PLEASE JOIN ME IN READING THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR!
On January first, I started toward my goal of Reading through the Bible again, in a Year! If you've never read all the way through the Bible, now is a good time to start! With the Daily Walk Bible, every 7 days, you have a day to catch up on readings you may have missed. I've previously led Bible Study discussion groups as we read through the Bible together, and have gathered supplemental information I will share.
Even if you get behind, I want to encourage you to keep reading! If you're trying to read all the way through the Bible in a year, you can "start over" any day, and keep reading till you're back where you started! Eventually, you'll read the complete Bible whether you start in Genesis or John, if you just keep reading! Or, you can note the days you missed, and make them up. It is ok if you miss days, whether due to circumstances, or simply forgetting! You may either catch up when you can, start your "year clock" over, or skip to where you need to be! You don't have to read every single word of the Bible, or even be "up-to-date" on your readings, to reap the benefits from a group discussion! Just keep reading--whenever you can!
This will not a legalistic group. Comment if you want to, don't comment if you don't want to! You're welcome to read along whether your goal is simply to make a habit of reading your Bible more regularly, you just want to check in occasionally, or you want to finish the Bible in a year!
I find that each time I read through the Bible is a new experience. I learn seemingly "new" things, even though I've read them before, and I have different insights on passages. I love comparing thoughts with others reading the same passages.
Below is a sponsored Amazon Link to the Daily Walk Bible I'm using via Kindle Reader on my iPhone. This year I am using the New Living Translation, but you are welcome to use any version you prefer. I will also post the weekly readings schedule online for those of you who would like to use your own Bibles.
The Daily Walk Bible, New Living Translation, as well as other translations, have an excellent introductory section, as well as daily insights, historical information, and context help.
Looking forward to Our Journey!
*Feel free to join other online readers in this "Read Through The Bible In A Year" sub-group of my online "Vicarious Virtual Book Club", or V.V.B.C.
We also read the same selections as my "real life" book club. You may read as many, or as few, of the books as you wish. Feel free to enjoy the commentary, make comments, and start discussions! No commitment required! Hope you'll decide to join the fun! Participating in a book club, albeit a virtual club, is a great way to read and discuss books that you might not otherwise select! Plus, you can wear your pajamas to the "meetings," if you want!
V.V.B.C. Online Book Club Selections for July-December 2012
NOTE: I am in the process of launching a new website that will be a resource for finding and sharing traditions. Please sign up to be notified when it launches! Thank you! www.traditionplace.com
Feel free to join online readers in the Vicarious Virtual Book Club, as they read the same selections as my "real life" book club. You may read as many, or as few, of the books as you wish. Feel free to enjoy the commentary, make comments, and start discussions! No commitments required! We never discuss a book until after the dates below. Hope you'll decide to join the fun! Participating in a book club, albeit a virtual club, is a great way to read and discuss books that you might not otherwise select! Plus, you can wear your pajamas to the "meetings," if you want! Below are the Sisterchicks' selections for the last half of 2012, along with my Amazon affiliate links, to make it easy for you to check them out. If you prefer to listen to books, there are links to Audible on the right of this website. (DISCLOSURE: If you buy using these links, I may make a few cents!) July 16--- "Star of Flint" by Jill Smith Entrekin (a local author)
August 20---"Hellfire Conspiracy" by Will Thomas
September 17---"Swamplandia" by Karen Russell
October 15---"Moloka'i" by Alan Brennert
November 19---"Caleb's Crossing" by Geraldine Brooks
Vicarious Virtual Book Club (V.V.B.C.) Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly
UPDATE: I am in the process of launching a new website that will be a resource for finding and sharing family traditions. Please sign up to be notified when it launches! Thank you! www.traditionplace.com
NOTE: For those of you who are new to the Vicarious Virtual Book Club, or V.V.B.C: This is an online "book club" that follows the reading selections of my "real" Sisterchicks book club. This group allows anyone to have a book club experience without actually having to GO to book club! You can enjoy the books, the discussions, and sharing comments, wherever you are--no traveling to meetings! If you want to read the blog while in your pajamas, no worries! No membership requirements! No rules! The V.V.B.C. is simply an opportunity to share your love of books with like-minded individuals. Anyone is welcome to join in. The Sister Chicks will choose our books for the next six months in May. Feel free to post your book suggestions, and I will share them with the group. I never post any discussion about the books for the Virtual Book Club until after my "real" book club has discussed the book on the third Monday of each month.
Even though our group of ten Sisterchicks was smaller than usual, Pam led us in a stimulating discussion about Killing Lincoln. Several people mentioned enjoying the fast pace and short chapters of the book.
We figured that Bill O'Reilly's background as a history major enhanced the book, and made it more interesting. We also felt that for the most part, the book gave a "fair and balanced" view of the events surrounding Lincoln's assassination.
