Showing posts with label Monthly Book Reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Monthly Book Reading. Show all posts

August 20, 2011

Trees Cry for Rain by Jeri Fink

I began Trees Cry for Rain thinking it would be another time shifting historical fiction novel.  That it would be good, but not awesome.  Wow - I was wrong.  From the very opening pages, I was gripped.  The story begins with a family in Spain during the Spanish Inquisition.  They are Jews who are desperately pretending to be Christians.  They are betrayed, the parents are sent to prison, and the children have to flee.  The story switches gears after that and we meet modern day New Yorkers who are connected somehow - to each other, and to the horrible persecutions of the past.  It's difficult to say more than that without divulging too much but believe me - this is one powerful book.

The transitions between time periods and characters are seamless.  The scene descriptions and background inclusions are beautiful and always a positive.  The characters are deep and reach out from the pages to grab your heart.  The sheer amount of research that had to happen for this novel blows my mind.  I followed the characters on their journey and found it all to easy to see their surroundings, to feel their emotions, and to worry for their fates.  This novel has all of the components of an epic success - strong characters, engrossing plot, and gripping themes.  I look forward to future works from Ms. Fink!

5 Stars!


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Reviewed by Anonymous at 10:40 PM 2 comments
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November 23, 2008

Discussion: Pavilion of Women by Pearl S. Buck

1. How does the character of Madame Wu strike you? In what ways did you find her admirable, and in what ways flawed?

2. Madame Wu relates herself to her orchids and seems to have an almost magical relationship with them. What do you think is meant by this symbolism?

3. What do you think about Madame Wu's relationship with her husband?

4. What do you think about the priest's belief system and his effect on Madame Wu?

5. Does this book show Western influence on traditional Chinese culture in a positive or negative light?
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Reviewed by Memarie Lane at 1:01 PM 1 comments
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October 25, 2008

November Book Selection

Just a reminder to get your hands on a copy of Pavilion of Women by Pearl S. Buck. Here is a synopsis:

Madame Wu, a woman from a prestigious Chinese family, has reached her fortieth birthday and come to a momentous decision. She no longer wishes to have a physical relationship with her husband, but instead declares her intention to find him a suitable concubine. In the tradition of old Chinese families, her sons and their wives and their many children and servants all live within a loosely connected compound. The entire family is outraged at the thought of a "second wife" being insinuated into their home. This is an era of great change in Chinese society; Western ideas are becoming commonly accepted and sanctioned adultery is now scandalous. But Madame Wu is the virtual head of the household and determined to spend the remainder of her life in peaceful pursuits, free from the heavy responsibilities that her position and marriage demand.

Naturally, what seems to be a simple solution to Madame Wu, soon becomes far more complicated than she could have imagined. Aside from the turmoil surrounding the new wife, her sons and their wives have turbulent marriages as well which begin creating havoc in all quarters. Since ancient custom dictates that the mother intervene, she soon finds her days more chaotic and demanding than before. When a liberal-minded priest enters the picture as a tutor, Madame Wu begins to see her carefully arranged plans in an entirely different light and she seeks guidance from a man that will change her life forever.

There is also a film version. It's a good movie, but it is only very loosely based on the book. I recommend reading the book first. I saw the movie first and the image of Willem Defoe kept popping up in my head in a bad way.
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Reviewed by Memarie Lane at 1:56 PM 1 comments
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October 15, 2008

October Book Discussion: The Mystery of Breathing by Perri Klass

For the month of October I chose the book The Mystery of Breathing by Perri Klass for our book discussion. I chose this book for two reasons. My husband is a pediatric resident and at the time I chose the book was working in the NICU and because my son spent sometime in the NICU when he was first born. When I read that the main character was a neonatal physician I got excited and knew it was a book I would have to read.

