bookish girl book club

2011-12-26T21:58:00.000-08:00

Does this article resonate with you?

2011-11-19T00:00:00.008-08:00

Hello again, readers. I have posted some questions... but, please, take your time. Enjoy your holiday next week. Finish the novel if you need to. And don't be afraid to come back when you're done. I'm anxious to hear from you, even if you're not quite ready to participate. We'll still be here when you get back. Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-19T00:00:00.007-08:00

A Town Like Alice has been described by some as abook in two parts, by others a book in three parts, and again by others as astring of short stories tied together by the character Jean Paget. Does the novel work as a whole?Would it work better “in pieces”? Besides Jean, how are thethreads connected?

2011-11-19T00:00:00.006-08:00

The story is told through Jean’strust’s solicitor, Noel. Does this work? What do you think of Noel himself?

2011-11-19T00:00:00.005-08:00

Mrs. Frith suggests that Godblesses the traveling women and children through Joe’s sacrifice (p. 111). Thesuggestion eventually buoys and strengthens the women. Why does it have thiseffect? Jean doesn’t believe this herself, but she does not discourage othersfrom believing. Why?

2011-11-19T00:00:00.004-08:00

Discussion point: Jean survives and even thrives by adapting, playing to andrespecting the existing culture of the places she lives. Yet, she remains trueto herself.

2011-11-19T00:00:00.003-08:00

“Men’s souls are naturally inclined to covetousness; butif ye be kind towards women and fear to wrong them, God is well acquainted withwhat ye do.”

2011-11-19T00:00:00.002-08:00

Jean & Joe: This book is often called an epic romance? Do you agree? What might be the differences between a romance and a love story?

2011-11-19T00:00:00.001-08:00

What might Jean have done with her life if she had neverreceived the inheritance? She is an innovative, perceptive and effectiveentrepreneur… but without the initial capital, would she ever have evenrealized these strengths and talents?

2011-11-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

Random House’s Modern Libraryhad a reader-voted list of the 100 Best Novels. The reader list put A Town Like Aliceat #17. What do you think?

2011-11-14T22:47:00.001-08:00

Hello happy readers! It's getting close to discussion time... and I'd like to make a call for questions. Here's how it will work:

Use the comment section on this post to submit a question or topic.

I will turn that question or topic into its own post. This will allow topic threads to stay separate... and hopefully keep discussions organized and focused.

I have a few (hopefully) good questions already to go... but I'd love to add yours. Please submit!

I would also like to extend our reading time just a little... so discussion posts may not go up on the 15th exactly. But soon, I promise!

2011-10-05T20:48:00.000-07:00

Historical fiction is hugely popular... but how about reading about long ago in a book that was written, um, long ago? Modern historical fiction seems to take into account our modern sensibilities. This is not a criticism; just an observation. "A Town Like Alice" is an interesting read -- forward-thinking and retro at the same time. It cannot take into account any of our modern sensibilities, but somehow manages to pull just that off in places. Other times, you will find it absolutely necessary to put happenings and attitudes into context.

Let's talk about it... Read along with me.

"A Town Like Alice" is a book about an extraordinary ordinary girl that is perfect for bookish ones. And, hey, it even made BBC's Big Read Top 100 Books.

Come visit Alice with me. Check back for discussion around November 15th.

Part One: Non-Contradiction

2010-09-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

I understand that Dagny and Hank and Ellis are the heroes of this book and I can see many of their virtues. But why so cold? Dagny's mother acuses her of being "incapable of emotion" and I'm for sure not getting any warm and fuzzy feelings from Hank. The man is ice! Is this lack of emotion part of Rand's philosophy on happiness? And is it a necessary part?

2010-09-23T22:09:00.000-07:00

Next week, we'll start talking about Book One of Atlas Shrugged. Chime in if you've got a question or topic you'd like to discuss.

2010-08-25T17:49:00.000-07:00

As threatened, er... promised, we are starting Atlas Shrugged. If you're my dad, you just read it in the last couple of weeks. If you're me, this may take a lifetime.

I'm trying, I swear.

The format will be a little different this time. I will set up a loose reading schedule which you may choose to follow or ignore. (Likely, I myself will ignore.)

As we go, we may want to ask each other questions (or more specifically my dad, because he actually understands it) and start discussions based on these questions.

The questions need not be traditional "book club" questions. We're mostly just looking for a chance to discuss as we go. Clarify. Share. Converse.

Look for a schedule in the next few days and in the meantime buy your baby one of these funny onesies here.

Question 3

2010-03-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

This question is from the author's website.

Did it bother you that Skeeter is willing to overlook so many of Stuart's faults so that she can get married, and that it's not until he literally gets up and walks away that the engagement falls apart?

2010-03-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

Hello, readers! We will post two questions a day for the next three days on Kathryn Stockett's The Help.

The questions today have been provided by Kelly (despite the "posted by" with my name on it at the end of the posts). So, thanks, Kelly!

Be sure to check back tomorrow for more questions...

Question 2

2010-03-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

Even though Minny is stubborn and brusque and I really wished she would be nicer to Celia, I was surprised when I realized I was anxious to see her name at the top of the next chapter. Her home life is horrific but I think her story has hope. And I'm just waiting for the next opportunity to drop one of her choice phrases into my lexicon. Maybe "she call the roll [at] the crazy lady club" (13) or her sweater's "so tight it'd make a hooker look holy" (223). We'll see.

From whose perspective did you most enjoy reading?