Sandy had Googled about the well-publicized controversy surrounding errors in the book, in anticipation of Pam's question on the subject. Sandy shared her research. The book's co-author apparently did most of the research. Bill O'Reilly maintains that the errors were minor, were corrected in subsequent printings.
National Geographic is making a two hour movie of Killing Lincoln. It should premiere early next year.
The majority of us were not well-versed on Abraham Lincoln's Presidency, and the conspiracy theories put forth in the book. We agreed that the conspiracies, as well as personal perspectives taken from diaries, made the read more engrossing.
We discussed the role of President Lincoln's wife in the book; how she must have felt guilt because her husband was at the theater at her urging. We talked about how difficult Mary Todd Lincoln's life must have been. She lost three children and endured the Civil War, with her husband serving as President. We also discussed the difficulties of her life after her husband died.
The detailed description of the actual assassination, and the young doctors heroic attempts to save Lincoln, intrigued most of us. We have several medical professionals in our group!
We talked about the scope of injury and death in the Civil War--and the illnesses that killed so many. We lamented the conditions in prisoner of war camps, such as Andersonville, and the tragedy of those soldiers whose families never knew what happened to their loved ones.
We thought it was interesting reading about officers who trained together at West Point. The officers knew their opponents strategies, strengths, and weaknesses, since they had fought together in Mexico prior to the Civil War. Ultimately, friends found themselves on opposite sides in the Civil War--or "the Silver War," as Pam's son thought it was called, when he was in 4th grade.
My husband and I listened to the Audible version of Killing LIncoln, read by Bill O'Reilly, while we were traveling. It was very well done. We both enjoyed it, EXCEPT for my extreme annoyance at Bill O'Reilly's continued mispronunciation of "Calvary" when the correct word for mounted troops is "cavalry!" I played a brief audio clip for the book club, so they would understand why I was chagrinned by Bill O'Reilly's use of the wrong word throughout several chapters of battlefield narrative.
I found it almost impossible to believe that someone who promotes a new vocabulary word each broadcast would make such an elementary mistake! I sent Bill O'Reilly a pithy comment about the matter via his website. To date, I have not received a response.
One person had not quite finished the book, but planned to. Someone joked that we wouldn't give the ending away to her in our discussion! In a slightly unusual unanimous vote, everyone at book club enjoyed Killing Lincoln.
I recommend Killing Lincoln for anyone who'd like to learn more about President Lincoln's assassination. The Sisterchicks are looking forward to the release of Bill O'Reilly's next book: Killing Kennedy, since we all remember that assassination.
(Click on the Audible Links on the right side of the page for discounts on audio books. Click on the link below to order from Amazon.)
Vicarious Virtual Book Club: Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff
UPDATE: I am in the process of launching a new website that will be a resource for finding and sharing family traditions. Please sign up to be notified when it launches! Thank you! www.traditionplace.com
I've been waiting to post my review about Cleopatra, by Stacy Schiff, until I finished the book.I persevered through almost 14 1/2 hours of listening to Cleopatra via Audible.com, and finished today.
Bottom line--I didn't like Cleopatra. It was hard for me to follow when reading it in book form, so I decided to try listening to it, since I knew I had some upcoming trips, and would be in the car. I usually LOVE listening to Audible books. I had to force myself to listen to Cleopatra. It was boring to me! It made me sleepy while driving! Cleopatra was undoubtedly the worst book I've ever listened to. The NARRATOR was good. It was the content I didn't enjoy. The book seemed to me like a high school term paper, for which the author didn't have enough material, so they had to add extraneous filler!
Sister Chick Member, Tracy, struck a chord with her Facebook post: "I've made it through chapter 3 in Cleopatra. I don't know what the manic first 2 chapters were about, and half of chapter 3, but I felt like I was finally understanding something once I got to the description of Alexandria (basically Las Vegas with a good library), and Caesar & Cleopatra's luxury cruise down the Nile. Great descriptions without the buckshot approach to history. Let's see if I sink or swim in chapter 4 now...." And another message from Tracy: "On Amazon.com there's something called "Quicklet On Cleopatra....it's like Cliff Notes for the very book we're reading. A list of the characters (who all have the same names), and summaries of the chapters. You download it to your Kindle for $2.99. I really want to like this book and I hope soon I will. Not meant to discourage you! Maybe it's just me?"
I talked to Gloria after I missed Book Club. I was out of town when the Sister Chicks had the discussion on Cleopatra in March. Gloria is the Sister Chick who recommended the book, and led the discussion. Only four members had actually finished the book before the discussion, while maybe a dozen attended the meeting. She said it was pretty much universally agreed that the book was difficult to read, and the dates and names were confusing.
