Saturday, October 22, 2011

Monday October 24th



On Monday October 24th, Hank Phillippi Ryan will be speaking at the Braintree Public Library at 7pm. This is a free event hosted by the Friends of the Braintree Public Library...

Drive Time-
"Buckle up and prepare for a wild ride...Ryan once again channels her Emmy-winning investigative reporting expertise to craft a realistic and compelling mystery, full of hairpin turns and dangerous intersections at breakneck speed.

Verdict:
Placing Ryan in the same league as Lisa Scottoline...her latest book catapults the reader into the fast lane and doesn't relent until the story careens to a stop. New readers will speed to get her earlier books, and diehard fans will hope for another installment."
—Library Journal on DRIVE TIME (starred review!)

Moonlight Mile-Dennis Lehane


On November 3rd at 7pm, Dennis Lehane will be at Newtonville Books to discuss his latest novel Moonlight Mile.

Click here to see a list of upcoming events at Newtonville Books!

Moonlight Mile:

Amanda McCready was four years old when she vanished from her blue-collar Boston neighborhood. Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro risked everything to find her—only to orchestrate her return to a neglectful mother and broken home.

Twelve years later, Amanda, now sixteen, is gone again.

The disappearance of little Amanda was the case that troubled Kenzie and Gennaro more than any other. Still haunted by their consciences, they must now revisit the nightmare that once tore them apart—following the trail of a lost teenager into a world of identity thieves, methamphetamine dealers, and Russian gangsters, right up to the doorstep of a dangerously unstable crime boss and his demented wife. Once again Patrick and Angie will be putting everything that matters to them on the line in pursuit of the answer to the burning question: Is it possible to do the right thing and still be dead wrong?

Monday, October 17, 2011

The Boy in in Moon...


Additional reviews of our next selection, The Boy in the Moon- see entire reviews here:

With a tender imagination and stark honesty, Brown infuses The Boy in the Moon with the quality of love: for this amazing boy, for his family, and for life. As much as this book is about one frail boy and the tiny constellation of people who surround him, it is also about all of us who try so hard to be parents worthy of our children.

British Columbia National Book Award for Canadian Non-Fiction

Winner of the 2010 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction

Trillium Book Award Finalist


'Eloquent as a love song, rich as the most generous, finely tempered philosophy, The Boy in the Moon asks some profound questions. What makes us human? What connects us to the most impaired members of our community? Who benefits more, the caretaker or the cared-for? The answer to all these questions lies in the wonderfully realized — poignant, dignified, funny — portrait of Walker, whom Ian Brown calls "my teacher, my sweet, sweet, lost and broken boy." It's hard to imagine a reader who won't also learn important things from Walker: this is a book that expands the mind and heart, and a joy to read.'

Katherine Ashenburg, author of The Mourner’s Dance and The Dirt on Clean

'There's poignancy on every page of this beautifully articulated memoir about life with Walker Brown.'

(Sunday Mail Brisbane)

' ... the unmistakably real humanity and honesty of Brown's description of this life are something valuable.'

(The Age)

Our book club member Tracey met the author and we are all looking forward to reading the book!

Boston Book Festival October 15th


I attended the Boston Book Festival this weekend and had a wonderful time. I spent the afternoon having lunch on Newbury Street, doing a little shopping and then enjoying the festival.

After wandering through the exhibits, I attended a panel discussion re: truth and fiction. The panel consisted of Jennifer Haigh (author of Faith), Vanessa Diffenbaugh (author of The Language of Flowers) and Ha Jin (author of Nanjing Requiem). I love hearing authors discuss how they research their novels, how long it takes to write them and the consequences in their lives when they have to let "their story" go...I'm excited to read The Language of Flowers.

For those of you who like crime fiction, there was a booth for the Sisters in Crime-New England: (www.sincne.org)

At Sisters and Crime New England we are, first and always, fans of the mystery genre. For readers of all the crime genres—including mysteries, suspense, thrillers, short stories, romantic suspense and more, we offer speakers and events all around New England, easy ways to find out about new books by your favorite New England authors, and a window into the New England mystery writing community.


There was also a booth for the Women's National Book Association Inc.
This organization hosts many talks and forums for book lovers...


I will definitely attend next years festival.

Boston Book Festival October 15th



Jennifer Haigh (Faith) and Vanessa Diffenbaugh (Language of Flowers)

Future options!

Hopefully one of our future selections

The Language of Flowers

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

The Food!








October Book Club!



We had a wonderful time at Gail's home. Our selection, Faith, caused a great deal of discussion, some friendly arguments and reminisces of growing up.

This book didn't particularly lend itself to food suggestions, so we did family favorite pot luck.
Great wine, food, desserts and friends- what more can you ask for.

Our menu consisted of:
Appetizers: Alison's cheese spread & cucumber sandwiches, Laurie's goat cheese spread, Gail's deviled eggs, Lori's pumpkin bread and Monica's mushroom rolls.

Main course: Mary's Mac & Cheese, Gail's Squash and Sausage bake, Lori's wonderful salad with home made dressing.

Dessert: Gail's Pumpkin Trifle, Alison's Indian Pudding and Tracey's God Bless Ryan cake!

