Fa La La Book Club

Neglected Blog but Great Times

2011-01-10T07:24:00.003-06:00

I don't think there are many readers that read our blog, so it has been neglected for a few months. Tina's camera was having trouble downloading pictures, so our monthly picture has been missing for a little while.

First off, for next months book selection, we have chosen, "Gone for Good" by Harlan Coben.

This month, we had a huge treat. We spoke to Debbie Macomber on the phone. She was so upbeat and friendly and had great stories about her writing career. She was a real joy to talk with.

I am still amazed that our measly little book club has had the opportunity to speak to so many famous authors. We have been together for less than three years and I believe we have spoken to 4 authors that held the number one spot on the New York Times Bestsellers list. That is pretty impressive!!!

Our list:

Juliette Fay

Liz Rosenberg

Ron Hall

Denver Moore

Kathryn Stockett

Barbara Delinsky

Debbie Macomber

All I can say is WOW!!!

October Meeting - Exciting News

2010-10-15T07:29:00.003-05:00

First of all, we have chosen our books for the next two months. During October, we will be reading "The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes". It is a great book with lots of twists.

During November, we will be reading Hannah's List by Debbie Macomber. The great news is that we will be able to talk to Debbie at our December 7th meeting. What a treat! She will be calling us, so make sure to mark your calendar for this great event.

What a nice early Christmas present!

August Meeting

2010-08-05T12:00:00.003-05:00

After much discussion, we chose our book for this month. This looks like it will be a little different from some of our previous choices.

A big thank you to Laura Rogers for making name tags.

July Meeting

2010-07-16T09:50:00.003-05:00

Here is the book for our next meeting. Look Again by Lisa Scottoline. Carolynn made a great suggestion that we ought to start picking books from the Target Readers Club. These books have been chosen specifically for book clubs and are available to be purchased at Target.

Hope you enjoy!

June Meeting

2010-06-11T09:33:00.003-05:00

For our next book, we have chosen "Though Waters Roar", by Lynn Austin.

We discussed reading a Debbie Macomber book in the near future. I have contacted her regarding her availability, but I have not heard anything back, yet. Keep your fingers crossed.

If anyone wants to read a really good book for next month and lead the discussion, I am sure all of your fellow Fa La La's would LOVE you.

May Meeting - CHANGE of Plans

2010-05-08T08:16:00.005-05:00

The girls that met for the May meeting decided that we were going to stick to our plan of only reading books that someone has already read.

So, the book for this month has changed. We are now going to read "Summer Blowout" by Claire Cook.

Looks like an easy summer read. Enjoy!

April Meeting

2010-04-08T06:05:00.004-05:00

Our fearless leader is having trouble with her camera software. Although we have taken pictures for the past couple of months, they haven't made it to the blog. Hopefully they will be coming soon.

We had a great discussion about Still Alice this week. Very interesting and I think the big thought that hit everyone was, could I be next? As I was reading the paper yesterday, I saw an obituary for a fried that I knew 20 years ago from church, that I had lost touch with. It said she died of early Alzheimer's at 57. It made me rethink our discussions from this week and wonder how her life played out the past few years, and how her family had handled it.

We have chosen the books for the next two months.

For our May meeting, we will be reading "Ines of my Soul".

For June, we will be reading, "The Postmistress". Enjoy!

February Meeting

2010-02-03T13:41:00.002-06:00

Since Tina, our fearless leader, did not make it this time, we don't have our group picture. This was Tina's first meeting to miss.

The books for the next two meetings are:

For March:

For April:

January Meeting

2010-01-18T07:47:00.002-06:00

We had a small group for our January meeting, but as always, we had a good time. I'm not sure we even discussed the book! There was a little mention here and there that most of the people that read it really liked it, but we got to busy talking about "life" to have an in depth discussion.

We decided to put individual people in charge of each months book selection and discussion. That way Tina won't have to work so hard!

Carol was put in charge of our book selection for this month, and she chose "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. She will lead the discussion for this book in February.

Fa La La Christmas Party

2009-12-14T16:11:00.004-06:00

We had our Christmas party last Monday night at Tina's house and we had a "Snuggie" good time! We will definitely remember this party as the year of the Snuggie and the year that Carolynn opened all of the gifts. I think we all had a great time and loved our gifts.

Wasn't it great to see Tina's house? Thank you Tina for having us over and your warm hospitality.

We didn't even talk about the book for December, but we did choose the first book of the year. We are reading "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein.

We will meet again on Tuesday, January 5th at 6:30 at Panera Bread.

Have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

November Meeting

2009-11-09T11:59:00.004-06:00

We had a good time discussing our Mitch Albom Book.

