Our August Book Club selections is Sunday’s at Tiffany’s by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet. I’ve been a fan of James Patterson’s Maximum Ride series for some time now, so I thought it was about time I checked out his adult books to see how they compare.

Here’s a bit about the book from Amazon:

Jane Margaux is a lonely little girl. Her mother, a powerful Broadway producer, makes time for her only once a week, for their Sunday trip to admire jewelry at Tiffany’s. Jane has only one friend: a handsome, comforting, funny man named Michael. He’s perfect. But only she can see him. Michael can’t stay forever, though. On Jane’s ninth birthday he leaves, promising her that she’ll soon forget him. Years later, in her thirties, Jane is just as alone as she was as a child. And despite her own success as a playwright, she is even more trapped by her overbearing mother. Then she meets someone-a handsome, comforting, funny man. He’s perfect. His name is Michael . . .

Imagine meeting your imaginary friend in real life! Sounds like a fun read. I look forward to discussing it with my fellow book lovers.

Remember, you don’t have to have read the book this month to join in the discussion (as long as you’ve read it at some point)!  Check back during the last week of August for the discussion post.

Our Book Club selection for July was The Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink. This dark tale about a pair of twins and the prophecy that divides them, pits good against evil, Guardians against Gatekeepers and twin sisters Lia and Alice against one another.

There were no discussions questions available for The Prophecy of the Sisters so I’ve come up with a few points to help spark some discussion. As always, we encourage veering off topic, so please feel free to bring up anything you would like to discuss about the book!

The Prophecy of the Sisters Discussion Questions

1. Did you enjoy The Prophecy of the Sisters? Will you read Guardian of the Gate the next book in the series?
2. Why do you think their father chose to tell Henry so much more about what was going on than Lia?
3. How has Alice managed to keep her training a secret from her family for so long? Especially when Thomas and Virginia were aware of the prophecy?
4. Do you think Lia’s lack of training stopped her from permanently closing the gate and ending the Prophecy? Did her parents make the right decision to keep her in the dark for so long?
5. Twins! Do you know any twins? How do you think Alice and Lia compared to other twins? Or even other siblings for that matter?
6. Would you be able to turn against your own sibling in order to do something you felt strongly about?
7. Why did their mother choose to protect Lia and not Alice? They were both very young at the time, how could she have known which of them would need protection from the other?
8. How did you feel about the ending of the book? Do you consider The Prophecy of the Sisters a complete story or merely the first portion of a longer story? Why?

Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

Our July Book Club selections is Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink. This one has won a variety of awards and I’ve had it on my wish-list for some time now. I saved it for July as it came out in paperback July 1, so it should be readily available.

Here’s a bit about the book from Amazon:

An ancient prophecy divides two sisters.  One good. One evil. Who will prevail?

Twin sisters Lia and Alice Milthorpe have just become orphans. They have also become enemies. As they discover their roles in a prophecy that has turned generations of sisters against each other, the girls find themselves entangled in a mystery that involves a tattoo-like mark, their parents’ deaths, a boy, a book, and a lifetime of secrets.

Lia and Alice don’t know whom they can trust. They just know they can’t trust each other.

I really hope Prophecy of the Sisters lives up to the hype, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the book! Check back during the last week of July for the discussion post.

Our Book Club selection for June is The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. This wonderful story shares an intimate look at the grieving process of a sister and family who have truly lost what matters most.

There were no discussions questions available for The Sky Is Everywhere, so Rae and I have written up some questions that we thought might spark some discussion.

As always, we encourage veering off topic, so please feel free to bring up anything you would like to discuss about the book!

Discussion Questions

1. Did you enjoy The Sky is Everywhere? Would you recommend it to a friend?
2. The Sky is Everywhere focuses on the grief of Lennie’s family. Do you feel it was a realistic portrayal?
3. Toby says “I’ve never known sisters so close…” [p. 34] Do you feel Lennie and Bailey were closer than most siblings?
4. Bailey and Lennie share a room, which helps to make their sisterly bond stronger. Did you ever share a room with a sibling? Do you think it brought you closer? What kind of things do you recall that made your sibling bond stronger?
5. What do you think of Lennie’s decision not to move anything of Bailey’s in their room? Was this healthy for her?
6. Lennie first eases her grief by kissing Toby, Bailey’s boyfriend. How did you feel when this happened? Is this an understandable action?
7. The author uses samples of Lennie’s poetry throughout the novel. Do you feel this added to the story? Were you surprised to find out who was actually reading the poems?
8. Even though Lennie kept leaving her poems in public places, she seemed to be surprised by who was reading them. Who do you think Lennie was releasing all that poetry out into the world for?
9. Lennie seems to bloom after Bailey’s death. Do you think this is a case of the older sibling overshadowing the younger, or did Lennie become a new person after her loss?
10. Why did Lennie and Bailey allow themselves to be blind to the truth about their mother for so long? Why do you think Bailey kept her search for their mother a secret from Lennie?
11. Lennie coins the term Messessentialism: For those who revel in the essential mess that is life. …there’s not one truth ever, just a whole bunch of stories, all going on at once, in our heads, in our hearts, all getting in the way of each other. [p 251]. Do you subscribe to this theory?

