The Housekeeper |
Yoko Ogawa |
3.5
The Housekeeper is sent by her agency to work for the Professor, a brilliant mathematician. The only problem is that due to a traumatic accident, the Professor's memory only lasts for 80 minutes. Hecan remember everything before the accident, but not after. When the Housekeeper arrives each day, it is as if she is meeting the Professor for the first time. He asks what her shoe size is and her birth date. Every number has a purpose and connection in life and he likes to find out what it is. The Housekeeper is intrigued with his formulas and calculations which sparks her own interest in Math. When the Professor realizes that the Housekeeper has a ten year old son at home, he insists that she brings him to work with her or after he gets out of school. When the Professor meets him, he calls the son, Root. he says the top of Root's head is flat like that of the math sign for root.The Professor and Root share a passion for baseball. Root also has math homework which he has to do while waiting for his mother to get done with work. It is through this connection of math and baseball between the two, that a wonderful friendship begins. But remember, the Professor starts over every 80 minutes.
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The Interestings | Meg Wolitzer |
2.75
When Jules Jacobson crawled into the tepee with five other campers at a summer art camp, a friendship formed. They would call their group, "The Interestings". They were an eclectic group, ranging from acting, directing, animator, dancer, musician, and possible architect. The summer camp allowed each teen to find themselves and become there own person. At the end of the summer, Jules went home and suddenly felt out of place. She had found a new part of herself at camp and was most comfortable when she was with her new friends.
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The Aviator's Wife | Melanie Benjamin
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3.5
When Anne Morrow was a senior at Smith College, Charles Lindbergh celebrated his solo flight across the Atlantic. Anne and her classmates were all enamored with this new hero. At Christmas, Anne joined her family in Mexico City where her father, the US Ambassador to Mexico, was residing at the time. Little did Anne know that also spending the holidays with her family, was Charles Lindbergh himself. Her parents assumed that Charles would be interested in their older daughter, Elizabeth, who was always the center of attention. But Charles preferred Anne. She was quiet. an adventurer, and didn't want to be the center of attention as was Charles.
Charles saw Anne as one of his crew. He taught her how to fly, to read the stars to navigate, and how to read and send Morse Code. She was the first licensed female glider pilot in the United States. She was also mother to his six children. When their first born, Charles Jr., was kidnapped, Charles removed all existence of him from their lives and did not want Anne to mourn him any longer. The couple traveled the world together and then Charles traveled alone, leaving Anne to raise the children by herself. His return trips home, which didn't last very long, were long enough to disrupt their lives. When Charles vocalized and wrote about his agreements with Hitler and that of the German race, Anne stood by him, even though she didn't agree. Anne had studied writing and literature in college. Charles encouraged her to write again, yet whenever she sat down to write for herself, he would ask her to write about him or rewrite what he had written. He won a Pulitzer in 1954, never giving Anne credit for her writing or of her contributions to his book. In later years, Anne discovered that all the years he was in Germany alone, he had three mistresses and had fathered seven other children
Although this book is historical fiction, it is based on facts, letters, diaries, and other resources. It gives us a look at a Charles Lindbergh many of us did not know and also of his wife, Anne. The book truly did what it was meant to do. It made us want to learn more about Anne and of Charles life outside of his as an aviator.
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The Dovekeepers | Alice Hoffman |
3.5
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The Language of Flowers | Vanessa Diffenbaugh |
3.5
When Victoria was ten, she was placed with Elizabeth who owned a vineyard. Victoria resisted Elizabeth from the beginning but Elizabeth, who saw herself in Victoria, was determined to make it work. Elizabeth taught Victoria everything she knew about plants, the grapes, the flowers in her garden, and the meaning of the flowers. The Victorian Language of Flowers was used to convey romantic expressions. Each flower had a meaning, whether it was love, anger, grief, or passion, the flower and the meaning conveyed to the receiver the intent from the giver. Victoria finds a floral shop near the park and proves herself to the owner, Renata, that she has knowledge and a gift with floral arrangements. She is hired for weekend work, helping with purchases of the flowers at the market early in the morning, arrangements, and running the shop when left alone. When a customer comes into the shop asking for an arrangement, Victoria asks what purpose or message is the client wanting to convey. Through this first purchase, Victoria becomes popular with the clients and has many requests for arrangements. While at the market one morning, Victoria comes face to face with a person from the past. This ignites Victoria to face her past, her present, and her future.
The book is written in chapters alternating with Victoria's present, then her past. Besides the wonderful definitions of the flowers, we also get a look into the foster care system and of those who are sent out on their own at the age of eighteen when the State "frees" them into society. Many of these young adults are not ready financially, emotionally, and socially, or have the education needed to be to be on their own.
