Plenty by Alisa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon

Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Racous Year of Eating Locally
Rating: 3/5 Stars

Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Harmony; 1 edition (April 24, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 030734732X

Genre: Non-Fiction

Received book in Shelfari Book Chat Book Swap

The authors of this book memoir their journey of eating locally (with-in 100 miles radius) for a year. This idea comes into fruition one day when they are in a remote location and only have a few items on hand and can't get to a store. They must feed themselves and their guests on what they can find locally. They fish and forage for mushrooms and veggies from their old garden and come up with a meal that proves you can make something good from seemingly nothing (of course you really need to know how to cook first - and be a little adventurous).

At the first of Spring they start their journey with only eating foods the come from with-in 100 mile radius of their home and it starts out a little bumpy. Sure they can find food, living in the Vancouver area, but it's expensive and again, you must have a creative cooking bone to accomplish this task. Their first meal cost them $128.87. This is when they realized the challenge they were facing. Being able to sustain this lifestyle will be harder then they imagined.

There were alot of good scenes in this book, I felt it honest and interesting. There were parts about the food itself that bored me a bit, but the relationships and the events were great. I really liked how they gave themselves a free pass when they were invited to a neighbors house for dinner (not alienating their friends) and when they travelled. I love the idea also of being able to bring food home from 100-miles of where they travelled to as well. Now, I am not one who would normally consider doing something like this but as soon as I finished Chapter One (March) I was sold on the idea. I started looking at local eating websites and all of a sudden this is something I'd really like to try to do. Living in Southern New Jersey should make things easier for me, right? We have so many farmers markets right near me. Well, Im seriously considering trying it. I think that the ramp of this task would be tremendous but once you got the hang of it (Canning, freezing, etc) it would end up being very rewarding.

This books fits the following Categories/Challenges for me:

• Hogwarts Reading Challenge
• Truth is Stranger than Fiction Reading Challenge
• RYOB Challenge
• New Authors Challenge

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Pub. Date: January 2001 (orig. pub. 1942)
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Format: Paperback, 224pp
Series: C. S. Lewis Signature Classics
ISBN: 0060652934
Library Loan

In Episolatory format, the Screwtape Letters is the communication of the devil Screwtape to his nephew on earth, Wormwood. Wormwood is on earth to secure human souls for hell. These letters from Screwtape give guidance to Wormwood on how to handle "the patient", the human he is trying to secure the soul of for hell. Through these letters we learn about the situation on earth with Humans and how they can be swayed to go towards evil ways.

I think myself and this book got off to a bad start, I must have started out reading the book while distracted because I didn't realize at first that these were letters from hell. The terms "The Enemy" made me wonder if the enemy was god or the devil at first. Once I figured it out I liked it a little better. I went back and re-read the prologue of the book and realized that I was mistaken in not being sure who "the Enemy" was referring to. I LOVE the idea of this book, coming from the perspective of evil but we only learn from one side of the conversation and I would have liked to have seen back and forth communications from the uncle and nephew.

The book fills the following challenges for me:

• Hogwarts Reading Challenge
• New Authors Challenge
• PBT Bingo - Christian Living Tag

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Pub. Date: February 2006
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Format: Hardcover, 334pp
ISBN: 0670034711
Genre: Non-Fiction
Library Loan
Coming to Theaters: August 13th, 2010

Author Elizabeth Gilbert has been through an emotionally exhausting divorce and the breakup of a tumultuos love affair in a very short time period. After which she realizes, as most women do in relationships, she has lost her own identity and her own way in life. This realization leads her on a year long spiritual journey like no other that she shares with the reader along her way in Eat, Pray, Love. This memoir is written in three sections: Italy (Eat), India (Pray) and finally Indonesia (Love).

With raw emotion and a window into her soul, Elizabeth Gilbert shares with the reader her amazing journey to spiritual self acceptance. I loved the way the book was written and how it felt so emotionally true. My favorite of the three locations was Italy and at the end of Italy I was sure I would have given the book 5 stars. After India, although I still enjoyed the story, I was down to 4.5 and after Indonesia I was down to 4. All three segments of her journey are very good stories and very well written but the story of her in Italy was just so amazing and touching and relatable to me that it would have been very hard to beat honestly. I felt for her, I felt like I understood her and I felt like at times she understood me and parts of my life that are unsatifactory to me. This story makes the reader want to go on their own journey of spiritual enlightenment, at least it did for me. The fact that this is a true story makes it all the better in my eyes.

