Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, friends!  For this week's edition of Friday Favorites, I wanted to share a collection of our most favorite books of all time.  When polling our book club group, I really expected to get at least a few duplicate mentions; but everyone listed different books and there's such a variety here.  I think you'll enjoy this list, and enjoy learning why these books are so loved. 

Here it is:
The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant - Anisa said this is one of her favorites.  Amazon.com Review says this fiction novel "offers an insider's look at the daily life of biblical sorority of mothers and wives, and their only daughter, Dinah."  The Amazon.com Review goes on to say the book shares sensual and emotionally charged stories of the women surrounding Dinah, Jacob's daughter, who only gets a brief mention in the book of Genesis. 


The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood ,by Rebecca Wells - Another favorite of Anissa's, this is the ultimate girly book that tells the story of a begrudged 40-year-old daughter of a "steamy Thornton City, Louisiana" mother whose voice is the narrator of the book, and who is described as being "part Scarlett, part Katharine Hepburn, and part Tallulah."  I'm embarrassed to say that I have not yet read this book (am I like, the ONLY person left?) but I'm adding it to my to-read list!

In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash, by Jean Shepherd, which Cara would also like to use as her book club selection next time she hosts.  Described as being a "beloved, bestselling classic of humorous and nostalgic Americana," Shepherd writes of a time long ago, when life was slower and simpler, and apparently he has it all wrapped up in a funny little package. 

Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4), by Stephenie Meyer - Cara loves the entire Twilight Series, but has dubbed this one her favorite.  I don't do vampires, so I have not read this one, nor any of the other in its series, so I'm taking Cara's and the rest of the world's word for it that this is an addictive series once you get started. 

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, by Kate DiCamillo - Stacey said she realizes this is a young adult book, but it's beautifully written and has an amazing story.  Barnes & Noble says the book is a "piercingly beautiful story about love, loss, and the power to love again."  It sounds really sweet, so I'm going to buy it for my own book collection and I'm having my son read it, too.

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee - Ok, this one is actually a duplicate, because it's one of my favorites, too.  Sunday puts this one at the top of her list.  If you didn't read it in high school, run out and buy it and read it now.  If you did read it in high school, run out and buy it to read again.  That's what I'm doing and I'm so happy about that decision.  I enjoy it much better this time around; now that I'm older I can really appreciate the intricacies of the relationship between father and daughter.  This is Sunday's favorite aspect of the book, too.  This is the 50th anniversary of the book's publication, so HarperCollins has published a special 50th anniversary hardcover edition.

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak - Sunday loves this book just as much as To Kill a Mockingbird.  In fact, she says, ".... I love the idea that books/reading can change yourworld, even during horrible times in your life.  I love the relationshipsin this book. They really touch me." 

The Hunger Games Trilogy, by Suzanne Collins - Having read this entire series twice during the last 6 months, Sunday loves-loves-loves these young adult books because of the way the author tells of the "future."  She says it's also just a great story of "overcoming who you think you are and who you can be."  My son has read the trilogy and he says the same thing:  you can't put it down once you start. 

The Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder - Sunday was hesitant to admit this one, knowing she would get slack.   And while I'm usually on the look-out for any opportunity to give someone slack, especially Sunday, I can't in good conscience rib her about this one.  I haven't read any of the books, but I was religiously perched in front of the television every single afternoon of my 8th grade year, learning about real life right along with Laura.  Ma taught us how to mend our brothers' breetches, Pa taught us how to milk our cows....  many of the things I learned from Little House on the Prairie I use to this very day.  Sunday says she has so many fond memories of her mom reading the books to her and her sister.  Her particular favorite is The Long Hard Winter.  And I can see why:  because living here in Texas, we absolutely MUST know as many survival tips and tricks as possible to surviving long, hard winters.

A Horse and His Boy, by C. S. Lewis - this is one of the seven books in the Chronicles of Narnia series.  Sunday loves the entire series, but this book especially because of her love for horses, and because in this story the horse can not only talk, but ultimately rescues the human.  She says she also loves the angle Lewis used in writing this story: the boy belongs to the horse, not the other way around. 

Some really great ideas to add to your list of to-reads.  Happy Friday!

Enjoy reading!
~Kristan

Room, by Emma Donoghue

Our August book club meeting was at Anissa's this Saturday night, where we discussed her selection, Room, by Emma Donoghue.  Anissa served a kind-of stuffed lasagna that was absolutely to-die-for.  Cara brought a delicious summer spinach salad, Suzy brought sourdough bread (my FAVORITE!) and this was all followed by a beautiful dessert pizza, handmade by the beautiful and incredibly talented Farrah Fox.  Oh and then there was another dessert that Anissa made:  caramel brownie cheesecake turtle trifle.  I'm not even kidding.

Anissa's stuffed lasagna

We got things kicked off with some wine spritzer-laced conversation that involved Sunday and Cara gettin-jiggy-wid-a guy named Wally who was creeping on them at Shooters.  Apparently Mr. Wally was crushing on Sunday, but she wasn't interested.  He had teeny tiny fingers.  You know what they say about guys who have tiny fingers....

There were mixed feelings on the book.  Anissa and I felt that it needed more meat at the end.  Something a little more gripping, I guess.  Farrah got bored with it altogether.  Or maybe that was Suzy.  I know it wasn't Lisa.

The overall rating, based everyone's feedback, is probably a 3.  I personally would give it a bit more than that, just because I liked how different it was than any other book I've ever read.  I also thought the 5-year-old's perspective was honest and true to a child that age.

