5-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Craving chocolate? Try this recipe--it's AWESOME and really easy to make. Next time, I'm trying applesauce instead of oil, but at least it's 2 servings and done. No extras hanging around! ;)

http://www.notquitenigella.com/2009/05/29/the-five-minute-chocolate-mug-cake/

Christmas Books

Here are a few of the MANY choices out there for our holiday book choice:

Santa Claus: A Biography by Gerry Bowler
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Santa-Claus/Gerry-Bowler/e/9780771016684/?itm=1

Wishin' and Hopin' by Wally Lamb (not released until 11-10-09)
http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780061941009/Wishin_and_Hopin/index.aspx

The Worst Noel: Hellish Holiday Tales by Collected Authors
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Worst-Noel/Collected-Authors-Of-The-Worst-Noel/e/9780060838119/?itm=1&usri=1

A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas (definitely a literary pick--look at sample chapter)
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Childs-Christmas-in-Wales/Dylan-Thomas/e/9780811217316/?itm=2&usri=1

The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie
http://www.amazon.com/Adventure-Christmas-Pudding-Agatha-Christie/dp/0006168175

Obviously, tons of books about Christmas exist!! I found lots of "lite" mysteries if we wanted to go in that direction.

Please leave a comment with your suggestion/vote. :)

Change of Meeting Dates

Here's what we decided on last night, with a small change by me:

Thurs., Oct. 22--meet at Brenda's to discuss One Thousand White Women

Thurs., Dec. 3 (we had originally said the 1st)--meet at restaurant to discuss holiday book, exchange secret Santa gifts (?), celebrate the season :)

Let me know if there are conflicts!!

The Virgin of Small Plains

September is Mystery Month! We chose The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard for our book choice.
I read the whole book and I think I have found a good spot for you to read to so we can have fun guessing "who done it".

Chapter 40 is the chapter that explains "who done it" and where you will find out all the details. If you don't want to find out, stop before you get to this chapter! There are a lot of characters to keep track of so we'll have a good time guessing!

David Sedaris in G-Boro!

Anyone interested?

David Sedaris is coming to the Greensboro Coliseum on Thursday, October 8th. I can pre-order tickets before they go on sale Friday and was wondering who might want to go. Here's a link to 1) Ticketmaster and 2)to the event info.

http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0E0042CCA630785D?artistid=806078&majorcatid=10002&minorcatid=51

http://www.greensborocoliseum.com/calendar_details.cfm?id=1414

We'll talk tonight...

New Date for August Meeting

Given the hoopla surrounding back to school open houses, the meeting date has been changed to Monday, August 17 at Elizabeth's house. We'll be discussing Same Kind of Different as Me. Hope you all can make it!

NEWSWEEK'S "50 Books for Our Times..."

Not your typical list, but one that makes you think--and add to your "to-read" queue. :)

Check out #37 (way to go, Tonya)...

http://www.newsweek.com/id/204300

Mystery Month is Soon Approaching...

Just a reminder to do some research into a mystery you'd like to read in Sept. Bring the info to our July meeting, or post it here. We'll vote on which book to read and who will read ahead to tell us where to stop. September will be a special "whodunit" meeting! :)

I had mentioned a choice I heard was good: The Virgin of Small Plains. Here's a link...

http://www.nancypickardmysteries.com/virgin/introduction.htm

Give Back...

https://www.ikat.org/three-cups-of-tea/

Above link will give % of money from book purchase to the Central Asia Institute...

Happy purchasing and reading!!

Great Book

Hi, guys! In between book club books, I've been reading a great novel--The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. It's actually a re-telling/new take on the Hamlet story, kind of like Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres is a re-telling of King Lear. Anyway, regardless of its roots, the story is really compelling. I know we have a lot of dog lovers in the club, and this is a book for you (and everyone else, really)! Check it out in your "free" time. :) Look forward to seeing you all on the 29th!

Time Traveler's Wife: The Sequel

I got this info verbatim from my friend Allison's site--can't wait for this book.
I propose it as our November book (if it's out by then). For those of you who haven't read The Time Traveler's Wife, DO IT NOW (you won't regret it)!!!!

Not a sequel, but Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler's Wife, will have her second book out in the fall. It is titled Her Fearful Symmetry and according to this article it is "supernatural story about twins who inherit an apartment near a London cemetery and become embroiled in the lives of the building’s other residents and the ghost of their aunt, who left them the flat."

Shakespeare!

Here is the only known painting of Shakespeare completed during his lifetime!

I know it's not book club related, but still pretty interesting!

I'm almost done with The Post Birthday World and can't wait to see how it ends!!

http://http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/09/portrait-of-shakespeare-unveiled-399-years-late/?hp

Blog Virgin

I'm excited about another first experience - first book club and now my first blog posting! - maybe my pleasure over these two events gives you some insight into the placid nature of my life these days; but at any rate I'm grateful for a thrill of any kind. I hope it was as good for you as it was for me! I enjoyed our first discussion and I'm looking forward to seeing if my attempt at posting ends up on the blog page. I have to admit that I haven't started the Birthday Club book, but if I wait long enough it will save me from chores/housecleaning for the weekend before the 17th as I will just have to ignore those in order to finish the book. See you then --Meroe

Best of 2008

One blog's list of best books of 2008--will add to "links," as well.

http://bfgb.wordpress.com/2009/02/07/best-of-the-best-a-unified-list-of-2008s-best-books/

Spring Cleaning

As you've noticed, I got rid of some old posts--hope that's ok. Look forward to seeing you on St. Patty's day to discuss this one. So far (200 pages in), I'm not a big fan of the writing style (though the premise of the novel is interesting). But, I'll keep reading!! :)

Revised Schedule

Had lots of fun Tuesday!! I switched Brenda and Meroe to accommodate travel plans--let me know if that's not ok. Also, I was thinking, since Nov. is open, what about a club pick dealing with the holidays? Just a suggestion. Hope you all are well.

Oh..and I'm taking Ellie's video off in a day or two. I know it's not book club related--just wanted to share with you all. :)

Pics from Tuesday

Well, my pictures aren't nearly as cute as Ellie...but here we are!

Goodreads Site

If you want to make your own bookshelf like I have (see new "other links" section), go to www.goodreads.com to set up a free account. Pretty neat! Let me know when you do, and I'll add it to the links list.