I thought it would be easier to read what's going on in a new thread.

What time do we meet tonight?

Thanks!

We meet tonight at 7 pm at the Third Place Books at Lk Forest Park. I will bring a stuffed yellow, golden dragon as a totem to help newcomers find the group. seated at one of the tables in the assembly area. We will be discussing The Graveyard Book which I am finishing as I type. Multi-tasking....

see you tonite.

December's meeting was great. Attendance was 4, and CarolO was there in spirit, I just know. Hey guys....lets have the male persuaded individuals show up, balance....you know.

In any case, second Tuesdays, 7 pm, and Third Place Books, Lk Forest Park.

New members are welcome. Next book Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. February's book is Peace Like a River.

Help us choose a book for March.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was the group read for the city of Redmond! I'll have to get a copy to read.

I had a great time Tuesday. Thanks everybody for the great conversation.

When I got home I found out that my daughter-in-law had a reading light on her Christmas list and I remembered that librarianlost had mentioned finding a great reading light that she really liked. Can you share the brand/model name of the light? Thanks.

Have a happy holiday season all. See you in Jan.

PS I am getting though "Absolutely True Diary..." pretty quickly. It is an amazing example of laughing to keep from crying.

In case you might overlook this - consider joining in the SantaThing. Click on the blog and read Abby's description of LT's secret santa deal. It is fun and friendly.

See you all, and more, in January.

Thanks to CarolO for directing me to this new thread. Happy New Year everyone!

We have a meeting coming up: next Tuesday to discuss the Sherman Alexie book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. We meet at 7 pm at Third Place Books Lake Forest Park. We usually find a table in the big open area and I'll try to remember to bring my Green Dragon (picture can be seen in Msg 30 of the Book Clubs? thread) so newcomers can identify the Third Place Thingers. All are welcome.

Happy New Year and wonderful reading!

ETA: location of Green Dragon Portrait.

Message edited by its author, Jan 6, 2009, 12:18pm.

We meet tonight at 7 pm at the Third Place Books at Lk Forest Park. I will bring ms. GreenDragon so newcomers, if any, can pick us out of the collection of 3 or more people sitting together around a table. We are not that unusual for this venue. Looking forward to talking about Sherman Alexie's book.

I might - strong possibility - show up about 6 pm ish to have some Mexican food before our meeting. If others might like a dinner prefunction, feel very invited to join me.

See you all tonight.

I plan on being there tonight.

I have to make a run down to SeaTac airport beforehand but depending on traffic I may be there early enough to join you for dinner.

I plan on being there tonight. Don't know about dinner, though. It's my turn to cook at home.

My apologies. I'd rather be there. I'm a programmer for the Finance dept and it's year end. Plus, it's a 53 week fiscal year (1 in 5). The last couple months have been brutal. Things will be quieter in February so please post the book you choose.
Kind Regards,
Jasper.

Jasper, we missed you!

February 10th we will be discussing Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

We are also each picking a read and posting it on this thread for March and later reads, so feel free to add your book suggestion and keep an eye on this thread for our future picks.

Great group this month. I definitely enjoyed our conversation! So, if we all can post one or more books we might like to read and we can choose a bunch into the future we can register with Third Place Books as an official book club and be able to buy the books at 20% off. We need to notify them 6 weeks or more in advance so we need to go a couple three months out.

So, put on your thinking caps and lets suggest some books:

Here is my suggestion:

Rock, Paper, Scissors: Game Theory in Everyday Life by Len Fisher

I'm throwing a little pop science into our mix.

I really enjoyed the meeting last night!

In the interest of science, this book has been on my TBR shelf for a little while: Archimedes to Hawking: Laws of Science and the Great Minds Behind Them by Clifford A. Pickover.

A few random suggestions:

High Crimes: The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed, Michael Kodas

The Age of Orphans, Laleh Khadivi (out in March)

Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter, Steven Johnson

Beat the Reaper, Josh Bazell

I had fun, too- see you next month!

Have you all tried the 'Will You Like It' toy? It is on the works page, just below recommendations.

For me, Archimedes to Hawking: Laws of Science and the Great Minds Behind Them by Clifford A. Pickover and Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell rated the most likely that I would like them so I guess I will throw my votes in for these two.

Remember, Tim refers to 'Will You Like It' as a lark so don't take it too seriously.

I had a good time last night too.

Good suggestions above, I think that I could live with any of them. Since you have started the trend, I have one book in my queue that is in the science/history vein that I will throw out there. Don't know if anyone would be interested. The Far Traveler: Voyages of a Viking Woman by Nancy Marie Brown.

I will try and come up with some more later.

Message edited by its author, Jan 15, 2009, 12:40am.

Pamur...thanks for mixing it up with some Viking history...LT says I will like it too!

I like reading about science but I would prefer if we have a mix of books so maybe we should only do 1-2 science books a year and if 2 definatley not in close proximity to each other...just my opinion...same thing with science fiction or mysteries or biographies or sports or...lets keep things mixed up. Again, just my opinion.

I think The Far Traveler looks great! I always love a good history book.

Hi, Third Placers! I'm fairly new to LT (joined in Sept. and started my challenges in Dec/Jan), so just discovered you. I love Third Place at Lake Forest Park, though I've been trying support the Ravenna store since it's lots closer, and Peace Like a River was a favorite read, so will have to see if I can join you. Oops! Went back and checked your meeting time, and can't as I'm not finished working until 7:45 on Tuesdays and then it would take me 30 mins. to pull myself together and get there. Darn! Well, I like knowing you're out there and will star you so I can keep track of what you're reading. :-)

Hi bonniebooks!

You are most welcome to come late, we're a pretty easy going group. If you are interested I could give you my cell phone number and you could call before you drive up to make sure we will still be there.

Welcome to LT!

That's generous. I think I'll wait until my Tuesdays are a little shorter. I am a teacher/tutor and, as I said, that's my longest day, but my schedule changes over the year and will try to move clients to another day. Happy reading!

OK, we'll settle for seeing you around LT for now and look forward to meeting you in RL down the road.

Hi, bonniebooks. We would be delighted if you can join us and being a little late will not be a problem. I completely understand about schedules....

I am planning on attending the Temple Grandin author's event on Friday, Jan. 30th. Her latest book is Animals Make Us Human which the book group saw I had just purchased at our last meeting. I am so enjoying reading it although it is a little technical and perhaps not interesting to those who are not crazy animal lovers.

