June Book and Meeting

I am super excited about the book we will be reading for June!  I have been incredibly intrigued by the sensational and gorgeous movie trailers for the new "Great Gatsby" movie (HELLO, who would not LOVE to wear those costumes?!), so it inspired me to read the original novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which I haven't read since the eighth grade.  I seriously doubt I got ANY of the book at that time, but I thoroughly enjoyed it this time through!

So for June we will be reading The Great Gatsby, and for anyone interested, will go see the new movie before it leaves theaters.  I am shooting forFriday, June 14th, before everyone takes off for the end of school.  Exact date and time will be determined as we get closer.

Here is a very brief, and very unsatisfying synopsis:

"Generally considered to be F. Scott Fitzgerald's finest novel, The Great Gatsby is a consummate summary of the 'roaring twenties' and a devastating exposé of the shallowness of the 'Jazz Age'. Through the narration of Nick Carraway, the reader is taken into the superficially glittering world of the mansions which lined the Long Island shore in the 1920's, to encounter Nick's cousin Daisy, her brash but wealthy husband Tom Buchanan, and Jay Gatsby and the dark mystery which surrounds him.

The Great Gatsby is an undisputed classic of American literature from the period following the First World War, and is one of the great novels of the twentieth century."

May Book

I have completely neglected my Book Club responsibilities, and never sent out an assignment for a book for April! Consider it a chance to catch up on reading! If you found any amazing book ideas that you would like to pass along, please let me know! It can be hard to find a new book every month and I like to know what everyone else is reading!
For May we will read a book that just looks intriguing to me. I haven't read it yet, so fingers crossed, let's hope it's a good one! We will read Alice I Have Been, by Melanie Benjamin. The cover looks haunting, and I don't know about you, but I always judge a book by its cover!


Here is the synopsis:

"Few works of literature are as universally beloved as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Now, in this spellbinding historical novel, we meet the young girl whose bright spirit sent her on an unforgettable trip down the rabbit hole–and the grown woman whose story is no less enthralling.

'But oh my dear, I am tired of being Alice in Wonderland. Does it sound ungrateful?'

Alice Liddell Hargreaves’s life has been a richly woven tapestry: As a young woman, wife, mother, and widow, she’s experienced intense passion, great privilege, and greater tragedy. But as she nears her eighty-first birthday, she knows that, to the world around her, she is and will always be only “Alice.” Her life was permanently dog-eared at one fateful moment in her tenth year–the golden summer day she urged a grown-up friend to write down one of his fanciful stories.

That story, a wild tale of rabbits, queens, and a precocious young child, becomes a sensation the world over. Its author, a shy, stuttering Oxford professor, does more than immortalize Alice–he changes her life forever. But even he cannot stop time, as much as he might like to. And as Alice’s childhood slips away, a peacetime of glittering balls and royal romances gives way to the urgent tide of war.

For Alice, the stakes could not be higher, for she is the mother of three grown sons, soldiers all. Yet even as she stands to lose everything she treasures, one part of her will always be the determined, undaunted Alice of the story, who discovered that life beyond the rabbit hole was an astonishing journey.

A love story and a literary mystery, Alice I Have Been brilliantly blends fact and fiction to capture the passionate spirit of a woman who was truly worthy of her fictional alter ego, in a world as captivating as the Wonderland only she could inspire."

March Meeting and Book

It is time for BoOk CLuB again, and once again I am late in getting out our month's assignment!

I am tentatively planning on holding our meeting this Friday, March 8th, to watch the Hallmark movie based on our last book The Magic of Ordinary Days. I am not sure if we will watch it at my house or another location....suggestions are welcome. Please check your calendars and let me know if it is something you can attend!

The book for this month will be The Importance of Being Ernest, by Oscar Wilde. I have always loved the movie based on this book, and understand that there is a play as well, so I am excited to actually read the book!

Here is a synopsis for you:

"Oscar Wilde's madcap farce about mistaken identities, secret engagements, and lovers' entanglements still delights readers more than a century after its 1895 publication and premiere performance. The rapid-fire wit and eccentric characters of The Importance of Being Earnest have made it a mainstay of the high school curriculum for decades.