Gloria said that people enjoyed the background and historical information, descriptions, leaning about the richness of the culture, etc. They felt as I did that the book was more like historical fiction than biographical. According to Gloria, and a couple of other Sister Chicks I spoke to who read at least part of the book, they didn't think it was that great.
It bothered me that the author continually made statements, that could in no way be corroborated. She speculated that Cleopatra studied more poetry than prose. She speculated on how Cleopatra acted, and what she did. Sometimes the author would say that someone during that time period would have probably done thus and so. But, many times, speculative, obviously non-factual information was presented pretty much as FACT. I found that to be annoying and misleading.
Some of the comparisons between different authors was informative and interesting, but it was done so much that it became source and footnote overload. I also thought that the book was at least twice as long as it needed to be.
On the positive side, I didn't realize Cleopatra was such a shrewd and powerful ruler. I didn't have any concept of the complexities of the region covered in the book, of the interaction of the rulers and dynasties, and of the politics of the region, before reading the book. I'm still not CLEAR on these things, but at least now I have a smidgeon more knowledge!
I did not know about Cleopatra's "colorful" lifestyle, and had no idea how she died. As the book mentions in a derogatory way, my impression of Cleopatra, like that of many others, is largely based on Elizabeth Taylor's film portrayal. I'm not convinced that Ms. Schiff's portrayal is very accurate, either. I do not recommend reading--or listening to--Cleopatra.
However, if you do want to read Cleopatra, and present a contrasting view in the comments, there's a link to the book on Amazon below. If you'd like to try listening to Cleopatra, or any other books, see the links for special offers from Audible on the righthand side of my blog. Many V.V.B.C. books--which you can search on this blog--have WONDERFUL Audible versions!
I welcome comments, corrections, and contradictions in the comments
section! What did YOU think?
Vicarious Virtual Book Club: Hunger Games & Nearing Home
UPDATE: I am in the process of launching a new website that will be a resource for finding and sharing family traditions. Please sign up to be notified when it launches! Thank you! www.traditionplace.com
(I've gotten behind on posting reviews for the V.V.B.C., so I'm going to at least "catch up," with a short overview, on our last few books in the next couple of days. PLEASE feel free to jump in with comments!)
Hunger Games
Hunger Games was pretty much universally enjoyed by the Sister Chicks Book Club. Subsequently, movie goers from the book club thought the movie did a better than average job of interpreting the book. (I haven't seen the movie yet.)
When I finished Hunger Games, I was a little frustrated to find that the story just stopped! It did not seem like an appropriate place to end a book. I immediately went on to read the next two books, and enjoyed them. However, it seemed to me like the author broke one story into three books, for the purpose of selling more books! This series did not seem to be so long that it required more than one book.
Since Hunger Games was the first book of a trilogy, those of us who had read the entire trilogy were unable to discuss Hunger Games in full context, since many members had not completed all three books. With the permission of those who had not completed the book/series, we did "let a few cats out of the bag" for the purpose of sharing and comparing what we particularly enjoyed, or thought interesting. Those of us who had finished enjoyed the entire series.
This book was "different" from what we usually read, but we thought it was entertaining. We discussed a lot of the "what ifs" that the book brought forth. Someone wondered if the drawing for Tribute might have been "fixed" as a warning, since Katniss was an independent and resourceful person, and thus a possible "threat" to authority. Something I never considered!
I recommend Hunger Games, along with the trilogy. Considering the realities of life after a cataclysmic event is of interest to me, and I thought Hunger Games it made for entertaining reading. (I read it on the Kindle program on my iPhone.)
Nearing Home
The Sister Chick's Book Club all enjoyed Billy Graham's Nearing Home. It was a quick read, that is classic Billy Graham: Easy to read and understand, inspirational, and thought provoking.
Billy Graham writes, “All my life, I was taught how to die as a Christian, but no one ever taught me how I ought to live in the years before I die.” He talks about the difficulty and frustration of no longer being able to do what you want, because of his body's declining. He looks through a positive lens at the issues caused by the inevitable aging process, because of his belief that God is is Sovereign, and in control. He wonders,"if God in His sovereignty allows the eye sight of the aged to cast a dim view of the here and now so we may focus our spiritual eyes on the ever after.” Readers are left with the challenge of living our lives with eternal purpose, with the ultimate goal of "finishing well." This book will be especially meaningful for Christians, and serves as a gentle reminder of what is really important. Another book I recommend. I read it on the Kindle Program on my iPhone.
The large print version below would be a great Mother's Day gift for Mothers, Grandmothers, or other friends who are growing older!
