The Chicks With Books

End of 2010 Books

2010-12-16T20:46:00.000-08:00

Hmmm...I guess having a baby and then going back to work slowed me down on my updating!!! We've been meeting for book club though! We've been on a roll with really good books lately. Here's to more great books in 2011!

Our August Book

Island Beneath the Sun

By Isabelle Allende

This was a book that I didn't finish. I started it and the language was beautiful, but very literary. I was just too sleep deprived that once I started it I was asleep! I'd like to go back to it someday though.

Our September Book

Tricks

By Ellen Hopkins

This book I loved. Ellen Hopkins has a way of getting down and dirty when it comes to teen issues. She talks about topics that aren't easy to broach. I love her novels in poetry. This book was interesting because it tied in so many different stories.

Our October Book

Pope Joan

By Donna Woolfolk Cross

I was at least halfway into this one when book club snuck up on me. I need to check it our from the library again so I can finish it. I liked the writing, it reminded me of Beneath a Marble Sky and The Red Tent.

Our November Book

Room

By Emma Donoghue

I listened to the audiobook in my car and found myself wanting to know what was going to happen next! This book starts of without telling you where the main character is and what his circumstance is. I liked the way it was written from the perspective of a 5-year-old.

Our December Book

Zeitoun

By Dave Eggers

I'm still only at the beginning of this book, but I really like the few chapters I have read. This book is a nonfiction account of a man who experience Hurricane Katrina. I'm hanging on to this one so I can finish it even though we had book club tonight.

Our June and July Books

2010-08-13T07:10:00.000-07:00

Our June Book:

The Devil in the White City

By Erik Larson

I have been so caught up with having my baby that I haven't blogged about book club! In June we read one of my all-time favorite books: The Devil in the White City. It was fun reading about Chicago history since we live in/around Chicago! We ate yummy pizza and talked about the book! (But I totally forgot to take a picture...I blame pregnancy brain!)

Our July Book:

The Botticelli Secret

By Marina Fiorato

In July, we read The Botticelli Secret...well, everyone else did because I was just a little bit busy having my baby and then feeding him nonstop! I did, however, make it to book club with Danny! It was fun eating at California Pizza Kitchen. From what everyone said this was a pretty cool book, it was like The DaVinci Code except actually set in the past.

A Reliable Wife

2010-05-21T12:55:00.000-07:00

Our May Book:

A Reliable Wife

By Robert Goolrick

There were only a few of us who met at Big Bowl to discuss this book, but we still had quite a bit to talk about. Overall, it's was a book that we read but that wasn't all the great. What threw us off the most was trying to understand the character's and their turn-of-the-century life. It was hard to relate to the woman who is the "reliable wife" but also hard to relate to her husband. It was just a little too weird. As you can tell, not really a book club favorite.

Nefertiti

2010-04-16T04:15:00.000-07:00

Our April Book:

Nefertiti

By Michelle Moran

What another great work of historical fiction! This book was abo

ut (you guess it!) Nefertiti, the first female pharoah of Egypt. It's actually written from the perspective of her younger sister as she deals with Nefertiti's rise to power. This is one book that we all read and all really enjoyed...even though it was a loooong book!

The City of Thieves

2010-03-28T07:45:00.001-07:00

Our March Book:

City of Thieves

David Benioff

It was a small group this month for book club! We had fun though! We had lots to talk about this book. It took me the first few chapters to get used to the story and what was going on but once the grandfather starts telling his story of living in Russia during WWII I was hooked. I've read quite a few WWII books, but never one about people in Russia during the time. It's a great story about a guy who's sent on a mission to find a dozen eggs when everyone everyone is struggling just to find any food to eat. It's also a love story...at least, I thought it was a love story. And it was also funny because of the characters, it's weird to say it was funny, but it was funny. Overall, I the two of us who came to discuss the book really enjoyed it!

I'm so sad that we forgot to take a picture this time...bummer.

