December Book

A Deadly Love Triangle

Elena: the golden girl, the leader, the one who can have any boy she wants.

Stefan: brooding and mysterious, he seems to be the only one who can resist Elena, even as he struggles to protect her from the horrors that haunt his past.

Damon: sexy, dangerous, and driven by an urge for revenge against Stefan, the brother who betrayed him. Determined to have Elena, he'd kill to possess her.

Collected here in one volume for the first time, volumes one and two of The Vampire Diaries, the tale of two vampire brothers and the beautiful girl torn between them.

In book one of the first Vampire Diaries omnibus, The Awakening, Elena is a high school golden girl, the one boys want and girls want to be. And Elena is used to getting what she wants. When she meets handsome, haunted Stefan, he struggles to resist her because of his dark secret. Stefan is torn by guilt over his past, and mindful of the threat that his vengeful brother, Damon, poses to anyone Stefan gets close to. Soon Elena finds herself torn between two brothers—and in terrible danger.
In book two of the first Vampire Diaries omnibus, The Struggle, Elena quickly realizes that the only thing more dangerous that being in love with a vampire is being desired by two. As Stefan struggles to suppress his instinctive thirst, Damon persists in his quest for Elena's heart. A dark turn of events forces Elena to risk her mortality to save one of her immortal suitors

Follow up... November meeting

Well girls, It was great to see you all on Thursday night. Just a quick re-cap, those that read the book "What I Saw and How I Lied" really enjoyed it and would recommend it. I think we had a pretty good meeting. I mentioned another book that is similar to "What I Saw and How I Lied", it is called "The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks" by E. Lockhart, to read more about it click here. I really enjoyed this one when I read it about a year ago and I know you all will like it as well. Don't forget about the book for next month. Hopefully we will all be able to make it to that meeting! I'm sure Michelle will be posting a blurb on here soon (ahem!). LOL!

I just wanted to thank those that were able to come to October's club! And to let those who were unable to attend know that they were missed! I received several dirty looks from a certain someone (you know who you are) that I have not participated in the Blog as much as I should. SO... I thought I would come and just leave a little note of thanks! You are all the best and I'm SOOOOOOO glad that someone really brilliant had the idea to start this club! :)

All my love,
Sam

"What I saw and How I lied" by Judy Blundell

There are very mixed reviews about this book on Amazon, but it won an award. Here is a summary:

"In 1947, 15-year-old Evie, her mother, Bev, and her stepfather, Joe, leave Brooklyn for a vacation in Palm Beach, FL, during the off season. There they meet Arlene and Tom Grayson, who lavish attention on the family and convince Joe to go into the hotel business with them. When Peter, an army acquaintance of Joe's, appears, Evie is smitten by his charm and attention. Her budding interest in romance, while protectively discouraged by her parents, is actually encouraged by Arlene, who helps Evie develop a sense of style. Evie enjoys her outings with Peter and interprets her mother's insinuating presence as protective, when in reality Bev is having an affair with the younger man. Joe's jealous distrust of his wife, established while he was at war in Europe, does not obviate the intimacy between Bev and Peter. Evie's closeness to her mother will not permit her to acknowledge the affair even when it becomes impossible to deny. Meanwhile pervading anti-Semitism sours the hotel deal, and the Graysons are forced out of Palm Beach. When Joe insists on one last boat trip, Peter dies during a storm and Joe is accused of murder. It is during the ensuing hearing that Evie learns that adults, even those closest to her, are not always what they seem. Blundell navigates this multidimensional plotline with unique, well-developed characters and insightful dialogue. Yet it is Evie and her rapidly maturing perception of herself and those around her that carry the story. In many ways she becomes the adult in the group, motivated by truth and justice rather than greed or superficial appearances."

We will be meeting on November 19th, that's the 3rd week in November. See you all then!

Guess what came out today!

