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! :)

January and February Books

Hope y'all had a merry Christmas! And that you're ready to get into a new year of great books and fun meetings. I've got a book list for the new year that I'll be posting on the blog soon--I just have one or two more months to iron out.

But for now...here's the plan:

January book: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann

Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Discussion led by Amber Westfall

Thu, Jan 21st

7:00pm

Location: Yet to be determined (volunteers?)

This book is only about 250 pages and, according to Amber, a very fast read. The libraries have tons of copies, though you may have to place a hold on it. Here's a customer review from Amazon:

"Set in both London and Guernsey Island, this novel follows author Juliet as she becomes friends with the inhabitants of the island shortly after the end of World

War 2. Told in epistolary style, Juliet learns of the occupied island and its deprivations, as well as the resounding spirit of the people who live there. As she writes, she becomes more and more intrigued with the stories of the people who survived the hard times, and she decides to create a book based on their experiences. In order to gather more information, Juliet moves temporarily to the island and soon finds herself immsersed in the culture and relationships.

"This is absolutely one of the most delightful books I've read all year. The characters are real, the relationships are unique, and Juliet is hysterically funny, as well as warm hearted and genuine. I did have a bit of trouble keeping all the characters straight in the beginning, but once I caught on, I was enthralled. The pages just fly by and while you will learn a little of what happened to Guernsey during World War 2, you will learn much more about love and friendship. Highly recommended!"

February book: Villette by Charlotte Bronte

Discussion led by Margaret Morrison

Wed, Feb 10th

7:00pm

Location: Margaret Morrison's house

Villette is supposed to be the most autobiographical of Bronte's works, moreso than Jane Eyre. The libraries have copies of it but I found you have to search for "Villette" as a keyword and not as the title or for some reason it didn't bring it up. Most copies of it are within a book of her (and sometimes Emily's) complete works. Again, another Amazon customer review:

"It was her last completed book, always in the shadow of Jane Eyre. It was insightful, irreverent, angry, tragic, funny, bizarre, gothic and wonderfully honest. At the time, the novel was harshly criticized by men, even feminist men like George Eliot's lover. But George Eliot herself and Virginia Wolf believed it to be her best work.

"How unusual first of all to have a heroine like Lucy Snowe, not of noble blood, not rich, not charming, not even good-looking as women (esp in the Victorian period) were expected to be. Like the other characters, she is flawed, contradictory and multi-faceted in a way one rarely sees in literature but continually witnesses in real life. Yet she is decidedly brilliant, original and imaginative like no other. Unconventional and delightfully subversive! In many ways, this is a truly modern novel to this day. I've never read a novel that so honestly and unflinchingly captures the plight of a woman-artist making her own way in the world despite the obstacles thrown in her path."

Villette is a little beefier than Guernsey--about 600 pages. So if you're planning on coming to both meetings, I'd go ahead and get Villette and begin working on that since there is only about 3 weeks between them.

I'm really excited about both these books and the ones we have planned through the end of summer. Happy reading and enjoy the rest of your Christmas break!

What a wonderful Christmasy/Hanukkahy meeting!

Thanks so much to everyone who came to our Dec 1st meeting, who brought food, insightful comments, and their sparkling personalities with them. :) We had a great meeting and learned a lot more about our holiday short stories. Thanks especially to Lee Anne for hosting us in her beautiful home and getting all of us in the Christmas spirit. Thanks also to Shelley for her help obtaining and researching, "Menashe and Rachel" for us. It was the perfect evening!

December Book Club--two seasonal short stories

Pardon my lateness for those of you I haven't spoken to already...

We are meeting this month, but we have chosen two short stories to read due to the fact that I know all of us are super-busy at this time of year--not the best time to dive into a big book.

