Catching up.....

Trying to get back to posting...

What a pain!  My log-in is all messed up and I can barely remember how to do this.

The good news is we have still been reading!  Since the last post the Book Club has read the following:

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
Bloodroot by Amy Green
Traveling With Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd
Thunderstruck by Erik Larsen
Endless Love by Scott Spencer
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
The Paris Wife by Paula McClane
The Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
The Train of Small Mercies by David Powell
Swamplandia by Karen Russell
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
11/22/63 by Stephen King
everyday by David Levithan
Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Fall of Giants by Ken Follett
Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Heale Hurston
The Lion Seeker by Kenneth Bonart
The Rosie Project by Grahame Simpson
Serena by Ron Rash
House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski
The 100 Foot Journey by Richard C Morais
Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Coming up...

White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi in October

and

Angel of Losses by Stephanie Feldman in November

Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet

Daniel Tammet is the man who can recite pi to more than 25,000 places.  You may have heard of him on the news or in your science or math classes.  He is an autistic savant who also has Aspergers syndrome.  Since this book is written by him, it is a picture of how his mind works and his life day to day.

At the Book Club meeting, we shared bangers and mash with salad, plenty of wine and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and bundtlings (mini bundt cakes) for dessert.

It was another intellectual evening with the ladies as we discussed the rise of autism numbers and the suspected causes.  We wondered whether we are on the cusp of changing to a race of humans that are less emotional and use more of our temporal lobes or if we are poisoning ourselves and our children with our highly processed diet of dyes and preservatives.  We discussed if it is a global change or if as time goes on our race with split into two: one highly developed, highly educated, less connected to family and one another and one less developed, less educated but highly connected through relationships and family.  We have no answers obviously but it was a rousing discussion.

We also talked about mothers and their role in children's lives how women are perceived now versus in the 50's or the 80's.  We discussed the unspoken competition between mothers and whether or not that can ever be overcome.  I always love the discussions at Book Club, whether they directly pertain to the book or not.

ROOM by Emma Donahue

"In many ways, Jack is a typical 5-year-old. He likes to read books, watch TV, and play games with his Ma. But Jack is different in a big way--he has lived his entire life in a single room, sharing the tiny space with only his mother and an unnerving nighttime visitor known as Old Nick. For Jack, Room is the only world he knows, but for Ma, it is a prison in which she has tried to craft a normal life for her son. When their insular world suddenly expands beyond the confines of their four walls, the consequences are piercing and extraordinary. Despite its profoundly disturbing premise, Emma Donoghue's Room is rife with moments of hope and beauty, and the dogged determination to live, even in the most desolate circumstances. A stunning and original novel of survival in captivity, readers who enter Room will leave staggered, as though, like Jack, they are seeing the world for the very first time. --Lynette Mong"


This book was incredible!  One of those that hooks you in and, unless you can read it from cover to cover in one sitting, it haunts you every time you step away.  Honestly, this book will haunt you anyway.  I was amazed that the author could tell such a chilling story all from the perspective of five year old Jack.  It is from our adult life experience that we can fill in the gaps that round out this nightmare.  The story, however chilling and sad, is truly about survival and true motherhood.  Jack's mother is the definition of Mother..... tough, inventive, creative, patient, protective, sacrificial, human....  this novel is definitley worth the read.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

This was one of the Book Club meetings that was more about the food than the book.  We had spicy asian soup, miso soup, steamed and fried rice, salad, bbq steak and mochi.  We agreed that the book was good but it could have been great.  The end of the book had an interview with the author and he stated that he wanted to write a love story not a deeply historical novel.  He accomplished that but even the love story was wrapped up a little to neatly.  I personally prefer more realistic endings and I admire authors who have the chutzpah to write them.

The book follows a Chinese boy who befriends a Japanese girl during World War II.  She and her family are taken away to an internment camp after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  I found the locations of the internment camps personally interesting because my parents lived in Puyallup, WA for a while.  I have been to those fairgrounds with my kids, blindly unaware that those same grounds were used at that time to hold Japanese American families during the war.  It was an sad and interesting time in our history and it wasn't all that long ago.

