Sunday, February 28, 2010

Book Members Recommend:

Joann: This cold and snowy winter I have found and read a lot of great books. I recommend all of the following books:

The 42'nd Parallel, by John Dos Passos is a novel that covers the first twenty years of
the twentieth century in novel format. Each chapter begins with a quote and a "newsreel".

A Persian Requiem, by Simin Daneshvar is the unforunate story of a Muslin bride during
World War II in Iran which at the time is under English domaine.

The Year of Reading Proust, by Phyllis Rose is the writer's memoir of reading all the works
of Proust and how it related to her current life experiences.

The Dowry Bride, by Shobhan Bantwal is the frightening story of a Hindu dowry bride in
current day India who discovers that her mother-in-law and husband want to burn her to
death because she hasn't given them a baby and her father hasn't fulfilled the promise of
the monetary dowry.

The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova is a 909 page thriller that takes you on a hunt thru time
and geography to discover the real Vlad Drakulya in Romania and Translyvania who was the
real inspiration for Bram Stoker's book, Dracula.

The Master Butchers Singing Club, by Louise Erdrich is a delightful novel that has tons of
interesting characters doing strange things in Argus, North Dakota.

The Twelve Little Cakes, Memoir of a Prague Childhood, by Dominika Dery is a great memoir of growing up under USSR and communism in the 1970's and 1980's. Fascinating.

February Book Club Meeting

February Book Club Meeting:

Host: Haelie

Book: Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon

Response of the Book Club Members: Several members of the club had a very difficult time getting into this long (820 pages) time travel novel that swings back and fourth from medieval Scotland to present times around the world so they admitted that they listened to the book on audio tape. This led to a heated discussion about what is a kosher way to approach a book club selection.Is it OK to listen to a book on tape that is a book you are "reading" for book club? Some members said yes and some members said no! Bev noted that Diana Gabaldon is her very favorite author because she is such a great writer. Others still felt that the book was a long hard struggle.

January Book Club Meeting

January Book Club Meeting:

Host: Lucille

Book: Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert

Response of the Book Club Members: Everyone thought the first half of the Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir of divorcing her husband and spending a year "off" traveling to Italy, India and Indonesia was the best part of the book. Maybe it was because everyone could relate better to travel in Italy than either in India or Indonesia. Most everyone agreed that very few women going thru a divorce have the means to just take a year off and travel like Elizabeth did. In that regard many thought that Elizabeth's reactions and comments to leaving her husband were not typical. Some of the readers thought that maybe she protest too mush and suffers from priveleged rich girl status.

December Book Club Meeting

December Book Club Meeting:

Host: Dickie

Book: The Gourmet Rhapsody, by Muriel Barbery

Response of the Book Club Members: Everyone enjoyed the great descriptions of great meals eaten by the French food critic Monnsieru Arthans but almost everyone agreed that his arrogance and his misuse of power in writing his food column was literally hard to stomach. All agreed that this was a good book selection for us during the busy month of December.