Book Club Check

Book For August is The Inheritance of Loss

2007-08-02T21:55:00.000-05:00

The book for our August book club is The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. This is the 2007 Booker Man Award Winner. As we were discussing last Tuesday night, the book is dense with description, and a little bit slower reading. It is probably not something you want to save until the last minute to go out and buy, thinking you can knock it out in a weekend. (I don't even think Erica could read this one that fast.) The August meeting will be August 28 at 7:30.

We also went ahead and made our pick for September: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Start thinking about some other books you would like to be reading and we can plan a couple of more months ahead next time we meet. Remember, both fiction and non-fiction are fair game in this group.

Happy reading and see you soon. ~ Jen

Peace Like a River Brought Forth Piece of a Chocolate Cake

2007-08-02T14:17:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone who came to book club on Tuesday - it was good to see so many people there! And thanks to Erica who brought the Zucchini Chocolate Cake. As promised, here is the recipe:

Zucchini Chocolate Cake
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups shredded zucchini
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate baking chips
1 cup salad oil
4 large eggs

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in zucchini, and chocolate chips. In a small bowl, beat oil and eggs; add to dry mixture and mix well.Spread batter in an oiled 9 by13 inch baking dish or pan.

Bake in a 325° oven until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. (recipe from Erica's friend Judy Perez)

It sure was a nice treat for such delightful conversation. ~ Jen

Book Club meets Tuesday to Discuss Peace Like a River

2007-07-25T12:25:00.001-05:00

With the summer rolling along, I want to remind everyone that we will be meeting next Tuesday, July 31 to discuss Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger. If you haven't picked it up yet, I think you will find there is still time. It's a real quick read and a very enjoyable story. Leif Enger is a reporter and producer for Minnesota Public Radio - his writing style is relaxed, spiritual, and just a tinge on the folksy side. It's a nice summer read.
I thought for a change I would include a reading/discussion guide for the book. Take a look over the questions - it may get you thinking of ideas you would want to discuss about the book. I will bring copies of the guide, but I don't intend to go question by question, structured like school. Maybe it will be good for discussion starters:

Reading Guide - Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

1. As the novel begins—indeed, as the very life of this novel's narrator begins—a miracle happens. Describe it. How does it happen? Who accomplishes it? Begin your discussion of this book by recounting the major and minor miracles that occur throughout. What role do they play in Peace Like a River?

2. Born with a severe case of asthma, Reuben Land, our young hero and narrator, must often struggle to bring air into his lungs. Throughout the book, Reuben is preoccupied with his own breathing, and the act of breathing functions in this story as a metaphor for life itself. How does Reuben cope with his ailment, and how is his character influenced by it? Provide instances where breathing takes on special meaning in the narrative.

3. Consider the details of the double homicide committed by Davy, Reuben's older brother. Does Reuben see Davy as a murderer, or as one who acted in self-defense? Does he want Davy brought to justice, or does he think justice has already been served? What about the other main characters: how do they feel? And what about you, the reader? How was your impression of Davy—and of this novel—influenced by his actions? Discuss how the novel explores the idea of loyalty.

4. Peace Like a River is set mainly in rural Minnesota and the Badlands of North Dakota during the early 1960s. Like early American pioneers, or perhaps like mythic heroes, the Lands set out to rescue one of their own amidst the beauty and cruelty of the natural world. How does the Land family contend with this raw, uncivilized, and sometimes brutal landscape? Identify events or circumstances in which the novel's setting contributes to its elemental or mythic quality.

5. Swede, Reuben's imaginative, prolific, and precocious younger sister, creates an epic poem about a cowboy named Sunny Sundown. Talk about Sunny's ongoing saga as an ironic commentary on Reuben's larger narrative. What are the parallels?

6. Besides the Sunny Sundown text, several other outlaw tales, literary allusions, biblical legends, and historical asides are offered—by Swede or by Reuben himself. Identify a few of these stories-within-the-story, explaining how each enriches or influences the main narrative.

7. Discuss the character of Jeremiah Land, Reuben's father—and the center of his moral compass. What are Jeremiah's strengths, as a person and a parent? Does he have any weaknesses? Why did his wife leave him, all those years ago? And why does he "heal" the grotesque employer who fires him (p. 80)? Explain how the novel's dual themes of familial love and ardent faith are met in this character.

