The Great Escape Book Club

Christopher in Print

2009-09-07T12:25:00.000-07:00

Our esteemed Christopher DiVirgilio is writing for a new publication - The West Valley Health and Living Magazine. To view the September issue and read two of his articles, go to:

http://www.westvalleyhealthandliving.com/wvhl/uploads/pdfs/WVHL_Sept09.pdf

Way to go Christopher!!

The Middle Place (By Kelly Corrigan)

2009-09-07T12:03:00.000-07:00

The Middle Place is our next book.....meeting to be held later in September. See the MeetUp Link on the right for a synopsis.

Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict (by Laurie Viera Rigler)

2009-08-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

Our last meeting was a call in from Laurie Viera Rigler to discuss her book "Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict". A wonderful sequel to her original "Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict". Laurie is always very gracious and fun to visit with. She offered some good insight and understanding to our comments and questions. We discussed at length the differences in custom and decorum, in particular dating and marriage rituals. We weighed the pros and cons of being a woman in Jane Austen's time vs. today's world. Very interesting discussion! Her book is delightful, and our group recommends it highly.

Thank you Laurie!! We look forward to your next book!!

Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict (By Laurie Viera Rigler)

2009-08-04T19:42:00.000-07:00

The long awaited sequel to Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict is finally here. Laurie has been busy in California doing readings and book signings, and she's still found the time to sign book plates for our group and even call in on our upcoming meeting August 17th. We cannot wait to visit with her again!!

So as not to spoil the book for those who haven't finished it yet, it is at least as good as the first book and maybe even better. She did a beautiful job of tying the two together and I enjoyed it immensely. I read it in two sittings!!!

Laurie - until August 17th......

Summer of Firefly Memories (by Joan Gable)

2009-07-05T10:39:00.000-07:00

July 20th is our next meeting - location available on our MeetUp link to the right. Our choice is by a local author, Joan Gable. Joan is going to actually be at our meeting with us to aid in the discussion of her first novel. We are excited to have her. Many of our group members have already read the book and loved it. Looking forward to meeting with you Joan!!!!

Entered August 4 - We had a great visit with Joan. She came to our meeting and helped us to understand what motivated her to write and clued us in on the elements that were actually from her own life. She's planning a sequel which we will look forward to. I hope a publisher picks you up Joan! What you wrote sure beats some of what's out there on the store shelves.

Thank you for coming to our meeting!!

My Sister's Keeper (by Jodi Picoult)

2009-07-05T10:31:00.000-07:00

Our June meeting was filled with discussion about this book. It's such controversial material that not to discuss in detail and share our feelings and opinions would have been wrong. Not wanting to spoil it for the reader who has not yet had the chance to read this, I won't say anymore. I do understand the movie is NOT a good adaptation of the book. For more information, feel free to visit http://www.jodipicoult.com/ where you can read and comment on the movie.

Firefly Lane (by Kristen Hannah)

2009-07-05T10:27:00.001-07:00

This was our selection for the month of May, 2009.This was a fabulous book about friendship that begins in youth and never dies. The story of two women who shared hopes and dreams as teenagers, only to choose very different paths as adults. Yet the bond remained. This generated a ton of discussion with the unusual dynamic these two women had between them. A fascinating story....thank you Joanna for hosting on your birthday!!!!

Matrimony (By Joshua Henkin)

2009-04-19T17:21:00.001-07:00

This was our topic of discussion Monday April 20th....and we were blessed with another author call in. Good conversation with the author as well. Joshua talked about how he spent ten years and wrote thousands of pages before it became a book. Wow - what a process!!!

The Elegant Gathering of White Snows (By Kris Radish)

2009-04-19T17:15:00.000-07:00

This was an excellent book. Enjoyed by all. There's a lot of 'girl power' in these pages, and it's loaded with inspiration. It offered a great deal of discussion about life in general, personal growth, awakenings, and pure love. An excellent book choice, and we recommend it to everybody, especially women.

We're a Year Old!!

2009-03-02T17:49:00.001-08:00

It was the third Monday of March, 2008 when a small group of readers met at Applebee's at Shea Blvd. and 90th Street in Scottsdale, AZ. "The Other Boleyn Girl" (By Phillippa Gregory) was our first book, and it was so much fun we decided to keep the ball rolling.

We've had our ups and downs, starting as a group of 16 and quickly dwindling to only 5 who attended regularly. Thanks to MeetUp and our administrators Abbie and Joanna, we have upped our numbers to 96. We usually only have 10 - 15 people that attend, but its often a different mix of new book friends.

