Book Club Recap 7/21/09

Attendees: Callah, Christopher, Denise, Heather, Julie (new member) & her dog Mary, Michelle (new member), Rhonda, Tina, and Valesca.

I think that this was our biggest meeting that we have had in a long time! It was great to have a couple of new members join our group and it was a great pleasure to have Tina and Valesca there! Of course, we did miss everyone else! Since we met over a week ago and my memory doesn't seem to be as good as it once was this will probably be a short recap :)

We talked about the book The Unthinkable by Amanda Ripley. The author looked into what type of person survives a disaster, how they react in a disaster, and talked about ways a person could improve their chances of getting out of a disaster alive. The people that read the book really enjoyed it. Tina said that she knows that she would be a person that would not survive in a disaster. Rhonda agreed with her statement and told us a funny story about flying with Tina to San Francisco and hitting some turbulence (you will have to ask Rhonda for more details!). Christopher told us many stories about how he would confront "suspicious" people and he thinks that he will do good in a disaster. Denise thought that she would do well in a disaster and be a leader type. Julie mentioned that there was a 20/20 special on this subject and it basically covered the same topics as the book. She thinks that they probably got the idea from the book. Lastly, we learned that Valesca has almost died a lot of times (swimming, rapist, & a pedophile). We actually talked about the book for a REALLY long time and I wish that I could remember what we talked about because it was some good stuff!

The other book that we were given as "extra credit" to read was Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. Only Rhonda and Christopher read it so we didn't talk about it, but they both raved about it. I just finished the book and thought that it was really really good. It is especially inspiring if you are a runner.

We have two date options for our next book club. Tuesday August 25th or Tuesday September 8th. Please let us know what date works better for you.

For our next book club we are reading two books.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer
http://www.amazon.com/Guernsey-Literary-Potato-Peel-Society/dp/0385340990/

This book is a very quick read and I am almost done with it. I am really enjoying it. I noticed that at the back of the book they mention how there is a chance for six members of your book club to be flown to Guernsey for a 4 day/ 3 night trip that includes airfare, accommodations, a three course dinner with another winning book club from the UK, and a tour of the island. We have until 9pm PST July 31, 2009. Go to http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/guernsey/sweepstakes/ It would be pretty awesome if we won! You can enter once a day.

The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America - Bill Bryson
http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Continent-Travels-Sm

Looking forward to seeing you at the next meeting!

-Heather

P.S. To see the actual blog go to www.rhondasbookclub.blogspot.com