Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Circus Tumblers

Love Is The Game


  Suspending disbelief, especially in literature, is difficult for me. I have shied away from Sci-Fi and fantasy books and even Harry Potter was a stretch.  This is why, I am so surprised at the joy Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus has brought to me. Maybe it is the her outstanding ability to use words to create such a vivid picture of the world of the Night Circus. The vivid use of black and white to enhance color is a concept any designer would treasure. Her characters, while not deep, are all so interesting and quirky we come to feel very strongly about their moves and motives.  Her supporting characters, such as Bailey, the "town" boy who runs away with the circus, are so appealing and "normal" he stands out in this crowd of psychics and magicians and strangely mean mentors. 
  And so, with all this beauty and magic, it is strangely haunting to come to the middle of this book, and realize, it's all about love.  The love story is a "balancing act", as surely as if it were on the highwire and we are all holding our breath to see what happens. 
  I'm happy to say that the Face to Face meeting, less than two weeks away, to be held on April 8th at 6:30 is almost upon us. I am SO interested to hear what you all have thought of the book.  Be sure to SIGN UP HERE if you would like to attend.  We are almost sold out already.
  Without any spoilers please, let me know what you think so far, and please post questions you would like to have me pose at the meeting, on our comments section. It's opened up, so anyone may make a comment without any more signing in.
Can't wait to see you all.  Thanks for reading!

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Send In The Clowns

The circus arrives without warning...


As a disclaimer, I will say this book is not one I would have picked up on my own. A dear friend "made" me read it and I will always be grateful that she did.  I am hoping, if you were unsure, you are feeling the same way. 
At the start, this book seems to pull you in, perhaps on a dare, to investigate the strange world of a circus, open only at night and with such extraordinary beauty and a dream like quality. There really are no clowns, but a tent made entirely of ice, a greenhouse which has the scent of rose and ice and sugar and "fearsome beasts and strange creatures" made out of paper and imagination. There is love and romance and there are fortune tellers and premonitions. It is really all too much for a sensible, down to earth reader, but the magic seems to have captured me. 
So, dear readers, what are you thinking? Who amongst the characters do you feel strongly about? Time plays an important role in this book, from Friedrick Thiessen's clock to the delayed aging of characters.  How do you see the role of time here? 
We've changed the comment process, here on the blog, so comment away, it's easier than ever. No secret code word needed.  Or better yet, come share your thoughts with us, at our Face to Face meeting on Tuesday, April 9th at 6:30pm. All you have to do is SIGN UP HERE. If you are interested in this meeting or just would like to become a permanent member of CapRadio Reads and be the first to hear about the amazing things we're doing, and the wonderful events we are planning be sure to JOIN THE CLUB.
Thanks for being CapRadio Readers.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Constant Comment

Your Words are Welcome


Dear CapRadio Readers...We have changed the settings on our blog to make it a little more user friendly.  You may now make comments without having to have a Google, or any other specific account.  Simply go to the bottom of the post, and make yourself heard! Tell us what you think about the current title, suggest other titles and tell us what else you're reading.  As I said on Tuesday night, one of the best things about a bookclub is the huge title resource it provides for all of us. Just to start it off, I am currently reading a book called Shadow on the Crown by Patricia Bracewell, a recent guest at the Sacramento Library Foundation's Authors on the Move event. It's a novel about an 11th Century English queen called Emma. It's very well written, and a terrific way to learn about a period of history I was not familiar with. 
So, who will be next to share a favorite book? It should be YOU!

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

April Title is Announced


Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus will be the book selection for CapRadio Reads April Face to Face meeting, to be held in The Community Room at the Capital Public Radio studios on Folsom Boulevard, April 9th at 6:30pm.


SIGN UP HERE  to join us for an evening of refreshments and conversation about this book, which spent a total of 64 weeks on the NPR Bestseller list and was called "A force to be reckoned with - and enjoyed" by Lyn Neary on All Things Considered.  As always, space will be limited, so please sign up early.  We look forward to your comments on our blog as we proceed through this book, and your views on the book at our meeting in April.

Rave Reviews

The Light Between Oceans is a hit

To those of you who packed our Community Room last night for the Face to Face discussion of M.L. Stedman's, The Light Between Oceans, thank you. To those who couldn't make it, we hope you felt the book was worthy of your time reading, and hope you will join us for future meetings, here on the blog and at special events.

Those readers in the room were taken with the wonderful depiction of characters in this book, and felt strongly that Tom was a man with a strong moral compass, who dearly loved his wife, Izzie. Maybe he loved her too much, and thus allowed her to make the first of many bad decisions in this book, resulting in a harrowing tale of deceit. Everyone agreed that Tom's World War One experiences probably led to many of the issues in this book and that, as always, war does really terrible things to the people involved. The lighthouse itself emerged as an important character in the book, as a beacon of hope and safety, yet remote. All in all it was a wonderful conversation with many of the 40 gathered taking part, and I think all, enjoyed the warm atmosphere, a glass of wine and maybe even a cookie or two!  Remember to JOIN THE CLUB to make sure you are first to know about all our Face To Face Meetings and Special Events and make sure you are a member of Capital Public Radio, who brings CapRadio Reads and so many other fine community events and programs to you every day of the week. Coming soon, the announcement of our April Book Selection.  Watch this space for more information.   Thank you for reading!

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Always Looking Both Ways

Janus, The Roman God of Doorways

And so, CapRadio Readers, we are coming to the end of our book for March. I have heard from many of you that you have really enjoyed reading The Light Between Oceans, and didn't want it to end. I think that is the sign of a really great book.  Now we are getting ready for our Face to Face meeting and you can
 Sign Up Here if you would like to attend, and tell us what you thought.  I am going to ask you all to bring your own discussion questions to the meeting. Of course I have read the book, and have lots to talk about, but I am hoping (and this is at the suggestion of another member of our club) that I can turn the conversation over to you all. Get to know one another, and your reading habits and preferences. One question I would like to ask is, it seems most of you "liked" the characters in this book, as against the characters in our last selection, The London Train. Was this influencial in your like or dislike of the book itself?  Is it that the characters are more likeable, or is it that they were more fleshed out, so you actually knew them better? I wonder....
If you won't be able to attend the Face to Face, please leave your questions here, and I will happily explore them for you with the group. Cheers!