For December, we have chosen "Christmas List" by Richard Paul Evans.

We are changing things up for our December Meeting. Tina is hosting us at her house for a Christmas party. Notice the change of date - it will be on Monday, December 7th at 6:30. We will send out a reminder closer to the date.

We are going to have a "white elephant" gift exchange. Bring a wrapped book, or any other item that has to do with reading (light, glasses, bookmark, magnifying glass, etc.). (Around $15).

Also, please bring an appetizer or dessert to share.

Hope everyone can make it.

October Meeting

2009-10-08T07:48:00.003-05:00

We had a small group Tuesday, but had a lot of fun. We had very little discussion about our book, but we had lots of laughs about what is going on in our lives. Most of us would not classify the book as one of our favorites. The word that was used most often was BORING!

Hopefully we have chosen a better selection for this month. We are reading "Have A Little Faith" by Mitch Albom. I don't even think I am going to try to contact Mitch. I think he is a little out of our league, but you never know. We have had some really great authors in high up places call us.

Another suggestion for a book for your general reading is "Isaac's Storm" by Erik Larson. It is about the devastating Galveston storm from the 1950's. Several people had either heard about it or read it, and thought it was a great book. I think we decided that it might be too heavy to read during the holidays.

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, November 3rd. Get your book, read it and save the date on your calendar.

Chat With Juliette Fay - September Meeting

2009-09-05T07:00:00.003-05:00

How lucky are the Fa La La's? I am amazed every time we get to talk to an author. It is great to hear about their book and the characters from their perspective.

Talking with Juliette Fay was every bit as fun as her book. She had such an outgoing, bubbly personality and was full of information about her characters - her friends. I think it is so neat for her that her first novel was picked up by Target as one of their featured books of the year.

This is a book that everyone really enjoyed. One thing that is fun to me, is to talk about how each of us imagine the characters in our mind. Then it is fun to "cast" them as if there is a movie in the works. It was fun to hear who Juliette thought would play the characters. I think "Shelter Me" would make a great movie.

Juliette, we are all anxiously awaiting your next book. Thank you for taking time away from your family and busy schedule to visit with us.

Next month, we will be reading "While I'm Falling" by Laura Moriarty. Happy Reading!

Book Reading List

2009-08-06T09:25:00.000-05:00

Liz Rosenberg, author of many books including last months book, "Home Repair" was so kind to take the time out of her busy schedule to make a list for us of some of her favorite reads.

Here is the note from Liz:

Dear Fa La La's,

Thanks for bringing me into your lives. It sounds like the kind of book club I'd want to join.

I've been thinking about what books you might possibly like, and came up with a few ideas:

1) IN DEFENSE OF FOOD by Michael Pollan (a possible alternate choice is his book THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA.) In Defense of Food is just a great, funny, well-written social history of food and our own ideas about nutrition. I bet it would provoke some lively discussions. It's non-fiction of course, but as well written and engaging as any novel.

2) THE HOUSE ON BEARTOWN ROAD by Elizabeth Cohen--- admittedly another book about my region of the country, also shows up as THE FAMILY ON BEARTOWN ROAD but it's the same book with a different title. It's also memoir, the story of one woman's year when her husband walked out on her, leaving her to contend with her aging dad who had Alzheimer's and her one year old daughter. It's a book about acquiring and forgetting memories, and also about family and responsibility. It's a very honest book about being a mother. which brings me to:

3) THE GLASS CASTLE by Jeanette Wallis, absolutely gripping memoir about this woman's childhood with two highly dysfunctional parents who end up homeless. Despite how grim this sounds, there is a lot of humor in this as well as pathos. I could not put it down, and when I've taught it, people just adore it.

4) Elizabeth Berg's OPEN HOUSE. I know this is not one of her new books, but this one to me had just the right blend of humor and pathos,. so if you enjoyed Home Repair and the Guernsey book you guys might just like this one--I'm also fond of Anne Tyler's Digging to America, and I like it that the heroine is a young grandmother. It also deals with some issues of adoption, of family connections, old world vs new world.

Can you guess I am not an enormous fan of new fiction? Given my druthers I'll re-read The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty or The Movie Goer. Of course--if you ever decide to read poetry I'll have LOTS of suggestions, starting with a posthumous book by my beloved friend Jason Sjinder, called STUPID HOPE., But it is a very dark journey--beautiful, beautiful but heartbreaking book about illness.

I send you all my fondest regards, and please, if any of you don't mind writing your thoughts about Home Repair, on places like Goodreads and Amazon and B & N.com-- reader reviews really DO make a difference!

You inspire me to want to keep writing, and to keep trying to writer better novels.

