January--Laura
February--Heather
March--Julie
April--Lisa
May--Rhonda
June--Tania
July--Alissa
August--Tina
September--Laura
October--Heather
November--Julie
December--Lisa
Friday, January 1, 2021
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
2018 Book Picking List
January -- Rhonda
February -- Tania
March -- Michelle
April -- Alissa
May -- Tina
June -- break
July -- Laura
August -- break
September -- Heather
October -- Julie
November -- Lisa
December -- Renee
Monday, August 1, 2016
Book Picking List
Here is the list of names of who gets to pick our monthly book!
Lisa -- September
Rhonda -- October
Michelle -- November
Tania -- December
Alissa -- January
Tina -- February
Laura -- March
Heather -- April
Julie -- May
Then we start all over!
Lisa -- September
Rhonda -- October
Michelle -- November
Tania -- December
Alissa -- January
Tina -- February
Laura -- March
Heather -- April
Julie -- May
Then we start all over!
July Book Club Recap
Attendees: Alissa, Julie, Laura, Lisa, Raven, Rhonda, Tina, and me via Skype.
The books we discussed were:
and
The books we discussed were:
and
Since I am way behind on this recap I think that the general consensus was that we liked the books, but they were not our favorites. We didn't talk about the ending of The Nest because there were still a couple of people that didn't finish and I think that would have been a good topic to discuss. Furiously Happy made Rhonda more anxious, but I think that for those of us (myself and Raven) that have anxiety it was nice to read about someone that has it worse. It was also felt that the first part of Jenny's book was funny, but then it just became a lot of the same thing over and over again.
Here are the details for next book club!
When: Wednesday August 4th at 7pm
Where: Rhonda's Casa
What we are reading: All Our Names by Dinaw Mengestu
It is Lisa's turn to pick next!
Happy Reading!
If you click on the pictures it will take you to an affiliate link. Thanks for the support!
Saturday, March 19, 2016
March Book Club Recap
Attendees: Alissa, Julie, Lisa, Laura, Michelle, Rhonda, Tina, and me via Skype :).
First, I have to say that seeing you all outside and some of you in short sleeves made me very jealous! I look forward to the sun and heat coming this way (although it was sunny and warm today!).
The book that we discussed this meeting was The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty.
Everyone in book club had read this book! Julie and myself previously read this book and we needed a refresher on what the book was about since it had been awhile. Michelle did an excellent job summarizing the book and all of the characters. We all really enjoyed the book and like Liane's writing. Michelle said that she figured out the secret right away, but there were others that didn't know what the secret was right away. We all felt really bad for the Colin (I can't remember if that name is right) character because he really got the short end of the stick for the whole book. Some members thought that the story of woman that left her cheating husband and went back home didn't fit that well into the book and could have been left out. We figured that Liane put her in because she likes to weave different stories together and that was one that she could do.
I read this book soon after reading two of her other books and it was too much for me. I think that her books are very similar and kind of remind me of Jodi Picoult's novels and one should read them spaced out, so that they don't get burned out on them :). Rhonda did mention that she thought it was really shitty that the one lady that gets pregnant at the end and doesn't know who the father could be didn't tell the PE teacher (Colin?) that it could be his.
We talked about Rhonda's new company, Tuscan Women Cook and it sounds exciting! Michelle talked about a vacation that her and Tania will be going on together. There was Girl Scout cookie talk, Julie talked about visiting her daughter after she has the baby, which is very exciting! At about this time I disconnected so I'm not sure what other fun conversations were had!
Here are the details for the next book club:
When: Wednesday April 13th, 7pm
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman
Laura and I are currently reading this. It is a Swedish book that has been translated and I believe that you pronounce "Ove" as "Ooo-va" (at least that is how I think the audiobook pronounces it).
First, I have to say that seeing you all outside and some of you in short sleeves made me very jealous! I look forward to the sun and heat coming this way (although it was sunny and warm today!).
The book that we discussed this meeting was The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty.
Everyone in book club had read this book! Julie and myself previously read this book and we needed a refresher on what the book was about since it had been awhile. Michelle did an excellent job summarizing the book and all of the characters. We all really enjoyed the book and like Liane's writing. Michelle said that she figured out the secret right away, but there were others that didn't know what the secret was right away. We all felt really bad for the Colin (I can't remember if that name is right) character because he really got the short end of the stick for the whole book. Some members thought that the story of woman that left her cheating husband and went back home didn't fit that well into the book and could have been left out. We figured that Liane put her in because she likes to weave different stories together and that was one that she could do.
I read this book soon after reading two of her other books and it was too much for me. I think that her books are very similar and kind of remind me of Jodi Picoult's novels and one should read them spaced out, so that they don't get burned out on them :). Rhonda did mention that she thought it was really shitty that the one lady that gets pregnant at the end and doesn't know who the father could be didn't tell the PE teacher (Colin?) that it could be his.
We talked about Rhonda's new company, Tuscan Women Cook and it sounds exciting! Michelle talked about a vacation that her and Tania will be going on together. There was Girl Scout cookie talk, Julie talked about visiting her daughter after she has the baby, which is very exciting! At about this time I disconnected so I'm not sure what other fun conversations were had!
Here are the details for the next book club:
When: Wednesday April 13th, 7pm
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman
Laura and I are currently reading this. It is a Swedish book that has been translated and I believe that you pronounce "Ove" as "Ooo-va" (at least that is how I think the audiobook pronounces it).
Happy Reading!
p.s. All links are affiliate links and if you purchase the book through it I get a small percentage :)
Monday, February 29, 2016
February Book Club Recap
Attendees: Michelle, Tina, Lisa, Laura, Julie, Raven, Alissa, and Rhonda.
The Japanese Lover was liked by all. We all really enjoyed the twist it took with the husband turning out to be gay.
We also liked all the little love stories in the book, the sister and her American guy, the grandson and Irina. A couple of us didn’t care for the sexual deviant part of Irina's story however, it felt sort of gratuitous.
Otherwise we talked about Alissa’s daughter selling girl scout cookies and the best news of all is that Julie’s daughter (who lives in NY) is pregnant! Julie has been waiting patiently for that news since they’ve been married like 5 years now.
Here are the details for the March book club:
When: Wednesday March 16th, 7pm
Where: Rhonda's House
What we are Reading: The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
Here is a list of who will be picking our books for this year:
March--Laura
April--Heather
May--Julie
June--Rhonda
July--Michelle S.
August--Tania
September--Michelle B.
October--Alissa
November--Tina
December--New member or we start over with Laura :)
Friday, December 18, 2015
Rhonda's Birthday Book Club Recap 12/17/15
Attendees: Rhonda, Tina, Lisa, Alissa, Laura, Tania, Michelle S., Raven, me on Skype, and special appearances by Paige & David.
Tina hosted book club last night and it looked like it was very nice (Tina, your kitchen is to die for!). After some technical issues with Skype they got it going and I was on the TV and only could see the group if they stood up by the couches or hung out in the kitchen. The book that we discussed was After You by Jojo Moyes, which is the sequel to the book Me Before You, which we read last year and loved. This book we did not love so much. We thought that the book was just okay. We thought that the writing was good and easy to get through, but it didn't compare to the first book. We thought that Jojo Moyes should not have written the sequel because it didn't seem like the first book needed a follow-up. We weren't that thrilled with Louisa's situation and what she was going through in this book. I did think that this book seems like it needs a sequel because the author left it open ended, which was probably done on purpose for the third book in the series? They are making a movie based on Me Before You and we thought that maybe the second book would also turn into a second movie? Rhonda commented that she has read many of Jojo Moyes book and this was her least favorite, which I would have to agree with.
