January's Book Club Selection - Sweetsmoke by David Fuller

Hello Everyone,

January's Book Club selection was chosen by yours truly; Sweetsmoke is a book that I read for the first time in 2008 and I loved it! If you would like to read more about this title, please click here.

About Sweetsmoke:

"Cassius is a slave-carpenter who is owned by the Howard’s of Sweetsmoke plantation. His life, like that of other slaves in the South, is controlled and manipulated by the white owners to help guarantee the continued prosperity of their plantation. Emoline Justice was also at one time, a slave on the Howard Plantation. She was freed by master Hoke Howard and became a healer and teller of fortunes for the ‘whites’. When Cassius was punished by the whip as a younger man, he ran away from the plantation and was taken-in for a time by Emoline. She helped him to heal both body and mind. She taught him to read and to believe in living once again. From that time onward, Cassius and Emoline shared a very special bond. Cassius had a special connection with Hoke Howard, like that of a favoured pet and its owner. Cassius had a certain aura about him that made a mockery out of his attempts to be submissive, as his masters believed their black slaves should be. Many of those subversive personality traits and ideas were most likely learned from the head-strong and determined Emoline. Emoline had been murdered! When the news had finally been broken to Cassius, he had nearly dropped to his knees in sorrow, disbelief and fury towards her unknown killer. WHY would anyone want to kill Emoline? Cassius makes it his personal mission; to hunt down and kill her murderer, one way or another."

If you would like to participate, please pick up a copy of the selected title as soon as you can. Please do your best to read it before January 20th, 2010. You can purchase a copy, borrow it from a friend or family member or you can borrow a copy from your local library.

All official members will meet (online) on Friday, January 22nd, 2010 in a specified meeting place to chat.

We are still accepting new members so feel free to fill out the Bloggers Unite Book Club Registration Form (see link on sidebar) if you would like to become an Official Member.

Thanks a bunch!

December's Book Club Selection - A Christmas Carol

Hello Everyone,

December's Book Club selection was chosen by yours truly; the Christmas theme was an obvious choice for this time of year and I've always enjoyed the film adaptations of this book. I have decided on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. This is a Christmas classic that I hope we can all enjoy! If you would like to read more about this title, please click here.

About A Christmas Carol (from Wikipedia):

"The tale begins on Christmas Eve seven years after the death of Ebenezer Scrooge's business partner Jacob Marley. That night, the ghost of Jacob Marley appears before Scrooge and warns him that his soul will be bearing heavy chains for eternity if he does not change his greedy ways, and also predicts that a series of other ghosts will follow. Three Christmas ghosts visit Scrooge during the course of the night, fulfilling Marley's prophecy. The first, the Ghost of Christmas Past, takes Scrooge to the scenes of his boyhood and youth which stir the old skinflint's gentler and tenderer emotions. The second spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present, takes Scrooge to the home of his nephew Fred to observe his game of Yes and No and to the humble dwelling of his clerk Bob Cratchit to observe his Christmas dinner. The third spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, harrows Scrooge with dire visions of the future if he does not learn and act upon what he has witnessed. Crippled Tiny Tim does not die as the ghost foretold and Scrooge becomes a different man, treating his fellow men with kindness, generosity, and compassion, and gaining a reputation as a man who embodies the spirit of Christmas (Restad 137-8)."

If you'd like to participate, please pick up a copy (old or new) of the selected title as soon as you can and please do your best to read it before December 31st, 2009. You can purchase a copy, borrow it from a friend or family member or you can borrow a copy from your local library. There is a free, OPEN BOOKS copy available at the following website.

All official members will meet (online) on Saturday, December 12th, 2009 in a specified meeting place to chat.

We are still accepting new members so feel free to fill out the Bloggers Unite Book Club Registration Form if you would like to become an Official Member.

Thanks a bunch!

November's Book Club Selection - The Little Book

Hello Everyone,

November's Book Club selection has been chosen by Melissa; she decided on The Little Book by Selden Edwards. Thanks Melissa!!! It is a historical fiction novel with some time travel/fantasy elements in it. If you would like to read more about this title, please click here.

ABOUT The Little Book (from Amazon.com):
"An irresistible triumph of the imagination more than thirty years in the making, The Little Book is a breathtaking love story that spans generations, ranging from fin de siècle Vienna through the pivotal moments of the twentieth century.The Little Book is the extraordinary tale of Wheeler Burden, California-exiled heir of the famous Boston banking Burdens, philosopher, student of history, legend’s son, rock idol, writer, lover of women, recluse, half-Jew, and Harvard baseball hero. In 1988 he is forty-seven, living in San Francisco. Suddenly he is—still his modern self—wandering in a city and time he knows mysteriously well: fin de siècle Vienna. It is 1897, precisely ninety-one years before his last memory and a half-century before his birth.It’s not long before Wheeler has acquired appropriate clothes, money, lodging, a group of young Viennese intellectuals as friends, a mentor in Sigmund Freud, a bitter rival, a powerful crush on a luminous young American woman, a passing acquaintance with local celebrity Mark Twain, and an incredible and surprising insight into the dashing young war-hero father he never knew. But the truth at the center of Wheeler’s dislocation in time remains a stubborn mystery that will take months of exploration and a lifetime of memories to unravel and that will, in the end, reveal nothing short of the eccentric Burden family’s unrivaled impact on the very course of the coming century. The Little Book is a masterpiece of unequaled storytelling that announces Selden Edwards as one of the most dazzling, original, entertaining, and inventive novelists of our time."

