Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

Well, it's been two years since I've posted on the blog but better late than never, right?!
We decided at our last meeting that we wanted to keep up to date on the blog.  So, here I am updating it from our last meeting, the night before our next meeting.  :)
Last month Amy L chose the book The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd.  I think we all enjoyed the book, it wasn't a favorite for everyone but overall it was a good book.  As always, we had a great time catching up at Salty Iguana in Olathe.  See everyone tomorrow night to discuss Jodi's pick.

 

Bre's Pick

Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart - he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season's first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning the snow child is gone - but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees.

This little girl, who calls herself Faina, seems to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness. As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But in this beautiful, violent place, things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them.

February Meeting- The Other Boleyn Girl

Kathryn's pick for February was The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory.

Two sisters competing for the greatest prize: the love of a kingWhen Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled by the king, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon realizes just how much she is a pawn in her family's ambitious plots as the king's interest begins to wane and she is forced to step aside for her best friend and rival: her sister, Anne. Then Mary knows that she must defy her family and her king, and take her fate into her own hands.

A rich and compelling tale of love, sex, ambition, and intrigue, The Other Boleyn Girl introduces a woman of extraordinary determination and desire who lived at the heart of the most exciting and glamorous court in Europe and survived by following her own heart.

What a great pick!  This book gave us a lot to talk about!  Many girls were intrigued enough with the story line that they researched more about this time period and learned about Henry VIII.  This was a long book, but it keeps your attention throughout.  There is just enough suspense, drama and sex to keep a reader interested!

(I couldn't get the pictures of us this month off my phone for some reason... I'm sure you girls are devastated that I didn't include a picture!) :)

January Meeting- The Night Circus

We met last night to discuss the last pick, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.

This was an intriguing book, and many of the girls liked it.  It wasn't an "easy" read necessarily so you had to stay engaged and pay close attention to the dates and characters (which I personally have a hard time doing sometimes!).  It started out slow but a little over halfway through things started picking up more and began to make a little more sense.  I think we'd all agree that we probably wouldn't give it the amazing reviews that most other readers gave it, but it did give us a good discussion at book club.

Miss Natalie joined us for the meeting too!!

December Meeting- Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

In December we met to discuss the book Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. The majority of us thought the book was a little "peculiar" but many said they'd read the sequel if/when it comes out.

WHITE ELEPHANT IN DECEMBER!

An elephant never forgets....

Amy L pick!!!!!! Enjoy

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children , an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive. A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows..........

Our meeting at Panera...

What can I say... we all really liked Divergent! Great pick Erin! We all agreed the we are ready for the 2nd one now! It was like Hunger Games in a way but still very good!

List for all to see...

I wanted to document our order since I forget every month and we had some switching. :) Let me know if you are not OK with the order and we will take it month by month if switching needs to happen. I will update it if it gets out of order again.

Cathy
Amy R
Erin
Amy L
Jodi
Emily
Kathryn
Breana


Rinse and Repeat..

DIVERGENT

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris, and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together, they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes-fascinating, sometimes-exasperating boy fits into the life she’s chosen.

But Tris also has a secret: one she’s kept hidden from everyone, because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly-perfect society, she also learns that her secret might be what helps her save those she loves . . . or it might be what destroys her.

October 2011 Meeting

I can't believe it's been 2 years since we started our book club!  It's been so much fun reading new books and getting together with each other for the past 2 years... can't wait for many more!

In October we read One Day by David Nicholls. 
It’s 1988 and Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley have only just met. But after only one day together, they cannot stop thinking about one another. Over twenty years, snapshots of that relationship are revealed on the same day—July 15th—of each year. Dex and Em face squabbles and fights, hopes and missed opportunities, laughter and tears. And as the true meaning of this one crucial day is revealed, they must come to grips with the nature of love and life itself.

When I picked this book I had no idea that it would be such a great book for book club discussion!  We talked a lot about the book, how it was written, how it ended, the characters relationship, etc.  I don't think any of us have ever read a book that was written in this format, the chapters were all about one day of each year, July 15th.  So, sometimes it took a while to realized what had happened between Emma and Dexter since the last year but that was part of what I think many of us liked about it.  This book has also been made into a movie that we are excited to see.  I think it will make a great movie!
I think those of us who read the book would recommend this to others as a great read that might leave you a little shocked at the end but still worth the read.

September 2011 Meeting

Our September meeting we met to discuss Bossypants by Tina Fey.

We all liked the book and I believe this was the first Biography we've had since we started.  It was a nice change of pace and an easy read.  She's also just as funny as an author as she is as an actress so there were lots of pages we caught ourselves laughing out loud.  If you are a Tina Fey fan you should pick up the book!

The girls also surprised Kathryn and I with a surprise Book Shower for our babies on the way!!  We got so many adorable books and can't wait to read them to our babies!



August 2011 Meeting

In August we met to discuss LAMB by Christopher Moore.  Honestly we didn't have a great success rate of reading the book... the only one who finished it by the meeting was Emily and it was her first book club meeting with us since last summer!  SO, major fail on that!  We all agreed that the book was a little difficult to get into and not what we expected.  I think most of us ended up finishing it after the meeting and it was okay, but probably not a book we'd recommend to someone as a must read.

