Happy Holidays 2011

“There's more, much more, to Christmas than candlelight and cheer; It's the spirit of sweet friendship that brightens all year. It's thoughtfulness and kindness, It's hope reborn again, For peace, for understanding, And for goodwill to men!"

Turning Leaves Book Club
Holiday gathering @ Sanders
12/2/2011

Merry Christmas friends and best wishes for a new year full of great books and interesting conversation!

November 2011 - Mountains Beyond Mountains

Five members of Turning Leaves Book Club met at Geri Beckman's home on November 14th to discuss the book Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder. 

A quick description of the book from the publisher:

In medical school, Paul Farmer found his life’s calling: to cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most. Kidder’s magnificent account takes us from Harvard to Haiti, Peru, Cuba, and Russia as Farmer changes minds and practices through his dedication to the philosophy that “the only real nation is humanity.” At the heart of this book is the example of a life based on hope and on an understanding of the truth of the Haitian proverb “Beyond mountains there are mountains”–as you solve one problem, another problem presents itself, and so you go on and try to solve that one too.

The group was somewhat divided in opinion about the book, with ratings ranging from quite low to very high.  Everyone was in agreement that Dr. Farmer was an amazing person to read about, but the book was somewhat cumbersome to read at times. 

Dr. Farmer's story made for some interesting conversations about personal sacrifice (what good do we do not for ourselves?), generosity, tradeoffs that we make, and distribution of wealth and medical services throughout the world.   The title was an appropriate one for this one and for life in general, as as you struggle and fight to climb over one mountain, there is always another one beyond to provide further challenge.

After discussion of the book, Geri served a decadent apple cake with caramel topping where the group finalized plans for our holiday outing on Friday, December 2nd at Sanders in Grand Forks.  This will be our meeting for the month and no books are planned for December.  Looking ahead, we added These is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine to our reading list for January.  Mary Weltz is planning to host that month.  The book for February will by Ordinary People by Judith Guest. 

The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted - October 2011

Marcia Rost hosted the book club at her home on Thursday, October 27th.  We had a nice turnout this month, with only a couple of the members unable to make it. 

Our book this month was a book of short stories by Elizabeth Berg titled The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted.  A customer review on Amazon.com summarizes the book as follows:

In the title story, the narrator leaves a Weight Watchers meeting and vows to eat whatever she wants all day long. She starts out at Dunkin' Donuts, carrying a box of her favorites to her car. "I looked around and there was no one so I ran my tongue along every single surface of every single donut.... Sexual in a way, but more yeasty and better." Later she gives precise directions from Chicago's O'Hare airport to a Superdawg -- just in case you share her passion for Whoopercheesies.

More poignant stories describe an elderly couple's old dog dying and a chance encounter a middle-aged woman has with her first love.

What all of the stories share is humanity. Regardless of which one you're reading, you find yourself nodding your head, thinking "Yes, that's true."

Here's the list of stories:
1. The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted
2. Returns and Exchanges
3. The Party
4. Over the Hill and into the Woods
5. Full Count
6. Rain
7. The Day I Ate Nothing I Even Remotely Wanted
8. Mrs. Ethel Menafee and Mrs. Birdie Stoltz
9. Double Diet
10. The Only One of Millions Just Like Him
11. Truth or Dare
12. How to Make an Apple Pie
13. Sin City
 The book was generally liked by the group with ratings ranging from a 6 to 8.5.  Some found it more difficult to "get in to" the short stories where the characters and plot do not have as much time to develop.  The group varied in the extent they could relate to some of the stories too.  The discussion questions were fun to go through and spawned talks of what we would do to be spontaneous (full meals with top shelf alcohol and 2 desserts, buttered popcorn and a cigarette, flying off to Vegas or to see a show, etc) to first kisses (not sure where that came from). 

Marcia topped the evening off by serving a delectable frozen dessert.  Thank you Marcia for your hospitality and having us in your home.

Looking ahead, we are planning to read Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder.  Geri will be hosting at her home on November 14th at 7:00 pm.  At that time we will finalize plans for a holiday outing, most likely on December 2 or 3.

On a sad note, we say goodbye (hopefully just temporarily) to two longstanding members.  Char and Pam have decided to put book club on hold for a while.  We wish them well as they focus on other areas of their busy lives, but we hope to have them back again soon.  Be sure to keep up with all of us on this blog girls!

Happy Reading!

 

"You cannot open a book without learning something." Confucius

October meeting date announced

Hi, all. Marcia has set the date for THE DAY I ATE...: October 27 at
7:00. I am also including a note from Mary that was meant for the whole
group, but I don't think it got to the whole group. Have a splendid day!
Geri

September 2011 - Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution

Char hosted our book club at her home on the evening of October 2nd - a late September meeting.  Our book this month is Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution by Michelle Moran.  Jean, Geri, Vicki and Char were able to attend.

Amazon.com describes the book as this: 

The world knows Madame Tussaud as a wax artist extraordinaire . . . but who was this woman who became one of the most famous sculptresses of all time? In these pages, her tumultuous and amazing story comes to life as only Michelle Moran can tell it. The year is 1788, and a revolution is about to begin.

