Yellow Crocus

Dear Bookworms,

WOW!! What a turnout for our last meeting in the 2013 year! Our special guest Diana came to surprise us!  It was a great time together!  Glad that everyone enjoyed the Yellow Crocus.
It was a familar genre, with a happy ending!

So many of us loved the same characters, Mattie and Matthew. We enjoyed Mattie's wisdom and forgiving heart. The way she was capable of loving Lisbeth while being taken away from her own son brought tears to some of our eyes. Matthew was our dream boyfriend/husband. He was kind, loving and supportive. Lisbeth hit the lottery having him as a husband!!  I'm so glad the Yellow Crocus was enjoyed by everyone and it was a quick read!

Happy holidays to everyone and a joyous new Year!

Best wishes,
Millie

The Rosie Project

Greetings Bookworms!

It was wonderful to be together at Blu Fig for another lively discussion, dinner, and friendship. We were served by a blond beauty with a BMI of about 22.5. There were some early birds, and some latecomers. Sigh. Don would have approved of the wine.

The Rosie Project had many themes -- love, friendship, dating, change, rule breaking, Aspergers, connections to others, and trust - to name a few. While we waited for everyone to arrive, those of us that hadn't taken the Rosie Quiz did so. We had three "Rosies" in our group - Mary, Maria Rego, and Myrna. There were three Claudias (Gene's wife) -- Yvette, Irene, and Lourdes. If you haven't taken the quiz yet, click here to take it! I was quite distressed to turn out as "Don", and I'm going to retake the test and study harder this time. Just because I was wearing a jacket - a nice Gortex one - green and extremely useful too -- and because I don't have a lot of friends? OY! Don was way more organized than me -- organizationally challenged human that I am!

We talked about some of our favorite scenes from the novel. Some liked the bar scene best, and others the restaurant fight in the beginning. I laughed out loud thinking about Don dancing with his skeleton, in anticipation of the upcoming Bianca date, without music. We discussed things that make us happy - many of us (the majority) love relaxing time spent at the beach, while others enjoy time alone in Barnes and Noble (Nicole), one LOVES ballroom dancing (Maria R.), and one of us NEEDS to be outside hiking somewhere/anywhere - a mountain, a beach, a forest - any outdoors place will do (me). Romantic movies we liked included The Notebook, Shining Though, Annie Hall, and The Way We Were.

Dating memories - some disasters - were also discussed. It seems there are many socially clueless males out there besides Don! I envied Don's organized dinners and his shopping outings - no wasted food - unlike my refrigerator - full of science experiments waiting to get thrown out. All in all we laughed and enjoyed each others company, and I'm very grateful to have all of you to enjoy this time together. How wonderful to have our new members Jill and Myrna, joining us, and we were thrilled to see Nicole again, after an extended absence.

Let's plan to see the movie together when it comes out.  Have a wonderful thanksgiving my friends, and I look forward to seeing you next month.

XXOO --
 Love,
Robin



P.S. I retested myself today on the quiz, and came out as Claudia. Phew.

Year 5 begins! October 7, 2013

Dear Neary Book Club family,

It was so nice starting another year of our beloved book club.  I am so glad that many of you were able to attend our meeting and that we had the joy of having Jill join our group.  Welcome Jill!

Reading And the Mountains Echoed gave us the opportunity to enjoy yet another compelling, well-written story by Khaled Hosseini.  The story spans several generations and moves back and forth between Afghanistan and the West. It grapples with the relationship between family members, particularly between siblings, and how their actions may have consequences that last a lifetime.  The book is written almost as a collection of short stories, with each of the nine chapters being told from the perspective of a different character. Yet, for some reason it is the story of Abdullah and Pari that struck me the most, and in some way left me sad and disappointed … I guess I always want a happy ending.

Thank you ladies, for sharing your thoughts, perspectives and in many cases your own personal experiences, they all add so much to our discussions.

Looking forward to our next literary soiree…

Maria

A Painted House

Dear Neary Book Club family,

 

     I am so glad that most of you joined us on Monday, June 3. I always look forward to your company and conversation.  I chose this book because I wanted to read something that was not too long, not too intense and still had a message. Did you know that Mexicans and hillbillies were cotton-pickers? This was another reason why I chose this book. I wanted to learn about their interactions on a farm and what their roles were. 

     A Painted House showed us the trials and tribulations of farm life. It showed us that most times families stick together through thick and thin. We realized that prejudice and class distinction exists even amongst the poor. Except for the fact that technology has allowed us to advance, things are not that much different. People still work hard and want a better life for themselves and their families. We have many more conveniences today, but I wonder do we really need them all. (I just wouldn't want to do without running water and toilets for sure!!!!) I thought this novel had some traits of good vs. evil. We discussed Hank being the villain and the bully, and the Chandlers being kind and caring through many of their actions. We all felt that it certainly must have been a burden for Luke (the boy who narrates the story) to have had to keep so many secrets. We all enjoyed the book and thought it would make a good movie. Surprise, surprise it already is !!!! That was my little secret until the end.

