Last year I joined
the Pawley’s Book Group. About 30 women belong to the organization. We meet
once a month in a members home to discuss a book that we have all read. While I originally joined to help meet my
2008 resolution of becoming more socially established in South Carolina, it is
definitely something I will continue to be involved in even once I am socially
well established in my community.
For one thing a book club can be an excellent way to enjoy
books more and challenge your mind, They
can also encourage you to read more, or to read books that you might not
normally choose. In short, most people join a book club, or start their own, in
order to have fun, make friends, stimulate the brain cells and meet like minded
people! . The books we read range from
“who-done-it”s to biographies. The group
has a strong leaning towards books that open doors to other cultures and mores
the enthusing discussions are always lively.
So Far I’ve read:
·
Carol Smith’s Wild Swans which is a story
of three generations of Chinese women whose lives span from the time of
warlords, when women’s feet were still bound, through to the present. Their ordeal
during the Cultural Revolution is particularly heart rending.
·
Ian Doig’s
The Whistling Season is a wistful tale of a time of innocence and self reliance on the edge of
the prairie. It generated a lively discussion about education as much of the
novel revolved around a one room school house.
·
Harlan Coben’s Tell No One is a suspense
thriller. With lots of twists and turns in the plot. Not my favorite genre, but it was well
written.
·
Kate Jacob’s The Friday night Knitting Club,
is a tale of female friendship. Think
Steel Magnolias set in New York City,
while the plot was predictable, the characters held up to scrutiny.
·
Greg Mortenson’s Three cups of Tea is a
true story about a man on a mission to fund and build schools for girls in the
remote regions of Pakistan.
It gave us deep insights into the Muslim religion and a strong empathy for the
daily hardship of life in Pakistan. Of all of the books I have read this year,
this one caused the most soul searching.
·
Debra Dean’s The Madonna’s of Leningrad
is a historical novel set in the basement of Leningrad’s Art Museum during Hitler’s siege the city in
1941. The museum’s staff protects their
National art treasure first by risking their lives in staying to ship the art
to safety, then by building memory palaces in their minds to keep the art
alive. It was a haunting testimony to
the human reverence of art.
·
I’ve just begun to read this months book ,
Morning’s on Horseback by David McCullough.
It is a biography of the youth of Teddy Roosevelt.
·
Waiting to be read are Geraldine Brook’s March,
Gail Tsukiyama’s Women of Silk, and Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in
Brooklyn.