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The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat | Edward Kelsey Moore |
2.7 Odette, Clarice, and Barbara Jean, have been friends since high school. They were dubbed 'The Supremes' and sat at the same booth everyday after school at Earl's All-You--Eat-Diner. Decades later they remain friends and meet every Sunday after their three separate churches let out. They now bring their husbands and still sit in the same booth. Odette, now married with grown children, wakes up early one morning with hot flashes. She goes to the kitchen where her mother comes in and starts visiting with her. She tells her she needs to get her hormones check and to see a doctor. She also tells her that she was just having a conversation with Big Earl and his wife Thelma. When Odette hears that, she knows that Big Earl must have died because her mom has been dead for six years and visits with Odette often. When Odette's mother Dora was alive, she also talked to ghosts. Now Odette had the same gift or curse.
Clarice grew up destined to be a classical pianist. She had offers to go away to perform and record. But when she met the football star, Richmond, she put all her dreams aside to be his wife. Now after all these years, she continues to live with his infidelity and her loneliness.
Barbara Jean grew up with an alcoholic mother. When her mother passed away while Barbara was in high school, Dora sent Odette and Clarice to her house with a roasted chicken. When Odette saw Barbara's situation with her mother's drunken boyfriend coming on to Barbara, Odette stepped in and rescued Barbara. After being rescued, Barbara moved into the diner under Big Earl's care. Big Earl was a father figure to a few in need of his help, including Odette's husband when he was in school. Big Earl also took in a white boy, Chick, to work in the diner. He lived in the storage area to escape the beatings of his brutal, racist brother. Since this was the 1960's, interracial dating was still frowned upon and it was very difficult to be a couple without discrimination. When Lester, an older, and prominent man came to town, he courted Barbara. Barbara chose him to marry. Barbara is now drinking to erase the memories of a tragedy her and Lester endured year ago.
The story goes back and forth as it unfolds each woman life's separately and together through the years. Through sickness, heartache, even the effects of their separate circumstantial births, the bond of their friendship never waver.
Their is a cast of characters and a few laugh out loud scenes. There are two voices in the book, Odette's and the narrator. This was confusing to some in our group. Some weren't thrilled with the ghosts but I personally loved the ghosts, especially Mrs. Roosevelt. This is the author's first novel. He grew up listening to his mother's, aunts, cousins, and their friends conversations. This explains why he did an amazing job capturing the voices of these female women. The book has won awards and has been translated in other languages. A movie deal is in the making which doesn't surprise me in the least.
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The Luminaries | Eleanor Catton |
2.5
The year is 1866 and the place is a small mining town in Hokitika, New Zealand. Gold has been discovered in the past years and many miners have flocked to the area to try their luck. Walter Moody is one of those men. A former lawyer, he has left the British Isles to change his career and life. Upon arriving, he enters a smoking room at The Crown Hotel, to relax and have a drink after a harrowing trip across the water. Upon entering the room, he notices 12 men of different backgrounds, quiet and tense. As he sits down to relax, he is approached by one of the men, Tom Balfour, who is in the shipping business. Mr. Balfour questions him as the others listen in though they appear to be occupied. He relates to Mr. Moody the story of what has brought all the men to gather in this place. Those not in attendance are: Crosby Wells who was found dead in his cabin, Anna Wetherell, the local prostitute, who it appears stepped out into the road perhaps to kill herself, and Emery Staines, who disappeared the same night that Anna went into the road and Crosby died.
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The Lost Prince | Selden Edwards |
3
Now that Weezie has returned, she starts going by her actual name of Eleanor. She will resume her relationship with Frank Burden, who she was just with in Vienna, until the tragic event. She knows she will marry him, have children, and will find a way to carry through with each task as stated in the journal. She pursues business as a woman in a man's world, she meets with men such as JP Morgan, Freud whom she met in Vienna, and begins a new friendship with Freud's fellow contemporary, Carl Jung. She knows of events in the future such as the Titanic, but does not allow herself to warn anyone, with the exception of JP Morgan. Her dear friend Arnauld Esterhazy, is presumed dead in battle during WWI but she cannot believe it is true since she knows he has a future. In order for the future to happen, she must make sure no stone is left unturned until she finds him.
In the first book, we learn of a vibrant and rich Vienna before the start of WWI. Freud is a prominent doctor and his teachings and beliefs are new and exciting in the world of Psychology. In this book, WWI has begun and men have enlisted from different countries. When Arnauld goes to war for Austria, he keeps a journal so we read in his words, the horror of war and what life was like for these men and boys. Influenza has infected many in the United States and as the men have gone overseas to war, they have taken the illness with them. There is now an influenza epidemic in the other countries as well. The horrors of war are evident as the injured men will be left not only with physical scars, but emotional scars as well. Although the term was not known at the time, but many suffered from PTSD and retreated into themselves, some not surfacing again. Carl Jung will be treating many of these men.
I would recommend reading "The Little Book" first, although, "The Lost Prince" can stand on its own. It will just make more sense if you read them in order. The review can be found in the year 2010.
