Extremely loud and a little hard to get into?

Yes, it is 4:24 am and I have completely given up on getting any sleep at night until my little monkey arrives. What would make the night pass much faster is if I couldn't put down our latest book club selection "Extremely Close and Incredibly Loud." But alas...I can put it down and I'm bored!

Sure, at first I thought, this is a funny read - I love how the boys mind wanders and the thoughts he has are hilarious. Come on, who doesn't love a quote like "Succotash my Balzac dipshiitake." But now, as I'm already over 30% invested, I find myself scanning over pages filed with ultra-long descriptions that don't really interest me anymore. I am a little lost at times as to who we are following and their relationship, and I'm not sure I care all that much either.

Just wondering what everyone is thinking about this one? I hope someone can get me excited again, or at least tell me to go on and that it will get better?

Sweet dreams,

xoxo RFab

Just for Kobo-ites!

P.S. If you're buying the first selection on your Kobo online, you can use promo code: Kobodollaroff in order to get a dollar off the purchase. "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" came to around $6.00 :) Coupons make me HAPPY!

And our 2012 selections are...

Thanks for another great gathering last night ladies...I can't believe that almost everyone was in attendance! It's a new record I think. Although, the best BFAB is yet to come where everyone attends AND everyone has also read and finished the book - LOL!

Regardless, we have some great discussions last night and discovered just whom is passionate about what? Obviously, we all lost respect for the great "Hem," however, many of us are intrigued to read his final novel/memoir (a tribute to Hadley we assume) called "A Moveable Feast." Some of us felt sorry for poor Hadley, and others completely lost respect for her as well. It is so difficult, as women living in 2012, to put ourselves into the time and place in which the novel occurs and to sympathize or wonder what we might have done in 1920's Paris. It's so much easier to sit back and judge based on our freedoms and rights because they're all we know. I was personally surprised, however, that with how traditional her character came off, she seemed to have no trouble spending so much time away from her child. Perhaps this was due to the fact that they were almost the only couple with a child? The overall consensus, however, was that "The Paris Wife" was a good read, no matter what kind of emotions it evoked.

I did also learn a few other important lessons last night: I have learned never to sneak into a bed where Amy and Brad may be having an afternoon nap AND not to let Erinn babysit my pet ape...among other things!

So as I sit here enjoying the leftover tarts that you all refused to take home last night, I thought I better put in writing what was decided as our next three selections and who will be hosting:

Wednesday, February 15th
Hostess with the mostest: Amy
Selection: "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer
(This one is coming to the big screen with Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock very soon as well - anyone planning to go let me know and I will try to read this one asap to join you!)



Wednesday, March 14th
Hostess: Jamie
Selection: "Sold" by Patricia McCormick


Wednesday, April 18th
Hostess: Rebecca
Selection: "The House at Riverton" by Kate Morton


Happy Reading my friends!

xoxo RFab

The Paris Wife: Questions to consider...

I am so looking forward to talking about this one ladies...I better make sure Rob has plans to go out tonight because it may be dangerous for him!!!
Start by clicking on this link (right click and open it in a new window though)in order to play Nora Bayes "Make Believe" while reading through the questions. This is the song that was playing when Ernest and Hadley first danced together at Kenley's apartment. It should set the mood for you!

Questions to consider for Paula McLain's "The Paris Wife:" (There are so many good ones, so forgive me for the length of this post!)
1.In many ways, Hadley's girlhood in St. Louis was a difficult and repressive experience. How do her early years prepare her to meet and fall in love with Ernest? What does life with Ernest offer her that she hasn't encountered before? What are the risks?

2.Hadley and Ernest don't get a lot of encouragement from their friends and family when they decided to marry. What seems to draw the two together? What are some of the strengths of their initial attraction and partnership? The challenges?

3.Most of THE PARIS WIFE is written in Hadley's voice, but a few select passages come to us from Ernest's point of view. What impact does getting Ernest's perspective have on our understanding of their marriage? How does it affect your ability to understand him and his motivations in general?