After discussing the book we talked about the books that we have read this year and we were trying to decided what was our favorite (mine was Station Eleven).
Here is the list of books that we read in 2014 (in reverse order from how we read them):
Tina hosted book club last night and it looked like it was very nice (Tina, your kitchen is to die for!). After some technical issues with Skype they got it going and I was on the TV and only could see the group if they stood up by the couches or hung out in the kitchen. The book that we discussed was After You by Jojo Moyes, which is the sequel to the book Me Before You, which we read last year and loved. This book we did not love so much. We thought that the book was just okay. We thought that the writing was good and easy to get through, but it didn't compare to the first book. We thought that Jojo Moyes should not have written the sequel because it didn't seem like the first book needed a follow-up. We weren't that thrilled with Louisa's situation and what she was going through in this book. I did think that this book seems like it needs a sequel because the author left it open ended, which was probably done on purpose for the third book in the series? They are making a movie based on Me Before You and we thought that maybe the second book would also turn into a second movie? Rhonda commented that she has read many of Jojo Moyes book and this was her least favorite, which I would have to agree with.
After discussing the book we talked about the books that we have read this year and we were trying to decided what was our favorite (mine was Station Eleven).
Here is the list of books that we read in 2014 (in reverse order from how we read them):
- -After You-Jojo Moyes (2015)
- -Go Set A Watchman-Harper Lee (2015)
- -To Kill A Mockingbird-Harper Lee (2015)
- -Those Who Stay and Those Who Leave-Elena Ferrante (2015)
- -The Invention of Wings-Sue Monk Kidd (2015)
- -Missoula-Jon Krakauer (2015)
- -The Orphan Master's Son-Adam Johnson (2015)
- -The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls-Anton DiSclafani (2015)
- -Station Eleven-Emily St. John Mandel (2015)
- -Big Little Lies-Liane Moriarty (2015)
We celebrated Rhonda's birthday with some Bundt cakes and presents! Everyone sang Happy Birthday and candles were blown out and then it was decided that it needed to redone because no one captured photos or video from the first go round :). Rhonda got some pretty cool gifts, but the best present had to be the sweater that Tina got for Rhonda that was a tad too small, but at least the sleeves were long enough! This sweater also zipped up all the way so that your face can be completely zipped up and you can't see anything!
Michelle B. we talked about your surgery and how you were doing. We hope that your recovery goes well and we look forward to having you back at book club!
Tina and Rhonda recently saw the movie The Danish Girl and Tina is now fascinated with Transgender people. We had a long conversation about transgenderism and Laura gave us some good insight as she has two friends that are transgender. The movie was really good and Michelle is reading the book and seems to be enjoying it. I recently read the book Becoming Nicole, which is about a transgender girl and the process for her and her family to become Nicole. It was interesting and I learned more about Transgender people.
We talked about feet and it seems like the majority of the members of book club have had some sort of surgery on their feet. I think that there was talk about some sleazy guy at Rhonda's holiday party (I couldn't catch all of the details except he was rubbing Tania's finger??).
We talked about some books that we are not reading for book club, but that we should read. I think that these are them: Orphan #8 , The Midwife of Hope River, and Furiously Happy (I'm reading this book right now and there have been lots of laugh out loud moments for me).
It was Alissa's turn to pick our book and here are the details of the next book club:
When: Thursday January 28 at 7pm
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende Unfortunately, Isabel was just in LA on 12/1 for her book tour of this book (she's a really fun author to listen to).
Lastly, Tina you are the one picking the next book!
Happy reading!
Heather
p.s. All of the links above are affiliate links, so if you click on the link and purchase the book I get a small commission from it :)
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Book Club Recap 11/16/15
Well, due to a power outage at Michelle's house there was no book club for me :(. Rhonda did fill me in on what went on so, here is here recap:
Attendees: Rhonda, Julie, Tina, Lisa, Laura, Alissa, Tania, and Michelle.
Michelle wanted to host book club at her house because she had a new deck built in her backyard. Not only was it too cold and windy to have it outside, but a transformer blew in her neighborhood, catching her tree on fire in the back. Due to that there was no electricity for 90% of book club. It was nice having it lit by candlelight though.
Michelle brought back a bunch of Middle Eastern food from her trip to Israel, which was delicious! There was a ton of food. Salads, kabobs, dips, rice, and wine. Both the white and red wine was tasty.
There was a lot of discussion about Michelle's Israel trip and Laura's Indonesia trip. A little about Rhonda's Italy trip (wow, we have a book club with some world travelers!).
Only a few of us read both books. Michelle liked Go Set A Watchman more than the rest of us. She thought it was well told from the perspective of an older Scout. Alissa and Rhonda practically hated the Atticus character and felt short changed that there was no Jem or Boo Radley. They did like the character of the uncle though. We talked about how it seems like people took advantage of Harper Lee in her old age as we don't think she would have chosen to have the first book published.
The next book club meeting will be at Tina's house and she is hosting a special birthday book club for Rhonda (remember to bring a present for Rhonda! :) ).
Here are the details for the next book club:
When: Thursday 12/17/15
Where: Tina's house
What we are reading: After You by Jojo Moyes
Alissa, you are picking the next book!
Happy reading and Happy Thanksgiving!!!
-Heather
Attendees: Rhonda, Julie, Tina, Lisa, Laura, Alissa, Tania, and Michelle.
Michelle wanted to host book club at her house because she had a new deck built in her backyard. Not only was it too cold and windy to have it outside, but a transformer blew in her neighborhood, catching her tree on fire in the back. Due to that there was no electricity for 90% of book club. It was nice having it lit by candlelight though.
Michelle brought back a bunch of Middle Eastern food from her trip to Israel, which was delicious! There was a ton of food. Salads, kabobs, dips, rice, and wine. Both the white and red wine was tasty.
There was a lot of discussion about Michelle's Israel trip and Laura's Indonesia trip. A little about Rhonda's Italy trip (wow, we have a book club with some world travelers!).
Only a few of us read both books. Michelle liked Go Set A Watchman more than the rest of us. She thought it was well told from the perspective of an older Scout. Alissa and Rhonda practically hated the Atticus character and felt short changed that there was no Jem or Boo Radley. They did like the character of the uncle though. We talked about how it seems like people took advantage of Harper Lee in her old age as we don't think she would have chosen to have the first book published.
The next book club meeting will be at Tina's house and she is hosting a special birthday book club for Rhonda (remember to bring a present for Rhonda! :) ).
Here are the details for the next book club:
When: Thursday 12/17/15
Where: Tina's house
What we are reading: After You by Jojo Moyes
Alissa, you are picking the next book!
Happy reading and Happy Thanksgiving!!!
-Heather
Saturday, August 22, 2015
Book Club Recap 8/20/15
Attendees: Laura, Lisa, Michelle S., Rhonda, Tania, Tina, me, & Raven.
