Our Gathering on May 8th, 2012

Hey Ladies! This month we met at an exciting library in Ypsilanti. Figured it was time to meet somewhere closer to those ladies that have to travel every month to our side of the city. We had a fun night as new and old friends gathered. Using Skype to connect with an author is the way to go. After a bit of technical difficulty we finally connected with Sarah Pekkanen, the author of this months book, "These Girls". The books main theme was on friendship and we relished the idea of speaking on such a huge topic. Sarah was so amusing. She shared stories of her writing career and about friends that she is blessed to have in her life. We laughed as she told us she was hiding out in the basement so her family would let her alone for a few minutes to chat with us. Then we chatted with Lori, who just took an exciting trip to New York City a last month. The "friends" in the book lived in New York and Lori had some terrific photos and stories to tell us about her trip. She is a terrific speaker and all agreed that we could have sat and listened to her all night. We are capitalizing on the friendship theme by reading more books on friendship in the next few months. Get started on reading "Friendship Bread" by Darien Gee. Our next gathering (we like this word instead of "meeting" as that sounds so boring!) will be filled with many baked goods from each member who is going to partake in the friendship bread recipes this month. Until next month...Happy Reading!

We are back on track! Our first meeting was of the casual nature. We ended up gabbing the night away. Many books were discussed and we came up with an agenda for the year. Most of the year anyway. We decided to create a theme. That theme is Friendship. Our first book (since it came out on the day of the meeting) is "These Girls" by Sarah Pekkanen. The next book will be "Friendship Bread" by Darien Gee (aka Mia King). Then on to "The Girls from Ames" and some other books yet to be confirmed. Friendship is such an important thing. A staple of life...of a good and rich life. Join us! We would love to hear your reviews on the books we are focusing on. If you have any suggestions or ideas for gatherings, we would certainly love to hear that too. Many of you may not live locally, but we are always on-line via the facebook chat during our meetings. We are seriously considering doing Skype and letting others around the globe join in, as well. Thank you, so much for visiting our blog page. Let us know what you think. Please visit our previous gatherings below. Press "older posts" and see some of the hilarious stuff we did. Due to some programs not being active any longer, some of our pictures may be missing. Happy Reading!

Java House Gathering

It's great to have an on-line access to our gatherings. If you want to join, but can't make it in person, you can always chat with us via the internet. If you are a facebook member (Pink Ladies Book and Movie Club) then all you have to do it log on to your facebook account and chat away. Tonight's meeting was a fun catch-up night as we welcomed Deborah. She was a close high school friend of Sharen and Denise's. Deborah's teenage daughter stopped by after the meeting and teased us for acting like teenagers. We just couldn't help it. After reviewing several books on the coffee table, we all agreed we would give "Salem Falls" a try. It is a thick book so we suggest you get started soon. If you're an avid reader, it probably won't be an issue for you. We are hoping it isn't too intimidating to you "new" readers. Tonight's discussions took us from talking about Mitch Albom's books to Nora Roberts series under the pen name "J.D. Robb". Deborah mentioned how she used to read Stephen King, but thought he got way too weird with his writing. Denise agreed and said that she used to be afraid to visit Maine, because of the things that happened there in King's books. We had to remind her that wasn't real. haha That lead to a discussion on how authors write about what they know and they know "where" they live. Cheryl said she will try Water for Elephants (the book) and Sharen is happy to give her a copy as she couldn't get into the book. Deborah agreed. The movie talked about this month was "Sliding Doors" and the consensus was that it was a great movie. We hope you will join us for Salem Falls and as always, we welcome your suggestions. Visit us on facebook: Pink Ladies Book and Movie Club. Happy Reading!

Aloha Mia King!

