Spoiler Alert Tuesday/Winner

Wow! It's already the end of September, which means you are all hopefully finishing up

Splitting Harriet.

Since this is the last Spoiler Alert for Harriet, we're just wanting to know what you thought

of the book?

What did you think of Harriet and her relationship with God? She read the Bible every day, but she didn't accept the forgiveness of God.

Is this something you struggle with also?

Splitting Harriet is categorized as Christian Fiction. Would you be interested in reading more Christian Fiction?

Winner!!

Melissa @ Nunnally Family Fun, come on down!

Random.org provided us with the number 3.

Keep coming back for your chance to win, the odds are pretty good, we never get even 10 comments! Ha!

Announcement

The votes are in for the October Read With Girlfriends book!

You all chose:

Publisher's Weekly Starred Review

What perfect timing for this optimistic, uplifting debut novel (and maiden publication of Amy Einhorn's new imprint) set during the nascent civil rights movement in Jackson, Miss., where black women were trusted to raise white children but not to polish the household silver. Eugenia Skeeter Phelan is just home from college in 1962, and, anxious to become a writer, is advised to hone her chops by writing about what disturbs you. The budding social activist begins to collect the stories of the black women on whom the country club sets relies and mistrusts enlisting the help of Aibileen, a maid who's raised 17 children, and Aibileen's best friend Minny, who's found herself unemployed more than a few times after mouthing off to her white employers. The book Skeeter puts together based on their stories is scathing and shocking, bringing pride and hope to the black community, while giving Skeeter the courage to break down her personal boundaries and pursue her dreams. Assured and layered, full of heart and history, this one has bestseller written all over it.

This book is only available in hard cover right now.

Our suggestion would be to borrow it from the Library if they have it in or buy it used from your local used bookstore or Amazon.com.

Click on the book to go directly to Amazon's 'The Help' page.

Thank you to everyone who voted!

Spoiler Alert Tuesday/Giveaway

Alright ladies, you'll have to forgive me for being late on this.

As you can see, if you've been watching this blog, when left to my own devices I

tend to get "off task."

So, after getting my stuff together, without further ado, here is your Giveaway and Spoiler Alert!

Giveaway!!

Cute, funky note cards with matching ribbon and 2 matching sticky notepads.

You can tuck it all into the little blue tote that you'll also get!

Spoilers Below!!

At the height of Harriet's rebellion, her brother suffers "fall out" from her behavior. Have you ever been held accountable for something that your friend or relative may have done?

Have you been stereotyped or do you stereotype people?

Would you have immediately discounted Maddox as a "bad boy" because of his appearance?

Check back tomorrow to see what book you all chose for next month!!

Interview With A Girlfriend

Today's Interview is with Mag from Sitting On The Moodswing At The Playground.

Mag is awesome; she has the cutest little boy who she refers to as Bug on her blog, she's a great writer and is very funny!

Tell us what is your favorite genre of books:

I mostly read fiction, mysteries and short story collections. Sometimes I'll pick up a memoir but only read non-fiction every few years (sometimes nonfiction seems too much like homework). And if I'm feeling really brave I'll read something scary...but only in the summer when the days are longer. (I know, I'm a big baby.)
Who is your favorite author:Not one favorite, but I'll race to the bookstore (or amazon) when these writers have a new book out: Alice Hoffman, Ann Patchett, Anne Tyler, Elizabeth McCracken, Laura Moriarty, Jhumpa Lahiri, Leif Enger and Brady Udall.

What do you think of the movies that are based on books:
I often think that movies from books are disappointing because they can't cover the depth of characters the way a book does. Or the ending is changed in the movie--ACK! I once heard an author say that the movie made from her book was a nice movie...but it wasn't the book she had written.

I like creating the look and feel of the characters in my head as I'm reading. Often when I hear who's playing a character in the movie I think "NO, NO, NO--she should have curly hair or he should be taller (or younger, or [insert anything here])!" because those are the physical features of the characters that I created when I read the story.

What book have you read that has stuck with you the most:
I loved Ella Minnow Pea because it was so clever and original. The characters communicate via letters and notes. As letters of the alphabet drop from a famous statue in town, the people quit using the dropped letters in their correspondence so after awhile you're reading phonetically. (That description doesn't do the book justice--trust me--it's a great, creative book and a fun read.)

One of my favorite books (and one of my favorite movies--so there--I've contradicted everything I said in the previous question) is A Room with a View. I read it 20 years ago and immediately knew that if I ever had a daughter I would name her Lucy after Lucy Honeychurch.
Now, tell us about your blog. What do you think might set it apart from others and why should we love you:
My blog doesn't have a point (is that a bad thing?). I write whatever pops into my head and sometimes that includes my husband and our two-year-old, our French bulldog, books, Bruce Springsteen, food (and by that I mean chocolate and/or wine) and grumblings about the never-ending construction on my street. Uh oh, that sounds really boring. How about this...I never know what's going to be on my blog so stop by and say hi and maybe you can come up with a reason to love me.

Thank you so much, Mag! Great Interview; I know I'll be putting these authors on my "must read" list!

Go visit Mag at Sitting On The Moodswing At The Playground!

Spoiler Alert Tuesday/Winner/Announcement!!

Did anyone notice that we didn't post last week?