We discussed the book Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante
I was the only one that finished reading the book and I had only finished it the night before! This is book three in a series about friends Lila and Lenu. Right now both of them are adults and are at the beginnings of their family lives. All of us thought that there were a lot of characters in the book and we all kept referring to the glossary at the beginning of the book with the list of the characters and who they were. We thought that if we had read the first three novels we would have been more familiarized with who everyone was and we wouldn't have to keep turning to the beginning of the book. We all agreed that Elena Ferrante is a good writer and Tania said that she was reading the book in Italian and the writing was better and flowed more than the English version (I was wondering if there was anything lost in translation and it seems like there was). Tania also talked about how bad of a place Naples is (this is where the two main characters grew up), which is something that I didn't know.
How the book ended I was actually curious to see how it would continue in the next book. I think that the majority of the group that did not finish the book plan on finishing it. I think that is about it for the book. We didn't talk too much about it because most of us didn't get far.
Tina told us a hilarious story about her neighbor's niece Melissa! Tina, I hope that she comes over again so that you have another funny story for us :). We talked about Cotton Candy Grapes. They are delicious and so expensive, which led us to a conversation of how some fruit is really expensive and how some of us have spent way too much money on fruit before. We also talked about shitty family members.
As we were trying to come up with a date for our next book club we came into a lot of hurdles! Rhonda is going on vacation and is gone basically until November. I am going on vacation in September. Laura is going on vacation in October. We decided that we would read two books and meet in November. If the group wanted to meet between now and then someone would set something up (you can email the group or just let me know and I can email the group).
Here are the details for the next book:
When: Tuesday November 10 at 7pm
Where: Rhonda's House
What We Are Reading: To Kill A Mockingbird and Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee
If you want to buy a hard copy of these books you can get a great used deal, or even the mass market paperback of To Kill A Mockingbird . I saw that Costco had both of these books and they were the cheapest for Go Set A Watchman (hard copy). The Kindle version is still just a tad cheaper than the hard copy.
Michelle B. it will be your turn for the November book club and by then the book will be out!
I hope to see everyone in November!!
-Heather
We discussed the book Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante
I was the only one that finished reading the book and I had only finished it the night before! This is book three in a series about friends Lila and Lenu. Right now both of them are adults and are at the beginnings of their family lives. All of us thought that there were a lot of characters in the book and we all kept referring to the glossary at the beginning of the book with the list of the characters and who they were. We thought that if we had read the first three novels we would have been more familiarized with who everyone was and we wouldn't have to keep turning to the beginning of the book. We all agreed that Elena Ferrante is a good writer and Tania said that she was reading the book in Italian and the writing was better and flowed more than the English version (I was wondering if there was anything lost in translation and it seems like there was). Tania also talked about how bad of a place Naples is (this is where the two main characters grew up), which is something that I didn't know.
How the book ended I was actually curious to see how it would continue in the next book. I think that the majority of the group that did not finish the book plan on finishing it. I think that is about it for the book. We didn't talk too much about it because most of us didn't get far.
Tina told us a hilarious story about her neighbor's niece Melissa! Tina, I hope that she comes over again so that you have another funny story for us :). We talked about Cotton Candy Grapes. They are delicious and so expensive, which led us to a conversation of how some fruit is really expensive and how some of us have spent way too much money on fruit before. We also talked about shitty family members.
As we were trying to come up with a date for our next book club we came into a lot of hurdles! Rhonda is going on vacation and is gone basically until November. I am going on vacation in September. Laura is going on vacation in October. We decided that we would read two books and meet in November. If the group wanted to meet between now and then someone would set something up (you can email the group or just let me know and I can email the group).
Here are the details for the next book:
When: Tuesday November 10 at 7pm
Where: Rhonda's House
What We Are Reading: To Kill A Mockingbird and Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee
If you want to buy a hard copy of these books you can get a great used deal, or even the mass market paperback of To Kill A Mockingbird . I saw that Costco had both of these books and they were the cheapest for Go Set A Watchman (hard copy). The Kindle version is still just a tad cheaper than the hard copy.
Michelle B. it will be your turn for the November book club and by then the book will be out!
I hope to see everyone in November!!
-Heather
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Book Club Recap 7/28/15
Attendees: Rhonda, Raven, Tina, Lisa, Alyssa, Michelle S., Julie, and Laura. If I missed anyone it is probably because I didn't see you :)
The book that we discussed was The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
I'm late in writing this update and I have a cold, so I am going to keep this post short and sweet. We all really enjoyed this book! If you haven't read it yet Kindle has it on sale for $6, which is a pretty good deal (the link above should work). The only complaints were Oprah's comments on some editions of the book :)
Our next book was selected by Tania. It is number #3 in a series of books, but Tania assures us that we do not have to read book #1 & 2 before this one!
Here are the details for next book club:
When: I forgot...but at 7pm
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante
The first book in the series, My Brilliant Friend is only $2.99 on the Kindle right now. Also, if you are an overachiever some members are going to try and read Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee (Costco has the best price on the book :). I think Kindle is a little cheaper).
Michelle B. you get to pick our book for next month!
Happy reading!!
Heather
p.s. There are affiliate links and if you order through them I get some pennies!
The book that we discussed was The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
I'm late in writing this update and I have a cold, so I am going to keep this post short and sweet. We all really enjoyed this book! If you haven't read it yet Kindle has it on sale for $6, which is a pretty good deal (the link above should work). The only complaints were Oprah's comments on some editions of the book :)
Our next book was selected by Tania. It is number #3 in a series of books, but Tania assures us that we do not have to read book #1 & 2 before this one!
Here are the details for next book club:
When: I forgot...but at 7pm
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante
The first book in the series, My Brilliant Friend is only $2.99 on the Kindle right now. Also, if you are an overachiever some members are going to try and read Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee (Costco has the best price on the book :). I think Kindle is a little cheaper).
Michelle B. you get to pick our book for next month!
Happy reading!!
Heather
p.s. There are affiliate links and if you order through them I get some pennies!
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Book Club Recap 6/10/15
Attendees: Julie, Laura, Lisa, Michelle S., Rhonda, Tania, Tina, and me.
The book that we discussed was Missoula by Jon Krakauer
We all thought that the book was a good read, but the subject matter was disturbing. It made me thankful that I don't have a daughter and Tina commented on how she has always been on her boys so that they know that no means no. Soon after I got on Skype my internet stopped working, so I called in with my phone. I really couldn't catch all that was said, so I imagine that more was said about the book and what everyone thought. I do know that we talked about how the community really turned away from the rape victims because they thought that they were out to destroy their football heroes, which was sad, especially since one of the girls had a confession from her rapist that he did it. Michelle talked about a roommate that claimed she had been raped when she actually wasn't, but that statistically someone lying about it is really low (I think 3%). Other than that I'm not sure what was said. I did think that the story was a bit one sided because Krakauer didn't seem to talk to any of the accused or people that he didn't write nicely about, but I had a hard time believing that these girls would be lying about being raped.
Here are the details for our next book club:
When: Wednesday July 15th at 7pm (Rhonda, is this right?)
