Cloudstreet by Tim Winton

I must break down and tell everyone the truth! This was the first book club book I was not able to finish! We have had an incredibly busy summer and this book was just not grabbing me on my few spare moments. I read about half and watched the mini series to finish off the book. I was able to stay up late and watch the series since reading just put me to sleep! This book took place in Australia. We decorated, dined and played just like the Australians. The host has roots in Australia s

o she was able to decorate with coins, table cloths, banners and boomerangs straight from that Country. It was fun to see everything and have her share some history with us. We went with an all white clothing theme to resemble cricket players. We had shish kabobs on the barbie, played croquet and enjoyed visiting outdoors late into the evening. We had homemade wine to take home, homemade garbage disposal fresheners, jars with Australian animals on the lid and Australian Fish.

Fly Away by Kristin Hannah

We knew this book was a must as soon as we heard it was coming out!  If you have been keeping up with this blog you already know Firefly Lane was the book that started the Firefly Book Club.  The main character in the first book had breast cancer so we went pink with everything this meeting.  We had fancy pink drinks, pink dresses, pink flowers and favors.  Katie made everyone beautiful pink earrings. The host bought each member a scarf from Kohl's cares which donates 100% of the net profit to the fight against breast cancer.  http://findnsave.shelbyvilledailyunion.com/offer/Kohls-Cares-Jennifer-Lopez-Floral-Scarf/26493723/

The give back project for this book was Breast Oasis. We donated new or gently used bras to woman in need. We received a really nice thank you letter with handwritten signatures from all of the staff! We will definitely do this give back project again in the future! We had amazing food and enjoyed eating outside.  This book was about friendships and how sometimes friends become family.

Buffalo Girls by Larry McMurtry

I must admit the theme was picked before the book on this one!  We knew we wanted Wild West dress code and for the book to center around a group of woman.  We searched and searched for the perfect fit and Buffalo Girls came out the winner.  I think everyone enjoyed this story.  The story is real people but not real stories.  We enjoyed researching what was true or false.  The host created a realistic saloon with swinging doors and signs.  She covered the walls with old photographs of the characters in the book.  Jen brought a stuffed Beaver on loan from a friend!  Read the book and you will get it!  It was part entertainment for the night and made for many photo ops!  It was HUGE!  Adorable favor bags were given to each guest with a mini Jack and Coke, old fashioned candy, Zucchini bread in a mason jar and homemade bath bombs! 
                               

The host also had wanted posters made for each member with crazy names and photos!  They were funny and hilarious to find mixed in with the old images.  We asked a few folks to trap us a Beaver for dinner but we were not so lucky!  Plan in advance if you decide to read this book.  You need more than a week to get Beaver on the menu! 

Rockettes, Rockstars and Rockbottom by Keltie Colleen

This book was picked entirely for the theme potential!  Seriously, we had to throw in a cool Rockette costume to all the book club fun!  The decorations, dancing, costumes and New York Style food was a blast.  We had such a great time at this meeting!  We felt like serious Rockette dancers until we tried to take a picture lined up and all kicking our feet at the same exact time!  So this whole Rockette thing is not as easy as it looks!  We had loads of fun trying though and lots of memories that only bring us closer together! 

                                        

I guess we need to talk about the book since this is a book club blog!  It was a super easy fast read and a bit annoying.  We did immediately research her three unnamed guys after reading.  She teases us with thinking they are mega stars by not offering up who they are just referring to them as Singer, Dreamer and Dasher or was it Dancer?!?  I created a quiz all about the Rockettes since this book wasn't really a discussion piece.  The quiz was fun and had a fancy New Yorkish style cupcake for the champion.  Well, a cupcake from the local bakery because we live far from the real thing!  Sample questions from the quiz... How tall do you have to be to be a Rockette? 5'6 to 5'10 1/2.  What two forms of dance should you be highly skilled in? Jazz & Tap. 
                              

My husband made decorative stars for all the members from cereal boxes!  We also made one of a kind Firefly bleach shirts for all the Rockettes at the meeting.  

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

We love a free book contest!  We all have been winners a time or two!  Katie won each of us a copy of Life After Life.  Check out Reading Group Guides or Goodreads if you want to enter a few.  We seem to have good luck at either of those. 

This book makes you think!  It definitely makes for a good discussion.  Most of us really liked it.  Watch out!  You might even want to re-read it!  The book can be read and enjoyed or delved deeper into and studied. 

We had decent food choices from the book to have a sit down meal together.  We had Salmon, seed loaf and German pastries from a local German Coffee Shop. 

We collected change for a give back project this month.  My cousin is heading to Romania for a mission trip so we were able to help a local girl make a difference in the world.


*What if we had a chance to do it again and again, until we finally get it right?  Wouldn't that be wonderful?   -Kate Atkinson, Life after Life

Fireflies in December by Jennifer Erin Valent

I can't believe it has been three years of FUN and reading!  Oh, the memories we have made.  I am not sure where I would be without these amazing woman and wonderful books.  I was very sick this month so we had to celebrate a little late.  We wore the signature Firefly color blue and decorated the same.  We talked about Favorite books from the year.  These is My Words was popular amongst all of us.  Gone Girl and The Shoemaker's Wife seemed to be the runners up.  We talked about our favorite costumes.  Hmmmm....this one was tough.  My personal favorite costumes were The Great Gatsby and Gone Girl!  The Amish outfits lost the costume competition.  We all seemed in agreement on that one.  We also discussed favorite laugh out loud moments, foods and memories from the year. 

One member mailed us all forms to fill out. This helped  get us thinking about the above questions before we met.   Everyone got a handmade silver firefly charm to celebrate the occasion.  Maybe on the 5th anniversary we will go crazy and get tattoos!   

Hercule Poirot's Christmas: A Hercule Poirot Mystery by Agatha Christie

This book was perfect for getting us in the mood for a couples Murder Mystery party!  Crazy Christmas season was coming so we needed a fun and silly party to just relax and have fun.  This was a great escape from reality to play parts, dress up and be silly with friends!  We have had trouble in the past finding good Christmas books that are not too cheesy!  So if you need a good Christmas pick we would all recommend this one.  We all had a great time and enjoyed the Murder Mystery party experience.  The men were great sports and surprised us all with their acting skills.  It was fun to try but we probably won't be doing it again anytime soon.