You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

Random Places to Visit

United Kingdom (Britain, North Ireland & Scotland):

a. Tower of London
- Read a book set in England - The Casual Vacancy
- Read a book involving the Tower of London - The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise
- Take Home Item – Crown: Read a book with a crown on the cover or the word in the title. - Red Queen

b. Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast
- Read a book set in North Ireland or Ireland - Brooklyn
- Read a book with a giant in it.
- Take Home Item – Emerald: Read a book with a predominant green cover (70%)

Japan:

b. Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Sites
- Read a book set in Japan
- Read a book with a character that is a seamstress or tailor, or has a clothing sweat shop
- Take Home Item – Silkworm Egg: Read a book with the word “silk” in the title/sub-title,

Thailand:

a. Ban Chiang Archaeological Site
- Read a book set in Thailand
- Read a book in which a King is a significant character
- Take Home Item – Pottery Shard: Read a book with a bowl or cup on the cover.

The first stop on my haphazard, literary tour of the world is the UK. I landed today in the sleepy little town of Pagford, England, courtesy of J.K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy.

The Harry Potter books were the bread and butter of my childhood; I grew up with the Golden Trio and as such Rowling's voice is as familiar and comforting as a distant relative's.

It's amazing how similar small towns are, regardless of where they're located. Pagford may as well be my own hometown in Tennessee, despite the vast expanse of ocean and the cultural differences that divide us. It seems that country folk are country folk wherever their slice of rural paradise lies, and some things are universal. It's made acquainting myself with the characters of Pagford a simple exercise; I'd be lying if I didn't confess to picturing many of the book's principal actors as people I know.

Both of those pieces of familiarity make reading The Casual Vacancy feel like an afternoon spent at an aunt's house, listening quietly to the latest gossip about town. Because it's Rowling, I find myself biting my lip, waiting for her to realize that one of the kids has snuck into the room while the grown-ups thought themselves alone. While there is nothing extraordinary so far (100 pages in) about the sordid details of these character's lives, the breathless, gossipy manner in which the story is told sounds like the knowing whispers of good, God-fearing women with nothing better to do.

In short, it's a very comfortable read.

I finished up my time in Pagford last night, but I suspect the people I "met" there will stay with me for some time.

The first 200 or so pages of The Casual Vacancy were a slow build, and I only pushed through at the pace I did in order to meet personal challenge deadlines. But things really picked up after that, and I found myself devouring the last 300 pages with a growing sense of dread in my stomach.

Rowling has woven a masterful morality tale without a hint of preachiness, and I think I'll be turning the novel's climax over in my head for years to come. I haven't been this affected by a story since watching The Dead Poet's Society for the first time...there are striking similarities in the feel of that movie and this book.

My time in Pagford was well spent, but I'm glad to be moving on. I think it's time for something lighter!

Brittany wrote: "I finished up my time in Pagford last night, but I suspect the people I "met" there will stay with me for some time.

The first 200 or so pages of The Casual Vacancy were a slow build, and I only ..."

I have The Casual Vacancy on my bookshelf collecting dust. I'll get to it one of these days.

Have you decided which book you'll read for the Tower of London?

Janice wrote: "I have The Casual Vacancy on my bookshelf collecting dust. I'll get to it one of these days.

Have you decided which book you'll read for the Tower of London? "

I definitely recommend it when you have the chance!

I was sort of stumped about the Tower, but I saw someone else mention The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise and, by some mad stroke of luck, my library has the ebook available. That will be my next stop as soon as I finish reading Oryx and Crake.

That sounds like a fun read. I'll be interested in your take on it.

I've allotted five days for each book I plan to read this year, but I can't seem to put down The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise.

The last three days in the tower have been both funny and poignant. The author has masterfully balanced the humor of the zoo situation with the deeper sorrows of her character's lives. There are not many books which can explore (view spoiler)[the death of a child without causing me to put the book down and never touch it again. My husband and I lost our firstborn when he was eight days old, and so the subject is obviously a tender one for me.

My husband and I chose to pull closer together through the grieving process, but it was a deliberate choice and I can thoroughly understand why the main characters have drifted apart.

Other touches, like Balthazar's boss telling him he understands because he lost his dog, also struck home. Sadly, I heard something similar more than once. (hide spoiler)]

I'll be finishing my time in the tower today, and I've got my fingers crossed for a happy ending. I've grown to love many of these characters, and hope their erstwhile romances come to satisfying conclusions.

