The Christmas Wish

Whew! What a busy season, when really what we should be doing is slowing down and remembering why we celebrate: the birth of Jesus Christ. Obviously, I've been busy, since I'm posting this after the Christmas holiday. Although, in many countries, it's not over yet! Not until Epiphany (January 6th) with the arrival of the Three Kings. In fact, that's when most Spanish and Latin American Christians exchange gifts. But, I digress . . .
We met to discuss The Christmas Wish at the Mall of the Bluffs Panera Bread several weeks ago and had a splendid time discussing not only this delightful little novella, but also our own Christmas traditions and what is going on in our lives right now.
Last Sunday, the Lifetime Channel broadcast a made-for-TV movie version of The Christmas Wish starring Neil Patrick Harris and Debbie Reynolds. It was pretty cute, and really followed the novella. If you happen to think of it, try to read the book and then catch the movie next season. That is, of course, if you're not too busy rushing through the holidays!

December - April Info

December's novel, The Christmas Wish by Richard Siddoway, is no longer in print. Therefore, I can't take orders for new novels for you. :-( You may, however, purchase used copies VERY inexpensively from Amazon or eBay. The Council Bluffs Public Library also owns one copy.

I will be taking orders starting December 30th for the four spring novels. Remember that when you order through Salem, you are receiving a special discount at Barnes & Noble even better than your own personal discount, if you have a B&N discount card. If they have the books in stock, you'll get them as soon as I get them. If they need to be ordered, it usually takes 5-7 business days, so there isn't much turn around time.

Here are the spring novels and our meeting dates:

• Daughter of Silk by Linda Lee Chaikin - Jan 30th ($11.12)
  
• The Illuminator by Brenda Rickman Vantrease - Feb 27th ($11.94)
  
• A Skeleton in God's Closet by Paul L. Maier - Mar 26th ($6.84 or $12.84)
  
• The Dead Don't Dance by Charles Martin - Apr 30th ($6.84 or $12.84)

The last two novels have two prices listed since they are available in paperback as well as in the smaller and less expensive reprint paperback sizes.

Keeping Faith - November 28th

Join us as we discuss novelist Jodi Picoult's novel Keeping Faith. If you've never read any of her novels before, Picoult is a secular novelist who challenges what you think and what you believe about many contemporary issues. I know that her novels always leave me in shock at the end ... I just never see the end happening that way, or I'm left with more questions! They're just great because they are so compelling and controversial.

As a side note, Ms. Picoult will be a featured author of the Council Bluff's Public Library's Bluffs Author Series in January.

Here are some discussion questions to think about as you read. Feel free to bring discussion questions of your own with you!

We will most likely be meeting in the senior high room, since there is no longer a table for discussion in the library/sacristy. Please read the sign upon entering Salem to find out exactly where the meeting will be held.

October Meeting

Our next Faith & Fiction Book Club meeting will be Wednesday, October 24th from 7-8 PM at Salem UMC in the Sacristry/Library. Enter the Sanctuary and go through the door to the LEFT of the altar. The Library is the first door on your left. Join us for our discussion of the chilling novel THR3E by Ted Dekker. There are no discussion questions that I can find for this novel, so please use the ones below for last month's book. Bring some of your own, too!

I will be taking orders at this time for the November book, Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult. We get a nice discount from Barnes & Noble, or you can pick this up on your own or check it out at the library. I'll also be taking orders Sundays, October 21st & 28th between the services in the Fellowship Hall. Please make checks in the amount of $12.84 payable to Salem. You may also place orders for any future books at this time as well!

Discussion Questions

Since there is no reader's guide or discussion questions created specifically for The Blue Bottle Club, please use the following questions as a guide for Wednesday night's discussion. Also, please bring an open-ended question of your own (you guys are so good at this already!).

• What was unique about the setting(s) of the book? How did it enhance or take away from the story?
• What specific themes did the author emphasize throughout the novel? What do you think he or she is trying to get across to the reader?
• Do the characters seem real and believable? Can you relate to their predicaments? To what extent do they remind you of yourself or someone you know?
• How do characters change or evolve throughout the course of the story? What events trigger such changes?
• In what ways do the events in the books reveal evidence of the author's world view?
• Did certain parts of the book make you uncomfortable? If so, why did you feel that way? Did this lead to a new understanding or awareness of some aspect of your life you might not have thought about before?

