Christmas Gift Ideas

I discovered a couple of really cool web sites that have some great unique Christmas gift ideas.

This shop features Frank Lloyd Wright inspired and designed unique items (wall hangings, dishes, furniture, photo frames, clocks etc.) http://shopwright.org/

Also, did you know the Metropolitan Museum of Art has an online store? http://store.metmuseum.org/

You can get a poster of Max Ernst's Robing of the Bride for $4.99. They also have games, jewelry, clothing, books, unique watches, etc.

The Guggenheim Museum also sells online: http://www.guggenheimstore.org/


And, finally, if you want to see a cool listing of the past 60 years of the National Book Awards, here is a link:

http://www.abebooks.com/books/american-literature-nba-foundation/national-book-awards.shtml

A great gift could be the book from a person's year of birth? Check it out.

Have fun shopping this year and have a very Merry Christmas! ....And Happy Reading!

Katie

Review of the movie: The Road

New York Times review of The Road:

http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/movies/25road.html?th&emc=th

Let the Great World Spin - Excerpt

The results are in from one of publishing's biggest nights, the National Book Awards. Colum McCann's novel, Let the Great World Spin, a tome about mortality in 1970s New York, won the fiction prize on Wednesday night.

To read an excerpt from this book, see the New York Times article here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/19/books/19awards.html?th&emc=th

Looks to me like an excellent book. Will be on my list of recommendations for next time.

Happy reading!
Katie

Who, What, When, Where, Why

Who: Book Club (Present: Louise, Marie, Mike, Amy, Jarby, Sandy, Katie)

What: Meeting

When: Nov. 8, 2009 12:00 PM

Where: Amy's

Why: Discussion of "The Corrections" by Jonathan Franzen

Quick Recap: We talked a lot about the book, everyone expressing a lot of thoughts! Sandy said she was happier reading when the author boiled things down, taking out all the superfluous "stuff". Thus, this boiled down version!

Next time, bring 2 suggestions - 1 drama (or whatever) and 1 lighter/humorous choice

Suggestion for next time: (not for sure decided) Finn by Jon Clinch about Huck Finn's dad.

Next time: Jarby will email - will be mid-January-ish.

Thank you, Amy for the great grub (breakfast tortillas with EVERYTHING -nuff said) Fun!
See you next time.....!

Book Club August 14 - "The Women"

We gathered at Marie's after a hot and steamy day.

I waited until the last minute to head over as Kevin was napping, blocking access to my closet. Damn if I was going to wear long pants, knowing Marie's back patio was beckoning....Alas! I was able to sneak covertly and quietly into my closet, procuring a pair of shorts and sandals. Sneaking away quietly, I realized my legs were blindingly white - yikes. Hope you guys didn't mind wearing your sunglasses until the sun went down!

Marie prepared a feast of pizza toppings and we grilled pizzas outdoors on her mammoth new monster grill. Nice! I can't let this moment pass without a shout out to the fabulous appetizers she presented - peaches wrapped in prosciutto and grilled to perfection. Sweet and savory. The mojitos were wonderful, too, with a hint of fresh mint direct from Marie's own herb garden.

Dessert was grilled pineapple with pineapple sherbet drizzled with chocolate sauce. AND Marie shared a sweet liqueur, which she acquired in Kentucky from her own family's vineyard there.

We all appreciated the book, The Women, by T.C. Boyle. It's an obviously well-researched and thoughtfully put-together depiction of Frank Lloyd Wright's life. We did have a few complaints and criticisms, as well - not particularly liking the backwards progression and the length of the book. But overall, I think we all were happy to have read it.

Next up will be Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections. I'm looking forward to digging into that one next. Jarby will take the reins and let us know where and when to meet, sometime in October.

Thanks, Marie, for the fabulous food, serene setting, and for your seemingly effortless hosting, which I know wasn't easy!

See you next time. Hopefully we can catch up with some of our members we haven't seen in a while!

More pictures of Taliesin

http://tinyurl.com/lzspgh

Maybe you'll feel you don't need to go after seeing these pics. Someone who toured the place posted some great pics.

Katie

Frank Lloyd Wright - Preservation Society

http://www.taliesinpreservation.org/

See this link for info on Frank Lloyd Wright. The WI home is preserved and they do tours - is anyone interested? I don't know what the trip out there would entail - I think it would be cool to see.

See you guys Friday! Hope you have been enjoying the (very long) book. A long life filled with lots of women, eh?

Katie

Continuing our International Theme.....

It's Greek to Me has a wonderful courtyard, secluded from bugs (but an occasional risk-taking bird will fly overhead). The central water fountain provides a calming sound, partially drowning out the traffic noise constantly coming from Lake/Lyndale Aves. The scents of garlic, lemon, beef, lamb, and all those wonderful Greek spices make the experience heavenly.

The image that appears is a painting on the wall as you walk into the restaurant, and guess who the server is? Our one and only Mike! We asked if he comes here often, not realizing he was immortalized on the wall! Cool.

Everyone present read and finished the book, Plague of Doves (Jarby was still working on the ending!) So we were able to establish that the book was definitely disjointed with Erdrich's style jumping from one character to the next, which made it hard to follow for some. But, her storytelling was masterful in parts, and the book's evoked images will be hard to forget. We come away with an appreciation of the Native American's great sense of humor and irony and also an understanding of their oppression and debasement. All in all, a worthwhile read. (I gave it 4 stars out of 5 - Katie)

We'll read "The Hemingses of Monticello" next with Marie hosting at her wonderful home and backyard patio/party spot. Can't wait. Hope to see everyone then!

