tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33890177849230711442024-03-19T03:00:17.447-07:00Seattle Girls Book Groupreading & discussing fiction and nonfiction since 1991tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-21340884328926219762023-04-19T17:00:00.003-07:002023-05-11T08:43:44.224-07:00Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow: A novel<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNW0g7GE5AJOCxpWSrar-xAX7zLY9mueZGnia51yYHmolr8Df9n8FCFmUQxK5IB2SwEB4xgJZH7yXE8RW5zVXIxSJePc-gOrz8EQO1EfH8v5aXtnj55O2uKFXCWdJUNq5SlzIsuSc_GM9B28vO6EhyRvehdec62NXYRxCETx9z-3GsWJqqWjMaO00O/s499/tomorrow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="329" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNW0g7GE5AJOCxpWSrar-xAX7zLY9mueZGnia51yYHmolr8Df9n8FCFmUQxK5IB2SwEB4xgJZH7yXE8RW5zVXIxSJePc-gOrz8EQO1EfH8v5aXtnj55O2uKFXCWdJUNq5SlzIsuSc_GM9B28vO6EhyRvehdec62NXYRxCETx9z-3GsWJqqWjMaO00O/s320/tomorrow.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><span class="a-text-bold a-text-italic" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic !important; font-weight: 700 !important;">NEW YORK TIMES </span><span class="a-text-bold" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 700 !important;">BEST SELLER • Sam and Sadie—two college friends, often in love, but never lovers—become creative partners in a dazzling and intricately imagined world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality. It is a love story, but not one you have read before.</span><span style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span></p><p><span style="color: #0f1111; font-family: Amazon Ember, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow follows Sam and Sadie through their childhood meeting, college reunification and the development and success of their business. <br /><br />Gabrielle Zevin does a masterful job of maturing the voices of each character over the years and the technical aspects of describing the games they created was detailed and fun to follow. <br /><br />As a kid of the 80's the evolution of online games from the Oregon Trail to the role playing games of today is a journey worthy of understanding. It is a great metaphor for the changes we go through as we become fully formed people. How the experiences in our lives make for a richer, more colorful experience.</span></span></p><p>Zevin uses the two characters to narrate from their own perspective, but it isn't repetitive and each has a unique view and of course different priorities and drivers. </p><p>As a story of a lifelong friendship, the cadence also rings true. Sometimes the friends are in lock step, lives intertwined and at others they are separated but still care deeply for another. <br /><br />I appreciated that the characters loved one another, but didn't have to have a grand romantic arc. <br /><br />Read: April 19, 2023<br />Met: @ Beth's<br />Book Choice: Melinda</p>tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-52823787664214073382023-01-27T08:45:00.001-08:002023-05-11T09:07:32.399-07:001000 Years of Joys and Sorrows: A Memoir<p> </p><h2 style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0f1111; font-family: "Amazon Ember", Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 400 !important; line-height: 36px; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span class="a-size-extra-large" id="productTitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 36px !important; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;"><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZquc33QWSY5LliGuBg_EU888iFpU-uVUQuFjFtjK0mk94EakAWNLeYqIpGEfYdI7JH3LxhRGKrs4FZCeFyBiZbtb11PbuEGzwoY1Ypak2MRObxB8XSIVh3CEITs4V848IJJygwVS3jRrCEobrdr4MRpO9GXXTSvbWBkxh0zvnQC1Sr-PbneXfsePj/s218/Joys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="141" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZquc33QWSY5LliGuBg_EU888iFpU-uVUQuFjFtjK0mk94EakAWNLeYqIpGEfYdI7JH3LxhRGKrs4FZCeFyBiZbtb11PbuEGzwoY1Ypak2MRObxB8XSIVh3CEITs4V848IJJygwVS3jRrCEobrdr4MRpO9GXXTSvbWBkxh0zvnQC1Sr-PbneXfsePj/s1600/Joys.jpg" width="141" /></a></div><br />1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows: A Memoir by Ai WeiWei</span></span></h2><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Chinese artist Ai WeiWei tells the story of his life, the influences, and the impact of his work on the world. </span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Art is protest, art is communication, art is a voice for those who cannot speak. Ai WeiWei transforms life into experiences. As a citizen of China WeiWei was not always free to express criticism of life in China, always under surveillance and often in disfavor WeiWei describes his story of detention, government removal of his art, hidden meanings in his works, and a total devotion to his work.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">As a child of the poet Ai Qing, WeiWei was often exiled with his father during times when the popularity of Ai Quig was trouble for the Chinese leadership. Childhood was feast followed by famine, comforts given and taken, accolades given and then public shaming for being too visible. These experiences shaped WeiWei into someone who focused on his works to the (in my opinion) detriment of others. <br /><br />As a memoir, WeiWei focuses on the events that are to him meaningful and important. A great insight into the mind of an artist, but he tells on himself a bit with the handling of his wife, partner and child. A bit dismissive of that aspect of his life.<br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Ai WeiWei, as an artist is diverse in his mediums and this memoir walks us through some of the processes of his most notable works. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/ai-weiwei-13-works-to-know">13 notable works of Ai Weiwei</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Read: January 2023<br />Met: Heather's</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Picker: Heather</span></div>tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-86535528023678989272022-01-20T16:00:00.002-08:002022-01-20T16:00:35.889-08:00Book of the year 2021 and other things...