UPDATE: I am in the process of launching a new website that will be a resource for finding and sharing family traditions. Please sign up to be notified when it launches! Thank you! www.traditionplace.com
For those of you who are new to the Vicarious Virtual Book Club, or V.V.B.C: This is an online "book club" that follows the reading selections of my "real" book club. This group allows the opportunity for anyone to have a book club experience without actually having to GO to book club! You can enjoy reading the books, hearing about the "real" book club's discussions, and commenting on books, if you desire.
You may enjoy the Vicarious Virtual Book Club wherever you are--no traveling to meetings! If you want to come to online book club meetings in your pajamas, feel free! No worries about what to wear! No membership requirements! No rules!
The V.V.B.C. is simply an opportunity to share your love of books with other like-minded individuals. This online book club blog gives you a place to interact, discuss, comment, and question. Anyone is welcome to join in.
My "real" Sister Chicks book club is also a very informal group. People come when they want, read the books they want, and participate in the discussions--or not! We have an average of about 15 at each meeting. Some people come regularly, while others come only occasionally.
The Sister Chicks had a great list of proposed books from which to choose our next books! Each person who wants to make a suggestion, or two, has the opportunity twice a year. We present our book nominations briefly, then each of us votes for our 6 favorites. The top six vote-getters win.
We selected 5 books outright. The sixth selection ended as a tie. We agreed that one of those two sixth place books will be on our list, and the other will be the first book for the Sister Chicks' reading list for the second half of next year.
I don't post any discussion about the books for the Virtual Book Club until after my "real" book club has discussed the book. Here's the schedule for for the first half of 2012!
January 16 Hunger Gamesby Suzanne Collins February 13 Nearing Home by Billy Graham March 19 Cleopatraby Stacy Schiff April 16 Killing Lincolnby Bill O'Reilly May 21 Forgotten Gardenby Kate Morton June 18 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Childrenby Ransom Riggs I probably LISTEN to about half of my book club selections on my iPhone. I download them from Audible. If you would like to hear audio samples of any of these selections, or get more information about Audible books, please click on one of the Audible links in the right border. Our nominated books were widely diverse, and there were a number of them that sounded really good. I'm sure I'll be reading some of our "runners up!" I will list all of the nominated books, and all of our previously read books, on a separate blog entry soon, for those of you who might be interested! Hope you'll join us for some discussions! HAPPY READING!
Vicarious Virtual Book Club
Online Book Club
Sarah's Key--The Movie
I'd like to recommend the movie, (and the book,) Sarah's Key, by Tatiana de Rosnay. It portrays a little known chapter in Paris' history. Some of the members of our Sister Chicks Book Club went to Atlanta today, to see Sarah's Key, since we had previously read the book as one of our monthly book selections. I rate it an 8 out of 10.
I thought the movie rendition of the book was wonderful. The director and producer did a great job translating the book to film. The actors did a good job. Often, movies don't capture books to my satisfaction. This movie surpassed my expectations.
We all liked the movie, and afterward had a brief discussion about why the movie isn't in many theaters. The conclusion we came to is because it is partially subtitled. There was a lot of English spoken, since the main female character, present day, is American. However, since the story takes place in France, there are portions of subtitled French dialogue. There was not too much subtitling, so it was easy to follow.
The story revolves around the movie's namesake, Sarah, a Jewish girl living in Paris with her family during World War II. This is a fictionalized account of events that took place in Paris in July of 1942. The underlying story is about the government of France, and the French police, collaborating with the Germans in rounding up Jews during World War II, to send them to camps. The Vel' d'Hiv was an indoor cycle track in Paris. Approximately 7,500 men, women, and children were taken from their homes and held in the Vel' d'Hiv for five days without adequate water, medical, or bathroom facilities. Sarah and her family were among them.
The fate of Sarah and her home form the framework of the story. The movie moves very effectively back and forth between the present and the past. Go see Sarah's Key, and let me know what you think!
UPDATE: I am in the process of launching a new website that will be a resource for finding and sharing family traditions. Please sign up to be notified when it launches! Thank you! www.traditionplace.com
NOTE: My husband, Ed, and I had the opportunity to attend our nephew, Eric Watkiss' retirement ceremony from the Navy at the National Reconnaissance Office (which is an amazing story for another day!) Long time friend, and fellow Sister Chick Book Club member, Nancy Hooper, agreed to write the review for this month! Thanks, Nancy! You did a great job! Y'all jump in and comment!
WARNING: IF YOU PLAN TO READ THE BOOK, STOP READING NOW. SPOILERS!
The Postmistress, by Sarah Blake
Sisterchicks
met as usual, the third Monday of the month (July 19, 2011) at our usual
Starbucks. Carol Edge was our
discussion leader. Though Carol was
nervous about this being her first time to ‘lead’ we all agreed she did a fine
job keeping us engaged in discussion and theorizing. She needn’t be nervous again.
