Book Pick for January 2019

Our book pick for January is Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry.  It is book 2 in The Giver quartet.  

Here is some information about the book:

Lois Lowry won her first Newbery Medal in 1994 for The Giver. Six years later, she ushered readers back into its mysterious but plausible future world in Gathering Blue to tell the story of Kira, orphaned, physically flawed, and left with an uncertain future.

As she did in The Giver and later Messenger, in Gathering Blue Lois Lowry challenges readers to imagine what our world could become, how people could evolve, and what could be considered valuable.

We will be meeting at Debby's house on January 22 at 7:30 for our discussion. Chelsea will be leading our discussion. 

November/December Book

Sarah Aina selected our book for November/December, Educated A Memoir by Tara Westover. 

Here is some information about the book: 

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An unforgettable memoir about a young girl who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University

Book Club Pick for Now Read This, from PBS NewsHour and The New York Times 

“A coming-of-age memoir reminiscent of The Glass Castle.”—O: The Oprah Magazine

“Tara Westover is living proof that some people are flat-out, boots-always-laced-up indomitable.”—USA Today

“The extremity of Westover’s upbringing emerges gradually through her telling, which only makes the telling more alluring and harrowing.”—The New York Times Book Review
Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her “head-for-the-hills” bag. In the summer she stewed herbs for her mother, a midwife and healer, and in the winter she salvaged metal in her father’s junkyard.

Her father distrusted the medical establishment, so Tara never saw a doctor or nurse. Gashes and concussions, even burns from explosions, were all treated at home with herbalism. The family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when an older brother became violent.

When another brother got himself into college and came back with news of the world beyond the mountain, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. She taught herself enough mathematics, grammar, and science to take the ACT and was admitted to Brigham Young University. There, she studied psychology, politics, philosophy, and history, learning for the first time about pivotal world events like the Holocaust and the Civil Rights Movement. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home.

Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty, and of the grief that comes from severing one’s closest ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one’s life through new eyes, and the will to change it.

We will be meeting on Tuesday December 3 at 7:30pm at Debby's house to discuss the book.  Hope to see you there! 

October Book Discussion

We had a great discussion last night about our book The Girl With Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee. Our discussion was lead by Alecia and we also had some delicious pumpkin cake.  

Here's a little bit about the book.  It is a very interesting read. 

An extraordinary insight into life under one of the world’s most ruthless and secretive dictatorships – and the story of one woman’s terrifying struggle to avoid capture/repatriation and guide her family to freedom.

As a child growing up in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee was one of millions trapped by a secretive and brutal communist regime. Her home on the border with China gave her some exposure to the world beyond the confines of the Hermit Kingdom and, as the famine of the 1990s struck, she began to wonder, question and to realise that she had been brainwashed her entire life. Given the repression, poverty and starvation she witnessed surely her country could not be, as she had been told “the best on the planet”?

Aged seventeen, she decided to escape North Korea. She could not have imagined that it would be twelve years before she was reunited with her family.

Book Pick for September

We had a great discussion last night about The Girl Who Wrote in Silk and Rough Stone Rolling.  Thanks Chelsea and Sarah for leading the discussions and the yummy treats.  

For September: 

Dari picked our book for September.  We will be reading My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. 

Here is some information about the book: 

"Not since I read Erik Larson's Dead Wake have I had such an edge-of-my-seat immersion into historical events. [...] No study of Alexander Hamilton would be complete without reading this book."-Karen White, New York Times bestselling author

From the New York Times bestselling authors of America's First Daughter comes the epic story of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton--a revolutionary woman who, like her new nation, struggled to define herself in the wake of war, betrayal, and tragedy. In this haunting, moving, and beautifully written novel, Dray and Kamoie used thousands of letters and original sources to tell Eliza's story as it's never been told before--not just as the wronged wife at the center of a political sex scandal--but also as a founding mother who shaped an American legacy in her own right.

A general's daughter...

