Chatter Matters Book Club

June's Pick - Cindi

2011-09-03T11:23:00.001-07:00

For June we read "The Postmistress" by Sarah Blake. I laughed as I read this book and apologize for the horrible pick. I guess that's why we said we should read them before we suggest them right? So pretty much we talked for a few minutes and they got to chat and have cupcakes.

Stacy picked the next book. One of those books over 600 plus pages!

Got to love a good thick read for summer!

"Roses" by Leila Meacham

We also discussed inviting a new member into the Chatter Matters fold. Kim Atkin. We will officially invite her next month. Hope she accepts and signs her contract, for this once in a lifetime offer!!!

May's Pick - Melanie

2011-05-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

Melanie chose the nonfiction book by Rebecca Skloot

"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks".

What an amazing story of how these cancerous cells were taken from Henrietta in the 1950's without asking for her permission, and the medical advances and discoveries they have been able to achieve. Her cell line has been called immortal because they do not die like noncancerous cells normally do (or did during that time), so these cells have been tested on, shot into space, atomic bombed, and shipped around the world thus creating a multi-billion dollar industry. Her family never knew any of this and they have never been compensated. They cannot afford to pay for medical insurance, they're mother is lying in an unmarked grave, they were raised by an abusive woman and they're questions were never answered.

We had a great discussion on the story of her life, the ethical questions these cells have raised, and the unanswered questions by her surviving family members. Great book I personally think everyone should read!

Melanie also served the awesomest ColdStone ice cream bar with all the toppings and waffle bowls, cookies, fruit and whipped cream!

(If you can't tell, I'm an ice cream fan)

Thanks Melanie!!

Next Month: Cindi

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

(I just want to reiterate... I hadn't read this book, so I apologize in advance...just in case)

April's Pick - Kathryn

2011-04-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

Matched by Ally Condie

I'm so sad I missed book club in April because I really enjoyed this book and thought it would create a lot of great discussion. Set in a Utopian society (an idealized impractical or unrealistic) where all your decisions in life are made for you, even who you will love and marry. While our heroine starts to question this long tradition, she starts an uprising that will be continued in two more books. Can't wait!!

I started to think, if that was normal life, would I just conform or stand up and cause a scene... I'm not sure cause I'm not one to make a fuss, but I don't think I could handle all my decisions made for me... then again, it would be nice not to have to worry about big grown up decisions.

Next month: Melanie

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

by Rebecca Skloot

From cover:

Doctors took her cells without asking. Those cells never died. They launched a medical revolution and a multi-million dollar industry. More than 20 years later, her children found out. Their lives would never be the same.

Cannot wait to discuss this book!

March's Pick - Cora

2011-03-13T21:52:00.000-07:00

Even though we had a few people absent, who were terribly missed, we had a great night. Cora's pick of "How Green was My Valley" was the narrative story of a boy growing up in a coal mining town in Wales in the late 1800's. It was a darling story of a boy and his amazing perspective watching his family struggle, recover, grow and learn.

Comments:

Cora: She explained that sadly, the conditions the coal miners worked in then are the same today and haven't changed. The owners keep the workers uneducated so they will continue to work for low wages and not leave.

Angela: Didn't like the ending, she wanted to know what happened.

Everyone: Wanted to know what happened to Bron!

Cora hosted a wonderful evening, serving gourmet cupcakes she ordered in and we had great conversation late into the evening. Always a great time when the Chatter Matters ladies get together! Thanks Cora!!

Next month: Kathryn

"Matched"

by Allie Condie

Kathryn said it should be a light read after a few heavy ones.

Looking forward to a great read for spring!

Hope to see you all next month!

February's Pic - Candace

2011-02-11T07:39:00.000-08:00

What a fun, amazing, inspirational book club we had last night. Thank you Candace for this pick which definitely sparked a lot of discussion and drew out of a lot of different insights. In this book, a man who lost his daughter is invited back to the place of her murder to meet with God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost and to learn and grow and ultimately understand the plan. There were a lot of "different" ideas that us members of the Church believe, but there were definitely tender moments when you felt the love of our Heavenly Father and the love from his Son's sacrifice.