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are Reading: The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd (right now it looks like the Kindle book is only $6, which isn't too bad of a deal)
Tania, it's your turn to pick the next book! :)
-Heather
p.s. Just a reminder that the links in here are affiliate links, so if you buy through them I get like $.08-$.24 per purchase! I'm making the big money :)
The book that we discussed was Missoula by Jon Krakauer
We all thought that the book was a good read, but the subject matter was disturbing. It made me thankful that I don't have a daughter and Tina commented on how she has always been on her boys so that they know that no means no. Soon after I got on Skype my internet stopped working, so I called in with my phone. I really couldn't catch all that was said, so I imagine that more was said about the book and what everyone thought. I do know that we talked about how the community really turned away from the rape victims because they thought that they were out to destroy their football heroes, which was sad, especially since one of the girls had a confession from her rapist that he did it. Michelle talked about a roommate that claimed she had been raped when she actually wasn't, but that statistically someone lying about it is really low (I think 3%). Other than that I'm not sure what was said. I did think that the story was a bit one sided because Krakauer didn't seem to talk to any of the accused or people that he didn't write nicely about, but I had a hard time believing that these girls would be lying about being raped.
Here are the details for our next book club:
When: Wednesday July 15th at 7pm (Rhonda, is this right?)
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are Reading: The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd (right now it looks like the Kindle book is only $6, which isn't too bad of a deal)
Tania, it's your turn to pick the next book! :)
-Heather
p.s. Just a reminder that the links in here are affiliate links, so if you buy through them I get like $.08-$.24 per purchase! I'm making the big money :)
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Book Club Recap 4/29/15
Attendees: Alissa, Julie, Lisa, Michelle, Rhonda, Tania and me.
This meeting we discussed the book The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson
I think that Julie might have been the only one that finished the whole book. There were some of us that were about halfway through the book and then some that were still at the beginning. I think one of the first comments that was mentioned was that the book was confusing. It was confusing because it goes back and forth between time and then there is a lot of lying going on and I personally would get confused with what was real and what wasn't. Julie said that towards the end of the book everything makes sense and you are able to understand the book. She said that this is one of those books where if you read it a second time it will probably make more sense, but I don't think that any of us would read it a second time.
We talked about how crazy North Korea is and how much propaganda they have and how everyone just believes whatever Kim Jong Il says because if they don't they could be killed. We talked about the kidnappings that North Korea does. Here is the article that Tania mentioned about a Japanese chef that was kidnapped and then what went on living with Kim Jong Il. We agreed that if this book was a movie we wouldn't want to watch it; lots of violence and senseless killings.
I think that is about the extent of our discussion with that book since almost all of us didn't get to the end.
After that book we talked about these things in no particular order:
Disney cruises, Michelle's trip to Ireland and her date on the plane, rats in Rhonda's attic and how she took care of them, Tania's wedding and co-living plans, bathroom remodels, Paige's New Zealand project, CA Mission projects, India, Rhonda's progressive lenses, and I can't remember what else.
Laura, everyone says thank you for the eggs!! It sounds like they were delicious.
Here is the information for next book club:
When: Wednesday June 10 at 7pm
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town by Jon Krakauer
This meeting we discussed the book The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson
I think that Julie might have been the only one that finished the whole book. There were some of us that were about halfway through the book and then some that were still at the beginning. I think one of the first comments that was mentioned was that the book was confusing. It was confusing because it goes back and forth between time and then there is a lot of lying going on and I personally would get confused with what was real and what wasn't. Julie said that towards the end of the book everything makes sense and you are able to understand the book. She said that this is one of those books where if you read it a second time it will probably make more sense, but I don't think that any of us would read it a second time.
We talked about how crazy North Korea is and how much propaganda they have and how everyone just believes whatever Kim Jong Il says because if they don't they could be killed. We talked about the kidnappings that North Korea does. Here is the article that Tania mentioned about a Japanese chef that was kidnapped and then what went on living with Kim Jong Il. We agreed that if this book was a movie we wouldn't want to watch it; lots of violence and senseless killings.
I think that is about the extent of our discussion with that book since almost all of us didn't get to the end.
After that book we talked about these things in no particular order:
Disney cruises, Michelle's trip to Ireland and her date on the plane, rats in Rhonda's attic and how she took care of them, Tania's wedding and co-living plans, bathroom remodels, Paige's New Zealand project, CA Mission projects, India, Rhonda's progressive lenses, and I can't remember what else.
Laura, everyone says thank you for the eggs!! It sounds like they were delicious.
Here is the information for next book club:
When: Wednesday June 10 at 7pm
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town by Jon Krakauer
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Book Club Recap 3/26
Attendees: Alyssa, Julie, Lisa, Michelle S, Rhonda, Tania, Tina, me (via Skype), and our new member Laura! We also had a guest appearance by Raven :).
This month Julie hosted book club at her house and thank you very much for being the hostess! The book that we discussed this meeting was The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton DiSclafani
I think that the majority of everyone thought that the book was so-so. We all agreed that the main character had no redeeming qualities and a lot of the other characters weren't that great either. Michelle did say that Leona was a good character that she liked. Things were a lot different during the Depression and some members understood why she would fall in love with her cousin. I personally just found it disturbing. We talked about the comparisons between her (the main character whose name I cannot remember) and her mother. We talked about the affair between the headmaster and the main character and how he was technically raping her (although I don't if there were the same legal definitions of rape back then) even though she was the one that started pursuing him. Julie thought that the writing wasn't great and someone pointed out that they felt like the author was writing as this teenage girl and that is maybe why the writing wasn't up to par? We all felt bad for the brother and what he had to go through. I think that there were about half of us that felt like the book wasn't one that we were excited to read every day and we didn't just want to pick it up. Some other members enjoyed the book.
After discussing this book we started talking about more books that others have read that they recommended. Honestly, I can't remember the names of them right now, but you can email the group them.
We learned that you don't want to ask Rhonda or Tina to pet sit for you because most likely they'll say yes, but then remember after you are gone that they too are going to be gone! Lisa, we are glad that worked out for you!
We learned that Laura came from another book club that was really strict and I think that she saw in the first minute or two that we are not like that at all!
Raven stopped in and was talking about her trip that to India. I look forward to hearing about that at the next meeting.
We saw pictures of Tania's cute puppy, but to me they looked all blurry and so did a lot of you during book club :).
I ended up leaving book club early because there were a bazillion conversations going on and it was hard to hear what everyone was saying. Also, the video and audio wasn't the best for me. I hope that I didn't miss some funny stories!
Here are the details for the next book club:
When: Wednesday April 29th at 7pm
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson
Rhonda, it is your pick next!
Happy reading!
Heather
This month Julie hosted book club at her house and thank you very much for being the hostess! The book that we discussed this meeting was The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton DiSclafani
I think that the majority of everyone thought that the book was so-so. We all agreed that the main character had no redeeming qualities and a lot of the other characters weren't that great either. Michelle did say that Leona was a good character that she liked. Things were a lot different during the Depression and some members understood why she would fall in love with her cousin. I personally just found it disturbing. We talked about the comparisons between her (the main character whose name I cannot remember) and her mother. We talked about the affair between the headmaster and the main character and how he was technically raping her (although I don't if there were the same legal definitions of rape back then) even though she was the one that started pursuing him. Julie thought that the writing wasn't great and someone pointed out that they felt like the author was writing as this teenage girl and that is maybe why the writing wasn't up to par? We all felt bad for the brother and what he had to go through. I think that there were about half of us that felt like the book wasn't one that we were excited to read every day and we didn't just want to pick it up. Some other members enjoyed the book.
