November’s book- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

We had a wonderful time at Beth Adkin’s home last week. Her book choice generated a great discussion on how we felt about the bonds that tie us to our children, adopted or natural. We all had a lot of good comments and experience to bring to the discussion. Thanks to all who were able to come. A special welcome to Jane Bishop, who is our newest friend. We loved having you there and hope you will come again.

Our next month’s book will be hosted by Margaret Vidmar. Her choice is:

                                    

From Library Journal:  This novel, written in 1927, is considered the best and most successful of the early mysteries. It met with no small outrage when it appeared, as it uses a plot device many readers thought "unfair." There is a full complement of characters populating the cozy English village of King's Abbot: Major Blunt, Colonel Carter, Miss Gannett, the butler, the housekeeper, the narrator, Dr. Sheppard, and his know-it-all sister (the precursor of Miss Marple, according to Christie), and, of course, the redoubtable Hercule Poirot and his little grey cells. There are clues with a capital C to mislead us, and the listener gets so involved with these red herrings (or not) that the very simple truth eludes the puzzler.  A classic of the genre and essential for any fiction collection.

An Amazon review: As other readers note, the ending of this book is among the most clever endings to a work of mystery. Being that readers are often guessing throughout the book, the guessing will become dizzying. Though some of Christie's work now seems dated by today's standards, this book certainly stands the test of time.
Mrs. Ferrars takes her life after poisoning her husband. This happens before the story begins. Roger Ackroyd does not die until over fifty pages into the book. But who would have motive to kill him? At times, the reader may wonder if the book is even actually about Ackroyd's murder. Using his gray matter, Hercule Poirot leads readers though the investigation via Dr. Shepard's narration. The chain of death is linked and good suspects are easy to find. But as the suspect list dwindles, it seems as though there is nobody left.
Though the dialogue is a bit cumbersome at times, this is a short book. It is best read in as little time as possible. Going away from the book for a time may cause the reader to confuse characters. For the ending alone, this book is worth reading even for non-Christie fans.

This should be a great read. Can you figure it out? See you next month at Margaret’s house.

Reminder and Change of Date for Book Club

Just a reminder about book club coming up in October.  It will be at Beth Adkins home. Her address is posted in an earlier entry. Also, the date will need to be changed that week from Tuesday to Thursday. Beth has an unforeseen schedule conflict for that Tuesday. I hope this won’t cause to much trouble.

I have checked out the book from the Liberty Lake library and am able to let anyone borrow it to read. If you need to borrow the book call Diane 255-5515   or Bethany  255-9241.

Hope to see everyone on Thursday October 7th at Beth Adkins home.

Directions for October book club

Here is the address and directions to Beth Adkins home. She will be hosting our book club discussion in October. Hope to see you there.

My address is 4405 S. Saltese Lake Rd in Greenacres. You head south on Barker until you come to the T. Turn left on to Saltese Lake Rd. and go 1.8 miles. My house is the 6th on the left after you come out of the S turns. My home phone number is 928-2996 if anyone gets lost. Another landmark is that we live next to Todd and Tanya Rigby (the ones with the Buffalo) in case anyone knows where they live.

October’s Book- Look Again by Lisa Scottoline

Yes, you read that correctly. We will be skipping September due to back to school activities. Our next book club meeting will be in October at Beth Adkins house. Directions will be posted soon.

We had a wonderful visit at Sue Mitchell’s home this month. It was a great turn out for the summer time, but we miss some of our faithful friends who couldn’t be there. Our discussion centered on the value of  strong women and what they can accomplish. This story was a true-life novel so although the dialog was fiction her character was real. It didn’t seem to wrap up like a fiction would, all neat and pretty, but rather, well, like real live would. Half-Broke Horses was a good book and gave the reader deeper insight into the family of Jeanette Walls. We would highly recommend reading her other book The Glass Castle.

In October we will be reading:

                                                 

Here is the description from Goodreads: 

When reporter Ellen Gleeson gets a “Have You Seen This Child?” flyer in the mail, she almost throws it away. But something about it makes her look again, and her heart stops—the child in the photo is identical to her adopted son, Will. Her every instinct tells her to deny the similarity between the boys, because she knows her adoption was lawful. But she’s a journalist and won’t be able to stop thinking about the photo until she figures out the truth. And she can’t shake the question: if Will rightfully belongs to someone else, should she keep him or give him up? She investigates, uncovering clues no one was meant to discover, and when she digs too deep, she risks losing her own life—and that of the son she loves.
Lisa Scottoline breaks new ground in Look Again, a thriller that’s both heart-stopping and heart-breaking, and sure to have new fans and book clubs buzzing.

