I'm so behind on blogging! So much has happened this month (as you can tell from my last post). I will catch up this weekend (opps, still have reunion wrap up stuff to finish too...). In the mean time, I had to share my excitement over last night.
My apartment complex started a book club and October was the first month. They met in September while I was in Chicago to pick the first book. They chose some great options (some I had even read and was going to suggest!) so I had high hopes that I would enjoy this club.
It's my very first in-person book club. I've often talked about GoodReads and how much I love their groups, which are like virtual book clubs to me. :) But I've been wanting to join something in person for a while. Why not start at home, literally--all I had to do was walk downstairs to the clubhouse.
Before I get into my review of the book, I have to say, I LOVED the book club last night. It was just three of us and one of the apartment employees, but it was awesome. We have read many of the same books and have some of the same opinions about the apartment complex. One of the women happens to be my parking spot neighbor, has been for years, and we're finally getting to know one another! I love their passion for reading and life and can't wait to get to know them more. Yay, new friends! I came back last night and was just so excited that I had met new people and liked them. I'm often an introvert in groups of new people, but I felt comfortable with these ladies and can't wait for future book club meetings.
So more about the actual book! Maybe don't read more if you don't want me to give away anything.
I did get to vote on the book, and the winner for October was Inferno by Dan Brown. I've read all three previous Robert Langdon novels so I was excited to delve into this new release. Synopsis: In the heart of Italy, Harvard professor of symbology Robert Langdon is drawn into a harrowing world centered on one of history’s most enduring and mysterious literary masterpieces . . . Dante’s Inferno. Against this backdrop, Langdon battles a chilling adversary and grapples with an ingenious riddle that pulls him into a landscape of classic art, secret passageways, and futuristic science. Drawing from Dante’s dark epic poem, Langdon races to find answers and decide whom to trust . . . before the world is irrevocably altered.
My thoughts: This book was way too long and very predictable in structure. The book was a monster (pun intended!) for a first book club choice (550+ pages!). While Dan Brown is a good choice, it was a LONG book, and unnecessarily so. The book takes place over a 24-hour period so why the need for 500 pages??! I felt like you could have read a little bit in the beginning and then skipped 300 pages in the middle and still understood the premise of this book. It was typical Dan Brown--there's a problem, lots of running around/chasing, climax and conclusion.
It was interesting because Robert Langdon had amnesia and kept you guessing, but so much of the explanation in the end just didn't work for me. The fake events/chase was ridiculous to me. The ending and the explanation of the plague was interesting in the end. I mean, if you think about it, there's a whole lot of really complex politics involved that gets you thinking. One of my thoughts after the book ended was how the "plague" would be communicated to the world. Does the WHO keep it a secret or tell the world and possibly cause mass hysteria? So much to consider with the implications of the plague.
Ultimately, I don't think much of the book really worked and was definitely not worth 550 pages of reading. Maybe try a new format next time Brown--I'm tired of this plot structure.
Book club thoughts: The ladies at the book club echoed my thoughts on the length and some of the events not adding up. We all agreed that The Da Vinci Code was where Brown peeked.
Genre: Fiction, Suspense
Rating: 3/5 stars
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