Attendees: Alissa, Heather, Julie, Kelly, Lisa, Michelle, Michelle, Rhonda, Tania, & Tina. Wow, I think that this may be one of our best attended book clubs!
We discussed Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende. For those of us who read the book and for those that were reading the book we seemed to enjoy it overall. It definitely was not a book like the Appointment! Our favorite parts about the book were when Maya was in Vegas because that was the most interesting. It was brought up that the ending seemed a little rushed and like the author tied up everything real quick. Most of us agreed with that sentiment. We did like the author's writing and found the book very easy to read. We thought that the author did a great job at showing a teenage girl fall in love. I mentioned that the author has grandkids this age, so that is where the inspiration of this book came from. Tania said that she really enjoyed the character of Popo (the grandfather) because it brought back a lot of great memories of her and her Grandpa. We all agreed that he was a great character. Most of the characters were likeable. The ending was a bit predictable. I won't say much more than that because some of you are probably still reading it. I personally liked the book a little more because Allende is one of my favorite authors and I went to a book reading for this book, so I got to hear a little more about the backstory of it. I know that we talked about lots more, but I can't remember!
Then on to the more interesting stuff! We discussed Reggie and how he was "locked-up" so that he couldn't eat any of the delicious food Rhonda had! Wow, so much food and it was all so tasty! We talked more about The Orchardist and so far Kelly is the only one that does not seem to like that book! We talked about some of the other books that we have been reading: The Interestings, Cooked, Beautiful Ruins, Orange is the New Black, and some book that Michelle was talking about. I think it had to do with a German woman in WWII that ends up falling in love with a Jewish man. Anyway, we were not going to pick any of these books because we wanted to pick a book that no one had read it. More on that later. We talked about hosting foreign exchange students, which I will be doing in July. We talked about all of the vacations that everyone seems to be taking very soon! Everyone have safe travels and trips!
Lastly, once the majority of people left the conversation took an interesting turn and I'll just say that it involved nudity and the removal of hair from body parts.
Here are the details for our next book club:
When: Wednesday July 17th at 7pm (Rhonda, if it is the 16th please correct me!)
Where: Rhonda's casa
What we are reading: And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
Hope to see everyone next month!
-Heather
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Book Club Recap 5/22
Attendees: Alissa, Christopher, Heather, Kelly, Lisa, Michelle, Rhonda, & Tania.
I was told that I needed to get on this ASAP, so here it is! :]
I'll do it in reverse order this time.
Details for our next book club:
When: Wed 6/12 at 7pm. This date may change. I told Rhonda that Phil Jackson is being interviewed in a series by Live Talks Los Angeles and she should go. If she does go then we will have to reschedule for sometime that week.
Where: Rhonda's House
What we are reading: Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende
Here's the recap:
We discussed the book The Appointment by Herta Muller first and actually more than our other book because more people finished or attempted to finish this. From what everyone said this book was HORRIBLE! No one liked it and they said to not waste your time reading it. They said that the plot had a good premise, but didn't live up to that. They said that the book was about this lady's random thoughts as she is on a train to an appointment. They said that she would be telling a story and you would get interested in the story and then she would change thoughts and go in a new direction and you were thinking, WTF? Then she wouldn't revisit that thought. They said that the ending was the most disappointing because the book just ended. The author didn't tie anything together or end the book so that you knew what would happen. I think the train stopped and that was it. The lady didn't even go to the appointment. I looked on Amazon it the book has a rating of 3.7 out of 5, which seems high because no one in the group liked this book. Anyway, don't waste your time reading this.
The other book that we were reading was The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin. Three of us read the book and really enjoyed it. Rhonda, Lisa, and Kelly were still reading the book, so that is why we didn't discuss it more. Perhaps at the next book club we can talk about it more. We all liked Talmadge's character. I thought the writing was good and it reminded me a little of Cormac McCarthy with how it was never an uplifting novel, but it was well written and I enjoyed reading it. Kelly was having a hard time getting through it and Lisa said that it was starting to drag for her too.
