May 2012

The book club met at El Jalisco's in Jefferson City on a beautiful mid Spring evening.  We sat outdoors and enjoyed each other's company.  Linda presented a gift to Terri as she is moving to St. Charles in June.  The gift was a charm for her Pandora bracelet.  She was recognized by the group as a founding member of the book club.  Terri says she will make plans to come to a few meetings in the future.

The book of discussion was My Week with Marilyn Monroe.  Terri's response was that the movie was much better than the book.  Those who read the book said that the book was flat, and did not create a very interesting portrayal of Marilyn.  Considering the author was 23 years old at the time of the setting, it is likely he did not see the significance of making of the movie and his role in it.  Our opinion:  stick to the movie.

Next month we will meet at Linda's to see the movie Sarah's Key.  We read the book earlier in the year.  We will meet at 5:00 on June 5 at Linda's house in JC.

Antoinette, Paula, Joan, Terri, Linda, Kelsey, Ashley, Pat and Linda

April 2012

We met at the wonderful Fuji restaurant last night.  We had a small but talkative group.  The book we discussed was The Paris Wife.  A fictional book based on a real character is always tricky.  And, when the protagonist is Ernest Hemingway, that makes the book much more interesting.  Hadley is Ernest's first wife, his starter wife,(there were a total of four) and is eight years older than he.  Ernest meets Gertrude Stein while he is writing The Sun Also Rises and many other celebrities during their time in Paris.  Most of us weren't quite finished with it but we still had a great discussion wondering how the book would end.

Next month we are meeting on May 1 at El Espolon on Hwy 179 at our usual time.  We are reading My Week with Marilyn. 

March 2012

Pat and Kelsey

Linda, Anntoinette and Paula

February 2012

Our delightful group met at Red Lobster (a first for us!) to discuss Troublemaker and The Magician's Elephant.  Troublemaker will not be released until later in February so the discussion focused on The Magician's Elephant.  The book was artfully crafted by author Kate DiCamillo to create a book with a dreamy, starry quality to the prose.  The fable, starting with Pete spending his master's money on something he shouldn't (does this remind you of Jack and the Beanstalk?) which sets off a series of events so unlikely that when the end comes and they are so neatly tied together that you can't help but be amazed!  The book illustrates so beautifully the power of having a dream and working toward making it come true.

We meet again on Monday, March 5 (note the day change!) at 5:00 at Paddy Malones.  We will be discussing Emma and Me. 

Until next time, happy reading!

January 2012 Meeting

Tonight we met at Panera Bread on the Boulevard.  It was a hoppin' place.  After ordering dinners of soups, salads and sandwiches, we talked about.........MOVIES!

We talked about My Week with Marilyn Monroe, Sarah's Key, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and another one that isn't popping into my head.  We did discuss the book some, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, but on my end it was difficult to hear the discussion.  Sorry, girls.

We also discussed the merits and downfalls of eBooks, as it pertains to public school libraries.   Other lively topics of discussion were grandchildren, French immersion schools, the new high school, and the possible tax levy.

Next month we meet at Red Lobster on February 7 at 5:00.  Books to be announced.

Related articles

• Possible Discussion Questions for Sarah's Key (allbooksclub.wordpress.com)
• What I Love about Panera Bread (goseelove.org)
• Thousand of eBooks - Free, the way we like it (bookofjoe.com)
• In Love with "My Week with Marilyn" (imamovienerd.wordpress.com)

December Meeting

The Pickwick Society met at Hunan's on the Boulevard to discuss James Patterson's book The Christmas Wedding.  All enjoyed the book and its characters but believed there aren't three men alive who would wait on a woman to decide who she'd marry on Christmas Day!

After dinner, we exchanged Christmas gifts.  This year we started with our own gifts.  The one who had a birthday in January started first, February second and so on.  Everyone received lovely gifts. 

Pat admiring her gift.

Kelsey

Joan

Linda

Our next meeting is January 10, 2011 at Panera's where we will be discussing Major Pettigrew's Last Stand.  Meet at 5:00 to enjoy dinner!

Related articles

• The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson (alleganylibrarycollections.wordpress.com)

November Meeting

Our wonderful group of ladies met at El Espolon tonight to discuss the book The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted by Bridget Asher.  It will come to no surprise that we have loved this book.  With comparisons to Eat, Pray, Love and Under the Tuscan Sun, the warmth of the characters, the house in Provence, the recipes and a neighbor who knows all the family skeletons, this book has the makings of a great movie!

After a short discussion about the book, a lively and impassioned discussion took place about a possible French immersion school in our area.  Even though we loved the book with its French background, the school did not get such a favorable review.

Our next meeting will be December 13 at Hunan's.  Bring a $10 gift to exchange and be prepared to discuss The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson!

Related articles

• The Provence cure for the brokenhearted : a novel by Bridget Asher. (alleganylibrarycollections.wordpress.com)
• Thanksgiving at Provence (timesunion.com)