At our last Bookies meeting, we chose our August Book Club Read as well as our classic read for October. We always read a classic every October and choose the book in July to give people time to:
1. Find it in the format they like
2. Get through the book
Our choices are:
The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton for August (I have already read this and reviewed it)
and
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith as our classic read for October
Last night I had a request come through by email asking if I would be willing to send the picture of our latest book club Queen Event to be posted on Cassandra King’s official website. Cassandra King is the author of Same Sweet Girls, which is where this event that we have now done for the past three July’s, came from.
So all giddy this morning… I have a response email that the picture is there and sure enough, there are the Bookies!
*we are The Bookies, 5th pic down*
I am part of such a great book club. 
We started in August of 2001 with three women. Last night, looking around the room at 14 women (with about 4 missing)… I know I am truly blessed. These women have been a part of great reading, great book debates, and a ton of fun that I would have never imagined.
Last evening was our annual Queen Event. We are usually in Kiwanis Park enjoying a beautiful July day, exchanging books, eating great food and all while dressed in formal wear. Yes, you heard me right…. we go all out for the Queen event. (This event came from the book Same Sweet Girls by Cassandra King).
Yesterdays weather went stormy late afternoon and we needed a quick back up plan so everyone headed to my house for the festivities. In this horrible weather, I mean it was pouring out! Straight line winds and trees down in some areas… and here we all are, a houseful of women who love to hang out and read together. It just doesnt get much better than that.
Our Queen event was fun – and this year I was nominated Queen! I have two friends on the Queen’s court (the runner ups) that take over my duties if I should ever be unable to perform them (oh yeah, we are that organized – ha ha). The court is Kaydi Johnson and Amy Misener.
What is so fun about this event is that every year it just gets better and better. We all do little speeches of why we should be the Queen…. some campaign, some sing, rhyme, do a reading, poetry, changing words to popular songs, dance…. whatever – it is all in fun and I love to see everyone and what they come up with.
Every last Bookie is such a great friend to me! I looked around that room last night and LOVE that we do this. Thank you to the great friends I have in the Bookies.
Cassandra King – author of Same Sweet Girls has linked us to her official website! Check it out here!
Ok…. so I just have to share whats been happening in my world. Earlier this week I stumbled onto a link that took me to a site called Book Blogs. “DANGER – Will Robinson!” Finding this site was like a kid with a sweet tooth stumbling into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.
This is a book lovers – no, book bloggers dream! There are book reviews, book discussions, book giveaways (and lots of them), authors offering their books to be read before release and all in groups by genre so you can pick through what interests you and avoid what does not.
Within a few days I have linked into conversations with authors, have a couple sending me their book for reading and reviewing before date release, and entered contests to win books of interest. In return – I review the book on my blog.
Reading some of these other book blogs will really improve how I review a book in the future. There is even a discussion on how to do a good review without giving away too much of the book yet coming through strong.
I started a group tonight for Minnesota Book Bloggers to connect and share what they are reading off of the Book Blog site. I am hopeful that over the next few months here my reviews will become a real source for people to research a book they may want to read. I am very excited to see how these different books and authors will expand my reading.
I wonder how much sleep I really do need a night….
This is our June book club read. I just got the book in my hand today and have to admit that I am skeptical going in. I hate to say that because I try to keep an open mind on our book choices – and I really am hoping that the book proves me wrong….
Stay tuned…
Twice-divorced Dawn is the product of a fantastically dysfunctional family (Dawn’s sister, Halley, is an overly enthusiastic life coach, her mother is a struggling entrepreneur and her former smalltime rockabilly musician father invests “a lot of time into perfecting… authentic fifties outfits”); her dog, Chuck, begins talking to her after dud radio-DJ boyfriend Paxton dumps her. Though other dogs can also suddenly communicate with Dawn (including Johnny Depp, a friend’s dog), Chuck remains the leading pooch as he plies his master with sage advice and astute observations—”He seemed humpy,” Chuck opines about one suitor; “Who doesn’t like puppies? That’s psychotic,” he muses about Paxton—as she negotiates the standard fare of chick lit (losing her job, getting mixed up with wacky beaus, aiding her friends through their respective crises, finding a place to live). Until, that is, Chuck runs away, forcing Dawn to realize her true love may not be a biped. Off-beat enough to stand out of the pack.
The book gave me a “Janet Evanovich” feel almost from the start. The quirky too involved family members rang a little too “Stephanie Plumisk” for me and while I am well aware of the great following the Plum series has drawn… I am not one of the fans.
I do have to admit that this book while in parts offensive (Halley dating Scott Peterson hit me as tasteless and insensitive)… there were other times I caught myself laughing out loud with some of the humor.
Overall the book was a skimmer. I did not find any likable characters – not even the dogs. The only person I think I liked was Collin. The ending tied up a few wildly loose ends but the overall point of the book was missed, at least by me. I can’t rate this beyond a 2.5.