-Kelly

Question 1

2010-03-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

Both Hilly and Skeeter's mother are deeply flawed characters but they aren't irredeemable. Hilly is a doting mother and Charlotte obviously loves her family and even genuinely cares for Constantine. Are these women simply products of their time and culture? How much of a person is by nurture and how much is by nature? Did this book make you think about who you are as a result of where and who you came from?

-Kelly

2010-03-03T14:51:00.000-08:00

One of the things we worried about with The Tender Bar, neither of us having read it before, was content.

In fact, content is something we worry about on some level with most books we present to you on Bookish Girl. Every reader is different... Some more sensitive than others, and I mean this in the most positive way. Sometimes I worry that I'm not sensitive enough to content and that I tolerate too much in the name of art and in seeking empathy for human experience outside of my own through books.

Kelly and I both started The Tender Bar and we both feel it warrants a "reader beware", which likely isn't a huge surprise to you given the book's setting. Nevertheless, we make it official. Reader beware.

Happy reading and we hope to see you back here again soon...

2010-02-23T14:24:00.000-08:00

Thanks for voting! The Help by Kathryn Stockett has been chosen as our next book. I just finished it last week and I really enjoyed it. A lot. I think you will too.

A couple of things, though...

First, if you're relying on your local library to furnish you a copy it might be tricky getting one very soon. Beg, borrow or steal if you must. Or purchase? Yeah, I guess you could just buy it.

Second, this book is an easy read. I only mention this because I'm going to reference this fact in the future when you're reading Atlas Shrugged and plotting my death. I'll be all like, "Yeah, but remember when I let you read The Help? Get back to work."

To which you reply, "You're not the boss of me."

It's an awkward exchange but then I remind you that questions will be posted for The Help on March 22nd and we move on.

Happy reading!

2010-02-12T14:21:00.000-08:00

A banner that hangs in my library taunts, "So many books, so little time," and I think we've been stymied by just that. So, so many choices and oh so little time to even choose. But we've come up with a few that we think are worthy of a bookish girl's precious time and discriminating taste. Rock the vote, girls (and Dad maybe).
-Kelly

The Tender Bar, a memoir by J.R. Moeringer, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist

J.R. Moehringer grew up captivated by a voice. It was the voice of his father, a New York City disc jockey who vanished before J.R. spoke his first word. Sitting on the stoop, pressing an ear to the radio, J.R. would strain to hear in that plummy baritone the secrets of masculinity and identity. Though J.R.'s mother was his world, his rock, he craved something more, something faintly and hauntingly audible only in The Voice.

At eight years old, suddenly unable to find The Voice on the radio, J.R. turned in desperation to the bar on the corner, where he found a rousing chorus of new voices. Cops and poets, bookies and soldiers, movie stars and stumblebums, all sorts of men gathered in the bar to tell their stories and forget their cares. The alphas along the bar - including J.R.'s Uncle Charlie, a Humphrey Bogart look-alike; Colt, a Yogi Bear sound-alike; and Joey D, a softhearted brawler - took J.R. to the beach, to ballgames, and ultimately into their circle. They taught J.R., tended him, and provided a kind of fatherhood-by-committee.

Book summary excerpt taken from http://www.tenderbar.com/book.html

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See

This absorbing novel takes place in 19th century China when girls had their feet bound, then spend the rest of their lives in seclusion with only a single window from which to see. Illiterate and isolated, they were not expected to think, be creative or have emotions. But in one remote country, women developed their own secret code, nu shu - "women's writing" - the only gender-based written language to have been found in the world. Some girls were paired as "old-sames" in emotional matches that lasted throughout their lives. They painted letters on fans, embroidered messages on hankerchiefs, and composed stories, thereby reaching out of their windows to share their hopes, dreams and accomplishments.

An old woman tells of her relationship with her "old-same", their arranged marriages, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood - until a terrible misunderstanding written on their secret fan threatens to tear them apart.

Book summary excerpt taken from http://www.lisasee.com/snowflower.htm

The Help, by Kathryn Stockett

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

Twenty-two year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduation from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted insider her after the loss of her own son. Minny is short, fat and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be broken.

Book summary excerpt taken from http://www.kathrynstockett.com/

Good afternoon, girls. So I wanted to say a quick word about the choices we've made this month. Of the three books, I have read only one, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. A friend of mine lent me her copy and asked me to read it. She had just finished it and she really wanted to talk about it. So I read it... and the novel had them same effect on me; that is, I really wanted to talk about it. It's not a perfect novel, but it's certainly good enough... and, by golly, there are some things I wouldn't mind talking about, especially with all of you. The Tender Bar is new to me... but it definitely piques my curiosity and is well-reviewed. The Help... well, heavens you've all heard of The Help! Every reader and her dog's book club is reading The Help. And what do you know, it turns out that every reader loves it (and their dogs, too). The Help is on my nightstand right now... and I only had to wait behind 217 readers to nab a copy from my local library. Happy voting!
-Melissa

A Bookish Breather

2010-01-06T21:37:00.000-08:00

Next month we'll gather 'round to vote on something new to read...

But I'm giving fair warning that a little later this year Kelly and I will become dictators for a selection that guarantees to turn us all into bookish women.

OK, wait... that makes it sounds a little like we're going to become call girls in horn-rimmed glasses.

I mean more that it will be a challenging read. And by challenging I mean lengthy and written by this woman right here:

And does this woman look like she fools around?

OK, again. That sounded a little suggestive. I mean more that she's serious.

But cool.

Look at that hat. How can you not want to read a long novel written by a Russian-American woman wearing that hat?

You do. Trust me.