8. Both during Davy's trial and after his escape from prison, we encounter a variety of public viewpoints on what Reuben's brother has done. Such viewpoints, usually presented as personal letters or newspaper editorials, are always steadfast yet often contradictory. What does Reuben seem to realize about the so-called "court of public opinion," in light of these viewpoints?

9. Prayer is described in many ways, and on many occasions, in Peace Like a River. Reading this book, did you discover anything about the activity of, reasons for, or consequences of prayer? What larger points—about religion and human nature, say—might the author be making with his varied depictions of people at prayer? For instance, when remembering a prayer he said that included blessings for even his enemies, Reuben comments thus regarding Jape Waltzer: "Later I would wish I'd spent more time on him particularly" (p. 285). Why does Reuben feel this way? What power does he recognize in his own prayers? Discuss the impact prayer has on Reuben, and how it transforms him.

10. Recovering from a near-fatal asthmatic collapse, Reuben muses: "The infirm wait always, and know it" (p. 290). Given Reuben's physical condition, and given what we know about his ancestry and the story at hand, what is Reuben "waiting" for? How is his waiting resolved? Can this analogy be applied to any of the other characters?

11. The final miracle in Peace Like a River occurs, of course, when Jeremiah surrenders his life for Reuben. But why, at an earlier point in the story, does Reuben observe, "Since arriving at [Roxanna's] house, we'd had no miracles whatever" (p. 257). Discuss the truth and falsehood of this remark. How might Roxanna herself be seen as a miracle?

12. What does the character of Roxanna bring to the Land family? What does she provide that the Lands had lacked before her arrival? Over the course of the novel, Reuben's attitude and his physical descriptions of Roxanna change. In what ways does it change, do you think Roxanna’s attitudes toward the Lands as a family and Jeremiah as a person undergo a similar metamorphosis?

13. In "Be Jubilant, My Feet," the next-to-last chapter, Reuben and Jeremiah enter a world beyond this one. "Here in the orchard," our hero recalls, "I had a glimmer of origin: Adam, I thought" (p. 301). Where exactly are Reuben and his father? What happens to them? How have these crucial events been foreshadowed, and how are they new or unprecedented?

14. Much of this novel concerns the inner life of childhood: imagination, storytelling, chores, play, and school life. Discuss the author's portrayal of childhood. Do the children depicted here seem realistic? Why or why not?

15. Remembering his own childhood, author Leif Enger recently noted: "I grew up squinting from the backseat at gently rolling hills and true flatlands, where you could top a rise and see a tractor raising dust three miles away. So much world and sky is visible, it's hard to put much stock in your own influence." Does this type of relationship between the individual and the natural world appear in Peace Like a River? If so, where? Identify key passages or scenes where the characters seem inferior to the landscape, or even at the mercy of it.

16. Finishing his story, Reuben notes: "You should know that Jape Waltzer proved as uncatchable as Swede's own Valdez" (p. 309). What do the characters of Jape and Valdez represent in this novel? Conclude your discussion by comparing and contrasting Peace Like a River with the traditional morality play—the symbolic drama (dating back to medieval times) based on the eternal struggle between Good and Evil.

Study Guide Source: http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/peace_like_a_river1.asp

Book for July 31 - Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

2007-06-30T07:40:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone who joined in a spirited discussion of presidential assassinations last month.

This month's book, Peace Like a River shifts gears to a winding narrative:

From Booklist

What readers will appreciate first in Enger's marvelous novel is the language. His limpid sentences are composed with the clarity and richness for which poets strive. It takes longer to get caught up in the story, but gradually, as the complex narrative unwinds, readers will find themselves immersed in an exceptionally heartfelt and moving tale about the resilience of family relationships, told in retrospect through the prism of memory. "We all hold history differently inside us," says narrator Reuben, who was an adolescent in Minnesota in the 1960s, when his brother, Davy, shot and killed two young men who were harassing the family. Rueben's father--in Rueben's estimation fully capable of performing miracles even though the outside world believed him to be lost in the clouds--packs Reuben and his sister up and follows the trail Davy has left in his flight from the law. Their journey comprises the action in the novel, but this is not really a book about adventures on the road. Rather, it is a story of relationships in which the exploration of character takes precedence over incident. Enger's profound understanding of human nature stands behind his compelling prose.

