December Book Choice

Hey Ladies,

So...I'm a slacker and I was called out on it! :)  I didn't put up the blog last month so now I have to make up for it.  I have a good excuse, I promise!  Eric and I bought a house and we've spent the last month picking out colors, furniture, etc.  It's been really fun but also very time consuming.  Things should be calming down so I can catch up on the blogging.

First, I need to update on the book we chose back in November.  Heather brought our choices and we ended up going with Matched by Ally Condie.

The book was about a totalitarian society that chooses everything for it's citizens; from their food, to their profession, to their spouse.  As a group we ended up with a 3.5 - 4 star rating.  It also brought up a lot of really great conversation and discussion in our meeting.  We talked about any possible benefits of a totalitarian government.  We also compared the Matched government to the one in The Hunger Games.   It was a really fun night.

Now, onto the December book choice.  A big thank you to Rachel for bringing our choices this month.  It actually took us a while this time to decide on which book to read but, like always, we ended up with a good one.  We are going to be reading Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.



Just like the picture says, it's a WWII story of survival, resilience and redemption.  Currently it's showing a 4.5 rating on Amazon with over 1900 reviews.  It is a true story of a man named Louie Zamperini  - an Olympic Athlete and American Bomber Pilot.  His life sounds amazing and I am so excited to read about it.

Thank you to all of the ladies that came to the meeting this month.  I know it was a little hard having it so close to Christmas.  A special welcome to Marie ( her first time) and my mother Debra.  It was great having new faces.  Also, thank you  to Amy Jo for bringing the food.  I really appreciated it.  AND since I didn't do it last time I need to thank Heather and Rachel for bringing the amazing pork tacos in November.  Our next meeting is going to be on January 18th and Sarah is in charge of our book choices.  I hope to see you all there!  Have a great New Years!

Happy Reading!

Carly

October Book Choice

Hey Ladies,

So I have to say that as our book club meeting was getting closer I wasn't feeling as up for it as normal.  I was tired, had a ton to do, and Eric was sick.  I felt like I just wanted to relax.  However, as all of the ladies started showing up and we began talking about the book I remembered how much I love our meetings every month.  It was so much fun to just relax and hang out with the girls.  I need to first thank all of the girls for telling me about Redeeming Love.  This was the first month that I wasn't able to read our chosen book.  From what I was told it seems like quite a sad, depressing book but it does have a happy ending.  Thank goodness!  Why do we always end up reading sad books?  Also, a big thank you to Paige and Ashlynne for helping with the food.

Ashlynne was in charge of our book choices this month and she came with some really good ones.  We ended up picking The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson.

This book has been one of our choices multiple times.  I'm really excited that we are finally going to read it...and the other books in the trilogy.  The series has become quite a sensation and I think now is a perfect time to read it since the movie is coming out in December. Hopefully I don't get too lost with all of the Swedish names and words.

Our next meeting is scheduled for November 16th at 7:00 pm.  Heather is going to be in charge of bringing our book choices.  I can't wait until the next meeting and I hope you all have a fantastic Halloween!

Happy Reading!

Carly

September Book Choice

Hello Ladies!

Welcome to Fall!  I really love this season.  I'd love it even more if it didn't turn into Winter at the end of it.  Eric and I went through our month today and planned out all of the fun activities that we want to do: pumpkin carving, corn mazes, etc.

Our book club meeting went really well this month. Little Bee was an interesting book to talk about.  I felt really bad for her and how things turned out in the book, and I found the ending to be a little disappointing.  I wanted to get more detail and find what happened to her and to Sarah.   We also discussed The Help during the meeting as well as most of us had already read the book.  Thank you to Amy Jo and Heather for helping with the meal.  Also, thanks to Ashlee for bringing the book choices.

For October we have decided to read Redeeming Love  by Francine Rivers.

I don't know that I've read a book like this before.  Ashlee said that it is based on the bible story of Josea.  The story should be pretty interesting.  I don't know much about it but judging solely from the dress on the cover I'm going to enjoy it.  So pretty.

Our next meeting is going to be on October 19th at 7:00 PM.  Ashlynne is going to be bringing our book choices.  Can't wait to see what she comes up with. Hope you all have a great month!

Happy Reading!

August Book Choice

Hello Ladies!

Can you believe that we are already 2/3 of the way through August?!  Our August meeting seemed to come around so quickly.  Thank you to everyone that came to the meeting and helped with the food.  We had a really great one this month.  It was one of my favorites.  Almost everyone had read the book and all of us at the meeting had the same feelings about it.  We loved Hadley but were so frustrated with her sometimes!  We were disgusted with Ernest and hated Pauline.  A lot of us agreed that had they lived anywhere but in Paris the marriage between Hadley and Ernest would have probably lasted...but then Ernest Hemingway wouldn't have turned into the amazing author that he was.  The Paris Wife is a great example of just how large an influence our friends/surroundings can play in our lives.

For this next month Amy Jo provided some great book choices.  We ended up going with Little Bee by Chris Cleave.

