"1st to Die" by James Patterson

Just a friendly reminder ... and a reading suggestion for the weekend.

Our fourth book club selection is "1st to Die" by James Patterson.

Here's a short review / synopsis from amazon.com:

The Women's Murder Club pits four San Francisco women professionals against a serial killer who's stalking and murdering newlyweds in bestselling author James Patterson's newest thriller. Lindsay Boxer is a homicide inspector who's just gotten some very bad news. She deals with it by immersing herself in her newest case and soliciting the personal as well as professional support of her closest friend, who happens to be the city's medical examiner. The two women, along with an ambitious and sympathetic reporter and an assistant DA, form an unlikely alliance, pooling their information and bypassing the chain of command in an engaging, suspenseful story whose gruesome setup is vintage Patterson.

"What is the worst thing anyone has ever done?" the killer muses to himself early in the narrative. "Am I capable of doing it? Do I have what it takes?" Answering his own question, he embarks on a murderous spree that takes him from the bridal suite in a Nob Hill hotel to a honeymoon destination in the Napa Valley and thence to a wedding reception at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. Dispatching his victims on the happiest day of their lives, he purposefully leaves enough clues for his distaff trackers to discover his identity and put him behind bars. But just when the women think they've got the case all wrapped up, the killer turns the tables on them in a bloody denouement that even the most discerning reader won't see coming. Patterson, author of the popular Alex Cross mysteries, promises future adventures for the Women's Murder Club, which may give him an opportunity to develop his heroines' characters more completely and win new fans among those who prefer their detectives in high heels and lipstick. --Jane Adams

You can also read more about the author and her other books at the following websites:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Patterson
• http://www.jamespatterson.com/

Hope you can join us. Or post your comments here!!

"One for the Money" by Janet Evanovich

Just a friendly reminder ... and a reading suggestion for the weekend.

Our third book club selection is "One for the Money" by Janet Evanovich.

Here's a short review / synopsis from amazon.com :

Stephanie Plum is so smart, so honest, and so funny that her narrative charm could drive a documentary on termites. But this tough gal from New Jersey, an unemployed discount lingerie buyer, has a much more interesting story to tell: She has to say that her Miata has been repossessed and that she's so poor at the moment that she just drank her last bottle of beer for breakfast. She has to say that her only chance out of her present rut is her repugnant cousin Vinnie and his bail-bond business. She has to say that she blackmailed Vinnie into giving her a bail-bond recovery job worth $10,000 (for a murder suspect), even though she doesn't own a gun and has never apprehended a person in her life. And she has to say that the guy she has to get, Joe Morelli, is the same creep who charmed away her teenage virginity behind the pastry case in the Trenton bakery where she worked after school.

If that hard-luck story doesn't sound compelling enough, Stephanie's several unsuccessful attempts at pulling in Joe make a downright hilarious and suspenseful tale of murder and deceit. Along the way, several more outlandish (but unrelentingly real) characters join the story, including Benito Ramirez, a champion boxer who seems to be following Stephanie Plum wherever she goes.

Janet Evanovich shares an authentic feel for the streets of Trenton in her debut mystery (she developed her talents in a string of romance novels before creating Ms. Plum), and her tough, frank, and funny first-person narrator offers a winning mix of vulgarity and sensitivity. Evanovich is certainly among the best of the new voices to emerge in the mystery field of the 1990s.

You can also read more about the author and her other books at the following websites:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Evanovich
  

• http://www.evanovich.com/

Hope you can join us. Or post your comments here!!

"Dead Until Dark" by Charlaine Harris

Just a friendly reminder ... and a reading suggestion for the weekend.

Our second book club selection is "Dead Until Dark" by Charlaine Harris.

Check it out at amazon.com :
http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Until-Southern-Vampire-Mysteries/dp/0441008534/ref=ed_oe_p/192-0876722-4990228

They have recently made a TV series on HBO, True Blood, based on this series.

You can also read more about the author and her other books at the following websites:
http://www.charlaineharris.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlaine_Harris


Hope you can join us. Or post your comments here!!

"And then there were none" AKA "Ten Little Indians" by Agatha Christie.

Just a friendly reminder ... and a reading suggestion for the weekend.

Our first book club selection is "And then there were none" AKA "Ten Little Indians" by Agatha Christie.

Here's a short review / synopsis from amazon.com :

Considered the best mystery novel ever written by many readers, And Then There Were None is the story of 10 strangers, each lured to Indian Island by a mysterious host. Once his guests have arrived, the host accuses each person of murder. Unable to leave the island, the guests begin to share their darkest secrets--until they begin to die.

Hope you can join us. Or check out our blog http://mtmaxobookclub.blogspot.com/

Contact me if you have any questions.

Jennifer

2008 - 2009 Reading List

Hi Ladies,
As the leaves are starting to change and it's getting a little colder, now is the time to find a good book to curl up with under the covers.

This year we are going to try to read books within one genre, in our case, mystery. Each book is the first in a series from the author leaving many further discussion opportunities.

Here are the dates and titles. All Book Club meetings are at 9 pm ET.

10/14: And then there were none, Agatha Christie
11/18: Dead Until Dark, Charlaine Harris
12/16: One for the Money, Janet Evanovich
01/13: 1st to Die, James Patterson
02/17: Crocodile on the Sandbank, Elizabeth Peters
03/17: Murder in My Hometown, Phyllis Rae Andrews - AXO alum from Ohio State
04/14: The Hound of Baskervilles, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
05/19: Naked in Death, J.D. Robb

Order your books through our Barnes and Noble link for savings back to the collegiate chapter. Or visit your local library, it's amazing what you can find there.

