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The Orphan Master's Son - Adam Johnson
This was my new book club's first book.  It was pretty eye opening.  This one is based in North Korea and when I first started reading I thought it was based years ago, but no, definitely based now.  To be honest, I've never really thought about North Korea.  This book will definitely have you thinking about North Korea, among many other things.  If you read it, take special note how they represent the US.  Yuck.
Anyway, this one is not uplifting, but definitely interesting and a great book club book!
And this book is why I currently have an issue with Denis Rodman's actions.

Why Time Begins on Opening Day - Thomas Boswell
Coincidentally, I read this one during the end of the Cardinals baseball season.  I don't know a lot about 80's baseball.  Just that the Cardinals were fast and won the world series in '82.
Oh, but how I loved this book.  It made me crave baseball and now I really want to make a trip to Cooperstown.  Just sit there with the feel of greats & tell/hear baseball stories.

Half Blood Blues - Esi Edugyan
This was another book club read.  It's historical fiction, based in Europe, mostly during WWII and it has a twist I never expected!
With book club our conversation seemed to center around the narrator.  We talked about difficult it was to see what was really going on because everything was presented through his view and perceptions.  It was actually really interesting.
For some reason at this book club, I felt very insightful.  Yay!  I guess we all have our days.

Start Something that Matters - Blake Mycoskie
Yes, this is the guy that started Toms.  Regardless of your feelings towards Toms, this is a great read.  
I was in a tough spot.  I knew I needed an idea and to make a change.
I was a bit intrigued by this book while visiting the Missouri Botanical Gardens with my family, but decided I didn't need it.  My dad (and I think Karen had something to do with it too) snuck it in his pile and purchased the book for me.
I was on a 8 hour flight to Europe with very little in flight entertainment.  Boom.  Ideas started flowing.  

The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes
January book club.
Very interesting book on how we write our own history remembering what happened in a different way than others because of our own perspective.  This what a short book, and a quick read, that had a lot going on.  One of the many topics to think about are consequences of things you may not think twice about, in this case a scathing letter.

I hosted this one and decided to get creative with character names (partly so we could refresh ourselves since most of us read the book a bit before we were able to get together.)

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