Happy Birthday Amy~
Your birthday comes at a very special time.
It's no wonder...you are a very special person!
Have a wonderful day!
Friday, December 23, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
January 2012 Book Selection
I'm sorry to have missed what I'm sure was a great gathering. Thanks to Margaret for hosting! Michelle has selected The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom as our next book. Goodreads says this about it...
When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family.
Orphaned while onboard ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is to live and work with the slaves of the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, the master's illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is set apart from them by her white skin.
Eventually, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. Lavinia finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds. When she is forced to make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare, and lives are put at risk.
The Kitchen House is a tragic story of page-turning suspense, exploring the meaning of family, where love and loyalty prevail.
As we head into the craziness of the holiday season, I wish you all happy days blessed with friends, family and the luxury of extra reading time!
“Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving. Make everyday a holiday and celebrate just living!”― Amanda Bradley
Thursday, November 10, 2011
November NTSBC Meeting
I hope you are enjoying Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. If you'd like more scoop on the book or author Helen Simonson, you may visit her website by clicking here. Once there, you will find video interviews, FAQs, reviews, etc. Please note that the November meeting has changed to Thursday, Nov 17 at 7:00 at Margaret's home. Please respond to Margaret if you can make it.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Congratulations Peggy!
It's official...Peggy has been elected to the Ottawa Hills School Board! We knew you could do it and we were behind you all the way. We just hope that with your new position, you'll still have time to read all the NTSBC book selections! Way to go Peggy!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
November Book Selection
Thank you Laura, for hosting our lively book discussion this morning! The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks was very well received by those present. Even more entertaining than Henrietta, was the post-book talk that covered everything from hormone replacements to the need for SBS (Smutty but Smart) books and the current high school dance style. Good thing we don't keep minutes at these gatherings, because I'm not sure they could be published!!
Margaret has selected the next book and it is (drumroll please):
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen SimonsonSummary from goodreads.com...
The Major leads a quiet life valuing the proper things that Englishmen have lived by for generations: honor, duty, decorum, and a properly brewed cup of tea. But then his brother's death sparks an unexpected friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village. Drawn together by their shared love of literature and the loss of their respective spouses, the Major and Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship blossoming into something more. But village society insists on embracing him as the quintessential local and her as the permanent foreigner. Can their relationship survive the risks one takes when pursuing happiness in the face of culture and tradition?
As the weather turns cooler, it's the perfect time to relax with a good book...happy reading!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Friday, October 14, 2011
October NTSBC Meeting
Click here for an interesting interview with author Rebecca Skloot, found in the Smithsonian Magazine.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Thank you Kelby, for a great start to our day! It was a good, if not mixed, discussion of A Visit from the Goon Squad. Our very perceptive, Teresa, said the book reminded her of the movie Pulp Fiction. Little did she know, Pulp Fiction was a big influence on author Jennifer Egan. Below is an excerpt from a review of the book in Paste Magazine...A side note, if I may. Egan has mentioned that Pulp Fiction influenced her a great deal while writing Goon Squad. In 1994, when Pulp Fiction burst onto the scene, with its startling nonlinear storyline, punchy dialogue, pop culture references and humor juxtaposed with rank violence, a whole new phenomenon was created—so much so, no one knew quite where to place it....
As in Pulp Fiction, the characters ooze unlikeability, yet it is to Egan’s credit you feel their woundedness and wish some relief for them.
Egan creates underdog characters, achingly self-destructive and down-on-their luck. The characters’ personal interactions exude intimacy, and yet they know so little about each other. In other words, they’re more like real-life people or the messy, unpredictable characters in Pulp Fiction than the happy, redeemed-in-the-end Hollywood caricatures required for a movie deal. [Although I’m happy to report that HBO—o brave and cutting-edge network!—has acquired the rights to develop Goon Squad as a half-hour TV series.]
Moving on to October, most of you have learned that Laura has chosen The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot as our next book. Laura introduced it as a story about a woman who is very much still alive amongst us, despite being deceased and she is very popular and important in the science industry although her family has struggled to make ends meet.
Watch this quick clip from the author:
Sounds like a great read....now the dilemma of reading the actual book, reading it on an iPad or Kindle, or listening. So many choices! Or do as Peggy does...use all the options!
Happy reading!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Book Club to Book Club Loan
Another Village book club has picked Still Alice for their upcoming book selection. I was going to loan one of the members my copy but remembered I had already given it to someone else. Does anyone have a copy that they wouldn't mind loaning? Please respond if you are willing!
Speaking of Still Alice, I have heard that Lisa Genova's second book, Left Neglected is really good.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Book Review Podcast
Peggy found a podcast on iTunes discussing A Visit from the Goon Squad. Click here for the podcast and then select the first selection in the list. The podcast includes 3 reviewers discussing the book....will you agree with any of them? Grab a cup of coffee and take a listen!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Happy Birthday Margaret!
Happy Birthday
Margaret!
So sorry to be a bit late in sending
you good wishes ~ hope you had
a fabulous day !
The NTSBC gals
September NTSBC Meeting
Mark your calendar for our next NTSBC gathering to discuss our summer read, A Visit from the Goon Squad. We will meet at Kelby's home on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 9:00 a.m. Please respond to this post or Kelby if you can make it.
By the way, did you see the lovely photo of our very own Kelby in the paper today?!
Hope to see you all soon!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
NTSBC Night at the Movies!
Wednesday, Aug 17 7:00 p.m.
Comment on this post or respond by email if you can make it.
This is going to be good!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
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