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 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 :)