In any case, if any of you would like to join me (it is at 6:30pm) we could meet earlier and grab a bite to eat and then see her. Let me know if this tweaks any of your interests. I can always bring the Green Dragon and she'll let you know where the LibraryThing table is.

I started Peace Like a River and so far it is really good, I'm only in about 70 pages but I think this is going to be a good read.

Thank you, Carol, I needed some encouragement to get started. I need to finish Lost Horizon and then I am on to Peace Like a River. February is just around the corner.

I just finished Lady Chatterley's Lover (what a waste of an ending). Now it's on to The Good Mother, and then Peace Like a River.

I am really enjoying Peace Like a River so far. Don't think it will last too much longer.

I finished Peace Like a River yesterday, what a great suggestion for our book club, I think we will have lots of good discussions at our next meeting.

I finished it too. Very powerful. I loved it.

I loved it too. I even marked some lines with post-its!!!!!!!!

I just had a panic attack. I realized that I didn't have the book club on my February calendar and thought I had missed it.

Our next meeting is Tuesday the 10th, correct?

I'm so glad I didn't miss it! See you all next week!

I'm glad you didn't miss it, too! BTW, I finished the book yesterday, and absolutely loved it!

Yes, Tuesday is the day. Feb. 10 at 7 pm. How fast time flies!

I hope everyone can safely make it to Third Place tonight. It has been snowing off and on all day here in North Seattle but so far the roads look OK.

My roads in Bothell are basically just wet. I anticipate no problems. I don't know if I'll be there early for dinner or not as my foster daughter may be begging a ride from me to pick up her car near 200th and Aurora. Not yet certain what will transpire but I know I will be there eventually.

See you tonite!

We didn't see any of that snow down here in the south end, just a little rain. I might try to get there a little early but you never know with traffic.

Will we pick next month's book tonight, or has it already been selected? I can't remember...

Here are the next books that we will be reading and discussing on:

March 10th is The Wordy Shipmates by Sara Vowell

April 14th is Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazel in honor of librarianlost's birthday

May 12th is The Earth Abides by Russell Kirkpatrick

June 9th is The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

July 14th is Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and is the day before pamur's birthday

eta to add dates and make it read a little nicer.

eta the order of the books, we will NOT be reading Archimedes to Hawking: Laws of Science and the Great Minds Behind Them by Clifford Pickover

Message edited by its author, Mar 11, 2009, 12:21am.

We had a great discussion. And I am excited about our line up of books. I turned in a group registration to Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park and I believe they will offer our books for sale at a 20% discount. Every penny helps.

Thanks maggie! It was a really good discussion last night. pamur mentioned a book called Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations last night, and I thought you all might be interested in this:

Monday • March 9 • 7:30pm
David Montgomery
Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations (University of California)
Discussion & Book Signing
Town Hall Seattle, Downstairs, 1119 8th Avenue (enter on Seneca)
Sponsored by Town Hall and University Book Store. Part of the Seattle Lecture Series. Tickets are $5 and are available at www.brownpapertickets.com, 800.838.3006 and at the door beginning at 6:30pm. Town Hall members receive priority seating.

I thought you might like to see the delightful books I came home with last night:

The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell (next month's book)
The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie
Nickel Mountain by John Gardner
Jimmy Hendrix Turns Eighty by Tim Sandlin (touchstone not working)
and
Mistress of the Monarchy: The Life of Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster by Alison Weir

I absolutely adored Jimmy Hendrix Turns Eighty - touchstones aren't loading for me either - I'll be interested to hear how you like it.

I have started reading Watchmen and find I am captivated. Not my usual type of literature but certainly not bad.

I received an email from staff at Third Place Books who say that our next read, The Wordy Shipmates will not be discounted because we did not let her know 6 weeks in advance; however, she will soon send me the discount cards and the following months reads will be on the book group shelves and will be discounted to group members. I think they discount the books by 20%. We are official!

If you can not attend our meeting in March send me a PM after the March meeting with your address and I will mail you a discount card.

How are people doing with The Wordy Shipmates? I am chuckling my way along and enjoying it.

I haven't started it, yet, but I'm looking forward to it. I just finished To Kill a Mockingbird and have started on Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky.

Thanks for making us 'official' Maggie!

I got sidetracked by Fool but I will get to it soon.

I'm picking up Wordy Shipmates from the library today!

Ok, you're going to think I'm nuts but I have to get this off my chest- I'm feeling awful about recommending a book that you may or may not like when I know you'll be buying it, and it's only available in hardcover (Beat the Reaper). Even with the discount I'm feeling uber-guilty (it's $24.99), so... I'm throwing out another suggestion that you might like better, A Reliable Wife, by Robert Goolrick. Unfortunately it isn't any cheaper ($24.95, and a nickel doesn't count), but the reviews are very good and I thought it seemed less frivolous than Beat the Reaper. Or, we can pick something in paperback or from the suggestions earlier in this thread?

Had to get that off my back... let me know what you think!

Whatever we decide, we must decide rather quickly to give the book store sufficient notice. They will be buying extra books to put them on the book groups shelves and offer the discount at their store.

I will try to find time to look at some reviews and post an opinion a little later.

I'm OK with sticking with Beat the Reaper but if everyone else wants to skip it then that is OK too.

The reviews on LT seem pretty good, some people felt the bad language was a little over the top but they still seemed to overall like the book. I did not read every review because I don't want to know too much about it, but I liked the review that said it is like The Sopranos meets House.

Beat the Reeper got pretty good reviews on LT and sounds interesting. I will go with whatever the group wants.

If I'm being a spaz, then feel free to ignore my post, and if all of you want to give it a go, I'm all for it! I just had a wave of guilt hit me about buying stuff (I think it has to do with the fact that I got yet another rejection).

I'll stop overthinking everything now :o)

Sorry you got bad news...good things will come...hmmm, that sounds like it came out of a fortune cookie...sorry, not eloquent but the thought is there.

I'm good with sticking with our plan. Perhaps as we plan in the future we can do some alternating between more expensive, very current books and older, but goodies, which might be found even in used conditions. But that is 6 months from now.

CarolO, I am confused...who got bad news?

librarianlost said she got "another rejection" in message #53...I'm assuming it is a job ap?

Those can get old fast...but right now I'm not even getting rejection letters, no responses at all leaving me to assume that I have been rejected.

Looking for work is hard work. One person I was talking with said they thought perhaps no response could mean they were short staffed and did not have personnel sufficient to respond to everyone. I wonder if some gentle follow-up might produce better results. I truly do not know but it is a thought.