2009-12-16T21:10:00.000-08:00

This article made me think of A Christmas Carol and Dickens' own crusade for a new kind of Christmas.

2009-12-13T22:21:00.000-08:00

Legend has it that when Charles Dickens died in 1870 a young girl was heard to say, "Dickens dead? Then will Father Christmas die too?"

At the time of its publication in 1843, A Christmas Carol, and its author along with it, was credited with reviving Christmas in Victorian England and beyond. The celebration of Christmas had diminished due partly to industrialization and partly to the conservative Christian view that the holiday had become an excuse to overindulge in drinking. In the city, factories remained in operation and most people worked on Christmas as they would any other day.

A Christmas Carol persuaded Dickens' generation, and every one since, to see Christmas as a time for gathering with family and friends and for generosity to the poor.

What are your favorite family Christmas traditions? Do your traditions have any Dickens in them?

A Christmas Carol Discussion

2009-12-13T22:20:00.003-08:00

We all know the story of Ebenezer Scrooge. Had you read A Christmas Carol before? Did anything surprise you about it?

A Christmas Carol Discussion

2009-12-13T22:20:00.002-08:00

Why did Dickens call his novella A Christmas Carol?

A Christmas Carol Discussion

2009-12-13T22:20:00.001-08:00

Some critics say that A Christmas Carol is too sentimental. Do you agree?

Feeling miserly?

2009-12-13T22:19:00.000-08:00

Click here to read Alex Greenwood's reasons why this might not be a bad idea.

2009-11-25T14:00:00.000-08:00

Good afternoon, bookish girls. Just a quick reminder that I'll be posting some discussion points on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol in a few weeks. I hope you'll sneak a read in. It's a classic, but more importantly... it's short!

Blink Discussion: Wrap-up

2009-11-10T17:39:00.000-08:00

This is my last thread on Blink. Thanks for letting me lead the discussion!

Let me remind you of most of the cases from the book:

Kenna, the singer
Vic Braden, the tennis expert
Warren Harding, past U.S. President
Pepsi vs. Coke
Gottman and the Love Lab
The Getty Museum acquisition
Paul Van Riper, the general, and the Millennium Challenge
The police massacre of Diallo
Heart attach triage at Cook County Hospital
Silvan Tomkins and face-reading
The food tasting duo of Civille and Heylmun
Predicting litigation of physicians
Slow-motion during distress
Herman Miller's "ugly" chair

Any thoughts on these cases? Any other thoughts on Blink or questions for the group? Did you enjoy the book? Will you recommend it?

Blink Discussion: Social Agenda

2009-11-10T14:13:00.000-08:00

In his afterword, Gladwell stated that Blink was originally meant to be a "journey into the wonders of our unconscious" (p. 273). After time has passed, Gladwell feels there may be a call to action after all. Similar to the blind auditions in symphonies, Gladwell suggests removing race, gender, and age pointers from the courtroom to discourage discrimination of defendants. How well do you think this would work and how in favor would you be? I am personally very much in favor with this idea and would fight for it. What are other social applications to Gladwell's theories? Ahem, Ron Paul vs. Mitt Romney. Discuss.

Blink Discussion: Gut Instincts

2009-11-09T16:42:00.000-08:00

In what ways are you applying Gladwell's theories to your personal life? I know that I am a very analytical person and that when faced with something, I can easily toddle down a detail road and never make a decision. When my husband heard at work about Blink and its premise, he started encouraging me to make gut decisions. For me, it worked. But half-way through the book, I started second-guessing myself (big surprise!!) and wondering whether Gladwell was actually anti-gut reaction (anyone else confused at that point?). Then, around page 180, he started making the distinction that gut decisions are for experts, in context, and without distracting variables. I figure I am the expert on me and my life, so I have gone back to making gut decisions. It is saving my family a lot of time and getting the same results or better! I guess I can thin-slice my neighborhood, kids, clothes, tastes, etc. pretty well.

Another distinction came around page 266 when Gladwell defined gut decisions as being best when the issues are complicated and analysis as being more effective when the variables are few.

What about you? How will Blink help you?

Blink Discussion: Lie to Me

2009-11-09T10:24:00.000-08:00

Did you like Blink? If so, do you also like the television series "Lie to Me"? Check it out here on hulu.com.

Blink Discussion: The Love Lab

2009-11-09T09:18:00.000-08:00

The idea of Gottman's Love Lab (Blink , p. 20) is alternately intriguing and terrifying to me. Do you think Gottman's "thin-slicing" takes into account that someone could just be having a bad day in the lab, or that maybe the chosen topic just hit a nerve for the moment? While reading I kept wondering what people would do with the information that their marriage was in trouble.

One of my friends has a doctorate in Marriage and Family Science and she related that Gottman is considered the leading authority on marriage science. His studies are used world-wide in the industry. She also said that couples are not told the result of the analysis of Love Lab. Phew!

Still, would you subject your marriage to Gottman's analysis? Would you want to know the results?

Blink Discussion: Project Implicit

2009-11-09T08:33:00.000-08:00

Click here for Project Implicit, the Harvard survey tool discussed in Blink (p. 77) that correlates your preferences using timed tests. Each test takes about 10 minutes.

What do you think of the test? Do you think your answers were biased due to "priming", a concept mentioned on p. 52?

I was hoping for the race test that bothered Malcolm Gladwell so much (and would probably bother me), but I was given a test related to discipline preferences. I will say that no wonder I have cognitive dissonance as a mother because I am a strict mom, yet the test said I have a strong association to "Nurturing"!