Amy Jo said she was drawn to this book because it was so difficult to find any information or summaries of it. The publishers didn't want to spoil the book so they don't really say much about it.  I do know that is about a Nigerian refugee and how she meets up with a couple in England.  That's all I've been able to figure out so far.  I think it will be really interesting to see how this book unfolds and how the characters are connected.

I can't wait for our next meeting.  I hope it comes as quickly as our last.  We will be meeting on September 21st. at 7:00.  Have a great month and good luck to any of you that are getting ready for the school year.  Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Happy Reading,

Carly

July Book Choice

Hello Ladies!

Thank you to everyone that made it to the meeting this month.  It was great to have Paige with us again as well.  We even had Amy Jo join us through Skype this month as she is in California.  Kinda weird but fun.  I'm glad we were able to give her an hour of entertainment to break up her otherwise boring evening.  Jaymee made amazing chicken fajitas for us and a big thank you to Heather for the fantastic rice and to Ashlee for the salad.  It was quite the meal.

I was in charge of the book choices again.  We are finally starting the cycle again!  We have chose to read The Paris Wife by Paula Mclain.

This book is about the first wife of Ernest Hemingway.  One review says that it is an unsentimental tribute to a woman who acted with grace and strength as her marriage crumbled.  The book has really good reviews and I am very excited to read it.

Our next meeting is going to be on August 17th.  Thank you to Ashlee, Ashlynne and Paige for taking care of the dessert and side dishes.  Amy Jo is going to be in charge of the book choices. I hope everyone has a great month.

Happy Reading!

June book choice

Wow...I've been really behind on getting this latest post up.  We had our book club meeting 4 days ago.  Sorry for the delay.  First of all, thank you to all of the ladies that came on Wed.  We had a really fun group.  Interestingly enough, we spent a lot of the evening discussing Something Borrowed from last month.  I guess we didn't exhaust that subject last month.  Finally, Rachel was able to bring us around and we began our discussion of The Hourglass Door.  Rachel actually created her own questions for this book because she wasn't able to find any.  Overall, this was a pretty popular book.  Not many of the ladies had tried to read the second book in the series but many of us were curious as to how it would end.  We also did a lot of comparison between this book and the Twilight series.  Some liked Twilight better but we were probably evenly divided.

Jaymee was in charge of our book choices this month.  We ended up going with The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter.

I don't know much about this book.  It is not something that was published recently.  I believe it was first published in 1976.  Jaymee said that she read it for one of her college courses.  I think it is going to be quite different from books we've read in the past but I'm excited for that.  It's good to get out of your comfort zone every once in a while.

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, July 20th at 6:45 pm.  I will be in charge of the book choices, Amy Jo will be bringing dessert, and Jaymee has volunteered to help me with dinner.

I hope all of you have a great 4th of July.

Happy Reading!

Carly

May Book Choice

Hola Ladies!

So I am sitting upstairs in my house, wrapped up in a blanket and still freezing cold.  I'm really starting to get annoyed with the weather in Northern Utah.  Just had to put that out there.  I had so much fun at the meeting tonight.  A lot of our regulars weren't able to make it tonight but thankfully we had some new faces so there was still a good group.  I was happy to welcome Jaymee and Michelle to our little club.  I hope to see both of them next month.  Michelle confessed that she can be a little flaky but I'm sure Jaymee will keep her in line :)
Also, thank you to Jaymee for dessert and Rachel for bringing the chips.  

I was surprised to see that we had some widely varying opinions of Something Borrowed. A few of the girls loved it while others didn't enjoy the book at all. I think the general consensus was that the affair between Rachel and Dex was pretty messed up but they we still wanted the two of them to end up together anyway.  But really, what kind of girl has an affair with her best friend's fiancé? 

Anyway, Rachel brought along her book choices for this month.  We ended up going with The Hourglass Door by Lisa Magnum.

Rachel has read this book before but says it is really interesting.  It has a lot of historical elements that are fun to learn.  It is the first book in a series...the third is set to come out in June.  It is also more in the category of a young-adult fiction so it should be a fast, easy read.  Should be exciting!

Our next meeting is set for June 15th at 6:45.  Jaymee has agreed to bring the book choices. She's only been to one meeting and I'm already putting her to work! Lol...  I am really hoping the weather will be nice by June so that we can have our meeting outside in our little backyard.  We've finally got it all fixed so we can actually entertain out there.  Keep your fingers crossed.   I hope all of you have a great month!

Happy Reading!

Carly

April Book Choice

Hello Ladies,

First of all, thank you to every one that came to the meeting on Wednesday.  It was really fun.  Heather had prepared quite an extensive list of questions for us which actually turned out to be quite nice.  Amy Jo and Ashlee hadn't had a chance to finish the book yet and it was really  hard trying to explain what happened but the questions helped us fill in some of the gaps.  If you read the book you know what I mean.  I don't know that I've ever read a book with such a unique narrator.  It made for an interesting perspective and view into the lives of the characters.  Also, before I forget, thank you to Ashlee and Amy Jo for bringing the salad and dessert for our enjoyment.

Although Kaley wasn't able to make it to the meeting she sent over her list of book choices.  She had a few new books that haven't been options before this month.  We ended up going with Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin.

