Kindle's Competitor

Now that Kindle is a hit, Barnes and Noble is offering the Nook. When I saw the ads for it (while Cyber Monday shopping) I was barely intrigued, having decided an eBook reader is not for me at this time. However, I subsequently had a conversation with a friend at work who noted that with a Nook, you can actually loan out your books to other Nook users! You enter the other user's email address, and they are notified that the Nook-book is available to them. It's downloaded to their Nook and off the original owner's Nook. It's available to the other user for 2 weeks, after which period it gets sent back to the owner's Nook. The Nook then restricts the borrower from being able to borrow that title again.

It's still not going to replace my library card. But I'm slightly more intrigued now.

The Book Thief: Final Results

didn't like it - 0

it was OK - 0

liked it - 0

really liked it - 3

it was amazing - 1

4 votes total

SciFi and Philosophy

I recently came across this article from 2008 on "Why Science Fiction is the Last Bastion of Philosophical Writing." I think it's a little overstated, but I share some of Clive Thompson's sentiments, especially the following statement:

"I studied literature in college, and throughout my twenties I voraciously read contemporary fiction. Then, eight or nine years ago, I found myself getting — well — bored.

Why? I think it's because I was reading novel after novel about the real world. And there are, at the risk of sounding superweird, only so many ways to describe reality."

Meanwhile, I'm reading a fabulous fantasy/alternate history which was shortlisted for the Booker: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. One thing that shines in JS&MN, that Thompson doesn't highlight in his piece, is the ability of science fiction (or in this case fantasy) to present very lucid examinations of questions of morality, by taking us out of our day-to-day prejudices and contexts. My favorite science fiction novels create parables that have stayed with me and inspired me to try to live a more just life - books like the Ender Saga, and The Sparrow, for example.

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

This post is on the food side of things but I was so excited by it, I had to share. Tonight I was craving something sweet but didn't have anything in the house. I remembered seeing this single-serving chocolate cake recipe all over the internet this summer and I decided tonight was the night to try it. There are all kinds of variations but the basic premise is that you scale a chocolate cake recipe to one or two servings, pour it in a mug, and microwave it for a few minutes. I chose this recipe randomly and it was a success! It wasn't the best chocolate cake I've ever had but it was very good for taking less than 5 minutes. It would have been even better with ice cream -- maybe next time.

New Approach to Teaching Reading

Last week I read about a new method of teaching literature in middle school where, rather than teaching a common novel or story that all students read as a group, students choose their own reading material that they then discuss with the teacher individually and with one another. The reasoning behind this method is that if students have a personal interest in what they're reading, they will be more likely to develop a habit of reading. For one teacher profiled in the story, her students even fared better on standardized reading tests after adopting this method.

Critics of this method say that these students may miss out on works of quality and complexity and the common body of knowledge that comes from reading literary classics. But maybe by reading books of their own choice and becoming habitual readers, they will eventually choose more "difficult" books down the road.

The article also mentions a school district in NY that sets aside 40 minutes every other day for all sixth, seventh, and eighth graders to read books of their own choosing. Where was that when I was in middle school? I used to race through assignments and tests so that I could have a few free reading minutes before everyone else finished and we moved on.

North Carolina Literary Festival

Coming up the weekend of September 12th is the North Carolina Literary Festival, being held at UNC. I really enjoyed it when it was last held in 2006, at Duke. I believe a group of us went to listen to Barbara Kingsolver. I think it would be fun to do something similar this year. There are several evening keynotes, including John Grisham, but most of the authors will be speaking throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday. One of my favorite sessions at the 2006 festival was a conversation between Allan Garganus and Ann Patchett. Garganus is speaking several times at this year's festival so he's definitely on my list of must-see authors. Take a look at the schedule and let me know if you'd be interested in making this a group outing.

Eat, Pray, Love: The Sequel

Another memoir from Elizabeth Gilbert is coming out in January. Titled Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage, it's a follow up to the previous book, exploring her marriage to "Felipe," the man she met her "Love" chapters.

What do you think? Was Eat, Pray, Love enough? Or are you ready for more Gilbert?

First the Food is on Twitter!

We have recently started tweeting. I think it is a good way to share and keep track of news/public debate on items of personal interest. We will mostly tweet links to interesting literary or book club related articles. Perhaps a few on women's relationships and on politics! Or local NC/RTP area goings on. Please follow us if you're interested in these topics. And let me know: what would you like to see us tweet about? What do you think you would use it for, if at all?