<p> Our end of year wrap up ended up returning to the zoom format because a few of us had close calls with exposures. In spite of not being together in person, this was a fun, joyous and energetic gathering. </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQdBsiGYrzXNvKJfawn3o1gJHol2bpkfhkuFjzK3tP4xMNWjGPiqAsVrSnnWtaHW3BrYv9udFs_sLeLkkTTSlhiHJx2uEQm5_7yf3ivaywySuOZmVzewsUAQZY3dWTGz4DV5QAX8ungc/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="1082" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoQdBsiGYrzXNvKJfawn3o1gJHol2bpkfhkuFjzK3tP4xMNWjGPiqAsVrSnnWtaHW3BrYv9udFs_sLeLkkTTSlhiHJx2uEQm5_7yf3ivaywySuOZmVzewsUAQZY3dWTGz4DV5QAX8ungc/" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mid-meeting wine run</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p>We started the gathering with a great discussion of our final book for 2021, <u>Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage</u> by Bette Howland. A book of short stories can be hard to discuss because of the lack of a through plot and common characters, but not this one. Ms. Howland created rich details that brought you into the space where her characters were. Dark and not uplifting was one comment but others found interest in the planning of a funeral, the frustration of obligatory time with family and other 'every day' life events. Certainly a worthwhile read. </p><p>We turned our attention to the discussion of our favorite and least favorite (never "worst") book of the year. I am still living in constant fear that the author of a "worst" book will again google themselves to find that our group of seven readers has mortally wounded their pride and that we may be invited to a duel. I don't like conflict and as I only dabble in sarcasm I am afraid of those who have mastered the art of prose. Therefore we will refrain evermore from the use of the word worst to describe our least favorite book of the year.</p><p>HOWEVER, with a solid majority and very little surprise or argument from the minority the clear winner of our <i><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>least favorite</b></span></i> was "<b><u>50 words for rain</u></b>". This book should have been a beautiful novel of love, loss, grace, forgiveness, finding one's purpose under the epic backdrop of post WWII for the ages, but it was not. Imagine the fan fiction journal of a millennial 15 year old who has never been kissed or left their hometown of Springfield, wherever writing about the complexities of racism in a country, culture and era never explored beyond watching an anime movie or two. Then throw in some plot twists like sexual assault that is almost instantly forgiven without any trauma, grief, blame and heck, let's just make the main character fall in love with that guy because he is of course, beautiful, rich and charming. 👀. Of course he is. Anywho...this was a literal car crash that needed an editor. Acknowledging that storytelling is hard, we are hopeful that as the author matures better content will come. <br /><br />The discussion for the <b><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i>favorite book of the year</i></span></b> was far more varied. The field of books that we loved was many in 2021. With the bonus reading titles off the table for consideration, the much appreciated "A Children's Bible" and "The Cold Millions" made room for the primary books.</p><p><b><u>Hidden Valley Road</u></b>, <u><b>No No Boy</b></u>, <b><u>Hamnet </u></b>and <b><u>Calm Seas and Prosperous Voyage</u></b> all received ardent votes for favorite. </p><p><b><u>Damnation Springs</u></b> and <b><u>Unbound</u></b> each were noted as "very good". </p><p>It's a good problem to have that we loved most of what we read in 2021. We decided to let our 'favorite' be a three-way-tie:</p><p><b style="text-decoration-line: underline;">Hidden Valley Road, Inside the Mind of an American Family</b> by Robert Kolker</p><p> <b style="text-decoration-line: underline;">No-No Boy </b>John Okada</p><p><u style="font-weight: bold;">Hamnet</u> by Maggie O'Farrell</p><p>Each was completely different and wonderful. HVR, is an exploration of mental illness in one family and a frustrating study in the pharmaceutical industry exploring that it is profits that drive innovation and not need. </p><p>No-No Boy explored the often ignored history of the American Japanese experience of the aftermath of the war and those who would not or could not join in to fight with the US in the land of their ancestors. </p><p>Hamnet is a fanciful dip into the household of William Shakespeare and the family he left behind to be a poet and play writer. He's not the main character of this story and it is marvelous. </p><p><br /></p>tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-1260037714233890312022-01-12T21:14:00.007-08:002022-01-20T16:10:16.842-08:002021 Booklist<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /> 50 Words for Rain<p></p><p>A Burning</p><p>Minor Feelings, An Asian American Reckoning</p><p>A Children’s Bible (extra credit)</p><p>Hidden Valley Road</p><p>No-No Boy</p><p>We Here By Refuse (extra credit)</p><p>Punch Me Up to the Gods</p><p>Hamnet</p><p>The Cold Millions (extra credit)</p><p>Unbound</p><p>Damnation Spring</p><p>Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage</p><div><br /></div>tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-74524005357801220682021-11-13T16:02:00.001-08:002022-01-20T16:06:25.763-08:00Photos from our 2021 weekend retreat<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRFdKn1ama7u_avKl8vsKYPUfQhH8eMFj0uNjRR2_tNYiKDh4PrNV2gaOxKB8rBb2-3MjljYRrFvZRuoUEElf_Brd3BAKK2YpG0T98R1jUjaETdi83aPGODGhhhu7wIEo-ySgoUn2LPxYTcpovqjwdpPc11LGa_89y1qf13poQLHDE9rGJIPtbmpG9=s1440" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgRFdKn1ama7u_avKl8vsKYPUfQhH8eMFj0uNjRR2_tNYiKDh4PrNV2gaOxKB8rBb2-3MjljYRrFvZRuoUEElf_Brd3BAKK2YpG0T98R1jUjaETdi83aPGODGhhhu7wIEo-ySgoUn2LPxYTcpovqjwdpPc11LGa_89y1qf13poQLHDE9rGJIPtbmpG9=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Must have cheese</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnfk7kMFL5Et67d7lVWu6nMlc-kQiXJU6lj5PslVaDb70OFmghGDKC9mHwYMwT8xS2gO60JbnpW3HfBP90pqYX7FX5dbtvNhoPkX-PdEJU3lubDQwc7jPpU1s15PeWShSAz0uETrg9tiyUmrKPWGnK2enVqkisfIbiMmY5wCB423FBSfL0YDGtBDlH=s1440" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1083" data-original-width="1440" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnfk7kMFL5Et67d7lVWu6nMlc-kQiXJU6lj5PslVaDb70OFmghGDKC9mHwYMwT8xS2gO60JbnpW3HfBP90pqYX7FX5dbtvNhoPkX-PdEJU3lubDQwc7jPpU1s15PeWShSAz0uETrg9tiyUmrKPWGnK2enVqkisfIbiMmY5wCB423FBSfL0YDGtBDlH=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgI9-IiCIzBxNUuon498LllWAWVzfoIUVIdsS3LUgPFOwV2VVzbQEeNjnnaz7PwtZ3ejuf9vf7elA3CqHpw0NbgWAGnEQn9KID6dd6uUtIlaa0rnC7u60YVUF64Fi0Y1H85UzYRA3rTwAwm6DXQQL9EX0uleJ_KHqyI901kPNecAheMvUOyNd380vSm=s1440" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgI9-IiCIzBxNUuon498LllWAWVzfoIUVIdsS3LUgPFOwV2VVzbQEeNjnnaz7PwtZ3ejuf9vf7elA3CqHpw0NbgWAGnEQn9KID6dd6uUtIlaa0rnC7u60YVUF64Fi0Y1H85UzYRA3rTwAwm6DXQQL9EX0uleJ_KHqyI901kPNecAheMvUOyNd380vSm=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnMkB1WhpboYnCfsZz6U2W_WAaro5_xo0DGPwz8_XIOQZtAuuBjQLp6UCk6wDoBZQT9AGwRPGCTvD6Ks17CyOifmoSM0NTnHrz2uHOHJnfVqw39lLYtd-_bNMgC4sUfyeZaf2t2t4BnRyYX6Y2urzDI5ogAngJ1zjKRPvaHFe1KIWUgJzYyLN6oCsT=s1440" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1082" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhnMkB1WhpboYnCfsZz6U2W_WAaro5_xo0DGPwz8_XIOQZtAuuBjQLp6UCk6wDoBZQT9AGwRPGCTvD6Ks17CyOifmoSM0NTnHrz2uHOHJnfVqw39lLYtd-_bNMgC4sUfyeZaf2t2t4BnRyYX6Y2urzDI5ogAngJ1zjKRPvaHFe1KIWUgJzYyLN6oCsT=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p>tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-54397466301905598912021-03-05T11:00:00.005-08:002022-01-12T21:12:29.798-08:00Book