Lyndsey's Pick - We Need to Talk About Kevin

Time for Lyndsey's round!  Since we've already picked We Need to Talk About Kevin all we need to figure out is the date of our get-together! 

Also, I found out that the film version of this book comes out in theaters January 27th...mayhaps we could go see it as a group?  I doubt it would be showing anywhere around Bloomington but we could always take a ladies field trip sometime....or just wait until it comes out on video.  Just throwing out some ideas!  So, when should we have our next meeting?

Christmas Books

Okay ladies, the blogosphere was kind and sent us all sorts of book recommendations!  I already weeded out books that I knew we wouldn't be up for (i.e. super lengthy, bodice rippers, etc.).  So, the edited list includes 7 books that came highly recommended by folks.  I'm setting up a poll in the sidebar - everyone choose your top 3 picks.  If peeps can try and vote by the end of the day that would be great because - we might have to have a final showdown :) and we need to order our books ASAP!  Okay, here's the list:

The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore

Summary: 
'Twas the night (okay, more like the week) before Christmas, and all through the tiny community of Pine Cove, California, people are busy buying, wrapping, packing, and generally getting into the holiday spirit.

But not everybody is feeling the joy. Little Joshua Barker is in desperate need of a holiday miracle. No, he's not on his deathbed; no, his dog hasn't run away from home. But Josh is sure that he saw Santa take a shovel to the head, and now the seven-year-old has only one prayer: Please, Santa, come back from the dead.

But hold on! There's an angel waiting in the wings. (Wings, get it?) It's none other than the Archangel Raziel come to Earth seeking a small child with a wish that needs granting. Unfortunately, our angel's not sporting the brightest halo in the bunch, and before you can say "Kris Kringle," he's botched his sacred mission and sent the residents of Pine Cove headlong into Christmas chaos, culminating in the most hilarious and horrifying holiday party the town has ever seen.

Move over, Charles Dickens -- it's Christopher Moore time.

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Summary:
“I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the New York Times bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

 Summary:
"When the Dark comes rising, six shall turn it back,
Three from the circle, three from the track;
Wood, bronze, iron; water, fire, stone;
Five will return, and one go alone."

With these mysterious words, Will Stanton discovers on the Midwinter Day that is his 11th birthday, that he is no mere boy. He is the Sign-Seeker, last of the immortal Old Ones, destined to battle the powers of evil that trouble the land. His task is monumental: he must find and guard the six great Signs of the Light, which, when joined, will create a force strong enough to match and perhaps overcome that of the Dark. Embarking on this endeavor is dangerous as well as deeply rewarding; Will must work within a continuum of time and space much broader than he ever imagined.  And for the twelve days of Christmas, while the Dark is rising, life for Will is full of wonder, terror, and delight.

Susan Cooper, in her five-title Dark Is Rising sequence, creates a world where the conflict between good and evil reaches epic proportions. She ranks with C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien in her ability to deliver a moral vision in the context of breathtaking adventure.

Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

Summary:
For those dreading the holiday season, bestseller Sedaris (When You Are Engulfed in Flames) makes life a little easier with this re-release of his uproarious essay collection, newly expanded from the original 1997 edition. Sedaris gets the most mileage out of Christmas, from his stint as a Macy's elf in "Santaland Diaries," to comparing American and Dutch holiday traditions in "Six to Eight Black Men." In "Jesus Shaves," Sedaris recalls a French class in which students try to explain to each other, in broken French, the concept of Easter: "On the Easter we be sad because somebody makes Jesus dead today." This updated version includes "The Monster Mash," poached from When You Are Engulfed, in which Sedaris spends Halloween at the morgue; and "The Cow and the Turkey," a new story featuring the Secret Santa woes of barnyard animals. Longtime fans will be happy to have all Sedaris's holiday stories in one volume, and those who've managed to miss the literary funny-man couldn't get a better gift.  

Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

Summary:
What do a Christmas Eve snowstorm, 14 perky cheerleaders, a Waffle House, and a guy covered in tin foil have in common? Answer: these romantic holiday stories. Through an interconnected cast of characters set in one small Southern town, each author reveals a serendipitous night in the life of a particular teen. In Johnson's Jubilee Express, level-headed Jubilee experiences a traumatic day during which her parents get arrested, her train gets stuck in the snow, and she breaks up with her boyfriend, but in the end finds a new love. Green deftly portrays the teen male perspective with humor and wit in his Cheertastic Christmas Miracle, which starts with an urgent quest for cheerleaders and ends with an eye-opening experience of finding true love right before one's eyes. In Myracle's Patron Saint of Pigs, while agonizing over the pain of a recent breakup, Addie learns about herself and gains respect for relationships at the same time. Johnson’s playfulness, Green’s banter, and Myracle’s sincerity mesh well here, resulting in a collection that is imbued with optimism and warmth. The plotting is tight, and each end loosed by one author is tied up by another like a bright Christmas bow. Tender without being mushy, these carefully crafted stories of believable teen love will leave readers warm inside for the holidays.

The Box of Delights by John Masefield

Summary:
Strange things begin to happen the minute young Kay Harker boards the train to go home for Christmas and finds himself under observation by two very shifty-looking characters. Arriving at his destination, the boy is immediately accosted by a bright-eyed old man with a mysterious message: “The wolves are running.” Soon danger is everywhere, as a gang of criminals headed by the notorious wizard Abner Brown and his witch wife Sylvia Daisy Pouncer gets to work. What does Abner Brown want? The magic box that the old man has entrusted to Kay, which allows him to travel freely not only in space but in time, too. The gang will stop at nothing to carry out their plan, even kidnapping Kay’s friend, the tough little Maria Jones, and threatening to cancel Christmas celebrations altogether. But with the help of his allies, including an intrepid mouse, a squadron of Roman soldiers, the legendary Herne the Hunter, and the inventor of the Box of Delights himself, Kay just may be able rescue his friend, foil Abner Brown’s plot, and save Christmas, too. 

The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans

Summary:
This inspiring holiday tale tells the touching story of a widow and the young family who moves in with her, and the ways in which they discover together the first gift of Christmas and what the holiday is really all about. Written by the author as a token of affection for his daughters, The Christmas Box has captured the hearts and minds of over a million readers.

 The story relates how a young couple, Richard (who narrates) and Keri, accept a position to care for a lonely widow, Mary Parkin, in her spacious Victorian mansion. As Christmas draws near, Mary becomes anxious about Richard's obsession with success and his failure to make time for his family. She urges him to reconsider his priorities, but he is always too busy to heed her advice. It is only when Mary is on her deathbed and her secret sorrow is revealed through the letter-laden Christmas box of the title that Richard realizes what she has been trying to tell him. 

New Classics

The New Classics: Books

The 100 best reads from 1983 to 2008

1. The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006)
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
4. The Liars' Club, Mary Karr (1995)
5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)
11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
12. Blindness, José Saramago (1998)
13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
16. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988)
18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)
19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
20. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)
21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000)
22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)
23. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)
31. The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien (1990)
32. Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (1988)
33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)
34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
36. Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)
38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)
39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
42. LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)
43. Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (1988)
44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)
45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (1988)
46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
47. World's Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)
51. The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)
52. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
54. Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)
55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
56. The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)
57. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
58. Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)
59. Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)
60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
61. Money, Martin Amis (1985)
62. Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)
63. Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)
64. Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)
65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
66. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)
69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
71. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)
72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)
76. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (1998)
77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
80. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)
81. Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)
82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
84. Holes, Louis Sachar (1998)
85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)
86. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)
88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
89. Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)
90. Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)
91. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)
92. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)
95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)
96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)
97. Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)
98. The Predators' Ball, Connie Bruck (1988)
99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)

The ones highlighted in blue are the books I've read (only 10) and I know two of you have read HP so maybe we should try to avoid those?  Anyways...those are the modern classics!  For this next round every person choose 2 books (either modern classics or classic classics) and then we'll vote.  First, we still have to do the Christmas round and Lyndsay's book...then on to the classics round!

