October 2012

Our book this month is If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern. It was chosen by Krista. Here is a brief description of the book taken from Amazon.com:

Readers and critics alike adore Cecelia Ahern for her lighthearted yet insightful stories about modern women and their often unusual situations. In If You Could See Me Now, she takes that theme a step further, offering us a heroine who is entirely believable, and the new man in her life who is, well, slightly less so.
Elizabeth Egan's life runs on order: Both her home and her emotions are arranged just so, with little room for spontaneity. It's how she counteracts the chaos of her family -- an alcoholic mother who left when she was young, an emotionally distant father, and a free-spirited sister, who seems to be following in their mother's footsteps, leaving her own six-year-old son, Luke, in Elizabeth's care. When Ivan, Luke's mysterious new grown-up friend, enters the picture, Elizabeth doesn't know quite what to make of him. With his penchant for adventure and colorful take on things large and small, Ivan opens Elizabeth's eyes to a whole new way of living. But is it for real? Is Ivan for real?
If You Could See Me Now is a love story with heart -- and just a touch of magic.

RETREAT is this month! This book will be reviewed at retreat. Dates are October 26-27. More details coming soon.

September 2012

What would possess a gifted young man recently graduated from college to literally walk away from his life? Noted outdoor writer and mountaineer Jon Krakauer tackles that question in his reporting on Chris McCandless, whose emaciated body was found in an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness in 1992. Described by friends and relatives as smart, literate, compassionate, and funny, did McCandless simply read too much Thoreau and Jack London and lose sight of the dangers of heading into the wilderness alone? Krakauer, whose own adventures have taken him to the perilous heights of Everest, provides some answers by exploring the pull the outdoors, seductive yet often dangerous, has had on his own life.

Book club will be Sept 28th, 7:00 PM at Leah's house. Let me know if you have any questions. Can't wait to discuss this book!

June 2012

OK ladies, book club in June will be held at my house. Give me a few days to figure out the date. There is a youth conference going on during our normal week which would affect quite a few of us. I may move it up or back a week. Comments and suggestions?
Our book this month is State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. My copy is roaming around. If you are done with it please post so we can get it to the next person. This book is just recently out in paperback and can be purchased on Amazon. If you want to do that let me know, I have free 2-day shipping on all my orders. This is a REALLY good book so please make an effort to get a hold of it and get it read. I think we will have some great discussion with this book. I'll post the date for book club in a couple of days. Love you all!

Another Good One!

Thanks again Johanna! Retreat was a blast.

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

This is the book for May (at Shanna's house)
There are 8 copies floating around from the bookclub kit, so if you need one ask around:).

In 1937, Shanghai is the Paris of Asia, a city of great wealth and glamour, the home of millionaires and beggars, gangsters and gamblers, patriots and revolutionaries, artists and warlords. Thanks to the financial security and material comforts provided by their father’s prosperous rickshaw business, twenty-one-year-old Pearl Chin and her younger sister, May, are having the time of their lives. Though both sisters wave off authority and tradition, they couldn’t be more different: Pearl is a Dragon sign, strong and stubborn, while May is a true Sheep, adorable and placid. Both are beautiful, modern, and carefree . . . until the day their father tells them that he has gambled away their wealth and that in order to repay his debts he must sell the girls as wives to suitors who have traveled from California to find Chinese brides.

As Japanese bombs fall on their beloved city, Pearl and May set out on the journey of a lifetime, one that will take them through the Chinese countryside, in and out of the clutch of brutal soldiers, and across the Pacific to the shores of America. In Los Angeles they begin a fresh chapter, trying to find love with the strangers they have married, brushing against the seduction of Hollywood, and striving to embrace American life even as they fight against discrimination, brave Communist witch hunts, and find themselves hemmed in by Chinatown’s old ways and rules.

At its heart, Shanghai Girls is a story of sisters: Pearl and May are inseparable best friends who share hopes, dreams, and a deep connection, but like sisters everywhere they also harbor petty jealousies and rivalries. They love each other, but each knows exactly where to drive the knife to hurt the other the most. Along the way they face terrible sacrifices, make impossible choices, and confront a devastating, life-changing secret, but through it all the two heroines of this astounding new novel hold fast to who they are–Shanghai girls.

This Month's Book: Flowers for Algernon

This month's book is Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.

"With more than five million copies sold, Flowers for Algernon is the beloved, classic story of a mentally disabled man whose experimental quest for intelligence mirrors that of Algernon, an extraordinary lab mouse. In poignant diary entries, Charlie tells how a brain operation increases his IQ and changes his life. As the experimental procedure takes effect, Charlie's intelligence expands until it surpasses that of the doctors who engineered his metamorphosis. The experiment seems to be a scientific breakthrough of paramount importance--until Algernon begins his sudden, unexpected deterioration. Will the same happen to Charlie?" -- via Amazon.com

I chose this book because I discovered that it is a crazily high-rated book that apparently everyone has read. I haven't. And according to Goodreads, none of you have either. So we should. It's not my typical flavor of book, but it's also not a common flavor amid our book club choices. I thought it might be a refreshing change, a nice addition to our flavor pallet if you will. I'm excited to read it (I already peeked via the Amazon's "Look Inside" feature, and I was intrigued). I hope I like it as much as the rest of the world seems to. And I hope you all do too!

It's available for as little as $4 (used) via Amazon. The Kindle edition is about 9 bucks. L library has two copies; the NL library has a couple as well. And S library has one. I hope this availability will be enough. So get reading! You won't regret it.

*We will be reviewing this book at Book Club Retreat in April (which will likely be the 20th and 21st). See you then!

Book club meeting this Thursday, 3/22!

Hey, girls.

Just a reminder that we have BOOK CLUB this Thursday, 3/22.

It will be at 7pm at Missy's house.

Book: The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (It's a good'un.)

Hope to see you all there!

"Unbroken" by Lauren Hillenbrand

Our book for this month is "Unbroken" by Lauren Hillenbrand. The following review was taken for amazon.com:
On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood.  Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared.  It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane’s bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard.  So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.

The lieutenant’s name was Louis Zamperini.  In boyhood, he’d been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and fleeing his home to ride the rails.  As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics and within sight of the four-minute mile.  But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown.

Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater.  Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion.  His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.

In her long-awaited new book, Laura Hillenbrand writes with the same rich and vivid narrative voice she displayed in Seabiscuit.  Telling an unforgettable story of a man’s journey into extremity, Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit.

So far I am riveted by this book. I can't wait to discuss it with all of you. We will meet at Amy's house on February 23rd at 7:00 PM. Please comment if you have questions or need a copy of the book. See you all there!