"And Then There Were None" {by Agatha Christie} Book Club Ideas

10 Little Book Club girls 

invited to discuss a book and dine,

They got more than they bargained for 

and then there were Nine...

Rain drummed the window pains like the bony fingers of a legion of persistent specters.  Wind howled around the derelict mansion, and thunder bellowed in the ashen sky.  

Dearth Island was besieged by a tempest.  We little book club girls were about to be tossed on the angry waves, set adrift into a nightmare fresh from the pages of our books.

Ten odd little figurines grimaced from atop the mantelpiece of the dining room.

Huddling together in the drab, dusty, room, we ate our cheery dinner.  There were so many scrumptious delights to enjoy.  

This Cinnamon sugar churro cake was especially divine,
Download the recipe HERE.

We had almost forgotten the foreboding gloom of the evening, when suddenly...

all the lights went out and the house was plunged into complete darkness!

What had just happened?  Did someone forget to pay the electric bill?

Or was this a horrible coincidence of fate???

CRASH

CLATTER

SCREAM!

A loud, deep, deliberate voice sliced through the blackness.

The Voice filled the room and chilled us to the core.

Listen to The Voice and its instructions HERE

We were left in a vast void of spine-tingling silence.  We procured a flashlight.

As the beam of light searched the room,  we were greeted with a shock!

A giant poster depicting a nursery rhyme regarding the gruesome fate of 10 Little Book Club Girls had appeared above the fireplace!  Terror crept into our voices as we read aloud its sing-song verse.

Upon further investigation, we noticed that one of the 10 little dolls was missing as well.

A deadly game was unraveling, and a killer was among us!

The cacophony of confused, fearful voices rose and fell like frantic waves crashing on jagged rocks.  Light flashed, cutting through the din, as every cell phone screen lit up in unison.  

The message: a picture text.  

The words: "Help me."

Kellie, had just sent us all a text.  She had been in the room before the lights went out, hadn't she?  Her absence quickly became apparent to our shocked faces.  

Could we find her in time???

The pedals of the piano led us to the drawing room, where, Kellie's lifeless body lay half underneath the covered piano.  She was beyond help now.  She had been slashed up and down, and the gruesome gashes that tore into her skin looked like...PAPER CUTS!

After scanning the drawing room for any possible clues, we reconvened in the dining room, and noticed something that had not been there before.  A message in a bottle in the center of the table.  The message delivered with it a sinking feeling that we had entered a bad dream from which we would never wake.  We had all come to discuss a murder mystery, not become involved in one.  And yet, here we were, tangled in this macabre web of a sinister intellect.

So many murder weapons....

We read the note aloud, and a clue was given in the form of an anagram.

The answer to the anagram is: KITCHEN STOVE

Lisa solved it in a snap!  She ran to the kitchen stove, threw open the oven, and let out a scream of disgust and terror.  Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" lay inside the gaping oven like a bloody, undercooked book casserole.  

Obviously the murder weapon.

But what's this?!  Lisa found an inscription on the inside the book, 

"If lost, please call xxx-xxx-xxxx."

Lisa's shaking fingers quickly dialed the number.  

In the silence we heard the telltale buzz of a cell phone, and that phone belonged to book club member...Robin!

(this is not Robin but you get the idea)

In a flash of indignant rage, Robin proceeded to confess to her devilish deeds:

"I did it!  I sliced Kellie to ribbons with the very book that she borrowed from me and so thoughtlessly didn’t return in time for book club! Tonight I intended to get even with all of you! I’m tired of loaning my books to all of you book club girls, and not getting them back!"

Let this be a lesson to us book club girls:

After a book should a friend inquire,

Tell her "NO!" and quell that fire.

For loaning out a book so precious,

Can leave one plotting revenge most vicious.

In solving the mystery, Lisa won:

-a hardback copy of "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie

-fingernail polish in a skull-shaped bottle

-& murder weapon earrings (bow & arrows)

Download your own bookmark for yourself or your book club
choose from the 5 options or download all five on one page.

1. Bloody page
2. Island at night
3. Red cover
4. Black noose
5. Red noose
6. All bookmarks 

Read our star rating and full book review HERE

Food Ideas for: "Ruin & Rising" {by Leigh Bardugo}

"I didn’t plan for the meals (in my books) to be symbolic, but food is never incidental. The act of cooking for people, of breaking bread with friends is so important. Even something like sugar and the rationing of it turned into an important social moment for Alina in the books." 

-Leigh Bardugo in an interview with The Midnight Garden on June 9th, 2014

Let our food journey into Ruin and Rising begin...

Photo from The Midnight Garden 
I wish I had the pleasure of taking Leigh out to lunch to gab about books and food!