Short Synopsis: In 1940, Iris James the postmistress in
coastal Franklin, Massachusetts becomes aware of all sorts of details about the
townspeople. It is unthinkable,
but, she conceals a letter given to her ‘with conditions’ and finds herself
unable to deliver it once she fears its contents will bring additional pain. Additionally, a news reporter during World
War II is witness to an accident that will break long-held hope to shambles for
that same individual.
Understanding that random acts happen without explanation or apologies
become a hard pill to swallow.
General consensus
of The Postmistress was “liked” by the
13 Sisterchicks present. However,
there were some who stated they felt the writer failed to keep their attention,
that the story “dragged at times”, early character development was confusing,
and that a specific plot had not been clear. But, staying with it was rewarded with not only a plot but,
interesting stories from all sorts of people in all sorts of situations;
un-nerving/unwanted/horrific. Some
events happen by choices we make (i.e. Will leaving his new wife to be a war
doctor). We felt the author’s
research was adequate and that our interest in World War II events was
heightened.
Many of us
felt that we learned much about news reporting and that there exist many
reasons why today, as opposed to the 1940s, the ‘news’ we hear is already
dissected, nothing is left to the imagination and the listeners are not given
chance to develop a personal opinion/response. Reporters today seem eager to
have exclusive rights to a story and want to create a specific ‘reaction’ from
readers. It is believed that much
of the news today is politically motivated and we lose confidence that we are
hearing the whole truth. Many
broadcasters seize the power to influence public opinion. News today is too much reporters’
perception vs. reality. Most people
do not want to be naive – hearing only what we can handle, or what we want to
believe - but they do want to be given the choice to draw their own conclusions
and then have personal investment in making things different/better.
We all loved
the main character, Frankie. She was said to be brave, gutsy, independent,
“loose” (just once), and a trail-blazer.
Reporting the news caused her to become aware of (and often involved in)
the personal hardship, grief, destruction, and intimate heartache of those who experienced
a terrifying war all around, and repugnant attitudes of those far removed from
it.
Much of our
conversation included members’ recollections of war-time events either personal
or that of relatives; in particular, letters of engaged or married relatives
exchanging life, love, and horrors of war in letters sent during WWII. Also noted was that some of these
letters, though personal, had been governmentally ‘blacked out’ (censored) of
what might be considered sensitive material; secrets could be leaked through
such correspondence. (Again, we
felt much is ‘handed to the enemy on a silver platter’ by all the instant news
reporting we have today.)
Many felt
the story ended too soon. We
wanted to write (imagine) our own endings: giving Will & Emma’s baby a
name, that Otto’s hope would be realized in seeing his wife alive, to see
Frankie years later using her recordings to educate everyone on the realities
of war.
Themes that
presented themselves: general public complacency to persecution; the injustice
and inhumane treatment toward individuals regardless of age, ethnicity, gender,
conduct; denial ( i.e. ‘holocaust never happened’ or ‘wasn’t as bad as people
said’) exhibited by Europeans and Americans alike; racism/prejudice/bigotry;
bravery (particularly of Frankie traveling during WWII Europe alone with
responsibility to find “the news” happening, record it, to stay safe, then
bring the story ‘home’. What a
perilous assignment.)
Our group,
as diverse as we are, enjoys the camaraderie. We are careful to consider all
comments as valid. I, for one, am
glad to be a part. We had a new member
join us both last month and this.
Others are welcome anytime. We’ve not outgrown the room yet.
Vicarious Virtual Book Club & Sister Chick Book Club 2011 July-Dec Books
We selected the books for the next six months at our May Sister Chick book club meeting. List follows. (Names in parentheses are the "presenters"--the person who nominated the book, who will lead the discussion for the month.)
Our June selection, (chosen previously) is The Noticer by Andy Andrews.
July--The Postmistressby Sarah Blake (Carole) August--Have a Little Faithby Mitch Albom (Debbie) September--The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacksby Rebecca Skloot (Tracy) October--Unbrokenby Laura Hillenbrand (Jamie W--This was my suggestion, via my friend Jean Jones!) November--The Confessionby John Grisham (Sandi) December--The Lacunaby Barbara Kingsolver (Sheron)
Feel free to join the Vicarious Virtual Book Club in reading any (or all!) of these books, then comment on the blog discussion in the same month my "Real Book Club" reads them. I will post entries for each book, so you can add your questions and opinions as you read the books.
Vicarious Virtual Book Club-- I Still Dream About You by Fannie Flagg
UPDATE: I am in the process of launching a new website that will be a resource for finding and sharing family traditions. Please sign up to be notified when it launches! Thank you! www.traditionplace.com
For other Book Discussions, check the blog archives for entries that start out V.V.B.C. (Vicarious Virtual Book Club). Warning: Spoilers! If you plan to read the book, don't read this review!
