Hello Ladies,
And how is everyone's summer? A bit warm here, thanks for asking. I've decided that since I've been a bit behind lately that we should have a break this month. That way we can catch up on all the books we've been suggesting to each other (even if they haven't been the monthly picks) and we'll be all geared up for September! Back to school, Fall-even though it still feels like summer is hanging on, newly sharpened pencils and all that jazz.
May I suggest Stephenie Myer's Breaking Dawn that comes out today at midnight? Or her other new one not of the Twilight series, The Host. That was a good one. I'm looking forward to trying to finish The Moonstone (June's pick). Truth be told, I haven't been able to get into that one. So maybe I'm not looking forward to it per se, but still...I'll have more time to read it. I'm also really looking forward to reading Personal Days that Tiana suggested in July as well. Currently I'm reading "If Disney Ran Your Hospital". It's a managerial/customer service book about perceptions and outcomes in the hospital experience. Pretty good, obviously dry, but I still like it.
If any of you have suggestions on catch up reading or would like to discuss your catch up reading, please post your comments here. Have a good month!
Sharon
Friday, August 1, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
July selections for voting
It's Coral's turn to select the book we read for July. Here are her selections. You can vote by posting a comment to this entry. Without further adieu...
This HAS been fun! Here are my suggestions for the July book choices:
Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot
Synopsis
What's an American girl with a big mouth, but an equally big heart, to do?
Lizzie Nichols has a problem, and it isn't that she doesn't have the slightest idea what she's going to do with her life, or that she's blowing what should be her down payment on a cute little Manhattan apartment on a trip to London to visit her long-distance boyfriend, Andrew. What's the point of planning for the future when she's done it again? See, Lizzie can't keep her mouth shut. And it's not just that she can't keep her own secrets, she can't keep anything to herself.
This time when she opens her big mouth, her good intentions get Andrew in major hot water. Now Lizzie's stuck in London with no boyfriend and no place to stay until the departure date written on her non-changeable airline ticket.
Fortunately, Lizzie's best friend and college roommate is spending her summer in the south of France, catering weddings in a chateau. One call and Lizzie's on a train to Paris. Who cares if she speaks only rudimentary French? One glimpse of gorgeous Chateau Mirac -- not to mention gorgeous Luke, Chateau Mirac's owner -- and she's smitten.
But while most caterers can be trusted to keep a secret, Lizzie's the exception. And no sooner has the first cork been popped than Luke hates her, the bride is in tears, and it looks like Chateau Mirac is in danger of becoming a lipo-recovery spa. As if things aren't bad enough, ex-boyfriend Andy shows up looking for "closure" (or at least a loan), threatening to ruin everything, especially Lizzie's chance at ever finding real love -- unless she can figure out a way to use that big mouth of hers to save the day.
Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie (a classic mystery)
Synopsis: Sent by her husband to find a suitable house, a young bride finds what she thinks is the perfect choice--a charming Victorian villa called Hillside. But strange events soon lead her to believe that the house is haunted. Miss Marple however has a more sinister explanation.
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
Synopsis Two young look-alikes in 16th-century England decide to trade clothes and roles, a situation that drastically alters the lives of both. This timeless tale of transposed identities remains one of Twain’s best-loved novels.
This HAS been fun! Here are my suggestions for the July book choices:
Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot
Synopsis
What's an American girl with a big mouth, but an equally big heart, to do?
Lizzie Nichols has a problem, and it isn't that she doesn't have the slightest idea what she's going to do with her life, or that she's blowing what should be her down payment on a cute little Manhattan apartment on a trip to London to visit her long-distance boyfriend, Andrew. What's the point of planning for the future when she's done it again? See, Lizzie can't keep her mouth shut. And it's not just that she can't keep her own secrets, she can't keep anything to herself.
This time when she opens her big mouth, her good intentions get Andrew in major hot water. Now Lizzie's stuck in London with no boyfriend and no place to stay until the departure date written on her non-changeable airline ticket.
Fortunately, Lizzie's best friend and college roommate is spending her summer in the south of France, catering weddings in a chateau. One call and Lizzie's on a train to Paris. Who cares if she speaks only rudimentary French? One glimpse of gorgeous Chateau Mirac -- not to mention gorgeous Luke, Chateau Mirac's owner -- and she's smitten.
