The Ocean at the Ghost Bar

Hi Bookies:) Just wanted to update our site and say thanks to Christy for our entertaining evening at Jeffrey's Ghost Bar, with haunted light effects and all!

I still haven't read the book, but listening to the discussion made me want to all the more.. And so did listening to Gaiman's commencement speech at the University of the Arts:

Make good art. I love that! (If reading this in email, you'll need to click over to the website to view the video).



We were sorry to bid Liz B. a fond farewell. Sounds like a lot of grand adventures await her and Andrew in New York. We just hope their continued travels bring them back to Utah again. And that she'll continue to share good titles with us in the future (I personally love Liz's taste in movies and hope she'll point us toward some good ones!).

Catherine is hosting this month and her pick is Anna Hunt's The Shaman in Stilettos! Not sure if the library or Back of Beyond have copies, but the above link is to Amazon's listing and Catherine has a copy she is generously passing around.

Lastly, if you have a tween or eager reader who is interested in stretching his or her reading picks (but still wants the freedom to pick which books he or she reads), you might be interested in the Summer Book Bingo that Aidan and I put together: http://summerbookbingo.blogspot.com/

He showed it to Charlotte at the library and she liked it so much that she offered Back of Beyond gift certificates to kids who turn it in at the end of summer. Email me if you have any questions.

Hope to see most of you at Catherine's!

Hyperbole and a Half with a Whole lot of FUN!

Hello Ladies,

What a fantastic book club Deirdre hosted. There were very tasty treats, including delicious chocolate covered strawberries and Trader Joe's chocolate covered almonds (notice how I am focusing on the chocolate...). EAT ALL THE THINGS!

It seemed every one enjoyed the book and could relate to some if not all of her experiences. Those who have battled and or faced depression felt she nailed it when describing the hopelessness of it all. Although, we thought by the end of the last chapter she needed to "get over herself".

CLEAN ALL THE THINGS was central theme and a very good reason to not be an adult. Insert any word of choice and you can ____ ALL THE THINGS! I personally loved the cake chapter and her letters to herself when she was younger. We felt if we had had someone read the chapters aloud it would have been even more funny.

We found her rudimentary drawings rather impressive because they showed so much emotion and expressiveness.

This book was definitely heavy at times and is a book one cannot read all the way through in one setting.

It's hard to track where our conversations went to from there. I recall a smattering of vacation talk, spouse and children talk, dog talk (Christy would like to throw Melissa a puppy party. Melissa gets her new furry addition next Friday. I know my dogs can't wait to have another "sibling"), to food, movies, other books... I truly cannot remember it all but we were at Deirdre's until almost 10!!! (super late for this 3rd grade teacher that is for sure!)

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com
Check out her blog to read more!



Drum roll please....
Our next book is The DoveKeepers by Alice Hoffman. Hope it is good!

Next meeting: 3/20 at 6pm
Location: 8 orchard way

The library has it but there is a wait list.

Amazon Synopsis:
Nearly two thousand years ago, nine hundred Jews held out for months against armies of Romans on Masada, a mountain in the Judean desert. According to the ancient historian Josephus, two women and five children survived. Based on this tragic and iconic event, Hoffman’s novel is a spellbinding tale of four extraordinarily bold, resourceful, and sensuous women, each of whom has come to Masada by a different path. Yael’s mother died in childbirth, and her father, an expert assassin, never forgave her for that death. Revka, a village baker’s wife, watched the murder of her daughter by Roman soldiers; she brings to Masada her young grandsons, rendered mute by what they have witnessed. Aziza is a warrior’s daughter, raised as a boy, a fearless rider and expert marksman who finds passion with a fellow soldier. Shirah, born in Alexandria, is wise in the ways of ancient magic and medicine, a woman with uncanny insight and power. 

February Pick: Hyperbole and a Half

Thanks, Liz, for hosting a lovely evening and discussion of John Steinbeck's East of Eden. Lots of yummies, especially the cheesy bread that was devoured.

We all enjoyed Steinbeck's prose and the character of Lee, the scenic descriptions of Salinas Valleyand complex characters. His heavy-handed moments and saint/whore woman-complex had some of us complaining---and is it just me or does it seem like the more well-established a writer becomes the more long-winded they become too? Is it that editors get sheepish about telling them to cut pages?

