Here are the books we read in 2012:

Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly

Tears of Hope by Amy Rilley

Unbroken by Laura Hildebrand

Midwives by Chris Bohjahian

All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot

Sarah: A Woman of Genesis by Orson Scott Card

The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig

As Sisters in Zion by Debbie Christensen

Christmas Jars Reunion by Jason F. Wright

The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio by Terry Ryan

The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

The Hobbit by JR Tolkien

For the new year this January we are reading the Scarlet Pimpernel by Barness Emma Orczy, a classic read.  Kendall will be reviewing the book and I'll come up with some yummy treats for us to eat.  Don't forget, we will not be meeting on our usual first Tuesday, as that will be New Year's Day, but will meet the following Tues at 7.  See you all there!

Here is the upcoming schedule-
February will be chosen by Megan
March will be chosen by Elizabeth
April will be chosen by Sue

Happy reading!

Hello Ladies! First I am sorry that I am not better at updating this as regularly as I should...but I will try to do better at getting this updated promptly.
For the Month of November we will be reviewing Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, but Jamie Ford.  We'll be meeting the same time, same place on Nov 6th. In December I will be hosting and I have picked on of my childhood favorites- The Hobbit, by J.R. Tolkin.  It was a book that I was introduced to by my father long before I could read.  I hope you all enjoy!

Our next meeting will be August 7th.  We will be reviewing "As Sister's in Zion." by Debbie Christensen, chosen by Sue Hansen.  We'll see you all there.

February Book - Unbroken

The book for February is Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand chosen by Mary Alice. Hillenbrand is also the author of Seabisuit. Unbroken is about a World War II survivor.

January Book - Tears of Hope

In January we read Tears of Hope by Aimmee Riley chosen by Joyce. We were fortunate to have her attend our book club meeting when we reviewed her book. She is an amazing women. We are thankful for her strength, courage, and ability to teach through her adversities and triumphs. She is currently revising and adding to her book. We look forward to her new addition.

Read fast, and pass it on!

Joyce has been so kind as to purchase a few copies of this month's book (A Widow's Story) since it was not available at the library.  So, if you have a copy of the book, please don't delay your reading of it so that it can be passed to someone else in the group quickly.  We want as many people as possible to read it before our discussion.

Book for January

This is from Tanya:

For January's discussion - I would like everyone to knock off as much as they can of Jesus the Christ starting at the beginning but we will cover for our discussion - Chaps 1 - 17. (through page 232). I realize that it's a lot more difficult reading and we have an abbreviated discussion time. After reviewing the book tonight, I just had the impression that there was a reason James Talmage started where he did with the story and that we would be a disservice to some if we didn't start at the beginning. Then, with our whistles wet, if someone wants to continue and finish it on their own time, they will not have to go back and piece some of it back in front of where we started.

Who chooses the book next?

This is an updated list (4/11/2011) of the order in which we choose the book for the month. If you have a conflict for the month when it's your turn, call Keri and see if you can switch with someone.

Keri
Elizabeth
Sue
Jonna
Joyce
Mary Alice
Marie
Kendall
Cyntha

Book for October

Hi ladies! There are several copies of "Embraced by the Light" at the library. We switched the order this month and Keri will be leading the discussion since Daneen is swamped with her move, etc.

Book for August

Hi all! Marie can't post to the blog yet, so asked me to add her book choice for next month. The book is Journey of a Thousand Miles: My Story, by Lang Lang, David Ritz.

My Take on Our Trip

Well, I updated my blog with our trip. If you want to read what I wrote, click here.

Book for May

Okay, so after much indecision, I've finally decided on a book. Because of language, "The Glass Castle" has been nixed. It's a good book, though. I would highly recommend it on your own time. "The Little Princess" is one of my all time favorites, and I was surprised that so many of you hadn't read it. Yes, it is a children's book but it is wonderful. So, I would recommend that one also! I was thinking about a couple of others, but I finally settled on "A Lantern in Her Hand." It's an inspiring book and I think it will provide some good discussion. Not a difficult read. I might save that one for next time. :)

When is it my turn to choose the book?

I thought this would be helpful to have posted on the blog. Mostly for my benefit, but others of you may find it helpful, too. Keri and Tanya are in charge of this show, so if you need to make changes when it's your turn to choose the book talk to one of them. I just post the info. :)

Tanya
Keri
Elizabeth
Missy
Sue
Kelly
Jonna
Joyce
Mary Alice
Marie
Daneen

My Sister's Keeper

Hi all! I just finished a good book that I think most of you would enjoy. (Even the fiction haters!) It's called My Sister's Keeper, and it's by Jodi Picoult. It's well written and raises some interesting moral questions in regards to genetic engineering, medical treatment, etc. It also illustrates the stress placed on family members when a child has a chronic illness like cancer. It's got some language, etc. so I wouldn't choose it as an official book club discussion book, but it's still pretty good. Check it out!