Serena, Anissa, Farrah, Lisa, Kristan, Sunday, Suzy, & Cara

After dinner and wine, we realized our movie was about to start, so we hit the road.  Not everyone could come, unfortunately.  Suzy, Sunday, and Cara played the "I'm tired" card and bailed.  I'm not suggesting they weren't really tired, but they were all freshly made up and I'm thinking there may be something to this Wally thing, and Suzy wanted a piece of the action.

Farrah, Anissa, Lisa, our neighbor, Serena, and I packed our juice boxes of red wine, and piled in my car to go see The Help.  Great movie.  GREAT. 

I really want to go see it again, though, so that I can look the characters straight-on, instead of at the odd angle you get when you see a movie FROM THE FRONT ROW.  Ugh.  We really should have gotten there about 45 minutes before we did because the entire town of Cedar Park was there at the same time.  The movie followed along with the book really closely and it was so good!!

Sunday Taylor Garza

September's book selection is The Enneagram Made Easy by Renee Baron and Elizabeth Wagele, to be hosted by our very own gorgeous, and yet strangely-named friend, Sunday Taylor Garza!  I've already ready it and I know my Type.  I can't wait to visit with you ladies about it next month so we can see if we are truly compatible as friends!  Fingers crossed!

Enjoy reading!
~Kristan

Friday Favorites

I thought it would be fun to start posting a little list of favorites on Fridays - this first posting will be a list of our book club's five favorite book club selections, in a list I'd like to call, "Five Favorite Book Club Selections." 

Here goes:
#1 - The Help by Kathryn Stockett - this was our selection for February or March of 2010 and it's still at the top of our list!  So excited to be seeing the movie this Saturday evening with the book club ladies.  I'll post our review afterwards!  My rating was 5 out of 5 stars.

#2 - Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler - funny, un-p.c., and completely offensive, Chelsea Handler is one of the authors that had us in stitches.  A small group of ladies even went to see her live when she came to Austin last year.  I rated this book 3 out of 5 stars.

#3 - My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult - our first selection for this book club group, the consensus on this book was that it was deeply moving, achingly sad, and had us in deep discussion - and even debate - more than any other book we've read for book club.  My rating:  5 stars.

#4 - Sweet Potato Queens' First Big Ass Novel by Jill Conner Browne and Karin Gillespie - this is just a good, fun book that is so relatable if you were ever in high school.  The perfect summer read (although we read it in the winter), the book also includes easy Southern recipes that the authors refer to as Funeral Food.  So fun!  This book got 3.5 out of 5 stars.

#5 - Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides - although not everyone in our book club loved the book, Middlesex definitely sparked a lot of discussion, particularly along the lines of, "what the...," and "I can't believe his parents didn't....," or my personal favorite, "what would you do if YOU had a...."  I personally really enjoyed the historical aspect of the book, although it dragged a bit in places.  I gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Enjoy reading!
~Kristan

Vanessa Carlton Recommends

Singer-songwriter Vanessa Carlton is featured in today's Barnes & Noble Review, where she is quoted on three of her favorite books.  The first one listed, A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit, looks amazing.  I'm planning to get it today! 

In fact, it looks so good, I'm choosing this book as our October book club selection.  If you are an Amazon kind of girl, click here to purchase.

When you get a moment, please leave a comment below, letting everyone know what you're currently reading, and your thoughts on it. 

Can't wait to see you ladies this Saturday afternoon! 

Enjoy reading!
~Kristan

Secrets of Eden

Another of Chris Bohjalian's books that I love.  In Secrets of Eden, the story is about a battered wife and brings in elements of religion, infidelity, and murder. The day after Alice is baptized, she's found
in her home, murdered alongside her abusive husband.        
                            
The story follows Bohjalian's typical storytelling style of allowing different characters to narrate their own version of the story, so that the reader pieces it all together.  Although Alice is a battered wife, the book didn't dwell on this element as being the main focus.  The story was really a whodunit and was, for me, a mystery until the very end. 

Secrets of Eden was Lisa's book club selection, so our monthly meeting was held at her house for Sunday dinner.  Perfect time to set the tone for a lunch that was themed along the lines of the book:  Sunday dinner, including after-church food like homemade mac-and-cheese, mozzarella-stuffed chicken breasts, dinner rolls, and salad.  Oh and then there were the sangria mixers.  That part maybe wasn't so churchy.  But Lisa's Catholic, so it worked.

Stacey made a delicious bundt cake.  Well, she said it was delicious, so we'll just have to take her word for it.  She dropped it on the floor as she was leaving to head over.  She even brought a picture of it scattered everywhere as proof.  She called it an Icing-in-the-Cake Cake, which sounds like something I'd devour before heading out the door, then to save myself embarrassment, spread its crumbs all over my floor and tell my friends I dropped it.  I'm not saying that's what happened, I'm just saying that's probably what I'D do. 

We spent the afternoon slurping down our fruity Sunday drinks and worked away at righting all the wrongs of our neighborhood (Suzy has been elected Team Captain of her quadrant of the 'hood because she has no qualms about honking her horn and calling the cops if she sees you getting yanked out of your car by your hair, or if your baby daddy is hot-footin' it up the street threatening to sell all your kid's Garanimals to pay his bills).

We did spend a good, honest five minutes talking about The Secrets of Eden.  Everyone seemed to have enjoyed it, giving it probably about a 3.5 stars out of 5, if I had to guess at gunpoint.  Thank you for hosting, Lisa Lou!

Next month's selection, chosen by the gorgeous and ever-crafty Anissa Alepa, is Room by Emma Donoghue.  If you haven't started reading it, get crackin'!  It's a great book!

Kristan, Farrah, Lisa, Sunday, Suzy, and Stacey

Enjoy reading!
KB