Since we discussed the two books as much as we good we decided to talk about other books that we have read. We talked about The Paris Wife, Devil In The White City & In The Garden of Beasts both by Erik Larson (highly recommend Devil In the White City!], Beautiful Ruins, Furious Love, Harry Potter, Twilight, and Fifty Shades of Grey. The discussions about Fifty Shades was really hilarious! Everyone of us that read the book did not like it, but we told stories about people we knew that LOVED the book. At this point Christopher and Rambo were texting each other about how Christopher needs to escape book club now! Rambo sent this gem to him, which Christopher played for us.
A HUGE congrats goes out to Rhonda and Michelle for medaling in their age division for a 5K that they recently did. They also came in 9th and 1Oth overall! We talked about Raven's 1/2 Marathon and her running. Great job Raven!!! We talked about Nebraska and how there is nothing to do there (Lisa's son is going to college there]. The food was delicious, as usual, but we were a little disappointed that we didn't get to have one of the cheese logs because sneaky Reggie came and snatched it from the table and then ran away and ate it all. He was very quick!
I think that was mostly what we discussed. The next book club is fast approaching, but we hope that it is enough time to read this book!
See you in three weeks!
Heather
I was told that I needed to get on this ASAP, so here it is! :]
I'll do it in reverse order this time.
Details for our next book club:
When: Wed 6/12 at 7pm. This date may change. I told Rhonda that Phil Jackson is being interviewed in a series by Live Talks Los Angeles and she should go. If she does go then we will have to reschedule for sometime that week.
Where: Rhonda's House
What we are reading: Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende
Here's the recap:
We discussed the book The Appointment by Herta Muller first and actually more than our other book because more people finished or attempted to finish this. From what everyone said this book was HORRIBLE! No one liked it and they said to not waste your time reading it. They said that the plot had a good premise, but didn't live up to that. They said that the book was about this lady's random thoughts as she is on a train to an appointment. They said that she would be telling a story and you would get interested in the story and then she would change thoughts and go in a new direction and you were thinking, WTF? Then she wouldn't revisit that thought. They said that the ending was the most disappointing because the book just ended. The author didn't tie anything together or end the book so that you knew what would happen. I think the train stopped and that was it. The lady didn't even go to the appointment. I looked on Amazon it the book has a rating of 3.7 out of 5, which seems high because no one in the group liked this book. Anyway, don't waste your time reading this.
The other book that we were reading was The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin. Three of us read the book and really enjoyed it. Rhonda, Lisa, and Kelly were still reading the book, so that is why we didn't discuss it more. Perhaps at the next book club we can talk about it more. We all liked Talmadge's character. I thought the writing was good and it reminded me a little of Cormac McCarthy with how it was never an uplifting novel, but it was well written and I enjoyed reading it. Kelly was having a hard time getting through it and Lisa said that it was starting to drag for her too.
Since we discussed the two books as much as we good we decided to talk about other books that we have read. We talked about The Paris Wife, Devil In The White City & In The Garden of Beasts both by Erik Larson (highly recommend Devil In the White City!], Beautiful Ruins, Furious Love, Harry Potter, Twilight, and Fifty Shades of Grey. The discussions about Fifty Shades was really hilarious! Everyone of us that read the book did not like it, but we told stories about people we knew that LOVED the book. At this point Christopher and Rambo were texting each other about how Christopher needs to escape book club now! Rambo sent this gem to him, which Christopher played for us.
A HUGE congrats goes out to Rhonda and Michelle for medaling in their age division for a 5K that they recently did. They also came in 9th and 1Oth overall! We talked about Raven's 1/2 Marathon and her running. Great job Raven!!! We talked about Nebraska and how there is nothing to do there (Lisa's son is going to college there]. The food was delicious, as usual, but we were a little disappointed that we didn't get to have one of the cheese logs because sneaky Reggie came and snatched it from the table and then ran away and ate it all. He was very quick!
I think that was mostly what we discussed. The next book club is fast approaching, but we hope that it is enough time to read this book!
See you in three weeks!
Heather
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Book Club Next Week Wed 5/22
Just a friendly reminder that next week is our book club. Here are the details:
When: 5/22 at 7pm
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin If you got through this book (it is really long} then we also assigned The Appointment by Herta Muller
Looking forward to seeing everyone there!
