March 2009: East of Eden

"East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

This sprawling and often brutal novel, set in the rich farmlands of California's Salinas Valley, follows the intertwined destinies of two families--the Trasks and the Hamiltons--whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel. "A strange and original work of art."--New York Times Book Review.

Jen: Loved it!

Holly: I likey.

Stephanie: I enjoyed it and it was different from most of what I tend to read. What I really enjoyed was the struggle between Caleb and Aron, trying not to repeat the pattern, and the realization that everything wasn't exactly as it seemed from the outside or on the surface.

Jerilyn: Extreme evil and extreme love all in one book – amazing story of how one man could go through so much.

Aday: Steinbeck is a genius at character development and classic storytelling. Definitely one of my top 10.

Shannon: I have read this book twice now and it was better the second time. I love this book!!

Linsy: I loved this story and was very intrigued by the characters in the novel. They all had very different approaches to life and Steinbeck did an incredible job of bringing them each to life. Great book and a true classic.

February 2009: The Reader

For the month of February, we saw the Oscar nominated film "The Reader".

Synopsis:

When he falls ill on his way home from school, 15 year-old Michael Berg is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age. The two begin an unexpected and passionate affair only for Hanna to suddenly and inexplicably disappear. Eight years later, Michael , now a young law student observing Nazi war trials, meets his former lover again, under very different circumstances. Hanna is on trial for a hideous crime, and as she refuses to defend herself, Michael gradually realizes his boyhood love may be guarding a secret she considers to be more shameful than murder.

Nominated for five academy awards:

• Best Motion Picture of the Year
• Achievement in Directing
• Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
• Adapted Screenplay
• Achievement in Cinematography

Amanda: I loved it but it was sad.

Barb: A thought-provoking, emotionally wrought, bleak film with incredible acting.

Jen: December to May romances are hot, but I still prefer Revolutionary Road.

Stephanie: I thought this was a great film. It would have been very difficult to be an actor in this film due to the amount of internal, non-dialogued conflict and struggle that had to be portrayed. But I thought Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes and David Kross all did a wonderful job. I wish I had read the book prior to seeing it, though, so I would know how it compares!

Aday: The performances in The Reader were extremely moving and believable to where I felt very sad and lonely for the characters afterwards. However, unlike the other Oscar nominated films of 2008, I have no desire to see this one twice.

Linsy: I really enjoyed the movie. I think it was well done and stayed true to the book. I do wonder if I would have enjoyed it even more if I had not read the book and didn't already know the story??

January 2009: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

"A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" by Dave Eggers

Jen: Far far from genius.

Holly: We survived.

Becca: Only ten minutes of fun, hours of agony.

Kasey: It's like being in the mind of a manic depressive.

Amanda: How did this f$c*i^g book end up as a f$c*i^g Pulitzer Prize finalist?

Shannon: Ho-hum. Stop the yammering already.

Aday: When one tries too hard to become a heartbreaking work of staggering genius, you end up with this book.

Jerilyn: I'm glad I didn't read it.

Chari: I found the book to be exhausting and thought Eggers was full of himself. I can't believe I actually finished it as much as I disliked his all over the map writing style.

Past Book Club Selections

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Roots by Alex Haley

Killing Kennedy by Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard
On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves

Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick
Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin
Room by Emma Donoghue

The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel

UnBroken by Laura Hillenbrand

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

Starvation Heights by Gregg Olsen

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

These is My Words by Nancy E. Turner


The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson 
The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Freedom by Jonathon Franzen
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
I'd Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman
Loving Frank by Nancy HoranThe Bad Seed by William March
The Broken Shore by Peter Temple
The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
Hold Love Strong by Matthew Aaron Goodman
Crazy for the Storm by Norman Ollestad
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson
The Painter from Shanghai by Jennifer Epstein
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Time of My Life by Allison Winn Scotch
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Beautiful Boy by David Sheff
Body Surfing by Anita Shreve
Intensity by Dean Koontz
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Truth & Beauty by Ann Patchett

Tell No One by Harlan Coben

The Other Bolyn Girl by Philipa Gregory
The Choice by Nicholas Sparks
19 Minutes by Jodi Picolut
The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards
Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado & Vince Rause

Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Marilyn Monroe: Confidential by Lena Pepitone
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White

Mother by James McBride

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
Shanghai Baby by Zhou Wei Hui
White Oleander by Janet Fitch
The Bark of the Dogwood: A Tour of Southern

Homes & Gardens by Jackson Tippett McCrae

Expecting Adam by Martha Beck
Stolen Lives by Malika Oufkir
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Hotel Sarajevo by Jack Kersh
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman
The Last Time They Met by Anita Shreve
Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
The Poisonwood Bible by Babara Kingsolver
My Mother's House by Margaret McMullan
Perfect Match by Jodi Picoult
The Great Pretender by Millenia Black
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks