Bedford Book Club

guerrilla reading

2012-01-23T15:34:00.000-08:00

Guerrilla Reading

Turn off the TV
Turn off the computer/iPad/iPhone

~ Read ~

Before going to sleep
Before getting up
In the bathtub
While baby is napping
After kids are in bed
With kidsTo kids
While waiting for your ride
While on the bus/train/plane
While dinner is cooking
While exercising (audiobooks!)
While driving (ditto)
While doing work around the house (audiobooks again!)
While waiting for an appointment
and...

Mmmm...tasty

2012-01-22T16:11:00.000-08:00

Slow Cooker Chicken with Artichoke and Olives

Ingredients

4 skinless chicken breasts
One 14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained
One 14 oz can pitted olives (any kind will do. I used a mix of kalamata and black)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup low sodium chicken stock
1 tsp dried thyme
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbs capers

*For gravy: 2 tablespoons brown rice flour (or other flour of choice)

Brown the chicken breasts in small amount of olive or canola oil. After browning the chicken, remove it and add onions and garlic to pan. Saute until onions are translucent. Place all ingredients in the slow cooker/crockpot. Cook on Low for 7-8 hours or High for 3-4 hours.

Optional: You can make a gravy from the sauce in the slow cooker when you're about ready to serve. Put the sauce into saucepan on medium heat. Whisk in flour for about 5 minutes or until sauce thickens. After it reaches desired thickness, pour over chicken & veggies -- serve.

mysterious ways

2012-01-21T10:47:00.000-08:00

The Indie Mystery & Thriller Bestseller List

Based on sales at hundreds of independent bookstores nationwide for the eight-week period ending January 8, 2012.

1. Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James

2. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

3. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

4. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

5. V Is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton

6. The Drop by Michael Connell

7. Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich

8. Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson

9. The Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon

10. Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell

The list goes to 25 - for the rest of the list click here.

There must be 14 ways ...

2012-01-17T12:07:00.000-08:00

to kill your book club

1. Think Outside The Book
Liven up the discussion by reading plays or literary magazines that feature essays, art and short stories.

2. Share The Busywork
Leaving one person in charge for too long will lead to her burning out. Instead, every few months, rotate the responsibility of hosting and setting the date for the meeting.

3. Seduce With Food
A juicy three-cheese lasagna can help the discussion of the driest novel.

4. And Yet: Never Serve Vegetarian Pâté

Read more: 14 Ways Not to Kill Your Book Club

winter reading

2012-01-08T10:29:00.000-08:00

Do you read different types of books during the winter months?

The New Yorker's favorite books from 2011

2011-12-20T10:55:00.000-08:00

The complete list is here.

Note: I've only read one book on this list: Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson. It was one of my favorite reads of this past year.

Also, Real Simple's No Obligation Book Club has chosen its January book.

NPR's Best Books of 2011

2011-12-17T10:25:00.000-08:00

The folks at NPR have gathered together all of their various Best Books of 2011 lists in one handy location. Have fun!

Christmas Gathering

2011-12-13T18:12:00.000-08:00

When: Friday, December 16th at 7 p.m.
Where: Kathy's house
Bring: Something to share

Case Histories

2011-11-08T10:37:00.000-08:00

The TV/Film adaptation of Case Histories recently aired on PBS as a Masterpiece Theater feature [KVIE for us]. I watched the first episode and loved it.
All three episodes are available to view online.

Book Trailer Spotlight

2011-10-23T18:42:00.000-07:00

November's Book

2011-10-21T23:36:00.000-07:00

Goodreads:

"As China opens itself to the world and undertakes historic economic reforms, a little girl in the southern city of Guangzhou immerses herself in a world of fantasy and foreign influences while grappling with the mundane vagaries of Communist rule. She happily immigrates to Oakland, California, expecting her new life to be far better in all ways than life in China. Instead, she discovers crumbling schools, unsafe streets, and racist people. In the land of the free, she comes of age amid the dysfunction of a city's brokenness and learns to hate in the shadows of urban decay. This is the unforgettable story of her journey from China to an American ghetto and how she prevailed."

October is National Reading Group Month

2011-10-06T15:13:00.000-07:00

National Reading Group Month Selects 20Great Group Reads

2011 Selections

The Beauty of Humanity Movement by Camilla Gibb
Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber
The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
Dance Lessons by Áine Greaney
Day of Honey: A Memoir of Food, Love, and War by Annia Ciezadlo
The Good Sister by Drusilla Campbell
The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell
If You Knew Then What I Know Now by Ryan Van Meter
The Memory Palace: A Memoir by Mira Bartók
My Name Is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira
Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones
The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy
The Summer Without Men by Siri Hustvedt
Tiny Sunbirds, Far Away by Christie Watson
To Be Sung Underwater by Tom McNeal
Under the Mercy Trees by Heather Newton
When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman
Wingshooters by Nina Revoyr
The Year We Left Home by Jean Thompson
You Know When the Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon

Source: here.

New Girl with Dragon Tattoo Trailer

2011-09-23T11:57:00.001-07:00

The Paris Wife - interview with author

2011-09-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

"The idea to write in Hadley’s voice came to me as I was reading Hemingway’s memoir, A Moveable Feast, about his early years in Paris. In the final pages, he writes of Hadley, “I wished I had died before I ever loved anyone but her.” That line really killed me, and I couldn’t help wondering about who she was, and how they met, and what really happened between them. That’s when I searched out biographies of Hadley, and found the archive of their letters, and everything took off from there. I couldn’t help but fall in love with Hadley, and through her eyes, with the young Ernest Hemingway. From the beginning I was completely swept away by the power of their love story."

Interview with Paula McLain here.

October's book

2011-09-16T23:50:00.000-07:00

Choose October's book from these three titles: (vote in the side bar poll on the right)

Fall Indie Film Series

2011-09-16T23:18:00.000-07:00

Wednesday & Thursday
1 pm & 7 pm

Regal Cinemas Stadium 8
337 Placerville Drive

THE TREE OF LIFE (PG-13)October 5 & 6

Starring: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn & Jessica Chastain
Cast adrift in a modern world, a disillusioned man tries to come to terms with the complicated relationship he shared with his father.

