Austin Page Turners
Austin Page Turners
Generally, we'll meet third Monday Wednesday of each month at 7:30 PM to discuss that month's book.
HOSTESS - Chooses whether to host the meeting at her home or selects a public meeting place (coffee house, quiet restaurant, library, etc.). Sends out invitations (I suggest using Evite because it's so easy to track who's coming) a couple of weeks ahead of time with directions and reminder of which book we'll be discussing. Can also suggest a different meeting time than Monday night if it's more appropriate for the meeting location.
LEADER - Leads the group discussion. Comes prepared with discussion questions, etc. Attempts to keep the discussion on track and relevant to the book we're discussing, and give everyone a chance to talk. ;)
FUTURE LEADER - The person who is leading the meeting 2 months after the current meeting. They should suggest three books for the meeting they are leading, and the group will choose from the three. Ideally, they would send out titles and possibly links to book synopses/reviews the week before the meeting so members would be able to make a more informed decision.
The price of Motherhood--why the most important job in the world is still the Least Valued
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan
Good Grief by Lolly Winston
Above the Thunder by Renee Manfredi
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay by Michael Chabon
True Women by Janice Woods Windle
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
The Ride of Our Lives: Roadside Lessons of an American Family by Mike Leonard
The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble
Lucky by Alice Sebold
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Saturday by Ian McEwan
Suite Francaiseby Irene Nemirovsky
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antionette by Sena Jeter Nashland
An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore
Literature from the Axis of Evil edited by Alane Mason
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
War Trash by Ha Jin
Geek Love: A Novel by Katherine Dunn
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
Three Junes by Julia Glass
The Good German by Joseph Kanon
The Liars' Club by Mary Karr
Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
Two Old Women by Velma Wallis
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
The Good Earth by Pearl Buck
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
The Palace of Illusions: A Novel by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Atonement by Ian McEwan
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
Reading Group Guides - This is the best one I've found for reviews, discussion questions, etc.
SparkNotes Study Guides - Provides free study guides (think Cliff Notes)
Good Books Lately - Great discussion guides! (Wish I'd found this earlier!)
DECEMBER MEETING
Wednesday, December 12, 5:30 PM
Happy Hour and a Movie ("Enchanted")
Organizer: Natalie
NOVEMBER MEETING
Wednesday, November 14, 7:30 PM
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
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Consensus: Everyone pretty much enjoyed the book and gave it a thumbs up. Lisa made a great spread of Afghan food for us as well!
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Hostess: Lisa
Leader: Natalie/Mary
OCTOBER MEETING
Wednesday, October 17, 7:30 PM
São Tomé: A Journey to the Abyss -- Portugal's Stolen Children by Paul D. Cohn
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Members Attending: Gayle, Natalie, Lisa, Mary, Fatima, Carissa
Consensus: Most of us enjoyed the book, but only one loved it. The main difference seemed to be in reading it as a typical novel versus as a person's diary or journal. Either way, the we found the story interesting and compellng. The author contacted us and offered to answer any questions we had about which was a nice touch.
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Hostess: Gayle
Leader: Fatima
SEPTEMBER MEETING
Wednesday, September 19, 7:30 PM
The Nanny Diaries by Emma Mclaughlin and Nicola Krauss
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Consensus: Everyone pretty much agreed that the book got a thumbs in the middle.
A lot of us thought the book was entertaining but lacked depth.
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Hostess: Jessica
Leader: Mary
Future Leader: Natalie
AUGUST MEETING
Wednesday, August 15, 7:30 PM
Star of the Sea by Joseph O'Connor
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Members Attending: Gayle, Natalie, Lisa, Mary, Melanie
Consensus: We all enjoyed the book, particularly the way it used a historical event (the Irish Potato Famine) as a background for a cleverly constructed murder mystery. Parts of the book seemed to drag with seemingly unrelated details/information but most of it came together by the end of the book.
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Hostess: Natalie
Leader: Lisa
Future Leader: Fatima
JULY MEETING
Wednesday, July 18, 7:30 PM
Under the Banner of Heaven by John Krakauer
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Members Attending: Mary, Melanie, Fatima, Lisa, Gayle, Jessica, Natalie
Consensus: Reviews were mixed on the book itself, but it sparked a lot of interesting conversation on the topic of religion and religious fanaticism.
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Hostess: Lisa
Leader: Jessica
Future Leader: Mary
JUNE MEETING
Wednesday, June 20, 7:30 PM
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
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Members Attending: Lisa, Fatima, Mary, Tracy
Consensus: Most of us liked it, but those who finished the book found the ending anti-climactic. Sparked some good end-of-the-world discussion.
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Hostess: Mary
Leader: Natalie
Future Leader: Lisa
MAY MEETING
Wednesday, May 16, 7:30 PM
The Sea, by John Banville
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Members Attending: Fatima, Nicole, Jessica, Melanie, Natalie
Consensus: Almost all of us thought this book was just okay. We found the writing style difficult to read and felt like the story dragged. For those who were able to get through it, it improved at the end.
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Hostess: Fatima
Leader: Fatima
Future Leader: Jessica
APRIL MEETING
Wednesday, April 18, 7:30 PM
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
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Members Attending: Lisa, Jessica, Natalie, Mary
Consensus: An easy, entertaining read with a likable main character. A few minor complaints - it was too simple and plot twists weren't always believable.
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Hostess: Natalie
Leader: Mary
Future Leader: Natalie
MARCH MEETING
Wednesday, March 21, 7:30 PM
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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Members Attending: Jessica, Fatima, Christine, Lisa, Natalie
Consensus: This one was a unanimous thumbs up! It's a page-turner with substance, great characters and fantastic writing. Highly recommended!
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Hostess: Lisa
Leader: Jessica
Future Leader: Mary
FEBRUARY MEETING
Wednesday, February 21, 7:30 PM
Couldn't Keep It To Myself by Wally Lamb
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Members Attending: Jessica, Mary, Lisa, Natalie
Consensus: Reviews were mixed - some of us found the stories fascinating, but others felt that they were too repetitive. However, it did spark some good discussion.
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Hostess: Jessica
Leader: Natalie
Future Leader: Fatima
JANUARY MEETING
Monday, January 15, 7:30 PM
The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less by Barry Schwartz
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Members Attending: Nicole Z, Fatima, Mary
Consensus: Mixed
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Hostess: Nicole Z.
Leader: Carissa
Future Leader: Jessica
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Happy Reading!