May 8, 2012: "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay

This one hooked me early. I'm halfway through, and wish I was reading it right now.

I recently read a collection of 19th-century slave narratives. Not fun, not easy, not breezy. But important, for sure. "Sarah's Key," although fiction, presents me with the same issue. Why choose to read something dark, something that paints a horrid portrait of humankind at its worst, in living black and white? Why not just pick up a beach read, a James Patterson breeze-through, a Danielle Steel brain-free dessert topping, and let the world solve its own problems?

That's the easy way out, the one we often choose. For me, fighting my inclination to wade toe-deep in the literary waters is the benefit of belonging to a book group. It prods me to read things I know I should read.

Feb. 14, 2012: "The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet," by Jamie Ford

Publication date: Jan. 27, 2009.


“A tender and satisfying novel set in a time and a place lost forever, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet gives us a glimpse of the damage that is caused by war--not the sweeping damage of the battlefield, but the cold, cruel damage to the hearts and humanity of individual people. Especially relevant in today's world, this is a beautifully written book that will make you think. And, more importantly, it will make you feel." 
-- Garth Stein, New York Times 


Discussion at Reading Groups Guides.

June 14, 2011: "Freedom," by Jonathan Franzen

Born in the Chicago suburbs and raised outside of St. Louis, Franzen knows the Midwest. He also knows what Tolstoy knew:

 "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

Some readers don't enjoy stories about family dysfunction. They'd prefer to read "The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore"and watch "Little House on the Prairie" with the grandchildren. Good for them. The world needs boring people, if only to help the rest of us feel a little better.

Me, I'd rather read Franzen.

April 12, 2011: "The White Tiger," by Aravind Adiga

Back to India, sahib and memsahib.

A few years ago, we read "Freedom at Midnight," the story of the liberation of India. Now, something more contemporary. "The White Tiger" won the 2008 Man Booker Prize for the best English-language full-length novel by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe.

For reviews, take a look here. For discussion, come to the April meeting. I know Marilyn will come; she's travelled to India and can provide us with a first-hand view of things.

December 14, 2010: "The Professor and the Madman," by Simon Winchester"

I just began reading this one, and it looks good.

I think the author's approach will resemble that of "The Devil in the White City," Erik Larson's story of murder during the 1893 Exposition in Chicago. Here, we'll learn about a murderer in a lunatic asylum and the preparation of the first edition of Oxford English Dictionary.

I guess the literary theory here is that good old murder lends juice to otherwise-dry topics.

November 9, 2010: Anywhere But Here" by Mona Simpson

This was on a list of books recommended by a writer I met this summer, Coe College writing professor Gordon Menenga. Gordon has an interest in, and teaches workshops in literary "voice," which I guess in no surprise, considering that, before he began teaching at Coe, he wrote Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon monologues.

This is simply to say that I'll be paying attention to the "voice" in this book. This was Simpson's first novel, yet, according to salon.com's review, "Simpson's voice emerged fully formed in this stunningly nuanced portrait of a young girl, Ann, and her manipulative mother."

October 12, 2010: "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury

We're not the only folks still reading this classic. It's the current selection for the Moline Public Library's "Big Read," the NEA-sponsored program that gets communities involved in reading important works.

Okay, we're a small community, but what the heck. Kelly suggested we give "451" a try. I haven't read it in years, so I say go for it. Even Bonnie, who taught it in her English classes for years agrees.

It's a short novel, as I recall, a story about a future society in which critical thinking and reading are discouraged.

Helloooo! The future is here....

June 8 2010 - Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

I read this a ways back; this novel, set in Nigeria, as I recall, was an important book on campuses in the '60s. At least I remember something about the '60s.

It's still taught in schools and colleges, and is, therefore, easily available through interlibrary loan.

April 13 - Running With Scissors, by Augusten Burroughs

Judy at the library hates this book. Frank at the library loves it.

Isn't that just how it is. One man's meat is another man's poison. Your trash is my treasure. You say tomato, I say tomato.

This book is very . . . it's rather . . . well, you have to read it to find out. And, I expect that some of us won't like it.

But how important is it to "like" something. I don't "like" the pastoral paintings of 17th-century Dutch painter Jacob vanderHoosen. I "like" Peanuts. Does that mean Charles Scultz is a better artist than vanderHoosen? Does it mean I have low-brow tastes in art?

I don't know. I picked the book. I like it. It was on the New York Times bestseller list for a month.

All I ask is that you don't throw sharp objects at me at our next meeting.

