KC Bookies

Next Up: Bossypants

2012-02-12T14:14:00.001-08:00

We're changing it up this month from our usual serious and often dark and/or sad reads, and looking forward to some laughs to help get us through the rest of winter. We'll be readying Bossypants by Tina Fey. I've heard the audio version is great, too!

FYI- Supposedly the paperback is out, but it's not yet available on Amazon.

Jayber Crow Food

2012-01-08T19:39:00.000-08:00

I didn't finish the book, BUT after the discussion last night, I feel inspired to do so. In honor of the Kentucky setting of Jayber Crow, I made non-traditional Kentucky Hot Browns to share with the gals. The ones I had while I lived in Lexington always grossed me out: bacon, artificial & processed "cheese," sometimes, even gravy *shudder. My stomach churns thinking about them. However, I sucked it up, and wondered if there was a way I could make them that would induce me to eat them. After asking my brother's native Kentucky gal for the basic ingredient list, I set out to modify the recipe, which I offer to you:

Amanda's "Modified" Hot Brown Bites
-1 fresh baguette cut into 1" slices (about 30)
-1 package pancetta (I abhor bacon, so I went with this more flavorful Italian version), cut into strips and fried
-1/2 pound smoked deli turkey meat
-1 package grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced
-1 recipe cheese sauce
-Parmesan cheese for sprinkling
For cheese sauce (I used the recipe for a cream cheese sauce for a crock pot chicken and mushroom dish...I think it was in a c2009 edition of Midwest Living)
-1 block cream cheese
-1/4 cup dry white wine
-1 0.7oz package Italian dressing seasoning
1. Melt cream cheese, add wine and seasoning, and stir until combined. Keep warm on low until ready to use.
2. Toast the baguette slices in the broiler for 30-45 minutes until golden brown.
3. Assemble the hot brown bites. Start with the turkey on top of the baguette. Next, add a few small strips of the cooked pancetta. Top with 3-4 slices of tomatoes and a dollop of the cheese sauce. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese.
4. Broil for about 1 minute, rotating the pan halfway through, until the Parmesan cheese is melted and the cream cheese is slightly brown.

First Book Club of 2012: Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry

2012-01-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

we we carried along with Jayber's life

some of us liked the experience more than others

we spent some time reading kids' books

because Christy gave us a great excuse to read them
(and drink her share of the champagne)

we celebrated sara's birthday
(another reason for all the champagne)

and we were generally super cute

see what I mean?

we have book club sisters now (katie and cammie)

and we talked a lot about community and progress

and non-progress and faithfulness and rivers.

and afterward we went to a speakeasy because we're
scandalous like that

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

2012-01-08T09:50:00.000-08:00

the classic

the vote

the ornaments ali made us

the requisite book club cuteness

book club knitting: a first

the conversation

timshel, y'all.

(I just picked up on the fact that Lee's ng-ka-py was said to taste of "good rotten apples." Apples, guys! The Eden-fall-redemption imagery just don't stop.)

Goodbye Bluebird Brunch for Natalie

2012-01-08T09:48:00.000-08:00

...in which we also instituted the stand-and-report life announcement

segment of book club get-togethers.

Better Late Than Never: Jamaica Inn by Daphne DuMaurier

2012-01-08T09:39:00.000-08:00

the oft-hitchcocked DuMaurier wrote a thriller that posed as a romance novel...

...that the KC public library knows by a different name...

...the vote was contested...

...lucinda protested over-grown bangs...

...while we discussed whether or not there were serious feminist issues with the ending (the group was divided)...

... we noshed on the needed victuals to fuel us through a....

...rather long discussion on albinos in literature and film and whether they are unfairly portrayed as villains most of the time (yes, they are)....

...we got past the albino thing, though...

...and all was right with the world.

Better Late Than Never: The Book Club Camp Out

2012-01-08T09:34:00.000-08:00

...in which we did not talk about books (for once), but tented, fired, ate, drank, talked, shivered, and generally had a fine old time.

the blaze

the foot-warmer

the lake in the morning

the vote (on the camp out)

the packed car home

Better Late Than Never: A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

2012-01-08T09:08:00.001-08:00

the book

the cat (and food)

the vote

the laughter

the conversation

the which-glasses-should-beth-buy debate

the cat, again

A Chart from the Goon Squat

2011-09-16T21:02:00.000-07:00

While reading A Visit from the Good Squat by Jennifer Egan, I immediately realized that I would be having trouble keeping track of all of the characters. Or not so much keeping track of them, since it's not really one story so much as lots of little interconnected ones, but remembering who was connected to who, and how. So I started taking notes. In the form of connection webs. It was getting messy, and I realized that surely I was not the only one to want to do this.

And of course, I wasn't. I found a man (and a blog post) after my own heart. He made this:

and this:

Now isn't that satisfying in a non-spoiler kind of way? There's more (including a list of the stories in chronological order, if you're into that kind of thing), but I'll let you check it out yourself here. Now, to finish the rest in time for book club...

Better Late Than Never: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

2011-09-12T14:23:00.001-07:00

in august, we read this:

its high marks rivaled Let the Great World Spin, authored by the similarly named Colum McCann. should we look for more CMcC authors?

it was a sober discussion

sara appears to be pondering post-apocalypse

but she was really counting the minutes until she could model the dress she just bought.

apollo approved.

Better Late Than Never: The Man from Beijing by Henning Mankell

2011-09-12T14:09:00.000-07:00

way, way back in July, we read this:

reviews were mixed:

but reviews of the night were not:

clive jane was critically acclaimed:

"three stars, er, sara(h)'s!" said readers:

birthday cards were written:

friendly debates were had:

and a record-setting amount of wine was drunk:

Murakami and running (and writing)

2011-08-30T16:37:00.000-07:00

Our little wind-up bird has written a non-fiction work about the link between endurance running and endurance writing.

Most of what I know about writing I’ve learned through running every day. These are practical, physical lessons. How much can I push myself? How much rest is appropriate—and how much is too much? How far can I take something and still keep it decent and consistent? When does it become narrow-minded and inflexible? How much should I be aware of the world outside, and how much should I focus on my inner world? To what extent should I be confident in my abilities, and when should I start doubting myself? I know that if I hadn’t become a long-distance runner when I became a novelist, my work would have been vastly different. How different? Hard to say. But something would definitely have been different.

More here.

Hedgehogs go big screen

2011-08-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

Looks like another of our favorite book club reads is becoming a movie! Or a movie has been "freely inspired by" one of our favorite reads, as the trailer states.

Goon Squad Up Next

2011-08-22T08:08:00.000-07:00

The next read is A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan, it apparently has won the Pulitzer Prize. Let's see if the Pulitzer folks know how to critique like us. No book is safe from the thumb poll.

There are 2 cover designs. I think I'm in love with the simple blue hardcover version. Cover design is important, especially when it's the last thing I see before I turn out the light each night. The paperback version seems a bit flashy and says: check out all the cool awards I've been given! It's always important to judge a book by its cover.

The Road in Movies

2011-08-19T07:36:00.000-07:00

Since I had already read "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy, our book club choice for this month, I thought instead of re-reading I would check out the movie which came out in 2009. It was very well done and I would recommend it to any of you who liked the book. It depicts the storyline of the book extremely well and adds some captivating visuals to it all--some frightening, some beautiful.

The only area in which it strays from the book only adds to the story - it opens with a bit more of an explanation of the main character's wife--someone he references often in the book and yet we never quite get the full story.

I also loved the rhythm and voice of the film, much like the book. Viggo Mortenson's calm, steady voice narrating the film almost makes you feel like all that tragedy would truly be okay.