SARAH’S KEYOctober 12 & 13

Starring: Kristen Scott Thomas
Based on Tatiana de Rosnay's best-selling novel, Sarah's Key tells the story of an Ameri-can Journalist on the brink of making big life decisions regarding her marriage and her unborn child. What starts off as a reseach article about the Vel'd'Hiv Roundup in 1942 in France ends up as a journey toward self-discovery as she stumbles upon a terrible secret and discovers the heartbreaking story of a Jewish family forced out of their home, a home that is now their own.

ANOTHER EARTH (PG-13)October 19 & 20

Starring: Brit Marling, Matthew-Lee Erlbach & D.J. Flava
Following her release from jail, a morose young woman seeks out the man whose life she shattered in a car accident several years earlier.

BEGINNERS (R)October 26 & 27

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer & Mélanie Laurent
Oliver meets Anna only months after his father has passed away. This new love floods him with memories of his father who – following 44 years of marriage – came out of the closet at age 75. The upheavals of Hal’s new honesty, brought father and son closer than they’d ever been able to be.

SNOW FLOWER &THE SECRET FAN (PG-13)November 2 & 3

Starring: Gianna Jun, Li Binging & Vivian Wu
A story set in 19th century China and centered on the lifelong friendship between two girls who develop their own secret code as a way to contend with the rigid cultural norms imposed on women.

THE GUARD (R)November 9 & 10

Starring: Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle & Rory Keenan
A vulgar Irish cop and a straight-laced American FBI agent uncover police corruption among the former's superiors while probing a drug-trafficking ring.

September - trying something new

2011-08-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

We're reading on our own this month. Come to Kathy's house on Friday, September 16th at 7 p.m. and share a book you've recently read & loved. From these books, we'll choose our next three book club selections. RSVP to Kathy by September 14th.

Have you checked out the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association's bestseller list lately?

The Help (trailer)

2011-07-16T12:00:00.000-07:00

We loved the book

2011-07-01T09:26:00.001-07:00

The film adaptation of "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett is set to be released on August 12th.
BBC field trip?

Poolside in July

2011-06-22T13:52:00.000-07:00

Although we'll be a small group, we're going to keep our meeting date in July. Bring your favorite summertime wine or an appetizer. Swimsuit & towel too!

Book: Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

Where: Sherry's

When: Friday, July 15th @ 7 pm

Coming up next - Half Broke Horses

2011-06-18T18:52:00.000-07:00

Special election

2011-05-21T10:58:00.000-07:00

We have a tie in selecting our book for August. Please vote for one of these books in the poll in the upper right side of the blog. Thanks!

Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin

This soaring novel introduces us to Angel Tungaraza: mother, cake baker, pillar of her community, keeper of secrets big and small. Angel’s kitchen is an oasis in the heart of Rwanda, where visitors stop to order cakes but end up sharing their stories, transforming their lives, leaving with new hope. In this vibrant, powerful setting, unexpected things are beginning to happen: A most unusual wedding is planned, a heartbreaking mystery involving Angel’s own family unravels, and extraordinary connections are made—as a chain of events unfolds that will change Angel’s life and the lives of those around her in the most astonishing ways.

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

No twentieth-century American writer has captured the popular imagination as much as Ernest Hemingway. This novel tells his story from a unique point of view — that of his first wife, Hadley. Through her eyes and voice, we experience Paris of the Lost Generation and meet fascinating characters such as Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and Gerald and Sara Murphy. The city and its inhabitants provide a vivid backdrop to this engrossing and wrenching story of love and betrayal that is made all the more poignant knowing that, in the end, Hemingway would write of his first wife, "I wish I had died before I loved anyone but her."

Water for Elephants - the film

2011-05-05T09:27:00.000-07:00

Going Graphic

2011-04-19T18:48:00.001-07:00

For our next meeting, we're exploring the realm of graphic novels (memoirs). The plan is to pick a graphic work that interests you, read it and then share it with the rest of us at the May gathering on the 20th.

Here's a list of books I've read that I recommend (they are all available at the library):

Blankets by Craig Thompson

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

Stitches by David Small

Here are some links to articles about reading groups trying graphic works along with ideas about what to read:

No Honey... Graphic, Not Graphic!

Top 5 Graphic Novels to Get Your Book Club Started...

Going Graphic

And lastly, a link to award-winning graphic novels.

Choosing our summer reading

2011-04-19T14:54:00.000-07:00

Here is the list of books from which we need to pick our books for July & August. Click on the titles for description and reviews:

Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

My Abandonment by Peter Rock

One Day by David Nicholls

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

So Much Pretty by Cara Hoffman

Tahoe Silence by Todd Borg

Wickett's Remedy by Myla Goldberg

This Friday - A Reliable Wife

2011-04-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

"The moonlight shone through the window. The faint blue light caught the glass of water by the bed, and he suddenly felt so thirsty he thought he would die. He reached out and held the glass in his hands for a long moment. He smelled it and paused, but only for a second. Then he drank the water, drank all the water, and with the first sip, from the faint smell and the bitter aftertaste, he knew the water was tainted. He looked into the bottom of the beautiful Italian glass. He looked at his lovely wife, sleeping peacefully as a child in the moonlight. He remembered Florence, his days of indolence. He knew he was being poisoned. And he didn't care. He just didn't care anymore."

Top 25 Most Popular Group Picks 2010

2011-03-10T11:33:00.000-08:00

From Reading Group Guides

The Top 25 Most Popular Reading Group Picks for 2010:
1. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
2. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
3. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
4. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
5. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
6. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
7. Little Bee by Chris Cleave
8. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
9. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
10. Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese
11. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
12. Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls
13. Still Alice by Lisa Genova
14. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
15. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
16. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Relin
17. Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
18. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
19. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
20. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
21. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
22. South of Broad by Pat Conroy
23. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
24. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
25. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

* Titles our group has read are bolded

Spring 2011 Indie Film Series

2011-02-18T21:46:00.000-08:00

Monday & Tuesday
1 pm & 7 pm

Regal Cinemas Stadium 8
337 Placerville Drive

Made In Dagenham
Feb 28 & March 1

I Love You Phillip Morris
March 7 & 8

Somewhere
March 14 & 15

Blue Valentine
March 21 & 22

Biutiful
March 28 & 29

Another Year
April 4 & 5

Note: All films rated R

words are power

2011-02-12T19:35:00.000-08:00

I travel a lot, so when I arrive in a city, I like to go to good local bookshops and make a selection based on how I'm feeling and what I'm thinking. The book I pick usually seems to have a definite karmic connection! For instance, I recently hurt my knee because I fell on the street. But it didn't upset me, since the fall came just after reading this book, which is about rewiring our brains to heal ourselves. I started walking, and it wasn't difficult. Words are power. And a book is full of words. Be careful what power you get from it. But know that you do.
~ Yoko Ono

world's first book club

2011-02-12T11:37:00.001-08:00

Coming Up - The Girl Who Played with Fire

2011-02-12T11:05:00.000-08:00

"There are no innocents. There are, however, different degrees of responsibility."