March 9 - Little Heathens (really, this time)

Polar weather has interrupted our meeting schedule, though certainly not our reading. At our March9 meeting, let's catch up by doing two things:

1- Holding our book discussion, of course. Since we were snowed out last month, let's discuss Little Heathens, our February "read." I suspect Bonnie may have some relevant personal experience to share.

2- Set our reading schedule for the spring. Having a few months' worth of reading scheduled in advance has always kept us on track--when we don't forget to do it. This time, we won't forget. Believe me.

See you soon, you little heathens--
Frank

Nov. 10 - The Tragedgy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

Deck the Halls with Shakespearean tragedy.

At our October meeting, discussion of "Edgar Sawtelle" turned to the fact that Wroblewski's novel is a modern telling of the Hamlet tale (Edgar's uncle=Claude, Hamlet's uncle=Claudius; Edgar's mother=Trudy, Hamlet's mother=Gertrude. A "play within the play" (by a cast of actors/ or dogs) points to the uncle's guilt. Accidental murder of a friend. Death galore.)

So fascinated were we by these intentional parallels that we decided to read the original for December. Copies of Hamet are easy to find, online, through interlibrary loan, maybe even on your bookshelf.

Also easy to find through interlibrary loan are Hamlet-related materials: criticisms, commentaries, teacher's guides, student guides. If we also each select one of these to read, we'll have a variety materials and thoughts to discuss.

I'll also make sure we have a few copies of "The Story of Edgar Sawtell" to complete the afternoon.

Tues, Oct. 13 - Freedom at Midnight by Larry Collins

We decided to read this after discussing "Taliban" and admitting how little we know of the history of the East. It's the story of India's movement toward independence from the British Empire.

Both Marilyn and I read "Freedom at Midnight" a l-o-o-o-ng time ago, and we're both looking forward to delving into it again.

Tues, Sep 15, 2009 - Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism... - Ahmed Rashid

(Note change of date this month.)

(Note that this book was originally scheduled for October.)

(Note the above notes.)

Aug 11, 2009 - The Jane Austen Book Club

Our light summer read. All I know about this book is that it's about a book group that meets monthly, five women, one man . . . hey, I think I hear the Twilight Zone theme song. There's the signpost up ahead . . .

After Meeting Report: Considering the comparatively light weight of this "summer read," we actually had an interesting discussion. I was glad to see I wasn't the only reader curious about the odd points of view that seem to shift around. Thanks, Betty, for your preparation.  

Tues, July 14, 2009: The Brothers Karamazov

This is what shows up on our light summer reading list, ladies, when we are sl-o-o-o-w to organized our schedule: one of the thickest, densest, patronym-loaded of the Russian novels.

And one of the best. I ordered a Cliff's Notes Study Guide to accompany my reading of this tome, which begins tonight.

I'll be emailing y'all with a dire warning: we need to schedule a few months in advance. I'm planning, at our July meeting, to be a Grumpy Old Man and insist that we set up our reading list for the fall at the beginning of the meeting. This will prevent our probing discussion of Ilya Mikhailovich "Mika" Karamazov's relationship with Nikolas "Nikita" Mikhailovich "Mikel" Karamazov Jr. from running too long.

Tues., June 9 - The Good Shepherd - C.S. Forester

Be sure you get the Forester novel; as you might imagine, there are a lot of religious/inspirational books with "The Good Shepherd" in the title.

Life of Pi

When we left our last meeting, I was put in charge of trying out out this book to see if it was safe for Marilyn to read.

A few weeks later, before I'd had a chance to begin, I got a call at the library. It was Marilyn, saying she was enjoying "The Life of Pi," and that I should be sure to read the introduction carefully.

I did, and am happy to say I'm enjoying the book immensely.

The Glass Castle- Jeanette Wall

MAR 10 2009 - The Glass Whistle Castle, Jeanette Wall.

Ta-da!

Here it is, three weeks after our last meeting, and I've finished the site I told you I could make in 45 minutes.

A small item to talk about at our February 10 meeting: the day of our March 10 meeting will be busy at the library, as the referendum consultants will be in town. It would help if we could meet that day a half hour later, at 4:30.

See you soon!

Frank.

In Cold Blood

I was fascinated to learn at the January meeting that Harper Lee helped Capote with his research. Apparently they were childhood friends. I either never knew this or forgot it decades ago.

Harper Lee is quoted as saying that the character of "Dill"--the nerdy boy next door--in "To Kill a Mockingbird" was based on Capote.