Happy SUNDAY, friends! I hope you’re having the best weekend so far.
Guess what?!
It’s time for BOOK CLUB #9!
I always love the 22nd because that means WE CHAT BOOKS!!
Okay, just to recap, so far this year, our book club has read and reviewed…
The Last Love Note by Emma Grey. If you’ve read the book and want to participate in that conversation, you can visit that post HERE to comment/review/be a part of that book.
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. If you’ve read the book and want to participate in that conversation, you can visit that post HERE to comment/review/be a part of that book.
The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins. If you’ve read the book and want to participate in that conversation, you can visit that post HERE to comment/review/be a part of that book.
The Many Lives of Mama Love by Lara Love Hardin. If you’ve read the book and want to participate in that conversation, you can visit that post HERE to comment/review/be a part of that book.
Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth. If you’ve read the book and want to participate in that conversation, you can visit that post HERE to comment/review/be a part of that book.
The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl. If you’ve read the book and want to participate in that conversation, you can visit that post HERE to comment/review/be a part of that book.
Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand. If you’ve read the book and want to participate in that conversation, you can visit that post HERE to comment/review/be a part of that book.
Husbands & Lovers by Beatriz Williams. If you’ve read the book and want to participate in that conversation, you can visit that post HERE to comment/review/be a part of that book.
Before we get to today’s book, let’s revisit the “rules” of Shay’s Book Club:
Here are the details:
1: On the 22nd of each month, I will share a BONUS blog post that is only about the book we read together that month. So, if it falls on a weekend, look for it that day, if it falls on a Tuesday, expect a food post, a normal lifestyle post AND third post just for the book review discussion.
2: I picked the 22nd because I want this post to come out BEFORE our normal monthly BOOK REVIEW POSTS. I will still share my normal monthly book reviews (where I average 4 to 6 books a month) at the end of each month. I will reference said “book of the month”, but I will not be reviewing it on that post, I will be linking back to the BOOK CLUB POST. Why? Because I want all of the content about the one specific book club book in one spot instead of spread out over multiple spots.
3: Each month at the end of the Book Club blog post, I will share what the book will be for the following month. This will give everyone one month to read this one particular book.
4: Let’s be real, I’m going to try to pick new/popular/relevant books every month, but I’m also going to pick books that speak to me. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to share them with me. I’m going to *try* and make the books different genres each month. I would love for us to read a variety of fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, chick lit, thrillers, etc this year. That’s the *goal*.
5: What are the rules of the book club? I know a lot of book clubs have rules and perhaps I’ll add some as we go, but basically, if you want to read along with us, we’d love to have you and on the 22nd we’ll dive a little deeper in the comment section here about that one particular book. Easy as that! That post is the one place where we’ll discuss the book so that all thoughts/opinions/questions/etc can be in one location.
6: In this blog post and in the comment section, WE WILL BE DISCUSSING SPOILERS. If you are interested in reading this book, you might not want to read below this line. In SEPTEMBER’S BOOK REVIEW later this month, I will give a quick recap and let you know if I recommend the book or not, so if you haven’t read it, you might want to wait until that official BOOK REVIEW because there will be no spoilers and based on that, you can decide whether or not to read the book. Anything below this though will include spoilers as everyone commenting here has already read the book.
Make sense?
Here we go!
This month’s novel was…
…By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult.
I just checked, and this is only my second Jodi Picoult novel to read. In 2022, I read Wish You Were Here and was BLOWN AWAY by it. I still vividly remember reading it and hitting the halfway mark and WOW something big happened that I wasn’t expecting that took the novel in a completely different direction. I loved it. I would have given that book five stars.
Needless to say, I jumped into this one (her newest) with a lot of expectation and enthusiasm. You guys, I really liked it! Now, I really liked it, but I didn’t “love” it nearly as much as I did Wish You Were Here. I made bullet points today because my review feels all over the place to me:
1: I will never think about William Shakespeare the same ever again. Whether I agree/disagree/understand/don’t understand how he could/could not have been the playwright he’s known to be doesn’t matter because this book has forever colored my thoughts whenever I hear his name moving forward. I just can’t imagine hearing it and NOT thinking about By Any Other Name. That in itself seems huge. I know this is a highly controversial topic and clearly this book is very biased, but I found it eye opening and absolutely fascinating. It was worth the purchase of the book just to read the Author’s Note at the end.
2: The only real criticism I have of the book is that I thought it could have been half as long. It just felt very long, and in my opinion, that took away from my enjoyment of it just a tad. I don’t mind a book with a lot of pages, but I do mind a book that has a lot of pages of things that could be cut from the story without altering the overall plot/depth/character development. This one just seemed long to me…
3: I was waiting for that big “aha” moment in the book where my mind was blown, but I never really had one, and if I’m being honest, I was hoping for another “what the heck just happened” moment like in the previous Picoult novel I read. I’m curious now if you guys think her other books have those moments or if I just happened to have read “the one” that did.
