NPR's Backseat Book Club

NPR's All Things Considered is sponsoring a kids' book club aimed at the age level of my younger two. I love it because it's a great source for new titles for the kids from a reliable source. So far, the books have been The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster and Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu, all winners. DH read The Graveyard Book aloud to the kids about a year ago; I listened in a few times and was hooked- I read it myself when they were done. I finished Breadcrumbs a few days ago and now I'm in the middle of The Phantom Tollbooth. I don't read everything the kids read but I enjoy children's literature so I'll read anything good. (I'm passing on Martha Jr.'s Warriors books, thanks.)

I'm fortunate enough to be part of a grown up book club. I love it both for the company of some really great women and for the book suggestions. I haven't enjoyed all of the books (and even HATED one I suggested!!) but they've almost all been books I wouldn't have found otherwise. There are so many titles out there these days that it's hard to narrow it down to just the exact book you want to read at any given time. Now that it looks like bookstores are going away (sob) I don't know how I'll pick out books because I do, in fact, judge books by their covers. It's easier to choose a book if I can see it, pick it up, and leaf through a few pages. I read the back cover and the flaps. That doesn't always work, but it helps "sell" me on a book. That's not the case with choosing books on my Kindle. I find it's a lot harder to make selections in the Kindle "store" than in a real store; a lot of the time I wind up not choosing anything. Sometimes I'll see a book in the bookstore (or Costco or wherever) and then go back and buy it on my Kindle. They need to have stores with "sample books" you can go and hold and look over, then decide on whether or not to buy them electronically. (And I think Barnes & Noble is going that way.) I just pray that, even though I love certain things about my e-reader, that actual, real, paper books will continue to abound on this planet.

Entertaining

I've been running around like a crazy person getting ready to host my book club at my house tomorrow. Also like a crazy person, I decided to go with a theme based on the book which is NOT required by the club at all. (The hostess usually provides a place to meet and a nice lunch, no themes.) That means instead of using what I have, I went out and bought things to go with the theme. OK, I did have a few things already, and the main color I'm using is one of the colors I already decorate with so I wasn't starting from scratch, but I did want to flesh it out somewhat. I hit all the big box stores in the area and a few specialty stores. I'm having fun pulling everything together but I wish it was easier physically to shop and prepare. This is when the fibro is really a bummer, but I'll get through and have a good time tomorrow, then I'll let everything go for a few days to rest and recover.

I'm off to cook! I'll post the menu and recipes tomorrow after the fact, and I'll try to remember to take some pictures.

Hello again from 2012!

It's been over a year and a half since my "Hunger Games" themed book club lunch and I'm finally posting the pictures. Why, you might ask? Because I FINALLY joined Pinterest (I know, it's about time, right!?) and I found a listing that led to a web page that led to another web page with a "Hunger Games" themed party. Well, I did some HG entertaining, and I knew I had pictures, and I thought they were on the blog, but when I went back to look them up all I found was the PROMISE of putting up the pictures. Sheese. I have some "get around to it" issues when it comes to blogging.

So, anyway, I'm posting the party report and pictures now. The menu was mostly pulled from "Party Vegan" by Robin Robertson since there are vegans in our book club. (I'm vegetarian myself.) I made the chili, rice, (OK, DH made the chili and probably the rice), tampenade, and muffins from the Halloween menu. I also made a salad, candied pecans, and palmiers with whipped cream (white for smoke??) just because I like them. Halloween colors were used to represent the "girl on fire" and her coal mining district- black for the coal, red, yellow, and orange for the fire. It was perfect since the luncheon was held close to Halloween- it made it so easy to find all of the decorations! I love the centerpiece with the black candle and red, yellow, and orange crystals scattered all around it with a few coal-like stones thrown in for effect. The leaf shaped plate and pecans are very forest-y; forests were big in the first book.

Everyone raved over the chili- all the book clubbers wanted the recipe. It's a vegan recipe but with the hearty beans and squash you don't miss the meat at all. After the book club meeting this became a "go to" recipe for casual company. (Thank you Robin Robertson!!) So, here at last, are the pics:

Block Party Day!

Some of our wonderful neighbors get together every year for an annual pre-Halloween block party. We've been going for several years now and it's a great kick off for the holiday season. One of our neighbors in a cul de sac just off our street hosts, loads of kids come out to play, they have games with small prizes for the kids, and everyone and has a great time. Since we live waaaaay down at the end of our block we don't get to hang out and socialize regularly with the neighbors up the street very often so this is a real treat. I love catching up and chatting with people I only see in passing during the rest of the year. It's something I look forward to every year; I'm so glad we are invited.

I'm also glad to be a part of my book club which meets at my house on Monday. It's my first time hosting and I'm excited about it. We read "The Hunger Games" and I'm using some themes from the story for my menu and decorating. (Not that the book club usually follows a theme for our lunches, I just thought it would be fun since this particular book lends itself to the colors that are so easy to find around this time of year.) It should be great; I'll probably post about it again when it's over, but for now I have to get to the prep work. It's time to make my candied pecans!

Of Book Clubs and Brownies

Today was a busy day, what with a book club meeting this morning and a Brownie meeting this afternoon. This was the second book club meeting I've been to; our book was The Help by Kathyrn Stockett. I'm excited to be part of a book club; it's something I've wanted to do for quite some time. I tried to start a Mother/Daughter book club when The Eldest was The Only but it fizzled after 2 meetings, which is one of the things that made me realize I'm not great at organizing groups. (Girl Scout troops being the exception.) I based my Mother/Daughter book club on the book titled, oddly enough, The Mother/Daughter Book Club. We read Because of Winn Dixie and had a party at my house complete with food from the book, including a very large jar of pickles, and Harriet the Spy, and that was the end of it. I was sad it died out since I thought the two meetings were really great, but die it did.

So fast forward to now, and when a friend of mine invited me to her book club I was thrilled! These ladies have been getting together for years now and I'm so honored to be a part of their group. I've enjoyed the first two meetings immensely and I'm looking forward to more of them in the future, and next month's meeting covers a book I haven't read yet. I read both books for the meetings I've been to months ago so they weren't as fresh in my mind as I would like for a discussion; for our November meeting I'll be up to date. We're reading Shanghai Girls: a Novel by Lisa See. It's on the New York Times best seller list, so I'm hopeful that it will be a good read.

Then there was the Brownie meeting. I think it went over well, although not all of the girls were able to make it. (This isn't our regular meeting day.) We worked on several messy science activities and welcomed a new girl into our troop so there was a lot going on. DH and the kids helped with the prep work yesterday- cleaning the house, (the troop meets in my home), stopping by the craft store with me to buy supplies, drilling holes in baby jar lids, and so forth. I knew I wouldn't have a chance for any last minute prep today due to the book club so it had to be done yesterday, and it was, so it's all good.