Blue Bloods: The Van Alen Legacy By Melissa de la Cruz

“The murdered do haunt their murderers.” -Emily Bronte, “Wuthering Heights”

“I’ve been sleeping a thousand years it seems, got to open my eyes to everything…” -Evanescence, “Bring me to Life”

A Conversation
“It is said that Allegra’s daughter will defeat the Silver Bloods. I believe Schuyler will bring us the salvation we seek. She is almost as powerful as her mother. And one day she will be even more powerful.” “Schuyler Van Alen…the half-blood? Are you certain she is the one?” Charles asked. Lawrence nodded. “Because Allegra had two daughters,” Charles said, in a light, almost playful tone. “Surely you have not forgotten that.” The elder Van Alen’s tone turned cold. “Of course not. But it is beneath you to make sport of such a serious matter as Allegra’s firstborn.” Charles dismissed Lawrence’s rebuke with a wave. “My apologies. I meant no offense to the dead.” “Her blood is on our hands,” Lawrence sighed. The events of the day were tiring him, as were the memories of the past. “Only, I wonder…” “Yes?” “As I’ve wondered all these years, Charles, if such a one could ever be truly destroyed.”

New York Times Obituary Lawrence Van Alen, 105, Philanthropist and Philosopher, Dies
Lawrence Winslow Van Alen, a professor of history and linguistics at the University of Venice, died last night in his home on Riverside Drive in Manhattan. He was 105. His death was confirmed by Dr. Patricia Hazard, his attending physician. The cause of death was listed as advanced age.
Professor Van Alen was a descendant of William Henry Van Alen, known as the Commodore, an American icon and one of the richest men of the Gilded Age, whose wealth came from steamships, railroads and private investment and brokerage businesses. The Van Alens founded the New York Central Railroad Line and what is now Grand Central Terminal. The family’s charitable trust, the Van Alen Foundation, was a cornerstone in the development of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Ballet, and the New York Blood Bank.
Lawrence Van Alen is survived by his daughter, Allegra Van Alen Chase, a coma patient since 1992, and one granddaughter.

