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Friday Firsts 2/19 Imperfect Birds by Anne Lamont
Submitted by Barbara on Fri, 02/19/2010 - 11:30
The first line can make or break a reader’s interest. Just how well did the author pull you in to the story with their first sentence?
- Grab the book you are currently reading and open to the first page.
- Write down the first sentence in the first paragraph.
- Make sure to include the title & author of the book you are using. Even an ISBN helps!
- Did this first sentence help draw you into the story? Why or why not?
I'm starting a new book today so I will use that first sentence of Imperfect Birds, A Novel by Anne Lamott. (April 2010, 978-1-59448-751-4)
There are so many evils that pull on our children.
oh my -- that has sucked me in! I have 10 nieces and nephews and I've seen many problems and issues that they have be involved with that can be described as evil. I guess not a happy book but I like deep and profound stories and Anne Lamont definitely delivers. Traveling Mercies, Operating Instructions, Blue Shoe -- all deeply affecting and life-changing.
Children issues, parenting concerns, family connections are topics that create lively reading group conversation.
Tell me your Friday Firsts!
Friday Firsts is hosted by Well Read Reviews
Book Discussion While Riding The Rails?
Submitted by Barbara on Thu, 02/18/2010 - 13:31
Literary conversation while riding the train to work? Oh, yea!
First Capital Connect, which operates lines between London, Brighton, Bedford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King's Lynn, is introducing a new monthly book club!
The company will hand out chapter samplers 10 days each month at stations. The Guardian reported that Jonathan Kellerman's Evidence will be the debut read on the rails.
First Capital Connect "said it hoped the scheme would brighten journeys and help improve its service. It plans to offer a new title in the book club each month, but did not comment on whether Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, in which a man is stabbed to death in his sleep on a train, might be a future offer," the Guardian wrote.
Excellent move by First Capital Connect -- reading groups help bring any community together.
Maybe in December the commuters will read and discuss The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg!
Can you think of train stories that they U.K. commuters should read?
Waiting on Wednesday -- Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel
Submitted by Barbara on Wed, 02/17/2010 - 14:49
"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
Well, I didn't have to wait -- my ARC came yesterday. Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel -- yea!!! I loved Life of Pi and was eagerly anticipating his new one.
Here the scoop from Spiegel & Grau:
Fate takes many forms. . . .
When Henry receives a letter from an elderly taxidermist, it poses a puzzle that he cannot resist. As he is pulled further into the world of this strange and calculating man, Henry becomes increasingly involved with the lives of a donkey and a howler monkey—named Beatrice and Virgil—and the epic journey they undertake together.
With all the spirit and originality that made Life of Pi so beloved, this brilliant new novel takes the reader on a haunting odyssey. On the way Martel asks profound questions about life and art, truth and deception, responsibility and complicity. (lay down date, April 13, 2010)
Oodles of issues to be discussed in book groups. Can't wait to dig in!
The Blue Sweater Book Club and Global Poverty
Submitted by Barbara on Wed, 02/17/2010 - 14:22
Jacqueline Novogratz, author of The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World, shares her thoughts on global interconnectedness and reading groups and book clubs in a thoughtful article in Huffington Post.
Jacqueline Novogratz left a career in international banking to spend her life on a quest to understand global poverty and find powerful new ways of tackling it. More than just an autobiography or a how-to guide to addressing poverty, The Blue Sweater is a call to action that challenges us to grant dignity to the poor and to rethink our engagement with the world.
Quite an interesting book and great ideas for book group discussions.
Teaser Tuesday 2/16 Brava, Valentine
Submitted by Barbara on Tue, 02/16/2010 - 08:39
Great teaser for today!!
The most magical thing happened on the morning of my grandmother's wedding in Tuscany. It snowed. -- Brava, Valentine by Adriana Trigiani.
I have 5 copies of Brava to give away! Please comment with your teaser and say you like to enter.
By the way, it's snowing where I live this morning! Again.
Thanks to HarperCollins and Adriana.