Ashlee was so excited when she saw this book come up on the list.  She actually gasped...or maybe squealed. I'm not sure.  Basically, I think she made the decision for us.  Kaley has been telling me to read this book for months now so I'm really excited.  Plus, it'll be nice to have read the book before the movie comes out next month. 

Speaking of movies - we are all getting together on Saturday, April 23rd, at the Gateway Megaplex for the 4:00 matinee showing of Water for Elephants. It should be a fun afternoon out.  Let me know if you want to come.  

Our next meeting is going to be May 18th at 6:45pm.  Hope to see you all there!

Happy Reading!

Carly 

March Book Choice

Hi  Ladies!

So, first things first, I AM GETTING MARRIED IN 2 DAYS!!   Just thought I'd start out this latest post with something that makes me sooo happy!  I also need to thank all of the girls that unwittingly arrived early and got roped into helping me with some last minute wedding preparations.  Thanks for your help!

Anyway, the meeting this month was really fun.  Again, we had a nice turn out.  Most of the girls had finished reading The Kitchen House and had a lot of say about it.  I think the general consensus was that we enjoyed the book.  We fell in love with all of the characters and really wanted to see something turn out right for them in the end. Another general idea was that the book was just too dang depressing!  Nothing ever seemed to turn out the was it was supposed to.  The end wasn't predictable.  I don't know what is says about us as women but I think everyone at the table last night had, at one point, hoped that Will Stephens' wife would die during labor so that he and Lavinia could end up together!  It would have been the one death that we would have accepted.  Personally, I really enjoyed reading this book.  I think I would rate it a 3.5 or 4 and I would definitely recommend it to someone else - as long as I told them exactly what they were getting into beforehand.

Heather was in charge of the book choices this month and she had some really great options.  A lot of the ladies were torn between two books but we ended up going with The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

This kind of falls into the realm of young adult literature.  It actually won an award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature from the American Library Association.  The story is set in 1939 Nazi Germany.  The narrator is death itself which sounds interesting.  I started reading the prologue last night and I am already hooked.  The way is is written and the narrations giving by death are fascinating.  I am so excited to see how all of this develops.

Thank you to everyone who joined us last night and to Kaley/Amy Jo for providing the food.  Out next meeting is going to be April 20th at 6:45 pm.  Kaley is going to be bringing the book choices and I think I'm going to have Eric make us some Spanish food so it should be pretty great!  I hope to see you all there!

Carly

February Book Choice

Happy February!

Thank you to all of the girls that came to the meeting this month.  Personally, I think it was one of the best meetings that we've had.  Almost everyone had completed the book so there were a lot of different opinions and perspectives.  Quite a few of the women actually finished all 3 books in the Hunger Games series.  I did - just like I said I would.  We also had a few first-timers this month.  Rachel brought her friend Heather and Ashlee/Ashlyne brought their sister-in-law Paige.  It was great having new faces.  Heather and Paige had a lot to contribute.  I absolutely loved having so many ladies at the meeting. Ashlee did a great job leading the discussion and keeping us talking.  Also, I wanted to thank Heather for bringing the rice krispies treats and Amy Jo for the garlic bread.  

Ashlyne brought the book choices this month.  We ended up choosing The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom.

The Kitchen House has a 4.5 star review on Amazon.  They say that it is a tragic story of page-turning suspense, exploring the meaning of family, where love and loyalty prevail.  I don't know anything about this book.  Maybe that is why I'm so excited to read it.  This is what I wanted to get out of the book club - reading books that I might not otherwise pick up.  


I hope all of you can come to the next meeting.  It'll be on March 16th at 6:45 pm.  Heather is in charge of bringing the book choices.  If anyone has any suggestions for dinner let me know.  


I hope everyone has a great month!

January Book

Hey Ladies,

Another monthly meeting has come and gone.  Again, we had a really small turnout but there was still no lack of conversation.  Water for Elephants definitely gave us plenty to talk about.  I think my favorite thing to talk about was the August/Rosie relationship.  I felt so bad for Rosie.  August was such an evil man.  Also, how in the world do you teach an elephant Polish! :)

I'm sorry that more people haven't been able to make it to the meetings.  On Wednesday we discussed possibly needing to find a different night of the week to meet.  Is there anyone that would be able to come more often if we switched days?  Also, we are interested in inviting more people to join as well so please bring your friends along if you have any that would enjoy meeting with us.  I really do look forward to our meeting each month and I hope we can keep it going.

Ashlee Hunter brought her book choice this month and we have picked The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins as the next book to read.

 Apparently The Hunger Games series is pretty popular.  Quite a few book clubs are reading it.  I'm really excited to get started.  Knowing me, I'll have read all 3 in the series by next month's meetings if it's really as good as everyone says it is.

The next meeting is scheduled for February 23rd at 6:45 pm.  We are meeting a week later in February because a few of us will be out of town.  Ashlyne Hunter is in charge of bringing the book choices.  Let me know if any of you would be willing to bring dessert.

Hope you have a great month.  Happy Reading!

Carly