4.Throughout THE PARIS WIFE, Hadley refers to herself as "Victorian" as opposed to "modern." What are some of the ways she doesn't feel like she fits into life in bohemian Paris? How does this impact her relationship with Ernest? Her self-esteem? What are some of the ways Hadley's "old-fashioned" quality can be seen as a strength and not a weakness?

5.One of the most wrenching scenes in the book is when Hadley loses a valise containing all of Ernest's work to date. What kind of turning point does this mark for the Hemingway's marriage? Do you think Ernest ever forgives her?

6.In THE PARIS WIFE, when Ernest receives his contract for In Our Time, Hadley says, "He would never again be unknown. We would never again be this happy." How did fame affect Ernest and his relationship with Hadley?

7.What was the nature of the relationship between Hadley and Pauline Pfeiffer? Were they legitimately friends? How do you see Pauline taking advantage of her intimate position in the Hemingway's life? Do you think Hadley is naïve for not suspecting Pauline of having designs on Ernest earlier? Why or why not?

8.It seems as if Ernest tries to make his marriage work even after Pauline arrives on the scene. What would Hadley it have cost Hadley to stick it out with Ernest no matter what? Is there a way she could have fought harder for her marriage?

9.Ernest Hemingway spent the last months of his life tenderly reliving his first marriage in the pages his memoir, A Moveable Feast. In fact, it was the last thing he wrote before his death. Do you think he realized what he'd truly lost with Hadley?

10. Finally - which character did you like the most and why? What emotions did this story evoke in you as a reader.

See you all tonight after 7:30 and come hungry...I've planned a French feast!

xoxo RFab

Elle s'appelait Sarah

Last night, Erinn and I rented the movie to one of our summer reads "Sarah's Key." I don't even know where to start with this one...wow, it was as powerful as the book. There's something to be said for letting it play out in the language for which it was intended (which I had not been expecting). I would say that more than half of the film is spoken in French (beautiful, Parisian French), with English subtitles for the unilinguals out there! Thank God Erinn and I both understood what was being said because when we did read the English subtitles, they were absolutely hysterical (Erinn, thought maybe they had been run through Google translate...sorry Google!) They often either made what was said in French come off as very harsh and abrupt, or didn't even make sense at all...as in missing words or jumbled sentences!

Anyway, back to the film, the characters were perfectly cast, with that of young Sarah Starzinski really stealing the show. Mélusine Mayance, the French actress who played this role, was incredibly passionate and believeable in every word she spoke or face she made. At such a young age, it was amazing to watch. Kristin Scott Thomas portrayed Julia exactly as I had imagined her when reading the book - somewhat annoying, moody, smug...and Bertrand played by Frédéric Pierrot was just as unlikeable as he was in the novel as well (however; Erinn and I were trying to remember whether or not he had an affair in the novel? It wasn't portrayed in the film).

It was as difficult to watch the history of the Vel d'Hiv roundup as it was to read, but we both commented on how it was done without going the gorry/gruesome route. We didn't always see what the characters saw, but their expressions and words were enough to draw tears and evoke sympathy. When Sarah finally returns to the appartment for her brother, it is a gut-wrenching scene without the need to show the corpse or what she discovered there.

Finally, a movie that did not disappoint (so long as your French is somewhat up-to-date!) BFab ladies, find some time to rent this one soon.

xoxo RFab

Another quick read and page turner...

I almost forgot that I also recently read another great page turner that I highly recommend for those who enjoy suspense and the legal dramas! This summer, I had purchased a whole bunch of books on my Kobo before going on holidays so I would never run out, and then I recently discovered some that I had forgotten about, such as John Grisham's "The Confession."

The story here is that a young man is on death row set to be executed in a matter of days, but who has claimed innocence for the last decade. (He had been forced into a false murder confession, which had then been used as the main reason for his guilty verdict and death sentence). Then, a decade later, another man comes forward to a priest in a nearby state and confesses to this same crime...So, will they be able to save the innocent man in time? Will the actual murderer want to confess when the time comes? Will the courts allow a last minute plea?...haha...Is your interest peaked yet? Add major racial tension in the small town (the young man is black and was accused of raping and murdering a white cheerleader from his high school, the jury was all white, the judges are biased...) and you've got one hell of a story!

