July 20, 2005

Virtual Book Club Meeting #2

Welcome back to the Virtual Book Club! Have a seat in my spotless virtual living room and settle in for some thoughts on more books. If you missed our first meeting, please click here and see what you missed.

Does everyone have some munchies and a beverage? Good! Then we’re ready.

1. Enthusiastic Recommendation

Am I living in a cultural wasteland? Has no one discovered Never Let Me Go** by Kazuo Ishiguro?

I picked it up on the new releases shelf at the local library and finished it in two days. It was stunningly beautiful and I cannot figure out why it’s not on the “reserve” list with a long wait. It is one of the best books I have read in a long time.

**Important

I do NOT think you should click the link to the book– just go get it and read it. If you MUST click the link, read only the Amazon.com review, but STOP before you get to the Publisher’s Weekly review, because it will spoil everything for you.

This is the author who wrote The Remains of the Day. If you read it, please let me know what you thought!

2. Divided Thoughts on Bees

Even though I never mentioned The Secret Life of Bees during the last meeting, a number of readers wrote in to talk about it. Two readers loved it and four hated it with a passion. I am pretty neutral on the book myself.

3. Readers on My Wavelength

As I said at the first meeting, I have barely scraped the surface of my list of beloved books. However, a number of readers chimed in to recommend books that I really love, and I will list them here:

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, which tells the story of Jacob and his wives.

(I also loved a quick read: The Preservationist by David Maine, which fills in the details of Noah’s family as they build the ark and ride out the flood. It’s a kick to listen to his daughters-in-law question his sanity!)

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. It took me a while to figure out how the book worked and to grasp the way the past, present and future were presented in the context of this love story. It is extremely hard to describe to other people. A local columnist here in town found the book creepy, because the main character meets her husband at different times in both their lives (she might be 6, while he is 36, for that moment at least) but I thought it was delightful. And if you did not understand the last sentence, well, that just illustrates my point that you have to read the book for yourself to understand it.

One reader mentioned several books that I love: Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner, anything by Anne Lamott ( I am partial to Operating Instructions, which I plugged at the last meeting, but I also enjoyed her latest, Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith) and The Annunciation by Ellen Gilchrist. My sisters and I are all big fans of Ellen Gilchrist.

I must say that Crossing to Safety made me a little uneasy, however. I think I saw a little too much of myself in Charity when I read this in the mid-90’s. Maybe I should re-read it and see if I compare more favorably now.

Someone pointed out that Anna Quindlen is always good (she suggested Loud and Clear).

4. Historical and Historical-ish Books

I recently read the biography of Benjamin Franklin by Walter Isaacson and found it very interesting. I am eying 1776 by David McCullough for my next foray into history. Anyone have an opinion on it?

As for historical-ish books, I am sure everyone has heard of the following books, but some are great and if you missed them, you should check them out:

The Josephine Bonaparte Collection: The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B., Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe, and The Last Great Dance on Earth by Sandra Gulland (for an extra helping of history, when you finish them you can re-read Desiree by Annemarie Selinko and get the story from another point of view - just don’t confuse this Desiree (Josephine’s sister-in-law?) with Josephine’s Aunt Desiree who is a main character in the trilogy.

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Lots of people liked The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, and I wanted to like it, because I am all about Elizabethan history. The story was good, but there was something the author kept having the characters say that got on my nerves so bad I could hardly make it through the book. I lent the book to my mom so I cannot remember what it was, which is just as well, because I would hate to spoil your enjoyment of the book by revealing what is probably a personal idiosyncrasy on my part.

5. Alienist Update

Bill did pack The Alienist and took it on our recent trip out west. This time he did not even open it. The streak is intact!

6. It’s Growing Late

Is that your husband calling again, asking when you are coming home? The meeting has run on a while, so I must politely collect your beer cans and wine glasses and usher you out of the house. I’ll save my other comments for the next meeting.

I hope Lewis Perdue will drop by again, this time to talk about his book Slatewiper. I did read it, at his suggestion, but I still enjoyed Daughter of God much more. This is a good book to take to the beach.

