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

the two chosen books are not to your liking, you can read another book that has a digit (0-9) or combination of digits in the title.

In order to receive a badge you must:
1. have completed the book before or during September 2018.
2. discussed it in this thread. Discussion must be more than "I read the book and I liked it". Discussion requires something more substantial and analytical of what you read, for example, thoughts, opinions, impact it had on you, what was your favourite part, was it what you expected it to be like etc. You may also like to review the book and post a link to the review in this thread. Please refer to our group spoiler policy for further information.
3. Report that you have read AND discussed the book in the reporting thread (include a brief summary of what you thought of the book).

General Rules:
1. Please mark your spoilers with the spoiler tags along with mentioning what stage of the book you are at so other's don't get a nasty shock. Chapter numbers/titles are generally best as they are the same across all formats and editions. See our spoiler policy
2. The book may be combined with the Year Long Challenge, Topplers, and Monthly Challenges.

Happy reading!

I was lured in by 44 Scotland Street, and am @ 70% finished. (view spoiler)[ I am definitely finding some characters more appealing than others, but they are all being developed very nicely. This is my first adventure into serial novels, and while it is very easy to finish entire chapters between inevitable interruptions, I am finding it a very strange pacing. It's kind of like A Game of Thrones where each chapter follows a specific character or grouping of characters, just much shorter . . .
Although every chapter has something happening, for the most part it is nothing major just ordinary people dealing with everyday events, well except for Bruce who is the center of his own storm. (hide spoiler)]

Sarah - can I use Ajax Penumbra 1969 as my alternate read? I cannot remember if we are limited to a 175 page count for Group Reads.

Is anyone thinking about reading Fahrenheit 451? It's one of those books I feel like I should have read a long time ago but have never gotten around to. I finished 4:50 from Paddington yesterday; so I have some time to read it, if it's any good. Any thoughts on whether I should pick it up or skip it?

Cherie wrote: "Sarah - can I use Ajax Penumbra 1969 as my alternate read? I cannot remember if we are limited to a 175 page count for Group Reads."

That's fine. No page limit for group reads. As long as you discuss it in this thread.

Tricia wrote: "Is anyone thinking about reading Fahrenheit 451? It's one of those books I feel like I should have read a long time ago but have never gotten around to. I finished [book:4:50 from Paddi..."

I read it a while back (listened to actually). I remember liking it. It is a classic! I've just downloaded the tv adaptation of it.

Tricia - I read Farhenheit 451 too long ago to discuss, really. I remember the shock I had at the book burning parties and that is about all. It is definitely a classic that people should read, IMO.

Sarah wrote: "Cherie wrote: "Sarah - can I use Ajax Penumbra 1969 as my alternate read? I cannot remember if we are limited to a 175 page count for Group Reads."

That's fine. No page limit for g..."


Thanks, Sarah. I could not remember if there was a page length minimum or not.

Curious to see what you think of Ajax Penumbra 1969, Cherie. I enjoyed Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore.

So, on to my discussion. I finished Ajax Penumbra 1969 last night. This book is a novella, prequel, written after the original book, Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, which I listened to as an audiobook, three years ago.

The prequel is an introduction to Ajax Penumbra as a young man, and whom we knew in the original story as an old man. There is a brief background account of his parents, and where they came from and what they did and how Ajax got his name. Then, we get his account of college, his room mate, and later, his first job.

It was a fun look at who the original character was and how he came to the 24 hour book store in San Francisco, California, as well as the background for the actual 24-Hour Book Store. It took me about half way through the book for my fuzzy brain to actually remember the details of the book store members and what they did. The original story details all came back then.

I think the author must have gotten lots of requests for the background story for the character, but this prequel may not make much sense, unless the reader reads the original book first.
The most interesting fact, I found was a reference to a book containing 100,000 random numbers. I am still trying to figure out if it is real or not. For computer buffs or programmers, the references to tape reels and punch cards will bring a smile to your face. Remember - it is 1969.

Jenn wrote: "I was lured in by 44 Scotland Street, and am @ 70% finished..."

I read the book in June of 2014 and was so intrigued by the stories and the people in the apartment house that I went out and bought the next 4 books in the series. (view spoiler)[ and they are still sitting on my book shelf, waiting to be read. (hide spoiler)]

Re your spoiler (view spoiler)[I found the people interesting too, and realized that there was nothing really special about any of them also. It was just the whole idea of a snapshot at who lived where, and something about each one, as the story progressed. Yes, it was like GoT, where it follows someone and then moves to another character. It was just really different, easy to read in small chunks, and kind of endearing. (hide spoiler)]

Sounds good, Cherie. I also read Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore a couple of years ago, so I was wondering how much I'd remember. The background might be fun to read, especially if it jogs my memory.

My husband wants me to read 44 Scotland Street. He said it was excellent.

Cherie wrote: "I read the book in June of 2014 and was so intrigued by the stories and the people in the apartment house ..."
Lol my TBR is much the same :)

And, yes (view spoiler)[ there was some minor intrigue, but on the whole it was just a fun romp and a glimpse into the lives of some fairly ordinary people, who for better or worse get a taste of what is coming to them. The end actually felt a bit like a season finally, that leaves you waiting for the next season to find out what happens to everyone next. . . (hide spoiler)] All in all a very enjoyable read, and yes, I will probably be adding the next book to my TBR :)

Jenn wrote: "Cherie wrote: "I read the book in June of 2014 and was so intrigued by the stories and the people in the apartment house ..."
Lol my TBR is much the same :)

And, yes [spoilers removed] All in all ..."

Yes, that is how I felt. I wanted to find out about what happens to them next. I still want to read the next books in the series.

Cherie wrote: "Jenn wrote: "Cherie wrote: "I read the book in June of 2014 and was so intrigued by the stories and the people in the apartment house ..."
Lol my TBR is much the same :)

And, yes [spoilers removed..."

It looks like my library has all of them (yes, all twelve), in either hard copy or ebook. So, now I just have to get them - and the time to read them - at the same time lol

When I bought the next books in the 44 Scotland series, there were only seven of them written. I only bought 2-6 because they were out of stock of the newest one. Crazy where a $1.50 library sale copy can take you.

Kristie wrote: "Curious to see what you think of Ajax Penumbra 1969, Cherie. I enjoyed Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore."

Hey, Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore would work for this challenge too. I want to read it. Darn! Too many books and too little time. I got Fahrenheit 451 from the library so I guess I'll stick with that, but if I read a lot this weekend, then maybe...

Cherie wrote: "Crazy where a $1.50 library sale can take you..."
Deadly lol :)

I'm about halfway through Fahrenheit 451 and still trying to decide what I think of it. I feel like it's a little disjointed. There's this society that's very different from ours and while there are glimpses into exactly what it's like, I want a more complete picture. It's a pretty short book so not a lot of time for world-building I guess. Also, it makes me a bit uncomfortable because I can see some aspects of our current world that could lead to things going on in the book world, and that's not a good thing. It reminds me a little bit of Nineteen Eighty-Four in that respect.

I feel like the thing everyone knows about this book is that the main character is a (view spoiler)[fireman who has the job of burning books (hide spoiler)], but the society has so much more wrong with it than that. I'm wondering why that's the image that most people take away.