2009-11-05T19:22:00.000-08:00

Good evening, bookish girls. I hope you have been well these past weeks since our last discussion. We are excited to be posting questions for Malcolm Gladwell's Blink in just a few days.

Tonight however, Kelly and I are pleased to announce that fellow reader and bookish girl, Carol, be leading the discussion this time around.

Carol and I served as missionaries together on Temple Square some (undisclosed) number of years ago. It didn't take long for me to realize that Carol was brilliant, charming and very funny.

Today Carol lives in Arizona with her husband and four beautiful children. She loves to sew, garden and bake... and she especially loves to try new recipes. She also enjoys to craft, particularly with her children.

Carol works as a curriculum editor. Among other endeavors, she writes and edits for www.ikeepsafe.org, a website that provides parents, teachers and policymakers with resources for teaching children how to use technology safely. This past summer, she edited classroom materials for Signing Time.

A couple of months ago I had the chance to catch up with Carol in San Francisco. I had a wonderful time reminiscing with her... and just as on the Square all those (still undisclosed) number of years ago, Carol proved to me that she is very much still brilliant, still charming and still very, very funny.

Thanks, Carol, for agreeing to be our first brave reader to lead a discussion. We're looking forward to it!

p.s. I will write equally complimentary posts of no less than three paragraphs for all future bookish girls who agree to lead book discussions. If that is not enticement enough, I will throw in cookies.

p.s.s. OK, seriously, if you'd like to lead a future discussion please email me at the address given on the sidebar. I'll still send cookies.

2009-10-09T21:01:00.000-07:00

So, Blink it is! I'm excited. Especially because a copy is already waiting for me on the hold shelf of the library. (I didn't personally vote... but I was kind of rooting for Blink, I must admit.)

Look for some questions to pop up here on November 9th.

And... happy reading!

p.s. I'm reading A Christmas Carol with my real-life book club in a couple of months. I thought it might be fun to start some discussion for it here, too. I'll likely put some questions up around the middle of December?

Do any of you think you'd be interested in reading along? We are all so familiar with the story, I know. But I've always said that knowing the plot can't ruin a truly well-written book. I think of almost any book that I can think of this particular one will put that theory to the test. Let me know what you think...

2009-10-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

Hello, bookish friends. Are you ready for another book? This time we're choosing among four non-fiction books. I think they are all interesting choices and I'm curious to see what catches your eye.

Wild Swans by Jung Chang

Blending the intimacy of memoir and the panoramic sweep of eyewitness history, Wild Swans has become a bestselling classic in thirty languages, with more than ten million copies sold. The story of three generations of women in twentieth-century China, it is an engrossing record of Mao's impact on China, an unusual window on the female experience in the modern world, and an inspiring tale of courage and love. Chang captures in gripping, moving -- and ultimately uplifting -- detail the cycles of violent drama visited on her family and millions of others caught in the whirlwind of history.

--Book summary courtesy of Simon & Schuster

Beyond the Killing Fields by Usha Welartna

In 1975, after five years of devastation and upheaval caused by civil war, the Cambodian people welcomed the victorious communist Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot. Once in power, the new regime tightly closed Cambodia to the outside world. Four years later, when the Vietnamese communists invaded Cambodia and defeated the Khmer Rouge, the world learned that during their control the Khmer Rouge had turned the country into "killing fields", in one of the most horrifying instances of genocide in history. Of an estimated population of 7 million people, about 1.5 million had been killed or had died of starvation, torture, or sickness. After the Vietnamese takeover, thousands of survivors of the Khmer Rouge, fearful of continuing war and a new communist regime, fled their homeland. Approximately 150,000 of them settled in the United States. This book documents the Cambodian refugee experience through nine powerful first-person narratives of men, women, and children who survived the holocaust and have begun new lives in America.

--Book summary courtesy of Amazon.com

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

In this interesting read for parents, Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink, explores how various factors come together for the ultimate success of an individual. Gladwell compares greats such as Mozart and Bill Gates, professional hockey players and other highly successful adults and analyzes how culture, circumstance, birthdate, luck, and even the timing of entry into kindergarten may play into each person's growth potential. One of the key statistics Gladwell employs is that 10,000 hours of time spent on a given skill, especially during youth, will create excellence in that area.

--Book summary courtesy of Carol

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell writes, "It's a book about rapid cognition, about the kind of thinking that happens in a blink of an eye. When you meet someone for the first time, or walk into a house you are thinking of buying, or read the first few sentences of a book, your mind takes about two seconds to jump to a series of conclusions. Well, "Blink" is a book about those two seconds, because I think those instant conclusions that we reach are really powerful and really important and, occasionally, really good."

2009-09-30T07:07:00.000-07:00

Stay tuned, fellow readers. We're pulling together some book choices for you to vote on....

2009-09-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

Do you think Fern is a sympathetic character? Maxwell notes, "Other people see that [she]...perhaps expects more of life than is reasonable" (p. 71). Do you agree with this observation? What exactly are reasonable expectations in life?

2009-09-02T09:08:00.000-07:00

As Linda Richman would say, I'll give you a topic:

"What we, or at any rate what I , refer to confidently as memory--meaning a moment, a scene, a fact that has been subjected to a fixative and thereby rescued from oblivion--is really a form of storytelling that goes on continually in the mind and often changes with the telling. Too many emotional interests are involved for life ever to be wholly acceptable, and possibly it is the work of the storyteller to rearrange things so that they conform to this end. In any case, in talking about the past we lie with every breath we draw." (p. 27)

Discuss.

