Book Club tonight at my house. Call for directions or meet us here at 8:00! Bring a friend! :)
Deborah
Friday, March 13, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Erin's Choices
Here are Erin's Book Choices for April. I'm trying something new and using Blogger's poll gadget, so look on the sidebar to vote! (Why weren't we doing this before????)
YA Books with lots of Discussion Potential
YA Books with lots of Discussion Potential
The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman
Honor and her parents have been reassigned to live on Island 365 in the Tranquil Sea. Life is peaceful there—the color of the sky is regulated by Earth Mother, a corporation that controls New Weather, and it almost never rains. Everyone fits into their rightful and predictable place. . . .
Except Honor. She doesn’t fit in, but then she meets Helix, a boy with a big heart and a keen sense for the world around them. Slowly, Honor and Helix begin to uncover a terrible truth about life on the Island: Sooner or later, those who are unpredictable disappear . . . and they don’t ever come back.
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that would "unwind" them
Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev's unwinding has been planned since his birth, as part of his family's strict religion. Brought together by chance, and kept together by desperation, these three unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance. If they can survive until theireighteenth birthday, they can't be harmed -- but when every piece of them, from their hands to their hearts, are wanted by a world gone mad, eighteen seems far, far away.
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
Who is Jenna Fox? Seventeen-year-old Jenna has been told that is her name. She has just awoken from a coma, they tell her, and she is still recovering from a terrible accident in which she was involved a year ago. But what happened before that? Jenna doesn't remember her life. Or does she? And are the memories really hers?
This fascinating novel represents a stunning new direction for acclaimed author Mary Pearson. Set in a near future America, it takes readers on an unforgettable journey through questions of bio-medical ethics and the nature of humanity. Mary Pearson's vividly drawn characters and masterful writing soar to a new level of sophistication.
NEW DAY
So, we're going to try meeting on the SECOND FRIDAY of the month. Let's try it and see how it goes.
If you're hosting (or attending) and you want to change which Friday (say, move it to the 3rd Friday) go ahead and email or post here and see if everyone is down with that. Sound good? Great.
If you're hosting (or attending) and you want to change which Friday (say, move it to the 3rd Friday) go ahead and email or post here and see if everyone is down with that. Sound good? Great.
Friday, January 9, 2009
MOVIE CHANGE
As of right now, only two people were going to see the movie, so we're putting it off till next week. So, if you were going to see it tonight and didn't tell me, better call me pretty soon, and we'll still go.
Otherwise, please leave a comment or email me if you are planning to come next Friday (16th) at 8:15 at Snowden Square, with yummy treats and discussion beforehand at 7:00. Thanks.
Otherwise, please leave a comment or email me if you are planning to come next Friday (16th) at 8:15 at Snowden Square, with yummy treats and discussion beforehand at 7:00. Thanks.
Movie
In case anyone reads this instead of their email, we're going to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button at 8:15 at Snowden Square. Come to my house at 7:00 if you want to talk about the book first and drive together.
Monday, December 8, 2008
February Book Choices
Ok, so since February is all about romance, I thought I'd do the following theme:
Classic Romance Novels (that I have not read by three of my favorite authors)
A Laodicean by Thomas Hardy.
Hardy is my favorite author, but I never have read this one. The following little review seems sort of dry, but I guarantee you, no Hardy novel is dry. Romantic desire is at the heart of each of his stories, while interwoven with a different social/economical dilemma in each.
Using the restoration of a castle as a framework, classic novelist Thomas Hardy considers the ancient analogy between architecture and philosophy. "Laodicean" is a term for early Christians lukewarm in their beliefs. Hardy's character, passionate architect George Somerset finds himself captivated by "Laodicean" Paula Power, whose views on conventions of any kind are lukewarm at best.
The Professor by Charlotte Bronte.
This book is said to be her most autobiographical. While the main character is actually a man, it describes Charlotte's obsession with her own professor, which resonates in each of her novels.
The hero of Charlotte Bronte's first novel escapes a dreary clerkship in industrial Yorkshire by taking a job as a teacher in Belgium. There, however, his entanglement with the sensuous but manipulative Zoraide Reuter, complicates his affections for a penniless girl who is both teacher and pupil in Reuter's school.
Twilight Sleep by Edith Wharton.