of the year 2020<p> Our list of books in 2020:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Fierce Attachments, Vivian Gornick<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Extra credit: Belonging, Nora Krug<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Rebecca, Daphne Du Maurier<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Small Fry, Lisa Brennan Jobs<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">The Book of Delights, Ross Gay<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Fascism, Madeline Albright<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">What Alice Forgot, Liane Moriarty<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Hot Milk, Deborah Levy<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">The Warmth of Other Suns, Isabelle Wilkerson<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Transcendent Kingdom, Yaa Gyasi<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Amateur, A Reckoning with Gender, Identity and Masculinity<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">Deacon King Kong, James McBride</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">It's a rare year where we have twelve (eleven if we remove the extra credit book) books to choose from. Many of these titles were loved and there was a lot of discussion about possibly choosing a favorite fiction and non-fiction this year. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">We tried to each list our favorite two titles, and it went south pretty quickly. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">H: 1) Deacon King Kong<br />2) Warmth of other Suns</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">B: 1) Warmth of other Suns (woos)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><span> 2 a) </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">Amateur</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span><span> </span><span> b) Rebecca</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span><span><span> c) Fascism</span><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span><span><span><span> </span><span> d) Deacon King Kong</span><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span><span><span><span>M 1) WOOS</span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span><span><span><span> 2) a) Rebecca</span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><span><span><span><span><span> </span><span> b) </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">Amateur</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">A: 1) WOOS</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"> 2) Rebecca</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">T) Transcendent Kingdom</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"> Fascism</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">D) WOOS</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"> Fascism / Rebecca</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">Clearly <b>the Warmth of Other Suns</b> wins hands down as the favorite read for 2020, but then the debate about number two evolved into a great discussion about how Deacon King Kong, Fascism and Rebecca were superb reads. That brought up the love for the Book of Delights.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">We agreed that there were no stinkers this year, but that there were a couple that might not have been worth the time during this crazy busy year. One was described as a "written for the planned Netflix adaptation." 2022 edit: What Alice Forgot (still not a Netflix movie.)</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">Then we did something that we've never done, we discussed our favorite "worst" character. We decided that descriptions of real people disqualify as they might have been just terrible people. The overwhelming love was for the dastardly evil and malicious housekeeper at </span><span face="sans-serif" style="color: #202122; font-size: 14px;">Manderley</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;">, Mrs. Danvers. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; margin: 0px;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUE_Sz7I7NGsxgDruRHxnyjeMLTmLB8eDRkmk_KfK-EwkxQXQI0-HSXLDUpSDvxDIVsVvo2-pzUFmBYizLEsH2rNDBWtwIISx91Tv-yQGTvTH0AbAAggzv6Xj9vkFnfNFBTgFdOcfEXg/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="873" data-original-width="576" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUE_Sz7I7NGsxgDruRHxnyjeMLTmLB8eDRkmk_KfK-EwkxQXQI0-HSXLDUpSDvxDIVsVvo2-pzUFmBYizLEsH2rNDBWtwIISx91Tv-yQGTvTH0AbAAggzv6Xj9vkFnfNFBTgFdOcfEXg/" width="158" /></a></span></div><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWFvYCELQKA532GlZgVjYT9tR7axOZWG3x7jKM-nvoDBLZsVStWfJ-zAc7X94134bKWypQZYWfFvGudDkUklgqNFiYvh6dVU23PjkjmL94ol8jWzWtwygXia38y_28GYAl_UiyCQWz2ck/" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img alt="" data-original-height="182" data-original-width="195" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWFvYCELQKA532GlZgVjYT9tR7axOZWG3x7jKM-nvoDBLZsVStWfJ-zAc7X94134bKWypQZYWfFvGudDkUklgqNFiYvh6dVU23PjkjmL94ol8jWzWtwygXia38y_28GYAl_UiyCQWz2ck/" width="257" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson, actress)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="color: #222222; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></span><p></p>tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-9089938390403328482021-01-28T09:16:00.005-08:002021-01-28T09:16:45.509-08:00Deacon King Kong, McBride<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3WDjmx-7N7Ox5WKokqCuKf17t_zZ7FcgkXqEksuEGGcqxn-6UFyWMMaJgLjqsBhhPNPnQmbN9hGhQdqacZEHgWzT6Uy6Am8VW3SGx9lqe2TdC8JmxG2ND7NIQPffCjM542SQuPW8DlQ/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="975" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3WDjmx-7N7Ox5WKokqCuKf17t_zZ7FcgkXqEksuEGGcqxn-6UFyWMMaJgLjqsBhhPNPnQmbN9hGhQdqacZEHgWzT6Uy6Am8VW3SGx9lqe2TdC8JmxG2ND7NIQPffCjM542SQuPW8DlQ/w195-h200/image.png" width="195" /></a></div>Our last discussion of the final 2020 book. Books selected in the year are in the running for Book of the Year even if the discussion happens in January.