March and Beyond

So as you can see, we are now reading Pope Joan by Donna Woodfolk Cross. Jenni will be hosting at Corinne's house on March 6th.

After that, we will be reading Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo in April hosted by Brenda.

Cheri would like us to choose the books to choose from for May. I know many of us wanted to read The Book Thief, but please place other ideas in the comments section. After we get a few I'll post a poll for those.

June's book is The Richest Man in Babylon hosted by Jen.

So, we're almost all caught up on our future reading! Mendy, Jann, and Kathy, start thinking about some choices for us. We'll need them in a couple months, but you are welcome to put them up any time you feel the inspiration.

Happy Reading!

Galileo's Daughter

by Dava Sobel.

We had a very good discussion of Galileo's Daughter on Feb 7th. Everyone found the book to be quite interesting, and had learned (or remembered) things that they hadn't known. We began by giving a brief synopsis of the book for those that hadn't finished it. We talked a bit about the differences between the 17th century way of life vs our own, as well as about convent life, which we hadn't really known before. I personally liked the discussions in the book on physics and Galileo's discoveries.

Yummies were italian in nature, veggie tray, tomatoes stuffed with cottage cheese and sprinkled with italian herbs, grapes, and Margherita Pizza. Yum!

Prospects for JUNE!!!

Okay, so I am WAY past the threatened deadline. But in my defense I have been SLAVING away in Primary where most of you have a child or two. :) Also, I have been thinking FAR too hard on what my choices should be. It's a big deal because I probably won't be able to give reading choices for another year...most likely. :)

Here goes:

• The Color Code, Taylor Hartman, Ph.D.--"Taylor Hartman's The Color Code: A New Way to See Yourself, Your Relationships, and Life introduces a fresh method for analyzing your own personality and behavior--as well as those of people around you--and then utilizing that knowledge to improve workplace and personal relationships. The author, a psychologist and leadership coach, offers a remarkably astute system for grouping everyone into categories denoted by a color: red (power wielders), blue (do-gooders), white (peace keepers), and yellow (fun lovers). He then explains how to ensure that all possible alliances between them function at optimum effectiveness."---Amazon.com

I know we've mentioned the "Color Code" a time or two in conversation and some of us have read it while others haven't. I have never actually read the entire thing, but would love to re-test and reassess myself. What do you think?

• The Richest Man In Babylon, George S. Clason--"What can a book written in the 1920s tell modern investors about their finances? A whole lot if it's George Clason's delightful set of parables that explain the basics of money. This is a great gift for a graduate or anyone who seems baffled by the world of finance and a wonderful, refreshing read for even the most experienced investor." --Los Angeles Times

My Husband and I have read this and LOVED it! I believe EVERY ONE should read it once a year.

• The Five Love Languages, Gary Chapman, Ph.D.--"Unhappiness in marriage often has a simple root cause: we speak different love languages, believes Dr. Gary Chapman. While working as a marriage counselor for more than 30 years, he identified five love languages: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch. In a friendly, often humorous style, he unpacks each one. Some husbands or wives may crave focused attention; another needs regular praise. Gifts are highly important to one spouse, while another sees fixing a leaky faucet, ironing a shirt, or cooking a meal as filling their "love tank." Some partners might find physical touch makes them feel valued: holding hands, giving back rubs, and sexual contact. Chapman illustrates each love language with real-life examples from his counseling practice.
  
• How do you discover your spouse’s – and your own – love language? Chapman’s short questionnaires are one of several ways to find out. Throughout the book, he also includes application questions that can be answered more extensively in the beautifully detailed companion leather journal (an exclusive Amazon.com set).
  
• Each section of the journal corresponds with a chapter from the book, offering opportunities for deeper reflection on your marriage. Although some readers may find choosing to love a spouse that they no longer even like –hoping the feelings of affection will follow later– a difficult concept to swallow, Chapman promises that the results will be worth the effort. "Love is a choice," says Chapman. "And either partner can start the process today." --Cindy Crosby. "
• --This text refers to the Amazon.com Exclusive Journal & Paperback Book Set.
  

I haven't read this one, but had my husband get it to read while he was away for 6 weeks. Kevin keeps telling me I "really need to read this one".

After getting threatened by Cami last night, I decided I better get on the ball and get my three choices out. So here they are:

The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens-
I know this is a classic, but I haven't ever read it. Brian keeps telling me that I need to, so maybe this will be the motivation. They have it at the library and here is a brief description of it: http://syndetics.com/index.aspx?isbn=0679443738/SUMMARY.html&client=hocop

Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo- by Obert Skye
Another one that Brian keeps asking me to read. This is a fantasy book and he says that you have to get past the first few chapters to get into it, but once you do, it's pretty good. Here is a link to it and a description:
http://leventhumps.com/

A Little Princess- by Frances Hodgson Burnett
This one my mom read to me when I was a little girl. I loved it! I looked for it forever, and finally my mom gave it to me for my birthday last year. I haven't read it since I was a kid, and would love to read it again to my girls. It's one of my favorites. Here is a link to a description:
http://www.ucls.uchicago.edu/students/projects/1996-97/Book_Reviews/S97/AshleyRaynor.html

Water Horse POLL

Ok, third post!! I'm going to make a poll so it's easier for use to choose! Here it is:




Thanks!

The Water Horse

Ok, our date to go see The Water Horse is this Thursday, January 3rd. Let me know if you are planning on coming by commenting.

The Snowden Theater has a showing at 6:45 and one at 9:30. So we could go see the 9:30 and get together and talk or eat first if you want. It's a pretty short movie, so it wouldn't be that late. Or, we could go to the first showing quite early and then do a double feature of some kind. The mall does have an 8:30, so if everyone REALLY wants one around 8, we can do that, but I'd rather stay in Snowden River for my own personal shelfish reasons.

What are your thoughts?

WHOOPSEE! I didn't see your post below, Julia. Sorry! Well, everyone let us know!

The Water Horse

So, I looked up times for this Thursday, since that would be our normal Book Group meeting:

United Artists: 6:35pm or 9:30pm
AMC: 8:30pm
Muvico: 7:35pm

I'm thinking the AMC at 8:30pm. Do we want to meet someplace and carpool? (we are still doing this, right?) Also, if I have a rough idea of how many people are coming, I can pick up discount tickets at my work for slightly cheaper (it's either $7.00 or $7.50, I'll have to check). Let me know if you want me to do this.

Julia