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Lunch Time Book Discussion Group|
Join us for this lunch time book discussion group on the fourth Wednesday of every month at 1 p.m. in the library's 2nd floor conference room. We discuss the books we've been reading and share ideas about what to read next. December 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 These are the books we discussed in June 2005:
Aloft by Chang-rae Lee Jerry Battle would rather be flying his airplane than dealing with his sick and pregnant daughter, his son’s debts, or missing father. This novel captures the essence of suburban life on Long Island. Kristin Pehnke: “Some of the passages were so surprisingly beautiful that I had to go back and reread them.” Alison Peebles: “I had no sympathy for any of the characters. Jerry is yet another guy having a mid-life crisis.” The Archivist by Martha Cooley A collection of letters from T. S. Eliot to Emily Hale are to remain unopened until 2019, and they are guarded by Matthais Lane, an aging archivist at an unnamed university. He becomes involved in an intellectual romance with a young graduate student who wants to read the letters. Alison Peebles: “This collection of letters does exist; they are housed in the Firestone Library at Princeton University and will not be opened until 2020.” Bad Dirt: Wyoming Stories 2 by Annie Proulx Proulx’s second collection of short stories about the people of Wyoming. Lucy Mackenzie: “Annie Proulx is a fabulous writer, but I never want to visit Wyoming.” Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman A collection of interlinked short stories that take place in a Cape Cod house by the ocean. Spanning several hundred years, the stories depict the changing house and how its various inhabitants deal with a ghostly blackbird. The different ways we can lose our children is a theme throughout this book. Alison Peebles: This is such a good book that I lent it to a friend.” The Bookseller of Kabul by Åsne Seierstad; translated by Ingrid Christopher Sultan Khan supplied the people of Kabul with books in defiance of the Communist Party and the Taliban. The author, a Norwegian woman, spent four months with Khan and his family observing how his books affected their community. Lucy Mackenzie: “This book presents a picture of the awful, controlling treatment of women in Afghanistan.” Cary Grant by Marc Eliot The story of how tough, uneducated Archibald Leach of Britain became glamorous Cary Grant of Hollywood. Carolyn Barnshaw: “His suave film persona was at such odds with his messy personal life.” Finding Mañana: A Memoir of a Cuban Exodus by Mirta Ojito An account of the massive emigration from Cuba, know as the Mariel Boatlift, this work interweaves the personal story of the author, she was 16 when her family fled Cuba, with stories of other emigrants and how their lives have progressed over the past 25 years. Lucy Mackenzie: “An important event in history – this book is worth reading.” Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl Reichl, food critic for the New York Times, enjoys going to restaurants incognito, and then compares that experience to dining as a famous critic. She loves the acting involved with her complicated disguises and relishes her experiences as an unknown diner. Linda Adams: “Her descriptions of how the food tastes are extravagant – she savors every bite. I had to get a Tum while I was reading this; it gave me heartburn.” In Country by Bobbie Ann Mason An 18-year-old girl, who lives with an uncle suffering from Agent Orange syndrome, searches for her father, who was killed in Vietnam, by reading his diary. Alison Peebles: “This novel is almost 20 years old, but it is still relevant – excellent.” Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer by Scott Eyman The story of Mayer’s early years and how the son of poor Russian immigrants, through hard work, became the architect of Hollywood’s Golden Age Carolyn Barnshaw: “Mayer’s daughters were sad because he wouldn’t let them have careers or socialize with actors.” The Little iMac Book by John Tollett and Robin Williams A well-done and helpful book, it is full of good pointers, and helps you use your Mac software to the fullest. Linda Adams: “Sometimes you need a little help.” A Lotus Grows in the Mud by Goldie Hawn with Wendy Holden A biography of Goldie Hawn that covers her early family life, how hard she worked to become a dancer, her dyslexia, and how Laugh-In made her bubbly laugh famous. Carolyn Barnshaw: “There isn’t anything about Kurt Russell, and it gets a bit “New Age” at the end, but altogether an excellent book for the beach.” The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. by Sandra Gulland This is the first in a trilogy of novels written as Empress Josephine Bonaparte’s personal diaries and correspondence. The novel begins with her girlhood in Martinique, and then covers her first marriage, the French Revolution, and her courtship with Napoleon. Caroline Wardlaw: “The scenes during the Revolution where she is waiting for her day at the guillotine are terrifying; this novel brought that period of history to life. I enjoyed these novels tremendously.” The News from Paraguay by Lily Tuck. Ella Lynch, a young Irish woman, is a courtesan in France when she catches the eye of Francisco Solano Lopez, the future dictator of Paraguay. The narration quickly shifts between various characters and Ella’s Diary. Lucy Mackenzie: “This novel is unreal, and it is hard to get your mind around it.” Persuasion by Jane Austen Anne Elliot quietly suffers her horrible family in this 1816 British novel. When Captain Wentworth returns seven years after she was persuaded to end their engagement, she finds the strength to stand up for herself and is finally rewarded with happiness. Caroline Wardlaw: “Anne Elliot is one of my favorite Austen heroines. Her quiet strength is so admirable and touching.” The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd During the summer of 1964 in rural South Carolina, a young, motherless girl runs away with her black nurse, who is wanted by the police for registering to vote. They are given a home by three black, beekeeping sisters. Sima Silverman: “A very appealing novel, less harsh than many of the other cross-cultural novels out currently; it really touched a nerve.” |
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