March 2022 Book Club

My IRL book club met yesterday evening to discuss March’s book. We finally met in-person and it was great to get out and see friends, especially since I’ve been cooped up with my illness for the past three weeks.

We discussed NINE PERFECT STRANGERS by Liane Moriarty. There were only five of us who met together and all of us read the book. Here are some highlights of our discussion:

  • Two of us, including myself, really liked the characters and marveled at how good of a puppet master Moriarty is.
  • Three people liked the book, but they got bored with the story. They felt like nothing happened and the book was too long. They also didn’t particularly like any of the characters.
  • I’m the only one who mentioned Moriarty’s deftness at dealing with hard topics like mental illness, suicide, suicidal ideation, and psychedelic therapy.
  • A couple of people compared this book to ANXIOUS PEOPLE by Frederik Backman. Most of us liked ANXIOUS PEOPLE more, though.
  • A couple of people listened to the audiobook.
  • View Spoiler »
  • One person was upset with Ben and Jessica’s fate. The rest of us were okay with it.
  • I’m the only one who plans to watch the Hulu series based on the book.
  • A couple of people thought this book wasn’t up to Moriarty’s usual standards.

We also found out which books made the cut from our vote for the next year starting in June. I’ll share those in a separate post (in the next two weeks or so).

Next month’s book is DREAD NATION by Justina Ireland. I’m really excited to read it. I love zombie stories and this will be my first historical fiction zombie story. It will also be my first experience reading about zombies. I’ve only ever experienced zombies on TV or in the movies.

Anyway, have you read NINE PERFECT STRANGERS? If so, what do you think about my book club’s discussion about it?

About Jenni Elyse


Hi, I'm Jenni. I’m an eclectic reader. I mostly read fiction and I favor fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, mystery, thrillers, and romance. The more kissing in a book the better!
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4 replies
  1. Karen
    Karen says:

    Interesting mix of opinions. Thrillers are always difficult for me but I’ve been enjoying them more on audio. I haven’t tried this author yet though.

    I read Dread Nation and overall I enjoyed it but was a tad underwhelmed by a few things. I do read a lot of zombie fiction and I read it when it was being quite hyped.

    Karen @For What It’s Worth

    • Jenni Elyse
      Jenni Elyse says:

      She doesn’t usually write thrillers. I was surprised this turned into a thriller. I like thrillers, though. A lot of my IRL friends have a hard time with mysteries and thrillers too.

      I’m glad that I’m reading DREAD NATION now instead of when it first came out. I don’t have any expectations other than zombies, lol. Hopefully, I’ll like it.

  2. Wendy
    Wendy says:

    I love hearing the opinions of your book club. I have this on my TBR, and I also have Anxious People on my TBR and should get to that one in the next few weeks.

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