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 17, 7:30 PM
Reader's Month Off! Movie Night - The Other Boleyn Girl
----------------------------
Members Attending: Amanda, Lisa, Natalie, Jessica
Consensus: Enjoyed the movie, looking forward to book discussion!
----------------------------
Hostess: Amanda
NOVEMBER MEETING
Wednesday, November 19, 7:30 PM
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
----------------------------
Members Attending: Jenny, Fatima, Mary, Lisa, Natalie, Amanda, Jessica
Consensus: Quick read and it seemed like everyone enjoyed it.
----------------------------
Hostess: Jenny
Leader: Natalie
OCTOBER MEETING
Wednesday, October 15, 7:30 PM
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
Hostess: Lisa
Leader: Gayle
Organizer for December: Amanda
SEPTEMBER MEETING
Wednesday, September 17, 7:30 PM
The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton
Hostess: Natalie
Leader: Mary
Future Leader: Nicole
AUGUST MEETING
Wednesday, August 20, 7:30 PM
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
----------------------------
Members Attending: Lisa, Gayle, Jenny, Fatima, Nicole, Mary, Natalie, Amanda
Consensus: The best testament to this book is that despite it's length, most of us finished it (or at least came close). It's definitely a page-turner, but some of us were disappointed in the ending, and felt like different plot elements weren't tied up/together as neatly as we'd like.
----------------------------
Hostess: Fatima
Leader: Jessica
Future Leader: Gayle
JULY MEETING
Wednesday, July 16, 7:30 PM
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel by Lisa See
----------------------------
Members Attending: Mary, Jessica, Lisa, Fatima, Natalie, Gayle, Carissa, Jenny
Consensus: It was an interesting and fairly easy read and we all enjoyed it, except for Lisa who liked "everything but the plot." :) All of us found the first-person account of foot-binding to be especially fascinating (and gruesome!).
----------------------------
Hostess: Jessica
Leader: Nicole
Future Leader: Mary
JUNE MEETING
Wednesday, June 18, 7:30 PM
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
----------------------------
Members Attending: Mary, Jessica, Lisa, Nicole, Fatima, Natalie
Consensus: Opinions were mixed. Most of us found the book easy to get into and found the premise interesting, but almost everyone was disappointed in the ending (or lack thereof!).
----------------------------
Hostess: Mary
Leader: Natalie
MAY MEETING
Wednesday, May 21, 7:30 PM
The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
----------------------------
Members Attending: Mary, Jessica, Lisa, Nicole, Fatima, Natalie, Gayle
Consensus: Unfortunately, hardly anyone finished this one! The general opinion was that it was an entertaining enough novel, but some of the plot twists were a bit unbelievable.
----------------------------
Hostess: Natalie
Leader: Mary
APRIL MEETING
Wednesday, April 16, 7:30 PM
Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold by C.S. Lewis
----------------------------
Members Attending: Jessica, Natalie, Lisa, Fatima, Nicole
Consensus: Most of
us were "eh" on this one. We thought it would have been more
interesting if we knew the myth that was being retold *before* we read
it. (Too bad the story is included at the *end* of the book!)
----------------------------
Hostess: Nicole
Leader: Jessica
Future Leader: Natalie
MARCH MEETING
Wednesday, March 19, 7:30 PM
The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
Hostess: Jessica
Leader: Carissa
Future Leader: Mary/Jessica
FEBRUARY MEETING
Wednesday, February 20, 7:30 PM
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Hostess: Gayle
Leader: Lisa
JANUARY MEETING
Please email the webmistress at nbdavid.AT.fastmail.DOT.fm with any additions, corrections or suggestions.
Happy Reading!
Wednesday, January 16, 7:30 PM
Helen of Troy by Margaret George
----------------------------
Members Attending: Gayle, Jessica, Natalie, Lisa, Mary, Nicole, Carissa
Consensus: Most of us gave this one a positive review, even if some were only lukewarm about it. We thought it was an entertaining read and kind of refreshing to read the story from Helen's perspective. The main criticism was that it was a little slow in parts.
----------------------------
Hostess: Mary
Leader: Carissa
2006 Archive
2005 Archive
2004 Archive
Book Club Home