This Is Where I Leave You

2010-02-28T13:45:00.001-08:00

Our February Book:

This Is Where I Leave You

By Jonathan Tropper

This month we met at Red Robin to discuss our February book! Red Robin is one of my favorite restaurants. I love their french fries with the seasoning they have on the table and dipped ranch. Insanely awesome.

I think we all loved the book, except for one of us who didn't end up finishing it because she wasn't into it. We heard it's going to be made into a movie and I can so see this as a great movie. This book is about a guy who has a crazy life, his marriage is in shambles just as his dad dies and him and his siblings and mother sit shiva for him. You can only imagine the craziness that ensues. I think it's definitely worth reading!

Shattered Silence

2010-01-28T15:45:00.000-08:00

Our January Book

Shattered Silence

By Melissa G. Moore and M. Bridget Cook

We had book club this month at our tried and true Cheesecake Factory! We were all so excited for the great food...but even more for the Red Velvet Cheesecake! I was so excited to get home and break into my dessert! That was the best part!

The book this month was about a girl who's dad was a serial killer. It talks about her life growing up with divorced parents, step-parents, friends, boyfriends. It was a very intense and difficult childhood to say the least. It's hard to criticize someone's life...I think what we disliked about the book was her ability to write about her life and all that she went through. Most of us would have liked more information about her dad. We also felt that sometimes her writing was confusing and other times she spent such a short amount of time on something traumatic. It was poorly written if you ask me. (Plus, there were typos all over the place!) It's an uplifting story about how she prevailed through all the hardships in her life and I'm happy for her...but the book wasn't worth reading.

Here's our beautiful picture...we don't usually get such great pictures in dark restaurants but this one turned out great! Love Cheesecake Factory!

The Maze Runner

2009-12-18T04:20:00.000-08:00

Our December Book

The Maze Runner

By James Dashner

This month we read a book from a genre we haven't really visited too much...at least not since our very first book (which was also chosen by me) when we read Time Traveler's Wife. I love science fiction and fantasy and this book didn't disappoint. It's a young adult book which is made it pretty easy to read, especially because it was long. The plot was really interesting the entire way through. We all seemed to be mostly talking about the end of the book because that's where we finally figured things out but still had lots of questions! It was a fun read!

Here are the lovely ladies of The Chicks With Books!

I just realized it's our last book of 2009! Crazy! I'm excited for the books and get-togethers in 2010!

I'm So Happy For You

2009-11-19T19:18:00.000-08:00

Our November Book

I'm So Happy For You

By Lucinda Rosenfeld

I just got home from amazing Greek food at book club. Seriously, it was awesome. Opa! to the flaming cheese. Yum!

Enough about food though...the general consensus was that we didn't really like the book. There were only four of us and one of us didn't even read it...so I'm not sure it was a completely horrible book but it kind of seems that way. The main character was completely superficial and negative and maybe there are people in the world like that...but it wasn't any of us and we couldn't really relate to the character in the book. There were some things I thought were relate-able, like the stress she was feeling at not being able to get pregnant right away, believe me, that was relate-able...but there were lots of other parts that were dumb. I, personally, think she should have given up on her fake friends and gotten some real friends but that's just me. Anyone out there who's read this book? I'd love to have your opinion! BUT, if you haven't read it, don't read it for my sake.

2009-10-15T20:24:00.000-07:00

Our October Book

Moloka'i

By Alan Brennert

Only a few of us made it through this book. It was a great book but it was a tad long and the print was a touch, well, actually, super tiny and it was 400 pages long. Those of that did read it thoroughly enjoyed it. We talked about some parts that we wish they had explained more and parts that struck a chord with us. There were so many interesting issues brought up in this book...maybe it was a little bit forced, but I thought it was great. This book chronicles the life of one girl who is quarantined to an island when she contracts leprosy. This was a historical fiction book that many of enjoyed because it gave some insight to a part of history we had either not heard of or briefly heard of before.