"Don’t ever fight with Lisbeth Salander. Her attitude towards the rest of the world is that if someone threatens her with a gun, she’ll get a bigger gun."

"But she wished she had had the guts to go up to him and say hello. Or possibly break his legs, she wasn't sure which."

"There were not so many physical threats that could not be countered with a decent hammer."

"No matter how hard she tried to concentrate on something else, to pass the time and to distract her from the situation she was in, the fear came trickling out. It hovered like a cloud of gas around her, threatening to penetrate her pores and poison her."

Give 'Em Something to Talk About

2011-01-01T11:35:00.000-08:00

NPR's Lynn Neary has five books she's recommending for reading groups:

Parrot And Olivier In America by Peter Carey

Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Faithful Place by Tana French

The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman

Sunset Park by Paul Auster

Winter 2010-11 Indie List for Reading Groups

2010-12-02T14:18:00.000-08:00

The Top Ten

1. Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
2. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
3. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
4. Tinkers by Paul Harding
5. Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
6. A Happy Marriage by Rafael Yglesias
7. Taroko Gorge by Jacob Ritari
8. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
9. The Crying Tree by Naseem Rakha
10. In the Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White

Click here for the complete list of recommended books.

Save the date!

2010-11-20T11:55:00.000-08:00

Monday, December 20th at 7 p.m.

We're gathering at Carolyn's house to celebrate the holiday season and toast another year of reading together. Please bring a finger food type dish to share. Instead of a book exchange, we're going to 'adopt' a first grade class and bring books to add to the class library. Details to follow.

See you there!

BBC gets its groove back

2010-10-19T15:50:00.000-07:00

Hey there ladies of the BBC!

It's time to amp up our neighborhood book club as it seems attendance has been waning.

Our next gathering is at Priscilla's house on November 19th at 7 pm. We'll discuss two books: Little Bee and Mennonite in a Little Black Dress.

Priscilla has sold her home and we'll be toasting her new journey.

Let's see if we can get everyone together.

book club love

2010-10-05T10:31:00.000-07:00

"I am a huge fan of book clubs because it means people are reading and discussing books. Mix that with wine and carbs, and you can’t keep me away."
~ Lisa Scottoline

Fall 2010 Indie Film Series

2010-09-07T20:49:00.000-07:00

Monday & Tuesday
1 pm & 7 pm

Regal Cinemas Stadium 8
337 Placerville Drive

September 13 & 14 The Secret in Their Eyes

September 20 & 21 Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky

September 27 & 28 I Am Love

October 4 & 5 Winter’s Bone
[Adaptation of Daniel Woodrell's novel by the same title -- a BIG hit at the Sundance Film Festival]

October 11 & 12 Cyrus

October 18 & 19 Mic Macs

cheers

2010-08-20T08:50:00.000-07:00

This is not a joke.
There really is such a thing as
Eat, Pray, Love wine.
And it's only available for a limited time at World Market.
I'd say this book has been a commercial success.
Cheers!

Reading a Good Book

2010-08-13T10:59:00.001-07:00

Coming up - The Book Thief

2010-08-13T10:44:00.000-07:00

"I am haunted by humans."

Death, the last line of the novel

August 20th at Kathy's house.

The votes are in!

2010-07-21T09:36:00.000-07:00

Here are the five books we've just selected to read in the months to come:

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhonda Janzen

Gringo Nightmare: A Young American Framed for Murder in Nicaragua by Eric Volz

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larson

Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog: The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman by Lisa Scottoline

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

This Friday - Methland

2010-07-13T08:05:00.001-07:00

In addition to discussing Methland by N. Reding, we'll also select our next five books.
Refreshment theme: Keeping It Local!

See you Friday.

decisions, decisions

2010-06-25T15:42:00.000-07:00

Here are the books that have been suggested so far [deadline to Carolyn is July 2nd] for our next round of book selections. We're going to pick our next five books from this list at our July 16th gathering.

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

"Set in a land where long winters drive residents to unthinkable acts, this is the story of a wealthy Wisconsin foundry owner who gets more than he bargins for when he orders a mail-order bride. Determined to quickly change from new bride to wealthy widon, his wife is as surprised as the reader to discover the sexual intensity of this quiet man. Many secrets. Many lies. Very sensual."
-- Beth Golay, Watermark Books

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

"Sometimes, if you are very lucky, fate gives you a special friend. Denny's friend Enzo will stand by him through some of the best and worst times of his life, his faith in Denny bone deep. Enzo is a dog, a dog with a very old soul. Denny is a race car driver with natural talent, but sometimes life gets in the way of natural talent, and the road can have sharp bends. Suffused with humor, love, pain, and valor, this should be one of the year's best books!"
-- Dean Stonehouse, Sunriver Books

The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani

“It is a feat to bring off a serious, historical novel in which the history doesn't overwhelm the human story and the human tale simply uses the history as furniture. In this most impressive, captivating debut, Amirrezvani's novel of a young woman finding her way into life in 17th-century Iran does justice to both story and history.”
-- Rick Simonson, The Elliott Bay Book Company

Brick Lane by Monica Ali

After an arranged marriage to Chanu, a man twenty years older, Nazneen is taken to London, leaving her home and heart in the Bangladeshi village where she was born. Her new world is full of mysteries. How can she cross the road without being hit by a car (an operation akin to dodging raindrops in the monsoon)? What is the secret of her bullying neighbor Mrs. Islam? What is a Hell's Angel? And how must she comfort the naive and disillusioned Chanu?