Comments:

Cora: She loved that this book portrayed God as a Loving Father, not a negative hurtful being.

Liz: She liked the sweet moments, but couldn't get passed the "weird", there were definitely those in there!

Machelle: Truly pondered her relationship with her Father and it made her think about her own life.

Stacy: Loved that this book made her think and loves when a book can draw the best parts of you out.

We all ooed and awed at Candace's beautiful home and thoroughly enjoyed her apple cream cheese crumble with ice cream and caramel. Yum, yum! (again, please forward the recipe so we can secretly enjoy this whenever we want.)

We also heard about Julie's trip to Florida and laughed and cried with her over the unbelievable events that took place. Julie, you are such a trooper and example to us. Thanks for sharing!

We also had a beautiful discussion about the girls' stake conference and shared those special moments and testimonies. What a truly special collection of women we are. Love you all!

Next month:

By Cora: How Green Was My Valley

by: Richard Llewellyn

Boring or not ;) can't wait to start a new book!

December Christmas Party!!!

2010-12-13T14:50:00.000-08:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

This year our annual Christmas Dinner Party was held at Tandy's. What a beautiful home and the perfect setting for our yummy dinner and book exchange.

The beautiful table is set...

The preparations are underway...

Bring on the food!!!

Because the chatter does matter! Love you ladies!

We had an adorable reenactment of Julie and Candace's shopping trip and made a note of Candace's "luck" while shopping... but she was definitely missed for the party.

The book exchange was very fun. I hope everyone got what they wanted and enjoyed the "stealing" and fighting over the books. Definitely a favorite tradition of Chatter Matters.

We are planning our field trip to Barnes and Noble in January for hot chocolate and treats and hours of book browsing. Not quite sure on the time, but we'll let you know!

Merry Christmas to all you amazing women! You are all truly examples of love, charity and friendship. I can't imagine our book club without every single one of you.

Love you all!

November's pick - Melanie

2010-11-29T19:48:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I totally forgot to do the November post. So here goes...

This month we read the biography of our beloved prophet

President Thomas S. Monson

Melanie hosted a wonderful book club, as usual. We had a pop quiz on said prophet and for those of us who may not have finished (or even started) had quite a surprise and stressed out a little like we were in 10th grade history again. But were able to learn a lot of fun facts.

We had a great discussion. There was story after story shared of people's favorite President Monson moments. He is an amazing man and truly inspired. What a beautiful tribute to the Lord's chosen.

Melanie made yummy appetizers, treats and even served a delicious hot chocolate bar. With 7 oz of perfectly heated water, 3 tablespoons of cocoa, marshmallows, and a peppermint stick, the night was complete!

Thanks Mel!!!

Next month: Tandy

Hard Times and Holy Places

by: Kristin Warner Belcher

We're excited to have a beautiful story about Christ to start off our Christmas season!

Hopefully everyone got their food assignments for the Christmas dinner at Tandy's and remember to bring a wrapped book for the book exchange!!!

Happy Christmas to all!!!

Liz's Pick - October

2010-10-23T20:32:00.000-07:00

Liz picked "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro. And wow, for a book that that nobody seemed to like, did this book have a lot to discuss. We all giggled as Liz explained last month she didn't like to read about s*x in books. Well did this book have a lot of s*x (he he he). We loved getting an email with her apologies and how this book has troubled her soul, oh sweet sweet Liz, we love you!

Comments:

Liz did have a great discovery. She was trying to find out what she could learn from this book and having read other books by Mr. Ishiguro, she knows he writes novels to make you think. Well, most people questioned "why don't these people just leave the boarding school and not blindly accept their fate?" So Liz's question was, "What are the things in our lives we just do without questioning why we do them? Why do we just accept the standard path in life and not just do what we want?" Good point Liz!!!

Cora commented, why do we go through life doing all the typical things? School, college, marriage, kids? Why is that the norm and the guys who decide to hike their lives through Alaska are considered weird? Interesting...

