Book Club Nuts and Bolts

We will be reading one book a month. We will have weekly group discussions if you are interested with a final discussion at the end of the month. The new book choice for the following month will be posted at least two weeks before the beginning of the new month. You can pick and choose if you want to participate. We will have at least one giveaway each month for our readers! If you have any book suggestions, please email either Jessica or MiMi. We are in new territory, so we might have to work out some kinks as we go along. We hope you make new friends and have fun!

Our new email address: readwithgirlfriends@yahoo.com

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

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.***

9 comments:

  1. I'm the first to comment, nah na nah na nah naaaah...
    I know, I'm a loser. Anyway, I LURVE VIV.
    I have put her favorite books on my list of books to check out! Or buy...depends on if our library has em. : )

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  2. She is hilarious! I always love reading her blog!

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  3. I really like these interviews and I am headed to her blog now to check it out. Hoping my little man keeps napping a little while longer so I can have time to read some of her blog.

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  4. I love Vivienne! It was fun to read her Interview!

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  5. Aw shucks! Thanks for letting me talk and ramble on.
    :)
    At some point I need to catch up on my reading so I can join in on this.

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  6. Now I get to stalk you double time Macey! I wanted to ask you what the book is that you are reading about the Amish? I think you said it was a series?? Let me know...

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  7. I just found this blog. I've been trying to start a book club but been to lazy. Are you all reading a book now? I have 3 people who may join!!

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  8. I have something for you guys on my blog!!

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  9. I almost peed my pants, how embarrassing, when I saw the interview from the renowned VIV! More reminders of why I love her.
    Good Interview. :)

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