As a good Muslim girl, Nazneen struggles to not question why things happen. She submits, as she must, to Fate and devotes herself to her husband and daughters. Yet to her amazement, she begins an affair with a handsome young radical, and her erotic awakening throws her old certainties into chaos.
-- IndieBound

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

"Ellis Lacey has no apparent future in rural Ireland, and with the help of a priest makes her way to a Catholic enclave in Brooklyn. Uncanny in its evocation of a young coming of age, and of a city coming of age, Brooklyn is at once interior and ironic, distanced and involving. Toibin, who is masterful here in his depiction of Brooklyn and Ireland circa 1950, and of such issues as self determination, love of country, love of family, and of course, sexual love. Perfect for book groups!"
-- Betsy Burton, The King's English

The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel by Amy Hempel

"Amy Hempel is a master of the short story. This celebrated volume gather together her complete work -- four short collections of stunning stories about marriages, minor disasters, and moments of revelation.

With her inimitabel compassion and wit, Hempel introduces characters who make choices that seem inevitable, and whose longings and misgivings evake eternal human experience."
-- IndieBound

Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande

"At once tough-minded and humane, Complications is a new kind of medical writing, nuanced and lucid, unafraid to confront the conflicts and uncertainties that lie at the heart of modern medicine, yet always alive to the possibilities of wisdom in this extraordinary endeavor.

None surpass Gawande in the ability to create a sense of immediacy, in his power to conjure the reality of the ward, the thrill of the moment-by-moment medical or surgical drama. Complications impresses for its truth and authenticity, virtues that it owes to its author being as much forceful writer as uncompromising character."
-—The New York Times Book Review

Earth Abides by George R Stewart

A disease of unparalleled destructive force has sprung up almost simultaneously in every corner of the globe, all but destroying the human race. One survivor, strangely immune to the effects of the epidemic, ventures forward to experience a world without man. What he ultimately discovers will prove far more astonishing than anything he'd either dreaded or hoped for.
-- IndieBound

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

“Anyone who read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo will not be disappointed in Stieg Larsson's latest. Lisbeth Salander, the brilliant -- and odd -- hacker, finds herself not only a murder suspect, but also a victim. With a plot that includes the sex trade in Sweden, this is a novel that will keep you up all night!”
-- Carol Katsoulis, Anderson's Bookshop

Gringo Nightmare: A Young American Framed for Murder in Nicaragua by Eric Volz

“A chilling tale of how political pressure and a rigged judicial process led to the conviction of an innocent man, and a powerful story of how one man’s faith in the truth, combined with grassroots pressure from people around the world who had never met Eric Volz, eventually helped to end an unjust imprisonment.”
---KC Johnson, coauthor of the New York Times bestselling Until Proven Innocent

Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman

"The author of such bestselling novels as "Seventh Heaven" and "Practical Magic" creates her most glorious fictional world to date in a spellbinding tale of love and obsession. After nearly 20 years of living in California, March Murray and her daughter Gwen return to March's small Massachusetts hometown. Thrust into the world of her past, March slowly comes to realize the complexity of the choices made by those around her, including Hollis, the boy she loved--now the man she can't seem to stay away from."
-- IndieBound

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

“This stunning and compassionate novel brings faraway places near and makes incredible experiences real. From London to Nigeria, you'll grip the book tightly in your hands and hold its characters close to your heart: a young girl, a tormented idealistic journalist, and a fearless mother whose fierce love is a wonder.”
-- Mark David Bradshaw, Watermark Books

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhonda Janzen

“Poet Rhoda Janzen has an intriguingly honest and witty way with language, and a personality and unique story to match. This insightful memoir is simultaneously humorous and touching -- a rare combination you certainly don't want to miss.”
-- Kerry Hartwick, The Velveteen Rabbit Bookshop

The Passage by Justin Cronin

“Justin Cronin's incredible imagination takes the reader on a ride that is engrossing, thought-provoking, terrifying and above all, immensely entertaining. A diverse and engaging cast of characters dot the landscape in this sweeping novel that is both fantastical science fiction and heartbreaking drama. An absolutely thrilling read, The Passage is destined to reach a huge audience and leave everyone wanting more.”
-- Tiffany Miner, Book People

The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama

On the eve of the Second World War, a young Chinese man is sent to his family's summer home in Japan to recover from tuberculosis. He will rest, swim in the salubrious sea, and paint in the brilliant shoreside light. It will be quiet and solitary. But he meets four local residents - a lovely young Japanese girl and three older people. What then ensues is a tale that readers will find at once classical yet utterly unique. Young Stephen has his own adventure, but it is the unfolding story of Matsu, Sachi, and Kenzo that seizes your attention and will stay with you forever. Tsukiyama, with lines as clean, simple, telling, and dazzling as the best of Oriental art, has created an exquisite little masterpiece.
-- GoodReads

Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog: The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman by Lisa Scottoline

“Scottoline shares her life over the course of a year in this insightful and humorous book, reflecting on family, aging in today's American culture, regrettable paint choices, electronic devices that think for us, education, haircuts, Thanksgiving, and the press. You'll be laughing out loud over her observations about life and the bizarre nature of things.”
-- Natalie Glenn, Red-Tail Books

Summer Indie Next List for Reading Groups

2010-06-10T14:18:00.000-07:00

Numero Uno

Here is the Top Ten List from the always excellent Indie Next guide for reading groups:

1. Little Bee by Chris Cleave

2. Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

3. The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran

4. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

5. Velva Jean Learns to Drive by Jennifer Niven

6. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

7. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

8. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

9. Driftless by David Rhodes

10. Jarrettsville by Cornelia Nixon

Dragon tattoos

2010-05-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

We, too, can be girls with dragon tattoos. Wheeee!
Get your tattoo at Barbara's house when we gather to discuss "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."

Fiction Paperback Bestsellers

2010-05-11T11:54:00.000-07:00

Paperback Fiction Bestsellers for May 6

From NPR via a compilation from a survey of indie bookstores across the nation:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Let the Great World Spin by Colum Mccan
A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barberry
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - the movie

2010-05-06T09:13:00.000-07:00

The Happiness Project

2010-04-21T10:11:00.000-07:00

New, thirty second ad for The Happiness Project:

Tonight - Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant

2010-04-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

Click here to go to Sarah Dunant's blog.

Eat, Pray, Love - the movie

2010-03-22T13:01:00.001-07:00

Hometown reaction to The Help

2010-03-04T11:45:00.000-08:00

CBS news anchor Katie Couric interviews members of a book club in Jackson, Mississippi.

