Monday, April 25, 2011

Remarkable Creatures, by Tracy Chevalier

Everyone in my book club loved this book. No one had a negative thing to say about it. We all enjoyed learning about this very important time in history when dinosaur fossils were first being discovered and recognized as extinct beings. It was interesting to see the reaction some of the religious had to these discoveries, with questions, such as, "Would a perfect God make a mistake?" It was equally interesting to see how two important women were treated by the male scientists and at geological meetings where women were not permitted to attend. Chevalier's narrator warns that this is no Jane Austen novel with its romantic happily-ever-after marriages, but the ending is still uplifting in different, more realistic, ways.

I highly recommend this book and anything written by this author.

Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert

If you like narrators who can make you laugh and cry within a single page, Elizabeth Gilbert is for you. I enjoyed following her along this journey of self-discovery. I was relieved that she didn't take herself too seriously. No one likes to be preached to, and this book is not preachy. My book club enjoyed discussing what one word we each felt defined us. It was a great meeting and a good read.

I would recommend this book.