Hi book clubbers!!
Our August book was Personal Effects: Dark Art by J.C. Hutchins and Jordan Weisman
I think we had a great first meeting! Johanna and I had some awesome book discussion and Cassandra sent us her her thoughts as well to discuss.
Here are some of our discussion questions: Feel free to post your opinions below or add discussion as you like. I'd love to hear some questions and opinions.
- Who were some of your favorite characters? Why?
- What did you like most about the protagonist? Could you relate to he or she? Could you relate to the rest of their characters?
- Do the characters seem believable? Can you relate to them and their circumstances? To what extent do they remind you of yourself?
- What was your favorite twist or turn in the novel? Was this your favorite scene?
- Was there anything unique about the setting of the book? Did it enhance or take away from the story?
- What themes did the author emphasize throughout the novel? Do you think this was meant for pure entertainment or was there a message here?
- How do the characters change or evolve throughout the story? What events triggered that?
- In what was do the events of the book reveal evidence of the authors' world view?
- Did certain parts of the book make you uncomfortable? Why or why not?
- Did the end surprise you?
- This particular novel got many ratings that stated, that the only thing keeping this novel with positive reviews were the extra media it came with (pictures, evidence, multi media). Do you think this enhanced or changed your view of the novel or did this have nothing to do with how much you liked it?
- Did you like the novel? If so, what would you rate it out of 5?
Johanna's rating: ****
Jolene's rating: **** and 1/2
Cassandra's rating:
We also voted on Septembers read which will be Defiance by CJ Redwine.
Please vote on the October read HERE!
Cassandra was awesome enough to share her thoughts prior to the meeting. Here is what she sent:
ReplyDelete"My thoughts on Personal Effects: Dark Arts by J.C. Hutchins:
I cannot begin this review by saying this novel was a masterpiece but I can say that I enjoyed reading it. Maybe not in the way I would enjoy reading a classic but in the way I enjoy watching a movie I know is going to be bad or a show that I don’t openly admit to watching (ie Storage Wars). It was a great first novel for a book club, easy and quick to read with just enough suspense to make it hard to put down.
My biggest problem with this book, probably what distracted me the most and made my brow furrow as it is want to do without my permission, was that I could not figure out who the book was written for. My initial thought was this book is written for adolescents. The same age the last few Harry Potter’s were meant for. The quickness with which the chapters flowed. The short sentence and slang words were evidence of this for me so I settled into reading a book meant for a younger crowd but that I would still enjoy, since I personally always enjoy books written for teens. But then crude language and violently sexual scenes entered the equation, too adult, I would assume, for it to be marketed to adolescents. The combination of these writing techniques made the writing feel juvenile and the occasional sexual reference and vulgar word feel forced. Don’t get me wrong I love me some swearing and sex in a book, but the use of it in this book confused me. I am still a 20 something so if the book was meant for my age group, I don’t think it quite hit its mark, at least not with me.
The only other thing I had a problem with was a particular part in the book. it didn’t quite add up. I do not know if I missed something or someone, so maybe you guys can explain it to me:
The funeral for Zach’s grandmother. A man shows up who makes his father and his cop friend uncomfortable. Zach chases him down the street to confront him and find out who he was. My understanding was that this man was Zach’s Uncle Henry, come to say goodbye to his mother, but then later in the book we find out that Zach’s Uncle Henry is in a high security prison for murder. How could he have been at the funeral and locked up in prison? was this someone else who just knew the story and went there for Henry? I was confused by this and remained confused throughout the book. Did anyone else see this or did I miss something completely?
These are the thoughts I got from the book. I did enjoy reading this book however. It was a nice, easy read that I could just turn my mind off and read. No labor of love as some novels are."
I'm not going to comment on the actual questions because I haven't read this book for a couple years, plus I'm not in your book club. haha. I was just surprised to see it up here because it's not a book you see around. I mean, I know JC Hutchins has a lot of fans, but it's not like I walk into a bookstore and see this featured or something. The book is a little more obscure so it caught me out there to see you featuring it.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I happened to know JC Hutchin's number one fan. She was my critique partner, Zellie Blake. She passed away a couple years ago, but she LOVED JC Hutchins. She thought this book was so brilliant and they talked online a few times. She interviewed him for a podcast and she was SO excited about it.
When she was dying (cancer) I talked to JC a few times, because I got a bunch of people involved in folding a thousand cranes for Zellie and I wanted him to autograph one of the cranes. (Long story) Anyway, JC folded one and signed it for her. Zellie was only twenty-seven when she died. JC wrote her a beautiful memorial that she would have been so touched over. He seemed like the nicest man.
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take over your book discussion with this somewhat depressing story. I just saw the picture of the book up there and it brought back this flood of memories. I hope you guys enjoyed the book. The writer is a really great guy. :)
Hi Tamara!
DeleteI hope you had a nice weekend! Thank you so much for your awesome post! It was really touching and I'm honored that you shared it with us.
I'm SO sorry to hear about Zellie. It sounds to me like she was very lucky to have such a compassionate friend and CP such as yourself. And how cool is JC Hutchins for folding a crane, signing it, and writing such a nice memorial? It's always a breath of fresh air when you meet an author that truly appreciates their fans.
I love that you associate Zellie with JC Hutchins and this book. I often do this with some of my absolute favorites. In a way, this book-person association allows for our family and friends to live on forever in more than just our head and our hearts. I hope that one day I can live on via literature. :P
I think the crane folding is beautiful by the way. I only just learned of what it symbolizes this last year when a friend of mine had a ton of folded cranes tattooed on his arms in homage to that legend.
Anywho, feel free to stop by anytime and post on anything! You can always be an out-of-towner book club member. :P
Ps. I checked out your blog and I really liked it. I'm now a lucky follower. :P