Book Snails Book Group discussion

Anyone interested in joining Fred, Candace, and me with a buddy read of Congo, please feel free. Happy Reading!

Wish I had the time! Michael Crichton is my FAVE!

Erin wrote: "Wish I had the time! Michael Crichton is my FAVE!"
I wish you did too Erin.

Off to a great start, loving it already. 😊

Vickie wrote: "Off to a great start, loving it already. 😊"

I know! I started and finished in one day, it was so riveting.

I remember reading this years ago, and it was pretty good. Deep unexplored Congo... a wonderfully scary place!

And of course this being Crichton book, there's a twist or two...

I'm also thinking of reading Disclosure (1994), another Crichton novel which was also made into a movie.
(Finished it; 3 to 4 stars)

Just finished this one and loved it! It's funny, this book and Micro are my two favorites so far, but they have lower ratings than his other books. Go figure...🤷🏼‍♀️😊

Vickie wrote: "Just finished this one and loved it! It's funny, this book and Micro are my two favorites so far, but they have lower ratings than his other books. Go figure...🤷🏼‍♀️😊"

Hi Vickie, I'm on page 290 of Congo and enjoying it very much . When I read some of the descriptions og the Congo , I thought of Jules Verne and his descriptions . I am also enjoying Amy. This was a good book suggestion for a buddy read.

I finished Congo this evening, very enjoyable.

Was anyone besides Fred, Vickie, and I reading Congo? If we're all finished, may we discuss it, without worrying about spoilers?

I have no idea Candace.🤷🏼‍♀️

Candace wrote: "Was anyone besides Fred, Vickie, and I reading Congo? If we're all finished, may we discuss it, without worrying about spoilers?"

I'm good with that. Did you guys enjoy the characters ? I felt that the thumbnail character sketches were sufficient for the story . As I see it, the story was about a group of scientists searching for a source of technologically valuable diamonds . Other motives also played a roll in the story, ie. Ross's desire to lead an expedition and get out of the office for a bit . Elliot wanted to get out of San Francisco with Amy. What do you think ?

Fred wrote: "Candace wrote: "Was anyone besides Fred, Vickie, and I reading Congo? If we're all finished, may we discuss it, without worrying about spoilers?"

I'm good with that. Did you guys enjoy the charact..."

I enjoyed the characters, but I agree that this wasn't a character-driven story. Elliot did have an interest in her, but she didn't seem capable at that time to have an intimate relationship. I noticed that later she went on to marry and have children, though. It was interesting that the psychological profile of Amy was spot on. She was so driven to be perfect, which was impossible when so many crises were thrown at her at once. I routed for her, and was terrified for her, too. Her extreme logic-driven outlook was almost a drawback for her in this bizarre situation.

My main takeaway for the whole story was the apes who'd been trained to kill human intruders 400-something years ago, and kept it up until they were ultimately annihilated by the volcanic eruption. They were apparently a new species of gorilla that may have been crossbred with humans in their early history. Absolutely fascinating and terrifying. We'll never know anything more about them. But imagine the audacity of embarking on such a program back then, and succeeding!

Yes, I agree, not very character driven, but yet it seemed to work well with the story. I loved Elliot's relationship with his gorilla Amy. And yes, the whole new ape species was fascinating yet terrifying to think about.

I think the epilogue was interesting and revealing. Karen Ross resigned from ERTS (a for profit company corporation ) and took a position with a govt. agency and got married . If I remember correctly, she survived being struck by lightening. It seems extreme to me , like a soldier who leaves the military to become a Trappist Monk . I wonder if she'll get bored with life in a few years.
I liked Elliot's decision to move to Africa and continue working with Amy. I enjoyed the logic and simplicity of Amy. Lots of interesting ideas concerning training and crossbreeding with animals and the possible unintended consequences . A wonderful read!

Yes, Fred, great insight on Karen Ross. Made me wonder, too, if she would be happy living that different life. And yes, they all survived some decent injuries. Good ole fiction.😆

Oh how embarrassing, I've confused the name Amy with Karen Ross. Sigh.

I was wondering, Candace. LOL! No worries, it happens to the best of us.😉

Re epilogue I was happy that Amy got to finally join a group of gorillas in the wild. And that she was teaching her offspring to sign!