After discussing this book we started talking about more books that others have read that they recommended. Honestly, I can't remember the names of them right now, but you can email the group them.
We learned that you don't want to ask Rhonda or Tina to pet sit for you because most likely they'll say yes, but then remember after you are gone that they too are going to be gone! Lisa, we are glad that worked out for you!
We learned that Laura came from another book club that was really strict and I think that she saw in the first minute or two that we are not like that at all!
Raven stopped in and was talking about her trip that to India. I look forward to hearing about that at the next meeting.
We saw pictures of Tania's cute puppy, but to me they looked all blurry and so did a lot of you during book club :).
I ended up leaving book club early because there were a bazillion conversations going on and it was hard to hear what everyone was saying. Also, the video and audio wasn't the best for me. I hope that I didn't miss some funny stories!
Here are the details for the next book club:
When: Wednesday April 29th at 7pm
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson
Rhonda, it is your pick next!
Happy reading!
Heather
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Book Club Recap 2/4/15
Attendees: Alissa, Julie, Lisa, Michelle, Rhonda, Tania, and me via Skype.
At this book club we discussed my two picks:
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
and
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Almost everyone at book club read both of the books. I credit that to some amazing book picking! ha ha. Both of the books were really easy reads and fast to get through, plus we did have some extra time to read them. It also seemed like everyone liked both books. I think that more people liked Big Little Lies more than Station Eleven because post-apocalyptic novels are not a subject that is a favorite among our book club. I think everyone agreed that they didn't have any idea about how Big Little Lies would end and they were very intrigued to find out how it ended. Michelle did think that one of the main characters should have figured out a big part of the story, but never did. I'm also being vague here because I know that Tania is still reading it. We enjoyed how in Station Eleven all of the characters were in some way connected to Arthur and we liked how it flashed back to before the end of the world. We were curious to know what happened to the prophet's mother. I also thought that this book wasn't as depressing as The Road because at the end there is hope for things to get better.
After talking about these books we also talked about these books:
We discussed how Rhonda does not think that she has Alzheimers. She wants to watch Still Alice, but I'm hoping that this doesn't cause her to start thinking that she has Alzheimers again :). Tina, you probably shouldn't watch it :).
Lucy, Lisa's dog, got a horrible groom and her ears are basically gone.
Tania got engaged in Paris at the Eiffel Tower, congrats!!
I'm not sure how we got on the topic of 50 Shades of Grey, but we did. Christopher and Rambo we're sure that both of you already pre-purchased your tickets and will be going opening night. We were thinking that we would do a book club trip to the movie theaters for this book (just joking!). The conversation always gets funny whenever this book comes up.
Ok, now on to the details for next month:
When: Thursday March 19th at 7pm
Where: Julie's house (she'll email everyone her address)
What we are reading (Lisa's pick): The Yonahlossee Riding Camp Girls by Anton DiSclafani
Julie it will be your turn to pick the next book for April :)
p.s. I signed up for the Amazon affiliate program and if you click on the links I'll get a small commission out of it, which is going to help us buy homeschool stuff :)
At this book club we discussed my two picks:
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
and
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Almost everyone at book club read both of the books. I credit that to some amazing book picking! ha ha. Both of the books were really easy reads and fast to get through, plus we did have some extra time to read them. It also seemed like everyone liked both books. I think that more people liked Big Little Lies more than Station Eleven because post-apocalyptic novels are not a subject that is a favorite among our book club. I think everyone agreed that they didn't have any idea about how Big Little Lies would end and they were very intrigued to find out how it ended. Michelle did think that one of the main characters should have figured out a big part of the story, but never did. I'm also being vague here because I know that Tania is still reading it. We enjoyed how in Station Eleven all of the characters were in some way connected to Arthur and we liked how it flashed back to before the end of the world. We were curious to know what happened to the prophet's mother. I also thought that this book wasn't as depressing as The Road because at the end there is hope for things to get better.
After talking about these books we also talked about these books:
- The Girl On the Train -- This is supposed to be similar to Gone Girl. Also, if you have extra reading time you can read this book for next month along with our selection.
- Reconstructing Amelia
- A Homemade Life
- Everything I Never Told You
- The Martian
We discussed how Rhonda does not think that she has Alzheimers. She wants to watch Still Alice, but I'm hoping that this doesn't cause her to start thinking that she has Alzheimers again :). Tina, you probably shouldn't watch it :).
Lucy, Lisa's dog, got a horrible groom and her ears are basically gone.
Tania got engaged in Paris at the Eiffel Tower, congrats!!
I'm not sure how we got on the topic of 50 Shades of Grey, but we did. Christopher and Rambo we're sure that both of you already pre-purchased your tickets and will be going opening night. We were thinking that we would do a book club trip to the movie theaters for this book (just joking!). The conversation always gets funny whenever this book comes up.
Ok, now on to the details for next month:
When: Thursday March 19th at 7pm
Where: Julie's house (she'll email everyone her address)
What we are reading (Lisa's pick): The Yonahlossee Riding Camp Girls by Anton DiSclafani
Julie it will be your turn to pick the next book for April :)
p.s. I signed up for the Amazon affiliate program and if you click on the links I'll get a small commission out of it, which is going to help us buy homeschool stuff :)
Friday, January 2, 2015
2014 Recap
Happy New Year book clubbers!
I wanted to recap all of the books that we have read for 2014.
January -- The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt This was the longest book that we read at about 771 pages.
February -- Crossing To Safety by Wallace Stegner
March -- Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. Perhaps the group's most favorite book of the year?
April -- The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Klein
May -- Tinkers by Paul Harding
June -- The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
July -- I Shall Be Near To You by Erin Lindsay McCabe
Aug -- The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand
Oct -- The Ghost Month by Ed Lin
Nov -- Beneath A Marble Sky by John Shors
Dec -- Manson by Jeff Guinn
We also decided to start over with the list of one person picking a book for the following year. Here is that list again.
January -- Heather
February -- Lisa
March -- Julie
April -- Rhonda
May -- Michelle S.
June -- Tania
July -- Michelle B.
August -- Denise
September -- Alissa
October -- Tina
November -- (Maybe a new member or an old member will join the group and can pick?)
December -- TBD
I wanted to recap all of the books that we have read for 2014.
January -- The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt This was the longest book that we read at about 771 pages.
February -- Crossing To Safety by Wallace Stegner
March -- Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. Perhaps the group's most favorite book of the year?
April -- The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Klein
May -- Tinkers by Paul Harding
June -- The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
July -- I Shall Be Near To You by Erin Lindsay McCabe
Aug -- The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand
Oct -- The Ghost Month by Ed Lin
Nov -- Beneath A Marble Sky by John Shors
Dec -- Manson by Jeff Guinn
We also decided to start over with the list of one person picking a book for the following year. Here is that list again.
January -- Heather
February -- Lisa
March -- Julie
April -- Rhonda
May -- Michelle S.
June -- Tania
July -- Michelle B.
August -- Denise
September -- Alissa
October -- Tina
November -- (Maybe a new member or an old member will join the group and can pick?)
