Turning over a new leaf...

Wow! Has it really been 6 months since this blog was updated? I'm surprised I haven't been fired yet. But as the title suggests, I am turning over a new leaf. We've had a great last 6 months and are excited about the new books we've chosen for 2015.
In January, Julie made some delicious and healthy Banana Bars.
Here is the recipe:

Banana Bars 

1/2 cup marg/butter - melted

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups mashed banana

1 cup vanilla yogurt

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1tsp baking soda

2tsp vanilla

1 tsp salt

Mix together. 

Grease a jelly roll pan and pour in batter. 

Bake at 350 for 25 mins or until lightly browned. 

Topping:

1/4 cup marg/butter - melted

2 cups powdered sugar

3 tbs milk

Blend together and spread over cake while it is still warm to the touch. 

Cut into squares. 

Also, here is a synopsis of March's book, The Husband's Secret...

Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive. . . .
Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret.

Acclaimed author Liane Moriarty has written a gripping, thought-provoking novel about how well it is really possible to know our spouses—and, ultimately, ourselves. 

Bonus! It's only $6.50 to buy for Kindle right now. Her most recent book, Big Little Lies, is only $3.99.

Some Summer Reading...

In June we met at Crystals house and discussed the Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax. Actually, a few members read the Amazing Mrs. Pollifax and enjoyed it! We decided to keep things easy this summer and not meet again until September 18th. So for the months of July and August we will be reading The Heiress of Winterwood by Sarah Ladd. 

Amelia Barrett, heiress to an ancestral estate nestled in the English moors, defies family expectations and promises to raise her dying friend’s infant baby. She'll risk everything to keep her word—even to the point of proposing to the child’s father, Graham, a sea captain she’s never met.

Tragedy strikes when the child vanishes with little more than a sketchy ransom note hinting to her whereabouts. Fear for the child’s safety drives Amelia and Graham to test the boundaries of their love for this infant.

Amelia’s detailed plans would normally see her through any trial, but now, desperate and shaken, she examines her soul and must face her one weakness: pride.

Graham’s strength and self-control have served him well and earned him much respect, but chasing perfection has kept him a prisoner of his own discipline.

Both must learn to accept God’s sovereignty and relinquish control so they can grasp the future He has for planned for them.

* In August we will meet to discuss the above book and also The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. 

Henrietta Lacks, as HeLa, is known to present-day scientists for her cells from cervical cancer. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells were taken without her knowledge and still live decades after her death. Cells descended from her may weigh more than 50M metric tons. 

HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta Lacks was buried in an unmarked grave.

The journey starts in the “colored” ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s, her small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia — wooden slave quarters, faith healings, and voodoo. Today are stark white laboratories with freezers full of HeLa cells, East Baltimore children and grandchildren live in obscurity, see no profits, and feel violated. The dark history of experimentation on African Americans helped lead to the birth of bioethics, and legal battles over whether we control the stuff we are made of.

Have a relaxing summer and don't forget to bring these 2 books with you on your next trip! See everyone in September!

New Year, New Books, New Author

Last night we met with new book suggestions and have chosen books for February, March, May, October, and December. The February selection is The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Here is a synopsis...

Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart--he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season's first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning the snow child is gone--but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees. This little girl, who calls herself Faina, seems to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness. As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But in this beautiful, violent place things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them.

Also, here is a list of the other book suggestions. Look these over and come prepared next time to discuss the rest of the year's schedule. If you click on each, it will take you to a Goodreads synopsis:

Friends and Foes by Sarah M. Eden 

Divergent by Veronica Roth

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn

The End of  Your Life Bookclub by Will Schwalbe

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott

How to Hug a Porcupine by John Lewis Lund

A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander

The Anatomy of Peace by The Arbinger Institute

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax By Dorothy Gilman

The Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell

Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton

Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage

I still Dream About You by Fannie Flagg

*The Guardian (don't know who the author is, but if you suggested this book, leave a comment with who it is)

If you weren't there last night or there are any other books you would like to suggest, please leave a comment and I will add them to the list.

Happy reading!

Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson

Here is a synopsis of our February book...

Marianne Daventry will do anything to escape the boredom of Bath and the amorous attentions of an unwanted suitor. So when an invitation arrives from her twin sister, Cecily, to join her at a sprawling country estate, she jumps at the chance. Thinking she'll be able to relax and enjoy her beloved English countryside while her sister snags the handsome heir of Edenbrooke, Marianne finds that even the best laid plans can go awry. From a terrifying run-in with a highwayman to a seemingly harmless flirtation, Marianne finds herself embroiled in an unexpected adventure filled with enough romance and intrigue to keep her mind racing. Will Marianne be able to rein in her traitorous heart, or will a mysterious stranger sweep her off her feet? Fate had something other than a relaxing summer in mind when it sent Marianne to Edenbrooke.

Hello Ladies!  The new bookclub schedule for the upcoming year is on the right.  These are not for sure set in stone, especially February but we are working on it.  If you know a good romance for February let me know.  Also we are trying to find a good short Christmas book for December.  Or maybe we will all just go see a movie or something. :)   Here is a list of some other books we talked about as well. Hope to see you all next month!

The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Persian Pickle Club
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society
The Memory Keeper's Daughter
Half Broke Horses
Snowflower and the Secret Fan
Graceling
Pope Joan
Testimony of Two Men
Wife 22

Summer is Over!

And so we start up bookclub again. Thanks for hosting Jenny! The new reading schedule is up on the sidebar to the right and also some of the other books that were suggested are further down the sidebar in the other reading suggestions. Thanks for coming everyone and please tell anyone who might be interested to come along next time. See you in October!

Book Club with Our Girls

I just wanted to say thanks to Annie for hosting the fun bookclub last night. My daughter had a blast....who knew there would be a bounce house in the basement? Bonus! What a great opportunity to spend quality time with our daughters. Maybe we could also do a sons and moms bookclub one time.

Thanks again Annie!