Together by Book Girls Guide » All Posts

Did anyone else have trouble getting through this book.

Carol V — Sat, 02 Mar 2024 23:41:05 +0000

I tried to read this and after 15 days I was not proceeding and had to DNF it. The back story while interesting it seemed to dwell on points that didn’t seem to be important to the theme of the book (based upon the title). Joe definitely had a rough upbringing, but after 15 days of reading I had barely gotten to the first national race- the writing just wasn’t holding my attention.

Reply To: I started this over the weekend

Nancy Bethel — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:33:42 +0000

A fascinating story! I loved their concept of swing- that if all these individuals can completely trust each other and work together as one, they can transcend boundaries. I think this is true in many aspects of life. I think of friends and how when we’re together, we often have swing.

I was thinking tho- do you think the Nazis had swing? All working together….

Reply To: I started this over the weekend

Nancy Bethel — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:23:34 +0000

I enjoyed the movie. It wasn’t as good as the book. Joe’s history and family life were a bit different.

Reply To: I started this over the weekend

Heidi — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 20:37:51 +0000

Have you seen the movie? I was wondering how it compared to the book. Did it follow it closely or was it changed quite a bit?

Reply To: I started this over the weekend

Dolores Ferrero — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 17:44:58 +0000

Yes, my heart broke for Joe several times throughout the story… and I had a hard time finding any empathy at all for his stepmother, and very little for his father. I know there had to be circumstances I’m not aware of, but still…

I love the person Joe became though… it’s amazing how he took what he was given and built a life with it.

Reply To: I started this over the weekend

Nancy Bethel — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 17:24:14 +0000

I just started this yesterday. Loving all the history in it. Already tho, my heart kind breaks for Joe. He just got sent to live at the school! Why couldn’t his older brother take him??

Finished it today. LOVED it!

Dolores Ferrero — Sat, 10 Feb 2024 03:29:17 +0000

I knew a little bit about the history of the Pacific Northwest…
I knew shamefully little about the dust bowl or the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam…
I knew absolutely nothing about competitive rowing…

I learned a powerful lot about all of them in the last four days.

Nine boys from working-class families arrive at the University of Washington in the early 1930s, beaten but not broken by the depression and its aftermath – and spend the next four years training to row for gold in the 1936 Olympic events in Berlin. It’s a slice of history, from the perspective of people who lived it, as they lived it. It’s a real life Cinderella story with better than a fairy tale ending. I’m so glad I took the time to get to know coach Ulbrickson, master shellmaker and sage George Pocock, scrappy Joe Rantz and the rest of The Boys in the Boat. Acknowledging that it’s early in the year, this is the best book I’ve read in 2024. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.

I started this over the weekend

Dolores Ferrero — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 05:04:56 +0000

I started this over the weekend, and I’ll likely finish it in the next couple of days. What a Cinderella story this is!