Welcome back!

Hi ladies! Welcome back to the blog! It's been a while and somehow I remembered the password.

Last night at Clara's we decided to try to make a list of all the books we've read over the years, so here's a start. I'll update this list as we remember the books.

28 Stories of AIDS in Africa

A reliable wife

A thousand splendid suns

Absurdistan

Before I go to sleep

Broken for you

Clara Callan

Death with interruptions

Elegies for the brokenhearted

Extremely loud and incredibly close

Fault lines

Fried green tomatoes at the whistlestop café

Girl in translation

Gone girl

Hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet

House broken

Into the darkest corner

Little Bee

Lullabies for little criminals

Major Pettigrew's last stand

Not that kind of girl

Olive Kitteridge

Outliers

Painted girls

Paula Spencer

Remarkable creatures

Sarah's key

Secret daughter

Seriously I'm kidding

Still Alice

The birth house

The dry grass of August

The emperor of maladies

The goldfinch

The Guernsey literary and potato peel pie society

The help

The hunger games trilogy

The invention of wings

The language of flowers

The light between oceans

The Paris wife

The perfume collector

The postmistress

The princess bride

The sense of an ending

The shell seekers

The shipping news

The thirteenth tale

The truth about the Harry Quebert affair

The virgin cure

Then we came to the end

Time traveler's wife

Wild

January's Book

Hi ladies!
I know this post is a little late but I wanted to say thank you to Sarah D for a fantastic book choice in Secret Daughter and for hosting such a great party.

Thanks also to Alexis for hosting the Birth House party - another awesome read.

Our next hostess is Rachel P - looking forward to her selection!

Happy reading ladies,

Sarah R

November/December

Hi ladies!
First of all, a big thank you to Clara for hosting the Still Alice party - a great read.

Our November/December hostess is the lovely and talented Alexis, and she has chosen The Birth House, by Ami McKay. Here's the blurb:

The Birth House is the story of Dora Rare, the first daughter to be born in five generations of Rares. As a child in an isolated village in Nova Scotia, she is drawn to Miss Babineau, an outspoken Acadian midwife with a gift for healing. Dora becomes Miss B's apprentice, and together they help the women of Scots Bay through infertility, difficult labours, breech births, unwanted pregnancies and even unfulfilling sex lives. Filled with details as compelling as they are surprising, The Birth House is an unforgettable tale of the struggles women have faced to have control of their own bodies and to keep the best parts of tradition alive in the world of modern medicine.

I would say that is sounds amazing, but I confess, I'm writing this blog really late and I've already read it - it's incredible! What a wonderful choice - thanks Alexis!

See you Dec. 5th.

S

New Order

As promised, I've updated our hosting order... schedules got a bit conflicted this month, so Clara's hosting in October and hopefully Althea can host in November. As we're getting together late in both these months, a few of us were talking about skipping December altogether - it's always difficult during the holidays anyway. So here's the new (tentative) list!


Clara - October
Althea - November
Sarah D - January
Alison - February
Rachel M - March
Rachel P - April
Alexis - May
Kathleen - June


S

October!

Hey there ladies,
Thanks for coming out to September's party - A Reliable Wife was pretty steamy, but I think it led to some great conversation. Thanks to Sarah D and Alexis for letting me host at their place!

And now, on to October. We've got the schedule sorted out now, and Clara will be our next lovely hostess. As for November, stay tuned for updates!

Clara's choice for our next read is Still Alice by Lisa Genova. Here's the blurb:

Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children and a house on the Cape, is a celebrated Harvard professor at the height of her career when she notices a forgetfulness creeping into her life. As confusion starts to cloud her thinking and her memory begins to fail her, she receives a devastating diagnosis: early onset Alzheimer's disease. Fiercely independent, Alice struggles to maintain her lifestyle and live in the moment, even as her sense of self is being stripped away. In turns heartbreaking, inspiring and terrifying, Still Alice captures in remarkable detail what it's like to literally lose your mind...
Reminiscent of A Beautiful Mind, Ordinary People and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Still Alice packs a powerful emotional punch and marks the arrival of a strong new voice in fiction.