It has been a wonderful year, we've all made new friends, and exposed ourselves to a wide variety of modern day and classic literature.

Here's to many more years of reading, socializing, and expanding our minds!!!!!

Pride and Prejudice (By Jane Austen)

2009-03-02T17:34:00.000-08:00

We were VERY fortunate to have had our second call in from Laurie Viera Rigler, author of "Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict" and the soon to be released sequel "Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict". Being a Jane Austen officianado, I emailed her and asked if she would be willing to discuss Pride and Prejudice with our group on February 16th. She was willing. We had approximately 90 minutes worth of discussion and all learned a little more about this beloved story. We talked about the author, her life and times, and some of the reasoning behind her subject matter.

We laughed a lot, and had a fabulous time. We also arranged to have her call in and discuss her sequel "Rude Awakenings" with us in August. We're so excited to read the sequel - our third book was her "Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict".

We even went so far as to take a group photo with us holding her book and Jane's book.....but the camera disk had an error and we lost the picture......sorry gals (and Chris).....we'll try again next meeting.

Laurie - we thank you for your time and can't wait for your sequel!!!!!

Kate Jacobs at Changing Hands Bookstore

2009-01-29T16:10:00.001-08:00

We were priviledged to go to Changing Hands Bookstore on January 20th to hear and meet Kate Jacobs, the author of "Comfort Food", "The Friday Night Knitting Club", and "Knit Two". Kate did a reading from "Knit Two" and held a short Q&A session. The event was attended by only 5 of us, and unfortunately the group photo was disasterously blurry (thats what I get for handing a complex camera to a complete stranger). Too fuzzy to post anywhere....but it was awesome to meet her and learn more about her and her writing process. And....she's a fellow Canadian from Hope British Columbia!!!

Unfortunately I was not able to be at her call in a few weeks ago, however I hear it was eye opening and helped the reader gain a deeper appreciation for her work.

Pride and Prejudice (By Jane Austen)

2009-01-29T15:54:00.000-08:00

I realize this is the BBC movie photo to the left, however isn't he the ultimate Mr. Darcy?? We're reading this as our classic for this February's book club selection. I won't synopsize this epic piece of literature, as most of us are familiar. I will say this much....if you're going to cheat and watch the movie version rather than read the actual book (naughty cheaters!!!), be sure to watch the BBC miniseries version that was released in 1995 by A&E (starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle). It is still an abridged version, but has much more substance to it than any other screen version, and is very true to the book. I personally am reading through the entire book from my gigantic leather bound collection of Jane Austen Books (ooh - my aching back from lugging it around!!).

The plan is to visit with Laurie Viera Rigler (author of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict - which we studied last year - and she has a sequel coming out this summer as well!!) via phone. I will confirm this detail, and will post on the MeetUp site if she can't make the schedule. If nothing changes then we can look forward to visiting with her!!! She loves nothing better than to talk about all things Jane Austen, so I for one am looking forward to it!!

Don't miss it!!!

The Alienist (by Caleb Carr)

2009-01-29T15:46:00.000-08:00

We had our meeting on this book on January 19th at Gina's home in Central Phoenix. It was an interesting discussion about a book that we initially didn't love to pieces. It was one of those situations that as you delved deeper into why the author did things a certain way, you grew to love it. We all had a greater appreciation for the book after it was all said and done.

There was a great deal of 'comparison' in the story. The crazy cat lady vs. the insanity of the children and animals in the Roosevelt household (why is one thought of as crazy and the other one as eccentric?). Does our station in life and place in society dictate whether we take a person as insane or otherwise? We were able to draw so many paralells in the story that helped us to appreciate the author and his message.

It was fun to read a mystery for sure......

Kate Jacobs Call In Book Meeting

2009-01-05T13:02:00.001-08:00

Don't miss this week's extra Saturday meeting when we will be discussing the newly released "Knit Two" by Kate Jacobs. She is calling in to our meeting, and this will be her second call in to our group. Thanks to Abbie for arranging the call and hosting the meeting!! Don't miss out!!

Happy New Year!!!

2008-12-31T21:06:00.000-08:00

I wanted to jump in here and wish you all a very Happy New Year!!! I received this link on my facebook page and it's a resolution list from the Book Girl's Book Club.....something we should all adopt....
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=45487176407&h=8VPe0&u=LeFE6

Here's hoping 2009 brings us all satisfying literary experiences, health, and happiness!!!

