Do You Believe in Time Travel?

What do you do when you meet the love of your life when you're six years old? And he's 36, but he's really only eight years older than you are? If you're Clare Abshire, you wait for each of his visits throughout the years until you meet him in real time.

Henry DeTamble is a time traveler, although not by choice. A genetic mutation causes him to spontaneously travel through time, disappearing from view, leaving behind his clothes and possessions, and arriving naked in another time and another place. For the most part, this is a curse. Henry often has to turn to petty crime to feed and clothe himself when he travels, and must run from people, thugs, or the police. Eventually Henry returns to his present time, bringing only the bodily injuries he's suffered back with him. Sometimes he travels back in time and visits an earlier version of himself. One of the places to which he travels often is the meadow behind Clare's house, and throughout her younger years, Clare meets him there and falls in love with him.

This is the basic outline for the story of Henry and Clare in Audrey Niffenegger's remarkable debut novel, The Time Traveler's Wife. This is far from a science fiction exploration of the space-time continuum, but a heartfelt love story of two people who must live with this curse as part of their lives. Ms. Niffenegger has thought through all the ramifications of the time travel, and sewn it seamlessly into the storyline. Once you accept that time traveling is a part of Henry's life he can't control, nothing that happens to him seems farfetched or out of character?

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger was our book for September. We had mixed feelings about the book. Some people REALLY liked it, like Beth, who has been trying to get people to read it for years! Some people struggled through it like Susie, Kim, and Jan. And others just thought it was so-so. We had a great discussion, some of which centered around SEX!! Of course, we do usually get around to discussing that at some point. I think leaping tall buildings was also a topic, or was that part of the sex discussion too?? Hmmmm.

Obviously Jill wants nothing to do with the little device Kim carries in her purse. I think there were many suggestions made about the use for that too. Vibrator comes to mind here.

We had a VIP at book club(in her sunglasses of course!), and Jan, always wanting to rub noses or shoulders or butts or whatever, with the "important" people, had to have her photo op!!

Susie and Valli always TRY to look so innocent, but we know the truth!

And look at Karen and Jackie being such the good listeners. Wonder what they're thinking about!

Beth, Jill, and Kim look quite comfy on Susie's couch just trying to hid behind those pillows.

We had a great Mexican meal at a restaurant, after which we gathered at Susie's home. Zahra was a guest and we did swear her to abide by our rules, especially--"What happens at book club, stays at book club!". I'm sure she thinks we have S-E-X on the brain, but we don't always. REALLY!

Promise Not to Tell

Way back in the lazy days of summer, Booker Babes met on August 10th, at Kim's to discuss Promise Not to Tell by Jennifer Mcmahon.

Part mystery-thriller and part ghost story, McMahon's well-paced debut alternates smoothly between past and present. In the fall of 2002, 41-year-old Kate Cypher, a divorced Seattle school nurse, returns to New Hope, the decaying Vermont hippie commune where she grew up, to visit her elderly mother, Jean, who's suffering from Alzheimer's. Kate has avoided New Hope since the grizzly, unsolved murder of her fifth-grade friend, Del Griswold, 31 years earlier. Kate fears she betrayed Del, a free-spirited farm girl. Did her betrayal cause Del's death? Who killed Del? Another local girl is murdered in a similar manner at the time of Kate's return. Could the killer be loose again? Meanwhile, Jean appears to be possessed with Del's spirit and may have the answers to these questions. As Kate investigates,

she learns stunning truths about many events and people from her youth. McMahon does a particularly good job of portraying the cruelty of school children. (from Publisher's Weekly)

This story lead to the discussion of several topics including:bullying, child abuse, betrayal, and even a supernatural element. Customers on Amazon gave this book and average of 4 1/2 stars out of 5. This was Jennifer's first novel, so I think she should be happy with that, although many of the reviews by professional reviewers gave it poor reviews.

As often is the case, food was a highlight. Everyone brought

something to share.

We even had a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers provided by Karen.

Kim shared the baby quilts she had made in a

nticipation of the arrival of her newest grandchild.

Beth was looking at Susie---always good for a laugh!

Nancy poses pretty for the picture while Karen is still trying to prove a point.

As usual, Susie just doesn't know what she's talking about!

Jan, the "techie guru" has the latest in note-taking tools!

As usual we strayed off the topic a time or two, but all in all we had a great discussion!

Promise Not to Tell was the perfect title for book club! We have the motto, "What Happens at Book Club, Stays at Book Club". So, we do "Promise Not to Tell"!