Thank you both, this is the worst time ever to be job hunting, I know. I actually got a very nice phone call to let me know they didn't pick me. 45 people applied, 9 of us got an interview, and then I was one of 3 for a second interview. So I guess I should feel pretty good about that, eh?

I like the alternating between older and newer titles- The World Without Us is in paperback and I bet there are used copies; Eat, Pray, Love is in paperback now, too. (and if you are feeling cheap like me you can get them from the library for free! ;o)

See you next month!

I definitely think you can feel very good about having had two interviews. So many are sending out feelers and hitting blank walls. Remember that old bromide: Looking for work is the hardest job you will ever have. But you can do hard things, you have before.

On the books front, I also think checking for used copies early on is a good plan.

I don't fell at all guilty, because I always buy several books from Third Place Books when I'm there, but I frequently get my Book Discussion books through the library. I usually only buy books that are on my wish list or that I know I will want to hold onto. I just don't have room anymore for books that aren't "keepers," though the ones we've read for this discussion have all been great, and I do have my own copies of some of them. I'll probably get Beat the Reaper from the library.

There is now a way that people can give books away on LibraryThing. I think it is for authors to try to push their books. Interesting.

Also Third Place Books will buy used books and either give you cash or an in store credit (you get an extra 10% or something like that for the credit) but they are picky - has to be in very good condition and they have to 'need' it or in other words they won't buy it if they have 20 copies sitting on a shelf. There are more rules but that is what I remember off the top of my head.

In general I prefer to buy paperbacks but it is just a general opinion and not usually a big deal either way...if we started reading a lot of books that I didn't like then I might feel stronger about sticking to paperbacks but I have no complaints about our choices so far.

I have my copy of The Wordy Shipmates but I haven't started it yet...I'm caught up in Blue Highways and hope to finish it first but it is taking me longer then usual to read so I might have to set it aside.

I might have recruited another member...she's a RL friend...she's checking out LT and she might join us at our next meeting.

I, fortunately or unfortunately, picked up two new books at the Vashon Book Shop, one of my favorite bookstores ever. One is a dog story and I read about 50 pages immediately. I am hooked and am putting Wordy Shipmates and the Eyre Affair on temporary hold. Oh, the conflicts a reader can have...from time to time.

New members welcome! Horray!

I am going up to Victoria in July with family and will scope out some venues for our meetup.

See you in March.

Someone mentioned at a past book club meeting that they liked reading books about the Seattle area...sorry, I can't remember who said that...if you like local nonfiction then check out the Pacific Northwest tag on this library:

http://www.librarything.com/profile/Terp...

I stumbled across it when I noticed that we shared a book that no one else had and I got curious. Anyway, maybe it will give you some new titles to pursue.

Sad to say, I am not going to make it tonight. I am just getting over a pretty bad cold and I am just not up to it. Have a great time and somebody be sure to post the consensus on the book. For the record I liked it a lot even though I did bog down a couple of times when she got going on the Theology.
See you next time.

***UPDATED READING LIST***

April 14th is Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazel in honor of librarianlost's birthday

May 12th is Earth Abides by George R. Stewart

June 9th is The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

July 14th is Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and is the day before pamur's birthday

We decided that our original selection for May was a little too heavy on science and math so we have dropped Archimedes to Hawking: Laws of Science and the Great Minds Behind Them and just moved the other books up one month. Hope this hasn't caused any confusion for anyone.

edited to correct book and author for May

Message edited by its author, Mar 18, 2009, 4:24pm.

>66 I'm sorry to hear that you are under the weather. We missed you tonight! I enjoyed the book but I think that her other book Assassination Vacation is even better. I agree with you on getting bogged down in Theology. I think she is at her best when she shows the patterns in history that are still being repeated and I like her sense of humor.

Hope you are feeling better soon.

I think there was a good consensus that there were parts of the book which were very boggy. Slogging on through, though did give some great snarking comments on current politics and reminded, or taught, us some good American history. Not the simplistic stuff we ususally think we know.

I had a great time. Good conversation, as usual.

And I did distribute the Book Club membership cards which earned us a discount on our next book. If you would like to buy the book at Third Place Books and want a card just drop me a PM and I'll see if I can meet you there. But warning: I am leaving town on the 18th and will be gone about a month.

So sorry you couldn't make it pamur. Hope you feel better soon. I thought the discussion last night was a lot of fun.

Since we seem to have a few non-fiction books on the list already, I suggest we replace Archimedes to Hawking with a science fiction book (LibrarianLost also suggested this last night). Two I propose for consideration for August are, The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov, and The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin

I will throw out another suggestion. At the last meeting some of us were talking about Fahrenheit 451, I know some of you have already read it although I haven't, it sounds like it would have some good conversation material and it is available in paperback and also probably not too hard to find a used copy.

It made me think of another talk thread about non-paper books http://www.librarything.com/topic/57428 in book talk.

The staff handling book club books called me today and said she was having trouble identifying the next read: The Earth Abides. There is a book called Earth Abides by George R. Stewart and there is another book called In The Earth Abides the Flame by Kirkpatrick. We had told her that we wanted The Earth Abides by Kirkpatrick so you can see why she is confused.

Can someone familiar with the book tell me which one we want and I will let Third Place Books know. Thank you.

Message edited by its author, Mar 13, 2009, 4:48pm.

And oh, I think reading Fahrenheit 451 is a great idea. I would be willing to re-read it for book group discussion. What do the rest of you think?

I was thinking of Earth Abides by George R. Stewart when we were talking about it. I don't know about the other book by Kirkpatrick.

I actually own Fahrenheit 451 but haven't read it in years. I would like to read it.

Message edited by its author, Mar 14, 2009, 2:14am.

I re-read Fahrenheit 451 every few years because it is so good. I'm due for another re-reading. I also have my own copy.

It's Earth Abides by George Stewart that we want to read. It is the one that was strongly recommended to be paired with The World Without Us.

As for Fahrenheit 451, I also vote yes! It is one that I also embarrassingly admit that I've never read, and I'd love to!!

FYI: KCLS has 7 copies of Earth Abides, so if 3rd Place can't get us copies/ it's too pricey, we've got options!

***UPDATED READING LIST***yes, again***

April 14th is Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazel in honor of librarianlost's birthday

May 12th is Earth Abides by George R. Stewart

June 9th is The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

July 14th is Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and is the day before pamur's birthday

We decided that our original selection for May was a little too heavy on science and math so we have dropped Archimedes to Hawking: Laws of Science and the Great Minds Behind Them and just moved the other books up one month. Hope this hasn't caused any confusion for anyone.

edited to correct book and author for May, see #72,74 & 76 above

I just finished reading Beat the Reaper and I think perhaps the book should come with a warning (credit to CarolO for this idea) that it contains quite a bit of violence and potentially stomach turning descriptions. If this might be a problem for some of us perhaps we could agree before our meeting that we will refrain from describing the stomach churning stuff too explicitly. Would that be agreeable with all?