September Book Club

Join us Wednesday, Sept. 26th from 7-8 PM at Salem for our first book discussion of the new season. We will be discussing Penelope J. Stoke's The Blue Bottle Club. Set in 1929, four friends pledge their dreams for life. This story will really make you think about the dreams you have planned and about what God has planned for your life.

If you'd like to order the October book, THR3E by Ted Dekker, see Stephanie Miller in Fellowship Hall between services on September 23rd & 30th. Barnes & Noble gives the church a special discount, so the cost will only be $12.84. Discussion of this psychological Christian thriller will be November 24th from 7-8 PM at Salem.

Book List for Upcoming Year!

I've had several people ask when Faith & Fiction will be starting up again, and what will we be reading.

First of all, I'm not sure of the exact dates, because WOW hasn't been scheduled yet. Best news, though, is that I do know what we'll be reading. :-)

September = The Blue Bottle Club by Penelope J Stokes
October = THR3E by Ted Dekker
November = Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult
December = The Christmas Wish by Richard Siddoway
January = Daughter of Silk by Linda Lee Chaikin
February = The Illuminator by Brenda Rickman Vantrease
March = A Skeleton in God's Closet by Paul L. Maier
April = The Dead Don't Dance by Charles Martin

I'll be posting more soon, so keep your eyes open! Also, I'll be taking books orders, but dates have not yet been determined.

Happy Reading!

*** Sigh ***

Well, this is sad. Summer is at an end, and I'm not quite sure where it went to or what happened to my postings. I have been reading, I can guarantee that! I've been using my membership to PaperBackSwap (see link @ bottom right) to get books that aren't available in the CB Public Library. I have also posted *most* of my middle school classroom library on there, so for teachers out there, this is a very cheap way to get books for your classroom (from me, even!)

Anyway, I've been reading and of course meant to discuss each books as I finished it, but of course, that did not happen. Go figure. (Aren't summers supposed to be relaxing?). I would like to recommend The Blue Bottle Club by Penelope Stokes. What a wonderful book, and really made me think about my own goals and dreams, and where I am along that route. It also made me think of my grandmothers, who grew up in the same time period. What were their goals and dreams? What curves, hills, and valleys did they experience in their life.

I also read a wonderful trilogy by Ann Moore: Gracelin O'Malley, Leaving Ireland, & 'Til Morning Light.

As I remember more of the novels I've read, I'll mention them. I will be working on the fall/winter Faith and Fiction Book Club list and hope to have that posted in the next few weeks as well. For those of you at Salem, Faith & Fiction will start when WOW begins, most likely in September.

I hope you have had a blessed and relaxing summer, spending time with family and friends. if you have any book suggestions, please let me know!

Christy Awards

I read. A lot. When I can. I was a voracious reader as a child, even into high school. I remember in the 6th grade being allowed to go into the junior high/high school library because I had pretty much read everything in the elementary side of the library. Somewhere along the way, I stopped. I guess life got in the way, and I didn't make time for reading. Even though I was an English literature major in college, reading for pleasure was an unavailable luxury. I'm still a very busy person, but instead of watching TV with my husband, I'll grab a book and head off to a different time and place. It's much better than watching the 40,000th rerun of MASH or yet another battle on the History channel.

I'm a fiction reader. I've never much cared for biographies or self help books. I pick up what looks interesting. If I like it, I like it. If not, I give it 100 pages before I allow myself to put it down. By then, I feel obligated to finish the book, so I have been known to finish some that probably weren't worth reading.

Selecting books for the Faith & Fiction Book Club has been daunting. While I enjoyed the books, who's to say that my preference in reading material is worthy? I could have some strange, warped sense of literary style? Luckily, others who have read the novels have enjoyed them too (or so they claimed. . .).

While surfing the 'net, I decided to Google the Christy Awards, since I didn't really know much about them. The Christy is an award given to Christian novelists . . . sort of like the Emmys or Oscars of Christian fiction.

Whew! It appears my worries about my literary proclivities were for nothing . . . I was so surprised to see Levi's Will on there, since we read it, as a 2006 Christy Award Winner. Also, Whence Came a Prince was a 2006 Christy winner and Fair is the Rose is a 2007 nominee (both are part of the Thorn in My Heart cycle by Liz Curtis Higgs, which we read this spring).

