Think Outside Your Box and Expand Your Mind

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Sorry, I didn't say you were, just pointing out how it fits into another category.

Oh it's amazing reading about those groups. But the problem is that by reading about them, or reporting on them, you give them attention and airtime. Catch 22. /sigh And I'm right there with you with that ball of anger.

[jaxnsmom]

Interesting article regarding organ donation. The biggest point is that if you plan to donate, make sure your family accepts your decision.

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2...

[Cherie]

❁Lisa Ann❃ wrote: "Sorry Sandra & Kimey, as I feel I am interrupting your conversation about organ donation.

So, here is my revised reading list:

Medical Research: [book:The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks|64932..."

I loved Saving CeeCee Honeycutt. I know her mother was mentally ill, but never would have thought of reading this story for the toppler.

[[deleted user]]

Kristie: Saving CeeCee Honeycutt has been on my tbr list and I last evening just happened to notice that some Goodreads members had shelved it under mental illness. That caught my attention, given the current toppler criteria.

Cherie: Since you have read it, do you think it meets the toppler criteria?

[Delitealex]

Such great discussions going on in this thread :) So many good toppler ideas and book ideas in general.

[Cherie]

Hi Lisa Ann,

Granted that CeeCee's mother is mentally ill and the book talks about how the young girl took care of her from a young age, it is not specifically about mental health (it did describe her mother and how she acted, but there was no denying that she loved CeeCee).

It is more a story of how CeeCee was taken in by a group of older women, after her mother dies, and how she learned to be loved for herself and to stand up for herself and make decisions for her own well being.

[Deborah]

Well, they aren't controversial but I have just read The Horologicon: A Day's Jaunt Through the Lost Words of the English Language and The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language - which constitute broadening my mind, certainly! I learned a lot. I just thought I would share my pleasure at these unusual (for me) topics and the books themselves in case someone else is interested :)

As to organ donation - my brother has been the fortunate recipient of 2 kidneys over the last 35+ years and has 3 children thanks to some kind donor. When that first failed after 23 years he went back to dialysis and was eventually removed from the transplant list - yet a kidney turned up that only he could use and he got it and it's been working 2 years now. So, thank you to the family that gave the OK to donate organs.....it does change lives. Life on haemodialysis is pretty awful.

[Sarah]

Yes definitely some interesting conversations being generated and I guess more are to come once we start reading our books and learning things.

I couldn't believe it when I read about that group you mentioned Rusalka. Totally crazy.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

I just read they claimed they cancelled their visit (nothing to do with being denied visas) because they feared for the safety of their members. Nawww. Diddums.
Not like they care about the safety of the women they meet, bully, harass or assault.

[Deborah]

Well, they have testicles, which are sacred, Rusalka ;)

[Debra]

In an ideal world everyone would be an organ donor, but I understand why people don't wish to be... religious reasons being the most acceptable reason to me.

I've got organ donor on my drivers license and I'm also donating my body to science. Since I've had gastric bypass surgery, I'm sure some medical students will be interested in seeing how my body adapted to that change. Plus, I don't want remaining family to have to come up with money to have me cremated (which would be my wish). Even a simple cremation costs nearly $3000.

I like the idea of an opt-out policy. That way, there would definitely be more donors, since most people would not make the effort to opt out.

[Debra]

Sharon, thanks for listing a book I'd like to read for the toppler, if I can fit 2 into my busy week: Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion. It's right up my alley. I've also decided on The Kite Runner.

[Lisa]

❁Lisa Ann❃ wrote: "Kristie: Saving CeeCee Honeycutt has been on my tbr list and I last evening just happened to notice that some Goodreads members had shelved it under mental illness. That caught my at..."

I loved that book. I would add it under mental illness. I had it under quirky characters but it was really much more than that.

[Lisa]

Debra wrote: "In an ideal world everyone would be an organ donor, but I understand why people don't wish to be... religious reasons being the most acceptable reason to me.

I've got organ donor on my drivers lic..."

I am an organ donor also. I think an opt out would be better than what we have now. I have heard that about the religion part but I don't understand it. Organ donation is considered an act of charity to most religions so what would the problem be?

Here is link:
http://www.organdonor.gov/about/relig...

[Lisa]

I love the topics here. Are we supposed to read the books in "1" week's time?

[Lisa]

Almeta wrote: "I think that I have my list narrowed to this:

Science - How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming

Genetic Engineering - My Sister's Keeper

Mental Illness - ..."</i>


For your climate change I recommend [book:Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming It was very good.

[Debra]

Lisa wrote: "I love the topics here. Are we supposed to read the books in "1" week's time?"

Yes, starting Saturday the 20th noon EDT and ending Saturday the 27th at noon EDT. We are usually put on teams and we have a friendly competition to earn points and establish the winning team.