BTW, I did notify 3rd Place Books about our changes in books and months.

I bet the part you're referring to is the one I mentioned as we were leaving last time- it is disgustingly gruesome, I agree (but somehow fitting for the overall tone of the narrator :o) I'm more than happy to not relive the icky parts!

And thanks to Carol for updating our reading list!

I just finished Beat the Reaper too. It was a bit rough and strangely constructed (medical info and footnotes in a crime novel?) but in spite of all the quirks I did enjoy reading it. I am hoping that is not a comment on me. Will be interested in hearing what you all have to say.

I actually bought a copy of Earth Abides at 3rd Place before we picked it.

I am also looking forward to the discussion. Should be interesting.

I started Beat the Reaper yesterday and read it straight through. The footnotes were distracting, but interesting. I'm not sure which disgustingly gruesome part we aren't supposed to discuss, since I thought there were so many! Even more gruesome than Martin Cruz Smith's books. I'm looking forward to talking about it.

I got a kick out of the footnotes :o)

I was just at 3rd Place this afternoon, sold some more books and got store credit to buy some books for gifts... I thought of you kids!

love to be thought of....

...especially as a kid :o)

I think I've found the book for us to read!

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!

http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Zo...

librarianlost,
I saw Pride and Prejudice and Zombies on the bookshelf in a bookstore in Bellingham. It looks interesting.

My apologies...I won't be at the book club meeting tonight.

I never got around to reading the book so I wouldn't have anything to add to the discussion AND it won't limit the discussion by having someone squemish like me around.

Hope you have a great time tonight and I'll see everyone next month.

We'll miss you, CarolO, hope you're having fun tonight without us!

By the way, I mentioned to Bill, and meant to mention to you all that I recently read The Jump-off Creek by Molly Gloss. It is short and sweet about a woman homesteading by herself in eastern Oregon. I really recommend it.

Carol, I look forward to seeing you next time.

I had a great time tonight! Thanks for the great recommendations, Maggie.

Wow, just finished Earth Abides. I was impressed by how little it has aged over 60 years.

All the swine flu news feels a little deja vu after reading Earth Abides...if my life had a soundtrack there would be that spooky is-this-a-coincidence-or-not kind of music playing right now.

I agree it is a little weird to have this be our book right now....almost enough to scare me; but no, I'm enjoying the book but not the news.

I know -- I've been thinking a lot about this book and the current flu epidemic. I think we're going to have a great discussion.

I finished Earth Abides before this swine flu thing got going. Still, it has really been haunting me too. I loaned it to my daughter-in-law and she said that it is even worse if you "start" reading it with all this going on in the news. She is kind of creeped out, actually.

Carol-O, it is really astounding how little the book has aged. I think it is part that his writing didn't concentrate on the social aspects of the time but also he seems to have had a very forward looking view of our place in the scheme of things.

I just finished it today and I agree that the timeliness is uncanny! I'm looking forward to our discussion, too, but I'll be about 20 minutes late so don't say anything too profound until I get there :o)

Earth Abides is one of my all time favorite books.

I tend to give it away often. The themes of hope and the ability for human beings to adapt to situations they never imagined are timeless. The first time I read the Stand, I wondered if King borrowed his storyline from Earth Abides.

If this story line is one you like you may want also try Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank.

#99 - I agree with you about The Stand. It's the only Stephen King book I've read, and I did think of it while reading Earth Abides and wondered if King borrowed his story line from Stewart's earlier, much better book.

Looking forward to Tuesday evening however I do not know how the time thing will work. I usually leave my nanny job in Lake Stevens around 4 pm; I'll go home, feed dogs and give them some outdoor time and then drive to Lk For Pk. I should make it before 7 pm and I'll probably eat dinner there. I think the discussion on Earth Abides should be cool.

I should be able to arrive early and hopefully secure one of the nice big tables for us. I will probably be eating dinner there also.

We're going to have a great discussion!

Hope there is no hard feelings but I will be scooting out a bit early at our June meeting...I have film festival tickets that night for 9:30 downtown so I will need to be leaving around 8pm or so...but don't let me break up the party. I expect y'all to carry on the conversation without me.

I haven't started the book yet but I have high hopes after our last meeting that this will be an interesting topic since it ties in with the last book.

I have started it and find it quite easy to read, comfortable style and interesting.

I'm only 40 or so pages in and really enjoying it, too, and now I'm bummed I have to miss the meeting!

It might be a bit soon to throw out titles for future meetings, but I wanted to chime in before I forgot:

Fahrenheit 451: someone already suggested this, right? Just wanted to say that I agree, and if not this "classic," then another one. I haven't read a "classic" in ages and kinda want to!

The Zookeeper's Wife: I think someone mentioned this one, too, and I took a look at it... looks good! A bit denser than what we've been reading lately, so maybe save for after summer? ;oP

The Good Thief, Hannah Tinti: it's been on my "to be read" list for months, it's a 2008 title, but paperback comes out this August.

Alan's War: The Memories of GI Alan Cope, Emmanuel Guibert: I think we may have mentioned tackling a graphic novel and this is one that may be of interest to you, plus here's a plug from the comic strip Unshelved,
http://www.unshelved.com/archive.aspx?st...

And to throw in some humor...
Smashed, Squashed, Splattered, Chewed, Chunked and Spewed, Lance Carbuncle: it just sounds really funny, and I love a dog book!

That's all for now, back to reading!

True confession time - I only really read the first half of the book and then kinda skimmed through the last half.

However, I read the blog on the green dragon link on how to lie about reading a book so I think I'll be able to join in the conversation :)

Remember to bring along your book suggestions for the coming months so we can vote.

See you all at 3rd Place!

I am so sorry but I am unable to meet with you all this evening. I have a mess of stuff going on and need to stay home. I'll try to post my ideas for next reads here in the next few minutes.

love to you all. See you next month.

OK, I suggest the following:

Edmund Christopherson's The Night the Mountain Fell: the story of the Montana-Yellowstone Earthquake. The earthquake was in the 1950s and this might be an interesting, and not too demanding read. We are in earthquake country, you know.

