Thank you, Liz, for an evening of wine, cheese and great discussion. One of the main reasons I love book club, and discussing books in general, is that I learn things and see connections that I never would have otherwise. Dalva was definitely one of those rich reads where each person's perspective added to my understanding and I left with more affection for it than before we met.
Next up is State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. Here's a summary I found online:
A researcher at a pharmaceutical company, Marina Singh must step out of her comfort zone when she is sent into the heart of the Amazonian delta to check on a field team that has been silent for two years — a dangerous assignment that forces Marina to confront the ghosts of her past.
The library has ordered a second copy, I heard one was already snagged from Wabi Sabi, and Back of Beyond has some in stock too. Be sure to mention it is for our book club to receive a discount!
Thank you to Karen for hosting last night's gathering. Please join me next month to discuss Dalva.
From her home on the California coast, Dalva hears the broad silence of the Nebraska prairie where she was born and longs for the son she gave up for adoption years before. Beautiful, fearless, tormented, at forty-five she has lived a life of lovers and adventures. Now, Dalva begins a journey that will take her back to the bosom of her family, to the half-Sioux lover of her youth, and to a pioneering great-grandfather whose journals recount the bloody annihilation of the Plains Indians. On the way, she discovers a story that stretches from East to West, from the Civil War to Wounded Knee and Vietnam -- and finds the balm to heal her wild and wounded soul.
There is one copy at the library, one at the used book store, and soon there will be some at Back of Beyond. Happy Reading!
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Please join me for an evening at my house to talk about Daniel Suelo and Mark Sundeen and their story of Daniel's life paths. Daniel is in Moab right now and I was considering having him show up to our gathering. Either way, I'm sure we'll have lively discussions! Thursday, Dec. 20. 7pm. Anyone not in our group who has read the book is also invited!
Like we did last year, in the spirit of books and Christmas, I encourage you to bring a wrapped book that you're done with for a little gift exchange. Hope you can make it!
A big thanks to our November host, Natalie, for our lively discussion of The Happiness Project. Overall it seemed we enjoyed discussing it more than we enjoyed reading it. I appreciated hearing different takes on Gretchen Rubin’s “Be Gretchen” motto and hearing what individuals find fun that others may not, and what we always make time for. Natalie made a lovely point about striving to be light and whether it actually does come easy to some people. Lots of contrasts were made between life in Moab and life on the Upper East Side of NYC.
I’m curious to hear if the book stays with anyone or has an unforeseen impact as we head into resolution season.
Christy referenced another book on happiness called Raising Happiness. The random architecture textbook that Rubin refers to and at least three of us loved is called A Pattern of Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction by Christopher Alexander. Moab Library has it and it really is a wonder---as much about the life inside what we build as it is about the structures. The title to Atul Gawande’s Checklist Manifesto was supplied by Karen Downey---how lucky we are to have a bookseller in our midst! I’d say the book might have been better as a New Yorker article (perhaps that is where it originated) but I am in love with having checklists for my easily-distracted and overly-focused mind.
Karen announced our December read: The Man Who Quit Money by Mark Sundeen. Arches Bookstore has it in stock---be sure to tell them you’re buying it for book club to get a discount---yay! I read a really moving review by another local, Damian Nash, who is featured in the book, on Amazon’s page---follow the link above if you’d like to read it.
Karen also encouraged us all to bring a used book to exchange at our holiday gathering on the third Thursday of December---the 20th at 7PM. Address and directions will be sent via email.
I hope to have our 2013 calendar lined up by then. Please send me an email leave a comment below if you are interested in hosting in 2013 and what month/season you’d prefer. We had a great turn out at Natalie’s---was it 9 or 10? A photo is out there somewhere---thanks Obe!
Great discussion, laughs and kinky stuff at Rotary Park last night (just joking about that last one...it was a very vanilla gathering!).
Liz captured a photo of Nicole's beautiful spread---loved her hat filled with discussion questions!
Christy chose our next read: The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. We'll be gathering on the 18th of October (the third Thursday---imagine that!). Looking forward to seeing you at Christy's!
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Thanks to Mindy for hosting the last book club meeting in Monticello. Catherine drove Nicole and Liz (as well as a rooster we named Golden) over to Mindy's new place. It was a rare, rainy day and Mindy had to forego her plans to have a Pottery Barn, idealistic setting on her back porch. We had a great time at her kitchen table chatting up the book and snacking on some fantastic appetizers that only Mindy could manage. We all enjoyed the book and loved the cover illustration. Liz mentioned it reminded her of a "Mad Men" type motif. We noticed the influence of popular television culture on this book (Big Love).
Get ready for S E X... Nicole's pick is Fifty Shades of Grey!!!
So far we are on track to have 12 picks for 2012---the first year our bookclub didn't skip a month at some point. Summer is the biggest challenge, so I think we have a good chance to make it to 2013. We didn't take any photos at Marva's last gathering or CeCe's but both were great nights. I loved the large group sitting around chairs under trees at CeCe's and the small circle of us talking till 11PM on Marva's patio.
According to our book list here, the rest of year's picks go in this order:
Mindy -August: The Lonely Polygamist
Nicole - September
Tara? - October
Natalie - November
Beth - December
I'm not sure if Beth will be in Moab and whether she or Tara still want their spot. Please send an email to the group if you don't want your spot, so that we can get someone to take it with plenty of notice. At the gathering at my place in April, we revisited the notion of growing the group to include more people. Liz had a great suggestion that whomever is hosting be able to invite someone so that the group would grow slowly rather than all at once. Perhaps more thoughts on this at Mindy's.
Lastly---some random book recommendations. Jenny Chatwin (our long-lost leader---boo to moving, Jenny!) posted one of the opening lines of Let's Pretend This Never Happened: "High school is life's way of giving you a record low to judge the rest of your life by." I recognized it because I just picked it up at the library today. I swore I wasn't going to read it after hearing too much hype about it---and because I read too many memoirs anyway, but I ended up laughing loudly at the library while just glancing at it, so it came home with me. Hilarious. Also, The Art of Possibility was another random library pick last month and a great one---by Benjamin Zander, the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Symphony. His TED talk can get anyone excited about classical music and leadership/change in general.
