Tambien

Category "Books"

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June 18, 2010

2010 January - June

I'll need some help piecing these titles into the calendar. As I recall we got a little feisty and skipped around some.

January at Sofitel
February at Sofitel
March at Sofitel
April -M Butterfly live at the Guthrie Theatre
May The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - at Sofitel
June - A Mercy / Toni Morrison / at Monte Carlo in Minneapolis

Posted by s-gang at 7:58 PM | Comments (0) | Books | Friends

Category "Blog"

Category "Books"

Category "Friends"

Category "News"

Book Club's new blog

Hey Book Club friends, the Book Club aspect of Tambien is moving to its own Book Club blog home.

Posted by s-gang at 7:49 PM | Comments (0) | Blog | Books | Friends | News

Category "Books"

August 20, 2009

Book Club Fall 2009

Here are the books for the next three months (and December will be the book exchange party)

16th September - at Susan's - The Outlander by Gil Adamson
21st October - at Roberta's - The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom by Slavomir Rawicz - also in MNCAT under briefer title Long Walk -

18th November
at Anne's - The Shack by William P. Young or A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Other Suggestions:

Susan
The Craftsman by Richard Sennett
Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
Jennifer Johnson is Sick of Being Single by Heather Mcelhatton
Run by Ann Patchett

Roberta
The Road From Coorain by Jill Kerr Conway
The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich
The Rise and Fall of Alexandria by Justin Pollard

Kirsten
Something by A. J. Jacobs:
--The Year of Living Biblically
--The Know-it-all
--The Guinea
Pig Diaries

Anne
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Anything by Alexander McCall Smith (No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and others)
Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut

Posted by s-gang at 10:24 AM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

August 5, 2009

August book club choice

For all of you avid book club blog readers (and lurkers):

August is at Roberta's and we're reading:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Posted by s-gang at 3:32 PM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

Category "Poetry"

June 26, 2009

Friday night book discoveries

First, a trip to the local discount book place unearthed these delights:

--Little Lit: Folklore and Fairy Tale Funnies by Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly
--Strange Stories for Strange Kids (Little Lit, Book 2) by Art Spiegelman

There are more Little Lit titles, including It Was a Dark and Silly Night, which I'm sorry was not on the shelf with the other two!

and I also found this:

Upon returning home, looking for something besides repeated clips of late pop stars, I came upon PBS/TPT's Bill Moyers Journal and his interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning poet W.S. Merwin ("The Shadow of Sirius"). Topics include language, his writing process, the natural world and his career. He made a comment about one poem that quoted his mother as saying "even when you do not know, you will know." "She never really said that, you know," he tells Moyers*.
I found one excerpt here.

*That echoed what Andre Aciman said about his memoir Out of Egypt. Aciman and other authors presented a panel discussion on memoirs at the U of M back in 2007. Watch him read from his book on MediaMill. At the panel he describes writing more than one version of the walk he took with his brother on their last evening in Egypt, and commented that in fact his mother wouldn't have let him/them out of the house. (Soxanne, did I get that right?)

Posted by s-gang at 9:44 PM | Comments (1) | Books | Poetry

Category "Books"

Category "Friends"

June 23, 2009

New Look

Yes, indeed, Tambien has a new look - is anyone besides Anne and me looking?

Posted by s-gang at 5:10 PM | Comments (3) | Books | Friends

Category "Books"

June 18, 2009

July Book Club decision request

From Annie:

We decided tonight not to decide for July.

These are Meggin's suggestions:
- Falling through the Earth by Danielle Trussoni
- Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle
- Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates (really depressing, but good)

Roberta suggested American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

Sarah suggested Jhumpa Lahiri's latest - Unaccustomed Earth: Stories (Sarah, correct me if I'm wrong)

I have The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz on my to-be-read-shelf right now.

Or, if you prefer, Susan suggested that everyone read what they like and report in for the July meeting.

I kind of like that idea.