Sounds great! See you on October 31st.

S

September's Pick

Hey there Princesses!
Hopefully everyone's enjoying the beautiful summer we've been having.

Thanks so much to Kathleen who hosted a lovely evening to discuss Death with Interruptions!

And now, on to September.
Our next hostess will be me - Sarah R. The book I've chosen is called A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick and here's the blurb:

Set in a small Wisconsin farming and manufacturing town still crumbling a decade after the depression of the 1890s, A Reliable Wife tells the story of Ralph Truitt, a wealthy businessman who advertises for "a reliable wife" in newspapers across America. The woman he chooses, Catherine Land, describes herself as "a simple, honest woman," but in truth she is both complex and devious - not the missionary's daughter she claims to be in her letter to Truitt but a courtesan of great beauty, kept by men and haunted by a terrible past. Catherine's plan in accepting the marriage offer is simple: she will win this man's devotion, and then, ever so slowly, she will poison him and leave Wisconsin a wealthy widow. What she has not counted on though, is the passion she finds in this seemingly solid, forthright man - a man who also harbours secrets and whose own past is far from pure.


Looking forward to it! I'll be hosting at Sarah and Alexis's place so stay tuned for an email!

Happy reading,
S

The Next Cycle

Hi ladies!
We're now officially on the third cycle of our fantastic book club! Because of that, I'm going to list the order of hostesses for the next round - this is just based on the order we hosted last time, so if we need to make any changes we can totally do that.

Here it is:

Sarah R - September
Althea - October
Clara - November
Sarah D - December
Alison - January
Rachel M - February
Rachel P - March
Alexis - April
Kathleen - May

We'll probably shake it up a bit... I know December is always a difficult month and there was also talk of doing another mothers get-together. Althea might want to host on her own, Kathleen might not be back in the city yet... you get the idea. But I promise to update the list whenever there are changes!

Sarah R

Meeting Update

Hi ladies,
Just to make sure we're all on the same page, our next meeting will be on Monday, July 19. Please note the change!

S

A Little Summer Reading

Hey there Princesses!
First of all, thanks so much to Alexis for hosting a great discussion about Olive Kitteridge! It was an interesting book that really made us think about life - great pick!

Now that it's summer, we have one of our founding members back in the city and we're looking forward to her hosting our next party. Welcome back Kathleen!

Kathleen has chosen a book that sounds amazing. It's called Death with Interruptions by Jose Saramago. Here are the deets:
On the first day of the new year, no one dies. This of course causes consternation among politicians, religious leaders, morticians, and doctors. Among the general public, on the other hand, there is initially celebration. Flags are hung out on balconies, people dance in the streets. They have achieved the great goal of humanity: eternal life. Then reality hits home, families are left to care for the permanently dying, life insurance policies become meaningless, and funeral parlors are reduced to arranging burials for pet dogs, cats, hamsters, and parrots. Death sits in her chilly apartment, where she lives alone with a scythe and filing cabinets, and contemplates her experiment: what if no one ever died again? What if she, death with a small d, became human and were to fall in love?


Sounds great!
Happy reading
S

June's Read

Hey there Princesses,

First of all, I'd like to give a big thank you to Rachel P. for hosting the fantastic Mother's Day Brunch! We all had a great time and I think our mothers/grandmothers did too.

And now, on to June!

June's hostess is Alexis and she's chosen Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. Here's the blurb:

At times stern, at other times patient, at times perceptive, at other times in sad denial, Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town of Crosby, Maine, and in the world at large, but she doesn't always recognize the changes in those around her: a lounge musician haunted by a past romance; a former student who has lost the will to live; Olive's own adult child, who feels tyrannized by her irrational sensitivities; and her husband, Henry, who finds his loyalty to his marriage both a blessing and a curse.

