Friday Morning Bookclub

The Hungry Games…Not To Be Confused With The Hunger Games!

susanbright — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:41:47 +0000

Yes he is back! Check out Ed’s newest creation! I don’t think that you even need to have read The Hunger Games to appreciate this laugh out loud video.

Looking Back on 2011!…… Favorite Book: The Invisible Bridge By Julie Orringer

susanbright — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:25:13 +0000

This year The Friday Morning Bookclub read a little bit of everything. Fiction, historical fiction, non-fiction, a memoir and of course a mystery or two. We even listened to our first audio book (The American Heiress), complements of Reader’s Choice and Macmillan Audio. We took a tour of China (A Thread of Sky) also courtesy of one of the many book sites we visit and traveled to the Middle East and learned about life in modern-day Saudia Arabia (Finding Nouf). We glimpsed into the lives of the Ultra Orthodox Jews of Borough Park, New York (Hush) and read about Mathilde Kschessinska, Prima ballerina of the St Petersburg Imperial Theater (The True Memoirs of Little K). We learned all about the amazing HeLa cells, which were discovered at Johns Hopkins, a hospital in our own back yard (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks) and read two of Laura Lippman’s mysteries, which also take place in our home town of Baltimore (What The Dead Know and The Most Dangerous Thing). We had the pleasure of meeting with Justin Kramon, the charming author of Finny who just happened to grow up in Baltimore. How lucky were we to receive copies of Heaven’s Keep, the 9th book in the Cork O’Connor mystery series courtesy of Book Movement. And of course we continued the tradition and invited the men in our lives to join us for our annual pot luck dinner meeting to discuss Unbroken.

Our favorite book of the year, The Invisible Bridge was an epic story of the Hungarian Jews before and during World War II. It is a beautifully written and haunting love story. Although we read many very good books this year, several people felt that there were no “stand out ” books. Maybe 2012 will be the year of the 5 omelet book! Any recommendations?

Here is a run down of the books we read in 2011:

Finny by Justin Kramon (3 1/2 Omelets)
Heaven’s Keep by William Kent Krueger ( 2 1/2 Omelets)
The True Memoirs of Little K by Adrienne Sharp (4 Omelets)
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (3 Omelets)
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (4 1/2 Omelets)
The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer (4 1/4 Omelets)
The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin (3 1/2 Omelets)
A Thread of Sky by Deanna Fei ( 3 1/4 Omelets)
Finding Nouf by Kristin Hannah ( 3 1/2 Omelets)
Hush by Eshes Chayil (3 3/4 Omelets)
The Most Dangerous Thing by Laura Lippman ( 2 3/4 Omelets)

Three Books At One Time? No Problem!

susanbright — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:59:28 +0000

Whoever designed the first Playaway was a genius. These preloaded audio digital players make listening to a book effortless and there are so many of them available at the library. When I travel, I always make sure I have a good book, a Playaway and my fully loaded Kindle. That way I can read/listen to a book no matter where I am or what I am doing. Walking the dog? I can listen to my playaway. On an airplane? I can read my Kindle! Whoops, the pilot just announced that “anything with an on/off switch must be turned off”. I open my good old fashion book. I have all bases covered!

Three books at one time? No problem! One heavy duty non-fiction, one spellbinding mystery and one science fiction which rivals The Hunger Games. The perfect combo! I bet you can guess what I will be reviewing next! Anyone else out there that likes to read more than one book at a time? Tell me I am not alone!

Quote Of The Week

susanbright — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:52:36 +0000

A book is the most effective weapon against intolerance and ignorance.

- Lyndon Baines Johnson 1908-1973

Bruno Loves Reading His Nursery Rhymes!

susanbright — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:59:46 +0000

Thank you Amy!

