I managed to persuade son David to read a book I was immensely enjoying and reading it provoked this comment;

I love seeing the world through someone else's eyes.  I can't help but adopt some of of the perspectives I encounter on these literary journeys.  Those perspectives help me solidify my beliefs, increase my tolerance and love for people even when there are differences in standards and to gain greater appreciation for the blessings I enjoy.

Some of these characters almost leap out of the pages at me.  I regret that I will never truly meet them face to face, though I feel sometimes like I have.  These feelings are a real tribute to authors who know how to write living books whose prose sews a fine stitch between reality and sweet fiction, simultaneously creating a fertile ground for planting real issues in our minds to bring forth meaningful fruit in a later season.  This type of experience exemplifies true education.

Curious about which book?

Jenny V

How to Sign Up for 2010

OK> First you sign in. (Top right of screen) Then you choose the Customize button that is at the top, right of your screen.

In the new window you'll see "Calendar for 2010" with a button underneath that says Edit. Hit the Edit button.

In the new window you'll see all the months. They each have a button to the left that says Edit. Hit the edit button next to the month you want and type your name in. Then select Save (to the right of what you just typed in). Select Save again at the top, right of the page.

In the new window, in the middle towards the top, highlighted in yellow (orange) there are the words, "Your changes have been saved: View Blog". If you hit the View Blog it should take you back to our blog and your name should be next to the month you selected. If this doesn't work, I've typed something wrong....give me a callllllll. Good luck. N.

Sign-Ups for the New Year

Hi friends... Thanks to Molly for putting a calendar for 2010 on our blog...(It was you, wasn't it M?) Our task is to figure out how to actually sign up. Hint: The first step is to sign in. And I can't remember the rest because I'm not at that screen anymore. I'll post again with the directions.
We are reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows for January....but we don't know where we are going in January yet. We chose the new Mitch Albom book, have a little faith, for February...but we don't know where we are going in February yet either...(hint, hint).
I read The Christmas Sweater by Glen Beck and The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans last week. (both at the public library). The Christmas Sweater was okay....I think too much of the book was spent on the "naughty" and only a little bit at the end was "nice". I actually liked The Christmas List because a lot more time was spent on the "nice" and it spoke to the fact that there are some things that are out of our control to fix and only the Savior can heal. Have any of you read these? What did you think?
Merry Christmas to all of my book club friends. Has Wendy produced offspring yet? Love, Nese.

Christa's book club blog

Thank you to whoever fixed the blog, I guess it was Molly. So here is my blog from last month.

