Next Book??

My book group has taken a sabbatical due to life happening for us all. But I figured that with the summer season coming to an end and families getting geared up for school, we should also come back as a book group. So here is my question:

What book(s) do you recommend us to read?
 We do have one young teen in our group, so we try to keep the reading appropriate. Although we have agreed that there can be times when she either can take the month off to read on her own or read another book and still partake in the monthly round-up.

Most of the members are open to reading anything, but other members prefer light and easy.

But I am looking for a challenge for us. A book that will be difficult for us to put down. It can be a classic or brand new, hot off the press!

I look forward to reading your suggestions!

The White Queen by Philippa Gregory REVIEW by The Parchment Society

(Book One in the Cousin's of War Series)

Brother turns on brother to win the ultimate prize, the throne of England, in this dazzling account of the wars of the Plantagenets. They are the claimants and kings who ruled England before the Tudors, and now Philippa Gregory brings them to life through the dramatic and intimate stories of the secret players: the indomitable women, starting with Elizabeth Woodville, the White Queen.
The White Queen tells the story of a woman of extraordinary beauty and ambition who, catching the eye of the newly crowned boy king, marries him in secret and ascends to royalty. While Elizabeth rises to the demands of her exalted position and fights for the success of her family, her two sons become central figures in a mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the missing princes in the Tower of London whose fate is still unknown. From her uniquely qualified perspective, Philippa Gregory explores this most famous unsolved mystery of English history, informed by impeccable research and framed by her inimitable storytelling skills.

The book groups favorite part seemed to be the Queens personality. She had a backbone and spunk. She spoke her mind. She didn't jeopardize her family/family/title, sons or morals. They liked that in the beginning of the book when the King tried to force himself upon her she had the courage not to allow it to happen by grabbing his dagger and threatening to kill herself if he continued to press the issue. They loved the devotion and love she had for her two sons and her relationship with her brother. The group couldn't imagine being kept in confinement like she was or the secrecy she had to deal with. They were mad a hurt that her father and brother get killed and the sorrow her she felt for her mother after her father died. The Queens brother kept her grounded and they liked  that, especially after her mother died. Everyone liked the book a lot, we are going to read The Red Queen next.

Dear Jane Austen: A Heroine's Guide to Life and Love by Patrice Hannon REVIEW

Women have looked to Jane Austen’s heroines as models of appropriate behavior for nearly two centuries. Who better to understand the heart of a heroine than Austen? In this delightful epistolary “what if,” Austen serves as a “Dear Abby” of sorts, using examples from her novels and her life to counsel modern-day heroines in trouble, she also shares with readers a compelling drama playing out in her own drawing room. Witty and wise—and perfectly capturing the tone of the author of Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice—Dear Jane Austen is as satisfying as sitting down to tea with the novelist herself.


Advice delivered with sense and sensibility just in time for the major motion picture Becoming Jane

View our feature on Austen-inspired books and special content.

The Parchment Societies review:

My group read this the same month of Pride and Prejudice. We thought it ironic that we flew through Pride and Prejudice no problem with as big of book that it is. On the other hand this book is thin, but yet we had the hardest problem getting through it; the group found it to be dry and boring. The authors efforts to try to bring an author from that time to the current and speak to girls about men and boys of this da in age was a good idea but it didn't work for us.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte REVIEW

Orphaned into the household of her Aunt Reed at Gateshead, subject to the cruel regime at Lowood charity school, Jane Eyre nonetheless emerges unbroken in spirit and integrity. She takes up the post of governess at Thornfield, falls in love with Mr. Rochester, and discovers the impediment to their lawful marriage in a story that transcends melodrama to portray a woman's passionate search for a wider and richer life than Victorian society traditionally allowed.

When we first decided to read Jane Eyre, only a few members were excited about the read; with most feeling apprehensive about it. However, the majority of the group found the story easy to read once they got used to the old English and the vernacular; and at times the authors overly descriptive writing. We noticed quite a bit of people have a love/hate relationship with Jane Eyre; they are also confused how two sisters (Charlotte Bronte wrote Jane Eyre, Emily Bronte wrote Wuthering Heights) can write a two part story but make the other half a bit darker, we have heard people say that Jane Eyre is sad, dark and cruel. Yet Wuthering Heights goes to another level of dark and cruel and at times dry. But that is another review.
Some of the members felt that Jane Eyre was a bit hard to get into; putting aside the vernacular and old English, Jane seemed to be beyond her years. Her language sounded like an English teacher in her older years. We also found Jane and the other characters in the book to be intriguing, fairly realistic, well thought out and written, and emotional.
Once you do get past the bumps stated above, Charlotte Bronte does not make it easy to put Jane Eyre down. We as a group agree that Jane Eyre makes for a fantastic read, even if their palates are a bit plain.

Even though I have no pictures I would like to share what food we had to pair with Miss Jane:

• Cucumber Sandwiches
• Toad-in-a-hole (sausages covered in batter and baked)
• An assortment of teas with milk/cream and sugar
• Bangers and Mash
• Biscuits and Jam
• Spotted Dick
• Ploughman's Lunch
• Lancashire  Hotpot

Teaser Tuesday 2/7/12

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


The vision politely vanished. Edith went back inside her house and brewed a strong cup of black tea.
The Perfect Husband by Lisa Gardner
Pg. 129

 

WWW Wednesday 1/1/12

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions… 
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

I am currently reading The Perfect Husband

I recently finished reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (the second part of this book is Wuthering Heights by her sister, Emily Bronte)

 











And we currently don't know yet what our next read will be...

Teaser Tuesday 1/31/12

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Our book group's current read is The Perfect Husband by Lisa Gardner ( the first book in the Quincy and Rainie series)

"The first time he saw her, he simply knew. He watched her red and white pompoms bounce in the air"