Okay NDY;
FYI I am reading a new book titled "The Reading Group" by Elizabeth Noble. It is 419 pages. It is the story of several women who get together to discuss books they are reading. Along the way, they learn more about themselves, each other, and life. I am very excited about this book and will post more about it soon.

marciainak ~ Sounds like WHAT this OTFN Discussion Book Club is gonna be all about for those who participate !!
Have fun!

NDY

NDY, Once a month my granddaughter drives me to a writers meeting. Every meeting they have a featured author. The author will read something new that they have written, or a few pages from a book they have written. It is just a wonderful experience. The meeting wraps up with various writers reading what they have written. They have 5 minutes to spend at the mike. So I purchased a book from an author who was the featured speaker one time. The name of the book is Stories My Grandma Never Told by Sue Fagalde Lick. The reason Ms. Lick never was told the stories from her Grandmother is because Grandma passed away when the author was 2 years old. A subtitle to the book is Portuguese Women in California. The book is 274 pages long. This is a story from more than 60 Portuguese American women whose parent/parents left their homes and relatives in Portugal to move to California. The book has numerous pictures. Also great and simple explanations of the culture and the shock of this new country for these women. At this point I have not read a page. Only have taken a few sneak peeks. I can tell you this though. I already love this book.

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As recommended by a member of DS I am now reading the book "don't blame your mother".

One of my favorite books is Wuthering Heights. It was written by Emily Bronte, if I remember correctly. This book is about true love It is a Classic book. Once I had read this great book, I was reading as many Classics as I could find! I love them! Maybe you would like this book, too. (" you" meaning all the readers in this club.)

Please all members of the OTFN Discussion Book Club list your books here & NOW so we can all share in what books interest you !

I am currently reading a book called, "Believing In Jesus" which is an overview of the Catholic faith by Leonard Foley, OFM. It is book about Jesus Christ of Nazareth and the tenets of the Roman Catholic faith. There are 293 pages. I have really just begun to immerse myself in the book fully having skimmed it briefly.

The foreward talks about Father Leonard Foley, the author of this book, who died on Easter morning in 1994, and who loved and followed Jesus " deeply, intensely, and generously ".This book is used widely in RCIA programs, in schools and by others wanting a comprehensive and overall view of the Catholic faith. He died during its third revision so others familiar with his work completed it and Pat McCloskey, editor of The St. Anthony magazine, has continually updated the fifth and sixth editions. I am currently reading the edition completed in 2009, the sixth revision.

In speaking about the life and times of Father Foley, this foreward tells of his service to the church prior to passing. He was in his sixty-second year as a Franciscxan and his fifty-fourth year as a priest.
At eighty-one having had a tumor removed from his spine, he spent that time revising his original manuscript, "Believing In Jesus, " the second edition.

Foley was distressed by people's mistaken impressions of "the misshapen images and their false ideas of what God expected of them." After Vatican II, completed under the leadership of the conference headed by Pope John Paul II, Foley did graduate studies in theology at the University of Detroit. He was a man of Jesus who knew about Him and had a personal relationship with Christ as well as being a man of faith and prayer speaking about his "utter dependence on Jesus and his complete trust ( in Him )."

He states that Jesus is saying, "All of your life is a period of preparation and testing, purification and growth. Some day your cross will be set aside and I will lead you through the veil of death to happiness that even I cannot describe to you."

This book begins with the Bible that Jesus knew, The Old Testament, then moves on to the Gospels, and the New Testament. All teaching deals with Jesus and his continuing ministry through the church and its sacraments.

IMO : Even though I have been a Christian most of my adult life, I have been amazed at how to enrich my life further by becoming more immersed in this book. I am reading the first part of this book but only sought to share the foreward at this point to better explain the impetus which caused this book to come about especially by this particular author.