- Brad Hooper Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition

* Also Promised: The book that we will be reading is August is The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. More about this later.

For now, enjoy Peace like a River. Happy Reading! - Jen

We Meet Next Tuesday at 7:30

2007-06-21T23:19:00.000-05:00

Okay - after talking to Erica, it seems as though I am the only one who has been thoroughly confused about what we are reading when. I am glad blogging has gotten me back on track. After a very long wait for some of you, we will finally be discussing Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell on Tuesday June 26 at 7:30. As always, we will be meeting at church. I hope you all have enjoyed/ are enjoying this book as much as I am.

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to participate in the Hunger Walk. Though the number of walkers for LMC was very low, we raised enough money to feed a family of three breakfast, lunch, and dinner for an entire year. Everytime I figure out my budget and go to the grocery store, I keep thinking about the book Nickle and Dimed. With rising food and energy costs for everyone I was happy to get up very early (for me) on a Saturday morning and walk a few miles to raise some money and help others out. Who knows, it might be the clerk at the grocery store I am helping to feed.

Here is a little video (my new toy) I shot at the Hunger Walk. I thought it would be fun to share with you all.

I'll see you all on Tuesday - Jen

Hey, Look, Jen Can Blog Again

2007-06-13T22:47:00.000-05:00

After a very long absence, and some mix-ups, I am back blogging again. My wrist is back in shape and book club is back in line - and we are reading Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell for June 26.

If you haven't picked it up yet, it is a fun, quirky little read - perfect for summer.

Have you ever played that game - if you could invite 3 people, living or dead to a dinner party, who would you invite? I was always able to come up with my first 2 very easily: Eleanor Roosevelt (my personal hero), Terry Gross (the host of NPR Fresh Air). And then I would stall. I couldn't think of a 3rd who I would really wan't to have a conversation with. I think that has now all changed. I think Sarah Vowell would be the dinner party 4th. I think I would enjoy talking about obscur historical events and possible parallel current events with her.

Happy reading, and I can't wait to talk about Assassination Vacation with all of you.

No Book Club in December and Reading List for Jan, Feb, March 2007

2006-11-30T13:51:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone who attended book club last Tuesday night. I know with all that was going on, reading Nickel and Dimed was just one more thing. But we did have great, spirited discussion about the ever-growing and very complex issue of the working poor.

I happened to catch a bit of 20/20 last night and they were discussing who gives the most proportionately in the US. Church goers give more to all charities than those who don’t go to church; and the rich give more than the middle class. But the group who gave most to others was the working poor (the middle class gave the least proportionately). I just thought it was an interesting fact for a group of people who, as we read, struggle so hard.

There was another person on the show who did studies that showed giving makes people feel good – physiologically. That made me think. I once heard a pastor’s stewardship sermon (yes, I listened) where part of the message was that we think we should give until it hurts. He said we should give beyond that until we give until it feels good. No point in that antidote, just an interesting correlation that I remembered. But I digress.

As we decided, we will NOT be meeting in December. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you.

Here are the books for January, February, and March of 2007.

January: The Memory’s Keeper’s Daughter – Kim Edwards

From Publishers Weekly Edwards's assured but schematic debut novel (after her collection, The Secrets of a Fire King) hinges on the birth of fraternal twins, a healthy boy and a girl with Down syndrome, resulting in the father's disavowal of his newborn daughter. A snowstorm immobilizes Lexington, Ky., in 1964, and when young Norah Henry goes into labor, her husband, orthopedic surgeon Dr. David Henry, must deliver their babies himself, aided only by a nurse. Seeing his daughter's handicap, he instructs the nurse, Caroline Gill, to take her to a home and later tells Norah, who was drugged during labor, that their son Paul's twin died at birth. Instead of institutionalizing Phoebe, Caroline absconds with her to Pittsburgh. David's deception becomes the defining moment of the main characters' lives, and Phoebe's absence corrodes her birth family's core over the course of the next 25 years. David's undetected lie warps his marriage; he grapples with guilt; Norah mourns her lost child; and Paul not only deals with his parents' icy relationship but with his own yearnings for his sister as well. Though the impact of Phoebe's loss makes sense, Edwards's redundant handling of the trope robs it of credibility. This neatly structured story is a little too moist with compassion. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

