Upcoming Books and Spring Extracurriculars

NVLC chooses books on a quarterly basis.  We are excited to announce our books for May, June, and July!  Stay tuned to the blog to see if these choices were loved or hated.

1. May 2013: The Secrets of Mary Bowser (Lois Leveen)
2. June 2013: Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness (Susannah Callahan)
3. July 2013: The Beekeeper's Apprentice (Laurie R. King)

Readers who run, or runners who read?  Very excited to congratulate FOUR of the 12 NoVA Lit Chicks in their participation in a spring 5K this past March!  Way to go Emily, Lauren, Stephanie and Debra!  An excellent time was had by all and we are looking forward to more races in the future.

Looking for something fun to do next weekend (unless the Cherry Blossoms finally bloom!!), then check out this new feature from the DC Public Library:

WASHINGTON - Have you ever visited the iconic "Exorcist" steps in Georgetown, where a Jesuit priest fell to his death in the 1973 movie? If you couldn't remember exactly how the scene played out or never read the book, a new website will help add some context to your visit. 

The nation's capital is popping out of the pages of fiction and onto a map with DC by the Book which launched Tuesday.

Using Google map technology, viewers can click on map points shaped as books and see what book, author and passage reference an area in D.C. Each pinpoint on the map features the book passage and a link to the DC Public Library catalog where a member can reserve the book. 

Tony Ross, 41, a librarian at the DC Public Library, spearheaded the project. "We can all read a history of Washington, D.C., and learn about the city and learn about how it's changed, but it's a completely different thing to be in a story…and to come across a little hidden part of the city or a hidden piece of the city's history," Ross says. (Excerpt from http://www.wtop.com/1232/3264232/DC-by-the-Book-takes-readers-to-novel-locations)

NVLC Spring Blog Cleaning

Happy 2013 NVLC Friends and Fans!  Our year is already off to a great start.  Here's a recap of our book discussions this year so far.

1. Let's Pretend this Never Happened by Jenny Lawson (January 2013)

Carrie chose this memoir by the "Bloggess" and most of the women found it hilarious.  Frankly, I couldn't stand it, but some members liked it so much they are new converts to Ms. Lawson's blog.

I was crying from laughing! - Lorene

Hilarious. Without a doubt the funniest book I have read in years, if not ever. A few of her episodes (Beyonce, the chicken shiv, turkeys, OD-ing on Ex-Lax, etc) had me laughing until I wept. I can only hope that her often referenced "second book" will actually become a reality soon. Until then, her blog will suffice.

I highly recommend to anyone looking for an easy, light read with lots of laughs. If you are easily offended by swearing or sexual innuendo, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK!!!!!! I will say that stuff usually bothers me, but it came off more as her style of writing and less as crass. Either way, consider yourself warned.  - Stephanie

2. Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult (February 2013)

Jeanette's first time hosting and leading the discussion and she did an excellent job!  This book was about a murder mystery in Pennsylvania Amish country.  The interplay between a Philadelphia attorney and the local Amish was entertaining and the group gave it average reviews.

"Picoult now explores the complex choices of the heart for a young Amish woman -- the compelling journey of discovery for an urban lawyer who befriends and protects her."  (Goodreads.com)


      3. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway (March 2013)

Kim's first time leading the discussion and she too did an excellent job!  Rina hosted at her house.  The group definitely enjoyed this short, yet powerful, book.  I read it about a year ago and loved it then.  "A spare and haunting, wise and beautiful novel about the endurance of the human spirit and the subtle ways individuals reclaim their humanity in a city ravaged by war." (Goodreads.com)

Kim picked this book based her personal and professional attachment to this area of the world, and her perspective from having lived in the Balkans made for an even better discussion.


A compelling read. Prior to reading this, I didn't know a lot about the Siege of Sarajevo. Although this is fiction, I felt it had a lot of elements of realism--not just in the descriptions of the activities, but also the complex character studies and the human emotions and insecurities of the characters. It was a quick read, and I was sucked right in. Enjoyed this book. - Dustina

       4.  The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng (April 2013)

This month was my pick, and I tried to choose a book that had excellent reviews on Goodreads and Amazon....and one I'd never heard of.  This was a long, dense, but beautifully written story with lots of complexity and character depth.  Not everyone made it through the whole book, but it seemed that those who read the whole book did find it enjoyable.  If nothing else, it made me look up Penang in Wikipedia to find out where it was :-)

"The Gift of Rain spans decades as it takes readers from the final days of the Chinese emperors to the dying era of the British Empire, and through the mystical temples, bustling cities,and forbidding rain forests of Malaya."  (Goodreads.com)


Looking forward to our next quarter of books!

NVLC Fall Catch-Up Blog

Wow!  Hard to believe the last time I updated our blog was in July.  Here's a quick catch-up blog in advance of the NoVA Lit Chicks October meeting tomorrow night. 

1.  The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka (July 2012)

Of course this was my pick....and I failed to keep up with the blog to go with it.  Overall, I think the group enjoyed the book.  This was a quick read that I enjoyed, and I think Oprah summed it up best:

“Spare and stunning. . . . By using the collective ‘we’ to convey a constantly shifting, strongly held group identity within which distinct individuals occasionally emerge and recede, Otsuka has created a tableau as intricate as the pen strokes her humble immigrant girls learned to use in letters to loved ones they’d never see again.” —O, The Oprah Magazine

2.  The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt (August 2012)

Lauren chose this book, and it's odd that we would have two westerns in one year (see: True Grit in March 2012), but the general consensus on this book was positive.  Rina (possibly Lorene?) made the interesting point in asking if our opinion of the characters would change if we considered them as older men (instead of younger men). 

