Our next meeting is set for June 8th at Nicole's house. We'll be discussing Bev's pick - The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. This is a perfect meeting to bring a friend to since the plan is to discuss the book then watch the movie.
Check out these reviews by other readers...
We had our final meeting for The Poisonwood Bible this past Saturday at Bev's house. Bev had a wonderful brunch for all of us - thanks Bev!
Our discussion was a bit crazy this time. From what I can tell, everyone really enjoyed this book. ALMOST everyone liked the 2nd half better than the first. One person liked the first better, and the rest of us decided that the 2 halves together are what makes the book so fascinating.
Here's a recap of some of our main discussion topics:
We had an excellent meeting this past weekend to discuss Books 1-3 of The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. Our host was Audrey, Carrie's stepmom. It was wonderful to have so many of us all together - and comfortable - in one room!
I was SO IMPRESSED with all the ladies this month. Of the 12 of us who attended (we did have one visitor plus Audrey) everyone read up to - or almost up to - where they were supposed to. And wonder of wonders, EVERYONE liked this book! Personally I thought there would be many who did not so I was pleasantly surprised. :)
We began the discussion with some basic info about the author. The fact that she was born in Annapolis and lives nearby in Virginia made us feel local connection to Kingsolver. Then we moved on to an overview of Books 1-3. We discussed the relationship between the title of each book, the subtitle of each book, and the events that happen within that book. We also contrasted the verse at the start of each book with what happens at the end of each book.
From there we talked a bit about the characters themselves, their outlook on the world, and the meanings behind their names. We discussed how Leah begins to change in Book 3. During the character discussion, Carrie pointed out that although each of the 5 women telling the story has her own distinct voice, Rachel and Ruth May sound very much alike. We decided that had a lot to say about Rachel's maturity level! Annette brought up Rachel's actions during the ant raid. The way she stuck out her elbows and let the crowd carry her really symbolized her way of going through life.
Other big topics included Biblical themes, contrasting cultures, stereotypes, and the idea of balance. We touched on Adah's use of palindromes (everyone found that fascinating) and her fascination with the poet Emily Dickinson. This book is fun and entertaining yet dark and haunting all at once. Everyone agreed that it has many levels that open up world's of discussion!
We talked for about 2 hours straight and I didn't have to remind anyone to keep on track. Everyone was very involved in the discussion and contributed a variety of ideas and opinions. Two members are doing the audio version this time and both are heartily enjoying it! They say the narrator does an excellent job changing her voice to portray the 5 women.
We'll conclude our discussion at our next meeting on April 19. Bev gets to choose our next book and she's started looking already!
Just before our meeting closed, Joan gave everyone a copy of The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. She's been picking them up from the thrift store every chance she gets and finally had enough to give one to each member of the club. This is the book Joan plans to choose when her turn comes up in a few months. What a cool idea - thanks Joan!
Our next meeting is set for March 29 at 2pm. We will discuss Books 1-3 of The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver. Here are some questions/ideas to consider as you read ...
God's Kingdom in its pure, unenlightened glory. So fourteen-year-old Leah Price expects when, in the summer of 1959, she arrives in the Congo with her family. Her Baptist-preacher father, Reverend Nathan Price, assigned to Kilanga mission, is determined to enlighten the savages and to rule his family with strict biblical sanction. Leah's twin, Adah, the victim of hemiplegia at birth, limps along and maintains silence. Fifteen-year-old Rachel resents being dropped on "this dread dark shore" far from America's fashions and comforts. Ruth May, five years old, faints. And their mother, Orleanna, readies herself to protect them all from whatever perils may come--from jungle, river, or father and his terrible God. From 1959 through 1998, the Price sisters tell their stories, in alternating narratives that reflect their ages as the years pass and the understandings that they achieve. Those stories--together with Orleanna's retrospective commentaries--reveal the amazing forty-year saga that the Prices and the Congo share. Cultural and spiritual conflicts, confusion and revelation, hunger and pleasure, cruelties and kindness, suffering and love, all combine with the day-to-day life in Africa's villages to enrich this wondrous tale. This is Barbara Kingsolver's most daring, complex, and rewarding novel--a whopping good story told with tender majesty. The wisdom that Rachel, Adah, Leah, Ruth May, and Orleanna wrest from their lives is also ours.