Ann was the facilitator for our Monday, May 16th, Sister Chicks Book Club discussion, since I Still Dream About You was her book suggestion. Ann did a great job of giving us Fannie Flagg's history, and experiences, which made it easy for us to see how events from Flagg's life were woven into the book.
One of the most interesting things Ann brought up, was that Fannie Flagg is severely dyslexic, and a terrible speller. She won a writing contest, in which she wrote from the perspective of a twelve year old, who was a poor speller. When a publisher asked her to expand the story into a novel, Flagg confessed she couldn't spell. The sympathetic editor asked, "Honey, what do you think editors are for?" Fannie Flagg's career as a novelist was launched!
Someone brought a past issue of a Thanksgiving Southern Living Magazine, which featured Fannie Flagg, with photos of the mansion she used as the model for Crestview. We all enjoyed seeing the pictures of Fanny Flagg throughout the years, and reading about her various careers.
I just finished reading a lot of reader reviews for the book, from the internet. They were divided in much the same way as our book club opinions. Pretty much, you either loved it, or thought it was "just ok." A small minority hated the book. Out of our 14 members attending Monday night, Ten "liked, really liked, or loved" the book, two disliked it, one thought it was o.k. One said "It was slapstick."
I was one of the two who didn't particularly like the book. I thought it was boring at the beginning, and predictable. I didn't care for the way Ms. Flagg inserted the "history" of Edwin and Edwina into the story, by saying in essence "nobody will ever know this, but I'm going to tell the readers...." I thought that part of the plot should have been better integrated into the story, especially since the research librarian had done so much work on the subject! I guess I prefer books with a little more complexity and substance.
I appreciate Ms. Flagg's storytelling ability, her affinity for quirkiness, and her distinctive dialogues. Fannie Flagg indeed has a gift for creating, and bringing to life, colorful characters. Her vivid descriptions, lively language, and memorable sayings ARE entertaining. One reviewer said if the exclamation, "Oh, Lord!" had been omitted, the book would have been several chapters shorter! I didn't object to that particular phrase, because I found Flagg's usage to be characteristically Southern!
I believe the dramatized Audible Version of I Still Dream About You was better than simply reading the book. That's definitely not always the case! The Audible interpretation, especially of some of the more phantasmagorical scenes in the book, was very entertaining! (Click on one of the Audible links in the right margin, to listen to an excerpt.)
I thought some of the characters were more like caricatures, which, I guess, helped them served their purposes in the book. The truth is, all small Southern towns DO have characters like Flagg portrayed! In general, things that seemed like deficits to me, were appreciated by those who said they enjoyed the book.
The general consensus of the people who liked the book, was that the book was "entertaining," "great escape fiction," "light reading," etc. They enjoyed Hazel's character, and thought the friendship between Brenda and Maggie was surprising, but sweet and believable.
We were asked to consider what would be on our "pro and con" suicide list. We discussed some of Maggie's entries, with varying degrees of identification with her thoughts!
One of the articles I read said that Flagg was outed by a former partner. I don't think that came up at book club. Reading about that gave me more insight into some of Flagg's subject matter, including Brenda's confession of being gay, and Edward/Edwina's cross-dressing.
Treating the subject of suicide so casually, bothered me, personally. Several others agreed. Sister Chick, Sheron, said Maggie should have tried an anti-depressant, which I thought was a great observation! However, if Maggie had been more mellow from prescription drugs, there wouldn't have been a story!
Someone at book club said they read that I Still Dream About You was Flagg's love story to her home state, and birth city of Birmingham. That would make sense. The book did it's best to present Birmingham and Alabama positively.
I think everyone agreed that Maggie's perfectionism was one of her primary problems. Maybe half felt that the book was predictable. Most everyone agreed that there were some hysterical situations/predicaments in the book. People spoke of laughing out loud.
We had an interesting discussion about "little people," "dwarves," and "midgets." Everyone loved Hazel's character, because she seemed so well-adjusted. We thought Hazel's parents did a great job rearing her!
We also discussed Whirling Dervishes, and a number of other interesting topics inspired by the book. I don't think we ever came to a conclusive reason for the name of the book. I've searched online, and haven't found one either. The ideas that were put forth included that Maggie always dreamed about life in Birmingham, and maybe more specifically, of living in Crestview. Does anyone have any information in that regard?
Do any Sister Chicks have anything to add? Anyone else? Ann did a great job laying the groundwork for the book, and giving us good discussion questions. I didn't take too many notes, thinking I'd remember more than I have! This book was an example of a book I probably wouldn't have read, if not for book club. It's good to get outside of my literary comfort zone occasionally!
