Welcome back
Greetings, Happy Bookers!
We had a great time at Victorio's last night.
We missed you, Cathy, Janet, Laura and Liz!
Laura, everyone sends their love and healing thoughts for you and your knee.
Save the date
August meeting: Cold Zero
Our book for August is Cold Zero by Brad Thor.
We'll meet at a new-to-us place — Mandola's Italian Kitchen in Maitland.
Quick links
On the calendar
Next up
September: The Correspondent
Our book for September is The Correspondent by Virginia Evans.
The Correspondent
It received several nominations for best book in several categories last year. Louisa wants to read The Correspondent again because it's just that good.
84 Charing Cross Road
The September pick is reminiscent of this nonfiction book.
Our July pick
Talking Dungeon Crawler Carl
Lots of mixed reviews on Dungeon Crawler Carl (DCC) and lots of great discussion about the book and the issues it brings to light.
The story is deep, especially about the atrocities people/aliens do to each other for sport. There was too much horror for some of us.
We will attempt to stay away from horror as a genre going forward, which can be difficult because even DCC was not classified as horror. I later learned that Matt Dinniman, the author himself, calls the series "horror with fart and dick jokes".
Nancy mentioned that the story was one adrenaline rush after another and it became exhausting.
Overheard
The quote of the night
I didn't hate it but I was sure glad when it was over.
One comment from the discussion
Bigger questions
Popularity, kids, and tough subjects
We talked about the books becoming so popular and inspiring people to read, especially kids much like Harry Potter, Twilight and Hunger Games did.
Some worry about kids reading about such tough subjects and desensitizing them to violence and disregard for human life.
Which led to us talking about books we read when we were younger that were definitely not meant for kids our age. LOL!
A light note
Donut cravings
There were some donut cravings created by the one and only Princess.
Behind the mic
The Jeff Hays effect
We talked about how fabulous Jeff Hays does on the narration and how "readers" don't want to hear the audio because it will not match the voices in their own heads as they read.
Jeff founded Soundbooth Theater Live! and has a whole playlist on his narration of DCC. It's fascinating and the "shorts" are quick video clips for those not inclined to watch everything.
This is a 20 minute interview with Matt Dinniman.
Audiobooks
Good narrators, bad narrators
We talked about good narrators and how a bad one can ruin a book — I'm looking at you, Angela Brazil and Christopher Hurt.
Louisa and someone else wanted me to remind you all of the Bloody Jack series that is fabulously narrated by the late Katherine Kellgren. This series about young Jacky Faber will take you all over the world with her adventures and you get to hear some amazing accents and meet some very interesting characters.
Regardless of how we felt about the book it feels good to know a little about the LitRPG genre and that we can claim "cool" status for knowing about DCC when it comes up now.
Click through
Links from the discussion
The book roundup
Other things we discussed
The Calamity Club
Excellent and Margo approved! Mary Fran loved the snark especially in the audio book thanks to another great narrator.
The Five Star Weekend
The show with Jennifer Garner and Christine's favorite, Timothy Olyphant (Justified) is very well done.
Yesteryear
Many of us keep checking our place in the waitlist. This book raises some very controversial issues and will be fun to discuss once it's not so in demand.
Meet Me in Paris
Due out July 28 and we love us some Kristin Harmel!
Anthem
We somehow got on the subject — I didn't take notes on how, but reading the description I think it was comparing DCC to the plot. This is only 105 pages compared to her other tomes.
Shows we love
On our screens
- We are in love with Ride or Die with Octavia Spencer.
- Likewise Patience on PBS and High Potential with Kaitlin Olson.
For the curious
Everything else we mentioned
Club news
Jamaal's Big Fish
And, last but certainly not least — Jamaal is producing Big Fish at Haggerty High School!
It's a book, movie and now a stage show. The production dates are April 8-10, 2027. We can't wait and hope to go see it!
Sign-off
Until next month
Have a great August and I hope to see you all next month!