Heather
When: 5/22 at 7pm
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin If you got through this book (it is really long} then we also assigned The Appointment by Herta Muller
Looking forward to seeing everyone there!
Heather
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Book Club Recap 4/17/13
**I had written most of this out soon after book club, but then got distracted and forgot about it! Sorry!!**
Attendees: Alissa, Heather, Julie, Lisa, Michelle, and Rhonda
Welcome Alissa and it was great to finally meet you Michelle! My dad is in town and I'm in the middle of planning Nathan's birthday party which is this weekend, so my brain is a little shot and I'm busy. So you will have to excuse me for the poor recap :]
We discussed The Dinner by Herman Koch. Almost all of us read the book, which was a first! The overall consensus of the book was that it was disturbing. Paul & his wife, whose name I cannot remember, were really disturbing and got worse as the book went on. We all thought that Serge was portrayed as the unlikeable character in the beginning, but by the end he is the only redeeming character in the book. I only thought that the book was so-so. I had read a review that said it was the European Gone Girl, which it was not. Because of that review I was expecting the book to be different and I think that impacted the way that I felt about the book. The others seemed to enjoy it. We all did think that it was an easy read. We were all very curious to know what "illness" the father and son had. The father seemed psychotic but so did their whole family! Michelle thought that maybe Paul and his wife were somehow related.
After the book we discussed TV shows. It seems like Shameless is a good show and might be one that I should start watching. We talked a little bit about working out and we congratulate Rhonda on reaching her 5OO milestone! The last book club that Michelle had been to was the EPIC book club that Rambo was at that after his mother's funeral. Michelle, Lisa, and Rhonda were reliving some of those moments. Rambo, it was agreed that you need to come out with a book or movie called Ruthless.
I'm sure that we talked about other stuff, but it has been almost two weeks and my brain is officially on break mode!
Here are the details for our next book:
What we reading: The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin
When: Wednesday May 22 at 7pm
Where: Rhonda's house, where else!
If you are a super reader and would also like to read some more we also chose The Appointment by Herta Muller
Happy Reading!
Heather
Attendees: Alissa, Heather, Julie, Lisa, Michelle, and Rhonda
Welcome Alissa and it was great to finally meet you Michelle! My dad is in town and I'm in the middle of planning Nathan's birthday party which is this weekend, so my brain is a little shot and I'm busy. So you will have to excuse me for the poor recap :]
We discussed The Dinner by Herman Koch. Almost all of us read the book, which was a first! The overall consensus of the book was that it was disturbing. Paul & his wife, whose name I cannot remember, were really disturbing and got worse as the book went on. We all thought that Serge was portrayed as the unlikeable character in the beginning, but by the end he is the only redeeming character in the book. I only thought that the book was so-so. I had read a review that said it was the European Gone Girl, which it was not. Because of that review I was expecting the book to be different and I think that impacted the way that I felt about the book. The others seemed to enjoy it. We all did think that it was an easy read. We were all very curious to know what "illness" the father and son had. The father seemed psychotic but so did their whole family! Michelle thought that maybe Paul and his wife were somehow related.
After the book we discussed TV shows. It seems like Shameless is a good show and might be one that I should start watching. We talked a little bit about working out and we congratulate Rhonda on reaching her 5OO milestone! The last book club that Michelle had been to was the EPIC book club that Rambo was at that after his mother's funeral. Michelle, Lisa, and Rhonda were reliving some of those moments. Rambo, it was agreed that you need to come out with a book or movie called Ruthless.
I'm sure that we talked about other stuff, but it has been almost two weeks and my brain is officially on break mode!
Here are the details for our next book:
What we reading: The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin
When: Wednesday May 22 at 7pm
Where: Rhonda's house, where else!
If you are a super reader and would also like to read some more we also chose The Appointment by Herta Muller
Happy Reading!
Heather
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Book Club Tomorrow 4/17
Hi Peeps!
Just wanted to remind everyone that book club is tomorrow at 7 at Rhonda's house. I got a babysitter, so I will be there!
We will be discussing the book The Dinner by Herman Koch
See you there!
Heather
Just wanted to remind everyone that book club is tomorrow at 7 at Rhonda's house. I got a babysitter, so I will be there!
We will be discussing the book The Dinner by Herman Koch
See you there!
