December book of the month Discussion

Let it Snow: Three Holiday Romances By John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle
The weather outside is frightful, but these stories are delightful! When a huge blizzard (that doesn’t show signs of stopping) hits, Gracetown is completely snowed in. But even though it’s cold outside, things are heating up inside, proving that the holiday season is magical when it comes to love. In three wonderfully (and hilariously!) interconnected tales, YA stars John Green, Lauren Myracle, and Maureen Johnson create a must-have collection that captures all the spirit of the holiday season

Wordless Wednesday or Whatcha' Readin'?

A Book Review

The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff:

Willie Cooper arrives on the doorstep of her ancestral home in Templeton, New York in the wake of a disastrous affair with her much older, married archaeology professor. That same day, the discovery of a prehistoric monster in the lake brings a media frenzy to the quiet, picture-perfect town her ancestors founded. Smarting from a broken heart, Willie then learns that the story her mother had always told her about her father has all been a lie. He wasn't the one - night stand Vi had led her to imagine, but someone else entirely. As Willie puts her archaeological skills to work digging for the truth about her lineage, a chorus of voices from the town's past rise up around her to tell their sides of the story. Dark secrets come to light, past and present blur, old mysteries are finally put to rest, and the surprising truth about more than one monster is revealed.

I loved this story. It started out a little slow where I could put it down after a chapter, but as I got into I couldn't put it down! This was another title I picked up at the Border's closing down sale. I wish I had had more time to scour through the shelves!!

I love books that have the past affect/effect present day. That sounds stupid because of course the past effects today. What I mean is that the book is almost 2 stories. The first story is of Willie and the second of her ancestors. I have always been a sucker for time period novels or novels that go back and forth, but it is rare to find an author who does it well. [Dreadful Sorry by Kathryn Reiss (teen fiction) was a favorite when I was younger. It would be interesting to re-read it today to see if I still thought it was as good as I did then!]

I liked how the author gave you more information then what Willie had with chapters that tell the story of characters that helped shape her world. Although I did have a guess early on who her father might be and I was right! I didn't think I was right all the way the through the book, just had an inkling. Comes from reading too many books and watching too many movies!

I liked all the characters in the book. I also liked the relationships in the book, not just the romantic ones, they just seemed more real and not so fairytale like. I also liked how there was a little fantasy/sci-fi stuff going on.

Over all I really enjoyed this read and recommend it to everyone. It is Lauren Groff's first novel. I will await her next impatiently!!

A Book Review

Babyville by Jane Green

Julia and Mark are stuck in a loveless relationship. Julia thinks a baby will help, but perhaps that isn't the answer to her problems. Maeve is totally allergic to commitment - she breaks out in a rash whenever she passes a buggy. A one-night-stand results in an unwanted pregnancy. But just how unwanted is it? Samantha is besotted with her new-born baby. But how is husband Chris coping with his suddenly unavailable wife, and is Samantha's obsession as healthy as it seems?

Borders in England has closed all it's stores nationwide!! I made it to the sale late one night, but I had a 2 year old with me so I had to quickly scan the already pretty bare shelves of books. All 50% off!! The cover is what grabbed my attention in the first place but after reading the back I did have a bit of curiosity. It reads almost as 3 different stories with entwined characters.

The first story was about Julia trying desperately for a baby in hopes it would fill the hole in her relationship. I didn't personally relate to her because I don't think I'm the type of person who would assume that a baby was the answer to problems in a relationship. Julia and Mark had been living together for 4 years or something and had never talked about marriage, but they were willing to have a baby? Finally they "take a break" with Julia going off to New York to visit a friend. Then it moves on to...

Maeve, her story is sort of clique and has been told before. Has anyone ever seen that movie with Diane Keaton Baby Boom? Career driven women besotted with a baby. Enough said.

Sam, last but not least, was the most realistic. She had the "perfect" relationship. Her and her husband were best friends with an awesome sex life. Yet, it all got lost once they had a baby. Which realistically happens to some. She was desperate to be the perfect mom and would one minute tell him he never helped her and when he tried to help she would then yell at him because he was doing it wrong. The odd thing about Sam's story is how she gets out of her baby blue funk is having a crush on another married man almost to the point of scary obsession. I would have preferred her re-falling in love with her husband in a different way.