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

"Those old cows knew trouble was coming before we did." So begins the story of Lily Casey Smith, Jeannette Walls's no nonsense, resourceful, and spectacularly compelling grandmother. By age six, Lily was helping her father break horses. At fifteen, she left home to teach in a frontier town -- riding five hundred miles on her pony, alone, to get to her job. She learned to drive a car ("I loved cars even more than I loved horses. They didn't need to be fed if they weren't working, and they didn't leave big piles of manure all over the place") and fly a plane. And, with her husband Jim, she ran a vast ranch in Arizona. She raised two children, one of whom is Jeannette's memorable mother, Rosemary Smith Walls, unforgettably portrayed in The Glass Castle.

Lily survived tornadoes, droughts, floods, the Great Depression, and the most heartbreaking personal tragedy. She bristled at prejudice of all kinds -- against women, Native Americans, and anyone else who didn't fit the mold. Rosemary Smith Walls always told Jeannette that she was like her grandmother, and in this true-life novel, Jeannette Walls channels that kindred spirit. Half Broke Horses is Laura Ingalls Wilder for adults, as riveting and dramatic as Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa or Beryl Markham's West with the Night. Destined to become a classic, it will transfix audiences everywhere."


I loved this book!  Lily is just a kick in the pants!  I am so glad she wasn't my mother but I loved reading about her.  She was tough and smart and tenacious.  I highly recommend this book and its predecessor, The Glass Castle.

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

The story in this novel is monotonous and seems labored, it is another story of suburban angst and emptiness.  The author writes from the perspective of different characters but every voice sounds the same.  So, surprisingly the discussion the night of Book Club was lively and intense.  We focused on the character of Walter who some said was a laughable buffoon while others argued that he was the character through which the author lectured his own political beliefs.  The thing with Walter though was his statistics on world population.  The rest of the night was spent contemplating his numbers and scenarios.

I stated that if his numbers are correct and the world population is going to continue to grow exponentially then we will run out of water and here's why.  If the amount of water on planet earth is set, all of the water that is here is the amount of water that has ever been here or will ever be here.  And, if each person is made up of 80% or more of water, not counting the amount needed to sustain life, then the sheer number of walking water vessels on the planet will use up the supply.  The argument in the book is to create a "no growth" movement.  (Hmmmm, didn't Jacques Cousteau have that idea at one point...) but we argued that it is the most educated and affluent members of society who would choose not to have children.  Then, one of us said that it didn't matter because science would take care of the gap in food and water.  Another stated that the earth can only sustain so many lives and there would be a massive die-off either of starvation or pandemic.  We went on to discuss our role in caring for the world (both the planet and the people on it).  As I said it was a lively and intense conversation.  So, mediocre book, great conversation.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

This book has been an astounding shock to my way of life in very good ways.  While I don't necessarily buy all of the global warming propaganda, I can appreciate the need to buy local for many reasons.  Peppered with interesting statistics about our food industry, I found the most interesting to be the statement that our children's generation is the first to have a shorter life expectancy than the previous generation.  What!?!  I consider myself to be somewhat knowledgable about healthy food choices but in reading this book I realized how much I don't know. Now, I have been on the hormone/antibiotic/pesticide free bandwagon for awhile but what I had never considered was the ridiculous amount of money and petroleum spent to make every fruit or vegetable available to me year round.  Believe it or not eating what's in season has never been something I paid much attention to.  But it makes sense, if I buy local and what is in season then I am eliminating not only the waste of gas (and lining the pockets of the big oil companies) but probably buying and eating what my body and my kids bodies need during that time of year.  What a concept!  The biggest life changing information for me though was the thought that I would be helping big oil to continually line their pockets with my money when I buy stuff shipped here from all over the world.  So, I have decided that the best way I can make a difference is to buy at the very least Made in the USA, better California Grown and best from the farmers at my local market. Very interesting read.  I don't think I can do what she does and farm all of my needs from veggies and fruits to eggs and poultry but I will try to make my choices count towards the kind of world I want my children and grandchildren to grow up in.

