Happy Holidays! On a cold and blustery December afternoon we met at the library to discuss Untamed, by Glennon Doyle. Up next for January is our YA selection, The Firekeeper's Daughter, by Angeline Boulley. As always, if you are able to obtain a copy of The Firekeeper's Daughter elsewhere, we would encourage you to do so, as our copies are limited. Also, we'd like to remind our members to please be intentional about reading through the book club books and returning them to library in as timely a fashion as possible to help us be as efficient as we can in distributing the copies we are able to secure~ we appreciate your help! If you don't need a copy of The Firekeeper's Daughter, and you haven't already let us know, would you please leave us a note down below? Many thanks!
Onward!
Ya'll, the consensus among the 9 attending book club members when we closed the meeting was that this was thee best book club discussion we've had in years! With the exception of only two, this book, to varying degrees, was liked and well received. We liked the flow and the pace of her writing. We liked her honesty and respected her bravery in telling her story. Several members said they wish they would have had this book when they were starting their adult lives, and that some of them knew a young woman in the here and now that they planned to gift the book to. Those same members said they would be buying a copy for themselves to highlight and mark all the good nuggets they found in it's pages. We wondered at the "what might have beens" in her life, like: How much harder could this lifestyle transition have been for her if she wasn't incredibly wealthy? And: If her ex-husband had not have had a previous affair prior to Glennon leaving the marriage, would he have been as gracious as he was about the divorce?
On the other hand, more than just two could agree that Glennon could be exhausting at times. She is clearly an over-thinker and seems to struggle with her self-esteem periodically. It felt at times like there was a little too much "girl power" being spouted, and we weren't fans of her repeated declarations of "I'm my own #1 and I'll never betray or make myself uncomfortable for anyone else-- ever." How do you lovingly and effectively parent within these parameters? How does a marriage survive? Or a friendship?
In the end, we were able to have respectful conversations about what can be very polarizing topics and still like each other by the meetings end. What a testament to the caliber of our members! Good on you!
How did this book strike you? Keep the conversation going with your insight(s) down below! 👇
Did you love Untamed? Fans of the book also enjoyed, You are a Badass, by Jen Sincero, Daring Greatly, by Brene Brown, and Becoming, by Michelle Obama. All of these titles are available within the Viking Library System~ reserve your copy today!
The votes are in!
Would we
recommend this to a friend to read?
"YES"
Would we
recommend this to another book club for discussion?
"YES" Rate the
book 1-5 stars, with 1 being the lowest rating: 3.75 stars