Brittany, I feel for you. How heartbreaking!

I did end up finishing The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise that day. I wasn't the least bit disappointed; the ending was every bit as satisfying as I hoped. I gave it five stars.

Glad to hear about the tower book. I have it on my list to read, if I can get it from my library.

I have The Daughter of Time for my tower read. I really wanted to read something about the princes in the tower. But this book looks so interesting that I'm tempted to switch.

After an insufferably long wait for my turn (and a few of those terrible curveballs life likes to throw at us, sometimes) I finally picked up my souvenir from London and I'm ready to head out to my next stop.

I chose to read Red Queen, largely because of the striking cover art. Unfortunately, it seems several other people had the same idea. I was fourth in line for the ebook version through my library, and apparently very few people returned it before their loan expired. I only just got my hands on it yesterday and finished it in two short sittings.

I struggled giving Red Queen a fitting rating. What it does, it does well: the writing is solid, the characters are believable, and the heroine manages to toe the delicate line between "special" and "Mary-Sue." Near the end I found myself longing for a physical copy of the book just so I could chunk it across the room, and yet I couldn't put it down. To me, a book that can keep me hooked while eliciting such strong emotions is a winner.

In fact, if Red Queen had been published 10 years ago, I would have given it 5 stars. Where the story falls flat lies in the glut of similar tales across the genre. The dozens of YA dystopian novels with female protagonists which came before Red Queen have covered every conceivable plot device within this story mold and left very little room for originality. Red Queen, for all that it was masterfully crafted, failed to find its own feet.

I gave the book 3 stars, but will probably pick up the next book in the series for mindless summer reading later on.

Great job - One site down! I am almost there....

I have been struggling to find motivation to read (blasphemy, I know!) so for my first stop in Ireland, I picked up the ebook of a trashy romance (In the Service of the King) from my library's website.

Unfortunately, I didn't discover that the book was MUCH too short to qualify for this challenge until after an hour in when the story was suddenly over!

Ah, well...it was a nice (but TERRIBLE) little diversion today, and I needed that. Now to find an actual novel for the challenge!!

Real life and trashy novels sometimes have to take control of our "planned" reading at times, Brittany. You gave me a laugh anyway!

Well, my journey to Ireland was a long, bumpy, unsatisfying thing. Which is rather ironic, since it's the country I most want to visit!

I got it into my head that I wanted to read through my list in order, rather than jumping around, but hit an unexpected stumbling block when it came to "a book set in North Ireland or Ireland." I browsed through lists of books that qualified and had the false start I mentioned last time, but came up with very little. Those I wanted to read were not available through my library and those that were had extremely long waiting lists.

I finally settled on Brooklyn, but there were 8 people ahead of me waiting for a copy. By the time it rolled around real life got in the way, and I missed the opportunity; I had to go back on the waiting list.

4 people later, I got my hands on it again. Unfortunately, I didn't find it worth the wait :(.

The problems of the main character, Eilis, can all be boiled down to "has no spine." She soldiers through hard days by suppressing her emotions, and simply goes along with whatever is put directly before her. The end result is a flat character - a cardboard cutout of a woman with whom other people interact and onto whom they project their own wishes. I could not tell you what Eilis looked like, or what she herself truly enjoyed. Every activity she participates in was either arranged by someone else or a logical step in seeing out someone else's plans.

What finally drove the nail in the coffin, however, was the return trip to Ireland. (view spoiler)[I have no patience whatsoever for cheaters. In my mind, there is no excuse for infidelity, no matter the circumstances, and any compassion I might have felt for Eilis melted as soon as she crossed that boundary. (hide spoiler)]

Ah, well...at least now I can finally get on to the next stop!

It does indeed sound like a bumpy ride. Where is the next stop?

Right now I'm leaning toward The Golem and the Jinni; I saw it on someone else's list, and it's available to download through my library.

I found a couple of others that looked good, namely The Girl Giant and The Thunder of Giants, but my library doesn't have either. They've been added to my wishlist regardless, and I'm glad to have found. I turn 30 at the end of this year, and I think I've decided that all I want is Amazon gift cards with which to buy used copies of my "to-read" list books, lol!

Brittany wrote: "Right now I'm leaning toward The Golem and the Jinni; I saw it on someone else's list, and it's available to download through my library..."
I have read it (for the Great Wall) and liked it very much...