V.V.B.C Hunger Games & Nearing Home

Vicarious Virtual Book Club:
Hunger Games &
Nearing Home


UPDATE: I am in the process of launching a new website that will be a resource for finding and sharing family traditions. Please sign up to be notified when it launches!
Thank you!
www.traditionplace.com


(I've gotten behind on posting reviews for  the V.V.B.C., so I'm going to at least "catch up," with a short overview, on our last few books in the next couple of days. PLEASE feel free to jump in with comments!)

Hunger Games

Hunger Games was pretty much universally enjoyed by the Sister Chicks Book Club. Subsequently, movie goers from the book club thought the movie did a better than average job of interpreting the book. (I haven't seen the movie yet.)

When I finished Hunger Games, I was a little frustrated to find that the story just stopped! It did not seem like an appropriate place to end a book. I immediately went on to read the next two books, and enjoyed them. However, it seemed to me like the author broke one story into three books, for the purpose of selling more books! This series did not seem to be so long that it required more than one book.

Since Hunger Games was the first book of a trilogy, those of us who had read the entire trilogy were unable to discuss Hunger Games in full context, since many members had not completed all three books. With the permission of those who had not completed the book/series, we did "let a few cats out of the bag" for the purpose of sharing and comparing what we particularly enjoyed, or thought interesting. Those of us who had finished enjoyed the entire series.

This book was "different" from what we usually read, but we thought it was entertaining. We discussed a lot of the "what ifs" that the book brought forth. Someone wondered if the drawing for Tribute might have been "fixed" as a warning, since Katniss was an independent and resourceful person, and thus a possible "threat" to authority. Something I never considered!

I recommend Hunger Games, along with the trilogy. Considering the realities of life after a cataclysmic event is of interest to me, and I thought Hunger Games it made for entertaining reading. (I read it on the Kindle program on my iPhone.)



Nearing Home

The Sister Chick's Book Club all enjoyed Billy Graham's Nearing Home. It was a quick read, that is classic Billy Graham: Easy to read and understand, inspirational, and thought provoking.

Billy Graham writes, “All my life, I was taught how to die as a Christian, but no one ever taught me how I ought to live in the years before I die.” He talks about the difficulty and frustration of no longer being able to do what you want, because of his body's declining. He looks through a positive lens at the issues caused by the inevitable aging process, because of his belief that God is is Sovereign, and in control. He wonders,"if God in His sovereignty allows the eye sight of the aged to cast a dim view of the here and now so we may focus our spiritual eyes on the ever after.”

Readers are left with the challenge of living our lives with eternal purpose, with the ultimate goal of "finishing well." This book will be especially meaningful for Christians, and serves as a gentle reminder of what is really important. Another book I recommend. I read it on the Kindle Program on my iPhone. 


The large print version below would be a great Mother's Day gift for Mothers, Grandmothers, or other friends who are growing older!
  

V.V.B.C. 2012 Book Club Reading List (Jan-June)

UPDATE: I am in the process of launching a new website that will be a resource for finding and sharing family traditions. Please sign up to be notified when it launches!
Thank you!
www.traditionplace.com



For those of you who are new to the Vicarious Virtual Book Club, or V.V.B.C: This is an online "book club" that follows the reading selections of my "real" book club. This group allows the opportunity for anyone to have a book club experience without actually having to GO to book club! You can enjoy reading the books, hearing about the "real" book club's discussions, and commenting on books, if you desire.

You may enjoy the Vicarious Virtual Book Club wherever you are--no traveling to meetings! If you want to come to online book club meetings in your pajamas, feel free! No worries about what to wear! No membership requirements! No rules!

The V.V.B.C. is simply an opportunity to share your love of books with other like-minded individuals. This online book club blog gives you a place to interact, discuss, comment, and question. Anyone is welcome to join in.

My "real" Sister Chicks book club is also a very informal group. People come when they want, read the books they want, and participate in the discussions--or not! We have an average of about 15 at each meeting.  Some people come regularly, while others come only occasionally.

The Sister Chicks had a great list of proposed books from which to choose our next books! Each person who wants to make a suggestion, or two, has the opportunity twice a year. We present our book nominations briefly, then each of us votes for our 6 favorites. The top six vote-getters win.

We selected 5 books outright. The sixth selection ended as a tie. We agreed that one of those two sixth place books will be on our list, and the other will be the first book for the Sister Chicks' reading list for the second half of next year.

I don't post any discussion about the books for the Virtual Book Club until after my "real" book club has discussed the book. Here's the schedule for for the first half of 2012!

January 16    Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

February 13  Nearing Home by Billy Graham

March 19      Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff

April 16        Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly

May 21         Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

June 18         Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs


 

I probably LISTEN to about half of my book club selections on my iPhone. I download them from Audible. If you would like to hear audio samples of any of these selections, or get more information about Audible books, please click on one of the Audible links in the right border. 

Our nominated books were widely diverse, and there were a number of them that sounded really good. I'm sure I'll be reading some of our "runners up!" I will list all of the nominated books, and all of our previously read books, on a separate blog entry soon, for those of you who might be interested! 

Hope you'll join us for some discussions! HAPPY READING!