The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom

We had a great time dissecting the murder mystery presented by Mary Higgins Clark, I’ve Got You Under My Skin. Wow, at 86 she is still writing. Thanks Telarry for a wonderful evening together.

Our next book club will be hosted by Beth Nelson. We are going to change our day for meeting from Wednesday to Tuesday starting with October. We will still be the first week of the month but now we will meet the first Tuesday of the month. Beth has chosen to read:  The First Phone Call From Heaven by Mitch Albom.

                                 

Goodreads review says:   The First Phone Call from Heaven tells the story of a small town on Lake Michigan that gets worldwide attention when its citizens start receiving phone calls from the afterlife. Is it the greatest miracle ever or a massive hoax? Sully Harding, a grief-stricken single father, is determined to find out. An allegory about the power of belief--and a page-turner that will touch your soul--Albom's masterful storytelling has never been so moving and unexpected.
Readers of The Five People You Meet in Heaven will recognize the warmth and emotion so redolent of Albom's writing, and those who haven't yet enjoyed the power of his storytelling, will thrill at the discovery of one of the best-loved writers of our time.

A Goodreads reader says:

This book has a wonderful premise- several people from one small town are getting phone calls from deceased loved ones. Many people believe it's a miracle while some feel it's a hoax. One man sets out to find the answer.
I'm a huge fan of Mitch Albom-his books always give me comfort and hope. However, this book was rather frustrating most of the time and featured some annoying characters that got on my nerves. I gave this book three stars only because i liked the beginning (i couldn't stop crying) and the end. However, the middle of the book (basically the majority of the story) was difficult to get through. Albom is still one of my favorite authors but his other books are much better than this one.

I’ve Got You Under My Skin by Mary Higgins Clark

                                   

Goodreads review says:    When Laurie Moran's husband was brutally murdered, only three-year-old Timmy saw the face of his father's killer. Five years later his piercing blue eyes still haunt Timmy's dreams. Laurie is haunted by more: the killer's threat to her son as he fled the scene: Tell your mother she's next, then it's your turn . . .
Now Laurie is dealing with murder again, this time as the producer of a true-crime, cold-case television show. The series will launch with the twenty-year-old unsolved murder of Betsy Powell. Betsy, a socialite, was found suffocated in her bed after a gala celebrating the graduation of her daughter and three friends. The sensational murder was news nationwide. Reopening the case in its lavish setting and with the cooperation of the surviving guests that night, Laurie is sure to have a hit on her hands. But when the estranged friends begin filming, it becomes clear each is hiding secrets . . . small and large.
And a pair of blue eyes is watching events unfold, too . . .

A Goodreads reader says: 

I know exactly to what expect from this author. A good mystery, filled with many characters and many red herrings.
She has a very unique style of writing which is pretty easy to read.
As usual, this story is filled with mystery, characters with loads of secrets which are revealed throughout the story, different POV’s which get you into the characters head.
This book had a good plot – a reality show based on reenacting unsolved murders with the actual persons involved in the case.
I found it a bit hard to engage with most of the characters – perhaps too many and a few things that just did not fit in for me.
I have been reading this author’s books through the years and I will probably read any others that she will still published. I can’t believe that she’s actually in her 80….hell, she has a damn good memory if she can still write like this.

August Book Club – I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

Thanks Luanne for a great gathering to discuss a book about book clubs! We all share a love of books so talking about this book was amazing. A mother and son sharing important thoughts about life and choices and everything in-between. A great book.

Our next meeting will be at Margaret’s home on Wednesday July 30th at 7 pm. Her book pick is:

Goodreads review:  I come from a country that was created at midnight. When I almost died it was just after midday.
When the Taliban took control of the Swat Valley in Pakistan, one girl spoke out. Malala Yousafzai refused to be silenced and fought for her right to an education.
On Tuesday, October 9, 2012, when she was fifteen, she almost paid the ultimate price. She was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding the bus home from school, and few expected her to survive.
Instead, Malala's miraculous recovery has taken her on an extraordinary journey from a remote valley in northern Pakistan to the halls of the United Nations in New York. At sixteen, she has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and the youngest nominee ever for the Nobel Peace Prize.
I Am Malala is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons.
I Am Malala will make you believe in the power of one person's voice to inspire change in the world.

See you there!

July Book Club: End of your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

Thanks to everyone who came and enjoyed our book club discussion. What a great evening of sharing our love of books and other topics of interest we love to talk about. This is a great group of friends and we miss those who could not be there. Thanks Tanya for your Edenbrooke and for taking us back to a more royal and elegant time and place. I hope we have all found our “Philip”.

Next month LuAnn will be hosting on Wednesday July 2 at 7pm. Her book pick is:

                                     

Goodreads review says:   That’s the question Will Schwalbe asks his mother, Mary Anne, as they sit in the waiting room of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In 2007, Mary Anne returned from a humanitarian trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan suffering from what her doctors believed was a rare type of hepatitis. Months later she was diagnosed with a form of advanced pancreatic cancer, which is almost always fatal, often in six months or less.
This is the inspiring true story of a son and his mother, who start a “book club” that brings them together as her life comes to a close. Over the next two years, Will and Mary Anne carry on conversations that are both wide-ranging and deeply personal, prompted by an eclectic array of books and a shared passion for reading.

A Goodreads reader review:  An absolutely wonderfully written book that is not just the personal experience of Will Schwalbe. This book explores the power of books, reading them, discussing them and intagrating them into our lives and the lives of others. I think we all have an understanding of how important our friends and family are, but this book brings home the importance of letting those people know not just how much you love them, but how proud you are of them or how much you respect them and what they have done or the decisions they have made. Everyone should read this book, no matter what they are going through, and even if they aren't going through anything at all but just living their life.

