June 10, 2011

True Grit

 Book Club Choice for June...

True Grit
by
Charles Portis
224 pages

Fourteen-year-old Mattie Ross' father was shot and killed. Told through her eyes, True Grit is the story of how she and hard-drinking Marshal Rooster Cogburn set out to find and prosecute his murderer. "An epic and a legend".--Washington Post.

May 10, 2011

The Hunger Games Trilogy

Book Club Choice for May...



The Hunger Games Trilogy


In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
(374 pages)
 



Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark won the annual competition described in Hunger Games, but the aftermath leaves these victors with no sense of triumph. Instead, they have become the poster boys for a rebellion that they never planned to lead. That new, unwanted status puts them in the bull's-eye for merciless revenge by The Capitol.
(391 pages) 





Young Katniss Everdeen has survived the dreaded Hunger Games not once, but twice, but even now she can find no relief. In fact, the dangers seem to be escalating: President Snow has declared an all-out war on Katniss, her family, her friends, and all the oppressed people of District 12. The thrill-packed final installment of Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy will keep young hearts pounding.
(390 pages)






April 5, 2011

Ella Minnow Pea

Ella Minnow Pea


by Mark Dunn
 208 pages


Ella Minnow Pea is a girl living happily on the fictional island of Nollop off the coast of South Carolina. Nollop was named after Nevin Nollop, author of the immortal pangram,* “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” Now Ella finds herself acting to save her friends, family, and fellow citizens from the encroaching totalitarianism of the island’s Council, which has banned the use of certain letters of the alphabet as they fall from a memorial statue of Nevin Nollop. As the letters progressively drop from the statue they also disappear from the novel. The result is both a hilarious and moving story of one girl’s fight for freedom of expression, as well as a linguistic tour de force sure to delight word lovers everywhere.
*pangram: a sentence or phrase that includes all the letters of the alphabet







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Special thank you to Roxann for hosting March's Book Club Meeting!
And an extra special thank you for the "Good-bye" banner, note and cake!
I will miss seeing you all regularly... I still plan on making it to as many Book Club Meetings as possible!!!
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February 24, 2011

The Help

In March, we will be reading




The Help
by Kathryn Stockett
Hardcover, 464 pages

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women—mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends—view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.

The Good Earth


Wang Lung, rising from humble Chinese farmer to wealthy landowner, gloried in the soil he worked. He held it above his family, even above his gods. But soon, between Wang Lung and the kindly soil that sustained him, came flood and drought, pestilence and revolution....

Through this one Chinese peasant and his children, Nobel Prize-winner Pearl S. Buck traces the whole cycle of life, its terrors, its passion, its persistent ambitions and its rewards. Her brilliant novel beloved by millions of readers throughout the world is a universal tale of the destiny of men.

Summary taken from Goodreads.com:  Goodreads

We enjoyed a variety of treats tonight... brownies, strawberries, cinnamon rolls, and conversation hearts. Thanks to all those who brought yummy treats, and contributed to the discussion!

January 31, 2011

The Book Thief

The Book Thief
By Markus Zusak
550 pgs.

Description:

Narrated by Death, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a young foster girl living outside of Munich in Nazi Germany. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she discovers something she can't resist- books. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever they are to be found.
With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, Liesel learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids, as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

Thank You to Kirsten for hosting this month!

description from http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19063.The_Book_Thief

Hot Reads and Good Treats


At the suggestion of a friend of mine, I am starting this blog to showcase the books our book club is reading.

We get together once a month, and discuss the HOT READ and enjoy some GOOD TREATS.
Our Reading List for 2011:

 January - The Book Thief - by Markus Zusak

 February - The Good Earth - by Pearl S. Buck

 March - The Help - by Kathryn Stockett

 April - Ella Minnow Pea - By Mark Dunn

 May - The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay - By Suzanne Collins

 June - True Grit - By Charles Portis

 July - Peace Like a River - By Leif Enger

 August - Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home 
- By Nando Parrado, Vince Rause

 September - 1776 - By David McCullough

 October  - The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - By Jamie Ford

 November - Matched - By Ally Condie

 December - Skipping Christmas - By John Grisham