Fun Book Club Party Idea

Hello My Friends!

Happy New Year!

There! I acknowledge right up front that I know that Christmas has past. 

Ugh! Honestly, I miss it already. 

But! At any rate, I was able to host a very fun little 

soirée for my Lit-N-Latte Girls and I wanted to show the pictures off. 

So here they are!

Truly this theme could very easily translate into a January/Winter theme.

I always purchase all the books for the year. Sorry, but we love the covers and actually holding the book.  Many of the ladies use e-readers but any true book lover still loves the feel of a book in the hand and the turn of a page.

So with that in mind, it certainly helps to come up with a centerpiece.  The only thing that I added was my Father-in-Law's old typewriter, Christmas teacups and some vintage Christmas post cards.

It is also very easy to use your party favors. I gave each gal a Starbucks ornament.

We usually go pot luck, but I also supplied a hot cocoa bar.

This year I included a the White Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix from the Safeway Select line.

You guys! I'm telling you! Short of making real cocoa in a double boiler... 

it just doesn't get any better. 

It is the best mix I have ever tried. I offered both the white and regular cocoa.

The party was a success.
We chatted about favorite reads this year, favorite of all time reads, books that are coming out this year,
books that are coming out in movies this year, must see movies and many, many other classic bookworm topics. (we all wear glasses)

I hope you had a lovely Holiday Season!
I can't believe how fast it went.

Tattoos on the Heart ....

The Power of Boundless Compassion

By Gregory Boyle

I JUST finished reading this book and I had to share it with you!

I would consider this a must read for anybody. Adult that is.

Caution: This is a compilation of real stories about gang members and their lives.

The language is real and rough. If you are easily offended, this book is not for 

you. But if you interested in hearing how one man is making a big difference

in a real way, this book is for you! 

Father Gregory will make you re-think and re-define your definitions of

 success, failure, forgiveness, compassion, and hope.  He reminds us that

these are all deep wells that God wants us to draw from when we are 

internally (as well as externally) judging the worth of another Soul on this planet. 

Further, Father Doyle reminds us that whether you are a nurse in an ER or a homie from the hood,

 He will use you right where you are and just as you are!

But don't think this is all heavy spiritual reading... It is not.

I laughed as much as I cried. Humor abounds in his skilled story telling. 

The same, but different: I would compare this to Ann Voskamp's 

Best Seller "One Thousand Gifts" , only much grittier. 

From the Back of the book:

“Destined to become a classic of both urban reportage and contemporary spirituality” ( Los Angeles Times )— Tattoos on the Heart is a series of parables about kinship and redemption from pastor, activist, and renowned speaker, Father Gregory Boyle—now in paperback.

For twenty years, Father Gregory Boyle has run Homeboy Industries, a gang-intervention program located in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles—also known as the gang capital of the world. In Tattoos on the Heart, he has distilled his experience working in the ghetto into a breathtaking series of parables inspired by faith.

From giant, tattooed Cesar, shopping at JC Penney fresh out of prison, we learn how to feel worthy of God’s love. From ten-year-old Pipi we learn the importance of being known and acknowledged. From Lulu we understand the kind of patience necessary to rescue someone from the dark—as Father Boyle phrases it, we can only shine a flashlight on a light switch in a darkened room.

This is a motivating look at how to stay faithful in spite of failure, how to meet the world with a loving heart, and how to conquer shame with boundless, restorative love.

Winner of the 2011 PEN Center USA Literary Award for Creative Nonfiction

 This was a GOOD book! 

You should read it!

Book Review The Glass Castle

Hey Peeps! 

Just thought  would share a book review with you. 

Hope you enjoy. 

The Glass Castle

by
Jeannette Walls

Back of the Book:


Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an "excitement addict." Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.
Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town -- and the family -- Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.
What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.
For two decades, Jeannette Walls hid her roots. Now she tells her own story. A regular contributor to MSNBC.com, she lives in New York and Long Island and is married to the writer John Taylor.


My thoughts: 
This was a great read! I would recommend it for anyone high school or older. There is some language and some adult situations, but the value of the story is so enormous and none of it is gratuitous.  Ms. Walls' story sheds so much light on the plight of children of the homeless. While the story is pitiful and sad, she uses humor and forgiveness in generous portions that make her story survivable.  She is living proof that we do not have to be victims of our child hood or up bringing.