(Afterwards feel free to discuss one of Linda's actual topics? The Mormon Tabernacle Choir was neither Mormon nor a tabernacle nor a choir. Discuss.)

So Long, See You Tomorrow

2009-08-31T11:19:00.000-07:00

William Maxwell was born in Lincoln, Illinois, where So Long, See You Tomorrow is set. Along with publishing his own writing, he worked as an editor of the New Yorker for forty years, editing the likes of John Updike, J.D. Salinger, and Eudora Welty. Like David Wroblewski described, So Long is part fact, part fiction. The affair and its tragic consequences between the farmer and his friend’s wife were actual events taken from the Illinois State Historical Library. And at the age of ten, Maxwell suffered the death of his mother from the 1918 influenza epidemic. He wrote of his loss, "It happened too suddenly, with no warning, and we none of us could believe it or bear it... the beautiful, imaginative, protected world of my childhood swept away." This life changing event would be at the center of many of his works.

I’ll put out a few questions over the next few days but please feel free to start your own post if there is something you want to discuss. Look at the comments on the last post for some good questions from Larisa. I’m really interested in hearing what everyone thinks about the book.

Question #1

2009-08-31T11:18:00.000-07:00

Why does the narrator view his father’s happiness as a threat (p.17)? What does he mean when he says, “It was not the kind of happiness that children are included in”? The narrator admits that it still troubles him yet he does “not even begin to understand it.” Do you?

Question #2

2009-08-31T11:17:00.000-07:00

Maxwell quotes the Spanish philosopher, José Ortega y Gasset, as saying that life is "in itself and forever shipwreck" (p. 22). What does this mean? (I admit that I looked this up online and tried to read about the existentialist philosophy and it hurt my sleep deprived head. So any help would be appreciated.) How do the narrator's and Cletus's life illustrate this idea?

Question #3

2009-08-31T11:16:00.000-07:00

Alberto Giacometti’s sculpture “Palace at 4 a.m.” reminds the narrator of his father’s new house. Go here and click on the MOMA Multimedia to listen to what the curator has to say about this piece. How do you think this sculpture relates to the relationships in the book?

2009-07-30T22:19:00.000-07:00

Alright already! We get it, we get it... You wanna read So Long, See You Tomorrow.

Well, your wish is happily granted. And I am equally excited to give the novel a go.

I'm going to make an executive decision on the spot and say that we'll be back to discuss the book on Monday, August 31st. I'd consult my partner in crime, Kelly, but she gave birth to a 9 lb. baby boy this afternoon... so she's been just a wee bit busy.

As for the rest of you bookish girls (and boys, although we never give you the credit you deserve)... Go, read, enjoy, come back and report. We can't wait to hear from you...

-Melissa

2009-07-26T16:32:00.000-07:00

Well, fellow readers, it's time to choose a new book!

This time around we've decided to put out three choices for your consideration. You can review the books outlined below and vote on the sidebar. (Of course, feel free to comment in the comment section as well, if you wish.)

For this reading, we will not break the book up into sections for review. Instead we will open a discussion once at the end of August. (It is possible, however, that the discussion at that time will have multiple threads to facilitate conversation on different aspects of the book.)

One thing we have really appreciated so far is book suggestions. If we haven't used your suggestion, it's most likely being considered for future use in the club. So, please take heart and keep making suggestions!

Also, even though three different people wrote the book summaries... please don't feel like you're voting for a person rather than a book. We're not taking book votes personally. (I don't even know if that needed to be said... but I said it.)

Alright then, go vote! I can't wait to see what the masses crave!

(What? Three people can't be considered a "mass"?... Oh, stop it. Just let me dream.)

2009-07-26T16:30:00.000-07:00

Book Choice 1: Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

Vonnegut’s writing, along with ogres, is like an onion. Layers! It is strange, quirky, funny, sarcastic, accessible, and deep. Cat’s Cradle is about the father of the atomic bomb, his midget son, a fictional non-religion that exists only on a fictional island with its own fictional lexicon – all of which can be read in a only few afternoons. And while on the surface it’s a strangely entertaining story, what lies beneath is a poignant exploration about life, relationships, and humanity complex enough to keep you thinking for several more afternoons.

--Book summary written by Brett

Book Choice 2: So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell

I had just finished reading The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewki when I read about the author’s five favorite books. Wroblewski said, “There's a special society of readers who know what a perfect novel So Long, See You Tomorrow is, and I'm proud to be among them. The story opens with a murder, suicide, and mutilation near the small Illinois town of Lincoln, but quickly turns to the emotional journey of Maxwell himself, who, in 1918, at the age of ten, lost his mother to the Great Influenza. The result is a braid of memoir, fact, and fiction, rendered in gorgeously spare prose.” A special society of readers? I wanted in. And well, now I am. Do you want in, too? As another enticement, you should know this novel clocks in at only 135 pages. Don’t let the mutilation reference scare you. It’s not gory. This book has adult themes, but no graphic sexual or violent content. There are maybe two uses of expletives.

--Book summary written by Kelly

Book Choice 3: Summer by Edith Wharton

Wharton, famous for creating characters civilized, restrained and repressed, lets it all out in Charity Royall, the protagonist of her novel Summer. The novel follows our heroine through a summer in which she faces life outside of her rural village and upbringing. In the city, she finds love, sexual awakening and, inevitably, the consequences of both of these discoveries, for better or for worse. Lest you fear overly explicit content, you should know two things. One: This book was published in 1917... scandalous "then" means something entirely different than scandalous "now." Two: I originally read this book in a literature course at BYU. Although, upon mental review, I'm suddenly seeing its intended purpose through the mind of my beloved alma mater. Perhaps... cautionary tale? You be the judge.