We did remember to take our picture this month! All is right in the world.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society

2009-10-15T20:19:00.000-07:00

Our September Book

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society

By Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

This, personally, was a favorite of mine! This book is written through letters and notes and newspaper clippings to tell the story of Juliet, a writer who befriends a man in Guernsey after WWII. They write letters back and forth as two book lovers until Juliet goes to visit Guernsey and finds herself more than just in love with books. I don't think everyone was entirely smitten with this book as I was but we did have some good discussions about Markum Reynolds and Elizabeth.

Can you believe we didn't take a picture this time!?!?! I'm saddened by this. Sorry.

The Road of Lost Innocence

2009-10-15T20:12:00.000-07:00

Our August Book:

The Road of Lost Innocence

By Somaly Mam

This book was an interesting look into sexual trafficking of young girls. We were all appalled at this going on in a world that we live in. It seemed like this book became too much of a documentary towards the last half but I think most of us enjoyed this book. It's amazing what the author lived through but then also that she was able to overcome and work as a crusader to help young girls in her country.

This picture turned out grainy because I had to adjust it to get lighting and to zoom in...bummer.

Candy Girl

2009-07-14T18:56:00.000-07:00

Our July Book

Candy Girl

By Diablo Cody

We met in July to discuss Candy Girl. We all thought it was interesting to read about stripping since none of us really have any experience with the world of stripping. I thought there were some interesting things in this book, things I had never thought about and some that were even hard to believe. We took lots of pictures at dinner because we had some good food! Oh, and, surprise! April is pregnant!

The girls with triple martinis!

Awesome artichoke dip!

Fried calamari!

I had to do some major editing to this picture because it just didn't turn out right...that's why it looks so funny!

Beneath a Marble Sky

2009-06-18T20:31:00.000-07:00

Our June Book:

Beneath a Marble Sky

By John Shors

This month we ate at California Pizza Kitchen to discuss John Shors' Beneath a Marble Sky. There were some mixed emotions about the book but I think most of us liked it. We thought it was interesting to read about the history of the Taj Mahal...but weren't sure how much was true or what happened after the story ended. (I'll have to go do some research.) We're pretty sure though the royal family were based mostly on real characters. We seemed to like how smart/witty the main character was at times. We discussed the fact that the author was a man writing in the perspective of a woman. It didn't seem that noticeable, at least not to me anyway. Silvia noted that fact that we have read a few books that all have people who are in polygamist marriages and that that was interesting how it crosses cultures but yet is so harshly regarded in our society. Here we are, our little group this month:

The Book of Dahlia

2009-05-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

May Book of the Month

The Book of Dahlia

By Elisa Albert

The Book of Dahlia is about a young woman who is diagnosed with a brain tumor. As she goes through treatment, we learn about her life and about her childhood. We all agree that this book definitely ended suddenly. Some of us were disappointed that she didn't take advantage of the time she had but others felt it was true to the character and maybe even true to life.

I, personally, enjoyed the book. I loved the character's voice. It truly re

ad as though yo

u were talking to a friend, and she was completely uncensored. I felt bad for everything that happened to her in her life and for how people treated her. I thought that the ending was unique because I'm sure there are people who die before they realize they are going to die and that it is so unexpected. I was glad that it wasn't a story about someone overcoming cancer because not everyone does.

It was a small group this time, but we had fun celebrating Silvia's birthday with her!

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

2009-04-16T14:50:00.000-07:00

April Book of the Month

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

By Stieg Larsson

We met Thursday night to discuss The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I think the ones of us who finished it really loved it. We agreed that it's a pretty messed up story and some parts were very graphic, but the plot was still great. This book is the first in a series of three. The second book will be released in July. For some of us it was hard to get into at the beginning and others loved it from beginning to end (Christina!).

We talked about what we were thinking was going to have happened to Harriet compared to what we found out actually happened to Harriett. We also discussed what happened in Lisbeth Salander's childhood that made her as messed up as she was.

We ate Mexican food at El Meson and then had chocolate covered pretzels with mini M&Ms for dessert. This month we also celebrated our one year anniversary of The Chicks With Books Book Club! Woo hoo to us!