Favorite Quote: "Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be."

I didn't go into much detail in my review because this book was chosen to be the WoWO book club selection for the end of July, so I will be reposting this review along with the WoWO discussion at that time with more details (So Check back!!). Gilbert has another book out called Committed, which is a continuation of her life once she returns home. I believe that I will be reading this book, maybe even if the other girls in the book club are interested we will make it a book club read. Also plan to see the movie, hopefully with some of the WoWO's!

This book fits the following Categories/Challenges for me:

• Hogwarts Reading Challenge (Charms)
• Truth is Stranger Than Fiction Challenge
• Monthly Mixer Mele Challenge
• New Authors Challenge
• PBT BINGO - Poetry tag
• PBT June tag (Travel)

WoWO Book Club Meeting and Wild Heart by Lori Brighton

Tonight was the June WoWO Discussion and we discussed Wild Heart by Lori Brighton. The WoWO group won copies of Wild Heart from Lori through the http://www.authordiannalove.com/ website. This is a really great website with lots of information on Dianna Love as well as other authors. If you sign your book group up they give away copies of books regularly; just sign up once and you are entered for all drawings. When I was contacted by Cassondra from the authorDiannaLove.com website I was so excited that the WoWO won copies and we would read a book from a debut author. Little did we know that it would be such a fantastic book, and that Lori would be so pleasant to deal with when sending the copies and so much more. Lori signed each book individually named to each member, she included a bunch of goodies that can be found in England, autographed book cover memorabilia boards (sorry I am unsure what to call them but they are cool) and the all this came with a very nice personal letter from Lori to the group. Lori made the entire experience of winning the books and discussing the story, that much more enjoyable.

WoWO Rating: 4.3/5 Stars

Personal Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Pub. Date: November 2009
Publisher: Kensington Publishing

Format: Mass Market Paperback, 320pp
ISBN: 1420108654

Genre: Historical Paranormal Romance

Debut Novel

9 Copies for WoWO obtained in a giveaway on http://www.authordianalove.com/

About Wild Heart:

In Sussex England in the late 1800's, Ella is hired to be governess to Leo Roberts who is the next in line for earldom. Leo, the grandson of Lord Roberts is said to be wild and in great need of refinement. Ella does not know what to expect from this boy who is to be earl, but how bad could it be? When Ella learns that the grandson to be Earl is actually a grown man she quickly becomes concerned that he is too wild to refine. Leo is completely untamed and animalisic, raised on his own in the wild of India after his parents were brutally murdered. Leo's grandfather needs Ella's help in making Leo presentable enough to take over earldom when the time comes. Ella wonders how she is suppose to make him presentable, refined and learn the ways of his class when he is a grown man who seems to be too wild to help and doesn't particular care to be helped. Ella, and this reader of the book, become taken with Leo rather quickly and their attraction is too wild to contain.

The romance scenes in this book are STEAMY and well written. Coming from someone who does not typically read romance, I was completely captivated by this story. This book is not just a Historical Romance, there is a twist of paranormal running through this book as well as some mystery and adventure. I don't want to give away anything to the plot so I left the paranormal out of the synopsis, but trust me it adds an extra element to make the story even better than the steamy attraction between Ella and Leo.

Personally , I absolutely loved this story. I wanted to give it 5 stars but just couldn't bring myself to do it. My main reason for giving the book a 4.5 over a 5 was more about the genre than the book itself, I think Im in denial that I love Historical Paranormal Romance. I can't find anything wrong with the story itself, the writing was absolutely spot on and perfect, but I have trouble giving 5 stars to a book that isn't a book like "The Help". I'm working on this though, and will definitely read the next book that Lori has coming out next year called "Wild Desire".

The WoWO Discussion (Contains Spoilers):

Everyone of the WoWO who read the book, loved it. We all pretty much agreed on every point of the discussion. We felt that in the beginning we did not know what to expect from this book. By the cover and synopsis it looked to be on the trashy side but once we started reading, it grabbed us and we realized quickly that it was very well written and the romance wasn't trashy at all. The different scenes and settings in the book were vivid and easily pictured. We thought that the supernatural elements (Ella feeling emotions) was a nice twist to the story, standing itself out from other Historical Romances. We liked that you didn't know much about Leo and his past but the reader learned about him through Ella's point of view, with her flashes of memories she got from Leo and his telling her stories as well.

