Happy Valentine's Day Book Worms!

What is your favorite love story? Do you have more than one? Leave a comment and let us know the title of the book and why it touches your heart!

Attention Book Club Members: What question will YOU ask in our discussion of The Weight of Silence?

We are well into February now, so I thought we should start posting our questions for the February gathering! Hopefully, you did not forget . . . . . . we are discussing the book The Weight of Silence.

Remember, don't make your comment until you are done reading the book . . . otherwise you risk reading spoilers!

Happy Reading!

Fanciful Friday: Let Them Eat Cake!

One of our general rules is that our book club does not read biographies. However, if someone is itching to pick one up, I would highly recommend Marie Antoinette: The Journey. The author, Antonia Fraser, does not even attempt to hide the fact that the last queen of France was not a natural born leader. What she does do is focus on Her Majesty as a person set up to fail by explaining with great detail each disastrous decision - no matter how small - that led to her unfortunate end.

Note: Fashionistas will love reading about how the Queen was practically an 18th century Coco Chanel.

Still not interested? Check out the movie. Even though the French were not happy with Sophia Coppola casting Kirsten Dunst as the most famous Versailles resident, I thought the film was fabulous and could not get enough of the costume design. And in terms of "fancifulness," no one can argue against the fact that Marie Antoinette is marked in history, at least in part, by her unrestrained imagination.

One Last Thing Before The Weekend Sets You Free:

Forget the fact that Marie Antoinette most likely never said "Let Them Eat Cake" (you will have to read the book), the phrase and French pastries on this cover remind me of how much I enjoyed reading this book. You can buy your own at Etsy.

Books and Baby Names: Are Book Keepers really that easily influenced?

I never thought about the way a popular book (or book series) could influence the process of selecting a name for a new baby. After a separate discussion led me to look through a recent list of popular baby names, I noticed some names were identified as being "new on the chart." The names identified are as follows: Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett. Sound familiar?

All three names are main characters in the popular Twilight Saga. Also interesting is that the names Isabella (#2 on the list), Bella (yes, listed separately from Isabella), Edward, Jasper, and Alice have jumped more than ten spots each on the chart. Just a coincidence? Taking into consideration this increase in popularity as well as the fact that the names Victoria and Jacob have fallen over ten spots tends to support the theory that popular books may indeed influence name selection more than we, as book lovers, would care to admit. I mean, what mother would wish for their child's name to be associated with a famous book villain? Mothers want their girls to grow up and become Bella: beautiful, smart, articulate, and self-assured. As for Edward, he is also portrayed as handsome, wise, (more than) articulate, and certainly self-assured . . . AND he loves his mother. In fact, he brings his wife home to live with him under his mother's roof! What could be a better plan for mothers insecure about their baby boys "leaving them" for a life of their own?

As far as the drop in popularity for the name Jacob, I don't believe it is because Mothers do not want their children to develop his qualities (although transfiguration is a little disconcerting) . . . I just think the book keepers of the world have spoken: Team Edward, without a doubt.