There will be more follow-up as the dates get closer.
Jen

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

**I apologize for the date change. I won't be able to refocus until after Sept 1 and I don't want to miss this discussion at all.**

Book 7 of Harry Potter was released on July 21, 2007. We've all probably finished and have discussed it with our friends. Let's go through the book and the entire series. What an awesome series.

Harry Potter Series especially Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

The Final Chapter Released on July 21, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the most anticipated book of 2007, marks the seventh and final book in J.K. Rowling's magical Harry Potter series. In an announcement from the book's publisher, Lisa Holton, president of Scholastic Children's Books, said, "We join J.K. Rowling's millions of readers--young and old, veterans and newcomers--in anticipating what lies ahead."

Questions we can discuss:
- Any unanswered questions?
- Unexpected plot twists?
- Did we like the ending?
- Future?
- What we hated?
- What we loved?
- Did you attend a midnight celebration?
- Is it really a children's book?

Check our myfamily.com site for chat session info. Look forwarding to chatting. Feel free to post before, during or after our chat.

Discussion: AXO Authors and Authors we like

Its summer time and may be difficult to get all our reading done so let's talk about who we like to read.

Online chat will be Wednesday, July 18 at 9 pm ET. Check our MyFamily site for details.

We have some sisters from other chapters who are authors. A sister's brother wrote a children's book. And we have bloggers.

AXO Authors

• Georgie Anne Geyer (Gamma, Northwestern) - JournalistGail Henion Sheehy (Alpha Iota, Vermont) - Author and Contributor to Vanity Fair
• Sherron Watkins (Alpha Phi, Texas) - co-Author of Power Failure: The Inside Story of the Collapseof Enron
• Sharon L Lechter (Beta Eta, FSU) is the co-author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad series
• Maria Telli Bailey (Beta Eta, FSU) authored Trillion Dollar Moms and Marketing to Moms and others
• EmilyAnn Shropshire Moses (Beta Eta, FSU) co-authored Opposite Schmopposite: Opposites Attract but Complements Last with her husband, Paul Moses.
• Sallie Hughes (Gamma Iota, UF) authored Newsrooms in Conflict: Journalism and the Democratization of Mexico.
• Faith Sappington Whiteside Bingham (Beta Eta, FSU) wrote Faith in the Kitchen.

Brother to an AXO

• John Reardon, Pam Reardon’s brother: The South Overlook Oaks

AXO Bloggers

• Blog by Nivi Engineer - http://brainhickey.blogspot.com/
• Blog by Jay Matt - http://jaymattspud.tripod.com/
• Blog by Erynn Rathburn - http://www.rathburn.net/
• Blog by Carol Marchetti - http://daddydarling.blogspot.com/
• Website by Sheri Lefty - http://filer.case.edu/~sxf/
• Website by Rebecca Koluder - http://www.picturetrail.com/rakoluder
• Website by Carolyn Stern - http://www.deafdoc.org/
• Website by Christina Negulesco - http://www.negulesco.com/
• Website by Dawn DuPriest - http://mywebpages.comcast.net/dawndup/
• Website by Julie Stufft - http://www.tjstufft.com/
• Blog by Lauren O'Donnell - http://flamencotrip.blogspot.com/; other websites include: http://www.flamencoboston.com/ and http://people.csail.mit.edu/lauren/

As always, post your comments at any time.

2007 Discussion List

It's so much easier if we know in advance when and what. It can't happen with everything but it can with our virtual book club.

We've already discussed Son of a Witch (sort of). Check it out on our blog and add your comments.

The next one is The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. Post your thoughts/comments at any time.

Now is the list for the rest of the year. Hope you can attend. Check our MyFamily site for chat information.

July 18
Discussion: Authors we like - Its summer time and may be difficult to get all our reading done so let's talk about who we like to read. We have some sisters from other chapters who are authors. A sister's brother wrote a children's book. And we have bloggers.

Georgie Anne Geyer (Gamma, Northwestern) - Journalist
Gail Henion Sheehy (Alpha Iota, Vermont) - Author and Contributor to Vanity Fair
Sherron Watkins (Alpha Phi, Texas) - co-Author of Power Failure: The Inside Story of the Collapseof Enron
Sharon L Lechter (Beta Eta, FSU) is the co-author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad series
Maria Telli Bailey (Beta Eta, FSU) authored Trillion Dollar Moms and Marketing to Moms and others
EmilyAnn Shropshire Moses (Beta Eta, FSU) co-authored Opposite Schmopposite: Opposites Attract but Complements Last with her husband, Paul Moses.
Sallie Hughes (Gamma Iota, UF) authored Newsrooms in Conflict: Journalism and the Democratization of Mexico.
Faith Sappington Whiteside Bingham (Beta Eta, FSU) wrote Faith in the Kitchen.

John Reardon, Pam Reardon’s brother: The South Overlook Oaks

Blog by Nivi Engineer - http://brainhickey.blogspot.com/

September 12 - *note date change*
Harry Potter Series especially Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Book 7, the last and final book, releases July 21. Hopefully this is enough time to finish the book. Let's talk about the entire series. If you haven't finished the book, let me know at the beginning of the chat and I'll give spoiler alerts.

October 10 - Let's get back to reading a book.
The Girls by Lori Lansen

November 28
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
It was the National Best Seller a couple of years ago. The movie is being released November 2nd. If you don't have time to read the book, watch the movie.

January 8, 2008 - Let's start the new year with a new book.
Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively