve and Adam was expecting something along the lines of Cinder - cyborgs, more science-fiction and more action.
• I was pleased that it wasn't as emotionally draining as The Adoration of Jenna Fox. Eve and Adam could have gone that way, but didn't. After reading it, I found that it was intended to be more of a romantic comedy. There were moments of comedy which I thought helped keep the story interesting.
• The names were significant. Evening, aka E.V., but only Solo called her "Eve". Solo was set in his plan to expose the research facility, but once he finally met Eve, he wasn't so sure. She wasn't his temptation, but she was his persuasion. (Is there a difference?) Adam - obvious, he was the first (but was he). And Solo - the only one. 
• There was a character who we all loved to hate - Maddox - he was a total loser and cheered for him to die (because we're mean and heartless like that) and he wasn't even the real villain of the story. He just kept making dumb decisions and put the life of E.V.'s friend, Aislinn, in danger.
• There is a huge disconnect between E.V. and her mother and you easily accept that she is as evil as Solo is convinced she is. She's cold and calculating and all business. You never doubt that she is the evil person (until you learn that she isn't).
• We wanted to know more about the history of the parents (E.V.'s and Solo's) - they were all in business together - scientists, but we wanted to know the specifics of conversations, arguments, and wished for an eye-witness account of what happened on the night of the terrible car crash. 
• The story starts out with Eve texting on her phone, not paying attention, and she walks out in front of a car and is hit. This is pretty tragic (I mean her leg was broken off) but not much else is said about the specifics of the accident after it happened.    
• Aislinn's quick turn-around of emotions from being very forward (with Solo) to turning into the shyest girl ever (with Adam) seemed too abrupt and out of character. What was it about Adam that made her bashful?
• Once the "Big Reveal" happened, I was so afraid the Solo was going to be a creation just like Adam was. I was relieved to learn that he wasn't, but you never were too sure once your find out what the research facility was all about.
• AND speaking of the big reveal - one of my biggest pet peeves is when the villain explains his intentions and all of the plans and talks about how he did everything and why. I want the characters to discover IT ALL. 
• Eve and Adam ends with many things left unresolved and could potentially be a sequel, but it probably isn't a story that we would continue reading for book club. Instead we created our own story lines of what happened next. 
• While it wasn't a much loved selection, it was fun to talk about.

       Goodreads * Amazon * IndieBound

I'd like to invite anyone to join in on the discussion and share your thoughts on Eve and Adam!! Just leave your thoughts in the comments! Thanks

Up next for Provisions and Paperbacks

Book Club Discussion: Close Enough to Touch by Victoria Dahl

Provisions and Paperbacks, my IRL book club, recently read Closed Enough to Touch by Victoria Dahl. As I said in my previous post (you can read it here), I want to share some thoughts and ideas brought up during the book club and bring my blog readers into the discussion.

Not yet, but there will be spoilers. You have been warned.

Close Enough to Touch by Victoria Dahl
Published August 28, 2012
Pages: 384


For makeup artist Grace Barrett, Hollywood isn't the land of golden opportunity. It's the land of difficult divas, cheating boyfriends and unemployment. So when her great-aunt offers her a free place to stay in Jackson Hole, Grace thinks she'll spend a little time in the sticks to figure out her life, and then move somewhere exciting to live out her dreams. But it turns out that there are a few more thrills in this small town than Grace was expecting….Cole Rawlins is a rugged Wyoming cowboy born and bred. Yet he can't help but be drawn to the fascinating big-city girl who moves in across from him. He wants to get close enough to Grace to see past her tough facade, but if he does, she might see the real Cole. The one with a Hollywood history gone bad. As they discover a sizzling attraction, it becomes harder for him to keep his demons at bay—and those fires from long ago may burn them both.

They'll need more than scorching-hot passion to make this opposites-attract affair work. But if they can learn to trust one another enough to reveal their secrets, they just might have a chance at forever. (from Goodreads)

There will be spoilers. You have been warned.

