Ooops, I just realized I completely skipped over book club this week!
We (appropriately and accidentally) ushered in Passover with a discussion on The Chosen, Judaism, father/son and family relationships, communication, the pluses and perils of small protected communities, religion, beliefs vs knowledge, and more. It was a thought provoking read (and who knew there was a sequel?)
Up next month:
The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin
What are you reading?
Showing posts with label book club. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book club. Show all posts
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
a good book.
Our first book club meeting was a wonderful success. We had some lively discussion about the characters and plot with people siding on both the 'like' and 'dislike' end of each.
I'm still not quite sure how I feel about all of it myself. There was some interesting progression among the two main characters, both rather weak females (though Dr. Swenson came across as domineering and strong I feel it was more of a front to hide her insecurities.) The ending was ambiguous enough that we argued a bit over whether Marina stays home in the north (with running water and mattresses) or finds herself drawn back to the wilds of the Amazon.
There was a discussion on cannibalism and how they decide who to eat. We all shuddered over the mysteries of giant snakes and the various creepy crawlies that dwell in the murky waters of the river. And we all equally bashed the love scene that seemed thrown in for the sake of a love scene.
It was a super slow start for me. I didn't get interested until Marina finally made it into the jungle and then things moved at a break neck speed until it reached the rather abrupt ending. It wasn't one of my favorites but it definitely made for an interesting discussion. Have you read it? What are your thoughts?
Next month we're reading The Chosen by Chaim Potok. Care to read along?
I'm still not quite sure how I feel about all of it myself. There was some interesting progression among the two main characters, both rather weak females (though Dr. Swenson came across as domineering and strong I feel it was more of a front to hide her insecurities.) The ending was ambiguous enough that we argued a bit over whether Marina stays home in the north (with running water and mattresses) or finds herself drawn back to the wilds of the Amazon.
There was a discussion on cannibalism and how they decide who to eat. We all shuddered over the mysteries of giant snakes and the various creepy crawlies that dwell in the murky waters of the river. And we all equally bashed the love scene that seemed thrown in for the sake of a love scene.
It was a super slow start for me. I didn't get interested until Marina finally made it into the jungle and then things moved at a break neck speed until it reached the rather abrupt ending. It wasn't one of my favorites but it definitely made for an interesting discussion. Have you read it? What are your thoughts?
Next month we're reading The Chosen by Chaim Potok. Care to read along?
Thursday, January 24, 2013
looking forward in anticipation.
That title could mean a host of things. There are changes on the horizon and I'm trying to convince myself that they are all things to be looked forward to. But alas, the gloom and chill we are experiencing weather-wise has sunk into my bones and my brain and thrown me into a bit of a funk of late that no amount of hot cocoa or fuzzy socks has been able to cure. So, I've been forcing myself to look beyond the limits of my life as it currently is to find the good things that are to come and here's what I've come up with.
First, our book club made a final decision and our first read will be:
An adventure on the Amazon sounds perfectly warm and cheery, snakes and poison arrows be darned!
And second, my favorite tousle-haired crooner is coming out with a new album in a few days. Here's the first single.
Ah, I can feel the bones starting to melt already!
What are you doing to keep warm? And how do you beat the winter blahs?
First, our book club made a final decision and our first read will be:
And second, my favorite tousle-haired crooner is coming out with a new album in a few days. Here's the first single.
What are you doing to keep warm? And how do you beat the winter blahs?
Thursday, January 17, 2013
a great book discussion.
Guess what? I started a book club. I convinced a group of friends that I needed help branching out and discussing more grown-up books (I'd started out using the term 'adult books' and got a few somewhat worried emails back from the invitees wanting to know just what kinds of books I had in mind!) When the terms were made a little less hazy most people jumped at the chance and we held our first meeting earlier this week.
