Mistry's "A Fine Balance"

Mining the subjunctive here, always avoid cliches like the plague - and flee Oprah's quotidian soap opera recommends quickly.

However, I've been proven wrong...yet again. It has been a pleasant shock to read this Oprah-nominated book. Thanks Joan, for these two months just marinating myself in Mistry's magical and incisive prose. He's right up there with Rushdie and Roy as great Indian writers, as evidenced by his votes for the Booker Prize.

Coincidentally, we just watched the movie "Outsourced." Much less sanguine than our book but conveys some of the same Hobbesian messages about the harshness of most existence in India - and much of the world. Highly recommend it. We're so fortunate in America to have cheap beer, plenty of toilet paper and flushing toilets, and a warm Methodist clubhouse to discuss great literature in.

Merry Christmas to the entire claven
Leon

Correction

Well, after I posted for all to see that Annie wouldn't be with us this quarter because of her class, it turns out she'll be doing an Internet class instead so she'll be able to join us after all. That is fantastic.

Janelle, how can you possibly teach full time and take three classes??! (see her comment to my previous posting.) Wow, you are taking on a lot my friend. Even if you don't have time to read the upcoming books, I hope you'll still come to the group meetings (if you can fit us in to your busy schedule!)

Have a great weekend everybody and I'll see you all on Monday, book box in hand!

Joan

The Glass Castle

Hello everyone,

It seems that I've heard nothing but positive comments on The Glass Castle. What a fascinating book - an unbelievable portrait of a family. I look forward to our discussion of the book next Monday, Sept. 22.

The new book I've chosen looks interesting and COMPLETELY different, although our theme of women in difficult circumstances (as Kristin observed) seems to be continuing. :-)

Hope to see you all next Monday. We will miss Annie as she begins her classes .... but she will stay in touch through our blog and hopefully after fall quarter, she won't have a class on Monday night.

Joan

Janelle Just Finished The Heat of the Moon

Ok, so I just finished The Heat of the Moon. I thought it was ok, but I found myself thinking, man this is cheeeeeesey! That is not to take away from the fact that I couldn't stop reading, I just had to know how it was all going to play out for Rachel. And, if I had to do it all over, I would read it again.

I'm not sure I really liked how it ended...I wanted the "Oprah Ending"...ya know? More glitz, more pay attention to me...here I am...ya know? I won't say anymore as I don't wanna spoil it for people still reading. It left me wondering a lot of things.

I'm glad we read this book for book club because I would not have read it on my own. It's good to widen your horizons once and a while, right?

And if you don't read my blog, I just finished reading The Glass Castle and A Wolf at the Table. If you've not read The Glass Castle, you need to read it. Seriously. Just. Go. Read. It. NOW!

See ya'll Monday at book group, 7pm, right?

janelle

Sandra Parshall Responds

Hi Everyone,

I guess Sandra Parshall read our blog and responded to my previous posting! Check it out by reading my posting "The Heat of the Moon", and click on "comment". Janelle, thanks again for getting this started for us.

Joan

"Just the knowledge that there is a good book awaiting one at the end of a long day makes that day happier." -- Kathleen Norris

The Heat of the Moon

I finally read this month's book - read it in two sittings. I probably would have finished in one sitting, but I started it late last night and finally went to sleep about 2:30 am! Many in the group told me it was a good book and that they "couldn't put it down". I have to agree.........I was thinking today about the difference in "readability" from book to book. Some you can just breeze through and WANT to keep reading 'til the end, others......well, it's like homework. Anyway, I also thought this book had the possibility of a sequel or becoming a series. The main character, Rachel, carries over into the author's next book, Disturbing the Dead. It is also a mystery, but it sounds like Rachel has moved on and is living in a new town. It's available at the library and I have put it on reserve.

I'm looking at some interesting new titles for next month. I put one on reserve that we will probably have to wait another month for, turns out I'm #2 on the list........sometimes the online info is a little confusing. So, I'll move on to another choice and hope the timing is right for the other one for next month.

Happy Reading and hope to see you all on August 25.

Joan

So What Are We Reading This Month?

Hi There,

Sorry I missed Monday's meeting. Cam and I took the kids to Bandon for a long weekend. The weather was great, and we had a good time.

So what are we reading this month?

Kristin