So, bookies, tonight will tell how many of us give this book a thumbs up, but if you found it a good read then definitely pick up the movie soon!

What’s that bird all wound-up about?

2011-06-26T21:21:00.001-07:00

I've decided that I like books better when I have some idea of what's going on. If I am following the protagonist through a dream-world, great; if I am simply reading about his real life, well, okay, but it better be interesting. In The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, I found myself completely distracted by trying to figure out where I was and who all the random people were. At first, I admit that I was intrigued; I was excited to see how the author tied the parts together. Eventually, however, I found the reading incredibly monotonous and excruciatingly pointless. I tried to figure out why I needed to care about anyone in the book besides Mr. & Mrs. Okada and Noboru Wataya, but if there are three characters I don't know well, it's those three. It was like reading a bad mystery novel where the author throws out clues that have absolutely nothing to do with anything except to prove that the reader is obviously not cool enough to know. At the end of this novel (yes, I finished it, which is more than I can say about Portrait of a Lady), I was more annoyed than anything. I hate reading books where I end up feeling like the joke's on me. What was I supposed to conclude or learn? How were the secondary characters even relevant? Even the author can't seem to understand what to do with them, so he just stops writing about them (case-in-point: Malta and Creta?) After 600+ pages, I guess I expected a bit more closure. Instead, the most memorable portion of this book for me is the description of filleting a human being. Gee. I needed to know that. I officially change my "thumb" ranking to almost true disappointment. I don't know why, but there's still a small part of me I guess that liked it, and maybe that's the point of the whole book.

Notes on 'Wind-Up Bird'....

2011-06-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

Image via "It is the Heart that Sees"

I read an old NY Times review of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle that described the wind-up bird as "a weird, unseen bird, whose cry is a recurring harbinger of evil." It also mentioned the uber-confusing scene where the childhood Cinnamon finds strange men in his backyard and ceases to speak afterward: "....another interpolated story, about a young boy whose identity is snatched by a doppelganger who steals into his bed at night."

What does it all mean? There are tons of reviews/analyses out there, but few go into detail about Japanese nationalistic or historic symbolism. The primary mention of this idea is that the message of the book is "responsibility" - that Toru Okada's new understanding of Japan's involvement in wars past teaches him to take responsibility for his own life in the way that his nation should for it's past. The subtitle of the article above is "...postwar Japan is adrift, eating fast food and wearing Van Halen T-shirts," but then gives little more support to this assertion in the text. So I have a hard time buying it. To be honest, it seems to me like the primary message of the book is "this is some crazy sh*t"--a far cry from the simple message of "responsibility". :)

Otherwise most reviewers discuss that the book reveals an experience of passing from numbness to feeling, or from oppression to freedom. All acknowledge the confusion and constant intertwining of dream and reality. No one suggests any concrete symbolism or meaning.

Nonetheless, this is one of my favorite novels that our club has read. My favorite aspect of Murakami's writing is the paired mention of the concrete and the surreal in one breath, in one action, in one moment. It created a sense of wonder in the world, in other people, and even in someone's clothing or hairstyle. Despite the often crudeness and always weirdness of this, that wonderment kept me intrigued and wanting to keep turning the pages, peering behind yet another door.

I thought this was a fantastic book and am happy to take more Murakami recommendations! And looking forward to this month's pick with another Asian theme - The Man From Beijing by Henning Mankell:

book club in the news...

2011-06-08T14:51:00.000-07:00

...sort of.

Our very own Sara Swenson mentioned The Elegance of the Hedgehog as one of her "essentials" in Ink!

NICE.

Did you bleaders* know that we have a rock star in our group? We do. We have quite a few very talented bookies, actually.

*blog-readers...thanks to Julie and Julia for my new favorite term

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Part 2

2011-06-06T09:27:00.000-07:00

the book

the vote

(some of us liked not knowing exactly what was going on...some of us didn't)

cammie brought presents from china

our fearless leader / recorder of all things bookie

cammie, kristen & sara weigh in

michelle, cass, natalie & cammie ponder

amy, amy's teal staircase & kerry think about wells

amanda & malina listen for the wind-up bird

nicole & beth are glad no baseball bats were present

and amy showed off the baby

part 1 will come later, in true Murakami confounding fashion

0 for 20

2011-04-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

I took a hiatus from the last book, in order to delve into my ever-growing stack of "to reads," which turned out to be a pleasant jaunt. Because of my lack of any contribution related to thoughts on the book and because I just happened to have my tiny little ole camera with me, I took up the flag, as it were, from the usual photographer (Sarah M) to produce the following photographic snapshot (ha! snapshot!) of the most recent book club:

In honor of absentees Moe and Sarah.

The ratings.

Not being Sarah, I forgot to take more photos; thus, the long silences as the group tried to discuss stories we hadn't read are not documented. Better luck next month; let's hope Sarah's back by then.

The White City...Then and Now

2011-03-30T08:57:00.001-07:00

The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry has a "virtual simulation tour" of the 1893 World's Fair -- the subject of our bookclub read Devil in the White City once a month throughout 2011. Anybody up for a road trip? $40 per person. Group discounts available. Dates are May 22 (that won't work for me, though), June 18, July 24, August 20, September 18, October 22, November 20, and December 10.

More details...

10 Under 40 ... so far ...

2011-03-05T06:54:00.000-08:00

the kettle was on

merriam had a cool peacock headband

this was the book

this was the vote

we talked

and talked

and talked some more

and ate

and drank and ate some more

the end.

Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe

2011-02-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

Because it's February...

Because Ames' son wore a red shirt...

Because, really, we'll take any excuse to enjoy some cream cheese frosting...

These red velvet cupcakes graced our "Gilead" book club this month. The recipes for two versions of the cupcakes and frosting can be found here.

Next Book: 20 Under 40

2011-02-05T11:01:00.001-08:00

There is a light in Gilead: Quotes

2011-02-05T10:12:00.000-08:00

"When people come to speak to me, whatever they say, I am struck by a kind of kind of incandescence in them, the "I" whose predicate can be "love" or "fear" or "want," and whose object can be "someone" or "nothing" and it won't really matter, because the loveliness is just in that presence, shaped around "I" like a flame on a wick, emanating itself in grief and guilt and joy and whatever else. But quick, and avid, and resourceful."

"The twinkling of an eye. That is the most wonderful expression. I've thought from time to time it was the best thing in life, that little incandescence you see in people when the charm of the thing strikes them, or the humor of it."

"The sprinkler is a magnificent invention because it exposes raindrops to sunshine. That does occur in nature, but it is rare...you two are dancing around in your iridescent little downpour, whooping and stomping as sane people ought to do when they encounter a thing so miraculous as water."

"I walked him out to the porch, and there were more fireflies out there than I had ever seen in my life, thousands of them everywhere, just drifting up out of the grass, extinguishing themselves in midair. We sat on the steps a good while in the dark and the silence, watching them. Finally Boughton said, 'Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.' And really, it was that night as if the earth were smoldering. Well, it was, and it is. An old fire will make a dark husk for itself and settle in on its core, as in the case of this planet. I believe the same metaphor may describe the human individual, as well. Perhaps Gilead. Perhaps civilization. Prod a little and the sparks will fly. I don't know whether the verse but a blessing on the fireflies or the fireflies put a blessing on the verse, or if both of them put a blessing on trouble, but I have loved them both a good deal ever since."

"I believe the old man did indeed have far too narrow an idea of what a vision might be. He may, so to speak, have been to dazzled by the great light of his experience to realize that an impressive sun shines on us all."

