After graduation, a group of us wanted to keep reading, so we formed the Post-University Book Club as a chance to get together once a month, discuss a book, eat and drink. The only rule is that no one (who is present at the picking) can have read the book before.
The Untouchable by John Banville
A cold-war, spy novel. Not bad, but a bit dense. |
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Animal Farm by George Orwell
A classic that we all made it through school without reading. |
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The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Local CMU professor presents his last lecture. Amazing book. |
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Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O’Nan
I was the only one who like this, probably because of my years in retail. The last day a Red Lobster is open happens to be during a snowstorm. |
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The Thirteenth Tale by Dianne Setterfield
A good story, pretty good and ranked high on our list. |
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Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vognegut
I was not expecting the aliens. Didn’t see that coming. |
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One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus
Alternative history of the United States, and the only book every member has loved. |
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The Fuck Up by Arthur Nersesian
Not believable, and kind of strange. |
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The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
To coincide with the release of the first movie, we read this Sherlock Holmes novel. |
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Balzac and Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Not bad, but a little strange. |
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Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
More about recipes and home renovations than anything else. Not at all like the chick flick. |
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Walden and Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau
None of us made it through this. Very dense. |
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Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
Not bad, but does not leave a lasting impression. |
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Bear v. Shark: The Novel by Chris Bachelder
We met over drinks to argue both sides of this book and got the bar staff involved as well. |
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Inferno (The Divine Comedy, book 1) by Dante Alighieri
Awesome to read, and fun to see what circle of hell I belong in. |
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If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell
A lot of fun to read, and we cussed it while watching episodes of Xena and Hercules. |
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The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Everyone else said it was too sad, but I liked it. |
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Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Really cool book, I just wish I had more time to listen to the podcasts. |
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The Abbey (e-Book only) by Chris Culver
Thankfully, we only paid about two bucks for this book, that’s pretty much all it’s worth. A detective novel with a very immature main character. |
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A Man of the People by Chinua Achebe
The first of our international series (Ethiopian restaurant, Abay), although the nation this is set in is never revealed. |
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Kingdom of Make Believe: A Novel of Thailand by Dean Barrett
Universally reviled. I couldn’t make it through this book it was that bad, everyone hated it. Second in our international series (Thai Restaurant, The Green Mango) |
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Diary of a Part Time Monk by J. Wilson
Based on the blog of the same name, and the second half is basically a reprinting of the blog. Third in our international series (German Brewhouse, Hofbrauhaus Pittsburgh) |
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The Shack by Wm. Paul Young
Heavy handed and supposed to be “mystical Christianity.” I disliked it greatly, I felt it belittled the true loss of a young child. |
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Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin
A fun mystery novel with a few unexpected twists. Probably a good summer read. |
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The Autobiography of Santa Claus by Jeff Guinn
Is it possible to white-wash the history of a fictional character? That’s what this felt like. The whole book tried way too hard to be relevant. |
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The Master of Disguise by Antonio J. Mendez
Back to our Cold War roots, although this was very dense, I didn’t have a chance to read much of it. |
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White Fang by Jack London
Better than I anticipated, and glad I finally read it. |
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The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Wasn’t that impressed, seemed a bit heavy handed with its “wisdom” it wanted to impart. |
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The Dovekeepers by Alice hoffman
A long and dense, but very good read. Well paced and enjoyable throughout. |