Becca Fitzpatrick

Here's a pic of my book club discussing My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult.  Now that's enthusiasm!

1.  T.V.   Can I just say how deliriously happy I am that Felicity broke up with Ben, and later, with David?  And good for Noel sneaking a kiss out of Felicity over Thanksgiving.  It's like season one . . . all over again!  Thanks again, Jess, for recommending this show. 

2.  Books  I picked up My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult for book club.  Oh, and I picked up a box of Kleenex to go with it.  And I absolutely cannot wait to see the movie.   

3.  Gardening   Remember how I said I'm planting my first-ever garden this year?  Little carrot sprouts are already appearing.  I can't believe it.  It's like a miracle.  They're actually growing.  I feel so . . . triumphant.    

4.  Surreal writing news  HUSH, HUSH sold to Piemme in Italy!  To celebrate, my husband took me out for some seriously awesome gelato.  I still remember the first time I had gelato.  I was visiting my sister in Baltimore and she swore cantaloupe gelato was the best thing I would ever eat.  Of course, I was seven months pregnant and loving just about everything I put in my mouth . . . but still.  I have fond memories of cantaloupe gelato.  

5.  ARC news  ARCs (advance reading copies) of HUSH, HUSH are coming soon.  Super soon.  If you'd like to be entered in a drawing to win a signed ARC, don't forget to register HERE.    

  

1. Uglies by Scott Westerfield.  I'm not even a fourth of the way through this book, but it's impacted me so much already, I have to talk about it.  Saturday night was girls' night out, and my friends and I went out for Mexican in Old Town Fort Collins.  One of my friends is six months pregnant, and another just delivered a month ago.  So, among other things, we did the usual Mommy Rundown, comparing stretch marks and complaining about how out of shape we are . . . you know the drill.  

Fast forward a few days.  I'm reading Uglies and even though I don't yet know how the operation that turns Uglies into Pretties works, I know it's going to be BAD.  Mr. Westerfield has foreshadowed well enough that I know all that glitters isn't gold.  Instead of enjoying the thrills and chills of a really good read, I'm starting to have thoughts.  Thoughts like, Yes, my body is baby-scarred and flawed and yes, I could stand to give up ice cream a few nights a week, but at least it's real. 
I'm so glad this book made it onto our Book Club reading list.  I went into the book cautiously, not really sure how I'd feel about SF.  To my surprise, it's making me rethink my self-image. 

2.  The Luxe by Anna Godberson.  Another Book Club read.  I've been wanting a really good historical, and so far, this book is doing it for me.  *Sighs in reading pleasure*  Not to mention the cover looks delicious enough to eat.  That dress?  I WANT.  (HarperCollins does an amazing job with their covers, don't they?)   

Interested in seeing our Book Club lineup? 

October: THE LUXE by Anna Godberson

November: THREE CUPS OF TEA by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

December: THE GARGOYLE by Andrew Davidson

January: UGLIES by Scott Westerfield

February: ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MIRACLE by Barbara Kingsolver

March: THESE IS MY WORDS by Nancy Turner

I'm starting a book club.  It's also going to be an eating-out club, because no way am I hosting the club in my home (kids hollering at top volume, husband watching college football at top volume, me shouting QUIET! at aforementioned sweethearts at top volume). 

Right now, I'm envisioning intelligent book discussion over dinner with a few close galfriends.  

I'd love it to be an all-Jane-Austen-all-the-time book club, but I'm not going to force my opinions. 

So, here's where I need help.  I'm looking for suggestions for book club titles.  Doesn't have to be literary - I'm open to mainstream and commercial.  I'm VERY open to YA.  I'm open to books that are easy to fall into.  Unexpected and unconvential are good, too.  I'm especially open to books that encourage a lot of duscussion.  

Right now I'm thinking along the lines of Karen Joy Fowler's THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB (see? I knew I'd find a way to slide Jane Austen in), Markus Zusak's THE BOOK THIEF, or Elizabeth Bunce's A CURSE AS DARK AS GOLD.  

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.