During Leo and Ella's first conversation by the sea, everyone expected that Leo really needed Ella and we were surprised and happy that he was pretending to be savage and he was actually well spoken and intelligent. As far as the romance in the story goes, we though it was STEAMY and enticing and well done. Some of our favorite steamy scenes were the picture painting, the skinny dipping, the folly in the rain and the final love scene where they finally get to consumate their attraction. One of us was frustrated with the lack of completion of the earlier love scenes in the book (She wants all sex all the time - lucky girl ;)), but the rest of us loved the suspense and attraction that it caused and how happy we felt when they finally did have their moment.

Some of the early suspects to Leo's parents death were Akshay, Henry, Henry's father. No one really suspected that the Grandfather was involved in the cover-up but we feel it made for a good twist to the story. The author stated to me in a note that readers either love Leo or hate him and we can't figure out why anyone would hate him, he was absolutely perfect. Everyone liked Ella and felt she was a lucky girl to have found Leo :) (Hey Jealousy!) Everyone's favorite character was.. surprise --- LEO. Our Least favorite character was the Grandfather - He only cared about a having a proper successor and didn't care who was hurt in the process.

Our final thoughts on the story were that we all enjoyed the book more than we thought we would at first, it was a very pleasant surprise. We would definitely recommend the book to others (I already have!) One of us, loved the meat of the story but was disappointed in the beginning and the ending, she felt the ending left too many loose ends. Everyone else however, loved how the ending was left open for more of the story to come later in another book.

We felt the cover of the book was fitting to the story. We thought the title was good but something more savage like would have been more fitting for us... "Savage Heart" was our best take at a good title (We don't claim to be experts here..lol)

We as a group would love to read her next book called "Wild Desire", coming out in 2011. This book features Ella's cousin Colin, so we hope it continues the story. We would however be more excited to read the continuation of Ella and Leo's story. We would like to see a follow up on the Statues mentioned in the story and more about what the map is, as well as what the future holds for Leo, Ella, Akshay and Fran.

Top: Myself, Linda

Bottom: Louise, Karen, Peggy
Missing from Picture: Lori
(Yes, that picture in the background is the WoWO painting from the Love Ceiling!)

The book chosen for next WoWO discussion is Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert on July 30th.

This book fits the following Category/Challenges:

• Hogwarts Reading Challenge
• The Romance Reading Challenge
• RYOB Challenge
• Monthly Mixer Mele Challenge
• New Authors Challenge

Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars

Pub. Date: March 1997
Publisher: New Press, The
Format: Hardcover, 284pp
Series: Kurt Wallander Series, #1
ISBN-13: 9781565843417
Library Loan

This book was originally published in Sweden as Mordare utan ansikte in 1991 and was translated into English by Stephen T. Murray for this publication.

I obtained this book from the library in order to read it for my Fantasy Thrillers and Horrors Yahoo Book Group.

Kurt Wallander is a severely flawed man - he has an tricky relationship with his ex-wife, a daughter who doesn't want anything to do with him, and an aging a father who is hard to deal with. With all of these personal issues he has to solve the highly volitale case of a brutal murder of an elderly couple in a swedish farmhouse with very few clues.

In this first book of the Kurt Wallander Series we follow Wallander through his daily routines of life and work and get a glimpse of the Swedish way of life. I found these glimpses interesting but I can't seem myself continuing on with the series. I don't know if it was the translation or the Swedish murder mystery that made this book seem too simple and more about the main characters development than solving the actual mystery, it was like made for tv mystery for me. I found that the ending was very anti-climatic and I wished there was a better wrap-up and that the clues found in the beginning of the story actually meant more to the solving of the crime.

This book fits the following challenges/categories for me:

• Hogwart's Reading Challenge (Muggle Studies)
• Thriller and Suspense Reading Challenge
• Monthly Mixer Mele Challenge
• New Authors Challenge ** FINISHED CHALLENGE **
• Fantasy Thriller and Horror Reading Group

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

Rating: 2/5 Stars

• Pub. Date: November 2009
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Format: Hardcover, 507pp
• ISBN: 0060852577
• Library Loan

Harrison Shepherd was born in the United States but spent his childhood in the 1930's in Mexico being raised by his mother. He spent his life writing journals of the world around him. These journal's were then turned into this "memoir". Some information was filled in by Shepherd's writing assistant and others by newspaper articles of events. Moving back and forth from Mexico to the United States Harrison Shepherd unveils the happenings in the world and the man that he becomes in the process. Along his travels he works with artists Diego Rivera and Frida Khalo and gets involved in political turmoil with Lev Trotsky.

