New Book! Yay, isn't it about time??

Well after all this time, it has been decided that we are now going to read "These is My Words" by Nancy Turner. It has been recommended to me by several people and I am now about 75% of the way through.

I can't say anymore right now other than read it asap! Also, it has a sequel! Yay!

I'm done (already)...Watch out for spoilers!!!

I read "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" in one day and I am so excited to discuss it with all of you! If you haven't read it yet BEWARE! there are spoilers in this post.

The letters drew me in to Juliet's life in a way that make me feel like I was there, or better yet like I was Juliet. I want to go to Guernsey, I want to meet her friends!

Here's a picture of the Chapel made from broken china that Dawsey took Juliet to when she first arrived.

The book is filled with so many insights into WWII that I never even knew about. I learned so much while reading this book and I didn't even feel like I was actually learning! I love that when a book can do that, it makes reading so much more fun.

The characters trulycame off the page for me, only I had pictured Dawsey as an old man so I was a little thrown at first, oh well. I loved the little romances that were a part of Juliet's life. I think Englands postal system must be better than ours becuase Juliet and Mark exchanged letters 2-3 times a day! He was so cocky, I'm glad she saw through him :). And I was devastated with what happened to Elizabeth, I had been looking forward to meeting her through the whole first half of the book. Isola was a crack up, what with her Science of Phrenology (hehehe). She would be glad to know how she saved the day!

Doesn't this look like the place where Juliet took Kit and they played on the tombstones?

Overall, this was such a warm, sunny book I would reccommend it to all I know!

June's Book

The book for the month of June is one I've been super excited to read! It is called "The Guernsey Lieterary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. I started reading it last night and I can't put it down. It is not like any other book we have read so far... pick it up and see why.

The society is formed on the tiny Island of Geurnsey during the German occupation of WWII. The book is funny, romantic and delightful! I'm sure you'll love it, read on...

"The Good Earth" discussion

In the book there are a few of the characters that stand out in my mind. The first one being O-lan, Wang Lung's wife. She seems to be akin to Superman. O-lan comes to his home and takes charge of everything. She assumes her role as woman of the family and cooks, cleans, bears children and works in the fields by the side of her husband. She even gives birth alone, and that very same day is out in the field again. Women in this time period were a lesser part of life and I am amazed by the quiet way in which O-lan accepted her life. She was never one to complain, she lived in the here and now; begging when it needed to be done, grabbing a handful of jewels at the opportune moment, and taking care of the old man as well as the entire family. She put up with her husbands whim of finding "another woman" and only put her foot down to actually making Lotus' meals. I was glad to see her stand up like that. On that one point she was ever firm. I truly felt sorry for her, she sacrificed so much and her husband never appreciated her. He even took the two pearls that were her only treasure to give to Lotus.
The second person who stands out to me is the neighbor Ching. He was there from the begining, at the wedding "feast". He is considered by Wang Lung to be a friend, but during the time of famine Ching, stirred by the uncles rumors of hidden wealth, is among those who come to Wang Lung's home and rob them. Later, Ching feels remorse for his actions and while the family are on their way to the southern citiy Ching gives them a handful of beans. This handful of beans is the only thing between them and death. When Wang Lung's family return from the south to the fields once again, Wang Lung remembers the kindness of his friend and hires Ching to work on his land. Ching is ever faithful, he proves his worth time and again as he watches over land and workers alike as well as find a wife for the second son.
Take time to comment on the characters or scenes you thought were enjoyable from this good book. :)

The Good Earth

Our new book will be "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck. I haven't read this book since I was a teenager, so I am kind of excited to read it again with a mature perspective. (if you can consider me mature LOL!)

It has been on many book club lists and I am hoping it will be a fun discussion when we're done. Happy reading HOT MAMA'S :) !

This month's book was so fun! It was an inspiring story of triumph over incredible odds. Brad Cohen has shown us how to never, ever give up, no matter what!
This time I think we should all contribute the quote that touched us the most as we read this book. Just add yours to the comments. That will make a wonderful tribute to a wonderful book.
"My life with Tourette's has made me realize that everyonehas a "thing" that haunts them in some way. It might be prejudice or chronic illness. It might be physical limitaions or life circumstances or ego or pride or jealousy or hate, but everyone has their thing. When we can control the thing, we feel empowered and optimistic. But when the thing wins, we trave the road to despair. The key is to find a road that leads around your particular limitation, a road that maybe had more bends in it but gets you to the same point in the end."
This is an amazing story of a man who won out against a major "thing". If he can find a way to do that with so much success, imagine the things you and I could do. Wow!!

Here's what I decided...

I have decided that since we had so many fun suggestions for our last poll, we are just going to read them all... one at a time of course :). We are moving on to "Front of the Class" by Brad Cohen and Lisa Wysocky. It has GREAT reviews and I am super excited to read it!! Check it out on amazon.com... Happy reading, hot mamas!!

Brad wrote "Front of the Class" as an inspriational story about the underdog defying the odds. The story begins with Brad as a young child learning he has Tourette Syndrome to the end where he becomes the teacher he never had.

"This book provides a genuine and heartfelt message of hope in the face of a potentially devastating disorder." Neal Adams, MD, MPH

Discussion for "The Goose Girl"

Okay, this time we are going to try something new, just to mix things up a bit. There are two questions I have found that should help facillitate a great discussion.

The first one is...

We are going to discuss how appearance and prejudice helps or hinders Ani in her quest for justice and her title. For example, what does Gilsa know about Ani by her appearance alone?

What does Geric assume?

Why do you think people make assumptions based on apperance alone?

The second one to think about and discuss is...

Although Ani has the gift of animal speak, she is forced to hide it from others. How would her life have been different in Kildenree had this been a valued gift in her own kingdom? Have you ever known someone who hid their gifts? Can we always reveal all our talents all the time? Why or why not?

And don't forget to read the next two books in the Bayern Series... (and another on is coming out this fall, yay!)

Our next book!

We will be reading one of my favorite books of all time! "The Goose Girl" by Shannon Hale is a wonderful romantic, adventurous, keep you on the edge of your seat kind of a book. I am going to read it again along with everyone so the story will be fresh in my mind when I post my comments.

Enjoy!

Here they are!

Thanks to all those who suggested books for our next vote! Here they are, you can vote on the left. Again, to read a little bit more about each of them, go to amazon.com and look them up, it will give a brief synopsis of the book as well as some ratings.