<br /><br />Meeting on zoom isn't as much fun as being in person, but there is a bit of charm to it. We get to see and hear all the happy dogs, spouses pop in with food and beverages, and every once in a while we get to wave to a teen coming home from wherever teens go during a pandemic.<br /><br />We've been together for so long, that now the babies are off to college. Well, with the exception of the two late starters - we're navigating elementary and middle school and can see the look of relief on the faces of our fellow bibliophiles that they are past the pre-teen stage. <br /><br />Last night we discussed Deacon King Kong, by James McBride. Our discussions are always pretty short when everyone loves the book and last night it was a very short love fest. McBride weaves a funny story and creates memorable characters who you can clearly see in your mind. More than one comment was made that this book will be a great movie it's actually being worked on as a TV show. Thankfully McBride is part of the script writing team, which means the show will be delicious. <p></p><p>I'm thankful for an author who doesn't need to wrap every loose end up in a tidy bow. Life is not always like that, and a bit of wonder is good for the soul. <br /><br />Prediction: this one will rise to the top of the heap for 2020.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p>tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-60453286097114183752020-12-21T16:09:00.004-08:002020-12-21T16:09:39.539-08:00One last meeting for 2020<p> It's winter solstice, the shortest night of the year. The Seattle weather people are predicting unusual weather. It was 57 degrees at my house at noon, and now, at 4 it's 49 and raining like a boat will be floating by shortly. The kid thinks that she heard about "low land snow". <br /><br /></p><p>So, it's dark, rainy, and there's also a pandemic. Best have a book club outside! We are hearty northwestern ladies so that's exactly what we'll do. Melinda has a tent and heaters. We have rain gear, blankets, and face masks. It should be fun!</p><p> I'm happy to report that even though the year was not as expected, we managed to keep up our reading schedule and actually accelerate it for the last two months of the year. I mean, it's not like we had to commute for hours each day.</p><p>Think dry thoughts! </p>tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-26001207245217986512020-05-27T10:09:00.002-07:002020-05-27T10:09:29.066-07:00So behind...I updated the book list with the books I can find that we've read. The order is wrong and some are missing, so I'll get with our unofficial historian for her lists and make the updates.<br />
<br />
We had a vote for our favorite books for 2019 and <b>The Overstory</b> came out on top with<b> Half of a Yellow Sun</b> a close second. We were all impacted by the brutality of <b>Friday Black</b> as well.<br />
<br />
<b>The Testimates</b> didn't sit well with us, which was disappointing because <b>The Handmaids Tale</b> felt so relevant. One comment was that this followup novel felt like a way for Ms. Atwood to get some creative control over the television series and move the narrative in a direction that she wanted. tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-46088933088097234252020-04-10T13:43:00.000-07:002020-04-10T13:43:37.447-07:00Meeting in the time of Covid-19<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5tseZJ0f22J8vvB2XeemK9U1FDhl7JrsGQeAvR6ppj07KcJM3JjBq3WxUkOBy39Pb5fBLRekYRvDEhXqIeI9aUft2xr5xcV183KHuBX8RjX9Kd8H_rrVUoyRrROP80iei7GKaEhM9mME/s1600/bookgroupZoom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5tseZJ0f22J8vvB2XeemK9U1FDhl7JrsGQeAvR6ppj07KcJM3JjBq3WxUkOBy39Pb5fBLRekYRvDEhXqIeI9aUft2xr5xcV183KHuBX8RjX9Kd8H_rrVUoyRrROP80iei7GKaEhM9mME/s400/bookgroupZoom.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-26801679339474580542019-03-11T13:54:00.002-07:002019-03-11T13:54:58.727-07:00We're still going strong, but...<span style="font-family: inherit;">who has time to blog anymore?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">We've read some great books in the last year and are currently reading two for our meeting this Wednesday. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our favorite book for 2018 was "<b>Pachinko</b>" with the "<b>Late Homecomer</b>" and "<b>Sing Unburied Sing</b>" coming in strong.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>A horse walks into a bar</b> and <b>The Gathering </b><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px;">did not resonate with us.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px;">Other titles in 2018 included "The Power", "Less", "Musicophelia" and "The house of broken Angels"</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span>
So far in 2019, we've read "An American Marriage" by Tayari Jones and "Leadership" by Doris Kern Goodwin.<br />
<br />
Toni Morrison's <b>The Bluest Eye</b> is on deck as well as "<b>The Fucks you give". </b>tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-35084744362559310092016-10-05T13:58:00.003-07:002016-10-05T13:58:55.164-07:002016 Recaps (thus far)<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Turner House<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A stately house in Detroit is all but abandoned, but the
thirteen children who lived there with their parents are determined to save it
in spite of the value. The dwelling is
the center of the story of the siblings, their parents and a snapshot of life
in modern Detroit. ChaCha is the oldest
of the siblings and is determined to find out if his haint (apparition) is
real. The youngest sister is a portrait
of the struggle to be an adult and face the consequences of your own
actions. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>A Man Called Ove<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Give the curmudgeon in your life a second look. Maybe he’s soft and squishy on the inside or
at least worthy of the effort to befriend.
Ove is cranky, holds a grudge and likes things just so. He's not the first cranky old man we've read about but he may be our favorite.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Girls & Sex<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The seven of us think we are pretty aware of how things go
these days when it comes to sexual awareness and experiences of women. However, we learned a lot while reading this
study of young college aged women and their sexual interactions. The first take away for us was that the
sex-ed classes we got in the 1980’s hasn’t changed much, it is very focused on
the male sexual response, and reproduction.
Sounds good right, but no one talks to girls/women about their sexual
response, what they can and should expect?
