Book Club

May 18, 2010

I've recently finished Little Bee by Chris Cleave

and The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson


Little Bee was a beautifully written book about a terrible subject.  A Nigerian refugee meets up with an English couple and lots of dark things happen.  My entire book club (A) read it (a first I think) and (B) loved it.  My choice, by the way...thank you very much.
We all wanted the story to keep going.  Most of the characters were completely enthralling.  Lucky for us it's being made into a movie.

Speaking of being made into a movie...
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo also by Stieg Larsson was another book club book.  I saw the movie which was an excellent adaptation of the book.  The actors were exactly like I had imagined the characters in my head when I read the book.  The book gave me nightmares, but the movie was not as graphic as the descriptions in the book.  I recommend both, but be forewarned there are some very violent scenes.
The second book in this trilogy, The Girl Who Played With Fire, was not as thrilling.  I literally could not put down the first book once I got to a certain point, but the second book seemed to drag out the suspense a little too long for me.  I put it down many times.  Nonetheless, I plan on reading the third book, so it must've been pretty good. I also want to see what happens to the characters in the last book.

Read any good books lately?
To encourage young readers, Borders is having a summer promotion.  If they read ten book before late August, Borders will give them a free book.  Check it out here:
media.bordersstores.com/pdf/summerreading.pdf

Happy reading.
Karen

Happy Birthday to Me!

November 4, 2009

As you all know (or should) today is my birthday...an unofficial holiday at the Halterhome.  I took a vacation day from work.  If I were boss of the world, no one would ever have to work on their birthday. 

My lovely little family treated me like a queen all day.
Here is the "before" picture of Grace and Tom's snazzy wrapping job:

And here's what was inside...

Yea!  They must've been reading to know I wanted that fancy camera.  Tom said no, I dropped enough hints (and requests not even disguised as hints) that he knew without reading the last post.

And if you can't tell from the pre-birthday camera photo, the other gift is a 1500 piece puzzle with a black lab in it. 

And some of my oh, so wonderful neighbors/friends dropped of these treats... cupcakes from Sprinkles. Don't you wish you lived on my street?

Everyone asked what I did all day...I spent my birthday vacation day at the school book fair. 

Yes. That was a F-U-N, fun day for me. 

I got to pretend I had my two dream jobs: stay-at-home-mom and professional organizer.

We turned this jumble into a cafeteria full of neatly catagorized used books.  (Sorry I forgot an after photo...I was tired).

My favorite thing about working the used book fair is the pre-shopping perk (that and the organizing high I get).  This year I bought about a couple DOZEN books (so far) .  My favorite purchase is this big boy:

A dictionary? How boring, you say?

But just look at how FAT it is! 

The pages are yellowing and it will make for some great crafts.

And my bookish (aka nerdy) family has already been quizzing each other on words in it, so I may just leave it open on the coffee table for spontaneous word games.  We love those word games.  All that for $2!

Thanks to all for the calls, texts, emails, gifts, goodies, cards, and even the Birthday Song at the book fair.

I am blessed with the best friends and family ever.

Karen

My Bookclub's List of Books

August 23, 2009

Books are so amazing. It astounds me that an author can create an entirely other world in his or her mind, and then write it down so that it interests, entertains, enthralls, and/or haunts total strangers. WOW! I asked my book club to remind me of the books we have read together. Here is that list. It is quite a variation of books. After writing it all down, I have come to the conclusion that we have read more memoirs than we should. I do love memoirs though.

There are so many others I have read and loved, such as The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Maybe we read that in book club too?? The movie does not disappoint. In fact, I am going to re-read it after having just seen the movie. I also loved The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri; both the book and the movie. The movie has a very different focus than the book did, at least for me, but both were great. Of course, I loved Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenedis and Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells (the book, NOT the movie), but you all should know that about me by now.

So, in no particular order, here is the BOOKCLUB READING LIST: [by the way, ladies, we really need a name for our book club, so put on your thinkin' caps]

The Tender Bar by J. R. Moehringer (mem)
picked it up two times about a year apart and never really got into it, so I won't be finishing it
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
now one of my all-time favorite books!
The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan (memoir)
it ranks in the middle place among my favorites list
Year of Wonders and March by Geraldine Brooks
anything by Ms. Brooks has been great. Year of Wonder is my favorite by her, a Year of Wonders was one of our most fun meetings despite the topic of the book (the plague). Thanks JM! People of the Book is also really, really good.
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
compelling and thought-provoking book, but hated that female main character, you know, Kate Winslett
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
dark, depressing, scary. Don't know if I want to see that movie.
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
I usually love Jane Austen books, but I couldn't get through this one.
The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud
Oh, please. The characters were awful, who cares about them! I think I picked this book too, my bad.
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
I didn't get very far into this one before I decided to veto it.
These is My Words by Nancy Turner
I love Sarah Agnes Prine. I would never have read this on my own, so thanks CM for exposing me to some local history here. I am reading the second (Sarah's Quilt) of the three books about our tough heroine, Ms. Prine. Kind of like Little House in the Prairie for us grown up little girls.
Eat, Pray, Love (memoir) by Elizabeth Gilbert
I enjoyed the "Pray" section, but really didn't care for the "Eat" part; "Love" section was so-so.
Follow the River by James Alexander Thom
Don't let the cover fool you! It is NOT a trashy romance novel despite the scantily-clad, busty babe on the cover. It is a totally engrossing adventure novel. It is about another tough woman who actually existed. This is another one I would never have picked up (see above comments about the cover), but highly recommend. Whenever I am doing any outdoorsy activity (which is not often) or even driving in my air-conditioned car through rugged-looking areas, I think of this woman and how she not only walked barefoot for miles naked and in the snow, but gave birth and rode on horseback while she was hugely pregnant, not to mention the horrible other event she witnesses! I am the biggest baby.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Very interesting book about circus life and circus animals. Really, it is a very good book.
Three Cups of Tea (NF) by Greg Mortenson
Not my cup of tea. Didn't finish it.
When you are Engulfed in Flames (NF) David Sedaris
OK, who doesn't crack up over David Sedaris?! Actually though, I preferred Me Talk Pretty, but he is always funny, especially in person.
Glass Castle (memoir) by Jeannette Walls
At least I am not as bad a parent as Ms. Walls' were! I can't believe those people.
Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powelle (mem)
I never finished this book. It just wasn't doing anything for me, but I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Meryl Streep should win an award for that spot-on impression of Julia Child.
Ex Libris (NF) by Anne Fadiman
A great book for book lovers.
Beautiful Boy (memoir) by David Scheff
Oh brother...he was very naive. Nonetheless, I'd hate to experience what he has.
Tweak (memoir) Nick Scheff
If you are that drugged out, how do you remember it all to write a memoir? (See A Million Little Pieces below)
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie and Ina Rilke
Another one I just didn't get into and quit.
A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
I really liked this book. I couldn't put it down. I think I would have felt the same even if he had called it a novel. Again, if you are that drunk or drugged out, how can you recall those incidents enough to write about them?
The Uses of Enchantment by Heidi Julavits
I picked this one and it was another loser. Crazy girl fakes kidnapping or something ridiculous like that.

Those are all the books we could collectively remember. I'd love to hear your comments on these books, or suggestions for others.

Karen