Coming of age on the perilous frontier of revolutionary New York, Elizabeth Schuyler champions the fight for independence. And when she meets Alexander Hamilton, Washington's penniless but passionate aide-de-camp, she's captivated by the young officer's charisma and brilliance. They fall in love, despite Hamilton's bastard birth and the uncertainties of war.

A Founding Father's wife...

But the union they create--in their marriage and the new nation--is far from perfect. From glittering inaugural balls to bloody street riots, the Hamiltons are at the center of it all--including the political treachery of America's first sex scandal, which forces Eliza to struggle through heartbreak and betrayal to find forgiveness.

The last surviving light of the Revolution...

When a duel destroys Eliza's hard-won peace, the grieving widow fights her husband's enemies to preserve Alexander's legacy. But long-buried secrets threaten everything Eliza believes about her marriage and her own legacy. Questioning her tireless devotion to the man and country that have broken her heart, she's left with one last battle--to understand the flawed man she married and imperfect union he could never have created without her...

We will meet on September 18 at 7pm at Chelsea Dorn's house.  Hope to see you then! 

Summer Reading

Due to crazy summer schedules, our July meeting was cancelled.  Chelsea has picked our new book, The Girl Who Wrote In Silk by Kelli Estes.

Here is a little bit about the book:

A USA Today Bestseller!

"The Girl Who Wrote in Silk is a beautiful story that brought me to tears more than once, and was a testament to the endurance of the human spirit and the human heart. A powerful debut that proves the threads that interweave our lives can withstand time and any tide, and bind our hearts forever."-Susanna Kearsley, New York Times bestselling author

Inspired by true events, Kelli Estes's brilliant and atmospheric debut serves as a poignant tale of two women determined to do the right thing, and the power of our own stories.

The smallest items can hold centuries of secrets...

Inara Erickson is exploring her deceased aunt's island estate when she finds an elaborately stitched piece of fabric hidden in the house. As she peels back layer upon layer of the secrets it holds, Inara's life becomes interwoven with that of Mei Lein, a young Chinese girl mysteriously driven from her home a century before. Through the stories Mei Lein tells in silk, Inara uncovers a tragic truth that will shake her family to its core ― and force her to make an impossible choice.

"A touching and tender story about discovering the past to bring peace to the present."―Duncan Jepson, author of All the Flowers in Shanghai

We will meet on Tuesday August 21 at 7pm at Debby's house to discuss both books. Remember to bring ideas for new books to read.

July Book Club

We had to cancel out book club discussion in June because Sarah had baby, EmmaLou, and she couldn't be with us to lead the discussion.  So we will be having book club on Tuesday July 17 at 7pm at Debby's house.  

Even if you haven't read the book, come and join our discussion.  Bring along your ideas for possible books we might want to read.  

See you on Tuesday!

June Book Pick

Sarah Gravelle has picked our book for the June book club meeting and will lead our discussion.  We will meet at 7pm at Debby's house on Tuesday June 19.

Even if you haven't read the book, come and join in the discussion and of course, we always have a yummy treat.  Suggestions for books to read are always welcome too.  

Here is a bit about the book: 

Founder of the largest indigenous Christian church in American history, Joseph Smith published the 584-page Book of Mormon when he was twenty-three and went on to organize a church, found cities, and attract thousands of followers before his violent death at age thirty-eight. Richard Bushman, an esteemed cultural historian and a practicing Mormon, moves beyond the popular stereotype of Smith as a colorful fraud to explore his personality, his relationships with others, and how he received revelations. An arresting narrative of the birth of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling also brilliantly evaluates the prophet’s bold contributions to Christian theology and his cultural place in the modern world.

See you on June 19. 

May

Michelle led our May discussion of the book That We May Be One A Gay Mormon's Perspective on Faith & Family by Tom Christofferson.  

We had a great discussion and yummy treats too!

Here is a blurb about the book: 

"A happy gay Mormon." That's the shorthand I often use to describe myself," writes Tom Christofferson. "Some of my gay friends--as well as some of my LDS friends--are a little surprised that I think it's possible to be a gay Mormon."