Lyndsey's Picks

We're meeting this Saturday 7pm my place...so you know what that means.  It's time to vote again!  Read through the descriptions of Lyndsey's three picks and once you've made a decision hop on over to the blog and vote on the poll at the top right!

Never read:
Untold Story by Monica Ali...what if Princess Diana had lived?  Interesting, no?!

 Summary:

When Princess Diana died in Paris’s Alma tunnel, she was thirty-seven years old. Had she lived, she would turn fifty on July 1, 2011. Who would the beloved icon be if she were alive today? What would she be doing? And where? One of the most versatile and bold writers of our time, Monica Ali has imagined a different fate for Diana in her spectacular new novel, Untold Story. 

Diana’s life and marriage were both fairy tale and nightmare rolled into one. Adored by millions, she suffered rejection, heartbreak, and betrayal. Surrounded by glamour and glitz and the constant attention of the press, she fought to carve a meaningful role for herself in helping the needy and dispossessed. The contradictions and pressures of her situation fueled her increasingly reckless behavior, but her stature and her connection with her public never ceased to grow. If Diana had lived, would she ever have found peace and happiness, or would the curse of fame always have been too great? 

Fast forward a decade after the (averted) Paris tragedy, and an Englishwoman named Lydia is living in a small, nondescript town somewhere in the American Midwest. She has a circle of friends: one owns a dress shop; one is a Realtor; another is a frenzied stay-at-home mom. Lydia volunteers at an animal shelter, and swims a lot. Her lover, who adores her, feels she won’t let him know her. Who is she?


Untold Story is about the cost of celebrity, the meaning of identity, and the possibility—or impossibility—of reinventing a life. Ali’s fictional princess is beautiful, intrepid, and resourceful and has established a fragile peace. And then the past threatens to destroy her new life. Ali has created a riveting novel inspired by the cultural icon she calls “a gorgeous bundle of trouble.”


Has read: 
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay...NYT bestseller!

Summary:
Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.

Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life. 

Tatiana de Rosnay offers us a brilliantly subtle, compelling portrait of France under occupation and reveals the taboos and silence that surround this painful episode.

This coincidentally is being made into a movie so I thought I'd add the trailer too :)



Book-to-Movie:
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver...creepy!

Summary:

The gripping international bestseller about motherhood gone awry.

Eva never really wanted to be a mother - and certainly not the mother of the unlovable boy who murdered seven of his fellow high school students, a cafeteria worker, and a much-adored teacher who tried to befriend him, all two days before his sixteenth birthday. Now, two years later, it is time for her to come to terms with marriage, career, family, parenthood, and Kevin's horrific rampage in a series of startlingly direct correspondences with her estranged husband, Franklin. Uneasy with the sacrifices and social demotion of motherhood from the start, Eva fears that her alarming dislike for her own son may be responsible for driving him so nihilistically off the rails. 

Here's the trailer!



So hard to decide...what will you choose?!

So...

"You know what I always say – book clubs bring people together and make them friends and those are friends that will last a lifetime and create a bond that can never be broken even if you get into a fight about wearing the same outfit to a party after you were definitely the first person to want to wear it. I always say that." -- Ellen Degeneres

Oh, and I forgot to officially post that we're pushing back the date of The Book Thief meeting until the first weekend in November and likely going to the winery (objections?).

Kat's Picks

It's time to vote again!  Read through the descriptions of Kat's three picks and once you've made a decision hop on over to the blog and vote on the poll at the top right!

Never read:
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan...written by one of my new favorite authors!