Liz Rosenberg

Thank you Liz, from the Fa La La's!

August Meeting

2009-08-05T21:18:00.003-05:00

For all of you girls that didn't make it, if we look a little sweaty, it is because the room was about 95 degrees. It was a hot night.

We had a good time discussing "The Beach House". Unfortunately, we didn't have Jane Green on the phone with us to discuss it. Most of us really liked it and thought it was just a good, fun, summer read.

We chose the book for next month. We are reading "Shelter Me" by Juliette Fay. I have read it and really enjoyed it. I hope you will too.

Last,but not least, we are giving a "shout out" to Travis. He has faithfully taken most of the pictures on this blog. Thanks Travis!

July Meeting

2009-07-07T21:48:00.005-05:00

We are getting really spoiled. We have talked to several authors about their books. What a treat it was to talk to Liz Rosenberg. We were so privileged to get to talk to her about her first "adult" book, "Home Repair."

Liz has such an outgoing, charismatic personality. Now we know where so many of the personalities for her characters came from. After our phone call, we continued our discussion for about 30 more minutes. She gave us such insight into the characters that we couldn't stop talking about them. It makes you see them as "real" people. One thing that we have learned from the authors is that the characters really become their friends.

Liz, thank you so much for contacting us. It was such a pleasure to visit with you.

For next month, we have chosen an easy summer read, "The Beach House" by Jane Green. Enjoy and we will see everyone on August 4th.

Movie Night

2009-07-01T14:09:00.003-05:00

Monday night, a few of the book club members went to see "My Sister's Keeper". It is too bad that more of us couldn't be there, but from what I hear, it was a great movie. We thought it would be fun to do together since that was one of our books that we reviewed.

We will meet again next Tuesday. I have been communicating with Liz Rosenberg and we are trying to arrange a phone call from her to discuss "Home Repair". It is so fun to get to talk with such great authors.

June Meeting - With Kathryn Stockett

2009-06-03T14:04:00.007-05:00

Are we the greatest Book Club or what??? We have just celebrated our first anniversary together and we have met several very famous authors. How fun is that?

Last night we had the privilege of talking with New York Times Best Selling Author, Kathryn Stockett. "The Help" is her first novel. She spent 5 years writing it and was rejected by 45 publishers before it was finally accepted. It appears that a movie is in the works.

I think this is probably the first book that everyone has bought and attempted to read. Not everyone finished, but most did.

We had a great time last night. We are busting at the seams. We may have to choose another meeting place if we continue to grow at this rate.

The book for next month is "Home Repair" by Liz Rosenberg.

MAY 2009 ... HAPPY ANNIVERSARY FALALA BOOK CLUB!

2009-05-12T07:09:00.012-05:00

I can't believe it's been a year! Here is the picture and cake from our May meeting.

Our May book, "My Sister's Keeper," was a good book for a great discussion. I hope you are looking forward to the movie ... we will be planning a field trip! I think everyone is anxious to see how the movie ends ... since "they" say it's different than the book. There were quite a few of us that did NOT like how the book ended. It will be interesting to see what happens in the movie.

Our next meeting is TUESDAY, JUNE 2nd. For our June book we have chosen "The Help." The author is Kathryn Stockett. I can't wait to read this book. The reviews say it's a "can't put it down" book ... my favorite kind!

Also, we may have some exciting news concerning a guest at our June meeting ... stay tuned for more info ... suffice it to say, you better get started reading!

APRIL MEETING

2009-04-08T21:08:00.005-05:00

Here's the picture of our fabulous April meeting. We had 16 in attendance ... our largest group yet! The reason for the great turnout ... a call from the author, BARBARA DELINSKY! She so graciously gave us more than 30 minutes of her time .. we are so appreciative!

We all loved the discussion of While My Sister Sleeps and gaining more insight into the characters' personalities. I especially loved when it was mentioned to Barbara that Kathryn Snow wasn't one of our favorite people ... she defended her like a true friend ... which is one of the things that makes Barbara Delinsky a lovable author! Her characters are her friends! It was a memorable meeting.

Thanks again also to Janet for doing such a great job of moderating for us! And thanks also to our technical director, Laura, for use of her cell phone/speaker (and for testing ahead of time.)

Although it will be hard to keep moving up from there ... we are coming up on our ONE YEAR anniversary of being a book club. Our first meeting was May of 2008. We will be celebrating! So be sure and don't miss it ... here's the info ...

Book: My Sister's Keeper
Author: Jodi Picoult (pronouned Pico as in pico de gallo .. thank you, Leslie!)

Meeting is: Tuesday, May 5th @ 6:30
Place: Panera Bread in Hurst

Note: We will be taking a field trip in June to see the movie! (Which we hear has a different ending than the book!)

