March Meeting

March 27th at Pete's. It'd probably be a good idea if a few of us brought suggestions for the next book (says the hypocrite who probably won't).

Alrighty

Ok, let's just go with Little Bee.

Who would be able to come on Wed, March 24th?

Okeydokey

Two choices:

Little Bee by Chris Cleave. Hey, it's got a pretty cover and is getting rave reviews, which we know doesn't really mean squat.
Here's the reading group guide:
Little Bee, a young Nigerian refugee, has just been released from the British immigration detention center where she has been held under horrific conditions for the past two years, after narrowly escaping a traumatic fate in her homeland of Nigeria. Alone in a foreign country, without a family member, friend, or pound to call her own, she seeks out the only English person she knows. Sarah is a posh young mother and magazine editor with whom Little Bee shares a dark and tumultuous past.

They first met on a beach in Nigeria, where Sarah was vacationing with her husband, Andrew, in an effort to save their marriage after an affair, and their brief encounter has haunted each woman for two years. Now together, they face a disturbing past and an uncertain future with the help of Sarah’s four-year-old son, Charlie, who refuses to take off his Batman costume. A sense of humor and an unflinching moral compass allow each woman, and the reader, to believe that even in the face of unspeakable odds, humanity can prevail.

The other is completely different than what we usually read, but maybe that is a good thing: Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. Steampunk. Seattle. Zombies. I really don't need to say more, but it is being pegged as one of the best sci-fi/fantasy novels of last year.

Which one do you guys like better?

Sweetness.

Powell’s Books polled their customers to pick the best book of the last decade. Guess what won??? Yep, The Road. It also won for the Staff Favorite category. Sweet.
Some of my other customer favorites that made the list were The Shadow of the Wind, A Fine Balance, American Gods, Oscar Wao, Outlander, Water for Elephants, and many of the Harry Potter novels. Yes, points must be deducted for including Twilight and the Kite Runner (I duck the shoes thrown at my head) but there are a lot of ideas for what to dip into next.
What were some of your favorites?

The Book Depository

This site is kind of awesome - free worldwide shipping. They have the Little Stranger for $13.50 in hardback.

Little Stranger

The next meeting is set for February 27th. 4 o'clock at Pete's Pizza again.

We are reading Little Stranger by Sarah Waters, which is only in hardback in the US, but there are cheap copies for about $10 on Amazon.com.

Jan.

Sorry, I haven't been checking this often enough, obviously.

I am down with getting together on the 16th of January. What do you guys think of going to Pete's pizza - it is not very far from our place.

I miss everybody and hope you had happy holidays.