Bookish Quote

2010-02-24T10:57:00.000-08:00

"I suggest that the only books that influence us are those for which we are ready, and which have gone a little farther down our particular path than we have yet got ourselves."
~ E. M. Forster

Book Giveaway Roundup

2010-02-19T10:31:00.000-08:00

Here's a sampling of current book giveaways offered on blogs:

Bibliofreak has a paperback copy of AMERICAN RUST. Ends Feb. 21st.

Nite Swimming is giving away two copies of WINTER GARDEN. Ends Feb. 25th.

So Many Precious Books, So Little Time also has a copy of AMERICAN RUST. Ends Feb. 28.

At Home With Books has POSTCARDS FROM A DEAD GIRL. Ends March 2nd.

Tales of Whimsy has two copies of THE THINGS THAT KEEP US HERE. Ends March 7th.

A Reader's Respite is offering a gently-used copy of LIT, Mary Karr's latest memoir. Ends March 17th.

Tonight - This I Believe

2010-02-19T10:14:00.001-08:00

What was your favorite essay? Least favorite? Were you inspired to write your own This I Believe statement?

See you tonight at Christi's house!

Book giveaway - Winter Garden

2010-02-11T11:52:00.000-08:00

Kristin Hannah has a new book out: Winter Garden. Hannah is the bestselling author of book club favorites Firefly Lane and True Colors.

To win a copy of Winter Garden go to nite swimming. Deadline for entry is February 25, 2010.

Video - This I Believe

2010-02-06T14:55:00.000-08:00

Indie film series begins Feb. 22

2010-02-02T10:04:00.000-08:00

Monday & Tuesday
1 pm & 7 pm

Regal Cinemas Stadium 8
337 Placerville Drive

February 22 & 23 - Precious*

March 1 & 2 - The Fantastic Mr. Fox

March 8 & 9 - The Messenger

March 15 & 16 - An Education*

March 22 & 23 - The Road

March 29 & 30 - Me and Orson Wells

April 5 & 6 - Young Victoria

April 12 & 13 - Nine

* Oscar nominee for Best Picture

food for thought

2010-01-17T09:54:00.001-08:00

All books reviews are basically the same, right? Not anymore. Check out this blog, food for thought dedicated to pictorial, edible reviews of books. The creativity of the participants is amazing.

Here's an example food for thought review for a book our group has read:

Read the review here. Enjoy!

Our next book - This I Believe

2010-01-15T21:54:00.000-08:00

“A welcome change from the sloganeering, political mudslinging and products of spin doctors.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer

“Reading this gives me a feeling about this country I rarely get: a very visceral sense of all the different kinds of people who are living together here, with crazily different backgrounds and experiences and dreams. Like a Norman Rockwell painting where all the people happen to be real people, and all the stories are true. It makes me feel hopeful about America, reading this. Hopeful in a way that’s in short supply lately.”—Ira Glass, Producer and Host of This American Life

7 p.m. on Friday, February 19 at Christi's house.

Reading Group Guides presents

2010-01-13T13:06:00.000-08:00

Reading Group Guides has compiled its Best of 2009 lists:

Twenty-five New Favorites

Twenty On-going Favorites

Twenty Enduring Favorites

USA Today Book of the Year

2009-12-24T10:13:00.000-08:00

USA Today names "The Help" as Book of the Year:

Why are we naming Kathryn Stockett's The Help USA TODAY's Book of the Year? Well, you can't stop reading until you've devoured the last word. Its characters jump off the page and into your heart. Most of all, The Help celebrates how kindness can forge bonds between women divided by race. And how can anyone resist the story of a debut novel — rejected by nearly 60 literary agents — that, through word of mouth, has sold more than 1 million copies in hardcover?

Source: Book of the Year: 'The Help' needed no assistance

Announcing our next six books

2009-12-18T10:31:00.000-08:00

The votes are in! Now we need to decide the order in which we'll read them:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town by Nick Reding

Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant

hits & misses

2009-12-14T16:19:00.000-08:00

These are the books we read in 2009. In reviewing the year, we discussed which books were our favorite and our least favorite. Here are the results:

Eat, Pray, Love
The Appeal :(
Infidel ♥ ♥
The Senator's Wife ♥ ♥
A Three Dog Life
Out Stealing Horses
Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen
Wonderful Tonight :( :( :( :(
The Tortilla Curtain :( :(
Loving Frank ♥
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World ♥

Video promo for The Happiness Project

2009-12-14T11:27:00.001-08:00

The nominees are...

2009-12-11T08:53:00.000-08:00

We'll select our next five books from the following list this Sunday at our holiday gathering:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Internal Affairs by Connie Dial

The Island by Victoria Hislop

The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows
of Josephine B by Sandra Gulland

The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards

Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town by Nick Reding

Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal by Julie Metz

Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant

The Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

crazy love

2009-11-21T10:25:00.000-08:00

We had a great discussion about the role of libraries in our lives and in our community when we met last night to discuss DEWEY - The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World. We also talked about our relationships with our cats and dogs. What we didn't talk about was the interesting relationships that sometimes develop between cats and other animals.

15 paperback favorites for book groups

2009-11-10T15:29:00.000-08:00

Since we're in the process of finding books to suggest for future BBC selections, this list of paperback favorites from Powell's is worth a look:

The Outlander by Gil Adamson

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore

In the Woods by Tana French

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami

What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng by Dave Eggers

A Mercy by Toni Morrison

Fall Indie Film Series - Part Two

2009-11-07T08:58:00.000-08:00

Monday & Tuesday
1 pm & 7 pm
Regal Cinemas Placerville Stadium 8
337 Placerville Drive, Placerville

Click on film title to view trailer

November 9 & 10 - The September Issue
Starring: Anna Wintour, Grace Coddington & André Leon Talley

November 16 & 17 - Adam
Starring: Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne & Peter Gallagher

November 30 & December 1 - Cold Souls
Starring: Paul Giamatti, David Strathairn & Emily Watson

December 7 & 8 - It Might Get Loud
Starring: The Edge, Jimmy Page & Jack White

Note: The film series rack cards (with the ticket discount) are available at these Main Street shops: Winterhill, Violets Are Blue and the Winesmith.

Mark your calendar

2009-11-06T11:53:00.000-08:00

Sunday, December 13th at 2 p.m.

Our newest member, Kathy Perin has kindly offered to host our holiday gathering. We'll review the books we've read this past year and select our next books. Also, don't forget to bring a wrapped book for the Holiday Book Exchange. See you there!