4: I absolutely think that by the end of the year, when I look back on all the books I’ve read, this one will by far be the one “most Googled”. When I finished this one, I spent way too much time online looking up these stories, the history and reading the theories. I was completely sucked in even after I finished the last page.
5: I loved how the author intertwined present day with the 1500s. Was it a stretch that they were relatives? Yes but it was necessary to really paint the picture. I was rooting for Jasper and Melina and was very happy with how that story line ended (although the misunderstanding of the published article did seem a little far-fetched…I feel like in real life, that would have been resolved very quickly). I thought it wrapped up perfectly. I know the author was using factual information to wrap up Emilia’s storyline (I Googled to see!), but I wish she would have just passed away without the author adding to it. I wasn’t a huge fan of the added after life stuff because, up until that point, the book read very straight forward and that made it feel less than realistic in my opinion.
6: Of course, the main theme of the book was brilliantly weaved in from start to finish. The author absolutely gave a great voice to marginalized groups. It is such a complex conversation and yet this book seemed to address so many different ways different groups get marginalized so effortlessly. Truly, I thought it was brilliant because she made the point without “making the point” so many times both present day and during Shakespeare’s time. Truly remarkable story telling.
Overall, I just needed it to be a tad shorter, but it was without a doubt a solid four stars from me.
Okay, so what are we going to read next month?! We are going to read…
…Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker.
A thriller for October seemed appropriate 🙂 .
That’s it for Book Club #9! I can’t wait to discuss below! Head to the comment section to share your thoughts!
Enjoy your Sunday! xx
Kristen Thompson says
I finished this book last night juuuuust in time for today! I agree it was super long! Like I usually fly through books in 2-3 days and it took me I think 2 weeks to read this one. It was slow for me and I wasn’t excited to pick it up until I got to chapter 4. The chapters felt super long too! However once I got into it, I had a hard time putting it down. I really enjoyed this one and agree with your 4 star review. It really did totally change my perspective on Shakespeare. Before reading this book I didn’t even know this subject was a controversy! But wow it really opened my eyes to so much! I keep talking to my husband (who is obsessed with history) about it and now he’s super interested too! I wanted to see more about Melina and Jasper at the end. I was glad her play was a success and they reconnected but I needed more information! I agree that I was waiting for an “aha” moment and maybe I was looking for more solid proof that they were related, but I guess the silver eyes is it! Thanks for this suggestion!
Elspeth says
I love book club days! They always give me great suggestions! Happy Sunday!
http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
Heather D. Henderson says
I couldn’t wait to read your review. I too really liked this book and will never hear Shakespeare’s name without thinking of it. I agree with all you said. The turning point for me was when Emilia defended herself against her brutal husband. The tone of her story changed after that. Lastly, this is why I love book clubs. I would have skipped this book on my own but I’m so glad I didn’t. Thank.you for the nudge!
Mandy says
I just started Madwoman last night. So far, it’s good. Very real and raw account of motherhood.
Kelli says
It took me the whole month to read it, but I’m so glad I did! As I finished it last night, I told my husband that I was actually wanting to pull out my kids’ little, abridged version of Tales of Shakespeare to re-read some plays through the lens of Emilia! Jodi did a wonderful job bringing her to life.
Jodi’s books tend to be long and slow, but so rich. I enjoy her style. My fav is def Wish You Were Here and The Book of Two Ways. Her last book, Mad Honey, def had a big surprise in the middle. I remember thinking “I need to talk about this with someone asap!”
Book club has been so much fun this year! Looking forward to October!
Jennibell says
I almost put Mad Honey down so many times b/c I didn’t like who the mother was. But then – wow! That was a surprise for me b/c everyone in the internet world was so good about keeping that quiet.
To this day I think about that book and dk anyone who read it so no one to discuss it with. But one that I think needs a support group with it. That book and American Dirt are two that educated me in a way I didn’t know I needed.
Jessica Hughes says
I too found this book to be overly long. I did a mix of listening and reading and almost didn’t start when i saw how many hours it would take to listen to it. I’ve enjoyed all of the Jodi Picoult books I’ve read to date-they all seem to have some surprising, aha moment but i think the meat theory do what this book is about IS that moment. I loved the authors note at the end as well-wild to think about Shakespeare in a different light after years studying his various works in school. I also gave it 4 stars-mostly for the length.
Emilee says
I was so excited to hear your review! I finished this book last night. I agree – it’s very long. I felt like Jasper’s article mistake really didn’t need to be included either. Overall I liked it, and I’ve been “googling” remaining questions since I finished!
Dawn says
I agree! I will never think of Shakespeare the same way again. That author’s note was fascinating!
