Exciting changes

We thought we might mix some things up for bookclub next year and one of the changes we've been talking about is having a vote on the blog for our monthly book selection. This would allow us to have more current books on our reading list. We thought we'd test it out with our July selection. Here are your choices...

The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

The letters comprising this small charming novel begin in 1946, when single, 30-something author Juliet Ashton (nom de plume Izzy Bickerstaff) writes to her publisher to say she is tired of covering the sunny side of war and its aftermath. When Guernsey farmer Dawsey Adams finds Juliet's name in a used book and invites articulate—and not-so-articulate—neighbors to write Juliet with their stories, the book's epistolary circle widens, putting Juliet back in the path of war stories. The occasionally contrived letters jump from incident to incident—including the formation of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society while Guernsey was under German occupation—and person to person in a manner that feels disjointed. But Juliet's quips are so clever, the Guernsey inhabitants so enchanting and the small acts of heroism so vivid and moving that one forgives the authors (Shaffer died earlier this year) for not being able to settle on a single person or plot. Juliet finds in the letters not just inspiration for her next work, but also for her life—as will readers.

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the "coolest girl in the world" moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seems to have it all - beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her. They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer's end they've become TullyandKate. Inseparable.
So begins Kristin Hannah's magnificent new novel. Spanning more than three decades and playing out across the ever-changing face of the Pacific Northwest, Firefly Lane is the poignant, powerful story of two women and the friendship that becomes the bulkhead of their lives.
For thirty years, Tully and Kate buoy each other through life, weathering the storms of friendship - jealousy, anger, hurt, resentment. They think they've survived it all until a single act of betrayal tears them apart... and puts their courage and friendship to the ultimate test.

Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore
A dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery.
An upscale art dealer accustomed to the world of Armani and Chanel.
A gutsy woman with a stubborn dream.
A story so incredible no novelist would dare dream it.
It begins outside a burning plantation hut in Louisiana . . . and an East Texas honky-tonk . . . and, without a doubt, in the heart of God. It unfolds in a Hollywood hacienda . . . an upscale New York gallery . . . a downtown dumpster . . . a Texas ranch.
Gritty with pain and betrayal and brutality, this true story also shines with an unexpected, life-changing love.

Cast your vote in the poll to the right!!

Murder Passes the Buck

Last Thursday, an intimate group of seven met at The Ladder House for book club. We discussed (among other things) the book, Murder Passes the Buck by Deb Baker. Everyone seemed to get a good laugh from the book (at least those that read it). As always, it was just great to get together, share, eat dinner, and have a great time. OH!!! And our waitress was so excited about women meeting and having a book club that she didn't charge anyone for drinks!! (Okay, so maaaybe she just wanted a bigger tip.)

Our average rating was 6.4 and our descriptive words were...

hoot

engaging

surprising

finally silly

fun

And we got the waitress to take our picture so we're all included!