The Mole People

2009-03-18T20:59:00.001-07:00

March Book of the Month:

The Mole People

By Jennifer Toth

For book club this month, we read The Mole People which is a collection of stories about the lives of people living in the tunnels underground in New York City. It was a pretty amazing and hard-to-believe book. The author must have been pretty brave...or stupid...to go where she went and try get herself into situations she describes in the book. It's also sad to think there are real people living in the underground tunnels, that our world allows that.

We had fun eating Japanese food. Some of us tried suchi for the first time...me included. I actually didn't mind it...although I wasn't a fan of having to put the whole thing in my mouth all at once. We got to eat in a tea room and try all sorts of great food.

The Red Tent

2009-02-19T19:40:00.000-08:00

February Book of the Month

The Red Tent

By Anita Diamant

I can't speak for those of us who couldn't make it to book club tonight, but everyone who was there really enjoyed the book this month! The Red Tent is a religious fiction book about Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. I thought this was a great book about family and mothers and daughters. I have to admit that it was a little slow moving, especially in the beginning of the book, but I found myself really liking the character.

We welcomed a new member(...or two or three???) to the book club tonight. Kim joined our book club this time and got a dose of our craziness. We also have a potential new member...our waiter! ...Or maybe his wife, perhaps?

The Hour I First Believed

2009-01-15T19:52:00.001-08:00

January Book of the Month

The Hour I First Believed

By Wally Lamb

We had some more crazy weather this month...but we decided to go ahead with book club anyway. We met at the mall again this time. I kind of like meeting at the mall because it gives me an excuse to get some shopping done! Although, I don't think Chad necessarily likes all the bags I came home with! In my defense, I think every single thing I bought was on sale!

We had a pretty good discussion of the book because there were so many things to discuss. I, personally, thought it was a well-written book and I liked the story and how so many things intertwined with each other, but at the same time I thought it was crazy that there were sooooo many different storylines going on and there were so many people with so many crazy issues. I have to say it wasn't my favorite book though. Tania, on the other hand, really liked this book and Wally Lamb is her favorite author. She explained how she could relate to it because her family and friends remind her of the characters in the stories...as far as having crazy stories and issues themselves.

In the Lake of the Woods

2008-12-18T18:19:00.001-08:00

December Book of the Month

In the Lake of the Woods

By Tim O'Brien

This month we read In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien. Unfortunately, because of a crazy snowstorm that is supposed to hit tonight we aren't out eating and discussing this book right now!!!! Unfortunately, I did not finish the book this time! Unfortunately, this has been a crazy month for The Chicks with Books.

I'm about halfway through the book right now. I have to say this was a really hard book for me to get into. I think the plot is actually interesting but I think the way the story was told was really hard for me to follow and to figure out what is actually going on. I guess I'll have to finish it and see if it all makes sense in the end. I'm slowly trying to make my way through it.

My dad is a Vietnam veteran and he has post-traumatic stress disorder. Post-traumatic stress disorder is something many war veterans and other people who have been through extremely horrible experiences suffer from. Again, I have to finish the book, but at this point I'm kind of disappointed with the way he portrays John Wade, the main character, in terms of being a Vietnam veteran. I'm sure everyone deals with post-traumatic stress in different ways, and obviously, the kind of person you are before the war will play into how a war, especially Vietnam, will effect you. I just hope not everyone gets the impression that all veterans, from Vietnam or any other war, are all as strange as John Wade. I will definitely post when I actually finish the book, but I really felt that I had to explain that the main character is, in my opinion, psycho before he goes to war, and that that seems to play a major role in how he acts when dealing with the war and as he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

I am glad the author describes some possible experiences for a soldier in Vietnam and isn't afraid to talk about them. In my knowledge of the Vietnam War, so many things that happened were hidden or even denied and no one wanted to acknowledge what soldiers went through in Vietnam. I think besides having to deal with the horrible unimaginable experiences the soldiers had to go through, when they came back from Vietnam they weren't able to talk about it or deal with it, instead they had to keep it to themselves and try and pretend like they had no problem going back to being in normal society. This is something we do see in John Wade, the main character. He keeps everything to himself and it haunts him even more because he tries to tell himself it didn't happen. I think it is so sad that these soldiers had to deal with all their memories on their own. Just think of how common it is to talk through a problem with a friend, or to share an experience with a friend, and how much better it makes you feel. What if you had something, probably many things, completely unbelievable that you have no choice but to keep with yourself. It breaks my heart. I think that now that post-traumatic stress disorder has been recognized as an actual disorder, soldiers are getting help when they come back from war. I hope at least they have the chance to discuss and deal with their experiences in the war instead of having to hide it and keep it to themselves.