I've been attending a church organized book club for the last few years but several changes in congregational boundaries made it so there were very few people that I really knew. We also had to be a bit more selective on what we read (not that it's a bad thing but several times we chose a book that none of us had ever read before only to get a few chapters or pages into it and decide that we'd probably better pick something else.) Being in charge gives me the opportunity to pick who is invited and have a little more flexibility in what we choose.
I'd also hoped to develop my culinary skills a bit so I decided to serve a light dinner at the inaugural bash. I spent the day before chopping and prepping to make three different soups (this potato soup, a variation on this apple pumpkin, and my fave this tomato basil) a loaf of roasted garlic bread and some pear pomegranate crumble for dessert. (All recipes found via Pinterest.)
Because of so many rampant cold and flu bugs running wild at the moment we only ended up with 8 in attendance but 15 or so that are on the list and hoping to participate as we go on. Everyone was told to bring a few books to suggest (some favorite reads and some they'd hoped to read) and we had some great discussion at the outset. I think it bodes well for future gatherings.
Here are some of the books we discussed:
To go along with all of this I’ve recommitted myself to making more regular book posts, at least once a week. I'd also like to branch out beyond just book reviews so I'm going to try to include a few features found on actual book blogs such as story time spotlights, author profiles, and literacy news as well as keeping you abreast of our book club choices/discussions. And in an effort to drum up a bit more traffic here I’m going to be trying to comment on others' blogs at least once a week. There’s a great community out there and sometimes I still feel as if I’m peeking in the window watching instead of truly participating.
I've been attending a church organized book club for the last few years but several changes in congregational boundaries made it so there were very few people that I really knew. We also had to be a bit more selective on what we read (not that it's a bad thing but several times we chose a book that none of us had ever read before only to get a few chapters or pages into it and decide that we'd probably better pick something else.) Being in charge gives me the opportunity to pick who is invited and have a little more flexibility in what we choose.
I'd also hoped to develop my culinary skills a bit so I decided to serve a light dinner at the inaugural bash. I spent the day before chopping and prepping to make three different soups (this potato soup, a variation on this apple pumpkin, and my fave this tomato basil) a loaf of roasted garlic bread and some pear pomegranate crumble for dessert. (All recipes found via Pinterest.)
Because of so many rampant cold and flu bugs running wild at the moment we only ended up with 8 in attendance but 15 or so that are on the list and hoping to participate as we go on. Everyone was told to bring a few books to suggest (some favorite reads and some they'd hoped to read) and we had some great discussion at the outset. I think it bodes well for future gatherings.
Here are some of the books we discussed:
- The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker
- Possession by AS Byatt
- Dracula by Bram Stoker
- I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
- House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
- The Little Prince by Antione de Saint-Exupery
- Act in Doctrine by Elder Bednar
- The Chosen by Chaim Potok
- My Grandfather's Blessings by Rachel Naomi Remen
- Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer
- Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
- The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
- Daughter of the Forest by Juliette Marillier
- Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
- The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin
- The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes
- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
- Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
- Tender is the Night by F Scott Fitzgerald
- Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
- Savvy Auntie by Melanie Notkin
- Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That by Henry Alford
- 1000 Names for Joy: Living in Harmony with the Way Things Are by Byron Katie
- Zhuangze: Basic Writings
- A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg
- Quiet: The Power of Intorverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
- Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeanette Walls
- State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
- One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
- Wild Swans: Three Daughers of China
- Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
- Dinner: A Love Story by Jenny Rosentrach
- The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code by Sam Kean
To go along with all of this I’ve recommitted myself to making more regular book posts, at least once a week. I'd also like to branch out beyond just book reviews so I'm going to try to include a few features found on actual book blogs such as story time spotlights, author profiles, and literacy news as well as keeping you abreast of our book club choices/discussions. And in an effort to drum up a bit more traffic here I’m going to be trying to comment on others' blogs at least once a week. There’s a great community out there and sometimes I still feel as if I’m peeking in the window watching instead of truly participating.
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