The Mole People

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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!!