Y'all ok with it?

Posted by s-gang at 10:04 AM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

June 8, 2009

Meggin's suggestions for July

What do you want to read for July?

-Falling through the earth by Danielle Trussoni

-Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle

-Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates (really depressing, but good)

Posted by s-gang at 9:19 PM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

Lunacy and the Arrangement of Books

Cited in the March/April issue of Technicalities ("Interfaces: A Brief History of Shelving" column by Jean Weihs, pp. 11-14):

Lunacy and the Arrangement of Books

and

House Beautiful: Decorating with Books

reviewed in an article in the Globe and Mail which also referenced The blog on the bookshelf

Posted by s-gang at 1:48 PM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

June 7, 2009

Google Book Search posts agreement today

Google Book Search Settlement Agreement

Posted by s-gang at 8:32 AM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

May 22, 2009

Book Club update 2

MAY: at Punch - Anne and Susan dined with Rosemary in May - sorry the rest of you could not join us!

JUNE: at Sarah's - Obama theme month - read about any or all of the Obama family
for example, see his hers

JULY

AUGUST: at Roberta's - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows - and yes, it's out in paperback now!

Posted by s-gang at 8:41 AM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

May 19, 2009

Book Club May meeting cancelled

Too many complications this month/week mean that we won't be meeting in May. Book club people check your e-mail in the unlikely case that you looked here first!

and by the way vote for your June pick.

June 17 – at Sarah’s –
***we need to decide which of these to do***:

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (due out in paperback April 7, 2009)
--OR --
an Obama theme month - read about any or all of the Obama family
for example, see his hers

And … ***save this for next year when it comes out in paperback*** - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (not yet in paperback) at Roberta’s

update on Guernsey: it just came out in paperback.

Posted by s-gang at 1:03 PM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

May 13, 2009

Book Club change of venue

The May discussion of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire will be at Susan's. Kirsten will host another month. Remember Rosemary will be with us in May!

Posted by s-gang at 10:09 PM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

April 14, 2009

Book Club calendar

April 15 – at Anne’s - The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade by Ann Fessler

***see the related exhibit***
and http://thegirlswhowentaway.com/

May 20 – at Kirsten’s - The Duchess or Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman .

June 17 – at Sarah’s –
***we need to decide which of these to do***:

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (due out in paperback April 7, 2009)

--OR --

an Obama theme month - read about any or all of the Obama family
for example, see his hers

And … ***save this for next year when it comes out in paperback*** - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (not yet in paperback) at Roberta’s

Posted by s-gang at 10:05 AM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

April 2, 2009

Book Club's LibraryThing page

Hi, everyone,
This is just a reminder of the link to our LibraryThing page. I'll get it added to the links on the right, too.

Posted by s-gang at 11:11 AM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

March 19, 2009

MI-5

If you actually read the March book (Agent ZigZag) you might want to catch the new-ish series on tpt2:
MI-5

But it's set in contemporary London...
Here's the description from the public television Web site:
"MI-5
This thrilling series takes us into the world of Intelligence services and secret agents. This topical and edgy drama focuses on the people who have to lie for a living – and who have to deceive their loved ones about what they do. They tackle organized crime, terrorist activities, embassy sieges, weapons proliferation and anarchists, not to mention the conflicts and power struggles back in the office. " It's on right now, probably dead in the middle of the series - Thursday evening 9 p.m.