     I wish you all a healthy and safe, fun-loving summer.

        --- Maria R.

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie

Dear Bookworms,

Thank you so much for sharing your ideas and feelings on the Twelve Tribes of Hattie. It was as always, great to see everyone. Having the opportunity to be in our bookclub has allowed me to read books written in so many genres. I appreciate our time spent together.

Ayana Mathis wrote about the tribulations of Hattie as a mother and wife. As we discussed Hattie's mothering skills, it was hard to understand why she couldn't open her heart to her children. It was easy to see why Hattie blamed August for everything. His womanizing, drinking and inability to financially take care of his family didn't make him a desirable character. This novel left me feeling that so much was unknown about Hattie's children. Mathis could have joined the characters earlier on in the book and continued sharing about each of them in latter chapters. Who knows, maybe a sequel will be written.

Looking forward to seeing you all again next month.

Happy Reading,
Millie

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

We have stories to tell, stories that provide the wisdom about the  journey  of life. 

What more have we to give one another than our 'truth' about our human adventure as honestly and as openly as we know how?                      

                                                                         - Rabbi Saul Rubin

Hello Lovely Ladies,

I am so privileged to be walking this journey in life with such extraordinary women.  I am so blessed to be surrounded by women of faith and wisdom, who give each other the space and comfort to speak openly and honestly without judgement or criticism. 

As I had shared in our gathering, this book was especially meaningful to me.  I shared the stress I am experiencing in my journey at this point, but I move forward with strength and grace from God.  I think this book was amazing in showing how Harold's journey brought him to self evaluation, redemption, forgiveness, love and peace. 

We all have a journey, a story to tell. We learn that we take our experiences, whether good or bad, and trust that in them, we are never alone!  I look forward to next month's gathering hosted by our lovely Millie!

Enjoy and happy trails!

Mary

The House of The Spirits at Blu Fig

If you like historical fiction, then you’ll probably like The House of The Spirits by Isabel Allende.  My mom has read almost all of her books in Spanish, so I was very curious about the author.  Learning about Allende’s life,  listening to her speak on TED.com, and learning about “magical realism” as a genre of literature was almost as interesting as the novel itself.

The story of a Latin-American family saga, intermixed with the political and social issues that affected their lives, drew me into their world.  Perhaps those of us familiar with “machismo” and who have witnessed the class distinctions in Latin American countries can identify more with the story.  The characters were so distinct---i.e. Esteban Trueba, Pedro Tercero, Clara, Blanca, Alma, & Jaime —and so passionate about their causes (and their loves), that they will forever remain in my mind.  The ending leaves us with a hope for Latin America—that despite all the violence, the history, and instability, it will endure and find strength for its future.

It was a pleasure to have a discussion with friends, although there were only six of us present. If you want more information on the author, you can easily find it on the internet. She has written many books for adults as well as children. One of the main ideas she projects is that history needs to be recorded. Isabel writes her mother a letter every day, so that the day counts and is remembered. I think the blogging of our book club meetings serve the same purpose. This book club means so much to me. Thank you friends, for including me. This book club means so much to me.  

Happy reading --

Lourdes

Gone Girl

Blu Fig Restaurant. January 29, 2013

Our beloved book club started off the New Year with the psychological thriller Gone Girl. Thank you all for coming and sharing your thoughts, the tantalizing conversation, and good food. We all missed our colleagues that were unable to attend, but know you were there in love.  I want to thank you all for our special group, each and everyone of you hold a special place in my heart and mean so much to me.  I feel so truly blessed to be part of our "Neary" Book club.

We had lots of fun dissecting Nick and Amy's life and their marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. All agreed that the ending was both disturbing and ominous.  Looking forward to a happy ending where good prevails!

I pray love will be with, goodness will surround you and joy will fill your heart.....until next month!

As always, a huge thank you to Robin for all you do. It is greatly appreciated!

Lots of love,
Irene

Goodreads Book List - Take a Chance!

These are some great books some of us have mentioned, or I am investigating, for Neary's book club, or my new Book Club Too. If you choose from this list, I think you are guaranteed a good read, BUT, someone might pick it sometime soon for their book choice for the month. Please feel free to edit and add your own choices! Some I have already read and really enjoyed (marked with a *) and I almost chose them for our book club. Some are on my "must read asap list", and some have been recommended to me by other trusted bookworms!


The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (or ANY book by Jojo Moyes)

Honolulu by Alan Brennert (author of Moloka'i)

In The Shadow of the Banyan a novel by Vaddey Ratner

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

* A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman

* Wish You Well by David Baldacci

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

* Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

* The Rembrandt Affair by Daniel Silva (a page turner, mystery!)

* Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe

The Underside of Joy by Sere Prince Halverson

Once We Were Brothers by Ronald Balson

Pearl of China by Anchee Min