Candace: "I just felt like from the first page, this book sucked out my soul" (Love you Candace)

Ok, so onto the highlight of the night! Liz broke out Just Dance on the Wii and oh, how we got our groove on!!!

Liz and Melanie got us started! Go Girls!!!

Julie and Candace danced their hearts out!

Stacy and Melanie got their cow-girl on with Cotton Eye Joe!

Don't you just love they're all out of focus cause we were movin'!

We also got to snuggle with Liz's twins! They're so sweet!

Well next Month, Melanie picked the biography of President Thomas S. Monson.

Great pick Mel!!!

Angela's Pick - September

2010-09-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

For September, we read "The Heretic's Daughter" by Kathleen Kent. What a great read! We were all excited to read a story set during the Salem Witch Trials and had a great discussion. Most every body loved the writing style by Kathleen Kent and the narration given by the daughter of an accused witch. There were mixed reviews about some of the content but we all enjoyed reading about such an interesting time in American history.

Comments:

Julie thought the writing style was like "The Book Thief" and we discussed the descriptive comparisons the author used.

Cora made an interesting point about the scary things people do out of fear and all the crazy things that have happened throughout history. Very good observation and very true.

We enjoyed yummy pie and talked late into the night at Angela's. We had a good time and missed all that couldn't attend. Thanks Ang!!!

Next Month: Liz picked "Never Let Me Go"

by Kazuo Ishiguro

Cora's Pick - August

2010-08-21T19:33:00.000-07:00

"Driven" by Larry H. Miller

For August, Cora picked Larry Miller's autobiography. It was surprising for most people to learn so much about his personal life. He's been such a part of Utah's history, with the Jazz, car dealerships, Jordan Commons, Trax, and little did we all know where he came from. Everyone seemed so inspired by how driven he was throughout his life and the sad childhood he grew up from.

Comments:

Stacy loved when he admitted he wasn't the best husband or father and she totally appreciated that he owned up to that.

Machelle loved the picture at the end of the book with Larry's wife laying next to him and you could just tell how much she loved him.

Cora had a beautiful table spread with a delicious chocolate cake and a yummy fruit drink served in tall stemmed glasses. It was beautiful and such a fun night of catching up and sharing. We had a few people not in attendance and we totally missed you! Candace shared what has been going on with our beloved "fresh and fancy"Julie and we have to say we hope you get feeling better soon and our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with you.

Next month: Angela chose "The Heretic's Daughter" by Kathleen Kent. It got "ooes" and "awes" as Angela explained it is set during the Salem Witch Trials. Can't wait to read it!!

Kirsten's Pick - July

2010-08-21T18:54:00.000-07:00

"Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay.

Everyone seemed to enjoy this book. We had a great discussion on a lot of World War II stories. Kathryn and Machelle told stories from their times in Europe. Kathryn described the concentration camp memorial and the feelings and emotions she felt while visiting.

This book was a sad and emotional story, but a great tribute to those families affected by the Vel' d-Hiv round up in Paris in 1942. We were all amazed at what men can do to other people and how thankful we are to live where we do.

Machelle's Pick

2010-06-02T21:32:00.000-07:00

Drum roll please..................

Julie's Pick

2010-06-02T21:26:00.000-07:00

We had a great night at Julie's discussing this book. This was one of those nights where we really spent the majority of the night chattering about every aspect of this book. We decided the book started a little slow but grew really intense especially near the very end. Julie hadn't read the book but was relieved that we all seemed to enjoy it. There were a couple of risque bits in it but it was really written well. Julie served us up turtle, Oreo, or key lime pie and it was delicious! Updates were Liz had her twins & now Cindi is on bed rest with her twins and Kathryn's son is going on an LDS mission. We missed Liz, Kristen and Melanie. Thanks Julie for a fun night as usual!

Kathryn's Pick

2010-04-11T08:36:00.000-07:00

This book is our pick for the month. This is different than anything we have ever read & should make for some great conversation. No update from last months book club since I wasn't there to update.