In the past, I have read many books of various genres. But , coming to the end of my present phase of life, I am seeking a closer walk with what I feel will consequence the beginning of my new life after death which is the next phase of my life - my eternal life. I am grateful for those in my life that who have contributed to my having arrived at this realization and hope that others will also be so enlightened that they may pass over as comfortably assured as I am going to.

The next part of my book is that of the introduction which looks very promising as it describes about the whole of my book and what it entails. I will talk about that portion of the book as I read it.


In reply to those who have shared their books prior to my own book description, I would like to say ~

marciainak ~ What more have you discovered about your book, "the Reading Group" ? Have you learned anything about the author, Elizabeth Noble ? Can you give us your personal opinion of either ?

Yrod ~ Why did you find that particular book fascinating enough to purchase it and how far into it are you now? Were you told anything more about the author ? What do you think about it ? How far into it are you?

Atherton59 - What have you discovered about your book and is it really pared to the theme as obviously as it is titled ? Who was the author and was it written from personal experience or mainly about others? Do you like your book ? Has it influenced you in any way?

HeatherCliff - Can you tell us more fully what "Wuthering Heights" was about ? What were your favorite parts ? Why would you recommend this in itself ~ Why were you so impressed with it ? Do any of the principles in it apply to our own personal lives as Emily Bronte has depicted? And, can you tell us something about the author?

Can any of you other OTFN Book Club members respond as to books you have read, are reading, or any inquiries as to books you are thinking of reading?

Are there others who have not listed as members who would like to be so as to receive the private messages that others listed as members are already receiving?

Is there anyone else who would like to share about books they are interested in or have read?

PLEASE SHARE NOW ~ Below !

NDY

NDY and all OTFN Book Club Readers;
I chose my book "The Reading Group" for two reasons. One I liked the title and presentation of the cover. Two we were starting a reading group here on OTF and I thought that was a unique coincidence. Sort of a sign that it would be an interesting and informative book.

The first few chapters allow the reader to get to know the cast of characters, who they are, what they do, who they are involved with, what is happening in their lives. Ms. Noble does a wonderful job describing the characters. These are women I feel I know! The midwife, Clare, who cannot get pregnant. The single mother, Polly, who is a paralegal. Harriet, the homemaker and founder of the Reading Group, and her friend, Nicole. And the others who play key roles in the lives of these women.

This is the first novel by the author, Elizabeth Noble. It was a #1 British Bestseller.

I love people, reading people, listening to people, helping people, and of course at work "telling them where to go and what to do." LOL This book is very interesting to me for the reason that I get to know these characters. Each of them are experiencing some difficulties and learning from one another. The problems are not life threatening so it is a "light read" which I enjoy.

The first book they are reading is Heartburn by Nora Ephron.

Hello NDY and other Neighbors, Stories Grandma Never Told by Sue Fagalde Lick. I have never read or purchased a book like this in my life. The actual true story written by the author about her family history. To begin the book is the 1 1/2 pages filled with interesting acknowledgements. Then a several page Introduction titled There Is No Typical Portuguese Woman. Then an explanation about Portuguese last names. Ms. Lick then devotes 15 pages to a brief summary of over 20 women who shared their family history. There are many more than just the 20+ women. After that are four chapters devoted to first generation women born in Portugal,followed by second generation women of immigrants. Followed up by the third and fourth generations. So these pages are all in Roman numerals. I know there is an actual name for this area in a book. I will tell you the truth. I never have paid much attention to Portugal. Was never interested enough to investigate one word about the country. At the back of this book is a glossary filled with many Portuguese words,be they actual words or like slang words. Also, a bibliography whereby the author acknowledges the many sources she used to verify facts. Even those pages are interesting to read. So the actual story I have yet to begin. So much to inform myself about first. Also, I do admit to the blasted fibro fog it causes me to reread some of these areas more than once. Since this wealth of information is there I just have to be informed before I start the book. Ms. Lick is a local author. She lives in the same county as I do. That is it. So far. SInce all this info is available I have to update and say that there are well over 300 pages to read. After this book I do intend to read more about this beautiful country.