Next up in our Summer Book Club selections is The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson.

I read  this wonderful book by debut author Nelson, and I was so moved that I actually hugged the book for a minute when I was finished! And since we’re all about sharing the book love, I just had to share this one with all of you, so I made it our WAGB Book Club selection for June.

To learn more about the book, check out my review. (It’s fairly spoiler free, but if you’re really worried about spoilers just skip the middle “Review” portion of the review.)

I can’t wait to be able to discuss The Sky is Everywhere with fellow book lovers, so please grab a copy and join us in the discussion at the end of the month. I promise you won’t regret it!

Kicking off our summer Book Club reading is Get Lucky by Katherine Center. This fun little story about family, love and major life changes makes for a perfect book club selection since it touches upon so many big issues.

There were no discussions points available for Get Lucky, so I’ve gone ahead and written up some questions that I thought might spark our discussion on the book. Please be sure to answer the final question where I solicit YOUR ideas for discussion!

Discussion Questions

1. Did you enjoy Get Lucky? What did you like and dislike about it?  Have you read Katherine Center’s other books? How do you feel Get Lucky compares to her other works?
2. The story centers around sisters Mackie and Sarah, who are very alike, but also very different. Could you relate more to one sister than the other? Which one and why?
3. Get Lucky focuses on the bond between the two sisters. Do you have sisters? Are you as close as Mackie and Sarah? Do you feel that same sex siblings have a closer relationship than opposite sex siblings? (ie sister/sister vs. brother/sister)
4. Surrogacy can be a heavy topic, but Get Lucky took a lighthearted stance. Would you ever be a surrogate for one of your family members? Why or why not?
5. Going back home can be hard. Sarah not only returns to her hometown, but also moves back in with her family, which can be difficult at the best of times. Do you think she made the right decision to live with Mackie and Clive? How could things have been different if they weren’t living together? Have you ever gone home again? How did it work out?
6. Sarah’s inappropriate crush on Clive seemed to be a case of misdirected emotions. Were you bothered by her feelings for her brother-in-law? Have you ever had an inappropriate crush? How did you get over it?
7. Many families have one central figure that acts as the “glue” of the family. The Harper family had been without such a figure until Dixie came along. Do you feel the story would have been different if Dixie had not come into their lives? Is there a “Dixie” in your family?
8. Losing her job ended up being a blessing for Sarah. Even though she was quite content in her old life, in the end she had a completely new – and more fulfilling – life. Do you think changes of this scale sneak up on us (like they did with Sarah), or do you feel they have to be sought out and made into reality?
9. The above questions all touch on topics I thought about discussing while reading Get Lucky. Now I’m turning things over to you… What other thoughts/ideas/questions came to you while reading Get Lucky? What would you like to discuss about the book? (Feel free to bring up ANYTHING!)

I’m quite excited about all our Summer Book Club selections, but I think I’m most excited for Get Lucky by Katherine Center which is our May pick.

As a big fan of Katherine Center’s books, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Get Lucky when it came out last month, but since we enjoyed discussing Everyone is Beautiful so much last year, I made myself hold off so that I could read and share it with all of you!

Here’s a bit about the book from Amazon:

Sarah Harper is on the New York fast track at a top advertising agency until she grows a conscience overnight and sends out a companywide e-mail debunking her popular bra campaign. Fired, she flies home to Houston, where she crashes with her older sister, Mackie, and Mackie’s husband, Clive. Turns out Mackie has problems of her own: after years of trying to have a baby, she announces she’s done. In an effort to do something good for a change, Sarah offers herself up as a surrogate. In the nine pregnant months that follow, Sarah juggles unexpected feelings for her brother-in-law and expected feelings for an ex-boyfriend, and instead of the pregnancy bringing her and Mackie closer, it drives them apart.