On Feb. 17 we had our meeting for Me Talk Pretty One Day, by David Sedaris. This book was rather difficult to discuss. Don't get me wrong - everyone had an opinion on it, but that was about it. Some of us really disliked it, some of us thought it had some great parts, some of us thought it was pretty good ... but that's as far as the discussion went. We talked about a few of the essays and about the author's ability to turn everyday experiences into humor. And all that took about 15 minutes total.
Nine of us rated this book, and the ratings went as follows: 4, 5x2, 6, 7x2, 8x2, 9. The average rating was 6.6.
The rest of the meeting was lots of fun though! Nancy is always an excellent hostess. We finally had our Christmas Book Exchange, and Nancy had lots of goodies for everyone to take home.
Our next book is Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible. It was my pick, and I can't wait to reread it!
For our next meeting Anna chose Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. This has been on my "To Be Read" list for about a year so for me this is a a great choice. ;)
Next Meeting Details ...
Hosted by: Nancy
Date: Feb. 17 @ 2pm
Theme: Parisian Brunch
Food: Please check the evite for Nancy's menu suggestions.
Next Book Picker: me!
Next Book: The Poisonwood Bible
Well we FINALLY had our meeting for Reading Lolita in Tehran, by Azar Nafisi. Due to crises in their families, three members could not attend ... our thoughts and prayers are with them. The meeting was moved to my house at the last minute and 5 of us attended. Welcome to our newest members, Jessica and Kelli!
Our discussion of the book wasn't bad, considering that we had the three missing members on our minds. I loved the book, Annette loved it (she was home with the flu), Amber thought it was pretty good, Nicole HATED it, and I think Kelli didn't like it much either. Jess only read a chapter or so and it put her to sleep. :) I'll post the official ratings once I receive them.
To recap, here are some of the main points we discussed:
I spoke to mom (Annette) on the phone later. She listened to the audio version of the book and really enjoyed it. She said:
Listening to her describe how the women came into her house and took off their veils ... I could see it right in front of my eyes. I could see the girls coming into my kitchen and sitting down around the table ... it was amazing!
Now THAT is what makes audio books so great! I know there is great controversy in the book world about the use of audio books but this, for me, is why I love them. For more opinions on this, check out this blog.
There were lots of things that we did NOT discuss, including the criticism Nafisi received for writing this book. I had an Washington Post article to hand out, but forgot to give it to everyone at the meeting. Read it here when you get a chance. It talks about how some Iranian-Americans feel she portrayed their country incorrectly and tried to please her Western audience by saying what they wanted to hear. It's a very interesting article.
I heard an interview with Nafisi in which she talked about modern day Iran. Here's a brief excerpt:
Nafisi: Of course, now Iran, because of the young people’s rebellion, is much more open than when I left it in `97. But, I have to cover my hair. Nowadays, they’re much more relaxed because they couldn’t control it. But the way these girls are on the cover of my book, that even is not really proper. You should cover the hair properly. But nobody does that in Iran today.
Question: Do they still have morality patrols running around the city?
Nafisi: I don’t think they have anymore. When I was in Iran in `97 they still had them. But I’m talking with my friends and students and they said that there is so much unrest that they don’t want to add to people’s dissatisfaction by having the morality police around. But they still have raid parties and raid houses, and every once in a while they raid the streets.
Ok, that's about all I have for now. Please post any comments you may have as I'd love to hear them! We're still planning the date of our next meeting, and I'll post that as soon as I can. Happy reading to all!
