In February 2015, we restarted the club after some members move away with the book True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa by Michael Finkel. Based on the true story of Christian Longo who was accused of murdering his entire family. In his getaway, he used Finkel's identity to create a new life in Mexico, until he was caught. Finkel was the only person Longo would speak with, and how could Finkel pass up the opportunity to redeem himself in his journalism career? This was a chilling read, with details of the murders, and Finkel never specifies if Christian Longo was guilty or not. Of course, being based off a true story, a quick Google search can tell you he was charged & sentenced to death. This book has since been made into a film with James Franco playing Christian Longo and Jonah Hill portraying Michael Finkel.
In March 2015, we read Room by Emma Donoghue. Told entirely from the perspective of a 5-year old boy, whose entire world is a room. Hard to get past the child-speak, but once you do, this book pulls you straight into this chilling world. The characters were very well developed and the story very engaging. Once I was hooked, I couldn't put the book down. I can't say too much without spoiling a lot of the big "gasp" moments, so I'll stop here and just say it was a very exciting read.
In April 2015, we read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. This was a very interesting novel with a lot of 80's video game references. Highly recommended for anyone into gaming culture. Think Sword Art Online in novel form. Wade Watts is a high school student who only ever feels alive when he's hooked into the virtual world of OASIS. The creator of OASIS, James Halliday, created a secret hidden easter egg hunt inside his virtual world. The first to find all the clues, solve all the puzzles and reach the end wins, and wins big (think Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory). Wade is the first person ever to find the first clue and they're off! Soon, other "egg hunters" are finding clues and the competitions really heats up. There are good guys and bad guys, and exciting adventures to be had! Great read!
In May 2015, we read Wild by Cheryl Strayed. Sticking with the theme of memoirs, we chose to read Cheryl Strayed's tale of her hike up the Pacific Crest Trail. Her decision to hike the PCT was a spur of the moment one. Made while she flipped through a PCT guidebook while waiting in line. She spent the next couple months preparing for her trip, she worked as a waitress to make money for supplies for her trip, she planned out her route, had a friend agree to send resupply packages every few weeks to the various campgrounds she'd stop at along the way, then, once all the planning was done, she packed her bag, put on her boots and took off. Day 1 on the trail was quite the eye opener for her, realizing she was wholly under prepared for such a trek. Luckily, she met quite a few nice people on the trail, got some great advice from seasoned hikers, and eventually, made it. While reading this novel, Strayed does a good job of letting the reader inside her head, you feel like you're suffering alongside her, and by the end, you feel like you've grown with her through the 2000+ mile journey. This has also been made into a film starring Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed.
In June & July 2015, we chose to read Natchez Burning by Gregory Iles. This novel was split into two months, due to the size of the book. Our policy is anything over 500 pages will be split, to give everyone ample time to finish before the meeting. We met in June to discuss the book, up to the halfway point, to evaluate how everyone was enjoying the book and to see what everyone thought would happen. We didn't realize when we chose this book that there were 3 books that preceded this book in a saga of books by Iles, but it wasn't necessary to have read those 3 previous books to understand this one. Set in Natchez, Mississippi, the story focus's on Penn Cage as he learns about who his father is and was, and it features seamless transitions from present day to past as we learn about Natchez's violet history involving the KKK, conspiracy plots to murder major players in the Civil Right's Movement, and how his father, Tom Cage was involved in all of this. This book was quite exciting, and very detailed and true to the history of Mississippi in the 1960s.
In August 2015, we chose to read Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. This book was quite a clever take on the story after the end of the world happens. Usually, some big event happens to bring about the end of society as we know it, and what follows is a violent tale of survival. But this story differs from the norm by the main characters. There are multiple different stories being told simultaneously in this novel, and one story features a troop of Shakespeare actors that travel around the post-apocalyptic world, putting on Shakespeare shows for the people who remain, the other story focuses on the life of an old actor before the apocalypse, who has ties to some members of the Shakespeare troop. It was very interesting to read this book and see where Mandel takes the characters and the story. Definitely not what I was expecting and I was quite pleasantly surprised.
In September 2015, we read Circling the Sun by Paula McLain. This is the second book we've read by McLain, the first being The Paris Wife. True to form, McLain does an excellent job setting the stage, so to speak. She's very detailed and as you read, you feel pulled into whatever time period she's set her story in. For Circling the Sun, it is set in Colonial Kenya in the 1920s. The main character, Beryl Markham is based off a real person who lived in Africa in the 20s. Since she was a real person, the character in the book feels very human, and relatable. She's a flawed character, but she's also evolving, growing, and learning. It's a very well told story of the progression of Beryl's life and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
In October 2015, we read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. Since Halloween is in October, we decided to read "strange/creepy" novel. This is also the first book in a series about these peculiar children. The main character, Jacob, has a close bond with his grandfather, Abe, due to Abe's intriguing stories of peculiar children he used to live with. Jacob believed they were all just stories until unexpected events lead him to the island where Miss Peregrine's home is located. He actually meets all of the children his grandfather told him about and the story only gets better from there. I'll admit, this story had a sort of slow build for me, but not too long after starting, I got to a point where I could not put the book down. Plus, this book features cool photos of these peculiar children and that was a neat change of pace from the usual read.
In February 2016, we had an unofficial meeting with no specific book chosen. As a way to get us back into monthly meetings, we just decided to present whatever books we had been reading over the past couple months. This was a way for us to be able to read whatever we wanted, and then share how we liked our books with the rest of the club. And at this meeting, we've nominated 3 different books for March 2016. These books include:
1) 11.22.63 by Stephen King
2) The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer
3) Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik
We are also looking for new members. Perhaps you made a resolution to read more books this year? Or meet new people? or both?! Join the Rocket City Book Club today, we are a fun group and we love to read. We try to meet once a month, but we understand that sometimes, life just gets in the way! So we are very flexible with our meetings and take breaks when we know it'll be busy for all. But now that the holidays are over, and the new year is here, we are back at it! If you are interested in joining, please email us at Silence.in.the.Library14@gmail.com. We would be glad to have you!