In That We May Be One, Tom Christofferson shares perspectives gained from his life's journey as a gay man who left The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and then returned to it. After having asked to be excommunicated from the faith he was raised in, Tom spent two decades in a loving relationship with a committed partner. But gradually, the love of family, friends, and strangers and the Spirit of the Lord worked on him until he found himself one night sitting in his car in front of the bishop's house....

This book is about the lessons Tom, his family, and his fellow Saints learned while trying to love as God loves. It is about the scope and strength of this circle of love and about how learning the truth of our relationship with God draws us to Him For anyone who has wondered how to keep moving forward in the face of difficult decisions and feelings of ambiguity; for anyone who needs to better understand the redeeming power of our Savior, Jesus Christ; for anyone who seeks to love more fully; this book offers reassurance and testimony of God's love for all of His children.

April Book Pick

Debby has picked our April book pick.  We will be reading Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan.  Here is a short blurb about the book:

Jim Gaffigan never imagined that he would have his own kids. Though he grew up in a large Irish-Catholic family, Jim was satisfied with the nomadic, nocturnal life of a standup comedian, and was content to be "that weird uncle who lives in an apartment by himself in New York that everyone in the family speculates about." But all that changed when he married and found out his wife, Jeannie "is someone who gets pregnant looking at babies." 

Five kids later, the comedian whose riffs on everything from Hot Pockets to Jesus have scored millions of hits on YouTube, started to tweet about the mistakes and victories of his life as a dad. Those tweets struck such a chord that he soon passed the million followers mark. But it turns out 140 characters are not enough to express all the joys and horrors of life with five kids, so hes' now sharing it all in Dad Is Fat.

From new parents to empty nesters to Jim's twenty-something fans, everyone will recognize their own families in these hilarious takes on everything from cousins ("celebrities for little kids") to growing up in a big family ("I always assumed my father had six children so he could have a sufficient lawn crew") to changing diapers in the middle of the night ("like The Hurt Locker but much more dangerous") to bedtime (aka "Negotiating with Terrorists").

Dad is Fat is sharply observed, explosively funny, and a cry for help from a man who has realized he and his wife are outnumbered in their own home.

We will meet at 7pm at Debby's house on Tuesday April 17 for our discussion and a treat. 

Book Picks for May and June

Just in case you want to start reading ahead we have selected books for the next few months too.  

In May we will be discussing That We May Be One A Gay Mormon's Perspective on Faith & Family by Tom Christofferson.  Michelle will be leading the discussion on Tuesday May 15. 

In June, we will be discussing Joseph smith Rough Stone Rolling by Richard Lyman Bushman.  Sarah G. will be leading the discussion on Tuesday June 19.  

March Book Pick

Nola has selected the book for our March discussion. She purchased several copies that have been circulating amongst book club readers. It is a quick and interesting read about personality types of students and teachers.

Teachers in today's diverse schools need a new kind of guidebook for classroom management — one that teaches them how to understand each of their students' personalities. In this book, they'll find what thousands of teachers nationwide have already learned from the authors' seminars on process communication: that once teachers identify a student's primary personality type (reactor, workaholic, persister, dreamer, rebel, or promoter), they'll know the secret to instructing and interacting with that student. In-service and preservice educators will be engaged by

• narratives that illuminate each personality type



• real-life examples of positive interactions between teachers and students with different personality types



• ideas for blending process communication with existing approaches in all types of classrooms



• forms that help pinpoint a student's personality structure, motivational needs, and strengths and challenges



• logs to track the success of intervention strategies

With this easy-to-use guidebook, adapted from the concepts in Dr. Taibi Kahler's best-selling The Mastery of Management, educators will build better relationships with all students and keep the classroom focus where it belongs — on learning.The strategies in the book could also be applied to the home or any leadership or teaching position.
We will meet at 7:00 pm on Tuesday March 20, at Debby's home.
Even if you haven't read the book, please come and join our discussion. There will be treats too.
As always come with ideas for future book club picks.

