Thanks everyone!

[KxBurns]

As this club draws to a close, I want to thank you all for your participation and thoughtful commentary. Special thanks to Joanna Smith Rakoff and her editor, Alexis Gargagliano, for their insightful contributions to our discussion and to publisher Simon & Schuster for allowing us to preview this wonderful book.

And of course, I am grateful -- as always -- to Maria for making it all run smoothly!

Best,

Karen

[Tarri]

Thank you, Karen, for the great questions you ask at the beginning of each section.  I hope I get selected for the next read, as I always enjoy the B&N FL selections and the discussions that ensue. 

[krb2g]

Thanks to all the people who made this book club happen, but especially to Karen for moderating and to Joanna Smith Rakoff for sharing A Fortunate Age with us ahead of its official release. Thanks to everyone participating in the discussion, as well. I've had a great time!

[mgorbatjuk]

I really appreciate reading other people's thoughts on books. Sometimes if I'm having a problem relating to the characters or trying to figure out who fits where it really is helpful to read what other folks are thinking. Thank you

[Dances_through…]

Thank you to Karen, Barnes and Noble, and Joanna Smith-Rakoff for a wonderful reading experience.  I truly appreciate the opportunity I was given. Karen gave us insightful questions, great commentary, and I enjoyed and understood this work much more due to the discussions and postings.  I hope to be chosen for the next First Look selection. Thanks again!

~Kati

[EbonyAngel]

I like to ditto everyone's thanks.  I've yet to post my review though I finished a while ago.

[Fozzie]

Thank you, Joanna, for thoughtfully answering readers' questions about your book.  Your responses gave me a greater understanding of it.

[JSS]

Yes, yes, yes! I would like to add my thanks to all the others. To Joanna for putting herself out there for us to speak to directly, to everyone at B&N who helped make this forum look seemless and easy (we know it's not), and to all the contributors who participated with curiosity, enthusiasm, and knowledge...thank you! You made my read of this particular book both fun and a learning experience.

[drbjaded]

I've really had lots of fun with this book club.  Even though I haven't been able to post as I should it's great.  I hope I am able to get the next book (fingers crossed).  Thanks to the author Joanna Smith Rakoff for participating.  Thanks to B&N as well.  It's a good book. 

Julie

[dhaupt]

I also want to add my thanks to every one else's. It was as always an enjoyable experience to be able to interact with all of you readers as well as Ms. Rakoff, Karen and Maria. Hope to see all of you on the next installment.

[Maria_H]

Another grateful voice to add to the chorus! 

Thanks to Karen for hosting another terrific First Look -- we hope to see you back again very soon for another!

Thanks to Joanna's publisher, Simon & Schuster, and her editor, Alexis Gargagliano, for making this possible. 

An enormous thanks to Joanna for giving us so much to talk about and for putting so much of her time and effort into this book club!

And thanks to the readers who participated in the discussion.  It's those who come and share their views that we do this for.  We hope to see you in the next installment!

[daylilies1126]

Thank you to everyone for making this book club possible, especially Joanna Smith Rakoff for making her novel available to us to read.  This book club makes me feel like I am part of an exclusive club for novel readers, which is pretty rare.  I enjoyed reading all the comments, though I did not get to participate as much as I would have liked due to some family issues.  I look forward to participating more with the next book club.  Thanks once again.

[kiakar]

Thanks to the author, Joanna Smith Rakoff for this wonderful intelligent book. I really enjoyed reading it.

Also Karen Burns, thanks so much for making this club  run as smooth as clear glass.

You are a great moderator!

To all my fellow readers. Thanks so very much for your comments that enhanced this read so very much.

[canders]

I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in this First Look Book Club. It was my first book club and I learned a lot from reading what others wrote and the responses were great. I would love to participate again. Thanks Joanna for putting your book out there for us to read and pick apart. I hope your book is a tremendous success!

[aprilh]

Thanks to everyone who made this First Look such a wonderful experience, especially Joanna Smith Rakoff for letting us review her book. I loved reading everyones insights and can't wait to begin the next First Look.

[Read-n-Rider]

Thanks to everyone for making this First Look experience possible--and enjoyable.  This includes B&N, of course, and Maria and Karen, who always do a great job of moderating and keeping us on track.  I think Ms. Rakoff is very brave for exposing herself to our scrutiny--and very gracious for answering our questions and fielding our comments so patiently.  I wish her much success with A Fortunate Age and any subsequent novels that she writes.

Joan

[Carissa555]

Thanks for the opportunity to read and comment on this book.  I, like another reader, didn't want to taint my reading with participation in discussion until I had completed the book, so I am just now hopping into the discussion, and it seems that it has ended.  Sorry about that.  Unfortunately, it has taken me quite a while longer than I had anticipated to finish the book.  As a matter of fact, I still have about 20 pages to go.  I am sorry to say that if and when I do finish, it will be more out of a sense of duty than one of pleasure.  I hate to say this, because I know the author poured herself into this work...but I want to be honest.  I never was able to connect with any of these characters.  I don't think it's because of my age (42 - and loved the Stephenie Meyer 'Twilight' series, which maybe says more about me than about the books!)...but more because there seemed to be no common thread that took me through the book.  Many books are written such that the POV alternates from one character to another, or a couple of others - and then BACK.  This one, however, never seemed to really return to a character, and this device left me feeling as if I never had the time to get to know any of the characters, like them, or identify with them.  The characters also seemed to lack any sense of joy or happiness...the whole of the novel was pretty glum and the characters self-absorbed.  As a result, I often felt like I was at a party stuck talking to someone I didn't really know while they talked about someone else I didn't really know about something rather mundane...and my attention wandered continuously.  I actually read a couple of other books between the time I started and finished this one.  Quite sorry to say I would not recommend this book.

[Joanna_Smith_R…]

Maria, thanks so much for giving me the opportunity to participate in First Look! And thanks to Karen for moderating and, of course, to all the readers who took a look at the novel and took the time to formulate questions.

All my best,

Joanna

---

Maria_H wrote:

Another grateful voice to add to the chorus! 

Thanks to Karen for hosting another terrific First Look -- we hope to see you back again very soon for another!

Thanks to Joanna's publisher, Simon & Schuster, and her editor, Alexis Gargagliano, for making this possible. 

An enormous thanks to Joanna for giving us so much to talk about and for putting so much of her time and effort into this book club!

And thanks to the readers who participated in the discussion.  It's those who come and share their views that we do this for.  We hope to see you in the next installment!

---