The first story is one I know everyone knows of but perhaps few of us have actually read: The Gift of the Magi by O Henry. This one is available lots of places online (the link below is one option) and is absolutely delightful.

http://www.online-literature.com/o_henry/1014/

The second one is a Hanukkah story Shelley found for us that is also wonderful: "Menashe and Rachel" by Isaac Bashevis Singer. We have a pdf copy that I will email everyone on the email list as an attachment (send me an email if you are not on that list and I'll be sure to send it to you--emilyeyringrobertson@gmail.com).

It can also be found in the book, The Power of Light by Singer which is a collection of his stories, several copies of which can be found at the Athens library. The stories all tie somewhat together, so you may want to check it out and read more than one!

We are meeting at Lee Anne Pope's house (thanks Lee Anne!) which is a great central location close to Athens and Watkinsville:

Tuesday, Dec 1st

7 pm

1431 Lakewood Manor Drive

Athens

706-850-6477 (Lee Anne)

Finally, we asking everyone who would like to to bring a Christmas goodie to share. Shelley is leading our discussion, which is always very enlightening and, um . . . exciting. :) Just kidding, Shell. She's amazing. We all know it.

Looking forward to it!!!

URGENT: Still looking for a few good books...

All right, most of you have heard that we're compiling a new list of books to read for the next 9 months or so. But I've gotten very little feedback!

So I want everyone who reads this to take a second to leave a comment with one book they'd like to read. Otherwise we'll be stuck with all of my and about 2 other people's choices, which I guess I wouldn't entirely mind.

And here are some of the suggestions so far:

The Guernsey Potato Peel Pie Literary Society
Daniel Deronda by George Elliott
Vanity Fair by William Thackeray
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Rough Stone Rolling by Richard Lyman Bushman (scheduled many months in advance to give us time!)
Les Mis by Victor Hugo (also scheduled well in advance)

Thanks!

A Poem For Your Reading Enjoyment

I ran across this poem the other day, and I really liked it and thought I'd share it.

The Dream

O God, in the dream the terrible horse began
To paw at the air, and make for me with his blows.
Fear kept for thirty-five years poured through his mane,
And retribution equally old, or nearly, breathed through his nose.

Coward complete, I lay and wept on the ground
When some strong creature appeared, and leapt for the rein.
Another woman, as I lay half in a swound,
Leapt in the air, and clutched at the leather and chain.

Give him, she said, something of yours as a charm
Throw him, she said, some poor thing you alone claim.
No, no, I cried, he heates me; he's out for harm,
And whether I yield or not, it is all the same.

But, like a lion in a legend, when I flung the glove
Pulled from my sweating, my cold right hand,
The terrible beast, that no one may understand,
Came to my side, and put down his head in love.

Louise Bogan (1897-1970)

My Sister's Keeper meeting and please post suggestions for new books

We have a plan for our next book club meeting.

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Piccoult
Tuesday, Oct 13, 2009
7pm
Ruth Monson's house at 579 Milledge Circle

Looking forward to having a fun time discussing this book. Also, we'd like to make a 9-12 mo. schedule of books for this meeting so please bring your suggestions or email them to me if you won't be able to make it. We won't plan a lot for the next few months due to the holidays (maybe one holiday-related book to discuss in November) and then we'll have a monthly book after that starting in Jan.

I'd like to be better about having a meeting every month, perhaps back to always having it the first week of the month. I know for most of us, obtaining and completing the book club book every thirty days is a bit much, but we also have such a variety of genres people are interested in. I think if we have a book for every month but have different types of books then people can read the books they're most interested in and still be able to participate regularly. Plus there are a few long books that people would like to do but that would require us to know about well in advance to get them done in time (Rough Stone Rolling, Les Mis). I hope getting a schedule will allow us to fit in some of those longer works as well.

Maybe what I'll do is make another quiz on the website after our next meeting with all the books we've recently discussed and the ones that come up then, we'll have it open for a week or two, and then I'll put together a schedule based on the top ones. Please don't forget to also volunteer to host us if you're willing to. If we have you scheduled for a date that, as it gets closer, won't work for you, we can always change it later.

Thanks. Looking forward to next Tuesday!