The True Story of Hansel and Gretel 3/25/08

Ah, The True Story of Hansel and Gretel: a novel of war and survival by Loise Murphy, while the story premise seemed spot on interesting. The horror and intensity of the subject matter made it difficult for many to push through to the end. I will say that those that could stomach the peril thought the book was worth the read. There were just too many of us that couldn't recommend it to others.

April's Book will be Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. (287 pages)

We need to vote for our next meeting date of either April 15(tax day) or April 22?
Please post for a vote on the day and place of April's book club. Mahalo!

The Sunflower 2/19/08

What a wonderful productive evening at Book Club! Thank you to everyone for all your great input.

Cortney may be our first published author. . .of a cook book. ;-) *hint *hint - Yum - I need the recipe for your Curry Pasta. Along with Cortney, Moana, Rhona, Jane, Codee and I talked about The Sunflower by Richard Paul Evans.

Perfect love casteth out fear. 1 John 4:18

What a nice, feel-good, inspirational book. We all loved the chapter headings, the author's style, and felt it was worth visiting his work again. (*read* check out MAY's selection)

**** Joy's review on www.goodnessmatters.com****
Knowing goodness matters to so many people makes it easy to recommend The Sunflower by Richard Paul Evans. It is such an uplifting, simple, good read.  Reaching the last page made me wish it could continue on - and even with the brevity of the tale it left such a lasting impression. At the heart of the story is a very real orphanage in Peru named "El Girasol" - The Sunflower. Paul Cook an American ER doctor, gave up his career and selflessly became the orphanage Director. A young woman, Christine Hollister, who's heartsick after her fiance broke off their engagement agrees to go on a humanitarian expedition with her best friend Christine. During this expedition, a beautiful story unfolds about service, children, sacrifice and love. The whole story is sumptuously written with thought provoking quotations from Paul's diary at the beginning of each chapter.  

*Paul Cook's Diary*
The surest way to minimize your own burdens is to carry someone else's. (ch. 6)

Today I overheard an American teenager comparing her deprivation to that of our children, because her parents would only buy her a used car. There are none so impoverished as those who do not acknowledge the abundance of their lives. (ch. 9)

Feelings can be like wild animals - we underrate how fierce they are until we've opened their cages. (ch. 12)

The more I study history the more I realize how little mankind has changed. There are no new scripts, just different actors. (ch.14)

I have come to believe that the only true way we can serve God is to serve His children. (ch. 20)
*~*~*~*~*~*
"Chocolate is God's apology for broccoli" (ha!)

From reading The Sunflower I understood how the value of service, sacrifice and generosity to others can have a healing affect in our own life. Oh, I want to pick up the book and start it again right from the beginning! ~Joy  updated 8/19/2011


And. . .drum roll please. . .We have the next 6 months of book picks. =D

March 25th (*note: 4th Tuesday)
The True Story of Hansel and Gretel: a novel of war and survival by Loise Murphy

April: Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

May: The Last Promise by Richard Paul Evans

June: The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

July: The Appeal by John Grisham **Update** The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

**UPDATE**:
August: These is My Words by Nancy E. Turner

September: Breaking Dawn (Book 4 of the Twilight Series) by Stephenie Meyer
~release date August 2nd~

Can't wait to hear your comments. As for those of you who had to be away from us this evening - without question - Ladies, you were missed.

Next Book Club Meeting: March 25, 2008 at Cortney Nadig's home.
****Last Minute switch**** Book Club will be meeting at Rhona's home 3/25 at 7 PM.

Love Comes Softly and a Farewell to Elizabeth

Thank you Rhona for opening your home for our book club meeting. Our meeting this month allowed us to bid Aloha 'Oe to Elizabeth Baldwin. We'll miss you so much! Thank goodness for email! Cyberspeakingly, you'll still be close! I was about to list all the gals that have moved away that we still keep up with, however. . .there's just too many and I'd end up bawling!!!

This was a great meeting for book discussion. We talked about "Love Comes Softly" by Janette Oke. This is the first book of 8 in the series:
The first date is the book publication date the second is the date the book was made into a movie.