We had a terrific evening (despite the flu affecting half our regular members)! Those of us who could make it had the privilege of chatting with our featured author, Mia King. She is so full of energy and has such a dynamic personality. Just talking with her one could tell that she is very smart, as well. We talked about the book, Sweet Life and the dynamics of it. The main character moved to Hawaii, just like the author. But the similarities end there. We discussed how Marissa (the main character) was sort of a high-society snob at first and we saw her transform into an amazing, down-to-earth, yet strong woman. We liked the friendships that ensued with a host of real-to-life women, who were so different, yet somehow came together in their time of need. Mia King is really Darien Gee. She is also friends with Jane Porter! Small world! Darien has a new book that will be released in April..."Friendship Bread". She says that in this new book, under her real name, will be a little more in-depth and will not be as much of a light read as the Mia King books. We know it will be great! (Okay, who is going to get the friendship bread mix started? We pick Denise or Kathy as they usually get things right the first time! haha) We didn't want to hang up with our special guest, but Karen figured we had taken up enough of Darien's time so she started our farewells. "But we didn't get to talk about her family and other things going on in her life!" Well,
guess we'll leave that for next time...this spring when we visit Friendship Bread and even Darien...who will be in the states via her book tour. We are so excited and blessed to have her on our favorite author list. Thanks again, Darien! Aloha and Happy Reading! :D

She's Gone Country by Jane Porter

Well...WE DID IT! We went Country. Had a blast too!






The evening started out with a visit to Jenny's Farm in Dexter. Took pictures with some of the animals, but mostly with ourselves and our pink cowboy hats. Then off to Diamondback Saloon for line dancing lessons. We felt real country there! Our teacher, Phyllis was terrific and patient. Sure did work up a sweat. Showed her the book we were reading and she showed it to everyone in the place and announced who we were and why we were there. Had a lot of people stopping by to check out the book and our club. We sweat the night away and didn't want it to end. The book was also a wonderful experience. Didn't want that to end either. The book took us on a journey of renewal and self discovery as Shey uproots her boys and returns to her childhood home in Texas. She has spent the last few decades in New York and around the world as a high-end fashion model. Her husband has left her for another man and Shey is still in shock at what has happened. But, being home brings new paths and renewed bonding with the first men in her life, her brothers. Jane thrilled us, as expected with another inside look at motherhood, womanhood and life. This was the 4th in the series that got us going. First was Odd Mom Out, followed by Mrs. Perfect and then on to Easy on the Eyes (See Limo pictures below). We hope you will take some time out of your busy life to read "She's Gone Country" and the other books by Jane Porter. We look forward to visiting the above books again and to the ones she'll write in the future. Our next book (you gals should be reading by now) is "Sweet Life" by Mia King. Keep track of our happenings on facebook (Pink Ladies Book and Movie Club page). Read along with us. It's worth the trip. Happy Reading! See ya next month, ya'll!

APRIL GATHERING

Well what a night! We crafted, we gabbed, we ate and we had a nice chat with our current author, Sarah Pekkenan. Sarah's first published book, "The Opposite of Me" is a great story about sisters and life. Even more than that, it is about knowing who you are and sometimes the journey it takes to get there. We found the character enjoyable and at times we felt we could relate to her. Sarah is a very gifted writer. We love her style, her wit, her skills. The book takes some turns that have you on an emotional roller coaster...but then, isn't that the way life is? The book is already a best seller and it's only been out a little over 1 month. While waiting for our exciting phone call I had the girls decorate some boxes. Those boxes then got a slit on the top. I've instructed them to jot down memories, feelings, you know...special moments in life and drop them in the box. In a few months we'll visit the box project again, but for now this is what I've instructed them to do. If you can't attend our meetings, please feel free to follow along with us on the adventure. Back to the book. Our main character (as well as the author) enjoys popcorn topped with honey. So...I made a bowl for the ladies to eat. It was funny. They all said they weren't big honey fans, but they ended up eating the whole bowl. I could swear they were going to fight over the last bit. I think I even saw one of them starting to lick the bowl. haha We had a great chat with Sarah. She was so nice and offered advice on writing and getting published as we have some writers in our group. She answered questions we had about the book and gave us some funny stories about her writing adventures. Thank you, again Sarah for giving us a call! We are so excited to hear that her publisher has picked up her second book and even a third (that she hasn't even technically wrote yet). Congrats!
Please join us in our next book Sweet Life written by Mia King. Visit us on facebook (Pink Ladies Book and Movie Club) if you would like to read along with us and discuss the books/movies we are reviewing!