Summary:
In Jordan's prize-winning debut, prejudice takes many forms, both subtle and brutal. It is 1946, and city-bred Laura McAllan is trying to raise her children on her husband's Mississippi Delta farm—a place she finds foreign and frightening. In the midst of the family's struggles, two young men return from the war to work the land. Jamie McAllan, Laura's brother-in-law, is everything her husband is not—charming, handsome, and haunted by his memories of combat. Ronsel Jackson, eldest son of the black sharecroppers who live on the McAllan farm, has come home with the shine of a war hero. But no matter his bravery in defense of his country, he is still considered less than a man in the Jim Crow South. It is the unlikely friendship of these brothers-in-arms that drives this powerful novel to its inexorable conclusion.

The men and women of each family relate their versions of events and we are drawn into their lives as they become players in a tragedy on the grandest scale. As Kingsolver says of Hillary Jordan, "Her characters walked straight out of 1940s Mississippi and into the part of my brain where sympathy and anger and love reside, leaving my heart racing. They are with me still."

Has read:
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak...one of my all-time favorite books (box of tissues necessary)!

Summary:
It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Narrated by Death, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a young foster girl living outside of Munich in Nazi Germany. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she discovers something she can't resist- books. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever they are to be found. 

With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, Liesel learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids, as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

Book-to-Movie:
Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See...another of my all-time favs!

Summary:
In nineteenth-century China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, or "old same," in an emotional match that will last a lifetime. The laotong, Snow Flower, introduces herself by sending Lily a silk fan on which she has written a poem in nu shu, a unique language that Chinese women created in order to communicate in secret, away from the influence of men. As the years pass, Lily and Snow Flower send messages on fans, compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. They both endure the agony of footbinding and together reflect upon their arranged marriages, shared loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their deep friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart.

Here's the movie trailer:


What are you gonna pick?

For Funsies...

FYI this is entirely copy and pasted from Moviefone (http://blog.moviefone.com/2011/07/19/after-harry-potter-next-book-to-screen-adaptations/)

After Harry Potter: Contenders for the Next Page-to-Screen Series

By The Moviefone Mama (Subscribe to The Moviefone Mama's posts)

Posted Jul 19th 2011 12:30PM

Filed under: Features, Hot Topic, Harry Potter

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'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 may have shattered every box office record, but the sad truth is that the series is now officially done. And while we won't be visiting Hogwarts again on the big screen (at least until the inevitable remake in a couple of decades), there are plenty of young-adult book adaptations in the works that could conjure at least a fraction of the 'Potter' franchise's movie magic.

Look no further than Suzanne Collins' dystopian teen thriller 'The Hunger Games' for proof that studios and book fans are salivating for the next big movie series. Here are five more to watch out for in the next couple of years:

'The Hunger Games'
Written By: Suzanne Collins, who wowed audiences and critics with her dark, sociopolitical trilogy that captured an audience that's nearly as diverse in age and gender as 'Potter'
What It's About: In a bleak, postwar future, huntress Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence, above) takes her little sister's place in an annual, televised battle-to-the-death contest against 23 other teen competitors, including her classmate Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson). As they train to become their District's winning "Tribute" to the titular Hunger Games, it's obvious their developing friendship complicates their ability to kill each other in the Arena.
Movie Cred: It's TV's 'Survivor' times the 'Twilight' love triangle multiplied by a 'Potter'-like fanbase. Directed by Gary Ross ('Seabiscuit'), the 'Games' begin March 23, 2012, starring a host of hot young stars and A-list supporting players. In the meantime, fans obsess over every image (like this awesome "motion poster"), cast listing and gossipy tidbit about the adaptation. From what we've seen so far, it looks great.

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'The Mortal Instruments'
Written By: Cassandra Clare, whose supernatural-romance books have a massive following that spans tweens to moms
What It's About: Clary Fray (played by Lily Collins) is a New York City teen with a peculiar power -- she can see supernatural beings, like the cocky young demon hunter Jace Wayland (Jamie Campbell Bower) and other strange creatures that appear out of nowhere. When her mother gets kidnapped, Clary discovers she's not quite the regular city girl she imagined.
Movie Cred: In addition to casting Collins and Campbell Bower (who beat out Alex Pettyfer and a crew of other hunky young blonds to land the role of Jace), Screen Gems has signed on director-producer Scott Charles Stewart ('Priest,' 'Legion'), and is planning a 2012 release.

