November, December & January!!

It's been a while since I have blogged. We have recently read two books - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson and Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. They were both great picks and we had a great time discussing these. A big thanks to the two new members, Sandy & Kristie, for hosting.



For January 2010, we have picked The Wednesday Lettersby Jason F. Wright.
Here is a review from Publishers Weekly on Amazon.com.
Jack and Laurel Cooper are two hardworking, loving Christian pillars of the community who die in each other's arms one night in the bed-and-breakfast that they own and operate. The event calls their three grown children home for the funeral, including their youngest son, a fugitive from the law who must face an outstanding warrant for his arrest and confront his one true love, now engaged to another man. As events unfold around the funeral, the three children discover a treasure trove of family history in the form of Wednesday letters-notes that Jack wrote to his wife every single week of their married lives. As they read, the children brush across the fabric of a devoted marriage that survived a devastating event kept secret all these years. It's a lovely story: heartening, wholesome, humorous, suspenseful and redemptive. It resonates with the true meaning of family and the life-healing power of forgiveness all wrapped up in a satisfying ending. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Happy Reading and see you all in the new year! Mikie is hosting that month and she will send an evite reminder to everyone.

Book Pick - October 2009

Our book pick for October is Savannah Breeze, by Mary Kay Andrews. The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 7. Elaine has offered to host and will be sending out an evite soon. Hope to see you there!

Book Pick - September 2009

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Hi Ladies,

Our book pick for September is Testimony, by Anita Shreve. The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 16. Danita has offered to host and will be sending out an evite soon with the date and time.
The following is an Editorial Review of the book from Publishers Weekly:
Shreve's novels (Body Surfing; The Weight of Water) benefit from propulsive plots, and her mixed latest, with its timely theme of debauchery among children of privilege, does not lack in this regard. The first paragraph foreshadows a tragedy in which three marriages are destroyed, the lives of three students at a private school in Vermont are ruined, and death claims an innocent victim. The precipitating event is a sex tape involving three members of the boys' basketball team and a freshman girl. Beginning with an account of the debacle by the Avery School's then headmaster, and segueing to the voices of the participants in the orgy, plus their parents and others touched by the scandal, the narrative explores the widening consequences of a single event. Shreve's character delineation is astute, and the novel's moral questions—ranging from the boys' behavior to the headmaster's breach of legal ethics to the guilt of those involved in the death—are salient if heavy-handed, while the female characters are wicked in the way women have always been stereotypically portrayed. The novel is clever, but the revolving cast of narrators often feels predictable and forced, keeping the novel on the near side of credible. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Summer Schedule & August Book Pick

Hi Ladies,

Following our previous summer schedule, we will not be meeting in July. The next meeting will be held the first Wednesday in AUgust. Our Book pick for August is Welcome to the World Baby Girl by Fannie Flagg.



I (Shephalli) will be hosting and will send out an evite late July. Have a great summer everyone.

Update: Date & Time for June meet-up

Hi Ladies - The meeting for June is scheduled on the 10th at 7:00. Check your emails for an evite from Amy. Hope to see you there.

Sweet Pocket Cupcakes

Hi Ladies,

I think a few of you might have heard of this cute little cupcake shop in Vinings but I just happened to discover it while searching for good vegan cupcakes (don't ask) in the area. I stumbled upon the website and discovered this cute little cupcake haven in Vinings - practically in our very own back yard. I used to get cupcakes from Star Provisions but I think I may have to switch sides. Even the vegan cakes were absolutely yummy! One of the great things is that you can place your orders online for next day pick-up. Just visit the Sweet Pocket Cupcakes website to place your order for pick up the next day. Also they have cute little custom "cupcake flags" and those alone make me want to throw a birthday party!
Hope you guys enjoy them as much as I did! Also - don't forget to try my favorite flavor Starlight!

June 2009 Book Pick

Hi Ladies,

Our book pick for June is The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. Amy has offered to host and will be sending out an email/evite soon with the date and time. I had no idea this book had been out for over 20 years and I really look forward to reading it. Here is a review from Amazon.com and I have also posted a video above. Happy Reading!