APRIL 7TH MEETING INFORMATION

2009-03-31T21:28:00.002-05:00

Here is the email we received from Barbara Delinsky's office: (**Note that the time is 7:45 our time)

Barbara has marked her calendar to discuss WHILE MY SISTER SLEEPS with your reading group on April 7 from 8:45 to 9:15 pm ET. She’s lending you her private number for the occasion. Please call her at 781-444-XXXX at the designated time. (I didn't want to post the phone number.)
As a backup, will you please provide a phone number Barbara could use in case she needs to reach your group?
Here are some suggestions as you plan your meeting:
1) Since the discussion will take place by phone, choose a meeting location with a speakerphone so everyone can converse with Barbara easily.
2) Prepare a list of 8-10 questions you’d like to ask Barbara during this 30-minute Q&A session.
3) Before the visit, check out Barbara’s website for information and ideas. You’ll be particularly interested in the WHILE MY SISTER SLEEPS page (http://www.barbaradelinsky.com/delinsky-wmss-summary.htm ),
which contains a Reading Group Guide for the book, and the BIOGRAPHY section (http://www.barbaradelinsky.com/delinsky-bio.htm).
4) Be prepared for a good back and forth discussion with Barbara.
Also, please invite your group to look at Barbara's official Facebook page. They don't need Facebook accounts to look, though if they're members they might enjoy becoming official fans! Here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Barbara-Delinsky/48944228249
Please do send along a phone number for the speakerphone at your earliest convenience.

I am going to check with Panera Bread to see if they have a speaker phone we can use. This is going to be so exciting. We will still get together at 6:30 to have our questions and discussion ready for her!

MARCH MEETING

2009-03-04T20:41:00.003-06:00

Here is the picture of our March meeting. We had a newcomer ... Welcome Donna! I hope you join us in April.

We are reading While My Sister Sleeps by Barbara Delinsky. Several of us went to Fort Worth to meet her and are very excited about reading her new book, which is already on the Best Seller List! I have submitted a request for her to call in to our April meeting, which will be on Tuesday, April 7th. So have your questions ready for her!

MEETING BARBARA DELINSKY

2009-03-01T20:44:00.004-06:00

Here is our picture meeting Barbara Delinsky. It was such a fun night! We met at Pappasito's for dinner and went to The Scott Theatre in Fort Worth.

Barbara Delinsky was delightful! She talked with us and autographed her newest book for us "While My Sister Sleeps." We will be reading her book for our next month (April).

I hope everyone is ready to discuss "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" on Tuesday, March 3rd.

FIELD TRIP #2

2009-02-22T07:23:00.002-06:00

I hope you received the email and responded, but just in case here it is:

We have tickets to hear Barbara Delinsky on Wednesday, February 25th at Scott Theatre, 3505 W. Lancaster in Fort Worth. It starts at 7:00 p.m., but the tickets are not reserved, so you must be seated by 6:50 p.m. From what I understand, there will be an overflow room, so you might want to get there as early as possible.

The first 10 people that email me will get a ticket. We will start a “waiting list” if necessary. I know some of you mentioned that you would like to bring a friend. We will put friends on the “waiting list” until all of the regulars have had a chance to respond. Let me know if you would like a ticket and we can work out the logistics.

I believe she will be autographing her latest book that was released this week, “While My Sister Sleeps”.

To see other books written by Barbara Delinsky go to www.barbardelinsky.com

I'm pretty excited. This our second book club "field trip" and we haven't even been meeting a year. (Our first one was to see Ron Hall and Denver Moore who wrote "Same Kind of Different as Me". They will be at Pantego Bible Church speaking this Sunday.)

If you are unable to go, we will miss you ... hope you're enjoying our book this month, I AM!!

FEBRUARY MEETING

2009-02-04T21:24:00.006-06:00

Here is our February picture! We had a fun meeting again. Those that read the book all agreed that it was very slow at first, but once it got going, we couldn't put it down! I thought it was a great discussion about the book. And the members that read it didn't tell us how it ended so that we would all have to finish it to find out. After all ... as the Panera Bread employee that heard us talking said ... "I thought the purpose of a book club was to read the book!" We all got a good laugh out of that. Sooo ... let's all try to finish the next month book (myself included!)

Here is our selection for March ... The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society. The authors are Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. A few of our members have read it and they highly recommend it!

Also, it looks like we WILL have tickets to this event! It is February 25th. Here is the information. http://www.star-telegram.com/books/story/1159792.html
I hope everyone will be able to join us for the field trip. I will email more information to everyone when we know for sure!