I hate to say negative things about books because others may really like them but for me this book was a bit of a snooze fest. A lot of effort was put into this book to make it feel more like a memoir than fiction and it did, a little too much in fact. There were too many words in this book. This is my first Kingsolver book so I cannot compare it to others but she is VERY thorough. Sometimes that's good and sometimes that's not so good. In most instances in this novel I did not need many of the extra monotonous information.

I read this book for one of my book clubs and only finished it because I was using it for a travel game for Play Book Tag Bingo. I had already invested several days and had several cities to use for the game and couldn't turn back.

This book fits the following Categories/Challenges for me:

• Hogwarts Reading Challenge
• Monthly Mixer Mele Challenge
• New Authors Challenge

The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #1) by Michael Scott

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars

Pub. Date: May 2007
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Format: Hardcover, 400pp
Age Range: Young Adult
Series: Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Series, #1
ISBN-13: 9780385733571

I received this copy from my friend Louise when she mistakenly purchased this book instead of The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo. She gave me the book to trade for the Alchemist and little did I know that one of my book clubs would vote to read this book a few months later.

Josh and Sophie Newman are Twin's who came to visit San Francisco for the summer when they unsuspectingly get involved in a battle between what was only known to them as mythological creatures. They quickly find out that there is truth to legends and the people they new and Nick and Perry Fleming are much more then they ever imagined.

This story is chock full of mythology legends and supernatural reasons for different things that happened in history (for example the Great Chicago fires). I can see why people have compared this series to Harry Potter but for me this fell a little short of that. It was written for a younger group that Harry Potter was, at least it seemed so to me and it missed a certain spark that Harry Potter has. In it's own right I can see children enjoying this series, but for me I expected a Harry Potter replacement and didn't get it. Maybe I was expecting too much. It was still and enjoyable read, but I don't think I'll read on in the series at this point.

Wikipedia states that the film rights to the series have been sold to Lorenzo di Bonaventura and IMDB.com now lists The Alchemyst film as "in production". I will probably see the movie when it's out on cable, because I'd like to see the translation to film and I think this book has enough action that will translate to the big screen well. I am curious how they will make some of these characters look as well.

This book fitst the following Challenges/Categories for me:

• Hogwarts Reading Challenge
• RYOB Challenge
• Monthly Mixer Mele Challenge
• New Authors Challenge
• Fantasy Thriller Horrors - May Group Read

WoWO Book Club Meeting and The Love Ceiling

On Friday night we had our fourth Women of Washington Oaks (WoWO) Book Club meeting. Sadly it was a tough week for the WoWO's and several tragedies hit some of the women of the club. Some managed to make it, and I'm very glad that they did but for those who couldn't make it this month, we missed you greatly... Here is to quick healing and our loved ones being in a better place.

To those of us who were able to attend we discussed The Love Ceiling by Jean Davies Okimoto.

Rating: 2.5 Stars

Pub. Date: September 2009

Publisher:Endicott & Hugh Books

Format: Paperback, 320pp

ISBN: 0982316739

We won copies of this book from BookMovement.com, this is a fabulous site for book clubs, it's a great resource and they have lots of great giveaways! So thank you very much to Pauline from BookMovement for notifying me that I won the books and hosting the giveaway. A big thank you goes to Jennifer Justice at Endicott & Hugh Books for sending the copies for the group to read.

The Love Ceiling Synopsis (From back of book):

After the death of her Japanese American mother, sixty-four-year-old Anne Kuroda Duppstadt finds the courage to confront the toxic legacy of her father, a famous artist and cruel narcissist. When a former art professor invites her to his island art studio, she begins pursuing her lifelong dream to become an artist in her own right. But the needs of her family tug at her heart. Her thirty-two-year old daughter s love life is falling apart, and Annie s husband, facing retirement, struggles with depression, leading her to conclude, There is a glass ceiling for women...and it's made out of the people we love.

The Love Ceiling draws readers into the soul of a universal theme for women: the pull between family and creative self-expression. It is the story of a daughter, a wife, a mother and grandmother, and a journey into creativity.