[Lisa]

And by friendly competition, we of course mean spying on the other teams and the use of other 'underhand' tactics ;)

[Lisa]

This is a great challenge and I will keep adding to this list:)

Some ideas:

Religion
Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology
Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome: A Memoir of Humor and Healing
The Philosophy of Humanism


Sexual orientation
The Flood Girls


Race and/or Slavery
Brown Girl Dreaming
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Yellow Crocus
The Invention of Wings
Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years
Lakota Woman
The Wedding Gift
Calling Me Home


Politics
How to Rig an Election: Confessions of a Republican Operative
The Train to Crystal City: FDR's Secret Prisoner Exchange Program and America's Only Family Internment Camp During World War II


Cultural beliefs
The Samurai's Garden
Memoirs of a Geisha
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
A Thousand Splendid Suns
The Space Between Us
Cutting for Stone
Mambo in Chinatown


Mental illness
Girl, Interrupted
The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry
Shutter Island
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The House We Grew Up In
The Sociopath Next Door
The Bell Jar



Medical research using human cells/bodies - ownership, financial compensation, moral issues. Research using animals.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks which was very good.
A Heartbeat Away


Genocide…so many…too many
City of Thieves
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
The Nightingale
The Plum Tree
The Book Thief
Sarah's Key
Once We Were Brothers
Between Shades of Gray
All the Light We Cannot See
The Paris Architect
The Storyteller


Human trafficking and slavery
Sold
Anybody's Daughter
Chains


Suicide
It's Kind of a Funny Story



Treatment of children
Sold
Not for Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade—and How We Can Fight It

[Lisa]

Debra wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I love the topics here. Are we supposed to read the books in "1" week's time?"

Yes, starting Saturday the 20th noon EDT and ending Saturday the 27th at noon EDT. We are usually put on..."

I'm in…let me find my books:)

[Sandra, Moderator]

Just remembered The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns, which I read a couple of years ago, and is about the life of a person waiting for a kidney for transplant. If I'm remembering correctly it is inspired in the author's sister in law, who died while in the waiting list.

[Almeta]

Lisa wrote: "...For your climate change I recommend [book:Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming It was very good. ..."

Thanks for the recommendation. This is an issue for which I want to know both sides of the argument, instead of just buying in to the most popular opinion. Sounds as though your recommendation might give me an interesting viewpoint.

[Sandra, Moderator]

I love its cover, btw.

[Sarah]

Great list Lisa. You've made me realise I have a few more options than I thought I had. Snow Flower... and Shutter Island being two of them.

[[deleted user]]

Cherie wrote: "Hi Lisa Ann,

Granted that CeeCee's mother is mentally ill and the book talks about how the young girl took care of her from a young age, it is not specifically about mental health (it did describ..."

Thanks Cherie. :-) I will rethink using that Saving CeeCee Honeycutt then. Sometimes it is difficult to discern from the summary if a book will actually meet the criteria, especially a fiction novel.

[Janice, Moderator]

Rusalka wrote: "I just read they claimed they cancelled their visit (nothing to do with being denied visas) because they feared for the safety of their members. Nawww. Diddums.
Not like they care about the safety..."

If that isn't ironic, I don't know what is.

[[deleted user]]

That is a great list, Lisa. Thank you!

Btw, The Plum Tree is on sale for the kindle deal of the day ($2.99).

[Janice, Moderator]

Lisa wrote: "I love the topics here. Are we supposed to read the books in "1" week's time?"

Yes, we start at noon EST on Feb 20, 2016 and end at noon EST on the 27th. All books must be started and finished within those dates in order to be counted.

ETA- Oops, I see Debra answered you already.

[Janice, Moderator]

Lisa wrote: "This is a great challenge and I will keep adding to this list:)..."

Lisa, you have learned the fine art of gophering very quickly! "gophering" is a term we've coined to describe the act of digging through our tbr's to find the books we'd like to read for topplers and challenges.

[Marie (UK)]

I recently read The Nightingale as another groups BOM - there was a lot of talk about which of the 2 sisters took the "right" route in the occupied France

[Lisa]

Marie wrote: "I recently read The Nightingale as another groups BOM - there was a lot of talk about which of the 2 sisters took the "right" route in the occupied France"

It was a great book. I can say that I wish I was the brave one but in real life probably not, lol. The right path is what works best for each of us.:)

[Lisa]

Janice wrote: "Lisa wrote: "This is a great challenge and I will keep adding to this list:)..."

Lisa, you have learned the fine art of gophering very quickly! "gophering" is a term we've coined to describe the a..."

Got it…and I just got back from the library so I have more:)

[Lisa]

Sarah wrote: "Great list Lisa. You've made me realise I have a few more options than I thought I had. Snow Flower... and Shutter Island being two of them."

Glad to help.

I have found multiple good books to read from this topic:)

[Lisa]

Almeta wrote: "Lisa wrote: "...For your climate change I recommend [book:Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming It was very good. ..."