"Our dream of life will end as dreams do end, abruptly and completely, when the sun rises, when the light comes. And we will think, All that fear and all that grief were about nothing. But that cannot be true. I can't believe we will forget our sorrows altogether. That would mean forgetting that we had lived, humanly speaking."

"You are standing up on the seat of your swing and sailing higher than you really ought to, with that bold, planted stance of a sailor on a billowy sea. The ropes are long and you are light and the ropes bow like cobwebs, laggardly, indolent. Your shirt is red--it is your favorite shirt--and you fly into the sunlight and pause there brilliantly for a second and then fall back into the shadows again. You appear to be altogether happy. I remember those first experiments with fundamental things, gravity and light, and what an absolute pleasure they were."

"The moon looks wonderful in this warm evening light, just as a candle flame looks beautiful in the light of morning. Light within a light...It seems to me to be a a metaphor for the human soul, the singular light within the great general light of existence."

"Even the Holy of Holies was broken open. The deep darkness vanished into ordinary daylight, and the mystery of God was only made more splendid."

"It has seemed to me sometimes as though the Lord breathes on this poor grey ember of Creation and it turns to radiance--for a moment or a year or the span of a life. And then it sinks back into itself again, and to look at it no one would know it had anything to do with fire, or light...But the Lord is more constant and far more extravagant than it seems to imply. Wherever you turn your eyes the world can shine like transfiguration. You don't have to bring a thing to it except a little willingness to see. Only, who could have the courage to see it?"

"I too will smolder away the time until the great and general incandescence."

There is a light in Gilead: A pictorial

2011-02-05T09:52:00.000-08:00

My apartment is quite dark, so I'm dissatisfied with the quality of this month's photographs. I needed light. Fortunately, Robinson had much to say on the subject through Rev. John Ames; I'll include some of my favorite illuminated quotes in another post.

the book:

the ruling:

Mom-to-be Amy was absent but sent her regards:

Natalie brought a found object from her used book: A bookmark from "Carole"

Michelle reported on her survey results:

we pondered:

Kerry glowed in the incandescence of it all:

That 10th Commandment

2011-02-02T17:24:00.001-08:00

"The Tenth Commandment is unenforceable, even by oneself, even with the best will in the world, and it is violated constantly…. I believe the sin of covetise is that pang of resentment you may feel when even the people you love best have what you want and don't have. [T]here is nothing that makes a person's fallenness more undeniable than covetise – you feel it right in your heart, in your bones" (Gilead, 134).

I reread that page over and over again, as if each time I read it, a new light dawned upon my self-understanding. That 10^th commandment isn't strictly about not wanting your neighbor's wife. At its heart, it's about not dwelling deeply on what you have no control over owning. In this realization, I understood the last few years of my discontentment with life. At times, I admit to allowing my unmet desires to dampen my very real blessings and answered dreams, and I've beat myself up for it because I couldn't understand how I could be so ungrateful for the things – both tangible and intangible – I have been given.

Most of the time I justify my ingratitude by saying that it is a good thing to have goals and dreams in life, that it is a good thing to strive, but it is a much better thing to thank the Lord for his daily blessings and to genuinely rejoice with those around me who have what I only wish I did. To be content with this life is to be rightfully proud of our accomplishments and graciously accepting of the hopes denied, I think. It is the latter which reminds me that though we have some sway in the direction of our lives, we are not the ultimate decision maker. To which I say, amen.

Mint Brownies in the White City (per request)

2011-01-18T09:54:00.001-08:00

Mint Brownies in the White City!

One box of preferably Ghirardelli Brownie mix (or two boxes if you want to make a 9x13 pan, one just makes an 8x8).

At book club I used Ghirardelli "dark chocolate" brownie mix, but I think that was the first and last time I've ever seen that exact one. So just the regular mix will do, or really any brownie mix that you like

1/4 - 1/2 bag of Andes mint baking chips*

These can also be hard to find...I suppose you could also buy a box of Andes mints and chop them up if you can't find the pre-chopped baking chips.
I used a HALF bag of chips for TWO boxes of brownie mix, and it was the perfect ratio (especially b/c the Ghirardelli mix already has chocolate chips in it), so figure out your preffered ratio accordingly.
*I suppose if you're, say, a peanut butter or butterscotch fan, you could use those flavors of chips as well. OR you could just put a teaspoon (or less?) of peppermint extract in the mix with NO chips! There's so many options.

Mix up the batter as prescribed on the box, and stir in the mint chips. Bake. Serve. Done.

World's Fair Images and Mr. Hotty Hott

2011-01-09T20:11:00.000-08:00

Maybe you all were like me and googled the Chicago World's Fair to find some images. In case you didn't, here are a few (sorry for the crazy variation of sizes!)

And we mustn't leave out the psychopathic womanizer, either. (H. H. Holmes = Hotty Hott Holmes? Maybe that only works when we consider his basement design. :)

Cous Cous in the White City

2011-01-09T16:05:00.000-08:00

Please note that I changed the subheading on the blog to include recipes as a secondary blogging topic! ;)

"Couscous-Veggie Delight"
The first few times I made this meal it was from a different recipe that I can't find anymore - so for last night's dish I mostly used this recipe, however I included the following modifications to make it veggie-er and more tasty! I added red bell pepper and snow peas, however you can add any other veggie that sounds good to you - just toss it in with the sauteing up front. But here's what I did differently:

One red bell pepper sliced into smallish strips
About a handful of snow peas/snap peas (they often come in a small bag at the store so I just use one bag-full, or probably about a cup or cup and a half).
Add the above to STEP 2 of the linked recipe, sauteing them with the garlic at the beginning of the process.
Instead of fresh tomatoes I used one can of diced tomatoes (drained), simply to speed up the process.

Serve HOT is best, and sprinkle the feta on at your leisure before consuming. Enjoy!

Now as for the book...I loved it. After our discussion last night, I think my rating would climb up a bit from the 75%ish "thumb rating" that I gave it. I was mostly amazed at all the things that originated at the Columbian World's Fair that are still so prominent in society now, e.g. the pledge of allegiance (!), PBR, shredded wheat, of course the ferris wheel, etc. And reading about how things like that, especially the architecture of such large structures, all came together for the first time ever was pretty mind-blowing. As far as the historicity of the book, I give it 5 stars. It is truly enlightening as to our country's development over the past 100+ years.

I also enjoyed the story of Dr. H. H. Holmes. The derangedness of his story did not bother me personally, simply in that it took place so long ago, and it is highly unlikely now that an individual would get away with so much crime so easily, and for so long, in an urban setting especially. Rather, his story also amazed me simply as a representation of the simplicity of the age - what little suspicion people had of his evilness was not enough to even act on. Consequently he was able to slowly and patiently act out his plans time after time while remaining a "normal" member of society. He must have been very intelligent, and of course very crazy. As to the part of "The Devil.." that told Holmes' story, this sentence about Geyer's experience investigating Holmes toward the end of the book basically summed it all up: "[Geyer's] weakness was his belief that evil had boundaries." Unfortunately, history has evolved such that society no longer has this weakness.

Our next book is Gilead, by Marilyn Robinson. Several of us have already read this book but it is an absolutely perfect novel to re-read after a few years. I'm looking forward to it already. Buy it here:

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson: A pictorial and some thoughts

2011-01-09T15:05:00.000-08:00

the book:

the rating:

Maureen unwraps the official

book club book:

...inside are notes, quotes, attendance records,

and a running list of future books:

Amanda found us primary research:

a book baby shower for Beatrice:

our next book club book:

(not really)

Thoughts: The Devil in the White City was a feat of a book. I found myself turning back to the notes section to marvel at how Larson was able to craft a convincing story out of history's scraps. As a writer, I appreciated his dense research and surprisingly deft (re?)plotting. As a reader, I did chuckle at his foreboding orchestra-strike chapter endings. "Only Poe could have dreamed the rest..." Dum-dum-dum! I'm not sure he trusted me to turn the page on my own. But I would have. He made drama out of exposition committee meetings and pathos out of plaster. He so immersed me in the world of the late 19th century that I could feel genuine shock at Dr. H.H. Holmes's boundless evil. In this modern world, we are overly familiar with the serial killer narrative. We hear it on the news, on the screen, in every procedural crime drama on TV. Larson transported me to a time when that particular horror story wasn't rote. Although the process was disturbing, I appreciated being re-sensitized.