We found it odd that in a novel built around the idea of timshel and one's ability to choose, that the character of Cathy would seem so unnaturally evil, some supposing she was a sociopath from birth. This led to a discussion on nature vs nurture and then on favoritism in parenting. My favorite part of the discussion was the tangent about dogs:) And cats---especially the image of Liz's cat skyping with her mom and of Rachel's cat playing on the iPad.


Oh---and here is the Paradox of Dogs by the Oatmeal that Chelsie and I referenced. Warning: you may pee your pants from laughing while reading it.

And lots of tangential movie recommendations/discussions. Liz has seen EVERYTHING. My picks for the year are over here, but I haven't seen hardly anything (Oscar contest coming soon nonetheless). PLEASE, if you have a rental recommendation, tell us in the comments!


Our next gathering is February 20th at 6PM, and I'm taking a risk---a comic memoir of sorts,
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened

It's $10 on Amazon, slightly less as an e-book, and at our library (well, that copy is actually at Natalie's house but she's sure to finish it soon so put it on hold). Here's the blurb from Amazon:

Touching, absurd, and darkly comic, Allie Brosh’s highly anticipated book Hyperbole and a Half showcases her unique voice, leaping wit, and her ability to capture complex emotions with deceptively simple illustrations.

It's a thick book but a fast read. I'm not sure it will provide as much meat for discussion as Steinbeck, so please bring your funniest story/joke/drawing on the 20th. Lots of bugs going around Moab and they say laughter's the best medicine so let's all get a good dose. See you on the third Thursday!

P.S. This is the Oliver Jeffers' book Christy was describing:

And the video that made me fall in love with him a couple years ago (I was wrong--- The Incredible Book Eating Boy wasn't his first book, just the first one I discovered):

October~Rules of Civility

I hope you're all enjoying the book I chose for October; it's one of my favorites.  If you haven't picked up a copy yet, click the picture below! 

See you all soon.

 

Wedding Vow Game Answers & Winner!

Thanks to all who played our little game!

Vow #1:
(Partner’s name), I promise to do my best in these things:
To love and respect you.
To listen.
To seek meaningful lives together – with passion, humor, commitment, honesty, and understanding.
To support your dreams and share mine.
To be a strong and compassionate mother for our children.
To enjoy and be present in the every day moments with you, while we seek out the extraordinary.
To continue to learn and grow, and support you, as you change and grow, as well.
To have lives surrounded by beauty.
And, to make loops and take shortcuts, whenever possible.

Vows by Christy & Scott

Vow #2:
I promise to always laugh with you and to comfort you; to love you when life seems easy and when it seems hard; to help you when you need help, and turn to you when I need help; to communicate my needs to you and to honor your needs in return; and to take care of myself so that together we may be whole. I pledge to build a home with you that is compassionate to all and full of respect for each other. I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life. 

 
Vows by Rachel and Dan

Vow #3:
I, Deirdre, take you, Brian, for my lawful husband and companion, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.

 
Vow #4:
I vow:
to give fully---my loyalty, trust, and affection, and to give you the freedom and encouragement to seek your own path.
to share fully---my life, love, and laughter, and to always do more than I must.
to strive fully---to support, honor, and respect you, and to earn your grace in return.
to cooperate fully in unity with you so that we may magnify our individual strengths and temper our doubts.
I ask you to be my playmate, confidante and side-kick; to teach me and learn from me; to be my guide and to be my helper, hand in hand through all the wonders and tribulations that life offers us. 

 
Vows by Karen and Eric

Vow #5:
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; so I love you because I know no other way
than this: Where “I” does not exist, nor “You”, so close that your hand on my chest is my hand, so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

Poem by Pablo Neruda

Vow #6:
It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be really hard. We’re gonna have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you. Forever. You and me, every day.

From the best scene of “The Notebook”

Vow # 7:
I’ll miss you, kiss you, give you my coat when you are cold. Need you, feed you. I’ll even let you hold the remote control. So let me do the dishes in our kitchen sink, put you to bed when you’ve had too much to drink. All I want to do is grow old with you.

Song from “The Wedding Singer”

And the winner with the most correct matches (5 out of 7) was…

Christy

Here's what I got for you:
1. Christy
2. Karen
3. Deirdre
4. Rachel
5. literary
6. film
7. film

Prize of wine & chocolate to be awarded at our next gathering!