Being that we won the copies of book, the WoWo's were very excited to read the book and discuss it and really wanted to love the book. But sadly several of us (4 to be exact) had trouble getting through the book, and started to skim to the end or completely stopped reading all together.

The story was a nice story but several of us felt that some of the story lines went too far and others didn't go anywhere at all.

Some of the favorite characters were:

• Sam
• Lena
• Martha Jane

The discussion was very light on this book and although Peggy had a lot to say about the book, no one else could really answer the questions posed due to having trouble following the story or not being able to finish. I believe this to be mostly due to not being able to related to the characters and what they were going through. The storyline was not bad, however many of us felt that it was a bit dry at times and it was hard to hold our interest.

As we always try to do, we had something book related at the meeting. Since the book has painting as a major element of the history of the main characters, this time we had a canvas and paints. The WoWO painted the picture below, inspired by the love ceiling's front cover with our own WoWO twist:

It's the WoWO boat! Sorry Tricia that I wouldn't let you do your sun with dark sunglasses ;) This painting is now hanging in the basement where the WoWO's meet to discuss the books we read. And here is a picture of some of us working on the painting:

from left to right: Myself, Louise, Linda, Peggy, Tricia (Photographer: Lori)

The Book fits the following Categories/Challenges for me:

• Hogwarts Reading Challenge
• RYOB Challenge
• Monthly Mixer Mele Challenge
• New Authors Challenge

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (ARC)

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Advanced Readers Copy
Publisher: Viking
Format: Trade Paperback, 288pp
Age Range: Young Adult
ISBN: 978-0-670-01110-0

**I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lia is a teenage with alot of issues, the worst of which is that she is anorexic and she cuts. Lia has recently been released from her second stay at New Seasons and now lives with her father, step-mother and step-sister. This book starts at the time in her life when her former best friend dies in a hotel room after calling Lia thirty-three unanswered times. Cassie and Lia hadn't been friends for some time and Lia didn't answer her call, now that Cassie is dead Lia is haunted by her friends death. Lia struggles with her weight, her self-esteem, her family and her guilt.

I had some trouble getting into the story at first because of the way it was written, it truly felt like a young adult book. Some young adult books don't feel distinctly young adult, but this one did. Once I got into the swing of the writing there was a lot about this story that felt real to me. I felt like I was looking into the thoughts of someone with Anorexia, at least as I would imagine they would feel in certain moments. My favorite aspect of this book was seeing into Lia's thoughts with the words crossed off in the sentences, things that she thought but wouldn't say aloud. Another aspect of the book that got to me was the statement ... When I was a real girl. It was used throughout the book and everytime I read it, it struck a cord with me.

--Spoiler warning:
I really liked the fact that ultimately it was her love for Emma (her step-sister) that brought her back into the life of the living. She loved her so much and she wanted to be around to be a role model for her, and teach her how to knit.
--End Spoiler

This book was completely different than anything I've ever read. I liked the end more than the beginning, but that may have been due the time it took to get into the writing style and being Young Adult. It was really well done and I would recommend it as a good read for young teenage girls.

This book fits in the following Categories/Challenges for me:

• Hogwarts Reading Challenge
• RYOB Challenge
• Monthly Mixer Mele Challenge
• New Authors Challenge

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Pub. Date: September 2004
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
Format: Paperback, 192pp
ISBN-13: 9780743273565

In 1902's West Egg, NY life is very different than Nick Carraway, newly transported from the west, is used to. His neighbor Jay Gatsby lives an extravagant lifestyle that intrigue's Nick until Nick gets swept up in the drama that comes with this type of lifestyle. His cousin Daisy and her husband Tom are also living this lifestyle and what develops between all the characters in this story is crazy and unbelievable yet could be right out of the pages of today's tabloids.

I am so glad I read this story, it was nothing like I expected it would be and I was so pleasantly surprised. This is a classic story that was true to the time it was written and is even true to society today, it is truely a timeless classic. A complex story of interwoven characters that is better than most stories written today. The twists and turns to the story were great and now I'd like to see the movie, to see these characters come to life. Each character was developed nicely and were wonderful in their own flawed way.