This is the British site for this program(me): (see wikipedia article on Spooks)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/spooks/
Spooks
Tense drama series about the different challenges faced by the British Security Service as they work against the clock to safeguard the nation

2
TPT 2 HD
CHANNEL 2.1[D]
MI-5: Hackers
Thursday, March 19, 10:00pm
A hacker taps into MI5's computer system.
MI-5: Hackers
Friday, March 20, 4:00am
A hacker taps into MI5's computer system.
MI-5: Hackers
Wednesday, March 25, 12:00am
A hacker taps into MI5's computer system.
MI-5: Hackers
Wednesday, March 25, 6:00am
A hacker taps into MI5's computer system.
MI-5: Blood & Money
Thursday, March 26, 10:00pm
Agents search for a thief who stole $2 billion.
MI-5: Blood & Money
Friday, March 27, 4:00am
Agents search for a thief who stole $2 billion.
MI-5: Blood & Money
Wednesday, April 1, 12:00am
Agents search for a thief who stole $2 billion.
MI-5: Blood & Money
Wednesday, April 1, 6:00am
Agents search for a thief who stole $2 billion.
MI-5: I Spy Apocalypse
Thursday, April 2, 10:00pm
Agents deal with a germ-warfare threat.
MI-5: I Spy Apocalypse
Friday, April 3, 4:00am
Agents deal with a germ-warfare threat.

Posted by s-gang at 9:13 PM | Comments (1) | Books

Category "Books"

The only boy at book club

and he loved the attention!

Posted by s-gang at 10:53 AM | Comments (1) | Books

Category "Books"

March 18, 2009

Book Club updates

Hey Book Club folks,
jump down to February 19 for the updates to the list!

Posted by s-gang at 9:57 PM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

February 19, 2009

Book Club: February 2009 through June

Anne's right on top of things; here's her report:

Last night:
For travel books we talked about Eat, Pray, Love (Sarah), Looking for Lovedu (Anne), 1000 Places to See Before You Die (Kirsten) and Crack in the Edge of the World (Susan). Kirsten had a great approach to the 1000 Places book – opening it at random, for instance, to find something new and/or looking up entries for a place you’re thinking of going so you can add must-sees to your itinerary.

For book picks we have:

March 18 – at Anne’s – Agent Zigzag: A True Story of Nazi Espionage, Love, and Betrayal by Ben Macintyre

April 15 – ***note change***: now at Anne’s - The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade by Ann Fessler

***see the related exhibit***
and http://thegirlswhowentaway.com/

May 20 – at Kirsten’s - The Duchess or Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman (Kirsten – do you know if there’s a difference? I found both on Amazon this morning)
--for edition information see the extended entry....- SG

June 17 – at Sarah’s – ***we need to decide which of these to do***:
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (due out in paperback April 7, 2009)
--OR --
an Obama theme month - read about any or all of the Obama family
for example, see his hers

And … ***save this for next year when it comes out in paperback*** - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (not yet in paperback) at Roberta’s

Other suggestions:
Crack in the Edge of the World by Simon Winchester (Susan)
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac Mccarthy (Sarah)
Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding (Sarah)
Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (Anne)
Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier (Anne)
Looking for Lovedu by Ann Jones (Anne’s travel book – Sarah wants to read it)

Librarian Alert! details from several Worldcat records
Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire
London : HarperCollins,1998 and
Random House, 2000, 1998 and
Modern Library, 2001, 1998

-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Duchess/
Random House, 2008, 2001
Uniform Title: Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire
Edition: Random House Trade pbk. ed. 2008, 2001

Posted by s-gang at 9:27 AM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

January 23, 2009

Aretha's Hat

This in from Anne:
so, apparently the maker of The Hat is now flooded with requests:
http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/38171319.html

...and did someone mention Crowns at Book Club?

Here's the scoop:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385500866
Crowns : portraits of Black women in church hats
by Michael Cunningham; Craig Marberry
Publisher: New York : Doubleday, ©2000.
Edition: 1st ed
ISBN: 0385500866 9780385500869

Posted by s-gang at 3:05 PM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

December 27, 2008

Decoding Midnight's Children

Book Club, if you're trying to sort out all the characters, here are some great sites to simplify the process:

Wikipedia has brief descriptions of each character, and a plot overview:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midnight%27s_Children

Answers.com provides more details on the characters:
http://www.answers.com/topic/midnight-s-children-characters

SparkNotes has even more, if you're looking for more:
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/midnightschildren/

Posted by s-gang at 11:00 PM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

December 16, 2008

Remember Axel and his Dog?