Well, I guess it's good, because 1)we didn't disappoint anyone, BUT 2)maybe nobody cares?!

Moving on: we'd like to get an idea of how many of you are reading this month's selection. Please leave us a comment so we know. We just want to get a feel for how many people are

reading with us.

If you don't know where to get the books we choose or if your library doesn't have it, you can always click on our picture of the book, it links to Amazon where you can usually buy it for cheap. Did you notice on the left side of the page that we linked up places where you can trade books for free? These websites are pretty cool; feel free to check them out!

Winner!!!

The stamp set goes to #5, courtesy of Random.org.

Ali, I hope you're back from Denmark, so we can get these out to you!

Announcement!!!

You are going to decide what we'll read in October!

On the right sidebar you'll see our 2 book picks; go vote on which one you want to read and we'll announce the winner in one week!

Spoilers Below!!!
This book brings up a lot of questions regarding worship.

Harriet is struggling to let go of the "old school" worship practices and the more contemporary that her church is moving to. What do you think?

Do you have a preference for old school versus contemporary?

Is Harriet hanging on to the old school ways because she feels guilty for her wild ways as a teenager?

Interview With A Girlfriend

This week our Interview is with Vivienne from The V Spot. She is hilarious and is never afraid to offer good grammar or spelling tips! Just kidding...well, not really, she really will give you tips if you need em. She offers a lot of different things on her blog, though. Crafting, decorating, money saving tips, and funny stories about her 4 (four!) boys and her Handsome Hubby. Her family is a riot, and her littlest one, Grant, usually provides the best blog fodder for his momma!

Tell us what is your favorite genre of books:
Hmm. I think it may be easier to tell you the genres that I don't like.

Definitely not a fan of the romance novel. I'm not talking about chick lit where the quirky, lovable heroine gets the guy. I'm talking about the bodice-ripping schmaltz where the heroine is always in some sort of danger and needs to be rescued. I hate that whole "Penelope Pitstop, tied to the railroad tracks, is rescued by shirtless hunk and she thanks him with her creamy thighs and heaving breast." Bleh.

I also have a really hard time with science fiction. Science and math. No thanks for that. (Although The Chronicles Of Narnia were some of my favorites as a kid {OK, even now} and I loved The Hobbit. I guess those would qualify more as Fantasy, maybe?)

While I have read books with heavier subject matter, I usually lean towards something on the lighter, more humorous side. For example, I read The Lovely Bones and The Kite Runner. Both were great stories and were well written, but I felt I had to slog my way through them because of the subject matter. Books provide an escape for me. I would like to escape to somewhere nice.

What do you think of the movies that are based on books:
For the most part, I wind up a little disappointed. I can think of only two books where the movie was as good as or better than the book, and both were written by Stephen King: The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption (based on the short story Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.) For the most part, movies based on Stephen King's books come off as pretty cheesy. He is such a gifted writer that he could make you afraid of a box of Cheerios in your pantry, should he decide to do that. A scary box of Cheerios just doesn't translate well onto the big screen.

Do I still go and see the movies based on books I've read? Of course I do. Then I bitch and complain that it wasn't true to the book. It's tradition.

What book have you read that has stuck with you the most:
There have been several that I read over and over again (almost everything by Stephen King, the Little House series, The Chronicles of Narnia...) but there are two books that have stayed with me the most:

The Egg And I by Betty MacDonald is a funny memoir and I developed some of my writing style and some of the phrasing I use in conversation as a result of reading that book as a child. I re-read it at least once a year. It is my go-to comfort book.

The other book is A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith. I can't remember when I first read it and am not sure why it sticks with me the way that it does. It may have something to do with the idea that relationships and growing up are difficult no matter the circumstances or the era. It is a must read.

Now, tell us about your blog.What do you think might set it apart from others and why should we love you:
My blog is a little bit of everything, I think, because I'm a little bit of everything. I do crafty things, I decorate my house, I yell at my kids, I cook, funny things happen, my kids do dorky things, I love my husband, I have a great family and great friends.... all of these things serve as fodder for my posts.

I have always liked to write and even enjoyed the writing process in school. (Sick, huh?)My blog provides me with an outlet for writing but also serves to chronicle the wacky things these kids do, since I am a Non-Scrapbooking Mom.

Why should you love me?

Because you'll often have opportunities to say, "Damn! I'm glad that didn't happen to me!" or "I'm glad I'm not her." etc.

That was a great Interview, thank you Viv! Go visit The V Spot and let her know you stopped by!

***Alright Girlfriends, we really, really need people to keep sending us interviews, please! Just copy and answer the questions off of any of our Interviews, the questions are all the same. Send them to readwithgirlfriends@yahoo.com.***

Spoiler Alert Tuesday/Giveaway

Since it's the 1st of the month we didn't think a Spoiler Alert on the new book would be a good idea. We haven't even started it yet, so we figure you haven't either! Plus, with school starting here in Oregon this week, we are very busy!

Instead we are just going to do an overall review of last months pick, Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella.


Get your commenting on!


Don't forget, new month, new book! Our book pick for this month is:

We have put links up to places you can get the book on the internet. Or click on the picture and it will take you to Amazon.

Giveaway!!!

Here is today's giveaway! Two wooden backed rubber stamps and a black inkpad for all of you card makers, scrapbookers, or just anyone crafty; this one's for you!