A few decorative touches before the food starts to arrive

THE MENU

RUSSIAN BLACK BREAD RECIPE
GARLIC HERB BUTTER RECIPE

"Roasted Firebird"
You can't beat the roasted chickens at Costco and  the mushrooms in cream sauce was heavenly spread over top!

We had good intentions of trying to make Elle Jauffret's beautiful WHITE CATHEDRAL CROQUEMBOUCHE (see photo below) but time got the better of us and we had to come up with Plan B to make it happen. Plan B consisted of stacking cream puffs as high as we could manage before drizzling them in caramel and chocolate syrup. 

Please don't judge Elle's stunning creation by our version but at least we had good intentions right?

Sorry Elle, one day I will make it!

Dish: Croquembouche made with “cavernous” and filled cream puffs.

Filling: fig crème patissière, rose crème patissière, almond crème patissière.

Find this AMAZING recipe on Elle's website!

CAULIFLOWER WITH POTATOES RECIPE

Food Links:

CAULIFLOWER WITH POTATOS RECIPE

GARLIC HERB BUTTER RECIPE

MUSHROOMS IN CREAM SAUCE

RUSSIAN BLACK BREAD RECIPE

WHITE CATHEDRAL CROQUEMBOUCHE by Elle Jauffret 

Helpful Links:
READ OUR Q&A INTERVIEW WITH LEIGH
READ OUR BOOK REVIEW AND STAR RATING 
HOW TO GET THE SUN SUMMONER LOOK
DECORATING & BOOK CLUB TIPS FOR RUIN & RISING (COMING)
LOOKS FROM BOOKS: RUIN AND RISING

"The Goldfinch" Part II Book Club Ideas {by Donna Tartt}

Do you remember how I teased you at the end of the Goldfinch post  Part I with this huge empty drivers license?

well, because you waiting so patiently, I will now reward you with the HILARIOUS photo collage you are about to witness.
Wait for it...

And just for the record, NO ONE looks good in a tacky blonde wig, a gangster beaded necklace and cheap red lipstick, except for maybe Xandra.

"I found myself confronted by a strange woman, tan and very fit looking: flat gray eyes, like dcoppery skin, and teeth that went in, with a split between them. Her hair, the color of caramel straw, was very straight and tattered at the ends; she was chewing gum and a strong smell of Juicy Fruit was coming off her. It's Xandra with an X, she said in a gravelly undertone. Not Sandra. 

And, God knows, not Sandy." (pg. 184)

Behold, our ode to Xandra with an X!

We used decorations that combined items inspired by Hobie's and his workshop, the Barbour's, Audrey (Theo's mother) and a few others. 

(Not all decorations are shown, a couple of my photos didn't turn out, boo.)

“Caring too much for objects can destroy you. Only—if you care for a thing enough, it takes on a life of its own, doesn’t it?”

The living room was decorated with several objects mentioned in the book to go along with the quote mentioned above. Right before we got down and dirty into our discussion, we took the following quiz to win the Goldfinch Prize of the night. You can play along and feel free to use this quiz in your own book club discussion.

 (Answers at the bottom of the post)

Delicious Reads GOLDFINCH OBJECTS Quiz

Describe the significance of the items mentioned:
1)    A white coat
2)    Silver Balloons
3)    Lollipops
4)    Emerald Earrings
5)    Tiffany's Boxes
6)    Sailboat
7)    Juicy Fruit
8)    Coffee Mug
9)    White Plate
10)  Heart Charm
11)  Hunter Boots
12)  Drivers License
13)  Passport

Bonus/Tie Breaker: What is Hobie's first name? 

Congrats to KELLIE HALL for winning in the Tie Breaker to get the fabulous prize, complete with a Goldfinch Mug, Heart Keychain, Goldfinch Wine Charm and Xandra's favorite Juicy Fruit gum!

Can I just take a minute to gush about how crazy TALENTED this book's Moderator Brooke is?!? 

Check out this Goldfinch painting that she just whipped up in a couple days before book club- I mean, come on, that's almost IDENTICAL to the original! (see below) 

 

Here you can see the original 350 year old Goldfinch painting done by Carel Fabritius, painted in 1654  measuring only 9 X 13 inches. The bird in the painting is actual size. If you saw the painting hung high on the wall, as the painter intended, the size of the bird and the angle of its two perches might easily persuade your eye that it was seeing a real goldfinch.

DID YOU KNOW...

"The Goldfinch was painted the year Fabritius died. The most promising painter of his time, student of Rembrandt, an influence on Vermeer, he was killed at the age of 32 when a gunpowder magazine exploded in Delft in 1654. Nearly all his paintings were destroyed. The Goldfinch, for whatever reason, survived. The man explaining the painting in the museum claimed that if you look at its surface closely, you could still see minute traces of the explosion."