This is definitely worth pursuing!

BookHouse Fulfillment (Publisher's site)

Posted by s-gang at 9:55 AM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

December 8, 2008

NYT article: Fought Over Any Good Books Lately?

Fashion & Style
Fought Over Any Good Books Lately?
By JOANNE KAUFMAN
Published: December 7, 2008
The trouble with book clubs often has little to do with books, or Oprah.

Posted by s-gang at 11:22 AM | Comments (1) | Books

Category "Books"

October 18, 2008

Happy Birthday!

Posted by s-gang at 9:02 PM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

September 27, 2008

A three course feast just for Book Club members

Today I'm serving up three links for your reading pleasure - but wait until after you've relished page 114 to the top of page 115 of Noel Riley Fitch's biography of Julia Child (for November Book Club) -- Appetite for Life.

Bon Appétit!!!

1. Fortune Cookie Chronicles blog

2. Excerpt

3. Image

Posted by s-gang at 9:20 PM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

September 21, 2008

Global view

A new addition to the deskscape.

Posted by s-gang at 8:14 PM | Comments (2) | Books

Category "Books"

July 18, 2008

July to December 2008 Book Club choices!

Thanks to Rosemary for putting this together!

Summary of Book Club new book selection meeting of July 16th.

SCHEDULE

August 20th at Sarah’s
The Piano Tuner
by Daniel Mason
Set in 1800 England and Burma. A tuner of antique pianos is sent to Burma to tune a politically important piano.

September 17th at Roberta’s
Clapton: The Autobiography
by Eric Clapton

October 15th at Meggin’s (note this is Lara’s 40th Birthday Month)
A prayer for Owen Meany
by John Irving
Owen Meany is a dwarfish boy with a strange voice who accidentally kills his best friend's mom with a baseball and believes--accurately--that he is an instrument of God, to be redeemed by martyrdom. John Irving's novel, which inspired the 1998 movie Simon Birch

November 19th at Lara’s (this is the week before Thanksgiving)
Appetite for Life: The Biography of Julia Child
by Noël Riley Fitch

December 17th
Christmas party. Roberta offered to host.

coming in 2009

January 2009 at Susan's

Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie

Salman Rushdie wins Best of the Booker prize
Salman Rushdie's 1981 novel Midnight's Children won the Best of the Booker award July 10, topping a public poll to select the most outstanding novel published in the past 40 years and burnishing the reputation of a book that garnered the Booker of Bookers prize 15 years ago. Rushdie defeated competition from six other finalists to honor the finest novel to have won the U.K.'s annual Man Booker Prize for Fiction since its inception....
Bloomberg, July 10
----------
Read on for other suggestions and 2009 suggestions Susan (and vote for your pick):

Other Suggestions

Sarah
Snow Falling on Cedars
by David Guterson
Really good – takes place 10 years after WWII on an island off of Seattle.

When We Were Orphans
by Kazuo Ishiguro
Recommended by Sarah’s In-Laws
An English boy living in Shanghai has first his father, then his mother, go missing. After growing up in England, he returns to Shanghai to unravel the disappearance of his parents.

Plum Wine
by Angela Davis-Gardner
=0 D
After WWII, set in Japan, an affair involving a Japanese Potter and an American English Teacher.

Roberta

Growing up
by Russell Baker
"Russell Baker is the 1979 Pulitzer Prize winner and a columnist for The New York Times. This book traces his youth in the mountains of rural Virginia."

100 Places Every Woman Should Go (Travelers' Tales)
by Stephanie Elizondo Griest
"Griest highlights 100 special destinations and challenging activities"

The Seven Storey Mountain
by Thomas Merton
"In 1941, a brilliant, good-looking young man decided to give up a promising literary career in New York to enter a monastery in Kentucky, from where he proceeded to become one of the most influential writers of this century. Talk about losing your life in order to find it."