Our next book - Dewey - The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World

2009-10-16T22:36:00.000-07:00

“DEWEY is charming, lovely, and moving. It’s about life and death and small-town values and, above all, love.”
—Peter Gethers, author of The Cat Who Went to Paris

Ten Coolest Bookstores in America

2009-10-15T19:36:00.000-07:00

Oh, boy! Another list to peruse.

This time it's a list of the 10 Coolest Bookstores in the U.S.

So far, I've been to five of the ten:

City Lights

Powell’s Books

Kepler’s Books

Tattered Cover Bookstore

The Homer Bookstore (love this bookstore!)

Have plans to visit Strand Bookstore in NYC in a couple weeks. Excited!

Have you been to any of these cool bookstores? Know of one that should be added to this list?

Video - Book Club Dirty Little Secret #1

2009-10-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

Cute video for National Reading Group Month:

What an innovative way to get the word out to book clubs about a new book!

Video - Interview with Nancy Horan

2009-10-09T18:46:00.000-07:00

Great Group Reads

2009-09-28T17:36:00.000-07:00

It's time for the annual October celebration of reading groups, National Reading Group Month sponsored by the Women's National Book Association. One of the books we've recently read is on WNBA's list of Great Groups Reads 2009:

Appassionata by Eva Hoffman
The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist
The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë by Syrie James
The House on Fortune Street by Margot Livesey
Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal by Julie Metz
While I'm Falling by Laura Moriarty
Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
Cost by Roxana Robinson
Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie

Our next book - Loving Frank

2009-09-28T09:39:00.000-07:00

“Loving Frank is one of those novels that takes over your life. It’s mesmerizing and fascinating–filled with complex characters, deep passions, tactile descriptions of astonishing architecture, and the colorful immediacy of daily life a hundred years ago–all gathered into a story that unfolds with riveting urgency.”
–Lauren Belfer, author of City of Light

“This graceful, assured first novel tells the remarkable story of the long-lived affair between Frank Lloyd Wright, a passionate and impossible figure, and Mamah Cheney, a married woman whom Wright beguiled and led beyond the restraint of convention. It is engrossing, provocative reading.”
—Scott Turow

“It takes great courage to write a novel about historical people, and in particular to give voice to someone as mythic as Frank Lloyd Wright. This beautifully written novel about Mamah Cheney and Frank Lloyd Wright’s love affair is vivid and intelligent, unsentimental and compassionate.”
—Jane Hamilton

“I admire this novel, adore this novel, for so many reasons: The intelligence and lyricism of the prose. The attention to period detail. The epic proportions of this most fascinating love story. Mamah Cheney has been in my head and heart and soul since reading this book; I doubt she’ll ever leave.”
–Elizabeth Berg

Fall-Winter Reading Group Picks

2009-09-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

Here's the long awaited Fall/Winter 2010 Top Ten Reading Group picks from IndieBound:

1. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: A Novel by Jamie Ford

"In 1986, Henry Lee happens upon the Panama Hotel in Seattle, where discoveries in the basement bring back haunting memories of the 1940s. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet tells of family pride, innocence, young love, jazz clubs, and internment. This novel will delight all ages -- it's good for reading aloud and great for discussions." --Barbara Theroux, Fact & Fiction, Missoula, MT

2. Mudbound: A Novel by Hillary Jordan

"Set in 1940s Mississippi, Mudbound tells the story of how World War II becomes a catalyst for change for those living on a Delta farm. Racism weighs heavily in the story, but Jordan's respect for the complexities of the character's lives, and her pragmatic honesty, build empathy and hope in the reader. This winner of the Bellwether Prize will become a book group favorite." --Dianne Patrick, Snowbound Books, Marquette, MI

3. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

"The book discussion we had about Elizabeth Strout's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher in a little town in Maine, was one of the best we ever had. The reading group members were incredibly passionate about their love of the book and their love (and hatred) of Olive. We laughed and cried, and one member called us afterward and asked what we were going to read to get us that riled up again!" --Deb McDonald, Garden District Book Shop, New Orleans, LA

4. Still Alice: A Novel by Lisa Genova

"Still Alice tells the story of a 50-year-old Harvard psychology and linguistics professor in the year following diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer's disease. Her struggles with the effect on her work life, and her family's attempts to cope, are compelling and entirely believable. Genova's doctorate in neuroscience lets information flow naturally as part of a tender story, perfect for book groups." --Carla Jimenez, Inkwood Books, Tampa, FL

5. The Gift of Rain: A Novel by Tan Twan Eng

"This is a coming-of-age book set in one of the worst times and places to come of age -- Panang, an island off the Malay Peninsula, just before the start of WWII. Sixteen-year-old Philip Hutton is torn between destiny and duty, but how do you choose when duty to country, family, friends, and mentor conflict? This is a lyrical, thought-provoking novel filled with many layers of loss and love." --Ann Carlson, Harborwalk Books, Georgetown, SC

6. The Help: A Novel by Kathryn Stockett

"We've been telling our customers who are members of book groups to read this story of race-ridden, 1960s Jackson, Mississippi. Unforgettable characters live out a story that makes you rage against intolerance as you step into the lives of three Southern women who are committed to creating change." --Gail Wetta, Anderson's Bookshop, Naperville, IL

7. The Well and the Mine: A Novel by Gin Phillips

"Young Tess Moore watches as someone throws a baby into a well. This starts a remarkable adventure through 1930s Alabama, in which two girls try to find out whose baby died and the Moore family just tries to survive. This has been our favorite this year and elicited a great discussion on class, race, and family." --Mary McHale, Fox Tale Books, New Durham, NH

8. The Lace Reader: A Novel by Brunonia Barry

"The Lace Reader is a suspenseful intense read that thoughtfully mixes New England history and lore with the present. This is a one-sitting, must-discuss-afterward type of book!" --Angela Rodman, Third Street Books, McMinnville, OR

9. The Outlander: A Novel by Gil Adamson

"The Canadian Rockies, described with intensity, are the stage for an outlaw heroine's improbable ride from vengeance, both her own and that of her victim's kin. Thrilling in the way an imaginative page-turner should be, the story is nonetheless hooked upon the barbs of real events and real personalities." --Neil Strandberg, Tattered Cover Bookstore, Denver, CO

10. The Housekeeper and the Professor: A Novel by Yoko Ogawa

"A young, single mother is dispatched by her agency as the tenth housekeeper to try to meet the unusual demands of tending house for a mathematics professor who's suffered a serious brain injury. She not only manages to meet the challenge, but she discovers a beautiful new world for herself and her son through their unique relationship with this extraordinary man. A very tender and absolutely delightful story!" --Linda Findlay, University Book Store, Seattle, WA

For more reading group picks click here. (scroll down)

Author Chris Bohjalian on book clubs

2009-09-10T20:26:00.000-07:00

I am asked all the time whether serious books — the sorts of books a reading group is likely to read — are in serious trouble. And that is almost always the way the question is phrased. Serious books . . . serious trouble.