I hope you have a very safe and happy holiday!!!!

Holidays

2008-12-23T13:40:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to take a minute to wish our club members and fellow bloggers a wonderful holiday season. I am grateful to have this time to gather with family and friends, and to slow down for a day or two.

I wish you all health, safety and joy this season!!

What Jennifer is Reading....

2008-12-19T08:16:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to send you some titles that I've been reading aside from our book club books.

I just finished the Inkheart Trilogy (Inkheart, Inkspell, and Inkdeath) by Cornelia Funke and also am working my way through "The Idiot Girl's Action-Adventure Club" by Laurie Notaro (who is from Phoenix, by the way), which is absolutely hilarious in a LOL kind of way. I think my husband dislikes when I read it because I literally cannot stop laughing (think tears rolling down my face).

Book Swap

2008-12-16T07:15:00.001-08:00

Gather up the books you have read and enjoyed. Starting in January, bring one for a club member to read, and borrow one from another. We have decided this would be a wonderful way to share our favorites.

Here are the rules....you must only BORROW the books, and mark your own books with identification (name, and either address or phone number or both), and you may only keep the "borrowed" book for a one month period. Then you must return it to its rightful owner, so it can be shared again the following month. Also - you may not "borrow" unless you bring a book to share.

This will begin at our Monday evening meeting, on January 19th at Gina's home.

The Alienist (by Caleb Carr)

2008-12-16T07:08:00.000-08:00

January's selection....at Gina's on January 19th. See you all there!!!!

The year is 1896, the place, New York City. On a cold March night New York Times reporter John Schuyler Moore is summoned to the East River by his friend and former Harvard classmate Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, a psychologist, or "alienist." On the unfinished Williamsburg Bridge, they view the horribly mutilated body of an adolescent boy, a prostitute from one of Manhattan's infamous brothels.

The newly appointed police commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt, in a highly unorthodox move, enlists the two men in the murder investigation, counting on the reserved Kreizler's intellect and Moore's knowledge of New York's vast criminal underworld. They are joined by Sara Howard, a brave and determined woman who works as a secretary in the police department. Laboring in secret (for alienists, and the emerging discipline of psychology, are viewed by the public with skepticism at best), the unlikely team embarks on what is a revolutionary effort in criminology-- amassing a psychological profile of the man they're looking for based on the details of his crimes. Their dangerous quest takes them into the tortured past and twisted mind of a murderer who has killed before. and will kill again before the hunt is over.

Fast-paced and gripping, infused with a historian's exactitude, The Alienist conjures up the Gilded Age and its untarnished underside: verminous tenements and opulent mansions, corrupt cops and flamboyant gangsters, shining opera houses and seamy gin mills. Here is a New York during an age when questioning society's belief that all killers are born, not made, could have unexpected and mortal consequences.

"An original that fits no established mystery niche, Carr's fictional debut could be the start of something big." Gilbert Taylor, Booklist

"A knockout period mystery, infused with intelligence, vitality, and humor. This novel is a highly unorthodox variant of the Holmes-Watson theme and the best since Julian Symons's delightful A Three-Pipe Solution. It should entice new fans to the genre." Library Journal

"A first-rate tale of crime and punishment that will keep readers guessing until the final pages." Entertainment Weekly

Heartburn (by Nora Ephron)

2008-12-16T06:56:00.000-08:00

December's meeting, held December 15th, 2008 was a cozy group. Given the season and the rain, it's almost surprising how many people came out.

The discussion was almost what you would call heated, as so many of us thought the heroine was ridiculous to marry her 2nd husband (after he'd already cheated on her and then proposed to her umpteen times), and even more pathetic to have been in denial as long as she was. We thought it might be because of her desire to be 'attached' with one small child and another one on the way.

That spurred a whole lot of discussion surrounding relationships, weddings, break ups and divorces.

A special thanks to Christopher who was a wonderful host, and had enough food to feed three or four times the number of guests!!!

Pride and Prejudice

2008-12-12T08:58:00.000-08:00

If you are a FaceBook person, this list is hilarious!!! I highly recommend clicking this link and having a look.

http://www.much-ado.net/austenbook/

Have fun!!!

An Interview to Read

2008-12-08T12:01:00.000-08:00

Check out this blog entry.....

http://scobberlotch.blogspot.com/2008/11/10-questions-wauthor-laurie-viera.html

It's an interview with Laurie Viera Rigler on writing, and her new sequel.....

