A book club! What a fabulous idea! Here’s a thought - http://www.gutenberg.org It is free online eBooks. I haven’t scoured the catalog yet, but I am sure there are things available. That way we could all be on the same page so to speak. Judith - did you see this one coming?

Oh oh, I just tossed my files from a graduate program years back - critical reviews of over 29 great writers. Enjoyed reading them, though. Better get it out of the document shredder’s loan-bin (they brought it to my home so I could start shoveling out the cave). BTW, me not bitter, merely discerning.

I took a French Women’s Literature class in college and it ended up being my favorite class. Sadly, this is the first place that I’ve heard of Madame de Staël. Although, I will definitely put her on the top of my list of authors to read. ;) Thanks!

Gayvin, Who was your favorite writer studied/presented in the class?

I have just finished reading a charming series by Stephenie Meyer. She studied literature in college, and adored Jane Austin, the Bronte’s, Daphne DeMaurier then settled down to raise three little boys. One night she had a vivid dream about a girl in a beautiful sun-drenched meadow -with her boyfriend, a vampire. She got out of bed and transcribed her dream, which became chapter 13 of her first book Twilight. http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight.html The sequel, New Moon, and Eclipse have brought her international recognition. My 16 year old daughter read the first book 500+ pages, 16 times. So I sat down with the book at 9pm and finished at 3am. The next day I read New Moon a 600 page book, two days later I finished the third book, Eclipse. She has another book coming out in August, and Twilight the movie is coming out in December. She has a chapter of one of her future book; Midnight Sun posted on her website. It is a description of one of the scenes from her first book, except it is from the prospective of the hot, sexy vampire, seeing the girl for the first time. I read this chapter first, before the books, and it was wonderful. http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/otherprojects_midnightsun.html

Sorry never heard of her. I just finished reading Marley and Me by John Grogan. Bawled all the way through it with the exception about the ocean part. I laughed at that.

Madame de Staël! It surprises me that women would want to *look* like her. She was famously plain. I tried to read her a few times while living in France, but her style was too vaporish for me. Do you think they were just showing off?

Oops! Did not read carefully enough. They came as women whose lives they would like to have led, rather than whose looks they would like to have. For me— okay, I would like to have been Mary Sidney (sister of Sir Philip), Countess of Pembroke.