I would really love to hear your opinions on the book and I hope we can discuss this book at our January book club along with the book we pick for January. I welcome any thoughts you have now...and feel free to ask me any questions you have.

Those Who Save Us

2008-11-20T20:11:00.000-08:00

November Book of the Month

Those Who Save Us

By Jenna Blum

We had a fun night at this month's book club! We met at a Tapas restaurant and enjoyed lots of red wine sangria! I think this was a book that we all really liked. It was definitely well-written and also written from an interesting perspective. This book is written from the perspective of a young woman living in Nazi Germany who has a daughter with a Jewish man and then does what she has to do to keep the two of them alive through the war. The book is also written from the perspective of the daughter when she is a grown woman and how she sees her mother and her journey to understand her mother, who refuses to ever talk about their life in Germany. There were of course stories of the Holocaust that were horrible to read and that accurately portrayed the gruesomeness of the war. We could not believe people could have treated others so awfully and are hoping that our mentality is common among our generation and that the world will only get more and more tolerant and embrace the difference among us.

Here are the Chicks:

Remember Me?

2008-10-23T19:12:00.000-07:00

October Book of the Month

Remember Me?

By Sophie Kinsella

This month we read Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella. We all agreed that this was an easy read although not all of us liked the book. Personally, Sophie Kinsella is one of my favorite authors. I don't think she's an author that you can add to a list of classic authors who are going to be read through the ages, but she's a great chick lit read for relaxing right now. I loved the part when she has sticky notes all over her saying some sexual comments about her boss...when her boss walks in. I also loved the part about mont blanc...you'll just have to read it to figure out what it's all about. Another Kinsella great in my mind.

We met at Cheesecake Factory to discuss the book. I'm always in the mood for Cheesecake. Yum!

Peony In Love

2008-10-05T18:03:00.000-07:00

September Book of the Month

Peony In Love

By Lisa See

This month we read Peony In Love by Lisa See. We met at P.F. Chang's because Peony In Love is a historical fiction book about a girl growing up in China studying The Peony Pavilion. It was a very interesting book that provided an in-depth insight into the beliefs in the Chinese culture in regards to death and ghosts, and their traditions.

I, personally, thought the book was very well written. I was completely enthralled by the story. I thought it was yet another example of women being strong and smart, which seems to be a trend in our books. I loved that the story was very much based on a true story. My favorite saying in the book was: man-beautiful.

Here we are with our books! It was another great night of yummy food and good company!!

Water For Elephants

2008-08-22T17:13:00.000-07:00

August Book of the Month

Water For Elephants

By Sara Gruen

It seemed unanimous that we loved Water For Elephants! This was a great story about Jacob Jancowski, a man who suddenly loses both parents in a car accident and leaves his life to join the Benzini Brothers circus. I, personally, learned a lot about the traveling train circuses from the 20's and 30's. We liked Jacob as a character, both as a young man and an old man. This is also a love story, in more ways than one. It is a great piece of historical fiction.

My camera was really low on battery so we barely had time to turn it on and snap a picture...but we do have a picture! We were a small group this time...what did everyone who couldn't make it think? Please post!

The Other Boleyn Girl

2008-07-24T06:34:00.001-07:00

July Book of the Month

The Other Boleyn Girl

By Philippa Gregory

This month we chose The Other Boleyn Girl which was recommended by Alba. Those of us that read the book seemed to have really enjoyed the book. The Other Boleyn Girl is the story of Mary Boleyn, younger sister to Anne Boleyn who married King Henry VIII. Through Mary Boleyn, the author tells the story of all the Boleyn siblings. We thought that the author made a wise choice by picking Mary Boleyn as the main character because she was a like-able and relate-able character who also was in all the right places to tell the story. Overall, we felt bad for the young people of that time because it seemed like their parents/family just played them as pawns to improve the status of their family. We were missing quite a few book club members this month so please comment on what you thought of the book!