This book fits the following Categories/Challenges for me:

• Hogwarts Reading Challenge (Muggle Studies)
• The Romance Reading Challenge
• Monthly Mixer Mele Challenge
• New Authors Challenge
• PBT Favorite Tag
• PBT BINGO Favorites Challenge

WoWO Book Club Meeting and The Help Review

On Wednesday night we had another successful Women of Washington Oaks (WoWO) book club meeting. This time we discussed The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

Rating: 4 Stars by the WoWOs

In Jackson, Mississippi in 1962 things were very different then they are today. During this time there are very clear lines between the white middle class elite and their African American help. As we learn in reading The Help, these lines do not get crossed without very real consequences. The Help follows three different, yet extraordinary, women through their everyday lives during this time: Skeeter is a white woman, just graduating from college, whose mother is disappointed that she has not found a man yet. Growing up she had a maid who, when she returned from school, was no longer employed at her home and no one will speak of what happened to her. Aibileen is an African American maid who is caring and nurturing to the children she is raising for the families that she works for. Aibileen loves and cherishes Mae Mobley, the latest child she is raising, and tries to show her that she is beautiful and how to be anything but the racist women she is fated to become. Minny is a ballsy and spunky African American maid who has had problems in the past with her mouth. She finally is able to secure a position with Celia, who is new in town and doesn't not know of her reputation. These three women come together to make real change happen in Jackson, Mississippi and the reader gets to be a fly on the wall for their courageous and very well written journey.

If you have not read this book, there are some spoilers below in the text and the pictures:

The group as a whole enjoyed the story and loved the characters. One person rated the book 3.5 (due to subject matter not being her thing) but everyone else rated the book 4.5 to 5. Which is the highest ratings yet from the WoWO. We had one person who hadn't finished the book, but she will now that she has heard what we loved about the book. The group was torn on who their favorite character was. We all agree that the three main characters were wonderfully written and we loved them all. Minny is Ballsy and has a lot of Spunk, Aibileen was caring and nurturing and was the one to stick her neck out there and bring everyone together for the book to be a success. Skeeter was a great catalyst for change and shows that not everyone during this time felt the same. Our least favorite characters are pretty easy to guess if you read the book: Hilly being the number one choice, Leroy and Skeeter's mom were close behind in the votes. We all also agreed that Two Slice Hilly deserved what she got in that pie from Minny.

We all believed that if Aibileen stayed working for Elizabeth that there was a good chance Mae Mobley would have grown up to be just like her mother. Racism is taught and no matter what Aibileen tried to instill in her, the chances were slim that she would be different than the others as she grew up.

All of us felt that the setting was wonderfully written and you could picture the places and scenes vividly in your mind. The shifts in point of view gave a good and complete narrative to the places, people and events in the story and the character development was very well done. Several in the group didn't love the ending because they didn't feel they got the closure they needed for some of the characters. We are hoping that this was left open because there is a sequel coming, we would love to have another look into the lives of these women a few years down the road.

Although The Help is fiction, I personally loved how Kathryn Stockett incorporated her real experiences with Demetrie and being from the south into this book. I also loved that the descriptions of the cover of Help, the story the women wrote in the book, being the same as the cover of The Help. These two elements really gave the story an aire of realism and made you feel as if you were reading truth instead of fiction.

Entertainment Weekly mentions that there is a movie in the works for this book and we are excited at the prospect. We will definitely make the WoWO group trip to the movies for this one!

I would like to say a special thank you to Lori, Tricia and Bernice for bringing Minny's Chocolate Custard Pie! For those of you who read the book, you'll love this:

Tricia wouldn't eat it though... Hmmmm... Should we be worried?!?! Tricia hated Hilly enough to probably go as far as Minny did. Don't get on her bad side!

May I present to you the Lovely Sisters of the Mighty WoWO:

Left to Right:

Louise, Tricia, Karen, Peggy, Lori, Faith(Me), Myrta, Linda (w/Miles) and Bernice

Thank you ladies for making this book club such a success!

Also, Thanks to "the Help" from last night, Hector! Thanks for making sure we had our drinks full and food in our bellies! We appreciated all the help ;-)

The WoWO's next book club meeting will be on May 14th and we will be reading The Love Ceiling by Jean Davies Okimoto.

The Help book fits into the following categories/challenges for me:

• RYOB Challenge
• Hogwarts Reading Challenge (Charms)
• New Authors Challenge
• PBT Mar Tag: Other

Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Dragonflight is book one in the Dragonriders of Pern Series.

