Next Book....

The next book will be chosen from Jenny.
It will be....

The Second Time Around
by Mary Higgins Clark

The Gable Faces East - Question #9

9- Do you think the book ended as it should have? Did you like how it ended? What was your favorite plot twist?

The Gable Faces East - Question #8

8- I think the message of this book is that love transcends all obstacles and you are not ruled by your blood but can make your own choices. Do you think love is truly strong enough to conquer all things?

The Gable Faces East - Question #6

6- It is interesting how time & circumstances can change things. How do you feel about second chances and destiny?

The Gable Faces East - Question #7

7- Family relationships are hard to maintain sometimes & this book portrays how hate, jealousy, adultry, etc. can really ruin generations of families and how those emotions really impact people. What did you think of Chad and that whole situation?

The Gable Faces East - Question #5

5- I was often shocked at how good a man & friend Richard was to Alexa and to Jess. How do you feel about him & about friendship that runs so deep?

The Gable Faces East - Question #4

4- How did you feel about Alexa's marriage decisions?

The Gable Faces East - Question #3

3- This is another girl power book. Alexa is such a strong, powerful woman with a commanding presence as well as a tender soft side. How, if at all, did you relate to Alexa?

The Gable Faces East - Question #2

2- This book often reminded me of Romeo & Juliet because love can make people so hateful & so loving at the same time. What is it about love that brings out all the deep emotions like fear, passion, doubt, hate, etc?

The Gable Faces East - Question #1

1- What do you think about Alexa & Jess's relationship and Alexa & Richard's relationship? How are they different? Who do you think suits Alexa better?

Next book

Just to let you know. We are close to starting our next book. If you have finished Goose Girl and are ready, please post a comment and let us all know.

Our next book will be The Gable Faces East by Anita Stansfield. As soon as everyone has finished Goose Girl we will "officially" start The Gable Faces East.

Goose Girl #7

Sometimes we look at the glamorous life and think it looks so appealing (like Selia being a queen, having money, being popular, beautiful, etc). It can be easy to forget how wonderful a simple life can be (like Ani being a goose girl). What have you learned about this challenge in your life? The challenge to be happy with where you are instead of thinking about how the grass is greener.

Goose Girl #6

This book started slow but got really exciting once they were in the forest. When did you really start liking the story and/or what was your favorite part?

Goose Girl #5

When I read the book, I thought a lot about friendship and betrayal. Who do you think were true friends to Ani and why?

Goose Girl #3

At first Ani believes the handkerchief her mother gives her is protecting her. Have you ever held onto an item hoping it brought you luck or protected you?

Goose Girl #4

What do you think Ani's mother, brother, and sisters would say if they learned how she saved their kingdom from annihilation? Do you think they would regret how they treated her? What would Ani's aunt say? Whose approval do you think would be most important to her?

Goose Girl #2

Once in the forest, Selia's treatment of Ani becomes obviously hostile, and she says, "Royalty is not a right, Captain. The willingness of the people to follow a ruler is what gives her power. Here in this place, by this people, I have been chosen" (pg 79). Do you agree with Selia's assessment of royalty?

Goose Girl #1

Thanks to Diana for getting us the Goose Girl questions!!

Question 1 - What did you think of Ani and Geric's love story, especially in the beginning? Were you surprised to learn Geric's identity?

The Goose Girl

Our current book is Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale.
We are still waiting on questions for the blog from Diana.
Keep reading (get through the first few chapters - it gets really good once Ani leaves the kingdom).
Stay tuned for more discussion....

Upcoming books

This is just to give everyone some time to order books, reserve them at the library, borrow them etc. We will continue on with Tending Roses until everyone has finished. No time pressures - those of us that are finished, feel free to enjoy reading other things until we move on to the next books. Once you finish, please let us know via email or a post on the blog. In talking to mom - we have opted to wait for everyone to finish so we can all stay together.
Here are the next two books:

Diana's: The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (available at alibris.com for .99 + s/h or at your local library)

Kara's: The Gable Faces East by Anita Stansfield (available at amazon.com for $3-$4 for used copies +s/h or at some local libraries)

Thanks everyone!! Enjoy!!

Question #6

How has this book impacted you the most?

Question #5

Has both forgiveness and trying to be open to a new way of thinking been a challange, a blessing, or both?

Question #4

What do you do to find the daily peace that the farm seemed to bring to others?

Question #3

Why do you think it is so hard for us to take the time to listen and seek to understand others rather than just accepting our own conclusions and judgments as truth?

Question #2

Do you think Grandma Rose leaves the wildflower book on purpose? Do you have a journal you can write life's little ah ha moments in like she did over the years? If yes, have you taken the opportunity to share those treasures of knowledge with others upon occassion?

Question #1

Within the first 2 chapters, what was it that you could relate to most ?

Question #4

Have you ever been the recipient of something akin to a Christmas Jar? If so and it isn't too personal, please share! If it is something you want to keep to yourself, that's okay too!

Question #3

What do you think about the way Hope initially got in the door to the Maxwell house??

Question #2

Now that you have gotten into the book a little bit, you have probably realized that the Christmas Jar is a tradition for people in the book.
I am sure some of this we will all already be familiar with from hanging out with each other...but, share some of your favorite traditions. They don't have to be Christmas traditions - they can be anything! What have you done that you love and has worked for your family or for yourself?

Question #1

What did you think of Louise's decision at the beginning - first chapter. What would you have done??

Christmas Jars - Let's Begin

I guess it wasn't a suprise to anyone that I would start my choices for the book club with a LOVED Christmas book. I love this story so much. I hope that you all enjoy the read. It is one that almost begs you to start a tradition of your own. I think you will find that it is a quick read for two reasons:
1 - it is short and the writing style is not one of those "stop and think as you read" styles
2 - it is such a sweet story and makes you want to keep reading
Enjoy it!! I will try to have periodic questions up for you to comment on. Please try to add your comments. That is one thing that I really loved about the first book - everyone's thoughts and opinions about what we were reading. It made me wish we were all sitting in mom and dad's house talking about the book.
Anyway, happy reading!!

NEXT BOOK

Our next book club book will be....



Chrsitmas Jars
by Jason Wright

Final Question

What part was your LEAST favorite?

Question #3

What would you like to have known more about in the book?

Question #2

Did the hard biscuits and chinks in the walls bring any memories of homemaking disasters you've had?

Mom's Question #1

Please post your reply to the question in "comments"

"Something big happens in the first two chapters...
My question is, what would you do if it happened to you?"

Assignment #1 - Read Chapters 1 and 2 by 3/21/11

Our Book Club will start on Monday, March 14th. We will try to do 2 chapters a week. Please feel free to comment and discuss what you think about that - if it is too much/too little. We can make changes, extend deadlines, etc. whenever we need to do it. Don't feel pressure, just enjoy!
Mom is going to post some ideas to comment on for the first assignment week, so watch for those.
If you can, choose to follow this blog so that you can get notices about when things are added or comments are made, etc.
So, for the first week - let's start with the first two chapters.
Happy Reading!! ;)