February: The Knife Man: Blood, Body Snatching, and the Birth of Modern Surgery – Wendy Moore

Book Description In an era when bloodletting was considered a cure for everything from colds to smallpox, surgeon John Hunter was a medical innovator, an eccentric, and the person to whom anyone who has ever had surgery probably owes his or her life. In this sensational and macabre story, we meet the surgeon who counted not only luminaries Benjamin Franklin, Lord Byron, Adam Smith, and Thomas Gainsborough among his patients but also “resurrection men” among his close acquaintances. A captivating portrait of his ruthless devotion to uncovering the secrets of the human body, and the extraordinary lengths to which he went to do so—including body snatching, performing pioneering medical experiments, and infecting himself with venereal disease—this rich historical narrative at last acknowledges this fascinating man and the debt we owe him today. (Amazon.com)

March: The Widow of the South – Robert Hicks

From Publishers Weekly Hicks's big historical first novel, based on true events in his hometown, follows the saga of Carrie McGavock, a lonely Confederate wife who finds purpose transforming her Tennessee plantation into a hospital and cemetery during the Civil War. Carrie is mourning the death of several of her children, and, in the absence of her husband, has left the care of her house to her capable Creole slave Mariah. Before the 1864 battle of Franklin, Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest commandeers her house as a field hospital. In alternating points of view, the battle is recounted by different witnesses, including Union Lt. Nathan Stiles, who watches waves of rebels shot dead, and Confederate Sgt. Zachariah Cashwell, who loses a leg. By the end of the battle, 9,000 soldiers have perished, and thousands of Confederates are buried in a field near the McGavock plantation. Zachariah ends up in Carrie's care at the makeshift hospital, and their rather chaste love forms the emotional pulse of the novel, while Carrie fights to relocate the buried soldiers when her wealthy neighbor threatens to plow up the field after the war. Valiantly, Hicks returns to small, human stories in the midst of an epic catastrophe. Though occasionally overwrought, this impressively researched novel will fascinate aficionados. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Relating back to our discussion from Tuesday again, I was reading Fortune on-line and came across these articles that show Wal-Mart is a complicated issue (as discussed). Thought you might be interested.

Attack of the Wal- Martyrs

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_
archive/2006/12/11/8395445/index.htm?postversion=2006112813

Wal – Mart Becomes Gay Friendly

http://money.cnn.com/2006/11/28/news/companies/
pluggedin_gunther_gayWalMart.fortune/index.htm

Wal – Mart’s New “Green” Image – The Green Machine

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_
archive/2006/08/07/8382593/index.htm

Wal-Mart extends $4 generic drug program

http://money.cnn.com/2006/10/26/news/
companies/walmart_drugs/index.htm?postversion=2006102609

I will see all of you around. Happy reading.

Jen

Book Club is Tomorrow Night

2006-11-27T11:29:00.000-06:00

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Erica and I only had to travel 10 minutes this year - seems much more reasonable than 6 hours for a meal.

Tomorrow night is the magic night when we meet to discuss Nickle and Dimed. I still haven't finished it - come even if you haven't - it's a book about society and I am sure everyone will have something to say about the topics even if you haven't read, or finished the book.

We aren't meeting in December because of the holiday week, but we will be back in January. We have picked the next books, but I can't recall them right now. Another great reason to show up tomorrow night - find out what to books to get a jump on for new year's reading.

See you all Tuesday, Nov. 28, at 7:30 at church.

Jen

Novemember's book is Nickle and Dimed

2006-11-06T11:28:00.000-06:00

I know Novemeber is a busy month, but let's all try to find the time to read this book (Nickle and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich) that Laura suggested. It's only 240 pages!

Laura has also been a great advocate for indepent and local book stores; so I thought I would put a link to some that she has mentioned in book club.

http://www.centerstagechicago.com/literature/bookstores/styles/indylocal.html

This has a write up and directions to some she has mentioned including Barbara's Bookstore, Book Cellar, Inc., and Women and Children First. Even if you have already have your copy of this month's book, holiday giving is just around the corner.

