Ladies' Book Club

A friend of mine has been inviting me to a book club the past several months but the meeting always seems to be either on a day I leave for a trip or the day I get back.  This month, I did not have a trip so I finally am going to go!  Even though I could not go to the meetings, most of the time I still read the books.  I know this is not about my children but since a lot of people who read this are book lovers (former Barnes & Noble workers), I thought I would share some good books that I have read recently.

The Help  - By Kathryn Stockett.  This is SUCH a good book!  I took it on a trip and had it almost completely read by the end to if and that was to Puerto Rico!  I would stay up late after site-seeing.  It takes place in the deep South in the early 60's.  It follows three ladies, two of which are African-American and working as maids.  They join forces with a young white lady to get out to the public (anonymously) what it is like for them working as maids for white ladies in the South.  This book is already being made into a movie.

The Bell Jar - By Sylvia Plath.  This is our book for the book club this month and my second time reading it.  I am finding that I am getting more out of it the second time around.  Maybe being 4 years older helps!  I still love it though.  Plath was a genius.  The book is told my a girl who is going to college in the 1950's and follows her through her experience with mental illness.

Helen of Troy  - by Margaret George.  I only read a few chapters of this book but really like it so far.  I put it aside to reread The Bell Jar.  This book follows Helen of Troy's life starting as a little girl in Sparta.  I am excited to start it up again.

The Pact - by Jodi Picoult.  As usual I try to fit in a Jodi Picoult book when I can.  She is one of my favorite contemporary fiction authors.  This book is about a couple that supposedly made a suicide pact but the boy did not complete his end.  So, he is being investigated for her murder.  Very sad but such a good book.  With as many of hers that I have read I cannot believe I still have several to read.  I own three that I need to read and she has a couple that I do not own yet.  I can also recommend from her: The Tenth Circle, Salem Falls, Nineteen Minutes, Keeping Faith, and My Sister's Keeper.  She also wrote a couple of Wonder Woman comics. 

The Lovely Bones - by Alice Sebold.  This book is about a girl who was murdered in the 70's.  She is actually telling the story while she is dead, caught in the in-between.  Very interesting, good book.  The movie was good, but I liked the book better.  There was also some parts I found frustrating but I still really enjoyed reading it. 

Now Sociology text books...