But while most caterers can be trusted to keep a secret, Lizzie's the exception. And no sooner has the first cork been popped than Luke hates her, the bride is in tears, and it looks like Chateau Mirac is in danger of becoming a lipo-recovery spa. As if things aren't bad enough, ex-boyfriend Andy shows up looking for "closure" (or at least a loan), threatening to ruin everything, especially Lizzie's chance at ever finding real love -- unless she can figure out a way to use that big mouth of hers to save the day.
Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie (a classic mystery)
Synopsis: Sent by her husband to find a suitable house, a young bride finds what she thinks is the perfect choice--a charming Victorian villa called Hillside. But strange events soon lead her to believe that the house is haunted. Miss Marple however has a more sinister explanation.
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
Synopsis Two young look-alikes in 16th-century England decide to trade clothes and roles, a situation that drastically alters the lives of both. This timeless tale of transposed identities remains one of Twain’s best-loved novels.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
The Moonstone discussion
Ok, so Tiana's taking the floor with some questions, comments and discussion topics...Let's give this a whirl, shall we? Tiana is going to post and we'll post back. Thanks!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
June Selections for Voting!
Hi All,
This month, for June, it is Tiana's turn to select the book. Without further adieu...
Here are my suggestions:
Personal Days
by Ed Park
In an unnamed New York-based company, the employees are getting restless as everything around them unravels. There’s Pru, the former grad student turned spreadsheet drone; Laars, the hysteric whose work anxiety stalks him in his tooth-grinding dreams; and Jack II, who distributes unwanted backrubs–aka “jackrubs”–to his co-workers.
On a Sunday, one of them is called at home. And the Firings begin.
Rich with Orwellian doublespeak, filled with sabotage and romance, this astonishing literary debut is at once a comic delight and a narrative tour de force. It’s a novel for anyone who has ever worked in an office and wondered: “Where does the time go? Where does the life go? And whose banana is in the fridge?”
Child 44
by Tom Rob Smith
A gripping novel about one man's dogged pursuit of a serial killer against the opposition of Stalinist state security forces, Child 44 is at once suspenseful and provocative. Tom Rob Smith's remarkable debut thriller powerfully dramatizes the human cost of loyalty, integrity, and love in the face of totalitarian terror.
A decorated war hero driven by dedication to his country and faith in the superiority of Communist ideals, Leo Demidov has built a successful career in the Soviet security network, suppressing ideological crimes and threats against the state with unquestioning efficiency. When a fellow officer's son is killed, Leo is ordered to stop the family from spreading the notion that their child was murdered. For in the official version of Stalin's worker's paradise, such a senseless crime is impossible — an affront to the Revolution. But Leo knows better: a murderer is at large, cruelly targeting children, and the collective power of the Soviet government is denying his existence.
Leo's doubt sets in motion a chain of events that changes his understanding of everything he had previously believed. Smith's deftly crafted plot delivers twist after chilling twist, as it lays bare the deceit of the regime that enveloped an impoverished people in paranoia. In a shocking effort to test Leo's loyalty, his wife, Raisa, is accused of being a spy. Leo's refusal to denounce her costs him his rank, and the couple is banished from Moscow. Humiliated, renounced by his enemies, and deserted by everyone save Raisa, Leo realizes that his redemption rests on finding the vicious serial killer who is eviscerating innocent children and leaving them to die in the bleak Russian woods.
The Moonstone
By Wilkie Collins
Alongside Edgar Allan Poe in America, Britain’s Wilkie Collins stands as the inventor of the modern detective story. The Moonstone introduces all the ingredients: a homey, English country setting, and a colorfully exotic background in colonial India; the theft of a fabulous diamond from the lovely heroine; a bloody murder and a tragic suicide; a poor hero in love with the heroine but suspected of the crime, who can’t remember anything about the night the jewel was stolen; assorted friends, relatives, servants, a lawyer, a doctor, a sea captain—suspects, all; and, most essentially, a bumbling local policeman and a brilliant if eccentric London detective. Adding spice to the recipe are unexpected twists, a bit of dark satire, a dash of social comment, and an unusual but effective narrative structure—eleven different voices relate parts of the tale, each revealing as much about himself (and, in one case, herself) as about the mystery of the missing Moonstone.
**Remember to have your votes in by this weekend!**
This month, for June, it is Tiana's turn to select the book. Without further adieu...
Here are my suggestions:
Personal Days
by Ed Park
In an unnamed New York-based company, the employees are getting restless as everything around them unravels. There’s Pru, the former grad student turned spreadsheet drone; Laars, the hysteric whose work anxiety stalks him in his tooth-grinding dreams; and Jack II, who distributes unwanted backrubs–aka “jackrubs”–to his co-workers.
