YUMMERTIME BOOK CLUB: OCTOBER

Knock, knock. BOO. Wait, where’d you go? Okay, anyways, it’s the THIRD installment of Yummertime Book Club and we’re ready to climb to the top of the Transamerica Pyramid, all donkey kong style (oh, wait… we didn’t get that right, did we?), even if it’s foggy and rainy and cold and miserable and wet, and scream out… we BOTH finished our books! Now, the bigger question is, did you? Oh, and Happy Halloween, everyone!

This little book club has quickly become a success, and it’s all because we’re in this together, right? Right. It’s like a Disney Channel original movie. “Come on, everyone! LET’S READ!” But, really, we received an outpour of recommendations for this next installment. From Scottie Milagro‘s recommendation of Norwegian Wood (a really great choice) to Brian Witt‘s recommendation of the Mates series by Cardeno C. From Sam Faubert‘s recommendation of Not That Kind of Girl (oh, look, we chose this book!) to Mitch Swan‘s recommendation of Will Grayson and Eddie Stansbury’s recommendation of Gone Girl (we bought this book too!).

And, well.. there were more recommendations. Many, many more. So, thank you! But, also remember, when recommending a book, we don’t tend to read intensely erotic novels… okay, yeah, no, actually, let’s just be direct, we don’t read intensely erotic novels.

Now, let’s get going. For this next installment, we’ve chosen Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham and Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton (a classic, a total classic… if only we had Steven Spielberg to read to us before we went to sleep… oh goodness, that didn’t come out right. No, please, we actually don’t want that. No, really).

But, let’s cut straight to the reviews. Remember now, we had three books to read!

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, Chris’s choice from this past month, is an exceptionally written, engrossing modern-day (save, a few years old) fantasy involving a cult, books and computers and romance, all set for the most part in a bookstore in North Beach, San Francisco. But, let’s cut to the chase, where the book truly lifts off at around page 100, the whole book, from start to finish, truly just feels like a contemporary, and pretty damn amazing, fairy tale, complete with Google and start-ups. Oh, boy, did we just say, “damn?” It’s a book perfect for anyone who’s seeking some fantasy in the “today.”

Brock’s choice from September (yayyy it’s done!) was Summer House with Swimming Pool by Herman Koch, if you can remember that far back. A totally interesting perspective, having been written by a Dutch author. His attention to detail was flawless, but it did take a few (hundred) pages to really get into the whole thing. After that, Brock couldn’t put the book down, but maybe that had something to do with the fact that he had to play catchup and read two books this month. We kid. But, overall, it was a great read, highly recommended if you’re willing to make it through a slightly slow beginning. And… just wait until you get to the ending. Twisted. Can we say that?

And LASTLY, woo… we’ve written a lot so far… no, really, we’re winded (hee hee haw hee hee haw)… we have Grace: A Memoir by Grace Coddington. Pure and simple, Grace Coddington is incredibly inspiring, refreshing and surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, candid. But, we need to make sure we mention that the chapter “On Cats” was a favorite of ours (well, Brock’s).

Do you have a GREAT book we should read? Send us an email to [email protected]! We need all of the help we can get!

Now, next question, are you reading this month’s books? AND do you want to write a review and have it featured next month? Let’s do it again… send us an email to [email protected]!