Book club
Yesterday was book club at my house. More than 25 years ago, when I was invited to join "the" bookcub I didn't think it would be such a positive force in my life. Back then I was just excited to be included in a group of women I admired and was happy and pleased that they considered me their equal. And the nice, free lunch away from the kids once a month was a great bonus. There are not really any rules in book club, to keep things simple the group has only 12 members so that each of them could host the lunch once a year. That rule has not always been hard and fast either, some members have floated in and out, but as sisters moved away they were sooner or later replaced. Janet, Sue, Laverne, Nese and myself are some of the original members. I came in after the group had been already going for maybe a year or so but since then the other 7 chairs have been filled with a variety of good women, who through their example have left a permanent stamp on my heart and mind. In the early days the conversations revolved around pregancy, child birth, diapers, tantrums and schools. In later years we discussed unruly teenagers, proms, weight loss and dinner recipies. As our families grew up so did we. For many years the companionship, the feeling of being understood and not judged held us together. For many years what we called book club was more accurately a lunch club or a Mom's play group as Tims used to tease me. Nese was the first to get restless with that arrangement, she was one of the first empty nesters and she admonished us to dig deeper, make a better effort to read the book and to discuss it. Too bad she was out of town yesterday because she would have been proud of us. The book for September was "The Help". the story delves into the lives of black maids in the 60's. We jumped into the discussion as soon as the prayer on the food was over. One of the highlights for me was when Jenny told of her childhood in Texas, her confusion at seeing the first bus load of scared, black kids arrive at their high school to the daunts and jeers of her friends parents. She had tears in her eyes when she recounted that she cried when she heard the Pres. Obama won the election, not that she voted for him but that things in America had changed that much for the better to allow this to happen. We talked about how we individually had to learn that our self worth was not determent by the clean-ness of our house or the behavior of our children. Lavern told the funny story of how she had over-reacted when her visiting teachers showed up unexpected (back in the days when she was just a new member of the church) while she, in her grubbies was in the middle of house cleaning. She was so upset and emarrassed that she slammed the door in their face. But that was just half of the story, because she had forgotten that Julie was one of those ill-treated visiting teachers and Julie was seated across the table from her at that moment. Julie added to the story that she also remembered that not only was the door slammed into their face but Lavern had yelled angrily at them also. Our new book is named "The Book Thief". The story's narrator is Death himself. I started reading it last night, I can hardly wait until our next book club.
Add Comment
Roger Fife says...
"As you can clearly tell this was Mom's first stab at writing a blog. I am proud of her. Over the years I have also enjoyed book club--even though I had to enjoy much of it vicariously. Whenever it was book club day I could hardly wait to come home and hear all of the juicy stories that the women told Christa. Without book club I never would have known anything about what was going on in the private lives of people in the stake. When I was with the boys we never seemed to have any time or interest in socializing or gossiping. Unfortunately as Mom's group got older the gossip got dryer, but I still enjoy hearing the post game report. There are other benefits of book club. It is especially enjoyable when it is Christa's turn to host the affair. She always puts extra effort into cooking something special to impress her friends. Thankfully, I am considered one of her best friends and she always manages to make sure that there is some left over for me. She also spends a week or so cleaning the house and trimming the bushes so the house will look good. I certainly cannot complain about that. Finally, Many of the books that I have enjoyed reading over the years have been books that were suggested or discussed in book club. Some of them I read first and then suggested that Christa see what the girls think about them. I actually enjoy the second hand discussions that I have with Christa. It is almost as if I were a hidden book club member. I don't have to put up with trying to socialize with a house full of women but at the same time I still get to benefit from their discussions. I think that really is a win-win situation."

October Book Club

Don't forget that Book Club is THIS Thursday (Oct 22nd) at my home...12:30! I can't wait to discuss "The Book Thief" Also, I've lost track of the nose count...could you post me a reminder at jsvezzani@gmail.com if you are coming or not. I know...I know...the memory bank is emptier than County Bank! Hope to see you!  Jenny V

September book club

Thursday Sept. 24 will be book club at my house. Let me know if you will be in town that day and will be coming. It will be so nice to see all of you , I have been so busy all summer and am looking forward for things to slow down.

The Book Thief, Markus Zusak, Book - Barnes & Noble

Thank you Janet for a delicious lunch. We enjoyed raspberry/pretzel salad and raspberry sauce on pineapple sherbet and Julie told us about her raspberries when she was little! We chose The Book Thief for our October book. I have copied the synopsis from BN below.


The Book Thief, Markus Zusak, Book - Barnes & Noble: "Synopsis
It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she 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 before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul."

I enjoyed it and I think you will like it. Have fun with The Help this month. It's really thought provoking and I loved that it was a story about women.

Hi Friends,

Thank you for your responses! I have lunch all planned and several books to suggest, so I am looking forward to tomorrow.

Able to attend: Wendy, Nese, Kathy, Julie, Janet W
Not able to attend: Sue
Not sure: Jenny
No response: LaVerna, Christa, Molly

Am I missing someone?

Have a wonderful day!

August Book Club

Hi Everyone,

Book club is at my house this month and will be Thursday, August 27th at 12:30 pm. Could you please let me know if you will be able to attend. The book for this month is The Lonesome Gods by Louie L'Amour. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to a good discussion.

Please let me know if you are planning to come on Thursday. Thanks much. (Let me know by email momola7@sbcglobal.net.) Thanks

Janet H.

