The Book of Lost Things

This is our book for February. It is set during WWII, but is a dark fantasy. I am only a few chapters in, but it is very intriguing and a little creepy. Should be fun :).

February Book???

Hi all, I was trying to narrow down my choice of our book for February. I am torn between this great book I borrowed from a friend, The Book of Lost Things, by John Connolly, or Exodus, by Leon Uris - a wonderful historical fiction novel about Israel and the 1948 war. What are your thoughts? They are both longer, although Exodus is around 600 pages, and the other is just under 500. Let me know what you think, and I'll let you know the final decision asap :).

PS. I just read the most wonderful book for my local book club, A Curse Dark as Gold - so good!! You would all love it. Hmm, I guess maybe we could do that one too. Let me know.

great book series

I don't know if any of you are familiar with Brandon Mull and the Fablehaven series, but they are awesome. I have enjoyed them so much! They are filled with fantastic creatures and very clever in their delivery. Not to mention engaging! Anyway, I just thought I'd share!

A Swiftly Tilting Planet Discussion

I really enjoyed reading this book. All of her books in the Time series have been wonderful, so far as I have read.

1. If any haven't read the first 2 books, did you find any of the allusions to the first two books confusing, or were you able to stay with the story?

Having read the first 2 books, I didn't find the references to the first two books confusing. I also don't think that it would be confusing to someone who hasn't read them. They were there but you didn't need to know the stories to understand this one. It could stand as it's own.

2. How do you feel about the main premise of the book, Charles Wallace's search for the 'might have been', the one thing he could change in the past to completely alter the future?

I think it is totally possible to have one moment where you could venture down one path or another and completely change your future. Would it be cool to be able to go back and change something in the past, definitely, but I would have to be rock bottom bad to do that. I'd be afraid to do that now, I really like my life and the choices I made led me here, so I wouldn't want to change anything.

3. Anybody else have questions? My head is still stuffed up and I can't think.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

PS, Lisa, I think we should do an open call for whomever wants to host. I know I will need a couple months 'off' for my move. Anybody up for February?

Merry Christmas to All

Hi all - Just wanted to say Merry Christmas. Also, I was wondering if we have any kind of schedule for the year yet? I know we are taking January off, but who has Feb and so on? Just trying to get a heads up on when I go next :).

And Cat, I loved the book for this month and look forward to discussing it :).

Merry Christmas!

I just thought I would wish you all a merry christmas. I have really enjoyed the opportunity to read and discuss wonderful books with everyone. Thanks!

December Book

Sorry I am slacking. I am the December host this month and I think a good book to read is A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle. It is the third in her Time Quintet but the books for the most part stand on their own. I started it last night and it starts with Thanksgiving dinner so I think it is seasonally appropriate. Sorry for no picture, I will do that later. I'm doing this at work. :O

I will probably post the questions sometime before Christmas, my December is shaping up to be a busy one and I will have company over through New Year's.

I hope everyone enjoys the book!!

December?

I forgot what are we reading for December, I know it is in an old post but didn't want to search through everything and figured this would be a quicker way. Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.

Discussion

Man I totally just realized I needed to post the discussion questions last week, I hope everyone enjoyed the book as much as I did. I was so glad to reread the book and also have a little break from intense reading here lately. Coming up with questions is not my strong point, so I borrowed others. So here goes...

1.Do you think the novel is a tale of redemption, despair, or both? Discuss the novel's meaning to you.

I think the novel is a mixture, I wish Heathcliff and Catherine could have been together, but understand why things happened the way they did. Class was such a big deal back then and Heathcliff was really given the tough deal. I think Catherine and Heathcliff marry others out of necessity and not true love. I think Heathcliff lives his life in despair after Catherine's death and they both torment each other with their unrequited love. This novel is one of my favorites, the depth of love and the description Emily Bronte uses to describe the moors makes me want to travel back and see more of the country side.

2. Do you think Bronte succeeds in creating three-dimensional figures in
Heathcliff and Cathy, particularly given their larger-than-life metaphysical passion? Why or why not?

I think she does a wonderful job, I can really feel their emotions and the depth of their feelings for each other and their physical yurning for each other in the afterlife.

3. Do you pity Edgar Linton or feel he can't help loving Catherine, just as she and Heathcliff can't help loving each other?

I feel he loves his wife, but doesn't understand why she is in love with another man and can do nothing to stop that. Obviously divorces were unheard of, so he loved her as best he could. He in no way compares to Heathcliff to me, who yes can be overly dramatic and cruel...but something about him still pulls me in. I think it's his passion is everything he does, his feelings for Catherine...his sadness and shear insanity after her death, if he does something it's to the fullest.

4. Ok anyone else have any questions? Feel free to post below or just give your feelings on the book in general. Happy Thanksgiving!

One more...

Anyone have any good Christmas books to recommend? My kids are really excited about Christmas this year and we've been reading different stories...they vary in length and level of difficulty. I am asking to get new ideas into the mix and not read the same 4 books over and over.