Email pics of your 4- legged reader to Susan@Fridaymorningbookclub.com

Rate The Book: Night Road By Kristin Hannah

susanbright — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:46:43 +0000

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Night Road: A Review By Barbara

susanbright — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:56:16 +0000

This past month we were fortunate to win copies of Night Road by Kristin Hannah. Jude is a wonderful mother, although she is somewhat protective of her 18-year-old twins, Mia and Zach. When Lexi, a former foster child with a dark past, enters their lives as Mia’s friend, Jude welcomes her since Mia had difficulty making friends. Eventually Lexi and Zach fall in love, and the three teens experience partying and drinking during their senior year. A tragic accident occurs which tears the family apart and has a deep impact on Lexi.

We had a spirited discussion about the book and its characters. Most felt that the characters in the book were portrayed in an extreme fashion, and that the events were somewhat contrived. However, some felt it was necessary for the author to do so in order to make her points. For many of us, it brought back the angst of raising teenagers, and the struggle to be protective without hovering. As made clear in the book, no matter what choices we make as parents, there is definitely luck involved in having our children survive the teenage years unscathed.

Although the book itself did not get rave reviews from the group, it certainly led to an interesting discussion. Some felt it would be helpful for teens to read the book to see what an impact drinking and driving can have, but others felt it was too extreme a situation, and that in any event most teens feel invincible, and that bad things will never happen to THEM. We all agreed that communication with our kids is the best way to have an impact, although it certainly does not guarantee smooth sailing.

Quote Of The Week

susanbright — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:10:01 +0000

If a man watches three football games in a row, he should be declared legally dead.

-Erma Bombeck 1927-1996

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erma_Bombeck

It seems like my husband has been watching football all weekend! Yikes!

This Month’s Book: The Marriage Plot By Jeffrey Eugenides

susanbright — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 01:50:14 +0000

The Marriage Plot is written by Jeffrey Eugenides, the author of Middlesex and The Virgin Suicides. It is one of the New York Times Notable Books of 2011, Publisher’s Weekly Top 10 Books of 2011, and Kirkus Reviews Top 25 Best Fiction books of 2011 .

The Marriage Plot follows three liberal arts students as they complete their last year at Brown University and leave to make their way in the real world. There is Madeleine, an English major who is an incurable romantic, Leonard, brilliant yet temperamental and Mitchell, a Religious Studies major. Check out this short video about this month’s book.

What more can I say? Please join us in reading The Marriage Plot!

Mockingjay: The FINAL Book In The Hunger Games Trilogy! Oh No!

susanbright — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:09:03 +0000

It is not often that you come across a book, or in this case 3 books that everyone seems to like, but it looks like The Hunger Games Trilogy is just that! When I was told about these books, I questioned whether it was my kind of book. First of all, it was written for young adults, not necessarily a bad thing, as The Book Thief, also a young adult book was one of my favorites, but definitely something to consider. Secondly, I rarely read fantasy or science fiction, a genre I just never got into. So why did I pick up the first book in the series? I was intrigued! Everyone was talking about The Hunger Games. And then I saw the trailer for the movie. I knew that I had to at least give the first book in the series a try.

These books should come with a warning: DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU ARE WILLING AND ABLE TO READ ALL THREE BOOKS IN THE SERIES. You cannot read just one. The Hunger Games (the first book) was definitely my favorite, a five omelet book! I immediately downloaded the second book, Catching Fire and the excitement continued. Although I thought that Mockingjay had a bit too much unnecessary violence and I really don’t understand why certain characters had to die, I still stayed up to the wee hours of the night to finish it.

My 15-year-old niece read and loved these books, my 28-year-old daughter read and loved these books and now my 80 some year old mother is hooked on The Hunger Games! What is it about these books that makes them so appealing? These books are exciting. They have you sitting on the edge of your seat. They are like a wild ride at the amusement park. You never know what is around the next corner. For a good time…. Read The Hunger Game Series, but be sure to start with #1.

The Hunger Games (first book in The Hunger Games trilogy) *****

Catching Fire (second book in The Hunger Games trilogy)****

Mockingjay (the final book in The Hunger Games trilogy)***