FEBRUARY BOOK

2009-01-11T08:28:00.004-06:00

I heard from several members that were having trouble finding the book we had chosen for February. Sorry about that! Going forward, we will check before we vote and be sure that the book is available.

So let's go with another book that was nominated ... (and I just checked to make sure, and it is available at Amazon and also at Borders!)

Read the synopsis below the book. I think you're going to want to run out and get this one today!

"Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared off the secluded island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger family. There was no corpse, no witnesses, no evidence. But her uncle, Henrik, is convinced that she was murdered by someone from her own deeply dysfunctional Vanger clan. Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomqvist is hired to investigate."

Sounds like a great mystery!!!

JANUARY 2009 MEETING

2009-01-07T21:13:00.008-06:00

Here is our January group! I hope everyone had as much fun as I did! Domestic Affairs was a great book for us. We haven't had a book in a while that everyone liked, so it was fun discussing this one. Everyone who read it liked it! We really liked the fact that there was so much going on in the book, with lots of characters and side stories, it was a great read!

The discussion was a little different because we had a few people that hadn't read the book and one person who hadn't finished it yet, so we sort of told the story to them and added our opinions as we went along. I thought it was a lot of fun.

We had 2 new members (or should I say prospective members) ... I sure hope they come back! Welcome Kathy and Myra! They will be a great addition to the group!

And now to what you really want to know ... the book for February. We have been wanting to branch out and read a mystery ... so that's what we picked. The book is titled "The Lady Godiva Murder" by Laurie Moore.

Don't be scared off by the book cover ... as they say "You can't judge a book by it's cover." It does look different ... (not exactly the ice cream sundae look that we have chosen before)!

So even if you aren't "into" mystery ... let's all give it a try!

STAR TELEGRAM ARTICLE

2008-12-14T21:06:00.002-06:00

One of our members saw this in the Fort Worth Star Telegram and entered us in the contest. We will let you know if they call and want to feature us!

http://www.star-telegram.com/books/story/1089447.html

DECEMBER MEETING

2008-12-03T19:53:00.005-06:00

Our December book was A Cedar Cove Christmas by Debbie Macomber. I think we all enjoyed the book, but it was a little too predictable and simple. Not that we think we are trying to read intellectual books by any means, but this was not one of our favorite books. I think the consensus was that it was a little cheesy with the Wyse men!

We are still searching for a good mystery to read, but haven't decided on that one yet.

So put this one on your Christmas list ... for our January book we decided on a fiction book titled "Domestic Affairs." The author is Eileen Goudge. Here is a video clip by the author. http://www.domesticaffairsbook.com/video.html I think we will enjoy reading this one! Let's start now so that we aren't sitting in the parking lot finishing it on on January 6th ... our first meeting in 2009!

NOVEMBER MEETING

2008-12-03T19:48:00.002-06:00

Here we are at the November book club meeting. Apparently I forgot to post it after the meeting and several people commented that they looked for it! I'm happy to hear that people are reading the blog.

We read The Necklace and really enjoyed it! We had a great meeting and discussion about it. I think everyone really enjoys reading nonfiction books.

OCTOBER MEETING

2008-10-10T05:57:00.000-05:00

It was a smaller group for the October meeting than we've had in the past. I think that may have been due to the fact hat no one really was enjoying reading Songs Without Words. In fact, not ONE person had finished it yet! We actually assigned two of our members to finish it and report back to us at the November meeting on how the book ends.

So that brings us to the November meeting ... VERY IMPORTANT ... we are meeting on Monday, November 3rd (due to Tuesday being Election Day.) I will email you all a reminder on the previous Sunday to remind you to meet on Monday.

And .... since there was a little confusion about which book to read for October... We are reading for November "The Necklace" by Cheryl Jarvis. I have finished it (as have several others due to the confusion!) I think you all are REALLY going to enjoy this one! We will have a lot to talk about ... you might even see yourself in one of the characters in this book! It is a perfect book for a lively discussion.

So as your "leader" ... I officially apologize for the confusion last month! I will try and be better about posting (I said try)!

The weather is turning cool ... so let's all relax and curl up with a good book ("The Necklace") and get ready for a great discussion and a fun get-together for November!

OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER BOOKS

2008-09-03T18:59:00.000-05:00

Here is the BOOK we are reading for October. The title is Songs Without Words by Ann Packer.

Synopsis: Liz and Sarabeth were girlhood neighbors in the suburbs of Northern California, brought as close as sisters by the suicide of Sarabeth's mother. In the decades that followed, their relationship remained a source of continuity and strength. But when Liz's adolescent daughter enters dangerous waters, the women's friendship takes a devastating turn, forcing Liz and Sarabeth to question their most deeply held beliefs about their connection.

