May Book Club

Kerstin's pick for May is.....

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

We discussed end of May for the next meeting. Stay tuned for details!

What is your literary deal breaker?

I found this topic of discussion on ew.com's PopWatch section and thought it was an interesting question to pose. Could clashing literary tastes ruin a budding relationship?

Check out their blogging on this topic and the related article from the NY Times.

It's probably possible, but I can't think of anyone's reading taste offending me so much that I couldn't be in a relationship with that person. Unless of course they were studying serial killing, poisons or the like.

April Book Club

From Brenda:

The book:
The Cleft by Doris Lessing. The blurb from the back of the book: “In the last years of his life, a Roman senator embarks on one final epic endeavor, a retelling of the history of human creation. The story he relates is the little-known saga of the Clefts, an ancient community of women with no knowledge nor need for men. Childbirth was controlled through the cycles of the moon, and only female offspring were born—until the unanticipated event that jeopardized the harmony of their close-knit society: the strange, unheralded birth of a boy.”

For extra credit:
For those who breeze through this book (it’s not very long and has rather large print, a plus for an oldster like me!), please feel free to read my second choice: The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver about a woman faced with choosing between two men. The book progresses in a kind of parallel universe with alternating chapters following the consequences from each decision. The premise has been compared to the movie Sliding Doors (with Apple’s mom Gwyneth Paltrow), if you’ve seen that.

Potential dates:
Please let me know your availability for Wed April 16, Thursday the 17th, and Monday the 21st.

Last night's main dish...

...well besides hiding the lizard....

Anyway, I've posted the recipe for the Baked Orzo at the recipe-sharing blog many of you are familiar with.

http://shareourrecipes.blogspot.com/

Thanks for trekking to St. Paul last night for book club and we'll see you soon!

Movie - The Other Boleyn Girl

I know movie outings have not been so successfully organized with this group, but I would love to go to The Other Boleyn Girl with some book clubbers, if you're interested. The movie opens next weekend, but I'm open to going any time.

Here's one review I could find on Google:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karin-badt/from-the-berlinale-justi_b_87489.html

Looking for Beach Read Recommendations

Hi everyone, it's Nathan... Ashley and I are hanging out at home on a Friday night, and Ashley persists in asking me to Google 'best beach reads' for our upcoming trip. I am not enjoying this task and have thus turned to you, members of the most respected book club in town, for your suggestions. Please post with your ideas... please.

February turning into March Book Club

Update: March 18 it is. See you all then!

Hi all,

Here are a few dates to get us rolling on re-scheduling February book club. Please reply and let me know what will not work for you. Thanks!

Monday, March 10
Tuesday, March 11
Wednesday, March 12
Tuesday, March 18

HaiVy

February Meeting Dates

Update: Monday, February 18 it is! Let's say 7 p.m. Directions to follow in an email. See you all soon.

Hi all,

As Ashley so kindly posted for me, the next book is What is the What by Dave Eggers.

Does Monday, February 18 work for a meeting date? If not, can you post what days of the week typically work for you and I will try to re-schedule. Thanks!

Happy reading!

Next month's book: What is the What

I can't wait to read our next book! I even put "God Grew Tired of Us" on my Netflix queue today to totally get into the story. I look forward to discussing this.

Now reading: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

Thanks again to Sara for hosting a fab book club, once again. Lower your expectations, ladies. I am not a gourmet chef. This month's book is The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. Please let me know which of the following dates will be best for you to meet by posting a comment below. I hope you enjoy the book!

Tuesday, January 15
Thursday, January 17
Wednesday, January 23
Thursday, January 24

Atonement - the movie!

Just an FYI - it is currently playing at the Landmark Cinema in Edina:


Landmark Edina 4 Theatre3911 West 50th StreetEdina, MN 55424
Atonement11:00am, 1:40, 4:20, 7:10, 9:50

I would love to go see it - I know this si a busy time of year but maybe we could squeeze it in? If anyone is interested, let me know!

The wind -- it talks and it breaks!

I think my name was much more descriptive. Perhaps not of the movie or topic, but nonetheless.

Windtalkers

Here's another one which might cause some confusion:

Breaking the Waves

Addendum to Dec. Book Club notice

Just a reminder that in addition to the Suite Francaise discussion and exciting ornament exchange at December's meeting, we'd also like to hear a review of any other book you may have read recently.

If you, like me, haven't read another book outside of book club for 2+ years, then, well.... just know I'll be bringing a review of the latest Martha Stewart Weddings or People magazines.

Suite Francaise

Looks like Tuesday, December 4th is a date that works for all who responded with their preference, so mark your calendars and start shopping for ornaments!

Here's a link to a (quite lengthy) review the New York Times did on the book, for those interested in the back story of Irene Nemirovsky's life.
Read about the book in the NYT

Wednesday, October 24th

Just a reminder that our next book club meeting for "Eat, Pray, Love" is Wednesday, October 24th! Also, please see Ashley's post and submit your opinion for holiday book club!

Holiday Meeting of Book Club

Hey all -

Hope the month of October is treating you well...

Things have been a touch slow on the blog, so I thought I'd throw out a discussion topic (we can also discuss in person next week at Christina's).

Discussion topic: What to do for December book club?

Questions to answer:

• What are everyone's thoughts about reading or not reading a book for December?
• Should we read something that isn't a book (i.e. interesting article or short story)?
• Whatever we read or don't read, should we still continue with the holiday tradition (2 years and going strong!) of exchanging ornaments?
• Should we meet at a local establishment or have a host?
  

FYI - the hosting schedule, as of today, is as follows:

October - Christina
November/December - Sara
January - Ashley
February - HaiVy
March - Brenda
April - Kerstin
May - Sarah
June - Jonell
July - Becky

To further your reading pleasure....

As a follow up to Ashley's post about Oprah featuring "Eat, Pray, Love" on her October 5th show, click here to dig further into "Eat, Pray, Love" on Oprah's website. From there, you will find features about leading a well-balanced life and taking your own "pleasure tour" by planning your own trip or just living vicariously through Elizabeth Gilbert's trip through recipes and making the most out of simple pleasures.

The Other Boleyn Girl coming to theatres soon

Natalie Portman (Anne) and Scarlett Johansson (Mary) are starring in this film which is set for release in Feb. 2008. Looks like we have another movie outing to add to our to-do list.

This month's author on Oprah Oct. 5

I just found out that Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love, is going to be on Oprah on Oct. 5. I will TiVo it if anyone wants to come by and watch it with me. I am LOVING the book so I am very excited to hear the author talk about it. Thanks for picking such a winner, Christina.

Another Philippa Gregory great

Although I didn't read the last book club book (nothing against the selection or Shelly), I have been able to recently finish The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory, which was a birthday gift from Ashley. Thanks, Ashley! Since I think most of us were fans of The Other Boleyn Girl, I thought this would be the appropriate place to share my views.

Although I wasn't as immediately drawn in as I was with The Other Boleyn Girl, The Virgin's Lover turned out to be another fascinating read. As a huge fan of Elizabeth starring Cate Blanchett (a "sequel" comes out this year -- WooHoo!), I already knew a little about the relationship between Queen Elizabeth and Robert Dudley. The Virgin's Lover is about their relationship from beginning to end and believe me, it gets juicy!

I won't give anything away except to say that my obsession has moved on from the Boleyn girls to Robert Dudley. Those Tudors were crazy!

My grade = A-/B+. Only because the beginning wasn't as enticing. But I could not put the book down and the ending is WAY dramatic.