An Abundance of Katherines – John Green

I only recently stumbled upon John Green as an author.  I read “Looking for Alaska” and “Paper Towns” before “An Abundance of Katherines” and really all three books are very well told and a lot of the praise here for “An Abundance of Katherines” is equally attributable to the other two.  John Green is what I would consider a crossover author: while his books are aimed more at a teenage audience, my teenage years are long past and I still thoroughly enjoyed them. 

“An Abundance of Katherines” is a story about washed-up child prodigy Colin Singleton.  He has an eidetic memory, is great with anagrams, ok at maths and thinks he is socially inept.  Except when it comes to Katherines.  To date, Colin has had nineteen girlfriends, all named Katherine.  And he has been dumped by all nineteen.

Despite being a child prodigy, it is very easy to relate to Colin who is dealing with very typical teenager angst.  All of John Green's books are full of believable, if somewhat peculiar, characters.  "An Abundance of Katherines" is the lightest in tone and themes of John Green's novels so far which made it a quick enjoyable read.

Michael L.

The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul - Deborah Rodriguez

"The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul" is the story of five women who meet in the titular coffee shop in Kabul, Afganistan.  Each of the five women have their own story to share and secret to hide.  A bond grows between the women as the story progresses and dangerous secrets are revealed.

Much has been made of Deborah Rodriguez's ability to paint a realistic and vivid picture of a city and culture most of us have heard little about.  Having lived in the city and even owned a coffee shop there for years gives a lot of credence to the descriptions and events she depicts.

Published just this year, "The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul" is already a very popular choice amongst our book club groups.  Feel free to add your own comments on the book below.  (Available as a Book Club Set)