A recap of the book for those who have not read it yet:

An impassioned and gifted neonatal physician, Dr. Maggie Claymore fights for the lives of her newborn patients with a fierceness that has gained her the devotion of worried parents and sometimes the ire of her colleagues. Maggie is just shy of forty, and her career is on the rise: she is on the verge of receiving a coveted promotion at a prestigious Boston research hospital. That is, until an anonymous hate campaign calls her credentials and her ethics into question, threatening to destroy her professional reputation. Suspicion and doubt begin to shade all of her relationships, from her professional connections to her own blissful marriage. Worst of all, the rumors surrounding her begin to shake her deepest sense of who she is.


Questions:
  1. Were you able to connect with Maggie?
  2. Did knowing about Maggie's childhood change the perspective you had of her?
  3. What did you think of the way the author revealed who the behind the hate campaign?
  4. Maggie discribes the hospital environment as a "man's world", do you agree? Not?
  5. Do you think that effected the effort in finding the person responsible for the hate campaign?
I tried to contact the author to ask her some questions but my email was returned as spam and none of the links on her website work.

I'm anxious to hear what you all thought and will post my opinions in the comments section a little later.
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Reviewed by Courtney at 6:16 PM 5 comments
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September 30, 2008

This Month's Book Club Discussion: A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman

I’m so sorry this is getting up so late. Things have just been crazy lately (you’ll notice I don’t even write on my own blog), but I wanted to get these questions up before September was officially over. So without further delay, here are my thoughts and questions on A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman. I’d love you hear your thoughts and answers to the questions as well.
My questions for you:

  • What do you think is the significance of the daughter’s names?
  • What would you do if put into Faith’s position?
  • Do you consider yourself more like Faith or Charity?
  • How did you feel about the relationship between the two sisters?
  • Did you find yourself choosing a side? Whose side were you on?
  • How did you feel about the way Julie Lessman portrayed men and women differently in this novel? Or did you feel they were both portrayed similarly?
  • Do you typically enjoy Christian fiction? Why or why not?
  • Did you like this novel? Why or why not?
  • Are you interested in reading the rest of the books in the series?

Q&A with Julie Lessman (if you have any more questions, she'll be reading the comments and answering any questions you have):

What was your inspiration behind A Passion Most Pure?

Well, initially, it was Margaret Mitchell and that white-hot attraction she gave Rhett Butler for Scarlett O’Hara! From the moment I read Gone With the Wind at the tender age of twelve, I was hooked on romance. So much so, that I immediately set out to write (along with thousands of other love-struck young girls, I’m sure), what I hoped would be “the great American novel.” Obviously my dreams of grandeur didn’t go anywhere (grin), but I did write 150 single spaced pages of a story that is actually the basis for my debut novel, A Passion Most Pure.

To me, then and now, there is nothing more intriguing than a man who wants a woman on his terms but can’t have her on any terms but hers. In the case of A Passion Most Pure, we have a bad-boy hero angry at God who is drawn to a heroine who will settle for nothing less than a relationship with God in the middle. From there, it was just a matter of borrowing from my own past (playing 2nd fiddle to an older sister who was prettier and more voluptuous than me), and the ideas took flight.

The final inspiration for A Passion Most Pure, however, came one
day while I was sitting in a beauty shop. I was reading a July 2001 Newsweek cover article about how Christian books, movies and music were on the threshold of exploding when something in my spirit said, “Now is the time to finish your book.” So I started my novel the next month. Hard to believe that almost forty years passed before God breathed new life into that early attempt and inspired me to finish my childhood novel of passion—only this time the “passion” would be for Him!

Were the characters based on any people in your life? If not, what gave you the idea for using Faith, Hope, and Charity as names?

