Here are the choices for November's reading:
* Growing Up In Medieval London, Barbara Hanawalt -- I couldn't resist a little history. :) This is an accessible (i.e. not too technical or boring!) look at childhood in the medieval period. The library has three copies, so it's also available without having to buy.
* The Actor and the Housewife, Shannon Hale -- I haven't read this yet, but understand it will make for some interesting discussion.
* The Scarlet Pimpernel, Baroness Orczy -- If anyone has seen the 1980s movie version, the book is more complex and the characterizations more rich, but it's still a fun adventure set during the French Revolution.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Book Choices for October
From Carolyn:
- Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare
- Anne of Green Gables, L. M. Montgomery
- A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
If you need/want reviews or plot summaries, try Amazon.com. I'll leave the poll open for a couple of weeks, so everyone has a chance to vote!
- Much Ado About Nothing, William Shakespeare
- Anne of Green Gables, L. M. Montgomery
- A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
If you need/want reviews or plot summaries, try Amazon.com. I'll leave the poll open for a couple of weeks, so everyone has a chance to vote!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Book Choices for September
Here are some books I have lined up that I wanted to read :)
Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong
The library doesn't have this one, but you can buy it for $.09 on amazon :)
This staunchly unsentimental, evocative novel, originally published in Huong's native Vietnam and beautifully translated by Duong and McPherson, offers a narrative rich in detail and free of cliche. The author, who lives with her children in Hanoi, depicts the complexity of Vietnamese culture--the allegiance to family and ancestors, the symbolic value of food, class distinctions and the continuing sense of desperation mingled with pride. The protagonist, Hang, a physically fragile young woman of the '80s, recalls Hanoi in the previous decade. While there are subtle allusions to war and peacetime, Huong's focus is on the shifting, uneasy relationships between modernized Hang and her traditionalist mother, a merchant who peddles food; Hang's selfish, hypocritical uncle, a communist peasant; and Hang's comparatively wealthy, unconditionally loving aunt. Contrasts between young, old, urban and rural, help to convey the full variety of Vietnamese lifestyles. McPherson's introduction provides essential background information without spoiling the plot of Huong's unquestionably powerful tale.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel brings to life the attitudes and passions of 17th century New England. Condemned by her Puritan fellows for having a child out of wedlock, Hester Prynne is forced to wear a scarlet letter.
Rachel Calof's Story: Jewish Homesteader on the Northern Plains by Rachel Calof
library has ONE copy :) cheapest for $1.98 on amazon
In 1894, the 18-year-old Calof, a Russian Jew, was shipped to the U.S. to marry an unknown man and stake a homesteading claim with him in North Dakota. She later set down her memories of that time in fluid prose that occasionally reveals a biting sense of humor. Although her circumstances were often pathetic, Calof never is. She writes matter-of-factly about her 12'x 14' dirt-floored shanty, her husband's unappealing family and their unsanitary living arrangements. An epilogue by Calof's son, Jacob, picks up the courageous author's story in St. Paul, Minn., in 1917, while an essay by J. Sanford Rikoon on the phenomenon of Jewish farm settlements provides fascinating background.
Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong
The library doesn't have this one, but you can buy it for $.09 on amazon :)
This staunchly unsentimental, evocative novel, originally published in Huong's native Vietnam and beautifully translated by Duong and McPherson, offers a narrative rich in detail and free of cliche. The author, who lives with her children in Hanoi, depicts the complexity of Vietnamese culture--the allegiance to family and ancestors, the symbolic value of food, class distinctions and the continuing sense of desperation mingled with pride. The protagonist, Hang, a physically fragile young woman of the '80s, recalls Hanoi in the previous decade. While there are subtle allusions to war and peacetime, Huong's focus is on the shifting, uneasy relationships between modernized Hang and her traditionalist mother, a merchant who peddles food; Hang's selfish, hypocritical uncle, a communist peasant; and Hang's comparatively wealthy, unconditionally loving aunt. Contrasts between young, old, urban and rural, help to convey the full variety of Vietnamese lifestyles. McPherson's introduction provides essential background information without spoiling the plot of Huong's unquestionably powerful tale.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel brings to life the attitudes and passions of 17th century New England. Condemned by her Puritan fellows for having a child out of wedlock, Hester Prynne is forced to wear a scarlet letter.
Rachel Calof's Story: Jewish Homesteader on the Northern Plains by Rachel Calof
library has ONE copy :) cheapest for $1.98 on amazon
In 1894, the 18-year-old Calof, a Russian Jew, was shipped to the U.S. to marry an unknown man and stake a homesteading claim with him in North Dakota. She later set down her memories of that time in fluid prose that occasionally reveals a biting sense of humor. Although her circumstances were often pathetic, Calof never is. She writes matter-of-factly about her 12'x 14' dirt-floored shanty, her husband's unappealing family and their unsanitary living arrangements. An epilogue by Calof's son, Jacob, picks up the courageous author's story in St. Paul, Minn., in 1917, while an essay by J. Sanford Rikoon on the phenomenon of Jewish farm settlements provides fascinating background.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Just so you know....