Sex Ed for girls still has a shame factor and has lots of repercussions
as girls turn into women who have sexual interactions with others (or
themselves). <br />
<br />
We were shocked to read that many of the women interviewed reported that they
used oral sex as a way to end a date with someone they didn’t want to have sex
with. WHAT!? How is that better? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The discussion over dinner went on and on and on, and when
our hostesses’ family came home the teenagers ran for the safety of their own
spaces and their dad joined us for a brief moment before realizing we were in
deep on topics that weren’t really meant for mixed company. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This book has been characterized by us as a horror
genre. We clearly have a lot of work to
do to help our own daughters as they grow up.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Sellout, Paul
Beatty <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An alternate version of the modern day inner city community
as told thru the voice of a black small businessman who somehow becomes a slave
owner in an attempt to save his corner of Los Angeles. The language is uncomfortable, the story
telling is humorous and awkward, but the lens Mr. Beatty uses to explain this
“fake” world says more about how we live today than an academic study of racism
or poverty. <br />
<br />
The story has an arc, but each chapter is a contained exploration of a thought,
experience or topic the author wants to explore. It isn’t always easy to see where that
chapter might lead, but we were happy to go.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Station Eleven, Emily
St. John Mandel<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A sweeping plague, survivors and actors oh my! If you set aside the extreme unlikeliness of
survivors having being connected (even tenuously) in the pre-plague world this
is a fantastic book. The concept is dark
to be sure, how could it not be with the majority of people on earth being dead
but unlike The Walking Dead, or Camus’ The Plague, or even Blindness the worst
of humanity is not the primary result of all the loss. Ms. St. John Mandel finds hope and connectivity
as our band of survivors make their way to Station Eleven. There is loss, there is the brutal reality of
what one might need to do to survive but it is not a lord of the flies
situation. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Little Failure, Shteyngas, Gary<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A humorous look at the life of a Russian immigrant. (Have to admit – didn’t finish it. This was not a failing on the book, but a
lack of time management.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Inside the O'Briens
by Lisa Genova<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because we loved the book Inside Alice we gave this novel a
try. She so adeptly explored early onset
Alzheimer’s that the impact on a large family when the father’s Huntington’s
disease progresses. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
For the most part, we all finished the book and had a robust
conversation about the story, the characters but our discussion revolved around
the difference in the story telling between Alice and the O’Briens. Inside Alice really brought us into the
headspace, fear and uncertainty of Alice as her illness progressed, the story
of the O’Briens was far more focused on the family and their relationship with
the father than the impact of the illness. <o:p></o:p></div>
tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-22977116395524186402016-08-09T10:43:00.000-07:002016-08-09T10:52:08.985-07:002015 Book List<br />
(not in order)<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A tale for the time being, Ruth Ozeki</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Door, Magda Szabo</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brown Girl Dreaming, Jaqueline Woodson<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dept. of Speculation, Jenny Offill</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Billy Lynn's Long Half Time Walk,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Reading Like A Writer, Francine Prose</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Asunder, Close Ardjis</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Short Tragic Lift of Robert Pace</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brain on Fire, Susannah Cahalan</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, Dinaw Mengetsu<u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Boys In The Boat</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b>Favorite</b>: A Tale for the Time Being</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">
<b>2nd:</b>Boys in the boat & Billy Lynn </div>
</div>
tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-36282869900736479112015-03-18T11:59:00.002-07:002015-03-18T12:00:33.634-07:002014 Booklist<b>2014 Book List</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Goldfinch</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sense of an ending</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">American Wife</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">House in the sky</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Orphan Master's Son</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Painter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Transatlantic</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Americanah </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Book of the Year:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Orphan Master's Son</span></div>
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tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-90751361288283955312013-11-26T11:04:00.000-08:002013-11-26T11:04:27.796-08:002 for 1Ok, I'm super behind again.<br />
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During the annual weekend away, an accounting was done of the books from this year and it turns out I missed the write up for The Snow Child. So here we go:<br />
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<b>The Snow Child</b>, Eowyn Ivey<br />
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Fiction is so wonderful when it can make you set aside what you know to be real and allow you to live in a world where anything is possible. It's Alaska in the 1920's and Jack and Mabel are barely making it. He works and works and works to keep their Alaska homestead alive and she's doing her part but lonely and heartbroken for the child they didn't have. They find a moment to play in the snow and form a snow child.<br />
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Either through magic or fortune soon they encounter Faina, a lovely girl with blonde hair and a fox for a friend. Faina saves them, or they save her - either way it's charming and regardless of all the evidence it's never really clear if she's real. <br />
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Among our group there was great debate upon the meaning of the ending of this tale, which leads me to believe that the ending was intentionally misleading. Consensus was positive on this particular book.<br />
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Weekend away!<br />
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Every year we try to plan two extra curricular activities. The first is the spouse dinner. This is a challenge to find a night when fourteen people can gather at one time and child care can be obtained for eleven shorties. We've managed it for the last four years and will keep booking it.<br />
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The other event is even harder to arrange. A weekend where we ladies zip away from our broods and gather in a cozy cottage to dine on chocolate and other yummy foods, hike, do some yoga and of course, talk about the book du jour. Last year, we were warned away from our hosts cabin in Leavenworth because of late season fires and terrible air quality and this year an early winter storm kept us on the west side of the state. Lucky for us, our group has some great connections and we fell into comfortable lodgings both times. This year found us in a charming water front cabin on Vashon Island that snuggly sleeps twelve or very comfortably sleeps seven. <br />
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One of the things about the cabin that added to its wonderfulness is that you can't simply drive to the door. There is a group parking lot and then you have to walk about a third of a mile to the 11th house on the shore. The walk was quiet and with each step the hustle of life "on land" faded away.<br />
