Christmas Celebration

Booker Babes met for their Christmas Celebration at Kim's. Because of the added stress of the holidays we don't read a book for December, but celebrate the season instead.

The table was set, the candles lit, and the fun was about

to begin.

The food is always great!

Our theme this year was ornaments. Each person was requested to incorporate an ornament into her outfit without it being a necklace, to bring an ornament to give away, and to share a special ornament.

Kathy realizes she didn't follow the rules!

In the spirit of "Letting it go..." Kim was NOT very creative and used her ornament on her scarf.

Jackie certainly won the prize for most creative with her decorating. You can't tell it in the photos, but she was blinking with lights!

Jill cannot believe Susie wore those in her hair!! Actually, they were her ornament to share, and she had a nice story to go with them.

Beth read 'Twas The Teacher's Night Before Christmas as we passed our ornaments to share. We passed the package each time she said "the".

Phyllis got a great icicle ornament.

Karen and Nancy dressed for the occasion in their snowman sweaters.

In the spirit of the holidays, some members donated money to Big Brothers/ Big Sisters to help support a family for Christmas.

Everyone left with a parting gift.

Breakfast With Buddha

Our book for November was Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo.

Summary

Otto Ringling is a successful, happily married Manhattanite facing an existential crisis brought on by the recent death of his parents. Volya Rinpoche is a Mongolian monk recently released from a Siberian prison who now acts as a spiritual advisor to Otto’s sister, Cecilia. When Cecelia insists that Volya take her place on a road trip with Otto from New Jersey to North Dakota to settle their deceased parents’ affairs, these two very different men embark on a journey rich with both physical and spiritual discoveries. As Otto shows Volya the pleasures of the American landscape, Volya helps Otto come to terms with the unnerving reality of loss.

We met at Karen's for November book club. As usual, Karen's tablescape was beautiful!

We had great food and discussions as usual. I'll leave you with this slideshow today.

1,000 White Women

Our October book was 1,ooo White Women by Jim Fergus. We met at the Kalona Family Restaurant for supper and then moved to a more private location which will remain unnamed.

Review From Booklist

An American western with a most unusual twist, this is an imaginative fictional account of the participation of May Dodd and others in the controversial "Brides for Indians" program, a clandestine U.S. government^-sponsored program intended to instruct "savages" in the ways of civilization and to assimilate the Indians into white culture through the offspring of these unions. May's personal journals, loaded with humor and intelligent reflection, describe the adventures of some very colorful white brides (including one black one), their marriages to Cheyenne warriors, and the natural abundance of life on the prairie before the final press of the white man's civilization. Fergus is gifted in his ability to portray the perceptions and emotions of women. He writes with tremendous insight and sensitivity about the individual community and the political and religious issues of the time, many of which are still relevant today. This book is artistically rendered with meticulous attention to small details that bring to life the daily concerns of a group of hardy souls at a pivotal time in U.S. history.

And here is Phyllis trying out for Vanna's job!

Out of 298 reviews on Amazon.com, the average reviewer gave this book 4 stars out of 5. How many stars did these three give it?????

And there's Susie trying to hide behind the book!And Kathy as usual, with the WRONG book!!

As usual we had a great discussion.

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"!