---

'Incarceron'
Written By: Catherine Fischer, a sci-fi/fantasy master in the Y.A. genre
What It's About: Seventeen-year-old Finn lives in a living, ever-changing prison where no one but him can remember an "outside." Even he's not sure his vague memories are real, until he hears the voice of a young woman, Claudia, who tells him she's the prison warden's daughter, trapped in a world where everyone lives according to centuries-old rules and technology.
Movie Cred: Taylor Lautner is set to play Finn, but despite rumors that Emma Watson is the front-runner to play his leading lady Claudia (bringing together the 'Harry Potter' and 'Twilight' fandoms), there's no director or other cast attached yet to the twisty steampunk adventure.

---

'Matched'
Written By: Ally Condie, a Stephenie Meyer–esque mother of three who hit publishing paydirt with a seven-figure deal
What It's About: Cassia's world is completely without choice: The Society chooses your job, your home, your entertainment options, your spouse. But on the day of Cassia's matching ceremony, a technical error shows her the face of Ky, even though she's actually been assigned to marry her best friend Xander, a rare privilege. Given that scrap of doubt, she begins to see Ky everywhere, making her question Society's control.
Movie Cred: The producers behind the teen-friendly movies 'Hairspray,' 'The Last Song' and 'Step Up' are on board to adapt the series.

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'Divergent'
Written By: Veronica Roth, a young, first-time author who wrote the manuscript her senior year at Northwestern University
What It's About: In a distant future, society is divided into five co-existing "factions": Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the kind), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave) and Erudite (the intelligent). When 16-year-old Beatrice Prior chooses to live in Dauntless over her native Abnegation, she's initiated into her fearless new community by a mysterious blue-eyed instructor named Four, who reveals a secret that changes their lives.
Movie Cred: Optioned by the producers of 'Gladiator' and the upcoming 'Great Gatsby' adaptation, this fiercely original series is sure to create as much of a buzz on-screen as it has on the page since its release in May.

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More Teen Page-to-Screen:

• No stranger to Y.A. adaptations, Catherine Hardwicke ('Twilight') will direct James Dashner's sci-fi series 'The Maze Runner,' which follows a group of 60 boys trapped in a maze that gets even twistier with the arrival of its first, mysterious girl.
• Maggie Stiefvater's poignant 'Shiver' trilogy, a love story about a Minnesota teen whose yellow-eyed dream guy turns out to be a werewolf (but no vamps, we swear), has a writer and studio attached.
• Carrie Ryan's post-apocalyptic zombie thriller 'The Forest of Hands and Teeth' (also featuring the requisite love triangle) was adapted by W. Peter Iliff, who wrote 'Varsity Blues' and 'Patriot Games.'
• Lauren Oliver's futuristic love-is-a-disease drama 'Delirium' was optioned by Fox 2000, which also optioned her debut novel 'Before I Fall,' about a high-schooler who relives the day she dies in an accident (a la 'Groundhog Day') for seven days.
• Author Julianna Baggott's post-nuclear-holocaust thriller 'Pure,' which hits bookstores Feb. 8, 2012, has already been swept up by Fox 2000, a studio that's clearly ready to be the go-to-distributor for young-adult books.

Charlotte's Picks!

It's time to vote again!  Read through the descriptions of Charlotte's three picks and once you've made a decision hop on over to the blog and vote on the poll at the top right!

Never read:
Flowers in the Attic by V. C. Andrews...yeah gothic twisted fairytale!

Summary:
Such wonderful children. Such a beautiful mother. Such a lovely house. Such endless terror!

It wasn't that she didn't love her children. She did. But there was a fortune at stake--a fortune that would assure their later happiness if she could keep the children a secret from her dying father.

So she and her mother hid her darlings away in an unused attic.  Just for a little while.

