Hi ladies! Welcome to the Not Oprah, but better! Book Club!!! Phyllis and I decided that having a blog for our discussion on our book might be a better solution than just all emailing each other all the time. So, you're going to want to bookmark this page in your internet browser, and check back often.
I think we've decided to read Elie Wiesel's book Night by Jan 7th. Whenever you come up with a discussion question, you can log onto the blog and make a new post. Then, if you want to respond to someone's discussion question, leave a comment on that post.
Since many of us might not know each other, we can practice using the blog by everybody commenting on this post and telling us a little bit about yourself!
Looking forward to getting to know you and reading with you!
Jessica
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13 comments:
I'll start :-) My name is Jessica Nichols. I am 24 years old and currently reside in Louisville. I moved here in August from Columbia, MO where I went to school and then spent the last two years on staff there at the Baptist Student Union. I miss Columbia!!
I am in finals week of my first semester of seminary here at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. (Can you tell I'm procrastinating from studying by setting all this up??) I am pursuing a Masters of Divinity (which will take about 3.5 years) in Missions, and intend, most likely on heading overseas as a missionary.
I grew up in St. Louis where my parents still live. I have a younger brother and sister who I just got to spend the whole week with in Destin, FL! I also got to meet my sister's fiancee this week! It was fun to meet my future bro-in-law! He is too nice to be a part of our family!!
Hmm... I guess that's about it. I love books... I love buying them... Tiffany and I share a common obsession/problem regarding buying books (but only if they are not full price!) So I have a bunch on my shelves I still need to read. Also- I know Tiffany (in this group) really well because we were roommates and worked on staff together, so yeah!
That's me in a nutshell! Now it's your turn!
My name is Phyllis Daniels. I'm 28 years old. I grew up in St. Louis and went to college at the University of Missouri-Columbia where I earned my degree in Secondary Social Studies Education. I got married after my junior year of college (6.5 years ago now) and stayed in Columbia for a few years. I worked as an academic advisor at the University of MO for three years, and then I quit my paid position to stay home with Ladan. We moved to Louisville, KY in July 2005 so my husband, Chet, could go to seminary at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
I have two little boys, Ladan (2), and Gabe (2 months). They are amazing gifts from the Lord! I have to say that they are pretty cute, but I know that I'm their mom, so I'm supposed to think that.
I have one brother, two stepsisters, two sisters-in-law, and one nephew (just 9 days younger than Ladan). They are all amazing people, and I love them all!
The idea of this book club was sparked because, as a stay-at-home mom married to a student, there's not much time in the day to read and gather at the coffee house to discuss books. However, I love reading, and I love having intelligent conversation with adults. In addition, many of the people that I thought might be interested in this live far away, making it impossible to meet in a coffee house anyway. So, that's where the online format came in. Isn't it great that we are so blessed to be in a society where we have such ready access to means of communication that make these types of things possible?
So, that's a brief introduction. I'm really excited to get started and chat with you all, and I'm even more excited since Jessica presented the blog idea and got it set up. Great job, Jess! I think it will be an even better way to keep track of comments, questions, etc.
Ok, I guess I'll take a turn now. My name is Katie Stewart. I'm 27 years old and live in St. Louis, MO. My husband and I live near Pattonville High School, for those who are familiar with the area. I graduated from Mizzou with a degree in Marketing back in May of 2001 and was also involved with the BSU. I got married to my high school sweetheart (aww...ha!), Greg, in June of 2001 and am now expecting our first child. I'm due December 18...right around the corner. I worked as a Marketing Assistant at a little company called Southwest Plastic Binding, but recently quit to stay home with the little one when he/she arrives. Yea! I was sooo ready to leave that place. Had I not been having a baby, I'd be looking for a new job.
My parents and in-laws live in St. Louis. I have an older brother who lives in North Carolina with his wife and 2 kids. Greg has 2 brothers. One lives in St. Louis and recently started working for UPS. The oldest lives in Louisiana with his wife and 2 kids. You can imagine how excited our parents are to have a grandbaby close by! Everyone will be in town at Christmas to meet the newest member of the family.
I went to high school with Phyllis and lived with her at Mizzou for 2-1/2 years. Then she had to run off and get married. Ha! Anyway, that's my connection to the group and how I got invited into this book club.
I guess that's about it. I'm looking forward to reading this book. I'll do my best to keep up. Thanks for setting up this blog, Jessica!
My name is Tiffany Malloy, and I'm 23 years old. I work at the Baptist Student Union on the campus of the University of Missouri-Columbia. I've been on staff since June 2005.
I've been married to Jake Malloy for a year and a half, and currently have no kids.
Let's see...I am originally from Waterloo, IL which is a farming community outside of St.Louis. For those of you around St.Louis, most people know Waterloo for our golf courses, lol. I have a brother, Nick, who is 17 and an older half-sister named Jeanine, who is 30. Her and her family (3 kids) live near Phoenix, Arizona.
I went to college at Mizzou where I got my degree in middle school math and social studies education. I'm not real sure if I will ever teach in the traditional sense, but I haven't ruled out that option yet.