Moroccan Chicken in the White City

2011-01-09T11:01:00.000-08:00

Thanks for a great night at book club, and thanks for driving so far, gals! It is such a treat to be able to host you all. As requested, here is a link to the Moroccan Chicken Pot Pie recipe, courtesy of Epicurious.com. It does call for refrigerated pie crust, but I have a deep aversion to ingredients I cannot pronounce. Thus, here's the recipe for the crust, courtesy of a family friend, Pam:

Pam's Flaky Shortening-Free Crust
1-1/2 c. flour
1-1/2 tsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. oil
2 tbsp. milk

-Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Whisk milk into oil with fork until combined; add to flour mixture. Mix together until dampened.
-Roll out dough ball between wax paper.
-After pie filling is in pan, cover with dough. Dough will be a bit crumbly, so just fit pieces loosely over filling. No need to punch holes in dough. Bake!
-(If you want to use as a bottom pie crust, mix dry ingredients together in pie pan, add milk/oil mix, and press into pan. Bake about 5 minutes prior to filling.)

And here's the map of the 1893 Columbian Exposition (from the John Flinn, compiler. Official Guide to the World's Columbian Exposition. Chicago: John Anderson Publishing, 1893.):

Amanda.

Lily Bart Fights AIDS in Africa

2010-12-21T12:45:00.000-08:00

...and she didn't even have to navigate the treacherous waters of a charity ball. If you enjoyed our recent read, Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, you can now purchase a delightfully designed collector's copy from Penguin Classics and (PRODUCT) RED ($11). Fifty percent of the profits will go to The Global Fund to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. As Maux would say, BOOM.

Next up: The Devil in the White City

2010-12-14T19:32:00.001-08:00

We're reading "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson to reign in the New Year. Check it out, and keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming film based on the book starring the one and only Leonardo DiCaprio!

Only $7 at Amazon. BOOM. Go to there.

House of Mirth and Flourless Chocolate Cake

2010-12-12T11:55:00.000-08:00

I was pleasantly surprised by Edith Wharton. When I read the synopsis on the back of my library loaned copy of House of Mirth, I groaned thinking how closely it resembled the story of Portrait of a Lady; however within the first few pages Warton's heroine Lily Bart becomes a more relatable and tangible person than James' Isabel in all of her 700+ pages ever was. This is due to Wharton's writing style being so appealing and fresh a century after the words were given their pages.

One thing that I enjoyed thoroughly was how Wharton would describe a character's room as a method of telling you more about that person. For instance, Selden has a worn leather armchair while Mrs. Peniston has a black satin chair tufted with yellow buttons (which Lily detests). Amanda mentioned this to us at book club and failed to put it in her post below: Wharton was the taste maker when it came to interior decorating among high society. She even wrote a book strictly about interior design.

On an entirely different note, I must share this recipe for the most divine flourless chocolate cake. (note: this recipe has been adapted from Bon Appetit Jan. 1999)

Amy's Flourless Chocolate Cake

11.5 ounces Ghirardhelli's bittersweet (not unsweetened) chocolate chips
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

6 large eggs, separated
12 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Oven preheated to 350°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Wrap outside of pan with foil. Stir chocolate and butter in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Cool to lukewarm, stirring often.

Using electric mixer, beat egg yolks and 6 tablespoons sugar in large bowl until mixture is very thick and pale, about 3 minutes. Fold lukewarm chocolate mixture into yolk mixture, then fold in vanilla extract. Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining 6 tablespoons sugar, beating until medium-firm peaks form. Fold whites into chocolate mixture in 3 additions. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake cake until top is puffed and cracked and tester inserted into center comes out with some moist crumbs attached, about 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack (cake will fall).

A Portrait of a Mirthful House

2010-12-05T18:54:00.000-08:00

I cannot tell you just how relieved I was Friday to discover that I am neither the only one in book club who finished the book nor the only one who liked it. Ladies, I must confess I was worried. I mean, after my lame suggestion of The Portrait of a Lady (which, to my defense, I had not read previously), I could barely believe you agreed to read The House of Mirth (which is one of my favorites). Same time period and similar story lines, but the way in which the stories are told are staggeringly different. While both female protagonists make poor decisions, I cannot help but love Wharton's Lily Bart. James's Isabel, on the other hand, made me throw his book of never-ending run-on sentences across the room where it remains as a reminder that just because some people love Henry James, I am not inclined to do the same. Let the British keep him; I'll take Edith Wharton any day.

But why, when her name is synonymous with depression? Maybe I have a very cynical view of life, but her novel contains hearty amounts of realism on many levels. Superficially, I sometimes appreciate stories about star-crossed lovers. On a slightly deeper level, the glimpses into what life was really like among the Gilded Age Progressives are fascinating. In a way, I wonder if Wharton was a satirist. Where others among her set might use their wealth as an excuse for their actions, she reveals the hidden motives and intrigues that made them all no more superior than their vast numbers of hired hands. She was writing from the inside, and the very idea that she could develop such stories is highly indicative of the life surrounding her. Because of this insight, The House of Mirth is much more about the society in general than it is about the decisions of a beautiful woman down on her luck. Lily Bart was the manifestation of all the women among this class who were only expected to snag a rich man. Independent thinking, personal careers, single life, and even true love (where there was no money) were all abominable misfortunes for these poor women. In the end, the class with the greatest wealth became the most oppressive for women while the Gerty Farishes of the world were really the most lucky because they had few restrictions. And the main reason they had so few restrictions was that they were not expected to marry (rich men); they had no pretenses to get in their way. For me, it is a fascinating anthropological sketch.

It is also one of the most opulent eras in American architectural history. We have the Trenors, Dorsets, and Brys to thank for the magnificence that is Newport, Rhode Island. Without the ridiculous amount of money, architects like Richard Morris Hunt would never have been given the opportunity to create those summer cottages like those portrayed in this story. In conclusion, I leave you with some images of these houses of mirth.

Marble House. RM Hunt, Architect. 1888-92. Newport, RI. For Wm K and Alva Vanderbilt. (It was her 37th bday present...she divorced him 2-3 years later "because she could." She kept the house as a storehouse.)

Ochre Court. RM Hunt, Architect. 1888-1893. Newport, RI

Ochre Court Dining Room.

The Breakers. RM Hunt. 1892-95. Newport, RI. For Cornelius and Alice Vanderbilt.

Land's End. John H. Sturgis. 1864-65. Ogden Codman, Jr. 1893. Summer cottage of Edith Wharton.

Franny & Zoey: A pictorial, plus an opinion

2010-11-12T07:37:00.000-08:00

First, the pictorial:

the book

the hostess

the food

the found notes

Now, the opinion:

This book spoke to me. I wish I had read it as a teenager because it offers a way to synthesize faith and art in a way that I needed to hear when I was younger. Salinger finds the sacred in pursuits the church sometimes labels as secular, secondary, even selfish. The "terrible secret" is found on the second to last page. Out of context, it's unquotable. In the context of the two-part novella, it's revelatory. And he makes this revelation through the voices of our flawed & flailing protagonists. If you'll excuse me for using a church-y word, it's incarnational writing.

