Important Update

A couple of changes have been made to our meeting schedule due to members planning summer vacations. The books for the months of June and July will be flipped, so that the revised summer schedule will be:

• May 25 - Year of Wonders, Geraldine Brooks,
  
• June 22 - Suite Francaise, Irene Nemirovsky
  
• July 27 - Still Alice, Lisa Genova, and
  
• August 24 - Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich

Also, our current plans for the July meeting will be to assemble outside of the library. Look for us that month enjoying the summer evening air.

The Other Hand

Everyone LOVED this month's selection, Little Bee, by Chris Cleave. And this says much for the book since we had a sizeable turnout of readers at last night's meeting - maybe our largest group yet.

Originally titled The Other Hand, (although admidst much speculation, none of us were able to determine why), the book provided us with many topics of discussion. Comments ranged from ways we pamper ourselves during times of stress, to defining right and wrong relationships, to current immigration policies, including the status of new immigration laws in Arizona.

We touched on topics of courage, sacrifice, hope, maturity, faith, fear, and guilt, among others. We all found the character of Little Bee to be delightful and enjoyable to follow. She taught us that our scars are a thing of beauty, because they are proof of being a survivor. We were saddened at the end of the story. This is a book that helps the reader to learn a little bit more about themself.

More about the author, his blog, and his other projects can be found on his web site: http://www.chriscleave.com.

Upcoming Reading List

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, April 27th, 6:30 p.m., at the library. We will be discussing the book, Little Bee, by Chris Cleave.

Books for the summer will be:

• May - Year of Wonders, by Geraldine Brooks
  
• June - Still Alice, by Lisa Genova
  
• July - Suite Francaise, by Irene Nemirovsky
  
• August - Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich

We look forward to some inspiring reading! Come join us.

After the Snow Melts

We were a slightly smaller group that met on Tuesday to discuss the book Out Stealing Horses, by Per Petterson. But, then, it was one of the more perfect beginning-of-spring afternoons.

Our overall opinion of the book was favorable, but a few people thought that the story moved too slow, or did not go far enough into certain scenes. Several comments were made about the book having a disappointing ending. A few of us read the book a second time for the meeting and found it more appealing to reread.

Our conversation was lively, however. It was interesting to compare our perceptions of the story. As we discussed different parts, such as the relationship of Trond's father with Lars' mother, we found ourselves clarifying portions of the story to each other. Some of this was due to the order in which the story was told, which someone aptly described as the unfolding of memories as they happen in life.

For us, living in a similar climate, it was easy to relate to the story that takes place in Norway and Sweden. And to those of us, like Cora, who have Norwegians in their family, the characters were understandable and lifelike.

Visit Per Petterson's web site and blog for this and more books authored by him at http://perpetterson.com. View more reviews of the book as a featured staff pick from the famous Powell's books web site.

The Famous Cat Named Oscar

When we met to talk about Dewey the library cat last December, other cats in the news were brought up in the conversation. One of them was a nursing home cat, who accurately predicted when residents of the home were soon to pass away.

Now there is a book about that cat, titled Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat. The book was written by David Dosa, M.D., a geriatrician working at the home where the cat's predictions took place.

Originally, Dr. Dosa had written a short article about Oscar the cat which was published in The New England Journal of Medicine. (Read the excerpt by following this link.) When much publicity followed, the doctor compiled more his own experiences working with Oscar and his special gifts, to write this book.

If you are interested in learning more, visit the author's web site: www.daviddosa.com, which contains links to more things about Oscar, including articles and videos. Reviews of the book include comments from Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants, a book previously on our reading list.

March Springs Forward

Just a reminder that our next meeting is scheduled for the fourth Tuesday of this month, March 23rd. This will be after Daylight Saving Time takes place, since it is scheduled for Sunday, March 14th this year. Don't forget to set your clocks!

In my memory, Daylight Saving Time has usually taken place on either the first or last Sunday of April. This year is different, but it will bring us later sunsets two weeks earlier than we are used to. With this wonderful springlike weather we are having this week, I am all for having more daylight!

To be perfectly accurate, however, I should mention that news announced yesterday stated how our days have been shortened by the power of the earthquake in Chile. According to NASA, Chile's earthquake not only shortened our day (by 1.26 millionth of a second), but it also shifted the Earth's axis.

If you want to read more on the topic, one suggestion is an article from Time magazine: "How Chili's Earthquake Shortened Earth's Day."

Or, see the story in National Geographic: "Chili Earthquake Altered Earth Axis, Shortened Day."

Or, if you are just interested in knowing the current accurate time, visit the official U.S. Time web site at: www.time.gov, which includes links to interesting information about clocks, calendars, and time keeping, plus facts and figures about Daylight Saving Time.

Oh, and our meeting will be 6:30 p.m. at the library. Our book this month is Out Stealing Horses, by Per Petterson.

See you there.

A Valentine Tome

We met to discuss Loving Frank, a fictionalized biography of renown architect Frank Lloyd Wright and his love affair with Mamah Borthwick Cheney, written by Nancy Horan Drew.

The book gave us much to talk about. We marveled at the author's writing skills in blending fact and fiction to bring the story to life. We were impressed at the amount of time she had spent in research for the book. And many of us thought the facts of the story would be more palatable as fiction, and the fiction may be better to be read as fact.

The slogan of 'life as truth' that was central to the main characters' attitudes provided us friendly debate about the essence of the story. Were Frank and Mamah being true to themselves, in spite of the destruction they created to those around them? Or, should societal mores play the larger role in each of our lives? Is being true to yourself also selfish? Is it better to be selfish than unhappy?

The subject of women's rights was a strong theme throughout the book. We compared the differences of what women struggled with one hundred years ago versus how we struggle today. Some things, such as voting rights, significantly differ. Other things, such as equal pay, women are still trying to achieve.

This book gave almost all of us an eye-opening perspective on the man regarded as one of the world's greatest architects. We talked about whether privilege excuses eccentricity, whether fame excuses entitlement, and whether someone's artistry and drive excuses their responsibilities to uphold societal rules. It was easy to introduce names from today's headlines for comparisons.

There are a lot of online resources for more information:

• Loving Frank, the web site,
• Frank Lloyd Wright, on wikipedia,
• Taliesin, the book's location,
• Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, on Architecture Week, and
  most importantly,
  
• Pictures and Story of the only Frank Lloyd Wright designed gas station, right nearby us in Cloquet, Minnesota!