.... We had a great discussion of Guernsey last night! Thanks for hosting, Cari! Even if you couldn't make it, I hope you read the book. It's well worth your time.
We were thinking we might have an informal meeting in August and just discuss whatever we've been reading individually. Let me know what you think.
Corinne will be hosting in September and will have some choices for us soon, so check back for a poll!
We were thinking we might have an informal meeting in August and just discuss whatever we've been reading individually. Let me know what you think.
Corinne will be hosting in September and will have some choices for us soon, so check back for a poll!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Changes
Just in case anyone reads this, we are moving Unwind to May 15th (so keep reading!) and Guernsey to June, either the 5th or the 19th. Any preferences? The 2nd Friday is the weekend of Stake Conf, and there is a meeting that night.
Also if anyone has ideas/opinions on summer reading, please let me know. I'll compile a list of suggestions soon and we can discuss at the next book club or via email what we'd like to do.
Also if anyone has ideas/opinions on summer reading, please let me know. I'll compile a list of suggestions soon and we can discuss at the next book club or via email what we'd like to do.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Choices for May
Here are Cari's choices for May's reading. Please use the poll on the right to make your selection. I'll leave it open for 2 weeks to give us a chance to make our opinions known. They both sound really good:
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
One review from Amazon.com:
From Bookmarks Magazine“Traditional without seeming stale, and romantic without being naïve” (San Francisco Chronicle), this epistolary novel, based on Mary Ann Shaffer’s painstaking, lifelong research, is a homage to booklovers and a nostalgic portrayal of an era. As her quirky, loveable characters cite the works of Shakespeare, Austen, and the Brontës, Shaffer subtly weaves those writers’ themes into her own narrative. However, it is the tragic stories of life under Nazi occupation that animate the novel and give it its urgency; furthermore, the novel explores the darker side of human nature without becoming maudlin. The Rocky Mountain News criticized the novel’s lighthearted tone and characterizations, but most critics agreed that, with its humor and optimism, Guernsey “affirms the power of books to nourish people during hard times” (Washington Post).Copyright 2008 Bookmarks Publishing LLC --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Banker To The Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty
Also from Amazon.com:
From Library JournalBangladesh, a country the size of Florida with a population of over 120 million people, is the home of Grameen Bank, the inspiration of economist Yunus, Bangladesh-born and U.S.-trained. Instead of spending his life as a university economics professor, Yunus decided in the mid-1970s to develop a micro-lending program to help the poorest people of his country. Yunus based the program on his strong belief that the very poor do not need complicated training programs to improve their economic lot. They need money, in the form of loans. This program has empowered thousands of peopleAmany of them womenAand surprised experts in economic development who never believed that the very poor would find the initiative and ability to repay even the smallest ($25-$500) loans. Grameen ("of the village") Bank has developed into an internationally acclaimed and replicated method for assisting the impoverished in Malaysia, the Philippines, Nepal, and even the United States. Definitely recommended for larger public and academic libraries.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
One review from Amazon.com:
From Bookmarks Magazine“Traditional without seeming stale, and romantic without being naïve” (San Francisco Chronicle), this epistolary novel, based on Mary Ann Shaffer’s painstaking, lifelong research, is a homage to booklovers and a nostalgic portrayal of an era. As her quirky, loveable characters cite the works of Shakespeare, Austen, and the Brontës, Shaffer subtly weaves those writers’ themes into her own narrative. However, it is the tragic stories of life under Nazi occupation that animate the novel and give it its urgency; furthermore, the novel explores the darker side of human nature without becoming maudlin. The Rocky Mountain News criticized the novel’s lighthearted tone and characterizations, but most critics agreed that, with its humor and optimism, Guernsey “affirms the power of books to nourish people during hard times” (Washington Post).Copyright 2008 Bookmarks Publishing LLC --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Banker To The Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty
Also from Amazon.com:
From Library JournalBangladesh, a country the size of Florida with a population of over 120 million people, is the home of Grameen Bank, the inspiration of economist Yunus, Bangladesh-born and U.S.-trained. Instead of spending his life as a university economics professor, Yunus decided in the mid-1970s to develop a micro-lending program to help the poorest people of his country. Yunus based the program on his strong belief that the very poor do not need complicated training programs to improve their economic lot. They need money, in the form of loans. This program has empowered thousands of peopleAmany of them womenAand surprised experts in economic development who never believed that the very poor would find the initiative and ability to repay even the smallest ($25-$500) loans. Grameen ("of the village") Bank has developed into an internationally acclaimed and replicated method for assisting the impoverished in Malaysia, the Philippines, Nepal, and even the United States. Definitely recommended for larger public and academic libraries.
Friday, March 13, 2009
MEETING TONIGHT
Book Club tonight at my house. Call for directions or meet us here at 8:00! Bring a friend! :)
Deborah
Deborah
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