by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Do it! I bought my niece a copy of it one year and gave her tulip bulbs to plant. She loved it. ]]>
by Marilynne Robinson
seriously... you're done??? preparing for 'gone with the wind', eh? ]]>
by Elizabeth Gilbert
JB, I still tell people how salt changed the world!! I love you and love bookclub with all of my heart for the 'History of Salt' ...and if you count the copies of the children's versions that people read, I don't think that it would be the least read book. [Gala, you either miss a lot at this point or you're completely annoyed and are going to make us take this battle outside!:] ]]>
by Laura Hillenbrand
only 4 stars... come on!! :) ]]>
Many people had recommended this book to me, but it still took a lot of prodding to get it into my hands because of the cover design. I have to say that it was one of my favorite reads of 2008. It's epic. There were parts when I got tired of being cold, wet, naked, and hungry in the woods with her, but I like any story about survival in the wilderness and this was based on a true story. You have to 'shut your eyes' during some of the gore during the Indian raid, but the description throughout the book is impressively thorough. I was sad when it ended. ]]>
bookshelves: currently-reading
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I was in the mood for a girly, fluffy romance and picked MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA up off of my shelf without too much expectation. Parts of it did just hit that 'girly' place of reading and wanting to know if the guy ends up with the girl, but it was so much richer than I anticipated. The life as a geisha in Japan was fascinating, and Golden simply developed every personality exceptionally well.
It hit on the full landscape of 'romance'; the heaviness of romance. Romance tears you up and I felt torn up after I finished this. So much of the life of a geisha is based on entertaining, getting pretty and trying to comfort rich men who might some day 'buy' them to care of them. Some are born into this lifestyle and some sold. It was a life of privilege yet entrapment, but all and all, the women want to be sought after and saved; the men they are entertaining want to be sought after and chosen. I think this is true of most of us. There's desperation, manipulation, and utter ugliness that can come out of that quest to attract, but also beauty. It's a war.
I'm thankful for having read Nitta Sayuri's story but also feel weighted and conflicted. The close read like a fake smile.
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This was weak at the beginning and end for me, but the middle was packed. Some chapters I loved, loved, loved... some lost me. Toward the end, I got tired and I think Wharton got tired. I understand why it was awarded, I looked forward to reading it, and I also know more about birds than I ever thought that I would care to know. I think parts of this story will stick with me for a long time, and I would highly recommend it for some people, but for whatever reason, it is not a 4 or 5 star for me. In the movie BIRDY (which I saw after reading it), there is an image with Matthew Modine sleeping naked on his side on crapped on newspapers in the bottom of his aviary with a yellow canary on his shoulder in the moonlight and it is somehow beautiful but very staged. This is how the entire book felt to me - it left me with a 'hmmm' or a 'huh'. ]]>
Laura
said "yes" to attending the event: Bookclub at Julie's.
date: November 15, 2008 10:00AM
location: The United States
description: Club members meet for breakfast and a discussion of Siddhartha.
Laura said: (i love that mr. t is still up.) ]]>
by John Seymour
watch the documentary 'Garbage Warrior'... ]]>