Most of the ladies in book club liked it and would recommend it.

Thanks for dropping by! 

I'll be joining Ricki Jill for Literary Friday.

A Book Review: The 19th Wife

For March our book club read: 

The 19th Wife 

by David Ebershoff

From the back of the book:

Faith, I tell them, is a mystery, elusive to many, and never easy to explain. 

Sweeping and lyrical, spellbinding and unforgettable, David Ebershoff's  The 19th Wife combines epic historical fiction with a modern murder mystery to create a brilliant novel of literary suspense. It is 1875, and Ann Eliza Young has recently separated from her powerful husband, Brigham Young, prophet and leader of the Mormon Church. Expelled and an outcast, Ann Eliza embarks on a crusade to end polygamy in the United States. A rich account of a family's polygamous history is revealed, including how a young woman became a plural wife.

Soon after Ann Eliza's story begins's a second exquisite narrative unfolds-a tale of muser involving a polygamist family in present-day Utah. Jordan Scott, a young man who was thrown out of his fundamentalist sect years earlier, must reenter the world that cast him aside in order to discover the truth behind his father's death.

And as Ann Eliza's narrative intertwines with that of Jordan's search, readers are pulled deeper into the mysteries of love and faith.

My thoughts:

I found the Ann Eliza story line fascinating. I liked the historical fiction and the details. I thought that Mr. Ebershoff did a wonderful job of weaving historical documents and fiction into a believable tale. I liked this part of the story so well, in fact, that I hated the entire second story line. I felt like it was completely unnecessary.

I'm not a total prude and I understand that this lifestyle still goes on and that it holds horrible consequences for the young men that pose a threat to the "community".  But I really felt that the graphic language was over the top. I usually try to avoid this kind of trash when I pick a book. I hate to be blindsided and frankly was embarrassed that I chose it for my group of ladies. 

SO if you opt to read this selection, my recommendation is just read the Ann Eliza story, or at least be forewarned that the other story line has LOTS of graphic language and adult sexual situations. 

I'm Joining in for Literary Friday

Yay! Friday!

Hello all you lovelies! 

I'm sorry that I have neglected you. 

But don't think that I have not thought of you this week. 

 

A quick thank you everyone that participated in Fresh-Cut Friday!

We had some amazing participants. 

If you want to see, all the links are below. 

You won't be sorry!

I also wanted to do a quick book review.

I'll be joining RickiJill for Literary Friday

 If you are looking for a good read... this might be a place to start.... 

I'm just saying.

From the back of the book: 

An unvarnished portrait of a marriage that is both ordinary and extraordinary, Dancing on Broken Glass takes readers on an unforgettable journey of the heart.

Lucy Houston and Mickey Chandler probably shouldn’t have fallen in love, let alone gotten married. They’re both plagued with faulty genes—he has bipolar disorder; she, a ravaging family history of breast cancer. But when their paths cross on the night of Lucy’s twenty-first birthday, sparks fly, and there’s no denying their chemistry.

Cautious every step of the way, they are determined to make their relationship work—and they put their commitment in writing. Mickey will take his medication. Lucy won’t blame him for what is beyond his control. He promises honesty. She promises patience. Like any marriage, there are good days and bad days—and some very bad days. In dealing with their unique challenges, they make the heartbreaking decision not to have children. But when Lucy shows up for a routine physical just shy of their eleventh anniversary, she gets an impossible surprise that changes everything. Everything. Suddenly, all their rules are thrown out the window, and the two of them must redefine what love really is.

My Take:  I loved the the book. I loved Lucy. I was totally in, until the end of the story. 

The last chapters actually made me SOB! I was so emotional drained by the time I 

reached the last 2 chapters that I think I just felt like I was done. The closing chapters

are all about Micky, and honestly I just felt that it was to far fetched and not really believable.

That aside, some of the writing is absolutly beautiful. The author also takes on some 

very heady real life issues in meaningful ways. It was food for some amazing conversation 

for book club. 

And that, my friends, is a good thing!

I'm off to have a great weekend. 

I hope you are too! 

