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Hi Ladies,

I've had some inquiries about this blog lately so decided to give it another try. I will update our "What we've read" list from the information I have, but if any of you find errors please fill us in.

We've certainly covered some ground since I last posted.

Our last meeting was held at the home of Mary Hausman to discuss The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. It was a great meeting with lots of input from those present. It was a glorious sunny afternoon spent on Mary's lovely deck....thanks Mary! And thanks also to Angie M and Julie G for the yummy snacks.

Our next read is Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. The movie has just come out so there is lots of interest in this book. We will meet at Kathy Wilkinson's home. Look for an email from Barbara N regarding date and directions.

We will adjourn for the summer and reconvene in Sept, shortly after Labor Day. Please bring your ideas for summer reading to the meeting at Kathy's.

To all our members...please comment on these posts, especially if you can't make it to the meetings. We would love to hear from you!

February Meeting

I heard from several of you that our last meeting was a big hit. To quote Jackie B "Kip Gayden was delightful! A real peak into the ways of a published author! He was very engaging and friendly. Many thanks to Jere for arranging the event." Jackie also tells me it was a well attended meeting, and Angie did a woderful job as hostess. I believe Jere brought the snacks. Thanks to all who made the last meeting such a success.

We will meet next on Sunday, April 5th back at the Green Hills Library. Our selection is A Mercy by Toni Morrison. Please let me know if you are willing to lead this meeting or bring snacks.

January Meeting

Hello everyone. Sorry to be so late posting. A small group of us met at Mary Hausmans to discuss The Pianist. We all agreed it was a disturbing topic, but none the less, fascinating. We were amazed that the author could tell his story with such detachment, and thought that it was possibly due to the fact that he wrote it so soon after his rescue. We also agreed that the addition of the German officer's journal entries was enlightening.

Our next meeting will be on Sunday, Feb 22nd at the home of Angie Murphy 5627 Granny White Pk, 37027. We are trying not to set a precedent here, but it has been very difficult to get the GH library meeting room lately. Word must be out that it's a great deal.

Our book for the 22nd is Miscarriage of Justice by Judge Kip Gayden. Jere has sent us the following links to information on this book, and has arranged for Judge Gayden to join us for the last hour of our meeting. This will be a great opportunity. Many thanks Jere!

PBS's John Seigenthaler's Word on Words interview with author Judge Gayden about the storyhttp://wnpt.org/productions/wow/podcast/index08.html and Judge Gayden's web site (includes newspaper photos from the time):http://www.kipgayden.com/content/index.asp

I think I've skipped a post here...no mention of our Dec discussion of The Shack. Suffice it to say it was interesting and though provoking.

I'm still waiting for some comments on these posts ladies!

Meeting report

We met Sunday, Nov 2, at the home of Mary Hausman to discuss The Cider House Rules by John Irving. We had a small but lively group and sat out on her gorgeous deck. Thanks to Jackie Bryant for leading. There were no lulls in the conversation as the book provided lots of great material to discuss.
Snacks were provided by Maureen and Angie, and followed the apple theme. Yum!

Our next meeting will be back at the Green Hills Public Library, Sunday, Dec. 7th. We will discuss The Shack" by William P. Young
http://www.amazon.com/Shack-William-P-Young/dp/0964729237
If anyone is willing to lead this book please let me know. Nancy Eisenbrandt, who recommended it, is unable to be with us that day. We will also need a snack volunteer.

Sat, Nov 8th John Irving will speak at the Ryman. The talk it as 10 and doors open at 9 AM. Several of us are going as a group. If you would like to join us, we will meet at my house (1128 Glendale Lane) at 8:45 and drive to the Ryman together. Let me know if you'll be joining us so we make sure to have everyone before we leave.

Enjoy the fall ladies and I look forward to our next meeting.

Fall schedule

Hello friends. We had a wonderful meeting on Sunday, Sept 7th to discuss Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund. With a small group (5) we all had lots of opportunity to share our thoughts and ideas on this fascinating book. Any of you who read it but couldn't be with us, PLEASE add your comments here. We'd all love to have more input and further discussion.

In honor of John Irving receiving the Nashville Public Library's 2008 Literary Award, Jackie Bryant suggested Cider House Rules for our next meeting. I picked up the library "book club in a bag" for this title, so have 10 copies to share. Please let me know if you'd like one. The kit also includes info on the book and author. This is a new service provided by the library....great idea I think! The next meeting will be on Sunday, Nov 2, place to be announced.

Our Dec selection will be The Shack by William P. Young. That meeting will be on Sunday, Dec. 7th at the Green Hills Library. Thanks to Nancy Eisenbrandt for the book suggestion.

I will post the meeting place information for Nov 2nd as soon as I get confirmation of our location.

Have a great Fall ladies.

Regards,
Maureen

Summer Recess

We had a great final meeting before our summer recess. Jackie Bryant led us in a lively discussion of The Deep End of the Ocean by Jacquelyn Mitchard. Mary Hausman fed us well. Jackie and Angie had read other books by Mitchard and highly recommend her. Other authors suggested were Mary Doria Russell and Jodi Picoult. Nancy Eisenbrant suggested The Shack (not sure of the author) in an email. This should give us lots of ideas just in case our "to read" lists are getting short. :)

The summer read is Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund. Some of you may be familiar with her recent best seller about Marie Antionette, Abundance. We will meet again in early September. I'm applying for the 7th and as soon as I receive confirmation from the library I'll let you know.

Enjoy your summer and be thinking about books for the fall.

Feb 10th meeting

Here's Nancy Donlon's comments on our last meeting. Thanks to Nancy for leading and to Kathy Wilkinson for the snacks.

"There were five of us who joined together today to discuss The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, and we had a fun and lengthy
discussion. Most of us enjoyed this sci-fi love story, although we all agreed that it was "weird", and at times a little disturbing. Kathy
Wilkinson provided the snacks.

Angie Murphy had several suggestions for the next book, and we decided on Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. It is a "prequel" to Jane Eyre.
It was also made into a movie in 1993. The next scheduled meeting is on March 16 at the Green Hills Library."

I hated to miss the meeting, but did enjoy my trip to see my mom.

I agree that the book was weird and disturbing, but intriguing. I was a little disappointed by the ending. I thought Clare would have followed Henry's request to live in the present, but instead she pined away for him. I also wondered about the daughter....how did her life go, did the Dr. treat her, how often did she see her dad as she grew up? Maybe a sequal is in the works?

I look forward to our next meeting.

Maureen