Me, I am here! (plus posting instructions)

Hi Molly, GUESS WHO? Facebook just might be more fun...but in case some of you ladies are just dying to post and cannot remember how, here is how:
In the upper right hand corner of this screen it says SIGN IN.
Click it.
When it asks for your user name, type "bestbookclub"
In the password field, type "wrisbookclub"

I am with you, Molly. I will be interested in our conversation about the book. I cannot decide how I feel about it. I am sorry that you will be missing the meeting this week. I wish you the best and let us know if you need anything during your recovery.

Does anyone else have serious cabin fever already? How long has it been since we saw the sun? Don't be surprised if I have to drink A LOT on Thursday.

--Amy

Is there anybody out there?

Does anyone besides me and Amy even look at this blog?

Since I am going to miss bookclub this month, I am going to post my take on The Senator's Wife by Sue Miller, here and now. I didn't really like this book. The writing was fine, seemed genuine and true at times but I just loathed both of the main characters. I am certain that my opinions would be somewhat altered by listening to the conversation about the book, but in my isolation, I hated them.

As I always say, I like a book where "things happen". I felt like nothing happened in this story until the very end. At the last minute the author attempted to to wrap up a story that was going nowhere. I suppose I over-think things, but I was waiting for the young woman's husband to cheat or for something else to disrupt the young woman's life. Maybe this was just about how life is, complicated, confusing, not what we expect.

Anyway, I give the book a five. I have to go host eight little girls for Abby's "Rock Star" birthday party. Enjoy the snowy weekend.

Molly

Book Lust (among other things)

Not only was it amazing to see and hear David Wroblewski last night, but I was thrilled to meet Nancy Pearl. You may not know who N.P. is, she is the model for the librarian action figure as the author of "Book Lust". It was such a fun night for two certified geeks. Of course I mean Me and Amy, not the two of them.

Listening to D.W. talk about the book and his process of writing it deepened the experience of reading it. I remember that a number of us commented on the strange idea that he had been a computer programmer before he wrote the book. He talked about the similarities between writing and programming in such a way that both now seem like artistic endeavors to me. Remarkable.

As soon as I figure out how to download the pictures from my phone, I'll post them.

-Molly

P.S. He's much more handsome in person! And funny, and intelligent, and witty....

He had me at crack pot...

Molly and I had a fun night seeing David Wroblewski, author of our beloved (or maybe not so much) Edgar Sawtelle, speak at the Mayfield Village Civic Center. Whenever I see or listen to an author speak about their writing or even the craft of writing, I remember what an honor it is to even be exposed to art of this kind. It is hard not to love the book after hearing what he said about it.
He was even funny. He gave an answer to a question, and referred to it as "the crack pot answer."
Nancy Pearl was interviewing him, and asked if maybe he did not mean "just the answer that he did not think was well-thought." Without missing a second, David replied, "No, I'm going to stick with crack pot."

Most of all, I wish you all could have heard him speak about Almondine. It was hard to ignore the tenderness he felt for this character.

As we were waiting to get books signed, I overhead a woman ask him to clarify how Almondine died...was she killed or did she just die of old age? This came up during our discussion, remember? David whispered to her, "She was actually killed." Now we can officially close that discussion.

So now I have a new crush. Big surprise.

Photos, yes photos, to follow.

--Amy

Twilight

We need to get together to go and see "Twilight" together!!!
-Brooke

I love hosting bookclub!

Ahh... Sunday evening, weekend of raking leaves, ignoring the phone and reflecting on Friday night's festivities. Thanks everyone for your wonderful contributions:

Ginny, thanks for bringing Eliza
Jess, thanks for your help in the kitchen and the wine
Sara, the app was great
Kay, thanks for complementing all my nick knacks
Amy the bread was to die for and several of us enjoyed the beer
Tam you know how much I loved the cake
Brooke, the salad was yummy (you left the bowl, the utensils, and the pictures =)
Mal, the "Sal's" run was much appreciated

Elena and Kerry, we missed you!

We forgot to rate the book (again) I give it a nine.

This is rambling and I think I should feed my family something more than rice krispie treats for dinner. Have a great week!

Molly

The Lace Reader

First, let me say that this page looks great now, Mal! I love the photos. When we meet tomorrow, we might want to talk about closing "public viewing" to this blog if it makes anyone uncomfortable to post photos...not that I think too many people who stumbled upon this blog would not just stumble right off, thinking, "yeah, that group may be just a little crazy."

Speaking of crazy, I just finished the Lace Reader. And, uh. WHAT?

I loved it though, and look forward to the discussion.

--Amy

Friday Night Beauties

Hi gang -

As you can see, our blog has a new look. I tried a new template and uploaded a few photos. If anyone has bookclub photos, send them my way so we can get everyone represented. I can't believe I've only whipped my camera out twice in the last few years - what's with that? So this leads me to my next announcement... dress up because i'm bringing my camera Friday night. But since we won't have perfect attendance, I'll bring my camera until we do so we can take a timer picture of us all! Then, when I have that picture - I'm going to make a custom photo header for our blog. How 'bout them apples?

-Mal

Saturday, Oct 18th- Family Fall Festival

Hi! Just wanted to pass this along:

WRLC Fall Festival
Date:
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Time:
4:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Location:
1600 Bell Road Chagrin Falls
Description:
Pumpkin painting, Nature scavenger hunt and hike, and nature bracelets
Dinner at 5:15. BYOB and a picnic dinner - we will provide the hotdogs and fixins
Campfire and s’mores and music by Joe Rohan.
Donations greatly appreciated; all proceeds benefit the Land Conservancy
Bring a blanket or camp chair and dress for the weather!
Please RSVP to Gina at 440-729-9621 or gpausch@wrlc.cc

-Brooke

A note about blogging...