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The Lowland | Jhumpa Lahiri |
2.75
The lowland was an area between two ponds in the neighborhood of brothers Subhash and Udayan. When the rains came, it would flood and become one. When it dried, the brothers would use this area as a shortcut to a field they played in. In later years, it would become a place of tragedy and mourning.
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The Bluest Eyes | Tony Morrison |
3.75
Sisters Claudia and Freida were two little black girls living in a small Ohio town in the Fall of 1941. Pecola Breedlove was a little black girl who was always being told that she was ugly. What she wanted most in the world was to have blue eyes. She felt if she had blue eyes, she would be beautiful and people would look at her differently. After her father burned down her house, she was sent to live with the sisters and their parents for awhile. When Claudia heard that Pecola wanted to have blue eyes, it made her very angry. She would tear off the heads of her dolls just because they had blue eyes and blonde hair. She did not want to play with a pretty white baby. She wanted a black doll like herself. How could Pecola want to have blue eyes? The book is written in chapters according to the season and the lines from the Dick and Jane Readers. Morrison tells the story of the hardships and history of each character. When you read this book, make sure you get the edition with the Afterward. |
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My Beloved World | Sonia Sotomayor | Sonia Sotomayor is the first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court. This is her memoir of growing up from the projects in the Bronx, to becoming a judge in the Federal District Court, all before the age of forty. | |
Guest of Honor: Booker T. Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and the White House Dinner that Shocked a Nation |
Deborah Davis |
3.5
T.R. was President for two terms. William Taft won the 1908 Presidency backed by T.R.. He was not happy with Taft as he felt Taft was making the party too conservative. T.R. ran again and when he lost the Republican nomination, he ran as a candidate in the National Progressive Party, a party he had founded. Because the two parties separated the vote amongst the Republicans, this allowed Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, to secure the 1912 presidency. Wilson believed that segregation was the solution to the race problems. Applicants were now required to submit photographs for federal jobs. He felt it was for the blacks own good to have separate dining areas, restrooms, and work places. Years of progress were destroyed.
This is another one of those books that we read which we agreed that this is the way to learn history. It is filled with historical facts such as: Scott Joplin and his music, the origin of Jim Crow, naming the White House, the Press Corp Room, the first White House Social Secretary to the First Lady, the disrepair of the White House when T.R. moved in, the building of the West Wing, the second floor dining room, the term, "keeping up with the Jones", Hail to the Chief as the President enters the room, and then the expression, "Good to the last drop."
A wonderful read. |
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The Goldfinch | Donna Tartt |
2.75
Theo Decker, 13, and his mother, were on their way to a meeting with Theo's Principal. Since they had a little extra time, his mother decided to go into the NYC museum to check out an exhibit. While viewing the painting, 'The Goldfinch', Theo becomes enamored with a little girl with red hair. As his mother moves on, he stays behind to be near the girl. In a flash, there is an explosion. Theo awakens to see the destruction and smoke around him. He eyes the elderly man who was holding the red hair girl's hand and goes over to him. The man, Welty, is severely injured. He hands Theo his ring, points out the Goldfinch, and gives him the name to take his belongings. Theo grabs the painting and is able to get out of the building but cannot locate his mother. He heads home amid chaos on the street, but continues in hope that his mother will be home when he gets there. She doesn't arrive after several hours, so he calls a number to report her missing. He soon is informed that she died in the explosion and must now live with his father, grandparents, or a friend. Since his father cannot be located and his grandparents, whom he hardly knows, cannot take him, he moves in with his school friend Andy. Andy's wealthy family lives on Park Avenue. Theo remembers later what Welty had told him. It was the name of a business. He looks up the name and finds an address. He sets out to return the ring. He hangs onto the painting as it is now the one thing that connects him to his mother when she was last alive. When Theo arrives at the door, it is an old building downtown with an antique shop attached. Hobie, friend and business partner of Welty's, opens the door. Theo returns the ring and is surprised to discover that Pippa, the girl with the red hair, is there recuperating from her many surgeries since the accident. Theo returns many times and finds comfort spending time helping Hobie refurbish the antique furniture that comes into his shop.
As summer approaches, Theo's father appears with his girlfriend Xandra, and is told he will be moving to Las Vegas with them. His dad goes into the apartment they once shared and sells, donates, and takes whatever he wants out of the apartment. Theo grabs some clothes and the painting.
While in Vegas, Theo becomes friends with Boris. Boris has lived all around the world traveling with his father. Boris is a mix of Ukrainian, Russian, and Polish descent. He is able to speak in many languages but mostly Ukraine. Boris is left on his own as his father takes off for days at a time for work. When not working, he drinks as does Boris. Boris started drinking when he was ten.Theo's dad also is an alcoholic and an absentee father. He gambles to make his money. Boris influence on Theo is self destructive. Both boys are now drunk or doing other drugs all the time.
After an event,Theo finds his way back to New York City, painting in hand. He begins to settle into a routine with Hobie until Boris shows up with news that shocks Theo. This sends the two of them on a dangerous course leading them across the ocean.
