There were a number of changes between the book and show; I liked some of the character changes for the show because the actors were so absorbing in the roles. I also read the old tv boards as I was watching the show, which always helps me. They were No Book spoiler free discussions.
And Ladies of the Club is holding up very very very well.
This time 'round, we have the internet – so I’m able to look up some of the history and politics that I’m not familiar with. So that helps considerably. Santmyer was very accurate about the history and the movements she writes about.
And this time 'round, I can identify with the older women those characters become. Santmyer has some real words of wisdom in there from the women as they age.
Reading it is not at all difficult; it’s a very smooth read. I get through a 70-page or so chapter in an evening, before bed.
Obviously its length makes it not for the faint of heart, but I’m really enjoying it.
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So glad you brought this up- I have had fleeting thoughts of rereading this - probably since the 70s since I first read it (?). Different perspective in my 60s, I expect.
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I have a lot of books that I’ve read or am reading currently. I’ll list a selection.
Read:
The Guest List Lucy Foley
Black Cake Charmaine Wilkerson
Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
Multiple trilogies by Robin Hobb
While waiting for the next book in sequence, I tried to reread LotR (the first book). That was a mistake — will read that next month when I’m on vacation. Plan is to finish that and then move on to The Silmarillion. I need to become familiar with Tolkien’s world before the Amazon Prime series begins.
Reading:
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
Next up:
The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen Flynn. This was a recommendation from @jollymama, I think. I’m pretty sure this will be right down my street.
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez
West With the Giraffes by Linda Rutledge
I’m still waiting for The Lincoln Highway. It’s been 2 months and more than a hundred people before me. Hopefully by May.
I’m number 40 for The Anomaly. Only format available is paperback. Should get it in time.
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@jollymama Crying in H Mart was the March book for my local RL Book Club. I didn’t end up reading it because I missed the meeting. (We were in TX to see our S get his US Air Force Pilot Wings.) I have it on my Kindle, though, so I’ll likely get to it at some point.
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@AnAsmom I’m so excited that you’re reading The Jane Austen Project and hope you like it! The author is a former colleague of mine. I think I would have enjoyed it anyhow but might not have picked it up.
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I read Black Cake and The Lincoln Highway.
I want to read Once There Were Wolves and West with Giraffes. Did you like Once There Were Wolves?
Love love love Robin Hobb.
The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois was the best book I read last year. Gorgeous writing.
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I’m #3 on the list for The Anomaly, which I’d not heard of, but which sounds intriguing. I’m reminded of the TV show Manifest, which started strong and then fizzled out.
I’m currently in the middle of All the Light We Cannot See, inspired by our discussion of Cloud Cuckoo Land. This group definitely gets me out of my reading rut, and I do appreciate that!
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I really enjoyed The Guest List. It kept me thinking long after I had finished it.
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So far, I’ve only had to buy “Hamnet” and”Cloud Cuckoo Land.” Am glad this book will soon be available. I have been able to gift both books after I finished them. I requested recipients donate to the library when they were done.
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Wow - The Anomoly just came off waitlist at the library. (I put it on hold a bit before the final decision.) Looks like this time I will be reading m CC book club selection reallllly early.
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Read and then request it again closer to discussion time. That’s what I’m doing.
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Once There Were Wolves was interesting. Thought provoking and baffling at times.
I am enjoying Fanonne Jeffers’ writing. Had to take a short break from reading after 2 days of staying up half the night to finish other books.
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I think that’s been sitting on my bookshelf since 1982! I really ought to read it.
I keep getting books out of the library that are on hold and not getting to them before they are due. Very annoying!
I’ve liked all the Robin Hobb I’ve read, but library didn’t have the first book in a number of her series.
I read a couple of chapters of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois and thought it was going to take more energy to read than I had, but will try again when I am on vacation.
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Yeah, it definitely made me think. I had no clue for most of the book but I started putting things together towards the end.
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@mathmom My library also doesn’t have many of Robin Hobb’s books. I found many of them were available on the Open Library.
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Yeah, I really really like The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois but it is a commitment of both time and mental energy. At about page 400 I realized that I was no more than halfway through with the book and questioned why I started in the first place. At about page 800 I wasn’t quite ready for it to end.
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I just bought The Anomaly. Only 1 library in the state had it, and it was checked out. It could be 6 weeks before I could get it. Looks good. I am currently reading *Magpie Murders * by Anthony Horowitz. It was on last years Dutchess of Cornwall’s reading club list. It is good so far. I finished The Wife Between Us last week. I liked it too.
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I bought The Anomaly in French for my Kindle. I like reading foreign books on the Kindle so I can get words translated right away. My French was fairly fluent at one time, but very rusty now. I was amused at how many words I did not know, but it was obvious what they meant from context. The waiting list was longer than I thought for the library copy, but I won’t worry about it yet and just keep chugging through the French edition slowly for now.
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Update on the Anne Tyler at the halfway point. She is doing a great job with her characters! I like this better than her past two or three. 
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