A few notes on THE LIST

Yes, that is a lot of reading, including some particularly long books. I'm hoping that having this list out ahead of time will aid all of us in 1) getting our books ahead of time, 2) deciding what dates and what amount of reading fit into our schedules, and 3) potentially picking which books we want to make a priority over others. This is my foray into what an organized person's life must be like, so we'll see if it serves us well in our book group. My apologies if it doesn't. :)

No, none of this is set in stone. More like...dried-out modeling clay. I'm hoping things won't change too much. The dates probably won't change a whole lot but that will just be up to the person hosting. A Wednesday could possibly get changed to a Thursday or the meeting get pushed back a week but again, not too much I don't think. Some of the books in the latter part of the year may get pushed back a bit if we fall behind, but generally we shouldn't have to compete with the holiday season unless we decide we want to read something seasonal at that time.

Yes, Rough Stone Rolling and Les Mis are beasts! And Look Homeward Angel is pretty long too. And I know not everyone is interested in reading these. But for those who are interested, the idea is that now you have your advanced notice and can get started at least a few months in advance.

Oh, and thanks to Amazon for some assistance with the book descriptions. Don't know how I'd know what books were out there without that website!

Drumroll...THE LIST for 2010

March Book

A Study in Scarlet

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

(~120 pgs)

Discussant and host: Celeste Spurline

Thu, 18 Mar

Text and audio available online (free!) at www.gutenberg.org

A Study in Scarlet is a popular Sherlock Holmes book written by author Arthur Conan Doyle. Being the first novel is the Holmes detective series by Doyle, A Study in Scarlet largely introduces the reader to the forthcoming series by Doyle. The story features the introduction of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson through mutual friends and a mystery revolving around a corpse found at a derelict house in Brixton, England. A Study in Scarlet is highly recommended for those who enjoy Sherlock Holmes detective novels and also individuals who enjoy the works of Arthur Conan Doyle.

April Book

One Hundred Years of Solitude

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

(~464 pgs)

Discussant and host: Amber Robbins

Thu, 15 Apr

Garcia Marquez tells the story of a family and a town, Macondo. The things that happen there are surreal; strange murders, sleeping disorders, scientists, soldiers, all revolve around the mansion of the Buendia family in Macondo. The tales introduce the reader to 20th century Latin American literature, with tales of love, sadness, desperation, hurt, and loss. This is Garcia Marquez's most famous work, and arguably his best. It is a book to be savored slowly, page by page, contemplated and reflected upon.

May Book

Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling

by Richard Lyman Bushman

(~784 pgs)

Discussant: Shelley Graham

Host: ?

Wed, 12 May

How should a historian depict a man's life when that man, and his religion, remain a mystery to so many 200 years after his birth? Bushman, an emeritus professor at Columbia University and author of Joseph Smith and the Beginnings of Mormonism, greatly expands on that previous work, filling in many details of the founding prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and carrying the story through to the end of Smith's life. Many continue to view Smith as an enigmatic and controversial figure. Bushman locates him in his historical and cultural context, fleshing out the many nuances of 19th-century American life that produced such a fertile ground for emerging religions. The author, a practicing Mormon, is aware that his book stands in the intersection of faith and scholarship, but does not avoid the problematic aspects of Smith's life and work, such as his practice of polygamy, his early attempts at treasure-seeking and his later political aspirations. In the end, Smith emerges as a genuine American phenomenon, a man driven by inspiration but not unaffected by his cultural context. This is a remarkable book, wonderfully readable and supported by exhaustive research. For anyone interested in the Mormon experience, it will be required reading for years to come.

June Book

The Education of Little Tree

by Forrest Carter (~228 pgs)

Discussant: Amy Harris

Host: ?

