Free Choice Genre Discussion

[Heidi M Simone]

Happy May everyone! For this month, the genre of choice will be yours! Choose a genre/book and share what have read.

• Share what genre you choose and why did you choose this specific genre?
• What book did you end up reading?
• Did you enjoy/dislike the book? Share why you did/didn't.
• How would you rate this book?
• Would you recommend it?

This should be an exciting month! As always, let's have fun!

[jenjayfromSA]

I enjoy stories in letter or diary format. Not common, but it's a different way of putting across character and plot. Of course, letters are a dying art. Emails don't cut it An old favourite is Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster and the sequel Dear Enemy. An orphan is sent to college by an unknown benefactor and has to write a letter to him once a month. She's upbeat, funny, vulnerable and delightful. Mary Ann Shaffer's The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society set in the Second World War is also warm and real. In diary form is another old favourite, Desiree by Annemarie Selinko. The advantage is that you can easily drop or skate over a couple of months or even years. I've just finished the sequel to Hendrik Groen's The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen aged 83 and a quarter, set in an old age home in the Netherlands. He is now 85 and aging is definitely the pits, but he's still warm, wise and funny. The Old But Not Dead Club may have new members, but the senior delinquents are going strong and having fun.

[Shrabastee Chakraborty]

I enjoy stories in letter or diary format. Not common, but it's a different way of putting across character and plot. Of course, letters are a dying art. Emails don't cut it An old favourite is Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster and the sequel Dear Enemy. An orphan is sent to college by an unknown benefactor and has to write a letter to him once a month. She's upbeat, funny, vulnerable and delightful. Mary Ann Shaffer's The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society set in the Second World War is also warm and real. In diary form is another old favourite, Desiree by Annemarie Selinko. The advantage is that you can easily drop or skate over a couple of months or even years. I've just finished the sequel to Hendrik Groen's The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen aged 83 and a quarter, set in an old age home in the Netherlands. He is now 85 and aging is definitely the pits, but he's still warm, wise and funny. The Old But Not Dead Club may have new members, but the senior delinquents are going strong and having fun.

Interesting choice! It gave me new book suggestions as well. Because so far the only 'diary format book' I can remember to have read is 'Diary of a Young Girl' by Anne Frank. I am going to try the books you mentioned. Thank you for sharing!

[Sketches_by_Shell]

I'm reading travel stories right now. I cannot seem to get enough of them. Maybe it is because I cannot get on a plane? The most recent group of three that I have read were Bill Bryson's The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America, The Road to Little Dribbling, and Notes from a Small Island were really good. I would recommend them to anyone who would like to travel, but cannot. The first one is in America, but the other two are in England. Bill Bryson tells his stories of travel with a hint of humor. He gives a good road trip tour guide that one could follow along on their trip.

[Heidi M Simone]

I recently finished a book!

~ The book's genre was historical fiction. This was a book that my in-person book club chose as our next read, so that's why I ended up reading it. Though I do enjoy some historical fiction books, in general.

~ I read The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy.

~ It was a really good book. I found it gave good insight during the Nazi occupation in Poland in the last few months of the war, but following two young children brought another level of sympathy to those who suffered during this time.

~ When I finished it, I gave it a 3/4 stars due to the emotional aspects. However, it did have some pacing problems for me.

~ I would recommend this book to those who would like to read a book about war and survival that focuses on two children.

*As a warning, there is a child raping scene that was almost too much for me. I had to put the book down and look away for a couple of minutes before continuing. The scene isn't long, but it was still disturbing.*

[Heidi M Simone]

I also recently read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. I'm sure many know that this children's/fantasy book. This was the first time I read the book and I wasn't a fan of it. There wasn't a plot, character development, and no world building. It's probably meant to be a trippy type of read, but if it was any longer then I don't think I would have been able to finish it. I ended up giving the book a 2/4 stars. I'm sure those who have nostalgia attached to this book would enjoy it still. However, I don't really have any nostalgia toward this book as I didn't read it as a child.

Hopefully, my next book will be a bit more entertaining!

How's everyone else doing with their free choice book?

[thaservices1]

I read a Thiller. Lost Boys by Orson Scott Card. I picked up the book because I am fan of Card's incredible sci-fi novels. I've also read a fantasy novel he wrote and thought he did quite a nice job in switching genres, so I was interested to see what he would do with a thriller type novel.

I was impressed. The story was deeply immersive. His main characters in Lost Boys are a Mormon family and he gives a lot insight into the daily lives of people practicing that faith. Through the entire novel Card builds the suspense, even in simple everyday scenes you can feel it coming, something...something is coming.

His writing was not as intense as say Stephen King, he doesn't use that ominous foreshadowing that King does. The devil is in the details with Card's writing. I would rate Lost Boys 4 out of 4. If you enjoy a deeply thought out story that'll give you a chill, I highly recommend it.