Night Road by Kristin Hannah

Our next book, for our January meeting, will be Night Road by Kristin Hannah.  Special Thanks to Reading Group Guides for the contest!  We are looking forward to discussing the book.

As a side note, I have read a Kristin Hannah previously -- Firefly Lane.  Although I thought that book was a decent page-turner and had some interesting story lines, so far I am much preferring Night Road.

The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Overall, the group had a favorable reaction.

Some appreciated what they learned about an unfamiliar culture, some appreciated that they were inspired to learn more, and some were reminded of their past interactions with the culture.

Compliments:

• poetic writing
• interesting story
• informative
• many of the girls appreciated the mother and the way the story framed her

Criticisms:

• a little disjointed
• would have liked a little more background or context for someone less familiar with the culture and/or history

Additional comments:

• although the book spends a lot of time discussing the author's older brother, Bill, he was not in the acknowledgments at the end and wondered about that omission.  We also noticed the other acknowledgments and how those to the mother & father were worded.
• most commented that, although this might not have been a book that they would have selected to read on their own, having read it, they would definitely recommend it to others to read.
• there were moments throughout - brief moments - where the story dragged a little, but on the whole, it moved forward quickly and with ease.

it turns out, it is difficult to write on behalf of other readers... next time I'll take notes :)

Past Read Books

**updated to add additional books

Ok I think I have them all.  Before I start including discussions about books that we are reading and will read, here is a list of the books we have so far read.  Go ahead & "comment" if you notice I've missed one!
(in no particular order)

• The Plot Against America
• The Time Traveler's Wife
• The Princess Bride
• The Count of Monte Cristo
• Slaughterhouse Five
• Interview with the Vampire
• Bad Monkeys
• Albuquerque: A Novel
• Reading Lolita in Tehran
• A Million Little PIeces
• Queen of Dreams: A Novel
• Are Men Necessary?  When Sexes Collide
• Shantaram: A Novel
• The Devil in the White City
• The Secret Life of Bees
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
• Of Love and Other Demons
• Zorro: A Novel (Allende)
• The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
• The Abstinence Teacher
• The History of Love: A Novel
• The Handmaid's Tale: A Novel
• Wuthering Heights
• The Mystery Guest: An Account
• Death with Interruptions
• The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East
• Rebecca
• Things Fall Apart: A Novel
• A Reliable Wife
• The Lincoln Lawyer
• The Catcher in the Rye
• The Glass Castle: A Memoir
• Tinkers
• Never Let Me Go
• Outliers: The Story of Success
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• The White Rose (only one of us was able to get through this)
• Anna Karenina
• The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood
• Night Road by Kristin Hannah
• The Night Circus
• BossyPants
• Iron House
• Wife 22
• Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk
• Anne of Green Gables
• Where'd You Go, Bernadette
• Rules of Civility
• NW by Zadie Smith