Ken McGoogan's Lady Franklin's Revenge: A True Story of Ambition, Obsession, and the Remaking of Arctic History. Recommended to me by katylit who some of you may remember from last year's meet-up. Again, a history. I felt like I gave for the science this last go round, so now I'm pushing for my love of history.

Probably my #1 pick: David Liss' The Coffee Trader: A Novel. This book is about financial schnanigans a couple of centuries ago but is advertised as being relevant to understanding today's financial nonsense. A historical fiction.

Charles de Lint's The Mystery of Grace. A modern fantasy. I like de Lint and recommend him.

I will be interested to see what else people discuss. ETA to add my #1 pick.

Message edited by its author, Jun 9, 2009, 9:02pm.

OK, in addition to the books listed above by Maggie1944 and LibrianLost, we are suggesting the following:

Tears of Autumn by Charles McCarry
The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
Travel as a Political Act by Rick Steves
Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo
Forever by Pete Hamill

Please vote for your five favorites (using all 3 lists) and the winners will take us through January.

Sorry, I don't know why touchstones isn't working for The Great Gatsby, I've tried to fix it but am now giving up.

Message edited by its author, Jun 10, 2009, 3:07am.

I'll start the voting, my 5 choices are:

The Coffee Trader
Tears of Autumn
The Great Gatsby
Travel as a Political Act
Forever

OK, my votes:

The Coffee Trader
Travel as a Political Act
The Great Gatsby
Smashed, Squashed, Splattered, Chewed, Chunked and Spewed
The Mystery of Grace

I will be interested in what we decide. I am sorry I missed last night but there are only so many hours in a day, eh?

Ok,
Here goes:

The Coffee Trader
Tears of Autumn
The Great Gatsby
Travel as a Political Act
Bridge of Sighs

Also, last month and this month, Third Place Books has only had the current month's book on display for our group. I talked to one of the evening helpers about this, because I wanted to get the discount for next month's book. It seems we must have some how fallen a month behind in the copy on display (you only get the discount on the display copy). The rather uncooperative shopkeeper said our book group coordinator would have to call during the day and speak to someone named Cheryl about this. Maggie, are you our coordinator? Would you be willing to call, or are you too busy with your new job? I can call if you'd like. Regards, Jan

That is wierd, last month when I mentioned it, they told me they were running behind schedule in changing the display so I didn't think anything further about it.

In no particular order, I vote for:

The Good Thief
The Coffee Trader
Travel as a Political Act
Bridge of Sighs
The Great Gatsby

I'll admit I haven't gotten around to finishing the World Without Us, but I'm looking forward to Eat, Pray, Love. I keep hearing such great reviews and I want to see what everyone's talking about!

Thanks for compiling these...

Since yesterday was pamur's golf day, he hasn't voted yet, though he sounded like he was just going to vote for the five we chose on Tuesday night when we met. So far we've got:
Four Votes:
The Coffee Trader
The Great Gatsby
Travel as a Political Act

Two Votes:
Tears of Autumn
Bridge of Sighs

That's our five books unless Pamur votes for one of the one vote books, and then we'd have to have a tie breaker.

Regards, Jan

...no pressure pamur...teeheehee...glad I voted first!

I think I can go with that list. I bought one of the other books I had suggested last night so I will be reading that anyway. Looks like a good mix. Good job, thingers.

Funny isn't it? Picking the books is almost as much fun as discussing them.

Golf was good yesterday, BTW.

Maggie1944, I know your hands are full these days...is it too much to ask you to let 3rd Place know about our next round of books?

I'm happy to help if you need it (with the bookclub stuff not the nanny stuff, just making sure there is no misunderstanding!).

I think I want to start calling you M-44, it makes you sound like a spy.

I like M-44. (5.5 days and counting until all the relatives go home and my life returns to normal.)

pamur - glad you had a good day golfing!

janoorani24 - maybe we should ALL have spy names, you could be J-24? Hang in there...and if all else fails - hide in the bathroom with a good book!

Oh, and I started Eat, Pray, Love and so far I am really enjoying it.

Message edited by its author, Jun 12, 2009, 8:20pm.

Calling me M-44 is OK by me. I have kind of a espionage personality....sometimes. I loved spy books for years but finally le Carre became a bit too dense for me. I switched to dragons and fantasy. So, maybe not such a tough spy after all.

I am happy to see the next book is Eat, Pray, Love which I have read and really enjoyed. I'll have to find my copy by our next meeting.

Yes, I am feeling overwhelmed with stuff. It is amazing how much time working actually takes. Even at four days per week I am slammed to get the house and dogs cared for and myself....laundry, eating, all that stuff.

Carol, if you have time to coordinate with Third Place that will be good. I think I can find the staff person's phone number and I will call her and tell her you will be contacting her.

Thanks to you! bunches and bunches.

OK, I'm off to shampoo the rug (don't ask...3 dogs?)

Karen

ETA: the paragraph above re M-44

Message edited by its author, Jun 13, 2009, 4:16pm.

If we get a spy name, I will be P-51. P for pamur, but I am from the aircraft world (Boeing) so there is a connection with the P-51 Mustang and my dad worked on that plane during WWII.

If this keeps up, we may need to re-boot with a new group name reflecting our espionage path....

...and read a spy book!

I just now finished reading a terrific spy book called Old Boys by Charles McCarry. He also wrote Tears of Autumn which is on our list. I could barely put it down. I was up until almost 3:00 am, got up again at 7:00 to take daughter to school, and just finished it.

Hey guys, I got a Kindle for Father's Day.

Can someone remind me whether we have officially picked books beyond the Eat, Pray, Love and the new list we just approved. I thought Farenheit 451 was on the list but can't remember if there were others. Thanks.

I think Fahrenheit 451 comes after Eat, Pray, Love. Did we decide what order to read the next five books in?

Here they are:

The Coffee Trader
The Great Gatsby
Travel as a Political Act
Tears of Autumn
Bridge of Sighs

I'm still trying to connect with 3rd Place, mostly my fault because I haven't been around for them to call me back, tomorrow I am mostly home so hopefully I can get our list updated. I was going to alternate the 4 vote/2 vote list as follows:

July Eat, Pray, Love
Aug Fahrenheit 451
Sep The Coffee Trader
Oct Tears of Autumn
Nov The Great Gatsby
Dec Bridge of Sighs
Jan Travel as a Political Act

If anything changes after talking to 3rd Place I will let you all know.

Sounds great to me! I'm going out of town tomorrow and don't return until 9 July. I hope I have time to read next month's book.

OK, Third Place Books now has our updated list and it matches the list in message 128. We should be good for a few more months now.