Please join us for our next book club in January!
Our selection is The Boy on the Moon

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Boston Book Festival-Jennifer Haigh

Jennifer Haigh, author of our current book selection Faith, will be lecturing at the Boston Book Festival October 15th.

image

Jennifer Haigh is a novelist and short story writer whose first book, Mrs. Kimble, won the 2004 PEN/Hemingway Award for debut fiction. Baker Towers, her second book, was a New York Times bestseller and won the 2006 PEN/L.L. Winship Award for outstanding book by a New England author. Her stories have been published in Granta, Ploughshares, Five Points, Good Housekeeping and many others. Of her latest novel, Faith, Kirkus Reviews writes, "Haigh deals with complex moral issues in subtle ways, and her narrative is beautifully, sometimes achingly poignant."

I will be attending the book fair and am going to try to see her. Please check out the link for the book fair for a list of authors/times/exhibits:

Boston Book Festival

We will be having book club October 2nd, 4 pm. We will let you know at which home....

Ali

Friday, July 29, 2011

September Book Club


Our newest selection:

Faith by Jennifer Haigh

It is the spring of 2002 and a perfect storm has hit Boston. Across the city's archdiocese, trusted priests have been accused of the worst possible betrayal of the souls in their care. In Faith, Jennifer Haigh explores the fallout for one devout family, the McGanns.

Estranged for years from her difficult and demanding relatives, Sheila McGann has remained close to her older brother Art, the popular, dynamic pastor of a large suburban parish. When Art finds himself at the center of the maelstrom, Sheila returns to Boston, ready to fight for him and his reputation. What she discovers is more complicated than she imagined. Her strict, lace-curtain-Irish mother is living in a state of angry denial. Sheila's younger brother Mike, to her horror, has already convicted his brother in his heart. But most disturbing of all is Art himself, who persistently dodges Sheila's questions and refuses to defend himself.

As the scandal forces long-buried secrets to surface, Faith explores the corrosive consequences of one family's history of silence—and the resilience its members ultimately find in forgiveness. Throughout, Haigh demonstrates how the truth can shatter our deepest beliefs—and restore them. A gripping, suspenseful tale of one woman's quest for the truth, Faith is a haunting meditation on loyalty and family, doubt and belief. Elegantly crafted, sharply observed, this is Jennifer Haigh's most ambitious novel to date.

This meeting of the NWH book club will be held at Gail's home. Date to be determined (some time in September though!)



Sunday, March 27, 2011

Boston Book Festival

The Boston Book Festival will be happening October 15th. Anyone interested in going? I'll keep my eye on the blog to see what it's all about and keep you all updated!


At our last book club meeting, Laurie brought those of us who ordered it, The Best Simple Recipes from America's Test Kitchen.


Love, love, love this cookbook. The recipes are so easy and delicious. I have made the Fettuccini and Sausage (with brocolli rabe and also with kale) and the Chicken stuffed with Goat Cheese and Spinach.


If you would like to try a recipe before buying, just let me know-I can send a copy of ones I've tried.




Our newest selection:




Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction. Brilliantly reported and beautifully crafted, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down explores the clash between the Merced Community Medical Center in California and a refugee family from Laos over the care of Lia Lee, a Hmong child diagnosed with severe epilepsy. Lia's parents and her doctors both wanted what was best for Lia, but the lack of understanding between them led to tragedy.





Hello Everyone! Well, we had a great meeting on 3/13. Thank you to everyone who came and for all the beautiful flowers everyone brought to my home. Although this particular meeting had a lot less to do with our book choice (Life by Keith Richards-not many people read it), we had a wonderful time. Thanks to Mary for bringing fabulous stuffed mushrooms, Gail for her decadent deviled eggs, and Tracey for her wonderful avocado dip! Laurie once again made a wonderful cocktail: Jack Frost

  • 2 tbsp Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey

  • 1 tbsp Drambuie Scotch whiskey

  • 1 dash grenadine syrup

  • 1/4 cup sweet and sour mix

  • 1/4 cup orange juice Combine all ingredients over ice and serve.

  • (20 proof, 214 calories, 28.40 carbs)

  • Frankly, a fantastic drink!
Lori brought Greek Spinach-Pasta Salad with Feta and Beans:

  • 5 oz fresh baby spinach

  • 1 15oz can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained

  • 4 oz crumbled feta

  • 1/4 cup dried tomatoes (not oil packed)

  • 2 green onions, chopped

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 tsp finely shredded lemon peel

  • 2 tbsp lemon juice

  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

  • 1 tbsp snipped fresh oregano

  • 1 tbsp snipped fresh lemon thyme or thyme

  • 1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt

  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

  • 12 oz dried cavatappi or farfalle pasta shaved Parmesan or pecorino romano cheese

  • Combine all ingredients (except pasta) and let stand at room temp. for up to 2 hours. Cook pasta and combine warm pasta with above mixture and enjoy!
We then had sausage lasagna (I used Barilla no bake lasagna noodles and it turned out quite good) Monica made a "Quiche" Richards, accompanied by many items inspired by Keith! For dessert we had chocolate cake, coconut cupcakes (here is the link to the recipe), Diane's wonderful Trifle and Tracey made LSD's-Little Strawberry Delights! I apologize for not posting pictures-haven't quite figured out my iPhone/blogging capabilities yet! Ali