Here are some thoughts shared during our book club discussion after reading Close Enough to Touch:

• This selection was another break away from the mostly young adult that we normally read. We wanted to go lighter and read a "sexy" story.
• Of all our members, I am the only one who had read a book by Victoria Dahl before and I thought she would be a fun author to introduce to everyone. I didn't pick which book, but someone thought the whole cowboy thing was appealing so Close Enough to Touch was selected.
• Cole was a swoon-worthy character and many of us fell in love with him. One person wasn't convinced that he was "a real cowboy" but I came to his defense explainging that he didn't do many "cowboy-like" things because he had fractured his pelvis, broke his leg, and was out of commission. (This also explained why he hadn't been intimate in a year and a half - his appeal made this difficult to believe).  His ruggedness was extremely appealing.
• Grace's physical description reminded us of Rooney Mara's in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (with a little more meat on her bones)
• The story was humorous and entertaining - filled with characters that seemed genuine. 
• The secondary characters had their own stories and we wanted to know more about them (and we will because there will be companion novels). There was a moment between Eve and Cole where there appeared to be a slight glimpse of tension that led me to wonder if there was something between them in the past.
• Not too sure that it was so believable that both Grace and Cole spent periods of their life in L.A. and then other people that they know just happen to show up in Jackson Hole. This was too coincidental.   
• I was certain that at some point Grace would hear Cole through their shared apartment wall which would have left Cole with some explaining to do. 
• Loved that the apartments that Grace's Aunt Rayleen owned were nicknamed "The Stud Farm" because she only rented out to men.   
• The tension and lack of communication and all of the secrets was frustrating because their physical chemistry was electrifying. Why can't they just get over themselves, forgive each other for unintentional mistakes and be together already!! 

A favorite moment:

Cole has taken Grace up into the mountains showing her the land he hopes to own one day. After showing her his favorite spot, she says:

     "It's incredible." The word seemed wholly inadequate, but she couldn't think of something that captured the miracle of this view."
     They stood in silence for a long time, and Grace tried to absorb as much of it as she could. The beauty, yes. But the peace, as well. And the wonder. It had been a long time since she felt wonder. But standing before this expanse, she felt like a child, as if there were millions of things she couldn't know and never would. It was a relief from the feeling that she'd seen everything already and found that none of it way very good. (page 103)

I like this because it's not about sex or relationship but being in awe of something overwhelming - finding beauty, finding peace and seeing possibilities.

Close Enough to Touch created many new Victoria Dahl fans. Several members have already started some of her other books. And I just picked up a copy of Be Mine: Sizzle\Too Fast to Fall\Alone With You which includes a story about Grace's friend Jenny.

       Goodreads *Amazon* IndieBound

I'd like to invite anyone to join in on the discussion and share your thoughts on Close Enough to Touch!! Just leave your thoughts in the comments! Thanks

Up next for Provisions and Paperbacks

 

Provisions and Paperbacks Book Club: 2012 Recap

Provisions and Paperbacks, my book club, read a lot of great books this year. My friends and I started the book club in 2011 and I brought our discussions here in 2012.

Here are all of the books we read in this year. I've included some quick thoughts, links to reviews and our discussion posts. I've always thought there isn't anything lonelier than reading a book and not having anyone to share it with. Feel free to share your thoughts.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

This one brought me to tears. I stayed up late to finish it. Cried.
Went to sleep. Woke up and cried some more.
This was a book club favorite.

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
link to: Book Club Discussion

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
link to: Book Club Discussion

Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin 
link to: Mini Review
 

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

After finishing Delirium, we had to read the follow-up. Again, this one blew us away. Several of us were so enthusiastic about Lauren Oliver's books that we even took a road trip to one of her book signings at Quail Ridge Bookstore.

Meeting Lauren and listening to her talk about books and writing and her upcoming projects was fantastic.



Hallowed by Cynthia Hand
link to: Book Club Quick Thoughts

The Queen of Kentucky by Alecia Whitaker 

Reading about the ups and downs of these young characters in high school was a lot of fun. In addition to discussing the book, we spent a lot of our time sharing our own high school "horror" stories.

One Week In December by Holly Chamberlin 

A vast difference from all of the young adult books that we usually read. For many of us, it was the first time to read a book my Holly Chamberlin, but we agree that she is an author whose books we will continue to read.

The Selection by Kiera Cass
link to: Book Club Discussion

Hourglass by Myra McEntire 
and

Timepiece by Myra McEntire
We would like to thank Myra McEntire for:

1. staying away from the Love Triangle
2. writing Timepiece from Kaleb's perspective
3. giving us Lily - yes, she was pretty awesome in Hourglass, 

but she is pretty kickass in Timepiece

The Unnaturalists by Tiffany Trent

A great introduction to steampunk. Excited to read the follow-up The Tinker King.

Dark Lover by J.R. Ward
link to: Book Club Discussion

Ten by Gretchen McNeil
link to: Book Club Discussion

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire 
link to: Book Club Discussion 

What We Are Reading in 2013:

 First Up:



Authors New to Provisions and Paperbacks:
(but some of my favorites)

 And

Finishing the Series:

Infinityglass by Myra McEntire
(cover not available)

I'm interested to know if any of my readers have a book club of their own. What books did you read in 2012? Do you have any suggestions for us in 2013?