Wed, 2 Jun

The Education of Little Tree tells of a boy orphaned very young, who is adopted by his Cherokee grandmother and half-Cherokee grandfather in the Appalachian mountains of Tennessee during the Great Depression. “Little Tree” as his grandparents call him is shown how to hunt and survive in the mountains, to respect nature in the Cherokee Way, taking only what is needed, leaving the rest for nature to run its course. Little Tree also learns the often callous ways of white businessmen and tax collectors, and how Granpa, in hilarious vignettes, scares them away from his illegal attempts to enter the cash economy. Granma teaches Little Tree the joys of reading and education. But when Little Tree is taken away by whites for schooling, we learn of the cruelty meted out to Indian children in an attempt to assimilate them and of Little Tree’s perception of the Anglo world and how it differs from the Cherokee Way.

July Book

The Sound and the Fury

by William Faulkner (~326 pgs)

Discussant: Laura Lease

Host: ?

Thu, 8 Jul

Ever since the first furore was created on its publication in 1929, "The Sound and the Fury" has been considered one of the key novels of this century. Depicting the gradual disintegration of the Compson family through four fractured narratives, "The Sound and the Fury" explores intense, passionate family relationships where there is no love, only self-centeredness. At its heart this is a novel about lovelessness - 'only an idiot has no grief; only a fool would forget it. What else is there in this world sharp enough to stick to your guts?'

August Book

Look Homeward Angel

by Thomas Wolfe (~522 pgs)

Discussant and host: Ruth Monson

Date TBA

I feel sorry for anyone who can't find echoes of their own youth in Wolfe's undeniably Romantic writing. You won't find clipped Hemingway-esque sentences, nor the pages-long obscure wanderings of fellow Southerner Faulkner, but Wolfe recreates his world so perfectly that filming it would be redundant. Achingly, achingly nostalgic, beautifully written, TRUE to itself, sparing nothing of the author or his vision. This and its immediate succesor "Of Time and the River" are, to me, arguably the finest books ever written describing not just life in America but more importantly the sense of loss through time and distance of love, family, and home and the emotional maturation that follows. If you haven't become too sophisticated to remember what it was really like to be young, lonely, in love, or homesick, or to see though a child's eyes the wonder in a leaf, a stone, a door; to cry "Oh, lost!" over a memory, you will find much to cherish in this book.

September Book

TBA

October Book

Les Miserables

by Victor Hugo

(~1376 pgs)

Discussant and host: Amie Dunford

Date TBA

What do I really need to put in explanation of this one?! Feel free to read the unabridged or an abridged version. :) Text (not audio) also available at gutenberg.org, if you really enjoy staring at your computer screen for months on end.

Whew! What a list! It sounds like a year's worth of great reading, doesn't it? Thanks to everyone who made suggestions and who is hosting/leading a discussion.

January and February Meetings

Wow! I'm pretty behind on keeping this updated (no surprise there, I know). But Jan and Feb were fabulous Book Club months nonetheless, and we SO appreciate those who contributed to the meetings those months, whether through hosting, leading the discussion, or simply attending.

We met in January at Eva H's beautiful house, which required a little perseverance for some of us to find amid all the streets with nearly identical names, but was well worth the effort. :) We had about 12 people there and Amber W led us in a great discussion about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows. I think we all agreed that Elizabeth was pretty amazing (though we don't know we would have made all the same choices she did), that we had mixed feelings on Dawsey and on the letter format of the book, and that we were glad all Eva did not make potato peel pie for the refreshments. Yes, the fruit and dessert breads were so much better. Thanks so much Eva and Amber!!

About eleven of us met last week at Margaret M's home to discuss Villette by Charlotte Bronte. It was a long book, so not all of us there had finished it, but I think the conversation about the book was still pretty good. It was interesting to learn how much Villette speaks to Charlotte's life and yet in other ways is its own creature. I particularly loved it and ran off my mouth about it--my apologies, ladies--but you know me and the classics. It's a love affair that just keeps growing stronger. :)

One of the great things about this month's reading is that many of you have told me it made you discover (and like!) something you probably never would have read otherwise. In addition, we all found different things to like/dislike about it and had different observations we could share with each other. And ain't that what Book Club is all about???

Thanks to Margaret for all of her excellent information she shared with us about the enigmatic Charlotte, as well as for hosting us in her beautiful home and for the delicious food. Thanks for your support, ladies! :)