October Book

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul. 
–GoodReads.com

Meeting reminder

Attention Members

This is a reminder that the 2nd official meeting of Working Titles meets Tuesday, September 28 at my house. Let me know if you can't make it.

Hope you are all enjoying Little Bee. I finished about a week ago and am excited to see what you guys thought.

Bird Bookmarks

Isn't this bird bookmark adorable? It comes in lime green, gold, and silver and can be found here.

I can't take credit for finding this though - saw it on Design Sponge.

Stieg Larsson: Swedish Narcissus

Just read this interesting review (and comment thread) on The Millions. I haven't read the other two books in the Millennium trilogy, but I definitely agree with the critic on the parts that pertain to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, specifically that the book doesn't live up to the hype and the over abundance of explanation kills the story. I didn't realize it while reading, but I think she is also spot on regarding characters' "stock reactions" - "Their eyes bulge, they freeze in terror, they audibly gasp. When one character learned of a murder of good friends, she 'put her hand over her mouth' and 'sat down on the stairs.' She was surprised, you see."

I also thought her point about Blomkvist basically being a stand-in for Larsson was interesting. Having known nothing about the author prior to reading the book, I would not have drawn this conclusion on my own, but I have read that elsewhere and it is kind of funny, given how females in the novel cannot seem to resist his charm and sex appeal. I've posted a photo of Larsson below - clearly you can see why that would be.

P.S. I stole the title of this post from the review - try saying it ten times fast.

How do you decide what to read next?

I found myself at the library the other day picking up Little Bee and decided to just peruse the shelves. Now, I have 74 books suspended on my holds list waiting to be unleashed for my reading pleasure, but I figured straying from that predetermined list might be fun.

However, once I hit the aisles, I remembered - I suck at perusing the shelves. I can never remember books I've been wanting to read or authors I've enjoyed in the past. So I just walk up and down the fiction section, head titled to the side to read the titles, and ultimately end up picking some pink chick lit book because I'm overwhelmed.  

So I turn to you, my 8 loyal followers: how do you guys keep track of book suggestions/ideas? And how do you decide what to read next? Any recommended blogs, websites, etc. for finding your next read?

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Tuesday night was our first official meeting. We had a bit of a low start - Jen and Ann, thanks for coming.

For everyone's future reference - meetings will be held the last Tuesday of every month. Whoever can't make it that day is welcome to participate via the blog.

Anyway, we had some snacks and some wine, and to be perfectly honest didn't get too deep into discussing the book (though we did talk about other books and books in general). Here are a couple of the questions we discussed, along with a summary of what we had to say. I've also included questions we didn't get to. So please leave a comment with your feedback and opinions.

1. Who do you consider the novel's protagonist, Lisbeth or Mikael? Why?

 Varying opinions on this question. I think that hands down Mikael is the protagonist. His life and the things going on in it are what propel the story. However, given the title of the book, it seems as though maybe I'm not getting the importance of Lisbeth.

Jen thought that Mikael starts out as the protagonist, but it switches to Lisbeth as she becomes more important in his life.

2. Discuss the character of Lisbeth. Some think she is a "perfect victim" (page 324), others find her intimidating, and Mikael wonders if she has Asperger's, but the reader is allowed to see exactly how her mind works. How do you see her? How do you think she sees herself?

I think that Lisbeth is a very disturbed young woman. And interesting point that Jen brought up was that she works hard to find out people's deepest secrets, yet doesn't want anyone to know anything about her. I've read certain things that claim Lisbeth is this really strong, dynamic female character...and I tend to disagree. She seems very volatile and insecure and under the hard surface,  I think she just wants someone to treat her well. I didn't really care for her as a character.

3. On page 202 (pages may vary), Lisbeth says her new tattoo is "a reminder." Of what?

This is a hard question. After talking about it, we all came to the conclusion that it is a reminder to never underestimate the lengths to which a "sado-masochist" will go. And also to  It seems odd that she would want anything to remind her of the terrible things Bjurman did. But I guess it could also be a reminder that she was strong enough to overcome that and make him regret what he did.

4. What do you think about the way Lisbeth turns the tables on Bjurman? Is it admirable, or a sign that she's unstable?

5. The narrative contained a number of plot twists. Who did you imagine sent the framed flowers to Vanger each year?  

6. Several times in the novel, Mikael'’s journalistic ethics are challenged. Do you consider him to be ethical? In your opinion, is anyone in the novel truly honorable? Who, and why?  

7. Discuss the ending. Was it satisfying to you? Why or why not?  

September's Book

The results are in. September's book is Little Bee by Chris Cleave.

Amazon.com Review
The publishers of Chris Cleave's new novel "don't want to spoil" the story by revealing too much about it, and there's good reason not to tell too much about the plot's pivot point. All you should know going in to Little Bee is that what happens on the beach is brutal, and that it braids the fates of a 16-year-old Nigerian orphan (who calls herself Little Bee) and a well-off British couple--journalists trying to repair their strained marriage with a free holiday--who should have stayed behind their resort's walls. The tide of that event carries Little Bee back to their world, which she claims she couldn't explain to the girls from her village because they'd have no context for its abundance and calm. But she shows us the infinite rifts in a globalized world, where any distance can be crossed in a day--with the right papers--and "no one likes each other, but everyone likes U2." Where you have to give up the safety you'd assumed as your birthright if you decide to save the girl gazing at you through razor wire, left to the wolves of a failing state. --Mari Malcolm