You can keep a secret, right?
Because I'm going to let you in on a little, teeny, tiny one.
Ready?
My favorite book of 2009 is Little Bee by Chris Cleave. Now, please keep it to yourselves, ok? I sort of let it out of the bag in front of the book group I lead here, and, well... I learned a valuable lesson. If you want a group of people to read your favorite book - the one that makes you gasp, laugh, and cry all in one sitting, DO NOT tell them it is your favorite book. Why? Let's just say that the reaction for which you had hoped, assumed, and completely took for granted - well, you're probably not going to get it. Nope. Negative. There will be no mutual admiration society for you!
I'm going to let another secret out of the bag.
Wait for it...
I traditionally pick the books for the book groups without reading them in advance. Yup. True. (Gasps are resounding, I know.) Seriously, though, when do I have the time to read all of those books in advance? I generally base the selections on a wide variety of national, sometimes international major reviewing sources combined with word-of-mouth recommendations and the buzz. Buzz, people. Did you hear that? As in, bee... as in Little Bee?
Sorry, I did it, again. I just LOVE that book. (BTW, the bloody fantastic Brit author, Chris Cleave will be appearing at our little 'ole library on Friday evening, February 26th. Please put it on your calendar, people!)
Bottom line is I've learned the hard way not to become personally invested in selections for a book group. That's it. That's what I've got. Now, you have it, too.
Back to the reviews...
Oh yeah, and just for the record, a LOT of very reputable sources feel the same way I do about that book. Not that I'm trying to sway the crowd or anything... I just thought you should know. (“Little Bee will blow you away…. In restrained, diamond-hard prose, Cleave alternates between these two characters’ points of view as he pulls the threads of their dark—but often funny—story tight. What unfolds between them… is both surprising and inevitable, thoroughly satisfying if also heart-rending.”— The Washington Post)
Comments (2)
I definitely think this is a buzz-worthy book and it was my favorite read of 2009 as well. I have been looking forward to February 26th for several months now -- I simply can not wait to meet Chris Cleave and hear him talk about Litte Bee.
In full disclosure, I am the Program Coordinator at the Princeton Public Library. Kristin and I both read this book last fall and we jumped at the chance to have Chris Cleave visit our library while he would be touring the United States. Please do mark your calendar for 2/26 for a special Friday night event at PPL.
Posted by Janie Hermann | January 27, 2010 1:43 AM
Posted on January 27, 2010 01:43
Can't wait to read it!!
I loved John Le Carre's latest (A Most Wanted Man), and the ending just knocked me out. One of the reviewers for the NYT Book Review hated it and said she saw the end coming a mile away. The other reviewer loved it. So....you like what you like. No apologies!!
Posted by Jane Brown | February 17, 2010 7:45 PM
Posted on February 17, 2010 19:45