I am reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett
pages-544

from bn.com website about the book :
Be prepared to meet three unforgettable women:Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women-mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends-view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.

Wow ! How intriguing Dreamer! The characters of "The Help" sound so interesting... I can hardly wait to hear more...

Marcia ~ Did the author tell what their novel< "Heartburn" is about? Sounds like a romance ...

Yrod, are you talking about the Appendixes having Roman numerals ? I know very little about Portugal and am looking forward to learning more about the country and the culture of it's people looking "over your shoulder" as you read, "Stories Grandma Never Told Me."

I love this ~ The "You Decide" method of Book Discussions is great as we are getting to look into so many other books, ideas, and perspectives this way !!

Anybody else ???

HUGS
NDY

Appendix. Yep. That has to be the word. Thank you Miss NDY

The women in the book "The Reading Group" are reading and discussing Nora Ephron's book "Heartburn" (which was made into a movie with Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep). The women in my book are trying to understand Nora Ephron's book. Some of them enjoy it for the recipes. Some of them enjoy it for the characters and story line.

I am still trying to organize the various characters in my book, who is married to whom, who is related, and who is involved with one of the key characters. It is easy to read in that it flows, but quite a few characters have been introduced and I don't have them all sorted out. LOL

In the book, "Wuthering Heights", Catherine Earnshaw grows up with Heathcliff on some beautiful moors in England. Heathcliff had been taken in by Catherine's dad( as he was just a poor, orphan boy).Catherine and Heathcliff fall in love with each other. However, Catherine chooses to marry another man, Linton, who is rich.Heathcliff runs away, and comes back a rich gentleman a few years later......I like this part: Heathcliff is confessing his love to Catherine as she dies and after she is dead. In the movie of this book(with Merle Oberon and Lawrence Olivier), I like this part: Catherine holds her arms out and says emphatically, "Heathcliff, fill my arms with heather!".I was impressed by this book because: It is a novel about true love between the main characters. It is also very poignant and beautifully written! This is one principle that can apply to our own personal lives: to marry a person you truly love...to not marry a rich person whom you don't love. The author, Emily Bronte, was a poet.This was her only novel. She was born in England in 1818, and she died in England in 1848.For short periods of time, she was a governess and then a teacher. This book's genre: Gothic.

Marcia ~ In your book, The women in the Book Club are reading< "Heartburn." Never having read or seen the movie - I don't understand about what you say "they are interested int eh recipes." What recipes ? is
"Heartburn " a movie about cooking? And can you list us a hot link to the movie trailer for "Heartburn" by Nicholson

Dreamer `Have you gotten into "the thick of things" in your novel about "The Help."How far are you into the book ? Has the story taken any unexpected turns? Are you still enthusiastic about it ? Has here been any further mention about the whereabouts of Constantine? Have you discovered what really happened to Abileen's son? What sort of job has Miinny taken ? Have you discovered what the clandestine project / movement is yet?

Yrod ~ How is your Fibro-Fog coming? Have you gotten beyond the book's helps-supplements yet and into the story? Has the story revealed anything about the real life author's personal history? is she included in the story? Is this book written in narrative style with the author talking as if the contents are just happening or in more of a biographical nature about those that have been involved looking back at their circumstances or what ?

Heathercliff ~ What a remarkablely strong young woman was Emily Bronte and so brilliant to have accomplished so much in her brief thirity years of life not with standing she also wrote a classic love story of all times in ? Is that how you took your screen name - Heather Clifff ? Is this then a book you have read before, or, perhaps a favorite that you have read more than once ? Is Emily Bronte the author's real name or just a pen name which female authors took during that day and age?

Are there any others interested in sharing a beloved book once read or perhaps questioning something you are thinking of reading( vchen you expressed an interest in participating as well as missd ~ This IS the thread to do that on as the others will all be deleted as of 3/1/12.)

NDY