Ummm . . . so this one does not sound strictly "romantic" but I couldn't resist given the title. I cannot imagine the romance takes too far of a back seat, given Wharton's history. Here is a little review (the shortest I could find!):
Wharton is as stunningly effective as in "A House of Mirth", here conveying the frustration of a circle of people interdependent upon one another, destined to follow society's rules no matter what the cost. Each character desperately clutches at a "twilight sleep"; the mode of coping each engages to distance reality. Masquerading as habit or whim, the painted veil of illusion overlays each mode of addictive escape. Nona, the beautiful, well-bred New Yorker struggles with an imperatrix sister-in-law Lita, whose values (and their consequences) threaten the entire social order Nona's family fabric is woven of. The Marchesa dispenses her social value as Pauline erases her son's debts. Lita's tabloid exposure and screen career must be suppressed. The men escape into work while the women flail at vanity of excess. The whistle of tragedy sounds in the distance as Nona falls into love with a married man, her brother Jim hopelessly esconced in a bad marriage with a woman he idolises, while her father works himself into an eagerly embraced oblivion, while Jim's father openly drinks to forget the societal oasis he knew before his divorce. Nona's mother compulsively schedules all their lives to death, while pursuing the escapist mysticism of faith healing and the blind support of the latest guru. As the Jazz Age brings down the curtain on the theatre of old New York and its values, Art and Cinema loom. While the family coalesces at their country estate to save Jim and Lita's marriage, each battle with their chosen talisman against life and its evils. Much more is at stake and much more is lost. This startlingly psychological novel will fascinate any student of life. The sacrifice of a fragment to obtain the societal whole inevitably comes, more starkly portrayed here than anywhere, the novel having served as forceful denouement. In the tolling bells of Whartons' worlds, the death of illusion sounds the deepest peal.
There you have it. Here is a poll:
Classic Romance Novels (that I have not read by three of my favorite authors)
A Laodicean by Thomas Hardy.
Hardy is my favorite author, but I never have read this one. The following little review seems sort of dry, but I guarantee you, no Hardy novel is dry. Romantic desire is at the heart of each of his stories, while interwoven with a different social/economical dilemma in each.
Using the restoration of a castle as a framework, classic novelist Thomas Hardy considers the ancient analogy between architecture and philosophy. "Laodicean" is a term for early Christians lukewarm in their beliefs. Hardy's character, passionate architect George Somerset finds himself captivated by "Laodicean" Paula Power, whose views on conventions of any kind are lukewarm at best.
The Professor by Charlotte Bronte.
This book is said to be her most autobiographical. While the main character is actually a man, it describes Charlotte's obsession with her own professor, which resonates in each of her novels.
The hero of Charlotte Bronte's first novel escapes a dreary clerkship in industrial Yorkshire by taking a job as a teacher in Belgium. There, however, his entanglement with the sensuous but manipulative Zoraide Reuter, complicates his affections for a penniless girl who is both teacher and pupil in Reuter's school.
Twilight Sleep by Edith Wharton.
Ummm . . . so this one does not sound strictly "romantic" but I couldn't resist given the title. I cannot imagine the romance takes too far of a back seat, given Wharton's history. Here is a little review (the shortest I could find!):
Wharton is as stunningly effective as in "A House of Mirth", here conveying the frustration of a circle of people interdependent upon one another, destined to follow society's rules no matter what the cost. Each character desperately clutches at a "twilight sleep"; the mode of coping each engages to distance reality. Masquerading as habit or whim, the painted veil of illusion overlays each mode of addictive escape. Nona, the beautiful, well-bred New Yorker struggles with an imperatrix sister-in-law Lita, whose values (and their consequences) threaten the entire social order Nona's family fabric is woven of. The Marchesa dispenses her social value as Pauline erases her son's debts. Lita's tabloid exposure and screen career must be suppressed. The men escape into work while the women flail at vanity of excess. The whistle of tragedy sounds in the distance as Nona falls into love with a married man, her brother Jim hopelessly esconced in a bad marriage with a woman he idolises, while her father works himself into an eagerly embraced oblivion, while Jim's father openly drinks to forget the societal oasis he knew before his divorce. Nona's mother compulsively schedules all their lives to death, while pursuing the escapist mysticism of faith healing and the blind support of the latest guru. As the Jazz Age brings down the curtain on the theatre of old New York and its values, Art and Cinema loom. While the family coalesces at their country estate to save Jim and Lita's marriage, each battle with their chosen talisman against life and its evils. Much more is at stake and much more is lost. This startlingly psychological novel will fascinate any student of life. The sacrifice of a fragment to obtain the societal whole inevitably comes, more starkly portrayed here than anywhere, the novel having served as forceful denouement. In the tolling bells of Whartons' worlds, the death of illusion sounds the deepest peal.
There you have it. Here is a poll:
Sunday, December 7, 2008
March's pick
I know I'm supposed to provide options, but I really want to read this book. We can chat about it Tuesday night, but if no one has a problem with it, this is my choice for my month:
Silence, Shusaku Endo - written in Japanese, but translated into English. :) Fictional story of a Catholic priest in Japan during the early 17th century when Hideyoshi outlawed Christianity. Based on real events, it's very powerful and an interesting look at the very brief success Christianity had in Japan before being purposely obliterated.
Let me know if you'd like more options.....
Silence, Shusaku Endo - written in Japanese, but translated into English. :) Fictional story of a Catholic priest in Japan during the early 17th century when Hideyoshi outlawed Christianity. Based on real events, it's very powerful and an interesting look at the very brief success Christianity had in Japan before being purposely obliterated.
Let me know if you'd like more options.....
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