#SOMAbookclub 2019

Wow! 2019 just flew by...

Thanksgiving is upon us and that means more time to read! 
Reading is the one thing that you can do, no matter how you decide to spend your holiday time off:  at the lake, camping, hiking, skiing, (audiobook, why not?), relaxing at home by the fire...

Here's the list of books that #SOMAbookclub read this year! It's a collection of some of the hottest page-turners, so grab a drink of your choice and come with me on this magical reader's ride :-)


CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE by Tomi Adeyemi
This was our YA pick.  The plot is phenomenal.  Adeyemi delivered a well-crafted, action-packed story.  The character-development is also amazing.  Princess Amari grew from a weak girl, full of doubts, into a fighter, the future queen.   The bond that developed between Zelie and Amari was my favorite part.  In the world of  King Saran, they should hate each other, yet, they learned to trust each other and became friends.  Amari's brother, Inan, was a character that I disliked and did not trust, but he was an important piece of the puzzle and I do believe his secrets will be uncovered in book 2 of the series.
And, book #2 was already voted for our January 2020 pick!!!


AND THEN THERE WERE NONE by Agatha Christie
We picked a murder/mystery book, which is also part of PBS Great American Reads...unfortunately, we had no idea of the words in the original song from the book.  That generated some well deserved anger, specially when we realized that this book is considered the world's best-selling mystery, and with over 100 million copies sold is one of the best-selling books of all time. What?  Most of us could not move past the racist words...

BEL CANTO by Ann Pachett
March was the month we picked a book made into a movie and Bel Canto was the chosen one.  This one was not a favorite and some people even watched the movie :-(

ORPHAN TRAIN by Christina Baker Kline
April was the month of picking a book by a local author and Christina Baker Kline lives in NJ.  Orphan Train talks about a part of our American history that I was completely unaware of. Between 1854 and 1929, so-called orphan trains ran regularly from the cities of the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest, carrying thousands of abandoned children whose fates would be determined by pure luck...

CARAVAL by Stephanie Garber
May was the month for a Fantasy novel.  This was another book with a LOT of hype!  I'm the fantasy lover of the group and I didn't love Caraval...

1984 by George Orwell
June was the classic novel month!  I remember this book being my first buddy read before #buddyreads were even a thing.  My father and I discussed this book back then.  A true classic!


DEAR MRS. BIRD  by AJ Pearce
Dear Mrs. Bird was delightful and such a page-turner!
By combining humor with the voice of the young Emmy, Pearce's novel showed us how people had to carry on with their lives and find hope in the midst of war. A perfect bookclub read!

PACHINKO by Min Jin Lee
August was our Historical Fiction month and what a fantastic family saga we chose to read!
This was, quite simply, one the most memorable books I have ever read (right up there with The Kite Runner)!  It's an extraordinary novel about perception, prejudice and above all, the resiliency of women and the loyalty of their family. Even though this is a Korean-Japanese historical fiction, make no mistake, the emotional impact is universal...

RED CLOCKS by Leni Zumas
September was the dystopian novel month.  I'm going to quote the review from one of our members: "This book was very confusing and the plot synopsis wasn’t accurate. The mixing of names was all over the place and it was hard to follow the characters. The premise made for a good story but it never came to fruition."

NEVER LET ME GO by Kazuo Ishiguro
October was the "suspense" month and somehow, even though you could consider Never Let me Go in that category, I don't think it's the right one...
The beauty of the book is how the author approaches the subject of what makes us humans? How can we define being human? Is it because we have memories? Express emotions? Feel Love? Maybe it is the ability to differentiate right from wrong, but that can get all twisted when the world you live in is unethical, by removing the ability to choose one’s purpose.

NINE PREFECT STRANGERS by Liane Moriarty
November is the month for NY Times Best Seller!
🧘‍♀️ "Welcome to Tranquillum House!⁠⠀
Enjoy your daily smoothies during your 10 day stay and be prepared to transform your life!"⁠⠀
⁠I'm a fan of Moriarty's books and I was SO happy when my book club picked this one for our November selection!  It's an interesting tale of nine people checking into a health resort, each looking for a different result, or different "transformation". Moriarty is great with character development and as we learn more about these characters, they all sound familiar, like, "yeah, I know someone exactly like that" kind of way.  Moriarty's usual humor and writing style made this a fun read (and I do think that this was somehow, her way of making fun at today's lifestyles)... ⁠⠀

FREE FOOD FOR MILLIONAIRES by Min Jin Lee
December was an open month and since one of our members got 10 free copies from an online raffle, we decided to go with it!
Review coming up soon.


Are you in a book club?  What are you reading?