It's been a while since I've read this kind of drama and I have to say, I really enjoyed it! I wonder how long before this one becomes a movie?!!!

xoxo RFab

Not again...

Sorry for the delay in writing any posts on our blog ladies...the new pregnant me is definitely someone I don't recognize - birthday presents are late, cards are late, Christmas gifts were purchased on the 24th...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Who is this strange creature?!!!

I have been reading; however, my usual mix of heavy and light and finally got around to watching two movies I had talked about earlier. I absolutely loved the novel "Water for Elephants" and am pleased to say that the movie was equally amazing. Despite it's starring "Edward" and "Elle", the characters were completely believable and the story line stayed true. I was totally impressed and recommend it to anyone who has read the book.

I also rented "One Day" - a novel by David Nicholls, which I had heard good things about. My girlfriend lent me the book, however, I never got around to reading it and thought I'd go straight to video for this one...BIG MISTAKE! What a depressingly boring movie; I actually started doing something else while watching it. I didn't care for the characters or their relationship and really felt no connection there whatsoever. The idea was to show where the two "friends" were at in their lives around the same date each year...so sometimes they were together and other times not, having their struggles and successes. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but what was the point in ending it the way it did? I've been trying to read into it and solve this mystery, but I don't see the point? Let me know your thoughts whether you have read the book or watched the film.

Needless to say, I needed some fluff after that, so I went to my always faithful standby "Madeleine Wickham" for the novel "Sleeping Arrangements." Set in Spain, a couple and their children have been graciously offered a holiday at a friend's villa, only to discover that the same friend has rented it to another couple and their children...with the wife in the first couple having dated the husband in the second a while back. Dum da dum dum!.....What could possibly go wrong here? Ok, so the plot isn't an original one and the characters are not so deep, but this is just the type of book you need on a lazy day, am I right?!

I am so looking forward to seeing what we come up with as selections for the next three months and to see if we can actually all read them for once (we're not doing to well this Fall are we ladies?!!!)

xoxo RFab

Reminder: BFAB next Tuesday!

I know it's been that busy time of year ladies, but I'm soooo looking forward to seeing you all and hosting our next book club at my place on Tuesday, January 10th. We will be discussing our final Fall choice: "The Paris Wife" and enjoying some French treats!

I am only half-way through, so I will post some questions over the weekend (in case they ruin something for us!)

So mark your calendars for next Tuesday after 7:30 and come equipped with some more book choices as well!

See you then!

RFab xoxo

Yikes!!!

So I'm sitting in a waiting room with my Kobo and our latest pick:
"The Fates Will Find Their Way" and I'm still playing on my iPhone and
reading magazines around me...

This is not a good sign (especially considering that I brought this
suggestion to BFab!) I just cannot get into this book ladies :( Is
anyone else with me? I mean, I do like going into the minds of the
young boys and remembering what it was like at their age, but I'm
getting easily confused trying to follow along and find that I'm not
really interested in what happened afterall!

I am only half way through the book and have had plenty of
opportunities to finish, so when Nat D sent her reminder email this
morning I realized how far behind I am! I am so looking forward to
hearing what everybody else thinks.

See you next Tuesday at our Newly-Engaged Bfaber Nat D's house!!!

xoxo RFab

Sent from my iPhone

Schedule

The Fates will Find Their Way

October 25th

Hostess: Natalie D

Cutting for Stone

November 22nd

Tracy

Paris Wife

January 10th

Renee?? (possibly Erinn, we'll see how things are going with our dear soon to be momma)

Fall 2011 Book Club

Welcome back from the summer and welcome to the new members, Tracy, Jamie and Rebecca! Julie started the round of book club on an excellent note. Thanks for the delicious food and new recipes.

We selected 3 new books for the next several months. They were, The Fates will Find Their Way, Cutting for Stone and Paris Wife.

The Fates will Find Their Way by Hannah Pritchard

Hannah Pritchard also wrote the book the Virgin Suicides, which you may recall was made into a movie starring Kristin Dunst. Has anyone seen it?