I couldn't come up with a synopsis for this without giving away plot lines so here is the synopsis from BN.Com:

After ten long turns, Lessa was ready to come out of hiding, to reclaim her birthright...and to Impress the young dragon queen and become Weyrwoman of Benden.Suddenly the deadly silver Thread once again threatened all Pern with destruction. But the mighty telepathic dragons that for centuries had defended Pern were now few in number, not nearly enough to protect the planet in its hour of greatest peril. So Lessa hatched a daring and dangerous scheme: Rally support from people who had long ago ceased to exist...

I had some trouble with the language/translation of this book, especially in the beginning on the ramp up. The details didn't interest me all that much and I didn't take the time to really focus on the language and the details. If there was something I was unclear about I forged through the text and hoped that it would become clear to me later, sometimes it did and sometimes it didn't. I'm glad I read the book, because it was a good storyline, but I wasn't enthralled with it. I did feel I was rushing through to finish it, and that may be what my main issue was in not getting the details. I was a bit disappointed by the way it felt to end before it should have but then I heard that this was written with a series in mind, so then it makes sense to leave some of the plot line open. Some friends whose judgment I trust liked this story alot more than I did, so I know it probably deserved more deep reading than I gave it. I may come back and re-read this one at some point, naybe it wasn't the right time for me to be reading this one. I will read on in the series if my fellow group members from Fantasy Thriller and Horror want to continue with it as a group, but I probably wouldn't continue it on my own.

This books fits the following Categories/Challenges for me:

• Hogwarts Reading Challenge (Care of Magical Creatures)
• Monthly Mixer Mele (A in April)
• New Authors Challenge
• PBT March Tag: Other

February WoWO Book Club Meeting and Dear John by Nicholas Sparks Review

For our Second WoWO Book Club Meeting we read and discussed Dear John by Nicholas Sparks. Before the book discussion we got together and watched the movie and that was a fun time in itself. Between Tricia's yelling out during the movie what was different in the book and my very first Appletini in a movie theater (Lori corrupting me). We had a really fun time at the movies. Later in this review I'll speak of what we liked and disliked about the movie compared to the book. But for now, I'll stick with the book review first.

Group Rating - Book: 4/5 Stars

Group Rating - Movie: 3/5 Stars

Dear John is the story of John Tyree and two very key relationships in his life. The relationship between him and Savannah, who he meets while home on leave from the Army. They have a whirlwind romance for a few fabulous weeks and then he must go back to Germany, where he is stationed. They write letters and their relationship takes ups and downs as any long distance relationship would. The other key relationship in John's life is the one with his father. John was raised by only his father after his mother left when he was young. They had a relationship that was built around collecting coins and not much else. John couldn't connect with his father on an emotional level and it led to his rebelling and to a strained relationship with his father.

Everyone in the group enjoyed the story. In this one we were split on most parts of the book. A few of the girls wished it would have ended differently but several of us thought that it was a realistic ending. We debated on whether John and Savannah were really in love or in some form of infatuation. I was one of the peope who thought that it was infatuation, especially on Savannah's part. For the most part we felt that without the story of John and Dad there wouldn't be much meat to this story. Sparks did a very good job with the Character development of John and the father. Their relationship was intriguing and touching. As favorite characters go - John received 8 votes and his father received 1 vote.

Some our favorite parts in the book were:

• The connection that they had with watching the moon at night.
• When John starts to take nightly walks with his father
• When John's dad was ill
• When Savannah gives John the book
• When Savannah explains why she wants John to write instead of emailing or calling.
• and for good measure - p.209 ;-)

As for the Movie, there were so many changes that I won't list them all but the ones that stood out as good or bad were:

• Tim is the father of Alan instead of the brother - not good
• Tim was scruffier and different that expected - not good
• John didn't have his tattoo's - not good (I was so looking forward to these!)
• Savannah doesn't give John the book - not good (important story line)
• The September 11th tragedy was much better felt in the movie than the book - good change
• John's father was played by Richard Jenkins - good good good!
• I would like to add that Channing Tatum is HOT.. and although I wasn't convinced of him by the previews.. he convinced most of us by the end of the movie.

So, which was better, the Movie or the Book? 7 of us thought the book was better and 2 of us thought the Movie was better. The two that liked the movie better stated that it was mostly for the ending, which was slightly different. I personally liked the book more after seeing the movie, it made me appreciate scenes and developments that occurred in the book that did not happen in the movie.

