Who's next?

What book is next?

I heart you all.

Camille

Potato Peel Pie....

My sister, Catie, has my copy of this book so I can't really think of any great discussion questions, but I'm in the mood for some Merced communicado so I'm posting anyway.

I remember really liking the format right away. It was fun to read the letters and after I finished the book I spent a whole week writing actual letters to people that actually went in the mail. I hope to do more of that.

I also really like the main girl's editor and wished the whole time that they would fall in love.

I immediately fell in love with the plot and the girl's life and work and then I really cautiously tried to back up and not be so sentimental and give myself time to see if I really liked her or if I thought she was too over the top. You know what I mean by over the top?

It's no secret that I'm a dreamer, but sometimes I have these waves of practicality. Sometimes I think it's my fear of realizing my dreams and sometimes I think it's just practicality.

When I found myself identifying and falling in love with the main girl (who's name I can't even remember) I thought it was so fun and how great that everything was working out for her and she met all these really great people and did these amazing things for their souls and those kinds of things, but then I stepped back because I was nervous that I was being too idealistic or something.

The nerves came from thinking about what other people would think of me being in love with her carefree yet meaningful lifestyle.

So that's all I really have to say about the book because I don't have my copy. Please share your own reactions from the book and I want to hear people's reactions about what I wrote, because am I crazy to think like that?

I heart you all!

Happy New Year! 2010 is gonna rock!

Hey ladies. I hope you all had a fun holiday season. Can you believe it is 2010? Remember how ten years ago we were rockin' out at the Merced stake center hoping that our computers at home weren't going to implode due to Y2K complications? I can't believe how fast time goes!!
So did anybody read "The Hunger Games"? Tim and I read it on our drive to Chicago and we both loved it. I know December is busy for everyone, so if you didn't get a chance to read it, I'd still recommend you read it sometime (preferably before the movie comes out, Tim says they are making the movie). If anyone else read it I'll post some questions or thoughts, but if not I'll just keep them to myself.
I started the potato peel book and so far so good! I'm reading it on our new Amazon Kindle that Tim's parents gave us for Christmas. I wasn't sure if I'd like this little gadget, but it is turning out to be really cool.

January 2010 Book Choice

First of all I can't believe it's almost January. Sorry for not letting you know what the book is sooner.

Second of all the book is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mariann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. It's 274 pages. It's a compilation of letters written back and forth between all the characters. Guernsey is an island in the English Channel and the other characters live mostly in London just after the end of World War II.

It's a fun, quick read. I've already read it and I chose it so I can catch up on the last TWO books that I've missed!

I will be posting conversation questions and comments the first week in January.

I heart you all.

Merry Christmas!

And the Winner is....

First of all, speaking of "The winner is..." I watched a few minutes of the American Music Awards last night and I honestly was laughing. It has become comical to me that celebrities think they are SO cool and SO important. For reals. JZ, do you really need to wear sunglasses all the time? even when you are in a dark theater? Lady Gaga, who dresses you? you look like a freak and your songs are terrible, as in morally terrible. Jennifer Lopez, your performance was ridiculous. Okay, I just thought it was hilarious.

The book for December is....The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This book has received a lot of praise and has been a best seller. For those reasons, I hope it isn't too difficult to get at the library for those of you who plan to check it out. When I first heard about this book I didn't think the plot sounded all that interesting, but I've heard so many people (with good reading taste) talk about how interesting this book is, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Here is a brief summary:

Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When her sister is chosen by lottery, Katniss steps up to go in her place.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Manipulation

I finished Ender's Game last night. Overall, I really liked the book, althoug I felt like it dragged a little bit in the middle. The theme that stood out to me, was manipulation. Ender's entire life was manipulated; the fact that he was born at all as a third child, his confrontation with Stilson, getting him to go to Battle School, shaping his relationship with his peers, and the list could go on and on. The interesting thing was that Ender was always very aware that he was being manipulated and that everything that was happening to him was part of the adults' plan for him, yet he continued to play their games. I think he didn't resist because he didn't know what kind of life he'd be living if he wasn't at battle school; he didn't know any other life. Part of me is disgusted with the adults in the book for being so manipulative and partially taking away Ender's agency, but the other part of me is impressed that they were so successful at predicting his actions and where they could lead him. In the end, I felt sad for Ender. His life was not his own for the first eleven years of his life and then once the final battle was over, he still couldn't live a normal life, he was just left hanging. Good pick Randi! I've always wanted to read this book.

Who's Next?

Who chooses the book for December?