A Goodreads reader says:

"Look Again" is an entertaining novel. It reads more as a detective TV show, like the "Rockford Files" than a mystery, with action progressing in a somewhat predictable manner with a few surprises thrown in that actually puzzle, as well as elicit emotion. There are very human, yet likable characters, a love interest, and a potential crime situation that leads to murder,which completely holds the readers attention. The central plot concerning the main character's likelihood of losing her adoptive child to his biological parents, brings to light adoptive issues truly problematic in our society. The situation wrenches the reader's heart for the adoptive mother and for the child. This part of the novel is brilliant, focusing on lack of child focus and support in our current culture. The characterization is also a strength. No person is totally perfect and there are realistic motives behind each character's actions. This novel is definitely worth the time, leaving the reader satisfied.

Don’t forget we will not meet in September. Enjoy reading and see you October 5th at Beth Adkins house.

August’s Book- Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls

Thank you Susie for hosting our book club this month. We had a lively discussion on, The Postmistress, and all agreed in the end that it was a good book to read. War is a terrible tragedy, but when you look at how it effects individual lives it can be devastating. This book helped us see how individuals coped and how we as a country in the 1940’s needed to open our eyes more. Thanks for recommending the book Susie.

Sue Mitchell will host next month on Tuesday  August 3rd.  Her Pick will be:

                                         

A Book Review:

Jeannette Walls's "The Glass Castle" was "nothing short of spectacular" ("Entertainment Weekly"). Now she brings us the story of her grandmother -- told in a voice so authentic and compelling that the book is destined to become an instant classic. ""Those old cows knew trouble was coming before we did."" So begins the story of Lily Casey Smith, in Jeannette Walls's magnificent, true-life novel based on her no-nonsense, resourceful, hard working, and spectacularly compelling grandmother. By age six, Lily was helping her father break horses. At fifteen, she left home to teach in a frontier town -- riding five hundred miles on her pony, all alone, to get to her job. She learned to drive a car ("I loved cars even more than I loved horses. They didn't need to be fed if they weren't working, and they didn't leave big piles of manure all over the place") and fly a plane, and, with her husband, ran a vast ranch in Arizona.

She raised two children, one of whom is Jeannette's memorable mother, Rosemary Smith Walls, unforgettably portrayed in "The Glass Castle." Lily survived tornadoes, droughts, floods, the Great Depression, and the most heartbreaking personal tragedy. She bristled at prejudice of all kinds -- against women, Native Americans, and anyone else who didn't fit the mold. "Half Broke Horses" is Laura Ingalls Wilder for adults, as riveting and dramatic as Isak Dinesen's "Out of Africa" or Beryl Markham's "West with the Night." It will transfix readers everywhere.

A Reader from Goodreads says:

Jeannette Walls’ true-life novel, Half Broke Horses is a captivating, beautifully woven story that is fast pace and hard to put down. Wall’s gives her maternal grandmother, Lily Casey Smith a voice and shares her story - passed down orally from different family members - with the world. Lily Casey is an extraordinarily strong, smart, and spirited woman that any granddaughter or reader of this novel can admire. This book is filled with both triumph and heartbreaking tragedy, and definitely does not lack adventure. Growing up in a still somewhat untamed west, Walls provides an interesting portrayal of important events in American history from prohibition and the depression to the industrial revolution and WWI and WWII through the perspective of her grandmother.

Walls writes the story in first person from the point of view of her grandmother. She explains in the author’s note that she wrote the story in first person because she wanted to capture Lily’s distinctive voice that she can clearly recall. The first person narration doesn’t disappoint either. Walls successfully captures Lily Casey’s voice in a way that only enhances the narrative, and makes Lily seem all the more enchanting. The language is witty and poetic in its simplicity.

Sounds like a great book to read for the summer. Enjoy!

Please note we will not be meeting in September.

July’s Book- The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

We had a wonderful visit at Heather’s house this month. Hunger Games really got us thinking about how blessed we are to enjoy our freedoms and how grateful we are to live in America. The sequel, Catching Fire, is also highly recommended and the third book in this series is out sometime in August. I know several of us are eagerly awaiting it’s release. Great pick Heather!

We are going to be meeting at Susie Quinn’s home in July.