AND FOR NOVEMBER
(possibly Monday instead of Tuesday because of Election Day)

Synopsis: When a group of thirteen middle-aged women friends decides to buy and share a $37,000 diamond necklace, they learn more than they ever thought possible about themselves, friendship, and the power of possibility.

We had originally voted to read "The Necklace" for October and "Songs Without Words" for November, but after checking further realized that The Necklace isn't available until September 9th. Since it may be a little hard to find it ... I made an executive decision ... so let's just switch them around ...

So for the October 7th meeting read "Songs Without Words"
November book is "The Necklace"

And we will vote at the October meeting about changing our first Tuesday in November to Monday or Wednesday, since the first Tuesday in November is Election Day!!

Please feel free to email me during the month so that I can post comments more often on the blog! tfett@sbcglobal.net .... or comment on the blog and I will post for you!

If you need any help getting either book, I thought it might be a good idea to go on Amazon and order a group of them ... is anyone interested in that? Check it out if you get a chance and let me know.

SEPTEMBER MEETING

2008-09-03T18:52:00.000-05:00

Here is our fabulous September group! I think this might have been one of our best discussions ... or are we just getting really good at this??? We had a few new people that had so much to add ... please feel free, everyone, to keep bringing friends!

I will post about our next month book selection in my next post. We have a little problem with our selection ... so I will be making an executive decision. I have to check something for sure ... so check back shortly.

COMMENT FROM A CYBER MEMBER

2008-08-08T07:30:00.000-05:00

I love this comment from my sister and wanted to share it with everyone ...

This is Kathleen, Tina's sister from Colorado Springs . I am always a bit behind the 8 ball, so I am just now finishing The Secret Between Us and felt very compelled to comment on it. I travel quite a bit so I am out of town and reading in hotel rooms in the evenings, poor me!! NOT! So my great sister sent the blog link to my work email so that I could comment on the book from hotels.

I thought the ending was a bit cheesy, and I totally identified with Deborah. I am sure that that is something I would have done-with the best of intentions- just like Deb. I also was struck by a simple comment that Michael, Deb's father made. It was so insignificant to the story, but struck a nerve with me. When he and Deb were talking about Jill and her pregnancy, and Deb and her "secret" he said, you girls are much harder now, you did not have all these problems when your Mother was alive. And Deb said...here it is...yes we did, Mom just filtered everything for you.

Wow, there it was, my connection to the story. Sounds just like me, though I am trying to get better at it. It is just so easy to solve everything and "take care of it" and then report it to my husband later.

Thanks for "listening" Kathleen

AUGUST MEETING

2008-08-07T07:03:00.001-05:00

The discussion was lively ... it's proof, once again, that you can read a story and have as many different interpretations as there are people reading it. The comments range from "I hated this book" to "It was very entertaining."

One common denominator I noticed among our members that enjoyed this book seemed to be that they read it while floating in a pool. Could it be that our surroundings while reading influence how we feel?

September's meeting is Tuesday, September 2. (That's the day after Labor Day.) We will be reading: Memory Keeper's Daughter. The author is Kim Edwards. I can't wait to read this book!

IT'S ALMOST MEETING TIME AGAIN

2008-08-03T14:27:00.000-05:00

Wow! Where did the time go? Our August meeting is just days away ... and I am just getting around to finally reading. I had planned on waiting to read this month's book so that it would be fresh on my mind, but I didn't mean to wait this long. I will have to read fast to read it before Tuesday's meeting.

Remember the month we met at Panera and it was so cold we needed a jacket ... and the next month one of you even brought a blanket! Ahhhh .... cool air .... that should be incentive enough not to miss the meeting!!

See y'all Tuesday ... August 5th ... 6:30 @ Panera Bread.

JULY MEETING

2008-07-02T20:40:00.000-05:00

Here is the picture of our July group. I think a good time was had by all! And I, for one, can say that I have crossed off one of my wishes ... which was to be a member of a book club!

And here is the book we are reading for August:

I'm not sure if it was the description of the book that lured us into selecting this one or the picture of the ice cream sundae on the cover ... but whatever the case ... it sounds like it will be a fun book to read! Happy Reading to all. I'll post more later about some of the other books we discussed, plus our selection for September has been voted on also. So be sure to check back weekly for more details.

GOALS, DREAMS OR WISHES?