This book won Tartt the Pulitzer in 2013. There has been much controversy as to whether this book should have won. The one big question our club had, along with many others, was, "Where was the editor?" Tartt gets really bogged down with details. She spends way too much time on an occurrence that lasts pages and only takes place in an evening or a couple of days. This 771 page book could have been cut down by at least 150 pages or so. |
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Empty Mansions The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune |
Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, JR. |
3.5 This is the story of Huguette Clark, an heiress to a mass fortune, who spent the last twenty years of her life in a hospital room.
Huguette was the daughter of William Andrews Clark. W.A. grew up in a log cabin. When he was in his early twenties, he moved west to Colorado to mine for gold, then onto Montana. He struck it rich in the copper mining industry. He married his first wife and had six children. After her death, he went to France where he met Anna LaChapelle. W.A. was sixty-two and Anna was twenty-three. Records do not prove if they actually were legally married. Anna bore him two daughters, Louise Amelia Andree and Huguette Marcelle. After his death, the house on 5th Avenue could not be sold because there wasn't anyone who could afford to buy it. It was eventually torn down. Anna and her daughter moved down the road to 907 5th Avenue and bought the entire floor of an apartment building. The apartment was filled with expensive art and furniture. Huguette had collected dolls and their furniture since she was a small child and continued in her acquisitions. She loved to paint and took lessons from Tade Styka at his studio. This is a fascinating and sad story of Huguette Clark and her family. It is also a great book to read of the history of the copper mining era, discovery of what we now call Las Vegas, and other historical discoveries mentioned in the book. |
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The Shoemaker's Wife |
Adriana Trigiani |
3
Ciro is busy working as a shoemaker. When Luigi, a fellow he met on the boat, returns to Ciro's place of employment, Ciro secures a job for him. The two become quite successful shoemakers.
Enza and Ciro, star-crossed lovers since they were teens, always running into each other, misunderstandings, bad timing, until one day fate happens. This is their love story. |
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The Invention of Wings |
Sue Monk Kidd |
3.6
Sarah Grimke was fifth in line of a family of ten children in the year 1803. She was the daughter of a wealthy father who was a judge on the South Carolina Chief Court. He was the owner of a southern plantation with seventeen slaves. Sarah mother's family was sent to Charleston from England to establish the city. She came from the elite of Charleston's families. Five years later, Sarah's sister, Angelina was born. Sarah begged her mother to let her be Nina's godmother. The mother agreed and Sarah and Nina became very close. Nina called Sarah 'Mother' at times which really angered the real mother when she heard it.
Charlotte, Handful's mother, was an excellent seamstress. She made a particular quilt illustrating her life history from her mother's origins in Africa, to Charlotte's present time on the plantation. Charlotte was very stubborn and took risks just because she wanted to oppose her owners. This led to whippings and other forms of punishments. |
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Someone Knows My Name |
Lawrence Hill |
4
Aminata was sold to Master Appleby. The slave, Georgia, took Aminata under her care. Time moves on and things happen. Aminata is sold to Solomon Lindo, an indigo inspector for the entire Province of South Carolina. She is taken to New York City to live with him and his wife. This is the beginning of her story where she will find her freedom, work for the British Army during the American Revolution,(by recording the names of the blacks who also worked for the British Army), and to move them forward to freedom. Once recorded and approved, they will board a boat to Nova Scotia where they are promised free land, work, and freedom. She records their information in a book called, "The Book of Negroes". Her travels take her from New York City, to Canada, Sierra Leone, and then to England. Aminata's one goal from the start was to one day return to her native land.
Lawrence Hill has written an amazing novel. He captures the voice of Aminata. All senses are awakened with his descriptions from the beginning in Africa, the trek to the boat, the horrid conditions on the boat, life on the plantation, and then her continued journeys. The fictional book is based on the real Book of Negroes. The story may be fictional but through his research, you will feel the reality of the lives of the slaves. It was quite a coincidence that our book club read, "The Invention of Wings" the month before. And, after that book, the shooting in Charleston happened.
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Cannery Row | John Steinbeck |
3
In Monterey, California, there is a street lined with canneries. These are used for the sardines brought in by the fishermen. This became known as Cannery Row. |
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Go Set A Watchman | Harper Lee |
3
Jean Louise Finch, twenty five, has been living in New York City. She returns home to Maycomb Junction, Alabama, to visit her father, Atticus Finch, who is now elderly and suffering from arthritis. He is having a hard time getting around and doing things for himself. He moved in with his sister Alexander who still lives in the house that she and Atticus grew up in. Atticus has his own law firm and has always been known as a very fair lawyer. Jean Louise, known as Scout to her family and childhood friends, is being persuaded by her Aunt to return to Maycomb permanently to help and continue her life there. Her childhood friend and now boyfriend, Henry, lives in Maycomb as well. He is a lawyer in Atticus's law firm. |
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All the Light We Cannot See | Anthony Doerr |
4
A gemstone has come from Japan to be displayed in The Museum of Natural History in Paris. It is named the Sea of Flames. Rumor has it that whoever possesses it, cannot die yet those around them, will die within a month. The stone brings sorrow to anyone who carries it. Now the museum is trying to decide whether to display it or not.