March Madness!

This month has us back on track reading! We met at Donna's new place and took a look at the book of the month. "The Opposite of Me" by Sarah Pekkanen. This is Sarah's first book and we are honored to be able to have it as our first book of the year. She is a talented author and if the book is anything like her blogs...it promises to be a fun read! So far the reviews are great amongst the ladies. It arrived on the shelves the morning of our meeting so we've only had a chance to read a few pages. So far it is hard to put the book down. (Both literally and figuratively!) Most of the women made it to the meeting. Denise was detained at the last minute. We're going to meet at her house next month so she won't miss out again. She was really looking forward to our fun night together. Time to get reading! Got to figure out a theme for April's gathering. Even if you're not in the club...please take the time to check our Sarah's book. You can also visit her blogpage (listed on the upper right side of this blogpage). Thanks for stopping by! See ya soon!

Idea Mapping Success

We finally made it out for an evening together! This month we went to an author's beautiful home for a short version of her 2 day workshops. We had a lot of fun learning about an exciting technique to help us take better notes and retain them. Jamie (the author) has written a book called "Idea Mapping - How to Access Your Hidden Brain Power, Learn Faster, Remember More and Achieve Success in Business." Jamie travels the world teaching this technique and she was so generous to give us a sampling of her 2 day workshops. We learned some exciting stuff and we are going to use her book as a tool to help us manage the skills we learned tonight. From now on we are going to use these idea maps when reading our books. We will be posting them for you to see as well as sending them to Jamie for her page. For more information, please visit Jamie's website listed on the right of this page. Thanks Jamie for a fun and informative evening at your beautiful home!

November Gathering

We didn't talk much about the book this month (Julie and Julia). The night was a festive celebration for Denise, whose birthday was actually on our meeting night. We gathered at Chili's and had great food and conversation. We missed Cheryl and Lauren, because of car trouble and Teri has H1N1! We hope she feels better soon! We missed you ladies! Some of us have started reading the book, but we are concerned that this book is just too boring. My new readers need something (like Jane Porter's books) to keep them interested. I told the ladies not to worry. If they didn't want to suffer while reading it then they don't have to finish it. I want to make reading an enjoyable experience for them. The rest of us are going to attempt to finish the book so we can show comparisons with the movie...which we will be viewing next month! Thanks for stopping by!

Well, well, well. Julie Powell (Author of Julie and Julia) must have been one busy gal! It took 8 of us to try and cook this recipe and we still couldn't get it done on a timely basis. Maybe that's what they mean when they say "Too many cooks in the kitchen!" I see now, why Julia Child titled her cookbook, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking". It does take some mastering and it is definitely an art. To think that Julie Powell tried her hand at one recipe a day from the Mastering cookbook amazes me. How could she do anything else? I'm thinking after several months she finally got the hang of it, but when you see the movie you can see her struggles even after close to a year of trying these recipes out. This month we decided to start reading Julie and Julia and to kick it off I had the ladies each bring an ingredient for the recipe I chose. It was Meryl Streep's favorite Julia Child recipe. (She does an excellent job portraying Julia in the movie!) It was Poulet Poele a l'Estragon. Okay, okay, I know I'm just trying to sound impressive. We Ameicans call it Casserole-Roasted Chicken with Taragon. Everyone took on a job. Some more than others. Kathy did all the chopping, Donna did the nasty cleaning of the birds, Denise did the frying and finished the preparing. Everyone sort of gave up. I took pictures. Needless to say, being a work/school night we were unable to enjoy our feast when it was done. (I actually took it out of the oven at 10:35pm. 1 hour after the recipe called for and long after the ladies had to leave.) I took a bite. Yum! I'll have to say though, my husband's chicken tastes just as good and all he does is shake some seasoning on top of the chicken, cover it, bake it and we're done! This was quite an undertaking for Julie Powell. She is to be commended. It was quite an undertaking for us. Good thing we had snacks and a pizza to munch on tonight! Thanks for visiting. We'll keep you posted on what we think of the book. Wonder if it's as good as the movie? Stay tuned!