It's funny because after I read the book my thoughts were more like that was a nice easier read about women's experiences with having a baby in the modern world. But when I sat down to write this something completely different came out.

So, on a last note a pretty mindless read that if you had a hard time adjusting to parenthood you might want to read to make you feel you were/are not alone. Or if you are thinking of having a baby to restore you failing relationship read this to see how better your life will turn out if you just move on and wait to have a baby. But if you got knocked up after a one night stand I would suggest not reading this book because I doubt it would turn out as "pretty" for you in real life.

Wordless Wednesday - What'cha reading?

December's Book of the Month

(US Cover)

The weather outside is frightful, but these stories are delightful! When a huge blizzard (that doesn’t show signs of stopping) hits, Gracetown is completely snowed in. But even though it’s cold outside, things are heating up inside, proving that the holiday season is magical when it comes to love. In three wonderfully (and hilariously!) interconnected tales, YA stars John Green, Lauren Myracle, and Maureen Johnson create a must-have collection that captures all the spirit of the holiday season.

(UK Cover)

• Maureen Johnson -- Jubilee Express,
• John Green -- A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle
• Lauren Myracle -- Patron Saint of Pigs

These are Teen Fiction writers and so I expect this book to be a fun Christmas read. Nothing that should get in the way of the Holidays!! I hope all of you have a wonderful Holiday Season! Keep Reading!!

Queen of Babble -- Meg Cabot

Well...What did you think? Did you like Lizzie? Did it make you want to read the following titles Queen of Babble in the BIg City and Queen of Babble gets Hitched? If so did you read them?

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

In an abandoned mansion at the heart of Barcelona, a young man - David Martin - makes his living by writing sensationalist novels under a pseudonym. The survivor of a troubled childhood, he has taken refuge in the world of books, and spends his nights spinning baroque tales about the city's underworld. But perhaps his dark imaginings are not as strange as they seem, for in a locked room deep within the house are letters hinting at the mysterious death of the previous owner. Like a slow poison, the history of the place seeps into his bones as he struggles with an impossible love. Then David receives a letter from a reclusive French editor, Andreas Corelli, who makes him the offer of a lifetime. He is to write a book with the power to change hearts and minds. In return, he will receive a fortune, perhaps more. But as David begins the work, he realises that there is a connection between this haunting book and the shadows that surround his home. Set in the turbulent 1920s, The Angel's Game takes us back to the gothic universe of the Cemetery of the Forgotten Books, the Sempere and Son bookshop, and the winding streets of Barcelona's old quarter, in a masterful tale about the magic of books and the darkest corners of the human soul.

What I have to say: I think I might need to re-read this book! I was reading for a book club (I never made it to the discussion due to completely forgetting about it!) so I tried to take it slow as I had a whole month to read it and I wanted to make sure I didn't read it in a week and then forget about it by the time the meeting came up. So, anyway by the time I got to the middle I was so intrigued I had to finish it, but once I did I sorta felt like I missed something and I couldn't think of what I felt I was missing? I was pretty annoyed that I had forgotten about the meeting because I wanted so badly to figure out what it was I might have missed. If anyone has read this please let me know!! I'd love to discuss it!
I liked this book enough to consider re-reading it (which is a privileged only for the worthy) concluding that I highly recommend this title as a must read!

November's Pick

Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot

Lizzie Nichols, a fashion-history major, wants nothing more than to graduate college and then fly off to London to be with her boyfriend, Andy. But at her graduation party, Lizzie finds out that she can't graduate until she writes a senior thesis. And when she lands in London, Andy turns out to be a liar, gambler, and a fashion disaster. Lizzie, stuck in London with a nonchangeable ticket home, escapes Andy via the Chunnel in hopes that her friend Shari, who is catering weddings for the summer at a French chateau, can help. On the train, Lizzie meets a stranger, Jean-Luc, and spills everything that has happened, only to find out that he is the son of the chateau's owner. At the chateau, Lizzie continues to babble when she shouldn't, ticking off Jean-Luc, shocking his mother, and upsetting a bride. Will she ever learn to keep her mouth shut?