1. Love Comes Softly (1979) (2003)
2. Love's Enduring Promise (1979) (2004)
3. Love's Long Journey (1982) (2005)
4. Love's Abiding Joy (1983) (2006)
5. Love's Unending Legacy (1984) (2007)
6. Love's Unfolding Dream (1987) (2007)
7. Love Takes a Wing (1988) (2009)
8. Love Finds a Home (1989) (2009)

***update9/20/2011***ALL the books have now been made into Hallmark movies. The most recent Love Finds a Home(2009) And now there is a 9th movie called Love Begins(2011) a prequel to Love Comes Softly*** AND  a 10th movie Loves Everlasting Courage(2011) premiering on the Hallmark Channel October 1, 2011 - which is also a prequel to Love Comes Softly.
They are really beautiful stories. So read, then watch or just watch. ;-)

For February we will be reading "The Sunflower" by Richard Paul Evans and the February 19th meeting will be at Joy Paet's home. Yehaw! ;-)

****9/20/2011 update*** Ladies of the Palehua Ward Relief Society had a retreat this past weekend and we watched Love Comes Softly(2003), ate snacks and just enjoyed each others' company like we do so well. Such a wonderful movie and a fine adaptation of the book***

It's Christmas at Palehua Book Club

December's book club meeting was held at Jane Gorton's home. She did such an amazing job making us feel festive!
Amber, Trisha, Sarah, Jane, Joy, Elizabeth, DeAnna, Cortney, Moana

Sarah, Jane and . . . mmmmmmm, Yum!

The gals!........................Sarah and Joy

Amber and Trisha..............Moana, Cortney and Trisha

Molly, Cortney and Sarah...............Elizabeth and Cortney

December's book was: Thorn In My Heart by Carol Higgs
For January we will be reading Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke.

A Girl Named Zippy 11/20/07

Thank you Molly for hosting Book Club this month.
A big welcome to Aubrey Carson! Thanks Trisha for 'recruiting' your cousin. HOW FUN!

We had a good turnout:
In addition to Molly Koch, Aubrey Carson, Trisha Sessions, we also had Cortney Nadig, Amber Standage, Codee Franco, Jane Gorton, Sarah Ohki, Joy Paet, Rhona Slingerland, and Tori Sessions.

Check out the review on Goodreads.com for A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, December 20 at Jane Gorton's home to talk about Thorn in my Heart by Carol Higgs.

Jane Eyre and Farewell for Debbie Sell - 10/16/07

Thank you Trish Sessions for opening up your lovely home for our get together.
Molly Koch, Tori Sessions, Elizabeth and Ethan Baldwin,
Trish Sessions, Sarah Ohki, Jessica Rogers, Moana Piena,
Codee Franco, Jane Gorton, Amber Standage, Cortney Nadig,
Debbie Sell, Leticia Davis, Val Diamond, Keri Magaoay, Joy Paet















Our October Book: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

"'You have saved my life: I have a please in owning you so immense a debt. I cannot say more. Nothing else that has being would have been tolerable to me in the character of creditor for such an obligation: but you: it is different;--I feel your benefits no burden, Jane...I knew,' he continued, 'you would do me good in some way, at some time;--I saw it in your eyes when I first beheld you: their expression and smile did not...strike delight to my very inmost heart so for nothing...My cherished preserver, good night!'" Chapter 15

November's book:
A Girl Named Zippy - Growing Up Small in Mooreland, Indiana by Haven Kimmel

Thanks Molly Koch for offering your home!

**THIS JUST IN** from Moana Piena:

PEANUT BUTTER HERSHEY KISSES

I first tasted these at a Relief Society movie night thing and later got the recipe from a friend. Sinfully delicious!

1 bag (13 oz.) Hershey’s kisses

1 c. Karo light corn syrup

½ c. sugar

2 c. peanut butter (18 oz. jar)

5 c. Rice Krispies

Unwrap Hershey’s kisses. Put Rice Krispies in a large mixing bowl. Simmer syrup and sugar until sugar dissolves. Add peanut butter and mix. Pour over cereal and mix. Flatten small portion of mix, place kiss in center and shape into balls.

*Congratulations to Val Diamond and her family! Krystal Diamond arrived on October 24, 2007!*

Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas 9/18/07

At Amber Standage's home.

Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson

In attendance (remind me if I'm mistaken):
Amber Standage
Trish Sessions
Moana Piena
Tori Sessions (Nate)
Debbie Sell
Molly Koch
Jane Gorton
Elizabeth Baldwin
Codee Franco
De Dotson
Joy Paet

Amber, you just out did yourself with your beautiful handout and table display. Thank you for opening your home to us.


