A Very Familiar Title for July

Since Ann and Tony read different books and Anne Marie and Art had not finished the June book, we resolved that we would all read "Land of Marvels" by an old favorite Barry Unsworth for July. Really. No kidding. Land of Marvels. See you July 9.

A new title for June

Out with the Hedgehog and in with "Land of Marvels" by an old favorite Barry Unsworth. It looks like Mairtin will make it even though he flies off to Europe the next day. See you June 11 at the Ritz-Carlton. Oh wait, I meant Delancey Street.

Bird Cloud photos here

The February mystery

I think we held Purple Hibiscus over for a second month, hence the appearance of a missing book.

May and June selections

The next Book Club meeting is back to our usual schedule, second Saturday of the month. And need we specify the location?
May 14, 2011

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

June 11, 2011


Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

Happy reading!

Bird Cloud

Having let this lapse for many months the first task is to catch up. What have we been reading? Or at least discussing even if we have not read?

December 18, 2010

Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh


January 8, 2011

The Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Nogzi Adichie

February 12, 2011

????
I wasn't there and can't remember!

March 19, 2011












The Quickening Maze by Adam Foulds

And now we are at

April 16, 2011

Bird Cloud by Annie Proulx

The meeting was well attended, only Greta was missing and missed she was. It was fitting that this meandering book lead to a meandering discussion. Uncovered was the fact that Art is a cousin of Annie Proulx and that the house is now on the market for $3.6 million or so.

A photographer, Wayne Thom, who worked for the architect has a number of photos of the house for the viewing. Is Bird Cloud as you pictured it?

End of Daylight Savings Time

Thanks book clubbers for agreeing to switch November and December meetings to the third Saturday of the month so I can attend. It is very appreciated! So our November meeting is the 20th, same time and same place.

Our book is "The Thing Around Your Neck" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

September and October books

August was another fine meeting with only Art and Tony M.I.A. We hope they will be able to join us on September 11 when we'll discuss Lonely Crusade by Chester Himes.

Our book for October is Blood River by Tim Butcher

Until then, best wishes for all who are starting a new school year.

Missing in Action

I wan't sure whether I could make it or not. When I woke up at 9:15 I was sure that I just didn't want to rush over. The new job is great and very demanding. As these things often seem to go there was a slow burning problem that erupted in to a crisis by Friday afternoon and spilled over in to the evening. It was nice to sleep in a little.

Have a great summer.

P.S. We saw City Island and loved it.
-Art

Summer reading--and beyond!

A fine meeting today, even if our numbers were few. There was universal praise for "Fine Just the Way It Is."

What's up next? We decided to tackle a longer book and give ourselves two months to read it. (Also a couple of us are out of town next month.) So grab your library card and start reading!

August 14, 2010
A Tale of Love and Darkness by Amos Oz

September 11, 2010

Lonely Crusade by Chester Himes

See you in August.

TROPIC MOON

cicerone

THE DISAPPOINTMENT?

Five of the gang were present for this month's meeting. Ann and Tony, Art and Janice were all there ahead of me. They were already being served by the time I got there and I think they had also had the discussion of the book. I ordered my latte and waited for someone to come back and take my order for breakfast. I waited a long time. Finally someone figured out I needed food.
With my belly full of egg and salmon I brought up the book again. Did we like it? No. What was it we didn't like about it? No real answer. Art offered the problem of translation: are we reading bad writing or are we reading a bad translation?
I never really got to say what I thought. It can be like that when you come late to the party. I really liked this book. I visited Romania soon after the "revolution" and had a chance to experience a little of the country and its people. I thought that Müller nailed the surreal character of Romania in that period. I thought she accurately portrayed the sense of disorientation many people felt trying to navigate that insanity. I don't think this was the best novel I've ever read but I wasn't disappointed.

Another Round of Reading Pleasure

After an animated discussion of "Lie Down in Darkness," future books were chosen. Remember, you must be present to vote!

You will recall our February selection was:

February 13, 2010
Netherland by Joseph O'Neill




Continuing on:

March 13, 2010
To Siberia by Per Petterson








April 10, 2010
The Appointment by Herta Mueller








May 8, 2010
Tropic Moon by Georges Simenon





June 12, 2010
Fine Just The Way It Is by Annie Proulx






See you at the Delancey Street Restaurant. They now recognize us and greeted us with "The Book Club is here!" Go to a place for a decade or so and you become a regular.

September Update!

August was a busy month for all and there was no meeting. We recommenced this month, picking up with "Gardens of Water." We were few (Janice, Mairtin and Anne Marie) but the discussion was lively. As can happen, we all had mixed feelings about the book and sorting what worked and what didn't provided much fodder for conversation. All our selections have been moved back a month.

Hoping to see you in October!

October 10, 2009
House of Meetings by Martin Amis



November 14, 2009
Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris


December 12, 2009
Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem


January 9, 2010
Lie Down in Darkness by William Styron


February 13, 2010
Netherland by Joseph O'Neill


See you at the Delancey Street Restaurant.

A new season of Book Club!

An excellent turnout today with all present except for our French Correspondent M. Mairtin. With so much catching up to do, we almost didn't discuss the book at all but after the bill was paid a rousing conversation ensued with insightful comments from all. Even those that hadn't read the book! Bravo.

All recommendations were put forward and (mostly) approved. We are still holding off on a LeClezio novel until more research can be done to find one of his novels that is translated and easy to find in the U.S.