Shiver and Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Continuing my foray into the realm of teen supernatural romance are Shiver and Linger by Maggie Stiefvater.  Grace and Sam find one another in Shiver.  Grace is a girl who is fascinated by the wolves in the forest behind her house until she realizes that there is one she loves and who loves her back.  Sam remembers Grace from the woods and from his time as a wolf.  During the winter, Sam becomes a wolf and runs the woods with his pack but he is drawn again and again to the woods behind Grace's house.  Sam and Grace's new found love is a race against time, winter and a possible cure for Sam's changes.
In Linger, Sam and Grace fight to stay together but Grace has a dangerous secret of her own.  We'll find out how it all turns out in Forever...coming soon.  I like the series so far, it is something I would have read and loved as a teenager.

"Vampires are sooo....two years ago!"

One of the highschool girls who frequents my library uttered this insightful phrase and so I perused  the vast realm of supernatural teen romance novels.  Apparently, it's all about fallen angels and Nephilim now.  The Nephilim are the offspring of fallen angels and humans briefly mentioned in the Old Testament.
Well, there is nothing biblical about this trilogy by Lauren Tate but it is entertaining in a dark, twisty high school kind of way. An interesting alternative to glittering vampires and overheated werewolves.

Here are the descriptions of the individual stories:

FallenThere's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.
Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce--and goes out of his way to make that very clear--she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story.TormentHell on earth.

That's what it's like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel.It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts - immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students: Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.
At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn't told her everything. He's hiding something - something dangerous. What if Daniel's version of the past isn't actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else?

The second novel in the addictive Fallen series... where love never dies.
Passion
Luce would die for Daniel.

And she has. Over and over again. Throughout time, Luce and Daniel have found each other, only to be painfully torn apart: Luce dead, Daniel left broken and alone. But perhaps it doesn't need to be that way....

Luce is certain that something - or someone - in a past life can help her in her present one. So she begins the most important journey of this lifetime, going back eternities to witness firsthand her romances with Daniel... and to finally unlock the key to making their love last.
Cam and the legions of angels and Outcasts are desperate to catch Luce, but none are as frantic as Daniel. He chases Luce through their shared pasts, terrified of what might happen if she rewrites history.Because their romance for the ages could go up in flames . . . forever. Sweeping across centuries, PASSION is the third novel in the unforgettably epic FALLEN series.

Back to Books....again.

I cannot believe it has been almost an entire year since I have written anything here.  What a sad testament to the state of my reading affairs during the school year.  Once again, I vow to do better...to read more, write more and stay current with my beloved Book Club website.

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

After the movie starring Johnny Depp came out recently, I was talking with a friend about the original story.  I knew I had read it a few times as a child and I recognized the ephemoral and dreamy quality in the movie but I was certain the story was not the same as the book at all.  He assured me that the story in the movie was the same except for some minor differences and of course I had to re-read it and find out for myself.  The movie was in no way like the book except for the main characters....Alice, The Red Queen, the Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit, the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, etc.  However, the situations were entirely different.  I think the screenplay for the movie must have been written using the poem "Jabberwocky" from the book since it is the only time the JubJub bird, the Bandersnatch, the Jabberwocky, slaying the Jabberwocky, frabjous day or the vorpal sword are ever mentioned and upon which the entire movie is based.  Well, enough about the movie.  The book was as dreamy and silly as I remembered.  It would be like waking from a very bizarre dream and writing it all down which is why I must have liked it as a child.
There is a new childrens book trilogy by Frank Beddor which begins with a book called The Looking Glass Wars in which Wonderland is not an imagined fantasy world but real.  The new Alyss is heir to the throne of the Red Queen when her murderous Aunt Redd kills Alyss' parents and steals the throne.  Alyss escapes with the Hatter but they are seperated while fleeing to our world through the Pool of Tears.  Alyss is lost and alone in Victorian England.  The Hatter is searching every corner of our world to find Alyss and return her home to Wonderland so she may battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts.  I think it sounds interesting and puts a whole new twist on the original Alice's story.

