Guidelines for Suggesting Books to Vote On

We will be choosing new titles at our meeting on Tuesday, October 26th, so please come with some book suggestions.  Here are some guidelines to follow as you think about which books you'd like to recommend, as well as some info about how the book voting will work:

• Each person will have the opportunity to briefly describe each of their 2-3 suggestions, then the group will vote on which one book from each person will be chosen.  If we have a large enough group, we will then put all those "winning" books into a pile to then vote on which 6-7 books will be chosen (or however many months out we want to plan).  The people who suggested the winning books will then be the discussion leaders for their books and be responsible for bringing a refreshment for that meeting. (Links to book discussion guides can be found in the right side bar.)
• If you'd like to suggest a book, please bring at least 2 or 3 suggestions so the group has options to vote on.
• All genres of literature are welcome (i.e. adult fiction, YA fiction, non-fiction, historical, biographies, religious, etc.)
• Please only suggest books that you have previously read so you can verify that they are appropriate for our group (books should not contain an inappropriate amount of bad language, violence, or sex).
• If possible, please bring an actual copy of each book you are suggesting to our book group voting.  This helps others get an idea of how long the book is, size of print, etc. although we all know not to judge a book by its cover!
• If you'd like to recommend some books, but are unable to attend that night, please contact Jodi, by email, Facebook, or this blog with your book suggestions and we'll make sure they get presented and voted on.

So be thinking now about what 2-3 books you'd like to recommend.  If you're struggling with ideas, you can always find popular books that got good reviews at GoodReads or Reading For Sanity (an excellent book review blog by a group of Mormon moms).  Find a book you think sounds interesting to discuss and pre-read it NOW to make sure it's appropriate for our group.  I'm so excited to see everyone's suggestions and find out what we'll be reading for the next several months!

The Survivors Club by Ben Sherwood

Our book for October is The Survivors Club by Ben Sherwood.  We will be meeting on Tuesday, October 26th at 7:30pm at Jodi's house.  Just a note: please take extra care in finding this book because there is a novel by the same title that is NOT our book group book!  So make sure you check that the author is Ben Sherwood.  The full title of the book we're reading is actually The Survivors Club: The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life.  It is a fascinating book you won't want to miss!  There is also a neat website about this book where you can watch video interviews of some of the people whose stories are told in the book: The Survivors Club Website


"Sherwood, a writer for the L.A. Times, travels worldwide to gain insight from people who have survived a slew of near fatal phenomena ranging from a mountain lion attack to a Holocaust concentration camp, and interviewing an array of experts to understand the psychology, genetics and jumble of other little things that determines whether we live or die. Readers curious about their own survivor profile can take an Internet test, which is explained in the books later pages. Sherwood's assertion that survival is a way of perceiving the world around you is enlightening, as are some of the facts he uncovers: you have 90 seconds to leave a plane crash before the cabin temperature becomes unbearable; luck has more to do with personal perspective than chance. But Sherwood's balance of self-help, scientific theories and first-rate reporting is diminished by occasionally overwrought prose as well as the countless survivors stories, which can run together in a touchy-feely stream of faith and optimism."  (From Amazon.com)

"We are a nation battered every day by stories about horrific calamities, tragic events, frightening statistics. Inevitably our thoughts turn personal and we wonder if we have what it takes to get through the worst thrown our way. While there are plenty of books about coping with adversity, it isn't until now, with WHO SURVIVES, that we discover the human factors that determine survival. It's a combination instruction audiobook and security blanket that blends compelling true stories with cutting-edge science to deliver some of the most important lessons we'll ever need to learn.

"The book will:
--list the most important traits necessary for survival (Fear is #1.)
--identify the 5 types of survivors
--debunk myths (like only the strong survive), explore the frontiers of survival science (How much strain and punishment can a human body endure?), and introduce readers to counter-intuitive thinking (Ever heard of post-traumatic growth?)
--provide a Survivors Tool Kit, including an online test that measures one's Survivor's Quotient

"Each one of us eventually joins the club of millions who face life's inescapable tribulations and tragedies. WHO SURVIVES is the companion we need to prepare us for and guide us through the worst."  (From GoodReads.com)

Join Our Facebook Group

I thought a Facebook page for our group would be an easy way to share news and updates without having to always check this blog.  So go to the Cottonwood Book Group Facebook page and click "Like" to receive updates and info in your news feed.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Book group this month will be on Tuesday, September 28th at 7:30pm at Heather's house.  We'll be discussing The Help by Kathryn Stockett.  This should be a fun night, not only because of this fantastic book but this will also be the first night that ladies from the Papillion ward will be joining us!  We are now combining our book group which will mean new friends and more discussion!  At our September meeting we'll take a few minutes to get to know each other and spend some time talking about how we want to continue running book group (from how to choose books, how to rotate locations, etc.) so come with ideas of how you'd like book group to be improved!  As always, you don't need to have read the book to attend.  Everyone is always welcome.  And a HUGE welcome to the Papillion ladies!  We're excited to have you join us!


This is a rather popular book, so I believe every library would have at least one copy.  I think the Papillion library has 3 copies, but there might be a wait on the hold list.  You can also check out the links in the right side bar to find a cheap used copy online.


From GoodReads.com:

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step. Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger.

Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women — mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends — view one another.

A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t.