"We Need to Talk About Kevin"

GoldenPenguin

Has anyone read this? And want to discuss it? I was up until 1230 last night because I couldn't stop until I finished and I have all the feels and I need to talk about it. I'll add a spoiler to the title if I need to, if anyone starts chatting.

AlPacina

Should I try and read this in the next few days so you have someone to talk to about it? No one seems to be chiming in! Is it long?

GoldenPenguin

hahaha - THANK YOU!! But you don't have to I'll find someone! 

It's not overly long, but it is somewhat of a hard read. Part of it is the subject matter, and the other is the way that it's written. I know @swazzle started to read it, but found it hard to get through. 

bethsmiles

I just googled it. It sounds really interested and I know I've head people mention it before. Is it told in first person or third person?

AlPacina

Okay. Well let me know if you don't find anyone. I don't want my vagina sister to be stuck with all these feels and no one to let them out to! :P

Plus, I haven't read a book for the sole purpose of discussion in a long time.

GoldenPenguin

@bethsmiles - first person, from the perspective of the mother, writing to her husband. Her language - the way she speaks (aka the way the author writes) is a little difficult... but I couldn't put it down, regardless. 

@alpacina - Let me know if you do read it though, because I'll definitely discuss it later too!

CLoGreenEyes

I just put it on reserve at the library. Give me a week or two and I'll be ready to discuss all the feels with you, @GoldenPenguin!

GoldenPenguin

YAY! Thanks @CLoGreenEyes, you're a good friend

AlPacina

Dangit, I wanted to be the good friend! 

However, I'm already halfway into two other books. I'm kind of relieved not to have to start a third. Thanks @CLoGreenEyes, for being a way better friend than me, haha.

CLoGreenEyes

LOL @GoldenPenguin, I am selfishly motivated! I love reading books that keep me up past my bedtime, so your first post made me curious. It sounds like some seriously emotional subject matter, so I'm excited to discuss with ya!------------------------------------------------------------ @AlPacina, READ WITH USSSSS. Just kidding, I can't imagine trying to keep up with two at once, let alone three! What books are you in the middle of? Right now I'm reading "War of the Whales," a non-fiction book about the Navy's use of sonar and its relation to mass strandings of whales and dolphins. I'm usually more about fiction since this is pretty technical for me, but I'm a huge cetacean nerd, so it's been pretty interesting.------------------------------------------------------------ETA: Frickin' paragraphs.

eilis1228

I'm still in the middle of 11/22/63 I haven't had a chance to read in over a week. Eek! Will put this book on my to-read list though.

AlPacina

@CLoGreenEyes - The first is Wild by Cheryl Strayed (BF's mom was recommended to read it by her therapist and then went and bought copies for EVERYONE because it inspired her so much.) I actually really love it, as a memoir, but it's not the type of story I'd typically pick out for myself to read.

The other one is a young adult novel called Rumble. It's about a boy whose brother was bullied until he killed himself, and how he's dealing with being around the kids that caused it. It's a short read, so I got about halfway through on a long drive one day and am pretty much just waiting for another long drive to finish it.

War of the Whales sounds crazy interesting! Although, honestly, I kind of hate when my eyes are opened to those kinds of situations. Humans are so insanely selfish about so many things, and it makes me feel bad that I'm one of them but am doing nothing to stop these things from happening. Then again, I'm a fan of wind turbines, and those kill birds, so..... I guess I'm a bad person.

GoldenPenguin

@AlPacina - You're a good friend tooooooo!! You were the first one to step up to the plate to read it so I wouldn't be all alone

KeptInStitches

I haven't read it, but I'll throw it on my to-read list. I'll be honest, though - I want to read 11/22/63 really badly, so it'll probably happen after that.

CLoGreenEyes

@AlPacina, Wild is on my to-read list on Goodreads. It looked very interesting, but honestly, it's not my usual thing either, so I'm not sure if that will ever happen. Let me know if it's worth the read!

LOL, if that makes you a bad person, it probably makes me one too. I hate to think of anything that could harm animals as useful, but sometimes it is, and it's hard to go back and quickly and effectively change certain technologies that we've come to depend on. Like I said, I'm not super well-versed in these matters, but I'm hoping this book will at least inspire me to be a little more aware of these matters since I freaking love whales.

Aaaannnddd now I think I need to add 11/22/63 to my to-read list too, since I've seen it pop up about a thousand times on this board recently.

bethsmiles

So I started reading it today after reading this thread. I'm only a few chapters in but I have high hopes for this book! It's the first in awhile that I really don't want to put down! Unfortunately, I need to finish chapter 4 of my thesis today so I have to put it down

Swazzle

@Hummingbird125 told me to read this one after she finished it for the exact same reason and I am trying SO HARD. I picked it up again last night and will hopefully get through some more of it today. I don't know what it is about this book (the writing? the language?) that is making it so difficult for me to continue reading. 

@AlPacina- Wild is fantastic. That another one I read because of Hummingbird125. I can't wait for the movie to come out. 

Hummingbird125

I totally missed this thread yesterday - sorry @GoldenPenguin ! I've told about 10 people to read this book - my mom was one of them, and she called me the minute she finished it because she was so shocked/disturbed by the ending. It's definitely one of those books that stays with you for a while after you're done reading it.

Also - for some reason I was under the impression that it was a true story, like it was the memoir of the mother of a school shooter or something, which made it VERY strange to read in the beginning before I realized it was a novel.

GoldenPenguin

I also really want to read "Wild." 

I also should have called you as soon as I was done, because I really needed to talk about it, but it was like 1230 a.m., so you probably wouldn't have appreciated that

bethsmiles

Why would you tell us to read this book?! I finished it this weekend and it was amazing/disturbing! Argh emotions!

This cartoon sums up my reading experience:

GoldenPenguin

@bethsmiles - because I couldn't do this aloneeeee!!! SO. MANY. EMOTIONS.

bethsmiles

Did you watch the movie version they made? I was bored last night and Starz had it on. The movie was crap, there no character development and unless you had already read the book it wouldn't have made any sense.

GoldenPenguin

I didn't watch the movie. Actually, @hummingbird125 told me not to bother with the movie because it was terrible, haha.

bethsmiles

Good call. The movie basically took out everything from the book that made you feel conflicted and interested in the plot and stripped it down to dull, empty characters with barely any semblance of a plot.