A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki.I only read the first fifty pages of this book, so let me get that out there. I had a pretty strong negative reaction to those first fifty pages-- I found the voices indistinct, the content sophomoric, the trope tired-- but then, other people said they had a hard time with the beginning but dug in around a hundred pages, so what do I know? Some people really liked it, some people were sort of more meh about it but no one had the dislike for it that the first few chapters left me with. I guess I could give it another try, but I doubt I will, to be honest. I've been reading work stuff lately so I've been bad about reading novels or keeping track of what I do read. This was
carmyarmyofme's pick, & she brought bunches of Japanese snacks, which I went at like a hyena. So yeah, I don't have a lot to say here because I sort of opted out. People liked the scenes at the zen temple the best & thought that the end was too pat. Jenny read hers at the same time she was reading the new Murakami & that played them off each other. Rasheem thought for sure that Ruth had Alzheimer's & the diary was actually hers from when she was little. Liz read all of it on a bus. fatbutts&fordmadoxfraud read the lionshare but hadn't finished the end by the time we started.