But the brutal days swelled into agonizing years. Now Cathy, Chris, and the twins wait in their cramped and helpless world, stirred by adult dreams, adult desires, served a meager sustenance by an angry, superstitious grandmother who knows that the Devil works in dark and devious ways. Sometimes he sends children to do his work--children who--one by one--must be destroyed.... 

Has read:
Junky: The Definitive Text of "Junk" by William S. Burroughs...yeah beatniks!

Summary:
Before his 1959 breakthrough, Naked Lunch, an unknown William S. Burroughs wrote Junk, his first novel. It is a candid eye-witness account of times and places that are now long gone, an unvarnished field report from the American post-war underground. Unafraid to portray himself in 1953 as a confirmed member of two socially-despised under classes (a narcotics addict and a homosexual), Burroughs was writing as a trained anthropologist when he unapologetically described a way of life - in New York, New Orleans, and Mexico City - that by the 1940's was already demonized by the artificial anti-drug hysteria of an opportunistic bureaucracy and a cynical, prostrate media.

Book-to-Movie:
Back Roads by Tawni O'Dell...yeah serious family probs mixed with a Mrs. Robinson thang!

Summary:
Set in western Pennsylvania, Back Roads is the story of newly orphaned Harley Altmyer (his mother is in jail for killing his abusive father) who, at 19, must shoulder the burden of caring for three younger sisters and struggle with his growing obsession for the sexy mother of two living just down the road. Selected by Oprah for her Book Club™ and celebrated by readers and critics alike, Back Roads announced the arrival of a major new talent.

What to choose??

Joni's Picks!

Hey ladies!  A quick refresher for folks: our new mode of operation is for the host of the month to pick three books. 1) book the host has never read 2) book the host has read 3) book that has been (or will be) adopted into film.  So, read through the descriptions of Joni's three picks and once you've made a decision hop on over to the blog and vote for your favorite on the poll at the top right!

1) City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

When Clary Fray witnesses three tattoo-covered teenagers murder another teen, she is unable to prove the crime because the victim disappears right in front of her eyes, and no one else can see the killers. She learns that the teens are Shadowhunters (humans who hunt and kill demons), and Clary, a mundie (i.e., mundane human), should not be able to see them either. Shortly after this discovery, her mother, Jocelyn, an erstwhile Shadowhunter, is kidnapped. Jocelyn is the only person who knows the whereabouts of The Mortal Cup, a dangerous magical item that turns humans into Shadowhunters. Clary must find the cup and keep it from a renegade sector of Shadowhunters bent on eliminating all nonhumans, including benevolent werewolves and friendly vampires.  Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

2) Still Alice by Lisa Genova

This may be one of the most frightening novels you'll ever read. It's certainly one of the most unforgettable. Genova's debut revolves around Alice Howland - Harvard professor, gifted researcher and lecturer, wife, and mother of three grown children. One day, Alice sets out for a run and soon realizes she has no idea how to find her way home. It's a route she has taken for years, but nothing looks familiar. She is utterly lost. Is her forgetfulness the result of menopausal symptoms? A ministroke? A neurological cancer? After a few doctors' appointments and medical tests, Alice has her diagnosis, and it's a shocker -- she has early-onset Alzheimer's disease.  What follows is the story of Alice's slow but inevitable loss of memory and connection with reality, told from her perspective. 

3) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.  Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.
 

 
So many good choices!  

For Future Reference: A List of Movie Books

Thought I'd share a little list that I found of newish books-soon-to-be-movies :)

• The Abstinence Teacher - Tom Perrotta

What it's about: A liberal sex-ed teacher butts heads with the conservative element of the new town she works in, and her new, born-again Christian love interest.  Starring: Steve Carell, Sandra Bullock.

• The Devil in the White City - Eric Larson

What it's about: The unbelievable true story of Daniel Burnham, the architect responsible for the construction of the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, and Dr. H. H. Holmes, a serial killer who used the fair to lure victims to his own "World's Fair Hotel" — and to their deaths.  Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio.