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Our book for discussion was "How To Be a Woman". Part memoir, part stand alone essays on feminism it opened the door for a lengthy discussion on topics that we ladies seldom get into with each other.<br />
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I'm sure it would be an easy thing to assume that when gals get together and shut the door they talk about body hair, dating and their weight. We really don't delve into those areas very often. <br />
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Filled with funny moments and a rather long discussion about what to name your vagina (Oh yes, I went there.) this isn't the Susan B. Anthony women's suffrage version of feminism. It's a straight forward look at our lives today and what it means as we navigate a world where we have to balance people like Kim Kardashian who are famous for goodness knows what, and Nancy Pelosi who is demonized for I'm not sure what maybe being a prickly woman with opinions and being moms, women who have serious jobs. We're told that we're equal, but the tend to typically fill the board room in the Communications and Human Resources positions. <br />
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While the book evoked a long discussion that lasted well into Sunday, we soundly didn't think we liked the author. The tone of the book was chatty and casual. Perhaps that's her way of balancing the deep topics she was tackling.<br />
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I do give her kudos for not shying away from an unpopular topic. She and her husband chose to terminate a pregnancy after they had other children. She writes about this with complete openness and acknowledgement that her decision will be (was) questioned and reviled by many. <br />
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<br />tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-3143462438954019192013-10-04T11:57:00.000-07:002013-10-04T11:57:01.504-07:00Still Alice <br />
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As food themes go, I'd like some credit for finding a wine called "Educated Guess" for a story about a Harvard professor with early-onset Alzheimer disease.<br />
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With that out of the way, let's talk about this book.<br /><br />Heartbreaking, amazing, moving, scary and thought provoking. These are just some of the comments from last nights discussion.<br />
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Alice is a respected and beloved Harvard professor who is asked to speak all over the world. She notices that her reliance on her notes is becoming critical, so she gets it checked out. The diagnosis, early onset Alzheimer's.<br /><br />We follow her through the journey of telling her husband, her kids, having to step down at work and the shrinking of her social and physical world. We are equally frightened of the truth regarding her situation and the terrible impact to Alice and her family.<br /><br />Because the story is told from her perspective, as things become confusing or 'new' to her our understanding of the narrative shifts. At first Alice is giving us the nuanced details of a complicated mother & daughter dynamic which eventually devolves into her describing her daughter as that woman with the baby. <br />
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Some of us powered through this book in a couple sittings and were moved to tears (me publicly on an airplane) and others were so torn apart by the devastation that they had to read it in small chunks just to not be brokenhearted.<br />
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Our appreciation for the research and effort put into this book is great. We can understand why it is recommended to the caregivers of patients with early-onset Alzheimer's. <br />
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This type of Alzheimer's has a high probability of being genetic, and if you have the gene the likelihood of developing the disease is almost certain. The author explored the implications of these facts with Alice's three children. Would you want to know? It's hard to say.<br />
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Our discussion moved to assisted suicide, to estate planning and to the dreaded question of 'who will raise our kids if we're gone. So many real life issues.<br />
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The book was so well done that it is easy to think of it as non-fiction. That's a compliment Miss Lisa Genova. Good work!tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-83120845543883060852013-10-04T11:27:00.000-07:002013-10-04T11:27:12.828-07:00Albert of Adelaide<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wanted!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
<br /></div>
<br />
If you want to sound like a crazy person, please describe the book Albert of Adelaide to someone.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Well, it's about this platypus who escapes from a zoo and heads to the Australian outback and along the way is embroiled in an old western shoot out, makes friends with a wombat and has to deal with a gang of kangaroos, thieves and deadly dingoes. Yes, a gun slinging platypus.</i><br />
<br />
It's been a while since we've read a western, and this one is superb. The author Howard Anderson has written a fun, and engaging novel. <br /><br />Our discussions ranged from surprise over the depth of appreciation for the story and the depth of character development to the nuances of social norms and mythical stature that grows when you only know one dimension about an individual.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.390625px;" />tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-6373737077308237342013-10-04T11:15:00.001-07:002013-10-04T11:15:15.997-07:00And The Mountains EchoedKhaled Hosseini has produced a third book that is equally worth reading. Author of the Kite Runner and A thousand splendid suns, Hosseini tells us a winding story of intersecting lives that spans continents, generations and families. <br />
<br />
Each chapter is told from a different persons point of view and slowly the truth about a father's dreadful choice becomes known and the broad impact unfolds.<br />
<br />
We enjoyed this book and I'm sorry to have to admit that it's been 3 or 4 months since our discussion and any remarkable or notable comments from the group have been pushed aside in my memory.<br /><br />We did note that the style of story telling was remarkably different than his other two novels, and that it took a while for some of us to realize that he was never going to circle back and repeat a narrator. Freed of that expectation, the story began to crystallize as the characters started overlapping into the chapters and the overall story became clear.<br />
<br />tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-60484863898412337022013-06-07T14:21:00.003-07:002013-06-07T14:21:56.796-07:00Quiet The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking<h4>
<span class="lrg bold" style="color: #996633; font-size: large; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Quiet-Power-Introverts-World-Talking/dp/0307352153/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370637924&sr=8-1&keywords=quiet+the+power+of+introverts+in+a+world+that+can%27t+stop+talking" style="color: #996633; text-decoration: none;">Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking</a> by Susan Cain</span></h4>
<span class="lrg bold" style="color: #996633; text-decoration: none;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSYBFk-0nsYc-tA8JGMg40VeAvH4ZD6bcGJ7ojiiPzmcfrrAhUI" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shhh</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="lrg bold" style="clear: left; color: #996633; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"></span><i> Oh my</i>, this book set some of our hair on fire and it has seems to have themes that will be popping up all year long. <br />
<br />
Ms. Cain has researched and written an interesting book about some of the most powerful people in our collective history. She writes generously about people like Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Charles Schwab, Gandhi, and Eleanor Roosevelt who have made enormous impacts on the world even though they would more likley prefer to spend time with a friend than attend a gala in their honor. <br />
<br />
Ms. Cain theorizes that society tends to reward the likes of Tony Robbins' and Dale Carnegie over those of us who would rather eat our shoe than speak publicly. <br />
<br />