The Alchemist presents a simple fable, based on simple truths and places it in a highly unique situation. And though we may sniff a bestselling formula, it is certainly not a new one: even the ancient tribal storytellers knew that this is the most successful method of entertaining an audience while slipping in a lesson or two. Brazilian storyteller Paulo Coehlo introduces Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who one night dreams of a distant treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. And so he's off: leaving Spain to literally follow his dream.
Along the way he meets many spiritual messengers, who come in unassuming forms such as a camel driver and a well-read Englishman. In one of the Englishman's books, Santiago first learns about the alchemists--men who believed that if a metal were heated for many years, it would free itself of all its individual properties, and what was left would be the "Soul of the World." Of course he does eventually meet an alchemist, and the ensuing student-teacher relationship clarifies much of the boy's misguided agenda, while also emboldening him to stay true to his dreams. "My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy confides to the alchemist one night as they look up at a moonless night.

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself," the alchemist replies. "And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity." --Gail Hudson --

May 2009

Hi Ladies -

As you are aware our next meeting is on "Cinco de Mayo" and we will be discussing the book Bitter Is The New Black......, by Jen Lancaster. I just started reading the book this weekend and i think it is absolutely hilarious. Hope you can make it to the meeting. Meilyn is hosting this month and she has already sent the invites! See you soon and Happy Reading.

April 2009

I would like to thank Stephanie for hosting the last meeting. It was great fun and we missed some regular attendees who were tied up that night. Hope to see all of you next month.
We have picked a new book for April - American Wife, by Curtis Sittenfeld. Here is a review from Publishers Weekly:
Sittenfeld tracks, in her uneven third novel, the life of bookish, naïve Alice Lindgren and the trajectory that lands her in the White House as first lady. Charlie Blackwell, her boyishly charming rake of a husband, whose background of Ivy League privilege, penchant for booze and partying, contempt for the news and habit of making flubs when speaking off the cuff, bears more than a passing resemblance to the current president (though the Blackwells hail from Wisconsin, not Texas). Sittenfeld shines early in her portrayal of Alice's coming-of-age in Riley, Wis., living with her parents and her mildly eccentric grandmother. A car accident in her teens results in the death of her first crush, which haunts Alice even as she later falls for Charlie and becomes overwhelmed by his family's private summer compound and exclusive country club membership. Once the author leaves the realm of pure fiction, however, and has the first couple deal with his being ostracized as a president who favors an increasingly unpopular war, the book quickly loses its panache and sputters to a weak conclusion that doesn't live up to the fine storytelling that precedes it. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

It sounds like a pretty interesting read. Elaine will be hosting next month. Look out for an evite in your email. Happy Reading!

March 2009 O Magazine

As I was browsing the March 2009 issue of the "O Magazine" I came across the article 'Books on a Budget' in the 'Live Your Best Life' section. I know we had discussed swaptree in a previous meeting and books on a budget discusses four other sites that do the same. I hope you like it!

March 2009 Book Pick

We have picked Little Bitty Lies, by Mary Kay Andrews as our book for March. Stephanie will be hosting and she has already sent out the evite. Hope you can make it and Happy Reading!

Swaptree on The Today Show

I don't know how many of you have joined Swaptree.com yet. Meilyn had posted some info a few months ago. Click here in case you missed it. Swaptree was recently featured on the Today Show as a smart way for families to save money. Today's Money editor Jean Chatsky outlined how trading sites like Swaptree allow you to save money by trading the books, DVDs, video games and CDs you have, for the new media that you want for free.

Happy 2009

Hi Everyone,

We are scheduled to have our first meeting in 2009 on February 4th. Renee is hosting and she will be sending out evites soon. In addition to discussing our January book, we will also try to touch on James Patterson's Sundays at Tiffany's and Nora Roberts' Summer Pleasures, two books that a few members are reading this month.
Hope to see you all soon and Happy Reading.