Next Readings....

A big thank you to Julia "Wood Floors" for hosting our group in her new house! It was a carboholic fantastic spread... yum! Onto the goods... our next meeting will be August 24 at 7pm at Mary's house in La Jolla. We also decided to "theme" it as Italian food (Julia has dibs on pesto). So write that down in your calendar right now.... ... .. .

So what are we reading? It was tough with three books in high contention, but we worked hard in narrowing down the field. The primary book will be Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi. This is a book I have been wanting to read for A LONG while, I even posted something on it back in 2008 (it includes a description). This book is non-fiction and is also related to the Amanda Knox trial that recently happened. Here is a link to a CBS News Video and Today Show video.



To counter balance Monster, we paired this one up with Johnathan Tropper's This is Where I Leave You. A story about death.

Okay, it's more than just about death...


Tropper returns with a snappy and heartfelt family drama/belated coming-of-age story. Judd Foxman's wife, Jen, has left him for his boss, a Howard Stern–like radio personality, but it is the death of his father and the week of sitting shivah with his enjoyably dysfunctional family that motivates him. Jen's announcement of her pregnancy—doubly tragic because of a previous miscarriage—is followed by the dramas of Judd's siblings: his sister, Wendy, is stuck in an emotionless marriage; brother Paul—always Judd's defender—and his wife struggle with infertility; and the charming youngest, Phillip, attempts a grown-up relationship that only highlights his rakishness. Presided over by their mother, a celebrated parenting expert despite her children's difficulties, the mourning period brings each of the family members to unexpected epiphanies about their own lives and each other. The family's interactions are sharp, raw and often laugh-out-loud funny, and Judd's narration is unflinching, occasionally lewd and very keen. Tropper strikes an excellent balance between the family history and its present-day fallout, proving his ability to create touchingly human characters and a deliciously page-turning story. (Aug.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Just from writing this post and Googling the book, I can see that it has received GREAT reviews. No surprise that this is being made into a movie as well.

Thank you fine ladies and we'll see each other soon...

Karina