Heather
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Book Club Recap 3/20/13
Attendees: Heather, Julie, Kelly, Lisa, Rhonda, Tania, and Tina. Reggie was also here this evening and he was a pretty good boy except for when he took Tania's cookie :)
We first discussed the book The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwable. Everyone that read this book or was in the middle of reading the book said that they really liked the story and thought that it was well written. We loved the relationship that Will and his mother had with one another. We also all agreed at what a well educated family this was. Rhonda said many times how this book made her feel like she grew-up as a hobo :). Lisa said that this book was very comforting to her and the story was very similar to what her mom and her family was going through, minus the book club. Tina thought that the book sounded boring, but we assured her that it was not. The book was more about the relationship between Will and his mom during her last two years of life, which we all felt Mary Anne lived to her fullest. We also couldn't believe all of the things that Mary Anne had accomplished in her life. One question that did come up was about her cooking good meals for her kids or did they eat the bad stuff we all grew-up on.
I can't remember how we got onto the food subject. I'm guessing that we were all admiring and enjoying the fresh homemade bread that Rhonda had out when she started telling us about this book called Pandora's Lunchbox. She said that the book goes into detail about what is in our food and it isn't pretty. It is mostly about all of the processed food and the ingredients that are in it. We had a long discussion about food and what we should and should not be eating. The overall conclusion is that we should not be eating processed food and we should make everything from scratch. The book Food Rules by Michael Pollan is a good starting place to figure out what to eat and what not to eat. Anyway, the bread that Rhonda made looked so good and tasted just as good!
We discussed the book Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple just a little bit because Tina was not finished with it and didn't want us to ruin anything. Those of us that read the book enjoyed it and thought that it was quick and easy read. We also really liked the way that she wrote the story. If you have not read this book book I would recommend it.
We also talked about working out, kids, Passover, our jobs, and I can't remember the rest.
Here are the details for our next book club:
When: Wednesday April 17th at 7pm (I just saw that Christopher is out of town then, so I'll have to try and get a babysitter then)
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: The Dinner by Herman Koch
I hope to see you there!
Heather
We first discussed the book The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwable. Everyone that read this book or was in the middle of reading the book said that they really liked the story and thought that it was well written. We loved the relationship that Will and his mother had with one another. We also all agreed at what a well educated family this was. Rhonda said many times how this book made her feel like she grew-up as a hobo :). Lisa said that this book was very comforting to her and the story was very similar to what her mom and her family was going through, minus the book club. Tina thought that the book sounded boring, but we assured her that it was not. The book was more about the relationship between Will and his mom during her last two years of life, which we all felt Mary Anne lived to her fullest. We also couldn't believe all of the things that Mary Anne had accomplished in her life. One question that did come up was about her cooking good meals for her kids or did they eat the bad stuff we all grew-up on.
I can't remember how we got onto the food subject. I'm guessing that we were all admiring and enjoying the fresh homemade bread that Rhonda had out when she started telling us about this book called Pandora's Lunchbox. She said that the book goes into detail about what is in our food and it isn't pretty. It is mostly about all of the processed food and the ingredients that are in it. We had a long discussion about food and what we should and should not be eating. The overall conclusion is that we should not be eating processed food and we should make everything from scratch. The book Food Rules by Michael Pollan is a good starting place to figure out what to eat and what not to eat. Anyway, the bread that Rhonda made looked so good and tasted just as good!
We discussed the book Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple just a little bit because Tina was not finished with it and didn't want us to ruin anything. Those of us that read the book enjoyed it and thought that it was quick and easy read. We also really liked the way that she wrote the story. If you have not read this book book I would recommend it.
We also talked about working out, kids, Passover, our jobs, and I can't remember the rest.
Here are the details for our next book club:
When: Wednesday April 17th at 7pm (I just saw that Christopher is out of town then, so I'll have to try and get a babysitter then)
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: The Dinner by Herman Koch
I hope to see you there!
Heather
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Book Club Next Week 3/20
Here are the details:
When: Wednesday March 20th at 7pm
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
I hope to see you there!
Heather
When: Wednesday March 20th at 7pm
Where: Rhonda's house
What we are reading: The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
I hope to see you there!
Heather
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