Orphan Train

The Bookworms reunited on December 1st at The Blu Fig to discuss Orphan Train by Christina Baker Cline. This book is historical fiction about a movement from 1854-1929 that placed orphaned and homeless children in new homes transported by train. We discussed Vivian's (ninety one year old) and Molly's (seventeen year old girl) relationship, differences, and their emotional bond throughout the novel. As always, the bookworms made many connections to text, self and world.  Great company and discussion, excellent  "vino", and  good food with free garlic bread, it was a wonderful time together!
      -- Diana

INFIDEL - November 3, 2014

Infidel = a person who does not believe in a religion that someone regards as the true religion

It was an intimate and cozy evening at the Blu Fig, as six of us met to discuss Ayaan Hirsi Ali's book, Infidel. November always seems to be a hard month to get all the bookworms out! Perhaps because of the small group though, we had many interesting conversations as we endeavored to answer all of the questions about Islam, women, genital mutilation, immigrants, western values vs. Muslim values, and the multiple problems Ayaan brought up in her fascinating story.

We discussed "Geography is Destiny", one of Abraham Verghese's comments in Cutting For Stone. I am certain that each and every one of us is extremely grateful to be an American woman. It was sobering to absorb all the things Ayaan endured as a child growing up in Somalia, Kenya, and Saudi Arabia. The genital mutilation, the beatings, the education, the moving from country to country. We all agreed that she is an incredibly brave and intelligent woman. I first read the book about a year or two after it was first published, and I still remember Ayaan's description of her first bike ride, and first time ever wearing pants, in Holland!

Was it worth it for Ayaan to tell her story? We agreed that her book is of utmost importance. Clearly, this is her individual story, and not a representation of how all Muslims feel and behave. Yet, why don't the moderate Muslims speak out more forcefully and more often against the fundamentalists? Is it because they are afraid?

This book is a wake up call to beware of the fundamentalist factions of Islam. We discussed some current events in the news, in light of Hirsi Ali's book, including ISIS, and France. Some of the bookworms had seen an upsetting story on 60 Minutes just the previous night, about fundamentalist Muslims in London. Ayaan maintains a website, http://theahafoundation.org/. I urge you to visit it, and read about how the AHA foundation works to protect and defend the rights of women and girls in the U.S. from harmful traditional practices. Yes--genital mutilation, honor violence, and forced marriage are happening in communities in the United States.

Dearest bookworms, I missed you if you weren't able to join us, and am so thankful to those of you who could come!

XXOO

Robin

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan Philipp Sendker -- at the Rego Residential Palace!

Dear Bookworm Friends,

First of all let me share with you how thrilled I was that just about everyone was here for this book club meeting. Nicole and Tracy we missed you, I know you haven’t joined us in the past few years but we still think of you.  Diana and Carmen it was a great surprise to have you join us. Thank you all for coming.  

I was happy to hear that everyone enjoyed the book and that you found it to have a message in some way for you. Reading books with underlying messages not only gives us insight into why we do what we do, but re-affirms for us that peaceful and loving ways are what triumph over others. My greatest message was that we should not believe everything we hear unless it comes directly from the person involved. Someone else mentioned how kindness and love for others not only makes you beautiful on the inside but it reflects on your beauty on the outside. Thank you again for making the book club meeting a success and for participating in such an enthusiastic manner.

YEAR 6 BEGINS!

 Humans make art, but art makes us human

The Neary Book Club met for the first time to kick off the 2014-15 school year with the extra long summer reading assignment, the Pulitzer Prize novel,  The Goldfinch.  A fun time was had by all.

The Goldfinch is a novel about the trauma of loss, the yearning for love and companionship, the craziness of lonely adolescent youth, the transcendence of beauty and the power of art. It is a tale of a young man traumatized by an explosion that altered the trajectory of his life and the development of his characger. The plot includes a tongue-in-cheeck gangter scene and an unexpected denouement.

The group reached general consensus, that Tartt could have easily shortened the novel by about 400 pages!!! Oh well, have a great month, until we meet again.

----Irene

 

FIVE YEARS COMPLETED!

 
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My very dear Bookworms,

First of all, thanks to those of you who joined our discussion on Still Life With Bread Crumbs.  Here is my take on the book and on the meeting.