An Evening with Jodi Picoult

2008-12-03T15:10:00.000-08:00

Pictured below: Sharon, Jodi Picoult, Joanna (at Phoenix Public Library Dec 2, 2008)

Joanna, being the watchful person she is, was cruising through the events calendar recently at the Phoenix Public Library and came upon a very special event. On December 2 and 3, Jodi Picoult (author of "Nineteen Minutes", "The Tenth Circle", "My Sister's Keeper") was going to be speaking at the library, then signing books afterwards. Well, once I heard about it I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to attend.

Changing Hands Bookstore sponsored the event and was there with Jodi Picoult books on sale. Joanna and I both made some purchases and then were lucky enough to have Jodi autograph each and every one.

The lecture portion was fabulous. Jodi is VERY articulate, and spoke to us about how her ideas come to her, her research processes, and why she goes into the depth that she does. She has a wonderful sense of dedication to accuracy, likes to make sure she honors the "real world" people who will be effected by her stories, and even talks about how much she loves some of her characters. There was a 20 minute Q&A session after, and she was very down to earth, displayed a great sense of humor, and even had patience for some "interesting" questions.

Joanna asked her if she does 'call ins' to book club meetings, but unfortunately her answer was "not anymore, I used to". We were bummed....but at least we asked!!

We determined that March's book will be Jodi's novel "My Sister's Keeper". Jodi talked about the upcoming movie next summer, based on the novel, however the ending has been changed for the movie (which she wasn't too happy about).

Next author coming to town will be Kate Jacobs, and that will be in January.

Thank you Jodi Picoult!!!!!!!!!

Heartburn (by Nora Ephron)

2008-11-18T15:16:00.000-08:00

A lighter read for December, due to the hectic season ahead. A story of a couple who marries a little later in life, and the challenges they face. See you all at Christopher's on December 15th!!!

What do we read in our spare time??

2008-10-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

The Twilight Series, by Stephanie Meyers (fabulous!)
Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen
The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch
The Sookie Stackhouse Vampire Series, by Charlaine Harris (also fabulous)
Chasing Harry Winston, by Lauren Weisberger
One Fifth Avenue, by Candace Bushnell (not well loved)

The Secret Life of Bees (by Sue Monk Kidd)

2008-10-20T10:01:00.001-07:00

This month's meeting was held at Karen's home in North Phoenix. The attendance was sufficient, the atmosphere cosy and warm, perfectly suited to this wonderful story told in Secret Life of Bees......This is the heartwarming story of a young girl named Lily. Strange circumstances lead to her running from her home along with Rosaline, her housekeeper/governess. They find themselves in the home of a family who keeps bees, and who had actually known Lily's mother many years earlier. Lily is drawn there by the label and the town she finds in her mother's keepsake box, and when the law and TRay chase Lily and Rosaline away, she heads for Tuberon, and the pink house in search of answers. There they find love, growth, and enlightenment. The discussion was all favorable and the book was loved by just about everybody. There was a great deal of talk about May, symbolism surrounding her condition and death, the era in which the book is set (early 1960's in the South). Great character development ensues, and it wraps up neatly in the end. Beautiful story....now most of us need to get to the movies before it leaves the theater!!!
A special thank you to Christopher. He brought us autographed copies of "Interrupted Lives", a history written by four authors, about living in interment camps in the Phillippines during World War II (see below for more details).

Suite Francaise (by Irene Nemirovsky)

2008-09-16T15:36:00.000-07:00

Well, there were mixed feelings about this book at the October 20th meeting. Some didn't love it to death...although we all had a certain amount of appreciation for the author, her "Russian" writing technique (multiple characters, etc.), and the circumstances under which she wrote.

Some were confused by the number of characters and had a difficult time keeping them straight. Some were baffled at the kind portrayal of the German officers....and the cruelty of some of the characters. There was a lot of discussion around the circumstances brought about by war, and the aftermath of battle, the issue of the Jews in concentration camps, and the prejudice associated with Nazi Germany during WWII.

All in all, it was a VERY interesting meeting.

We welcomed a few new members, and although we have a MeetUp following of over 60 readers, our turn out is less than a quarter of that. You ladies and gentlemen that don't come out, please make an effort. There's several connected meetings that are held in restaurants and generally on Saturdays, so there's plenty of chances to participate. Please come out!!!

