Recap of The Space Between Us and November's selection

Buffy, Christy, Melissa and I had a great time at Al-Amir last night discussing The Space Between Us and eating Damascus Hummus, salads, and dessert. It was the first time that everyone present had actually finished the book so that made for great conversation (and of course, we veered off from the book, too). We all had mixed feelings about the book's ending. Although Bhima's epiphany was poetic, her life circumstances made it hard for us as readers to celebrate her realization. We also talked about downer endings in books vs. movies. Buffy said she invests so much time in reading a book that a downer ending stays with her much longer than a 2-3 hour movie. Overall, we really enjoyed the book, especially how descriptive and involved it was. We're planning to write down our favorite quotes from future books to share with other book club members.

For the month of November, we have chosen Water for Elephants, Dottie's suggestion. I read it last October and LOVED it. It will be a change from what we've read in the past because the central character is a man. You'll love it if you haven't already read it.

You can read more/order the book from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Water-Elephants-Novel-Sara-Gruen/dp/1565124995

As with a few of the other books we have read, Water for Elephants is scheduled to be released as a movie next year. Read more here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1067583/

We'll meet for dinner at Sakitumi in the Vista sometime in later November. If you have a preference, please say! Also, we'd love for everyone to be able to come so if there are some nights that you know you absolutely can't come (such as Wednesday if you have church), just let me know. And if you know you're not really interested in being part of the book club, let me know that, too. We won't be offended--and that way your email box isn't crowded!

Anna

For September: The Space Between Us

For September, we are reading The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar. Like The Help, it tells the story of 2 different classes of women; however, this novel is set in India (a full circle to our first book club read). To read more about this book, please visit the author's web site: http://www.umrigar.com/space_between.html

July-August: The Help

For July/August, we read The Help by Kathryn Stockett. What a fantastic book! Even though only 3 of us were able to attend the actual bookclub meeting, I think everyone enjoyed this book. Melissa, Dottie and I actually spent the majority of our dinner discussing the book--conversation really flowed easily. Thanks, Sophie, for suggesting it.
You can read more about this novel at the author's web site: http://www.kathrynstockett.com/

Shanghai Girls

For the month of June, we're reading Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. This is a historical fiction novel that tells the story of two Chinese sisters. After their father loses his wealth, he sells them as brides to an American Chinese man and they move to LA. It's an amazing book but I'll leave a review for later.

For more information about the book, please go to Lisa See's web site: http://www.lisasee.com/shanghaigirls/

Discussing Bon-Bons at Cafe Strudel

We met March 25 at Cafe Strudel in West Columbia to discuss Angry Housewives Eating Bon-Bons. When we arrived and took a look at the dessert display, we thought we had chosen the perfect place for our book discussion--huge pieces of pie, cinnamon rolls, and interesting looking strudel.

Although the service was s...l..o..w..., we all enjoyed ourselves. Not all of us had finished reading the book (busy lives!), but those of us who had definitely recommended it as a quick, interesting read.

Our book club's membership is changing with Lindsay heading to New Mexico and the addition of Tiffany. As always, others are welcome to join. Just let us know if you would like to start reading with us!

On to Bon-Bons! Our current read....

For March, we are reading Angry Housewives Eating Bon-Bons by Lorna Landvik.
This is an easy read that starts with a group of women who get together in the 1960s to form a book club. The novel chronicles their life experiences through the next decades with humor and candor. We'll meet March 25 to discuss. To find out more about this book, visit: http://www.amazon.com/Angry-Housewives-Eating-Bon-Bons/dp/0345475690/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

Link to Women's Action Plan on U.S. Department of State's Website

Here is a link to Women's Action Plan, noted in the VOA article. The plan is on the U.S. Department of State's website. http://www.state.gov/s/special_rep_afghanistan_pakistan/2010/136250.htm

"Women Key to Afghanistan's Future" Article from Views on America - US Government

Here is a link to an editorial article found in VOA News:
http://www.voanews.com/uspolicy/2010-02-09-voa2.cfm

Background for Kabul Beauty School

Here's a YouTube video that features Deborah Rodriguez speaking about Kabul Beauty School.


There is a documentary about the Beauty Academy of Kabul. View the trailer here: http://www.beautyacademyofkabul.com/

Here is an interview with the author that provides more insight on her personal thoughts about life in Afghanistan: http://www.readersread.com/features/deborahrodriguez.htm

Here is information about the organization that provided the initial support for the Kabul Beauty School: http://www.kabulbeautyschool.com/index.html

This is a NPR article from June 2007 about the risks faced by the subjects of Kabul Beauty School: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10634299

These two articles from a UK newspaper shed some light on what really happened to Rodriguez (seems like there is a lot more to this story...isn't there always?!):

• http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-454386/Mother-twos-transformation-Afghanistan-burka-bikini.html
• http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-462460/Kabul-beauty-school-dropout.html

Kabul Beauty School

We're going to depart from our Literary Wives book club list and read Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez, after Lindsay's recommendation. We'll meet mid-February to discuss. To read a preview of the book, go here.

19th Wife Discussion

Our group, sans Buffy, met last night to discuss The 19th Wife over dinner at Travinia's in Lexington. Although not everyone had finished the novel, we enjoyed talking about several themes in the book, including that of Mormonism, polygamy, and the wide range of depicted relationships.

We agreed the modern portion of the story was a bit unnecessary and that Ann Eliza Young's story could have stood on its own. Another criticism we had was the many points of view made it hard to follow.

We also shared our knowledge/experience of Mormonism. It would have been interesting to have a Mormon woman in our group to contribute to this portion of the discussion.

Beyond the book discussion, we thoroughly enjoyed our meal! Travinia's has changed (and improved) its menu. Delicious-ness included: house salads with a variety of vinegarettes, pasta carbonara, margherita pizza, pesto-artichoke risotto, and an amazing pine-nut encrusted salmon!

Information about Polygamy for Reading of 19th Wife

This portion of The 19th Wife's web site had some information about Ann Eliza Young, including real articles that were written about her during her departure from Brigham Young: http://www.19thwife.com/ann.htmlHere's an interesting article about polygamy in the United States: http://gosw.about.com/od/southwesthistory/a/polygamy.htm
This site compiles many articles about polygamist groups: http://www.rickross.com/groups/polygamy.html