The best part of the book, for me, was the happy ending! When I thought Maggie was drowning, I didn't think she'd ever get married and live "happily ever after!"
The Sister Chicks voted on our books for the next six months. A couple of them sound really good! I will post the list soon! Y'all feel free to jump in, and weigh in, on I Still Dream About You!
P.S. I found this video with Fannie Flagg, and it made me appreciate the book a little more!
Vicarious Virtual Book Club Discussion: My Reading Life by Pat Conroy
We just had our Sisterchick Book Club "live" discussion about My Reading Life last night. The next three paragraphs are what I posted previously. If you are interested in reading this book, stop reading when I post the notice below, otherwise, you may learn more than you want to know! Read the book, then come back and join in the discussion, and read the feedback! This was one of my favorite books, EVER!
I'm already reading our Sisterchick Book Club's April selection, in book form, because it's "MY" book. That means I'll lead the discussion, because I suggested the book! (I'm trying to "be prepared!" I welcome your insight, and questions on the blog, for blog discussions, and to share with my non-virtual book club! Any ideas?)
I'm not going to comment about the book until April, except to say, this book has thoroughly captured my fancy. I LOVE Pat Conroy's vocabulary and storytelling abilities. So far, about 1/4 of the way through, this book is BY FAR the best book I've read in a long time, because of Pat Conroy's command of the English language. I really appreciate someone who uses their vocabulary to precisely express themselves in an entertaining way!
After I finish reading My Reading Life, before book club in April, I'm going to listen to Pat Conroy, via audible, as he reads his book! You may listen to a sample of Pat Conroy reading, and to part of a free 8 minute interview with Pat Conroy, by putting the book title in the search box below!
To sample/order Kindle and all other formats from Amazon:
STOP READING NOW, if you don't want to risk "spoilers!"
We had ten Sisterchicks at last night's Book Club meeting. I proposed this book, so I led the discussion.
Since this is basically a book of essays on Pat Conroy's favorite books, and those people whose contributions were instrumental in his literary journey thus far, it was a very easy read. Each chapter stood alone, and there was a complete story.
My Reading Life captivated me, because it made me believe that Pat Conroy and I are kindred spirits. I learned to read at an early age, my parents read to me (a lot!) I devoured library books, and I preferred the company of a good book over most everything else in my childhood.
We both grew up with a somewhat romanticized Southern influence. We both love books, language, stories, and writing. I felt like I "knew" and understood Pat Conroy so well, that I invited him (a couple of different ways) to come to our book club meeting. I didn't "hold my breath," and give it a lot of consideration, but I did have a smidgeon of hope that Pat Conroy, and his wife, Cassandra King, just MIGHT show up, "just because!" Unfortunately, they didn't!
However, if by some chance Pat Conroy reads or hears about this review, THE INVITATION STILL STANDS! The Sisterchicks Book Club in Peachtree City would love to show Pat Conroy and Cassandra King some South Atlanta hospitality anytime!
I took a "quick poll" to determine if there was anyone who did not like My Reading Life (which I'll abbreviate MRL.) The results: Half those present LOVED the book. The other half loved PARTS of the book. Most of those who weren't wild about the entire book, were not life-long readers. Several members said they were "slow readers" and/or didn't enjoy reading growing up. EVERYONE was inspired by SOMETHING in MRL.
I showed the group an 8 minute youtube video (below) on my computer, so "the girls" could hear, in the author's voice, and words, what Pat Conroy wanted readers to gain from MRL. (Last month, we found that the minority opinion in our group was actually the author's interpretation. This month, I wanted to go "straight to the horse's mouth" to get Pat Conroy's perspective.)
I read with pen in hand, with a pad of sticky note flags in the back of the book. While reading MRL, I was underlining or flagging something on most every page! I had to really restrain myself, to limit the number of quotes I shared at Book Club. There were SO MANY good ones!
Every quote that pierced my heart, every book recommendation that piqued my interest, made me want to devour the books Pat Conroy loved. MRL also made me want to revisit several books I'd already read. Here are just a FEW of my favorite quotes (some shared in book club, some different):
"In a scene that has haunted me since I first read it, the father lifted his son off the Cretan earth and made the boy kiss the dead men's feet. Though nearly gagging, the young Kazantzakis kisses dirt from the lifeless feet as the father tells him that's what courage tastes like, that's what freedom tastes like." (POWERFUL quote!)
"But Southern women, forced to live with that defeat, had to build granaries around the heart to store the poisons that the glands of rage produced during that war and its aftermath. The Civil War stills feel personal in the South." (Pat Conroy's inspired tribute to Gone With the Wind made it a favorite segment with both our Southern and Yankee Sisterchicks!)
"With the introduction of Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler, Miss Mitchell managed to create the two most famous lovers in the English-speaking world since Romeo and Juliet."