As for her current novel, The Fates will Find Their Way it is a similar story to the Virgin Suicides in that it is centred around a tragedy within a town. If you are interested in what someone else thought about the book, there was a review in the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/books/review/Gilmore-t.html It’s not glowing, but it will be interesting to compare the reviewer thoughts with our own at the next book club.

8437766.jpg

Book Description:

Sixteen-year-old Nora Lindell is missing. And the neighborhood boys she's left behind are caught forever in the heady current of her absence.

As the days and years pile up, the mystery of her disappearance grows kaleidoscopically. A collection of rumors, divergent suspicions, and tantalizing what-ifs, Nora Lindell's story is a shadowy projection of teenage lust, friendship, reverence, and regret, captured magically in the disembodied plural voice of the boys who still long for her.

Told in haunting, percussive prose, Hannah Pittard's beautifully crafted novel tracks the emotional progress of the sister Nora left behind, the other families in their leafy suburban enclave, and the individual fates of the boys in her thrall. Far more eager to imagine Nora's fate than to scrutinize their own, the boys sleepwalk into an adulthood of jobs, marriages, families, homes, and daughters of their own, all the while pining for a girl–and a life–that no longer exists, except in the imagination.

A masterful literary debut that shines a light into the dream-filled space between childhood and all that follows, The Fates Will Find Their Way is a story about the stories we tell ourselves–of who we once were and may someday become.

Cutting for Stone by Ambraham Verghese

When I was searching for information on Cutting for Stone I came across this interesting website called Good Reads. Here you can search for a book and read other peoples reviews and see what others have rated the book. Cutting for Stone got 4.24 out of 5 from 34,000 reviewers. So it looks like a LOT of other people liked the book!

3591262.jpg

Book Description:

Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon at a mission hospital in Addis Ababa. Orphaned by their mother’s death in childbirth and their father’s disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. Yet it will be love, not politics—their passion for the same woman—that will tear them apart and force Marion, fresh out of medical school, to flee his homeland. He makes his way to America, finding refuge in his work as an intern at an underfunded, overcrowded New York City hospital. When the past catches up to him—nearly destroying him—Marion must entrust his life to the two men he thought he trusted least in the world: the surgeon father who abandoned him and the brother who betrayed him

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

Book Description

No twentieth-century American writer has captured the popular imagination as much as Ernest Hemingway. This novel tells his story from a unique point of view — that of his first wife, Hadley. Through her eyes and voice, we experience Paris of the Lost Generation and meet fascinating characters such as Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and Gerald and Sara Murphy. The city and its inhabitants provide a vivid backdrop to this engrossing and wrenching story of love and betrayal that is made all the more poignant knowing that, in the end, Hemingway would write of his first wife, "I wish I had died before I loved anyone but her."

What's next???

Hey Erinn??? I came on tonight to check which books we had decided on for the next three months only to find ... gasp... no post from you!!! Now you've had a solid week - We want/need to see your recap of our BFab night and the choices we made so we know what to do. Give us direction pretty please!!! (or you're fired)... Oops who wrote that? Rude!

xoxo RFab ;)

It actually exists!!!

Ok...enough picking on Tara already. This is not a case of "Glass Floorboard" as we suspected. "Human Smoke" is a novel and is written by Nicholson Baker, however, it seems like a really heavy non-fiction. (Also please note that I chose the picture stating how they are practically giving it away at 100% off!!!) LOL!

Here's the synopsis in case we wish to change our selections:

Bestselling author Nicholson Baker, recognized as one of the most dexterous and talented writers in America today, has created a compelling work of nonfiction bound to provoke discussion and controversy -- a wide-ranging, astonishingly fresh perspective on the political and social landscape that gave rise to World War II.
Human Smoke delivers a closely textured, deeply moving indictment of the treasured myths that have romanticized much of the 1930s and ''40s. Incorporating meticulous research and well-documented sources -- including newspaper and magazine articles, radio speeches, memoirs, and diaries -- the book juxtaposes hundreds of interrelated moments of decision, brutality, suffering, and mercy. Vivid glimpses of political leaders and their dissenters illuminate and examine the gradual, horrifying advance toward overt global war and Holocaust.
Praised by critics and readers alike for his exquisitely observant eye and deft, inimitable prose, Baker has assembled a narrative within Human Smoke that unfolds gracefully, tragically, and persuasively. This is an unforgettable book that makes a profound impact on our perceptions of historical events and mourns the unthinkable loss humanity has borne at its own hand.