UPCOMING EVENTS! HERE IT IS LADIES! PLEASE READ!

No pun intended there. Okay, maybe there was. Anyway, here is a quick overview of our upcoming gatherings.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13TH: You will be notified as to what one ingredient you will need to bring to my house. We are going to prepare a recipe (or 2) from Julia Child. Hence, our next book, "Julie and Julia". Please try and have this book for our meeting or at least have plans set if you are sharing a book with another member. (YOU DON'T HAVE TO START READING THE BOOK JUST YET!)

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10TH: We are going to meet at Chili's in Ann Arbor (car pool!) and celebrate the birthday of one special lady, Denise! We will discuss how the reading is going and hear some excerpts from Julia Child's journal.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8TH: WooHoo! This is the DVD release date for "Julie and Julia". So we will be meeting at Karen's house (car pool again!). After the movie we will discuss the differences between the movie and the book, etc.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 12TH: We are going to start the new year off right with a special guest speaker, Jamie Nast. She will present us with an amazing tool that will help us begin the year with a new set of skills. Learn more about her by clicking on the post to the right.

HAPPY FALL! CAN'T WAIT TO SEE EVERYONE ON TUESDAY!

September Get-together

(Click on images to get an enlarged picture.) This month was a little more laid-back. We figured after the last few crazy months we would just spend some time just hanging out with each other. Tonight we made journals. I brought a bevvy of papers and magazines for the gals to cut out and make their own personal journals that reflected who there are and what they like. The book I presented to all of the girls last month is entitled, "YOU CAN DO IT! A merit badge handbook for grown-up girls". To be honest, I just wasn't ready to find a new author after having finished our Jane Porter trilogy. The badge book is a book that was written by Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas. Here's what you'll read on the inside cover: You Can Do It! was Lauren's idea, begun a year before she died on September 11, 2001, aboard United Flight 93. A former Girl Scout, she saw the book as a way for women to re-create the feelings of accomplishment and community found in the Scouts. Lauren embodied the books goals. Karen decided she would try for the author badge. She is a gifted writer that we all agree should get her books done and published. Karen has written some shorter books that have kept us wanting more. Cheryl said she believes that is a sign of a good author, when you can't put the book down (like Jane Porter's!). Stephanie and Sharen are picking the Create a Business Plan badge as they are working on starting a bridal consultant business (and Sharen's many others in the works!). Kathy wants to try the photography badge and Donna says she's going for the Avid Reader badge as she is now into reading thanks to the bookclub! A few ladies were out sick and were surely missed. Tonight's meeting was filled with the usual gab and insights on reading. Sharen read an excerpt from a friend of Jane Porter's about her day with Jane and how they became friends. The gals were really inspired by it. Karen read an inspiring article about going for your dreams and how that person reached their goal of having a book published. I ordered the book and I will give it a try. Stay tuned on what happens with that. (I'm thinking Karen took it home, because I can't find it!) It's entitled "The Secret Soldier". Hope it's an easy read, I've got more Jane Porter Harlequin books to read! OH! And we found out--from Jane's official site that Jane's next book is due out in July, 2010. Guess what?! It's about Shey! The ladies are thrilled!
I'M THINKING OUR NEXT BOOK IS "JULIE AND JULIE" AND WE WILL CAP IT OFF WITH GOING TO SEE THE MOVIE! GIRLS, THE BOOK IS $8.99 AT COSTCO!
THANKS FOR STOPPING BY! SEE YA SOON! (P.S. Notice our Pink Ladies Mascot in the pics above?!)