Fannie Flagg continues her saga of Elmwood, Missouri and you really get to know Aunt Elner Shimfissel and her niece Norma. If you've read Welcome to the World, Baby Girl, then you already know these characters are "really characters". This time, Elner falls from a ladder, makes a brief trip to heaven and practically gives her niece and friends a memorable week in Elmwood. You'll laugh out loud in places. If you grew up in a close neighborhood in th 50's - 70's, I'll bet you knew a few Elner and Normas in your own town. Definitely worth the read. As soon as I finished, I went out and got Welcome to the World ... and Standing in the Rainbow so that I could get to know the Elmwoodian's even better.

Paige is a spoiled little rich girl who has been indulged by her Daddy for years. but it suddenly thrust in the everyday world where money doesn't grow on trees. Spur is a hard-working recent Texas A&M graduate, focused on taking over a veterinary practice in the small town of Salt Lick, Texas. Add a horse thief, two local ladies who run a combination beauty shoppe and detective agency (specializing in spying on staying spouses) and together with several other memorable characters and you've got My Heart May Be Broken, But My Hair Still Looks Good. Paige and Spur both learn lessons about money, love, margaritas and sex while the reader learns what the horse thief has in mind and how the folks from Salt Lick plan to bring him or her down. Laughs throughout the book - from Paige working at McDonald's, to weating a risque apron that she hasn't bothered to read. Readers who like light mysteries will probably enjoy this second book in the Dixie Cash mystery series.

If you've ever wondered about the "REAL" story behind Cheaper By the Dozen and Belles on Their Toes, then you'll enjoy this in-depth biography of the mother of the brood of 12. Lillian Moller Gilbreth was a pace setter and educated woman long before she met Frank Gilbreth. Together they had 12 children (11 lived to adulthood) and together they changed how many companies and corporations through cutting edge methods of time management. After Frank's sudden death, Lillian had to face and change the world's view of what a single mother was capable of being and doing.

Cather is considered a "classic" American writer and I had never read any of her works. Now I'm glad we picked this. It was quite enjoyable and had a lot of relevance to how women lived in the late 19th Century and how they live now. The hard life was well described and the plains, both flat and beautiful come alive with Cather's words and descriptions. The immigrant situation and problems of the previous centuries are still somewhat true today. Maybe not in exactly the same way, but the attitudes towards migrants and the things they must do in order to survive are still occuring today. All in all, an excellent read with lots of characters to discuss.

Overall the book was quite interesting. We chose it because one of our members was acquainted with the author, Robert Skimin. Mr. Skimin "joined" our meeting via telephone from his home in El Paso, Texas. Mr. Skimin really, really researches his stories. This book, the story of Lazaro, a Chihenne Apache chief is not based on a real person, but many real people are brought into the story the way E.L. Doctorow tends to do. Very interesting to learn about the Apache clans relationship with the "White Eyes" and how they tried to stick to the treaties, when the Americanos broke the treaties then they struck back. We learned quite a bit about history of New Mexico during the late 1800's. Another main character, Andres, the half breed son of Lazaro and his Mexican mother, Carlota is fascinating. Mr. Skimin talked with us for almost an hour. He is also the author of numerous other historic fiction and also has a new children's series, Danny Drumm's Heros in the work.

This Anita Shreve didn't live up to my expectations. It was OK, with the biggest problem being that I wanted to slap some of the characters because 20+ years out of school they still hadn't grown up to take adult responsibilities. Also, Shreve throws a "story within a story" into the book with one of her characters writing a story about an historical disaster in Halifax, Canada. The "story within the story" was distracting at best and several of our Club members chose to skip those portions of the book and focus on the contemporary story. Still and all, the discussion was pretty lively. The couples in the story had more than enough troubles to go around. The only really happy couple in the book was the gay couple.
If you really, really like Shreve and The Big Chill, you'll probably enjoy. Otherwise, there are plenty of other books that are awaiting reading.

Book was basically a good and fun read. It took a little time to get used to the "Queen's English" and British terms that appear throughout. Ladies of the "Reading Group" are an interesting group that manages to go through almost every trial and tribulation possible during a one year period. Once you get a feel for which character is friends with which other character, who is married to who, etc. then it is easier to like the book. The book centers around each month of the year with a different book being "reviewed" each month. The actual book reviews and comments are secondary to the story. The real story is the events in the womens' lives and how they come together to help each other.

I wanted to read this because the BBC version on Masterpiece (PBS) was wonderful. Book was more tedious w/seemingly endless histories of 4 main characters. Still, worth reading either before or after watching the DVD. Quite eye opening in learning of rampant racism in England after WWII. Guess after seeing To Sir With Love which was set less than 20 yrs after this bk it was a surprise to learn racism happened & happens all over the world.