I really hope you’ll all join me in discussing this one! Anyone who’s read Katherine Center’s other books, knows this will likely be a great read. For those of you who are new to her writing, this is the perfect opportunity to discover a great new author! Plus, look at that cover! Doesn’t that just make you want to kick back and enjoy a great book on a sunny day? We’ll put up the discussion post for Get Lucky the week of May 24. Hope to see you there!

Our Book Club selection for April was Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus.

I  chose Return to the Hundred Acre Wood for 0ur April Book Club selection because I was really in need of a fun, fluffy read after a very busy and stressful time at the office. I don’t know if I really got what I was expecting out of this one, but I guess you can’t win ‘em all.  There are no discussion questions available for this book (I assume that’s because kids books aren’t usually used for book clubs!) so you guys are going to have to work with these questions that I’ve come up with!

As always, we encourage veering off topic, so please feel free to bring up anything you would like to discuss about the book!

Here are our discussion questions for Return to the Hundred Acre Wood:

1. Did you enjoy Return to the Hundred Acre Wood? What did you like? What didn’t you like?
2. Are you familiar with A.A. Milne’s Classic Pooh stories? How do you feel this new volume compares to the original stories?
3. The book was borken down into 10 short stories, listed as chapters. Which was your favorite story/chapter? Which was your least favorite?
4. Would you recommend/read Return to the Hundred Acre Wood to a youngster in your life? What about to another adult?
5. Since we’re talking about children’s stories, what are some of your favorite kids books that you feel are comparable to (or better than) Return to the Hundred Acre Wood?
6. What are your thoughts on the new character Lottie the Otter?
7. Do you believe Return to the Hundred Acre Wood will become a classic?

Don’t forget, our top commenters on this discussion will receive a classic Winnie-the-Pooh bookmark! So be sure to stop by and share your thoughts!

This week’s Friday Freebie is another great giveaway! Because we really want YOU to join our Book Club, we’re going to GIVE one lucky reader a copy of The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson, which is our Book Club Selection for June 2010!

Due to a mailing snafu, I ended up getting a 2nd review copy of The Sky is Everywhere after I had already finished reading and reviewing the book. Now I’m going to take advantage of this opportunity to pass this wonderful book along to one of you! To learn more about The Sky is Everywhere, check out my review.

In order to be entered in the giveaway, simply comment and let us know about a great book club book that you’d enjoy discussing with fellow book lovers!

• For an extra entry comment on one of our past book club discussions if you’ve read the book. Comments must be about the content of the book! (Be sure to let us know which one you commented on so we can give you credit.)

• Post or tweet about this giveaway for another entry.

We very much hope that whoever is lucky enough to win the copy of The Sky is Everywhere, will join us in discussing the book when the time comes.

In order to ensure I get this book to winner in time to read it for the  June Book Club discussion, this is going to be a very short giveaway.  Deadline for entries is midnight on Sunday, May 2, 2010.

*Our sincerest apologies to readers outside North America, but due to high mailing costs, this giveaway is only open to those with Canadian or US mailing addresses.

Summer is can be a busy time, and it’s often when we consume the most books.  Since it’s always helpful to plan ahead, I’ve selected our Book Club picks for the rest of the summer. This way you can work these books into your summer reading, and since library books sometimes need to be requested in advance, hopefully this will make it even easier for everyone to join us in the With a Good Book Club throughout the summer.

May: Get Lucky by Catherine Center – We loved Everyone is Beautiful so much, I thought we should definitely give Get Lucky a try! And I absolutely cannot wait any longer to read it, so this one is up first!

June: The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson – I just finished this fantastic book by debut author Nelson, and I was so moved that I actually hugged the book for a minute when I was finished. I just have to share it with all of you, so we’re also giving away a copy of this one (stay tuned for giveaway post)! I can’t wait to be able to discuss The Sky is Everywhere with fellow book lovers.

July: Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink – Twin sisters, one good, one evil. A prophecy, a mystery! This one has won a variety of awards and I think it looks fantastic! I saved it for July as it comes out in paperback July 1, so it should be readily available.

August: Sunday’s at Tiffany’s by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet – A nice romantic beach-y read to finish off our summer.  A love story with an irresistible twist, Sunday’s at Tiffany’s is a novel about the child inside all of us-and the boundary-crossing power of love. After becoming obsessed with Patterson’s YA series, I’m hoping his adult novels will be as captivating!

I really hope you will join us in reading and discussing these great books over the summer. We look forward to reading a good book with you!