A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906
by Simon Winchester
San Francisco earthquake story by the author of the Professor and the Madman.

Lara

All Quiet on the Western Front
by Erich Maria Remarque
WWI anti-war novel – very well written classic

The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin
by H.W. Brands
Or
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life (Paperback)
by Walter Isaacson

Megan

Shipwrecks
by Akira Yoshimura
Set in a coastal village in medieval Japa n. A small, poor village just eking out a living by fishing also lures ships to wreck on the rocks so they can plunder the spoils.

Suggestions from Susan

Infidel - Ayaan Hirsi Ali
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=infidel&x=0&y=0
I just read this one - it's a quick read but the subject matter is not light. Very powerful autobiography of a Somali woman raised Muslim, and survived a lot....

Out of Egypt - Andre Aciman
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=out+of+egypt&x=0&y=0
Anne and I saw this guy speak. He is a great speaker. The book is semi-auto-biographical.

Cuba Diaries: An American Housewife in Havana
http://www.amazon.com/Cuba-Diaries-American-Housewife-Havana/dp/0767914848/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216171977&sr=8-1

Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
http://www.amazon.com/Midnights-Children-Novel-Salman-Rushdie/dp/0812976533/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216250243&sr=8-1
Salman Rushdie wins Best of the Booker prize
Salman Rushdie's 1981 novel Midnight's Children won the Best of the Booker award July 10, topping a public poll to select the most outstanding novel published in the past 40 years and burnishing the reputation of a book that garnered the Booker of Bookers prize 15 years ago. Rushdie defeated competition from six other finalists to honor the finest novel to have won the U.K.'s annual Man Booker Prize for Fiction since its inception....
Bloomberg, July 10

The Red Tent - Anita Diamant
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=red+tent&x=0&y=0
I read this a few years ago and really enjoyed it but would like to reread it.

The Poisonwood Bible Barbara Kingsolver
http://www.amazon.com/Poisonwood-Bible-Novel-P-S/dp/0060786507/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216252062&sr=1-1
This is a classic I keep meaning to read and this time I will, even if we don't choose it!

Posted by s-gang at 3:17 PM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

June 24, 2008

Jewish Book Council - info for book clubs

Here's a page from the Jewish Book Council that includes book recommendations for book clubs.

Posted by s-gang at 2:08 PM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

June 19, 2008

June book club conversational jottings

Last night, I wrote notes about the books that came up in the conversation on the back of my grocery list. Since then Anne pitched in with some citations, and I finally was awake enough to check the others. Here are some of the fascinating titles and names that came up in the conversation last night. Scroll down to the earlier entry for the Modern Marvels Jewish graphic novels talks at Highland. I'm hoping you can catch one or more. It will be fun!

Desert queen : the extraordinary life of Gertrude Bell, adventurer, adviser to kings, ally of Lawrence of Arabia / Janet Wallach.

Franklin and Winston : an intimate portrait of an epic friendship / Jon Meacham.

Ex libris : confessions of a common reader / Anne Fadiman

The devil in the white city: murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America/
Erik Larson 2003 1st ed.

Other books by Simon Winchester, incl. A Crack in the Edge of the World, Krakatoa, and more: longer list below

Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table by Ruth Reichl true tale, much more than a cooking memoir! (at least it's not about knitting ;-)

The Glass Castle - couple from different socioeconomic classes marry

> Churchill's mother Jennie Jerome Churchill woman with money marries man with title (I think) - mixing of social classes
-- “He has a future and I have a past, so we should be all right.� JJC Quotes

Complications: a surgeon's notes on an imperfect science / Atul Gawande
2002 1st ed. --A brilliant and courageous doctor reveals, in gripping accounts of true cases, the power and limits of modern medicine. Sometimes in medicine the only way to know what is truly going on in a patient is to operate, to look inside with one's own eyes. This book is exploratory surgery on medicine itself, laying bare a science not in its idealized form but as it actually is -- complicated, perplexing, and profoundly human....

