Books to Read

I have not read these yet, but they look interesting to say the least.

Banishing Verona by Margot Livesey
Tattoo for a Slave by Hortense Calisher
Crossways by Sheila Kohler
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Books that Changed Anita Shreve's Life from OPRAH (Amy sit down, they look like some decent ones albeit they are published in the Great O's magazine!)

Swimmer in the Secret Sea by William Kotzwinkle
Separating by John Updike

*both of these are short stories (fictional)

Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neill
Ethan Fromme by Edith Wharton
The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard
CAL by Bernard MacLaverty
Lies of Silence by Brian Moore

If you want to take a leap of faith and read one of these books, please do so!

Mindy

Lost and Found

Is anyone missing a watch from Book Club? It is silver with a pink face. Let Bethany know if the watch is yours. (We found it among the couch cushions!)

september's book unveiled

september's book club will be held on thursday, sep. 25th at 6:30 p.m. at the udall home. 294 w. merrill avenue, gilbert, arizona 85233. if you got the email, i don't have everybody's email so forward it to those i did not have addresses for. light refreshments will be served.

please make sure to get the book at your bookstore of choice or library. the book voted on was richard wright's native son. it was recently highlighted on npr if you want to take a look at what they had to say. i just got home from the library and it is a "thick" book (translated...a long book). i sent you a summary as well as discussion questions that you can use to guide your reading.

let's all aim to read "most" of the book so all can partake in the discussion. i know all of us have busy lives, but now the olympics are not occupying our evening hours (lol) maybe we can get through it all.

happy reading to all!

August Book Club Reminder

Hey Literary Wenches!

Just a reminder that we will have our next meeting Friday, August 22 at 7 pm at the Marilyn Brown home hosted by Angela Smithson and, to a lesser degree, Bethany Hutchins.

We will be having some yummy food and good discussion! (Can anyone doubt it with Angela on board?)

Now I realize that many of you may not have read our latest selection: A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve. (There have even been various reports that it was difficult to get into because of the numerous characters that begin the book.) However, please join us anyway and we'll include discussions of Anita Shreve's other books ( The Pilot's Wife, Strange Fits of Passion, Fortune Rocks, Sea Glass, etc.) and we will compare them to this novel.

I also propose that we discuss the latest addition to the Twilight Series, Breaking Dawn. I know we'll all have some definite opinions on that!

Please bring any books you are done reading and do not want to keep for your collection and we will have a little book exchange at our next meeting. That way you can cleanse or binge according to your desires!

books on my to read list

enrique's journey by sonia nazario
a ny times reporter wrote this account of a honduran boy's search for his mother who disappeared into the u.s. it also won a pulitzer.

you're not you by michelle wildgen
a seductive novel about the relationship between a charismatic als patient and her impressionable female caregiver.

half of a yellow sun by chimamanda ngozi adichie
a nigerian author's masterful novel uses the 1967 genocide in biafra as a backdrop for a nuanced tale about decent people in moral chaos.

what is the what by dave eggers
this is an as told story based on the harrowing life of sudanese refugee valentino achak deng.

riley's fire by lee merrill byrd
byrd's first novel follows the metamorphosis or riley martin, age 6, gravely injured in a blaze of his own making. the burn hospital where riley recovers sees its share of quirky miracles.

WHAT WE ARE READING IN AUGUST

after a long debate including a long distance call to angela, we decided that this would be our august read. the next soiree will be august 22nd a friday at the brown bordello. more details to follow on the blog. remember to use the blog and leave us comments, book reviews and suggestions. amanda would really like recipes. :o) please bring any books you are done reading and do not want to keep for your collection and we will have a little book exchange at our next meeting. that way you can cleanse or purge and then pick up something borrowed and maybe even blue? ha ha

easter island

thank you to amanda and jonathan hall for hosting book club this evening. we had quite a spread of healthy food including a wonderful fruit salad in an iced salad bowl courtesy of ryan and bethany. elizabeth brought some great sparkling soda including a peach/pear combo that really tickled our taste buds. she also brought blood orange which we left with amanda and theron to enjoy. the book discussion was diverse with some members having read the entire book and others half way through. we discussed character development, geography and botany and heard from a danish reviewer that amanda found who wanted greer to be more flamboyant, strong, hotblooded, sexy or at least SOMETHING to make her come alive? i guess he really had a thing for greer, huh?

Suggested Books for a future read

Jude the Obscure  by Thomas Hardy

Pitch Perfect A Cappella Glory by Mickey Rapkin

The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie

Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Housekeeping by Marilyn Robinson

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Please comment and suggest any books you have heard about or read reviews on!

Rock on Wenches!!

Welcome Wenches!

Tonight's book discussion was lively and had some great food!  Thanks to Elizabeth for opening up her home to us.  The next book club will be held in mid-July and the title is Easter Island and the author is Jennifer Vanderbes.  

Just so you know this blog will be interactive and we want all of you to participate.  If you are hosting, I can give you the password or you can send me what you want to post.  We will be flexible!  Comment on what to read in the future, what drinks/food you like or dislike, suggestions, etc...We may even get off topic and that's completely okay.  

The title of the blog was selected after reading Julie Andrew's Home where she called her mom a lusty wench.  We thus dubbed ourselves the Literary Wenches.