Jen

Don't Forget - We Meet OCT 31 to discuss THE RED TENT

2006-10-23T10:02:00.000-05:00

If you are like me, you are on about page 43 of The Red Tent think, Oh, I've read this before, it should be no problem. If you are like Erica, you have finished the book and keep thinking that we are meeting before we actually are.

Zebedee reminds us that we are meeting on Tuesday, the 31st and he says it should be a howling good time (though he doesn't really bark much).

Some updates: Authors we have read in the past have been busy.

There is a new book out by Audrey Niffenegger (The Time Traveler's Wife). The Adventuress follows the dreamlike journey of an alchemist’s daughter. After she is kidnapped by a lascivious baron, she turns herself into a moth and flees to the garden of a charming butterfly collector named Napoleon Bonaparte. The story of how the two become lovers, and how their affair ends in tragedy and transcendence, is told through Niffenegger’s spare prose and haunting aquatint etchings. With a stunning and distinctive visual style reminiscent of the work of Edward Gorey, this gothic romance packs the emotional heft of the world’s great fairy tales. (Amazon.com)

Fastfood Nation is being made into a movie of all things: Eric Schlosser's bestselling exposé of the dark side of the American passion for fast food comes to the screen as a fictional film directed by Richard Linklater and starring Greg Kinnear, Ethan Hawke, and Patricia Arquette. (Barnes and Noble.com)

Khaled Hosseini, author of "The Kite Runner," will have a new book, "A Thousand Splendid Suns," out next spring. The publisher describes Hosseini's new book as a "heart-wrenching chronicle of thirty years of Afghan history and a deeply moving story of family, friendship, faith and the salvation to be found in love." (YahooNews.com)

Sarah Waters latest book, The Night Watch, came out in paper back. Erica has been reading it. She says it is compelling but she is tempted to read it backwards (the book moves back in time). That's all she has really told me about the book - guess I'll have to read it myself.

See you on the 31st ready to discuss The Red Tent -
Jen

I know this is getting ahead of myself but . . .

2006-10-01T14:01:00.000-05:00

I know this is getting ahead of myself but I was thinking about the book we are reading for November: Nickle and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenriech. I was thinking that perhaps it was very appropriate that we are reading a book about the working poor right around Thanksgiving. I don't want to make this a guilt trip book, but thought maybe we could make this an opportunity to reach beyond our book group with this selection.

I didn't have anything specific in mind, just some brainstormed ideas like engaging and inviting the entire congregation to join us for this discussion along with Social Ministry; or going beyond just discussion into some sort of action step with this group. I don't know if we have to do anything besides discuss it. I just see it as an opportuntity. Maybe it is just a personal challenge for myself - I don't know. I was just thinking, and there I go again with that thinking stuff.

If you have any comments on this - or ideas - let me, and the group know, using the comments button. Or you can email me at jenhaertling@sbcglobal.net. I know we are all busy. Maybe this is just supposed to be simple awareness. Who knows. I've included a link about the book that contains an interview with Ehrenreich and a sample of the first chapter of the book. Thought you might be interested.

http://www.nytimes.com/books/01/05/13/reviews/010513.13gallagt.html

In the meanwhile, happy reading of The Red Tent. - Jen

The Red Tent is October's Book

2006-09-27T12:54:00.000-05:00

The book that we are reading for October 31st is The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. A fictitious account of Jacob and Leah's daughter Dinah, this story's title focuses on the defiled space, the red tent that women would go for their times of "unpurity". And it is in this isolation from men that women's traditions are taught and passed to new generations.

From Amazon.com

The red tent is the place where women gathered during their cycles of birthing, menses, and even illness. Like the conversations and mysteries held within this feminine tent, this sweeping piece of fiction offers an insider's look at the daily life of a biblical sorority of mothers and wives and their one and only daughter, Dinah. Told in the voice of Jacob's daughter Dinah (who only received a glimpse of recognition in the Book of Genesis), we are privy to the fascinating feminine characters who bled within the red tent. In a confiding and poetic voice, Dinah whispers stories of her four mothers, Rachel, Leah, Zilpah, and Bilhah--all wives to Jacob, and each one embodying unique feminine traits. As she reveals these sensual and emotionally charged stories we learn of birthing miracles, slaves, artisans, household gods, and sisterhood secrets. Eventually Dinah delves into her own saga of betrayals, grief, and a call to midwifery.