December -- TBD
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Book Club Recap 12/22/14
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RHONDA!!!!!!!!
Attendees: Alissa, Lisa, Michelle, Michelle, Rhonda, Tina and me via Skype.
Attendees: Alissa, Lisa, Michelle, Michelle, Rhonda, Tina and me via Skype.
Michelle was very kind to host book club at her new house this month! Thank you Michelle. I also Skyped in and was on her big TV. I'm glad that I didn't have to see myself on that big screen :).
The book that we discussed this month was Manson by Jeff Guinn
This book is about the life of Charles Manson pre-birth to after the trial. All of us enjoyed the book and we discussed it for most of book club, which seemed to be a record for our group. The story is very interesting and even though most of us knew about the murders there was a lot that we didn't know about Charlie and were fascinated by his story. We all agreed that he wasn't born into the best of family and basically grew-up in the system and it was no surprise how he ended up being how he was as an adult. We couldn't believe that all of these people followed him and believed him and his crazy stories, but all of the people that he chose, especially the women, were really broken people and he was able to provide them with a family.
I think that we all Googled the people in this book to learn more about them. I think that all of us were kind of surprised at how the famous people that knew the family would want to sleep with the girls because they all seemed gross (not great hygiene and lots of STDs). It was also interesting for us because the book takes place in LA where most of us have lived and have been by some of the sites where the family was.
Michelle told us how she met Tex Watson in jail and talked to Charles on the phone. I was relieved to find out that Michelle was not a groupie of Tex :). You can ask her for the story of why she met him and get more details. Alissa also told us that she was at a holiday party and randomly she was part of a conversation about one of the doctors that did an autopsy on the victims of the Tate murder and described some things that happened that were not reported in the media or this book. What they did was pretty unbelievable and mostly all because Charles didn't want the murder of Lottsa Poppa (who he didn't even murder) to be traced back to him.
The story was very interesting and we discussed the book and him a lot. We talked about Charles' new young wife. Rhonda wishes that the death penalty wasn't reversed because it is a waste of money to be spending on keeping this guy alive. An interesting side note is that the author speculated that had Charles been put to death there wouldn't be as great of an interest in the guy, but I don't know if that would be true since he did murder some well known people in LA.
I think that about 90% of what we talked about at this book club was the book. I know that I am missing some more, but I can't remember everything :).
We talked about Michelle's new house and the back story of the couple that lived there. Lucky for Michelle that they were going through a nasty divorce so she got the house at a steal and it looks great!
Hmmm, I can't remember what else we talked about.
In January we are going to start over with the list of who picks the book for a month. I'm up for January! I'll do a blog post a little bit later for the list for the whole year.
Anyway, I had wanted to read the book Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty and I thought that it would be a fun and easy read for book club. I saw that it was on sale so I sent a message to the group. I have since finished the book and so have a few others in book club. Since some of us finished the book and because it is a very fast read I decided that I would also pick another book (I'm reading it now and I think that it is another fast read).
Here are the details:
When: Wednesday January 28th at 7pm **Rhonda, Christopher changed his trip so now he is gone on this date, so I won't be able to join because it is right during the time that the boys go to bed. Do you think we can reschedule for the week before?
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
and Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
This book is about the life of Charles Manson pre-birth to after the trial. All of us enjoyed the book and we discussed it for most of book club, which seemed to be a record for our group. The story is very interesting and even though most of us knew about the murders there was a lot that we didn't know about Charlie and were fascinated by his story. We all agreed that he wasn't born into the best of family and basically grew-up in the system and it was no surprise how he ended up being how he was as an adult. We couldn't believe that all of these people followed him and believed him and his crazy stories, but all of the people that he chose, especially the women, were really broken people and he was able to provide them with a family.
I think that we all Googled the people in this book to learn more about them. I think that all of us were kind of surprised at how the famous people that knew the family would want to sleep with the girls because they all seemed gross (not great hygiene and lots of STDs). It was also interesting for us because the book takes place in LA where most of us have lived and have been by some of the sites where the family was.
Michelle told us how she met Tex Watson in jail and talked to Charles on the phone. I was relieved to find out that Michelle was not a groupie of Tex :). You can ask her for the story of why she met him and get more details. Alissa also told us that she was at a holiday party and randomly she was part of a conversation about one of the doctors that did an autopsy on the victims of the Tate murder and described some things that happened that were not reported in the media or this book. What they did was pretty unbelievable and mostly all because Charles didn't want the murder of Lottsa Poppa (who he didn't even murder) to be traced back to him.
The story was very interesting and we discussed the book and him a lot. We talked about Charles' new young wife. Rhonda wishes that the death penalty wasn't reversed because it is a waste of money to be spending on keeping this guy alive. An interesting side note is that the author speculated that had Charles been put to death there wouldn't be as great of an interest in the guy, but I don't know if that would be true since he did murder some well known people in LA.
I think that about 90% of what we talked about at this book club was the book. I know that I am missing some more, but I can't remember everything :).
We talked about Michelle's new house and the back story of the couple that lived there. Lucky for Michelle that they were going through a nasty divorce so she got the house at a steal and it looks great!
Hmmm, I can't remember what else we talked about.
In January we are going to start over with the list of who picks the book for a month. I'm up for January! I'll do a blog post a little bit later for the list for the whole year.
Anyway, I had wanted to read the book Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty and I thought that it would be a fun and easy read for book club. I saw that it was on sale so I sent a message to the group. I have since finished the book and so have a few others in book club. Since some of us finished the book and because it is a very fast read I decided that I would also pick another book (I'm reading it now and I think that it is another fast read).
Here are the details:
When: Wednesday January 28th at 7pm **Rhonda, Christopher changed his trip so now he is gone on this date, so I won't be able to join because it is right during the time that the boys go to bed. Do you think we can reschedule for the week before?
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
and Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Book Club Recap 11/17/14
Attendees: Alissa, Lisa, Michelle, Rhonda, Tania, Tina, and Christopher and myself via Google Messenger.
The book we were discussing was Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors.
The meeting started off with Indian food brought by Alissa and of course some wine, although I did see some water bottles too. I think that some book discussion was done during this time because by the time that I got on we didn't really talk about the book. It appears as though everyone liked the book and thought that it was a good read. I was feeling too rushed to finish the book (I had to return it to the library before we left), so I didn't like it as much as I probably would have.
We talked about Christopher and my trip to Europe, which was great! The boys are still jet-lagged and they actually slept in this morning until 5:30! Hopefully, by tomorrow it will be 6 or 6:30! I would upload some pictures we took of the Frank Gehry Louis Vuitton building, but I can't figure out how to do that right now, so here is a link Frank Gehry Louis Vuitton building to check out some pictures. It is really impressive. The building just opened up a week or two before we were there so there was a crazy long line that we didn't want to wait in.
The group talked about the walk to help Pancreatic cancer that they did and how Alissa pushed Kyla in a stroller with a flat wheel for the 5k.
Michelle showed us this video about what guys need to think about when dating a woman :)
Tina showed all of us the video of Paige falling down, which is hilarious. Tina, you really should upload that video to Youtube.
Tina was also told us how Paige has been asking sex questions, that she is getting from her Catholic school friends.
Tania brought some chocolates from Peru to share with the group.