Edgar Allen Poe Discussion

I'm leaving it up to you to write what you want about anything you've read by Edgar Allan Poe!!

Happy Halloween!!

Hey Everyone!!

We've not been very active on the blog recently.
I'm going through a patch were I'm not sure what sort of book I'm in the mood for. I have a stack of at least 5 books waiting for me! Usually when I'm not reading it's because I don't have anything to read!
I'm still reading The Picture of Dorian Gray which isn't a very big book!! I was hoping to have it read in time to see the new adaptation, but it's not in theatres any more.
Unless there are any huge objections for Novemember and December I'll pick an easy read for the book of the month. I thought of skipping the crazy busy holiday season, but I worry about losing book of the month! Just because it's slow now doesn't mean it always will be!! I am open to suggestions, please leave a comment to this post!
I have also been bad at checking the email I'll try to be better at that! So, if you have any recommendations or reviews you'd like to do please email us!! Or if you just have a list of some of your favorite books or even a favorite author I'm happy to do some research and write a post about them!
Keep Reading!!!
~Lisa

Man Booker prize 2009 Winner has been announced!!

Hilary Mantel (the bookmakers' hot favourite) has been named the winner of the £50,000 Man Booker Prize for Fiction for Wolf Hall, published by Fourth Estate, an imprint of Harper Collins.

'Lock Cromwell in a deep dungeon in the morning,' says Thomas More, 'and when you come back that night he'll be sitting on a plush cushion eating larks' tongues, and all the gaolers will owe him money.'

England, the 1520s. Henry VIII is on the throne, but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is his chief advisor, charged with securing the divorce the pope refuses to grant. Into this atmosphere of distrust and need comes Thomas Cromwell, first as Wolsey's clerk, and later his successor.Cromwell is a wholly original man: the son of a brutal blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a charmer, a bully, a man with a delicate and deadly expertise in manipulating people and events. Ruthless in pursuit of his own interests, he is as ambitious in his wider politics as he is for himself. His reforming agenda is carried out in the grip of a self-interested parliament and a king who fluctuates between romantic passions and murderous rages. From one of our finest living writers, Wolf Hall is that very rare thing: a truly great English novel, one that explores the intersection of individual psychology and wider politics. With a vast array of characters, and richly overflowing with incident, it peels back history to show us Tudor England as a half-made society, moulding itself with great passion and suffering and courage.

taken from:

http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/navigate.do?pPageID=1423

Wordless Wednesday or Whatcha' Reading?

October's Book of the Month

It doesn't have to be this exact book! :0) I was thinking the two stories we should read are The Black Cat and The Tell-Tale Heart they are similar and short! ;0) Then we can discuss whatever other Edgar Allen Poe stories we've read and talk about our favorites and so on!
Please leave comments or email us if you are having problems finding the two stories in the same book.
Also for the month of October if you have a list of horror, sci-fi, or mystery stories that are your favorite please send them our way and we'll post them!! Or if you just have a favorite author of those genres!!
Keep Reading!!!

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak -- A Book Discussion

~Discuss the symbolism of Death as the omniscient narrator of the novel.Why is Death haunted by humans?

~The Grave Digger's Handbook is the first book Liesel steals. Why did she take the book? What is significant about the titles of the books she steals? Explain how Liesel's own attempt to write a book saves her life.

~How does Max's life give Liesel purpose? At what point do Liesel and Max become friends? Max gives Liesel a story called "The Standover Man" for her birthday. What is the significance of this story?

~Liesel Meminger lived to be an old woman. Death says that he would like to tell the book thief about beauty and brutality, but those are things that she had lived. How does her life represent beauty in the wake of brutality?

Reader's Choice October

Halloween Party by R.L. Stine
The invitation arrived in a black-borderred envelope and was delivered by the beautiful and mysterious transfer student. The inside showed a coffin with the inscription "reserved for You" -- perfect for an al-night Halloween party in an old house on Fear Street.
The party was well under way when the lights went out. That's to be expected at the Halloween party. But when the lights came back on, there was a boy on the floor with a knife in his back. Just a Halloween prank? Maybe. Maybe not. Now the guests trick-or-treating has turned to terror. And it looks like someone's idea of a party game is murder!