Here are a few suggestions from Debbie that you might want to check out. Life in a Jar by Jack Mayer and Quiet by Susan Cane

Happy Reading!!

June Book Club: Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson

Thanks for a great evening together. The view was amazing and the conversation so much fun. It’s like free therapy when we get together. We laugh and talk and express what ever we need to. I love you gals!! Thanks for a great discussion on what makes us valuable. Is it our appearance or what's in our heart? Reading about Nie Nie makes us all feel like there is hope in facing our challenges. We also saw a really cool segment from NatGeo about a new burn treatment. You spray on your own stem cells with a special gun and it adheres and heals in days not months. Very amazing. Thanks Syd.

Next month Tanya will be hosting our meeting on Wednesday June 4th at 7pm.  Her book pic is:

                                   

Goodreads review says:  Marianne Daventry will do anything to escape the boredom of Bath and the amorous attentions of an unwanted suitor. So when an invitation arrives from her twin sister, Cecily, to join her at a sprawling country estate, she jumps at the chance. Thinking she'll be able to relax and enjoy her beloved English countryside while her sister snags the handsome heir of Edenbrooke, Marianne finds that even the best laid plans can go awry. From a terrifying run-in with a highwayman to a seemingly harmless flirtation, Marianne finds herself embroiled in an unexpected adventure filled with enough romance and intrigue to keep her mind racing. Will Marianne be able to rein in her traitorous heart, or will a mysterious stranger sweep her off her feet? Fate had something other than a relaxing summer in mind when it sent Marianne to Edenbrooke.

A Goodreads reader says:  Edenbrooke is absolutely delightful. I wish more publishers out there would pick up romance stories like this, without the prerequisite sex scenes. There is none of that here, and instead we are treated to a romance that focuses much more on the emotions of the characters and how they fall in love. So it's a love story, not just a romance. In my experience, those are quite hard to find.

See you next month!!

April Book Club: Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Thanks for a great get together again. We had the best time discussing ideas and laughing and remembering our high school days. Star Girl was a great book to read because we all can’t be popular but we all can be ourselves and stay true to our values. Thanks Tansy and congratulations!!!!!!

Our next book club meeting will be hosted by Beth Adkins on Wednesday April 2 at 7pm. Her book pick is:

                         

A review on Goodreads says:   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.

A Goodreads reader says:     I finished "Sarah's Key" this morning and I have so many thoughts going through my head about it. I loved the pacing of the story, how it switched between Sarah's story and Julia's story up until the point where the two merged. I loved how the style of Sarah's story was completely different than the style of Julia's story. I loved how both stories made me cry, even though I knew what was coming. I loved how realistically the characters were portrayed. Nobody was all good or all bad, just human with human frailties. I loved the depictions of the small acts of conscience and kindness. I had no idea about the roundups of Jews in France. I did know that the Nazis tended to just send children who were too young to work straight to the gas chambers. I think the author did a good job of illustrating why the French people seemed to forget what had happened and how the Holocaust indirectly affected them. I hope writers continue writing stories like "Sarah's Key" that bring the atrocities of the Holocaust to light so we can learn and not repeat those mistakes.

In May we will be reading Heaven is Here: An Incredible Story of Hope, Triumph and Everyday Joy by Stephanie Nielson

Just a reminder about the blog that Debbie recommended. Its called The Moments We Stand and can be found at themomentswestand.blogspot.com

Happy reading and see you next month!

March Book Club: Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

What a crazy bunch of reading nuts we are to brave the frigid winter weather to get together and discuss our book. We regretted not flying down to Arizona and having a private one on one discussion with Gena about her book but despite the cold we had a heart warming discussion about facing challenges and what success looks like. We learned interesting things about each other and had some really good laughs. Thank you Alicia for choosing this book and for hosting.

We will be meeting on the first WEDNESDAY of the month during the rest of this year.

Tansy will host our next book club meeting on Wednesday March 5th at 7pm. Her book pick is:

                      

Goodreads review says:   From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, hallways hum “Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’s heart with one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. Until they are not. Leo urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her - normal.

A Goodreads reader says:   Stargirl is an amazing book about individuality and nonconformism. A home-schooled girl named Stargirl begins attending the public high school for her sophomore year. Stargirl is different.
She learns everybody's birthdays and on the day of, she sings them a happy birthday song -- accompanying herself on the ukulele -- in the middle of the lunch room, whether they want her to or not. She watches a young boy who lives across the street so that she can create a scrapbook for him without his knowledge. She is, in almost every way, unconventional.
The voice of the book is a young man who becomes fascinated by Stargirl and befriends her, even though many of her antics make her an outcast, otherwise. Through a series of events, she becomes wildly popular, then widely despised. For this boy, she experiments with being conventional for awhile.
The book is fascinating. It explores a lot of issues centered around social conventions and how they play in our lives for good or ill. And they take place at a stage of life when kids are most susceptible to peer pressure. Jerry Spinelli's insights are thought-provoking and engaging. In the end, the book makes you want to be a better person, perhaps in ways that aren't quite "normal." It reminds me of a talk given by Dallin H. Oaks, in which he said, "... This requires us to make some changes from our family culture, our ethnic culture, or our national culture. We must change all elements of our behavior that are in conflict with gospel commandments, covenants, and culture." The genius of it is that the book does this without being particularly preachy.

A reading suggestion from Debbie is from a blog that she found recently. It is called The Moments we Stand. It is very well written as she shares  insights about the tragic events in her life and how the atonement and the gospel has helped her get her life back. This is worth checking out.

Thanks for a great evening as always and see you next month.