This is just plain-old fun.

Did you all know that we can leave comments on other people's posts if you don't have time to write a new post, or you have something to say related to that particular post.
See, look at the bottom of Jessica's and Virgina's post. I left a comment!

--Amy

The Power of One

My very first blog entry. Hold on, let me savor the moment....

At our last meeting, Sara and I briefly mentioned the book The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay. It is sort of like the big brother to Edgar. This was the author's first novel. It is a story about a young boy and his will to survive in South Africa during the 2nd world war. Peekay, the main character, is a bit more triumphant than poor Edgar though! No dogs, but there is a chicken who truly is a powerful and thought provoking part of this story. It is a must read (for those of you who can find the time to settle in to a 513 page book!). I would be happy to loan my copy to anyone interested.
I just pulled my book out and read the inscription from my Grandmother. She wrote: "This is one of my very favorite books. I know you will love it. Read it slowly for there is a lot to think about in it." It is dated 1990. This book has stayed with me for nearly 18 years!! It truly is unforgettable. I hope some of you get the chance to read it.

~Jessica

Magical Thinking

Hi blogging book club!
I am glad to see that you all are finding this easy to work with. Brooke, definitely let us know how you like Peony of Love. What is every one else reading? I mean, besides the Lace Reader.

One book I read about a week ago was A Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Dideon. It was good, but a little heady. The book is all thoughts of the author and no action. I was able to read it in two days because it is short. I do think that it is a must-read for someone who is going through the grief process. There are some things that the author said that I will never forget.

I am going to start the Lace Reader today. I actually got it from the library! I thought there would be no chance of that. I had to give it a shot since I have been reprimanded for my spending habits lately by my husband. I was all, "Habits? You mean the habit of buying food and diapers and the other consumables that this family needs? Yeah, I'll be sure to reel that in this month."

So the other morning when Sophia asked for milk I said (loud enough for my still half-sleeping husband to hear), "No, we are not allowed to buy milk anymore, baby. It is a BAD HABIT."

Passive aggression is my favorite emotion.

--Amy

How do I possibly have time for this!

Hello Girls!

Well, I have a million things to do....dishes,laundry, pay bills, feed children....but I cannot resist the urge to participate...I am such a follower!

Brooke:

"peony of love" is not the sequel...and it is a very different read..but I liked it. I look forward to knowing what you think after you have finished.


For all of you who have read the next Edward book....what do you think? And we MUST all go see the movie in December....

Alright, well I guess I have to go feed my seven week old....

I hope to return soon girls. Hope you are all getting to enjoy this wonderful weather we are having

Amy..Thanks for taking the time to do this!!

Virginia

Thanks!

Thanks for putting this together, Amy! Or should I say, AAMMYYYY!
I just added "Peony in Love" to my library list... I will let you know how it is. Has anyone else read it? Is it a sequel to Snowflower or is it different?
Anyway, I always look forward to all of our get-togethers... does anyone know when the next one is or what the books are that we chose?
-Brooke

Molly's first post.

Amy, you are amazing! Actually, all of you ladies are amazing. I feel so lucky each and every time I go to bookclub and talk, discuss, complain, and share in your lives. Not only do we get to read but we get to support each other and share the things that are important to us.

I am dying to know what the ratings were for "Sawtelle". As I said last month, I gave it a nine rather than a ten primarily because I thought that the period in the woods when Edgar ran a way was slow. Mal, maybe you could post the rating here a long with the revised spreadsheet (tee-hee).

Thanks to all of you for not making me feel silly when I announced my upcoming plans for "personal improvement". Tam, thanks for a wonderful meeting. LOVED the pasta. I realized that I completely missed dessert, what was it?

This is pretty fun, I'm pretty scared that blogging will be come as adictive as Facebook or those damn Webkinz arcade games!

Later ladies!

Established 2006

It is 2008, ladies. We have gone strong for almost three years. We said we needed this blog because our once-a-month meetings are not enough. This is true: I am thinking of all the things I forgot to say last night during our meeting. I forgot to tell you all about some books that I read in the last month while I was waiting for MOST of you to finish Edgar (ha ha). I forgot to tell Elena that her potty training advice was working for me. I forgot to ask to hold Eliza. I forgot to ask Molly where she was going, looking so beautiful. I forgot to tell Kaye that I am amazed that she seems to always "figure out" a book.

Let this be the place where we dump all of the things that we forgot to say, all the things that come up while we are reading, or anything else that cannot wait until our next meeting HERE.

I'll start. I can't believe how much I like each of you. I can't believe that there are so many women that I can relate to in one room. Every time we meet, I can't believe my luck. Thank you.

Here is how this works:
When you go to the laughandread.blogspot.com (sorry, that is a bit cheesy, but there were not too many other names available), you can sign in by clicking "sign in" in the upper right hand corner of this page. See it?
When you sign in to post, you will get asked for a user name. It is bestbookclub. The password is bookclubwris (creative, I know...but I thought we would remember this).
If you would like to post, you will get prompted to publish new post after you sign in. Let me know if you have any trouble.

Mal, if you have any Layout magic that you would like to use, do it! I just threw this together using a standard template choice.

--Amy (Don't forget to sign your posts!)