July 2008

Dear Bookclubbers,
Thank you all for turning out and giving such a great welcome to our visiting author, Ann McCauley, on Wednesday night. I think all will agree that we had a delightful discussion with her, gaining new insight into the writing process and the creation of Runaway Grandma. Especially great was the reappearance of several members who have been missed of late. Welcome back to them and welcome to Polly McCauley and Joan’s friend, Jan. We hope to see you all again in August.

Speaking of August, there has been an important date and location change for the August meeting. We will now be getting together on Thursday, August 28^th at 7:15 PM at Joanne Richter’s. Joanne is currently between computers, so you will have to call her by phone to let her know if you are coming. Hopefully, the people who volunteered to bring snacks remember who they are. The book is still The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Just let me know if you would like the book ordered from Amazon.com. The cost is $11.20 plus tax. Amazon now has to charge sales tax in NYS, so please take note of the amount on the receipt which accompanies the delivery when you reimbursing me.

The next important date is Wednesday, September 10^th. This is the night we will be meeting to make our book selections for the remainder of the year. I think we decided that we will meet at the pool shelter. The idea is for everyone to bring a few ideas for possible reads. Each suggestion will be briefly presented. It is important to bring a printout about the book, the actual book or a short handwritten summary. These will then be laid out on a table and each of us will go around with poker chips or pennies to place on the books we would like to see selected. At the end of the evening the books with the most votes go on the upcoming schedule. This will also be our night for an informal used book exchange. We will discuss details for that process and make a plan for eats and drinks at the August meeting. It probably would be a good idea to have a volunteer to provide a little organization for the refreshments that evening. The hope is that by having this book selection night, we should gain more time to actually discuss the books at regular meetings and …of course for socializing.

The choices made in September will begin after the October 8^th meeting which will still be The Book Thief by Markus Zusak ($7.19 on Amazon.com). This is a great read that I think you will all enjoy.

Finally, thank you all for your contributions to make our summer event so successful. Special appreciation goes out to Jill for all her hard work in bringing Ann to us, purchasing the books, picking up the gift certificate, etc.

Jan