Drawing in the Dust by Zoe Klein

From the back cover:  "Brilliant archaeologist Page Brookstone has toiled at Israel's storied battlegrounds of Megiddo for twelve years, yet noneof the ancient remnants she has unearthed deliver the life-altering message she craves.  Which is why she risks her professional reputation when a young Arab couple begs her to excavate beneath their home.  Ibrahim and Naima Barakat claim the spirits of two lovers overwhelm everyone who enters with love and desire.  As Page digs, she makes a miraculous discovery - the bones of deeply troubled prophet Jeremiah locked in eternal embrace with a mysterious woman.  Buried with the entwined skeletons is a collection of scrolls that challenge centuries-old interpretations of the prophet's story and create a worldwide fervor.  Caught in a forbidden romance of her own, and under siege from religious zealots and relentless critics, Page endangers her life to share the lover's story with the world.  But in doing so, she discovers she must let go of her own painful past."

I enjoyed this book.  I thought it was interesting and imaginative, similar to The Red Tent in that it is biblical fiction.  I use the term biblical very loosely.  While the bones discovered in the book are of the prophet Jeremiah and the author, who is a progressive female rabbi, obviously knows her Old Testament I found I was having to set aside my own knowledge and beliefs in order to enjoy this work of fiction.  The author has a flowery, lyrical writing style that was beautiful to read but a little unbelievable coming out of every character's mouth.  All in all it was a good book.  I would recommend it, it is definitely different but worthwhile.

Catching Up

So many months have gone by that I feel the need to catch up a little bit before we continue. A little re-formatting, some new pictures, etc.

I left off at Lunch in Paris in February. In March we met for The Adventures of Miles and Isabel at Barbara's house. The meal was Australian theme with Shrimp on the Barbie and other classic Australian dishes. The group felt that something must have been lost in the translation from Australian culture to American because it just seemed as if we were missing important australian cultural experiences to fully appreciate the novel.

In April we met at Jen's house for My Name is Asher Lev. Of course the food theme was Jewish. Everyone seemed to like the book and a few expressed interest in reading the sequel which published 20 years later. Hopefully we will hear more about Asher in the future.

May's Book, The Hunger Games was celebrated at Karie's house with lots of salad and other natural food choices. The book was well liked and currently most of us have read the sequel Catching Fire and a few of us are anxiously awaiting the last intallment of the trilogy Mockingjay which will be released August 24 of this year.

In June we took a break from group choices and each read and shared our Beach Reads for the month of June. It was a small meeting at Tracy's house with classic summer fare including sliders, baked beans, caprese salad, potato salad, and summery wine and cocktail choices. It was nice to see everyone relax and share their mostly erotic summer reading choices.

This month we are reading When Elephants Weep, our Animal genre selection. The genres for the rest of the year include Award Winner, Banned Book, Horror/Sci-fi and Comedy/Humor. Currently we have read 50 books together since the inception of Book Club in January 2006. If you ever want to know all of the titles we have read so far, simply check out the column of books to the right.

Sorry to be so remiss in chronicling our book journeys together. I'll try to stay on top of things better. Happy Summer to all of you! Keep Reading!

Patriot Ball Puppy Basket

Update on the Puppy Basket we put together for the Patriot Ball, the fundraiser dinner for Temecula Preparatory School. It sold for $220. Thank you to all who participated. The school and I appreciate your generosity.

Lunch in Paris: A Love Story with Recipes by Elizabeth Bard

It was unanimous, this Book Club Meeting was by far the best food yet. The way people arrived and how the food came out of the oven, it turned out to be a course meal...we ate and talked and laughed from 7:30 to 9:30. The phrase by the end of the night was "fetch me a bucket!" We started with escargot (everyone was brave and sampled at least one), then we had Mushroom Turnovers and some amazing herbed brie and baguette, a fresh palate cleansing Tabouleh salad with fresh squeezed grapefruit dressing, Chicken and Pepper Stew served over roasted red potatoes, Honey Rosemary Pork ribs, then we had homemade Coconut Macaroons, a spiced apple turnover, yougurt cake and individual molten chocolate lava cakes with plenty of French wine. It was a night to remember.

The book was okay. The recipes in the book were amazing. It was interesting to note the differences in French and American culture. Once again, a great evening out with the ladies!