3.  Also at the August meeting we welcomed two new members, Lorene and Kim!  Looking forward to Lorene's first book pick in this upcoming quarter. 

4.  Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay (September 2012)

Dustina's book choice was revised at the August meeting since her original pick wasn't available at the library.  Russian Winter won the re-vote.  We seemed to struggle with getting through this long novel and the back and forth between reality, Russia, and memories.  Most members did finish the book and enjoyed the plot twists at the end.  

5.  More new members!  We welcomed Rina's friend Jen to the NVLC at the September meeting!

Tomorrow night we'll hold our October meeting where we'll discuss this month's book, A Crime in the Neighborhood, and choose our picks for November, December, and January. 

My NVLC new-quarter-resolution is to update the blog more :)

Book World Twitter Roundup

Admittedly, the NoVA Lit Chicks are new to Twitter (you can find us at @NovaLitChicks!). Over the past two weeks, we've followed and tweeted and replied and retweeted to much success.  I think the most shocking thing is the sheer amount of book-related information out there in the Twittersphere.  However, if keeping up with the Book World on Twitter isn't your speed....here's a quick recap of Stuff We Found Interesting.  (And by "we" I mean, "me.")

Local Meet-the-Author Events

1. Meet author Sandra Beasley, author of a memoir, Don't Kill the Birthday Girl. March 20, 7:00 p.m. Burke Centre Library. (@FairfaxLibrary)
2. An evening with author Tom Perrotta March 22, 7:30pm at George Mason University's Center for the Arts, sponsored by the Fairfax County Library. Meet Tom Perrotta, bestselling author of Election, Little Children, Joe College, The Leftovers, and others. Cosponsored by Fall for the Book. Books available for sale and signing. (@FairfaxLibrary)
3. Chris Cillizza, Washington Post blogger and MSNBC political contributor, discusses the news and issues surrounding this year's elections. March 28, 7:00pm. Cosponsored by the Friends of the Pohick Regional Library. (@FairfaxLibrary)
4. Arlington Reads 2012 featured fiction author Jennifer Egan will speak on April 26, 7 p.m. at Arlington Central Library Auditorium, discussing her 2011 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, A Visit from the Goon Squad. (@ArlingtonVaLib)

Used Book Sales

1. Looking for a cost-effective way to keep up your habit?  The Fairfax County Library has ongoing Used Book Sales at various branches throughout the year!  All branches also take book donations year round. (@FairfaxLibrary)
2. Arlington County Library has two "mammoth" used book sales a year...the Spring Book sale is April 12-15!  (@ArlingtonVaLib)

References

1. Got a question?  Ask a Librarian! (@librarycongress)

To-Read List

1. Too late for the Lit Chicks "Young Adult" theme, but wish this was around when I was a kid: Bad Girls Of History, How Wicked Were They?  NPR reviews The Thinking Girl's Treasury of Dastardly Dames, a book collection aimed at children ages 9 to 13. The collection is edited and published by Shirin Yim Bridges.(@nprbooks)

Fun and Games

1. Hungry?  Try a Hunger Games Recipe! (@HuffPostBooks)
2. Not hungry?  @HuffPostBooks tried out the "The Drunk Diet"...which, according to the article is really more like "Drink all you want, so long as you eat egg whites and run marathons."
3. "One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish." Take this quiz to see if you can identify famous authors by their styles. (@bookbench)
4. Where does DC rank? "Is your city hungry for the Hunger Games? Check out the top 20 U.S. cities reading the trilogy." (@amazonbooks) 
5. Listen to Christopher Walken read "Where the Wild Things Are."  Awesome. (@electriclit)

"They tell me you are a man with true grit."

You give out very little sugar with your pronouncements.  --Mr. LeBoeuf, to Mattie.

Last night, the NoVA Lit Chicks met for "Movie Night," in lieu of a regular book discussion.  We are resetting the calendar back to the first Tuesday of the month, so now we are back on track for April's discussion of The Weird Sisters, by Eleanor Brown.

Debra's book, True Grit, by Charles Portis, was recently remade as Coen Brothers movie and we decided to watch the new release as a group.  As the last book selection of our "Young Adult" theme, I chose this book for discussion because (a) it has a 14 year old girl as the hero and (b) I watched the old John Wayne movie with my grandfather as a kid.

Reading this book as an adult, and then watching the movie with my Lit Chick girlfriends, proved how timeless it is.  The dialogue was sharp and biting, all the more entertaining when we realized that nineteenth century western roughnecks have a better command of the King's English than we do. We joked that contractions must not have been invented in the nineteenth century.  Mattie's character never ceased to amaze, her negotiations and tenacity with Colonel Stonehill and Rooster Cogburn made you wonder who was the real adult.  Though Rooster Cogburn was the tough, whiskey drinking U.S. Marshal, based on Mattie's sharp tongue, adventerous spirit and dogged determination, I think we all agreed that she was the one with the "true grit."

Since this meeting was only two weeks past our March meeting, we opted to keep things simple and just ordered in pizza.  Thank you Sara for hosting, the food, wine, discussion and company was excellent as always!  See everyone at Carrie's in April!