Hayley's Pick {A Reliable Wife}

Month Three! Our second get to together was wonderful! The cake was fabulous Kristin! And such a good idea to print out the discussion questions! This book was a very interesting one to correlate to our own lives! Now, we are on month three and its Hayley's Pick:


He placed a notice in a Chicago paper, an advertisement for "a reliable wife." She responded, saying that she was "a simple, honest woman." She was, of course, anything but honest, and the only simple thing about her was her single-minded determination to marry this man and then kill him, slowly and carefully, leaving her a wealthy widow, able to take care of the one she truly loved.

What Catherine Land did not realize was that the enigmatic and lonely Ralph Truitt had a plan of his own. And what neither anticipated was that they would fall so completely in love.

Filled with unforgettable characters, and shimmering with color and atmosphere, A Reliable Wife is an enthralling tale of love and madness, of longing and murder. 




{when & where}Hayley's living room~Saturday, April 24th~2:00pm

{discussion questions}

Here are some discussion questions to think about...If you have finished the book already like Hayley...Goodness you were quick! hehe! May Contain Spoilers!

1. LOOK AGAIN really examines the notion of parenthood. What do you think makes someone a parent? Do you think the bond a child has with a non-biological parent can be as strong as one they would have with a biological parent? Why?

2. Lisa's favorite quote is one from Eleanor Roosevelt, "A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until she's in hot water." How does Ellen prove that she is a strong woman? Does Ellen remind you of anyone you know? Could you relate to Ellen, and did you like her? Why or why not?

3. As a journalist, Ellen has a heightened need to find the truth. In this circumstance, was this a good thing, or a bad thing? What would you have done in Ellen's place? Would you have looked for the truth, even if it meant losing your son? What do you think were Ellen's motivations?

4. The idea of "letting go" a child helped shape the whole premise of the book for Lisa, which led her to thinking about who really "owns" a child. Who do you think "owns" a child, and what exactly does that mean? If children actually "own" themselves, what then is the role of parents, and what are the limitations on parenthood?

5. If the child you raised and loved with all your heart actually belonged to someone else, and you were the only one who knew, would you give the child up? How do you think those around you would react? Who in your life would agree with your decision, and who would have done the opposite?

6. How would you describe Ellen's relationship with her father and how do you think it changed over the course of the book? Ellen considered her mother her go to parent. Do you think everyone has a go to parent, and what defines them as such?

7. What effect do you think all the drama in Will's life will have on him in the future? Do you think things ultimately worked out to his benefit or detriment and why?

8. How do you feel about single parents adopting children? What kind of, if any, additional requirements do you think should be put on single parents before they can adopt? How do you feel about open adoption? Is it better or worse for children? Is it better or worse for the adoptive parents? The biological parents? At what age do you think a child should be told they are adopted?

Kristin's Pick {Look Again}

Here we are on our second month!...I just want to thank everyone for the amazing time we had at our very first book club event! The spiked tea, cookies, and wonderful conversation was very refreshing! We are all so lucky to have all found each other! 


Kristin picked our second book and it looks like something very interesting and engrossing! Lisa Scottoline's newest novel "Look Again" is about.....

When reporter Ellen Gleeson gets a “Have You Seen This Child?” flyer in the mail, she almost throws it away. But something about it makes her look again, and her heart stops—the child in the photo is identical to her adopted son, Will. Her every instinct tells her to deny the similarity between the boys, because she knows her adoption was lawful. But she’s a journalist and won’t be able to stop thinking about the photo until she figures out the truth. And she can’t shake the question: if Will rightfully belongs to someone else, should she keep him or give him up? She investigates, uncovering clues no one was meant to discover, and when she digs too deep, she risks losing her own life—and that of the son she loves.

Lisa Scottoline breaks new ground in Look Again, a thriller that’s both heart-stopping and heart-breaking, and sure to have new fans and book clubs buzzing.

{when & where}Kristin's living room~Saturday, March 27th~2:00pm

Concluding {A Thousand Splendid Suns}

This book was both hard to read and hard to put down...We all got a new perspective on what has happened in the middle east...I do not think we, as Americans put much thought into the real people who have lived through and are still living through such a horrendous environment. It also really made me think about how lucky we really are...living our entire lives in a world that believes in us as women...I know that it hasn't been forever that we have been able to be so independent...but it absolutely has never been as horrible as the life Mariam and Laila had to endure! 

This story was a story of compassion between women...A story of resilience...During my undergraduate days I took a child psych course on development in which we spent some time discussing several books we read on child resiliency...There were many debates on what causes one child to endure so much and then have the ability to overcome it and be a successful adult and then another child to completely fail later on in life...There is this notion that children are resilient and given certain circumstances can prosper in the face of adversity...This story not only shows the resiliency of Laila's children, but that of herself and Tariq. There is something in all of us that can outshine all the evil in the world and gives us the ability to rise up and go on...


This book crippled me with tears and then gave me an inner strength that feels so beautiful.