If you are looking for some good books to read this summer, you need look no further than the Christy website! I'll keep reading, and hopefully, those of you in my group won't think me too "weird" . . .

Ready for Summer?

I am certainly ready for the summer break. Only five school days left with students. My garden is growing, growing, growing -- along with the grass. Tulips are done blooming and irises are budding. Hopefully in between curriculum development, research for my master's degree, helping my husband, digging my desk out from under the paper mountain I need to file (no time to do that while teaching!), landscaping our patio, etc., etc., I'll have some time to Oh, perhaps read a book this summer?

I continue to add books to the recommended reading list as I read them or as I remember them. There are so many good ones, and I know I've forgotten many. I am also working on selecting books for the next round of Faith and Fiction, starting in the Fall of 2007. I'm 95% certain that Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds and CHRIST THE LORD: Out of Egypt by Anne Rice (yes, that Anne Rice!) will be on the list for the fall, if you'd like to read ahead.

I owned the Reynolds book before it was an Oprah Book Club book (I usually don't read those, don't know why?). I just love Southern Fiction with its quirky characters and twisting plots, so this continues to be a favorite I'd like to share with others.

I've never been to into Anne Rice and her vampire stories, and thought it a strange leap for her to make. However, she returned to her Christian (Catholic) heritage some years ago. CHRIST THE LORD is a fantastically researched, extremely well written account of Christ's early years, based on New Testament and scholarly research. Not dry at all, Rice presents a complex young Yeshua, trying to figure out who he is in the grand scheme of life. A sequel is in the works for release in the near future as well.

If you have any suggestions, please reply to this posting! I know I'm always looking for a good read, as are others! Happy Summer & God Bless!

May 2007

We have another man as our main character: the fierce German gladiator Atretes facing his fears and his faith in the Roman empire in the novel As Sure as the Dawn. ASAD is actually the third in the Mark of the Lion series by the incomparable Francine Rivers. However, you do not need to read the first two in order to follow along in the third.

As we head into the last meeting of this W.O.W season, I must share my thanks and appreciation for all the fellow book lovers at Salem who join me every month! It has been a delight to discuss these novels and delve into other times, places, and lives, all the while sharing a bit of ourselves.

Though we have mostly women in attendance, men are always welcome. A big thanks to Cal B. who joined our February meeting to discuss The Red Tent. Cal, you are a phenomenal man! Guys, if you haven't had a chance to read April's book Levi's Will, you really should do so! What a fantastic story about the ties that bind fathers to sons.

If you have any suggestions for next year (Sept 07-May 08), feel free to post your ideas and let me know. I'm currently working on that list. Otherwise I look forward to seeing you on May 9th or reading your thoughts here on this blog!

April 2007

Join us April 18th for a discussion of W. Dale Cramer's Levi's Will, an award winning novel recognized by Christian and secular reviewers for its depth and quality. This is certainly a novel that will "stay with you" for some time to come. Men are always welcome, and this book is one women will love and men will be drawn to. Learn more about W. Dale Cramer and his novels at his website. There's no study guide at the back of this book -- bring a question or two for others to discuss! Or, post questions here for people to ponder in advance!

March 2007

Our next Faith & Fiction Book Club meeting is Wednesday, March 28th, 7 PM @ Salem UMC. We'll be discussing Thorn in My Heart, the first book of a series by Liz Curtis Higgs. Higgs provides an excellent Bible Study Guide online . . . which aligns Bible verses to different sections of the text (in addition to the book discussion guide questions at the end of the novel).
I love reading the quotes at the start of each chapter (and then re-reading them when each chapter is over). Liz Curtis Higgs states on her website that her favorite is “A winter’s night, a woman’s mind, and a laird’s purpose aften change.” (Scottish proverb)

Which one is your favorite?

November 2006 - Current Book Club

Here's what we've read so far in Faith & Fiction:

1. Christmas in Harmony & The Christmas Scrapbook by Philip Gulley (Nov & Dec)
2. Ocean's Apart by Karen Kingsbury (January)
   
3. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (February)

Any comments about these texts since our discussion? Any comments from readers outside of Salem? I'd love to hear from you!