New Year, New Book Choice

Hello Ladies,

Look at how good I am doing at blogging...are you proud?  I had such a great time at our last book club meeting.  Life is stressing me out lately and book club is always a fabulous distraction.  I love talking to all of you girls and hearing the great things that are happening for everyone.

So last month we read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.  Surprisingly most of us had finished the book this time.  I'm not sure if that happened because the book was relatively short or because it felt like a book that you just have to read.  Either way,  I was happy to see that we had actually read this time!  Many of us didn't actually love this book.  At points I struggled following the story.  I ended up wondering if what Montag was describing was real or his imagination.  That seems about par for the course with me though.  I've read many dystopian novels and books dealing with totalitarian governments.  We've even read a few already in book club.  But I never really enjoy those novels.  It may be irrational but they always seem to make me a little nervous.  I wonder about what it would take for that to happen in our world.  Maybe that is the purpose behind books like 1984 and Brave New World.  Overall we rated the book around 3.

For our January book choice we ended up going with In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson.

 It is the story of the Dobbs family that gets sent to Germany in 1933 to be the US Ambassador.  The book jackets says that it "lends a stunning eyewitness perspective on events as they unfold in real time, revealing an era of surprising nuance and complexity."  I began reading this book last night and was surprised to find out that it is a non-fiction book.  I should have guessed but I wasn't expecting that.  Hopefully the rest of the girls still enjoy it.  I am hooked already but I also am in love with all things history related.  Can't wait!

Our next meeting is going to be at Marie's house on Feb 19th at 7:00.  See you then!

Happy Reading!

And We're Back!

So I’m horribly bad at blogging.  Who cares…big whoop…deal with it!  I kid. I kid.  But really, I have a problem and have to apologize for the 6 month absence.  I missed our book club meeting in June and it totally threw me off my game.  Our July meeting came around and none of the ladies who made it to that meeting had actually read Playing Dead yet so we kept it for our July book choice as well.  A poor excuse to not blog in July but I ran with it.  And then I just kept on running.  Time to play catch up.  I’ll start with the different books that we have read during the second half of this year.

In August we selected Heather’s choice of The Book of 1000 Days by Shannon Hale

It was a very interesting story.  Definitely not a tough read but it kept us entertained.  It tells the story of a servant girl that is locked in a tower with her princess master for what is supposed to be three years.  They escape, find out the country has been destroyed, and head off to find the supposed love of the princess.  Good story.  If I remember it correctly we rated it around a 3 out of 5 for the enjoyment factor.

Our September choice was another light read.  We chose The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks.

Personally, I struggled with this book.  I wasn't able to finish it.  I got bored with the characters and the story line didn't really interest me.  Overall, no one really loved it.  The ladies that did finish told me that it did have some amusing parts and the story got better the further into the book they read.  2.5 out of 5 stars.

The October book was probably my favorite of the last few months.  We read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer.

Many of you might have seen the movie for this book.  It is about a boy whose father was killed in the 9-11 attacks in New York City.  A while after the death of his father, Oscar, finds a small envelope that leads him on a search across NYC to learn more about the man.  I would probably rate this book at a 4.  The only drawback was that it jumped between characters without any explanation and was, at times, hard to follow.

Phew…almost caught up.

November book choice!  This was actually kind of a scramble.  The book choices never arrived so we all just threw out books that we had been wanting to read.  We ended up with Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

I can’t really do an accurate review of this book as I didn't finish reading.  Heck, I barely started reading it.  The holidays definitely got in the way.  I did enjoy the parts that I did read and am looking forward to finishing it.  The reviews say that it is intriguing and has a lot of plot twists that keep a person interested.  Hopefully that’s true.  I’ll keep you posted if I actually get back to reading it.  Eric got me quite a few books for Christmas so I am over-loaded with reading options at the moment.

And finally…December’s book choice!  I am crazy excited about this one.  We chose Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

Amazon says that “Fahrenheit 451 is a masterwork of twentieth-century literature set in a bleak, dystopian future.  Sounds great, right?  For some reason I never read this while I was in middle or high school.  You’d think it would have been required in most English Lit classes or something.  I’m excited to read it now.  I want to see what all of the fuss is about.

Along with book choice updates I’m going to include some book club member updates as well.  First a big congrats to Amy Jo who got engaged and will be getting married next week!  Wade is a lucky guy! Second, a round of applause goes to Marie for graduating from college.  I big achievement!  Next, we have baby-related congratulations to Heather for the birth of her gorgeous little girl and to Ashlee on the up-coming birth of her second adorable baby.  Lastly, I need to welcome our newest book club member, Ashley.  We love having you come!  As for the rest of us…life is pretty much status quo as far as I know.

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, January 22, 2013 at 7:00 pm.  We will be holding it at my house again.
Hope to see you there.

