Ballston Book Club!: 2010

Friday, November 19, 2010

DECEMBER Partay and JANUARY BookS!

For those who missed the meeting (and the last blog post) - we have a holiday treat for you! There is no book for December! Instead, we'll be having a...

Ballston Book Club Holiday Bash
Thursday, December 9th @ 7:30pm
Kelsey's Party Room

See "Save the Date" email for info - details to follow soon!!

For those who want to get a'readin, we have two book selections for January:

"Into Thin Air"
by Jon Krakauer
Biography
368 pages
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Into-Thin-Air/Jon-Krakauer/e/9780385494786/?itm=1&USRI=into+thin+air

"The Lost City of Z"
by David Grann
Biography
448 pages
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Lost-City-of-Z/David-Grann/e/9781400078455/?itm=2&USRI=the+lost+city+of+z+a+tale+of+deadly+obsession

Next book club: Tuesday, January 25th!

Friday, November 5, 2010

Devil in the White City MOVIE!

We should plan a trip to the theaters - Leo DiCaprio will be starring in the movie! http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2010/11/02/leo-dicaprio-will-kill-in-devil-in-the-white-city/

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Save the Date!

December 9th - 7:30pm @ Kelsey's

Details to follow

Monday, October 25, 2010

I wandered around the UVA bookstore this past weekend, and ended up perusing the upstairs English classes section. Here are some suggestions, straight from "what the kids are reading these days." I plan to check out a few on my own, but didn't know if any would be of interest for future months in book club!

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, by Mark Twain

The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan

The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood

Any book by Gertrude Stein? (I forgot to write down which title I saw.)

Also, two books that I have already read and thoroughly enjoyed are:

Sarah's Key, by Tatiana de Rosnay

Her Fearful Symmetry, by Audrey Niffenegger

Happy reading!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

November book & looking ahead (to fun new things!)

"Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil"
by John Berendt
Nonfiction
400 pages

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight_in_the_Garden_of_Good_and_Evil

Next Book Club: Wednesday, November 17th @ Kate's!

But wait!...there's more:

In December, we are going to have Book Club Bash!
On a Thursday in December, we are going to celebrate 3 years of book club together by having a reading-free party. Guests will be invited, and everyone will bring a drink and some food to share. Additionally, we will have a"Judge a Book By it's Cover Christmas Swap" (or a JABBICCS? :) to celebrate! More details to come!

*Please note in the comments if there are any Thursdays in December that do NOT work for you*

Finally, we will have a special Book Club in January. Instead of reading a book for December, we will take December off and read *two* books for January! They are "The Lost City of Z" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_City_of_Z) and "Into Thin Air" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_Thin_Air) -- two adventure books to kick off the new year.

Happy reading!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

October book!

"The Thirteenth Tale"

by Diane Setterfield

Gothic, Suspense
416 pages

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thirteenth_Tale

Next meeting: Wednesday, October 20th @ Lauren's!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

September book!

"To Kill A Mockingbird"
by Harper Lee
Southern Gothic Fiction
296 pages

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Kill_a_Mockingbird

Next Meeting: Wednesday, September 21st @ Brittanys!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

August book

"The Hunger Games"
by Suzanne Collins
Young Adult fiction
384 pages http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/the_hunger_games_69765.htm

Next Meeting: Tuesday, August 24th @ Lisa's!

Monday, June 21, 2010

July PLAY!

"The Importance of Being Earnest"

by Oscar Wilde

Play, comedy

210 pages

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Importance-of-Being-Earnest/Oscar-Wilde/e/9780393927535/?itm=2&USRI=the+importance+of+being+earnest

Next Meeting: Tuesday, July 13th @ Bri & Amanda's!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

June Book

"Summer Sisters"

by Judy Blume

Fiction

399 pages

http://judyblume.com/books/adult/summer.php

Next meeting: LNo's apartment on Thursday, June 17th!

Friday, April 23, 2010

May Book!

"The Help"
by Kathryn Stockett
Fiction
464 pages
http://www.kathrynstockett.com/stockett-synopsis.htm

Please do not read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mein_Kampf

Thursday, April 15, 2010

The whole play idea

I had an idea stemming from my other idea about reading a play: it'd be way more fun to read one that was coming to DC. Then we could all go see it and part of our discussion could be both the writing itself and the stage interpretation. What do you guys think?

I looked at some of the big DC theaters, and here are their lineups for the summer and my thoughts on some of the plays.

Shakespeare Theater (http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/index.aspx)
-Ones that struck me were "The Liar" (David Ives) and "Mrs. Warren's Profession" (George Bernard Shaw). Both lesser known plays from great playwrights, so I am confident that the writing would be an excellent introduction to the genre.

Studio Theater (http://www.studiotheatre.org/plays/)
-maybe "American Buffalo" (David Mamet)

Arena Stage (http://www.studiotheatre.org/plays/)
-I wasn't really struck by anything here, but let me know if you know anything about these works!

Ford's Theater (http://www.fordstheatre.org/home/performances-events/2009-2010-theatre-season)
-I thought "One Destiny" looked fun - but its just a one-act so maybe this could just be a read-for-fun?

Anyway - just throwing that out there - please comment if you have suggestions as well or if you know of any good shows coming to DC.