As the townspeople grapple with their problems, mild and dire, Olive is brought to a deeper understanding of herself and her life - sometimes painfully, but always with ruthless honesty. Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition - its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires.

Sounds great!

Happy reading,

Sarah R

Mother's Day Book Brunch!

Hola Princesses!

Thanks to Rachel M. for her wonderful party to discuss last month's book. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close was such a touching story.

Now, on to May. As you know, Rachel P. is going to be hosting this shindig on Saturday, May 8th and we're bringing our mothers along for the ride! The book for this month is called Fault Lines by Nancy Huston and here's the blurb:

Narrated by four children from different generations of the same family, Fault Lines is a tale of a present haunted by the past. From California to New York, from Haifa to Toronto and Munich, its stories unwind back through the years until, reaching the Second World War, the devastating secret at the heart of the family's history is finally revealed.

Domestic in focus and epic in scope, Fault Lines is a poignant and captivating piece of storytelling, revealing what can happen when past and present collide...

Sounds great! Check your Email for more details on May's party, ok?

Happy reading,

Sarah R

Our March Book

Hey ladies,

So I think we can all agree that The Help was a fantastic read! Thanks Alison!

Our book for March has been selected by Rachel M, and is called Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. Here are the deets:

Nine-year-old Oskar Schell is on a mission to find the lock that matches a mysterious key belonging to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on 9/11. An inspired innocent, Oskar is alternately endearing, exasperating, and hilarious as he careens from Central Park to Coney Island to Harlem on his search. As he roams the five boroughs, Oskar encounters a motley assortment of people who are all survivors in their own way. His journey concludes in an emotional climax of truth, beauty and heartbreak. Foer once again demonstrates his ability to evoke and unravel the most personal and complex matters of the heart.

Sounds great! Happy reading ladies :)

February's Book

Hi princesses!

So, last month's book - Lullabies for Little Criminals - was a big hit. Thanks to Sarah D for the fantastic party and wonderful discussion.

And now, on to February's book!

Our hostess next month is Alison, and the book she's chosen is called The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Here's the blurb:

Be prepared to meet three unforgettable women:

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

Sounds great! See you at our next meeting - February 7th at Sarah R's house!

Happy reading :)

S

A Little Holiday Reading

Hey Princesses!
Well, November's book - Little Bee - was fantastic. Thanks Clara for hosting such a lovely evening.

As discussed, we won't be meeting in December because of busy holiday schedules. Hopefully we all have a great time during Christmas and Hanukkah and get a chance to re-charge and spend time with family.

Our next party will be taking place on Sunday, January 10 at Sarah D's place. Sarah's pick is called Lullabies for Little Criminals, by Heather O'Neill. Here's the blurb:

This strikingly original portrait of a year in the life of a young Montrealer opens with dash and optimism. Baby, almost twelve, and her father, Jules, twenty-six, have taken up residence at a once-stylish downtown hotel.
Like all their friends, Jules exudes style: fur hat, long leather jacket, slippery leather boots. He also has a heroin habit. Yet Montreal’s decrepit downtown is viewed through Baby’s eyes as an enchanted place where everyone plays an endless game of dress-up. Going out for “chocolate milk” means dad needs to score.
But the strong love and good memories between them keep her hopeful. Baby moves in and out of foster homes and even into a detention centre where every kid she meets is a character. Although nothing shakes her love for Jules, there’s only one career option for an attractive, neglected girl, no matter how bright and imaginative. But O’Neill allows us to see beyond the squalor into the heart of a girl who won’t be destroyed.

Sounds great! Happy reading and Happy Holidays!
S

November's Read

Hi ladies!
So, the discussion on the 13th Tale was great... it seems like we all enjoyed it very much! I think reading something a bit spooky was great to get us in the Halloween spirit :)

And now - on to November!

For November's book, Clara has picked Little Bee, by Chris Cleave. I'm not going to put a description of the book up because it might ruin the plot. So happy reading!