If you want one of Jodi Picoult’s that has a twist, Mad Honey has a big one. It’s really thought provoking!
Amy Azza says
I have read all of JP’s books and this one was just so different.. I just couldn’t get into it. I agree I will never think about William Shakespeare the same way again, but this book was way too long and a bit farfetched. Shakespeare actually did write most of his own work, and this book seems to say the opposite. I didn’t love it. I have loved all of her other books but this one was just too hard to get into. I didn’t love the Melina and Jasper storyline either.
Kay says
Hi Shay!
I have read every book so far and am loving your book club. So, huge thanks for organizing this. It is so much fun!
I love Jodi Picoult. I haven’t read all her books, but I have read many. She is a brilliant writer. I mean brilliant! So smart and well researched and she writes about such interesting topics.
That being said, this was probably my least favorite of hers. Though I thought it was well written and important, I too found it very long. Also, I was almost an English major in college (ended up changing) and all the Shakespeare stuff had me kind of bored. I really didn’t want to read lines by him lol. I am glad I read it, and I enjoyed a lot of it. But parts of it had me wishing for less pages.
Not all her books have a huge twist, though “Mad Honey’ did and it blew my mind. I think my favorite book of hers so far is “Small Great Things.” It is about a newborn nurse at a hospital who is just trying to do her job and the baby’s white supremacist parents. It’s a fascinating look at race, morals, the legal system.
Hope you have a wonderful rest of your weekend!
Mix and Match Mama says
Thank you so much, Kay!!! This helps me so much making my next Picoult pick!
sandi says
Small Great Things is a great read.. parts of it are brutal but I think it is her best book. I have not read Mad Honey; it is on my list. Her books are so intense and thought provoking that I can only read about two of her books a year.
Jeni Voris says
Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors. Typically her books do always have a twist/shock of some kind, so I too was waiting for that moment in this book. Two that pop into mind are Mad Honey and Small Great Things. I still think about Small Great Things and I read it 8 years ago. She typically tackles controversial or polarizing topics in a manner that allows for readers to see the topic from different perspectives. I definitely recommend checking out some of her other books!
As for By Any Other Name, I too will never think of Shakespeare the same. And I think the argument that he didn’t write his plays is a strong, valid argument. I appreciated the research she shared at the end of the book.
I agree it was a tad long, and I didn’t necessarily love the modern day story – but I did enjoy the book!
Thank you for the recommendation! Looking forward to October.
Kelly says
I also thought this one was too long. It got to the point where I just wanted it to end although I did appreciate the strong female character who overcame so much.
Lynn says
You are spot on with your review! I also don’t think I would have picked this book up had it not been for this book club. I also gave it 4 stars for just about the same reasons. I did finish it in about four days though. lol October book has a 6month wait at the library. 🥴 Thank you for doing this for us!
Susan Jeffries says
I read this book last week too. I am a huge Shakespeare fan. His work is genius. I felt as if this book gave false assumption that he didn’t create the work that was credited to him. There is no proof that he didn’t create his work, so I’ll continued to believe that his work is his. I typically enjoy Piccoult, and I do love fictional work, but this story will mislead people to believe things that are more than likely false. Glad I read it but it was a one star for me. On to some scary reads for October! I’ll read your selection too! 🧡
Deb says
I’m still reading this so I agree with the too long! I’m enjoying the book and I’m so glad I didn’t live in the 1500’s. Thanks for another good selection
Mix and Match Mama says
Me and you both!!
Deb says
I need to add that the author’s note at the end made the book worth reading. I’ve been wanting a return trip to London and a visit the Victoria and Albert is,on the list!
Rachel says
All of Jodi’s other books have a huge twist! Either in the middle or near the end. Definitely read more.
Debbie Hibbert says
Still reading it! I’m enjoying it, yet it’s felt like a long slow process on this one. I will definitely finish it, but it might take forever!😁
Carly says
Another amazing fall book to add to your list. Carola Loverings new “Bye, Baby”. It’s the first five star book I’ve read all year. It’s set in October and is so suspense it’s just perfect for this time of year!
Rayne says
I also love her books normally, but this was my least favorite of hers. At first, I loved the storyline, but it definitely started dragging on. She always does a wonderful job or exposing the reader to a new subject, but this seemed too far reaching. Small Great Things and Mad Honey were both a lot better IMO. I gave this one 3 stars.
Allison Stein says
I loved this book! I had no idea about the controversy around William Shakespeare and it really makes me look at that time period in a different light. It definitely wasn’t a typical Jodi Picoult style book, but I loved the way she weaved the two story lines together!
I have read most of Jodi Picoult’s books and my favorites are My Sisters Keeper, Small Great Things and one I haven’t seen mentioned yet is The Storyteller. It is about a modern day baker named Sage who befriends a 90 year old man who is a former Nazi. I love books about the Holocaust and this one has stayed with me through the years. It asks the question about moral choices, can bad choices be justified, and ultimately, it’s about forgiveness. One of my favorite books of all time!