1. SCHUYLER
There had been little time to mourn. Upon returning to New York after Lawrence’s murder in Rio (covered up by the Committee with a proper obituary in the Times), Schuyler Van Alen had been on the run. No rest. No respite. A year of constant motion, barely one step ahead of the venators hunting her. A flight to Buenos Aires followed by one to Dubai. A sleepless night in a youth hostel in Amsterdam followed by another in a bunk-bed in an auditorium in Bruges.
She had marked her sixteenth birthday aboard the trans-Siberian railway—celebrating with a cup of watery Nescafe coffee and several crumbly Russian tea cookies. Somehow, her best friend Oliver Hazard-Perry had found a candle to light in one of the suharkies. He took his job as human conduit pretty seriously. It was thanks to Oliver’s careful accounting that they had been able to stretch their money so far. The Conclave had frozen his access to the well-funded Hazard-Perry accounts as soon as they had left New York.
Now it was August in Paris, and hot. They had arrived to find the city mostly a ghost town: bakeries, boutiques, and bistros shuttered while their proprietors absconded to three-week vacations in the beaches up north. The only people around were American and Japanese tourists who mobbed every museum gallery, every garden in every public square, inescapable and ubiquitous in their white sneakers and baseball caps. But Schuyler welcomed their presence. She hoped the slow-moving crowds would make it easier to spot their pursuers.
Schuyler had been able to disguise herself by changing her physical features, but performing the mutatio was taking a toll on her. She didn’t say anything to Oliver, but lately she couldn’t even do as much as change the color of her eyes. And now, after almost a year of hiding, they were coming out into the open. It was a gamble, but they were desperate. Living without the protection and wisdom of the secret society of vampires and their select group of trusted humans had taken its toll. And while neither of them would ever admit it, they were both tired of running.
So for now, Schuyler was seated in the back of a bus, wearing a pressed white shirt buttoned to the neck over slim black pants and flat black shoes with rubber soles. Her dark hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail and except for a hint of lipgloss she wore no make-up. She meant to look identical in every way with the rest of the catering staff who had been hired for the evening.
But surely someone would notice. Surely someone would hear how hard her heart was beating, would remark on how her breathing was shallow and quick. She had to calm down. She had to clear her mind and become the blasé contract caterer she was pretending to be. For so long Schuyler was used to being invisible. But this time her life depended on it.
The bus was taking them to the Hotel Lambert in the Ile-St-Louis. The most beautiful house in the most beautiful city in the world. At least, she had always thought so. Although “house” was putting it mildly. “Castle” was more like it, something out of a fairytale, its massive river walls and grey mansard roofs rising from the surrounding mist. As a child she had played hide-and-seek in its formal gardens, where the conical-sculpted trees reminded her of figures on a chessboard. She remembered staging imaginary productions inside the grand courtyard and throwing breadcrumbs to the geese from the terrace overlooking the Seine.
How she had taken that life for granted. Tonight she would not enter its exclusive, exalted domain as an invited guest, but rather as a humble servant. Like a mouse creeping into a hole. Schuyler was anxious by nature, and it took a tremendous amount of self-control to keep it together. At any moment, she feared she might scream—she was already so nervous she couldn’t stop her hands from trembling. They vibrated, fluttering in her lap, like trapped birds.
Next to her, Oliver was wearing a bartender’s uniform, handsome in a tuxedo with a black silk bowtie and silver shirt studs. But he was pale underneath his butterfly collar, his shoulders tense underneath a jacket that was a little too big. His clear hazel eyes were clouded, looking more grey than green. Oliver’s face did not display the same blank, bored look as the others. He was alert, ready for a fight or flight. Anyone could see it if they looked at him long enough.
We shouldn’t be here, Schuyler thought. What were we thinking? The risk is too great. They’re going to find us and separate us…and then…well the rest was too horrible to contemplate.
She was sweating under her starched shirt. The air-conditioning wasn’t working and the bus was packed. She leaned her head against the windowpane. Lawrence had been dead for over a year now. Four-hundred forty-five days. Schuyler kept count, thinking that maybe once she hit a magical number it would stop hurting.
This was no game, although sometimes it felt like a horrid surreal version of cat and mouse. Oliver put a hand on top of hers, to try and stop her hands from shaking. The tremors had begun a few months ago, just a slight twitching whenever she did something with her hands, and later she realized she had to concentrate whenever she did something as simple as pick up her fork, or open an envelope. Anxiety made it worse, and nothing seemed to help.
She knew what it was. Dr. Pat had told her the first time she visited her office: she was the only one of her kind, Dimidium Cognato, the first half-blood, and there was no saying how her human body would react to the transformation into immortal, there would be side-effects, obstacles particular to her case.
Still, she felt better once Oliver held her hand in his. He always knew what to do. She depended on him for so much, and her love for him had only deepened in the year they had spent together. She squeezed his hand, intertwined her fingers around his. It was his blood that ran through her veins, his quick thinking that had secured her freedom.
As for everyone and everything they had left behind in New York, Schuyler did not dwell on it anymore. All that was safely in the past. She had made her choice and was at peace with it. She had accepted her life for what it was. Once in a while she missed her friend Bliss Llewellyn very keenly, and more than once wanted to get in touch with her. But that was out of the question. No one could know where they were. No one. Not even Bliss.
Maybe they would be lucky tonight. Their luck had held so far. Oh there were a few close calls here and there—that one evening in Cologne when she’d run abruptly from a woman who had asked for directions to the cathedral. Illuminata had given the agent away. Schuyler just caught that soft imperceptible glow in the twilight before booking it the other way. Disguises only went so far. At some point, your true nature revealed itself.
Wasn’t that what the Inquisitor had argued during the official investigation into the events in Rio? That maybe Schuyler wasn’t who she was supposed to be?
Outlaw. Fugitive. That’s who she was now. Certainly not Lawrence Van Alen’s grieving granddaughter.
No.
According to the Conclave, she was his killer.