From the Jacket:
By the early l940s, when Ukrainian-born Irène Némirovsky began working on what would become Suite Française—the first two parts of a planned five-part novel—she was already a highly successful writer living in Paris. But she was also a Jew, and in 1942 she was arrested and deported to Auschwitz: a month later she was dead at the age of thirty-nine. Two years earlier, living in a small village in central France—where she, her husband, and their two small daughters had fled in a vain attempt to elude the Nazis—she'd begun her novel, a luminous portrayal of a human drama in which she herself would become a victim. When she was arrested, she had completed two parts of the epic, the handwritten manuscripts of which were hidden in a suitcase that her daughters would take with them into hiding and eventually into freedom. Sixty-four years later, at long last, we can read Némirovsky's literary masterpiece.

Sundays at Tiffany's (by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet)

2008-08-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

We had our very first "MeetUp" meeting on Monday, September 15th at Abbie's new home. We had the pleasure of meeting 7 new members, planned our calendar through February, and really had some great discussion about our book. As a whole, we were somewhat baffled at Michael's transition from imaginary friend to adult male - not sure if it was a concious decision on Michael's part or if he was just accepting his fate/purpose in life. Also , we questioned the maturity level of Jane - never having been able to let go of her imaginary friend from her youth. We discussed the idea of the book being written from two perspectives, and maybe losing some of the emotion because of it. The overbearing mother, the narcisstic boyfriend, and the twists at the end were also points of discussion.

The Friday Night Knitting Club (by Kate Jacobs)

2008-08-22T16:27:00.000-07:00

Another first novel, and another author call in. This meeting was originally planned for July, but due to summer commitments we postponed our meeting until August, only to have the same issue. We went ahead with the meeting anyhow, not wanting to be rude to our lovely author, Kate Jacobs. Her book is about a series of women that come together because of a knitting and yarn shop named "Walker and Daughter". The central character is a single mother, entrepeneur who brings together this group of women into her shop on Friday evenings to knit as a group. It's a story about relationships, their evolution, and the challenges we face in today's society as women. Kate was very gracious, calling us at exactly 7:00 p.m. and visiting with us (all 3 of us) for about 45 minutes. She spoke to us of her desire to write about relationships, and to develop her characters within those relationships. Kate has a 2nd book out called "Comfort Food" which we all agree we should read. This time we met at Joanna's home in Cave Creek. After all, she has a new coy pond and it needed to be looked at!!!!

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict (by Laurie Viera Rigler)

2008-08-22T16:13:00.000-07:00

A truly remarkable book. This again is a first novel for the author, Laurie Viera Rigler, who is a self professed Jane Austen addict.

Her book starts with the heroine, who is a 21st century woman living in Los Angeles, waking up in a strange home, surrounded by strangers, and in a different time - the time of Jane Austen's England. The story evolves, as does the character, to try to figure out why she is where (and when) she is, and how to get back to where she came from.

A wonderful book, well received by all, and most of us are now looking forward to the sequel, which is currently underway!!

Laurie Viera Rigler called into our meeting, and visited with us for about 90 minutes. It was so much fun to visit with her. She had some interesting responses to our takes on the book, and was so down to earth.

This meeting was held at Rebecca's home in Phoenix, where we hovered around the speaker phone so we could all participate.

Nineteen Minutes (by Jodi Picoult)

2008-08-22T16:10:00.000-07:00

This book was read by all, but due to illness and other circumstances, we canceled this meeting. The book is wonderful though - it was a first Jodi Picoult book for many of us - but we all enjoyed it. Never made it to discussion though....

The Memory Keeper's Daughter (by Kim Edwards)

2008-08-22T15:59:00.000-07:00

This was our second discussion, meeting held at Sharon's home in Scottsdale. It spurred on quite a lot of discussion due to the subject matter. A woman giving birth in a snowstorm to twins, a boy and a girl. The girl has downs syndrome, and so the father (who is also the doctor) tells his wife the girl died at birth. He gives the girl to the nurse who assisted in the delivery, asking her to take the child to an institution. Instead she keeps the child and raises it herself. To say more would be a spoiler.

The Lifetime movie of this book was not well reviewed by our group....too many 'holes' in the story.

Our First Book - The Other Boleyn Girl (by Phillipa Gregory)

2008-08-22T15:36:00.000-07:00

This was our very first book to review as a group. It was a little heavy for some of our gals, but we all read it and enjoyed it. Then most of us went to the movie to see how it compared (most of us agreed the book was superior to the movie).

We met at Applebee's in North Scottsdale, munched on appetizers and discussed the book. It was there we agreed to meet in homes, so we could have more privacy and not inconvenience any wait staff.

Off to a great start!!