Lunch Today

We were a small group today, we hope all the rest of you are enjoying a wonderful summer vacation. We had a good discussion of Love is Eternal. I think we've all enjoyed reading a few books from a similar time period.

Here is the recipe for Grilled Chicken Bruschetta:

Sun dried tomato salad dressing
8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
4 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 small pkg. fresh basil, chopped

Marinate chicken in sundried tomato dressing ahead of time. Place large sheet of heavy-duty foil over half of grill grate; preheat grill to medium heat. Grill chicken on uncovered side of grill about 6 minutes. Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, cheese, basil and dressing (as much as you desire; we did about 1/2 cup). Back to the grill - Turn chicken over; place on the foil-covered part of the grill, cooked-side up. Top evenly with tomato mixture. Close lid. Grill an additional 8 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

I pounded the chicken to be an even size throughout and cooked it on low/medium.....The recipe came from Jennie Rowan.

Our book selection for September is The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I loved this book, I think you will enjoy it too. Kathy C. is willing to order books from Amazon, don't count on the library there are 119 requests for it. She wants to order by Sunday, so let her know if you want a copy.

Lunch on Thursday

Everyone is invited to lunch this Thursday at 12:30 at my house. I'm excited to discuss Love is Eternal. I also have 5 delightful books to suggest, I enjoyed reading each one!!!! Which one will we select to read as a group? I can't wait to see. Please let me know in the next couple of days, if you will be here on Thursday. I've already heard from Jenni, Sue, Julie and Wendy.

Molly

July Lunch

Book Club will be in my home on the 5th Thursday of the month which will be July 30th. I will send a reminder next week. Hope you are having a great summer.

The Tour

Just a reminder that the Tour de France begins on Saturday. There is also another book out by Lance in case you wanted to do some follow-up reading on him. A great website is livestrong.com. He has been making a video diary almost everyday through the spring racing and training season. At the end of each video he makes a dedication to someone with cancer. He talks about them, what they are doing especially if it is something to raise cancer awareness or if they have passed he gives his thoughts and feelings to the family. Some of them are really touching. It looks like this year he will not be as hated in France and I think it's really because he has become such a spokesman for the cancer community. He spends countless hours campaigning and reaching out to cancer victims worldwide. Really a pretty cool thing, especially knowing his background. He is not riding to win the tour this year but is riding for his teammate A. Contador. Go Lance!!!

Anyone else have the book?

I still do not have a copy of Love is Eternal. I requested one from the library at the end of May but it hasn't arrived. Does anyone else have an extra copy or are you having trouble getting it as well?

Book Club Thursday, June 25th!

Hi All! I am so excited to host book club next week! I know I said I'd be serving corndogs, but I promise you'll get something better than that! :) I live at 3247 Wooddale Avenue. From Olive, go over McKee toward Whitegate. You'll turn left on Wooddale (it's the first left after McKee), and go all the way down to the last house on the left. I think the time is at 12:30, right? So.... I need to know who's coming! Please RSVP as soon as you know if you're coming or not! See you then! These Is My Words will be so fun to talk about--it was so good!!
Wendy

Kindle

Kindle: To catch fire, the act of lighting.

Just wanted to let you know about my new Kindle from Amazon. OK, it's not all that new, I received it as a gift for Christmas but was disappointed at the small number of books available for downloading so I haven't been using it. But I recently turned it on again and it looks like the number of books available has increased dramatically. I've heard that University's are going to start using it (or something like it) for text books, so maybe it's the up and coming thing. Anyway, I am reading These is My Words on it and I love the features available such as bookmarking, highlighting, and adding my own notes in the margin. I also love that I can store a vast number of books in an ity bity (literally) space. So if you're an avid reader you may want to check it out and put it on your birthday or Christmas wish list.

It's good to get lost in a book

I've just finished "These is my Words". I hated it to end. And I'm trying to hold back my tears. Even though it is Sarah's story...so much of it applies to us (I think us...maybe just me...but I think us....as women, as people). It's like our journeys are the same...only the details are different.

