2017.06.26 Meeting Notes

Well, I think we might just be Daniel Silva’d out. Terri spoke for many when she said, “I think I’ve read enough Daniel Silva.”
In June we met to discuss our second Daniel Silva book (hence the burnout) The Black Widow. We welcomed three new members to the club: Allie S., Stephanie A., and Tammy F. Kudos to Kelly F. for returning for more abuse, I mean riveting book discussions. Everyone has been sent an invite to BookMovement. See below on what we use BookMovement for.
Despite the burnout factor, quite a few people still liked the book (me included). It got one score of 10, three 9s, five 8s, six 7s, one 6, one 5, one 4, and three 2s. Allie was a bit of a split vote and she gave the first part of the book a 3 and the second part a 9.
Allie’s vote summed up the feelings of a lot of club members. There were several comments that the first part was tedious, or as Tammy put it, like “pulling teeth.” Not sure if she meant her teeth were getting pulled or she was pulling someone else’s, but let’s face it, unless you’re a dentist neither of those is appealing. Kim gave the book a 7, but thought Silva could still cut out about 300 pages and call it a day. Gail thought that the author repeated himself quite a bit repeated himself quite a bit, so maybe he could cut out those repeats and it would reduce the book by, I don’t know...300 pages or so. When asked what made him give the book a 2, Jeff was quite vague when he stated, “I don’t like Silva’s books, his characters or his plots.” Amy let us know that she will not be picking Silva up again, and I think Jeff is of the same mind.
For those who liked the book, we heard that Silva writes well and really knows his subject matter. Lorraine gave the book an extra point because Gabriel’s wife finally had her babies. Deborah would have given it a 10 but took off a point for it being too long (300 pages too long maybe). Connie liked the political and historical stuff and Kerry, who usually doesn’t like to read about things like ISIS, found it fascinating and enjoyed the undercover part of the story that outlined how people were brainwashed into becoming suicide bombers.
Finally, Pat gave the book a 10 because she really liked all of the techno stuff, thought the suspense and building of tension were great, and because, “it sure beats reading Jack Reacher.” What more can be said? Six people flat out refuse to read Silva again, so I am guessing that he won’t be voted in anytime soon. But who knows, those votes can surprise us.
Our July meeting will be on July 24th and we will discuss The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. Lorraine will be leading and providing us with a snack. If you’ve finished the book, please return it and hand it to a librarian so that it can be put on our bookshelf for the next reader. You can also send me or the whole group an email letting us know you returned a book, that way someone else can grab it.
We’ve chosen books through February of 2018, they are listed below. I will bring a sign-up sheet this month for you to sign up to lead or bring snacks for September through February. December is the only different one. We will have the party at my house and everyone will bring a dish to pass. I’ve scheduled the party for a Friday night. I have something on that Thursday and it would be cutting it close to have the party that night, so I thought why don’t we do a Friday and then everyone doesn’t have work the next day. Ray has already agreed to be bartender, as I now know that that is a requirement. Hopefully it is a good day for everyone, especially getting it on the books this far in advance. I will get RSVPs when it gets closer.
Upcoming Books:
* Aug 26: In a Dark Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
* Sep 25: The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly
* Oct 23: Home by Harlan Coben
* Nov 27: The Nowhere Man by Gregg Hurwitz
* Dec 15: A Christmas Party by Georgette Heyer
* Jan 22: Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica
* Feb 26: I See You by Claire Mackintosh
BookMovement Update:
All of the new books through February are in BookMovement. For our new members (and a few old ones), we use BookMovement to list the books we’re going to read, as well as the leader and snack bringer for each month. BookMovement sends a reminder email to the club the week before and the day before a meeting, so I find that useful to me. You never have to RSVP because I only use the site for book listings and reminders, not RSVPs. You have to create a login and password to use the site.
If there is a book you want to propose for our next reading vote, please check first to see that the Douglas County Library has 10 or more copies, then login to your BookMovement account and add it using the “Possible Club Selections” tab and the “Add Books” button. Thanks!
We also have a Wiki Page, and our Webmaster Jeff posts these meeting notes each month. There are lots of photos and other fun stuff on the page too, so check it out if you haven’t already.
See you next week,
Kerry