Hmmm, my brain is a little fried so I can't remember what else we talked about (I do apologize Michelle for bringing up Jasper!).
Here are the details for the next book club:
When: Monday December 22 at 7pm
Where: Michelle's new house (Michelle will need to send out her address to those attending). I should also be making an appearance on Michelle's big TV via Skype. I'll be like the Wizard of Oz.
What we are reading: Manson by Jeff Guin This book was Tina's choice and it was a surprising one from her :).
Tina was the last on the list to choose a book for book club. We can either start over or we can do a new system. If we start over it is my turn to pick a book :).
The book we were discussing was Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors.
The meeting started off with Indian food brought by Alissa and of course some wine, although I did see some water bottles too. I think that some book discussion was done during this time because by the time that I got on we didn't really talk about the book. It appears as though everyone liked the book and thought that it was a good read. I was feeling too rushed to finish the book (I had to return it to the library before we left), so I didn't like it as much as I probably would have.
We talked about Christopher and my trip to Europe, which was great! The boys are still jet-lagged and they actually slept in this morning until 5:30! Hopefully, by tomorrow it will be 6 or 6:30! I would upload some pictures we took of the Frank Gehry Louis Vuitton building, but I can't figure out how to do that right now, so here is a link Frank Gehry Louis Vuitton building to check out some pictures. It is really impressive. The building just opened up a week or two before we were there so there was a crazy long line that we didn't want to wait in.
The group talked about the walk to help Pancreatic cancer that they did and how Alissa pushed Kyla in a stroller with a flat wheel for the 5k.
Michelle showed us this video about what guys need to think about when dating a woman :)
Tina showed all of us the video of Paige falling down, which is hilarious. Tina, you really should upload that video to Youtube.
Tina was also told us how Paige has been asking sex questions, that she is getting from her Catholic school friends.
Tania brought some chocolates from Peru to share with the group.
Hmmm, my brain is a little fried so I can't remember what else we talked about (I do apologize Michelle for bringing up Jasper!).
Here are the details for the next book club:
When: Monday December 22 at 7pm
Where: Michelle's new house (Michelle will need to send out her address to those attending). I should also be making an appearance on Michelle's big TV via Skype. I'll be like the Wizard of Oz.
What we are reading: Manson by Jeff Guin This book was Tina's choice and it was a surprising one from her :).
Tina was the last on the list to choose a book for book club. We can either start over or we can do a new system. If we start over it is my turn to pick a book :).
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Book Club Recap 10/2/14
Attendees: Alissa, Denise, Julie, Lisa, Michelle, Rhonda, Tania, and me via Google hangouts.
The book that we were discussing was The Ghost Month by Ed Lin
The book had some mixed reviews from the group. We thought that the main character, Jing-nan, was a bit immature for his age and a lot of what he did didn't seem believable especially in his romance and how he reacts when his house burns down (only caring about his Joy Division collection). We thought that there was a lot of history in the book and it was nice to learn some things about Taiwan and that culture. Some of us thought that when the history was told in the story it didn't really relate well with the story that was going on and kind of just thrown in there. The ones that finished the book felt like the ending was wrapped up quickly and could have been better. Denise did explain to us a lot about Chinese and Taiwan culture and how everything is so very different there. Someone mentioned that this book seems more like a book for men and many of us agreed. The book was an easy read, but the subject matter was something that I wasn't particularly interested in. I also liked his book This Is A Bust more than this book.
As a side note, Denise is good friends with the author and we read one of his other books before and he came to book club to talk about it. Ed is a really nice guy and I think that when reading this book I found myself picturing Ed as the main character. Denise said that Ed's Chinese name is Jing-nan, just like the main character in the book, which was an interesting fact.
After the book discussion we talked about the following in no particular order:
1-Sketcher shoes. I guess that there are some really comfy ones that Rhonda and Julie got.
2-Wizard sleeves. I'm not sure how we got on this topic again.
3-School and the new Common Core curriculum in math
4-Rhonda's niece and nephew
5-The Squatty Potty , pooping in holes in foreign countries, and always having wipes when traveling.
6-Dogs
Rhonda got some Chinese food for book club and made pumpkin bread. I REALLY miss the food! It also looked like there was a lot of wine consumption going on :).
There is a 5K/10K coming up at the end of this month and book club wants to form a group and raise money for it in support of Julie's husband. Rhonda sent out an email last night. If you didn't receive it please just let her know.
Here are the details for book club next month:
When: Monday November 17th at 7pm
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: Beneath A Marble Sky by John Shors
I miss you guys!!
Heather
p.s. Rambo, Alissa asked Denise if you were Japanese too and we all had a good laugh!
The book that we were discussing was The Ghost Month by Ed Lin
The book had some mixed reviews from the group. We thought that the main character, Jing-nan, was a bit immature for his age and a lot of what he did didn't seem believable especially in his romance and how he reacts when his house burns down (only caring about his Joy Division collection). We thought that there was a lot of history in the book and it was nice to learn some things about Taiwan and that culture. Some of us thought that when the history was told in the story it didn't really relate well with the story that was going on and kind of just thrown in there. The ones that finished the book felt like the ending was wrapped up quickly and could have been better. Denise did explain to us a lot about Chinese and Taiwan culture and how everything is so very different there. Someone mentioned that this book seems more like a book for men and many of us agreed. The book was an easy read, but the subject matter was something that I wasn't particularly interested in. I also liked his book This Is A Bust more than this book.
As a side note, Denise is good friends with the author and we read one of his other books before and he came to book club to talk about it. Ed is a really nice guy and I think that when reading this book I found myself picturing Ed as the main character. Denise said that Ed's Chinese name is Jing-nan, just like the main character in the book, which was an interesting fact.
After the book discussion we talked about the following in no particular order:
1-Sketcher shoes. I guess that there are some really comfy ones that Rhonda and Julie got.
2-Wizard sleeves. I'm not sure how we got on this topic again.
3-School and the new Common Core curriculum in math
4-Rhonda's niece and nephew
5-The Squatty Potty , pooping in holes in foreign countries, and always having wipes when traveling.
6-Dogs
Rhonda got some Chinese food for book club and made pumpkin bread. I REALLY miss the food! It also looked like there was a lot of wine consumption going on :).
There is a 5K/10K coming up at the end of this month and book club wants to form a group and raise money for it in support of Julie's husband. Rhonda sent out an email last night. If you didn't receive it please just let her know.
Here are the details for book club next month:
When: Monday November 17th at 7pm
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: Beneath A Marble Sky by John Shors
I miss you guys!!
Heather
p.s. Rambo, Alissa asked Denise if you were Japanese too and we all had a good laugh!
Friday, August 29, 2014
Book Club Recap 8/27/14
Attendees:
Alissa, Lisa, Michelle S., Rhonda, Tania, Tina, and a very special appearance by Valesca!
Valesca made a surprise appearance to book club and it was very nice to see her! Valesca, I wish that I could have said hi, but I was out and about doing things so I couldn't make it.
The book for this book club was The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand
Everyone felt that The Matchmaker was a real "summer read," which is not saying much. We found the names of the characters irritating. We found the fact that the Amin character could see people's "auras" and that is how she match made was irritating as well. The book was as much about the Nantucket area as anything else. The parts where the author described the area were good and it made the area seem like a lovely place to visit.