TTFN,

Anne Glamore, Virtual Book Club Queen

June 22, 2005

The Virtual Book Club

If you have read many of my posts, you might have gathered that I am a big reader. So I’d be a natural for a book club, wouldn’t I?

It turns out that in theory a book club is a great idea, but in practice I can never seem to keep it up. It’s all my fault. I’m just no good at clubs.

Inevitably, I end up getting ticked off with one or members of the club, such as Light Reading Girl (the girl with the perfect manicure, whose children wear matching smocked clothes even at playtime. She suggests that the club devote a month reading and an entire evening discussing such challenging books as “Bergdorf Blondes.”) or Complaining Girl (She is quick to criticize other members’ book suggestions, but oddly, does not offer up any of her own. Her mere presence dampens the festivities, as all other members become afraid to suggest future reading material and become the target of her biting tongue.)

My idea of the perfect club would be one in which I was the queen. (I’m always happiest when I am the queen.) I could suggest good books for others to read, and listen to suggestions from others.

Then it occurred to me that I already have a kingdom, and plenty of visitors who do not fall into the above categories. So every now and then I’ll put out a few books I have loved, and you can do the same. On your own time!

If it makes you feel better, pour yourself a glass of wine and get some cheese and crackers while you join The Virtual Book Club. I have a couple of categories you may not use in your run-of-the-mill book groups.

1. Dusty Books I Should Read But Have Not

You know how there’s a book with a lot of buzz and you just can’t get fired up about it? This happened to me with The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Everyone I knew recommended it to me, and my sister gave me her copy and I put it on my bedside table. And there it sat. For months and months, until finally I packed only that book on a trip and was forced to read it. Guess what. I loved it. You should read it, too. I know– the cover is boring, and it’s about Afghanistan. Get over it. Just read the first chapter and you might love it, too.

Now, here are a couple of dusty books that are still staring at me, waiting for me to crack the cover. Are they worth it?

Memoirs of a Geisha : A Novel by Arthur Golden

A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin

2. Some all time favorites:

The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I describe it as a cross between “Dead Poet’s Society” and “Lord of the Flies.” I hear her second book wasn’t nearly as good.

Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage (The Crosswicks Journal, Book 4) by Madeleine L’Engle - yes, the “Wrinkle in Time” author. A beautiful story of her marriage.

Middlemarch by George Eliot. Long, but worth it.

Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son’s First Year by Anne Lamott. A must for any new mother, so you know you’re not the only one who has considered throwing that crying baby out the window in the middle of the night.

Second Opinions: Stories of Intuition and Choice in the Changing World of Medicine by Jerome Groopman. I’ve had too much personal experience with doctors and hospitals, and this book drives home the importance of following your intuition, asking questions, and taking charge of your own health care, not simply relying on everything the doctor tells you. Each chapter is a separate patient story, so it is easy to read.

Parent Power! by John Rosemond. He can be hardcore at times, so modify as needed. I have worn out this book with my three boys. And when I watch them break a glass and immediately go get the broom, or sort the laundry into lights and darks, I feel good for myself and my future daughters-in-law. Give yourself permission to make your kids vacuum!

3. The Book That Will Not Die

Many years ago, I read and enjoyed The Alienist by Caleb Carr. It’s a murder mystery set in New York City in the late 1800s. I really thought Bill would like it. He took it on our honeymoon and read two chapters. The next year, he took it to the beach and read the same two chapters. He took it on golf trips (back when he golfed) beach trips, and trips to see his family every holiday. He threw it in the suitcase when we went on out tenth anniversary trip, and did not open it at all.

He still takes it on every vacation we go on, and I am optimistic that he will conquer The Alienist before Finn goes to college.

4. Mindless Beach Read

Daughter of God by Lewis Perdue was a good read. It’s a thriller along the lines of The Rule of Four or The Da Vinci Code, but I thought it was better.

Okay, book club members. I have shared about 1% of my book recommendations with you, so stay tuned for more. In the meantime, help me out!

Anne Glamore, Book Club Queen