Did you see the cover of the Trib today? Story on Polygamy - follow up to Under the Banner of Heaven

2006-09-24T19:03:00.000-05:00

Did you see the cover of the Trib today? The big headline was "Polygamy: Utah's Open Little Secret" (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0609240351sep24,1,3161781.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true) which was kind of a cover feature follow up to the Warren Jeff's arrest a couple weeks back. If you haven't seen it, I thought you might find it's portrayal of polygamy by the family it interview interesting in light of what we read about in Under the Banner of Heaven.

Shortly after we read Under the Banner of Heaven I was googling Colorado City, Arizona and came across this interesting feature of a women who got out of that society. At the time I had mentioned it to a couple of people who were interested and then I had bad follow through with a paper copy. Here is the electronic link to the story if you are interested: http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/Issues/2003-03-13/feature_5.html .

Coming Up:
Tuesday: Discussing Fingersmith at 7:30 at LMC
Upcoming Friday or Saturday: Viewing of Fingersmith at Jen and Erica's (set a date Tuesday)
Book for October: The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
October 31st: Bookclub at 7:30 discussing The Red Tent

See you Tuesday - Jen

Tuesday is book club

2006-09-21T09:11:00.000-05:00

Well, Erica realized that book club was this upcoming Tuesday (the 26th) and decided that she better start reading Fingersmith. Now for those of you familiar with Erica, she reads at supersonic speeds, and this will be her third time reading the book. I know others of you are working to finish in time. It is suppose to rain this weekend - perfect weather for Victorian crime novel. I hope you are enjoying it so far.

Erica and I will be having a screen of the movie on Friday or Saturday night following bookclub. We just need to talk about it - more about this at book club.

Zebedee (picture by David Sutton) looks forward to seeing you all there.
-Jen

Sarah Waters, Author of Fingersmith, is 2-1 favorite to receive heavy weight book award

2006-09-15T12:27:00.000-05:00

It was announced yesterday that Sarah Waters, author of Fingersmith (see picture), is a heavy favorite to win the Booker Prize, one of the world's top book awards for her latest efforts, The Night Watch.

Here is the news story from Reuters:

U.K. writer Waters leads shock Booker shortlist
By Paul Majendie Thu Sep 14, 12:43 PM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - British author Sarah Waters was installed on Thursday as 2-1 favorite for the Booker Prize after judges left a string of literary heavyweights off the shortlist for one of the world's top book awards.
"We have argued hard and well," said chairwoman Hermione Lee after the judges surprised critics by leaving out previous winners Peter Carey and Barry Unsworth and the early favorite David Mitchell.
Bookmakers made Waters favorite to land the 50,000-pound ($94,000) prize for "The Night Watch," her tale of post-war Britain.
"It tears the underwear off London," said one of the judges, actress
Fiona Shaw' Second favorite at 3-1 with bookmakers William Hill was English writer Edward St Aubyn for "Mother's Milk," about the entanglements of a once illustrious family.
The eclectic list was completed by Kiran Desai's "The Inheritance of Loss," Kate Grenville's "The Secret River," M.J. Hyland's "Carry Me Down" and Hisham Matar's "In The Country of Men."
"The subjects range from histories of colonialism in India, English convicts in Australia, Gaddafi's repressive regime and London in the blitz to the most intimate stories of family life," Lee said.
Highlighting how international the list was for the 2006 prize, she said: "There are four women and two men. They include an Indian writer (Desai) who has lived in America and England, an Australian (Grenville), an Irishwoman (Hyland) and a Libyan-born Egyptian (Matar) now living in England."
She said the sextet on the shortlist offered "a distinctive, original voice and audacious imagination that takes readers to undiscovered countries of the mind, a strong power of story telling and a historical truthfulness."
The shortlist for the prize, founded in 1969, was chosen from an original entry of 112 books. The award guarantees the winner instant literary fame and a place in bestseller lists around the globe.
Last year's winner, "The Sea" by Irish writer John Banville," has since sold 500,000 copies and boosted sales of his previous novels.
The award invariably causes controversy, with critics saying the winners are often turgid tomes that appeal only to literary academics.
The winner of the prize, sponsored by the futures brokers Man Group, will be announced on October 10.