January Book Club Meeting

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

To start the year off with a bang we chose one of the books from the Book Exchange in December. It turned out to be a good choice. I personally like Margaret Atwood's writing style and thought the book was thought provoking and just controversial enough to prompt a good discussion. In The Year of the Flood we are introduced to two former members of an ecologically aware organization, called God’s Gardeners, that melds science and religion. The Gardners preach non-violence, resourcefulness and respect for all living things, but are dismissed by others as a “greenie cult.” Toby is a longtime member-turned-health spa worker, and Ren is a young exotic dancer. The “Waterless Flood”–a deadly plague foretold by the Gardners–has arrived, destroying most of the human life. Toby, Ren and other survivors must find each other in the aftermath of this disaster, and Atwood takes us along as they explore their present and remember their pasts.

As always, the meeting was a blast. We had great food, including some "secret burgers" and spent the evening laughing so hard we almost sent Lori into labor!

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I picked this book up at a 2nd hand bookstore, based on the blurb on the back. I went into it knowing absolutely nothing about it. It is the story of Liesel Meminger, an illiterate nine year old girl, who is completely changed when she learns to read. She becomes an efficient thie
f, along with her best friend Rudy. The book is narrated by Death, who is fascinated with her, and finds time to watch her, in spite of the punishing workload WWII is providing him. It is the most innovative book I have read, maybe ever. It is an original story, brilliantly written. There are moments of humor, revenge, gore, and real true pure love. I did not realize until I finished the book that it was intended for a Young Adult audience. I would recommend it cautiously to most teenagers, but heartily to all adults. Reading this book was an unequaled pleasure.

Her Fearful Symmetry

When Elspeth dies, she leaves her London area apartment to her twin nieces, Julia and Valentina. These girls are American and have never met their aunt, who also happened to be their mother's twin. The only rule Elspeth sets for the twins to get the apartment is that their parents can never set foot in the place and after a year of living there, they can sell it or do what they want. Julia and Valentina are about 20yrs old and have been to several colleges and have dropped out of each one, they do not have any drive or determination to get on with their lives, they are very happy living at home in a suburb of Chicago. They go to live in the apartment which is on the other side of the wall from Highgate Cemetery. They meet their neighbors along with their aunt's lover who also lives in the building. This book is about sisters, mothers, love, hate, live and death. It is also a ghost story which seems right since it is set next door to a cemetery. There are a couple of twists, one you can figure out pretty easily, the second one you sit back and think to yourself, man, that's f'd up. I liked it, but it is no Time Traveler's Wife.

My Horizontal Life, A Collection of One-night Stands by Chelsea Handler

Let me just say, I love Chelsea Handler. I think she's hilarious. I don't know if that biased me towards this book, maybe, but probably not. I laughed out loud reading this book. It is what it says it is, short essays and stories of her various sexual dalliances. If you are offended by vagina, big penis, little penis, midgets, drugs and vodka, this is not your kind of book. She writes like she is in the room talking to you, telling you the story of her latest night out. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, I could relate to more than one of the stories. It really is an easy read, and a nice palliate cleanser after Push.

Push by Sapphire

The movie that is out right now, Precious, is based on this book. I haven't seen the movie, but the book is pretty intense. It follows Precious Jones, and illiterate 16yr old who is pregnant with her second child by her father. She is kicked out of school in part to her pregnancy and sent to an alternative school where she meets a teacher who inspires her to learn to read and write her feelings down in a journal. She also meets classmates who don't judge her or her situation. Through Precious and her journal, we learn about her home life, the repeated rapes by her father and the brutal abuse by her mother. Since it is Precious' story and her words, the language and text is not something we are used to seeing, she should be in the twelf' grade but she is in the ninfe grade, she likes her maff class.

I think I was expecting more because the movie has gotten such acclaim, but it was a good book and grabbed you within the first few pages. It isn't a big novel, but the subject matter is such that it isn't an easy read. It is intense, brutal, repulsive, ugly, depressing, and compelling. I think the thing that really got me was that even though this is a work of fiction, I know that sh*t like this happens more that we want to admit.