It is 1934 and Marie-Laure LeBlanc is four years old. She first hears this story from a guard at the museum where her father works. He is the locksmith of the museum and holds every key and knows where each key goes. One month after hearing this story, Marie-Laure is blind. They say it is due to congenital cataracts.The book is beautifully written. The theme of light is carried through the story in various ways. All the Light We Cannot See won the 2015Pulitzer Prize. |
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The Girls of Atomic City
The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II |
Denise Kiernan |
3.25
At times, workers were exposed with radiation and had to be hosed down and kept overnight. When the men had to stay overnight, their wives did not know why or even what they did.
As it came closer to the dropping of the bomb, the scientists warned the government of the danger this would cause to the people being bombed. They voiced their concerns to Washington, but they were never delivered. In August of 1945, the bomb was dropped. The workers were now told what they had been working on. They were told that it was because of their hard work and sacrifice, the war had been won.
The author interviewed a few of the remaining women alive for this book. It is through their stories and in depth research by the author that this story is being told. Although the title refers to the girls of Atomic City, it is a science lesson in the creation of uranium for the bomb and all those involved in "The Project". An interesting note at the end of the book is that in early 1946, Lise Meitner was honored as The Woman of the Year and met President Truman. It is reported that he said to her, "So you're the little lady who got us into this:". However, on December 10, 1946, the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physics would go to Wolfgang Pauli and that Otto Hahn had been awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of fission. Many were shocked that Lise was excluded and she was listed as Hahn's junior associate. |
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Learning to Swim | Sara J. Henry | 2.30 Troy Chance is heading in one direction on a ferry across Lake Champlain. She sees a child falling overboard on the ferry across from her going in the opposite direction. She dives in after him and discovers that the arms of his sweater are tied around him so he can not get it off. She grabs him and swims miles to shore. After she pulls him out of the water, she discovers that he only speaks French. Worried that something or someone has deliberately thrown him over, she takes him home. She does not go to the police station as she has worked in the foster care program before. She worries that if this is a parental issue, the boy could be returned to the parent and in danger again. Troy takes him to her house where she rents rooms to a couple of young guys. She takes the boy upstairs to her room, bathes and feeds him, and lets him sleep in her bed. The boy tells her in french that he had been kidnapped, his mother had been shot, and his father didn't want him. He tells Troy his name is Paul Dumond. Troy searches on the internet and finds that his father is a business owner. She pays the father a visit to see how he will react when she reveals that his son is still alive. He's devastated and goes to Troy's home to see for herself. He tells the story of the kidnapping to Troy and then they contact the police. From there, the story unfolds as Troy and and Paul return with Mr. Phillipe Dumond to his new house. Troy takes it upon herself to investigate Paul's mother and to find the kidnappers herself. The police are questioning her involvement in the kidnapping and everyone is suspect including her and Phillipe. Saying much more would give the story away. Troy's actions are questionable at times. It is a typical mystery of a whodunit and in the end the killer and kidnappers are discovered. It is an easy, simplistic read. It is not a thriller, sit on the edge of your seat, and keeping you up late murder mystery. However, if you want a quick lite mystery book, this works. This is Sara J. Henry's first novel. She has now written another based on Troy Chance. |
The King of Kings County | Whitney Terrell |
Author Visit We were very fortunate to be able to have Mr. Terrell come to our meeting to discuss his two novels and a novel he is working on to be published soon. It was an amazing evening. Jack Acheson tells his story of growing up in Kansas City in the 1950's. His father, Alton Acheson, was always telling Jack about his hero, Tom Durant. Tom was the president of Union Pacific Railroad and made his fortune buying up undeveloped land cheap, then building the railroad on it. Alton saw the undeveloped land around the Kansas City area in the same way, but for future highways and suburban neighborhoods in Kings County, Kansas. A state line runs through Kansas City separating the two states and counties. Alton saw the need for future highways connecting through the two counties to make distance into the city quicker.. With an interstate, people could now move out of the city into suburbs in Kings County.
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The Huntsman | Whitney Terrell |
When Stan Granger set out to pull in his fishing lines that day, he didn't expect to pull up a body. He had done this before, many times. The Missouri River was known for bodies being dumped in Kansas City, then floating down the river to be snagged in lines or brush. The body was a young white woman, one Stan had seen before. Stan keeps the information to himself from the police. The suspect, Booker Short, had been working at the hunting lodge where the victim, Carissa Sayers, had stayed and hunted with her father and his buddies. Mercury Chapman, one of the original members of the Lodge, had hired Booker when Booker came to town, skipping his probation, looking for work. Booker claimed to Mercury that Mercury owed it to him since his grandfather had saved Mercury's life in WWII.