Hell House by Richard Matheson
Rolf Rudolph Deutsch is going die. But when Deutsch, a wealthy magazine and newpaper publisher, starts thinking seriously about his impending death, he offers to pay a physicist and two mediums, one physical and one mental, $100,000 each to establish the facts of life after death.Dr. Lionel Barrett, the physicist, accompanied by the mediums, travel to the Belasco House in Maine, which has been abandoned and sealed since 1949 after a decade of drug addiction, alcoholism, and debauchery. For one night, Barrett and his colleagues investigate the Belasco House and learn exactly why the townfolks refer to it as the Hell House.



The Black Cat, The Cask of Amontillado, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Masque of the Red Death, The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Tell-Tale Heart are the most well known Edgar Allan Poe works.

If you vote for Mr. Poe please write your top 3 stories in the comment area! That way we can determine what 3 to discuss at the end of October!!

Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama -- A Recommendation

The son of a black African father and a white American mother, Obama was only two years old when his father walked out on the family. Many years later, Obama receives a phone call from Nairobi: his father is dead. This sudden news inspires an emotional odyssey for Obama, determined to learn the truth of his father's life and reconcile his divided inheritance. Written at the age of thirty-three, "Dreams from my Father" is an unforgettable read. It illuminates not only Obama's journey, but also our universal desire to understand our history, and what makes us the people we are.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath -- A Book Review

Esther Greenwood is at college and is fighting two battles, one against her own desire for perfection in all things - grades, boyfriend, looks, career - and the other against remorseless mental illness. As her depression deepens she finds herself encased in it, bell-jarred away from the rest of the world. This is the story of her journey back into reality. Highly readable, witty and disturbing, The Bell Jar is Sylvia Plath's only novel and was originally published under a pseudonym in 1963. What it has to say about what women expect of themselves, and what society expects of women, is as sharply relevant today as it has always been.

September's Book Selection

And the winner of this month's Reader's Choice poll is.....The Book Thief by Markus Zusak ***HERE IS A SMALL FACT***
You are going to die
1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier.
Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall.
***SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION***
This novel is narrated by Death. It’s a small story, about: a girl, an accordionist, Some fanatical Germans, A Jewish fist fighter, And quite a lot of thievery.
Another thing you should know: Death will visit the Book Thief three times . . .

My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler - A Book Discussion

After reading My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler, what was your overall impression of the book? What did you find surprising about the facts introduced in this book? How has reading this book changed your opinion of Chelsea Handler or one-night stands, if it has at all? In your opinion, does Chelsea present information in a way that is interesting and insightful, and if so, how does she achieve this? What do you think her parents think of this book? Would you recommend this book to your friends, why or why not?

A Spell for Chameleon by Piers Anthony -- A Recommendation

Xanth was the enchanted land where magic ruled--where every citizen had a special spell only he could cast. That is, except for Bink of North Village. He was sure he possessed no magic, and knew that if he didn't find some soon, he would be exiled. According to the Good Magician Humpfrey, the charts said that Bink was as powerful as the King or even the Evil Magician Trent. Unfortunately, no one could determine its form. Meanwhile, Bink was in despair. If he didn't find his magic soon, he would be forced to leave....

President Obama's summer book list

I read an article on http://www.slate.com/ by John Dickerson that discets the meaning behind the titles President Obama is reading this summer. I know, too much time on their hands! Still, I found it interesting. :) Here is the list, but for the discussion on what each titles says about him you have to read the article, cited here.

• The Way Home by George Pelecanos, a crime thriller based in Washington, D.C.;

• Lush Life by Richard Price, a story of race and class set in New York's Lower East Side;

• Tom Friedman's Hot, Flat, and Crowded, on the benefits to America of an environmental revolution;

• John Adams by David McCullough;

• Plainsong by Kent Haruf, a drama about the life of eight different characters living in a Colorado prairie community.

I don't know about you, but The Way Home sounds pretty interesting! :)

Wordless Wednesday - What'cha Reading?