• It's Kind of a Funny Story - Ned Vizzini

What it's about: A depressed teenager, Craig, checks himself into a psychiatric institute and meets a variety of affected but friendly acquaintances.  Starring: Zach Galifianakis, Emma Roberts

• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer

What it's about: The post-911 novel follows a young boy, Oskar, as he searches for answers about a key that belonged to his father, who was killed in the World Trade Center attacks. Starring: Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks

• Back Roads - Tawni O'Dell

What it's about: A 19-year-old, Harley is burdened with taking care of his sisters while his mother is in prison. His life gets more complicated when he falls for the mother of one of his sister's friends. Starring: Andrew Garfield, Jennifer Garner

• Another Bullshit Night in Suck City - Nick Flynn

What it's about: While working at a homeless shelter, a 20-something guy crosses paths with his down-and-out father who lives on the streets.  Starring: Robert De Niro

• The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins 

What it's about: Set in the post-apocalyptic future, society has devolved into a place where teens are picked to fight each other to the death for entertainment. Main character Katniss Everdeen becomes one of the fighters in order to save her younger sibling. Starring: Jennifer Lawrence

• Important Artifacts - Leanne Shapton

What it's about: Well, the full title is actually Important Artifacts and Personal Property From the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry.  In this fictional auction catalog of one ex-couple's belongings (325 total to be exact), we witness the beginnings and ultimate unraveling of their relationship via various mementos they left behind. Starring: Brad Pitt, Natalie Portman

• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - Seth Grahame-Smith

What it's about: It's a twisted spin on Austen's classic novel that puts heroine Elizabeth Bennett in the middle of protecting her family and town from the undead.  Starring: casting in progress 

• One Day - David Nicholls

What it's about: A couple of friends who have a one-night stand and we check in with them on the same day for the next 20 years.  Starring: Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess

Round 2!

Hey ladies!  We have each hosted a Booksters meeting...so now it's time for another go-around!  We've talked about a couple of new ways to go about choosing books for this second round.  I thought I'd throw these options out there to see what everyone's thoughts are:

1.  Choose a book you've already read that you'd like to share with the group.

2.  Choose 3 books (can be ones you've read before or not) and have the group vote on which of the 3 they'd rather read [I can easily set up a poll on the sidebar to make voting simple].

3.  Lastly, we could read books that are soon going to be adapted into movies (we talked about this one a long time ago but I thought I'd include it too).

Thoughts?  Preferences?

Next Up: The Eyre Affair

Katie has chosen The Eyre Affair for our April book!

 
Despite being written in 2001, The Eyre Affair takes place in an alternate version of 1985 where the Crimean War has waged for hundreds of years and time-travel - and much stranger things - are commonplace.  The story follows a female protagonist named Thursday Next who is a "Literatec Operative," meaning...she investigates literary crimes.  In this alternate reality, literature is taken as seriously (if not more) than religion...for example "Baconites" go door to door trying to convince people that it was Bacon who actually wrote the plays attributed to Shakespeare.  As you may be able to guess, the literary crime in question involves Jane Eyre...for the rest of the story you'll have to read it yourself!  So let's get a thread started about when we want to meet up next :)

Next Up: The Year of Living Biblically

Christine has chosen The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A. J. Jacobs as our next book!

 

As Amazon.com's best book of Sept. 2007 review states: "Though no fatted calves were harmed in the making of this book, Jacobs chronicles 12 months living a remarkably strict Biblical life full of charity, chastity, and facial hair as impressive as anything found in The Lord of the Rings. Through it all, he manages to brilliantly keep things light, while avoiding the sinful eye of judgment."

For a year, the author intends to follow the commandments of the Bible as literally as possible: not just the well-known ones (like "Thou shalt not kill") but the obscure ones as well (such as wearing clothes of mixed fibers).  And it's supposed to be quite the laugh...can't wait to see what Mr. Jacobs delivers!  Again, let's start a thread about when we want to meet up next, Christine...if you wanna take the lead on this that'd be super!