Welcome to the Loch Lomond Book Club!

August Book Club

2009-08-22T08:46:00.003-06:00

Book Club will be held this week on Thursday (8/27) at 7:30 PM at Mary Jenkins' home. We will be discussing the most popular Jane Austen books. Please come even if you weren't able to read. It is still fun to visit.

Treats are welcome!

Any volunteers for hosts for the coming months?

The 4th Thursday

2009-07-21T14:33:00.002-06:00

Can you believe that it is already the 4th week of JULY???

Anyways, it is. So, that means that book club will be held at Liz Tillman's house at 7:30 PM on Thursday, July 23rd. We will be discussing Killer Angels by Michael Shaara.

Comment if you need her address, and I'll email it to you.

Next month, Mary Jenkins will be hosting a tribute to Jane Austen. She would like to have the main 6 books covered (Emma, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park and Persuasion.) Comment and let us know which one you are reading, or if you need a suggestion of what to choose...

Thanks! Hope to catch you this month, or next.

HAPPY SUMMER!!

Killer Angels

2009-06-24T15:06:00.003-06:00

So...tomorrow is the 4th Thursday, I'm not done with the book and I haven't been good about sending out an email or a reminder blog post. With that combination, Liz (our host for the month), has agreed to discuss this book in July.

For those who haven't started...here's your chance! We will have book club on Thursday, July 23rd at 7:30 PM. This will be a great pick for July and really get you in the spirit of Patriotism!!!

Charities and "There Is No Me Without You"

2009-05-27T08:35:00.002-06:00

There is No Me Without You #1. Opened my eyes to the extent of the AIDS problem in Africa which has lost a lot of publicity here in America since anti-retrovirals made it a chronic disease rather than one that will surely kill you and #2 made me want to help.

I don't have my book with me to list out the many organizations that are doing great things in Ethiopia, but these three stuck out to me.

http://www.ahopeforchildren.org/ is a non profit organization whose primary focus is caring for orphans infected with HIV and have no extended family to care for them in their childrens home, or through community outreach to children living with extended family who do not have to means to provide the HIV+ orphans with the care they need. I love that you can see where your money goes with this program, you can sponsor an orphan, or send supplies.

http://doctorswithoutborders.org/ is an international medical humanitarian organization whose focus is to assist people whose survival is threatened primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters. Doctors without Borders is very highly rated among charitable organizations as one that is great to give your money to, about %87 percent of your donation goes to the front lines rather than being used for office work/publicity.

http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/ is a public/private partnership who atrracts, manages, and dispurses resources to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. The Global Fund has become the main source of finance for programs to fights these three diseases. The buy (RED) movement in the United States supports The Global Fund.

Looking for hosts...

2009-05-23T20:23:00.000-06:00

Anyone interested in hosting in July, August or September? Let me know!

Book Club on Thursday

2009-05-23T20:21:00.003-06:00

Just wanted to give you a heads up. Again, I apologize for the short notice. We will be discussing There is No Me Without You by Melissa Faye Green on Thursday, May 28th at7:30 PM at Tiffany Keck's home. Leave a comment if you need her address!
Hope to see you there!! Treats are ALWAYS welcome.

BOOK CLUB TONIGHT!!

2009-04-30T15:47:00.001-06:00

Sorry for the lateness...Clive Cussler discussion is tonight at Rachel Tafoya's at 7:30.
Comment if you need the address.
Hope to see you there, even if you didn't read a book.

Apple Cake with Butter Sauce

2009-04-15T16:01:00.002-06:00

At the last book club meeting, Michelle made an awesome dessert called Apple Cake with Butter Sauce. Here's the recipe for everyone who's interested:

Apple Cake

2C Sugar
1/2 C Butter (room temperature)
2 Eggs
3C Applesauce
2C Flour
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Salt
Preheat oven to 350. Cream together sugar and butter. Add eggs and beat until fluffy. Add remaining ingredients and mix. Pour into a greased and floured 9x13 pan and bake 50 min.

