End of 2010 Books

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.  

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society

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.

Beneath a Marble Sky

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:

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!! 

Water For Elephants

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 Time Traveler's Wife

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!