--Book summary written by Melissa

2009-07-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

Book 9: Death Comes for the Archbishop

After Father Vaillant dies, Father Latour knows that his time is drawing near also. His life’s work is complete, along with his beloved cathedral. The finished cathedral seems to reflect the Bishop himself. He touts, “How it was of the South, that church, how it sounded the note of the South!” His architect goes on to explain, “Setting is accident. Either a building is part of a place, or it is not. Once that kinship is there, time will only make it stronger.” So it was with the Bishop. He didn’t choose where he would serve his mission, but the kinship was there and the bond grew strong enough that even returning to his homeland of France left him homesick for New Mexico.

When Bernard, one of his Seminarians, assures the sick Latour that one does not die of a cold, the Bishop answers with a smile, “I shall not die of a cold, my son. I shall die of having lived.” I want to one day be able to say the same! The inspiring Latour and Vaillant could both claim that they had truly lived – lived a life of service and sacrifice for their God.

2009-07-21T14:05:00.000-07:00

Book 7: The Great Diocese
I admit that I have had a soft spot for Father Latour that I haven’t had for Father Vaillant. But catching a glimpse of how the Bishop views his Vicar really changed my opinion of Vaillant. His memory of when they met was sweet, but seriously, how ugly is this guy? I think all the references to Vaillant’s unfortunate looks are hilarious, including Latour’s observation that Father Joseph was “quite unconscious of his homeliness.” Apparently that level of homeliness usually requires some sort of acknowledgment from the offender. I appreciated Latour’s list of Vaillant’s admirable attributes, though, and I realized I hadn’t recognized them all before. How do you feel about Latour and Vaillant? Has your opinion about one or both of them changed as you’ve continued to read?

I don’t know if it’s an appreciation or just an observation, but I love Father Latour’s description of the Native American presence in the land. He points out, “It was the white man’s way to assert himself in any landscape, to change it…it was the Indian’s way to pass through the land without disturbing it…to vanish into the landscape, not to stand out against it.” Maybe then it was merely a cultural difference and Cather wasn’t necessarily admiring the Hopis and Navajos, but now leaving such a small carbon footprint is definitely impressive.

Book 8: Gold Under Pike’s Peak

Wow! Father Vaillant continues to impress in this book! His willingness to serve God and His people is unwavering. He will literally go anywhere to serve. Although he loves his work and the people in Arizona, he obediently returns to New Mexico only to pack up for the cold discomforts of Colorado. I thought one of his observations about the differences between the Americans and the Mexicans was interesting. He notices, “In his Denver congregation there were men who owned… flourishing businesses, but they needed all their money to push these enterprises. Down among the Mexicans, who owned nothing but a mud house and a burro, he could always raise money. If they had anything at all, they gave.” I think Cather’s cultural observations (I assume to some extent these are her observations and not just her characters’) are really insightful. I think she looks at other cultures and beliefs with real compassion. What do you think?

2009-07-19T21:46:00.000-07:00

Oh, I was sad to hear that Frank McCourt passed away. I bought Angela's Ashes when it was new... and then let it sit on my bookshelf for eight years. Eight years! When I finally picked it up, for whatever reason it was by then, I couldn't put it down. And then there was 'Tis. I found myself so eager to get back to Frank's charming tale that I developed a habit of picking the book up while I waited at traffic lights. Because apparently when it comes to choosing between reading or making a Target run... I attempt to do both.

Mr. McCourt, you charmed me into developing a bookish girl crush on you. Thank you... because it was a lot of fun.

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2009-07-13T19:02:00.000-07:00

I’m home from the hospital (for now) and feeling good (for now). Although I’m ready to have this baby, I’m not super excited about being back in the hospital in about two weeks. I usually like a little more time between my stays there. Before I head back though, I want to wrap up this book and put a plug in for the August pick. I would love to hear some more book suggestions, too.

Book 6: Dona Isabella

“Father Joseph said that, as for him, he would rather combat the superstitions of a whole Indian pueblo than the vanity of one white woman.”

Although I think Bishop Latour’s motives are as pure as possible, his desire to build a cathedral in Santa Fe might be his only vain ambition. He admits that “such a building might be a continuation of himself and his purpose, a physical body full of aspirations after he had passed from the scene.” Even Latour is susceptible to the sin of pride – he wants something worldy to show for all his sacrifice and work, some way not to be forgotten.

Latour’s one submission to vanity, however, is rivaled by that of another – Dona Isabella. How funny is it that she would rather give up her inheritance than admit in a court of law – “before everybody!” – her true age? The Bishop and the Vicar have a vested interest in whether or not she receives the money since she will undoubtedly take care of them and maybe throw a generous donation at the cathedral fund as well. The differences between Bishop Latour and Father Vaillant are evident in each of their approaches to convince her to testify of her real age. Vaillant is impatient and impetuous. Latour is gentle and understanding (who doesn’t love this guy by now?). His convincing counsel could be an Oil of Olay slogan: “A woman … is as old as she looks.” My thoughts exactly. Better to impress people with how good you look for your age rather than claim to be ten years younger and secretly shock people with how old you look.

Does anyone (okay, Melissa or Casey) have any ideas about Latour’s feelings that the people he has met (i.e. Carson and Chavez) “not only had a story, but seemed to have become his story?" How have these people contributed to who Latour is and “his story” in the mission field?

