Merry Christmas!

In case you need some last minute gift tags, here are some book quotes brought to you by zulily.com. Which is your favorite? Have a very Merry Christmas and here's to more great book group meetings in 2014—our ninth year! If you have any book title suggestions, post them here by sending them to the email address in the left column.

p.s. Was a decision made on who would host the January book group?

November book group date change

The book group will be Tuesday, November 26 at Mary's house. Ruth will also help host.

free ebooks at gutenberg.org

Here's a link to get a free ebook copy of The Story of the Other Wise Man, one of our November books. You can read it online, or download it at http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19608

Empire Sequel

The sequel to Empire by Orson Scott Card is Hidden Empire. We had great attendance: Linnea, Dulsanna, Betty, Renae, Phyllis, Sue, Mary, DeDe, Amanda, Ruth, and Becky.

book recommendation by Terese

I listened to a good book on cd recently that I think the book club would enjoy. I got it from the library. It is titled When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt. It is the story of a 13 year old boy struggling to find himself in an imperfect world. No swearing, no sex, no violence. Just a really good story. I enjoyed it.

Terese

October books available

I have a book group set of 10 copies of The Zookeeper's Wife, our October book choice. All of those copies are in circulation now. Please let me know if you'd like to read the book and I'll pass one on as they become available.

Dulsanna

another book suggestion, and visiting author

After our Uncle Tom's Cabin book group selection, I listened to The Secrets of Mary Bowser by Lois Leveen. I checked out the audio book via Library 2 Go. I enjoyed this book based on the true story of Mary Bowser, a freed slave who returns to Virginia to spy on the Confederates. I just learned the library is hosting the author at the library book groups this fall, including those at Troutdale, Gresham and Fairview Libraries. You can go to this link for a schedule if you are interested: https://multcolib.org/events/pageturners-author-visit-lois-leveen

July book discussion

De De is always the creative hostess . Tonight we discussed Dragon's Milk. De De served treats in pewter with snapdragon seeds to give away. She had dragon on display. It was such a perfect summer evening on her deck and we had great attendance. Two vans full arrived with Renae, Betty, Sue, Dulsanna, Ruth, Amanda, Michelle (all the way from Kentucky!), Becky and Mary. We all had such a nice time, that De De graciously invited the group to enjoy her place in August also. We will be discussing Lemon Tart (see image in left column). All are invited to bring a lemony something to share.

a rhubarb recipe and a reminder

The next book discussion will be at De De's on Tuesday, July 23 at 7 p.m. Renae's Rhubarb Custard Cake was part of the last discussion, probably while we were enjoying Amanda's cinnamon rolls!

Rhubarb Custard Cake
makes 15 servings
1 (18 ounce) box white cake mix (Duncan Hines or any kind that requires oil as an ingredient: see note)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (optional)
3 cups diced rhubarb, cut in 1/2 inch pieces (may use frozen)
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 pint (2 cups) whipping cream

Preheat oven according to cake package directions.
Prepare cake as directed on package. Add nutmeg to batter. Pour batter into an 11 by 15 inch baking pan (a 9 by 13 inch pan won't work unless the pan is very deep; add 5 minutes or so to the cooking time.) At the last minute, toss the sugar with the rhubarb and sprinkle over the cake batter. Drizzle the entire pint of whipping cream over the batter and fruit; do not mix it in.

Bake about 35 minutes, or until the top of the cake turns a light golden brown and begins to leave the side of the pan. A tooth-pick stuck into the cake part of the dessert should come out clean.

Note: This recipe was tested using a glass baking dish. If you use a metal pan,increase the temperature 25 degrees.

Note: You can substitue a yellow cake mix, but the white is lovely against the pink rhubarb, and it also uses only egg whites which brings down the considerable fat and cholesterol count.

Oregonian May 19, 2009

July book group

The July book group will be at De De's house on July 23. Dragon's Milk by Susan Fletcher will be discussed. This may be a fun book to read with your children this summer.

upcoming books

The book group met this evening to discuss Uncle Tom's Cabin. Afterward, book selections were chosen through April 2014! The June book discussion on A Tree Grows in Brooklyn will be at Amanda's.

May discussion and Tehran books due

Here is the schedule for the next two book group meetings: 

May—Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Stowe

May 28 @ Dulsanna's

June—A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

June 25 @ Amanda's

Please come to the May meeting brimming with book ideas for the rest of the year! 

Also, the Tehran Pageturners to Go library book group set are due May 30. 

Please bring your copy on the 28th, or give to Dulsanna before then.

Tehran book

If you have finished our last book bag check out "Reading Lolita in Tehran," you can bring it to the March 26 book group or return to Dulsanna. The set is currently due 4/3, but there are no holds so if you need longer she can renew. Books are out with Amanda, Ruth (with Amanda,) Diane, Betty, Sue and Glennda.

January discussion

The Chosen was discussed at Cami's last evening. Those in attendance were Cami, DeDe, Renae, Betty, Ruth and Amanda. If you were not able to attend, you can listen to the discussion here. Next month's book group will be at DeDe's. You can find the February book in the left sidebar.

next week: The Chosen, and more

I've heard many positives about the book choice for January. Here are three—

Sue said (in a comment a couple posts ago):

I read The Chosen and several other books by Chaim Potok years ago, and learned a lot. I also heard him speak to a small group about another project he was a part of - a new (in the 80's) translation of the Old Testament by a group of prominent Jewish scholars. I have a copy of one of the three sections they published. It was an interesting process - they agreed upon the correct translation by consensus.

Cami said it's one of her favorites she reads regularly in a rotation of her favorites.

Hillary, a member of another book group said:

The Chosen...has to be one of my all-time favorite books. Have you ever read My Name is Asher Lev, also by Chaim Potok? That’s my other favorite Potok novel.

• If anyone has a copy of The Chosen they could lend Mary Steinmeyer, she is looking for a copy. She would also like to carpool with someone to Cami's as she doesn't drive at night.

Other notes—

• It would be great if we could get a volunteer to host at least the next group meeting at each discussion. It would help with the dispersing the location via the RS news/emails, instead of having it often be TBA.

• I've picked up some book recommendations from friends and family, friends of friends and another book group recently. I've added them under the tab other good books. I didn't take time to look up many of the authors yet, but even have an even larger pool to glean from for the second half of the year. Feel free to comment on this post with more suggestions, or email them using the address in the left side bar. 

• I checked a book out from the library entitled A Year of Reading: A Month-by-Month Guide to Classics and Crown-Pleasers for You or Your Book Group by Elisabeth Ellington and Jane Freimiller. Even though it's a non-fiction written a decade ago, I think it has much good material. The authors have suggested five books a month for an entire year. You could actually have ideas for five years from this book. They classify them in five categories. Here's an example from the book for September "Back to School":

Crowd-Pleaser (category)—Bee Season by Myla Goldbert

Classic—Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Challenge—Moo by Jane Smiley

Memoir—Dangerous Minds (previously published as My Posse Don't Do Homework) by LouAnn Johnson

Potluck—The Power of Their Ideas: Lessons for America from a Small School in Harlem by Deborah Meier

On last suggestion from the book. One book group decides book every 6 months. They each bring three selections and 'vote'. May might be a good time to make our book selections through November. Then we have time to get books from the library, trade, purchase or borrow.

• Dulsanna has a hold on the Pageturners To Go bag of 10 copies of the February book selection. Let her know if you'd like one.

Happy Reading!

January book group

Cami will host the book discussion for January!