I'm not sure what happens after May (when my 2-year covenant is up)-- it'll be a surprise to all of us! Just waiting on the Lord in that.
Like Jess said, I LOVE books. My favorite room in our duplex is the library which houses a wall full of bookshelves that are bulging with our collection. My favorite place to buy books is at the Columbia Public Library annual sale. It's huge and the books are $.50-$1.00 a piece.
I'm exciting to start reading and discussin!
I guess I am next… Hello, my name is Crystal Gastineau and I am so excited to be in my first book club. I am 27 years old and I currently reside in St. Louis, MO. I graduated from University of Missouri – Columbia in December of 2002 with my Masters in Accounting. I obtained my CPA license shortly after and I now work for Ernst and Young accounting firm as an International tax consultant (almost 4 years now). Moving to STL was a change for me since I grew up in a small town in Southeast Missouri – Ellington (where my parents reside). I have one younger brother who is pursuing a biology degree at MU. Also, I have one roommate – Stephanie Hendrix (whom most of you know from MU).
I am not married yet nor have any children, but I am currently dating a great guy – Justin for almost 2 years now. He is finishing up with his Masters of Divinity this semester and works as the associate minister at Mid Rivers Christian Church.
Reading is a new hobby for me. I haven't always liked reading (since sports captured most of my time)…but, I started reading Christian non-fictional books about 6 or so years ago. Now I have started reading Christian fiction books for fun and I can't put the books down. I can't wait to start Night since I have always been interested in learning about the Holocaust. Thanks Phyllis for inviting me to join the book club and great idea to set up a blog Jessica…thanks for setting it up.
Hi, ladies. Just thought I'd let you all know that the little one has arrived. She came fast and early! Lily Beth Stewart was born on Thursday, Nov. 30 at 9:52 p.m. Of course, she decided to make her appearance during the big ice storm in St. Louis. :)
I should be getting my book any day now. I'll do my best to read, but I can already tell I'll want to sleep any chance I can get. Ha!
Wonderful! That's so exciting Katie! Thanks for sharing :). lol, i'm sure you dont have time to put pictures up, but when/if you do, let us know-- i'd love to see lily! what a great name! :)
congrats katie!! how exciting!
Also... HI CRYSTAL! It's been forever!!
Thanks to Katie, I now know what LOL means!!! I have been receiving messages including this encrypted text for quite some time, and I could never figure it out. I looked for context clues. I used my imagination. But I just could not get it. So I decided to leave my pride behind and ask Katie what this meant. She has informed me, and I am no longer in the dark. I am enlightened and am very excited!
Hey girls! Sorry I haven't posted yet. And Katie...congrats again! Can't wait to see Lily Beth!
My name is Alicia Casady. I am 28 years old and live in Columbia, MO. I graduated from Mizzou in May 2000 with a BA in Communication. My husband, Devon, and I married in August of 2000. I currently am a stay-at-home Mom to my daughter, Cameron (Cami), almost 2 and a future child, due mid-April. Devon is a branch manager at Enterprise Rent-a-Car in Jefferson City. Like Jessica & Tiffany, he also spent 2 years working at the Baptist Student Union after college. That is where I know most of you. :)
I grew up in Dixon, MO, where my Dad still lives. Devon's parents and brother's family live in Ashland, MO. I have one sister, who lives in Columbia as well. It is great to have her around to baby-sit. :)
I also love books and love to read. I'll admit, I read a lot more fiction than non-fiction, but probably because I can get through those easier and they don't make me think quite as much. I enjoy Christian fiction authors, such as Karen Kingsbury and Kristin Billerbeck. I like a good murder mystery from James Patterson or Mary Higgins Clark and a good romance/drama from Nicholas Sparks. Also in the non-Christian sector, I love "chick lit" books from Sophie Kinsella & Meg Cabot. As far as Christian non-fiction goes, I love John Eldredge and I recently did the study, Captivating, by his wife, Stasi, and am currently in the middle of Beth Moore's study, Daniel.
So, that's about it. I'm happy to be a part of this book club as well. I think it's very cool that we can conduct it online, since we're all in different places.
alicia,
i just finished the Mitford series by Jan Karon. I'm not sure if that'd be your type of christian fiction, but it was really really good. Each book in her 7 book series was on the New York Bestsellers list for multiple weeks. If you ever feel like giving it a try, you can borrow my set-- i have all of them but the seventh one. _
Congratulations Katie! I'm glad you are both doing fine despite the ice storm.
I want to chime in on Christian fiction book suggestions. I love Francine River's books... I have read Redeeming love, Atonement Child, Scarlett Thread, and Ruth so far... She is an amazing author.
One more thing...Hey - Jessica. Yes, it has been way too long. I have been hearing a lot about you since you've moved to KY.
Tiffany -
That's funny. My sister just asked me about that series today. Her boyfriend's mom would like it for Christmas and she was asking if I had read it. When I worked at Lemstone, I read quite a few books because we could check them out for free, but I never got around to that series. I may have to try it. I did read Redeeming Love, though, Crystal, and really liked it. I have found that I always got something out of the Christian fiction I read, if not just a good laugh. :)
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