Decorations for Book Club

It was my turn to host book club last night, and my selection was Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. If you're not familiar with the title, it's a fictional book in the mystery/fantasy genre. The story goes like this - a teenage boy travels to Wales to learn about his dead grandfather's mysterious past, where he discovers a home for children with special gifts. The thing that really sets this book apart from others is that the story was written around several old black and white photos that are included in the pages of the book. Each photo is about one of the "peculiar children." And peculiar they are indeed!

Here's a book trailer, produced by the book's publisher, for those of you interested in learning more about the book: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

So to set the mood for a discussion about the book, I decided to print creepy black and white photos I found on the internet, and used them to decorate. I put a few under glass domes on my table, along with "planting" a few in topiary domes.

Why on earth is that little boy smoking a cigarette next to a rooster??

And who would pose their toddler on top of an alligator? And tell me those identical twin ladies don't scare the bejesus out of you!! These photos enlist a whole slew of questions that fascinate me!

I love the boxing photo in the middle, with quite the bizarre match-up! I don't think they were in the same weight-class, do you?

To highlight the other photos I had found on the net, I hung them from ribbons inside this great, old frame I found at a yard sale for just four bucks. I love the vintage, aged look of it, and want to hang this in my house somewhere. For now, it did the trick of accenting these photos with an old-house, picked out the attic, vibe.

The discussion of the book was great, and centered on what makes someone peculiar, and if we knew people in our own lives who had special gifts. Several people had known someone who was psychic or could communicate with the dead. Another person had met a real dog whisperer. It was cool!