Hi Ladies,
In Sunday’s meeting at El Adobe, the group decided to have a 2-book option for this month’s read. (It was also established that Andrea’s New Year’s resolution was to finish the book! ….no pressure, Andrea! 😉 So, without further ado- the next book options are:
The Lifeboat: Charlotte Rogan Buy it here
“Grace Winter – new bride, new widow, apparently unscathed after 21 days drifting at sea in an overcrowded lifeboat – is a survivor. And survivors, as we all know, can be the most dangerous people of all. Charlotte Rogan’s terrific debut novel opens with a bang, when the ship carrying newlyweds Grace and Henry back to New York after the outbreak of war in Europe suffers an explosion and sinks. Somehow, Grace is squeezed into a departing lifeboat, captained by ship’s officer Mr Hardie, and along with a motley crew of passengers, mostly female, they push away from the wreckage, beating off drowning men and beseeching infants as they go.”
The Chemist: The Chemist is the second adult novel by American author, Stephenie Meyer Buy it here
Dr Juliana Fortis has been on the run from her department for three years, ever since they murdered her friend and mentor, Dr Joseph Barnaby. She had a very specialised job, and was very good at it. But she escaped before they could kill her (not that they haven’t tried since then) and she has become very good at staying alive and staying well under the radar. It’s exhausting, being a fugitive, changing her name, her vehicle, her home more often than some people change their socks, but it’s still better than being dead.
But now there’s contact from her former boss, Lowell Carston. An email “Tired of running? Policy has changed. We need you. Would an unofficial apology help? Can we meet? I wouldn’t ask, but lives are on the line. Many, many lives”. The smart thing would be to delete the email, and yet she replies. Maybe she is tired of running. What they’re asking her to do is right up her alley, and she prepares all her safeguards and makes sure she’s in complete control. But something’s just not right with her subject, and she begins to wonder if it is a trap after all. Meyer dedicates her story to Jason Bourne and Aaron Cross, and from the first page, it is easy to see why. Her heroine is extremely resourceful, smart, very inventive and prepared to the point of paranoia. Except paranoia is when you think they’re out to get you: in her case they really are. There is lots of action and quite a bit of violence, but also plenty of laugh-out-loud dialogue and a bit of romance. Meyer sets up her big exciting climax with a delicious irony in place, and a clever twist. This is definitely Meyer’s best yet: a brilliant read.
The game plan will be to meet in March to discuss the books.(location, date and time TBD) If some of you are feeling very ambitious, maybe you’ll read both! No promises, but I would like to 🙂
Lastly, Lara has offered to host a girls get together on February 19th, to watch HBO’s Big Little Lies (in homage of our very first book club book!). We are thinking about doing a pot luck… so, if you plan on attending let’s determine who would like to bring what! More info by email soon.
Looking forward to the new year and good reads yet to come!
-Leslie
Our Little Book Club 