Cecily Cardew and Gwendolen Fairfax are both in love with the same mythical suitor. Jack Worthing has wooed Gwendolen as Ernest while Algernon has also posed as Ernest to win the heart of Jack's ward, Cecily. When all four arrive at Jack's country home on the same weekend, the 'rivals' to fight for Ernest's undivided attention and the 'Ernests' to claim their beloveds, pandemonium breaks loose. Only a senile nursemaid and an old, discarded hand-bag can save the day!"

February Book

I decided to do a short and sweet book for this short and sweet month of February, which my beloved sister of eternally good taste recommended. We will be reading The Magic of Ordinary Days, by Ann Howard Creel.


Here is a synopsis for the book:

"Olivia Dunne, a studious minister's daughter who dreams of being an archaeologist, never thought that the drama of World War II would affect her quiet life in Denver. An exhilarating flirtation reshapes her life, though, and she finds herself banished to a rural Colorado outpost, married to a man she hardly knows. Overwhelmed by loneliness, Olivia tentatively tries to establish a new life, finding much-needed friendship and solace in two Japanese American sisters who are living at a nearby internment camp. When Olivia unwittingly becomes an accomplice to a crime and is faced with betrayal, she finally confronts her own desires. Beautifully written and filled with memorable characters, Creel's novel is a powerful exploration of the nature of trust and love."


Details for the next meeting will come soon, once I know where to squeeze it in this month!!

January Book

It has been SO LONG since we have been able to meet! I hope you are all keeping up on your reading! After the chaos of the holidays it is nice to just take it easy for a while....so curl up with a nice mug of hot cocoa and enjoy one of the last several books we have read! They are all fantastic! Then mark on your calendars Thursday, January 10th for our next book club meeting! So far I haven't heard of any major conflicts, so please let me know if it is an issue so I can reschedule it. I will let you know more details as we get closer!
The book for January comes as a suggestion from Thelma Davis, who I highly respect as a great authority on amazing books! I am actually really excited about this one because it sounds so magical! We will be reading The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, by Catherynne M. Valente. Doesn't that title make you want to just eat up that yummy goodness?! Here is a synopsis for your enjoyment:

"Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn’t . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday."

December Book

The book we will be reading for December is the final installment in Ally Condie's Matched trilogy: Reached.

Here is a synopsis for you to enjoy!


"After leaving Society and desperately searching for the Rising—and each other—Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again: Cassia has been assigned to work for the Rising from within Society, while Ky has been stationed outside its borders. But nothing is as predicted, and all too soon the veil lifts and things shift once again.

In this gripping conclusion to the #1 New York Times-bestselling Matched trilogy, Cassia will reconcile the difficulties of challenging a life too confining, seeking a freedom she never dreamed possible, and honoring a love she cannot live without."

November Book and Meeting

I apologize for the late notice about November's book selection! I was a little distracted by certain goings-on around our country! I hope you have been able to read October's book MWF Seeking BFF, by Rachel Bertsche. My copy is available for anyone who would still like to read it.

Please pencil in the date of our next meeting on Wednesday, November 14th. (We don't have YW scheduled that night so I figured why not?!) More details will come as soon as I figure them out! HA HA!

For November I am very excited to read Shannon Hale's newest addition to her collection, Palace of Stone, a Princess Academy sequel. Here is a synopsis to get you excited!!!


"Coming down from the mountain to a new life in the city seems a thrill beyond imagining. When Miri and her friends from Mount Eskel set off to help the future princess Britta prepare for her royal wedding, she is happy about her chance to attend school in the capital city. There, Miri befriends students who seem so sophisticated and exciting... until she learns that they have some frightening plans. They think that Miri will help them, that she "should" help them. Soon Miri finds herself torn between loyalty to the princess and her new friends' ideas, between an old love and a new crush, and between her small mountain home and the bustling city. Picking up where "Princess Academy" left off, this incredible stand-alone story celebrates the joys of friendship, the delight of romance, and the fate of a beloved fairy tale kingdom."