August Book

Thanks for leading the discussion on our July book, Cat! I know there are more of you who read it than have had a chance to post comments. Feel free to continue with that discussion as we move on to August!

Alright, the time has come to choose our next book. Please leave a comment with your 2 book suggestions for the month. We will hold the drawing on August 1.

July book thoughts....

I enjoyed the book once I read it more, but when I finished I was left with a feeling of overall sadness. Sadness about Rebecca's life outcome, her sadness in general and how she was treated by those she had called her family for so many years. Her children were so ungrateful I don't think I would have been able to bite my tongue like she did with them. They never thought of her like a mother, were always demanding and never thankful. Her step-daughter even complained to her about taking care of someone elses children while still in her honeymoon phase...I could have screamed at those girls. Ok now that I have vented some I will get to Catherine's questions.

1. I did have a moment like Rebecca in my first marriage, my epiphany if you say, I was married and had a child (like I always wanted, but unhappy at where I was in my life). I didn't understand how I could have gotten what I wanted and be so unhappy...I just didn't get the one meant for me. I have since fixed that, by like Rebecca taking the hard road to make myself happy. My husband now and daughter (along with my son) are the life I wanted, getting it isn't easy though.

2. Yes, I think Rebecca would have stayed, but she would have been unhappy in the end. A husband who works too much, so ritualistic with his career that she would have been more alone than as a widow. Knowing they are gone is one thing, having a husband around who's never home is worse.

3. When my husband met my family in Georgia he was a little surprised at the calamity having 2 parents, 4 siblings (with spouses) and 11 children all but two under the age of 5...needless to say he found our traditions quirky and maybe a little country at times, but he embraced them instead of trying to change us.

4. I believe Rebecca forgot the life she had hoped for since she felt she was thrown into the one she ended up with. She was left with 4 children at a young age and was so overwhelmed so quickly that I think she forgot what she had wanted. Also, she didn't get to develop those rituals at first because they were already in place, the rhyming toasts was her idea and eventually most ways became Rebecca's way.

5. Will's life was in a tailspin when Rebecca called him again, he was so sad and alone that he wanted to grasp some happiness, his memories of Rebecca if he remembered her as she was, his failure of a life; as he saw it, wouldn't have happened. They were happy and starting out, he wouldn't have ended up alone and unhappy.

6. I do think Zeb was waiting for Rebecca, I think she would have to change how she saw him...because she still sees him as her husband's younger brother and I think he has other ideas. Personally I would love to see them together, I think they would both be happy. Although Rebecca did mention she was the one still in mourning every now and again.

7. My favorite character was Poppy, he was the only really happy one to me. He enjoyed his life and his routines. He of course couldn't remember much of it once it happened, but he was cute and quirky. I loved his birthday speech and how he always loved and missed his wife.

Ok, so there is my opinion; all be it a long one, but my question is:

Do you think there was anything Rebecca could have done differently once she realized she wanted to change how she had ended up?

Back When We Were Grownups....discussion

I finished reading this book yesterday. And while I loved the book, I felt very sad at the end. I could identify with Rebecca, and I felt that the author conveyed very realistic emotions to help me identify with her.

Here are some questions to get the ball rolling. And since I am in charge, most of them are about Rebecca b/c I thought she was a great character.

1. "How on earth did I get like this?" wonders Rebecca at the start of the novel about the person she has become. Have you ever had a moment like this? Did you end up with the life you thought you would have?

2. Do you think that Rebecca would have stayed with Will if she had not met Joe?

3. Tina's visit leads Rebecca to observe her life from the uncomfortable perspective of an outsider. Have you ever had that experience with a guest?

4. Will reminds Rebecca that she wanted a big family with all of its rituals, a fact Rebecca had forgotten about the girl she once was. How could Rebecca have forgotten such an important piece of information about herself?

5. Why is Will so determined to see Rebecca as she is not?

6. Zeb never married. Do you think he has been waiting for Rebecca all these years? What do you think will happen with Rebecca and Zeb? Who will have to make the first move if this relationship is ever to get off the ground?

7. Which is your favorite character in this novel and why?

If anyone else has questions they would like to discuss, feel free.

For Cat... (and any other writers on the blog)

Below is an article from Writers Digest, written - ironically - by Jodi Picoult about how she became a writer. I don't know how many of you like to write, but Cat and I get together once in a while and read eachother's work. We even took an online writing class last fall. Anyway, I liked the article:

I'VE ALWAYS WANTED to be a writer, but I never really thought I'd succeed. Children always have grandiose plans to become astronauts and Major League pitchers and movie stars. But somehow in real life that translates into accountants and stay-at-home moms and sales reps. Still, in the mid-1980s, I struck off for a creative writing program at Princeton University, certain I was going to set the literary world on its ear.