Rhett Butler's people / Donald McCaig; Margaret Mitchell
2007 1st ed.

Simon Winchester Bibliography from Contemporary Writers.com
In Holy Terror: Reporting the Ulster Troubles Faber and Faber, 1974
American Heartbeat: Some Notes from a Midwestern Journey Faber and Faber, 1976
Their Noble Lordships: The Hereditary Peerage Today Faber and Faber, 1981
Prison Diary, Argentina Chatto & Windus, 1983
Stones of Empire: The Buildings of the Raj/Jan Morris (with photographs and captions by Simon Winchester) Oxford University Press, 1983
Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire Hodder & Stoughton, 1985
Korea: A Walk Through the Land of Miracles Grafton, 1988
The Pacific Hutchinson, 1991
Pacific Nightmare Sidgwick & Jackson, 1992
Small World (with Martin Parr) Dewi Lewis, 1995
The River at the Centre of the World Viking, 1997
The Surgeon of Crowthorne Viking, 1998
The Fracture Zone: A Return to the Balkans Viking, 1999
America's Idea of a Good Time (with Kate Schermerhorn) Dewi Lewis, 2001
The Map That Changed the World Viking, 2001
Krakatoa - The Day the World Exploded: 27 August 1883 Viking, 2003
The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary Oxford University Press, 2003
A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906 Viking, 2005

> movies:
Fierce People (misremembered as Anthropology) - another but unusual story of social class struggles of an adolescent son of divorced parents

Incredible Hulk

Iron Man

Posted by s-gang at 3:17 PM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

Category "Library Matters"

Category "News Blast"

June 18, 2008

Modern Marvels

Don't miss Modern Marvels, which kicks off next Tuesday evening, 7 p.m. at Highland Park Branch of St. Paul Public Library!

MODERN MARVELS: ADVENTURES IN THE GRAPHIC NOVEL

The University Libraries are delighted to work with the University of Minnesota Center for Jewish Studies and the Friends of Saint Paul Public Library to present a second book discussion series in Let's Talk About It: Jewish Literature.

The Highland Park Branch of the Saint Paul Public Library will host the free five-part reading and discussion series called Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature – Modern Marvels.

Judith Katz will lead these five discussions. Katz is author of several books and teaches at the University of Minnesota Center for Jewish Studies.
Katz has received several awards and grants, including a Loft McKnight Award, Fiction. Her numerous writings include the novel, The Escape Artist and Running Fiercely Toward a High Thin Sound, for which she won the International Association of the Fantastic in the Arts Crawford Prize for Best New Fiction.

BOOK TITLES TO BE DISCUSSED

*June 24, 2008 */A Contract with God/ by Will Eisner
*July 8 */The Complete Maus/ by Art Spiegelman
*July 22* /Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer/ by Ben Katchor
*August 5 */The Quitter / by Harvey Pekar
*August 19* /The Rabbi's Cat/ by Joann Sfar

To register contact Susan Gangl

The series explores Jewish literature and culture through scholar-led discussions of contemporary and classic books on the theme of “Modern Marvels: Jewish Adventures in the Graphic Novel.� The program is the result of a grant to the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities Libraries, which is partnering with The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library. Local support is provided by the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Minnesota. Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature, a reading and discussion series, has been made possible through a grant from Nextbook and the American Library Association.

Posted by s-gang at 10:59 PM | Comments (0) | Books | Library Matters | News Blast

Category "Books"

May 15, 2008

Book Club schedule change!

May meeting cancelled - have fun!!

June and July - note how "early" the third Wednesdays occur in June and July...

June 18th
The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester at Roberta’s

July 16th
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame at Meggin’s

and think about what books you want to propose for the next round!

