I finished "Not Wanted on the Voyage" a couple of days ago, borrowed from Judy. It was a good read - very different. I am also reading "Five Quarters of the Orange" by Joanne Harris, also borrowed from Judy. It is a good read.

I am also reading Three Junes by Julia Glass and To Ride a Silver Brookstick (New Generation Witchcraft) by Silver Raven Wolf, and re-reading some poetry I already had:

A Garden of Anchors by Joy Kogowa

The Blue Hour of the Day by Lorna Crozier and

In this House are Many Women by Sheree Fitch

Can't stay away from the poetry too long! It's like touching base, or going home.

I can't recommend "Winter Vault" as I got half way through or so and had to stop. It got too confusing. I'm afraid Judy had the same experience.

October 2009 book club

The next Ruthless Book Club will be held on October 28 at 1:30 at Karen's house. We will be discussing " The Book of Negroes". Also, hopefully Karen will have some exciting stories to tell us of her recent trip.

The Outcast

Thanks for the mini reviews, Laura. Would you recommend The Winter Vault overall?

I thought I would mention a book called The Outcast by Sadie Jones which was riveting; I read it in 2 days and could hardly put it down. It is definitely dark and disturbing but so well-written and compelling. It has been compared to Atonement by Ian McEwan and I would agree. Difficult to believe it is a first novel...

Also read a gift book about a remarkable library cat called Dewey; probably not a book club candidate but a good story and may appeal to you cat lovers out there!

Jane D.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Just finished above book. I really enjoyed the research they did on the German occupation of Guernsey and the fates of many of the Islanders but I found the characters to be a little Pollyanna for my liking. All in all, a fairly good read.

I am currently reading The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels. It is about the dismantling things in the Valley of the Kings before the Aswan dam was finished. It is good.
Laura

More titles to consider...

Hi Everyone,

All year I've been saving titles on scraps of paper from here and there and finally put them together; all look interesting to me so I couldn't winnow them down. SO, here are 9 titles! I went to the Indigo site just to get brief blurbs to give you an idea of the themes; when and if you have time you can look through them and see if any pique your interest. Sorry to be so long getting these out to you... Jane D.

1. Solitude: Seeking Wisdom in Extremes; A Year Alone in the Patagonian Wilderness ... Robert Kull

2. The Hour I First Believed ... Wally Lamb

3. Your Sad Eyes and Unforgettable Mouth ... Edeet Ravel

4. The Retreat ... David Bergen

5. Mudbound ... Hillary Jordan

6. First Darling of the Morning ... Thrity Umrigar

7. The Disappeared ... Kim Echlin

8. Yesterday's Weather ... Anne Enright

9. Cutting for Stone ... Abraham Verghese


P.S. Have the blurbs on a Micosoft word doc. Can someone tell me how to put it up here?? Thanks. J.

I've phoned Jane Hamilton to give her the site and expect she will add a few titles.  Welcome Jane H!  Jane D. is adding shortly .  Anymore?  I think Ruth Brown would have a good chuckle over the name...thank you Judy!!  I'll be back in two weeks...Happy Canada Day....karen 

Book title possibilities, so far...

My Sister's Keeper ...... Jodi Picoult

Three Day Road ...... Joseph Boyden

Not Wanted on the Voyage ...... Timothy Findley

The Road Home ...... Rose Tremain

The Great Gatsby ...... F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Book of Negroes ...... Lawrence Hill

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society ...... Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd ...... Agatha Christie

The Educated Imagination ...... Northrup Frye

The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity ...... William Young

The Private Patient ...... P. D. James

? ...... Jane Austen

Book List? excetera

Could someone post the list of book choices for the coming year? If Bev and Karen both have a list, please post both and we can vote on the first few for the fall.

If you want to check out the afictionados book club (the one after which we fashioned this one) go to http://cvreaders.blogspot.com/

It is our 38th wedding anniversary today and we are going to the Redcliffe for dinner!

Thanks to Jane Dickson for hosting in June!

Thank you, Jane for a wonderful afternoon outdoors with delicious lemonade and squares in your lovely garden! We always especially look forward to going to your house in the summer!

Getting started

Thank you Laura for setting up this Blog! and so fast!!  We can now list the books and do our choosing on this site.  Thank you Gwen for suggesting this!!  Is everyone invited Laura? Or should I send out the invitation to the mass mail as I usually do?

We just reviewed The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler. I loved the book, when I first read it years ago and rereading it as well. I think it is Anne Tyler's best book.