Good reads!!

Hi ladies!

I wanted to pass on some suggested titles, in case you're needing something new to read before our next book club meeting. Before I list them, though, I want to suggest you all get on your library's hold list for The Help by Kathryn Stockett. That is our next reading selection, and since it is currently on the NY Times Bestseller List, it will probably take you a little while to get your hands on it. It took me between 2 and 3 weeks to get my copy a few months ago. I am SO excited that is Julie's choice! It is an excellent book.

I'll write just a bit about each one. All of the titles can be clicked on to take you to amazon.com so you can read more about them. Some of these I've read recently; others were a while ago.

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan--another debut novel. I love debut novels! The best word to describe this book is captivating. I thought about making it my next book club choice, and maybe I still will. It is a fascinating read that provokes a lot of thought about women, motherhood, marriage, etc. It is the fictionalized account of the true story of Frank Lloyd Wright and his mistress, Mamah Borthwick Cheney.

The Piano Teacher by Janice Lee--Nan recommended this to me, and it was a very enjoyable read. I had no previous knowledge about Hong Kong during WWII, and that's what I love about historical fiction--learning about history in a very painless way.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield--My mom lent this one to me. I thought it was very intriguing. To be honest, I don't remember a lot about it, other than there were some parts that I didn't remember about which kind of surprised Nan when I then lent it to her--oops! But just a little bit, obviously, since I didn't remember it. This one has popped up on a lot of recommended reading lists.

Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum--This one is also showing up on a lot of lists lately. My mom also found this one for me. It is also historical fiction, sent in Weimar, Germany, during WWII. You know me--I don't like sad things, so Nazi Germany is not my first choice for a novel. This book is set in present day too, however, and flashes back to WWII. It is a very interesting storyline about an adult daughter who knows she came from Germany to America with her mom shortly after the war, but her mom absolutely refuses to talk about the war. The daughter is a professor of German history, I think, and she decides to conduct interviews of Germans who lived in Germany during WWII to record their side of the story, similar to the Shoah project, which records Jews' stories. It is not a true story, but obviously similar stories really happened. There is one scene that is so heart-wrenching I still feel haunted by it, but other than that, if I can read it and deal with the storyline, you can too.

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving--I haven't read this book since college, but this and the book below titled Paula where the only 2 books in college that made me connect so emotionally to the characters that I actually cried. I was an English major, so I read a heck of a lot of books; therefore, it meant something that they moved me so much. The ridiculous movie Simon Birch is based off of the first hundred or so pages of this, but the book is NOTHING like the movie in terms of cheesy-ness, and it does not end like the movie does. Such a great book!!



84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff --I just picked this up today, and the entire time I read it this afternoon, I was smiling. It is delightful. It is one that I saw as an "if you liked Guersney . . ., You'll like this" recommendation. Unlike Guernsey, it is a true story. And it reminds me some of one of my favorite all-time books, which is the next one.



Mrs. Miniver by Jan Struther --I always hesitate to recommend this to people a. because I love it SO much that I don't even want to hear about it if you don't like it :) and b. because I can't tell if anyone else would like it. I just relate so much to the main character; I've never met a character in print who was so much like me. You'll just have to look it up yourself to see if it sounds like something you'd like.


Paula by Isabel Allende This is another one I haven't read since college, but it is by an author I studied quite a bit in college. It is very moving and is a true (sometimes with some exaggeration) story. It is part of my favorite genre, which is magical realism. You can click on the title to read more about it.


Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer--I mentioned at the last book club how I used to teach this book. It is all about mountain-climbing, and I learned so much from it.


Life of Pi by Yann Martel--I also used to teach this book, and this one pops up on a lot of lists as well. I don't even know how to describe how much I love this book. It is just one of my favorite kinds of stories, about someone surviving by sheer determination and wit, and it is extremely well-written. There are gorgeous, descriptive passages all over it, so much so that when I think about this book, I think of all the colors that were in my mind as I read. It has a slow but interesting start, though it definitely picks up once the ship wrecks (I'm not giving anything away with that).


Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares Talking about books I taught reminds me of how much I love this series for teenage girls. I really, really loved these books. If you want something light and fun to make you feel like a teenagers again, read these. Oh, and of course, they are a million, trillion times better than the movies.


Okay, I'm thinking of a few more now that I've gotten going, but I better do some other things. I hope this list is interesting to some of you! Please let me know if you read any of these, and also, PLEASE post your own recommendations too!! I could really use some new good books.
:)

Money Saving Blogs

Hi Ladies!
Please let me know if you have any couponing questions; I'd be happy to help! I started following a few money saving blogs a little over a year ago, and it has saved our family so much more than I had even imagined it would. I'd recommend getting a subscription for the Sunday Indianapolis Star. I save and file the coupon inserts from each Sunday issue. Many coupons that I use I get online, typically from: coupons.com, smartsource.com, or individual product websites. A tip for internet-printable coupons is that you can usually print each coupon twice if you use the "back" button on your browser.