I hope you are enjoying Sarah Waters writing as much as the critics do.
-Jen

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters is the book for discussion on September 26

2006-09-05T15:14:00.000-05:00

The book selection is Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. When I first picked up this book, I wasn't sure I was going to like it. I am not a fan of Dickensian Victorian novels. But boy, this is a page turner. And while you are turning pages, watch out for all the twists and turns Sarah Waters has written into the plot. Wow!

As Linda Mu. cautioned at the book group last time, this is not a book to pick up a few days before we get together at the end of September. It is a dense novel (about 600 pages) with a lot of detail to pay attention to (it's a suspense novel). But I thought it was a fast moving book and it is still hard for me to put it down - I'm on my second reading and I've watched the movie several times.

Speaking of the movie: After we are done discussing the book in book club, Erica and I are hosting a movie night where you are invited to come over and watch the BBC version with us. More about this later.

Here are two synopsis/reviews of the book. Hopefully it will peak your interests and encourage you to go out and get the book if you haven't done so already.

Happy Reading - Jen

From Amazon.co: Fingersmith is [a] hypnotic suspense novel is awash with all manner of gloomy Dickensian leitmotifs: pickpockets, orphans, grim prisons, lunatic asylums, "laughing villains," and, of course, "stolen fortunes and girls made out to be mad." Divided into three parts, the tale is narrated by two orphaned girls whose lives are inextricably linked. Waters's penchant for byzantine plotting can get a bit exhausting, but even at its densest moments--and remember, this is smoggy London circa 1862--it remains mesmerizing. A damning critique of Victorian moral and sexual hypocrisy, a gripping melodrama, and a love story to boot, this book ingeniously reworks some truly classic themes.

From Library Journal: In Victorian London, the orphaned Sue Trinder is raised by Mrs. Sucksby, den mother to a family of thieves, or "fingersmiths." To repay Mrs. Sucksby's kindness, Sue gets involved in a scam but soon regrets it.

Update News Topic from Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer

2006-08-29T12:08:00.000-05:00

Remember that great book we read awhile back about polygamist Mormon factions that split from the main line faith. Here's a news update about Warren Jeffs (the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints -FLDS. This is Rulon's son; he "ran" Colorado City, Arizona). He was arrested today after a long stint on the FBI's Most Wanted List.

Thought you might find the story interesting. See you tonight at book club.

Jen

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-polygamist-arrested,1,928397.story?track=rss

Fugitive Polygamist Leader Jeffs Caught

By KEN RITTERAssociated Press WriterAugust 29, 2006, 9:56 AM CDTLAS VEGAS -- A polygamist Mormon sect leader who was on the FBI's Most Wanted List has been arrested and faces sexual misconduct charges for allegedly arranging marriages between underage girls and older men, authorities said Tuesday. Warren Steed Jeffs, 50, was taken into custody after he and two other people were pulled over late Monday by a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper on Interstate 15 just north of Las Vegas, FBI spokesman David Staretz said. The leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was wanted in Utah and Arizona on suspicion of sexual misconduct for allegedly arranging marriages between underage girls and older men. Since May, Jeffs has been on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list, with a $100,000 reward offered for information leading to his capture. The other two people in the vehicle were identified as one of Warren Jeffs' wives, Naomi Jeffs, and a brother, Isaac Steve Jeffs, both 32, Staretz said. They were being interviewed by the FBI in Las Vegas but were not arrested. Jeffs was in federal custody in Las Vegas pending a court hearing on a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, Staretz said. It was not immediately clear if Jeffs would face extradition to Arizona or Utah. Jeffs was indicted in June on an Arizona charge of arranging a marriage between a 16-year-old girl and a married man, and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. He is charged in Utah with two felony counts of rape as an accomplice, for allegedly arranging the marriage of a teenage girl to an older man in Nevada. The FLDS Church split from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when the mainstream Mormon Church disavowed plural marriage more than 100 years ago.
Copyright © 2006, The Associated Press

Book Club Check: So what is this Gullah anyway?

