1984 and Great Expectations. Also Narcissus and Goldmund

I have to add The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson. And The Lottery, same author but that might be in her short story collection.

And Journey to the Center of the Earth.

How bookclubs work really depends on how well you know everyone and the tone and type of books you're reading; sometimes it's meant to be a serious environment for people to discuss themes and literary topics, and sometimes it's a place to just make friends and laugh. For example, I'm in a book club but it's really casual because it's just my friends and all we do is read bad, smutty, or bad AND smutty books lol. For us we just read out particularly bad or funny lines and laugh.

Buying books and reading books are two almost entirely unrelated hobbies.

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It made me bored…

Yeah, it's pretty bad. The stakes should be the same. If the killer has the chance, they should intend to actually kill the main character.

Any kind of "close calls" should involve inconvenient locations (like they were in public at the time), or the killer themselves being severely wounded, or police currently close enough to hear sirens and see lights (not enough time).

We know the main character is likely to survive as the story wouldn't be following them otherwise, but it shouldn't be so silly about how it accomplishes that.

She had said it in a interview. And I believe she wrote the letter to cover her own tracks. She was even messing with Lowen’s head by turning off the tv, then looking at her dead in the eyes…while lowen was in her office that one time. Also, I feel like Jeremy would’ve been killed her if he had in fact read the manuscript. Like why wait? but at the same time…I think they all have issues and a lot of things weren’t answered

I didn't but my gf just did after she told me what happened I rather disregard them just makes everything more complicated ha

You just go and talk about the book. Even if you didn't like it. Some of the most fun I've had at a book club is when we all rip a book apart. I can't tell you how much of us LOATHED the Left Hand of Darkness.

All valid points. If you start dissecting the book you see a lot of inconsistencies but I'm trying to enjoy books more and dissect them less. I think the there's too many conflicting things that happen that if I overthink it I'd come to the conclusion that Verity is a murdering psycho but so is Jeremy.

This part I wheheartedly agree with you. I despised the exposition and I guess it would also help cement the fact that the letter isn't the truth because she's giving exposition to whoever finds it but I genuinely just think Colleen couldn't think of a clever was to address it.

>— from a “literary” perspective, they way Verity delivered all that exposition in her letter, much of it already known to her husband the intended recipient, was just awful writing, not to mention how convenient it was that the letter was found at the perfect time for the conclusion

Because then the book would have to be called "gun of the stapleton"

🤣🤣🤣

I was intrigued by where you're going with all this, including your unique take on defining racism, until this:

>(That's my own insight, not shared by anthropologists or sociologists. In fact I've been working hard to get sociologists to talk to me about it and they won't. And this is odd because normally, my emails to university professors get results. For some reason - maybe because racism IS a dangerous issue, and one over which you can very easily lose your job - this is not a topic they wish to address with me.)

Dude what the actual fuck. I don't. Why would anyone think this is an appropriate and non-ridiculous way to behave.

Lol, I personally thought the ending was extremely implausible and conjured up just for “shock value” … suspension of disbelief be damned. My issues with it are (SPOILERS follow):

— no mother who isn’t a psychopath would write about how she killed her daughter as a “literary exercise” … not three days after daughter accidentally drowns, not ever. Not buying it at all.

— no one prints things out anymore, let alone print something out with false confessions of murder and leave it just floating around the house

— no grieving mother could keep up that charade of being brain-dead for as long as Verity did. It’s impossible.

— only a psychopath mom would inflict upon her grieving son the “brain dead” charade, making Verity a villain regardless of whether the autobiography was true

— if Verity’s deception of being brain dead was so critical, why did she risk it by appearing on the stairs while her husband banged Lowen, by walking around at night, by waving at her son … it makes no sense as any of those moves would have most likely blown her cover

— how did Verity set up a secret new bank account and then get her publisher the wiring instructions if she was supposedly comatose?

— a woman of Verity’s wealth would not need to “wait until the wire hits the bank” in order to flee town with her son.

