Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Book Awards News

It's not too late to take Natalie's advice: Vote for your favorite author in the Minnesota Book Awards. Votes will be accepted until the end of March, but only one vote per person. Use this link to the voting page. (You will need to login on that page to vote.)

This coming Friday, the 18th, is a special Readers' Choice Event. This is FREE! It is being held as an opportunity for readers to meet the authors whose work has been nominated. Wine and refreshments will be served. Use this link for all the details of where and when.

And, of course, the winners will be presented at The Awards Gala, to be held on April 16th. Reservations and tickets are required for this event. Use this link for more information and to make ticket purchases.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Now is the Time to Read

Whoa, the next book club meeting is less than two weeks away. And this weekend we need to 'spring forward' to enact Daylight Savings Time. So that chops out another hour.

But there is still time, I think, to read this month's selection, The Tall Pines Polka, by Lorna Landvik. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 22nd, 6:30 p.m. at the library. Be sure to mark your calendars.

Also, for those who like to plan ahead: April's book will be A Private History of Awe, by Scott Russell Sanders. Meeting for discussing this book will be on April 26th.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Readers Weigh In on "Wives"

Emails were flying fast and furious after a reminder was sent out for last Tuesday's meeting. Several book club members were forwarding their regrets of not being able to attend, but having read the book, their messages included comments about it.

The book chosen for discussion in February was The Wives of Henry Oades, by Johanna Moran. The book tells the story of Henry, who moves his family to a distant land when he is relocated by his job. Turmoil in that country separates him from his family, and in time he becomes convinced they are dead. He moves back to California, meets a woman and remarries. His first wife and children, still alive, escape and return to California. Henry then becomes husband and father to two wives and all of their children. The story is based on a true case of bigamy.

Char said: "Loved the book . . historical fiction always a pleasure to read . . a real page-turner for sure . . loved the strong, compassionate women . . Margaret and Nancy were amazing, were they not?"

Diane said: "I loved the book . . especially Margaret, who made the most sacrifices in my mind. The book stayed with me all week after reading it. I wonder what I would do in this situation?"

Kelly said: " Loved the book. Loved the women. At first I wasn't crazy about Nan, but then she grew on me as she showed her compassion to Margaret!"

Cora said: "I did enjoy 'Wives . .', to think it is based on fact is remarkable!"

Ginger said: "I enjoyed the book, but I was so frustrated with Henry. I'm not sure what I expected him to do, but it felt to me as though he abandoned Meg emotionally, which didn't set well with me at all."

Learn more about the author at her web site, www.johannamoran.com

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

See the U.S.A. . . .

January's book, Queen of the Road, by Doreen Orion, met with mixed reviews by members of the book club. Ten of the members loved it, two didn't, and two others were on the fence.

The book tells the true story of a woman who helps fulfill her husband's dream of traveling the country. They do so, with their pets, in a full size bus, covering 47 states and encountering numerous adventures.

An excerpt of the book can be found on the author's web site, (www.doreenorion.com). The writing is personal and humorous, and descriptions of their travels are enjoyable to read. Doreen also maintains a blog on her web site, posts photos of the places they've been, and gives away free, signed bookplates to those who ask. (It could be fun to request one just to see what postmark they're mailed from.)

For those who want to know more about the author, Women on Writing include an interview with Doreen Orion on their web site, (www.wow-womenonwriting.com/33-FE3-DoreenOrion.html).

Another interview (made by email exchange), can be found on www.liveworkdream.com/2009/02/08/queen-of-the-road-drink-it-in/. The live-work-dream web site is from another married couple who sold everything they had to take to the road. They travel and work with their pets from the comfort of their own RV, and supply helpful travel information from their site.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Meeting Announcement

Happy New Year to Everyone!

The next meeting of the book club will be on Tuesday, January 25th at 6:30 p.m. We will be getting together at the library as usual.

This month's book is Queen of the Road, by Doreen Orion. Freda will be the discussion leader.

We'll also be having an annual book exchange at this meeting. Bring in books you've read (that you own of course), and trade them for some new ones. The more books that people bring in, the more there will be to choose from. What better way is there to spend these snowy days than with an armload of recommended reading???