I've finished Eat, Pray, Love and I'm looking forward to hearing what you all think about it. Now I hope I still remember it at our July meeting!

I am probably making an offer on a new home in Everett this evening and am a little preoccupied as you might guess. I will certainly attend July and August's meetings and hope to continue after that. Looking forward to seeing you all and taking a bit of a breather....

Good luck on your house Maggie!

Hi everybody. I wanted to tell you that I will not be attending this month. My daughter is getting married Friday and things are getting a little hairy around here. I was having a tough time getting through the book anyhow, so it was a good month to miss.

I have The Coffee Trader on the Kindle and it looks like it might be interesting. I am looking forward to rereading Farenheit 451. It has probably been 30 years since I originally read it.

Have a good time discussing. I will be back next month.

We'll miss you pamur.

Best wishes to your daughter!

Carol

Congrats and here's to a beautiful wedding!

I'll be running a little late tonight, I work til 7 but am coming from Shoreline so it shouldn't be too bad. I haven't finished Eat Pray Love but am enjoying it so far.

See you in a few hours...

I am looking forward to seeing you guys tonite. Sorry Pamus can't make it, I was looking forward to his point of view on this book. But best of wishes for the wedding and the bride and groom living happily ever after!

I am going to try to get there a little early tonight and buy a dinner. I look forward to it.

Best Wishes for the wedding and future happiness of your daughter and son-in-law. So sorry we won't be seeing you tonight.

I finished "Eat, Pray, Love" last night, and look forward to discussing it.

I'm leaving very soon, since I need to stop by a theater on the way to get tickets for Harry Potter later tonight.

See everyone soon!

Thank you everyone for being my escape from reality tonight. I really enjoyed talking about our book and everyone’s good news – a wedding for P-51’s daughter and a farmhouse with a rope swing for M-44 and a Seattle home with a view for LL and a girl’s night out for Jan and her girls.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to join you next month to discuss Fahrenheit 451. My mom passed away on July 2nd and my dad is in the early stages of dementia and can not be left alone. I was with him until Sunday night, my sister is with him this week while I wrap up some commitments here in Seattle, then I head back down on Monday and I will probably be down there until September. I hope to have care lined up by then so that he can stay in his home and I can return to Seattle.

I will probably be offline most of the summer, no internet service (yet) at dad’s house.

If I get an opportunity I will stop by LT, otherwise, I really hope that I will be able to attend in September.

Carol

Carol, that is truly huge news. I am so sorry for your loss and for the added responsibility of your father's illness. I hope you might be able to find a library or a coffee shop with wi-fi and be able to keep us in your loop. You are such a sweeet and fun person to be with....I will be very sad if you end up missing the September get together.

Remember you are in my heart while you find your way through this difficult time.

The wedding is over. It was a huge success and everybody had a fine time. We had guests at the house until last Thursday so we are just recovering this week in the heat. I am getting into Farenheit 451 and looking forward to the next meeting. I have also started The Coffee Trader (my first Kindle book) and enjoying it so far.

I also would like to recommend reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It is a must for any book club member.

I've read the The Guernsey Literary... and enjoyed it. I concur with the recommendation.

p.s. it is hot, hot, hot in Victoria also. The swimming pool at the Worldmark facility is very nice and very much helps keep us cool. We are having a great vacation and Sandragon's recommendations have been excellent.

See you all soon.

Hello everyone!

I finished Eat, Pray, Love last week, and I really wish I had finished it in time for the meeting, I have kinda mixed feelings about it overall... I still enjoyed it, but was a bit put-off, too.

I'm almost done with F 451, and having never read it before, I really didn't know what to expect, and still don't know how I feel about it, other than it confirms my lack of interest in flat screen tvs :o)

I'm sending out appropriate wishes of congratulations, sympathy and/or plain old good thoughts to everyone... I'm terribly behind in reading all the posts and feel like I've missed out on everyone's milestones. Hope you've survived the week and are doing well, and I look forward to seeing you kids next month!

One more thing: apparently a lot of communities have chosen Fahrenheit 451 for their "Big Read" programs, and I found a guide on the NEA's website here:
http://www.neabigread.org/books/fahrenhe...

I don't think we've used "official" guides before but I thought this might be of interest to some.

Hey, guys, I am home after a week in Victoria. Reminder there is a meet-up scheduled for September. I really think folks could have a great time! Hey? What do you say?

Glad to hear you made it back safely and and had a good time- at least you had some A/C to make it through the heat wave!

When is the September outing? I'm guessing it'll be LT folks, but do you all know each other pretty well already? Will it be mostly Green Dragon people?

It looks like it will be two people from Victoria and me. I heard from another possible participant that he will not be able to make it. I do not know if CarolO will be free to make it either. Looks like a very quiet get together. We will probably hit a couple of book stores, have coffee or lunch and maybe think up one other field trip. Don't know for sure.

It is the weekend between 9/10 and 9/17 (those are the check in and check out days for me at my "hotel")

If you have more questions don't hesitate to send me a PM

Well, the best laid plans…as they say…

I’m in southern WA living out of a suitcase and taking care of my dad who is in the early stages of dementia. My husband and I will soon be putting our house on the market and moving down here.

So, I will no longer be an active member of our book club. I have the contact info for Third Place, let me know who wants to take on the task of updating their book list and I will give you the details.

I do intend to keep an eye on the thread and maybe even read along when I can, maybe I will even be able to do a road trip and join you now and then.

I hope you all know how much I have enjoyed our book club and how very much I am going to miss it. Carol

Oh, Carol; that's such sad news! I will miss you very much, and hope you can make it up to some of our future meetings. Jan

I want to, with enthusiasm, encourage you to read along with us and comment on line. We definitely want you as a virtual member and if there are others who wish to comment on line, I think we should encourage it. Carol, you know we will be so happy to see you when we can but definitely want to hear from you.

So sorry to hear that you won't be able to continue actively with the group Carol. We will miss your contributions but we all know you had to make that tough decision to be with your father. Take care of you and yours and please stay in touch. You may not be able to take the Tuesday night Thingers with you but you will still have LibraryThing and so you are our first official member-at-large.

I am so sorry, I know it must have been a difficult choice but one you won't regret. I, too, am sorry to see you go, but I look forward to your online participation- and I'll have to be sure to throw in some spoilers every now and then so it feels like you're still in the mix! :o)

On my own sad note, my dog passed away yesterday. I know I was just talking about him with you guys at the last meeting, and I appreciated the chance to talk about him.