The Pact by Jodi Picoult -- A Recommendation

In this contemporary tale of love and friendship, Jodi Picoult brings to life a familiar world, and in a single terrifying moment awakens every parent's worse fear: We think we know our children… but do we ever really know them at all?

For eighteen years the Hartes and the Golds have lived next door to each other, sharing everything from Chinese food to chicken pox to carpool duty-- they've grown so close it seems they have always been a part of each other's lives. Parents and children alike have been best friends, so it's no surprise that in high school Chris and Emily's friendship blossoms into something more. They've been soul mates since they were born.

So when midnight calls from the hospital come in, no one is ready for the appalling truth: Emily is dead at seventeen from a gunshot wound to the head. There's a single unspent bullet in the gun that Chris took from his father's cabinet-- a bullet that Chris tells police he intended for himself. But a local detective has doubts about the suicide pact that Chris has described.
The profound questions faced by the characters in this heart-rending novel are those we can all relate to: How well do we ever really know our children, our friends? What if…? As its chapters unfold, alternating between an idyllic past and an unthinkable present, The Pact paints an indelible portrait of families in anguish… culminating in an astonishingly suspenseful courtroom drama as Chris finds himself on trial for murder.

With this riveting psychological drama, Jodi Picoult explores the dynamics of intimate relationships under stress-- from the seemingly inexplicable mind of a teenager to the bonds of friendship and marriage. Few writers have such a gift for evoking everyday life coupled with the ability to create a level of dramatic tension that will keep you up reading late into the night. The Pact is storytelling at its best: wonderfully observed, deeply moving, and utterly impossible to put down.

http://www.jodipicoult.com/the-pact.html

Stardust by Neil Gaiman -- A Book Review

Life moves at a leisurely pace in the tiny town of Wall - named after the imposing stone barrier which separates the town from a grassy meadow. Here, young Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the beautiful Victoria Forester and for the coveted prize of her hand, Tristran vows to retrieve a fallen star and deliver it to his beloved. It is an oath that sends him over the ancient wall and into a world that is dangerous and strange beyond imagining...

What Mother's Do: Especially When it Looks like Nothing by Naomi Stadlen -- A Recommendation

Have you ever spent all day looking after your baby or young child - and ended up feeling that you have 'done nothing all day'? Do you sometimes find it hard to feel pleased with what you are doing, and tell yourself you should achieve more with your time? Maybe it's because you can't see how much you are doing already. In this unique and perceptive look at mothering, Naomi Stadlen draws on many years' work with hundreds of other mothers of a wide variety of ages and backgrounds. She explores mothers' experiences to reveal what they - and you - are doing when it may look, to everyone else, like nothing. If you are a mother, and have ever felt: that nobody understands what you do all day; overwhelmed by your feelings for your baby; tired all the time; that nothing prepared you for motherhood; uncertain what your baby seems to want; short-tempered with your partner - you will find this the most reassuring book you have ever picked up.

Reader's Choice September

Nine-year-old Oskar Schell is an inventor, amateur entomologist, Francophile, letter writer, pacifist, natural historian, percussionist, romantic, Great Explorer, jeweller, detective, vegan, and collector of butterflies. When his father is killed in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Centre, Oskar sets out to solve the mystery of a key he disovers in his father's closet. It is a search which leads him into the lives of strangers, through the five boroughs of New York, into history, to the bombings of Dresden and Hiroshima, and on an inward journey which brings him ever closer to some kind of peace.


Drawn by family. Driven by fear. Haunted by fate. Would knowing the future be a gift or a burden? Or even a curse!? The Whitney women of Salem, Massachusetts are renowned for reading the future in the patterns of lace. But the future doesn't always bring good news -- as Towner Whitney knows all too well. When she was just fifteen her gift sent her whole world crashing to pieces. She predicted -- and then witnessed -- something so horrific that she vowed never to read lace again, and fled her home and family for good. Salem is a place of ghosts for Towner, and she swore she would never return. Yet family is a powerful tie and fifteen years later, Towner finds herself back in Salem. Her beloved great-aunt Eva has suddenly disappeared -- and when you've lived a life like Eva's, that could mean real trouble. But Salem is wreathed in sickly shadows and whispered half-memories. It's fast becoming clear that the ghosts of Towner's fractured past have not been brought fully into the light. And with them comes the threat of terrifying new disaster.