Sometimes, the prophets will trot out the specifics of gloom and doom: The end of leisure, and the way the Internet and the VCR have commandeered what little time a person has left to read; the statistics that show the paltry numbers of adults who ever buy books; or the figures that suggest the vast majority of us haven't the slightest idea what the insides of our local libraries looks like.

Yet the current renaissance in reading groups seems to me to be a wondrous indication that serious books are not in serious trouble at all. Book groups have reminded us all of a fact we try and teach our preschool and elementary school children all the time, but as grownups we all too often tend to forget: Reading is meant to be fun. It is capable of evoking from us the same conversational enthusiasm as movies and music and stage plays, if we only give the notion a chance.

See also: "The Book Club Hustlers" at The Daily Beast.

Our next book - The Tortilla Curtain

2009-08-23T09:40:00.000-07:00

"Succeeds in stealing the front page news and bringing it home to the great American tradition of the social novel."
—The Boston Globe

"A compelling story of myopic misunderstanding and mutual tragedy."
—Chicago Tribune

"Boyle is still America's most imaginative contemporary novelist."
—Newsweek

"The Tortilla Curtain qualifies as that rarest of artistic achievements--a truly necessary book."
—The San Diego Union-Tribune

Fall Indie Film Series

2009-08-22T11:30:00.000-07:00

Monday & Tuesday
1 pm & 7 pm
Regal Cinemas Placerville Stadium 8
337 Placerville Drive, Placerville

Click on film title to view trailer

Sept. 14 & 15 - Away We G o
Sept. 21 & 22 - Brothers Bloom
Sept. 28 & 29 - Food Inc.
Oct. 5 & 6 - Cheri
Oct. 12 & 13 - Moon
Oct. 19 & 20 - Hurt Locker

What's your favorite?

2009-08-18T22:05:00.001-07:00

In thinking about the songs and times revisited in "Wonderful Tonight," what's your favorite George Harrison or Eric Clapton song?

Coming up this Friday: Wonderful Tonight

2009-08-15T08:33:00.000-07:00

A trivia question to get us psyched and ready for our gathering this Friday at Carolyn's.

Who was best man at George Harrison and Pattie Boyd's wedding?

A. Ringo
B. Eric Clapton
C. Brian Epstein
D. Ravi Shankar
E. Paul

Best sixties outfit wins a prize!

[Answer: E. Paul McCartney.]

Book Club 101: Five Reading Tips

2009-07-31T00:20:00.000-07:00

Shelley Blanton-Stroud offers these tips to help uncage discussion about books at book club gatherings. First, though, is to actually read the book:

Look for places in the book where you are confused. Write down and bring questions about these passages to your group.
Look for places in the book where you love the way the author writes. Write down a favorite passage or two to share and discuss. Ask yourself why you love this.
Look for places in the book where you dislike the way the author writes. Write down one or two of these spots to share and discuss. Ask yourself why you hate this. What is the author trying to do? Why doesn't it work for you?
Look for places in the book where it connects to another book your group has read, or a book you have read that you would like to recommend to the group.
Look for places in the book where it connects to something happening in the real world today and sheds light on it.

Next BBC meeting is Friday, August 21st

2009-07-30T17:04:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for those early days of Rock and Roll?

We’ll be celebrating old Beatles tunes and a little Clapton while we discuss Wonderful Tonight at my house on Friday the 21st. Mark your calendar. Should be fun.

Carolyn

Our next book - Wonderful Tonight

2009-07-25T09:07:00.000-07:00

Fall-Winter schedule

2009-07-18T07:59:00.000-07:00

Our up-coming schedule:

Sept. @ Barbara's "The Tortilla Curtain"
Oct. @ Priscilla's "Loving Frank"
Nov. @ Sherry's "Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World"
Jan. @ Lynn's "Bitter is the New Black"
Feb. @ Christi's "This I Believe"
Mar. @ Kimberly's "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society"

The votes are in!

2009-07-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

Here are the next six books we'll be reading:

Loving Frank
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World
Bitter is the New Black
This I Believe
The Tortilla Curtain

All of these titles are available at the library. And all, except for "Bitter is the New Black," are also available in CD/audible format.

Two of our selections made the Top Book Group Favorites of 2008 list at Reading Group Choices.

A big thanks to everyone who provided suggestions.

Choosing our next books

2009-06-23T21:15:00.000-07:00

This Friday when we gather to talk about "Out Stealing Horses," we'll also select our next books. Here's the list of suggestions received so far:

The Tortilla Curtain
Olive Kitteridge
The Middle Place
Loving Frank
Moloka'i
Red Scarf
The Whistling Season
Marley and Me
This I Believe
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Truck, A Love Story
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World
Bitter is the New Black
White Oleander
The Secret Lives of the Kudzu Debutantes
Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived

Our next book - Out Stealing Horses

2009-05-17T20:47:00.001-07:00

Hope to see everyone when we meet to discuss "Out Stealing Horses" by Per Petterson on June 26th at Priscilla's house. We'll also be selecting our next six books at this gathering.

"He is watching the news. I don’t know when I last watched the news. I did not bring a television set out here with me, and I regret it sometimes when the evenings get long, but my idea was that living alone you can soon get stuck to those flickering images and to the chair you will sit on far into the night, and then time merely passes as you let others do the moving. I do not want that. I will keep myself company."

~ Per Petterson, Out Stealing Horses

Coming up this Friday: A Three Dog Life

2009-05-12T12:04:00.000-07:00

See you at Christi's house at 7 p.m.

