READERS IN THE ROUGH 2024

 

Readers in the Rough—January 2024

Our discussion over the life of Marjorie Post started the calendar year 2023 with a lively evening discourse either approving of her valued collection of art from Moscow or arguing that she should not have purchased those items, but we all marveled at her dream to build Mar-a-Logo in Florida in the late 1920’s, not to mention the men in her life.  

With that we began our year reading, discussing, and deciding on our one important vote for one book a month.

The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Merriweather Post received the biggest mix of votes: 3 voted a Par, 3 voted a Birdie, 2 voted an Eagle, and 2 voted it a Hole-in-One. The total of the votes gave it an overall BIRDIE.

To better explain our voting think of a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the best and you would recommend it to any type of reader, and a 1 being a bogey or would not recommend to others to read.  

• A Hole-in-One vote equals 5 points. 
• Eagle vote equals 4 points. 
• Birdie vote equals 3 points. 
• Par vote equals 2 points.
• Bogey is worth 1 point.

One book received a Hole-in-One and nearly a standing ovation.

LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus https://www.bonniegarmus.com/lessons-in-chemistry

 

 This year, five books received overwhelming agreement for an EAGLE.

REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt

MAD HONEY by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT by Maggie O’Farrell 

LADY TAN’S CIRCLE OF WOMEN by Lisa See

TOM LAKE by Ann Patchett  If you prefer audio books, we recommend listening to Tom Lake.

We enjoy Ann Patchett's books so much, one of our Readers visited her bookstore in Nashville. 

Books receiving the majority of 3 points for a BIRDIE were:

THE MAGNIFICIENT LIVES OF MARJORIE POST by Allison Pataki

TOMORROW TOMORROW TOMORROW by Gabrielle Zevin

VIOLETA by Isabelle Allende

HELLO BEAUTIFUL by Ann Napolitano

<https://annnapolitano.com/hello-beautiful/>

 

WOMEN WITHOUT MEN by Shahrnush Parsipur,

our September book, was the most difficult to discuss and received PAR votes because we all struggled with the issues. It is a translation by Faridoun Farrokh. This passage, on page 85 in a book of only 122 pages, might give a clue as to the subject matter. “Unfortunately, it is still not a time for a woman to
travel by herself. She must either become invisible or stay cooped up in a house. My problems is that I can no longer remain housebound, but I have to, because I am a woman. Perhaps I can make a little progress at a time. But then I will have to be stuck in a house for a while. Maybe this is the only way I can see the world at a snail’s pace.”

We ended our year with  cheerful evening of delicious food, a few drinks, and ornery "Dirty Santa" ornament gift exchange. The lovely crystal ball ornament at the top was stolen two times and found a home at last. Inside the ball were all 11 of the book titles we read in 2023. Thank you members of Readers in the Rough. 

**Along the way, one of our readers became a grandma for the first time. We predict that she may not be reading as many books as in years past. Her hands and arms might be full of this sweet bundle of love.