We had a fun Zoom discussion of Yesteryear by Claire Caro Burke, our first group read! Thank you to everyone who came. I appreciate you! 🧡 Once it's processed, I'll post the AI summary of the discussion so others can join in the conversation. In the meantime, what are you reading this weekend? I'm still reading The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li.

SPOILER ALERT!!! Don't read this if you don't want spoilers. Unfortunately, I don't think the AI summary is that great! I haven't used this feature on Zoom before, so will explore alternatives. It didn't even know what book we read! (I haven't edited anything.) Book Club Character Discussion The group met for a book club discussion hosted by Zena, focusing on the character of Natalie from the book they had read. Participants shared their locations and favorite books before discussing how sympathetic they found Natalie to be. Opinions varied, with Kayleigh finding her unlikable throughout, Marilee viewing her as a tragic figure, Felicity starting more sympathetically but losing patience with her poor decisions, and Janie characterizing her as naive with cult-like mentality. The discussion also covered the role of gender roles and Caleb's character development, with most participants finding his transformation and complicity in the situation difficult to believe. Off-Grid Plot Twist Discussion The group discussed a book's plot twist involving a family living off-grid to evade prosecution, with Janie explaining that the father was buying people off to keep them safe. The participants expressed skepticism about certain elements of the story, particularly why the father would commit to the 1855 lifestyle and how going off-grid would effectively protect them from law enforcement when their children were still in the area. Zena noted that while the twist was initially convincing on a first read, upon rereading she found it less plausible, especially regarding the explanation for the doorframe markings and why Clementine didn't intervene sooner. Book Discussion: Character and Plot The group discussed their thoughts on a book, focusing on character development and plot inconsistencies. Adrienne noted Caleb's shifting personalities and his treatment of the children, finding it difficult to believe Clementine didn't know about the abuse. Janie mentioned a key plot point where Stetson called the officers, which explained Clementine's delay in acting. The group expressed some skepticism about certain elements of the story, particularly regarding how the abuse was allowed to continue without intervention.

When you DNF, it is usually because...

The winning date/time was Friday 29th May at 4pm Pacific. Thanks to everyone who voted. I'll post a Zoom link closer to the date. Here's my favourite time zone converter, if you need one: https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/ I've finished reading the book (Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke) and I'll probably re-read at least some of it before our call. Has anyone else finished reading it?

Even well-loved, super-popular, award-winning books have their serious haters! 😂 This is historical fiction. All guesses are encouraged (no googling, though!). This is meant to be fun. Don't be dismayed if you disagree with the review. Any spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors are copied directly from the review. I’ll post the correct answer tomorrow (13th May 2026). ⭐ Tedious and pretentious, I consider this to be the ultimate “Oprah book.” (Not surprisingly, it was a reading group selection.) It has all the elements of Ms. Winfrey’s brand of rah-rah self esteem promotion, including a girl who heals herself of a congenital defect by determination, dammit; and pie-eyed “answers” to the meaning of life (we don’t really die, because our molecules live on and stuff!) Fellow members of a vegetarian discussion forum have told me that [Author] is smugly dismissive of vegetarianism in her book [Title] (an account of the author’s odyssey raising her own food—including animals). I can’t comment on this, because I have not read [Author's] more recent work. However, I daresay it wouldn’t surprise me after seeing the attitude displayed in [this book]. After an especially odious description of a tribal hunt, the whiniest and most unsympathetic sister briefly becomes a vegetarian. Meanwhile, the wisest and most mature sister takes it all in stride with “intellectual” omni arguments which essentially boil down to It’s the Circle of Life and Plants Have Feelings Too. Come on! I realize that this book is beloved by many; my book group couldn’t stop raving about it. Sorry, I just don’t get it. ⭐ What do think? What's the book? (In this case, if you can think of only the title, but not the author, that's ok!)