October 2015 Meeting

Take note:  our next meeting will be OCTOBER 30.  This is not the original date we have on our schedule, so you need to change your calendar. 

• Kim is our hostess 
• Sheila will bring books 
• Mae will be the facilitator  (It turned out that Mae has a class reunion on the originally scheduled evening, so we moved the meeting forward to the FIFTH Friday so that she could truly facilitate. )

Note that because we moved October's date forward a week, and November's date was scheduled back a week (because of Thanksgiving), we will have a short reading month in November.


But anyway, back to OCTOBER.  We will be reading 

Starship Troopers, by Robert A. Heinlein.

There are eight copies sitting on the shelves in the Contra Costa Library -- and LOOK!!!  There is a CD, too!  There should be plenty of copies for us. This book was originally published in 1959. 

From Wikipedia:

Robert Heinlein was one of the best-selling science fiction novelists for many decades, and he, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke are often considered to be the "Big Three" of science fiction authors.

The novels that Heinlein wrote for a young audience are commonly called "the Heinlein juveniles", and they feature a mixture of adolescent and adult themes. Many of the issues that he takes on in these books have to do with the kinds of problems that adolescents experience. His protagonists are usually very intelligent teenagers who have to make their way in the adult society they see around them. On the surface, they are simple tales of adventure, achievement, and dealing with stupid teachers and jealous peers. Heinlein was a vocal proponent of the notion that juvenile readers were far more sophisticated and able to handle more complex or difficult themes than most people realized. His juvenile stories often had a maturity to them that made them readable for adults.... Starship Troopers was the last of the juvenile novels.

January 2015 Book Group Meeting

First of all, what happened to the December meeting? Well, the November meeting was held in early December and so the December meeting will be in early January.  Very early January. January 2nd, to be exact. Don't forget.  I will remind you at the end of this blog entry. 

We will be reading Digital Fortress, by Dan Brown. This is the same Dan Brown who brought us Angels and Demons, and The DaVinci Code.  Here's a brief plot run-down:  

When the NSA's invincible code-breaking machine encounters a mysterious code it cannot break, the agency calls its head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher, a brilliant, beautiful mathematician. What she uncovers sends shock waves through the corridors of power. The NSA is being held hostage--not by guns or bombs -- but by a code so complex that if released would cripple U.S. intelligence. Caught in an accelerating tempest of secrecy and lies, Fletcher battles to save the agency she believes in...

Yadda Yadda.  You get the idea. 
 

Fran will bring the books, Denise will lead the discussion.

Mae will provide snacks.

And here's the date again -- mark your calendars! -- January 2nd.

November Book Group Meeting

Our November meeting will take place on December 5th, 2014. We decided to do this because Thanksgiving got in the way, somehow.  We will be reading In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote. Note that the full title of the book is:

In Cold Blood : a True Account of a Multiple Murder and its Consequences

 Some title, eh? This book was originally published in forty-nine years ago, in 1965, and told the story of a murder that took place on a farm in Kansas in 1959. The library website says that it has been hailed as a masterpiece. 

 The description from Amazon.com: 

On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues.

As Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, he generates both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy. In Cold Blood is a work that transcends its moment, yielding poignant insights into the nature of American violence.

 And about the meeting -- we have had changes in our dates and responsibilities, so please go check the Book Group schedule.  December 5th, Denise will bring the books and Rachel will lead the discussion. Lisa will bring food (which we commonly refer to as 'snacks'). 

See you there!!