So what do we think? If we're not sure, check out all the details listed under "About the Author" on Chapters/Indigo website:

About The Author:
Nicholson Baker lives in Maine.

Ha! Thanks...I'm super intrigued!!!

Good night ladies and thanks for great re-start of BFab. Looking forward to another fun year full of delicious treats, drinks and conversation. Julie raised the bar on this one!

xoxo RFab

BFab tonight!

Looking forward to finally getting back into it tonight ladies, and especially to see what suggestions everyone has to bring to the table. I am currently reading a real literary treat called "Sleeping Arrangements" but Madeline Wickham. O.K., so it's really Sophie Kinsella and it takes no brain to get through it, but I am enjoying it, although it's not as funny as many of her other books...a little sad really.

I wanted to share some random possible suggestions for our next year ahead. My only problem with looking up new suggestions to read is that most book descriptions now give a little too much away. I do like some element of surprise when reading. Nothing's worse than knowing someone is going to die when you meet them at the beginning of a story, eh?

Anyways, check out these three suggestions:

Called "The Fates Will Find Their Way" By Hannah Pittard

Here's what was written about it:
A 16-year-old named Nora goes missing from her tight-knit community one Halloween night and is never seen or heard from again. Though the premise sounds familiar, Hannah Pittard's mesmerizing debut, The Fates Will Find Their Way (Ecco), is no police procedural. With every carefully chosen word—and in this short, intense novel, each one counts—Pittard brilliantly draws us into the maturing consciousness of a group of neighborhood boys who make Nora's sudden but continuing absence the defining event of their lives over the next 30 years. Narrating in a collective first-person voice reminiscent of Jeffrey Eugenides's The Virgin Suicides, the boys reveal their life stories through the prism of their fascination with the missing girl's fate. They collect clues and hearsay, and imagine scenarios for Nora that range from murder to teen motherhood to lesbian love in Mumbai, all the while experiencing their own rites of passage—sex, drugs, marriage. As husbands, they maintain collective fantasies and share "vague and unfair comparisons between what our wives were and what she might have been." Gradually we see how the boys, at times indistinguishable, have developed as individuals: The one envied because he may have slept with Nora becomes a sexual predator; the pitied "weird kid" ends up happy. He's the one, in fact, who compels the others to let go of the past and accept "the obvious realization that this—this, all around us—is our life."— Liza Nelson

And then, there's a novel called "Before I go to Sleep" by S.J. Watson

which is described like this:
"As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I?m still a child. Thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me. . . ."

Memories define us.

So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep?

Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love?all forgotten overnight.

And the one person you trust may be telling you only half the story.

Welcome to Christine's life.

And now...we want to know more right? I like this description...gripping!

And for my third, a novel called "The Ninth Wife" by Amy Stolls


"Thirty-something Bess Gray has resigned herself to a lifetime of being single when she meets handsome, charming, and hilariously funny Rory. Rory and Bess hit it off instantly, and before long, he’s asked for her hand in marriage. Imagine Bess’s shock and surprise when Rory reveals his big secret just after their engagement: he’s already been married eight times. Bess decides that in order to accept his proposal, she needs to get as many facts as possible about these wives. So along with her aging grandparents and her gay best friend, Bess sets out on a journey to meet as many of the wives as possible and get their sides of her future husband’s story."

I'm really not sure what kind of book I'm in the mood for next, obviously, but these three seemed interesting. There were many more I would read, but among all the members of BFab, they've been read!!! Damn you all!

Looking forward to tonight...see you at Erinn's!

xoxo RFab

Thoughts on movies???

