OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER BOOKS

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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.