— from a “literary” perspective, the way Verity delivered all that exposition in her letter, much of it already known to her husband the intended recipient, was just awful writing, not to mention how convenient it was that the letter was found at the perfect time for the conclusion

— I can’t even remember how she supposedly rigged the car wreck

BUT, with all that said, I did kinda really enjoy the ride until the last 10 pages.

Also, did you notice the 8th book in the series was to be called Truth? My theory is the book “Verity” is actually Book 8 in the series as Verity = Truth.

The perfect marriage by jeneva rose has a fun twist. Psycho thriller/murder mystery…no spice like verity though.

Also team autobiography. I feel like if the letter was true it wouldn’t have been as hidden. Did you read the bonus chapter?

I didn't know Colleen had said that. Maybe I have to live with it a bit longer but I lean more towards believing the letter and even that Jeremy is a little off, not a serial killer as others suggest but he's definitely off.

> stealing footwear wearing a fake beard in London for no fucking reason

The answer is "because Doyle was an author who wrote about potboiler shit like fake spectral dogs and fake-beard-wearing shoe thieves (and people pretending to be scabby beggars and geese eating jewels), not guys who just flat out gank their enemies"... a notable exception being Col. Moran who just ganked his enemies.

Verity is definitely my favorite book by Colleen so far. It always kept me guessing what could happen next. Also, the ending did shock me as well but I still believe everything she wrote on her manuscript. She was definitely evil and Colleen said it herself as well.

I just finished it. Not that excited, to be honest. A bit depressing in that the sons left their fathers.

All the wanderers relied on other people to give them food, shelter etc.

I'm in one, in fact our monthly meeting is this weekend. I've been in for quite a few years now. It started on meetup, but that site is stupid high in hosting costs, so we ditched it eventually.

I really think all book clubs, like any social club, are different, and it's going to depend on the members and types of books they typically read as to how they function, flow, act, etc.

We're pretty relaxed, open, very opinionated but even if our opinions differ, we hear them out.

We joke we're the food and drinks and book club, but we're probably 2/3 books and 1/3 food. Most of us are friends outside of it (some having known before joining, some finding friendships with individuals after joining). We do catch up and talk about non-book stuff, but probably 2/3 is book related.

We read two books a month. Read both, read one, read neither. The books will spoiled if you haven't finished or didn't read, unless you want to step out. We try and read a fiction and a non fiction, both pretty varying on topics. We do have favorite authors we'd read multiple of (we've read several Mary Roach books for our non fictions), we like theming when we can- a spooky or horror book for October, etc. We always choose something that has multiple copies at the library and is otherwise easy to get (no one gets excluded because they can't or don't want to buy a brand new book every time). Usually our organizer starts us off with something, but we just let the conversation flow organically from there, bounce off each other. Oh you said this and I thought the same, or I didn't and here's why kinda stuff. Some takes notes, some don't. We're all pretty big and serious readers, so books are a huge interest of ours independent of those we read for book club, and a lot of times we read stuff we wouldn't pick up on our own otherwise, which I personally really like. Even if I didn't like a book, now I know. I've found some gems that have become some of my favorites I might not have found otherwise, too.

We round table host, just whoever volunteers. I'm a huge Halloween person, and I decorate to the max, so I've got a standing hosting gig for October, our organizer claimed December, otherwise it's open. Bring food, drinks, don't, whatever you can/want to do, change it up every time. Theme your food/drink, don't. Just have fun.

If you're not liking the club, then I'd say just find another one. I don't know how easy that is, but that's just how I've found clubs and such to be. Either you click and it works or you don't and there's nothing wrong with it, it's just not a good fit. Some are more structured, some are not, some read all fluff some read the opposite, some are a mix. Gotta find what works for you.

I enjoyed this book, maybe I just have bad taste.

I’m not surprised University professors aren’t answering your emails.

Hoover is one of the worst authors I’ve ever encountered