It was a fast read, but not much meat to it. The blame for the book choice was not Michelle, as she had asked Rhonda for her opinion, and Rhonda looked on the NY Times best seller list and threw this book out there along with another.
The group talked about books and their favorite reads, from the Facebook challenge. Rhonda forgot some critical books that shaped her like, Where The Red Fern Grows (Rhonda, I just found this book at my mom's house and packed it up because I remember loving that book too!], which her 4th grade teacher read to the class. Rhonda also loved the book I Will Love You Forever, which is a book that is a tear jerker that she would read to Raven. *I just read yesterday that this book was actually a song to the author's two dead babies and he eventually made the song into a book.
This month it was Denise's turn to pick our book and she picked The Ghost Month by Ed Lin
Ed Lin is Denise's friend and he has been a featured author at our book club before! Christopher has actually already read this book, so maybe he will want to join us at book club next time? Denise, Rhonda, and Tania went to Ed's book reading a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it.
Rhonda and Tina are taking cake decorating classes. Rhonda is hoping to become a better dog cake decorator :]. Rhonda served the cake that she made this week and now she needs any excuse to unload the cakes that she is making since she is making one every week. Rhonda also made some cantucci, which is a recipe she learned in Italy. I really wish that I could have had some of that and the cake!
Valesca and Michelle both really like the book The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and recommended that to the group. The Kindle edition is only $5, which isn't too bad of a price.
Here are the details for the next book club:
When: Wednesday Oct. 1st at 7pm
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: Ghost Month by Ed Lin
Alissa, it is your turn to pick our October book. Tina picks our November book.
-Heather
p.s. The boys and I have not moved up to the Portland area yet. We are having new flooring put it and it is taking longer than expected & it still won't be done when we get there. We are planning on leaving tomorrow. If any of you are in the Portland area you should definitely stay with us! Miss everyone!!
Alissa, Lisa, Michelle S., Rhonda, Tania, Tina, and a very special appearance by Valesca!
Valesca made a surprise appearance to book club and it was very nice to see her! Valesca, I wish that I could have said hi, but I was out and about doing things so I couldn't make it.
The book for this book club was The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand
Everyone felt that The Matchmaker was a real "summer read," which is not saying much. We found the names of the characters irritating. We found the fact that the Amin character could see people's "auras" and that is how she match made was irritating as well. The book was as much about the Nantucket area as anything else. The parts where the author described the area were good and it made the area seem like a lovely place to visit.
It was a fast read, but not much meat to it. The blame for the book choice was not Michelle, as she had asked Rhonda for her opinion, and Rhonda looked on the NY Times best seller list and threw this book out there along with another.
The group talked about books and their favorite reads, from the Facebook challenge. Rhonda forgot some critical books that shaped her like, Where The Red Fern Grows (Rhonda, I just found this book at my mom's house and packed it up because I remember loving that book too!], which her 4th grade teacher read to the class. Rhonda also loved the book I Will Love You Forever, which is a book that is a tear jerker that she would read to Raven. *I just read yesterday that this book was actually a song to the author's two dead babies and he eventually made the song into a book.
This month it was Denise's turn to pick our book and she picked The Ghost Month by Ed Lin
Ed Lin is Denise's friend and he has been a featured author at our book club before! Christopher has actually already read this book, so maybe he will want to join us at book club next time? Denise, Rhonda, and Tania went to Ed's book reading a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it.
Rhonda and Tina are taking cake decorating classes. Rhonda is hoping to become a better dog cake decorator :]. Rhonda served the cake that she made this week and now she needs any excuse to unload the cakes that she is making since she is making one every week. Rhonda also made some cantucci, which is a recipe she learned in Italy. I really wish that I could have had some of that and the cake!
Valesca and Michelle both really like the book The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and recommended that to the group. The Kindle edition is only $5, which isn't too bad of a price.
Here are the details for the next book club:
When: Wednesday Oct. 1st at 7pm
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: Ghost Month by Ed Lin
Alissa, it is your turn to pick our October book. Tina picks our November book.
-Heather
p.s. The boys and I have not moved up to the Portland area yet. We are having new flooring put it and it is taking longer than expected & it still won't be done when we get there. We are planning on leaving tomorrow. If any of you are in the Portland area you should definitely stay with us! Miss everyone!!
Friday, July 11, 2014
Book Club Recap 7/9/14
Those who attended were: Julie, Lisa, Michelle S, Alissa and Tania and Rhonda
It was Michelle B's pick and sadly she was stuck at home with a bad case of vertigo. She texted Rhonda her pick, which is listed below. Tina was also a no show because her son Chase was home and offered to make her dinner. No way she could say no to that! Rhonda has her dog Tucker though since Tina's backyard is torn up the dog spends a lot of time at doggie daycare so she tries to take him for a couple overnights a week since her house is a nice dog haven.
Rhonda served cheese and cookies she brought back from Italy. Rambo gave Rhonda some baguettes which were amazing with the cheese and honey. Unfortunately Rambo couldn't attend either but his bread was well received. Rhonda, do you think you can mail me some cheese & bread? :] Alissa brought a great bottle of wine, which was much appreciated!
We all liked Tania's pick, but thought it wasn't the most "deep" book considering the subject matter. What we found most interesting was the factual stuff the author talked about at the end of the book. The letters that were written (in the event of the death of a soldier) were the most beautiful part of the book and we thought perhaps, if the book had been all letters it may have been more interesting and well written. It was a fast and easy read which is always nice. The pregnancy part was slightly predictable. The war scenes seemed very realistic and brutal, as was the civil war.
Rhonda and Michelle mostly talked about their trip to Italy. Michelle regaled the girls with stories. I look forward to hearing those stories!
Here are the details for the next book club:
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand
When: Wednesday 8/13 at 7pm
Denise, it is your turn to pick the book for next month!
It was Michelle B's pick and sadly she was stuck at home with a bad case of vertigo. She texted Rhonda her pick, which is listed below. Tina was also a no show because her son Chase was home and offered to make her dinner. No way she could say no to that! Rhonda has her dog Tucker though since Tina's backyard is torn up the dog spends a lot of time at doggie daycare so she tries to take him for a couple overnights a week since her house is a nice dog haven.
Rhonda served cheese and cookies she brought back from Italy. Rambo gave Rhonda some baguettes which were amazing with the cheese and honey. Unfortunately Rambo couldn't attend either but his bread was well received. Rhonda, do you think you can mail me some cheese & bread? :] Alissa brought a great bottle of wine, which was much appreciated!
We all liked Tania's pick, but thought it wasn't the most "deep" book considering the subject matter. What we found most interesting was the factual stuff the author talked about at the end of the book. The letters that were written (in the event of the death of a soldier) were the most beautiful part of the book and we thought perhaps, if the book had been all letters it may have been more interesting and well written. It was a fast and easy read which is always nice. The pregnancy part was slightly predictable. The war scenes seemed very realistic and brutal, as was the civil war.
Rhonda and Michelle mostly talked about their trip to Italy. Michelle regaled the girls with stories. I look forward to hearing those stories!
Here are the details for the next book club:
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand
When: Wednesday 8/13 at 7pm
Denise, it is your turn to pick the book for next month!
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