Melissa's adventures

Picture 1: riding in a boat on the Ganges. It looks so comfy!

Picture 2: riding a camel in India

She also was teaching English to some Buddhist monks.

What an Adventure...

Cops?

November was another fun meeting with lots of book titles bandied about.  The topic for this month was cops, but it was really more of a guideline.

Through the Door by Jodi McIsaac
The Art of Detection by Laurie R. King
Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner
Burnt Mountain by Anne Rivers Siddons
The Geneva Trap by Stella Rimington
Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple
Started Early Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson
The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons
Finding Casey by JoAnn Mapson
The Passage and The Twelve by Justin Cronin
Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him by Luis Carlos Montalvan
The Ideal Man by Julie Garwood
The Space Between Before and After by Jean Reynolds Page
The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Adler
The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen
Gone by Lisa Gardener
A Wanted Man by Lee Child
Summer at Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs
Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
books by Margaret Truman
The Troubled Man by Henning Mankell
The Shadow Girls by Henning Mankell and Ebba Segerberg

Happy Reading!

With September Comes Change

Our theme this month was change and we discovered that every book contains some form of change because that is what drives plot forward.  Since the original intent of book club was to reach outside our comfort zone to find reading material I think this month was a wonderful chance to explore. 

Our little group has undergone lots of change since we started.  It used to be me, talking to my friends about books, then convincing them to take time to come to my house and talk some more about books, and finally us cajoling each other into trying something new.  One friend in particular required some convincing to even participate.  She kept saying things like “I don’t have time to read,” and “But I read so slowly that I wouldn’t have anything to talk about.”  That person proudly shared 5 titles with us this meeting that she read in the past month.

Another friend will begin a journey soon that will take her away from us and her normal day-to-day life for 6 months.  I can’t help but think this journey will change her life, maybe in only small ways, maybe in very large ways. We will miss her creativity, insight and humor until she comes back and we wish her well.

Our membership has changed over time and our group dynamic has as well.  As we share not only our reading recommendations but also our thoughts, feelings, experiences and knowledge, we build relationships within the group.  We find friends to spend time with, we find kindred spirits to share ideas with, and we support each other in small and very large ways.

Here’s what we discussed: (in alphabetical order by title so as not to show favoritism)

Title	Author
11/22/1963: A Novel	Stephen King
Around the World in 80 Dates	Jennifer Cox
Going After Cacciato	Tim O'Brien
Gun Games	Faye Kellerman
Present Danger	Stella Rimington
Ruth's Redemption	Marlene Banks
She's Such A Geek! women write about science, technology & other nerdy stuff	Annalee Newitz and Charlie Anders
Something Fierce	Carmen Aguirre
Started Early, Took My Dog	Kate Atkinson
The 19th Wife	David Ebershoff
The Brass Verdict	Michael Connelly
The Chocolate Thief	Laura Florand
The House at Tyneford	Natasha Solomons
The Kingdom of Men	Kim Barnes
The Notebook	Nicholas Sparks
The Slave Across the Street	Theresa Flores and Peggy Sue Wells
The Things They Carried	Tim O'Brien
The Wedding	Nicholas Sparks
Until Tuesday: A Wounded Warrior and the Golden Retriever Who Saved Him	Luis Carlos Montalvan
What in God's Name	Simon Rich
What is the What	Dave Eggers
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail	Cheryl Strayed
Witch and Wizard	James Patterson
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War	Max Brooks

Fifty Shades, Yellow Silk and “Give me back my wiener!”

We had a great time at our annual summer barbeque and the theme for August was once again “hot” summer reads.  Thanks go to our wonderful hosts for a rollicking good time (and to their indulgent neighbors who did not call the police).  Here’s what we read:

The Ladies of Missalonghi by Colleen McCollough

Around the World in 80 Dates by Jennifer Cox

True Believer by Nicholas Sparks

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

In One Person by John Irving

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

The Infinite Tides by Christian Kiefer

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

The Saint of Lost Things by Christopher Castellani

The Night Villa by Carol Goodman

Friends Lovers Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith

get in line to buy this book

Wilderness by Lance Weller

I have read hundreds of books.  I read while I eat, I listen to books while I drive, I sleep with the light on so if I wake up in the middle of the night I can read some more.  I love to read.  I am usually in a hurry when I read because there are so many books waiting to be read (and so much of real life demanding my attention).  That kind of reading works well for ordinary books, but Wilderness is no ordinary book.  It is a work of art made of words.  I was drawn gently into the story with its rich images and complex characters.  I refuse to discuss or disclose plot because every description I have read falls short and I wish everyone could experience the book the way I did, completely without warning.  Like so many of my favorite books, the story builds slowly with seemingly unrelated threads forming a pattern of   relationships.  The story has a unique rhythm that is best enjoyed by completely immersing yourself in it.  With each chapter I thought wow, it just can’t get better than this, and then it did.  I hope you have the same experience I did, when I closed the back cover I immediately opened the front cover to read it again. 

http://www.bloomsbury.com/Wilderness/Lance-Weller/books/details/9781408829202

http://www.amazon.com/Wilderness-A-Novel-Lance-Weller/dp/1608199371

notes from February

The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon
The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark
Riding the Bus with my Sister by Rachel Simon
Sizzle by Julie Garwood
books by Carly Phillips
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink
Love the One You're With by Emily Griffin
I Like You by Amy Sedaris
Little Bee by Chris Cleave

You were right, I was wrong. Thank you.

Our theme for the April meeting will be Biography. I hate biographies and I made this very clear at January's meeting. I have tried to read several and hated every one of them. I whined and complained and wanted to change the theme. But no, you all wouldn't let me out of it. Instead you recommended Unbearable Lightness by Portia DeRossi.

I am so glad that peer pressure made me read this book. It was difficult to read, but even more difficult to put down. It was one of those books that made me wish my insomnia was back so I could spend more time reading it. With most books, even biographies and memoirs that I have read in the past, there is a separation between the author and the reader. I get to know the characters, and the author professionally, rather than the author as a human being. That's why I usually like audio books better than print books because I like the feeling of someone telling me a story. While reading the print version of this book I felt like Portia was right there with me and talking to me. I was constantly surprised each time I closed the book to find myself back in my own life.

Thank you dear friends for pushing me outside my comfort zone, and thank you Portia for writing this book. You have given readers the very special gift of sharing a part of yourself, and nothing could ever be more valuable.