Happy Reading,
Carly

April Book Choice

Hello Ladies,

Another month passed and we had yet another successful book club meeting.  It was actually the first meeting in my new house!  It was great actually feeling like I had room to host the dinner instead of cramming us into the living room.  Anyway, thank you to Sabra for the amazing dinner.  Personally, I think it was one of my favorite meals.  And thanks to Heather for the dessert.  One can never go wrong with Creamies!  

So as Amy Jo just posted we selected “The Night Circus” as our March book choice and it was a hit.  There was romance, deceit, magic, wonderful imagery, and a unique story.  The author did a fantastic job of helping the reader feel as though they were actually in the middle of this bizarre circus he had created.  The characters he created were just as unique and interesting as the circus itself.  And the relationship between Marco and Celia seemed doomed from the very beginning of the book but I found myself rooting for them anyway.  Those of us who finished the book rated it between 4 and 5 stars.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. 

Amy Jo was brought our book choices for April.  She prefaced her choices by saying there was really only one that she actually wanted to read…the rest were just fillers.  Luckily, the rest of the group agreed with her and we ended up picking her first choice.  This month we will be reading “The Unconquered” by Scott Wallace.

It is a first-hand account of a 3-month expedition into the Amazon jungle in 2002 to learn more about the remaining native and uncontacted tribes that lived there.   I love reading true, inspirational stories and I am really excited about bolstering my pathetically-limited knowledge of the Amazon.   My kindle says that I have read 5% of the book so far and I am already hooked.  It seems like Amy Jo picked another winner this time!   

Our next meeting will be on May 16^th at 7:00.  A big thank you in advance to Amy Jo and Marie for taking care of dinner, to Rachel for dessert, and to Ashlee for bringing our book choices.  Can’t wait to see you all next month.

Happy Reading!

Carly

March Book Choice

Hello Everyone,
It's Amy this time. So I have to apologize to Carly. I gave her such a hard time about not updating the blog that one time that she outsmarted me and asked me to do it this month... and guess what, April's meeting it tonight... my bad.

Last month (Feb) we read Defending Jacob. Again I was the only one that didn't finish. I was about 30 pages until the end... but I did finish it that night after book club. I think this ended up being one of our favorite books. The book brought up a few ethical dilemmas and gave us plenty to talk about. Good Choice Sabra.

March was back to Carly for the book choices. We decided on The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.


The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

Once again, I will not finish this book before the meeting. Way too much homework this month. What I did get to read I loved. It is such a fast read and I didn't want to put it down. I made it about 5 chapters in and had to go back to studying. I'm excited to hear what everyone else thinks about this one.

Tonight is my turn to bring the book choices. We've had some good ones lately, so I have big shoes to fill. Sabra is in charge of the main course and Heather will be bringing dessert.

As a reminder, we will be at Carly and Eric's new home in Centerville. Please text her for the address if you don't know where it is. See you all tonight at 7!

Happy Reading,
Amy Jo

February Book Choice

Hello Ladies!

First of all, I hope you had a great Valentine's day?  Does anyone have any great V-day stories to tell us?  Mine was pretty great.  Simple but perfect.  Anyway, this month we had a pretty small turn-out at our meeting. Lots of last minute things came up so many of the ladies weren't able to make it.  It's been a while since we've had such a small group but, as always, we still had a great time.

I want to start by thanking Sarah for bringing The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society as one of her book choices last month.  She said it would be a fun read and she was not mistaken.  The book dealt with some serious themes but did so in a way that wasn't overwhelming or depressing.  I thought author made a brilliant decision by writing this book as a series of letters. The characters were all unique and interesting and the letter format gave the reader a very intimate view into the personality of each individual.  Each character had his/her own voice and way of describing the events that happened on the island.  I absolutely loved the book and would definitely recommend it to everyone.  I think as a group we gave the book 4 stars.  Thanks again, Sarah.  I really enjoyed reading this book.

Sabra was in charge of our book choices for February.  It took us a while to pick one this time.  We were pretty evenly divided between 2 of her choices but we ended up going with Defending Jacob by William Landay.

Defending Jacob is listed as a "suspenseful, character-driven mystery" so it will be a little bit different than any of the books we've read so far.  We haven't read a suspense novel yet so I'm excited to see how we like it.  The story is about a lawyer in Massachusetts whose 14-year-old son is charged with murder and how his family copes with the situation.  I really enjoy suspense novels so I can't wait to get started on this one.

Our next meeting is going to be on March 21st at 7:00 pm.  I will be bringing the book choices next time.  Can you believe we've completed the cycle again?  Also, we had a suggestion to possibly change the blog.  Would anyone be interested in being made an author on the blog?  We could then use the blog not only for the monthly book choice but to also discuss the book during the month or post suggestions for other books we've read and enjoyed.  I also thought we could use it to set up book swaps or Girls Nights to go see any of our books that have been made into movies.  Another option would be to setup a Facebook group instead of using the blog.  Let me know what you think or send me text if you want to be added as an author.  I think it could be a lot of fun.

