The Family That Reads Together . . .

The Idea came to us when two of my Nieces (who, like me, Love to Read) and I, went to see one of our Favorite Authors, Elizabeth Gilbert (who wrote Eat Pray Love) speak. She is a great writer and speaker as well. We had so much fun and talked about how great it would be to get together on a regular basis to talk about Books. And the Idea of a Family Book Club was birthed!

  

I wanted a fun, catchy name, so the BookFinks BookClub was born! :) Yes, my Maiden Name was Fink (It's German I believe) and it is still my Nieces last name! So, why not go with it?!

My talented Husband made a Logo for us. In some countries in Europe "Fink" is "Finch" (a small bird) which I know you are thinking that's better than what it means here in America! HaHa

The first Book we read & discussed was Where'd You Go Bernadette by: Maria Semple. A Quirky, light hearted mystery. Then we read the darker The Girl On The Train by: Paula Hawkins. And then Elizabeth Gilbert's Epic Novel The Signature Of All Things. (Though she is a really good writer, I do prefer her travel memoirs to her Fiction)

Of the 3 Books we have read, I've rated them each on GoodReads only 2 to 3 stars (out of 5 stars) So we're hoping the Books we chose get better! :) Good Reads if you aren't familiar, is my Favorite Website! You can keep track of Books you've read & want to read, create Virtual Bookshelves, find new Books to read, and connect with other Book Lovers & Authors as well. If you're not on, you should be! And you should become my Friend!

So far the BookFinks BookClub consists of my two Nieces, my two Daughters (when the book is appropriate for teenagers!) my Daughter in Law and myself. A few more family members try to read the books we're reading & come when they can. And I can not tell you how honored I am that this younger generation actually likes to spend time with me! (or at least they pretend to for my sake!) ;) We've had from 3 to 6 of us at our meetings thus far. But it is open to anyone who loves to read and discuss Literature! You don't even have to be a Fink to become a BookFink! :)

We are all in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, some of us in the east valley and some on the west side, which is about an hour's drive apart, so we decided to hold our meetings in the middle! We meet once a month at a Bookstore or a Coffee Shop in Downtown Phoenix!  And no matter how many or few of us are there, or weather we loved or hated the Book, we always have a fun time and lots of laughs!

 

We've tried to come up with what we'll read next ahead of time. And next up is Neal Shusterman's Unwind. This one's going to be interesting! Then before it comes out as a Movie this June, Paper Towns by: John Green, who wrote The Fault In Our Stars! And we're thinking of Beautiful Day by the queen of Summer Reads; Elin Hilderbrand.

So what do you think of our choices? And what are some of your best Book Club selections? Feel free to read along with us & come out to our meetings to talk them over. You can like us & follow along on our Facebook Page!

Wildlife!

My son Zach, who is about to Graduate from Arizona State University as a Biologist, had an assignment to do for one of his classes, in which he needed to go to the Phoenix Zoo. So we decided to all tag along! My girls bringing along their BFF!  

It was a Beautiful Spring day in Arizona. The Temp in the 80's, which is mild compared to our summers, that can rise to well over 100 degrees. And when it's that hot the animals stay indoors, or just lay around in the shade, which is totally understandable, but not much fun for the people there to see the Animals.

My absolute Favorite of all the Animals is the Flamingo! So Pretty In Pink & they get to live on the Beach!

If I were in Animal, that is what I would be! Here, the girls, humor me, as we try our hand at being Flamingos! ;)

Speaking of Pretty In Pink; The Flowers were out in full. Beautiful Blooms Everywhere we looked!

This picture of the Lion was taken on my Husbands iPhone. Like I said, the Animals were out in full!

The Teen girls even paid a visit to the Petting Zoo. Proving you are never too old to be an Animal lover!

 

The shot of this Flower was my favorite picture I took of the day! And is now the screen saver on my  phone!

Throughout the morning we spent at the Zoo we walked 5 miles! That's a pretty good hike! And a fun way to get some exercise in! And we learned a thing or two helping Zach find what he needed for his project! What's your favorite way to spend a nice Spring day?

Nicholas Sparks Books VS Movies!

The newest Nicholas Sparks Book to be turned into a Move is The Longest Ride. (In Theaters now) I had read this Book last year after My Husband, who knows I like Nicholas Sparks, bought it for me as a Gift. So of course I made him go see the Movie with me when it came out! Like all Nicholas Sparks Movies, it was good.

Another of his Books, which I also read last year, that was turned into a Movie that came out in October is The Best Of Me. A really good Book & a good Movie as well! In fact pretty much all of Nicholas Sparks Books / Movies are good. He seams to have found the Formula for "Chick Lit" & "Chick Flicks"!!

Of the picture below, I have read all these Books & have seen all these Movies!! And I've loved them all! The Books are always better! All though, in the case of The Notebook, with the visual mastery (& just the clothes & shoes alone) make the Movie pretty hard to beat. And like The Notebook, The Longest Ride, with it's flashbacks to another era has some amazing clothes as well!

If you were to ask me my Favorite, that would be hard to pick from the Movies. I really do like them all, but I'd say Message In A Bottle, The Notebook and The Best Of Me are my Favorites among his Movies! As far as my Favorite of his Books? That ones easy. Safe Haven! I feel it is his best written Book of all of them! It is so good!

Are you a Nicholas Sparks fan? Do you read the Books, or just wait for the Movie? Or like me, do you do both?! And I love to know what are your Favorites among them?

Merry Easter!

My Daughter was wondering why we always say "Merry Christmas", but "Happy" in front of Easter and Birthday?! So, we decided we'd start saying "Merry Easter!" :) So we Hope you and yours had a wonderful and very Merry Easter! We did even though it was pretty laid back this year. We had planned on having my Niece and her family, but she ended up having to work. We were also gonna have our best friends over, but their daughter got sick, poor thing, there's nothing worse than being sick on a Holiday! But we were able to have a good time anyway!

 

 How about some Eggs for Breakfast on Easter Morning! :) 

My Favorite!

Thank you Easter Bunny!

 Our Church had 3 Services on Easter instead of our usual 2! 

My girls worked in the Nursery's during the first two, then we attended the third. 

While John and the entire band Rocked all three!

 Looking good in our Sunday best! 

 My oldest Son & Daughter in Law also joined us,

after he played drums at another Church! 

While Zach played Guitar at his Church as well!

(Guess being musicians is in their blood!) :)

And they brought their new Dachshund Puppy to play with our two little dogs! :0

 The Beautiful Easter Lilly from our Church made a perfect center piece for our Easter table! 

We kept the menu simple this year by ordering Pizza,

we also served Salad, Deviled Eggs, Pasta Salad, with Cheese & Crackers.

 And of course lot's of Easter Candy! :)

And my girls made Cup Cakes & Brownies!

Kyle brought over his Corn Hole game, which is always a lot of fun!

Here is Erica & Kyle

 Playing with John & Zach

 Katie was on my team! 

Yes, I even tried my hand at Corn Hole! 

 And Lexi getting in on the fun too! 

 But I'd rather just watch the others play! :)

 A couple of us even got in a little nap! ;)

We played a hilarious game of Loaded Questions! 

I just don't understand why nobody else finds us as funny as we do! Haha!

We Hope you had a fun filled & Blessed Day as well!

And a Very Merry Easter!