Well, at the risk of sounding narcissistic (gulp), three of my sister characters are based on different aspects of my personality. Basically, I like to delve into characters on a deeply emotional level, and so I draw upon the wealth of emotional baggage from my own past. And trust me, we’re talking the mother lode! For instance, Faith, the sister heroine from A Passion Most Pure, is my spiritual self while Charity, the “wicked” sister is my sensual or worldly self before I “got religion.”J In book 3, A Passion Denied, the sister heroine is Lizzie, who is a bookworm and dreamer, which is how I used to be as a child, often sneaking downstairs at night to watch forbidden romance movies on the TV when my parents were sleeping.

As far as the names Faith, Hope and Charity, it’s rather ironic that I picked the name of Faith for my heroine at the age of twelve because faith in God was not very important to me back then. But today, it’s the perfect name for my main character because her faith in God is as natural as breathing to her. The name Charity is also ironic because in book 1, you don’t see too much “charity” in her at all, although you definitely do in her story in book 2, A Passion Redeemed. And finally, irony once again plays a hand in the name of Faith’s twin, Hope, who dies of polio at the age of eight. Although Faith’s “hope” is snuffed out after the death of her sister, her hope is revived in A Passion Most Pure through her faith in
God.


Out of all of the books you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?

A Passion Redeemed is Charity’s story—the sister everybody loves to hate—but I have to tell you, it is my FAVORITE of all three books in the series! Charity is sooo wonderfully flawed, that she was a real pleasure to redeem. And in answer to all the readers who have e-mailed that they wanted to slap Charity, rest assured that she gets hers in A Passion Redeemed and then some!


Who is your favorite author of all time? Did any author’s work in particular influence your writing in this series?

My all-time favorite writer? Grin. Margaret Mitchell, of course, because Gone With the Wind is the greatest historical novel I’ve ever read, not only for the rich and sweeping Civil War tapestry that Margaret Mitchell created, but for the wonderful impact her haunting love story had on me at a very young age.


I’ll write more later about what I thought about the book. I want to hear your thoughts first without any bias from my review. Hope you at least enjoyed the read.

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Reviewed by Britni at 3:26 PM 2 comments
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August 15, 2008

Discussion: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Another month, another book discussion. This month's selection is The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

I'll leave this bare bones and join the discussion with you all. A few questions to get us started on our discussion:

1. What do you think was McCarthy's point?

2. Could you relate to the characters? Was the relationship between the father and son believable?

3. Did you find the grammatical style distracting (no quotation marks, random apostrophes, or chapter breaks) or did it add to the story?

4. What was McCarthy saying about humanity?

5. And just for fun, what in the world would you do if you were placed in this kind of situation?
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Reviewed by Ronnica at 10:47 AM 25 comments
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July 21, 2008

Discussion of Waiting for Snow in Havana

It's now time to discuss Carlos Eire's Waiting for Snow in Havana. I must admit: I hadn't even realized this was a true story when I picked it for discussion. I thought it was a novel. Do you think it's good to have variety?

I'm not going to say any more, and let someone else have the first say. A few discussion questions in case they are needed:

1. Did Eire do a good job of painting the picture of his childhood?

2. What did you think of his characterization of his parents, "Louis XVI" and "Marie Antoinette"?

3. And what about those lizards?

4. Was there any political/cultural event in your childhood that affected who you became in a similar way to Fidel's takeover of Cuba affect on Carlos?
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Reviewed by Ronnica at 2:16 PM 5 comments
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July 15, 2008

Discussion Postponed

Since several of you have mentioned not having an opportunity to read this month's book, Waiting in Snow for Havana, I decided to postpone our discussion until Monday, the 21st. I can't wait to discuss it with you!
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Reviewed by Ronnica at 5:56 PM 3 comments
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June 22, 2008

Book Discussion: Trudy's Promise

Hopefully by now you all have been able to read and finish the book! Like Marie said last month, I do not want to hijack the discussion, so I will simply post the discussion questions now and jump in once the discussion has started.