Stacy's Pick

2010-03-03T15:35:00.000-08:00

This is our pick for the month & we will meet in March to discuss it.

And a summary for last months book. Oh my where was my camera for this book club because we had the most luscious desserts Candace, Julie, and Angela. Cindi hosted and bought the most divine cupcakes from a bakery with 6 different flavors to choose from. We all ended up splitting them so we could taste at least two. You know that we had great beverages when the Diet Coke is still sitting on the counter unopened.....yes I said unopened! Cindi had purchased Italian Soda's from Target that were such fun flavors. We all had a hard time talking about "The Help" because we couldn't stop talking about the food.

Everyone really enjoyed the help and our conversation covered every nook and cranny of racism. It was great to be with a group of women who aren't racist. We all thought it was terrible how long racism went on and still goes on in parts of our country. This book was very entertaining and an eye opener for all.

To top off our night we watched the men's figure skating competition in the Olympics. If you haven't ever watched the Olympics with a group of women you should try it as it gets very hilarious and entertaining. We decided we don't like "pelvis pumping" or the "licking" of their palms in men's figure skating, however we did laugh pretty hard.

January's Pick

2010-01-09T18:47:00.000-08:00

Cindi picked this lovely book for the month and everyone seemed most excited to read it! This month we did our annual trip to Barnes & Noble where we sipped hot cocoa, chattered, and searched for books to read. We now have two members of our book club expecting twins WoW!!!

Christmas Book Club Party!

2009-12-13T13:04:00.001-08:00

Our Christmas party started this year with a bang of information right from the get go. So lets see......someone had a run in with some plastic, someone is pregnant & maybe with twins, someone else is going to be a grandma, and sadly someone else' dad had a heart attack the night before and was in ICU. Yes this is the kind of information book club is full of, but don't forget we also discuss the book which was "Gifted Hands" by Ben Carson. I would dare say all that were able to read it seemed to enjoy the book with a few of us thinking he had a bit of an ego. But all in all good life lessons to be learned from this book. Candace hosted and lets just say she has quite the knack for decorating and everything was just lovely. Bless your little heart Candace!

Stacy, Melanie, Liz, Kirsten, & Machelle

Angela, Tandy, and Kathryn

Angela & Kirsten

Candace our host and Cora

Julie, Machelle, and Kathryn

See just lovely...I wish I had taken pictures before dinner so you could see the whole spread

Every year we do a book exchange & it can get pretty competitive but yea! we were so excited this year that Liz stole a book from someone. Sad but true we now have an entire year to wait for our next Christmas party however we did decide to do another book exchange in July. Merry Christmas & Happy Reading!

April's Pick

2009-03-09T12:37:00.001-07:00

Here is the book we are reading this month!!

This was Tandy's pick.

"SPARK"

2009-03-06T13:16:00.001-08:00

Stacy decided that rather than meeting at her house this month for the book discussion that we should "go out." She picked a new restaurant/lounge in Provo called SPARK. The place was incredible, it was really modern and unique and we all really enjoyed ourselves.
Here is a group picture of everyone that came, we missed Tandy and Kathryn and Emily this time. We had the "loft" to ourselves and it was perfect. After we ordered drinks we discussed the book which everyone really loved and got alot out of.

Here are some of the pictures I took of the appetizers and drinks that we ordered. The food was beautiful and the presentation was fabulous. We were all very impressed with the menu and thought we might be a little bit out of our league.

We had a few orders of the "dueling edamame" which was soy beans that were awesome. One bowl was cold and had a Hawaiian lemon salt mixture on it and then there was a bowl of warm ones with bacon and salt on them. You just suck the beans out of the pod and it was something I have never tried before but I loved it. We also had "pommes fries" and they were delicious too. They were rosemary potato fries and there were 2 dips a garlic one and a blue cheese one...both really yummy.

We tried an assortment of drinks...the Shirley Temple was a favorite, along with the Mango Mojito and the Blueberry pop. The Ox Blood was good too but the Hot and Cold was a big disappointment. It sounded really cool, chilled Coke top/warm lime bottom but it didn't taste that good!!