Stacy says
The Storyteller is my favorite book by the this author. I read it so long ago but still remember it !
Brittany Swain says
I was just typing this! I think about the book “The Storyteller” often and it is always one of my first recommendations to people, especially those who love historical fiction.
Brittany Swain says
My absolute favorite Jodi Picoult book is “The Storyteller” and I think you would love it! It is one of my favorite books of all time!
Twila Frichtl says
I read your review and took a peek at the comments to see if it would motivate me to try to finish this book. So far, I’d have to say that I was surprised by the amount of stars you gave this book. I will give it a few more chapters (after reading some new perspectives) and if i am still not feeling it I may try again later and move on to this month’s book!
Mix and Match Mama says
It was borderline 3/4 but the fact that I spent so much time thinking about it after…and how it’s most likely going to forever color my thoughts on Shakespeare made me put 4 over 3. It wasn’t a strong 4 though.
Yolanda McLean says
I wonder if I missed something and maybe I should go back and give this one another try. I did not finish the book. It felt so great to decide to not finish it as I was getting no enjoyment whatsoever from reading this book. It was too open door for my preference. I would have never chosen this title, and this is what is so great about a book club. We can stretch our reading muscles and try new things. Sometimes it works out and this time it didn’t. I would give this book negative stars.
Donna Mullen says
I agree with you wholeheartedly! I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one who abandoned this book! After 150 pages, I gave up. I always finish a book, even if I am not feeling it, but just couldn’t make myself with this book.
YOLANDA MCLEAN says
I’m glad to hear that I’m not alone! I was so surprised reading the comments that so many actually enjoyed this book.
Addy Robinson says
I really loved this book, Shay! I agree with the comment that this is a great example of why I love book clubs because I never would have chosen this myself. I recommended it to a female friend playwright who works on Broadway and she is LOVING it.
One question I had was Emilia’s lasting good feeling for Lord Chamberlain given how much he screwed her over upon their parting, in my humble opinion.
Looking forward to the next book club pick!
P.S. I read Elin Hilderbrand’s The Perfect Couple, 28 Summers, and The Blue Bistro and enjoyed all of them. I saw your tip to try other books of hers when Swan Song was my first book of hers.
~B~ says
Oooh, excited and just downloaded Wish You Were Here as my next book on Audible for my commute! I just finished the Abby Jimenez series of Part of Your World, Yours Truly and Just for the Summer. So far, Just for the Summer is my #1 2024summer book. Looking forward to reading a Jodi Picoult book next!
Jenna says
Looking forward to the October book club pick!
Alexis says
Finally finished it! So. Many. Thoughts. And so many of mine align with yours!
Very well written. It’s Jodi. I wouldn’t expect any less. And also super well researched and I thought the Author’s Note at the end was so good.
I liked Emilia’s story MUCH more than the present day one. My heart hurt for all she went through. I mean, just wow. 😭
I thought the book picked up about 40%ish and there were parts I found really interesting and I really rooted for Emilia throughout.
I thought the miscommunication regarding Jasper’s article could’ve been resolved a lot quicker and felt a bit unnecessarily dragged out IMO.
I liked that the book spanned the entirety of Emilia’s life, so I’d expect it to be long, but I think some parts could have been edited down or not included. It seemed about 100-150 pages too long to me.
I got a bit tired of the talk about marginalized groups between Melina and Andre in the last 20%. I know Jodi feels strongly on these topics and included it bc she’s passionate about it but it started to annoy me bc it felt over the top rather than a natural part of the storyline – if that makes sense. I think that’s part of why I didn’t love the Melina chapters as much. I also found Melina a bit annoying whereas I grew to really love and root for Emilia.
It’s a solid 4 stars for me bc so much about it was good – but overall a little lengthy and I also don’t love Shakespeare so the topic wasn’t the most interesting to me – but still a solid, good book!
I’ve read all of Jodi’s books and Small Great Things as well as Handle with Care are my two favorites. Both are phenomenal reads and I am still thinking about them years later. I will always think Jodi is at her best when writing about medical issues but Small Great Things is also her at her best and a book I recommend to everyone. One of the things I love most about her books is that even when I don’t see eye to eye with her on topics, I still love reading her perspectives and it gives me so much empathy and compassion for other people, even those with whom I may disagree. Books like that are the best kinds of books IMO!
Yolanda McLean says
I wonder if there could be a header on your page to easily find the upcoming book club read? I find myself going back and looking for the post a little after the 1st of the month so I can read fairly close to when you’ll post. Just a thought.
Mix and Match Mama says
I always love ideas like that!! I can add something on the sidebar!