T..."

Good luck. It's really hard to sift through all the lies. The book is a real eye opener. Even the smartest of people have no idea or they have their own agenda.

[Lisa]

❁Lisa Ann❃ wrote: "That is a great list, Lisa. Thank you!

Btw, The Plum Tree is on sale for the kindle deal of the day ($2.99)."

Good deal:)

[[deleted user]]

Also, wanted to mention as a possibility The Last Runaway, since the book explores slavery and the Quaker's role in the Underground Railroad. This book is literally sitting on my (actual) bookshelf. :-)

Edited: Adding The Pearl that Broke Its Shell for the subjects of cultural beliefs and treatment of children.

Thanks everyone for your gophering efforts and input. I have 5 solid book choices now, although realistically will be lucky to complete 2 books during a week.

[Janice, Moderator]

I think I will be lucky to complete 2 books for the toppler and I've selected to start with:

Unsaid - animal treatment
Lolita - sexual obsession (child abuse?)

Maybe I'll be able to sneak another one in.

[jaxnsmom]

Delitealex wrote: "Such great discussions going on in this thread :) So many good toppler ideas and book ideas in general."

That's one of the great things about this group. And you've suggested some interesting books that I've added to my tbr.

[jaxnsmom]

Deborah wrote: "Well, they aren't controversial but I have just read The Horologicon: A Day's Jaunt Through the Lost Words of the English Language and [book:The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll thro..."

Both of those books are on my tbr, so I'm glad you enjoyed them.

That's wonderful that your brother was able to get another kidney.

[Deborah]

more in the spirit of the thread, I just read Once Were Warriors. Child rape, child suicide, family brutalisation and disintegration. This entirely believable story depicts the New Zealand that is real, not the pretty landscapes. It is heartbreaking and made me cry. I know this family: they live in my community and there are several of them that I know of - and this is rural Maori not urban territory.

NZ is high up in the league tables for youth suicide and pregnancy, family violence and child abuse, child poverty. Ain't life grand?

[Deborah]

Sandra wrote: "I love its cover, btw. "

I have ordered this from the library - and her other two books too! Thank you.

[Stephanie]

Janice! I hope you like Unsaid :) I really really loved it!! If you couldn't tell ;)

[Sandra, Moderator]

Marie wrote: "I recently read The Nightingale as another groups BOM - there was a lot of talk about which of the 2 sisters took the "right" route in the occupied France"

We did a buddy read at the beginning of the year, Marie. And think Cherie is still reading it. Maybe you are interested in take a look.

[Sandra, Moderator]

❁Lisa Ann❃ wrote: "Also, wanted to mention as a possibility The Last Runaway, since the book explores slavery and the Quaker's role in the Underground Railroad. T..."

I really liked this one, Lisa Ann. And it was a quick read. Her writing style is really smooth and fluid.

[Sandra, Moderator]

Deborah wrote: "Sandra wrote: "I love its cover, btw. "

I have ordered this from the library - and her other two books too! Thank you."

Glad it caught your attention, Deborah. I think it was a very honest book. It's the only one I have read by this author, though. Looking forward to hearing your thought about the others.

[[deleted user]]

Sandra wrote: "❁Lisa Ann❃ wrote: "Also, wanted to mention as a possibility The Last Runaway, since the book explores slavery and the Quaker's role in the Unde..."

Thanks, Sandra. I wish I had more time to read during the challenge so I could fit more books in. :) Actually, most of these books are dealing with heavy subjects, so perhaps only reading one or two books will be plenty to absorb on an emotional level.

[[deleted user]]

Janice wrote: "I think I will be lucky to complete 2 books for the toppler and I've selected to start with:

Unsaid - animal treatment
Lolita - sexual obsession (child abuse?)

Maybe I'..."

Oh, Lolita was a challenging book for me, mainly due to the content. I don't listen to audiobooks often but the version narrated by Jeremy Irons actually got me through the book.

[Lisa]

Janice wrote: "I think I will be lucky to complete 2 books for the toppler and I've selected to start with:

Unsaid - animal treatment
Lolita - sexual obsession (child abuse?)

Maybe I'..."

I've had Lolita on my list for a long time.

[Lisa]

Uh oh….I checked my kindle books and went to the library:

Some for medical and or mental….some fiction and some not:

How Can I Talk If My Lips Don't Move?: Inside My Autistic Mind
Please Don't Label My Child: Break the Doctor-Diagnosis-Drug Cycle and Discover Safe, Effective, Choices for Your Child's Emotional Health
Dr Death
Final Acts of Love


Fiction about Aperger's…
The Rosie Project Good book
Asperger Sunset
Edward Adrift



What about Unwind for donor parts. I love this series:)

[Janice, Moderator]

Lisa wrote: "What about Unwind for donor parts. I love this series:) "

That reminded me of a book I read a long time ago, Coma.