I'm excited, are you excited?

Liana

Post Meeting Question

I wanted to ask everyone a question tonight and totally forgot. Please take the poll on the right. Love spending time with you wonderful ladies!

September Book Club

Catching Fire
by Suzanne Collins

The long awaited sequel to one of the best books this book club has ever read.*

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

*Opinions expressed in this post are subject to change based on future good books to be read.

This was in the Paper this morning :)

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705323074/Jane-Austen-meets-zombies-in-monster-mash-up.html?linkTrack=promo-20176

Shannon Hale's Post Re. The Chosen One

So I thought you might be interested in reading this.
Shannon Hale's website is www.squeetus.com. I visit it often!


Today I get to expose Carol Lynch Williams to my blog readers. She's not shy--she'll bare it all! But we'll try to keep this nice for polite society. Carol is a fellow Utah writer (we breed writers out here on ranches). Her latest book completely took my breath away. I couldn't put it down, and I wasn't the only one. Not only is it gripping, it deals with an issue that has been in the news a lot the past couple of years. The Chosen One is about Kyra, a thirteen-year-old girl who was born into a religious community called the Chosen. Her father has three mothers, her family is large and loving. But the community's Prophet has chosen a husband for Kyra--she is to marry her 60-year-old uncle, who already has multiple wives. That's how the story begins.
Carol and I conversed via email.

SH: Hi Carol! You are looking gorgeous as usual. And you smelly so pretty. You must be one of those authors who actually shower. I hope that doesn't make you think you're better than the rest of us. But whether or not you think it, you probably are. I mean, The Chosen One. Wow. Knock my socks off. I could not put it down, and a full half hour after I finished, I suddenly started sobbing again. What was the experience of writing this story like for you?

CLW: I spent a lot of time wanting to cry while writing the book, Shannon. And the story starts out long before I sat down to write. You know how that goes. You get an idea--it's sloshes around in your brain for a number of years. Then one day (when you start your MFA at Vermont College in Writing for Children and Young Adults, you realize that you have to have a creative thesis done) you start writing. Part of the sadness was all the research. That was hard. Lots of sad things happen in our world (well, not in your world, Shannon. Because you got the Newbery Honor. But in plain people's worlds--like mine-- icky things happen.). So I did this research and I just felt sick for a couple of years (much longer than a 9-month puking pregnancy). But here's the serious part, Shannon. As I was writing, I realized abuse happens EVERYWHERE to kids. All over. And it made me sadder than ever. As far as the smell, that's Shalimar--a great 'I-haven't-showered-in-four-days' cover up.

SH: It's weird, how after getting a Newbery Honor, there's this magical force field around you that protects you from anything bad ever again. The magical force field, more than the framed certificate even, is the real bonus.
You mentioned research. What kind did you do? Would you recommend any other books on either abuse or fundamentalism?


CLW: I researched a lot online, read newspaper articles and watching what was on TV, too. Not Big Love. I still haven't seen that. But it seemed every channel had something about polygamy. And I think about this time (or right before) Warren Jeffs became one of the Ten Most Wanted or something, so he was in the news quite a bit. I read accounts of people who had escaped the lifestyle. I talked to practicing polygamists and people who had left families when they decided to not follow their leaders. I spoke to families where a child left the religion taught at home and followed someone into polygamy. One of the misconceptions I encountered (and am still encountering) is that some people think members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are polygamists--or that polygamists are somehow Latter-day Saints--like a branch or something. But what I found is that there are all kinds of people who have broken off from their churches and become polygamists. I didn't read any non-fiction books (like Jessop's Escape or Jeff's Lost Boy, which has been recently released, or Stolen Innocence by Wall). I wanted to get my facts from reports and documentaries. So these may be books I'll read later--and they may be good but haunting books to recommend. Some of these cultures are not for the faint of heart.