Photo Source

 One more time, just like in the Old Spice commercials-
look at the original,
now look at the painting Brooke did.
Look at the original,
now look at the painting Brooke did...

I didn't take any photos during Brooke's fabulous presentation BUT luckily you can download the wonderful Power Point she created full of facts, about the author, quotes, discussion questions and photos!

DOWNLOAD THE GOLDFINCH POWER POINT HERE.

After our engaging book discussion ended, Brooke handed each member their own little brown paper bag with a "morphine lollipop" inside just like Pippa's.

 (Beginning of Chapter 4 and pg. 159)

At the very end of The Goldfinch, Theo, now an adult, looks back on all that happened to him since the explosion, since his fate and that of Fabritius’s painting were joined. As much as he would like to believe otherwise, he says, “I've come to believe that there’s no truth beyond illusion. Because, between ‘reality’ on the one hand, and the point where the mind strikes reality, there’s a middle zone, a rainbow edge where beauty comes into being, where two very different surfaces mingle and blur to provide what life does not: and this is the space where all art exists, and all magic.”

After reading The Goldfinch, I feel that Fabritius AND Tartt have made art and together, they created magic.

ANSWERS to The Goldfinch QUIZ

1)  White Coat- Audrey's coat she wore on her last day with Theo.
2)  Silver Balloons- Pippa had silver balloons hanging in her bedroom at Hobie's.
3)  Lollipops- Pippa had a morphine lollipop when Theo came to visit her.
4)  Emerald Earrings- Audrey's earrings that Theo's father took and gave to Xandra (then Theo takes them back later)
5)  Tiffany's Box- Theo and Kitsey shopped at Tiffany's.
6)  Sailboat- Andy and Mr. Barbour- sailing.
7)  Juicy Fruit- The gum that Xandra likes to chew.
8)  Coffee Mug-  They drank coffee a TON throughout the novel- many times to sober up.
9)  White Plate-  Represented the China plates Theo and Kitsey shopped for.
10) Heart Charm- Goes along with Theo's musings at the end of the book that the heart wants what it wants… and what if it wants things that won't be good for it?
11) Hunter Boots- Theo places some items in Pippa's green Hunter boots right before he leaves for Amsterdam.
12) Driver's License- Theo and Boris find Xandra's license. It reveals that her real name is Sandra Terrell.
13) Passport- Theo gets stuck in Amsterdam because Boris has his passport. He tries to obtain a new one and gets stonewalled by unhelpful personnel.
Bonus/Tie Breaker: Hobie's real first name is James.

Hope you enjoyed our quiz! Thanks for participating!!

Be sure to stop by tomorrow to catch a glimpse into our discussion of the full BOOK REVIEW!

"The Husband's Secret" Part II Book Club Ideas {by Liane Moriarty}

Welcome to Part II of our meeting for THE HUSBANDS SECRET where you will find everything you need to host the perfect book club for this book!

After we finished eating our delicious Australian BBQ dinner (which can be seen in Part I of this post) we settled in our seats to see what our Moderator Kellie had in store for our discussion. 

Kellie handed each of us a personalized letter addressed on the envelope with:

"For my book club friend _________

to be opened only in the event of this discussion."

Inside each letter was a different discussion question for us to read and gossip about as a group. GENIUS!

If you would like to print off the letters/discussion questions for your book club then you can do so HERE!

Before we started our discussion, Kellie had a unique game planned inspired by the book character Tess, who seemed to have anything and everything you could ever want in her purse! Kellie had everyone grab their purses and she asked people to pull out random items and who ever did it first got a point.  Some of the items requested were: nail polish, a pen, hair brush, socks, Costco Card etc. It was hilarious to see who had what in their purses! 

You can download the Purse Game HERE.

Julie won the big prize which consisted of :

-A cute red purse

-One of our book club books that we are reading this fall

-Some "delicious" Vegemite

-And a playlist Kellie put together

After the game we all opened our letters and began our discussion.

Kellie put together a Powerpoint for the Husbands Secret that can be used for your book club meeting or you can just read up on the author and many other interesting tid bits from the book. 

You can find the Powerpoint for The Husbands Secret HERE.

Kellie also created a wonderful SPOILER FREE character list to help keep who's who straight in the book which can be found HERE.

 We were STILL talking about this book even after we had concluded and people were heading home!

Kellie sent each of us home with an 80's Playlist she put together inspired by the music that Janie listened to that was briefly mentioned in the book. Kellie had this playing in the background while we ate and I can tell you that most of us were tapping our toes and singing along!

The Husbands Secret made for such a great night of eating, chatting, discussing this great book and having loads of fun! I would recommend this book to any book club or friend and I'd love to hear what you thought of this book in the comments!

See part I of the Husbands Secret post HERE