Lucy’s Comments (group member since Sep 08, 2014)

Lucy’s comments from the Discourse in a Digital Age group.

Oh gosh, Teresa is totally right -- I loved too many of our books to choose just one. But if I must be choosy, then these three, in order: Ancillary Justice, The Sparrow, and Snow Crash. I read the last one and got hugely into Neal Stephenson (please one of you read Seveneves so we can discuss!), so thank you for that, Kenny. And Packing for Mars, and the book by Aziz Ansari. So many wise, funny, enlightening, thought-provoking books I wouldn't have picked up on my own, and the great friends we have become discussing them and the digital connections you found for each. THANK YOU for starting this group, and may your Naples P.L. group turn out to be as fun & successful.

Oops, norms for 'proper' women are endearing. Plot developments with Sheriff Heath and with Fleurette promise more stories to come.

I'm just finishing the 2nd bk in this series, "Lady Cop Makes Trouble".
The author certainly isn't reluctant to show Constance's awkwardness or her impulsive & impetuous behavior, but her bravery and refusal to adhere to conventional

I will definitely see you all on Wed.
I read this over a year ago, and need to refresh my memory of details, but I loved it - a highly original story, even better for being fact-based. The sisters' prickly relationship, the injustice done to Constance, the brutality of the Jersey thugs, the contrast between Brooklyn and the rural life the family ran away to, all stuck with me. My paternal grandmother, born around the same time as Constance Kopp, grew up in a small eastern Michigan town, with an older brother and two younger sisters, and the details of the Kopp family's life in the early 1900's reminded me of what my grandma & great-aunts used to tell my sister and me. Echoes of that time in the attitudes toward and treatment of women are all around us today, unbelievably.

Anne, do you have a complete list of Discoursers email addresses? Not sure I do, but we should copy Zach's message about the new group and send it via email to Elaine, David and any others who might become active again.

Zach, Anne and all - it makes sense to leave the Discourse. .. group active until we've finished the rest of this year's bks. But also desirable to get a new Genre Blender group up and running.
Hey all you out there - we need to hear everyone's voices. Hope to see you at our 11/14 discussion.

How do we add Zack, (our new leader) to this list? I want to suggest a few titles to him. Also, has anyone read "All the Birds in the Sky" by Charlie Jane Anders? Very good cross-genre story.

A great story, read it last yr. We missed you this month, Teresa -- did you two have a great time in Paris?

Finished the book yesterday on the plane home to StL from Colorado, and did not want the story to end. My initial reaction to the dogfighting was like Cheryl's, but I have to admit I started to 'accept' the violence as I focused on Skeetah's passionate love for China, and the dynamics of the boys' relationship. Great immersive account of the hurricane, and in the end a great story about family & community bonds.

Hi all,
Our last scheduled book is for Jan. 2019, so it's time to be thinking of and posting reading suggestions for the coming year. OR, we could discuss joining forces with a new Schlafly book group being started by Zack, the young staffer who led a discussion for Travis' group once. He is proposing a cross-genre discussion, where we'd read books that may have elements of sci fi, fantasy, magical realism, etc. I will ask Zack to explain his ideas & goals for this proposed reading group, so we can consider our own future options, especially as esteemed leader Ken is going to be less able to be active as he gets more & more involved in his new community.

I forgot to mention one point we discussed Wed pm -- the intensely thought-provoking explanation by the DAPPAS guy for the necessity of quashing the CVD and any public knowledge of its successful operation.

Hmmph! Tho' I'll graciously concede your point about the Terence/Spivey conversations and Spivey's treatment of Carson.

Also the arguments over religion & science between Rebecca's dad and Philip. Major dissatisfaction with Rebecca -- why was she wasting her mind & talents working for a scummy operation like Lovability and not dealing with her obvious alcoholism (which pre-dated Sean's death) and lying to Philip about it.
Last comment, it is so WRONG that Alicia triumphed in every way in this story!

Also, the

I had lots of questions that a physics prof might've answered -- like whether the "conservation of mass" law is actual, whether the science of Rebecca's final trip to the past and her return with teeth enamel intact (I get that it's the only human body system that doesn't constantly regenerate, but why wouldn't it have remained in the orig'l Rebecca's corpse?) was accurate as far as can be currently known. Other than the physics of time travel stuff, I had everyone's complaint about the bk's unnecessary length - I would've omitted most of the Terence/Spivey talks, the Bricker chapter (save for the part on the commuter train that showed the extent that social media, gaming, and not-face to face communication had done away with the norms of polite public behavior

We're super-glad you're getting involved in Naples life outside the library. As the mom of a kid who majored in theatre ed in college and acted/stage-managed in high school, college & community theatre, I say Yay! for your acting gig. Wish I could be there for "Peter..." -- I saw it here in StL and loved it.

Cheryl, Donna, Teresa -- so, since Ken is missing his play rehearsal Wed pm just to discuss Version Control, let's go ahead with it tomorrow nite. Can't find another date when all of us are available anyway, and postponing discussing it til Oct mtg won't help, as Teresa and Ken will miss that meeting.
I'm bringing treats, see you at 6:30 at the Library.

Anne, I just emailed Travis to ask if anyone on the lib. staff could/would be allowed to set us up on Skype on one of the lib. laptops. Failing that, or one of us being able to do it, is it out of the question to move this month's discuss'n to Thurs pm? If a rm at the lib isn't available then, we could carpool up to Panera or walk to some quiet-ish coffee place nearby?

Excellent review! During my entire 35+ year career as a lib'n, I never developed the art of describing the essence of a book so that someone else would want to read it, or of capturing its salient points without ruining it for the reader.

All I have right now are gut reactions, mostly of horror at this "version" of the future our fascination/obsession with technology is driving us toward.
Rebecca's family's shared alcohol dependence is unpleasant to read about also, and I can't help but wonder how many personal issues the author is working out thru this story. And I'm getting lost in the physics/philosophical arguments on time travel ("DON'T call it that!").
Kenny, what were your feelings when you first read it?