My professor was Mary Morris, an astoundingly fine writer herself. The day my first story was being workshopped, she made me sit on the floor with a glue stick, scissors and construction paper. As the class ripped my masterpiece to shreds, I was to cut and paste together their suggestions. I left the class that day in tears and edited my piece over and over until Mary finally told me to send it to Seventeen magazine. Three months later, an editor left a message on my dorm-room answering machine. They wanted to publish the story. And did I have any more?.....(read more)

http://www.writersdigest.com/articles/picoult_trytryagain.asp

Have you read this author?

So during some down time after finishing our book club book and waiting for Harry Potter, I picked up "Plain Truth," by Jodi Piccoult. I have seen Piccoult's books on many best seller lists, but never read one. I'm just curious who out there is familiear with her? I can't put this one down! Are they all like that? Do tell.

How's the reading?

Hi everyone!

So are you enjoying "Back when we were grownups"? I just finished last night and can't wait to talk about it at the end of the month. Without giving away any plot, I'd like to hear your opinions on the main character - what do you think about Rebecca Davitch?

And here is information on the author:
- Anne Tyler lived in several Quaker communities while growing up. She started writing short stories when she was 7 years old.
- Tyler attended Duke University, where she majored in Russian.
- Most of her novels are set in Baltimore, where she now lives with her family.
- Tyler is known for her keen ear for dialogue and life-like characters which have won critical acclaim.
- Throughout Tyler's novels, characters struggle to negotiate a balance between self-identity and family identity.

Has anyone read any of her other books?

Just for fun

This is really cheesy - so just ignore it if its too much for you to see on our blog. But since I know most of us Harry Potter lovers, I have no shame positng it. There is a "how high is your Harry Potter" IQ test on USA today

I'm about to take it and see how well I really know Harry...

Okay, my predictions for HP7.

Will Harry die?

No, I don't think so. I know the temptation is strong so that JK Rowling won't be harassed to continue the series, but it just doesn't make sense. Does it make sense for another character close to Harry to die....like Dumbledore in HP6? Yes, but Harry himself, no, I don't think so.

Whose side is Snape on? Why?

I think he is actually true to Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore knew that Draco was attempting to kill him the entire year, Snape knew as well b/c he's in the Order and Draco's Head of House. Snape made the unbreakable vow to help Draco fulfill his assignment. Dumbledore knows that sometimes sacrifices have to be made. I think he wanted to prevent his death by convincing Draco to go into hiding, thus freeing Draco and Snape from the murder/vow and thus living. Since it didn't happen, just as Harry was instructed by Dumbledore to do whatever he had to do to have Dumbledore drink the potion in the cave, I think Snape was bound by the same order. Were not Harry and Snape's reactions the same from the cave to the tower?

This is just for fun, but I would like to see Harry and Ginny back together. She's smart and Harry's equal in a lot of ways. They would have cute babies.

Those are the only questions that are burning my brain right now.

I hope Voldemort gets his butt whooped by a 17 year old.

Okay, it's not letting me put a title? Am I retarded or something?

Question: Are you a muggle?

If you know what a muggle is, then you are a Harry Potter fan. If you are a Harry Potter fan, then you are probably dying for July 21 to read the last book. So if you are a Harry Potter fan, please make yourself known so we can have support on this blog to talk about the book once we've read it - which will probably be by July 22, right ;)

So who loves Harry Potter? And what are your predictions for the last book? I'm re-reading book six now to get all refreshed for the grand finale.

And the July book winner is...

Back when we were grownups, by Anne Tyler

Amazon Reveiw... The first sentence of Anne Tyler's 15th novel sounds like something out of a fairy tale: "Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person." Alas, this discovery has less to do with magic than with a late-middle-age crisis, which is visited upon Rebecca Davitch in the opening pages of Back When We Were Grownups. At 53, this perpetually agreeable widow is "wide and soft and dimpled, with two short wings of dry, fair hair flaring almost horizontally from a center part." Given her role as the matriarch of a large family--and the proprietress of a party-and-catering concern, the Open Arms--Rebecca is both personally and professionally inclined toward jollity. But at an engagement bash for one of her multiple stepdaughters, she finds herself questioning everything about her life: "How on earth did I get like this? How? How did I ever become this person who's not really me?"

J'aime Lire Online Book Chat... Mark your calendars to begin discussing this book on Thursday, July 26.

*** Cat - Would you mind leading the discussion, since this book was one of your selection? Thanks for the pick and I am looking forward to reading. I've never read an Anne Tyler book, so this is a first for me.

Melissa's thoughts on Twilight...

Before I fell in love with Edward - and even before I read the first page - "Twilight" had my full attention. As a native of western Washington who spent every spring and summer traveling through the Olympic Pennisula enjoying the cold, sandy beaches, hiking trails and little league baseball seasons (another story for another time) I was thrilled to see someone put Forks on the map.

