January Book Choices

Friends and Readers, do I have some choices for YOU!

After doing some research, I have come up with three options for book/movies during the holiday times. We would probably go see the movie on Friday, January 9th (cause that's when some of them come out), and we can also have a discussion before/after/whenever if we want to. So, hold on to your socks, here they come:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This is a short story, or more of a novella actually. It's about 32 pages long. There is a movie with Brad Pitt coming out on Christmas Day. It is about a person who is born an old man (a very small one), who gets progressively younger throughout his life. Very interesting and creepy. Don't worry, there is a love story in case you want to watch Braddy making out with a chick and pretend it's you. Let's hope it's when he's at his middle-aged hotness and before he goes back to being childlike. It all sounds very Flower's for Algernon-like.

The Day the Earth Stood Still by Harry Bates. What's weird about this is that it is ALSO 32 page long novella. Very spooky. However, instead of Brad Pitt, you get Keanu Reeves, but don't worry, I think his acting will be ok because he's playing an alien, so he can just act normal and it will be believable. Phew! This one is apocalyptic in nature, pretty sci-fi, and many a husband may insist on accompanying us to the movie theater. I will probably read and see this anyway, just cause it looks pretty dang cool.

Inkheart by Cornelia Funk. This is a Young Adult fantasy book, which is NOT a novella, but Corinne assures us it is a fast read despite its length. It sounds like a pretty cool story about how when a father reads a story the characters come to life. Now that I think of it, there is ANOTHER movie coming out where the kids tell a story and it makes it happen to the dad. Very convenient . . . ANYWAY, it looks like it is a great read and will make an interesting movie, and it comes with high praise from some of our very own readers. And if you want something to take your older kids to or read with them, maybe this is the choice for YOU.

So that's it ladies--are you weirdly romatic, sci-fi alienish, or a literary realist? You choose.

Oh, I'll post a poll soon.

Reading for November and December

Ok, just to reiterate the email I sent out, we have closed voting for November and December. Let's not cut it that close again!!

We will be reading:

MotherSytles: Using Personality Type to Discover your Mothering Strengths, by Janet Penley for November (that means RIGHT NOW so get reading) hosted by Racquel

and

The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman for December (that means reading in Nov.) hosted by Corinne.

Does anyone have any ideas about movies coming out around Christmastime that were made from books? There are a lot coming out right NOW (Secret Life of Bees, The City of Ember, to name a couple), but I don't know of any around Christmas. Keep an eye out.

I'll get my choices up soon for January. We have a lot of newcomers to the group, so we'll try to get them on the schedule first if they'd like and then start over again with whoever has been coming to book group. We'll make a list over the next couple groups, so come if you want to be on the schedule!

Remember to invite new sisters to our group--I can't send out an invite email every month!

First, my apologies for getting this out so late. I think any of the three choices will be manageable as quick reads. As a note, the first two selections are based on personality theory and typing of the Myers Briggs. Each book has a self-test of assessment for you to take to determine your "type". Myers Briggs is widely used in colleges, for vocational testing, in the military and even by prospective employers.

1. Please Understand Me, David Keirsey-this is one of the best basic books on personality. http://www.amazon.com/Please-Understand-Me-Character-Temperament/dp/0960695400/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222819677&sr=8-1

2. MotherSytles: Using Personality Type to Discover your Mothering Strengths, Janet Penley-This personality book is super short and specific to motherhood. http://www.amazon.com/MotherStyles-Personality-Discover-Parenting-Strengths/dp/0738210455/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222820021&sr=1-1

3. Forgive for Good, Fred Luskin-A few months ago I attended a lecture given by Dr. Fred Luskin on the subject of the health benefits of forgiveness. He explains why forgiveness is good for one's body, as well as spirit, and lays out 9 steps in the forgiveness process. His writing is very simple, with lots of tired puns and quips, but I think the reasearch angle is quite intersting. I have the film with Dr. Luskin's cameo appearance called the Power of Forgiveness. It chronicles fogiveness stories from the Amish school house shootings, Ground Zero and international conflicts. I thought it may be interesting to watch, or we could watch a portion. http://www.amazon.com/Forgive-Good-Frederic-Luskin/dp/006251721X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222820643&sr=1-1

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December Book

SO. Friends. My theme is "Books Whose Story Took Place Around the Time of World War Two."

First option: The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman
I was just given this book by a friend, but no one I know has read it yet. I have LOVED everything I've read by Diane Ackerman (and I've read like five of her books).

Here's a review:

Starred Review. Ackerman (A Natural History of the Senses) tells the remarkable WWII story of Jan Zabinski, the director of the Warsaw Zoo, and his wife, Antonina, who, with courage and coolheaded ingenuity, sheltered 300 Jews as well as Polish resisters in their villa and in animal cages and sheds. Using Antonina's diaries, other contemporary sources and her own research in Poland, Ackerman takes us into the Warsaw ghetto and the 1943 Jewish uprising and also describes the Poles' revolt against the Nazi occupiers in 1944. She introduces us to such varied figures as Lutz Heck, the duplicitous head of the Berlin zoo; Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, spiritual head of the ghetto; and the leaders of Zegota, the Polish organization that rescued Jews. Ackerman reveals other rescuers, like Dr. Mada Walter, who helped many Jews pass, giving lessons on how to appear Aryan and not attract notice. Ackerman's writing is viscerally evocative, as in her description of the effects of the German bombing of the zoo area: ...the sky broke open and whistling fire hurtled down, cages exploded, moats rained upward, iron bars squealed as they wrenched apart. This suspenseful beautifully crafted story deserves a wide readership.

Second option: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Anne Shaffer and Annie Barrows.
Here's a review written by a friend of mine

Third option: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
Here's a review, written by a different friend of mine, I've wanted to read it for a while now, but haven't yet.

Please do read those reviews to get an idea of what the book is about - I just don't want to steal off of their blog (of course, taking a review from Amazon doesn't bother me, hee hee). Scroll down to find the poll and vote :)

December Book What should we read for our December meeting? The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne View Result free polls

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Changes in the Book Schedule

Check on the sidebar for changes in the books/hosts. I'll send out an email right now about why!

Richest Man In Babylon

"Babylon was once the richest city in the world, known for its lavish houses, palaces and huge city walls. It created fertile farmland where once there had been desert through the use of irrigation. But as George Clason notes, it was also the cradle of modern finance: money as the means of exchange, tradeable property titles, promissory notes and all forms of lending and borrowing were all highly developed. Its prosperity continued for centuries because its inhabitants were allowed to make money freely. Even slaves, if they could earn a bit on the side, could eventually buy their way to freedom.

"Babylon's success inspired Clason to write a series of fables which would demonstrate the unchanging principles of finance and wealth-building. They became very popular and were distributed by banks, insurance companies and other employers to teach the benefits of saving and hard work. "The Richest Man in Babylon" was one of these stories, and they were later collected into the inspirational classic we know today." (sited here.)

I look forward to discussing the principles taught in the "Babylonian Fables" discussed in "The Richest Man in Babylon". As you read, think about the fundamental principles being taught and what you feel would help you most. You may find that you already practice some of these principles and if that is true please come prepared to share that with us.

Until Thursday, August 7th, happy reading.

Breaking Dawn discussion anyone?

I just read Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse this summer and am interested in Breaking Dawn. I didn't join in the book group discussion of Eclipse last year because I had not read the first two books and could not read all three that quickly. So, would anyone like to get together and discuss Breaking Dawn? I would be happy to host. How many long should we wait after it comes out to get together and talk about it? Let me know.
Angela