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Snowflower and the Secret Fan | Lisa See |
3.25 This is the story of Lily and her 'laotong' Snow Flower. A laotong is considered an old same. Meaning, the two girls are matched together being born of the same year, month, etc. They have a ceremony which binds them together for life. Throughout the years they communicate with writings on a fan, embroidery on handkerchiefs, and compose stories in their secret code called nu shu. This secret code of women's writings go back centuries.
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The Moonflower Vine | Jetta Carleton |
2.5 Mary Jo, the youngest of the Soames daughters, begins the narrative of her family on a return visit to the family farm in the 1950's located in southwest Missouri.Her parents began their life there in the late 1890's. The Soames had 4 daughters. Jessica was the oldest, then Leonie, Mathy, and Mary Jo. Every summer the daughters return for a visit, except Mathy who died as a young adult. They would gather at the farm to coordinate the time when the moonflower vine would open in the evening for the one night a year that it blossomed. Mary Jo sets the stage of the stories of each family members. Although each member has their own story, it is narrated by the author, not the family member, like Mary Jo's. Each person's section also intertwines with the other members so it isn't really only about that person.
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Unaccustomed Earth |
Jhumpa Lahiri |
2.5 This is a book of collected stories written by Lahiri. Part One consists of 5 separate stories. Part Two titled, "Huma and Kaushik", is three stories. The first is by Huma, the second by Kaushik, and the third is a combination of the two once their lives reunite in Rome when they are adults.
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Plainsong | Kent Haruf |
3 The small town of Holt, Colorado, could actually be any small farming town, in any State, in any time period. In fact, there is never an inference as to what year this is with the exception that when you paid the newspaper carrier, you received a paper stub for your receipt. I remember these from the 1980's and before.
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People of the Book |
Geraldine Brooks
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3.5 In the Spring of 1996, Dr Hanna Heath, a conservator of rare manuscripts, received a call at 2 A.M. telling her that the Sarajevo Haggadah had turned up. The Sarajevo Haggadah was a illuminated Hebrew manuscript created in the 1400's in Spain. At that time, the Jewish belief was firmly against illustrations of any kind based on a commandment in exodus. Hanna was asked to come to Sarajevo to document the book, a book thought to be gone, perhaps lost forever during the book burnings in WWII.
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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz | L. Frank Baum |
3 When a cyclone hits a farm in rural Kansas, Dorothy and her dog Toto, are in the little house when they are swept up by the cyclone. They travel over many miles. The house sets itself down in the land of the Munchkins and the Munchkins thank her for killing the Wicked Witch of the East. All that is left of the witch is her silver shoes. The Witch of the North arrives and tells Dorothy to go to the Wizard of Oz to help her get home. Oz is in the center of the country and is surrounded by a desert. To the north is the where the Good Witch lives, south is the of the land of the Quadlings, where Glinda, the Good Witch lives, and to the east is where the Wicked Witch of the East lives with the Winkies, whom she has made her slaves. On her way to Oz, Dorothy meets the Scarecrow, who wants a brain, the Woodman, who wants a heart, and the Cowardly Lion, who wants to be brave. They travel to Oz and must overcome obstacles getting there. Once there, they each meet a version of Oz, who wants Dorothy to kill the Wicked Witch of the West.
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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet |
Jamie Ford
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3 Our story begins in the year 1986 in Seattle, Washington, at The Panama Hotel. Henry is observing the crowd that has gathered outside the old landmark. The hotel has a new owner, it has been closed since 1950, and items were being brought outside. The items had been once belonged to thirty-seven Japanese American families, who had left them there for storage while they were taken away to internment camps after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. As Henry watched the items come out, he saw a familiar parasol being opened. He wondered if there might just be something in those belongings that would belong to his childhood sweetheart, Keiko.
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The Dressmaker |
Kate Alcott
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2.5 On April 10, 1912, in Cherbourg, France, Tess walked out on her employer. She was hired as a servant, but she was also an amazing seamstress. Part of her duties was to design and sew gowns for the head mistress without any extra pay. She had heard a great ship, the Titanic, was leaving that day to head to America. This was Tess's opportunity to go to America and make her dream come true. On the docks she noticed Lady Lucille Duff Gordon, a world renown designer. She was heading to America for her fashion show. Tess approached her and as it turned out, Lucille was in need of a servant since her's had just quit. Tess was now employed and on her way to America. Lucille quickly became fond of Tess and had her move from steerage, to first class so she could be near Lucille. Of course the pretense was so that she would be there when Lucille needed her. She ran hot and cold with Tess but this was her way of manipulating her. On board, Tess met two men, Jim Bonney, a seaman, and Jack Bremerton, an older, twice divorced business man. Four nights into the trip, the Titanic hits an iceberg. There is a panic to get into lifeboats and Lady Lucille manages to get herself, her husband Cosmo, and just a few others into a boat then demands the sailors take off. Their boat was barely filled. Tess finds herself in a boat with Molly Brown, a strong business woman, and the two are the only ones who know how to row their boat. As the boats row away, they can only watch the ship sink as they listen to the final screams of the people still on the boat and now in the water. Of all the lifeboats, only one boat tried to go back to pick up any survivors. The ship Carpathia rescues all survivors and takes them to New York City. |
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Destiny of the Republic A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President |
Candice Millard
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4 James A Garfield, the 20th President Of the United States, was shot four months into his presidency by Charles Guiteau, a mentally unstable, narcissist, who believed God had told him to kill the President.