Here's to wishing everyone peace, happiness, and all that good stuff, after such a tough month.

Thanks everyone. I hope to get my act together soon and get back to reading again...right now I am having trouble finding the time and focus to read but I will get back there sooner or later.

I'm already recruiting for a local bookclub :)

Wow! I just finished Fahrenheit 451 and this is the first time I have read it, what an amazing story, hard to believe it is over 50 years old. How very frightening to imagine a world without books and I really hope we never have to rely on MY poor memory to recreate books.

The edition I read was the 50th Anniversary one and it had some supplemental info in the back including a Q and A with the author which was interesting. This book was compared to 1984 and it was pointed out that this book seemed to remain more current - the author thought it was because he was addressing social issues rather then politics. Also, the TV soap operas with the parts for the watchers is based on old radio shows that left gaps for the listeners to fill in - everything old is new again, right?

Wish I could have joined your discussion, I'm sure I missed out on some interesting conversations.

I now have internet service at my dad's...now the challenge is finding the time to get online and to read!

Hi CarolO,
Thanks for keeping in touch with us. We are, firstly, an online group and we should be able to incorporate an online membership somehow. I'm Looking forward to your contributions so I am not letting you off of the required reading schedule :o) Take care.

Hi CarolO,
I liked your comments about Fahrenheit 451. I watched the movie in addition to re-reading the book. I highly recommend seeing it -- it makes a great supplement to the book. The version from netflix includes a long interview with Ray Bradbury about both the book and the movie.

Glad you are staying in touch! Cheers, Jan

Hi all. I've been on a mental sabbatical of sorts - being held captive by some stupid on line games in Facebook. Yes, I am ashamed of myself. It is sort of fun while the children are napping. OK, no excuses.

I will be missing the next meeting as I'll be in Victoria meeting up with Sandragon and Katylit. I will miss you all. I am so sorry we have such a small meet-up this year. What can we do to make it better next year?

I picked up the Sept. book but haven't made much progress. I am reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo based on a friend's recommendation and City Farm based on a review I read somewhere. City Farm is light-hearted account of trying to raise some gardens and animals while living in the slums of Oakland CA. I recommend it. Actually, I am enjoying both of these books and The Coffee Trader also started out good. I am afraid my main problem is I need to sleep between working and reading. hehehehe

See you in October.

CarolO - am looking forward to reading what you think of whatever you are finding time to read. Keep in touch.

I just finished The Coffee Trader. Looking forward to discussing it this month, but I'm sorry neither CarolO or Maggie will be there in person.

Hey folks, I won't be at this month's meeting, either. I was offered a 1-9 shift and couldn't pass it up, I'm sorry. I also must confess that I still haven't started The Coffee Trader- I got caught up with finishing the 999 Challenge, and then other stuff happened, etc., and I never got around to it.

If anyone does show up, have fun gossiping about the rest of us :o) Have fun in BC, Maggie, and I'm sending positive thoughts your way, CarolO.

See you next month...

pamur -- it looks like it might be just the two of us! Jan

I promise I will be there in October, maybe with some surprises from Canada. What is our next book?

janoorani24,
I would like to suggest we cancel the meeting for this month. We can review both books when everybody returns in Oct. If you read this let me know whether that is OK with you.

I finished The Coffee Trader and I can't really decide whether I liked it or not.

If you do cancel and decide to discuss The Coffee Trader in Oct. I will do my best to finish it as well as the next book. Is the next book The Tears of Autumn? Is this touchstone correct?

Message edited by its author, Sep 7, 2009, 2:48pm.

Pamur, I don't mind canceling tonight's meeting and discussing The Coffee Trader next month along with The Tears of Autumn, though my daughter and I may still go tonight for dinner. I'd like to get reactions from people who have read both books, so I can explore why I like some books and not others, and why my opinions seem so different from others.

On a related issue, what do people think about changing the night of the meeting from Tuesday night? Starting 13 Oct, I'll be in a certificate program at the University of Washington until next spring. It meets every Tuesday night for three semesters. Would any of you be able to meet on a different weeknight?

Cheers! Jan

I'm ok with changing the day, I can make Mondays or Wednesdays work.

I renewed The Coffee Trader from the library and I'll give it a go....

I am OK with changing the day, too. My "day off" changes each week so one day is as good or as bad as another. So what ever works for the most of the rest of you is good with me.

I am taking the Coffee Trader with me when I leave for B.C. I'll buy the other book when I get back.

I am glad we will all get to discuss Coffee Trader. I can make any day but Friday work for the foreseeable future. I prefer Monday or Thursday.

Well, I just signed my daughter up for dance on Thursday nights, so Mondays are the best night for me. Would it be OK to change the meeting to the second Monday of the month? This is my favorite book discussion, and I wouldn't want to miss it for almost a year. Cheers, Jan

Second Mondays work for me. Is 7 still a good start time for everyone?

Second Mondays will be fine with me. 7 pm is an OK start time but I am flexible. Just to be sure: What book are we reading after The Coffee Trader?

I hope it is Tears of Autumn. I am half way through it. It is a good one.

I can make Monday at 7PM work. It looks like a done deal.

I like it: second Monday of the month at 7, so the next meeting is Monday, October 12, at 7pm, to discuss both The Coffee Trader and Tears of Autumn. See everybody there!

Excellent!

Thanks so much everyone for being so flexible! See everyone next month on the 12th.

Pamur,
I see you rated Tears of Autumn with four stars! I'm so glad you liked it -- better than you rated The Lost Symbol, which I have on my Kindle, but haven't read yet.

I am losing my mind. When is our next meeting? oh, duh...read the above: Oct. 12 at 7 pm. and we are talking about two books, right? Will you disown me if I've finished neither?

We would never disown you! I still haven't finished one of the books for my Sammamish library book discussion that we discussed in August!

I, too, may not have either finished in time, but I'll be there!

Update on Oct. 12, 7pm happenings: Third Place Books is having an author event at the same time as our meeting, and I'm torn since one of the authors is a big favorite of mine, Scott Westerfeld. I'm going to try to divide my time evenly between the two, but please don't be offended if I am overcome with author-worship :o)

Also, October is National Book Group month or something like that, and 3rd Place is having an event on Wed, Oct. 21 with Nancy Pearl, Garth Stein, and other authors- with suggestions and ideas for groups. Not that *we* need help ;oP but it sounds interesting and fun. Perhaps I'll see some of you there?

Message edited by its author, Sep 28, 2009, 3:55pm.

What a great idea to show up at the event on the 21st. I'll try to make it.