Yes, that was cool. But the sentimental side of me would loved to have read about Peter interacting with Amy's baby, but that didn't happen. I just feel like Amy would have allowed the baby to approach Peter, as close as their relationship was, but oh well.🤷🏻‍♀️

I'm glad Amy had a chance to get back with her own kind and it pleased me that she had a baby. I thought Munro was good also, when he tranquilized Amy and parachuted out with her. Even though he was a mercenary, he showed a lot ot bravery and humanity to spare Elliot the additional burden of having to deal with a fear crazed ape on his first (and probably last ) jump.
Vickie; thanks for creating this place to share our impressions of this story.

No problem, Fred, it was a pleasure. Thanks for the buddy read guys!😊

Hi Candace; I looked at Atheist Mind , just the introduction (plus the notes, bibliography and index ) . I LOVE IT !!!! In the meantime I'm finishing The Sparrow , I've started putting dandelions in our salads. starting a dandelion patch in my garden was pretty easy since they seem to thrive on neglect. I have a 25 ft sailboat I'm going to sell. I hope things are well with you. :-)

My copy of Atheist Mind will be here by the end of the month. I'm looking forward to it. Are you talking about The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell? One of the best sci-fi books I've ever, ever read. I highly recommend that you read the sequel, Children of God. It will explain so much. Hope you find the right buyer for your boat. My husband was laid off about a month ago when 1300 people lost their jobs due to Covid at a large healthcare system (corporate jobs.) So he's been looking, and since the DFW market is saturated right now, we are willing to relocate. No telling whether we'll have to move or not. He'll be 64 this month so it's tough.

Candace wrote: "My copy of Atheist Mind will be here by the end of the month. I'm looking forward to it. Are you talking about The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell? One of the best sci-fi books I've ever, ever read. ..."

I am reading The Sparrow, which I am enjoying very much, but I was referring to Athiest Mind. I received the hard cover edition a few days ago and got curious so I looked it over. I have a "way" of looking at a book as I'm sure most of us do, and I wanted to tell you how pleased I was . I will write down Childeren of God in my list of good books to read.
As my daughter reminds me, we have the memories of many sailing trips. I have enjoyed the sailboat immensely, but it's too much boat for me to tow and rig.
I'm sorry to hear of your husband's job loss. My wife and I both worked for healthcare companies in this area, and were lucky to avoid some of the workforce reduction/realignment cycles. I hope he is able to find something soon.

Fred wrote: "Candace wrote: "My copy of Atheist Mind will be here by the end of the month. I'm looking forward to it. Are you talking about The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell? One of the best sci-fi books I've e..."

I realized you were referring to Atheist Mind. But you mentioned that you were reading The Sparrow, so I commented on that, too.

As far as a "way" to look at books, I try not to read the inside jacket (if it's a hardback) because I think those generally give away too much. I will read the blurb on the back, though, and the rave reviews, if any, from professional reviewers. On Goodreads and Amazon I'll browse the readers' reviews, which are often entertaining. If there's a TOC, I'll look that over, too. For fiction, I absolutely adore books that have family trees in them, and maps. Love maps. Those things are useful in nonfiction, but in fiction, they're like icing on the cake. If you or anyone else wants to share their "way," please do!

I'm so glad you'll have the sailboating memories with your family!

Thanks for the good wishes for Tom's job hunt.

Hi Candace; Did you read "Prey" by Michael Crighton? What did you think of it? In "The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek" there is a mention of "Scripture Cake". Do you know of anyone that has made it? I looked on line and found several recipes . I may try making some when I get in a baking frame of mind .

Fred wrote: "Hi Candace; Did you read "Prey" by Michael Crighton? What did you think of it? In "The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek" there is a mention of "Scripture Cake". Do you know of anyone that has made i..."

I enjoyed reading Prey. Nanotech is here. Let's just hope it doesn't manifest as a creature imagined by Michael Crichton! The development of a nano creature with the ability to learn and *evolve* its hive mind is terrifying. Which is what Crichton set out to do, as he did with Andromeda strain and others: tell a scary story with the potential to become, if we're not careful, our own downfall. I admired his writing style, as always, and his ability to break science down such that the layman can see that science fiction may one day become science fact.

I've heard of Scripture Cake and have a vague memory of some church lady baking one for Sunday school. Enjoy, if you decide to bake one!