Best Book Club Week Ever!

One week in November, it so happened that every book club I belong to (in town, anyway) met.   Usually they don't all meet during the same week, but because of Thanksgiving and maybe because I paid attention this year, all this  below happened in one week.  

November had a lot of people missing from certain book clubs, so while you can't see all my bookish peeps, you can see a lot of them.  You might notice there is a face or two that cross over into other clubs, but I am the only constant, and while this might seem silly to you, this is my social life!  People I love and love to talk books with!

People I love and love to drink coffee and talk books with!

So,  here we go---my best Book club week ever!

Ignore my big selfie face 😚 (which takes place in most of the photos) but this is the start of my best week ever! 5...count 'em...FIVE book clubs in one week!  (I counted wrong---there were 6 if I included my bible study--so I did.  I mean, we read, right?!)

This is The CCB (Coffee Conversation and books!) Club.

Book Club #2 of my 5 book clubs in one week week! This is Totally Lit ( missing about half)

Marathon book club week continues for me. This is a book club number three… The library book club.

And Book Club number 4! The oldest club in Winnemucca! (and I mean out of all social clubs not just book clubs. In the good old days used to be written up in the newspaper… What book was talked about, what lunch was served, who wore what etc etc...lol) This is the Literary Guild. Now we just say literary lunch as ‘guild’ is so old-fashioned. Lovely ladies whom I get to have lunch with every month and talk books!

Most of them had/have no clue what I'm doing---blog? Instagram? what? -- but they indulge me anyway. 

Did I say this was a 5 book club week? I was wrong—it’s a six book club week if I count my 6am Bible study. And we just started a new book, so… I'm including it!

 I did it! 6 book clubs in 6 days! The last one deserved two pictures… Because we were laughing so hard and having so much book fun. These are the Lit Wits! (minus a whole bunch. If everyone comes there’s about 20 in the group). Best Book Week Ever for me!!

(also, I was trying to cover my cleavage--because, over 50, you know!  You don't really need to show that stuff, but sometimes I can't  help it. ~grins~ )

And that is my life in book clubs!

It's Monday

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week.  It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile!

It's Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

I never get as much reading done as I would like to, but I did get to these last week:

I really, really liked this one!

It wasn't on my TBR list, but it arrived in the mail on Wednesday and I was done by Friday.

I would highly recommend this one.

This one was---just okay.  I read it for book club and tomorrow night I have to go defend my opinion in someone's house, who really loved it. 

I would recommend with reservations.

And this---just because I'm a little bit in love with Harry Dresden.

Of course recommend, BUT it is a very unique audience who love a wizard. 

This week tho...

I'm excited to read

That's my plan for the week!

What are your reading plans?

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a bonus photo!   😀😀

of my library book club.  We discussed Torch by Cheryl Strayed.

Feelings were half and half on this one.  4 against 4.

 

Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter

I read this book for my Library Book Club this  month.

From Goodreads:

Joe and Rose Kennedy’s strikingly beautiful daughter Rosemary attended exclusive schools, was presented as a debutante to the Queen of England, and traveled the world with her high-spirited sisters. And yet, Rosemary was intellectually disabled — a secret fiercely guarded by her powerful and glamorous family.  Major new sources — Rose Kennedy’s diaries and correspondence, school and doctors' letters, and exclusive family interviews — bring Rosemary alive as a girl adored but left far behind by her competitive siblings. Kate Larson reveals both the sensitive care Rose and Joe gave to Rosemary and then — as the family’s standing reached an apex — the often desperate and duplicitous arrangements the Kennedys made to keep her away from home as she became increasingly intractable in her early twenties. Finally, Larson illuminates Joe’s decision to have Rosemary lobotomized at age twenty-three, and the family's complicity in keeping the secret. 

Rosemary delivers a profoundly moving coda: JFK visited Rosemary for the first time while campaigning in the Midwest; she had been living isolated in a Wisconsin institution for nearly twenty years. Only then did the siblings understand what had happened to Rosemary and bring her home for loving family visits. It was a reckoning that inspired them to direct attention to the plight of the disabled, transforming the lives of millions.

From Me:

Very interesting read. 

Years ago, I read every book written about the Kennedy Family---I couldn't get enough.  They intrigue me. 

It's been over 25 years since I've read a book about the family, so when I found out this was a choice for this book club, I was excited to read it.

Would I recommend it? 

 Well... I liked it, but I don't know that learned any new information--but that's just me!  If the family intrigues you and you want to find out more about them,  I suggest you read this.

The Kennedy family, whether you love them or hate them, is fascinating.  

We Are Called to Rise

From Goodreads:

An immigrant boy whose family is struggling to assimilate. A middle-aged housewife coping with an imploding marriage and a troubled son. A social worker at home in the darker corners of Las Vegas. A wounded soldier recovering from an injury he can't remember getting. By the time we realize how these voices will connect, the impossible and perhaps the unbearable has already happened. We Are Called to Rise is a boomtown tale, in which the lives of people from different backgrounds and experiences collide in a stunning coincidence. When presented the opportunity to sink into despair, these characters rise. Through acts of remarkable charity and bravery, they rescue themselves. Emotionally powerful yet tender and intimate, We Are Called to Rise is a novel of redemption and unexpected love.