The Lace Reader: Final Results

didn't like it - 1

it was OK - 5

liked it - 2

8 votes total.

Yay, we had a lot of people voting this time!

Monica Ali

Has anyone read anything by the author Monica Ali? The New York Times recently reviewed her latest book. Brick Lane and her new book, In the Kitchen, both sound really good. And In the Kitchen seems like it would have a nice culinary theme for a book club meeting.

Where's Spike?

You may have seen this week's cover of EW, with the 20 best vampires of all time.

The list includes Lestat, several different versions of Dracula, Edward Cullen, Bill, Angel, and Keifer Sutherland from The Lost Boys! But I was dismayed to find that you-know-who did not make the list. This is so wrong. It is obvious that Spike is the best vampire ever! Angel whines, Edward pines, Lestat attempts suicide. But Spike is the only vampire who ever has come to the realization that he is evil, and then gone out and done something about it. He's the only one who fought Hell demons to get his soul back, and won. And then, he became a hero. Sure, Spike was the comic relief and Buffy's man stud for a while. But he saw his flaws and tried to make himself a better man, much like another favorite hero of mine.

It's a shame that Spike only made EW's list of hottest vampires. But at least he got something.

The Girls from Ames has a local connection

I'm becoming more and more intrigued by this book, especially as many of my friendships are now in their second decade, along with this book club. It turns out one of the Girls lives here in NC and is a cancer survivor- http://unclineberger.org/news/2009/release0730/

Two Questions

With which to start a book club meeting, per Book Group Buzz:

“If you particularly enjoyed this book, what did it offer that you found most satisfying?” or “If the book disappointed you, how would you define its most glaring weakness?

I like the idea about asking what was the most satisfying aspect of a book. Or the least satisfying.

The Monsters of Templeton: Final Results

didn't like it - 0

it was OK - 1

liked it - 1

really liked it - 0

it was amazing - 0

didn't finish it

2 votes total

The Hobbit: Final Results

didn't like it - 0

it was OK - 1

liked it - 0

really liked it - 0

it was amazing - 1

didn't finish it - 0

2 votes total

Nine

That's the number of books I packed for a 1 week trip to Poland. Not a vacation. A business trip. Five are packed in my suitcase. Four are in my carry-on. Only 2 are for work. (1 each in carry on and in suitcase.) The five in my suitcase?

1. A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson
2. Swimming Lessons by Mary Alice Monroe
3. the last Sookie Stackhouse book (#9)
4. Coming of Age in Second Life (work book)
5. The Believers b (Zoe Heller)

The 4 in my carry-on?

1. Infinite Jest (all 1000+ pages)
2. the 8th Sookie Stackhouse book
3. The Survey Interview of the Future
4. the 7th Sookie Stackhouse book (already finished, on the flight from RDU to JFK)

Posting from the JFK airport.

Buffy vs. Edward

I kinda love this in theory. From Bookshelves of Doom.

You can also buy this T-shirt:

Case Histories: Final Results

didn't like it - 2

it was OK - 3

liked it - 0

really liked it - 2

it was amazing - 0

didn't finish it - 0

7 votes total.

Harry Potter: A Romance

Meg Cabot has a hillarious blog post (please, just click through to look at the comments on the pictures) on how the new Harry Potter movie promotional materials make it look like (gasp!) a romance.

What Would Irina Do?

Remember Irina McGovern, central character of The Post-Birthday World? The book hinged around her choice between contentment with one partner and passion with another.

Well, Irina was the first person I thought of (after my husband and myself, I guess) while reading this NYT review of the new book, A Vindication of Love: Reclaiming Romance for the 21st Century, by Christina Nehring. According to the Times Review, her book is an argument for a "darker, more demanding vision of love."

Nehring thinks the contented happy ending of a stable marriage is too tame. The choice to stay in such a marriage is less a sign of emotional health than of insecurity. She praises famous "great lovers" like Frida Kahlo and Heloise, women who had the confidence to entangle themselves in demanding or unorthodox relationships. (Does this mean that when I find my husband a challenge I can credit my mental fortitude?)

Nehring might be wrong, but I'm fascinated by her argument and want to read the book. I especially admire how she seems to present the willingness to love at great risk as the woman's choice - rather than the woman "falling in love" and losing control the way many novels seem to do. What do you think? Does this sound like a good selection for book club? It might lead to some great discussions.