Rebecca Winters is a 60 year old photographer, who is redefining herself: with career and finances dwindling, still caring for aging parents, after raising a son (mostly on her own) and now feeling forced to rent out her NYC apartment to live in a more affordable cottage in the country.  There are many themes in this story, including spousal abuse, animal abuse, infidelity, and mental illness. 

Anna Quindlen develops her characters well.  My favorite was Jim Bates, who was able to see things in real life better than what Rebecca saw with her camera lens.  Many of Rebecca’s most valued photos were actually accidental. I believe the photograph named “Still Life With Bread Crumbs”, was actually the feminist voice of Anna Quindlen to suggest “how empty the existence of the average American woman was” and “the bread crumbs were an allusion to Hansel and Gretel, leaving a trail so someone can find you, rescue you…”. In the story, Jim Bates, a working class hero, was able to really “see” and know the truth behind the characters of Sarah, of Kevin, of Jack the Dog, and of Rebecca, and sadly also, what the white crosses really signified.

I had no idea what this book would be about when I decided to lead it.  I knew I wanted to get it read for when I met Anna Quindlen in person.  Which I did.  And I did mention our book club. She responded of how she’s corrected others when they comment that people are not reading any more.  She tells them that there is such an emergence of book clubs all over the country. People are reading!  If you go on youtube.com, you will find many videos of her talks about this book and others.  I have mentioned that before you read Anna’s fiction novels, you should take 15 minutes to read A Short Guide to a Happy Life.  At our book club meeting, it seemed that a few Bookworms decided to definitely read other Quindlen books.  That is good.  She is a smart, very impressive woman, who values education, teachers, family life and feminism.  She’s married with 3 grown children, was the op-ed columnist for the NY Times as well as writing for Newsweek, has won a Pulitzer prize and she chaired the Board of Trustees at Barnard for 5 years.  She is asked to give commencement speeches all over the country as she’s such a good speaker—a true inspiration to young adults.

In the book, I also really enjoyed Sarah and her “Tea for Two” café.  I would love to go to a place like that!  So I made some scones.  I’ve had some before.  Unfortunately, with the rush, mine were partly burnt.  Find the recipe below.  Enjoy!

I’d like to thank all of you who were present at our last meeting, for listening to me and your kind responses.  Membership in this group is TRULY a BLESSING!

Have a great summer!   

Love, Lourdes

SIMPLE SCONES  (find this on allrecipes.com to see video)

Ingredients 

Original recipe makes 8 scones

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen

½ cup raisins (or dried currants)

½ cup sour cream

1 large egg

Directions

1.                         Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.                         In a medium bowl, mix flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Grate butter into flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater; use your fingers to work in butter (mixture should resemble coarse meal), then stir in raisins.

3.                         In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth.

4.                         Using a fork, stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Use your hands to press the dough against the bowl into a ball. (The dough will be sticky in places, and there may not seem to be enough liquid at first, but as you press, the dough will come together.)

5.                         Place on a lightly floured surface and pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tsp. of sugar. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 triangles; place on a cookie sheet (preferably lined with parchment paper), about 1 inch apart. Bake until golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.

The Last Annversary

The Last Anniversary, by Liane Moriarty, was our topic of discussion. Robin opened the discussion with the question of postpartum depression. Some members of the club had experienced this condition, but not to Grace's extent. Other themes of the story were love, relationships, secrecy, and changes. Mary V. agreed with the character's opinion about love. Is love a decision? "After the honeymoon period, and all that life sends your way, a husband and wife may decide to stay together even though the passion has waned somewhat."  

What would you do if someone left you property and you weren't even related to them? I enjoyed reading this book and sharing it with my bookworms!! 

Thank you! --
Myrna

The Husband's Secret

 

HAPPY SPRING, HAPPY PASSOVER, HAPPY EASTER!

We missed some of our bookworms but we were excited to celebrate Lourdes’ birthday! Thank you Maria R. and Robin for the delicious desserts!