What time is the event on the 21st?

7-9 pm. Here's the description:

Hear 5 experienced authors give their perspectives on author/book club meetings. Come with questions – and enjoy refreshments, book club tips and lists, and literary stuff!
Authors will sign their books, too.

Nancy Pearl - Moderator
Jamie Ford – Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Diane Hammond – Hannah’s Dream
Stephanie Kallos – Sing Them Home
Jim Lynch – Border Songs
Garth Stein – The Art of Racing in the Rain

I'll certainly do my best to be there. It looks great! Jan

Hey all... it's been a while! I'm downtown now (International District), 10 min walk from Elliot Bay Books and 15 min walk from the Downtown Library. Book-vana. Got rid of the car, so getting to 3rd place is going to be a bit of an issue.

I know Fahrenheit 451 was the August book... if you liked it, I just finished reading The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. It's technically young adult, but it's young adult in the same way The Giver or To Kill a Mockingbird is. Honestly, made me cry. 1st book to do that in a long time. The copy I have has the book club questions and an interview with the author, who said that the same part that I lost it at was one that took him weeks to write and he was a mess. Simply written, story for our times, told from a slightly different perspective... and if I tell you more, I give away too much!

Sorry folks, but I won't be there tonight- no book group and no Scott Westerfeld :o( I've got some kind of head cold/congestion thing going on.

I will be back in form next month- have fun tonight, and enjoy the author event for me!

There was a big crowd for Scott. Sorry you are feeling poorly, we missed you. Next month: The Great Gatsby, November 9, 7 pm

Calling all possible book group members: we are a welcoming group and would love to have some additional members.

Message edited by its author, Oct 12, 2009, 11:31pm.

LibrarianLost- So sorry you weren't feeling well. I've had a terrible head/chest cold for the past two weeks. Decided to risk going to the meeting in spite of it and only hope I didn't spread it to anyone else.

#184 - I wish we could figure out a way for you to get to the meetings! They are the second Monday of every month. Unfortunately, downtown Seattle isn't at all on my way (I live in Sammamish), and at least two of the others live in or near Lake Forest Park, so they wouldn't be able to come get you either. Is there any way you could take the bus?

Agree with you about The Book Thief. Great book.

I am so sorry I was not able to attend the event at Third Place books to hear the discussion of good reads for book clubs. Did any one else make it?

No, I had forgotten that my Sammamish Library book group meets the same night, so I went to that instead. I'll bet it was a great discussion.

I couldn't make it, either. Despite all my good intentions this month, something manages to get in the way of everything I want to do! :o) But come rain or shine I plan to make it to next month's meeting as well as John Irving's visit to 3rd Place Books.

Last time I read The Great Gatsby was in high school and I remember not even trying to enjoy it because it was an assignment, and we were so focused on symbolism, imagery, essay topics, blah blah blah... I'm looking forward to reading it again by choice :o)

I hope everyone is well and reading lots- Happy Halloween!

Thanks for your kind, good wishes but darn it! I am finding it hard to read as much as I want to read. Life just keeps getting in the way. However, I am enjoying as much of Gatsby as I've been able to read. See you soon.

Yesterday I noticed that we have our books selected through January... should we try to pick for February and March (or more?) at next week's meeting? Here are some titles that might be of interest:

Zeitoun, Dave Eggers
Far North, Marcel Theroux (National Book Award finalist)
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley

Anyone going to see John Irving tomorrow? I will definitely be there! His new book, Last Night in Twisted River, could be good for discussion, too!

I just realized that Monday is my Granddaughter's 5th birthday. We have had plans for awhile to spend the evening with her family but I just didn't connect the dots. I did read The Great Gatsby and although I am sure I have read it in the past (maybe multiple times) I still enjoyed the book for its fine writing style if not for the great plot and characters. It was a little lighter weight than I remembered. Once again, the good writers manage to make their writing timeless. It didn't really feel dated to me and I am not that old, really. See you all next time and be sure to post the groups consensus on the book.

I hope you have a really fun celebration. Sorry we'll miss you. Cheers, Jan

What a fun birthday celebration! Have a great time!

Sounds like we would've had an interesting conversation about Gatsby, though. I'm not sure how I feel about it, and I'm really curious to find out why people think it is a fine piece of writing :o)

See you next month, and hopefully I'll see the everyone else tonight!

And we did! .... have an interesting conversation about Gatsby and whether F Scott Fitzg would be a revolutionary writer today. He was back then... who is his parallel today? I offered up Sherman Alexie. Those who did not make it to our Second Monday meeting for November: who do you think is revolutionary for writing today?

Ah, let's see. I liked the book and I am glad I read it. First book I have finished in a while. I am really struggling to find quality time to read.

We also discussed a list of maybe books for our future months.

Here are some we suggest for consideration:

Dave Egger's Zeitoun;

in the YA arena are The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Wednesday Wars;

non-fiction, Bright-sided by Barbara Ehrenreich;

biography, Open by Andre Agassei;

fiction, The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo (mystery) by Stieg Larsson, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, The Spies of Warsaw - a novel (WWII spies) by Alan Furst, Far North, and Wolf Hall.

I am sorry I did not have time to check for authors and correct spelling. All corrections are welcome. All additions are welcome.

See you in December 14th at 7 pm and we will be discussing Richard Russo's Bridge of Sighs.

Looking forward to seeing you all, and maybe we could all look to find one more member??? Or maybe that could be a new year's goal? What do you think?

Message edited by its author, Nov 10, 2009, 1:48pm.

Hi everyone!

Just thought I would let you know that I picked up The Likeness by Tana French today in paperback. It is the follow-up to our earlier read In the Woods. Don't know when I will get around to reading it but when I do I will let you know what I think.

I gotta say, I sure do miss our bookclub group and Third Place Books.

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Hi there! Your name came up at the last meeting, and the feeling is mutual: you are missed! (Who else am I going to spoil book storylines for? :o)

I like Tana French's writing, but The Likeness is different from In the Woods... I think I was expecting something else, but I still enjoyed it!

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Carol! Nice to hear from you. I hope you and yours have a very nice Thanksgiving. I'll wait for your comments on the Tana French book...and continue to miss you at our face-to-face meetings.

Hi Carol,
I have Likeness on my Kindle but can't read it until I finish all of the other books I have to read (I am hopelessly behind I'm afraid...but I can't decide whether that is good news or bad). Hope you have a good holiday season.

May I use this thread to wish all a very happy Thanksgiving...a wee bit after the fact? Hope all is well and happy.