Butter Sauce

1C Butter
2C Sugar
1C Half&Half
2 tsp Vanilla
Dash nutmeg

Mix all ingredients and cook on low heat until thickened, allowing to boil 1-2 minutes.
To serve: top each piece of cake with desired amount of sauce

Book Club on Thursday

2009-03-24T08:12:00.003-06:00

Hey, Book Club will be held on Thursday, March 26th at 7:30 at Michelle Brown's home.
We will be discussing the Ladies Auxiliary by Tova Mirvis.
Come and discuss or listen to the discussion if you didn't get a chance to read the book!
Hope to see you there!!

Book Club This Week!

2009-02-23T10:48:00.003-07:00

Don't forget book club this week at Micki Lambert's home, Thursday, February 24th at 7:30! We will be discussing The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows. Treats are always welcome!

We have information for the April and May bookclubs!

April is an author spotlight hosted by Rachel Tafoya. Choose any book that you would like written by author, Clive Cussler. Along with being an author, Clive Cussler is a Marine Archeologist and founder of the National Underwater and Marine Agency. He has written a variety of fiction, non-fiction, and even children's books so there are a lot of options! For a full list of Clive Cussler's books, please visit http://www.cusslermen.com/.

In May we are reading There Is No Me Without You written by Melissa Fay Greene, hosted by Tiffany Keck...

Not unlike the AIDS pandemic itself, the odyssey of Haregewoin Teferra, who took in AIDS orphans, began in small stages and grew to irrevocably transform her life from that of "a nice neighborhood lady" to a figure of fame, infamy and ultimate restoration. In telling her story, journalist Greene who had adopted two Ethiopian children before meeting Teferra, juggles political history, medical reportage and personal memoir. While succinctly interspersing a history of Ethiopia, lucidly tracing the history of AIDS from its early manifestation as "slim disease" in the late 1970s to its appearance as a bizarrely aggressive [form] of Kaposi's sarcoma in the early 1980s, and following the complex path of medication (a super highway in the West, a trail in Africa), Greene rescues Teferra from undeserved oblivion as well as rescuing her from undeserved obloquy (false accusations of child selling)... Ethiopia is home to "the second-highest concentration of AIDS orphans in the world"; even as some of the orphans find happy endings in American homes, Greene keeps the urgency of the greater crisis before us in this moving, impassioned narrative. - Publishers Weekly

Book Review by Mary Jenkins

2009-01-25T21:25:00.001-07:00

Multiple Blessings: Surviving to Thriving with Twins and Sextuplets by Jon and Kate Gosselin

"I blinked hard and then stared at the bright screen positioned slightly to my right. There was no mistaking what I saw, yet I was in a state of denial. My doctor began his fateful count. One...aaah. Two...okay. Three...now I was scared. Four...I started sobbing hysterically. The chill of reality washed over me as I watched my husband, my best friend, cheerleader, and storehouse of strength, slowly drop to his knees at the count of five...but the count continued...I feel so incredibly blessed that God has chosen us for this journey. This life is absolutely not in a million years what Jon and I expected, but it is infinitely more than we ever hoped or dreamed in so many ways. While John and I can't imagine what the days ahead will hold for our family, I am often comforted by a quote by Abraham Lincoln. He said, 'The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.' I say, 'Thank God.'"

If you are a fan of the television show "Jon and Kate Plus 8" you will love this book. You may think you know it all but you have no idea. This is a personal, in depth look into the lives of the Gosselin family from their marriage all the way through to the sextuplet's third birthday. Though both parents help write the book it is written from Kate's point of view. It is quite touching to hear their story, how they did not ask to get pregnant with six babies but were absolutely against selective reduction. They felt that God had sent them these children and they were to care for them, all of them. Through her narrative you can hear the worry, stress, excitement, exhaustion, and love that all came to her as she carried and birthed her twins, and then her sextuplets. She gets quite a bit of flack in the online community for being rude to her husband and overbearing with her children. However I found that in this book she was simply stating that she is a mom, like any other mom. She has good days and bad days and she had to learn, and is still learning how to accept help from others graciously. She quotes the Bible quite a bit and really gives credit for her strength to God, concluding the book with six lessons God has taught her while on this journey. It is a wonderful and uplifting fun book that I would recommend to anyone.