Book Review: Bonhoeffer Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

By Eric Metaxas

 Back of the Book
As Adolf Hitler and the Nazi's seduced a nation, bullied a continent, and attempted the extermination of European Jews, a small number of dissidents and saboteurs worked to dismantle the Third Reich from the inside. One of these was pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Widely known as the author of the classic works, The Cost of Discipleship, Life Together and, arguably, some of the most important theological works of the 20th century including Act & Being, Sanctorum Communio and Ethics. Bonhoeffer is also widely known for his 1945 execution in Flossenberg concentration camp for attempting to assassinate Hitler.

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy is the first fully comprehensive biography of Bonhoeffer in more than 40 years. Written by best-selling NY Times author Eric Metaxes, he presents both sides of Bonhoeffer's life, as theologian and as conspirator drawing them together to tell a searing story of incredible moral courage in the face of monstrous evil.

Presenting a deeply moving narrative, using previously unavailable documents-including personal letters, detailed journal entries, and first-hand personal accounts, Metaxas reveals dimensions of Bonhoeffer's life and theology never before seen. Furthermore, Metaxas presents the fullest accounting of Bonhoeffer's heart-wrenching 1939 decision to leave the safety of America for the lion's den of Hitler's Germany, and using extended excerpts from love letters and coded messages written to and from Bonhoeffer's Cell 92, we are allowed to see for the first time the full story of Bonhoeffer's passionate and tragic romance.

Finally, Bonhoeffer gives witness to the extraordinary faith of an incredible human being, while also illuminating the tortured fate of a nation he sought to deliver from the evil tyranny of National Socialism, and its political party, the Nazi party. The reader will come face to face with a man determined to do the will of God radically, courageously, and even to the point of death.
Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

This is what I think: 

I thought this was one of the best biographies that I have ever read. It is exhustive and complete. 

Eric Metaxas gave such depth and personalty to Dietrich Bonhoeffer.I ended the book and was sad that it was over.Pastor Bonhoeffer sets a Christian standard that  that anyone would admire without being stodgy and judgmental. His story is really true, living, inspiration.Oh! And by the way... Tons of great in sites into WW11 history. Stuff they just don't tell you in school.

I'll be joining Ricki Jill for Literary Friday

Book Review: A Voice in the Wind

by Francine Rivers

 Back of the Book:


“The city was silently bloating in the hot sun, rotting like the thousands of bodies that lay where they had fallen in street battles.”  With this opening sentence, A Voice in the Wind transports readers back to Jerusalem during the first Jewish-Roman War, some seventy years after the death of Christ. Following the prides and passions of a group of Jews, Romans and Barbarians living at the time of the siege, the narrative is centered on an ill-fated romance between a steadfast slave girl, Hadassah, and Marcus, the brother of her owner and a handsome aristocrat. After surviving the massacre of her family and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, Hadassah is captured and sold to a well-to-do merchant’s family. Brought to Rome, she is pressed into service as a personal slave to hedonistic Julia Valerian.  Hadassah struggles to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and to treat her masters in a manner in keeping with His teachings, but she is forced to keep her religious identity a secret in order to survive.  Confused and alone, she has only her faith to cling to as she tries to subtly bring God into the lives of her captors.  Reckless, impulsive, and villainous, Julia tries to undermine Hadassah at every turn.  But Julia’s brother, Marcus, is a different sort altogether.  Is it possible for a love between Hadassah and Marcus to flourish considering not only their differing stations in life, but also the gap between Hadassah’s unrelenting faith and Marcus’ lack of belief in anything?  Simultaneously, Atretes, a captured soldier from Germania, is forced to become a gladiator. This is the time of Rome's decline and the decadence of a civilization on the verge of self-destruction serves as a powerful backdrop to the Barbarian’s struggle for survival in the arena.

This is what I think... 

If you think that Christian literature is boring or predictable (as I did) then you need to pick this series up. Oh My Gosh!!! EVERYONE in the book club LOVED it! Romance, intrigue, fighting gladiators... This story has something for everyone. 

If you read it let me know .... 

I would love to know what you thought.