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
What is your TT today? Don't forgot to enter for the giveaway!
Take the Survey -- 2009 Favorite Discussible Book!
Submitted by Barbara on Wed, 02/10/2010 - 13:21
What's your group's favorite discussible book of 2009? Every year, we take a survey to find out -- maybe the one that ignited some differences of opinion and made your group think outside the box. 
We want to know! Please take the survey and you will automatically be entered in a drawing to win $75 to cater your next meeting!
We have the Top Ten Favorite Discussible Books from 2002 to 2008. Here are the 2008 Top Ten!
- Water for Elephants
- Loving Frank
- Three Cups of Tea
- The Glass Castle
- A Thousand Splendid Suns
- The Book Thief
- Eat, Pray, Love
- The Shack
- Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Let us know your book club's most lively book discussion of 2009!
Brava, Valentine is Released and A Giveaway!
Submitted by Barbara on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 11:37
Well, Brava, Valentine has been released! yea! One great reading group pick for Adriana Trigiani, again! Love, secrets, family, personal challenges -- what more can a book club want!
Award-winning playwright, television writer, and documentary filmmaker Adriana Trigiani returns with Brava, Valentine, continuing the heartwarming and hilarious story of Valentine Roncalli, her family, her love life, and the Angelini Shoe Company. Following on the heels of the New York Times bestseller Very Valentine (hailed by People magazine as “Sex and the City meets Moonstruck”), Brava, Valentine is another tour-de-force from the beloved author of bestselling novels Lucia, Lucia, The Queen of the Big Time, and the Big Stone Gap series. --publisher excerpt
“Nicely written with vivid images of high fashion, New York City, and traditional Italy, Trigiani’s latest is sure to be eagerly anticipated by her many fans and attact some new readers.” — Library Journal
All you have to do is write a comment on why you should win a copy of Brava, Valentine, and your name will go in the hat! 5 copies to give away --- tell your friends!
Thanks to Adriana and HarperCollins! Giveaway closes on 2/17/10.
Buona fortuna!
Teaser Tuesday 2/9 Daughters of the Witching Hill
Submitted by Barbara on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 00:44
My teaser today is from Daughters of the Witching Hill by Mary Sharratt (April 2010).
"We came into our powers, and they grew and grew till folk could not ignore the glimmer in Liza's wayward eyes, the fire that burned inside us both. The magic that ran in our blood."
Mary, Masha Hamilton (31 Hours), Laura Brodie (The Widow's Season), and Shelia Curran (Everyone She Loved) will be on the Reading Group Choices panel at the Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville on March 19th. Please come and meet them. They are lots of fun and their books are great book club picks!
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Violence, Pain, Suffering -- Necessary in Meaningful Books?
Submitted by Barbara on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 14:52
Books speak the truth and truth can sometimes be awful, terrifying, violent. We, as readers, come to the "table" willingly to grow and learn in the painful truth of books. When does it get too much? That the author is creating violence, sex, and heart-break that has no meaning in the characterization, plot, and style of the work.
Have you found a work (maybe one that was read for your book club) that turned you off because of gratuitous scenes of meaningless pain and suffering? How about sex and swearing?
What are some books that have pain, suffering, sex that counters and supports the true meaning and theme of the book?
Robert's Reflections: Movies for Reading Groups Part II
Submitted by Barbara on Fri, 02/05/2010 - 12:31
Robert Segedy (previous post of books into movies, in general) has another idea to a book-to-movie discussion for reading groups.
"So what books/films do I consider enticing enough to venture that a book club may be persuaded to do a compare and contrast? Here is one selection that I can easily endorse for both their literary value but also for their success in meeting some of the standards that I have explained earlier.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Winner of two Oscars, and nominated for five more; masterfully directed by John Ford, with Henry Fonda cast as Tom Joad. Ford does an amazing job of telling this tale of Great Depression hardship; the astonishing black and white cinematography vividly captures the dust blown destruction of family farms."
