July's Book Suggestion: Genre: Non-Fiction (Autobiography or Memoir) 05-22 - 05-27)

Members. . . please comment on this post with your "book title", "author", and a link to a website that provides a synopsis of the book and a review if available.

It's that time again. It's book selection time. Every 3rd book, we will select a non-fiction book and it's that time!! For July we will be selecting a non-fiction book.

July' book genre will be a non-fiction in the category of "autobiography" or "memoir.

When looking for a book to suggest to the club, here's a few things you can do when researching for a book.

Search the Internet for book lists or book guide specially in the genre that is chosen for the month.

Here a few book guide sites that you may want to look at. Keep in mind, there's many of them so what I list below are a few I found online to help you out:

The Good Book Guide
Amazon
Reader's Digest
Book Browse
Ezine Articles

You may also find book guides and book list at the library or at the book store.

When choosing a book, choose a book that "you" want to read, not what you think others may want to read. The reason for this is well, we all don't know one another personally. Although your book may not be chosen, I want you to be excited about reading the book. If your book isn't chosen, well obviously you can read it on your own or suggest it at another time.

Please do a little bit of research before suggesting a book. Sometimes availability may be a problem. Choose a book that is widely available. For example, don't choose a book that is so old that it may no longer be in circulation!!

Can't wait to see what you all come up with!!

Day #2 Discussions - the Host by Stephenie Meyer

Please join us at the group forum to discuss the book "the Host" by Stephenie Meyer. The forum is an open forum meaning you don't need to be a member to join in the discussion but your posts will be moderated.

Click Here for the discussion

For this discussion, the format will change to a 1 to 2 question format rather than a "list of questions" format. Each member or participant, answers the question and it's recommended that members start an active discussion with other members or participants.

Each day two new questions will be posted, i.e., Day #1 Discussion, Day #2 Discussion, etc. for a series of 5 days. The discussion questions will be posted from May 15th to May 20th but the discussions will remain open until May 22nd. July's Book recommendations will begin May 23.

Here's a few suggestions to get the discussions going:

• Do you agree or disagree with the member's analysis? Elaborate further with your own views in regards to a member's post.
• Compare and contrast with a member's analysis of the question.
• Ask additional questions of the member to explain her/his answers further.

You may answer one or both questions. Please respond to any of the other members answers so we can get an active discussion going.

Day #2 Questions:

• Were the struggles between the humans and the souls symbolic of racial prejudice, ethnic cleansing, or genocide? Explain. (Credit to Heather for inspiring this question)
  


• Do you feel the relationship between Jared and Melanie (with Wanderer already inserted into Melanie's body) should have been developed more into the story line? Why do you feel that the relationship between Ian and Wanderer was more prominant in the book as opposed to Jared and Melanie? Were you disappointed?

Day #1 Discussions - the Host by Stepenie Meyer

Please join us at the group forum to discuss the book "the Host" by Stephenie Meyer. The forum is an open forum meaning you don't need to be a member to join in the discussion but your posts will be moderated.

Click Here for the discussion

For this discussion, the format will change to a 1 to 2 question format rather than a "list of questions" format. Each member or participant, answers the question and it's recommended that members start an active discussion with other members or participants.

Each day two new questions will be posted, i.e., Day #1 Discussion, Day #2 Discussion, etc. for a series of 5 days. The discussion questions will be posted from May 15th to May 20th but the discussions will remain open until May 22nd. July's Book recommendations will begin May 23.

Here's a few suggestions to get the discussions going:

• Do you agree or disagree with the member's analysis? Elaborate further with your own views in regards to a member's post.
• Compare and contrast with a member's analysis of the question.
• Ask additional questions of the member to explain her/his answers further.

You may answer one or both questions. Please respond to any of the other members answers so we can get an active discussion going.

Day #1 Questions:

• Why do you think Stephenie Meyer referred to the "aliens" as "souls"? Do you feel she was suggesting that our souls as we know it in the biblical sense were actually "aliens" that invades a "host" such as humans?
  


• Stephenie Meyer, in both the Twilight Series and the Host, created female characters with inherent weaknesses but yet possessed strengths that helped them overcome adversities. If you've read the Twilight books, do you see any similarities between Bella and Wanderer or Melanie? If you haven't read the Twilight books, what strengths and weaknesses did you see in Wanderer and Melanie?

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer Discussion (05-08-09 - 05-14-09)

Click Here to enter the New Moon Discussion
Discussion open to the public! Come join us!!!

Hey Everyone!! We'll be starting a discussion on the book "New Moon" by Stephenie Meyer at the group forum. Hope you'll stop by and join in the discussion.

The discussion of the book will be an open forum meaning you don't have to be a club member to join in the discussion. Non-member's messages or posts will be moderated.

The discussion will be posted as a "page" but the discussion thread will be under the "discussion" section above. . The discussion is posted in the "discussion" section titled "Discussion - New Moon by Stephenie Meyer - 05/08/09 - 05/14/09".