Now on to the desserts...oh my goodness they were scrumptious!!! We tried the Roasted Pineapple, Warm Chocolate Pudding and the Cream of Hazelnut Soup. They really were all three so good but I think the favorite was the chocolate pudding.

We had so much fun and I think that maybe all the great food had a weird reaction with Julie because she was CRAZY all night!!!

It started out with her ripping up a napkin and being "The Phantom of the Opera." I must have missed something because I have NO IDEA why she did this. She even sang a little bit too, then she was laughing so hard that she started to cry and needed the napkin to wipe her eyes.
Needless to say, we all laughed ourselves silly.

Then a little later she got up and put on a show for us...Candace joined her and they were really having a great time.
We laughed so hard and I was just taking pictures like crazy trying to keep up with them...luckily I got a great one of the "booty slap," that was the most hilarious part of the night!!
Thanks so much ladies for the entertainment, I feel like they should charge a cover for their performances!!
Can't wait for next month...and Julie you better be thinking of ways to entertain us because you are TOO FUNNY!!!

March's Pick

2009-02-06T10:38:00.000-08:00

3 cups of tea discussion

2009-02-06T10:34:00.001-08:00

We all met for book club last night and discussed 3 cups of tea. We all agreed that the book was a little to wordy and could have been written better but we also agreed that it was a worth while read and we all learned so much. We discussed whether we thought that school's in Pakistan and other countries would help with terrorism and if that alone could stop it. We also discussed the role religion plays in these countries and how do we think that the gospel of Jesus Christ will be spread eventually in these countries. Candace told us of a very touching experience she has been going through lately and it gave us all a lot to think about. Melanie was a great hostess and made a yummy layered oreo cake dessert. Next month we will meet at Spark in Provo for appetizers and drinks to discuss Stacy's pick. We all can't wait!

While you're down there...

2009-01-09T10:12:00.000-08:00

We had our January Book Club at Borders last night. There were several people that weren't able to make it tonight but we managed to have a great time, especially searching through the "bargain" books. Adorable "pop-up" books for $5 you just can't beat that!! We roamed around looking for new books to purchase but mostly just chatted.
We sat down at the cafe with our steamed milk or hot chocolate and yummy desserts and had a very wonderful conversation.

We had some really inquisitive and thought provoking questions asked by Julie and we heard some "juicy gossip" from Liz (of all people). We had several hilarious stories told by various people, one of which is how I got the title for the post but if you weren't there you missed out!!!
We also shared different parenting tips and I was grateful for Julie's idea about what to do with fighting kids. She said that when her kids were fighting she would make them sit down and write 10 things that they like about each other. I have never thought of that but I hope my kids will get in a big fight soon so I can try it out!!
Melanie also revealed several bargain tips on Amazon and discovered that Walmart sells furniture...who would have guessed that you could buy a couch at Walmart (I should have known, you can get anything at Walmart)!!

The wait is finally over and our next book was revealed.

Can't wait to see everyone next month at Melanie's house to discuss it!! I hope everyone will be there, we missed you all!

More Pictures

2008-12-05T23:43:00.000-08:00

I got a few pictures that I wanted to share with everyone. I should have taken more...we had such a great night!!
>

I got a picture of our "sisters" and our "mom and daughter" I think these are the only blood relations in the group, right??

Christmas Book Club Dinner

2008-12-05T20:09:00.000-08:00

We had our annual Christmas Dinner and Book Exchange last night. Cora hosted this year and she did a great job. Everybody brought really great food from chicken kiev to creamed corn, Julie's Yams, Chocolate Torte and many other yummy dishes. Each year we bring a wrapped book and do a gift exchange which gets pretty funny and crazy sometimes. Next month it is off to Barnes and Noble for book club!

Cathryn, Machelle, and Cindi

Stacy, Melanie, and Tandy

A sample of the fixins!

Angela will soon post more pictures so that you all can see everyone else.

Novembers Pick

2008-12-05T13:55:00.001-08:00

Cora picked this book for November. We discussed it briefly at our Christmas party and the majority really liked this book.