Infinite Summer Reading Challenge

When David Foster Wallace died last fall, I kept reading articles about his life and his writing and I became intrigued in particular with his novel Infinite Jest. Coming in at 1000+ pages plus extensive endnotes, it has been featured on best of all-time lists like this one from Time. Yesterday I saw several links to this website, Infinite Summer, which is challenging people to read Infinite Jest from June 21st to September 22nd, 75 pages a week. This seems doable and kind of fun to me. I like the idea of reading a book with a large group of strangers. In addition to the blog, which will have daily postings by guides and forums for discussing the book, there is also a facebook group and a goodreads page dedicated to the project. Anybody in with me?

The Kindle

Does anyone have a Kindle or considered buying one? I've been firmly anti- e-readers in the past but I think I'm warming up to the idea of a Kindle. A few people at work have them and love them. I'm impressed by how close the text looks to book text and it would be so nice for travel. I recently realized you can subscribe to magazines through it too. I'm all for reducing book and magazine clutter in my house. At ~$360, it's still too expensive for me but I can only assume cheaper, better versions will continue to roll out as it gains in popularity.

Charlaine Harris in the NY Times

The NY Times has an article on Charlaine Harris and the Sookie Stackhouse mysteries. The latest novel, Dead and Gone, is going to be No. 1 on this Sunday's hardcover bestseller list. You can read the first chapter here.

She seems like a neat lady and I'm glad to see the NY Times devote space to her particularly since in the past they have been guilty of ignoring genre fiction.

2009 Agatha Awards

March is Mystery Month is one of my favorite months of book club. However, it's always a challenge to pick an appropriate mystery. The format of the meeting requires that it be a whodunit novel that lays out all the clues and offers the reader a fair play chance of identifying the murderer and motive. Occasionally, we pick a book that doesn't really work.

However, the Agatha Awards are here to help us out! The Agatha Awards go to novels that:

• contain no explicit sex
• contain no excessive gore or gratuitous violence
• usually feature an amateur detective
• take place in a confined setting and contain characters who know one another

I'd be willing to bet that Agatha winners are almost all fair play whodunits.

The 2009 Agatha winner is The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny. It looks charming!

Wolfpack

Last week, this photo of the "wolfpack" from New Moon was released.

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: 2009

The Pulitzer Prize winners were announced this week. The winner for fiction is Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. LitLovers (the website that featured our group last year!) has a good compendium of summary, biography, and reviews. This book was first brought to my attention through a rave "You Must Read This" review on NPR by Melissa Bank, author of The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing.

Update: Omnivoracious also posted a list of the top 15 most likely winners (regression analysis alert!), before Olive Kitteridge was announced. It might be a good resource for making book selections.

The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo: Final Results

didn't like it - 0
it was OK - 1
liked it - 0
really liked it - 4
it was amazing - 0
didn't finish it - 0

5 votes total

Who are the Girls from Ames?

They are 11 women from Ames, Iowa who have sustained a 40 year-friendship. A new book, The Girls from Ames, has been written about them by Jeffrey Zaslow, who coauthored The Last Lecture with Randy Pausch.

The book highlights their ground rules:

Don’t brag about husbands’ jobs or incomes. Don’t gloat about children’s achievements. Make every effort to be with each other for key events. In addition, Zaslow observes, “Ames girls learned early that the way to keep female friendships alive was to listen and talk, in that order.”

One compelling comment from Jeffrey Zaslow featured in the Christian Science Monitor review:

Men’s relationships take different forms. “Men tend to build friendships until about age 30, but there’s often a steady falloff after that,” Zaslow states. “Men’s friendships tend to be based more on activities than emotions. They connect through sports, work, poker, politics…. Women talk. Men do things together…. Women’s friendships are face to face, while men’s friendships are side by side.”

I think I might have just found my next book pick.

Discussion Guides for Case Histories

From Reading Group Guides

From Transworld Publishers

"Atlas Shrugged is absurd but strangely compellling . . ."

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand is one of many highly read, often cited books that I have never read. I read The Fountainhead in high school and liked it, but then later learned that Rand was a brutal capitalist and haven't been as impressed with it since. Has anyone read Atlas Shrugged? This review certainly makes me interested. Maybe it would be a good choice for the January book one year? I must admit one reason I'm interested is because every now and then it gets discussed on Mad Men!