2006-08-07T14:49:00.000-05:00

Book Club Check: So what is this Gullah anyway?

Here is an article link about a gullah quilt seller and the use of quilts in run away slaves: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1264/is_10_29/ai_53744765

So what is this Gullah anyway?

2006-08-07T12:31:00.000-05:00

Don't know if you have had a chance to get into reading this month's book The Mermaid Chair, but the setting is on a fictious South Carolina island called Egret. Egret Island, a barrier island is also a gullah island. I asked Erica if she happened to know what gullah was and when she said no, the old Literature teacher in me kicked in making sure she knew the context for the story.

I hope you will humor me by letting me share a few internet links about gullah. (By the way, if you haven't started the story, this is no way is a spoiler. The story talks a lot about gullah, but it isn't pivitol to the plot.)

I won't go into a long explanation, and these links aren't academic in nature. If you have the right sound hook up on your computer, you can hear what gullah sounds like too:
http://www.bcgov.net/bftlib/gullah.htm
http://www.pbs.org/now/arts/greenessay.html
http://www.knowitall.org/gullahnet/gullah/index.html

If you have time and are looking for more about the gullah culture, a movie Daughters of the Dust came out a couple of years ago. Either I saw it or meant to see it - can't remember. But it is all about the gullah culture on the Carolina barrier islands.

Happy reading - Jen

2006-08-02T14:29:00.000-05:00

It took me forever to find a sign in name that wasn't already taken. Thanks for introducing me to the world of blogs.

I bought some meat from Heartland at the Farmer's Market yesterday. I'll give you my review after I try it.

Linda M.

The book for August 29 is The Mermaid Chair

2006-07-31T10:33:00.000-05:00

The book for August 29, at 7:30 is The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd. This is the same author who wrote The Secret Life of Bees that so many members liked.

Here is a reveiw from Amazon.com:

Sue Monk Kidd's The Mermaid Chair is the soulful tale of Jessie Sullivan, a middle-aged woman whose stifled dreams and desires take shape during an extended stay on Egret Island, where she is caring for her troubled mother, Nelle. Like Kidd's stunning debut novel, The Secret Life of Bees, her highly anticipated follow up evokes the same magical sense of whimsy and poignancy.
While Kidd places an obvious importance on the role of mysticism and legend in this tale, including the mysterious mermaid's chair at the center of the island's history, the relationships between characters is what gives this novel its true weight. Once she returns to her childhood home, Jessie is forced to confront not only her relationship with her estranged mother, but her other emotional ties as well. After decades of marriage to Hugh, her practical yet conventional husband, Jessie starts to question whether she is craving an independence she never had the chance to experience. After she meets Brother Thomas, a handsome monk who has yet to take his final vows, Jessie is forced to decide whether passion can coexist with comfort, or if the two are mutually exclusive. As her soul begins to reawaken, Jessie must also confront the circumstances of her father's death, a tragedy that continues to haunt Jessie and Nelle over thirty years later.
By boldly tackling such major themes as love, betrayal, grief, and forgiveness, The Mermaid Chair forces readers to question whether moral issues can always be interpreted in black or white. It is this ability to so gracefully present multiple sides of a story that reinforces Kidd's reputation as a well-respected modern literary voice. --Gisele Toueg --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Updates from July - Fastfood Nation

2006-07-29T09:37:00.000-05:00

The organic beef that we were talking about is Heartland Beef and can be purchased at the Lincoln Square Farmers market every Tuesday morning. Erica and I find it tastier and cheaper than what we can buy at Whole Foods. If you want to find out more about it, their web site is: www.heartlandmeats.com . You'll notice that the fat content of the beef is extremely low. More like you would expect for chicken than for beef.

Speaking of beef and chicken. Eric Schlosser, author of Fastfood Nation, has another book you might be interested in. It is called Chew on This. This is about the 37 day life of a pre-Chicken McNugget (Amazon.com review). The book is written for grades 6 - 9; so it could be an interesting read for you and some older children that you know.

Jen