August 19th Meeting

This month we had a very interesting meeting. Our book was The Ice Man by Philip Carlo. It was a biography of a contract killer for the Mafia who happened to be a serial killer as well. It seems that most of us approached this book with some trepidation, feeling that we wouldn't like it at best and "wouldn't be able to read it" at worst. However, everyone, I am pleased to say, read the book and we had a very spirited conversation about it. We touched on several subjects besides the actual content of the book. We discussed the Nature vs Nurture argument. We talked about spousal abuse and why it happens and why some women allow it. We also discussed how the psychopathic mind works and how we ( so called ) normal people cannot begin to understand the "Why" of their actions. The whole exercise was a great reminder of how reading different books can open your mind to new ideas and experiences and are always an education of some degree. All in all a good meeting. Looking forward to a complete change of pace with our next selection, "The Book of Negroes. Enjoy ladies!!!!!!
On a sadder note I must mention that we have lost one of our members. Do to travel and time restraints Joyce will be leaving our club. She just can't commit to our monthly meetings. Although we all understand her decision we will miss having her.

For our July meeting we discussed a book that is very popular at the moment, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Two of our members were missing last night, but the six present unanimously agreed that it was well worth reading. The consensus of opinion was that it was both humorous and touching and gave a different perspective to the horror of WWII. Some of the readers had a bit of a problem adjusting to the format. The book is presented as a group of letters being exchanged between various characters and never deviates from that premise. All agreed though that once they got used to the format they quite enjoyed it. It was a perfect summer read. Next month we will be taking a very different path as we explore the world of a renowned "Hit Man". Should be interesting.

June 17th Meeting

Last night we had our monthly meeting of the club, hosted by Verna. We started by settling up some business regarding dates, lists of hostess's and genre's of books. We also had a quick computer update concerning the Blog. We have added two new genre's to our list. They will be Spiritual, suggested by Janet and Self-development, suggested by Debbie. This and other information will be posted on the Blog shortly.
Unfortunately several of our members had not read this months entry, Death in Holy Orders, citing reasons from lack of time to lack of interest in this particular book. It was disappointing as it eliminated them from any discussion about the book. However those that did read the book all seemed to enjoy it and a fairly lively discussion on it was had by those members. On a personal note, I was happy to be re-introduced to the Mystery novel and intend to read more by this author and others of her ilk.
Our upcoming book, selected by Pat, sounds like a perfect Summer read. We will be reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Until next month, Enjoy!

May 20th Meeting

This month we met at Fran's home to discuss our book, A Thousand Splendid Suns. It was the second time we had "visited" this area of the world through our books. We had a lively discussion that ranged from opinions on the various cultural differences we noticed, to woman's rights both here and throughout the world. We even touched on the effects, both good and bad that religion has had on society throughout the ages. For most of us this was the second book we have read by Khaled Hosseini. Most of us had read the Kite Runner and it was a split as to who enjoyed which book most. We look forward to a complete change of pace with our Mystery next month. Enjoy everyone!

April 15th Meeting

After a winter when most of us traveled part of the time, it was nice to get together with everyone again and discuss our latest book. Everyone seemed to enjoy The Lady and the Unicorn. There was some lively discussion as to whether the lead character Nicolas was a total jerk or not. It was certainly a perfect book for a woman's Book Club. I think we are all looking forward to our next meeting.

Feb. 18, 2009 Meeting

Well, another good meeting of the club. Again we were short a couple of members due to the pull of sunny southern weather. A couple of our members had returned while a couple of others were away. The reviews for our latest book, A Tale of Two Cities, were mixed. All in all it seems that everyone felt that it was a great book but some members had a little trouble getting through it. The language was perhaps a little intimidating. Hopefully those that enjoyed it and those who didn't quite as much, will give it another try down the road. Sometimes a second or third reading of a book can cause a greater reaction.
We will be taking a break for the month of March as we have too many members away. We will resume again in April when we will discuss The Lady and the Unicorn. Until then....

Jan. 21, 2009 Meeting.

Last night we had another good meeting of our club. Unfortunately we were missing a few members who were away enjoying the sun in Florida. Still the five of us present were able to have a good discussion about Three Cups of Tea. Everyone seemed to enjoy the book to varying degrees. All agreed it was an incredible story and very current considering the War in Afghanistan. We all learned a little about geography, the culture of the people and had a little more insight into Islam. Now it is on to our Classic, A Tale of Two Cities. Hopefully everyone will get something out of that novel as well.