Submissions

We had a great discussion about Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher. Thank you Margaret for hosting and preparing such delicious pizza and muffins. Thanks to everyone who brought treats and participated in the discussion. We had a lot of fun.

Feb 8th will be our next meeting at Annette's house where we will be doing an open forum. Please bring a book you liked and/or a book you didn't like and share with us why you did or didn't like it.

Mindy was way prepared and already had her submissions ready for our discussion book in April. Here is a list of her submissions

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
March by Geraldine Brooks
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's by John Elder Robinson
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

We chose Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

Here is the description as posted on Goodreads:

In Jordan's prize-winning debut, prejudice takes many forms, both subtle and brutal. It is 1946, and city-bred Laura McAllan is trying to raise her children on her husband's Mississippi Delta farm--a place she finds foreign and frightening. In the midst of the family's struggles, two young men return from the war to work the land. Jamie McAllan, Laura's brother-in-law, is everything her husband is not--charming, handsome, and haunted by his memories of combat. Ronsel Jackson, eldest son of the black sharecroppers who live on the McAllan farm, has come home with the shine of a war hero. But no matter his bravery in defense of his country, he is still considered less than a man in the Jim Crow South. It is the unlikely friendship of these brothers-in-arms that drives this powerful novel to its inexorable conclusion.
The men and women of each family relate their versions of events and we are drawn into their lives as they become players in a tragedy on the grandest scale. As Kingsolver says of Hillary Jordan, "Her characters walked straight out of 1940s Mississippi and into the part of my brain where sympathy and anger and love reside, leaving my heart racing. They are with me still."

Book club will be on Friday Oct 5th at Sheri's house in Tooele. We will be discussing the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Meet at Annette's house to carpool. Check facebook for more info on times. Hope to see you all there.

August 2012 Open Forum

We had such a fun time last week at Book Club! Sorry to have missed the couple who couldn't make it. We are planning on Book club Friday, September 14th, but as I'm typing, I don't think we decided what we're going to do?? We will discuss Jen's submission on Friday, October 12th at Sheri's home. Here is the list of books we talked about (so sorry the format isn't better. It's too late for me to figure it out tonight and I want to get it sent so you have it--pretty or not! :)) Jen's Submissions: *Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (chosen for October's Book Club Discussion)*The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood *The Declaration by Gemma Malley *The Host by Stephenie Meyer *Persuasion by Jane Austin n Annette's Submissions: *The DoveKeepers by Alice Hoffman (3 1/2 stars) *Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg (4 stars) *A Grown-up King of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson (4 stars) *The Book of Mormon Girl by Joanna Brooks (haven't read it, but sounds interesting) Mindy's Submissions: *Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (4 stars) *Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay (1 star) *Insurgent/Divergent by Veronica Roth (3 stars: the second one is better, not the best written series but entertaining) Angela's Submissions: *1.Lions, Dragons & Turkish Delight (4 stars) 2.Modern Fables (5 stars), 3.To See His Face (still reading)all by S. Michael Wilcox *The 8th Habit by Stephen Covey (just beginning to read) Margaret's Submissions: *Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts (3 stars) Claudia's Submissions: *90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper *The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven by Kevin Malarkey *The Burning Within by Ranelle Wallace *A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dougard *Messages: Signs, Visits and Premonitions from Loved Ones Lost on 9/11 by Bonnie McEnealey *Happily Ever After by Dieter F. Uchtdorf Sheri's Submissions: *The Message by Lance Richardson (4 stars) *Alex and Me by Irene M. Pepperberg (4 stars) Carla's Submissions: *My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison

Open Forum from May

So I just found the list of books we talked about at our last book club, which is why it took so long to get it on here.

Mindy:
Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

Annette:
Bruiser by Neal Shusterman
To Mormons, with Love by Chrisy Ross
After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick

Jen:
The Hourglass Door series by Lisa Mangum

Nyla:
Life is So Good by George Dawson
Mirrorscape by Mike Wilks

Christy:
Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
Reckless by Cornelia Funke
Vampire for Hire by J.R. Rain
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
Run to Overcome by Meb Keflezighi

Submissions by Christy were:
The Vow, The True Story Behind the Movie by Kim Carpenter
Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Rielly
The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon - chosen
Good in a Crisis by Margaret Overton

Book Club Plans

Our next book club dates are:
May 4th at Mindy's house -- open forum
June 8th -- activity to be planned at May's book club

One person will be submitting books for discussion at the open forums from now on. We will be doing this in alphabetical order beginning with Christy next month, then Jen, Margaret, Mindy, Sheri, Angela, and Annette at subsequent open forum meetings.

February's Club- Open Forum

Jen said no one else ever posts on the blog so I'd thought I'd list the books discussed at our meeting this month. --Thanks Jen for always having our slacker backs!

(* after the author's names indicate star ratings by our club members on Goodreads where available)

Christy talked about:

• How to Get Kids to Eat Great and Love It by Christine Wood **
• Between the Sea and Sky by Jaclyn Dolamore ****(Jen & Christy)
  
• The Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher ****
• Bad Guys of the Book of Mormon by Dennis Gaunt (no rating yet)
  

Angela talked about:

• Extremes: How to keep your virtues from becoming vices by Robert Eaton (no rating yet)
• What Your 1st Grader Should Know (Core Knowledge Series) by E.D. Hirsch (no rating yet)

Mindy talked about:

• Born to Run: A hidden tribe, super athletes and the greatest race the world has never seen by Christopher McDougall *****
  

Annette talked about:

• The Last Apprentice series (for youth) by Joseph Delaney ***+
• My Reading Life by Pat Conroy ***** BOOK CHOSEN FOR DISCUSSION IN APRIL
• The Traveler's Gift: Seven Decisions That Determine Personal Success by Andy Andrews (no rating yet)
  
• To Mormons, with Love by Christy Ross (no rating yet)

Jennifer talked about:

• Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn **** (Jen & Christy, --Angela also read this but has no rating for it)
  
• Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber ****
  
• Slayers by C. J. Hill ****
  

We missed our regulars: Sheri Lee and Margaret this month as well as all those we haven't seen in ages! Next month is our activity month and we will be driving to Crystal Hot Springs near Brigham City for a night soaking and conversation. We can meet at my house @6:00 to car pool; pack snacks/dinner to eat on the way--the cost will be $5 entrance fee (with printable coupon). Make sure to bring a large water bottle, you tend to get dehydrated (I know, weird huh?).

Happy Reading!

Submissions

Here are the books that were submitted at the last bookclub meeting.

Christy submitted:

  Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

  Year of the Unicorn by Andre Norton

Margaret submitted:

  Honolulu by Alan Brennert

  The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan

  The Bells by Richard Harvell

Jen submitted:

  The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

  Beneath My Mother's Fee by Amjed Qamar

Sheri submitted:

  The Dragonfly Pool by Eva Ibbotson

  King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry

  Homecoming by Cynthia Voight

  Fun Fantasy Trilogy by Eva Ibbotson

       Which Witch, The Secret of Platform 13, Island of the Aunts

Angela submitted:

  This is My Words by Nancy Turner

  The Christmas Sweater by Glen Beck

  So You Want to Raise a Boy by W. Cleon Skousen

Annette submitted:

  A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

  The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O. McNees (didn't like it)

Mindy

  The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

  Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

  Dreams of Joy by Lisa See