I'd like to say a special thanks to my co-worker Chris for making the WoWO Logo at the top of the page and to Linda for making these fabulous book markers for all the girls!

Next Up for the Women of Washington Oaks is The Help by Kathryn Stockett on March 24th, so look out for the next post of the WoWO Book Club.

On a personal note Dear John filled the following Categories and Challenges for me:

• The Romance Reading Challenge
• RYOB Challenge
• PBT February Tag: Relationships
• Monthly Mixer Mele Challenge
• New Authors Challenge
  

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson

Rating: 2/5 Stars

Three Cases, all being looked into by Private Investigator Jackson Brodie. The book jumps around to be told from different perspectives and this gives an interesting view on the stories.

In the beginning we learn a bit about each of the cases individually and then as the story unfolds you see some overlaps in the story from Jackson's uncovering of the details and meeting with all the clients.

I have been sitting on this review for days because i didn't know what to say about it. I enjoyed the beginning of the book and learning about all the cases but it just fell flat to me. So, this review is more about just stating that I read the book and wasn't wow'd by it. I wish it grabbed me more. I know others who have loved it but it just wasn't for me.

This book fills the following Challenges/Categories for me:

• RYOB Challenge


• Thriller and Suspense Reading Challenge


• PBT Tag: Relationships


• Monthly Mixer Mele Challenge


• New Authors Challenge

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Rating: 3/5 Stars

Through the Looking Glass - Rating 2/5 Stars

Since the new Alice in Wonderland is coming to the movies soon, I decided with a few people from my book club to read these stories. Since this is my first experience with the books as well as with Lewis Carroll, I expected the books to be like the Disney movie I remember from the past. I was wrong.

We all know the synopsis of Alice in Wonderland; little girl falls down the well and follows the White Rabbit through a passage and gets into all kinds of trouble. This is basically true, but what I didn't know is that Alice would be such a brat. I really wanted to love these stories and I was left with disappointment. While I enjoyed Alice's Adventures in wonderland a bit more than Through the looking glass, it still didn't wow me like I wanted it too. I found myself drifting away from the story as I was reading Through the looking glass, nothing about that story did anything for me.

I don't want to insult anyone as many people love this story, but I was just expecting so much more - and maybe that's the problem.

These books fill the following Challenges / Categories for me:

• PBT Feb Tag: Other
• Monthly Mele Challenge
• New Authors Challenge

New Authors Challenge

Mostly because I have a sickness that doesn't allow me to stay away from a good challenge, here is another one I just signed up for:

New Authors Challenge

Here are the guidelines from the Literary Escapism Blog:

The challenge will run from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010.

Since this is an author challenge, there is no restriction on choosing your novels. They can definitely be from other challenges. However, the authors must be new to you and, preferably from novels. Anthologies are a great way to try someone new, but only a third of your new authors can be from anthologies. I want this to be an easy challenge, so you can pick to do either 15, 25 or 50 new authors. It all depends on how fast you read and how adventurous you want to be.

I will be of course tracking this challenge on my blog and will try for 15 new authors next year. Check back for updates throughout the year to see how Im doing.

1. Michelle Scott (Happy Hour)
2. Jeff Abbott (Fear)
3.Lewis Carroll (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)
4.Kate Atkinson (Case Histories)
5. Nicholas Sparks (Dear John)
6. Anne McCaffrey (Dragonflight)
7. Kathryn Stockett (The Help) - 3/25
8. Keith R.A. DeCandido (Supernatural: Nevermore) - 4/17
9. F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby) - 4/22
10. Laurie Halse Anderson (Wintergirls) - 4/28
11. Jean Davies Okimoto (The Love Ceiling) - 5/7
12. Jeaniene Frost (Halfway to the Grave) - 5/23
13. Michael Scott (The Alchemyst) - 6/2
14. Barbara Kingsolver (The Lacuna) - 6/5
15. Henning Mankell (Faceless Killers) - 6/15 *** FINISHED CHALLENGE!!!

16. Lori Brighton (Wild Heart) - 6/23

17. Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) - 6/24

18. Alisa Smith & J.B. Mackinnon (Plenty) - 7/12

19. Donna MacMeans (The Education of Mrs. Brimley) - 9/29

20. John Hart (the Last Child) - 9/30