Young love:

"I must think about something else for a while. But then I remember his warm arms and his big strong legs touching mine and how hard and wide his chest was and how hot his kiss was, and I go outside and feed the chickens. They are getting mighty fat."

Young family:

"My life is so full of wonderful things right now. My children are happy and healthy, my husband loves us truly, and we are about to build a wondrous new house for them to grow up in......Mama told me to make a special point to remember the best times of my life. There are so many hard things to live through, and latching on to the good things will give you strength to endure, she says. So I must remember this day."

Struggles in marriage:

"I wish for the old days. I wish for the struggling days and the days of Geronimo, and the days of birthing Charlie with no one but Jack to help me. How happy and in love we were then. I want to be in love again, but all I feel is darkness and shadows. Everything is changed and different."

Life...as we get older:

"My life feels like a book left out on the porch, and the wind blows the pages faster and faster, turning always toward a new chapter faster than I can stop and read it."

It's nice to find a new book, one you didn't know was out there, to get lost in.

Love is Eternal

I just checked out the library and found that there are 3 copies of Love is Eternal available and 1 set of audiocassettes. It's super easy to make a request from your home computer, just use your library card to log in. Wendy checked out Amazon and there are lots of copies available for sale there, quite cheap. Otherwise check your garage closet. The book was published in 1954 (that's 13 years before I was born) and is no longer in print.

May Book Club

We missed all of those who didn't make Book Club today. We had a lovely lunch in Sue's home and enjoyed discussing Scarlett and the others. For June we will be reading These is My Words by Nancy Turner. We think Wendy may be hosting for Laverne in June, so watch for an email from her. For July we are reading Love is Eternal by Irving Stone (be sure not to get the 3-act play by the same name but different author). Have a wonderful book filled summer.

Hi everyone, I am enjoying Gone With The Wind. It really takes you to a different world doesn't it? Thank you for the music on the Blog Nese, what fun!. I'm mostly writing this to see if I can figure out how to post a comment---ALSO to tell everyone that Book Club will be at me home in May. I traded with Janet because she is not able to do it. Keep reading, we should have a great discussion--Sue

Fiddle-dee-dee!

I'm so excited to read Gone With the Wind again! A couple of passages that have made me laugh:

"How could Pa talk on and on about Fort Sumter and the Yankees when he knew her heart was breaking? As usual in the very young, she marveled that people could be so selfishly oblivious to her pain and the world rock along just the same, in spite of her heartbreak."

She is sooooo self-centered! At yet there is a glimmer in my memory of teenage heartbreaks....and I was totally oblivious to any sorrow but mine.... There's some truth there for me!

And another one:

"When a Southerner took the trouble to pack a trunk and travel twenty miles for a visit, the visit was seldom of shorter duration than a month, usually much longer. Southerners were as enthusiastic visitors as they were hosts, and there was nothing unusual in relatives coming to spend the Christmas holidays and remaining until July. Often when newly married couples went on the usual round of honeymoon visits, they lingered in some pleasant home until the birth of their second child. Frequently elderly aunts and uncles came to Sunday dinner and remained until they were buried years later."

Such a different world! I can hardly imagine it! Anyone out there have a favorite part?

Wendy told us that she was able to set it up to get an email anytime someone posted. I tried to do that for all of us.... we'll see. We are trying to think of another book for June. Some of us thought it would be fun to continue learning about the Civil War. Perhaps a book about Lincoln? I thought we had read Killer Angels by Shaara...but others didn't remember it. It's great! About the battle of Gettysburg.... Share your thoughts, eh?...And enjoy the music! Nese.

The not so civil civil war

I decided to read "Across 5 Aprils" and "Gone with the Wind" in tandem, figuring they were both civil war stories and it was interesting to read about the thoughts and feeling from both sides of the conflict. I really enjoyed "Across 5 Aprils"; thank you for suggesting it. It was heart warming and uplifting. How is it that a country boy between the age of 9 and 13 is so much more mature than a 15/19 year Southern Belle? The contrast is striking.