I read The Husband’s Secret well before I met my favorite “worms”. I thought this may be a good book club novel, thought provoking --- it made you think: What would you do? I am so glad so many of you enjoyed reading it. Liane Moriarty’s characters reach turning points in their lives and are forced to re-examine their identities as well as their relationships. Many of the characters harbor secrets. It seems as if Cecilia is placed in an unavoidable position where her discovery of John-Paul’s letter leads to a chain of events that she may not be totally responsible for. 

Are human relationships capable of complete honesty? At the end of the novel after so many emotional events unfold – it is HOPE that allows the characters to look to their futures! Remember; use your compass to find your way! This is another novel that has had its film rights purchased. Boy, do we have a lot of movies to see! 

See you May 5th.

Jill

March 3,2014-- hosted by Mary Velez

Hello Bookworms!

I was so happy the snow didn't affect our ability to have our meeting. I so look forward to our time together.  As expected we had a special time eating and sharing, What is better than eating, sharing and laughing. I think you ladies are amazing!  We had a special guest, one of our founders, Diana Perez-Birmingham  graced us with her presence. It was so nice to have you with us. We surely missed the rest of you that couldn't make it .

We discussed an intense book on child abuse, neglect and homelessness. Thank God it had a happy ending. Robin loves happy endings.  But in many cases, as we shared, there aren't many happy endings due to the flaws of the foster care system and the children not having the will or perseverance that Regina Calcaterra's family obtained.  For this reason, Regina was compelled to write her story to bring light to this issue.  We shared that we work with some of these families and how we can make a difference in touching their lives for the better.  What would be a meeting without one of Lourdes stories? She had two this time of personal experiences with abused children and how she was inspirational in their life.

Let us continue to be a shining, guiding light in our work and support our families in the best way we can.  I look forward to next months book club meeting, on Monday, April 7th.  Jill is hosting and the book is "The Husband's Secret" by Liane Moriarty.

Happy Reading Ladies!

Be Blessed!

Mary

Me Before You

 

We prevailed against the weather and the cold and had the opportunity to meet once again to discuss and reflect on our book of the month! We all agreed that we enjoyed reading Me Before You right through the end.  It was thoroughly engaging and thought provoking. As we discussed it, we made connections with other books we read in the past as well as with personal experiences we've had. It was intriguing to see how many applications we were able to make with the title and the characters in the book. Was it 

Will before Lou?

Louisa's family before her?  

Louisa's sunrising life vs Will's sunsetting one?

Patrick before Louisa?

It seemed as though Louisa was caught in the midst of whirlwind that pulled her in all directions. All that continued until Will began to widen her horizons. He helped spark her thinking and was instrumental in freeing her from some of her past negative experiences, stagnating relationships and responsibilities that tugged at her. In the end her life was much more meaningful but that came at a great emotional cost for Louisa! 

The other and most controversial line of this book centered on the topic of euthanasia. Though our opinions vary on where to draw the line on the topic of maintaining quality of life vs the sustaining of life at whatever cost, we all agree that decisions of this nature are complex and of a deeply personal nature. 

As always, it was wonderful to spend time with great friends as we shared our thoughts and reflection on the reading of Me Before You!  Thank you for coming and have a fantastic V- Day! 

Love, 

Miggy

Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez

 

Our January book selection was Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez. The story was historical fiction, about the dictatorship of Raphael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. The story is told from the viewpoint of the 12 year old main character, Anita. Anita's family must hide and eventually flee to escape from Trujillo.

Many of us were interested to learn more about the history of the Dominican Republic. Throughout our discussion, Maria Pages was able to relate to the story and compare her childhood experience growing up in Cuba under the dictator of Fidel Castro. We also discussed our favorite characters - Oscar, Chucha, Mama -- but everyone seemed to like Chucha the best. We compared how families lived in the past, and how they presently live. Many of the ladies are interested in watching the movie that was based on the Mirabal sisters referenced in the book, called "In The Time of Butterflies".

                                                                                 -----Yvette 

If you are interested in reading about Julia Alvarez and Bill Eichner (her opthalmologist/farmer husband) and their Vermont and Dominican farming, please click on the links below.

                                                                              cafealtagracia.com
http://mcse.middlebury.edu/2013/03/01/spring-speaker-series-lessons-learned-from-cafe-alta-gracia/