June 14 (update from our Bookies book club review): Our book club met last week to review this read. It is always fun to see if it just me when I find a book “incredible!” or “disappointing!” In this case, while for the most part we all agreed that this book was not in the running for our Bookies read of the year, the group found it a slightly below average read.
A couple of the girls rated it extremely low… agreeing that character development was not strong, the book had no real plot… to a few of the girls finding it just a humorous fun read that you don’t take too seriously just enjoy.
The Wednesday Sisters: Set during the summer of 1968 in Palo Alto, California, Clayton’s novel chronicles the lives of five women who conduct a weekly writing group at their neighborhood park. Frankie is an unassuming midwesterner whose inventor husband brings them to the burgeoning Silicon Valley. She meets Linda, the all-American athlete; Kath, the southern belle; Brett, the enigmatic scientist; and Ally, the shy bohemian. The women share their feelings about marriage and motherhood and together mourn the assassination of Robert Kennedy and watch as man walks on the moon and feminists protest the Miss America pageant. They support one another through illness, infertility, racism, and infidelity—and encourage each other through publishers’ rejections. Readers will be swept up by this moving novel about female friendship and enthralled by the recounting of a pivotal year in American history as seen through these young women’s eyes.
I stumbled upon this book while looking for something to recommend to our book club for May. I loved the fact that the book was about strong women and apparently a bit before their time. I excitedly brought it into the vote but it did not win.
I could not let it go so I used the gift card I received from Brad and Justin for Mother’s day to purchase this among a few other treasures. I brought it with to the cabin for Memorial Weekend and devoured it word for word.
This book featured excellent characters that I not only could relate too, but almost wished that i too could be a Wednesday Sister and join them as they discuss children and husbands, lives and dreams. I loved that they all tried their hand at writing… I loved Linda’s strong personality, Kath’s sweet heart, Ally’s insecurities, Brett’s secret heartache, and Frankie’s wisdom. These five made a group that was a delight to read about! I even pulled a couple ideas out of the book to use for our book club including one great idea to have a “come as your favorite fiction character” party. I already know who I will be……
There was a line in the book (of course I can’t find it now) that talked about how most women are lucky to have even one really close friend in a lifetime… I really thought about this and it is true. I am blessed to have many friends through the years that I would say I am very close too. What a great gift friendship is.
I enjoyed this book and will be looking for more from this author. her characters were alive and real and what a privilege to spend time with these amazing women! A HIGH FIVE rating! I will be bringing this to book club again for another try!
See Meg Waite Clayton’s website here ***Also – see where Meg added part of this review to her website!!! (Thanks Meg!)
Jacob Jankowski says: “I am ninety. Or ninety-three. One or the other.” At the beginning of Water for Elephants, he is living out his days in a nursing home, hating every second of it. His life wasn’t always like this, however, because Jacob ran away and joined the circus when he was twenty-one. It wasn’t a romantic, carefree decision, to be sure. His parents were killed in an auto accident one week before he was to sit for his veterinary medicine exams at Cornell. He buried his parents, learned that they left him nothing because they had mortgaged everything to pay his tuition, returned to school, went to the exams, and didn’t write a single word. He walked out without completing the test and wound up on a circus train. The circus he joins, in Depression-era America, is second-rate at best. With Ringling Brothers as the standard, Benzini Brothers is far down the scale and pale by comparison.
How did I read this book I procrastinated on getting to until three days before the review? Very quickly! I started at the YMCA where the first few chapters hit so close to home for me that I found myself crying on the elliptical one moment and then writing on a paper towel my thoughts from the tread mill the next. Then reading while I road with Al to Crosslake to look at a job on Sunday and finally finished it this evening while Al watched The Big Bang Theory.
But – to the review. I found this book enlightening. I enjoyed the circus background – the details of what went on in a 1930’s circus from the traveling by train, the lack of pay and less than ideal living situations. I dove into the life of Jacob and how he made his way into the new and exciting life of working on a circus. The relationships built throughout this book felt genuine and I felt for Camel and loved the friendship that developed between Jacob and Kinko (Walter).
The circus workers seemed real and I could picture them with their rugged clothes, sad stories of broken homes, and childhood dreams.
I could have lived without all the words of Barbara and there was a couple parts that I would take out of my memory bank – but overall I can not fault the book. The writing is good, very good and I loved the flashbacks as Jacob tells the story of his circus days from his nursing home at the age of 90… or 93.
Highly recommended- don’t give up on the book when you run across the bit visually graphic parts…. they are few and the book is good.
Oh – and for the record. I would have killed him too. 4 rating
***Update May 12th Book review: This was an excellent review for us. The book rated high, mostly high 4’s and 5’s. We loved the circus theme and while we did discuss the crude parts of the book, found it necessary to stay true to the theme and the times. This book felt real with vibrant characters and plot themes. We loved the ending and overall had a wonderful discussion.
