Starting Up Again...

Ok. I am a horrible blogger.  I have not been reading as much as I would like to. I want to start up my book club again.  I have a goal (not really a new years resolution) to read more this year.  I enjoy reading, but I waste my time watching way too much T.V.  So come on people, join up with me once again--or for the first time--to get this awesome online book club going again.

What book should we read for February? I am up for anything, and of course I get the final say but I would love to hear your thoughts.  Tell me you book ideas!

March/April Book

I saw this book at the D.I. this weekend and just had to get it! I read it in grade school but don't really remember it. I thought it would make a good book for our club for March/April.  Happy reading! 

A Family Apart

by Joan Lowry

Desciption:

When their mother can no longer support them, six siblings are sent by the Children's Aid Society of New York City to live with farm families in Missouri in 1860.

Discussion: How to Win Friends and Influence People

How to Win Friends and Influence People
by George Carnegie


I haven't finished this book yet, but so far so good. I am learning so much from it! One thing that is hard for me is that I am a proud person, so even when I know there are things I should work on I don't. But I have been making goals and I am going to work on changing myself so that I can win friends and influence people!


What did you think of the book?

January/February Book

I know January is almost over, and I apologize for there not being a November/December book. I have decided that the winter holidays are no time for reading for enjoyment. I'd love to get the book club back up and running though. So here it is, the January/February book:

How To Win Friends & Influence People
by Dale Carnegie

Description:
The inspirational personal development guide that shows how to achieve lifelong success. One of the top-selling books of all time, "How to Win Friends & Influence People" has sold more than 15 million copies in all its editions.

I have been trying and trying to find books for the club that I wouldn't normally read. The other day I saw my brother in law with this book and thought it would make a good book choice. My husband also reminded me that he has been trying to get me to read this book since we met. Well his dream is finally coming true!! Happy reading!

November/December book suggestions

I know I said I would get out of my normal element... And so we started to read Canterbury Tales and I chickened out, going back to my normal reading element and reading another girly book... So guess what, folks? THE FIRST BOOK SUGGESTION IS THE BOOK WE ARE GOING TO READ FOR NOVEMBER/DECEMBER... That's right! YOU are choosing the next book. But here is the thing. If you suggest the next book you have to read it as well... I feel like I was the only one who read this one, which is fine, but it's nice to compare with people. So lets here what our next book will be!

Discussion: Julie & Julia

Julie & Julia
My Year of Cooking Dangerously
by Julie Powell

Ok.... Too many "F" words to say the least, but I am liking the book. I am not finished reading it but I thought I would start the discussion.. I had some issues with the book. I didn't need to hear all the sexual things going on with Julie's friends, what did that have to do with cooking or her marriage? Nothing. I didn't like the language or inuendos. What I really enjoyed was the cooking.

I loved hearing about the different dishes she was making and the challenges she faced. She made some of the food sound so good that I put Mastering the Art of French Cooking on my library list. I'm not going to aim for making all recipes in 365 days but I want to try a few. Baked cucumbers sounded yummy!

Cutting my review short since I have to get off. But tell me what you thought of the book! Will the movie be better? I hope so. Its only PG13 so it can't have all those F words. I'm hoping it doesn't dissapoint.

Change of plans folks...

Ok.. I know I want to be more open about the books I read... But I really struggled with The Canterbury Tales.. So since this is my book club I have the right to change it.. ehehehe.. Ok, so the movie Julie & Julia is coming out soon and I have seen some great previews for it. I actually have the book the movie is based on in my to-read list.. So here is the September book:

Julie & Julia: 365 days, 524 recipes, 1 tiny apartment kitchen
by Julie Powell

description:

Julie & Julia is the story of Julie Powell's attempt to revitalize her marriage, restore her ambition, and save her soul by cooking all 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume I, in a period of 365 days. The result is a masterful medley of Bridget Jones' Diary meets Like Water for Chocolate, mixed with a healthy dose of original wit, warmth, and inspiration that sets this memoir apart from most tales of personal redemption.

When we first meet Julie, she's a frustrated temp-to-perm secretary who slaves away at a thankless job, only to return to an equally demoralizing apartment in the outer boroughs of Manhattan each evening. At the urging of Eric, her devoted and slightly geeky husband, she decides to start a blog that will chronicle what she dubs the "Julie/Julia Project." What follows is a year of butter-drenched meals that will both necessitate the wearing of an unbearably uncomfortable girdle on the hottest night of the year, as well as the realization that life is what you make of it and joy is not as impossible a quest as it may seem, even when it's -10 degrees out and your pipes are frozen. Powell is a natural when it comes to connecting with her readers, which is probably why her blog generated so much buzz, both from readers and media alike. And while her self-deprecating sense of humor can sometimes dissolve into whininess, she never really loses her edge, or her sense of purpose. Even on day 365, she's working her way through Mayonnaise Collee and ending the evening "back exactly where we started--just Eric and me, three cats and Buffy...sitting on a couch in the outer boroughs, eating, with Julia chortling alongside us...." Inspired and encouraging, Julie and Julia is a unique opportunity to join one woman's attempt to change her life, and have a laugh, or ten, along the way. --Gisele Toueg