I'll be joining Ricki Jill for Literary Friday

Book Review The Joy Luck Club

The Joy Luck Club
by Amy Tan

Back of the Book:

Four mothers, four daughters, four families whose histories shift with the four winds depending on who's "saying" the stories. In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared unspeakable loss and hope, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. Rather than sink into tragedy, they choose to gather to raise their spirits and money. "To despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable." Forty years later the stories and history continue.
With wit and sensitivity, Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and daughters. As each woman reveals her secrets, trying to unravel the truth about her life, the strings become more tangled, more entwined. Mothers boast or despair over daughters, and daughters roll their eyes even as they feel the inextricable tightening of their matriarchal ties. Tan is an astute storyteller, enticing readers to immerse themselves into these lives of complexity and mystery.

My Thoughts: 
I liked this book. Specifically, I love the way Amy Tan writes. The book is more a series of short stories that weave together to tell a history of girlfriends, mothers and daughters and a changing culture.  Her sense of humor and sarcasm are easily read in the complicated relationships.

I liked it, and I would recommend it. All of the girls in bookclub liked it to. We read it in May so it was a perfect choice for Mother's Day.

I also decided to watch the movie again, just because it had been so long since I had seen it. It was also done well. It was very close to the book, which I like.

I'll be joining:

Killing Lincoln

Killing Lincoln

The Shocking Assassination That 

Changed America Forever

by Bill O'Reilly

and Martin Dugard

From the back of the book:

The anchor of The O'Reilly Factor recounts one of the most dramatic stories in American history—how one gunshot changed the country forever. In the spring of 1865, the Civil War finally comes to an end after a series of incredibly bloody battles. President Abraham Lincoln's generous terms for Robert E. Lee's surrender are devised to fulfill Lincoln's dream of healing a divided nation, with the former Confederates allowed to reintegrate into American society. One man and his band of murderous accomplices, perhaps reaching into the highest ranks of the U.S. government, are not appeased.

In the midst of the patriotic celebrations in Washington, D.C., John Wilkes Booth—charismatic ladies' man and impenitent racist—murders Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theater. A furious manhunt ensues and Booth immediately becomes the country's most wanted fugitive. Lafayette C. Baker, a brilliant but enigmatic New York detective and former Union spy, unravels the string of clues leading to Booth, while federal forces track his accomplices. The thrilling chase ends in a fiery shootout and a series of court-ordered executions—including that of the first woman ever executed by the U.S. government, Mary Surratt. With an unforgettable cast of characters, vivid historical detail, and page-turning action, Killing Lincoln is history that reads like a thriller.

Getting past the first 100 pages was the most challenging part of this read. I strongly encourage you to do it though. Once you get past the battle scenes, the book is intriguing and, although not my favorite book, I did learn a lot. If you love history, the Civil War, or learning about Lincoln, you will love this book. 

As a side note: The book club was perfectly split on this one. Half liked it half did not. No one loved it. How about that? 
 

 I'm joining: 
Ricki Jill for Literary Friday

 

Mrs. Mike

Mrs. Mike, the Story of Katherine Mary Flannigan

by Benedict and Nancy Mars Freedman

From the back of the book: 

Set in the Canadian wilderness in the early 1900s. Considered by some a young adult classic, Mrs. Mike has been published in several editions and is read worldwide. The work combines the landscape and hardships of the Great Canadian North with a love story between Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sergeant Mike Flannigan and a young Katherine Mary O'Fallon, newly arrived from Boston, Massachusetts. Mrs. Mike, based on the life of Katherine Mary O'Fallon Flannigan, documents the young couple's trials, sorrows, and growth.

 There were mixed reviews from the book club on this one. Several of the ladies thought that it was a little rambling and didn't really like it to much. But I really liked it. In fact, I would read it again. I learned a lot about the Mounties and all that their job included. (amazing) Plus, I don't know that much about the Great Canadian North, so I found it very interesting. I thought this was a good read and well worth recommending.

I will be joining Art At Home for Literary Fridays

The Dressmaker

The Dressmaker

by Kate Alcott

If you love anything that involves the Titanic, you will love this!

From the back of the book:

Tess, an aspiring seamstress, thinks she’s had an incredibly lucky break when she is hired by famous designer Lady Lucile Duff Gordon to be her personal maid on the Titanic. Once on board, Tess catches the eye of two men—a kind sailor and an enigmatic Chicago businessman—who offer differing views of what lies ahead for her in America. But on the fourth night, disaster strikes, and amidst the chaos, Tess is one of the last people allowed on a lifeboat.

