Reading The Daring Ladies of Lowell makes me very grateful that I am a woman in the 21st century. The hardships these women had to go through to earn a living is ridiculous. This youtube video shows the actual Lowell mills that Alice, Lovey, and the rest worked in:
I can't wait to discuss Me Before You Wednesday night, what an incredible book! I won't say anything more, in case anyone is still finishing up, but I will say I want to read more Jojo Moyes books!!! This is an unofficial trailer I found online of the movie they will be making of the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-HAQSmunNM What would you do if you found yourself in Will Traynor's position?
The book How to be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway is quite fascinating. At the beginning of each chapter is an excerpt from the book How to be an American Housewife, which has advice on how to assimilate into American society, and make your American husband happy. Some of these I found outright hilarious. Margaret Dilloway got the idea from a real book she found in her mother's kitchen:
http://margaretdilloway.com/welcome/the-inspiration-book-the-american-way-of-housekeeping/ Great discussion the other night! Tell the Wolves I'm Home had so many layers to it, with different relationships between Greta and June, June and Finn, June and Toby, Toby and Finn, Finn and his sister, Greta and June and their parents... then when you add in so many underlying issues like jealousy, AIDS, sneaking around, secrets, lack of communication, Greta crying out for help, it made for a powerful book. Throughout the book, Brunt referred to Mozarts Requiem and we referred to it the other night. A couple of us had listened to it, and some had had heard it before. One of us had even sang it in her choir! I thought it would be nice to put it here so that you can hear the music June and Finn loved so much. Reading Tell the Wolves I'm Home, brings the topic of AIDS to the front of my thoughts, where it has not been for a long time. It was such an explosion in the eighties and nineties, and then it seemed to be placed on the back burner. Its significant has not lessened any, certainly not in third world countries like Africa. The people who are affected by it here in America, go through as much pain and suffering as one does with Cancer, but through education and knowledge, it has not spread the way it did when it first came here, and was an unknown entity. It is still a very real disease, and if people do not take precautions, it can spread like wildfire as we have witnessed here, and in other countries.
As I suspected, Sharp Objects brought about a lively conversation! As we were wrapping up, we realized we had forgot to even talk about Camille's boss Curry, and what a rock he and his wife were for her. It was so nice at the end to know that she the two of them to take her in and give her the parenting she never got. Many of the group did guess it was Amma, I have to admit, I thought it was Adora. In one of the interviews I read, Gillian Flynn mentioned this picture by photographer Frederick Sommer reminded her of the women characters in Sharp Objects and I wanted to share it with all of you: In other news, do you remember the book, Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson? We read that in February, 2013. It is now being made into a movie and I wanted to share the press release with you:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1726592/ Now it is time to dive into our Nov/Dec book Tell the Wolves I'm Home, by Carol Rifka Brunt. I am really looking forward to reading this book. This is the review it got from Bookpage: “Carol Rifka Brunt’s astonishing first novel is so good, there’s no need to grade on a curve: Tell the Wolves I'm Home is not only one of the best debuts of 2012, it’s one of the best books of the year, plain and simple. In a literary landscape overflowing with coming-of-age stories, Tell the Wolves I'm Home rises above the rest. The narrative is as tender and raw as an exposed nerve, pulsing with the sharpest agonies and ecstasies of the human condition.”—Bookpage If that doesn't get you excited, I don't know what to say... Our discussion on Sharp Objects is tonight! I am looking forward to talking about the book, there is a lot in there that should lead to an interesting analysis. One of the things was Camille's cutting. The fact that she cut words, instead of just random cuts. This article talks about the different ways people cut, and the usual reasons behind it: http://www.ulifeline.org/topics/135-cutting I consider myself a well read person, and I am no stranger to mysteries or even horror, but as I read Sharp Objects, I find myself cringing in places! Gillian Flynn has quite a dark mind, and in Gone Girl it did not go this dark, so I wasn't quite expecting this. It is a definite change from what we usually read. I did say I like to do something a little spooky in October, in the past that has included classic horror like Frankenstein, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Rebecca. The decision to go with a temporary book and author has been interesting. I am on the edge of my seat to see if I am right, I have decided who the killer is, I will have to keep reading to find out!!! I am very curious to see what everyone else thinks of the book. Here is a link to the discussion questions on Gillian Flynn's website:
http://gillian-flynn.com/sharp-objects/discussion-questions/ Here at the library we are exploring some new ideas, and one of them is this blog for the Wednesday evening book group! I don't know about you, but I usually leave book group and think of something else I wish I had shared. It may be right away, or maybe a couple of days, or even a week or two later, that something pops into my head about the book; some aspect of a character or the author and I think, I will have to remember to tell the group next time. Of course I never do... now I can! And you can too. This will be a way of continuing our conversation, sharing thoughts and ideas. It will also be a way for people who don't make it to be able to contribute. As hectic as life can be, not everyone can make it every month, but when you read the book, I am sure you want to share with the group your thoughts and opinions! I want this to be very casual, no pressure, just something fun to expand our group and hopefully learn as well! This month the group is reading The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein, a fascinating memoir that takes place during WWI in England. Harry brings us to the street he grew up on where the division between the Christians and Jews was so intense it was as if someone had literally drawn a line right down the middle of the street. Check out this link to an interview with Harry Bernstein. Hello! I think the discussion on The Invisible Wall went really well the other night. We ended up talking a lot about religion and prejudice and what it feels like to be considered less than because you are "different." I think many of us shared the same feelings of shock when the advice to get Lily to not date Arthur was to beat her - break every bone in her body the relatives in America suggested! When she followed through and actually married a Christian, her family sat Shiva for her, another idea the group had a hard time grasping. Her mother did concede and forgive her when she gave her a grandson. The story of Harry continues in his next memoir, The Dream which you can get through the minuteman system. I am sure it is just as compelling as his first book. Now we are moving on to Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn for October. Gillian Flynn exploded onto the literary scene with Gone Girl, her 3rd book. She had already written Sharp Objects and Dark Places. Since I like to do something a little spooky or dark in October, I thought it would be fun to explore one of her earlier books that did not get the attention Gone Girl did. |
Jennifer Mcgillis
I have been working at the Morse Institute Library for 18 years, and running the Wednesday evening book group since February 2005. |