Good Author

My sister recommended David Baldacci to me and I just finished Stone Cold which I really enjoyed. If you like Thrillers but want them cleaner (very little language, no graphic details, etc.) you should check him out. Sherrie mentioned that not all of his are thrillers so it should be a good mix. Another bonus, the Providence Library has a lot of his books.

Schedule July 2009-Dec 2009

Here is the Schedule for July 2009-Dec 2009. Enjoy!

July 9 – Meagan Hadfield

Austenland by Shannon Hale

August 12 (Wednesday)-- LindaSue Monson

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Piccolt

September 10 – Stacie Amberson

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv

October 8 – Lana Jex

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

**Be thinking of books for the beginning of next year's schedule, I will ask for suggestions before the November meeting & we will vote again.

November 12 – Emily Bergan

Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts

December 10 – Natalie Eames

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

Christmas Party!! Bring a wrapped gently used or new book to swap!

"If Life were Easy it Wouldn't be Hard" by Sheri Dew

Give someone a lift! Following a series of misadventures trying to get to Nauvoo on an airplane with several nieces and nephews, Sheri Dew writes that she was ready to scrap the trip and just go home. A simple statement by her niece restored her perspective: "Aunt Sheri, if life were easy, it wouldn't be hard." The fact is, life is hard-but that's okay. If we learn to turn to the Lord, he can make our burdens light. Distinguishing between burdens (the stuff mortality throws at us) and baggage (the junk we elect to pick up on our own) can help ease our way. So can a correct understanding of basic principles like charity and chastity. This road map to some basic truths about life will make you feel better-even on hard days!

My sister lent this to me a while back and I have really enjoyed Sister Dew's insights. It has helped remind me of the reason we have challenges and some ideas of how to get through them.

Natalie

"I Am a Mother" by Jane Clayson Johnson

How do we get women to stop saying, "I'm just a mother"? Or, "I used to be such and such, but now I'm just a mother"? When Jane Clayson Johnson, former network news correspondent and co-host of The Early Show attended a gathering of nearly fifty LDS couples, she was shocked to hear the women in the group describe themselves as "just a mother." She had not expected Latter-day Saint women to have the same undervalued view of moetherhood as the rest of the world. Jane's fascinating personal story and unique insights will inspire women to raise their awareness and perception of this important--and often difficult--role.

Published by Deseret Book

Current Suggestion List

Use the following link to access the current list of suggested books. I can't guarantee it is completely up to date, especially when I am collecting suggestions, but I will try to update it at least every 6 months since it doesn't change much except when I am gathering suggestions.

Book Suggestion List

Past Books Read

This is a list of books we have read in the Past (through Dec 2009) in case you missed them. If you want to look them up check Amazon.com for good descriptions of each book -- I have deleted them and am too lazy to recreate them. Sorry. :(

Fiction
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
All the Names by Jose Saramago
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Austenland by Shannon Hale
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
Cold Sassy Tree by Olivia Ann Burns
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, trans. by Edith Grossman.
FableHaven by Brandon Mull
Follow the River by James Alexander Thom
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Piccolt
The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas
The President's Lady by Irving Stone (out of Print)
Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk kidd
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
These is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine by Nancy Turner
Traveler's Gift by Andy Andrews
When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka

Non-Fiction
A Man Called Peter by Catherine Marshall
The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls by Joan Jacobs Brumberg
The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman
Founding Mothers by Doris Kearns Goodwin
John Adams by David McCulloch
Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
The Measure of a Man by Sidney Poitier
Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John Gottman
Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Patillo Beals

Books Removed from List

These are the books removed from the list for lack of votes. They must be off the list for one voting and then can be added back on again. For a more detailed description of each book you can check the Books Removed Document.

Fiction Books Removed

7-2008
Anatomy of Peace:Resolving the Heart of Conflict by The Arbinger Institute
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevensen
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
For One More Day by Mitch Albom
Gods & Kings (Chronicles of Kings#1) by Lynn Austin
House of Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Next by Micheal Crichton
Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyun
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse and Sharab Chodzin Kohn
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenbergen
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

12-2009
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Twilight by Stephanie Meyers

7-2009
Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer
The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Painted Veil by Sommerset Maughan
Silas Marner by George Elliot
Spindle's End by Robin McKinley
Tales of Beetle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

12-2009
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Hadden
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
The Red Tent  by Anita Diamant
River Secrets  by Shannon Hale



Non-Fiction Books Removed

7-2008
Bridges Out of Poverty by Philip DeVol, Terie Drussi Simith, Ruby K Payne
The Burning Within by Ranelle Wallace & Taylor Curtis
Devil in the White City by Eric Larsen
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathanial Philbrick
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

12-2008
5 Wishes by Gay Hendricks

7-2009
The Bonds that make us Free by C. Terry Warner
The Great Bridge by David McCullough
Home: A Memoir of my Early Years by Julie Andrews
When Hearts Conjoin: The True Story of the Herron Twins by Erin Marie Herron & Lu Ann Brobst Staheli

 12-2009

Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder
Who Really Cares? by Arthur Brooks