October 19, 2025 Sunrise on the Reaping (Julie’s Pick)

Discussion: Julie- Overall a disappointment. Not a good club pick. I wanted more arena time. Repeating poetry inserts were annoying and not needed. WR only to Hunger Games fans/WNRA. 2/5 Fav- Ampert. Caitlin- Not impressed. If I hadn’t read the other books I wouldn’t have understood. I liked the arena, but still disappointed. The author seems burnt out. WNR/WRA 2/5. Fav- Lou Lou. Ali- Liked the story as a whole. More details in her other books. I always enjoy good back stories. Focused on politics too much. Ending was rushed. WR to young adults/WRA 3/5. Fav- Maysilee and Beete. Jocelyn- I didn’t enjoy this book. It was so whiny. That’s all Haymich did. Predictable. Basically, the same story as Hunger Games. I did like the mutts, but the arena was so rushed. Hated the poetry. WNR/WNRA 2/5. Fav- Maysilee and the Beeplant. Balance $$$: $136.0. Everyone paid Next Book- Born Survivors by Wendy Holden 400pgs Next Club- November 22nd @ Ali’s House 12:00 Cocktail: River Water…Eww Announcements: Julie- Hard times with Chris Caitlin- Zoey is turning 1 Ali- Ugh… Justin Jocelyn- Sotero and Kayla are engaged

September 14, 2025 Solito (Jocelyn’s Pick)

Discussion: Jocelyn- Wow! This story made me emotional the whole way. I couldn’t imagine sending my child on this journey alone. I loved the descriptions although at times it was repetitive. Spanish dialect was challenging at times. A story I’ll never forget. WRTCP/MRA 4/5. Fav-Javicito and Chino Julie- Did not like this book. Angry at his parents. Life was great in El Salvador. I wanted more info on why they left. Enjoyed the Spanish in the book. Tou read WNR/WNRA 2/5. Fav-Chino Caitlin- I enjoyed this book. Parts that were too much Spanish Kindle saved me. Some parts were choppy toward the end. How much was made up? WR/WRA 4/5. Fav- Chino Ali- I guess I’m desensitized because eI thought it would be a harder journey. Fleeing a good life…why? Overly descriptive. Coiuold have been 100 pages shorter. Learned a lot though. WR/WRA 3/5. Fav- Chino Balance $$$-?? Next book- Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins 419pgs Next Club- October 19th @ Hylands. Picinic club 10:00 Cocktail: Local Roots Watermelon Fresca Announcements: Zoey’s first birthday on 10/18 Ali’s Halloween party on 10/25

August 10, 2025 Project Hail Mary (Caitlin’s Pick)

Discussion: Caitlin- I liked this book, however it made me feel dumb. Descriptions were too math heavy and too long. Lots of silly science stuff that didn’t make sense. Didn’t like the ending. WRTC/SWRA. 3.5/5. Fav- Rocky Jocelyn- This book has been on my list to read for so long. Couldn’t be more disappointed. Math talk was over the top. It made it hard to visualize. I preferred the Earth story to the space story. Had the been done before feeling. WNR/MRA. 2/5. Fav- Taumoeba Ali- I liked the book. Didn’t mind all the science talk cause I just skimmed over it. I liked the dialog between Grace and Rocky. Liked the Earth/Space story split. Didn’t mind the ending cause it wasn’t too happy. WR/MRA (if not in space). 3.5/5. Fav-Stratt and Rocky. Julie- Hated it! Did not want to read this. Had high hopes, but then it kept getting worse. Cheesy and dumb. Disappointing overall and the ending sealed the deal. WNR/WNRA (unless forced in club). 2/5. Fav- Stratt Balance $$$: $40.00. Everyone paid Next book- Solito by Javier Zomora 416pgs Next Club- September 14th @ Jocelyn’s House. Potluck Brunch 11:00 Brunch: Breakfast Casserole/ 3 Chicken Sausage options/ Roasted Potatoes/ Fruit Salad/ Brie and Crackers/ Cosmos Announcements: Caitlin- Foot is healing Jocelyn- Sotero might pop the question to Kayla. Painting begins. Ali- Going to Florida with Justin. Drama is on the decline and it’s killing me. Julie- Like my class of 32 kids. Ayla got her ears pierced and has loose teeth. Mason is a junior in high school.

July 7, 2025 NOS4A2 (Ali’s Pick)

Discussion: Ali- Disappointed! It could have been a good book, but I was over it at page 300. Way too wordy. Descriptions took forever. WNR/MRA. 2/5. FC- Lou Julie- I only saw similarities to Stephan King books. Does he have any of his own thoughts? I did keep my attention, and it was disturbing. Hated the end! AR (but only to my mother)/WNRA. 2.5/5 FC- Fat Lou, not new Lou Caitlin- First thought was great, another shitty haunted car book. Too many random jumpy parts. I suffered through this. Hated the book! WNR/WNRA. 1/5. FC- None Jocelyn- There was SO much I hated about the book. If I hadn’t known, it was Joe Hill I would have thought I was reading one of his dad’s books. I went in blind and was instantly annoyed. I did like the disturbing descriptions, and it was an easy read. WNR/WNRA. 2/5. Fav- Hooper (the dog) Balance $$$: Blowing our funds at our anniversary celebration right now! Next book- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir 476pgs Next Club- August 10th at Caitlin’s House. Potluck Brunch 😊 Anniversary Shenanigans: Tipsy Putt and three bar stops.