And the selections are:

August 8, 2009
Gardens of Water by Alan Drew






September 12, 2009
House of Meetings by Martin Amis



October 10, 2009
Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris


November 14, 2009
Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem


December 12, 2009
Lie Down in Darkness by William Styron


January 9, 2010
Netherland by Joseph O'Neill


See you at the Delancey Street Restaurant.

Springing Forward, Into the Future

So what, you may ask, are our next four selections?
April 11: The Reserve by Russell Banks












May 9: Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates





June 13: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz




July 11: Out Stealing Horses by Per Patterson

Marching On . . .

A very good turnout this Valentine's Day. We missed you Art. Otherwise all were accounted for.
Next month's selection is "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison. See you March 14 at the usual place.

What month is it anyhow?

If I remember this right, there was no meeting in December. In January the group met and discussed "White Tiger." What did you think?

February's selection is "What is the What" by Dave Eggers. It is an autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng. How can this be? Join us at Delancy Street restaurant on Valentine's day to find out.

THE WHITE TIGER

ARAVIND ADIGA

WAITING FOR AN ANGEL

HELON HABILA

Next meeting: Saturday November 10, 2008


This one lost out for now.

SPLIT DECISION

Saturday turned out to be a lovely day for BookClub. Four of us got together - Janice, AnneMarie, and Ann, as well as yours truly. We had regrets from Greta and Art but not a peep out of Tony. I imagine he was sailing the bay on such a glorious day.
We entertained Greta's request to read something by the new French Nobel laureate but decided that it is too soon to go looking for these books at the library or bookstore. We would like to read something by LeClezio in the future when his books are more readily available.
Janice brought two books for us to consider for next time: Waiting for an Angel, by Helon Habila, the story of an idealistic journalist in Lagos; and God's Bits of Wood, by Sembene Ousmane, about the 1947-48 uprising of railway workers in Dakar.
We compared density of type on the page and chose Waiting for an Angel.

THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST

MOHSIN HAMID

We had a good turnout for this book. The only ones MIA were Greta (in France) and Art (in Yosemite).
The discussion began slowly - there were lots of other things to talk about. Best student story goes to Ms. Grace, "Did we really visit another planet?" and best sailing story goes to Tony, "We made it".
The aspect that everyone seemed to like about the book was how the narrator seemed to have two distinct voices - a young voice when he was describing his life in America and an older, more mature voice when he was talking in the cafe in Lahore. Ann straightened out the title for us. The narrator didn't seem to be a Muslim fundamentalist but she pointed out that this was a reference to his work in the New York world of high finance: "Stick to the fundamentals" he was told when he was first hired. Tony pointed out a nice turn of phrase that exemplified the authors command of language: "Maximum return was a maxim we returned to again and again." I liked the way he kept his protagonist on the edge of the American mainstream: "Even after four years I never became an American but I was a New Yorker from the very first day."
We did have some concerns about the "girlfriend". Janice thought that this character was superfluous and a little bit of a distraction from the main narrative. Everybody wondered about the ending. Who was the mysterious "tourist"? Was he a CIA operative planning to assassinate our narrator? Or was he merely a tourist trying to get a better understanding of modern-day Pakistan. You must decide that for yourself!

Here's our summer schedule, 2008

Hi Kids,

For July 12: Lost City Radio, by Daniel Alarcon (this meeting subject to cancellation)

For August 9: In the Country of Men, by Hisham Matar


For September 13: The Gathering, by Anne Enright

Special congratulations to our teachers (Anne Marie, Mairtin, Greta) who made it through
another school year! Happy vacations to all.

THE LAST FRIEND

TAHAR BEN JELLOUN

Five of us got together on Saturday. We had to thread our way through the throngs staking out their places for KBOOM and the ticket buyers/sellers for the big baseball game. Despite all of that we had no problem getting our usual table at Delancy Street without a reservation.

Most of the discussion was about how unsatisfying the second part of the book was compared to the first. We also wondered about the prologue and the letter at the end. One interesting feature that was mentioned was how Morocco was compared to Sweden, almost like the comparison between Ali and Memet. Another aspect that was discussed was the way the author described the rivalry between the wives. It was felt that it would have been better for the author to include their take on the friendship directly in the book rather than have Ali and Memet describe what they thought was the relationship between the wives.

The general consensus: this is a book worth reading but not worth lingering over for a second month of deliberation.

Next book: THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST

SUMMARY

Taft
by Ann Patchett

April 12 was a bright sunny day. We had a good turnout, with all seven of us in attendance. We were in general agreement that Taft is a good yarn, the voice of John Nickel, a young Black man captured skillfully by a White woman writer. The fact that John is Black came as a surprise as he does not speak like a Southerner. He seems intelligent and capable, yet lost and floundering, having random affairs and living with no clear focus. The story raised many questions for us: why does he go out of his way to help Fay and Carl? Is it because he feels guilty for having treated Marion badly? Why does Marion not “get over” it, after all, John is trying, and he did send her to nursing school. His channeling of Taft seems accurate, but why does John idealize a father who is White? Why does Ruth want him to be a drummer again? Can he do nothing better than to manage a bar? (To which someone answered that there is nothing much else in Memphis.) What does the ending suggest about the future of John and Marion and Franklin?

FUTURE READ SUGGESTIONS

LOST CITY RADIO


MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN


THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST


THE COLLABORATOR OF BETHLEHEM