So happy to call Mrs. Terri Broome my friend and now author!  Her book The Ordinary Road is awe-inspiring, and her relationship with the creator of the universe inspires me to "press on" in my journey of surrender to HIM.  What an awesome book club party.  What a wonderful bunch of ladies.  So happy Pop read the book and was our honorary man visitor!

The Glass Castle... Finally!

After delaying this book club party for practically the entire summer, we came together as a group of "bag ladies" and feasted as we discussed this Memoir of Jeannette Walls.  It is hard to believe that she and her siblings lived through the poverty and neglect they endured.  This book was EXCELLENT.  Best of all, there is a movie coming in 2015!

Book Club Changes!

Book Club Party no longer for teens... but for adult ladies and a few of our older teen girls when appropriate.  The first of the "new book club" party group was not without some drama, but we got through it and had a wonderful time discussing Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball which had many underlying themes and to top it off was simply a cute Christmas story. Our party, of course, involved food from the book provided by all... a couple favorites was Kaye's Spaghetti Meatloaf and Stacy's ice cream floats.  I was impressed that everyone knew so many of the answers to my questions, and the discussion was enlightening.  Our party ended with a Dirty Santa book exchange.  WHAT FUN!

Ani, Shelley, Sarah, Kaye, Julie, Tam, Rene'e & Stacy!
Thanks for taking the photograph, Clowee!

Ladies Book Club... food makes the party!

I think I might love Dean Koontz

Talk about intense suspense! After reading 2.5 of his books, I am deeming Mr. Koontz a total genius! I love the supernatural aspects to the stories I've read so far. There is a definite GOOD vs. EXTREMELY EVIL in the 2.5 books I've read. I think I might just read all his books! So, far I've checked off THE FACE, ONE DOOR AWAY FROM HEAVEN and almost done with THE DARKEST EVENING OF THE YEAR!

The Seeds of Wither by Lauren DeStefano

The Seeds of Wither was short story written between WITHER and FEVER. Thankfully it didn't take me long to read it, because it was really pretty pointless. There was no new information. The story was told from the perspective of the very first first wife, Rose.

The Mark of the Golden Dragon by L.A. Meyer

The Mark of the Golden Dragon: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Jewel of the East, Vexation of the West, and Pearl of the South China Sea (Bloody Jack Adventures)
Mary "Bloody Jacky" Faber is one of the best book character's I've ever met! L.A. Meyer has created a funny, smart, brave girl in Mary Faber. This book was #9, and I'm patiently waiting on book #10 that's coming in October. READ THEM ALL. READ THEM IN ORDER!

ENTWINED book club party... highlights!

Our small group of black-wearing mourners had big fun as we celebrated behind covered windows one of my favorite books of 2011... ENTWINED by Heather Dixon. Four teams battled for great prizes such hankerchiefs, a spoon, a pen, a potatoe and an orange! The competition was fierce as groups filled out a difficult crossword puzzle, answered challenging questions, discussed deep issues relating to the book, named kids A-L using a theme of their choice and perfected a curtsey to present to the Queen of Book Club... me!

We then feasted on a meager meal (because the roya family is poor, afterall) of potatoe soup, rolls and sweets. After filling our bellies we played a game from the book where we stood in a circle and passed one person around adding to the story the first person started. The stories got very crazy really quickly! Lastly, we made up rules for partying just like the book outlined rules for mourning. I hope all you book clubbers remember the rules for an excellent week of partying...

* Dancing everyday

* Smiles non-stop

* Open the windows to let the sun in

* BYOB (I think Pop added this one)

* No bad news allowed / no watching news

* Summon your housekeeper and chef

* No strenuous exercising

* Eat lots of doughnuts and do not count calories!

It was a really great party, but I leave you with a few more activities you can do on your own as you continue to celebrate this exceptional book all about FAMILY!

~ Write a letter basically begging someone for whatever you want... just like Lord Teddie did when he begged the King for Clover's hand in marriage.

~ Girls, make a list of KINGLY qualities for the man you will one day marry!

~ Boys, make a list of QUEENLY qualities for the woman you will one day marry!

Lastly, we can't forget who attended the ROYAL book club party for Entwined!
The Royal Dishwasher / Darbey
The Royal Scrubber of All things dirty / Kaye
The Royal Clutter-Buster and Nag / Tamara
The Royal Photographer, piano player and mac & cheese-maker / Shelley
The Royal Food Consumer / Renee
The Royal Awesome Amazing Abracadabra girl / Clowee
The Royal Declarer of Daily Cute cloud formations / Ani
The Royal Scratch and Sniffer and guest seducer / Joshy
The Royal Causer of Giggling / Nikkita
The Royal Gets-Enough-Sleep-for-Everyone / Regan
The Royal Go-Getter and Dishwasher / Frank
The Royal Finder-of-the-hairbrush-every-morning-of-my-life / Kaylie
The Royal Sofa-sitter and book club observer / Pop