Showing posts with label PiedmontReaders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PiedmontReaders. Show all posts

Monday, March 5, 2012

February Book Club Meeting

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games is a book for children but I don't think any second or third grade teacher would read this to her students. It is a horror story written by Suzanne Collins that requires each new of the 12 districts of North America to send two children to the games where someone will be killed. It is like a Stephen King horror novel.

Host: Carol

Book: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Response of bookclub members: Several folks liked the book but most found it way to scary to read word for word so they just skimmed thru the book.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

January Book Club Meeting



January Book Club Meeting

Host: Teresa

Book: The Diary of Libby Beaman by Betty John

Response of Book Club Members: This "diary" was written as a novel by Libby Beaman's granddaugher Betty John. It tells the story of Libby Beaman living in the Arctic Circle in the cold of January when it is almost total darkness all day and all night. I almost sent my husband Jack to the meeting because he did some army audits up in Fairbanks, Alaska in January and back in the 1970's he had some similar experiences as Libby. For example:

142 inches of snow that January

If the temp was below -30 degrees, you had to leave the cars running all the time

The coldest temp Jack saw was -63 degrees in Fairbanks that January

With the cars running all the time there was ice fog from the fumes of the car which meant that one person would drive and the other person would walk along beside the car giving directions like stay straight, make a turn, etc.

December Book Club Meeting

Host: Lucille

Book: The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein

Response of the Book Club Members: Everyone had mixed feelings about this book. Some because the dog in the story is dying of old age while narrating the story of his relationship with his owner Enzo. Some thought the book didn't go into enough detail about the dog's relationship with his owner Enzo. Others thought the book was a sad selection for the merry month of December.

WallyLamb, another author describes the novel as "...a meditation on humility and hope in the face of despair."

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

April Book Club Meeting

April Book Club Meeting



Host: Cindy



Book: The Help, by Kathryne Stockett



Response of the Book Club Members: The book club members dearly loved this novel set in the Mississippi delta in the twentieth century and dealing with the trials, tribulations, joys, and sorrows of being the black "help" serving the white "plantation owners" and raising the children of the "plantation owners". One line that summed up the situation was when one of the maids noted that the babies love us now but they will grow up and treat us just like their parents treat us now.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Future Book Club Meetings

2011
January: Teresa's House, Isaac's Storm, by Erik Larson
February: Cindy's House, Little Bee, by Chris Cleave
March: Joann's House, The Last Promise, by Richard Paul Evans
April: Carol's House, This I Believe, with forward by Studs Terkel, edited by J. Allison and D. Sediman
May: Bev's House, Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand
June: Dickie's House, The Weird Sisters, by Elenore Brown
July: Pat's House, Breakfast With Buddha, by Roland Mercullo
August: Haelie's House, Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens
September: Brenda's House, Half Broke Horses, A True Life Novel, by Jeannette Walls
October: Delaine's House, Turn Right At Machu Picchu, by Mark Adams
November: Maura's House, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford
December: Lucille's House, The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein

2012
January: Teresa's House, The Diary of LibbyBeaman
February: Carol's House, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collias
March: Dickie's House, The State of Woncer by Ann Patchett