Voting Results are In!

2009-01-19T20:39:00.004-07:00

Well, you decided! And in March we'll read The Ladies Auxiliary by Tova Mirvis. I have to give a big thank you to the three people who voted and broke the four way tie! I was really worried for about a week there!

Don't forget book club this week at Nicole Baldwin's house, Thursday at 2pm. Kids and treats to share are welcome! We read The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale.

The Goose Girl by Grimm Brothers

2009-01-14T09:36:00.001-07:00

Our January book, The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale was based on a Grimm Brothers fairy tale. I thought it might be interesting in our discussion coming up to post a link to the original story! http://www.authorama.com/grimms-fairy-tales-14.html

Best Book Lists

2009-01-11T21:49:00.002-07:00

Here is one from Random House:
http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnovels.html

I am embarrassed to say there were several on this list that I hadn't ever heard of. Atleast on the "Board's List"

Another list I found that I made me feel a little better about my book reading was this:
(found at best100novels.com)

Still a lot of books I'd like to get to. I think my count was 34.

It's Time to Vote!

2008-12-27T10:30:00.003-07:00

Here are the choices for book club in March. Voting Closes on January 19th.

A Town Like Alice: ...tells the story of Jean Paget; as a prisoner of war in Malaya during World War II and then her return to Malaya after the war where she discovers something that leads her on the search for romance and to a small outback community in Australia where she sets out to turn it into 'a town like Alice'.

Angela's Ashes: Recounting scenes from his childhood in New York City and Limerick, Ireland, McCourt paints a brutal yet poignant picture of his early days when there was rarely enough food on the table, and boots and coats were a luxury. The author remembers his wayward yet adoring father who was forever drinking what little money the family had. He recounts the painful loss of his siblings to avoidable sickness and hunger, a proud mother reduced to begging for charity, and the stench of the sewage-strewn streets that ran outside the front door. As McCourt approaches adolescence, he discovers the shame of poverty and the beauty of Shakespeare, the mystery of sex and the unforgiving power of the Irish Catholic Church.

The Scarlett Letter: The novel is set in a village in Puritan New England. The main character is Hester Prynne, a young woman who has borne an illegitimate child. Hester believes herself a widow, but her husband, Roger Chillingworth, returns to New England very much alive and conceals his identity. He finds his wife forced to wear the scarlet letter A on her dress as punishment for her adultery. Chillingworth becomes obsessed with finding the identity of his wife's former lover. When he learns that the father of Hester's child is Arthur Dimmesdale, a saintly young minister who is the leader of those exhorting her to name the child's father, Chillingworth proceeds to torment the guilt-stricken young man.

The Ladies Auxiliary: When free-spirited Batsheva moves into the close-knit Orthodox community of Memphis, Tennessee, the already precarious relationship between the Ladies Auxiliary and their teenage daughters is shaken to the core. In this extraordinary novel, Tova Mirvis takes us into the fascinating and insular world of the Memphis Orthodox Jews, one ripe with tradition and contradiction. Warm and wise, enchanting and funny, The Ladies Auxiliary brilliantly illuminates the timeless struggle between mothers and daughters, family and self, religious freedom and personal revelation, honoring the past and facing the future.

Readers Choice March!