2008-06-30T08:14:00.000-05:00

I hope you enjoyed the book, 20 Wishes. How many times have you had something you wanted to do, but thought the idea may be ridiculous? (belly dancing, owning red cowboy boots ... whatever your wish is, it's yours!) That's sort of the premise of the book we are going to discuss Tuesday, July 1st. Have you started your list? Bring it with you to the meeting! If you haven't started your list, maybe when you hear what others have, you will be able to begin yours. The idea isn't that they have to be goals or dreams you have ... they don't have to be anything long term or things that are only achievable by you ... just things that you've "wished" for. Because as you found after reading the book, your wishes can come true!

Hope to see you there! Tuesday, July 1st, 6:30 at Panera Bread on Precinct Line Road in Hurst. Come for dinner ... or come for the discussion! It's sure to be a good time.

JUNE MEETING

2008-06-08T21:01:00.001-05:00

What a great group! And a great discussion!

July's Meeting is:
Tuesday, July 1st
Same time and place ... Panera Bread at 6:30

Book is: Twenty Wishes
Author: Debbie Macomber

I have started reading and I love this book. I am going to use Post-It notes this time (I saw a few people had done that last month) ... so that I will remember some things I want to discuss. Both of the books we read, I read so early in the month that I had forgotten a lot of it. I am going to try to make notes this time!

THE NOMINEES ARE ...

2008-05-30T21:41:00.000-05:00

I can't wait to talk about this book. I've had several people already generating discussion. "Don't you think we would have reacted just like Deborah did," was one question someone asked me tonight? And "If she knew her daughter had been drinking," wouldn't that have changed what she did? But after all ... did that really have anything to do with the outcome???

We have a lot to talk about with this one!
The nominees: So far we have 2 books that have been nominated for our July Book.
The first one is: The Shack

It sounds like a good one, an inspirational read, so it may be a little like our first one. It is a short book for those of you that are feeling a little overwhelmed about having to read ... so it's a possibility.

The next nomination is: Twenty Wishes.

This looks like a good book also. I will probably read this one whether it it our selection or not. She is one of my favorite authors. It sort of sounds like a "Bucket List" type of book. Although I haven't seen that movie, it has a good story line and contains some thought-provoking issues.

We need more nominations ... but I thought I'd go ahead and throw those out there!

Can't wait to see everyone Tuesday!

READING BY THE POOL

2008-05-28T14:07:00.000-05:00

Do you read more in the summertime? I love to "float" in the pool and read, but it has become increasingly more difficult as the years go by. I don't have a pair of prescription sunglasses. I went to the eye doctor, but he says I don't need a prescription. I have to wear reading glasses (more like magnifying glasses) to read, and I find it is hard to read in the bright sunlight. I haven't found a pair of flip shades that stay on my glasses.

I don't think I'm the only one with this problem, but I don't think I've ever asked anyone before. Since most of the FaLaLa Book Club members are about my age .... surely someone will have a solution ??? Please share!!

Our next book club meeting is next TUESDAY, JUNE 3rd. Panera Bread at 6:30 ... Hope to see you all there!! Even if you haven't finished the book, of course, you are welcome to come to the meeting. You can join in the discussion ... and be a part of choosing our July book!

GET A BACKBONE!

2008-05-18T19:53:00.000-05:00

Is it just me or does anyone else want to yell at Deborah Monroe to get a backbone? I was thinking ... why is she allowing herself to be "abused" by her daughter, her ex-husband, her father, and even her patients. She is such a pleaser ... or is she a control freak? Definitely something to think about.

Then I think of her role as a mother ... and I remember a time when my daughter might have told me she was going to burn the house down and I might have said, "Do you want me to get you some matches or a lighter?" ... and then I realize I need to be more understanding of what she is going through.

If you haven't started reading, you can still do it! This book is 343 pages ... if it's a chore for you to find time to read, you only have to read approximately 20 pages a day and you can still finish it before our next meeting

Let me know how it's going ... are you frustrated with any of the characters? Who do you relate to so far? We have a lot to talk about with this one.

Happy reading!

MAY MEETING

2008-05-14T14:54:00.002-05:00

Our first book club meeting was a huge success! I think it was a consensus among all present that the book was a great one... very moving and inspirational. We could have talked about it for hours.

Before we move on ... a huge thank you to Richard for taking the photo for us.

We have chosen our next book. It is .... (drum roll) ...

THE SECRET BETWEEN US
AUTHOR: BARBARA DELINSKY

I have started reading it and it is a GOOD one! It is totally different from our first book ... it is fiction ... it's going to be a great discussion!

The next meeting is:

Tuesday, June 3

(same itinerary... that seemed to work out well for everyone!)