Chronological List of Books Read

Over 116 Books Read and Discussed So Far
2001
She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb (Debbie)
The Shell Seekers, by Rosamund Pilcher (Cathy)
The Winter Solstice, by Rosamund Pilcher (Pat)
White Oleander, by Janet Fitch (Cindy)
Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden (Margie)
2002
Till We Have Faces, by C.S. Lewis (Teresa)
The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien (Joann)
A Day Late and a Dollar Short, by Terry McMillan (Kathy)
A Long Total Love Chase, by Louisa M. Alcott (Brenda)
The Girl With The Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier (Debbie)
The Red Tent, by Anita Diamont (Hailie)
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, by Rebecca Wells (Karen)
The Nanny Diarys, by E. McLaughlin and N. Kraice (Mouna)
The Lovely Bones, by Alice Seybold (Peggy)
The Painted House, by John Grisham (Cindy)
Bel Canto, Ann Patchett (Joan)
The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen (Cathy)
2003
Skipping Christmas, John Grisham (Margie)
Princess: A True Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia, by
Jean Sasson (Joann)
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen (Kathy)
Gods and Generals, by Jeff Shaara (Pat)
House of Sand and Fog, by Andre Dubus III (Debbie)
The Dress Lodger, by Sheri Holman (Cindy)
The Third Witch, by Rebecca Reisert (Haelie)
The Morality Play, by Barry Unworthy (Brenda)
The Power of One, by Bryce Courtenay (Dickie)
Outfoxed, by Fern Michaels (Peggy)
Seabiscuit, by Lauren Hillenbrand (Cathy)
Standing in the Rainbow, by Fanny Flag (Joann)
2004
It's Not About The Bike, by Lance Armstrong (Joan)
One For The Money, by Janet Evonovich (Margie)
The Pull of the Moon, by Elizabeth Berg (Debbie)
The Other Boleyn Girl, by Philippa Gregory (Pat)
Awakening, by Kate Chopin (Kathy)
The Bitch in the House, by Cathi Hannauer (Cindy)
Years of Wonder, by Geraldine Brooks (Karen)
Blackberry Wine, by Joanne Harris (Dickie)
The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart (Brenda)
Buffalo Winged, by Patricia Reilly Panera (Haelie)
Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides (Cathy)
The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hussein (Joann)
2005
The Monk Downstairs, by Tim Farrington (Joan)
The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver (Bev)
Little Indiscretions, by Carmen Posadas (Margie)
The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kid (Dickie)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, by
Mark Haddon (Cindy)
The Reading Group, by Elizabeth Noble (Karen)
Cane River, by Sue Tademy (Joann)
Pleasure of My Company, by Steve Martin (Brenda)
The Lion, The Witch anThe Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis (Haelie)
The Wife, by Meg Wurlitzer (Bev)
Leap of Faith, memoirs of an Unexpected Life, by Queen Noor (Teresa)
The Plain Truth, by Jodi Picoult (D.J.)
2006
My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult (Maura)
The Crocodile on the Sandbank, by Elizabeth Peters (Margie)
Wicked: Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by G.
Maguire (Brenda)
Gardenias for Breakfast, by Robin Jones Gunn (Haelie)
My Losing Season, by Pat Conroy (Joann)
The Interpretor of Maladies, by Jhumpa Lahiri (Leia)
The Pat Conroy Cookbook, Recipes of My Life, by Pat Conroy (Joann)
The Mermaid Chair, by Sue Monk Kidd (Dickie)
The Triumph of the Sun, by Wilbur Smith (Teresa)
The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown (Cindy)
The Widow of the South, by Robert Hicks (Pat)
The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho (D.J.)
2007
Under Orders, by Dick Francis (Delaine)
Timeline, by Michael Crichton (Laurie)
The Witching Hour, by Anne Rice (Maura)
The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, by Thad Carhart (Dickie)
The Wild Swans: Three Daughter of China, by Jung Chang (Bev)
The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri (Leia)
The Painted Veil, by Somerset Maugham (Teresa)
The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls (Robbyn)
A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hussein (Joann)
The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway (Cindy)
The Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards (Pat)
Ella Minnow Pea, by Mark Dunn (Haelie)
2008
The Queen's Man, by Sharon Kay Penman (Laurie)
Water For Elephants, by Sara Gruen (Pat)
The Diana Chronicles, by Tina Brown (Maura)
The Atonement, by Ian McEwan (Bev)
The Jeweler's Mark, by Vincent Lash (Teresa)
The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield (Dickie)
Rococo, by Adriana Trigiani (Joann)
The Merlot Murders, by Ellen Crosby (Cindy)
For One More Day, by Mitch Albom (Connie)
The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters,by Elizabeth Robinson (D.J.)
Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett (Carol)
The Story of Edger Sawtelle, David Wroblewski (Lucille)
2009
Page Out of Life, by Kathleen Reid (Haelie)
Poets' Corner, by John Lithgow (Teresa)
Where Have All the Leaders Gone, by Lee Iaccoco (Dickie)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by
Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (Bev)
The Shack, by WM. Paul Young (Pat)
The Gift From The Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh (Connie)
Always Looking Up, by Michael J. Fox (Maura)
Loving Frank, by Nancy Horan (D.J.)
March, by Geraldine Brooks (Delaine)
Chesapeake, by James Michenor (Joann)
The Book Thief, by Markus Zuzak (Carol)
The Gourmet Rhapsody, by Muriel Barbery (Dickie)
2010
Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert (Lucille)
The Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon (Haelie)
All the Presidents' Men, by Doug Wead (Teresa)
The Help, by Kathryne Stockett (Cindy)
Ford County, by John Grisham (Bev)
The Master Butchers Singing Club, by Louise Erdrich (Joann)
Best Friends, by Jennifer Weiner (Delaine)
The Piano Teacher, Janice Y. Lee (Carol)
The Last Child, John Hart (D.J.)
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot (Dickie)
Still Alice, by Lisa Genova (Maura)
The Immoveable Feast, by John Baxter (Pat)
2011
Isaac's Storm, by Eric Larson (Teresa)
Little Bee, by Chris Cleve (Cindy)
The Last Promise, by Richard Paul Evans (Joann)
This I Believe, edited by Jay Allison and Dan Sedimon (Carol)
Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand (Bev)
The Weird Sister, by Eleanore Brown (Dickie)
Breadfast With Buddha, by Roland Merullo (Pat)
Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens (Haelie)
Half Broke Horses, by Jeanette Walls (Brenda)
Turn Right At Machu Picchu, by Mark Adams (Delaine)
Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford (Maura)
2012
The Diary of Libby Beaman,by Betty John (Teresa)
The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein (Lucille)
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (Carol)