Smart and ambitious, Marie Tussaud has learned the secrets of wax sculpting by working alongside her uncle in their celebrated wax museum, the Salon de Cire. From her popular model of the American ambassador, Thomas Jefferson, to her tableau of the royal family at dinner, Marie’s museum provides Parisians with the very latest news on fashion, gossip, and even politics. Her customers hail from every walk of life, yet her greatest dream is to attract the attention of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI; their stamp of approval on her work could catapult her and her museum to the fame and riches she desires. After months of anticipation, Marie learns that the royal family is willing to come and see their likenesses. When they finally arrive, the king’s sister is so impressed that she requests Marie’s presence at Versailles as a royal tutor in wax sculpting. It is a request Marie knows she cannot refuse—even if it means time away from her beloved Salon and her increasingly dear friend, Henri Charles.

As Marie gets to know her pupil, Princesse Élisabeth, she also becomes acquainted with the king and queen, who introduce her to the glamorous life at court. From lavish parties with more delicacies than she’s ever seen to rooms filled with candles lit only once before being discarded, Marie steps into a world entirely different from her home on the Boulevard du Temple, where people are selling their teeth in order to put food on the table.

Meanwhile, many resent the vast separation between rich and poor. In salons and cafés across Paris, people like Camille Desmoulins, Jean-Paul Marat, and Maximilien Robespierre are lashing out against the monarchy. Soon, there’s whispered talk of revolution. . . . Will Marie be able to hold on to both the love of her life and her friendship with the royal family as France approaches civil war? And more important, will she be able to fulfill the demands of powerful revolutionaries who ask that she make the death masks of beheaded aristocrats, some of whom she knows?

Spanning five years, from the budding revolution to the Reign of Terror, Madame Tussaud brings us into the world of an incredible heroine whose talent for wax modeling saved her life and preserved the faces of a vanished kingdom.

The ratings from the book ranged from a "6" to a "9".  We all found the history of the French Revolution to be interesting and informative.  There was some difference in opinion though as to how engaging the book was overall and some found it more difficult to stay interested and keep reading.

Discussions this evening focused around what an interesting character Marie was and the various choices and sacrifices that she had to make to save her business and keep her family safe. 

Those who read the book felt that the author went to great lengths to research the information and provide historical data in addition to the fictional stories.

Char served a peach and a rhubarb dessert.  For those who were unable to attend, trust me it was impossible to decide between the two and having a little bit of each was the only option! 

Our next planned book is The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted: And Other Small Acts of Liberation by Elizabeth Berg.  Marcia Rost is planning to host the next club meeting at the end of October.

We decided to add Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder to the reading list for the month of November.  Geri is tentatively planning to host for that month and it will likely be prior to Thanksgiving.

Lastly, the group discussed doing something to celebrate the holidays.  The night at Sanders last year was enjoyed by many, so will be under consideration again.  If anyone has alternative ideas, please bring them to the next meeting.

For those who read the book, but were unable to attend, please leave a note in the comments to let us know how you liked the book.

The Story of Beautiful Girl - August 2011

Jacqi hosted book club at her home on a hot August 22nd evening.  We had a smaller group with just Jean, Marcia R., Jacqi and Vicki attending, but the conversation was good all the same.

This month's book was The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon. It was recommended to the group by Tracy Laaveg.

The book description reads:

"It is 1968. Lynnie, a young white woman with a developmental disability, and Homan, an African American deaf man, are locked away in an institution, the School for the Incurable and Feebleminded, and have been left to languish, forgotten. Deeply in love, they escape, and find refuge in the farmhouse of Martha, a retired schoolteacher and widow. But the couple is not alone-Lynnie has just given birth to a baby girl. When the authorities catch up to them that same night, Homan escapes into the darkness, and Lynnie is caught. But before she is forced back into the institution, she whispers two words to Martha: "Hide her." And so begins the 40-year epic journey of Lynnie, Homan, Martha, and baby Julia-lives divided by seemingly insurmountable obstacles, yet drawn together by a secret pact and extraordinary love."

 

The book was well-liked by all, with an average rating of 8.5 from the group.  The biggest criticism noted of the book was the ending, which most agreed was "skimpy", "hurried" and somewhat "inplausible".  We enjoyed a long discussion of the various elements and themes of the book and general discussions about some personal experiences with people with disabilities and how they can be mistreated by society.  We talked about our desire to "fix" people who might not themselves want to be fixed.  Jean brought up the similar story in a book we read earlier (The Memory Keeper's Daughter). 

 

Those who were unable to make it missed out on a delicious fresh peach upside down cake that Jacqi baked up for us.  It tasted like summer on a plate!  YUM!!

 

Upcoming books include: Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution by Michelle Moran for September and Elizabeth Berg's The Day I Ate Watever I Wanted: And Other Small Acts of Liberation for October.   Hosts for both months were not certain at this time, so if anyone was planning to take one of those months, please speak up!

 

Geri has also recommended the book Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World.  A description of the book was passed out at the meeting for review and could be added for November or a later month. 

 

Thanks to Jacqi for hosting a wonderful evening of good conversation with friends about an interesting book.