We ate at an Irish restaurant called Peggy Kinnane's. The food was great and pretty much everyone who worked there was hot. No complaints! Here is our group of lovely ladies!

Loving Frank

2008-06-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

June 2008 Book of the Month

Loving Frank

By Nancy Horan

This month we chose to read Loving Frank by Nancy Horan. Loving Frank is a historical fiction piece written about a woman who had an affair with Frank Lloyd Wright, the famous architect. The author wrote the story based on research she did about their lives together. We met at Maggiano's for yummy Italian food because during part of the book Mamah, the main character lives in Italy.

We all seemed to agree that Frank Lloyd Wright was not such a great guy (that's kind of an understatement). We had mixed feelings about Mamah and her decision to leave her marriage that she was not happy in. We were proud of her for leaving and for not staying in a situation she was not happy in, but really disappointed in how she dealt with it. Her selfishness was evident, and it led to her greatly impacting the lives of so many people: her ex-husband, her sister, but, most of all, her kids.

Escape

2008-05-17T06:15:00.000-07:00

The May 2008 Book of the Month

Escape

By Carolyn Jessop

The May book of the month was recommended by Veronica. The other books it beat out were Belong To Me by Marisa de los Santos and The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. We met at Ram to discuss the book over a tall glass of Merrill "Buttface" Jessop beer and a plate of shrimp.

Escape is the "dramatic first-person account of life inside an ultra-fundamentalist American religious sect, and one woman's courageous flight to freedom with her eight children." We were all appalled to read about the suffering and abuse women and children had to face within the FLDS cult. Even more outrageous is to think that this was happening recently and is still going on even today.

We didn't really have focused discussion questions but the discussion kind of just led itself. Here are some of the topics we discussed:

1. Which part of the story appalled and outraged us the most?

2. How were the men in the FLDS able to totally and completely control the women and children?

3. What do we learn from Carolyn's relationship with her children in regards to mothers?

We all agreed that Carolyn has an amazingly strong will and that she is definitely smart to have been able to carefully plan her escape so she would be successful. We also discussed our opinions of long underwear. To end the night, we all shared a mile high mudpie. Yum!

The Time Traveler's Wife

2008-04-18T17:38:00.000-07:00

The April 2008 Book of the Month

The Time Traveler's Wife

By Audrey Niffenegger

For the inaugural The Chicks With Books book club meeting, we read The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger. We met at a Thai restaurant because Clare and Henry go out for Thai on their first date. This book was chosen by me, Jen, because it is one of my absolute favorite books.

The Time Traveler's Wife is the story of Clare and Henry. Henry is a time traveler and Clare is his life-long lover thanks to Henry's ability time travel into her childhood. This book is the story of their lives and their love story.

Here are some questions we discussed last night:

1. What qualities do you see in Clare as "the time traveler's wife"? Is the label a positive or negative one and why?

2. What role does fate play in the book, if any?

3. How do you imagine Clare and Henry's final "visit" together? What do they do? What do they talk about? How long does he get to stay?

Besides discussing these and other questions, we discovered who are the hopeless romantics in the group-who actually cried at various times in the book, which time in our lives we would time travel to to relive, and that it's best to request separate checks rather than trying to separate it ourselves!

Welcome to The Chicks With Books blog!

2008-04-18T17:28:00.001-07:00

Welcome to The Chicks With Books blog!

I am very excited to be hosting the blog for our newly founded book club, The Chicks With Books! We will be meeting to discuss the book on the 3rd Thursday of the every month. Every month one of the book club members recommends 2 or 3 books for the group to read and we will vote which book to read for the month. Yesterday, April 17th, 2008, was our first ever The Chicks With Books book club meeting. We met to discuss The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.