It was interesting to go around the room and let each of us describe where we fall on the introvert / extrovert scale. Many of us called ourselves ambiverts as we embrace equal number of introvert and extrovert tendencies. (There was an assessment in the book.) An ambivert is likely to be excited to attend a party, but instantly wants to escape upon arrival if social groups have already formed.<br />
<br />
The book describes several people and their experiences, the authors dread of public speaking, a parents attempts to help their 'shy' child and a married couple's struggle with how often to entertain. <br />
<br />
<img height="200" src="http://bullseyemws.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Extrovert.jpg" width="133" /><br />
<br />
Ms. Cain lost some of our members with her unflattering descriptions of extroverts. As detailed as she was with the nuances of the varied introverts in our midst she surprised us with sweeping generalizations and statements to the effect that extroverts are easily distracted by bright shiny things, overconfident, impulsive, and prone to divorce. Obviously there is more to her research regarding extroverts, but the minimal attention to positive traits was offensive to our most outspoken extrovert. Of course as she started to loudly blather on about her indignation we dangled a silver Christmas ornament and a cookie and she quickly lost her train of thought. See, she's an extrovert, but clearly not very bright.<br />
<br />
The purpose of the book wasn't to delve into extroverts so perhaps we're misguided in getting lost in this point. <br />
<br />
Towards the end of the book Ms. Cain gives some interesting advice to parents and educators regarding how introverts react differently to things like group projects. She also gives tips for public speaking that are actually pretty good and don't start with "how to fake your own death to get out of talking to a crowd." <br />
<br />
It's clear that one point is that we shouldn't count the quiet person out as a valuable contributor, because you never know what's going on with them:<br />
<br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGVqn1kwoG3AKBA_Nkkeh7-2U2JZumpqEq-Y0AeAVjGiSASHu0YZJ8YToM-U-UWDsjfFbiWEncC8engQGnXiAbBYBF3F8gSI773jCfUBjbBcj-hvOPqC8MK4hJReP5MmJ0-9znfw8xqFRJ/s640/People+think+I'm+shy+because+I+don't+talk+or+participate+too+much+in+conversation.jpg" />tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-12563351831369891362013-05-20T13:40:00.000-07:002013-05-20T13:40:03.507-07:00To The Lighthouse<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
After our gathering to discuss Virginia Woolf’s To The
Lighthouse I stand by my previous post, but acknowledge that the discussion it invoked
was robust and intriguing. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Indeed, large portions of the story occur inside the minds
of each of the characters. Melinda
pointed out that it was a great study in how different reality is from what we
think is happening. While they had
dinner each of the dinner guests had a completely different take on the conversation
and interactions. No one really had a
clear take on the others motivations – and in most cases the assumptions being
made were 100% removed from the true thoughts of the other persons.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As for my frustration with the pace and flow of the
narrative, Christine was adamant that the details that Mrs. Woolf left out
simply didn’t matter. Yes, character A
was dead and we don’t need to know why or how, or even what the others thought
or experienced when it occurred. They
were dead and it is final. We didn’t all (me) agree, but I respect her
take on the narrative.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is probably safe to predict that T.T.L. will not earn our
Book of the Year prize as less than 50% of us managed to finish it. That says something when the book is only 175
pages – sure they are serving soup for 100 of those pages, but still.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mrs. Woolf did have an amazing gift for describing the
details of regular life. In Mrs. Dalloway,
which we read in 2000, a good portion of
the story is devoted to preparing for a party, so it should be no surprise that
dinner and an eventual journey to the lighthouse would be the plot of an entire
book. In our connected world, we
certainly don’t spend this much time analyzing the details of daily life. <o:p></o:p></div>
tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-39769474778320902372013-05-16T19:00:00.000-07:002013-05-16T19:00:02.017-07:00To The Lighthouse ****written before our discussion. Ergo all thoughts are my own.<br />
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Virginia Woolf to me, is one of those authors whose works are known as capital L - <i>Literature</i>. She was an important figure and her works are significant. At least, this is what I think I'm supposed to think. I find her work challenging to follow, mundane and rather... boring. I know, as a modern reader I'm tainted by my love of fast media, rapid plots and Sixth Sense type twists. I'm sure I'm also made lazy by the ability to look up any concept on Google rather than do actual research. I'm sure I'm also shallow for never needing to spend time speculating the depth and meaning of actions. I feel a sense of pride for having read Mrs. Dalloway and now To The Lighthouse. I certainly cannot say I read War and Peace or finished some of the other capital L - Literature selections of late. I do attribute some of my failures to the lack of forced downtime in the form of a daily bus commute. However, I will admit that when I am captivated by a book, I find time in my busy life to read. Oh shoot, I lost my broach. Mrs. Woolf has a style of story telling that is as brief and stark as it is filled with languid descriptions of everyday tasks. As I was reading it felt as though Mrs. Ramsay was serving soup to her guests for about 5 pages. This may not seem overly long, but in a short story of only 117 pages, it was interminable. However later on we are only offered brief but extremely important plot points in the form of editorial notes,and then back to the soup we go. Furthermore, the narrator will change mid-paragraph and always in the form of internal dialog. "Gosh, this paragraph seems to be never ending and jumps from idea to idea." Thought the bright, exceedingly beautiful Terri. <br />
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[Terri finished the book at 9:00 at Starbucks while drinking a latte.] I had a terrible thought that if Mrs. Woolf spent as much time in her real life going over the details of every conversation and action then it's no wonder she filled her pockets with rocks and went for a swim in an icy river. GOOD LORD the detail. Also, and I'll mention this at book group tonight, would it be possible for Mrs. Woolf to loathe women more? She does not write of them kindly, they come across as flighty and useless. Mrs. Ramsay can't seem to follow a simple discussion about taxation and is completely at at a loss when trying to understand a 20 line poem about the ocean. Lily, one of the mystery guests at the Ramsay's summer house knows that there is an implicit rule for women to make their across the dinner table partner feel manly and boost his ego, so while he prattles on and on about poetry and heavens knows what, she make a point to smile. TO SMILE!? Well done little miss, well done! For a woman who cannot write or paint, you are very accomplished. Have some soup. Wait, don't have a second bowl as Mr. Ramsay becomes angry when others eat when he has finished, I mean how long can this dinner go on? All the talking and smiling is seriously getting on my nerves. Not that I would ever say anything about it. You might wait sixteen years before ever hearing "hey, good work - that soup was really good." Mrs. Ramsay, while not able to follow dinner conversation, very involved in the relationships of others. Not her own children mind you, [Sally went up the hill and broke her neck after less than a year.] Perhaps she should have spent some of her free time at dinner thinking about her match making skills, looking inward at her own situation before deciding to put others together. Taking driving lessons from the crash test dummies is not a wise choice. I'm just saying. <br />
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Oh, and don't get me started on the Lighthouse. Are we there yet? Are we going? When can we go? We should go. Oh let's go tomorrow. Why!? I DON'T KNOW. When we get there what will we do? I DON'T KNOW. Will it be nice there? NO. Will there be food or friends? NO. Sounds awesome, let's pack up some shitty sandwiches, our painting supplies and some sullen teenagers and get to it!<br />
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<br />tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-83522586933043183692013-04-11T13:42:00.001-07:002013-04-11T13:42:54.364-07:002012 Wrap up: Book of the Year<b><u>2012 Books</u></b><br />