If you'd like to participate, please pick up a copy (old or new) of the selected title as soon as you can and please do your best to read it before November 18th, 2009.You can purchase a copy, borrow it from a friend or family member or you can borrow a copy from your local library.

All official members will meet (online) on Saturday, November 21st, 2009 in a specified meeting place.

We are still accepting new members so feel free to fill out the Bloggers Unite Book Club Registration Form if you would like to become an Official Member.

Thanks a bunch!

October's Book Club Selection - The Shining

Hello Everyone,

October's Book Club selection has been chosen by Sally; she decided on The Shining by Stephen King. Thanks, Sally!!! This is a thriller/horror for anyone who likes these kinds of books (I certainly do!).
This book was made into a movie in 1980, called The Shining starring Jack Nicholson. Please click here to read more about the book.

About THE SHINING (book):
First published in 1977, The Shining quickly became a benchmark in the literary career of Stephen King. This tale of a troubled man hired to care for a remote mountain resort over the winter, his loyal wife, and their uniquely gifted son slowly but steadily unfolds as secrets from the Overlook Hotel's past are revealed, and the hotel itself attempts to claim the very souls of the Torrence family. Adapted into a cinematic masterpiece of horror by legendary Stanley Kubrick -- featuring an unforgettable performance by a demonic Jack Nicholson --The Shining stands as a cultural icon of modern horror, a searing study of a family torn apart, and a nightmarish glimpse into the dark recesses of human weakness and dementia.
About the Author:
Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. Among his most recent are Hearts in Atlantis, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Bag of Bones, the screenplay Storm of the Century, and The Green Mile. His acclaimed nonfiction book, On Writing, was also a bestseller. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.

If you'd like to participate please pick up a copy (old or new) of the selected title as soon as you can and please do your best to read it before October 15th, 2009.
You can purchase a copy, borrow it from a friend or family member or you can borrow a copy from your local library.

All official members will meet (online) on Saturday, October 17th, 2009 in a specified meeting place. For our unofficial yet equally appreciated members, we will post some of the discussions in a post the day following the online gathering. This post will be on the Bloggers Unite Book Club blog and it will provide an opportunity for everyone to discuss the monthly selection in further detail and allow everyone to contribute their ideas and opinions.

We are still accepting new members so feel free to fill out the Bloggers Unite Book Club Registration Form if you would like to become an Official Member.

Thanks a bunch!

Book Club Chat - The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Here is a list of topics and questions that we discussed during our chat:

Did anyone else become confused by the storyline?
What did we all think of
the idea of time travel & the Chrono Disorder?
Did you like the writing
style?
Do you think that you would wait like Clare did, for Henry all of the
time?
If you had to choose one or the other...who would you say had the
worst of it; Clare because she was always waiting...or Henry?
Could you
imagine being there one minute and then disappearing the next; how would it make
you fee?
What would you have changed in the story?
By the end of the
story, did you like Clare or did you find that you didn’t like her?

Please feel free to add your voice and tell us how you felt about these topics in the comment section on this post. :)

September's Book Club Selection - Persuasion

Hello Everyone,

September's Book Club selection has been chosen by Joni; she decided on Persuasion by Jane Austin. Click here to read more about this title.

If you'd like to participate please pick up a copy (old or new) of the selected title as soon as you can and please do your best to read it before September 15th, 2009.

You can purchase a copy, borrow it from a friend or family member or you can borrow a copy from your local library.

All official members will meet (online) on Friday, September 18th, 2009 in a specified meeting place. Each official member will receive an invitation to said group where we will discuss our monthly Book Club selection. For our unofficial yet equally appreciated members, we will work on posting some of the discussions, the day following the online gathering. This post on the Bloggers Unite Book Club blog will provide an opportunity for everyone to discuss the monthly selection in further detail and allow everyone to contribute their ideas and opinions.

We are still accepting new members so feel free to fill out the Bloggers Unite Book Club Registration Form if you would like to become an Official Member.

Thanks a bunch!

August Book Club Selection - The Time Traveler's Wife

Hello Everyone,

It looks like August's Book Club selection is The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

If you'd like to participate please pick up a copy of the selected title as soon as you can and please do your best to read it before August 15th, if possible. If August 15th is too soon, please let me know and I'll be happy to move the date to later on in the month of August.

You can purchase a copy, borrow it from a friend or family member or you can borrow a copy from your local library.

I am going to try to get our September and October Book Club selections up very soon so everyone has lots of time to get their hands on a copy of the book and read them.

All official members will meet (online) on August 15th, 2009 in a group that I am in the process of setting up. Each official member will receive an invitation to said group where we will discuss our monthly Book Club selection. For our unofficial yet equally appreciated members, we will post some of the discussions in a post the day following the online gathering. This post on the Bloggers Unite Book Club blog will provide an opportunity for everyone to discuss the monthly selection in further detail and allow everyone to contribute their ideas and opinions.

We are still accepting new members so feel free to fill out the Bloggers Unite Book Club Registration Form if you would like to become an Official Member.

Here's a neat fact: The Time Traveler's Wife has been made into a movie and it hits the theatres on August 14th, 2009...starring Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana.

I wonder how the movie will compare to the book. :)

Thanks a bunch!