Thanks again---I especially enjoyed seeing your guesses, and being teased indirectly by at least three people about the lack of originality of mine! I prefer to call them “classic.”

And here’s to Natalie and Obe as they enter into a grand adventure this Saturday!

The Wedding Vow Contest

Thanks to Natalie for hosting a fun gathering at Rotary Park and tolerating a tableful of wedding advice! The story-telling flowed, and several people shared the story of how they came to write their wedding vows (weeks before, the night before, or simply plagiarizing their partner). We thought it might be fun to play a guessing-game, matching the vows with the right couple (we threw in a couple literary ones too).

The prize (still to be decided) will be awarded at September’s book club gathering! To play, send an email with your matches to Deirdre by Friday. Not in the comments because we’ll influence each other with our guesses. I’ll post everyone’s guesses next week with the winner.

Vow #1:

(Partner’s name), I promise to do my best in these things:
To love and respect you.
To listen.
To seek meaningful lives together – with passion, humor, commitment, honesty, and understanding.
To support your dreams and share mine.
To be a strong and compassionate mother for our children.
To enjoy and be present in the every day moments with you, while we seek out the extraordinary.
To continue to learn and grow, and support you, as you change and grow, as well.
To have lives surrounded by beauty.
And, to make loops and take shortcuts, whenever possible.

Vow #2:

I promise to always laugh with you and to comfort you; to love you when life seems easy and when it seems hard; to help you when you need help, and turn to you when I need help; to communicate my needs to you and to honor your needs in return; and to take care of myself so that together we may be whole. I pledge to build a home with you that is compassionate to all and full of respect for each other. I choose you as the person with whom I will spend my life.

Vow #3:

I, ( her name), take you, (Partner’s name), for my lawful husband and companion, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.

Vow #4:

I vow:

to give fully---my loyalty, trust, and affection, and to give you the freedom and encouragement to seek your own path.

to share fully---my life, love, and laughter, and to always do more than I must.

to strive fully---to support, honor, and respect you, and to earn your grace in return.

to cooperate fully in unity with you so that we may magnify our individual strengths and temper our doubts.

I ask you to be my playmate, confidante and side-kick; to teach me and learn from me; to be my guide and to be my helper, hand in hand through all the wonders and tribulations that life offers us.

Vow #5:

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride; so I love you because I know no other way
than this: Where “I” does not exist, nor “You”, so close that your hand on my chest is my hand, so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

Vow #6:

It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be really hard. We’re gonna have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you. Forever. You and me, every day.

Vow # 7:

I’ll miss you, kiss you, give you my coat when you are cold. Need you, feed you. I’ll even let you hold the remote control. So let me do the dishes in our kitchen sink, put you to bed when you’ve had too much to drink. All I want to do is grow old with you.

 

August Pick: Committed

Thanks, Marva, for a great discussion and lovely evening. Yummy cheese and fruit and chocolate. A even more delicious gin & tonics. I've been converted.

Some highlights from the evening: the giant pause after Karen's Aunt Helen statement, which lead to hilarious laughter once we realized she didn't mean what we thought she might mean. Here's to all the fun that comes from not all of us having finished the book!

Also, we will be teasing Christy that her favorite mixed drink is tequila for a while!

I love the Smiths & Nick Drake, but my mix tapes were full of Indigo Girls and REM. Do you remember mix tapes? Do you still have some? I finally got rid of my collection this spring (and captured it here). Even in this age of Pandora and Spotify, I love mixing CDs as gifts.

Another highlight of the evening: Looking for Alaska by John Green courtesy of Karen! (If you wanna fall in love with get to know John Green, watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mUDw0sRZV0&list=TL4xM8818ldFo)



Perks of a Wallflower led to great discussion---love picks that reveal how we all see and experience the world differently. The unknown "you" that Charlie addresses in his letters left some in search of an answer, some indifferent, some thinking they were the answer.

And some had a Sam-like high school experience and some of us had a squeaky-clean-sheltered high school experience. And while it was fun to remember, none of us wanted to go back and live through high school again, and hope we will be able to accompany our children through those years with some grace and humor (and use Karen's mom's strategy if our kids sneak out at night!).

Natalie picked Elizabeth Gilbert's Committed: A Love Story for our August read, most likely the 22nd---look for more details via email.

And if you didn't get a chance to read Perks of a Wallflower, above are most of the best lines, compliments of teen-obsessed readers on Pinterest.