Welcome to the Book Bum Bunch !

3B is a small reading group and we'd love for you to join us! After we read a book, we email Book Bums with comments. The best comments get posted right here. Email with suggestions for the next 3B book choice or comments on the book of the month. We read literature, fiction and mystery novels.

Join us! We read for enjoyment and share our thoughts for fun!

(All posted comments on the books of the month will only include your first name and your quote, NO other info is shared)

Salammbo by Gustave Flaubert

East fo Eden by John Steinbeck

Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Claudius the God by Robert Graves, the sequel to I, Claudius.

20 Years After by Alexandre Dumas, the sequel to the Three Musketeers...I still have to read the first one.

Cider House Rules by John Irving, I just know it will be better than the movie.

The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis

"A hateful book. It makes Jesus sound like some college party kid. Skip it and read the Bible." - Lydia

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingslover

I've become an incessant reader in the last year. Two of my reads were by Barbara Kingslover. The Poisonwood Bible was a beautifully penned narrative on the dangers of organized religion. Taken by Kingslover's writing style, I found Prodigal Summer insipid & sappy. - Veronica

-November-

Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce: Mike at "A Celebration of Reading" has been wanting to read this one.

Two Serious Ladies by Jane Bowles: With this, her only novel, Jane Bowles wowed critics and booklovers alike. Tennessee Williams called it "my favorite book" and Truman Capote said Jane is "one of the original pure stylists." Let's find out what the fuss is all about. Originally published in 1943.

-October-

Black Elk Speaks by John G. Neihardt: Black Elk was a warrior and medicine man of the Oglala Sioux. Present at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, and the massacre at Wounded Knee, he was a man living the life of the Plains Indian. This is the story of his vision, for his people and for life on Earth as he knew it. He told his story to the author, originally published in 1932...you may need to hunt in used book stores for this one.

Space James A. Michener: Ell wanted to read either science or sci-fi, and she is planning on reading more Michener. Since I am not a sci-fi fan, I hope this choice pleases her.

Daisy Miller Henry James: I am tired of this book staring at me from the shelf. So, let's read it, shall we?

-September-

Let's just call September a "catch-up" month for those still working on the summer books...like yours truly. But onward! Let's get October going with a few great books...different classics that your English teacher may not have assigned. What great titles can you come up with?

-August-

A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute: This is a new author to me, but we all have to expand our horizons, right? In honor of the Sydney Summer Olympics, join us in reading about a WW-II Australian soldier and a young English woman who survived the Japanese death march. (thanks to Patty for her input)

"Thought 'A Town Like Alice" was a good, entertaining read. My only complaint (if you call it that) was how easily Jean apparently gave up the baby that she had been raising (for three years) after the war. I think most women would have bonded far too much. Was this oversight because the author was a man?! Anyone else feel the same way?" - Ell, Ell's Page

Confessions of an English Opium Eater by Thomas De Quincey: A short book about the author's addiction with opium which started when he had a killer headache (way before Tylenol was invented). P.S. I have to have a short book here because I am still working on War and Peace from July...how about you?

-July-

War and Peace by Count Leo Tolstoy...yea, yea, it's long. But it is no longer than any Michener you might have read. C'mon, give it a try. The Count may surprise us all.

"It was long, easy to read and excruciatingly good. A most excellent book with few peers." Mike - A Celebration of Reading

"An excellent book. What I liked best about his characters was the fact that they weren't static. They changed and evolved over the course of time. So that a character who wasn't very sympathetic early on in the story, became more likeable as a result of changes in his character due to circumstances in his/her life. All in all, "War and Peace" will get on my 'best ever' list." Ell - Ell's Page About Reading

"Better than I expected."

"Surprisingly good!"

The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone: A fictional account of the life of Michaelangelo. It is actually very readable. The descriptions of Italy will have you packing your bags and heading for the airport.

"I ran to the bookstore for an art book on Michaelangelo."

"Wish I could go back in time and meet him...if he had the time to see me."

-June-

Studs Lonigan by James T. Farrell: This is the story of young William Lonigan, a boy growing up in early 20th century Chicago. We follow tough-guy William (Studs) as he goes from teenager to young man to adulthood in this trilogy.

"Too many racial slurs for my taste. If you aren't Irish Catholic, they have a name for you." (no name requested)

"When will he ever grow up?" (Kathy)

"Those boys were never taught respect for women and minorities." (Edith)

Emma by Jane Austen: We all saw the movie, now let's read the original.

"A good choice." (Janie)

The Forest by Edward Rutherford: Sarum was great, London was good, and Russka taught us about a country we once feared. Now we follow Rutherford back to England for another sweeping tale.