2009-07-06T22:20:00.000-07:00

Book 5:

Although Cather continues to examine the relationship between the church and the existing culture on some level here, Book 5 seems to focus in on problems the church could face anywhere: men and power.... Or perhaps more accurately, what happens when certain men get some of it. Father Martinez and Father Lucero both have power. Father Martinez uses his power to overindulge his senses... too much food, too much sleep, too many women. (Which for a priest, would be, um, any at all?) Father Lucero uses his power to hoard riches. (Additionally, he is certainly an interesting contrast to Father Martinez. Father Lucero has too little of everything... to little food, too little of even common comforts.)

Father LaTour has power too, but he wields it with compassion and wisdom. There is so much Vaillant in me... Like him, I wanted to see Martinez ousted at once. LaTour has the wisdom to hold off. I also thought it was interesting that LaTour takes the time to find out Martinez's history... giving LaTour perspective on the man, although not using that perspective as justification for Martinez's choices or behavior.

I enjoyed the very end of Book 5, Chapter 2 for a couple of reasons. First, I liked that I was fooled a bit by Lucero's calling for the last rites. I anticipated the abundance of candles around his death bed to mean, perhaps, that Lucero was letting in or accepting light after denying it for so long... that his intentions were pure. Instead, he meant to use the light to stay aware of potential burglars. I also loved the part about the women and the ritual of gathering for a dying man's last words. I laughed that Lucero's words were a nose thumbing directed at Martinez. I really enjoy Cather's sense of humor.

2009-07-06T22:02:00.000-07:00

Hello again--

Kelly is still in the hospital. It is really frustrating (and scary) to have her there. She has been in a lot of pain and has been unable to talk on the phone even. As such, I'm truly missing my book club buddy and beloved sister.

In her absence, I'm going to post something on Book 5 tonight... and hopefully Book 6 tomorrow. I know I promised to post before the end of the holiday weekend but I was really busy eating cake for breakfast as part of my patriotic duty.

For now, a couple of things:

1. Would anyone be interested in writing up your own little bio to be published here? It might be fun to get to know one another a little better... to put a face with a name, so to speak?

2. Kelly had a book lined up for August... but I don't know how the rest of the month is going to go for her. We may want to choose something else for August. I'd love to hear some suggestions. I know we've had Owen Wister's The Virginian and Graham Greene's The Power and The Glory suggested. These are both awesome recommendations... and I hope to work them in. But it's kind of funny: I want to put The Virginian off for a bit because it's about the untamed West. I want to put The Power and The Glory off because it's about a Catholic priest in Mexico. (The equation? The Virginian + The Power and The Glory = Death Comes for the Archbishop?) So, just in case... Does anyone have any additional suggestions for us to consider?

--Melissa

2009-07-03T19:14:00.000-07:00

Hello, friends --

I'm sorry that we didn't post as promised today. Kelly, who is seven-and-a-half months pregnant, had to be admitted to the hospital. (She's being well taken care of there and hopefully she will be feeling better soon.)

I guess I could have picked up the slack, as a good sister should, but my 10-year-old has been very sick since last night... and, well, I'm a little behind.

I'm kind of banking on the idea that most of you are thinking more about BBQ than archbishops... but I'll still try to post something before the end of the weekend.

But in the meantime, please feel free to post your own thoughts. We'd love to hear them!

-Melissa

2009-06-25T22:24:00.000-07:00

Books 3 & 4:

Living up to her rep, Cather provides us with some amazing descriptions of the landscape. Book 3, Chapter 3 in particular had some of my favorite imagery... including her comparisons of the desert to the first Creation and of the earthly mesas reflected in the sky, one the duplicate of the other. Another image that stuck with me -- the desert as sea... "The sandy soil of the plain had a light sprinkling of junipers, and was splotched with masses of blooming rabbit brush, that olive-colored plant that grows in high waves like a tossing sea, at this season covered with a thatch of bloom, yellow as gorse, or orange like marigolds." (I loved all the colors, too.)

Aside: Many thanks to my trusty pal Google. What would I do without him to show me "gorse" quicker than I can say the word, um, "gorse"?

As I get deeper in to the novel, my affection for LaTour and Vaillant continues to grow. I share Jacinto's respect for LaTour -- so honest, earnest and straight-forward. I also have great affection for Vaillant -- especially when he turns Father Gallegos' parish around from party zealots to religious zealots, each parish member trying to outdo the next with acts of righteousness. So funny!

My one-track mind keeps going back to the question: How does Cather intend for us to feel about the church v. the existing culture? She keeps pushing us back and forth, I think. She gives us things to respect, and question, in both. LaTour, as respectful and insightful as ever, plays upon the similarities to bring the two together. At the end of Book 4, Father LaTour remarks on the superstitions and beliefs of the Indians. He says "that [the Indians] veneration for old customs was a quality he liked... it played a great part in his own religion."

Oh, and also, there was a buttload of imagery and symbolism that I'm to dense to understand completely. My tiny little brain is hurting from trying to figure out "the lips."

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2009-06-20T22:59:00.000-07:00

Some dates:

June 26th: I'll post discussion questions for Books 3 and 4 of Death Comes for the Archbishop.

July 3: Kelly will post discussion questions for Books 5 and 6.

July 10: Kelly will post discussion questions for Books 7, 8 and 9.

August 1: We'll start a new book... to be announced soon.

Some questions:

What do you think about the club's format?

Do you wish that we would discuss the book in one shot at the end of a month instead of breaking it up?

We think that we will choose a book bimonthly instead of monthly. What do you think?

Some things to think about:

Don't forget that you can to post your own discussion questions at any time.

That's all. Really just one thing to think about, I guess.