For the record-- I don't really  review books.  I don't feel qualified, BUT I do love to talk about them and like to feel part of the book blogging world.

 

From Me:

I had to read this book for my  Library Book Club.

It is a  novel by a Nevada author with a Nevada setting, recommended by the Nevada State Library Association.

(We always begin our year with the book recommended by them.)

 

**first let me meander a bit---I belong to 4 book clubs, but most times I hate the books chosen by others.    I don't HATE the books after I read them tho--they are usually just books I wouldn't have chosen on my own. 

9 times out of 10 I really enjoy the books from all my book clubs.  It's just that I like to be in control of what I read.  (lately I've noticed how anal I am!! )

So I will write this sentence that I seem to say all the time at book club:

I didn't really want to read this book, but I'm very glad I did! 

I ended up giving it 4 stars!

I'm not sure if those 4 stars are because of the writing or because I liked the story line and the setting.

 

I was struck by a few lines in this book--so I did something I never do.  NEVER DO! 

I dog-eared a couple of pages!

And now, looking back, I cannot remember the lines that struck  me.

I'm probably going to library hell! 

 

The book is set in Las Vegas, the most southern part of Nevada,  I  live 500 miles away, in Northern Nevada (it's a big state).  This story is about war,  and the many different ways and people it effects, and I remember one line from the book (even tho I didn't dog ear this page) was that the landscape of Southern Nevada is like Iraq and Northern Nevada is like Afghanistan.

It's probably true.  Southern Nevada is more traditionally desert and we are more mountainous.  Both very dry.

So, it was a good setting -- a setting that became part of the story.  It really was an unforgettable and poignant story of war in today's world.  But there are no war scenes in the story, just what happens 'after the fact'.

 

I didn't really want to read this book, but I'm so glad I did!

4 stars!

 

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To be fair to my dog eared pages--- I feel I must put something from those two pages in here.

 

First...Nevada is a great state! As all of them are, but sometimes we get a bum rap.  It's the gambling.  And the prostitution.

The rest of the United States thinks we are ONLY those things, but we who live here are like  "Wha???  oh yeah, I guess those things do exist"

But they are not part of our lives.  We have good schools and churches and clean air and hardworking families! 

And gold.  We have gold.

Nevada is the world's 5th largest gold producer.

But that's another story.

 

Anyway, here are two sentences from the book that stood out to me:

 

I grew up, the bastard child of a dirt-poor mother, in downtown Las Vegas.  I raised my son in a town nicknamed Sin City, in a place most American families wouldn't dream of bringing their children, in a state where prostitution is legal and gambling is sacrosanct.

 

 

Home.  For a Las Vegas kid, the lights and sounds of a hundred slot machines are more natural than rain, and a public space backgrounded in the bells and chimes and gravel rolls of bored travelers standing at the kaleidoscopic games is as commonplace as sky in Montana or snow in Vermont.

 

BUT IT ISN'T ALL LIKE THAT!!

Living here, we don't notice those things.  But we know they're there.  It's what tourists come for, but us? Naw.  Why would we?

 

We don't notice those things, but yet we do.

It's hard to explain.

 

This is my Nevada!

 

I didn't really want to read this book, but I'm so glad I did!

 

 

 

Rooms

From Goodreads:

 The New York Times bestselling author of Before I Fall and the Delirium trilogy makes her brilliant adult debut with this mesmerizing story in the tradition of The Lovely Bones, Her Fearful Symmetry, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane—a tale of family, ghosts, secrets, and mystery, in which the lives of the living and the dead intersect in shocking, surprising, and moving ways

Wealthy Richard Walker has just died, leaving behind his country house full of rooms packed with the detritus of a lifetime. His estranged family—bitter ex-wife Caroline, troubled teenage son Trenton, and unforgiving daughter Minna—have arrived for their inheritance.

But the Walkers are not alone. Prim Alice and the cynical Sandra, long dead former residents bound to the house, linger within its claustrophobic walls. Jostling for space, memory, and supremacy, they observe the family, trading barbs and reminiscences about their past lives. Though their voices cannot be heard, Alice and Sandra speak through the house itself—in the hiss of the radiator, a creak in the stairs, the dimming of a light bulb.

The living and dead are each haunted by painful truths that will soon surface with explosive force. When a new ghost appears, and Trenton begins to communicate with her, the spirit and human worlds collide—with cataclysmic results.

Elegantly constructed and brilliantly paced, Rooms is an enticing and imaginative ghost story and a searing family drama that is as haunting as it is resonant.

From Me:

Wasn't my favorite.

It was just okay.

It was confusing for me... I couldn't keep track of who was alive, who was dead/ghosts  and who was just dead/dead.

And I didn't like any of the characters.  I couldn't connect with one of them.

They were all depressing.

This could be just me, as I know the author has a huge YA following.

2 stars from me.

We read this for our Library Book Club.

