Monday, DECEMBER 29th - Jan - HOUSE AT THE CORNER OF BITTER AND SWEET by Jamie Ford

Henry Lee is still mourning the death of his wife when he learns that the belongings of Japanese Americans hidden in the basement of Seattle's Panama Hotel for decades have been discovered. Henry is drawn to the basement, and what he's searching for there opens a door he thought he had closed forever. The story switches back and forth between 1986 and the 1940s, when a 12-year-old Henry attending an American school (he's "scholarshipping" as his father likes to say) meets another international student working in the school kitchen. Keiko is Japanese American, the enemy according to Henry's father, but the two become best friends before her family is imprisoned in one of the relocation camps.


Christmas Meeting will be at 1pm on Monday, December 29th
Gift Theme:  Bring one of your favorite $10 indulgences for our exchange (i.e.:  book, movie tickets, lotion, gift card, music, food or ???)
We all had a great time at Jan's.  After a delicious Lasagna/Salad lunch we did our book summary and gift drawing.  All went home with some of Jan's orange marmalade and a bag of clementines. 

NOVEMBER 17th - The Timekeeper's Son by Mike E. Miller - Linda

What would you do if you could start your life over again? What if you didn’t have a choice?

That’s what happens to Andy Meyers. He has all the normal trappings of life: a beautiful wife, a nice house, and a good job. But all that vanishes when he wakes to find himself reliving his own childhood. He is suddenly nine-years-old again, and he is poised to reenact a terrible chain of events that altered his life forever.

But that’s just the beginning. Things get even more complicated when Andy discovers an impossible note. Someone knows he has come back. Someone who doesn’t want him to change anything. And they will stop at nothing to keep him from it.

As Andy starts to unravel his own past, he begins to find that things are much different than he ever imagined. His family has a secret. A secret so big that it could change everything.

DATE:  Monday, November 17th at 1 pm - Venita Rhea's in Rocklin
Nancy, Frances and Rachelle weren't able to be there.  Everyone attending had read the book.

October - Rachelle - THE NOVEMBER MAN by Bill Granger

THE NOVEMBER MAN by Bill Granger
(originally published as THERE ARE NO SPIES)

Meet Devereaux.  Covert operative from the top secret R Section.An intelligence agency founded by President Kennedy after the CIA botched the bay of pigs operation.R Sections function is to essentially spy on the spies.  After receiving orders to go to England to meet with an informant demanding $30,000 for information about an alleged plot to assassinate a high ranking member of the British Royal Family, the reluctant Devereaux is drawn into a complex web of deceipt, treachery,and inter-agency backstabbing of the most lethal varieties.  A no nonsense character, Devereaux has many enemies{or are they friends?} to contend with, not least of which is Soviet agent Desinov who always seems to appear at crucial times.  Who are the plotters of the assassination and what are their motivations? Is it the IRA, KGB, CIA, or some other unknown entity? The story unfolds with brisk pacing and an exceptional feel for the dialects of Ireland. The concept of the upstart R Section is an interesting one for it makes for natural intrigue and suspense.  Who are the good guys and who are the villains? The line is most assuredly blurred.  Author Bill Granger invests his protagonist Devereaux with an angst and cynicism that can only come from having been in the game for many years.

Meeting Date:  Monday, October 20th at 1 pm:  Everyone but Rachelle and Erin made it today.  Nancy's sister Eileen joined us as well.  Mixed reviews on the book and will be interesting to see the movie version.