You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

You are not limited to the two chosen books. You may read any book within the theme "Books with Four Words in the Title" if you prefer.

In order to receive a badge you must:
1. have read the book before or during April 2025.

2. discussed it in this thread. Discussion must be more than "I read the book and I liked it". Discussion requires something more substantial and analytical of what you read. Please elaborate on your thoughts on at least 5 of the following topics:
- Setting
- Characters
- Writing style
- Genre
- How the book made you feel
- Which parts stood out
- Did you/will you read more by the author
- Anything else related to the book you find worth mentioning

This can be done in one post after finishing the book, but preferably in a few posts while reading. Please refer to our group spoiler policy for further information.

3. Report that you have read AND discussed the book in the reporting thread (include a brief summary of what you thought of the book).

General Rules:
1. Please mark your spoilers with the spoiler tags along with mentioning what stage of the book you are at so other's don't get a nasty shock. Chapter numbers/titles are generally best as they are the same across all formats and editions. See our spoiler policy
2. The book may be combined with the Year Long Challenge, Topplers, and Monthly Challenges.

Happy reading!

I will be reading Black Woods Blue Sky - not sure when I will get to it though. I'm thinking towards the end of next week maybe?

I have a couple of books planned for this month with four word titles. I'm hoping the month goes as planned.

I have chosen We Do Not Part and I’m 100 pages in. Several times I’ve almost abandoned it mainly because it alternates between reality and dreaming. There’s also a bit of jumping around in time. It’s not an easy read, and I think it’s going to be quite intense.
The book is set in South Korea, and the main character is journeying through a snowstorm to help her friend. So far, I am appreciating the prose, but not the way the story is structured.

I hope it gets better for you Shirley.

That doesn't sound great, Shirley. I don't usually enjoy books with dream sequences and that one sounds like there's a lot going on. I hope it improves and ends up being better than expected.

I have finished reading We Do Not Part. The second part of the book is set in the isolated cabin on Jeju Island, Korea in the middle of a blizzard. It’s where Inseon lives. She is in hospital and has asked her friend Kyungha to go and look after her bird. Inseon has been researching the Jeju Island Massacre of 1948, during which her family’s village was destroyed and her relatives killed. K finds her friend’s research and is deeply affected.
The book has vivid descriptions of cruelty, which are quite harrowing but also repetitive. There is also a lot of symbolism which I think is overdone.

Janice and Kristie - No it didn’t improve, but it gave me a lot to think about. I hadn’t known anything about the Jeju Island massacre.

Sounds pretty terrible, Shirley. I don't know anything about the Jeju Island massacre either. Good on you for not abandoning it.

And you get a badge for your efforts. LOL!

I have just started reading Together We Fall Apart by Sophie Matthiesson
According to blurb, for the past seven years, the main character Clare has been living in London. She works for a judge on child protection cases. She has a partner, Miriam, and young son, Rupert. Clare returns to Melbourne leaving her family in London, to visit her ailing father,
Chapter 1 starts with Clare's arrival at airport, meeting up with her mother and feelings on her return after several years. Quite an interesting introduction, and will have to see how the book develops.

I just started Black Woods Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey. I love her writing and she is just captivating me with the story line. At first I thought this was an interesting contemporary fiction story as we are introduced to our main characters, Birdie a troubled partying single mom and her daughter Emaleen. But now the element of magical realism has taken hold of the story and I can't put the book down.

Odette wrote: "I have just started reading Together We Fall Apart by Sophie Matthiesson
According to blurb, for the past seven years, the main character Clare has been living in..."

Love the cover of the book your reading, Odette. It has really vibrant colors.

Jayme wrote: "I just started Black Woods Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey. I love her writing and she is just captivating me with the story line. At first I thought this was an interestin..."

I have this on my wishlist. I enjoy her books as well.

Jayme wrote: "Odette wrote: "I have just started reading Together We Fall Apart by Sophie Matthiesson
According to blurb, for the past seven years, the main character Clare has..."

I have just finished reading this book and am still thinking about it. Once I started just had to keep going. It was a very engaging read.
The cover certainly is vibrant. I believe that the lines on the vase are cracks/breaks, representing the dysfunctional family and relationships in the book. The book has a very contemporary feel covering the issues of addiction, sexuality and dependancy.

Odette wrote: "Jayme wrote: "Odette wrote: "I have just started reading Together We Fall Apart by Sophie Matthiesson
According to blurb, for the past seven years, the main chara..."

I just put it on my TBR. I love it when you can't stop thinking about a book.