The Round House by Louise Erdrich<br />
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern<br />
Luka and the Fire of Life: A Novel , by Salman Rushdie<br />
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo<br />
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson<br />
To the end of the land, by David Grossman<br />
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
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We didn't read as many books in 2012 as in previous years, but the year end discussion was as lively as ever. <br />
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In the end <b>The Round House</b> earned the most votes (through a process of elimination votes) to beat out The Master and Margarita for book of the year. The Night Circus and To the End of the Land had very strong support.<br />
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Our least favorite book was Luka and the Fire of Life. Sorry Mr. Rushdie. <br />
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We think we'll try doing a secret ballot next year. Our plan is to set those votes aside, do a discussion, then a live vote and see where the differences are. However, we believe the live voting will be the deciding vote. All this will be worked out before we discuss. tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-68174933758971565422013-04-11T10:58:00.001-07:002013-04-11T10:58:20.991-07:00Dead Souls, Nikolai Vasilievich GogolAh...Russian literature.<br />
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The inside cover of this book touts: <span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Since its publication in 1842, </span><b style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Dead Souls</b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> has been celebrated as a supremely realistic portrait of provincial Russian life and as a splendidly exaggerated tale; as a paean to the Russian spirit and as a remorseless satire of imperial Russian venality, vulgarity, and pomp. As Gogol's wily antihero, Chichikov, combs the back country wheeling and dealing for "dead souls"--deceased serfs who still represent money to anyone sharp enough to trade in them--we are introduced to a Dickensian cast of peasants, landowners, and conniving petty officials, few of whom can resist the seductive illogic of Chichikov's proposition. This lively, idiomatic English version by the award-winning translators Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky makes accessible the full extent of the novel's lyricism, sulphurous humor, and delight in human oddity and error.</span><br />
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Doesn't that make you want to curl up with a hot cup of tea and get reading? I mean, who can resist sulphurous humor? Heck, my spell check doesn't even like it.<br />
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So, as with our other tromps into the land of Russian lit, I can say that I've read Tolstoy, Chekov and now Gogol. I can't say that I've finished many (any) of their greatest works, but I've lived for a moment in their worlds.<br />
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There are far better summaries of historical literature than I could ever muster, but the gist of the story is that the hero Chichikov (Chick) has a scheme to make money by purchasing the ownership rights to the slaves of land owners. However, he only wants the ones that have died. It's a strange, complicated plan where he saves the landowners from paying taxes on dead people and he ends up looking like a very wealthy man because he owns all these people, that he can mortgage to buy an estate. Sounds like it should work - not quite.<br />
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In making all the transactions we get a commentary on all the different types of people in Russia. We meet the trusting people, the suspicious people, the vain, stupid people, the drunk nationalists and on an on and on. <br />
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We found it entertaining and challenging and even a little repetitive at times. The book is unfinished and ends mid-sentence. That can be really frustrating for a reader who needstp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-91289271790594896742013-01-08T14:53:00.000-08:002013-01-08T14:53:08.876-08:00The Night Circus<img src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTb3KMQaiUejbGaSWZ985wEdiF_CdE4c1KqMUbA45DO63DiUQfC" /><br />
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Oh what a fun book to read. It was genuinely enjoyed by all members of our group. Opening comments that were captured were:<br />
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<i>I unabashedly liked it.</i><br />
<i>It was fluffy and not deep, but took intelligence to follow. </i><br />
<i>Incredibly imaginative & vivid.</i><br />
<i>It's like what a smart goth girl would write when she was all grown up.</i> <br />
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Insert picture of author here:<br />
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<img alt="Erin Morgenstern Author Erin Morgenstern attends Summit Entertainment Comic-Con Party at the Hard Rock Hotel on July 21, 2011 in San Diego, California." height="200" src="http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Erin+Morgenstern+Summit+Entertainment+Comic+SD4uDi3Gt88l.jpg" width="135" /><br />
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We noted that the time shifting between chapters took a while to catch onto.<br />
We liked the Yin & Yang relationship with the various characters, that there were pairs but not couples.<br />
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As for the characters, aside from the primary couple, whose love story seemed a little weak and obvious we loved the clockmaker, who was exceptionally well developed and the modern day Bailey. He seemed like a real person with real world motivations in a fantastical world.<br />
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We understand that a movie is already in the works and we discussed if it should bend more towards a Harry Potter feel or Tim Burton. Either way, we hope Helena Bonham Carter is not cast as the main character. <br />
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On the personal side of the discussion we decided that we like short chapters because we can knock them out and it keeps things moving. Also, I head this quote "I love how our conversations about books mostly evolve to just about us." True... so true.tp_galhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13643883432183223759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3389017784923071144.post-36191945491942932472013-01-08T14:37:00.001-08:002013-01-08T14:40:17.737-08:00The bad post-master<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Aggghhhh...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I am so behind in updating the blog. I know that it's not life or death, but how sad to have missed a few titles.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">These are the 2012 titles that I have in my notes:</span><br />
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<li><span class="item-title" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16px;">The Round House<span style="color: #333333;"> by </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Louise Erdrich</span></li>
<li><span class="item-title" style="color: #004b91;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Night Circus by </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Erin Morgenstern</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Katherine Boo</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="item-title">In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by </span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">E</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">rik Larson</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Luka and the Fire of Life: A Novel , </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">by</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Salman Rushdie</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">To The End of the Land by David Grossman</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="item-title">The Master and Margarita By </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Mikhail Bulgakov, et al</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Round House is being read right now and cannot be commented on. I owe you a write up of the Night Circus and will have to defer to another member for the Luka book - I tried to read it and walked away. </span></div>
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