Movie Night

Tonight (most of) our book club heads out to see the movie adaptation of one of our better book club picks (Thank you Elisabeth), The Help.

The casting, based on what I see in the trailer, seems spot on. I can't wait to watch. Any one have a review? Will we be disappointed or ready to go again? 

Andrea

One Last Summer Fling

Can there really only be a week of Summer left? And yes I realize that officially the season stretches into September, but I always felt like summer ended with school, regardless of whether I was going or sending kids. When they start throwing out school supplies in July I want to start throwing pencils, why hasten the end of such a glorious season? Anyway, if you have one last weekend getaway or trip to the beach and you are looking for the perfect book to toss in your bag, Kate Morton's "Forgotten Garden" is a remarkable choice. I brought it along on our annual Chelan camping trip and it was the perfect side dish to my favorite week of the year. Three generations entwined in a way that never feels overwhelming and a catalogue of characters that will stick with you long after you've finished. While an easy to read and get hooked on story, it isn't the kind of book you'll feel embarrassed to have visible in your bag. 

One half of the book club on the lawn at Lake Chelan State Park

Go buy this book for one last summer fling!!!

Andrea

Number Four Update

Good old Pitacus Lore is making a liar of me. Remember this little gem with it's unfinished business...


                  


Well, available only as an ebook, is this beauty...


                  


For only $3.99, you can have the backstory of Six. So here's where I eat crow about not giving into eReaders, but only because I have no choice. Fortunately, for me there's no big investment, I was able to get it on my phone. 


The brief review of both books on the official Number Four website does clear up any ambiguity about the nature of the sequel "The Power of Six".  If you wondered, like I did, if the book was about Six or about the remaining six, wonder no more. With the eBook we get Six's back story with the sequel..."The Legacies Develop", or so the cover promises.


               


Anybody had a chance to read the eBook yet? Reviews? Comments?

Movie Love

Did I really complain before? This seems pretty legit.


           

Wear Your Love

Want to advertise your love of the classics and flaunt your inner hipster? (And who doesn't)  Then you might just need to head here.....




Plus if you like to make fashion choices that are socially conscience, for every shirt they sell a book is donated through Books for Africa. I think I need to save my peso's for one of these beauties, anybody have a favorite?

Fighting the Tide...

As I packed my “carry-on” backpack for the long haul to and through California, I thought a lot about the merit of Sara’s argument for the Kindle. My pack must have weighed over 50 pounds and bulged with the sharp edges of all the books I might read. I thought about why I so doggedly hold on to the notion that I can’t give up holding an actual book. Is it weird to confess I love the papery inky smell of a book? Is it shameful to admit that I just can’t imagine taking a Kindle to the bathroom with me? (Don’t judge, when you have three kids sometimes that’s the only place you’re afforded any peace.) Does anyone else think that the risk of dropping a paperback into the tub is markedly less than dropping any sort of electronic device? 

I’ll admit that I’m pretty slow to pick up on most technological advances. I resisted digital cameras, and now my computers memory is full of digital images. I thought texting was ridiculous, until I grasped it meant not actually having to talk on the phone. So I have a feeling at some point I’ll give in to the some sort of Kindle/Nook/Ipad reader, but until then here’s the book that made me put off that purchase just a wee bit longer.....


                                           

I know there are plenty of savvy computer users out there who successfully use the internet to plan there vacations. People who can filter through all the excess of information out there. I’m sure everything contained in this book can be pieced together online. But for me, I need a book that I can dog ear the corners of, that I can hold my finger in one part, while flipping to a map in the back or an address in the middle. A book that can be passed around the car and that is sturdy enough to handle being jostled around in the bottom of a backpack. And I love that once I’m home I still have all the information, literally at my fingertips. Sometimes once you’re home, the interesting anecdotes and historical facts are more interesting that when you’re there.

So if a trip to Yosemite is in your future, I really enjoyed this as a guidebook. The author, James Kaiser, loaded the book with more than a sterile guide to the park. It’s full of amazing photographs, interesting history and of course all the basics on lodging, hiking, dining, etc.

And maybe it’s not fair to use a guidebook against a Kindle. Travel books and novels are kind of apples and oranges, but it’s just my way of defending my books. Guess I’m old school, or just old.

PS Anyone know how I can score a job writing travel books?

Andrea

Capitol way of life...not far off???

We read Catching Fire in October of '09 as our 11th book club selection. I was slow jumping on the Hunger Games wagon and probably wouldn't have made time for it unless one of the girls picked it. I was not disappointed. All the hype over these books have not been overrated and a great pic for a book club- that is if there are any gals out there who haven't read it yet.


One thing that I thought was a little disturbing for a YA was the premise of the Hunger Games themselves. You know, children killing children. But the push and pull relationship between Peeta and Katniss is perfection and easily makes me forget any disturbing thoughts.


I was also very fascinated with the Capitol peeps. With their dyed skin, whiskers, wigs, and other eccentricities. If you think about it people today aren't all that much different. I mean plenty of people have full sleeve tattoos and lots of piercings and dye their hair all sorts of colors. And that's not even getting into plastic surgery. BUT I think ALL of us actually aren't all that much different from the Capitol. I mean, we tan to enhance the color of our skin, we dye our hair colors it couldn't be on it's own, poke holes in our ears to dangle metal from them, put paint on our finger and toe nails and even super glue on fake ones that hurts like no other when they're ripped off.




We put chemicals on our teeth to whiten them, and we wear high heels to appear taller, slimmer or sexier even though we pay for it in blisters and cramps.




And we use a wide assortment of Spanx to appear slimmer and spend hours at the gym trying to change our shape. And remember the days of getting perms? Although I am not opposed to these I do wonder has Suzanne given us a possible glimpse into what mankind will become....



*Caisse*