The consensus was this...

6 people present

1 would recommend it

4 would recommend with reservations

1 would not recommend it 

I fell into the middle---

I wouldn't tell anyone not to read it, but just that it wasn't that good. 

For me.

 

Doctor Sleep

On Tuesday night, my little library book club met...at the library, of course... and we discussed "Doctor Sleep" by  Stephen King.

I loved it.  I love his character development and his  'good vs evil' themes.

In this little book group,  most of the ladies are over 60  (not all , but most),  2 are sisters, 2 are retired teachers, 2 of them never like any book we read,  and only 2 of us like  Stephen King.  One of the sisters mentioned, when I said I love King's character development and his descriptions, that she thinks he repeats himself again and again and again.  She said she read the first 1/4 of the book, skipped to the last 1/4 of the book and she still knew what happened.

Is that true of Stephen King?  Does he drag on?

I don't think so---I think it's all very important.   

The book also bothered some in the group--when King describes torture, which I thought was not overly bad, it was really only  2/3 of one page.  It was important to the story, I felt.

In this book club, we keep a notebook where we  make note of important comments and then, after the discussion, we each have to  "recommend"  "recommend with reservations"  or "not recommend" the book for that month.

Even for the 2 of us who LOVE Stephen King, we recommended with reservations.   Those reservations were that  "people who love Stephen King, LOVE Stephen King,  those who don't won't like the book".

I also have a reservation about how much he uses sex in his books. Sometimes it seems a little over the top.

I just pretend he is speaking Russian when it gets too much for me and move on... because when all is said and done, I do love Stephen King.

This is a photo of my little Library Book club.  

How to Choose a Book

Today I read a great blog post from Sheila at Book Journey, where she asked  how we choose our books for our book clubs.  (she was inspired by  Elizabeth at Silver's Reviews--great blog post too!)

Everybody knows I belong to 5 book-clubs, because I talk about them all the time, BUT, I can't help it, I love them.
They are truly my favorite form of socialization.  (does that make me sound like an anti-social  introvert?  Oh well)

Book club Love!  (just click on the link for some)

Now, let me tell you about how we choose a book.

Totally Lit Book Club
At the beginning of our book club year,  (which oddly is in the fall)  we each bring a book we want to read/discuss and put it on a piece of paper, then we draw them out from a hat.  So we each get a turn, but we know a year in advance what our month will be---so as soon we have a book in mind, we email it out.  So far we know the books we will be reading for the next three months.

Book Club Love!  (just click on the link for some)


Lit Wits Book Club
My book and cook club!
We meet once a month at a members home, where she fixes the meal.  It is 'sometimes' book themed, as much as possible anyway.
At the end of the evening,  the host for the next month reveals her book choice, so we have a month to find, buy, borrow read the book.
We have no price limits or anything like that---for either of these two book clubs.

Book Club Love!  (Just click on the link for some)


Literary Club Luncheon
It used to be called  "the Literary Guild" and is one of the oldest clubs in Winnemucca.    I am one of the youngest and I am 54.
We don't read the same book, but we are assigned a group and each group is assigned a month and someone from the group gives a book report.  We meet a local restaurant so the others in the group, decorate the tables,  prepare a give-away or dessert and do the calling and reminding and give an RSVP count to the chef.
We donate money to give all the 3rd graders in the county a dictionary each year.

Book Club Love!  (just click on the link for some)

UMW  (United Methodist Women) Book Club
We meet quarterly throughout the year, usually at the church, sometimes at noon, sometimes we bring a sack lunch.
We read---not churchy books as one might think, but  more about 'critical thinking of current issues" kind of books.....to broaden our horizons and to help us keep open minds, open hearts and open doors  (the motto of the United Methodist Church):

• Increase sensitivity to all human beings—their needs, interests and concerns.
• Encourage critical thinking about issues facing humanity today.
• Grow in understanding of Scripture as it relates to Christian faith in contemporary life.
• Enhance self-knowledge and act from that knowledge.
• Strengthen involvement in local and global Christian mission.

So, we choose from a list given to the entire United Methodist Women in the United states. 

Book  Club Love!  (just click on the link for some)

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST:

The Library Book Club!

I am very excited about this one because of the way we choose the books.  For the past two  years in the fall, we sit down with a list of books that I have found from BEA --Book Expo America.

No, I've never been lucky enough to attend, but I keep track thru my on-line friends and the BEA website.  And in there, you can find a link --hidden away in all the promos and reports and excitement,  from one of the sessions-- about upcoming  bets on Good books for book clubs!

Last year, I think they had a speed dating session, where the publishers had timed sessions with book blogger where they tried to sell their  books for book clubs!

Some of these books have been GREAT, and some I've never heard of again.

Anyway, we choose from this list---and it's quite long usually.  We all go thru pass around a paper with book cover and description and make a mark on it if we like it.  The 9 or 10 with the most marks wins!   (we save a couple of months for other books)

Book Club Love!  (just click on the link for some)

And that's how we choose our books for the book clubs that I'm in.

It's fun, fun fun!