"Because of the military life, I'm a stranger everywhere, and a stranger nowhere." (This quote, and others, made it unanimous that we'd all love to give Pat Conroy a big hug--for all the hurt and angst of his past!)
"Finally, when her hostility had become a palpable, living thing at the Grand Hotel des Balcons, I took her aside and, in a carefully memorized speech, confessed to her I was mentally retarded and had been sent to Paris on a special program of rehabilitation. (We loved Pat Conroy's wicked sense of humor!)
"The book's impact on me was so visceral that I mark the reading of Look Homeward Angel as one of the pivotal events of my life....The book itself took full possession of me in a way no book has before of since." (One of our members said she thought she felt this same way about MRL!)
"My mother promised that reading would make me smart, and I found myself recruited in Mom's battle over her own lack of higher education." (The main character in "Her Mother's Hope," by Francine Rivers, last months Sisterchick's Book Club selection, also gained her "degrees" vicariously through reading and studying with her children.)
"Here's what I love: when a great writer turns me into a Jew from Chicago, a lesbian out of South Carolina, or a black woman moving into a subway entrance in Harlem. Turn me into something else, writers of the world. Make me Muslim, heretic, hermaphrodite. Put me into a crusader's armor, a cardinal's vestments. Let me feel the pygmy's heartbeat, the queen's breast, the torturer's pleasure, the Nile's taste, or the nomad's thirst. Tell me everything I must know. Hold nothing back." (This quote convinced two of us that Pat Conroy had read Middlesex: A Novel (Oprah's Book Club) )
"A novel is my fingerprint, my identity card, and the writing of novels is one of the few ways I have found to approach the altar of God and creation itself. You try to worship God by performing the singularly courageous and impossible favor of knowing yourself. You watch for the black wings of fighters writing messages in the skies over the South. Your mother plays with snakes and poison and raises you to tell the stories that will make all of our lives clear. It all congeals and moves and hurts in the remembering. I can ask for nothing more." (Writing as an act of worship! What a wonderful way to look at writing!)
"It's the tortoises that hold all the secrets." (You'll have to read that chapter yourself, if you haven't already!)
To close, we went around the table and each told our favorite parts of MRL, and named books that had changed our own lives. The chapters on Gone With the Wind, Gene Norris, and Peg Conroy were by far the favorites.
Everyone loved Pat Conroy's treatment of his mother and his beloved teacher. The chapter about Gene Norris was one of the most beautiful and loving tributes we'd ever read. We talked about how it would not be acceptable now for a student to spend so much time out of school with a teacher, and how much Pat Conroy would have missed out on, had it not been for Mr. Norris.
Alice, our "leader," said she was worrying about what she would say if Pat Conroy had shown up at our meeting. Alice said that after reading how Gene Norris coached Pat Conroy before he visited South Carolina's Poet Laureate, and how Mr. Norris coached the kids before they talked to Pat Conroy, she would be afraid to ask anything!
One member had met James Dickey, in the context of her job, so she enjoyed reading Pat Conroy's perspective in that chapter. Her encounter with Dickey was not very positive, and served to confirm Pat Conroy's observation that getting caught up in the movie industry changed Dickey.
The chapters on Gene Norris and the librarian led to a discussion about the impact and contributions that teachers, and other concerned, non-related individuals, can make in the lives of children. (We have a number of book club members who are teachers and people with family military experiences.)
One of our member's experiences at a writer's worksop caused her to identify with Pat Conroy's struggles with writing and publishing. She sympathized with the "blood, sweat and tears" that Pat Conroy pours into his writing.
The Old New York Book Shop chapter intrigued most everyone. We loved Pat Conroy's relationship with the owner. I was the only person to have ever frequented the shop.
The life changing books that were mentioned were: My Reading Life, Gone With the Wind, A Biography of Helen Keller (unnamed),A Biography of Mary Todd Lincoln (unnamed), Hawaii, A Grace Disguised, Scarlet Pimpernel, Ivanhoe, Tale of Two Cities, and "anything by Louisa May Alcott." (Girls, did I leave any books out?)
I loved listening to the Audible version of Pat Conroy reading MRL. I agree with his assessment that only an author reads his work as it is intended to be read. I also agree with him that hearing books is a wonderful way to enjoy literature, and there are some wonderfully gifted readers out there!
Mission accomplished, Pat Conroy. You launched each of us on an expanded literary journey, starting with your work! THANK YOU! P.S. We're pulling for you and Susannah to be reconciled!
Sister Chicks: Jump in with any comments/corrections/clarifications! Vicarious Virtual Book Club Members: What did y'all think? New friends: Check my blog archives for posts that start with V.V.B.C. for more book club selections/reviews/recommended reading lists.
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