Her pick is:

                           

Description from Goodreads says: 

Filled with stunning parallels to today's world, The Postmistress is a sweeping novel about the loss of innocence of two extraordinary women-and of two countries torn apart by war.
On the eve of the United States's entrance into World War II in 1940, Iris James, the postmistress of Franklin, a small town on Cape Cod, does the unthinkable: She doesn't deliver a letter. In London, American radio gal Frankie Bard is working with Edward R. Murrow, reporting on the Blitz. One night in a bomb shelter, she meets a doctor from Cape Cod with a letter in his pocket, a letter Frankie vows to deliver when she returns from Germany and France, where she is to record the stories of war refugees desperately trying to escape.
The residents of Franklin think the war can't touch them- but as Frankie's radio broadcasts air, some know that the war is indeed coming. And when Frankie arrives at their doorstep, the two stories collide in a way no one could have foreseen. The Postmistress is an unforgettable tale of the secrets we must bear, or bury. It is about what happens to love during wartime, when those we cherish leave. And how every story-of love or war-is about looking left when we should have been looking right.

 

A reader review says:

Considering the fact that this is not my usual genre of choice, The Postmistress was an enjoyable novel, and one that I would probably have picked up myself, had I seen in on the shelf.
Sarah Blake is truly a gifted author, writing with a clean, fresh voice. Original and touching are two very good words to describe her work-- and this novel. It wasn't one of those books where you're constantly reminded of another book while reading it.
I've not read many novels set in this time period (World War II era), and although I know my history, this story still opened my eyes even more to war, and everything it contributes to in our daily lives. The way Blake wrote the novel, described the settings and actions, you're almost prepared to look up from the book and find yourself transported back to 1941, running for the bomb shelters.

Enjoy reading  and we will see you at Susie’s house on July 6th.

Here are the directions:

She lives at 16131 E. Radco Dr.  From Sullivan and Sprague you would head up past the high school and turn left on 20th Avenue; then right on Sonora and left on Radco.  The house is more at the end of the street and is a peach house on your left.

June’s Book- Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

We had a wonderful time at book club this month. Thank you Debbie for hosting and for your “decorations”. It was truly a treat so see such a visual! The Cinnamon rolls were yummy and rivaled anything  Oletta would have made. The writing was beautiful and it was a charming book to read. We missed those of you who could not attend and were glad to see some returning friends. We also  WELCOME our new friend, Beth Adkins. We hope you had a good time and will give us another try next month.

Our next book will be hosted by Heather Otte. We will meet on Tuesday June 1st.

Her pick is:                 Hunger Games   by Suzanne Collins

A reader from Goodreads says:

Sometime in the future, the Earth has met the fate we are only now prophesying: the ocean has risen, the coastal cities have disappeared, all manner of environmental disasters have occurred. In North America, the survivors created Panem, a Capitol city in the Rockies with 13 outlying Districts, each focusing on producing a different product for the Capitol: gems, coal, agriculture, fishing etc.
In Katniss' district, District 12, they mine coal. It's one of the poorest districts, a district that never stands a chance in the Hunger Games because the children are so starving. Since her father died in a mining accident when she was twelve, Katniss has hunted illegally in the forest, developing a formidable skill with the bow and arrow to bring fresh meat back to the town to trade for things for her family: her mother and her little sister Prim.
Now sixteen, Katniss finds herself in a nightmare predicament: against all odds, her twelve-year-old sister Prim has been selected as a tribute for the Hunger Games. After a rebellion amongst the Districts against the Capitol was ferociously put down years ago, the city instigated the Hunger Games as a deathly reminder that the working people of the Districts live by the Capitol's whim. The people of the Capitol treat the Games like the year's best entertainment, and are giddy with excitement to watch twenty-four children aged from 12 to 18 - a boy and girl from each District - kill each other before the cameras, and the victor is celebrated like a hero. In the Districts, winning the Hunger Games brings fame and food to your district, and the winner is set for life.
But Prim is only twelve, and aside from having her mother's knack at healing, has no survival skills. Katniss doesn't hesitate for a moment before volunteering to take her place.

Let the Hunger Games begin.

 

Heather has recommended a few good books so we might want to check these out. Here is her list:

• Why Zebra’s Don’t Get Ulcers by Robert M. Sapolsky
• Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
• Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
• Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
• Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (sequel to Hunger Games)

Heads up on next month’s pick by Susie Quinn:  

The Post Mistress   by Sarah Blake.                                                               I’ll do a review next month.

Happy Reading !