6:30 ... dinner (if you choose)

@ Panera Bread in Hurst

7:15 ... Decide on next month's book

7:30 ... Discussion of The Secret Between Us

8:30 ... Close

A VISIT WITH THE AUTHORS

2008-05-05T21:15:00.000-05:00

Wow! It was amazing. I cannot tell you how extraordinary these gentlemen are. It is truly an unbelievable story. I wish you all could have been there to meet Ron Hall and Denver Moore and hear them talk about their journey to this point. They have been guest speakers in places around the United States, and today had 3 one-hour radio interviews ... so to have them right here in Grapevine in a gymnasium with a few hundred people present is almost unthinkable.

Next Tuesday they will be in Washington, D.C. at the White House to receive an award for their contribution surrounding advancing literacy in the United States.

As promised, Denver Moore is truly "carrying the torch that Miss Debbie lit" to continue sharing God's word to all he comes in contact with. He even sang a song at the end ... it was so moving.

I am looking forward to tomorrow night, as I hope you all are, to our first book club meeting!

See you there!

You've Still Got Time to Read It!

2008-04-29T14:08:00.000-05:00

You still have time to read the book before our first meeting! It's a short book and a really easy one to read. Most of the people I have talked to say they can't put it down once they start ... so come on ... start reading! You've still got a week.

For those of you that are going to join me for the field trip, here's what I am planning to do. I am going to go to Grapevine Middle School as early as 3:30 when school dismisses and check out the seating arrangements. I will reserve as many seats as I can ... as close to the front as I can.

So call my cell phone or look for me there!

And don't forget to bring your book so you can get it autographed!

FIELD TRIP

2008-04-21T10:34:00.001-05:00

We haven't even had our first book club meeting yet ... but we can't miss this opportunity.
Check this out:

Mon May 5, 2008
Ron & Denver will be speaking in Grapevine. The event will be held in the main gymnasium of Grapevine Middle School, 301 Pony Parkway in Grapevine, TX. The event is sponsored by "Students Standing Strong" Contact Lori Atkeisson at Lori.Atkeisson@gcisd.net for further information. Starting time is 6:30 pm and a booksigning will follow. Desserts and drinks will be offered also.

I took the liberty, as a representative of Fa La La Book Club, of emailing the above person and got this response:

Tina,
No, tickets aren't required, but you may want to arrive early to get a good seat. We will be selling books for $20 or you can bring your own copy. Hope to see you there!
Lori Atkeisson

I have never been one to camp out to buy front row tickets or spend the night outside a store for a sale, (well, except for that one time when my daughter and I spent the night on the streets of Austin so that she could audition for American Idol... another story for another blog) ... but seriously ... I may pitch a tent to get a good seat for this one !!

How about y'all ... anybody else up for a field trip?

6 Degrees of Separation

2008-04-12T07:39:00.000-05:00

Six degrees of separation is the theory that anyone on the planet can be connected to any other person on the planet through a chain of acquaintances that has no more than five intermediaries. The theory was first proposed in 1929 by the Hungarian writer Frigyes Karinthy in a short story called "Chains." (Not going to be a book club choice!)

This theory was brought to my attention when one of our fellow book club members recognized a friend's email address in the list of invites.

You just don't know who you might see at the Fa La La Book Club Meeting ... and that's why you can't miss ... you never know who knows someone you know ... and didn't know they knew each other. Or as "they" say ... It's a Small World After All.

Hope you're enjoying reading Same Kind of Different As Me.

Inaugural Post

2008-04-07T13:41:00.001-05:00

I hope you are reading this inaugural post because you, like me, have always wanted to join a book club! The Fa La La Book Club's purpose is to bring together a group to read one book a month and discuss what we have read. We have chosen a book and a meeting place for our first get-together. We are planning to meet the first Tuesday of each month. Here are the details.

First Meeting: Tuesday, May 6th
Book Title: Same Kind of Different As Me
Authors: Ron Hall and Denver Moore
Meeting Place: Panera Bread
1804 Precinct Line Rd.
Hurst, Texas (817) 605-0766
Time: 6:30 p.m. (for dinner)

The "itinerary" is as follows:
6:30 p.m. - Dinner (if you choose)
7:15 p.m. - Meeting Begins
Discussion/Suggestions for Next Month's Book
We will decide as a group!
7:30 p.m. - Discussion of Same Kind of Different As Me
8:30 p.m. - Conclude Discussion

The restaurant closes at 9:00, so we can visit until then, if you wish!

Until then, I will post updates each Monday (and maybe more) with information or answer questions/comments that anyone has posted to this website. Please feel free to bring a friend to join in the fun! I would like to get an initial count by Sunday, May 4th so that we can be sure to have plenty of room for us all. We have reserved a private room at Panera Bread.

Meanwhile, start reading the book ... take notes, jot down a few questions or topics that you would like to cover in our discussion in the comments section and I will get back to you. It's going to be fun!