May 17, 2025 Good Morning Midnight (Julie’s Pick)

Discussion: Julie- Instagram recommendation. I was disappointed. Potential to be better. Overall, didn’t like it. Boring! I wanted more action. It did stay on my mind though. WNR/WNRA. 2/5. FC- Ivanov Jocelyn- I really liked the book. The writing style with descriptions were great! Just the right amount of words to make you really visualize. The end had my mind spinning. AR/WRA. 4/5. FC-Tal Caitlin- I really liked this book. Wanted more space scenes. Liked the descriptions. Recourses in Arctic were silly. WR/WRA. 4/5. FC- kid Iris Ali- It was an easy quick read. Well written descriptions. Didn’t really like the story. I only wanted to know what happened on Earth. WNR/WNRA. 2/5. FC-kid Iris Balance $$$: $752.80 Next Book- NOS4A2 by Joe Hill 689pgs Next club July 5th @ Ali’s House Hostess Cocktail: Cosmos Announcements: Anniversary celebration on June 7th

April 26, 2025 The Fox Wife (Jocelyn’s Pick)

Discussion: Jocelyn- Overall this tale was a refreshing change. I love reading about superstitions in other cultures. The writing style was lacking a bit with lots of repeating. Still a fun read. WR/WRA. 3.5/5 FC- Tagtaa Julie- Liked that it read historical fiction with a sprinkle of fantasy. Loved the plot. Kept me interested the whole time. AR/WRA. FC- Ah-San and Kuro Ali- Wish I didn’t have to rush because it was a good tale. I have given up my prejudices of Asian books. Liked the descriptions, but a lot of run on that wasn’t needed. AR/WNRA. 3.5/5 FC- Tagtaa and Snow Caitlin- I guess I enjoyed the book. Took me a long time to get into it. So many moving parts, hard to focus. Hated the love stories. WRC/WNRA. 3/5 FC-Snow Balance $$$: $712.81 Caitlin gets a birthday pass Next Book- Good Morning Midnight by Lily Brooks Dalton 272pgs Next club @ Julie’s House 12:00. Bring your own food Brunch: Frittata/Sausages/Potatoes/Lemon Doughnuts/ Bloody Mary’s Announcements: Julie- Mason is in love 😊

March 29, 2025 The Wager (Caitlin’s Pick)

Discussion: Caitlin- Old timey language was hard to follow. The conditions were absolutely nuts! Politics are still just as schemey today. Liked learning the old sayings that created our sayings today. Enjoyed the pictures. WRTCP/WRA. 3.5/4 FC-Byron Jocelyn- An amazing mind-blowing tale! I loved the writing style and how the story was laid out. Reminded me how crazy the adventures of the past were. I would never have survived this one. AHR/WRA 4.5/5 FC-Bulkeley (worker) and Cummins (cook) Julie- First impression was I was excited about this author. Was not an exciting read. As a teacher I’m upset in general about this time in history. They were thieves! Crazy story but read too much like a history book. WRTC/WRA (because of killers of a flower moon). 2.5/5 FC- Bulkeley Ali- The book was okay. Enjoyed the tales of mutiny more than when they were at sea. They wasted time and should have killed each other. Didn’t need so much detail. Felt like reading for school. WNR/ WRA (because of killers of a flower moon). 3/5 FC- None Balance $$$- $682.76 Next book: The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo 392pgs Next club @ Jocelyn’s House 9:30 Breakfast Club Hostess Cocktail- None. Hiked into HC for a picnic BYOB Announcements: Next club possibly May 17th or May 24th Anniversary celebration June 7th Still deciding on activities.

February 1, 2025 The Teacher (Ali’s Pick)

Discussion: Ali- Annoyed! The simpleness of the writing was terrible. Only needed the last 20% of the book. Predictable, whiney and BS. Topic done before. WNR/WTryRA 2/5 Jocelyn- Hated it! Already knew I wasn’t a fan of this author, but this sealed the deal. Chapter hopping was too frequent with no info. Repeat, Repeat, Repeat was the theme of the book. So unbelievable and annoying. WNR/WNRA 0/5 Julie- Ugh! Hated her other book but thought let’s give this a try. Worst book ever! Worst book I’ve ever read. Cringy. Not believable at all. Stop writing! Caitlin- This book was worse than Mermaids. Nothing was enjoyable. Painful to read. Boring stupid and dull. Hated her writing style, old lady trying to be a teenager. I hated it so much. WNR/WNeverRA 0/5 Favorite Characters: Ali- Detective Spurge Jocelyn- Last page of the book, because it was over Julie- None Caitlin- None Balance $$$- $642.76 Next book: The Wager by David Grann 331pgs Next club meet @ Caitlin’s (hiking into HC picnic area) March 29th 12:00 Hostess Cocktail- Apple Martini’s Announcements: Ali-Buying Lake House in Tennessee Jocelyn- Cypress has moved to Hawaii (bittersweet) Julie- Butt check in April Caitlin- Going back to work ☹ Need a vagina check!