Up Next: Beyond the Blue

We had a great discussion of the book Of Mess and Moxie by Jen Hatmaker on Tuesday evening.  Thanks Sarah for leading the discussion.

Alecia has picked our book for February, Beyond The Blue by Leslie Gould.  We will meet on Tuesday February 20 at 7pm at Debby's house, to discuss the book.

Here's a little info about the book.  

Two Worlds. Two Women. One Love.

In 1975, an American girl named Genevieve loses her mother when a plane full of orphans crashes in war-ravaged Vietnam. Miles away in the countryside, seven-year-old Lan, a Vietnamese girl, is forced out of her family home by her own brother who has joined the Viet Cong. Worlds apart, these two girls come into womanhood struggling to recover a sense of family–until their journeys suddenly converge. 

Lan has grown up in the harsh realities of post-war Vietnam, but she yearns for a better life for her children. Meanwhile, Genevieve marries and, faced with infertility, decides to adopt a child from the country her own mother loved so deeply. But the uncertainty and risk of international adoption threatens to overwhelm both women before their hearts and their families can be healed.

Beyond the Blue is the story of enormous losses, unthinkable choices, and the transforming power of God's love for the children of the world.

Of Mess and Moxie

Our book pick for January is: of Mess and Moxie by Jen Hatmaker.  Sarah selected the book this time and will lead our discussion.  We will meet at Debby's house on January 16th at 7pm.  You will be able to also try the new semicircle drive which makes getting in and out of the driveway much easier!

A synopsis of the book is:
In this highly anticipated new book, beloved author Jen Hatmaker parlays her own triumphs and tragedies into a sigh of relief for all normal, fierce women everywhere. Whether it’s the time she drove to the wrong city for a fourth-grade field trip (“Why are we in San Antonio?”) or the way she learned to forgive (God was super clear: Pray for this person every day, which was the meanest thing He ever said to me. I was furious.), she offers a reminder to those of us who sometimes hide in the car eating crackers that we do have the moxie to get back up and get back out. We can choose to live undaunted “in the moment” no matter what the moments hold, and lead vibrant, courageous, grace-filled lives


Here are some quotes from the book:
 
“You are far more than your worst day, your worst experience, your worst season, dear one. You are more than the sorriest decision you ever made. You are more than the darkest sorrow you’ve endured. Your name is not Ruined. It is not Helpless. It is not Victim. It is not Irresponsible. History is replete with overcomers who stood up after impossible circumstances and walked in freedom. You are not an anemic victim destined to a life of regret. Not only are you capable, you have full permission to move forward in strength and health.” 

“This life is not a race or a contest, there is enough abundance to go around, your seat at the table is secure, and you have incredible gifts to offer. You are not in competition with your peers.”

“Of course, in a hundred years, no one will remember any of us and our story will be lost in obscurity, but for us, for all these years when we were kids and then grown-ups, when you were young parents and then grandparents, this is the only story that ever mattered, and it was such a marvelous one. The best story I ever imagined.” 

“If you want to make good friends, be a good friend. Send kindness out in big, generous waves, send it near and far, send it through texts and e-mails and calls and words and hugs, send it by showing up, send it by proximity, send it in casseroles, send it with a well-timed “me too,” send it with abandon. Put out exactly what you hope to draw in, and expect it back in kind and in equal measure.” 

“If understood, believed, and lived out, God’s plan would naturally place Christians at the epicenter of their communities, like hope magnets, like soft places to fall, like living sanctuaries. We’d be coveted neighbors and trusted advocates, friends to all and enemies of none. Our reputation would precede us, and we would be such a joy to the world.” 

“Love refuses to deny or dismantle another’s perspective simply because I don’t share it.” 

“Isolation concentrates every struggle. The longer we keep our heartaches tucked away in the dark, the more menacing they become. Pulling them into the light among trusted people who love you is, I swear, 50 percent of the recovery process.” 

Hope to see you there for a fun discussion and refreshments.