See more pictures on my flickr page.

F&Z

2010-10-27T20:08:00.001-07:00

Having never read any J.D. Salinger before, I had extremely high hopes. Any person whose most famous book is one that has been banned from high school curricula over the years or at least from church camps, makes me certain to have that author on my reading list. Thus, I was excited to read Franny & Zooey. I was doubly excited because we already had a copy on our bookshelf.

At first, I was a little confused. I am definitely a chapter book kind of person. I say that in the most third grade way possible. I wanted chapters. I wanted something to start, happen, end, and then leave me in suspense so I would want to just glimpse at the first page of the next chapter and get sucked in. This was one thing I really loved about The Elegeance of the Hedgehog. I got none of this from Salinger. Franny & Zooey has only two chapters total, if you can even call them that. One is called "Franny" and the other is "Zooey." And as Moe put it in her post, for the longest time, nothing happens. You're reading and reading and thinking to yourself "who are these characters and how am I connecting with them...and what in the world is going on?"

It took me a long time to commit to saying I even liked the book for want of ability to identify a single thing I thought was interesting about it, although I will admit in the first few pages, I dog-eared this passage because it made me laugh out loud:

[describing Franny's boyfriend, Lane, as he greets her upon arrival at the train station]
"Then, like so many people, who, perhaps, ought to be issued only a very probational pass to meet trains, he tried to empty his face of all expression that might quite simply, perhaps even beautifully, reveal how he felt about the arriving person."

Once I finally made it into the second portion of the book about Zooey. I told Andrew that I didn't really think I liked Zooey all that much. He just made me so frustrated. It's funny that I had such a strong reaction to his character since I wasn't really that into the book at that point.

Eventually, after many short bus rides where I could only read a few pages at a time, I started to realize what Salinger was getting at. I found myself awake at 2 am wanting to read and finish the book in one sitting...and so I did. As any person who has experienced a truly extreme existential crisis would, I found myself relating to both Franny & Zooey and loving the book. Salinger had perfectly and poetically described the falling apart of worldviews that happened to me and to so many I know during time away at college.

I think I will definitely read it again and would like to read The Catcher in the Rye. I am sad I wasn't able to be there for the discussion, but good news: I also already have a copy of Edith Wharton's House of Mirth...see you all next month.

Next up: The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

2010-10-26T07:16:00.001-07:00

Franny & Zooey: No Tangerine stories, please.

2010-10-26T07:14:00.000-07:00

I loved Franny and Zooey--this was my second time reading it and I enjoyed it even more than the first time. There is a quirky combination of factors that I believe make this book one of the best ever written: it has very few characters and virtually no 'action' (which usually I despise but Salinger makes it work like a charm). The characters use sarcasm heavily and harshly (paired with the use of italics that makes the characters' voices really come alive) and yet it is abundantly clear that they love and cherish one another deeply. And after all the sarcasm, cutting down, and humor, the book has an extremely powerful ending that seems to solidify their relationships with each other and with the world around them.

That said, just a few of my favorite quotes (on the humorous side of things):

Zooey to Bessie, talking in the bathroom about the cause of Franny's ailment (which takes up nearly half of the book, brilliantly.):
"You're absolutely right. You're absolutely right. It's staggering how you jump straight the hell into the heart of a matter. I'm goosebumps all over. . .By God, you inspire me. You inflame me, Bessie. You know what you've done? Do you realize what you've done? You've given this whole goddam issue a fresh, new, Biblical slant. I wrote four papers in college on the Crucifixion--five, really--and every one of them worried me half crazy because I thought something was missing. Now I know what it was. Now it's clear to me. I see Christ in an entirely different light. His unhealthy fanaticism. His rudeness to those nice, sane, conservative, tax-paying Pharisees. Oh, this is exciting! In your simple, straightforward, bigoted way, Bessie, you've sounded the missing keynote of the whole New Testament. Improper diet. Christ lived on cheeseburgers and Cokes. For all we know, he probably fed the mult--"
"Just stop that, now," Mrs. Glass broke in, her voice quiet but dangerous. "Oh, I'd like to put a diaper on that mouth of yours!"

"He's so conceited he's actually humble, the crazy bastard." -Zooey describing a coworker

Here's Zooey telling Franny how her behavior is hard on their parents, Les & Bessie (who are always referred to by their first names):
"It's terrible for them--and you know it. Did you know, God damn it, that Les was all for bringing a tangerine in to you last night before he went to bed? My God. Even Bessie can't stand stories with tangerines in them. And God knows I can't. . . . . I wish to hell you'd go back to college. . . . . where, God knows, nobody'll have any urges to bring you any tangerines. And where you don't keep your goddam tap shoes in the closet."

I could go on--the book is full of rich selections--but I'll leave it at that and simply encourage everyone to read 'Franny & Zooey."

books and food, food and books

2010-10-07T19:34:00.000-07:00

To me, book club = laughter, wine, good food, friends, and book discussion. What I found most interesting about last book club is that we spent more time discussing books we had read but not for book club, than the book-of-the-month, Portrait of a Lady. I don't have much to say about the book; since I didn't finish it. It was long and slow, and I had a busy month. My goal to read 20 pages a night only last 2 days. So this month's contribution to the blog are the recipes I brought to eat:

Pumpkin Dip:
-Blend together 8 oz cream cheese (softened) and 2 c powdered sugar
-Stir in15 0z pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling), 1 Tbl ground cinnamon, and 1 Tbl pumpkin pie spice. You can substitute the pumpkin pie spice with: 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 3/4 tsp ginger, 3/4 tsp allspice, which is usually what I do, because I don't have pumpkin pie spice.

Ginger Sparkles (cookies)
mix together: 2 c flour, 1 Tbl ginger, 2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt
cream together: 3/4 c butter, 1 c sugar, 1 egg, 1/4 c molasses
Combine flour mixture with the butter/sugar mixture. Roll into 1 in. diameter balls and roll in sugar. Bake at 35o for 5-8 min or until cookie crackles on top and flattens slightly. Once cooled, dip into pumpkin dip.

It's fall; enjoy!

The Portrait of a Lady

2010-10-07T08:16:00.000-07:00

I will make this short and direct: I did finish this book (late) and it left me so unsatisfied. It's a book about a figurative train wreck and it's not until quite close to the end that the band-aid gets ripped off and you feel some relief for the main character, Isabel. If I can take you back to the beginning of the book you might understand why someone would stick with Henry James' work. Isabel Archer is a character I wanted to associate with Elizabeth Bennett, Jo March, or some other intelligent, free-spirited 1800s woman. Isabel is these things but she surrounds herself with terrible people and marries the wrong person by about half-way through. I was waiting for redemption or resolve to this character's drama for hundreds of pages which James' only gives a slight taste of at the end but it's not enough to handle the heavy regret and the consequences of being female in Victorian Europe.

I love a good classic novel and I go through periods where I devour them. This one (with it's ridiculous sentence structures--I hope Michelle posts her sentence diagram) was not a joy and was what most people hate about classic novels. So there.

I'm currently reading something completely different. It's a quick read so far and a good distraction from all of the craziness of life (my life involves a lot of wallpaper removal and a baby in my belly who just won't stop kicking). I plan on picking up a few other books before getting to dig into Franny and Zooey at the close of this month. I love Franny and Zooey and can't wait to revisit their never ending conversations.

In the Interim

2010-10-07T07:04:00.000-07:00

Well you may have noticed that we had a bit of a gap over the last month or so. Our book club attempted to read a 600+ page classic, The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James. This choice resulted in a record-breaking month for our bookies - not a single member finished the book. :) First time that has ever happened.