Oh man….
The Brainerd Library sale is all that I had hoped for…. and then some. After a LLLLOOOOONNNNNGGGGG winter of no garage sale “book finding” opportunities, I had forgot how much I miss just browsing for great books at great prices!
Walking into the sale today I quickly went to my favorite style of book, the oversized paperback. After cruising that section and placing my selections into the box (yes, box) I then went to the hard covers, then Christian, then over to the regular sized paperbacks. And then, after skimming through titles… I went through it all again, more carefully this time… checking also the overstock boxes below the tables.
I chose books by author, by title, and in some cases, by beauty. Some books I have no idea if they are good or not, but they had a beautiful title and a big beautiful title and cover on a hard book is too me… a piece of art. These beauties will grace the shelves at our cabin…. temping to visitors to read, but also appealing to the eye.
When all was said and done I checked out at $35.00…. that’s 50 cents per book, so yeah… 70 books. Some are for me, some are for friends, some for the church, some for the cabin, and a few are for Swaptree so I can trade for something I do want.
Best picks… hmmm…. hard to say…. I found Harlan Colben’s Hold Tight (that was exciting!). That may be my prize of this sale.
My heart is racing now…. the Spring book sale is a kick off to what is to come and now the scent of books is in the air…. like the scent of Bella is to Edward….
I am thirsty.
It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .
Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.
This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.
I have come to a point in my life long journey through books that I truly enjoy the book that it out of the norm… you know, an author who takes an idea out of left field and molds it into a tale that tantalized the brain, that stimulates the outer reaches of your mind…..this is such a tale…. and this is exactly what drew me to The Book Thief.
Yet another book that waited patiently on my book shelf. I am sure it was the title that interested me first. It has to do with books…. and not only that, but a main character with a strong desire of needing to steal books. Interesting…
But that’s not all! Flip the book over and you find out it is told from the perspective of Death. Now that’s different…. and why not? Screwtape letters is told from the perspective of a Demon.
In recent weeks I stated seeing this book pop on on book sites that I frequent with messages like, “Book Clubs are raving!” and “The extraordinary best seller“…. and so I pulled this treasure off my book shelf and read the first 30 pages before suggesting it to the Bookies as our April read. It won the vote. So here we are, the Bookies all reading The Book Thief and I, now 333 pages into this 552 page book, am hoping they are finding it as stimulating as I am.
Like I said earlier, it is written from the perspective of Death. And in this case, Death has taken an interest in a young girl who’s brother had died and she, Liesel, is now under the care of foster parents… it is 1939. Nazi, Germany and Hitler is in his full reign. As Death narrates the story, sometimes jumping ahead to share the long-term (or in some cases short term) outcome of people in Liesel’s life, I become so entangled in the weave that I often forget the narrator and his role.
Deeply and well written, I find the book fascinating and I can get the feel of the times, the level of poverty, the act of stealing just to be fed…. even if that feeding is in the form of literature. I can relate to that and can not imagine what a life would be like not having the written word available to you freely. I too, can relate to the desperation of our Book Thief.
So – as I have said, I am not done reading the book. I have 200+ more pages to go and am glad of it. I will report back at the completion of this read, and again after the last review of the Bookies in April.
Today – March 30th, moments ago… I completed this book. I have to say – I really enjoyed the read. It is nothing like I have read before and I loved the story line. The book was beautifully written and I am still sitting here in high respect for Markus Zusak’s style in which he wrote a book that as of this date is my favorite of the year, perhaps in my top 10 of all time reads. It is not often you find a treasure when you have so much book stuff already in your head….
but I think I did.
I am excited to do the review on April 14th with the Bookies to hear their thoughts.
Update April 14th: tonight’s book review was fantastic! I love hearing everyone’s thoughts and takes from the book. It was interesting to discuss our narrator, Death as a creäture with feelings. Angie even pointed out that on page 328 Death even has hope. Our ratings were all over the board. We had a couple lows of a 1 and a 2 and a few middle of the road 3’s and several high 4’s as well as a couple 5’s. The difference in our opinions on this book made such a great review and made me thankful for each and every girl who is a part of the Bookies. I am blessed to be a part of them!
Thanks to a quick pit stop I made in the Library parking lot this weekend to meet a friend, I found out that the big book sale for spring is scheduled for NEXT THURSDAY, FRIDAY, and SATURDAY!
This is a do not miss event as any book lover knows. On Thursday a crowd will line up in front of the Library waiting for the doors to be opened at 9 am to rush in and start loading up on books.
I will be in that line. Three years of this has brought me great books – loads of books, for rock bottom prices. I can hardly do better than this at garage sales. For hints to doing this sale well, see my post from last year: click here
Book Journey 