Next week!

Next week's meeting will be at the Gourmet Cafe in Bridgeport to discuss the first half of Beasts.  See ya there!

From Paris to Spain to Germany, oh my!

While we had a serious love-hate relationship with the characters in "The Paris Wife," (mostly hate if truth be told), we all agree that we loved the book. The descriptions of the people and places the Hemingways visit are vivid but not lengthy and drawn out, and Hadley's feelings are described in a poetical voice that transfers her motives to the reader with accuracy. (And that's important, since you spend half the book think-screaming at her "what the @#$! are you thinking!?") Overall, we had our complaints about the Hemingways' personalities and lifestyle choices, but were fascinated by it all the same. "The Paris Wife" is like reality TV or the tabloids: outrageous, extravagant, disgusting at times, yet you can't turn away or stop reading. Our next classic will be a Hemingway book, probably The Sun Also Rises (which Ernest writes during TPW). I'll keep you posted as to when we will begin (:

Moving on from Paris & Spain, our next selection is a nonfiction account of Hitler Germany. The author, Erik Larson, is touted for his ability to tell a narrative nonfiction novel (so hopefully I don't get bored and abandon it! lol). We'll be reading the first 1/3 of "In the Garden of Beasts" by Erik Larson for next Tuesday. Meeting to be held @Panera at 5 on Tuesday. Hope to see you there!
Happy Reading!

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The Paris Wife moves to Spain

Today's meeting at Provence Market was lovely & the food (especially the dessert!) was exceptional. Now that we're halfway through The Paris Wife (and loving it!), we find that Hadley & Ernest are vacationing in Spain... which made us crave some good Spanish food! Next week, we'll try the new Tres Leches cake at Las Trancas (: Meet us there at 5 on Tuesday to celebrate The Paris Wife! Hope to see you there!

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The Verdict is In

Timely title with a certain famous trial coming to an end yesterday... we also passed our final judgment on "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children". The last few chapters of the book set you up completely for the (yet unannounced) book 2. While it's certainly not deep intellectual reading, there is a wonderful adventure that takes place within the pages of MPHFPC, and we agreed unanimously that we would read the second book. If you loved Harry Potter, you're sure to like Miss Peregrine and her very peculiar children.

Next up: the first half of The Paris Wife. We will meet at Provence Market in Bridgeport at 5pm next Tuesday (thought we should eat someplace French for a book set in Paris!) Please join us!

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Peculiar Pokey Dot & Hemingway

Today's meeting, to discuss the final half of "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" will be held at the Pokey Dot in Fairmont at 5.  Our next choice is "The Paris Wife" which comes highly recommended by one of our followers, Laura.  It is the story of Earnest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley.  Hope you can join us as we delve into her life :)  We'll plan to read the first half by next Tuesday.  I'll post the next meeting location once it's decided tonight.
Happy Reading!

Going Peculiar for Summer...

First off, I have a correction to my last post. Gerald knows the publisher of The Glass Madonna, who ALSO happens to be the author! We all got to meet Donna Meredith last Saturday at the Clarksburg Library, listen to her discuss the Clarksburg glass industry (i actually missed the chat), and had our books signed. We finished our discussion of the book yesterday at the Bridgeport park. As someone who didn't grow up in WV, the historical references in the book were enlightening. The fictional story takes place in Clarksburg during the Vietnam War (and before). I learned a lot about the history of the town through this book. The characters are sometimes unredeemable (that's Cristina's favorite way to analyze characters), and more often than not, I wanted to jump into the pages of the book and slap some sense into the main character. In the end, readers are left pretty satisfied with the resolution. In all, someone with an interest in Clarksburg history who can tolerate a protagonist with battered woman syndrome (without wanting to jump into the book yourself) might enjoy The Glass Madonna.

Up next, we're leaving WV authors behind and taking a look at a literary debut. Ransom Riggs is the author of "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children," the tale of a young boy who decides to investigate some of the wild stories his grandfather told him about an orphanage he lived in during WWII. It sounds a little twisted, but after so much reality lately, I think we're due for a change of pace.

Hope you can join us next Tuesday @5 for our discussion of the first half of the book (:

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Continuing Theme: WV Authors

D'J know that the Breece D'J Pancake book was a rather huge disappointment? We unanimously agreed that we fully understand why the guy committed suicide. While a skillful architect of prose, Pancake's content reflected such a dark, pessimistic (yet, admittedly, sometimes realistic) view of his world that it's a wonder he made it to age 27. Some of his stories made you literally sick to your stomach and all left us sitting in a dark cloud of despair. Would I read another Pancake book if one were available? No.

We have not given up entirely on the genre of WV authors and in fact have decided to look a little closer to home. Gerald recently spoke with an old friend who mentioned that a Clarksburg author is returning home to make a public appearance later in June. We will begin reading her book titled "The Glass Madonna" for our next meeting. James & Law is said to have paper copies available, or you can download to your kindle. We're tentatively planning to go to the lecture and Hopefully get our copies signed.

Our meetings are no longer taking place at Panera Bread on a regular basis. We've started flitting around town, trying out new cafes and restaurants. Be sure to check here, email or call me for the next meeting spot. Next Tuesday @5 we will be meeting at Hank's Deli beside Home Depot. If the weather is nice, we plan to carpool over to the park behind Bridgeport HS to have a picnic book club. If you haven't joined us in awhile, kick your summer off with a (hopefully) good book, great food & even better friendship! Hope to see you there!

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