2008-12-11T10:30:00.002-07:00

In March we're going to try our first ever Readers Choice! We'd like you to submit book ideas, then we'll choose four and have everyone vote for the one they want to read using our handy poll here on the right side of the page! Since we're trying this for the first time, lets have you submit a classic novel you would be interested in reading. We'll define "classic" as a book that most people have heard of and some might have read in school/college. Leave your suggestions under comments! Thanks!

Upcoming Book Club Books

2008-12-11T10:01:00.001-07:00

January's book is Goose Girl by Shannon Hale hosted by Nicole Baldwin (It has a five star rating on amazon!)

"She can whisper to horses and communicate with birds, but the crown princess Ani has a difficult time finding her place in the royal family and measuring up to her imperial mother. When she is shipped off to a neighboring kingdom as a bride, her scheming entourage mounts a bloody mutiny to replace her with a jealous lady-in-waiting, Selia, and to allow an inner circle of guards more power in the new land. Barely escaping with her life, Ani disguises herself as a goose girl and wanders on the royal estate. Does she have the pluck to reclaim her rightful place? Get ready for a fine adventure tale full of danger, suspense, surprising twists, and a satisfying conclusion. The engaging plot can certainly carry the tale, but Hale's likable, introspective heroine makes this also a book about courage and justice in the face of overwhelming odds. The richly rendered, medieval folkloric setting adds to the charm." -Anne O'Malley

Salt Lake County Library System

Lehi Library

February's book will be The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer hosted by Micki Lambert

"January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb….As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever." -amazon.com product description

Salt Lake County Library System

Lehi Library

If anyone has access to either of these books and wouldn't mind lending them out, please leave a comment

Book Review: Hungry Planet

2008-12-11T09:30:00.001-07:00

"Peter and I were (respectively) photographing and talking with a tall skinny man and his two sons, all three of whom showed the marks of hard living. Like many in the village, the man was blind in one eye from vitamin deficiencies; the children had skin diseases and looked seriously undernourished. As we were talking, the older boy pulled a dry brick of instant ramen noodles out of its wrapper and munched it down. His naked, pot-bellied little brother tipped the ramen's flavoring packet into his own mouth and worked the powder around with his tongue until it dissolved. I was mesmerized. I saw this scene play out again and again during our time in Sawa, a place with next to no connection to the rest of the world--children eating an uncooked convenience food intended to simplify the busy lives of people very far away.

I asked a Catholic priest, a longtime resident missionary, about the noodles. He said that logging money had begun to trickle into the villages of these hunters and gatherers. Accompanying the cash came the first merchant to Sawa, a Sulawesian who sold dried food and snacks. Now there's nothing intrinsically wrong with the occasional quick snack of ramen noodles in processed broth, but you don't have to be a food activist to wonder if it is a good idea for the Asmattans, already stuggling to find basic nourishment, to dose themselves with jolts of sugar, salt, and artificial flavors." -Faith D'Aluisio, Hungry Planet

I loved this book for many many reasons. The book highlights forty families from all over the globe and what they eat in one week. It is amazing how telling food can be, not only socio-economically, but culturally and politically as well. For example, the Aboubakars from Darfur province, Sudan are refugees in Breidjing Camp, Chad. What they eat in the refugee camp is obviously affected by the modern history of Darfur. You learn about how they were forced from their home by the Jinjawiid, the workings of refugee camps, UN food distributions, and the effects of the refugee camps on the native people of Chad. While for some families, the book focuses on globalization and the loss of a country's traditional foods in favor for the easy, multi-national food chains and brands, for other families, the authors are searching for the "fountain of youth" in traditional foods that have caused certain groups of people in China and Japan to live longer lives with almost no incidence of heart disease and diabetes. Yes, this is a book about food, but it is so much more. It really makes you appreciate all of the different factors that go into play in getting food on your family's table each day, and take a second look at what you're feeding them as well.

This book review was written by Tiffany Keck. If you are interested in borrowing the book, she is willing to lend out her copy

If you are interested in writing a book review for this website in the future, contact Michelle Brown or Tiffany Keck