Olive Kitteridge might be described by some as a battle axe or as brilliantly pushy, by others as the kindest person they had ever met. Olive herself has always been certain that she is 100% correct about everything - although, lately, her certitude has been shaken. This indomitable character appears at the centre of these narratives that comprise Olive Kitteridge. In each of them, we watch Olive, a retired schoolteacher, as she struggles to make sense of the changes in her life and the lives of those around her - always with brutal honesty, if sometimes painfully. Olive will make you laugh, nod in recognition, as well as wince in pain or shed a tear or two. We meet her stoic husband, bound to her in a marriage both broken and strong, and her own son, tyrannised by Olive's overbearing sensitivities.

HERE IS A SMALL FACT - YOU ARE GOING TO DIE. 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier. Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall. SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION - THIS NOVEL IS NARRATED BY DEATH. It's a small story, about: a girl, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. ANOTHER THING YOU SHOULD KNOW - DEATH WILL VISIT THE BOOK THIEF THREE TIMES

Any Suggestions???

Does anyone have any suggestions for September's Book of the Month?

Please leave us any suggestions you have in the comment area!!

Wordless Wednesday

Eesoo by Kathleen Boettcher -- A Recommendation by Melanie

A blue-eyed red-haired lady doctor from Iowa is forced into an arranged marriage with a handsome, defiant, alien warrior and an intergalactic adventure begins. Sparks fly between them, humorous situations abound as the action moves through a web of intrigue from Iowa into outer space and concludes on the planet N’dar. Laugh and cry through a suspenseful mystery that will warm your heart and satisfy your thirst for adventure.

Science fiction novel which blends adventure, romance, humor, and mystery. The first in a series of eight. Each novel is a complete story with continuing characters.

Kathleen Boettcher grew up in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Deciding small town living was not exciting enough, she began raising, training, and showing siberian huskies. That led to nationwide travel, dogsledding and intermingling with adventurous people. Horses were added to her life and after routine household duties were complete, racing through the woods on a dogsled or galloping across fields on horseback added joy and adventure. After a move to California curtailed daily excitement, she turned inward for adventure and began writing.

The Time Traveler's Wife in theatres August 14th!!!

Visit the Offical Movie site for everything about the movie including downloadable wallpapers, video, photos....basically the who what when where of the movie!!!


The Official movie site: http://www.thetimetravelerswifemovie.com/

or

Youtube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USUDlMBR-dQ

Olivia by Ian Falconer -- A Recommendation by Alexa

Happy 3rd Birthday Alexa!!!Have fun with Olivia...
dressing up
singing songs
building sand castles
napping (maybe)
dancing
painting on walls
and -- whew! --
going to sleep at last.

August's Book Selection

The Winner of our Reader's Choice PollMany people feel like a one-night stand is something to be ashamed or embarrassed of. I disagree...' We've all (well not quite all, perhaps) had at least one: a one-night stand. Often embarrassing and uncomfortable, occasionally outlandish, but most times just a necessary and irresistible evil, the one-night-stand is a social rite as old as sex itself and as common as a bar stool. Enter Chelsea Handler. Gorgeous, sharp, and anything but shy, Chelsea loves men...Lots of them. "My Horizontal Life" chronicles Chelsea's romps through the bedrooms of a host of potential suitors, uncovering what can happen in one night of passion between a man and a sometimes very intoxicated woman. From her short fling with a Vegas stripper named Thunder to her even shorter fling with a very short man, she recalls her myriad one-night stands with hilarious honesty. "My Horizontal Life" is a sensationally frank and funny memoir of sexual life, and a gloriously quirky take on why we do the things we do. Whether you have been there yourself or not, its one guilty pleasure you won't be ashamed to talk about in the morning...

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

This was our book for July as many of you already know! Once again we're trying something a little different!! This time we just want to know: Did you like it? What emotions did it invoke if any? Did you like Jacob? Who was your favorite character? What did you think about the opening paragraph? Did you like how it ended? Do you like the circus?

