The Other Queen

One of my favorite blogs, Book Club Girl has a new post about Philippa Gregory's newest book, "The Other Queen." There's a video of the author talking about the book and even a giveaway!

I've been a fan of Gregory's books for many years now. A friend insisted that I would love "The Other Boleyn Girl." I was skeptical. I'm not much for historical fiction, it was a big paperback and the cover made me think that it was some kind of bosom-heaving Fabio romance novel. But, I gave it a chance and was hooked. It's the story of Henry VIII and the beginnings of his relationship with Anne Boleyn. It was made into a movie that was released earlier this year. If you saw it, let me assure you -- THE BOOK IS BETTER!

Philippa Gregory has released several other novels about Tudor England since TOBG, and the latest one has just been released. "The Other Queen" is the story of Mary, Queen of Scots. I can't wait to read it!

Book Club Books for 2008-2009

Well, there were some surprises in the list of books that were selected for my book club at the meeting tonight. From the list I predicted, six were on the list:

The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
The Year of Fog by Michelle Redmond
Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin
Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado (we did this in my other book club)
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

The others that were chosen were:

When a Crocodile Eats the Sun by Peter Godwin
Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas
The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin

Looks like I've got some good readin' to do!

Book Club Meeting Tonight!

Tonight my book club is meeting to select the books for 2008-2009. This is always a very exciting meeting for me. I can't wait to see what we pick!

Back in June, we put together a "summer reading list" -- books that people have nominated for the next year. Sort of like "the long list." There were nearly 50 books on that list. Over the summer, members of the two books clubs in our neighborhood (one meets in the morning, one meets at night) have read books from the list to screen them. Tonight, we'll vote on the top nine that will be our book club selections for our October - June meetings.

Some of the contenders that I think will be picked:

The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani
The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
Water for Elephants by Laura Gruen
The Year of Fog by Michelle Redmond
Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch (we usually stick to books that are only available in paperback, but this one has a lot of support)
Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin
Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado (we did this in my other book club)
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

(We usually choose one "classic," so it will be one of those last three.)

It is often a contentious and laborious process to pick the books. We try to make everyone happy. We try to have every book reviewed by at least three people; that way there is a tie-breaker if one likes it and one doesn't.

I will let you know how things go! It's *almost* as exciting as watching the Olympics ... but not quite!