The Top 100 List

Have any of you actually used one of those lists to help you decide what you want to read next? I looked at one recently and I could only count less than forty that I had actually, legitimately read from start to finish.

Crime and Punishment is always on the list and I have read half the book, so I never give myself credit for it. Anyways, I went through a list this week and decided to check a couple of them out at the library. I want to get above 50.

From my friend Shanna's post...

But my x's

Where do you fall in the list? The BBC believes most people will have read only 6 of the 100 books here.
Copy this into your NOTES. Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read. Tag other book nerds.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen X
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien X
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling X
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee X
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte X
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell X
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens X

Total: 8 (woo hoo, I am doing good. 8 out of 10, impressive right?)

11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott X
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller X
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier (This is the one I checked out at the library)
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien X
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger X (seriously, why is this book on this list...lame!!!)
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (I requested this one, but since it is coming out as a movie, I should get it by the time my twins turn one)
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot

Total: 4
Total so far: 12

21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell X
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald X
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

Total: 2
Total so far: 14 (Okay, many of those books I have read the beginning and then got distracted)

31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens X
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma-Jane Austen X
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen X
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis X (isn't this repetitive with #33)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini X (thank you Sunset Book Club...I feel smart)
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne

Total: 5
Total so far: 19

41 Animal Farm - George Orwell X
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown X
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery X
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding X
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan

Total: 4
Total so far: 23

51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel X (book club in two months!!)
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen X
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens X
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Total: 3
Total so far: 26

61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck X
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas X
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy X (this is a depressingly stupid book...why is it on here?)
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville

Total: 3
Total so far: 29

71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Inferno – Dante (I have tried, it is just not for me...I read a book about this book, does that count?)
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray X
80 Possession - AS Byatt

Total: 1
Total so far: 30

81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens X
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker X
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistr
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White X
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton

Total: 3
Total so far: 33

91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams X
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute X (book club...book club!!!)
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare (how can you have the complete works of Shakespeare, and then this one. It is double dipping!)
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl X
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo X

Total 4
Grand Total: 37

I have some work to do. What about you? How many have you read? Marie?

Book for August/September

Just a little more information about Echo's book for next month. The full title is Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, and the author is Immaculee Ilibagiza.

"SHHHHhhhhhpstplopP!(stuck, sucking sound) Oh my goodness - that was a tight squeeze! But LOOK! I made it! I'm in! *looks around* Uh --- where am I and how did I get in here??!!

What we've read...

I thought it would be helpful to have a list of books we've read that we can easily refer to. Hopefully this is accurate.

2011:
Jesus the Christ by James Talmage
Follow the River by James Alexander Thom
Cheaper By the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth Jr.
A Widow's Story by Joyce Carol Oates
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
The Host by Stephenie Myers
Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
Mary, Martha, and Me: Seeking the One Thing ... Needful by Camille Olson
Sounder by William Armstrong

2010:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Recovering Charles by Jason Wright
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich
The Color of Water by James McBride
No Apology by Mitt Romney
Vienna Prelude by Brock & Bodie Thoene
Journey of a Thousand Miles: My Story by Lang Lang and David Ritz
Embraced By the Light by Betty Eadie
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
Little Britches by Ralph Moody

2009:
The Holy Secret by James L. Ferrell
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Other Side of Heaven by John Groberg
The Moroni Code by Jack Lyon
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Immaculee Ilibagiza
The Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
Candle in the Darkness by Lynn Austin



2008:
Charms for the Easy Life by Kaye Gibbons
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
Go Forward with Faith: The Biography of Gordon B. Hinckley by Sheri Dew
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen
Nothing Like it in the World by Stephen Ambrose
Princess— A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia by Jean Sasson
Zamba by Ralph Helfer
All Over but the Shoutin' by Rick Bragg
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
A Sacred Duty by Ester Rasband & Richard Wilkins
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

2007:
Fire in the Bones by S. Michael Wilcox
Let’s Roll by Lisa Beamer
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
The Pearl by John Steinbeck
A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute
A Train to Potevka by Mike Ramsdell
I am a Mother by Jayne Clayson Johnson
A Heart Like His by Virginia Hinckley Pearce
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Earth in the Beginning by Eric Skousen
The Wednesday Letters by Jason Wright

2006:
These is My Words by Nancy Turner
Eve and the Choice Made in Eden by Beverly Cambell
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
The Peacegiver by James L. Ferrell
Miracle at Philadelphia by Catherine Drinker Bowen
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Deadly Persuasion by Jean Kilbourne (paperback title Can’t Buy My Love same author)

Fablehaven

I thought I would share a new book series I really like.

My sister recommended this book to me. This is the first of four books. I am not sure how many more will be in the series, but it is fun to read. It is a children's book a lot like Harry Potter. There are magical creatures and fun adventures. It is an easy read, but well worth your time. It is probably meant for kids at least 7 years old, maybe a little older than that.

Happy reading!