Stephanie Meyer's descriptions of the forests and weather brought everything back to me - I could close my eyes and see the great northwest. A nice thing for a girl who still gets homesick living in the South. I appreciate Meyer's skill for bringing such a dreary, wet place to life. And I also love her reasoning for setting a modern-day vampire story there.

Now about Bella's choice - "to be or not to be." Don't hate me for what I'm about to say, because I am a big Edward lover. As I read about Bella's teenage turmoil and passion, it reminded me of my own teenage love. When you're in high school you think you know everything - including what true love is. That's why you have second chances, so after you realize you need to change or move on, you can. Bella is too young to choose Edward for eternity. Maybe after a couple books and some more experience I could condone the choice - but not when it is still in the teenage crush stage. I know the relationship is more than a crush for Edward, but he has already had that experience. Now go ahead and argue with me - cause I know you want to disagree ; )

It had me hook, line and sinker....

Joining the ranks of the hopeless romantics before me, I thoroughly enjoyed the novel. I couldn't put it down. Anybody with me that we should read New Moon for July's book? ;)

The author's writing style is a major plus to the book. The plot is good, and I love the twists she brings to the vampire myth. It was so easy to read and imagine yourself there. She explains in her FAQs on her website why she never describes Bella. I definitely felt myself in her place, laughing out loud, gasping in certain places and even feeling embarrassed as something she did reminded me of something I had done with a boy before, IE: totally tongue tied and saying stupid things. Oh yes.

I definitely loved reading from Edward's point of view. I really hope that Midnight Sun makes it to the bookshelves. Hopefully it will explain some of Edward's odd behavior. Bella mentions several times that his mood swings were sudden and extreme. I am sure it's b/c Edward, along with his other talents, is very perceptive and can think about a million times faster than we can. But I still want to know where his mind takes him that he gets so grumpy over something seemingly so innocent.

The only thing I found distracting in the book was how often we were told the vampires were beautiful. There was hardly a reference to Edward that didn't include something to tell us how beautiful, scintillating, exquisite, graceful, etc, he was. But maybe I'm just jealous. No, I just looked at a picture of my husband, not jealous. :)

Funny side note: My favorite place to read at my parent's house was on the couch in their living room. I would lay on my back, with a pillow under one side so that I wouldn't be cutting off my circulation and it was just more comfortable with all the back pain I've experienced since being pregnant, and the book would rest on my stomach and knees. Well, every so often, the book would start bouncing, and then it would stop, and then it would start again. It was so funny, b/c you still can't really tell that I am pregnant for how pregnant I am (22 weeks/5 months). So the fact that my little boy is strong enough to bounce the book on my tummy made me laugh. And that was at 19 weeks!

Okay, now to answer Lisa's question: I really want to see Bella changed. Edward has looked/waited for almost a hundred years to find this kind of bond and it would suck to have that for a short blip of time and then eternity without. Not to mention, what if he found someone later, would he feel guilty and then deny himself another chance at happiness? And, not to mention that fact that she's almost been killed how many times, and she was bit by James. It wasn't even Edward's doing and she was almost changed. She has very little family and she understands what she would be signing on for, I think it's her choice. If she wants to, then when the time is right, it should happen.

To turn or not to turn....

I being the romantic that I am really hope Bella changes, so that she and Edward can live together for all eternity. The book is amazing and I am so glad it was suggested. I, like everyone else was sucked into reading and rereading the book to make sure I didn't miss anything from my first speedy go through. It's hard to imagine reading another book next month, because this one has consumed me more than I would have thought. I do agree that the writing style is what draws you in, I found myself getting butterflies in my stomach and having the feelings come up of first, intense love.

Did anyone see the comment from Melissa's friend Stephanie asking to join the book club? It's a comment added after my book suggestions for July.

OK, back to my original thought....I love Edward and find myself caught up in the book easily, there is no way to say my favorite part as of yet. I look forward to hearing other people's point of view as well.

Twilight . . .

Everyone I have talked to, including myself, has been sucked into this book within the first chapter. For me, I feel like Stephenie Meyer's style of writing was what really got me hooked. I felt like I was experiencing all those feelings right along with Bella - the frustration, the "twiterpated" stage of falling in love, and the fear and excitement of discovery as she learned who Edward really was. I would like to know what it was that hooked each of you?

Also, do you think Bella should become a vampire herself? This is a continuing sorce of struggle in the second book, but I still can't decide if I really think it would be best. However, the hopeless romantic side of me wants nothing more than Bella and Edward to spend eternity together, even if it meant they were both vampires. Just something to think about.

PS. And just for fun, here is a version of the first chapter that Stephenie wrote from Edwards perspective - I thought you might enjoy it :), as any extra time with Edward is time well spent.