A made for TV movie was released in 2005. I highly recommend watching the movie after reading the book. I thought it was really good. The actor that plays Matt, Johnathon Schaech, was really terrific playing the man in head-over-heals love and anguishing loss.

Redeeming Love 5/17/07

At Molly Koch's home.

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

It was only a matter of time a blog was organized for our Book Club. . .so why not me?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 8/21/07

Hi Fellow Book Clubbers!
Are you ready for Book Club again? Love Harry Potter??
This is the night for you!

Come hobb-nobb with the Muggles at the Paet Home. Tomorrow, Tues., August 21, at 7 PM. Bring a treat. There will be lots to talk about as we discuss book 7.

At Joy Paet's home.

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

In attendance (trying to remember),
Amber Standage
Rhona Slingerland
Keri Magaoay
Aisha Magaoay
Codee Franco
Sarah Ohki
Trish Sessions
Leticia Davis
Jane Gorton
Molly Koch
Joy Paet

Here are some quotes and questions we talked about from the evening:
What would your happiest memory be to summon a Patronus charm?

What was the last word, at the last chapter of Deathly Hallows?

Was there a particular part that brought you to tears?

Professor Snape, evil or not?

At Kings Cross, what was the ‘child’ making noise under a chair?

Why does Voldy believe that he is the only person ever to have discovered the deepest secrets of Hogwarts (the Room of Requirement as a hiding place), when the room is so clearly full of centuries of hidden objects??

"Aren't you two ever going to read Hogwarts: A History?"
"What's the point? You know it all by heart, we can just ask you."

''What's that?'' said Ron, pointing at a large dish of some sort of shellfish stew that stood beside a large steak-and-kidney pudding.
''Bouillabaisse,'' said Hermione.
''Bless you,'' said Ron. (HP4, I just really like this quote)

" Pathetic! With the whole wide world of ear-related humour before you, you go for holey?"

In the chapter, the 7 Potters, why does Harry's wand act by itself and cast a spell that Harry doesn't even know?

Who is your favorite character? Why?

"Of course this is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on Earth should that mean it is not real?"

Can you name all 7 Horcruxes?

Who is RAB?

Accio a summoning charm which enables a wizard to call anything to themselves, even if it is far away.

Avada Kedavra, or the killing Curse, is one of the Unforgivable Curses that witches and wizards must not use. It causes the instant death that cannot be traced to any other source. It is punishable by a lifetime sentence in Azkaban.

Crucio, or the Cruciatus Curse, is one of the Unforgivable Curses that witches and wizards must not use. It causes intolerable pain that slowly drives its victim insane. It is punishable by a lifetime sentence in Azkaban.

Expelliarmus a disarming spell and is used to knock the weapon out of the opponent's hand.

Imperio, or the Imperius Curse, is one of the Unforgivable Curses that witches and wizards must not use. It causes the victim to be completely under the control of the wizard that caste the spell. It is punishable by a lifetime sentence in Azkaban.

Rictusempra is the tickling charm and causes the receiver to laugh uncontrollably.

Wingardium Leviosa is a levitation spell. It is used to make other objects levitate.

The following are our upcoming Book Picks:
September: Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson
October: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
November: A girl named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
December: Thorn in my Heart by Caol Higgs
January: Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke

Thanks Jane for organizing our choices.

For those that are keeping track, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows movie will be released in 2010.

Farewell for Caddie Welling 7/31/07

At Jane Gorton's home.



Caddie Welling, Molly Koch, Jessica Rogers, Jane Gorton, Leticia Davis, Sarah Ohki, Codee and Herbie Franco, Debbie Sell, Rhona Slingerland, Joy Paet

We also wanted to share our goodbye's for Melissa Snow. We all hope she is doing well now in Idaho! And congratulations on your baby!

Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix 7/21/07 *Movie Night* FOURTH ANNIVERSARY

It's been four years of reading together! Let's celebrate!



This month is Harry Potter book five - The Order of the Phoenix.
(and at 870 pages, y'all better get crackin'!)
Then on Saturday evening, July 21st let's go see the movie .





So happy reading - for some of us rereading - or just wait for the movie. =)