September Book Choices by Kathy

Book 1: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini -

This novel is the second book by the author of The Kite Runner. It was picked by Amazon.com editors as the Best Book of 2007. Amazon.com Customers ranked the book #2 of 2007 only behind Harry Potter... and perhaps the highest recommendation - Steve's grandmother, usually a reader of mystery books, loved it. (The following description is from Publishers Weekly)The story covers three decades of anti-Soviet jihad, civil war and Taliban tyranny through the lives of two women. Mariam is the scorned illegitimate daughter of a wealthy businessman, forced at age 15 into marrying the 40-year-old Rasheed, who grows increasingly brutal as she fails to produce a child. Eighteen later, Rasheed takes another wife, 14-year-old Laila, a smart and spirited girl whose only other options, after her parents are killed by rocket fire, are prostitution or starvation. Against a backdrop of unending war, Mariam and Laila become allies in an asymmetrical battle with Rasheed, whose violent misogyny is endorsed by custom and law. Hosseini gives a forceful but nuanced portrait of a patriarchal despotism where women are agonizingly dependent on fathers, husbands and especially sons, the bearing of male children being their sole path to social status. His tale is a powerful, harrowing depiction of Afghanistan, but also a lyrical evocation of the lives and enduring hopes of its resilient characters.

Book 2: Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi -

The story gained attention at the Oscars this year (I think) after it was transformed into an animated black & white cartoon. I don't read comic books and never had (besides a Far Side and Calvin & Hobbes here and there), but the reviews made me interested in checking out this book. (Here is a review from Amazon) - Satrapi's autobiography is a timely and timeless story of a young girl's life under the Islamic Revolution. Descended from the last Emperor of Iran, Satrapi is nine when fundamentalist rebels overthrow the Shah. While Satrapi's radical parents and their community initially welcome the ouster, they soon learn a new brand of totalitarianism is taking over. Satrapi's art is minimal and stark yet often charming and humorous as it depicts the madness around her. She idolizes those who were imprisoned by the Shah, fascinated by their tales of torture, and bonds with her Uncle Anoosh, only to see the new regime imprison and eventually kill him... Satrapi's parents, who once lived in luxury despite their politics, struggle to educate their daughter. Her father briefly considers fleeing to America, only to realize the price would be too great. "I can become a taxi driver and you a cleaning lady?" he asks his wife. Iron Maiden, Nikes and Michael Jackson become precious symbols of freedom, and eventually Satrapi's rebellious streak puts her in danger, as even educated women are threatened with beatings for improper attire. Despite the grimness, Satrapi never lapses into sensationalism or sentimentality. Skillfully presenting a child's view of war and her own shifting ideals, she also shows quotidian life in Tehran and her family's pride and love for their country despite the tumultuous times. Powerfully understated, this work joins other memoirs-Spiegelman's Maus and Sacco's Safe Area Goradze-that use comics to make the unthinkable familiar.

Book 3 - Then We Came to the End: A Novel by Joshua Ferris

This book just sounded funny to me - the description reminded me a little of some of the stupider (but somewhat humorous) things that happen in office culture. Two reviews:

* Office ennui gets a wickedly funny spin in Joshua Ferris' debut novel, Then We Came to the End: A Novel. A New York Times top five fiction book of the year, it captures office politics and relationships with surgical precision as an unnamed Chicago advertising agency enters a period of down-sizing.

* Amazon Best of the Month Spotlight Title, April 2007: It's 2001. The dot-com bubble has burst and rolling layoffs have hit an unnamed Chicago advertising firm sending employees into an escalating siege mentality as their numbers dwindle. As a parade of employees depart, bankers boxes filled with their personal effects, those left behind raid their fallen comrades' offices, sifting through the detritus for the errant desk lamp or Aeron chair. Written with confidence in the tricky-to-pull-off first-person plural, the collective fishbowl perspective of the "we" voice nails the dynamics of cubicle culture--the deadlines, the gossip, the elaborate pranks to break the boredom, the joy of discovering free food in the breakroom. Arch, achingly funny, and surprisingly heartfelt, it's a view of how your work becomes a symbiotic part of your life. A dysfunctional family of misfits forced together and fondly remembered as it falls apart. Praised as "the Catch-22 of the business world" and "The Office meets Kafka," I'm happy to report that Joshua Ferris's brilliant debut lives up to every ounce of pre-publication hype and instantly became one of my favorite books of the year. --Brad Thomas Parsons

I'll put on a poll pretty soon for voting!

Voting Closed

Ok, I think it's been a sufficient amount of time, so I will close voting on Mendy's choices. We will be reading The Once and Future King, which I hear is hefty, so start early! Thanks, Mendy.

Mendy's Choices

My choices are "Michael's Favorite Books I've Never Read"

(1) Penrod by Booth Tarkington--a coming of age novel which Michael claims is hilarious. I've also heard President Monson quote from it over the pulpit (I've never seen my Michael so happy!) http://www.amazon.com/Penrod-Library-Indiana-Classics-Tarkington/dp/0253203619

(2) The Once and Future King by T.H. White-- a novel about King Aurthur's life. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Once_and_Future_King

(3) An American Childhood by Annie Dillard-- a memoir of a happy childhood (I think) http://www.pschulze.com/subweb/americachild/

Okay, so there are my choices. Won't my Michael be so happy when I finally read of of his favorite books!

May Book

Ok, looks like The Book Thief won for May. Cheri will be hosting that on May 1st, I believe. If you need to have it at your house, contact Cheri to see if she is willing to accommodate you.

As for our next few books, I know it seems early, but try to think of some book choices. June is coming up faster than you think! So, July and August at least, but also September if you can, post your book choices in the next month so we can vote on them! (by the way, I like this new poll program much better than the old one. You can do it yourself, or I will, but this one seems to be working much better.)

One more item: Nicole, since you are leaving in August, would you like to host one more time? I'm sure no one would mind if we scoot down and have you choose! Just let us know.

May Books

Ok, here is a poll for our May book. I think I got all the suggestions in there. Vote by March 15th please.

March and Beyond

So as you can see, we are now reading Pope Joan by Donna Woodfolk Cross. Jenni will be hosting at Corinne's house on March 6th.

After that, we will be reading Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo in April hosted by Brenda.

Cheri would like us to choose the books to choose from for May. I know many of us wanted to read The Book Thief, but please place other ideas in the comments section. After we get a few I'll post a poll for those.

June's book is The Richest Man in Babylon hosted by Jen.

So, we're almost all caught up on our future reading! Mendy, Jann, and Kathy, start thinking about some choices for us. We'll need them in a couple months, but you are welcome to put them up any time you feel the inspiration.

Happy Reading!

Galileo's Daughter

by Dava Sobel.

We had a very good discussion of Galileo's Daughter on Feb 7th. Everyone found the book to be quite interesting, and had learned (or remembered) things that they hadn't known. We began by giving a brief synopsis of the book for those that hadn't finished it. We talked a bit about the differences between the 17th century way of life vs our own, as well as about convent life, which we hadn't really known before. I personally liked the discussions in the book on physics and Galileo's discoveries.

Yummies were italian in nature, veggie tray, tomatoes stuffed with cottage cheese and sprinkled with italian herbs, grapes, and Margherita Pizza. Yum!