SH: I'd say the same of your book--not for the faint of heart. Unflinching, brutal, but beautiful and loving. I've noticed that though the Chosen in your book have nothing to do with the Latter-day Saints (i.e. Mormons), in reviews and articles, people will still mention that you are a Mormon. The New York Times did that. How do you feel about this? Being myself a practicing Latter-day Saint, I'm sure we get a lot of the same questions and confused opinions. The questions are great--but the assumptions can be hard. Not that I'm helping dispel myths very well. I wrote a book with my husband, Dean Hale. The illustrator, Nathan Hale, is not a relative, but at book appearances out of Utah, I've started to claim him as my second husband. 'Cause, you know, I'm a Mormon and all. And apparently I'm that kind of a woman--the kind of a woman with many needs.

CLW: You are a woman with many needs, Shannon. That's part of why you are so hysterically funny. I don't mind that people know I'm a Latter-day Saint, Shannon. Religion is a part of who we are, don't you think? At one point--when I knew I would write about polygamists but I didn't know it would be this book--I thought that having a middle grade novel where two little girls met (one LDS, one the daughter of a polygamist) would be a good way for people to see that Mormons do not practice polygamy because I would show the difference between the two groups. That turned out to be a book that I could not write. At all. What is interesting is that I still keep getting the reviews for The Chosen One that say things like "This is a book about Mormons." Or " This book takes place in a Mormon-like setting . . ." I had one woman ask me, "What will the Mormons do when they read this book?" And I was like, "Ummm, I'm not so sure. I hope they like it." Being a Latter-day Saint is a huge part of who I am. So is being a mom. And being a good friend. And a woman. And paranoid. And an over-eater. And a Miss Bossy-face. And a would-have-been Country and Western singer. And a reader. And on and on till your sick of my list. It all influences me as a writer.


SH: Well said. Now, you know, you are the hysterically funny one. Not only in person, but you've written some very funny books. A Mother to Embarrass me had me laughing out loud. And yet you can go to some very dark places. There's a scene in The Chosen One that I never could have written. I just couldn't live in that moment (maybe I could've when I was younger, but not since becoming a mother). What's that writing experience like for you?

CLW: If you're mad enough, Shannon, I bet you could write anything, don't you think? The more research I did on some of these communities (remember--many are NOT like this), the more sad and angry I became. So--this leads me to another story. Once upon a time (this is NOT a fairy tale) I wrote a book called The True Colors of Caitlynne Jackson which is about child abuse. This was a long time ago. The whole time I wrote that book, I wore my emotions not just on my sleeve, but all over my body. Some days my girls would come in, "Mommy?" and I'd burst into tears. Other days I would turn to them like Regan from The Exorcist--"Whaaat?" What I'm trying to say is that it is hard to write icky, yucky stuff. Writing is so much who we are that we feel what we are writing--experience, sometimes, what our characters are feeling. Maybe I'm making too much of it, but that's why, I think, it's hard to put something tough down on paper. Some people want a sequel to The Chosen One. Honestly, at this point in my life, I don't know that I could write one.

SH: Thanks Carol! Is there anything else you'd want to add?

CLW: Just where they should send the money. 50/50 split, right?

Love that Carol. A fine lady and a fine writer, even if she is a Miss Bossy-face. And check her out putting spoilers for her own book! I just couldn't let it ride. I'm a spoiler freak, had to hide them. Go read the book. And keep some tissues handy

August Book Club

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

By Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

Synopsis
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton-and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she's soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers-and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead. Can she vanquish the spawn of Satan? And overcome the social prejudices of the class-conscious landed gentry? Complete with romance, heartbreak, swordfights, cannibalism, and thousands of rotting corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you'd actually want to read.

She Said. She Read. She Recommends.

Hey All,
I have just finished the book "Wings" by Aprilynne Pike. I recommend it to all! It is recommended by Stephenie Meyer and has a little Twilight feel to it. Click here if you want to read what it is about!

June Book!