I was happy to lead the way by only reading 50 pages. After suffering that, I spent the interim delving into the following literature instead:

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. I've been wanting to read this ever since our book club read Lahiri's latest book, Unaccustomed Earth, which I loved. 'Interpreter' was just as fantastic, with a greater diversity of short stories and yet all still centered around the Indian experience, and primarily the Indian immigrant experience. Each story was heartbreaking and tragic with varying degrees of severity, up until the final piece which left me with a sense of hope and a carpe-diem-type positivity. I love Lahiri's writing and would definitely recommend this book.
The latest issues of some of my favorite magazines, including Vogue, Elle, and The Economist (you gotta keep it balanced, you know). I learned from the previous two that fur is in this Fall, camel is the color of the year, and that I should probably incorporate more belts into my wardrobe. I learned from the latter that Southern Sudan's upcoming election isn't looking good, and that the world's forests are quickly degrading, both much to my dismay.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, thanks to Hannah who gave me this book while I was visiting her on a recent trip to California. I'm only a few chapters in but can already tell it should be a good and worthy read. I should finish it just in time to pick up Franny & Zooey (see previous post) before our next book club meeting.

Happy reading!

Next up: Franny & Zooey by JD Salinger

2010-10-07T06:32:00.000-07:00

This book is one of my favorites and I'm excited to reread it for this month's book club selection. Check it out!

2010-08-13T14:13:00.000-07:00

The official rating for Colum McCann's Let the Great World Spin.

I have to say, I heartily agree. I plan on posting some of my favorite lines. In the meantime, see more bookclub pictures here.

Jane Austen Fight Club

2010-08-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

This post has nothing whatsoever to do with "Let the Great World Spin." It has everything to do with Jane Austen Fight Club.

Click here to see a funny video.

If you don't like Jane Austen or her novels, you might not think this is funny. I pity you.

Amanda.

Hedgehog Philosophy

2010-07-27T19:37:00.000-07:00

I loved "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" by Muriel Barbery. It's one of the few novels I've loved that has little action, a slow-moving plot, and is full of philosophy and sentiment. Usually, novels following this description bore me (e.g. many of "The Classics".) Yet, I found this one beautiful, humorous, and as its synopsis reveals, wonderfully redemptive.

In a way, I find that I am similar to the main character, Renee. Not in that I have some horrible secret in my past that is ruining my life, but rather in her personality, quirks, and mostly her critical spirit. ;) My favorite parts of the book were the passages in which she cleverly judged another character. I can't help it. I loved it. Other readers found it pretentious and annoying, and I found it just enough like myself that I couldn't get enough. With great intelligence and articulateness, Renee mentally ridicules members of her apartment complex for their poor use of language, complaining about such mistakes as using the word "bring" when it should have been "take" (one of my favorites). Yet, one of the many redemptive qualities of the script is that we find that Renee always goes on to judge herself as well. She spends paragraphs over-analyzing every word out of her mouth in a hilarious and yet tormented way. One of the most humorous scenes is her attempt to respond to receiving the gift of a book from the new, upper-upper class tenant, Mr. Ozu:

Her response: Thank you, you shouldn't have. -The concierge

Half a page later:
"A simple I'm afraid I don't understand, signed, the concierge, would have conveyed the proper meaning.
Or even: You've made a mistake, I'm returning your package.
No fuss, short and concise: Delivered to the wrong address.
Clever and definitive: I don't know how to read.More devious: My cat doesn't know how to read.
Subtle: Thank you, but Christmas boxes are given in January.
What have I done, instead, but simper as if we were at a literary salon?
Thank you, you shouldn't have.
I propel myself out of my armchair and rush to the door.
Woe and damnation."
......
"Simper as if we were at a literary salon." Brilliant. (What's more--translated from the French--let's have a "Brilliant!" for the translator, Alison Anderson!) Renee's "elegance" is portrayed in moments such as this passage--her clear humility, low self-esteem, self-doubting that is revealed despite her critical spirit. And I loved her character for it.

The characters, plot, and message of this book will stick with me for a long time. The language, the philosophy, the imagery (including the tastes and smells), and the contrasted personalities are powerful and gentle all at once, leaving the reader with a sense of despair and hope all wrapped up in 325 pages. I recommend it.

Here is an image taken by one of my flickr contacts of his late hedgehog, Mr. Mumbles. I think in a way it actually represents the elegance of a hedgehog.

"Daydreaming" by Will Swanson

Next up: Let the Great World Spin

2010-07-10T17:50:00.001-07:00

This book has come highly recommended to us by many, and we're excited to read. Plus, what a cool cover, right?

Ashamed

2010-06-09T12:49:00.000-07:00

I don't have much to say about The Blue Castle, other than:
-Thought Valancy was super clever
-Definitely way too good to be true but still enjoyable
-Liked the parts about the cats

But after Amanda's previous post, I feel convicted to confess something to you all--book club members and not:

I have not read Jane Eyre.

BOOM. Just dropped a BOMB on you!

Why Love Stories Sometimes Cause My Eyes To Roll

2010-06-07T13:52:00.001-07:00

I do not hate love stories. On the contrary, my idealistic feminine side sometimes craves Jane Eyre. There is satiating pleasure when Jane finally realizes that she cannot live without Mr. Rochester and rushes back to him, conveniently discovering that there is no longer a barrier between them. “And they lived happily ever after” (I do not apologize for spoiling the ending; shame on you for not reading it). The story warms my heart, but I find myself battling the belief that love is not love unless there is heart-rending turmoil. Not to exonerate all the oblivious males in the world, but men, you do not stand a chance with a woman whose ideal male is the product of an early nineteenth-century female imagination.

While I enjoy the stories where the girl gets the unattainable guy, I still find my eyes rolling in their sockets. Why? Because apart from the warm-fuzzies emanated, they are myopic. Statistically, I wager more marriages are like Mr. and Mrs. Bennet’s than Mr. and Mrs. Snaith’s (or is it Redfern now?). I mean, hello, the world is not full of beat-all-the-odds Mr. and Mrs. Darcies, nor are women all of a sudden discovering that their mysterious husbands are actually heirs to millions and their favorite authors to boot. I am sure it has happened, but seeing how there are two people in a relationship, it is rare that chemical attraction is enough to sustain a lifetime of seeing the same person every day. If it were, there would be fewer divorces. Furthermore, it grates on my sensibilities that in love stories only young nuptial couples seem to love. Look at the long-married couples in the novels and tell me how many are portrayed in a contented light. I can wait.

…

Trouble finding them? Me too, yet every time I read a love story, I find myself cheering for the couple whose relationship will end in all probability like those of the unhappy long-marrieds’. Man, I am cynical. Case-in-point: after feel-good novels like The Blue Castle, I find a need for the unrequited love in Edith Wharton’s or Emily Bronte’s novels. Perhaps my biggest complaint about love stories is the feeling of unrealistic expectancy: either I will meet with my own Mr. Knightly and live happily ever after, or be plagued by my love for Heathcliffe, make a loveless match, die, and eternally wander the moors (I get choked-up just thinking of that book). My eyes roll because the portrayal of love as the all-consuming, most important emotional pastime of life is frankly annoying. I feel dismissed as an independent single woman. Just once, will someone please write a story about an independent woman where love is not even a subplot?