Garfield grew up in poverty on a farm in Ohio. He loved learning,reading, and was very self motivated. As age sixteen, he left the farm to work on the canals. After almost drowning, he realized he was saved for a purpose and went back home. His mother, Eliza, came from a family of educated people and wanted her son to have the education he would need to be a successful man. He returned to school and quickly moved up in the education system, graduating from Williams College with honors. By age twenty-six, he returned to his preparatory school to become the school's president.
In 1859, when an Ohio state senator died, Garfield was asked to take his place in the election. He won. A year later, the Civil War began and Garfield, who believed in equality of all men, went to fight in the war. He quickly moved up in the ranks to brigadier general. He returned to Congress to fight for the rights of the black man.
In 1880 at the Republican Convention, Garfield was giving the nominating address for John Sherman, when he asked a simple question of what the party wanted. They responded with, "We want Garfield". He was then nominated and won the republican nomination for president. On November 2, he won the presidential election. He was now President of the United States.
On July 2, 1881, as he walked into a train station, Charles Guiteau stepped out and shot Garfield two times. Guiteau was quickly arrested. Garfield died a very long and painful death on September 19. It wasn't the bullets that killed him, but the doctors who infected his wounds time and time again with unsanitary hands and instruments.
Candice Millard brings history to life in this book. The story starts at the United States Centennial Exhibition, a worlds fair held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to celebrate the country's first one hundred years. It was at this fair, Alexander Graham Bell brought his telephone invention. Joseph Lister, a British surgeon, tried to convince his audience of the importance of antisepsis to prevent germs and infection. Few believed him. Had only the practice of antisepsis been used for Garfield, he wouldn't have died. Bell invented a device called an induction balance, which would be able to detect the metal bullet in Garfield. It would have worked had Garfield's doctor, Dr. Bliss, allowed Bell to use it on him properly. This truly was a case of malpractice.
Millard also does a wonderful job at writing the state of politics at the time. It gives a better understanding of the political party and how policies change. We learn about the life and the mental illness of a man who caused the death of a president. We will never know what changes he himself would have made for this country.
As I have written before in my reviews, this is the way to learn and understand history. |
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Cutting for Stone |
Abraham Verghese |
3.8 Sister Mary Joseph Praise came from India to Missing Hospital in Ethiopia, seven years before the birth of her twin sons. She had met the father, Dr. Thomas Stone, on the boat from India to Africa. He was quite ill and she nursed him back to health while on the boat. For seven years she worked beside him in the operating room at the Mission Hospital. All were shocked when she went into labor, including Dr. Stone, as she had kept her pregnancy hidden. The twins were adjoined at the head and had to be separated before the delivery. Sister Mary Joseph died on the table and Dr. Stone fled. The boys, Marion and Shiva, are now being raised by Dr. Hema and Dr. Ghosh. The two doctors, after ten years, admit their love and agree to marry with the condition that they must renew their marriage every year if they choose to continue.
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Appetite for America | Stephen Fried |
3.9 This is the real life story of Fred Harvey. A young immigrant from England, he worked his way up from dishwasher to owner of the largest restaurant and hotel industry along the railroad line. He employed the largest female workforce in the country, hiring single woman to work in his restaurants. They were known as the Harvey Girls. His restaurants were catered to excellent service and food. He had it down to a science so that when a train was about to enter the depot, the restaurant workers would start cooking so that the customers would sit down, be fed, and finished by the time the train was to leave the station. He bought the best and freshest foods. Since he worked with the railroad, he had access to receiving his goods quickly. He hired people he trusted and brought them up within the company, not looking outside for new help. His employees remained loyal. He introduced souvenirs and books into the depots and hotels to sell. Many books became best sellers because of this. Fred Harvey never took his business public. It stayed in the family and was always known as Fred Harvey. |
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True Believers | Kurt Anderson |
2.5 Karen Hollander is a powerful attorney who has written many novels. She was being considered for an appointment to the Supreme Court but withdrew her name. She has decided to write her memoir for fear that dementia may take away her memories and she wants to set the record straight. |
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The Mafia and the Machine
The Story of the Kansas City Mob |
Frank R. Hayde |
2.5
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ROOM | Emma Donoghue |
2.75
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Flight Behavior | Barbara Kingsolver |
3.8
When Dellarobia Turnbow climbed up the mountain on her husband's family's property to have her first possible tryst, she beholds a sight of flaming orange on the trees. She sees this as a sign to go back down the hill to her family. The monarch butterflies who migrate from Mexico to Canada annually, have lost their Mexican home due to environmental changes. The butterflies have landed in a rural Appalachian town called Feathertown in Tennessee. Dellarobia married her high school sweetheart, Cub, when she was 17 and pregnant. Cub's parents built them a home on the family property. They lost the baby, but continued on with their life on the sheep farm. They now have two children, Cordelia and Preston.