The survivors are rescued and taken to New York, but when rumors begin to circulate about the choices they made, Tess is forced to confront a serious question.  Did Lady Duff Gordon save herself at the expense of others? Torn between loyalty to Lucile and her growing suspicion that the media’s charges might be true, Tess must decide whether to stay quiet and keep her fiery mentor’s good will or face what might be true and forever change her future.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a fast read with unexpected twists and turns. Let me know if you have read or decide to read this selection.  I would love to know what you thought. 

I'm joining Riki Jill for : 

Good Enough for Literary Friday!

OOOOOH! To my sweet reading friends.... THIS WAS SOOOOOO GOOD!

All the girls in the book club gave it 2 thumbs up. It was the perfect choice for our  October meeting.

All based on historical facts, this story read like the best suspense novel ever!

Just enough gore that you know what happened but a lot is left to the imagination, which I personally is a sign of a really good writer. 

If you end up reading it or have read it... Let me know. 

I would love to hear your thoughts! 

From the Back of the book:

Their fates were linked by the magical Chicago World’s Fair of 1893, nicknamed the “White City” for its majestic beauty. Architect Daniel Burnham built it; serial killer Dr. H. H. Holmes used it to lure victims to his World’s Fair Hotel, designed for murder. Both men left behind them a powerful legacy, one of brilliance and energy, the other of sorrow and darkness.

Here, then, is your ticket to the greatest fair in history—a place where incredible dreams came to life alongside darkest nightmares.

I'm joining in for Literary Friday.  Go see Ricki Jill for more great reading selections!

A Year On Ladybug Farm : Lit-n-Latte Book Review

From the back of the book: 

Their husbands were gone, their families were grown, and the future stretched out before them like an unfulfilled promise...
Tired of always dreaming and never doing, Cici, Lindsay, and Bridget make a life-altering decision. Uprooting themselves from their comfortable lives in the suburbs, the three friends buy a run-down mansion, nestled in the picturesque Shenandoah Valley. They christen their new home "Ladybug Farm," hoping that the name will bring them luck.
As the friends take on a home improvement challenge of epic proportions, they encounter disaster after disaster, from renegade sheep and garden thieves to a seemingly ghostly inhabitant. Over the course of a year, overwhelming obstacles make the three women question their decision, but they ultimately learn that sometimes the best things can happen when everything goes wrong...

My Thoughts and Opinions:

LADIES! 

This was such a fun light read. If you want something that will make you laugh through tears... read THIS book.  Will it change the world? No. Will it change your mind about your religion or politics? No and No!  But you will relate, sigh and role your eyes. 

Everyone in our little book club loved this story!

I'll be joining Ricki Jill for Literary Friday at Art @Home

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Pull up a sweet spot to sit, and lets chat!

Every summer The Girlfriends Lit-n-Latte Book Club pick an epic, or what I like to call "a major classic".  We skip a month so that we actually have 2 months to read the chosen selection.  This year's summer reading selection was 

Les Miserables

by Victor Hugo

I just want to start this book review by saying there are few books that I can actually say will enrich your life. Les Miserables is one of those stories. In my humble opinion, it should absolutely  be required reading.  

I also want to say that if you have seen the movie or the play, you have seen only about half of the story. It is so layered and so rich that there would be no way to include the entire story in a 3 hour period. 

I caution you that at 1700 pages,  you may be tempted to read a very abridged edition... Don't do it. I read the Barns and Noble Classics Abridged and edited edition and at 900 pages it was still a challenge, but I still got all the details.  Several of the ladies from the club that read even further consolidated issues missed some very critical bits and pieces to the story. I want to encourage you to just buckle down, read it, and I promise you will not be able to put the story down.

The story line is full of layers and layers of  coincidence, spiritual inspiration, morals, wisdom, deep grief, and a great deal of human misery. But it is also full of love, forgiveness, and great joy. 

 The characters are rich and I fell in love with all of them. The evil characters are so evil and good characters are so good that I had a visual depiction of them as I read the book.

I really did love this book. I will read it again. 

I'm joining Ricki Jill for Literary Friday.

And Honey for Potpourri Friday

Pick up a good book and read it!