I hope all of you have a great month.  You've got a full 5 weeks until our next meeting so I expect everyone to have the book finished this time! :)

Happy Reading,

Carly

January Book Choice

Hello ladies!

Welcome to the new year.  I'm really excited to see where our little group goes in 2012.  I'm not going to lie...I was a little nervous about the book club at the beginning of last year.  We were struggling to have meetings with more than 4 people but things have really improved of late.  We have had many new members join us and our group size is increasing again.  Speaking of new members, I am happy to welcome Sabra to the group.  This month was her first meeting with us and we have already put her to work bringing the book choices for February.     I also wanted to thank Sarah for her amazing dinner.  We were really sad that she wasn't able to make it but the soup she sent over was fantastic.  Seriously, Sarah.  I need the recipe!  Also, thanks for Ashlee for the brownies.  Those are always a hit!

Our meeting this month was really fun.  We were discussing the book Unbroken and it gave us a lot of good discussion points.  I think a lot of girls learned a lot about Japanese culture and mindset during the WWII time period.  For those that don't know, Unbroken is true story about an american soldier who is captured by the Japanese and sent to POW camps in Japan for 3 years.  The book describes the horrible conditions the POW's had to endure in the camps: starvation, beatings, dysentery, freezing temperatures, etc.  It is a book that really makes you think about the ability that humans have to mistreat and hate others.  It was an intense book but all who finished reading it rated it between 4 and 5 stars.

For our next book we ended up choosing yet another book dealing with WWII.  It is called The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

The Washington Post gave the following review of the novel:

“Traditional without seeming stale, and romantic without being naïve” (San Francisco Chronicle), this epistolary novel, based on Mary Ann Shaffer’s painstaking, lifelong research, is a homage to booklovers and a nostalgic portrayal of an era. As her quirky, loveable characters cite the works of Shakespeare, Austen, and the Brontës, Shaffer subtly weaves those writers’ themes into her own narrative. However, it is the tragic stories of life under Nazi occupation that animate the novel and give it its urgency; furthermore, the novel explores the darker side of human nature without becoming maudlin. The Rocky Mountain News criticized the novel’s lighthearted tone and characterizations, but most critics agreed that, with its humor and optimism, Guernsey “affirms the power of books to nourish people during hard times”

I've been wanting to read this book for quite a while.  I think I was first drawn to the strange title.  I am really excited and glad that Sarah thought to include it in her book choices this month.

I hope all of you have a great month and Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Reading,
Carly

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

December Meeting

So our second meeting went pretty well.  It was a smaller group tonight but we still had a great time.  I'm sorry for those of you that were unable to come at the last minute.  You were missed and hopefully we'll see you next month.  Thank you to Amy Jo for the lasagna and Ashlee for the brownies.  The food was all fantastic.

There was a lot of good discussion about The Thirteenth Tale.  All the girls rated it either 3 or 4 on scale of 5.  I think the book left us with a lot of things to talk about - twins, ghosts, Jane Eyre, etc.  For those of you who weren't able to make it I have a question.  Was it Adeline or Emmeline that was saved from the fire? :) We were split in our answers tonight.

Amy Jo brought our book options this month and we've picked...Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.

If you've already read this book I still hope you'll come and discuss it with us next month.  We are meeting on January 19th.  We are going to move the time to 6:45 instead of 6:30.    Also, let me know if you'd be willing to bring a side dish or appetizer/snack next month.  Amy Jo is going to be in charge of leading the book discussion.  It's Ashlee's turn to bring book choices and Ashlyne has graciously agreed to take care of dessert.  

I hope everyone has a great Christmas!  Happy Reading!  

Carly

First Meeting!

Hey Ladies!  Thank you all for coming tonight.  I think our first meeting went really well.  I am so excited for our little book club and to get to know you all better.  Thank you for being patient with my nervous babbling.  Having never started a book club before I was a little unsure of exactly what I was supposed to be doing :)  Hopefully you enjoyed yourself anyway.

 Just as a recap for anybody that wasn't able to make it tonight we've decided to meet every third Wednesday of the month at my house in Bountiful.  Our next meeting will be on December 15th.  We also selected our first book.  We are going to be reading The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.

 I can't wait to read this book.  The reviews say that it is a book lover's book - a good story written by a good writer about a good writer writing a good story.  Whatever that is supposed to mean.  It should be great.

We also set up assignments for the next meeting.  Amy Jo will be bringing her book options for us to pick the next book.  She is also in charge of the main course in our meal.  Kaley will be bringing the appetizer/snack and Ashlee is bringing dessert.

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and be safe if you are traveling.  I'll put up the discussion questions in a few weeks if you want to look through them before we meet again.  It might give you some idea as to what we'll actually be talking about.

Take care and we'll see you soon!

Carly