Thank you to Louise & Mike for hosting and recommending It's Greek to Me!

Our "International" Night Out

We met at Pardon My French Bakery & Wine Bar. I think in the end we all gave it a "thumbs up" with a little reservation because the service was not so great. Well, maybe they will grow into their new place.... The food was good, the wine was fine, and the conversation was good, as well.

We talked about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and we all seemed to enjoy it. If you want the next book in that series, The Girl Who Played with Fire, you can pre-order it at amazon.com now: (release date July 21?)

http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Who-Played-Fire/dp/0307269981/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240786541&sr=8-1

Louise will be hosting the next gathering in early June and she will forward you all the details, including the book that we will read, via email when her computer is back up and working.

Here is a list of the titles we have chosen to read in the upcoming months:

The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen

The Hemingses of Monticello, Annette Gordon-Reed

A Mercy, Toni Morrison

Plague of Doves, Louise Erdrich

The Women (of Frank Lloyd Wright), T.C. Boyle

Happy reading!

Katie

Pardon My French

Just wanted to give an update - I was checking out "Pardon My French", the cafe and wine bar near my house in Eagan. My biggest concern was - will they have space? But, I found out it is HUGE. There are pics online at : http://pardonmyfrench.eu/photos.aspx and you can find the menu at : http://pardonmyfrench.eu/menu.aspx .

The only minus is their hours. They are only open until 10PM Friday and Sat. nights!!!!!!!!!

I was thinking maybe we could do the Saturday, April 4 and meet at 4PM, just in case we do have a good time and want to take full advantage of the clock.

Also, here are the results so far of the poll - for the next book we read. Go ahead and vote or email me back with your choice when you have a minute.


The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen 0 (0%)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson 2 (66%)

The Hemingses of Monticello, Annette Gordon-Reed 0 (0%)

A Mercy, Toni Morrison 1 (33%)

Plague of Doves, Louise Erdrich 0 (0%)

The Women (of Frank Lloyd Wright), T.C. Boyle 0 (0%)

Oh, and if you read the Variety section of the Sunday paper, maybe you read the article on the up and coming MN writer, Nicole Helget who wrote the book, The Turtle Catcher. She got all sorts of love and praise in the article and I'm looking forward to reading her book. Put it in the cart, along with the next book?


Thanks! And happy reading,

Katie

Friday the 13th - and Happy Valentine's Day...

Before I start, please notice the POLL at the right. This is there for you to vote on the book that you would like to read next. Please take a moment right now and note your choices (go ahead and vote if you already know your choice) and then read below. You can take a while to make your decision, if you wish, read some reviews, check them out, and then give your choice when you are ready.

Okay....


We met up at Gusto in Hopkins. With the constant roar of conversation in the background, we proceeded to hold court. Oh. We added an honorary member because of his good behavior - Christopher Thomas Hastings was placed at the head of the table and reigned supreme. When he at last awoke, he was passed around the table to everyone's pleasure. Another honored guest was Jeannie, Rachel's mum who will be returning to England in March. So we got to enjoy her company while she's in the States.

The wine flowed, the food was fabulous.

I had the New York steak, which arrived just on the rare side and was absolutely mouthwatering. Marie picked a wonderful red wine, Siena, a Sangiovese based blend from Sonoma County, (which I got to cork and take home the rest....can't believe there was any left over...but...we all had to drive home....) I saw Rachel devouring the salmon just before Thomas decided to feed...she looked happy. Marie got a salad and the garlic shrimp....it looked delicious and delicate. We all shared some appetizers at the start - bacon wrapped dates, a hot, hot, hot calamari with jalapenos...whew! (instant heartburn...but definitely worth it!), and garlic toast with artichoke dip....and more....but I don't pay attention to everything you know....

Everyone enjoyed the book, The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb, somewhat, anyway. But with reservations about the disjointedness of the book and the "everything but the kitchen sink" feel to it. I would guess overall as a group we'd give it 3 out of 5 stars.

We decided that Gusto was kinda loud and it was hard to hear the person at the other end of the table, so maybe next time we can try the little French wine bar across from my house in Eagan. I will check it out and make sure the atmosphere works first!

So next Book Club will be the first week in April, if that date works for the majority (Easter is April 12?). I will also send out an email with book choices for next time.

We have a little reserve of book choices now for upcoming book club meetings, and we'll keep that info for later....

It was fun. I posted a couple picks on my facebook, so if you're not my friend on facebook yet, get on over there....

See you guys soon,
Katie

Dewey Honored

Jarby wowed us. She just wowed us. From the special drinks to the winter warm menu and the special treat bags, Dewey was remembered and honored for the special cat he was. (I'll never forget those rubber bands...)

It was fun to exchange gift books and to nominate a new library cat. Who was the winner, anyway?

Next up..."The Hour I First Believed", by Wally Lamb. Hope you all enjoy it! We'll be meeting at Gusto (The wine bar in Hopkins) in February. Look forward to seeing everyone. Until then, enjoy reading!

Katie