Hi everyone! We had a wonderful lunch at Nese's yesterday and quite a lively discussion!! It was terrific, but we missed everyone who couldn't come. Thank you Nese!!!

I am supposed to have book club in May, but I am going to be out of town and wonder if anyone could switch with me. I would really appreciate it!! I could do it in July, August, October or November/December. Thanks so much.

Book Club This Thursday March 26

Hi friends. It's time for book club again. It will be this Thursday, March 26 at 12:30. Please let me know whether or not you can come. Nese.

Tess

Well Christa may be right about the long descriptions but I do like some of them. I was hooked again by the second sentence of the book. It reads, "The pair of legs that carried him were rickety, and there was a bias in his gait which inclined him somewhat to the left of a straight line." I would have written, "He was either old or drunk and walked with a limp." How boring! I do like having to read and think!!

Tess!

I've read about 50 pages of Tess. It is very readable....the story is compelling. So much foreshadowing. ARGH!!!! And I can not believe her parents. They are driving me crazy. I'm just reading past the MANY vocabulary words I don't know. It would slow me down too much to look up all those words....and I'm getting the idea of the story really well without knowing every word. Has anyone else out there started????? Whew! Nese.

pass along time

I've finished the Persian Pickle Club...anyone need it to read?

Alas Babylon

Feel free to leave reviews of other books you are reading. Here is one for Alas, Babylon.

I actually really enjoyed this book. At the beginning I felt the propaganda from my elementary education returning, but the story was interesting so I kept reading. Do any of you remember the films we used to watch about building bomb shelters in the backyard and how to recognize a "radioactive fall-out shelter"? Well this book will take you back. It was hard to read it knowing that the book was written in the early 60's and that many of the theories from then have now been proven either false or worthless. Yet at that time we were directed by authoritative voices on how to survive a bomb and really I think they only promoted fear of the Russians. But alas, I drift, the story is good. Knowing that there is a real possibility of a disaster in my lifetime, natural or man-made, this book inspired me to work on my storage of food and other necessities. It also made me want to be a better gardener. I also look back fondly on the days of the cold war being over. I wonder if we all felt that with Russian power collapsing and the wall coming down so to speak we were living in a safer world. I don't think any of us believe that now and we also know it won't take a nuclear bomb to significantly disrupt our lives. It also makes me think about what is necessary for peace in the world. It seems like the gospel is the one solution. Would I recommend this book? Yes.

In Response to Christa

I began reading March by G. Brooks but was absolutely so mad at her that I put it down after 3 chapters. It is the story of Mr. March while he is away at war, during the time that Little Women takes place. The things he did were completely absurd for an upright moral minister, which according to Little Women he is. I don't think a story as wonderful as Little Women should be polluted by the fantasies of G. Brooks that every man has his time of infidelity. There you go. I have boycotted all of her other books as a protest.

Congratulations

Wow! With the exception of one member all of us have now entered the blogging world. Now you are ready to write your own posts. All you do is go to the site (ldsbookladies.blogspot.com - sorry all of our chosen names were taken), then sign in with your email and password. To write a post select "new post" then you enter the title you want and type your comments in the space provided. When you have finished writing just select "publish post". It's super easy but call me if it doesn't work for you.

I would love to hear about other books you are reading. Also, if you scroll down the blog you can see and add to a list of "other books" members are reading. I have listed only a book that Wendy and I are reading but I'm sure others are reading other selections as well.

Maybe there are other things you would like on the blog, just leave a post with your ideas for everyone to read.

Julie Marshall

Getting Started

Hi Ladies,

Here is the first blog post. This is going to be super easy for everyone to participate so give it a try. Once you accept your invitation to join I will change you to "administrators" so that you can add anything you want to the blog. I'll be sending an email tomorrow with instructions on how to get started. If you read this before then, leave a comment and I'll know who can help me train the others.