You don't have to answer all these questions I'm just trying to get everyone thinking again if it's been a while since you read it!! ;0) We can't wait to hear what you thought!!

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay -- A Book Review

A New York Times bestseller.

Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.
Tatiana de Rosnay offers us a brilliantly subtle, compelling portrait of France under occupation and reveals the taboos and silence that surround this painful episode.

Wordless Wednesday - What'cha Reading?

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is out ToDAY!!

After you see it let us know what you thought!! Some of you might have been lucky enough to see it at Midnight....here in the UK it didn't show so I'm going tonight!!

I am always horrible and compare it to the book and of course the book is always going to win!!! So I've learned to let some things go, but others grrrr it just annoys me so let us know what annoyed you and what you could live with!! ;0)

Also a very HAppy Birthday to our very own blogger Janet!!

Reader's Choice

FOR AUGUST

No Time For Goodbye by Linwood Barclay:
On the morning she will never forget, suburban teenager Cynthia Archer awakes with a nasty hangover and a feeling she is going to have an even nastier confrontation with her mom and dad. But when she leaves her bedroom, she discovers the house is empty, with no sign of her parents or younger brother Todd. In the blink of an eye, without any explanation, her family has simply disappeared. Twenty-five years later Cynthia is still haunted by unanswered questions. Were her family murdered? If so, why was she spared? And if they're alive, why did they abandon her in such a cruel way? Now married with a daughter of her own, Cynthia fears that her new family will be taken from her just as her first one was. And so she agrees to take part in a TV documentary revisiting the case, in the hope that somebody somewhere will remember something - or even that her father, mother or brother might finally reach out to her... Then a letter arrives which makes no sense and yet chills Cynthia to the core. And soon she begins to realise that stirring up the past could be the worst mistake she has ever made...

OR

My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler:

Many people feel like a one-night stand is something to be ashamed or embarrassed of. I disagree...' We've all (well not quite all, perhaps) had at least one: a one-night stand. Often embarrassing and uncomfortable, occasionally outlandish, but most times just a necessary and irresistible evil, the one-night-stand is a social rite as old as sex itself and as common as a bar stool. Enter Chelsea Handler. Gorgeous, sharp, and anything but shy, Chelsea loves men...Lots of them. "My Horizontal Life" chronicles Chelsea's romps through the bedrooms of a host of potential suitors, uncovering what can happen in one night of passion between a man and a sometimes very intoxicated woman. From her short fling with a Vegas stripper named Thunder to her even shorter fling with a very short man, she recalls her myriad one-night stands with hilarious honesty. "My Horizontal Life" is a sensationally frank and funny memoir of sexual life, and a gloriously quirky take on why we do the things we do. Whether you have been there yourself or not, its one guilty pleasure you won't be ashamed to talk about in the morning...

The White Tiger by Aravinda Adiga -- A Book Review

Meet Balram Halwai, the 'White Tiger': servant, philosopher, entrepreneur and murderer. Balram, the White Tiger, was born in a backwater village on the River Ganges, the son of a rickshaw-puller. He works in a teashop, crushing coal and wiping tables, but nurses a dream of escape. When he learns that a rich village landlord needs a chauffeur, he takes his opportunity, and is soon on his way to Delhi behind the wheel of a Honda. Amid the cockroaches and call-centres, the 36,000,004 gods, the slums, the shopping malls, and the crippling traffic jams, Balram learns of a new morality at the heart of a new India. Driven by desire to better himself, he comes to see how the Tiger might escape his cage...

http://pagesofthemind3.blogspot.com/search?q=white+tiger

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling

"In a brief statement on Friday night, Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge confirmed that He Who Must Not Be Named has returned to this country and is once more active. "It is with great regret that I must confirm that the wizard styling himself Lord - well, you know who I mean - is alive and among us again," said Fudge." These dramatic words appeared in the final pages of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix". In the midst of this battle of good and evil, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" takes up the story of Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, with Voldemort's power and followers increasing day-by-day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnooUEuyn_M&feature=fvst

Wednesday July 15th.

Where will you be?