Moving On...

Well, I guess we failed at getting together in Merced. I know my six days there were pretty crazy running back and forth between two families and I'm sure you were all busy with your families too. And what is it about vacation that makes you incapable of being productive? I kind of love it. I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years!
It is time to move on to the next book and I have made the decision. Our January 2011 book will be..


From Laura Hillenbrand, the bestselling author of Seabiscuit, comes Unbroken, the inspiring true story of a man who lived through a series of catastrophes almost too incredible to be believed. In evocative, immediate descriptions, Hillenbrand unfurls the story of Louie Zamperini--a juvenile delinquent-turned-Olympic runner-turned-Army hero. During a routine search mission over the Pacific, Louie’s plane crashed into the ocean, and what happened to him over the next three years of his life is a story that will keep you glued to the pages, eagerly awaiting the next turn in the story and fearing it at the same time. You’ll cheer for the man who somehow maintained his selfhood and humanity despite the monumental degradations he suffered, and you’ll want to share this book with everyone you know. --Juliet Disparte

I have already started reading it and I'm loving it so far. Tim also read it and loved it. Why can't I figure out how to get rid of the italicized type? Lame.
Also, Brooke Callister Ward wants to join us. Randi, can you invite her and give her access? I will send you her email address.

Book Club Meeting/Lunch in Merced

Hi Gals, hope you're all doing well! What was the consensus about getting together to discuss the books we've read this year? I'm volunteering my house, my mom would love it! I will be driving back from Las Vegas on the 28th, would it be possible to do it on the 29th? Camille, I think you are leaving Sparks and can only do it on the 28th? Let me know everyone's availability. I can probably come back earlier from Vegas if needbe. Is 'need be' one word or two? Merry Christmas in a few days!

Book of Genesis?

I’m not sure if it’s because it was translated from Spanish or because it jumped around so much, but I had a really hard time getting into this book. The names were so similar that I was always a little confused. At least, I was at first.
I read the back of the book and the New York Times review began by saying it was “the first piece of literature since the Book of Genesis that should be required reading for the entire race”. I’m not convinced that’s true, but it made me realize this should be read more as a history than as a novel. There’s really not a plot, and once you accept that, the book goes a lot faster.
But you’ll also have to accept the fact that it contains just as much tragedy as the bible. I guess the reality is that no one is going to be devoid of hardship and trials, but their choices seem to lead to a lot of these tragedies. Amaranta’s bitterness and everyone’s promiscuity and selfishness just seem to perpetuate sadness in their family.
I have a feeling things won’t end well, but maybe the last one hundred pages will surprise me….

The Mansion

So, President Monson, in the Christmas Devotional, mentioned three stories he reads every year. One of them was "The Mansion". I thought that might be a good story for us to read this month. You can even read it online for free.
But, I'm also open to other ideas.

How is everybody doing?

Happy Thanksgiving you turkeys!! Have any of you finished November's book yet? I'll be honest, I have it on my nightstand, but I haven't read it yet. I'm using it as a reward for when I finish a couple of projects I've been putting off because I REALLY don't want to do them. I am in charge of choosing the next book, I think, but if nobody has finished this one do we want to wait and give ourselves an extra month? Or is that just ridiculous? Also, do we want to choose a Christmas-y book for December, or do you not care?

November Book

Okay, sorry I'm posting this so late in the month. Things have been kind of crazy around here lately. I just got offered a teaching job at a high school in Petaluma (just north of SF) so I'm moving next week and start teaching in two. I'm really excited, but things are kind of hectic.
Anyway, a friend of mine recommended this book and she said it is one of her favorites. She's an English teacher so I always ask her for new ideas on what to read. I've heard good things about it so I hope it's a good one. And I hope you haven't already read it...I did just see that it was on Oprah's book club list (for any Oprah fans out there - Me, not so much :)) The author is a pretty famous Latin American author so maybe you've read something by him. Enjoy!



One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

The story follows 100 years in the life of Macondo, a village founded by José Arcadio Buendía and occupied by descendants all sporting variations on their progenitor's name: his sons, José Arcadio and Aureliano, and grandsons, Aureliano José, Aureliano Segundo, and José Arcadio Segundo. Then there are the women--the two Úrsulas, a handful of Remedios, Fernanda, and Pilar--who struggle to remain grounded even as their menfolk build castles in the air. If it is possible for a novel to be highly comic and deeply tragic at the same time, then One Hundred Years of Solitude does the trick. Civil war rages throughout, hearts break, dreams shatter, and lives are lost, yet the effect is literary pentimento, with sorrow's outlines bleeding through the vibrant colors of García Márquez's magical realism.

I just had to post this review because it was everywhere I was reading about the book and I thought it was interesting -

"One Hundred Years of Solitude is the first piece of literature since the Book of Genesis that should be required reading for the entire human race. It takes up not long after Genesis left off and carries through to the air age, reporting on everything that happened in between with more lucidity, wit, wisdom, and poetry that is expected from 100 years of novelists, let alone one man...Mr. Garcia Marquez has done nothing less than to create in the reader a sense of all that is profound, meaningful, and meaningless in life." William Kennedy, New York Times Book Review

Cute Pregnant Jenny

I meant to put this picture up about a month ago, where has time gone!? I went to Seattle for work and got to see Jenny for a bit. Love her, she is now a mom of three! Ha, we're kind of twiners.