Book Group: Winter 2014

I got together with my book group this weekend and took absolutely zero pictures because I am a bad blogger. But the books were good, the people were great so I’m going to write about it anyway.

We get together every three months to talk about two books. People are busy so this schedule works for us. This time around we read TheThings that Keep Us Here by Carla Buckley and The Life List by Lori Nelson Spielman.

The Things that Keep Us Here is about a family fighting through a flu pandemic that spreads over the entire world. This book made me realize how utterly unprepared I am in the face of a disaster. In the story everyone is sick so there is no one to deliver food to the grocery store, run the electric company, how about water sanitation.  I don’t know about you but all the water in my house comes from a faucet and if it was contaminated I would have to walk pretty far to find fresh water. I’ve seen news stories of the world of natural disasters but in all of those situations people could help other people. I’ve never thought about a situation where people can’t help each other because they are contagious with a deadly flu.  This story is fascinating and although the writing was a bit choppy at times, the story line and circumstances were enough to pull me in. I even found myself thinking about if days after I finished it, and that is a sign of a good book.

The Life List is about a young woman who when her mother dies leaves her instructions to complete her life list (it’s like a bucket list) in order to receive her inheritance. The mother’s reasoning is that her daughter has lost touch with who she truly is. She has grown into a young woman who is successful on the outside but has abandoned the dreams of her youth. This story had me thinking about how I’ve changed since my childhood and teenage years. Although unlike the main character, I don’t think I’ve lost touch with my true self. The Life List was very enjoyable to read and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a love story intertwined with life unfolding, which is a lot how it happens in real life.