I do get excited whenever I see that I book I read has been made into a movie. I was just telling Rob last night that I was wondering if "Water for Elephants" is available on DVD yet since I just finished that one, and he kindly replied: "Why do you keep watching the movies of the books you've read? You just get all angry and disappointed and annoying!" Touché Rob, but I do just need to see them for myself anyways...who's with me?

Of course the movies are rarely better than the books, they usually take their own liberties and they sometimes even change the plot; but none has been worse most recently than a movie I watched on holiday two weeks ago: "My Sister's Keeper." I mean really, are you kidding me? I read this book years ago and kept meaning to rent the movie, so I was stoked when I had some free time to watch it on my own, with a box of kleenex (just like I needed when reading it!) But the ending (spoiler alert) had me so ticked off, that I just couldn't even cry - that is a serious deal, changing which sister actually dies...the whole point was that she was able to donate her organs in the end and save her sisters life anyways, not that the sister with cancer dies, as one would have predicted, and the other sister feels shitty about it. I was so angry I was throwing couch cushions at the tv!!!

LOL - oops, that was quite the rant! Anyways, all that being said, I am actually still looking forward to seeing the latest "Jane Eyre" movie re-make, "Water for Elephants" (although I have trouble picturing Reese Witherspoon in it) and "Sarah's Key" which is out in theatres now.

I'll keep you posted as always! xoxo RFab

Couldn't resist...can't wait!

CLICK HERE to watch the official Hunger Games trailer ;)

Eeeeeekkkkkk!!! I feel like reading them again!

Couldn't resist...can

Couldn

Need new suggestions...

Hi BFabers!

I need to download some books onto my kobo for my next little vacay and wanted some suggestions...I am almost finished "Water for Elephants" and just read Madeleine Wickham's "The Wedding Girl" after having gone through the heavy "Jane Eyre," "Sarah's Key" and "Book of Negros."

What should I read next???

xoxo RFab

The Help...the Movie

A little disappointed that I couldn't see this movie with any of my fellow B-Fabers, I dragged my bro and Rob to see The Help in theatres last night. It started at 8:20 and we didn't get out until just past 11 (yikes - long movie!!!)

Besides the fact that it was long, I thought it had both some bad and some good points. It is definitely worth seeing. I will start with the bad to get that out of the way:

-I was trying to watch it in the perspective of someone who didn't just finish reading the book and found this a little impossible. The movie moves very fast between characters in the beginning, leaving the non-reading viewers a little confused.

-Many of my favourite parts in the novel were absent from the movie, making it a little more difficult to really get into some relationships (even though the movie was over 2 hours long!)

-We never meet Stuarts family, or get his reaction to Skeeter driving the truck with attached plow,

-Skeeter's dad is almost non-present in the movie,

-Charlotte's struggle with cancer is not super prominent in the movie,

-Mae Mobley never uses Aibileen's special bathroom,

-we never see Celia's bed-ridden struggles creeping around in empty rooms upstairs longing for a baby,

-the only "racial problem" we see/hear about in the film is the shooting of the black man by a KKK member, but no other beatings or other aggressive behaviour

-and most importantly - there's no crazy naked man harassing Minny and Celia in her backyard!!! (A chance for Celia to save Minny and form a new bond)

-a few things were changed or forgotten obviously to help the filming move along, so maybe we can discuss those at the next BFab???!

Great stuff:

-the "terrible-awful" is most definitely a highlight of the movie (although my bro said if he heard the word "pie" one more time in the movie he was gonna leave...as in, too much about it!)

-the acting was excellent, with Minny (Octavia Spencer) stealing the show. Just the expression in her eyes was enough in some scenes...she was awesome!

-Hilly was a well-played bitch (Bryce Dallas Howard). It was easy to hate her from the beginning and the interactions between her and her little minions remind us just how young these ladies were!

-Skeeter and Aibileen had amazing chemistry as well...so all-in-all, loved the characters.

-loved all the church scenes, the singing, the sense of community

-Hilly's mom...OMG, she was a hoot! A little younger looking than I pictured her in the book, but really well played.

Looking forward to hearing everyone else's opinions on the film version of the book in September, or feel free to post here!

xoxo R-Fab