SarahR

October Pick

Hi again!

Can you believe our next party will be in October? Summer really does fly by!

Our next read promises to be another great one - The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Here's a brief description of the novel:

Vida Winter, the most famous novelist in England and quite possibly the world, has never been forthcoming when it comes to her past. Her entire life is a secret, and for fifty years reporters and biographers have attempted to discover the truth.

With her health quickly fading, Ms. Winter enlists a bookish amateur biographer named Margaret Lea to bear witness to the tragic story of the Angelfield family, their eccentric beginnings as well as their demise.

Margaret, who has family secrets of her own, must unravel the mysteries of the past in order to reconcile not only Miss Winter with her ghosts, but also Margaret with her own.

Happy Reading! SarahR

Long-Overdue Update

Hey ladies!
So summer is winding down (I just can't bring myself to say over...) and I think it's about time the blog got a little more attention!

Two of our reading picks weren't posted here, due to our laissez-faire, summer-esque attitudes (aka my laziness) so here's a brief overview:

Our book for July/August was Rachel P's pick, 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa by Stephanie Nolen. It was a deeply moving collection of personal stories that touched all of us. Good pick Rachel P!

The September book was Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris, chosen by Alexis. I think we all related to the crazy characters and trials of office life. Thanks Alexis!

Thankfully, the summer weather is lasting (starting, some might argue) in September, so let's all take advantage of it!

Happy reading,
SarahR

June's Book Selection

Hey there ladies!

Well, last night we had a fabulous time at Rachel M's house... I think we can all agree that Absurdistan lived up to its name, and was crazy but thoroughly enjoyable! Thanks again to Rachel for the incredible spread and great discussion.

And now, on to June!

This month it's Alison's turn to pick, and she's chosen Paula Spencer by Roddy Doyle.

Paula Spencer begins on the eve of Paula’s forty-eighth birthday. She hasn’t had a drink for four months and five days. Having outlived an abusive husband and father, Paula and her four children are now struggling to live their adult lives, with two of the kids balancing their own addictions.

Knowing how close she always is to the edge, Paula rebuilds her life slowly, taking pride in the things she accomplishes, helped sometimes by the lists she makes to plan for the future. As she goes about her daily routine working as a cleaning woman, and cooking for her two children at home, she re-establishes connections with her two sisters, her mother and grandchildren, expanding her world.

She discovers the latest music, the Internet and text-messaging, treats herself to Italian coffees, and gradually ventures beyond her house, where she’s always felt most comfortable. As Paula thinks of herself, “She’s a new-old woman, learning how to live.”

Sounds great!

Happy reading everyone.

S

May Update - date change!

Hey ladies,
As most of you already know, the date for our May party has been changed to Thursday, May 14. We'll still meet at 7:30 p.m. at Rachel M's place.

Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming emails re: directions and location!

Happy reading,
S

May's Selection

Hello Paperback Princesses!

Well Clara Callan was a big hit - thanks to Sarah D for hosting a great soiree and discussion.

And now, on to May!

Our May hostess is Rachel M, and her book selection is Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart.

Meet Misha Vainberg, aka Snack Daddy, a 325-pound disaster of a human being, son of the 1,238th-richest man in Russia, proud holder of a degree in multicultural studies from Accidental College, USA (don’t even ask), and patriot of no country save the great City of New York.

Poor Misha just wants to live in the South Bronx with his hot Latina girlfriend, but after his gangster father murders an Oklahoma businessman in Russia, all hopes of a U.S. visa are lost.

Salvation lies in the tiny, oil-rich nation of Absurdistan, where a crooked consular officer will sell Misha a Belgian passport. But after a civil war breaks out between two competing ethnic groups and a local warlord installs hapless Misha as minister of multicultural affairs, our hero soon finds himself covered in oil, fighting for his life, falling in love, and trying to figure out if a normal life is still possible in the twenty-first century.

Sounds great, Rachel!