I'm about 3/4 of the way through the book Black Woods Blue Sky and I can't put it down. Ivey's descriptions of the wilderness of Alaska are both beautiful and terrifying (if you don't know what you're doing with regards to living off the land). Birdie is a better person than I because I don't think I could (view spoiler)[ put up with Arthur leaving me in a cabin that doesn't have running water or electricity for days (hide spoiler)] but then my best friend lives in Alaska and she could do it with ease.
I should finish the book later today.

I’m reading Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi. Its historical fiction set in Bombay, India in the 1930s. It’s about a British-Indian nurse who bonds with a patient - a famous painter, who dies under her care - not a spoiler as it’s in the book blurb. It’s okay so far, just feels a whole lot lighter and flatter than her other books, especially her first book The Henna Artist, which I enjoyed a lot more.

Lilisa wrote: "I’m reading Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi. Its historical fiction set in Bombay, India in the 1930s. It’s about a British-Indian nurse who bonds with a patient..."

I have that book on my TBR. I'll be interested to know what you think when you are finished.

I have finished my book Black Woods Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey and I am gutted. I really can't tell you details without "spoiling" the story and I don't think you would even understand the depth of emotion unless you read it. I will read whatever Ivey writes.

Lilisa wrote: "I’m reading Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi. Its historical fiction set in Bombay, India in the 1930s. It’s about a British-Indian nurse who bonds with a patient..."

This is prob my least fav of her books so far, Jayme. Not much more to go so thoughts coming soon…

Finished Six Days in Bombay. I liked the premise of the book, execution could have been a whole lot better. The book raised several issues/themes that could have been delved into that would have made the book so much stronger and enjoyable. The storyline didn’t quite hang together. It skimmed the surface, and floated along very conveniently, sometimes unbelievably so. The book was disappointing, given that I enjoyed her debut novel - The Henna Artist. (The other two books in the trilogy were just okay. Hopefully, her next book will match the caliber of her first book!)

Jayme wrote: "I'm about 3/4 of the way through the book Black Woods Blue Sky and I can't put it down. Ivey's descriptions of the wilderness of Alaska are both beautiful and terrifying (if you do..."

Pleased to hear than you are enjoying this book. I am thinking of reading The Snow Child by the same author for Alaska location in the annual challenge.

I was pleased to have read Together We Fall Apart.
The alternating time-lines worked well. They allowed for a gradual reveal of Clare's relationships with her partner and her family. She must re-evaluate her ties to her family back in Australia and with Miriam and Rupert in London, a very emotional and difficult process.
Also there is the issue of her brother Max’s struggles with addiction and its effects on their family.
It is a contemporary and realistic portrayal of family and relationships.
This was a very impressive debut book, and a five star read for me

I'm reading Kills Well with Others by Deanna Raybourn. This is the second book in the Killers of a Certain Age series. My husband and I both really enjoyed the first one, so we decided to listen to the second one together. We listened to about the first 20% today and it was fun to get back with these women again, though there was one pretty gruesome scene that surprised us. I'm hoping for another engaging story with some humorous moments thrown in.

I finished Kills Well with Others today. Hubby and I decided to take a long drive since it was just the two of us for Easter. I thought it was really good. I didn't like it as much as the first one, but I think that's partly because there was a little more humor in the first one. However, I still enjoyed the story and thought it was well-written. We both ended up giving it 4 stars.

Don't forget to post in the reporting thread when you finish your read.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I read Hanging by a Thread It tells the story of a woman who lived in Los Angeles and finds the cut throat business there too fast paced so she moves to a sleepy town in the US to find calm, but finds there's been a murder in the village and her aunt is a suspect. It's a murder mystery story and she thinks that she can solve this case as her aunt might be a suspect.

I'm starting "These Still Black Waters". by Christina McDonald

As I read through it, I love the creativity and art aspects of the book. There's a 1950's themed event planned, and the baker is making cupcakes, cakes, and snacks based on her grandma's recipes. The main character is making Tote bags and outfits for the serving staff that are in keeping with the 1950s theme. It's an adorable story with a great sense of community spirit except for the murder which is the other half of the story.

Well, I can't call that I read "These Still Black Waters". I found the book to be falsely advertised, but it would have been fun if I was aware that it was a paranormal thriller, and not went in thinking that it's just a thriller novel.

Charissa wrote: "Well, I can't call that I read "These Still Black Waters". I found the book to be falsely advertised, but it would have been fun if I was aware that it was a paranormal thriller, and not went in th..."

Ended up skipping to the end of the story to figure it out.