"It's easy now - it's middle-aged lady, nobody's looking, nobody notices. I go without lipstick if I feel like it, and I always wear my comfy clothes. It's a life with fewer distractions, but should something beautiful show up, a middle-aged woman is free to stare."
— Abigail Thomas (A Three Dog Life)

Coming up this Friday: The Senator's Wife

2009-04-15T18:32:00.000-07:00

"Do you remember when everyone thought Bush Sr. had a mistress too?" he asks in the course of a Clinton era conversation. "But she was rumored to be someone wealthy and Waspy, of course... The problem here is the goddamn Democrats, who sleep down, you see. They love that white trash... And white trash loves publicity, so the Democrats are the ones who get into all the trouble. As opposed to the Republicans. They sleep up... Up, where all is Episcopalian and quiet as death itself, and no one ever has to hear a thing about it."
— Sue Miller (The Senator's Wife)

Bookstore tips

2009-02-28T16:00:00.000-08:00

We're five years old!

2009-02-20T21:20:00.001-08:00

Champagne flowed and we (all nine of us!) toasted to five years of neighborly book reading camaraderie.

We also discussed "The Appeal" by John Grisham. Overall, the book was favorably received, although everyone wished the ending would have been different.

Next up, "Infidel" at Jina's house on March 20th. See you there.

Our Top Three Books in 2008

2009-01-24T09:33:00.000-08:00

#1

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

#2

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin

and a tie between

#3

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

and

#3

There's a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell by Laurie Notaro

Great audiobook giveaways

2009-01-17T14:09:00.000-08:00

You can enter to win both of these audiobooks at Rhapsody in Books:

THE SURVIVORS CLUB (Unabridged)
By Ben Sherwood, read by the author
[Contest ends at midnight, January 22.]

THE GEOGRAPHY OF BLISS (Unabridged)
By Eric Weiner, read by the author
[Contest ends at midnight, January 24.]

Good luck!

Review - I See You Everywhere

2009-01-02T14:10:00.000-08:00

Barbara Stromberg's capsule review of "I See You Everywhere" by Julia Glass:

"I enjoyed the colorful picture the author painted with words as she alternated between the sisters who are the focus of the book. I felt she was even handed in the voice she gave each sister but the ending took me by surprise. Perhaps because I identified with one sister more than the other I failed to pay as much attention to the details of the other's life. I felt it reinforced that sibling rivalry is a waste of time we will come to regret if we indulge in it."

Julia Glass is the author of "Three Junes."

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T13:39:00.000-08:00

We will have our January BBC meeting at my house on Friday, January 16^th. We will be discussing “Eat, Pray, Love”. I hope everyone can attend.

I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of our household, “Houston”. Houston is a Christmas present from my daughter and son-in-law. I guess they thought our house was too quiet once they moved out ! Houston is an American Bull Dog puppy (21.4 pounds this last Monday). He was 11 weeks old Wednesday! You might want to stop by and meet Houston before he stops being my lapdog!

I hope to see you all in a couple of weeks (or before that evening). Please let me know if you can’t attend on 1/16.

Carolyn

Our books for 2009 (January - August)

2008-12-19T16:51:00.000-08:00

January - Eat, Pray, Love
February - The Appeal
March - Infidel

Here are the five books we selected that will pick up after March and take us through August:

The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller
Wonderful Tonight by Patty Boyd
Out Stealing Horses by Per Patterson
Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore
A Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas

We'll figure out the order in which we'll read these five books at Carolyn's in January. Thanks everyone for making such great suggestions and ultimately, tough choices.
Happy reading!

What were your faves in 2008?

2008-12-13T10:03:00.000-08:00

What were your favorite books read this past year? Book club picks and/or books you read on your own.

This may help us as we select our books for 2009.

Here's what we read in '08:

A Thousand Splendid Suns
There’s a Slight Chance I May be Going to Hell
Friday Night Knitting Club
Kabul Beauty School
Water for Elephants
Age of Innocence
The Lace Reader
Three Cups of Tea
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Cheers!

It's not going to be easy

2008-12-07T18:45:00.000-08:00

Here's a preview of the list we'll use a week from today to select our next five books. Click on the title for information about that book:

A Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore

Marley and Me by John Grogan

Matrimony by Joshua Henkin

Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived by Ralph Helfer

No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July

Out Stealing Horses by Per Patterson

Run by Ann Patchett

The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Secret Lives of the Kudzu Debutantes by Cathy Holton

The Senator’s Wife by Sue Miller

White Oleander by Janet Fitch

Wonderful Tonight by Patty Boyd

Bedford Book Club

guerrilla reading

Mmmm...tasty

mysterious ways

There must be 14 ways ...

winter reading

The New Yorker's favorite books from 2011

NPR's Best Books of 2011

Christmas Gathering

Case Histories

Book Trailer Spotlight

November's Book

October is National Reading Group Month

New Girl with Dragon Tattoo Trailer

The Paris Wife - interview with author

October's book

Fall Indie Film Series

September - trying something new

The Help (trailer)

We loved the book

Poolside in July

Coming up next - Half Broke Horses

Special election

Water for Elephants - the film

Going Graphic

Choosing our summer reading

This Friday - A Reliable Wife

Top 25 Most Popular Group Picks 2010

Spring 2011 Indie Film Series

words are power

world's first book club

Coming Up - The Girl Who Played with Fire

Give 'Em Something to Talk About

Winter 2010-11 Indie List for Reading Groups

Save the date!

BBC gets its groove back

book club love

Fall 2010 Indie Film Series

cheers

Reading a Good Book

Coming up - The Book Thief

The votes are in!

This Friday - Methland

decisions, decisions

Summer Indie Next List for Reading Groups

Dragon tattoos

Fiction Paperback Bestsellers

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - the movie

The Happiness Project

Tonight - Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant

Eat, Pray, Love - the movie

Hometown reaction to The Help

Bookish Quote

Book Giveaway Roundup

Tonight - This I Believe

Book giveaway - Winter Garden

Video - This I Believe

Indie film series begins Feb. 22

food for thought

Our next book - This I Believe

Reading Group Guides presents

USA Today Book of the Year

Announcing our next six books

hits & misses

Video promo for The Happiness Project

The nominees are...

crazy love

15 paperback favorites for book groups

Fall Indie Film Series - Part Two

Mark your calendar

Our next book - Dewey - The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World

Ten Coolest Bookstores in America

Video - Book Club Dirty Little Secret #1

Video - Interview with Nancy Horan

Great Group Reads

Our next book - Loving Frank

Fall-Winter Reading Group Picks

Author Chris Bohjalian on book clubs

Top picks for reading groups

Our next book - The Tortilla Curtain