On a Sunday, one of them is called at home. And the Firings begin.
Rich with Orwellian doublespeak, filled with sabotage and romance, this astonishing literary debut is at once a comic delight and a narrative tour de force. It’s a novel for anyone who has ever worked in an office and wondered: “Where does the time go? Where does the life go? And whose banana is in the fridge?”
Child 44
by Tom Rob Smith
A gripping novel about one man's dogged pursuit of a serial killer against the opposition of Stalinist state security forces, Child 44 is at once suspenseful and provocative. Tom Rob Smith's remarkable debut thriller powerfully dramatizes the human cost of loyalty, integrity, and love in the face of totalitarian terror.
A decorated war hero driven by dedication to his country and faith in the superiority of Communist ideals, Leo Demidov has built a successful career in the Soviet security network, suppressing ideological crimes and threats against the state with unquestioning efficiency. When a fellow officer's son is killed, Leo is ordered to stop the family from spreading the notion that their child was murdered. For in the official version of Stalin's worker's paradise, such a senseless crime is impossible — an affront to the Revolution. But Leo knows better: a murderer is at large, cruelly targeting children, and the collective power of the Soviet government is denying his existence.
Leo's doubt sets in motion a chain of events that changes his understanding of everything he had previously believed. Smith's deftly crafted plot delivers twist after chilling twist, as it lays bare the deceit of the regime that enveloped an impoverished people in paranoia. In a shocking effort to test Leo's loyalty, his wife, Raisa, is accused of being a spy. Leo's refusal to denounce her costs him his rank, and the couple is banished from Moscow. Humiliated, renounced by his enemies, and deserted by everyone save Raisa, Leo realizes that his redemption rests on finding the vicious serial killer who is eviscerating innocent children and leaving them to die in the bleak Russian woods.
The Moonstone
By Wilkie Collins
Alongside Edgar Allan Poe in America, Britain’s Wilkie Collins stands as the inventor of the modern detective story. The Moonstone introduces all the ingredients: a homey, English country setting, and a colorfully exotic background in colonial India; the theft of a fabulous diamond from the lovely heroine; a bloody murder and a tragic suicide; a poor hero in love with the heroine but suspected of the crime, who can’t remember anything about the night the jewel was stolen; assorted friends, relatives, servants, a lawyer, a doctor, a sea captain—suspects, all; and, most essentially, a bumbling local policeman and a brilliant if eccentric London detective. Adding spice to the recipe are unexpected twists, a bit of dark satire, a dash of social comment, and an unusual but effective narrative structure—eleven different voices relate parts of the tale, each revealing as much about himself (and, in one case, herself) as about the mystery of the missing Moonstone.
**Remember to have your votes in by this weekend!**
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The Other Boleyn Girl Discussion
Ok, so who's read this yet? I know JuliAnne and I have. I thought it was great. She really gets you involved. The whole book it seemed to me was an interesting look at sibling rivalry. I couldn't believe some of the outrageous things that happened all in the name of family and ambition. It seemed like that was all they had. And if you think about it, in modern society, that's all we live for anymore: just to protect what is ours at all costs. And we're told that "anyone can be President", the sky's the limit to your ambition. I have lots of friends that are like that and you see that they aren't happy by just living for their monetary gain, but they don't know anything else. They don't have anything else to ground them...like values. They'll sacrifice anything and everything for some goal that they don't see the forest for the trees--just like Anne. It's interesting to see the vast contrast in happiness between the two sisters based on their personalities. They come from the same family, same background and circumstances, and the things they want that make them happy are so different.
Monday, April 21, 2008
May Selections for Voting...
Hello Ladies of Lit!
Here are my (Sharon's) selections for our May reading:
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky--novel set in WWII France, written by a French/Jewish woman who died in Aushwitctz. Recently translated into the English.
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory--novel about a 14 year old girl competing for the love of Henry the VIII.
Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley--classic novel that's actually a bit of a love story and a study of character.
All of these books can be found at the library and at Barnes and Noble. If you want more complete descriptions, go to bn.com. Remember, you may vote by posting comments.
Sharon
Here are my (Sharon's) selections for our May reading:
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky--novel set in WWII France, written by a French/Jewish woman who died in Aushwitctz. Recently translated into the English.
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory--novel about a 14 year old girl competing for the love of Henry the VIII.
Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley--classic novel that's actually a bit of a love story and a study of character.
All of these books can be found at the library and at Barnes and Noble. If you want more complete descriptions, go to bn.com. Remember, you may vote by posting comments.
Sharon
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