My favorite money saving blogs:
http://hip2save.blogspot.com/ <-My absolute favorite
http://www.couponclippinmama.com/
http://myfrugaladventures.blogspot.com/
http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/
http://www.dealseekingmom.com/

Target coupon generator site:
http://www.organicgrocerydeals.com/forums/view.php?pg=coupon_generator

Interesting Book....

I just felt like our blog needed a new post! I am just starting Tana French's "In the Woods" while I am simultaneously reading "Three Cups of Tea." So far, so good....it is a psychological thriller, kind of reminds me of an M. Night Shyamalan movie. Or sort of Steven Kingish. I don't typically read this sort of thing, but I had flipped through this book and its successor, "The Likeness," at Sam's Club, so decided to pick up the first one at the library. Although I don't know yet whether or not I'll love the plotline, I already love the writing. Tana French has an interesting and complex style, very unlike the boring one-dimensional James Patterson type reading. Anyways, just thought I'd share...I'll keep you updated when I finish!

What's I've Been Reading

Hi ladies!
I know I might end up telling you about these books at our meeting tomorrow night, but I thought I'd go ahead and post about them anyway.

I've been reading a few things since finishing this month's book. The first book I started after Madeline was The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. I've never read any Carson McCullers before, and this was on a list Andy's high school cousin has for required summer reading. So far, it's interesting, but I set aside when the next book came in at the library. Have any of you ever read it? It's reminding me, setting and style-wise, of To Kill a Mockingbird so far, but I'm not as pulled into the text as I was with Mockingbird. It follows several characters in a small Southern town, including a mute man and a teenage tomboy. I haven't gotten too deeply into the plot yet.

The next book I read is called A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick. I found the title on the book website Julie posted. I couldn't even remember what it was about when I picked it up for the holds at the library, but it drew me into the text immediately. I have to say, it is by far the most sexually-charged plot I've ever read, but I thought it was done in a literary sense and wasn't too Danielle Steele-ish. :) It does get a bit over the top in parts, though. I thought the setting, plot, and characters were all intriguing, and it was a quick read. The basic plot is a wealthy man in northern Wisconsin at the turn of the century is waiting to pick up his bride, someone he has connected with through placing an ad in a newspaper. You quickly realize, and he does too, that she's not who she presented herself to be. I figured out what was going before it was revealed, but I still was very interested by the character development. Some of the character descriptions kind of reminded me of Moulin Rouge a bit. Shannon, you might find some parallels to the gothic nature of Wuthering Heights in this book.

The one I'm breezing through now is called The Necklace by Cheryl Jarvis. It was recommended to me by a friend, and I also ran across it on the bookmovement.com website. It is basically like reading a long magazine article, but it is interesting. It's the true story about a group of women who all go in together to buy a $37, 000 necklace (they get it for $15, 000) and how they set up a club, and ultimately strong friendships, to share the necklace. I find it hard to believe how life-changing this necklace is for the people in this book, but it's like all the situations in life where it only takes an insignificant item or event to motivate or cause much larger things. The writing is very basic and not at all remarkable, but the premise is a bit thought-provoking.

All right, that's all. I just felt like reviewing some of the things I've been reading. It keeps me accountable to paying attention to my books and to cultivating and articulating opinions about them. I am really enjoying browsing some of the websites I posted in the sidebar in order to find new titles at the library (or bookstore). I really encourage you to check them out. And please post about books you've read that you'd recommend, recently or a long time ago!

No Computer :(

Hi everyone, I am so excited to have a blog, but sadly, my computer screen crashed this week and I will be without for quite some time while it is sent back to the manufacturer. Soooo, you won't be seeing me here for some time....I picked up "When Madeline was Young" at the Carmel library yesterday, lots more copies if anyone wants me to check it out for them and they don't have a card for my library. Of course, remember to call me and not to email as I might never get it! 317-410-2799

Neat Book Club Resource

Hi Ladies,
Thanks so much for such a fun evening! When I got home last night, I started looking up recommended reading lists online to help me select a book for our club. I came across a neat website that I thought you all might enjoy too. It is: http://www.bookmovement.com
Over 18,000 book clubs are registered on it, and you can see the top 100 books that are currently being read by these clubs. There are introductions, excerpts, discussion questions, and reviews of each of the top 100 books.

Upcoming Selections

All right, I got some neat designs on here, so now I can leave it alone for awhile!
Here are some things we've discussed recently: (Click on the titles for the amazon.com link.)

Our July book selection is When Madeline Was Young by Jane Hamilton.

The August selection is Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson.

When you get a chance, please post titles you've enjoyed in the past or recently. I can't wait to have a constant stream of things to read!