Our pick for September is BossyPants by Tina Fey.



Before Liz Lemon, before "Weekend Update," before "Sarah Palin," Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.
She has seen both these dreams come true.
At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon -- from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.
Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you bossy.

Bre's pick!

The birth of Jesus has been well chronicled, as have his glorious teachings, acts, and divine sacrifice after his thirtieth birthday. But no one knows about the early life of the Son of God, the missing years -- except Biff, the Messiah's best bud, who has been resurrected to tell the story in the divinely hilarious yet heartfelt work "reminiscent of Vonnegut and Douglas Adams" ( Philadelphia Inquirer ). Verily, the story Biff has to tell is a miraculous one, filled with remarkable journeys, magic, healings, kung fu, corpse reanimations, demons, and hot babes. Even the considerable wiles and devotion of the Savior's pal may not be enough to divert Joshua from his tragic destiny. But there's no one who loves Josh more -- except maybe "Maggie," Mary of Magdala -- and Biff isn't about to let his extraordinary pal suffer and ascend without a fight.

I hope you like it!

July 2011 Meeting

Michelle picked our book for July, it was You Know When the Men are Gone by Siobhan Fallon. 

In Fort Hood housing, like all army housing, you get used to hearing through the walls... You learn too much. And you learn to move quietly through your own small domain. You also know when the men are gone. No more boots stomping above, no more football games turned up too high, and, best of all, no more front doors slamming before dawn as they trudge out for their early formation, sneakers on metal stairs, cars starting, shouts to the windows above to throw them down their gloves on cold desert mornings. Babies still cry, telephones ring, Saturday morning cartoons screech, but without the men, there is a sense of muted silence, a sense of muted life.
There is an army of women waiting for their men to return in Fort Hood, Texas. Through a series of loosely interconnected stories, Siobhan Fallon takes readers onto the base, inside the homes, into the marriages and families-intimate places not seen in newspaper articles or politicians' speeches.
When you leave Fort Hood, the sign above the gate warns, You've Survived the War, Now Survive the Homecoming. It is eerily prescient.

The book is a compilation of short stories and the general concensous of the group was that we were disappointed in the way the stories ended.  There really wasn't much closure at the end of the stories and the author left a lot unsaid.  It was a book that gave us a lot to think about, how the lives of those in the military are different than "typical" lives & how marriages can fail so easily based on the circumstances.  Many of the girls felt appreciation for the work of the book after reading it, even though there wasn't much closure.  Overall I think most of us thought it was a book that we wouldn't normally choose, but we are glad we read it.

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City of Thieves

Oops!  We forgot the book for the picture!  We read City of Thieves by David Benioff in May.
The book was pretty good... but we all agreed that we felt the author got a little off track in the middle.  Some loved the book, others thought it was good, but not great. 
We also got to celebrate a book shower for Mama to Be Amy L (she was a Mama to be at the last meeting... not anymore though!)  Her little girl Ali arrived on May 21, 2011. She is so adorable
We also got to celebrate even more babies to come this fall!  Amy R is due November 12th & Kathryn is due November 24th!  Lots of babies for LBBC!

Girl Who Fell From the Sky

In March we read The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi Durrow.  It was an interesting read that gave us quite a bit to talk about.  It had some disturbing circumstances that were hard to read I think but it was great for discussion.

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

No picture for the Saving CeeCee Honeycutt meeting... I think I deleted it on accident!  Maybe this is a sign I should update the blog a little more often huh!?!
We read Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman.  It was a lot like The Help, which we all loved!  It was a feel good chick lit book that was a quick easy read.  Pretty good discussion for a book club as well.
This was also the meeting we got to celebrate Bre's Book Shower!  She had her little boy Tyler on March 10, 2011.  Babies, Books & Babies!!!

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress

In January we met @ Johnny Carino's to discuss Amy's pick, Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen.  This was a pretty good chick lit read, wasn't anything we all loved but it was an easy quick read.

December 2010 Meeting

I love our Book Club.  Really I do.  I know that the rest of you probably feel the exact same way.  I always look forward to our monthly meetings and new book picks!  This months pick wasn't one of our favorites, but that's okay... cause every once in a while we just need a quick read that doesn't take a lot of brain power:)
We read Playing for Pizza by John Grisham.  The girls who read John Grisham said this wasn't a "typical" book of his.  It was kind of slow, you needed to be a football fan too (which many of them are so that wasn't a huge issue).  To be honest, we all just felt it was kind of boring.  We wanted the love interest to evolve into something, it didn't.  So, I'd say most of us wouldn't recommend it unless you love Italy & football and need a simple easy read.

We were missing two girls this month:(  Jodi was sick so she couldn't make it.  

Erin was home with her new baby boy Lowen!

Isn't he adorable?!  He was born on November 30th. 

We also had another "newbie" join us this month!  Michelle went to college with us and she joined the book club in December!  We are having so much fun with everyone & I'm anxious to see what the new girls picks will be when it's there turn!

We hope everyone can make it in January!  

Merry Christmas!