Maybe I will write a modern version of The Blue Castle where Valancy tells her family to go overdose on Redfern’s Purple Pills and takes off to hike the Himalayas with her pet llama named Seymour. This time, the blue castle will be a real fortress set in the forest of the highest mountain and is infested with blue-butted monkeys (that is where the castle gets its nickname; from a distance, it looks blue because of all the lazy monkeys sitting on its crenellations), which she will have the honor of naming after herself: Monkious valancia. Then, Seymour will spit in the eyes of all the monkeys, thus causing them to become extinct gargoyles. Having saved the world, even though the world never knows it, Valancy will rename the castle Seymourtopia and be free from the annoyance of her family and the lazy, blue-butted monkeys. The end.

Then again, maybe I will just go read The Count of Monte Cristo.
…Amanda.

shock-o'-joy

2010-06-03T19:22:00.000-07:00

So, last night we met at Beth's to discuss The Blue Castle. Beth shares a lovely home with Jessica, where one can find good art, a fabulous (and hip) garden, a comfy porch, and a goat.

Highlights of the evening:

Birthday cake (and berries, and whipped cream, made by Kerry), along with singing, in honor of Lisa's birthday
Quite possibly the most wonderful sorbet made by the amazing Christopher Elbow: basil lime and creme fraiche. wow. Thank youuu, Amanda.

Okay, well, those highlights were about food, not the book, but man! Half the fun of book club is the snacks and drinks. It could be bookie/foodie club.

The book discussion was also good. The Blue Castle scored about a 60% on the group blind thumb range rating (obviously highly accurate and authoritative).

Personally, I really enjoyed reading the book...it was a quick, fun read (though, during the first 50 pages or so, it was so depressing I didn't know if I would be able to handle it). Valancy's character was sassy (in an early-1900s sort of way) and endearing, and the nature writing was beautiful. Overall, I found the plot to be a little lacking...the romance was a little cheesy, the other characters didn't have much depth. For a young-adult book, though, particularly one from that era, it gets an up-leaning thumb from me.

Next up: The Elegance of the Hedgehog

2010-06-03T15:26:00.001-07:00

Here's our next book of choice! It's been on our suggested reads list for months so we finally decided to check it off. Please join us!

Art & Art History in The Swan Thieves, or "I'm just gonna start writing randomly about this novel and see what happens."

2010-05-03T17:57:00.001-07:00

Our book club gave a nearly unanimous 2/3 thumbs up for "The Swan Thieves" by Elizabeth Kostova. We all flew through it, loved every minute along the way, but by the conclusion most of us found it slightly wanting. And yet. It was well worth the read and I would recommend it to all.
And now for some bragging.

In high school, I was an artist. Now, that may sound like a joke to you, because perhaps you were a basketball star in high school, but look at you now sitting around reading books and being in a book club and not having touched a basketball in 15 years. But. I had a teacher, the late Mrs. Cynthia Lee, who was literally rated as one of the best high school art teachers in the state. After an incredible four years of studying under a brilliant artist and teacher, I decided to get an Art minor in college. In my first semester, I realized I knew more than the professor, and that was the end of my art career. (What? I shouldn't expect an incredibly advanced art program at a Bible college?! Oh.) But I learned from Mrs. Lee things that I've never forgotten--art history that sticks with me, the ability to recognize an artist's work before seeing the placard, the importance of composition, the subtlety of color, and the valued experience of traveling alongside Mrs. Lee to places like Etretat, France.
Now what in the world am I even talking about? I thought this blog was about BOOKS.

Well. All that background is part of why I loved The Swan Thieves. Don't get me wrong, you don't have to have an ounce of art history to get into this novel. But the ability to picture the brushstrokes, imagine the settings, and know the names of artist and painting created a richness in the story that I truly appreciated.

Oh I almost forgot to talk about the coffee mug. (I usually like to make my blog posts flow a little more than this, but at this point I'm just trying to keep it interesting and hope you didn't give up reading after the first total derail). Another art-related area of the book that I truly appreciated was Kostova's recognition (via the characters) that Impressionism has become diminished to a culture of Hobby Lobby posters, coffee mugs, and canvas bags. It's often not taken seriously. But she points out time and time again, that in their day, Impressionists were cutting edge. They were breaking all the barriers, totally stepping out of the box. And their work is still just as valuable today, whether on a coffee mug or in the Metropolitan Museum. It was refreshing.

And now for a suggestion. For those of you who haven't read the book and/or don't have an art background, don't be afraid to take a moment between chapters and google it! Look up some of these famous paintings that Kostova describes so well*, and get a visual in your mind. This book is extremely visual, so help yourself out by understanding some of the images that are so pertinent to the story.
*She also makes up many images, so don't go looking for fictional characters' art work! But do get a feel for the big names she repeatedly mentions.

And now for my next trick!

Our next book is "The Blue Castle" by LM Montgomery. Like half of our members have already read this and were practically begging the rest of us to please, please read it, so here goes...

Well while I'm at it, here's one of my favorite high school paintings. This one won a gold medal at the Delaware Valley League Art Competition. DVL, baby, that's all straight-up farm schools upinz! Boom. Mrs. Lee told me the judge said it was reminiscent of Matisse. BOOM.

Okay now I'm a little embarassed. But I'm going to go ahead and....hit ...the ....PUBLISH BUTTON.......... !

Next Book: The Swan Thieves

2010-04-15T12:25:00.000-07:00

Per Amanda's recommendation, we'll be reading The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova next. Don't be intimidated by its size--it's a page-turner and a fast read!

Order here!

Radio Lab Podcast

2010-04-07T17:57:00.000-07:00

This link is to a Radio Lab podcast and is in honor of our discussion last Wednesday about alternate realities...

The Multi-Universes

Enjoy...Amanda.

Howards End: a few lines

2010-03-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

She broke off, and listened to the sounds of a London morning.

It is so easy for an Englishman to sneer at these chance collisions of human beings.

'You use the intellect, but you no longer care about it. That I call stupidity.'

The air was white, and when they alighted it tasted like cold pennies.

The city seemed Satanic....

'Can what they call civilization be right, if people mayn't die in the room where they were born?'

It is thus, if there is any rule, that we ought to die - neither as victim nor as fanatic, but as a seafarer who can greet with an equal eye the deep that he is entering, and the shore that he must leave.

...the most unsuccessful [career] is not that of a man who is taken unprepared, but of him who is prepared and is never taken.

Speak to me of the white tiger, I said.

2010-02-25T15:59:00.000-08:00

I found The White Tiger to be a fascinating description of lower-class life in modern day India. The first-person perspective of the main character provides an often hilarious and always very real exposition on trying to make ends meet (and trying to be successful) in a place where the only success stories come out of manipulation, corruption, and power. At book club, we discussed the question--Is it possible to succeed in an immoral society without being immoral one's self? It seems that the author is asking that question, and yet he leaves it to the reader to contemplate what that looks like in different parts of the world, and perhaps for different people.

One of the little hidden parts of the novel that I was personally intrigued by was the narrator's (Balram) repeated references to four poets, who he notes, are all Muslim, and the fourth one whom can never remember:
"I haven't read many books, but I've read all the ones that count. I know by heart the works of the four greatest poets of all time--Rumi, Iqbal, Mirza Ghalib, and a fourth fellow whose name I forget."

After several more references to these four poets, the last whom he still can't remember, Balram has an internal conversation with Delhi, in a very poetic form:
Speak to me of civil war, I told Delhi.
I will, she said.
......
Speak to me of blood on the streets, I told Delhi.
I will, she said.

And it goes on like this for a bit. The language used here is nearly a direct copy of the poet Kahlil Gibran, whose most famous work is The Prophet. Gibran is one of the only poets I actually know enough to recognize a style, and so I was surprised to see this prose and it led me to wonder--is Gibran the fourth greatest poet that Balram repeatedly refers to? Interesting. I wish I could ask Aravind Adiga.