2009-06-16T22:23:00.000-07:00

OK. So what the heck was I thinking?! I don't know nothin' 'bout nothin'. At least that's the psychological crisis I'm currently going through thinking that I could ever pull off mediating an online book club. I've pretty much convinced myself that everything I could say about this book is either obvious, unoriginal or most likely both.

But I'm doing it.

And, what I'm saying is... If I'm going to put myself out there, you have to do it too!

There are all kinds of things you can do to appease my crisis: Start your own thread. Ask a question. Comment on my threads to validate my existence.

Are you up for it, bookish girls? (And... Dad?)

Yes, I think you are.

OK, now.

Go!

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2009-06-16T21:22:00.000-07:00

Willa Cather was not a Catholic. (This is something she and I have in common.) Still, Death Comes for the Archbishop clearly empathizes with the plights and has reverence for the priorities and endeavors of the two priests. I like this.

I think the novel takes for granted that the mission of the priests is indeed good and worthy. I bring this up because I wonder if some might question these kinds of works of the church, any church. I think some might ask: Is it necessary to impose this religion on the natives of the New Mexico territory? Does it contribute to the destruction of the Native American culture?

Of course, my own life experiences give me empathy of my own for the priests. I sincerely believe in the need for sacraments done with the proper authority (or ordinances, in the case of my own religion and, let's face it, probably yours too).

So, what do you think? Did Cather intend for us to ever question the missions and purposes of Bishop Latour and Father Vaillant?

2009-06-16T21:20:00.000-07:00

Books 1 & 2:

Bahahahaha! Didn't you think it was funny when the old woman on Lujon's ranch determines that Father Vaillant is so ugly that "he must be very holy" (Book 2, Chapter 1)?

Cather does seem to make a connection between appearance and spirituality. Despite the old woman's contention that holiness is next to ugliness, Cather draws a more traditional line between goodness/beauty and evil/ugliness. A case for both can be found in Book 2, Chapter 2 with Buck Scales and his wife, Magdalena. The murderer Scales is described as an "ugly, evil-looking fellow... ill-formed." On the other hand, after Magdalena devotes her life to service in the church "she became beautiful... she seemed to bloom again in the household of God."

One of my favorite parts of the book so far is the idea put forth by Bishop Latour that divine love corrects human vision. Bishop Latour tells Father Vaillant, "I do not see you as you really are, Joseph; I see you through my affection for you" (Book 1, Chapter 4). So later, when the Bishop sees Magdalena again and says that she "became beautiful", I doubt that she had changed all that much physically. I believe the Bishop just saw her more this time with divine love.

And isn't that just totally awesome?

2009-06-09T21:14:00.000-07:00

Welcome, readers! The kick-off book for our virtual book club is Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop.

Published in 1927, Death Comes for the Archbishop enjoys spots on both the Modern Library's 100 Best Novels and Time Magazine's 100 Best English Language Novels. Cather herself considered it her best work.

Death Comes for the Archbishop follows a Catholic bishop and priest as they struggle to establish a diocese throughout the New Mexican territory in the mid-19th century. Like much of Cather's work you can expect it to be a simple story full of beautiful descriptions. Because of the book's structure, Cather hesitated to call Death Comes for the Archbishop a novel. Rather it reads more like a collection of short stories about the two main characters, Bishop Latour and Father Valliant.

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The idea for an online book club started, really, with my bookish sister Kelly who loves books and who loves to discuss books but who lives too far away to participate in a bona fide book club, at least, that is, with me. This was a real bookish bummer. So one day we were thinking about all the other members of our family, and friends too, who live just too darn far... but who are nevertheless quite bookish. We wanted to discuss books with all these bookish folks, too!

And we were thinking that maybe there were other bookish people out there in the world who want to discuss books and who maybe don't want to leave the house so much to do so. And, so maybe, we thought, a book club could be a blog? We weren't sure... but we wanted to find out. And that, my bookish friends, was the genesis of the Bookish Girl Book Club.

The Bookish Girl Book Club is very new and somewhat experimental. We've come up with a loose framework for how we think things should, or may, go... but everything is subject to change (or hopefully, improvement).

Here's what you need to know so far:

1. First of all, join! Email us at bookishgirlbookclub@gmail.com to be added to the club. Of course, if you'd rather read along as more silent-observer and less active-participant, that's fine too! But we hope to facilitate discussions here and we'd love to hear your voice. (Figuratively speaking, that is.)

2. We will be discussing the book as we go. Each book will be broken down into smaller sections. Discussion points or questions will be posted every week. These questions will be posted by either me or Kelly... but we will be turning to other readers to take the reins on books in the (near) future. Especially if your book is chosen as a book club selection, which leads me to...

3. Make suggestions! We will be posting a schedule for the upcoming months. Is there something that you'd like to read and that you think other bookish girls would enjoy? Email us or leave a comment.

4. In addition to the discussion points we'll have along the way, we encourage readers to post questions at any time. If you join via email, you'll be made a blog contributor. Just pose your question or discussion point as a post. Other readers can chime in in the comments section of your post.

5. While bookish girls are slaves to their novels, they are never slaves to this club. You can come... or go. Cherry-pick the novels that interest you the most; we don't mind! That's why we intend to publish a schedule. (Very soon, we hope!) That way you can plan ahead and choose what works for you. Maybe it will be all of them? We would like that, too!

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This week's assignment is to track down a copy of Death Comes for the Archbishop and read the Prologue and Books One and Two. (This is only about 80 pages.) I'll post something next Wednesday.

Have fun and see you next week!

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