"The Weird Sisters" by Eleanor Brown

Wow, what a great meeting!  The NoVA Lit Chicks met for our regular monthly book discussion with a packed agenda:

• Carrie hosted, so we all trekked across the river to travel up to Maryland.  Thankfully, everyone made it :)  
• The author of "The Weird Sisters," Eleanor Brown called in to our meeting, and she was a riot!
• Book picks for May, June, and July were presented, and...
• We had a "Baby Book Shower" for Carrie! 

First things first, we carpooled up to Maryland to visit Carrie, who hosted for the first time at her home.  It was a long and perilous journey, involving the Beltway and a bridge crossing.  Luckily, everyone made it without issue. Actually, I think everyone was surprised how easy it was getting there.  Not me though, as a native Montgomery County-er, it was a walk down Montgomery Mall memory lane.  Food court, anyone?

This month's book pick was "The Weird Sisters," by Eleanor Brown.  Eleanor reached out to us via Twitter, and she was more than happy to call in for a part of our meeting.  We happily accepted and began discussing the book in advance of her call.

For the most part, the group consensus was positive for the book.  Some said that it had a familiar theme, consistent with many books about siblings.  Siblings continue to live our their stereotypical roles within the family, despite all being successful, independent grown adults.  The book had several unusual features....the use of first person plural throughout the book, the scattering of Shakespeare quotes, and the odd fact that the Mother was never given a name.

On the phone with Ms. Brown, she told us that she modeled the book after her own family, and her experiences growing up as the youngest of three sisters.  She was very engaging on the call, and it was a pleasure to have her join us!  She shared her reasons for the use of first person plural, her naming conventions, and the Shakespeare reasoning....and made for a very enjoyable author call-in!

Up next....time to vote!

This month, we initiated our new Book Choice plan, where hostesses for May, June, and July (Emily, Sara, and Debra) submit 3-4 books to the group, and we then vote for a month's book based on their choices.  This new quarterly voting option was implemented to give the entire club a little more say in the monthly book picks, without the hostess losing her opportunity to choose her own books!

Frankly, this was a great idea.  Voting is "open" until Friday, and then this quarter's picks will be announced!  This was a really fun way for members to share what books they want to read, and give everyone some new "to-reads" even if that book isn't chosen for the month.  Can't wait to see the results! 

Lastly, to welcome our newest little bookworm into the world, the Lit Chicks had a "Baby Book Shower" for Carrie, who is expecting her little boy in May. 

This was a jam-packed meeting!  Looking forward to next month...stay tuned for the May book pick!  Happy reading!