So in summary, I loved this book. I would highly recommend it, especially to those who have interest in international urban issues and/or India--it's a great novel that I think has some enlightening commentary on modern day developing nations and cities.

And the priestess spoke again and said:
"Speak to us of Reason and Passion."
And he answered saying:
Your soul is oftentimes a battlefield, upon which your reason and your judgment wage war against passion and your appetite.
Would that I could be the peacemaker in your soul, that I might turn the discord and the rivalry of your elements into oneness and melody.

-From "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran

so, the white tiger...

2010-02-25T14:53:00.000-08:00

...I loved it.

Background: I work with, and occasionally travel to, India for my job. Now, I’ve done some international traveling in my 28 years, but India is totally different than any other place I’ve been. I find myself culture-shocking every time I go. I love it, but it’s crazy. And, since I usually only go for 2-3 weeks at a time, it usually turns out that by the time I do adjust to the culture-shockiness (and the time difference), it’s time to come home.

I’ve decided that anything I can read that helps me to understand Indian culture, therefore, is a sort of “professional development.” And I really did feel like this book helped me to understand modern Indian culture through the story of one (fictional) individual.

Balram (our main guy) had me hooked from the very beginning as he explained the “real India” in a series of letters (emails?) to a visiting dignitary. He spoke of his time in “The Darkness” (rural, village India): the politics and pressures of the complex family, the poor excuse for a government “school,” the realities of having to cut your education short to begin working to pay of the debts of a family that is under the oppressive and overpowering influence of the village landlord.

It seemed like the culture of “the Darkness” keeps anyone from ever being able to leave it, but Balram’s entrepreneurial spirit landed him a job as a driver for a wealthy family in Delhi...the city...”The Light.” Despite all the apparent opportunities in “The Light,” however, Balram found that his choices in life were still very limited. In the end, he evaluated his limited choices, and he chose his freedom. And it wasn’t pretty.

I did appreciate Balram’s story, even though it was dark. I feel like the book makes an important statement about the injustice and corruption that still exists in a relatively newly-independent India...

These days, the powerful of India would like you to believe that India is an up-and-coming, industrializing, developing (if not “developed’) nation. (They are the ones that freaked out and got all defensive when ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ was released.) And...it’s true. That is a story that needs to be told. India is developing. Good things are happening. GREAT things are happening. (I would be happy to tell you about them sometime.)

There are millions of people, however, who don’t have the opportunity to participate in that development...they don’t have the “choices” that wealth and privilege offer. Their stories need to be told too. Hopefully, if those stories are told and heard, attention can be brought to the injustices that take away those choices. Then, eventually...hopefully...maybe...there will be justice. Those people will have choices.

Okay, that’s the end of my preachy rant. Thanks, Aravind Adiga, for telling Balram’s (fictional) story. I appreciated it.

Now...I want to read Salman Rushdie. ;)

If you liked The White Tiger...

2010-02-24T14:15:00.000-08:00

I admit that I had some trouble getting caught up by Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger. It wasn't what the book was. The voice of Balram Halwai, the narrator, was alive and consistent. The plot moved, driven at a good pace by the protagonist's increasingly desperate decisions. The underlying theme--poverty and the diminished choices that accompany it--was clear and competently illustrated. As Balram says:

"[Bangalore] has its share of thugs and politicians. It's just that here, if a man wants to be good, he can be good. In Lanxmangarh [the narrator's impoverished home town], he doesn't even have this choice. That is the difference between this India and that India: the choice."

The irony is, of course, that the entire story is driven by the self-nicknamed White Tiger's choices. You can pin-point times at which Balram could have chosen a different way. Maybe not a pristine way, but a different one. Lying over prostitution. Deceit over murder. And, so, the reader is left to ponder that paradox: Poverty decimates an individual's options, but it cannot remove the free will to choose between a bad path and a worse one.

All that to say, I didn't have trouble with The White Tiger because of what it was. It was what the book wasn't. It wasn't Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children. Rushdie's second novel won the esteemed Man Booker Prize 27 years before The White Tiger did. Maybe comparisons aren't fair, but, Adiga, you're setting me up: The quirky narrator of questionable morals? The first-person storytelling address? (In White Tiger, Balram writes to Wen Jiabao, the premier of China. Rushdie's Saleem Sinai narrates his life story to Padma, his short-tempered muse, cook and love.) The indictment of India's failings? Rushdie did it all before, and he did it with language that blooms and boils and bursts. The images and metaphors snake and shine. Let me open to a random page and point to a random sentence. Maybe you will forgive me, then, for not being able to get over Rushdie to appreciate whats-his-name.

"On and off the cheetah-seat, Evie performed. One foot on the seat, one leg stretched out behind her, she whirled around us; she built up speed and then did a headstand on the seat! She could straddle the front wheel, facing the rear, and work the pedals the wrong way round. . . gravity was her slave, speed her element, and we knew that a power had come among us, a witch on wheels, and the flowers of the hedgerows threw her petals, the dust of the circus-ring stood up in clouds of ovation, because the circus-ring had found its mistress, too: it was the canvas beneath the brush of her whirling wheels."

This isn't a crucial portion of the book. It isn't its lyrical climax. It's simply one of several grafs introducing Saleem's childhood crush. But every paragraph has at least this level of attention and craft. Every one. So, I'm sorry, The White Tiger, but you're always going to play Coldplay to Midnight's Children's U2. It's just the way it is.

- Sarah Mueller

The White Tiger

2010-02-23T09:59:00.001-08:00

Sometimes after reading a book, I feel the strong urge to wash myself outwardly in order to somehow purge my soul of the filth that built up while I read. I don't always think this is a bad thing; in fact, like the actors I despise because of roles they played, I think it speaks to the power of the novel. The White Tiger had this effect on me. I felt little sympathy for the main character simply because nothing in his life is anything remotely close to my own experiences. The one blatant realization I've had is that Balsam is not shocked by his actions because that is just the way Life is.

Now Reading..

2010-02-20T10:50:00.000-08:00

We just finished The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, and will be posting our thoughts soon! In the meantime, join us in reading Howards End by E.M. Forster.

Currently Reading

2010-02-08T11:53:00.000-08:00

We are currently reading "The White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga. Here's a quick blurb from The New Yorker:

In this darkly comic début novel set in India, Balram, a chauffeur, murders his employer, justifying his crime as the act of a "social entrepreneur." In a series of letters to the Premier of China, in anticipation of the leader’s upcoming visit to Balram’s homeland, the chauffeur recounts his transformation from an honest, hardworking boy growing up in "the Darkness"—those areas of rural India where education and electricity are equally scarce, and where villagers banter about local elections "like eunuchs discussing the Kama Sutra"—to a determined killer. He places the blame for his rage squarely on the avarice of the Indian élite, among whom bribes are commonplace, and who perpetuate a system in which many are sacrificed to the whims of a few. Adiga’s message isn’t subtle or novel, but Balram’s appealingly sardonic voice and acute observations of the social order are both winning and unsettling.

I'm flying through this read, so if you're looking for a novel to escape in, I definitely recommend it so far. Check it out, read along, and come back and let us know what you think!

Welcome

2010-01-28T20:16:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the KC Wine Bookies blog. We are glad you came to visit. Each month we will be posting a few different reviews (from different perspectives) on the book we have read that month--we hope that you'll find our thoughts helpful as you seek out good books to read and share with others. Additionally, we would love for our readers to leave their own reviews of these books, as well as to give us suggestions for literature our book club might enjoy. So we look forward to your comments.

You can find more info about our club and our members in the "more" section to the right.

In the meantime, happy reading and come again!