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!

Catch-Up...for those who have just joined us

There's a few that've just joined...Miss Ernst, Miss Dooley...and Christine was here last time, but she's relatively new as well!  So, a recap of previous reads in case anyone wants to try these out!

First off, The Thirteenth Tale...great gothic mystery!

Next, Probation...an interesting look into the psyche of a closeted homosexual male.

And lastly Zeitoun a true story of struggle during Hurricane Katrina.