Dellarobia told Cub of the butterflies and at church the following Sunday, Cub announced to the congregation that his wife had witnessed a miracle. Now people were wanting to go and view the butterflies. It became national news and scientists and reporters were coming into the town. Entomologist, Ovid Byron, who has been studying the migration of the monarch and their new migration patterns, has come to Tennessee. He is given permission to park his trailer near Dellarobia and Cub's house. Preston, who is 5, has become fascinated with the monarchs, Ovid, and Science. Ovid takes the time to teach him and answer his questions while enlisting Dellarobia to help him and his students document field tests and statistics of the butterflies. In the meantime, she is also helping the family with the sheep shearing and inoculations so that she is pulling her family weight. Cub isn't too pleased that his wife is now working and is finding outside interests. Dellarobia is finding that Cub has no ambition other than just staying on the farm. When Cub's dad wants to start logging the mountain for money to pay off his bills, it is up to Dellarobia to get Cub to understand the result the logging would have on the land and the future of their property. The area in Mexico which was the home of the monarchs, was logged, causing flooding and devastation for the area, People and the monarchs lost their homes.
Dellarobia realizes she has outgrown this life on the farm and her life with Cub. She wants more for herself. her children, and their future. |
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Zelda | Nancy Milford |
2.5
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Nothing Daunted The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West. |
Dorothy Wickenden |
3
Auburn girl who just that day had heard from a friend, Ferry Carpenter. Ferry was a lawyer in Elkhead, Colorado, who had worked with the town people for five years to build a schoolhouse. He was looking for a couple women who would be willing to come to Colorado and teach school for a year or two. This was just the adventure Ros and Dorothy were looking for. Unbeknownst to them, Ferry was also looking for single women to come to his town hoping they would stay and marry many of the single men that lived there.
The two women traveled by train and saw a part of the country they had never seen before. They lived with a family of homesteaders, the Harrison's. The room they shared did not have the comforts of home that they were use to, but they began to adapt. They soon found their rent money was helping the family to have food on their plate and soon became close friends and companions with the family. In the harsh winter weather, they rode horseback through blizzards to get to the school. No matter the weather, the students traveled miles everyday to get to school. They would receive a meal which could be the only hot meal for them that day. When the holidays came, the two women reached to their families and friends back home to send gifts and supplies for the children and their families.The rest of the story unfolds with marriage, children, and life. The author is a magazine writer so the book at times reads as if she is writing off her notes and letters as a research paper would be written. In the end, it is a great history lesson of the life the pioneers and homesteaders endured in the early 1900's Colorado. |
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The Feminine Mystique | Betty Friedan |
2.5
The feminist movement has come a long way in the past 50 years but women's rights and pay equality are still unequal to men. It seems lately, their are some who want us to go back to the 1950's way of life. I think, and hope at least, that will not happen. |
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The Blood of Flowers | Anita Amirrezvani |
3.75
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Things Fall Apart. | Chinua Achebe |
3.5
This was the Nigerian's author first book and it was written in 1958. it is a fascinating intro into African Literature, showing an indigenous perspective of the struggle between tradition and change. the book offered thought provoking material for discussion. Specifically, how a culture can be affected by outside influences and how care must be taken with outside influences and how care must e taken when an outsider offers to "help" another.
We found it interesting that the author wrote in English, suggesting that it was designed to be a book for others to read and learn from. it is included in most college World Literature course syllabus. |
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The Light Between Oceans | M.L.Stedman |
4
Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia after serving four years on the Western Front. In search of solitude, he takes a job as a lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly a half day's journey from the coast. While still on shore in Point Partageuse, a port located on the western coast of Australia, where the two oceans meet, Tom meets Isabel. The two have an instant connection and begin a correspondence while he is on Janus Rock. The two become married and after two miscarriages and a stillborn, Isabel is beside herself with grief. When she hears a baby crying, she finds a boat has washed ashore with a baby and her dead father. She pleads with Tom not to report it quite yet, and against Tom's moral and better judgment, he goes along with her. She becomes their daughter Lucy.
Two years later, the family return to the mainland and discover the identity of Lucy's actual mother and father. They see the effect their decision has had on this family and his own. Tom is unable to live with the decision he and Isabel made those years ago and sets in motion a way to ease his guilt.
This is a story of love and loss. It is a compelling story and very well written. |
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