Nothing says "Happy Holidays" like...

... a Book Exchange!  and a Dystopian Adolescent Lit novel!  Thank you, Jenny Buckley, for hosting a really fun and festive December book club.  Your hospitality and your spread  was delightful (especially the sandwiches!).  For those of you who missed it- here are some highlights:

Critics and Book-clubbers agree- Delirium was a delicious read.  Boy, did it deliver!

I know, I know...such a cheesy way to start, but the "del-" jokes were constant at December's book club.  But so was the chatter.  The book is a Hunger Games-esque, dystopian, romantic, coming-of-age adolescent novel, and it seemed to satisfy most everyone.  Most of us read it, and most of us liked it.  

The book's themes (conformity, independence & love) , and characters (Lena & Alex) and plot (surprising twists and believable roller-coaster moments) gave us plenty to discuss.  Even though the setting takes place in the future or near-future and in an unrecognizable not-so-democratic United States, the book is so believable and so good.  It captures the adolescent experiences of being betrayed by friends, falling in love, dealing with miserable grown-ups, and learning tough lessons and which risks to take. We've all been there, so it was such a fun book to share with each other.  

We also had our book exchange.  Books of various sizes, topics, and genres were wrapped up.  We drew numbers and took our turns.  Each of us took home a different book than we brought, and we will discuss these books at Jodi's house on Jan. 12.  Hope to see you then!

Happy New Year, everyone!

amy


p.s.  The February book club book is Cutting for Stone.  Some of us might need a head start to finish that one in time!  Just thinking ahead...

Relentless by Dean Koontz

Our November book club was WAY down south of the river at Michelle's house in Rosemount. She had an unbelievable spread and plenty of wine. Jodi, Andi, Amy Horton, Amy Stenson, and Jenny all made it for snacks and discussion.






The book discussed was Dean Koontz's Relentless. While it was a page turned, and a times creepy enough that Amy S. couldn't even finish it, we all agreed the ending was a cheap way to end the conflict. Salt-shakers that aren't salt shakers, a tele-porting dog, the Maserati monster, and Zazu all left us shaking our heads and wondering what happened to storyline that had us so scared in the middle of the book.


Next month we're back down in Rosemount at Jenny's house. We'll be discussing the book Delirium by Lauren Oliver (book trailer below) and participating in our first ever holiday book exchange. Bring a book, new or used, and wrap it up for the exchange. We'll read the books and discuss them at our January book club at Jodi's house.





Happy Thanksgiving!

Silencing Sam by Julie Kramer (October 2011)

Beth hosted.  Amy Horton, Erin, Renee, Shelley, and me (Amy K) showed up to discuss one of the worst books in our book club's short history. There were some redeeming qualities (those of us from Rochester loved the Saudi Arabia/Mayo Clinic references, and I really wanted Erin to read about the midwestern farmer families) but neither the plot nor the characters were very believable. While we enjoyed the company and conversation, if you weren't there, you didn't miss much.  Thank you, Beth, for your hospitality.  We made the most of it.

See you in November!  Relentless by Dean Koontz.  We'll meet at Michelle's house (our newest member!) on Nov. 10.

-amy

Year 3 Kick-off!

We met at Bossy Renee's last Thursday night to discuss Isabel Allende's Island of the Sea. Half of us had read the book, and half of us seemed interested but just hadn't gotten to it. Overall, people really liked it.  Like all epics, it spans many decades and many lands.  It was both sad and hopeful.  The historical pieces in the book are true even if Isabel took some liberties.  Never mind that, we decided Isabel is an author who knows how to write a love story (and a love scene).  Her words are as difficult and big as they are poetic.  We cared about Tete and believed her slave owner Valmorian wanted to be good but just didn't know how.  All of us were a little creeped out about the half-brother and sister love affair.  I could go on and on because the discussion we had was a pretty good one.  

The rest of the night was all about picking this year's books.  Cutting for Stone was on the table, off the table, back on, back off, and finally picked.  I suggested a book for Jodi that I really thought she would like (nature+science+sporty+adventure) but I got laughed at pretty hard by everyone, so I guess I guessed wrong.  Renee tried really hard to get only books she approved of on the list.  Beth volunteered to host twice because she is now a single mother.  Jenny and Andi kept better notes than I did, so hopefully the list below is accurate.

We moved the standing date to the 2nd Thursday of every month.  Dates are below.

One last thing, welcome Michelle!  Our newest member!  It's great to have you.  Speaking of new members, Renee invented an new initiation rite for new members to our club: one must read Beat the Reaper from back in Spring 2010.  You all remember the one...sex in shark tanks, tampon strings, and a broken tibia turned weapon.  Enjoy that, Michelle.  

Here is the 2011-2012 line-up:

October 13   Silencing Sam by Julie Kramer at Beth's

November 10 Relentless by Dean Koontz at Michelle's

December 8 Delirium by Lauren Oliver at Jenny B's   **Also, please bring a wrapped up book to swap. We will do the book/gift swap game for the January book.

January 12  We will discuss the books we got at the swap at Jodi's

February 9 Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese at Renee's

March 8 Unwind by Neal Schusterman at Andi's

April 12 The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach at Amy Beth Stenson Kujawski's

May 10 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot at Shelley's

June 14  The History of Love by Nicole Krauss  at Nora's

July 12  The House at Sugar Beach by Helen Cooper  at Amy Horton's

Aug 9  Summer in the City by Candace Bushnell  at Beth's

Sept 13 Run by Ann Patchett  at Erin's