Please be kind and courteous when participating in the discussions. Although stimulating discussions are welcomed, no bashing is allowed. LOL! I will not approve messages that I deem disrespectful to others or derogatory in a manner. I'm sure we'll be civil. . .considering this is a young adult fiction book . No dramas to be expected!

The discussion questions will be posted on the discussion page: Click Here.

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Review by Theresa: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Pages: 368
Published: Original: 1966 Latest: 2006

Synopsis:

"In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote, describes the events preceding and following the murder of the Clutter family in their small town Kansas home. This "nonfiction novel" is based on events that truly happened but are portrayed novelistically.

Capote depicts the thoughts, actions, and conversation of the killers in the weeks and hours before the murders. Also depicted is the homey domestic life of the doomed Clutter family, denizens of the good and virtuous life in small town Kansas.

Dick Hickock, the dominant of the two killers is a psychopath--charming, pleasant, fearless, but with deficient conscience and little understanding of the pain he causes others. Perry, an American Indian who grew up without means, is stunted in appearance, deluded about the riches that await him, constantly nibbling on aspirin to thwart pain from injured joints, and tormented by memories of a sad and deprived youth. Meanwhile, Herb Clutter, the father of the doomed family, is a pillar of the town, honest and good, caring for a disabled with, with children as promising, sweet and hopeful as any parent could wish for.

The family is murdered one by one in blazing shotgun blasts. Perry, ironically, shows some humanity by positioning a cushion under one victim's head. But not a cent is found in the safe the killers had heard, from a jailbird, held millions. Perry finds himself chasing a rolling silver dollar on the floor, a souvenir of Clutter's just killed daughter.

The efforts, eventually successful, of law enforcement and justice to identify, track down, arrest, interrogate, convict, and finally execute the killers is detailed, and the story ends with the visit of a family friend to the small country graveyard where the family was laid to rest."

Source: http://www.allreaders.com/topics/Info_21234.asp


Theresa's Review:

I just finished this classic book by Truman Capote last week. This True Crime type of novel is a departure from the type of book that I usually prefer, but it had been sitting in my wish list for ages---I decided to order it up to my Kindle and take a break from vampires and werewolves.

Having grown up in New York City, surrounded by tales or murder and mayhem on our nightly news, I’d thought myself too jaded to be moved by the account of a murder committed 50 years ago. I was wrong.

As I read through Capote’s re-enactment of the crime and subsequent investigation (think ‘America’s Most Wanted’ where conversations and events are projected from the facts, so that you are placed into the middle of the events and motivations of all involved) I found myself horrified by the grisly murders, petty motives and the sad loss of life.

I also felt a small glimmer of pity for the killers…they seemed doomed from the start to become what they were by difficult childhoods and freak accidents. A very, very small glimmer, though.

At any rate, it took me about a week to get through this book. The subject matter is so heavy, that I felt the need to occasionally flip to something lighter just to break it up.

I would recommend In Cold Blood to someone looking for a masterfully-written, thought-provoking read.

Other reviews online:

Amazon.com
Blog Critics

June Book of the Month: No Time For Goodbye - Linwood Barclay

June Book of the Month:

No Time For Goodbye - Linwood Barclay

Official Website

The house was deathly quiet. That was the first sign that something was terribly wrong. Fourteen-year-old Cynthia Bigge woke that morning to find herself alone. Her family - mother, father, and brother - had vanished without a word, without a note, without a trace.

Twenty-five years later, Cynthia is still looking for answers. Now she is about to learn the devastating truth.Cynthia and Terry Archer still live in Milford, Connecticut, not far from the old Bigge house on Hickory Street. With a solid marriage and a young daughter, the Archers seem on track for a successful future. But the questions raised by Cynthia's past still haunt her, and her obsession to find the answers threatens to destroy everything they've worked for.

For Cynthia, there can be no closure until she finds out why her family disappeared - and how they could have left her behind. Terry thinks the segment on the popular TV crime-stopper program Deadline is a mistake. But his wife hopes that someone watching will have a lead to her missing family. Sure enough, it's Cynthia who spots the strange car cruising the neighborhood, hears the untraceable phone calls, and discovers the ominous "gifts."

And as Cynthia's nerves begin to unravel, no one's innocence is guaranteed, not even her own. By the time the first body is found, it's clear that her past is more of a mystery than she ever imagined - or may ever survive.Someone has returned to this Connecticut town to finish what was started twenty-five years ago. And by the time Terry and Cynthia discover the killer's shocking identity, it will be too late even for goodbye.

Pages: 480
Published: 2008

Links to Book Reviews:

Barnes & Noble
Amazon.com
Good Reads
The Richard & Judy Book Club

Voting results for June's book selection are as follows:

No Time for Goodbye: 5 votes
Angels & Demons: 4 votes
Boneman's Daugthers: 2 votes

July's book suggestions/recommendation: May 25 to May 28
July's book voting: May 28 to May 31st
July's book selection: June 1st
Meeting date for June's book discussion at the forum: July 15 to July 22
August book suggestion/recommendation: June 23 to June 27
August book selection voting period: June 27 to June 30
August final book selection: July 1st