The Love Letters of Joseph and Emma-
Enlightening and heartwarming, Love Letters of Joseph and Emma explores Joseph and Emma Smith’s close and loving partnership through the lens of their personal correspondence to each other. Paired with stunning illustrations by renowned artist Liz Lemon Swindle, this engaging history provides insight into the lives and glimpses into the hearts of the founder of the LDS Church and his “elect lady.”

It's a short one, I hope everyone will have it read by our meeting on Wednesday the 10th. Watch for the e-vite coming shortly!

NOTE NOTE NOTE, we are switching to the 2nd Wednesday of the month, until further notice.

New Feature

Hey Girls,
We have a new feature on the side bar (invented by Melissa). She said. She read. She recommends. This is a place where us separate members can recommend books we've read outside of book club to others. You can add a blurb about the book, why liked it, etc. Or you could put, she doesn't recommend and say why you didn't like a book.

Ahhh!

I didn't realize there was a 4th book in the Blue Bloods series. Now I have to wait till October to read it? Lame. Thanks a bunch, Sam! ;)

-Liana

Hello all!

I had a great time at our meeting this past week. It was good to get out and go visit while eating some fabulous food... It's also good when we all read/like the book. Now I know you may be finishing up the whole Blue Bloods series but our next book is "How to ditch your fairy" by Justine Larbalestier. It looks like a quick read and a fun one too. Which is always good. Here's a summary,

"Welcome to New Avalon, where everyone has a personal fairy. Though invisible to the naked eye, a personal fairy, like a specialized good luck charm, is vital to success. And in the case of the students at New Avalon Sports High, it might just determine whether you make the team, pass a class, or find that perfect outfit. But for 14-year-old Charlie, having a Parking Fairy is worse than having nothing at all—especially when the school bully carts her around like his own personal parking pass. Enter: The Plan. At first, teaming up with arch-enemy Fiorenza (who has an All-The-Boys-Like-You Fairy) seems like a great idea. But when Charlie unexpectedly gets her heart’s desire, it isn’t at all what she thought it would be like, and she’ll have resort to extraordinary measures to ditch her fairy. The question is: will Charlie herself survive the fairy ditching experiment? From the author of the acclaimed Magic or Madness trilogy, this is a delightful story of fairies, friendships, and figuring out how to make your own magic"

Remember our meeting will be held on May 14th, which is the 2nd Thursday of the month. If anyone has any problems with that date please let me know ASAP, so we can switch the date with enough notice for everyone else. I'm excited for our next meeting, and remember to look for the e-vite!

-Miranda

New Book... Blue Bloods

Schuyler Van Alen is confused about what is happening to her. Her veins are starting to turn blue, and she's starting to crave raw meat. Soon, her world is thrust into an intricate maze of secret societies and bitter intrigue. Schuyler has never been a part of the trendy crowd at her prestigious New York private school. Now, all of a sudden, Jack Force, the most popular guy in school, is showing an interest in her. And when one of the popular girls is found dead, Schuyler and Jack are determined to get to the bottom of it.Schuyler wants to find out the secrets of the mysterious Blue Bloods. But is she putting herself in danger? Melissa de la Cruz's vampire mythology, set against the glitzy backdrop of New York City, is a juicy and intoxicating read.

Hello...

I had a great time last meeting! I love getting together with you ladies! I know this book isn't necessarily the most fun, but I'm hoping you'll enjoy it and that we can all learn alot from it. I think it would be neat if we each choose one of the skills, and really practice it for a couple of weeks. That way we can talk about our experiences. So even if you haven't read the whole book, read the index, and choose one chapter and read it a couple of times, and then put it to work, then read the rest of the book. Sound good? Looking forward to it! Thanks girls!

Sam

Welcome...

Well after talking last night, it seemed everyone wanted to do a blog to keep up to date. So here it is. Feel free to post as necessary. I think we decided that if it's your month you can change the layout and what not to suit your book. Yay, Sam it is your turn. Also if your book is coming up and you want to add it to the side bar as an upcoming read, you can do that... If you don't know how I will show you how. Alright, enjoy. Let me know if I need to change anything.

-Miranda