Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Synopsis - link
Genova gives us a hauntingly accurate portrayal of a young woman's descent into Alzheimer's Disease from the prime of life and the loftiest of cerebral heights.
Neuroscientist and debut novelist Genova mines years of experience in her field to craft a realistic portrait of early onset Alzheimer's disease. Alice Howland has a career not unlike Genova's-she's an esteemed psychology professor at Harvard, living a comfortable life in Cambridge with her husband, John, arguing about the usual (making quality time together, their daughter's move to L.A.) when the first symptoms of Alzheimer's begin to emerge. First, Alice can't find her Blackberry, then she becomes hopelessly disoriented in her own town. Alice is shocked to be diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's (she had suspected a brain tumor or menopause), after which her life begins steadily to unravel. She loses track of rooms in her home, resigns from Harvard and eventually cannot recognize her own children. The brutal facts of Alzheimer's are heartbreaking, and it's impossible not to feel for Alice and her loved ones, but Genova's prose style is clumsy and her dialogue heavy-handed. This novel will appeal to those dealing with the disease and may prove helpful, but beyond the heartbreaking record of illness there's little here to remember.



Next Book Club - Joyce Charpentier's - June 28th

I feel bad about my Neck

I feel bad about my Neck Synopsis - With her disarming, intimate, completely accessible voice, and dry sense of humor, Nora Ephron shares with us her ups and downs in I Feel Bad About My Neck, a candid, hilarious look at women who are getting older and dealing with the tribulations of maintenance, menopause, empty nests, and life itself. Ephron chronicles her life as an obsessed cook, passionate city dweller, and hapless parent. But mostly she speaks frankly and uproariously about life as a woman of a certain age. Utterly courageous, uproariously funny, and unexpectedly moving in its truth telling, I Feel Bad About My Neck is a scrumptious, irresistible treat of a book, full of truths, laugh out loud moments that will appeal to readers of all ages.

The next meeting is at Sue Torosian's, 71 Kendall Hill, on May 31st a 7 PM. If you'd like to join in, the book this month is "I feel bad about my Neck, and other thoughts on being a woman." By Nora Ephron. Joyce will host June.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

Our next book is The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
About the Book
The New York Times best-seller The Story of Edgar Sawtelle has been called a classic in the making. Find out more about this incredible debut novel by David Wroblewski. Link to Oprah

Personality Plus: How to Understand others by

Kelly Bell's selection for the group is ..." Personality Plus: How to Understand others by Understanding Yourself (by Florence Littauer)

Our next meeting is.......March 22, ...at 7pm
Our next hostess is .......Laurie Roy's ,...55 Olde Tavern Rd.

Marely and Me - By John Grogan

Interview with John Grogan link
Marley & Me by John Grogan is the true story of Grogan's relationship with his Labrador retriever. Marley starts as a small puppy, but quickly develops into 97 pounds of destructive power. Use these questions to lead your book club discussion on this nonfiction bestseller. Be sure to checkout book club discussions for Marley & Me.



Our next meeting is.......February 22, at 7pm
Our next hostess is .......Kelly Bell, 74 Kendall Hill Rd.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

In Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees, 14-year-old Lily Owen, neglected by her father and isolated on their South Carolina peach farm, spends hours imagining a blissful infancy when she was loved and nurtured by her mother, Deborah, whom she barely remembers. These consoling fantasies are her heart's answer to the family story that as a child, in unclear circumstances, Lily accidentally shot and killed her mother. All Lily has left of Deborah is a strange image of a Black Madonna, with the words "Tiburon, South Carolina" scrawled on the back. The search for a mother, and the need to mother oneself, are crucial elements in this well-written coming-of-age story set in the early 1960s against a background of racial violence and unrest. When Lily's beloved nanny, Rosaleen, manages to insult a group of angry white men on her way to register to vote and has to skip town, Lily takes the opportunity to go with her, fleeing to the only place she can think of--Tiburon, South Carolina--determined to find out more about her dead mother. Although the plot threads are too neatly trimmed, The Secret Life of Bees is a carefully crafted novel with an inspired depiction of character. The legend of the Black Madonna and the brave, kind, peculiar women who perpetuate Lily's story dominate the second half of the book, placing Kidd's debut novel squarely in the honored tradition of the Southern Gothic.


Next Book Club - January 25th, 2009 - Julie's

Other: Kindle and video

The RAINMAKER by John Grishman

(Movie Trailer Link)
Watch the Trailer and post a comment this month!



The RAINMAKER - by John Grisham
Synopsis: In his first courtroom thriller since A Time to Kill, John Grisham tells the story of a young man barely out of law school who finds himself taking on one of the most powerful, corrupt, and ruthless companies in America - and exposing a complex, multibillion-dollar insurance scam. In his final semester of law school Rudy Baylor is required to provide free legal advice to a group of senior citizens, and it is there that he meets his first "clients", Dot and Buddy Black. Their son, Donny Ray, is dying of leukemia, and their insurance company has flatly refused to pay for his medical treatments. While Rudy is at first skeptical, he soon realizes that the Blacks really have been shockingly mistreated by the huge company, and that he just may have stumbled upon one of the largest insurance frauds anyone's ever seen - and one of the most lucrative and important cases in the history of civil litigation. The problem is, Rudy's flat broke, has no job, hasn't even passed the bar, and is about to go head-to-head with one of the best defense attorneys - and powerful industries - in America

Next Book Club 11/23- Kelly Dyments
Other Local Events
Wachusett Mountain - Click on Upcoming Events AUTUMN WINE CELEBRATION- Nov. 1- The highlight of the fall season, with over 200 wines to sample, live jazz, and entree samples from local restaraunts, this is the perfect evening out!