However, I can tell you that I chose the book for two reasons:

1. I really enjoy reading books that take place in Europe during this time period.

2. I enjoyed the last book I read by Marcia Preston (The Butterfly House) and was excited to read this one.

So now, onto the questions:

1. Did you find the book interesting? Why or why not? Did it exceed your expectations? Or did it not live up to your expectations?

2. Did you find the story believable? Why or why not?

3. Did you find the characters believable? Who was your favorite/least favorite?

4. Were you able to relate to the main character, Trudy? Would you have made the same choices she did, or would you have done something different?

5. What do you think about Kruger?

6. What did you think about the story once she came to America? Was it a believable chain of events? Were there any parts in particular that you thought did not "fit" with the rest of the story?

7. Were you surprised when Marcia Preston worked JFK's assassination into the story? Why do you think she did that?

8. Do you remember what was going on in your life when the Berlin Wall fell?

9. Is there something else about the book you want to bring up?

And please don't forget to email me your questions for Marcia Preston!! Email me at jdyrholm {at} comcast {dot} net!! I'll compile them and send them off to Marica Preson after the 25th.
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Reviewed by United Studies at 2:53 PM 8 comments
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June 11, 2008

Book Nook Club's Monthly Book Reading

Starting in May 2008, the Book Nook Club has been holding a monthly book discussion on a book selected by a reviewer. All are welcome to participate in the discussion which will be started and facilitated by that month's reviewer.

The monthly book reading discussion will take place around mid-month. For May, we kicked off the Monthly Book Reading by reading The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry. You can check out the discussion of this book here. Since then we've discussed Trudy's Promise, Waiting for Snow in Havana, The Road, and A Passion Most Pure. October's discussion is on The Mystery of Breathing...come join us!

We're nearing the end of our calendar for book discussions, so if you join us now, you can choose a book for us to discuss in early 2009. If you're interested, please email me at thereaderscircle@gmail.com and I'll get you hooked up.

I'll keep this post updated with the calendar of past and future book discussions. If you have any questions about the Book Nook Club, the monthly book reading, or are interesting in becoming a reviewer, please email thereaderscircle@gmail.com.

-Ronnica


Upcoming Reading Selections:


October
The Mystery of Breathing by Perri Klass
(Chosen by Courtney)

November
Pavilion of Women by Pearl Buck
(Chosen by Marie)

December
(To be chosen by Jacki)

January
(To be chosen by Suzanne)

February
(To be chosen by What A Card)

March
The Man Who Was Thursday by GK Chesterton
(Chosen by Ronnica)

April
(To be chosen by Britni)

May
(To be chosen by Courtney)

Past Book Discussions:

May
Templar's Legacy by Steve Berry (Chosen by Marie)

June
Trudy's Promise by Marcia Preston (Chosen by Jacki)

July
Waiting for Snow in Havana by Carlos Eire (Chosen by Ronnica)

August
The Road by Cormac McCarthy (Chosen by Mo)

September
A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman (Chosen by Britni)
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Reviewed by Ronnica at 2:54 PM 0 comments
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May 15, 2008

May Book Discussion: The Templar Legacy

I have to admit, I actually didn't know anything about this book when I chose it for May. My dad had picked it up as a bargain book and enjoyed it, so he passed it on to Brad, who he thought would enjoy it, especially since he's a Mason, a society that developed from the Templars. I was unable to get to the library for several weeks, and there was this book staring at me. And so I chose it.

I don't want to say too much about my own opinion of it right now because I don't want to hijack the discussion before it starts. But if you read this you already have a general idea. I couldn't find a prepared study guide, so here are some questions I came up with on my own.

1. Did you find the characters believable / relatable / likeable? What did you think of their names?

2. How do you feel about Berry's handling of History?

3. Were there any surprises you figured out before they happened?

4. How do you feel about Berry's handling of religion?

5. In a novel that borrows a lot from history and religion, sources are important. Did you look at the bibliography? Do you feel Berry's research was adequate?
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Reviewed by Memarie Lane at 10:23 AM 10 comments
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