(original schedule here)

Posted by s-gang at 12:25 PM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

April 19, 2008

Dixie Cups

Dixie cups as an ice cream phenomenon (vs. little drinking cups) came up in the conversation at book club last time.
I mentioned that the Oceanaire in Philly serves Dixie Cups.

Here's the story of the original Dixie Cups, from this site:
http://ww2.lafayette.edu/~library/special/dixie/company.html
Dixie's first great success story after moving to Easton began in 1923, with an idea of merchandising an individual serving of ice cream in a Dixie cup. The company's first contracts were with Weed's Ice Cream Company of Allentown and Carry Ice Cream Company of Washington, D.C. to sell a 5oz. cup for ten cents. Although the first experiments were a disaster, the company soon developed a smaller, more rigid 2 1/2 oz.cup that would not absorb moisture, or crumble in the filling process, that would sell for five cents. To develop an adequate filling machine, Mojonnier Brothers, authorities on the engineering of filling devices, created an automatic machine to fill a paper cup with two flavors of ice cream at one time. Ice Cream Dixies earned almost instantaneous consumer acceptance.

and another site that has a picture:
http://www.ameshistoricalsociety.org/stories/moore.htm

Here is a lid:
http://www.brucetharp.com/thassets/TIC%20Dixie%20cup%20lid%20-%20front.jpg

Posted by s-gang at 11:59 AM | Comments (1) | Books

Category "Books"

April 17, 2008

Modern Marvels this summer

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/3rdWedBookClub
Anne has added new entries under Modern Marvels.

Posted by s-gang at 9:54 PM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

March 24, 2008

Books about books

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader
by Ann Fadiman (daughter of Clifton Fadiman, former chief editor at Simon Schuster.)

and...
New-ish Books in Wilson Library (in English) about books

for example:

For the love of books : 115 celebrated writers on the books they love most
Shwartz, Ronald B.
Grosset/Putnam c1999

Books and reading in the lives of notable Americans : a biographical sourcebook McCrossan, John Anthony, 1930-
Greenwood Press 2000

Rereadings
Fadiman, Anne, 1953-
1st ed. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux 2005

The romance of the book
Brooks, Marshall.
Birch Brook Pr. c1995

Lost classics
Ondaatje, Michael, 1943-
1st Anchor Books ed. Anchor Books 2001

A passion for books
Salwak, Dale.
St. Martin's Press 1999

Posted by s-gang at 3:35 PM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

Literary Reconstruction: our book club lists from the early days

Here's a list Anne put back together in June 2004; I'll add in dates and rearrange as we edit this list!

Shipping News - Annie Proulx
Two Old Women - Velma Wallis
Bel Canto - Ann Patchett
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
The Color of Water - James McBride
My Forbidden Face - Latifa
Girl With Pearl
Death Comes to the Archbishop - Willa Cather
The Bondswoman's Narrative - Hannah Crafts - June 2003 (pool party night!)
The Spell of the Sensuous - David Abram
Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood
The Virgin Blue
Paradise - Toni Morrison
The Nine Parts of Desire - Geraldine Brooks
The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri
Instance of the Fingerpost - Iain Pears
A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
The Bonesetter's Daughter - Amy Tan
The Heartsong of Charging Elk - James Welsh
(Shame on me - no particular order!)

And here's another list from Anne sent in March 2002: This is most likely our very first round, since Postville is number 1!

Sarah
A Fine Balance- Rohinton Mistry (currently reading)
The Blind Assassin – Margaret Atwood – many layers
Interpreter of Maladies-Jhumpa Lahiri – short stories both US and India (Pulitzer)

Suzie
Peace Like a River – Lief Enger – local author
Dali Lama (anything)
Bone Setter’s Daughter – Amy Tan – mother daughter stuff btwn China and USA

Roberta
One Thousand White Women – Jim Fergus
The Heartsong of Charging Elk – James Welch – Native American left behind in France
Personal History – Katherine Graham – ran the Washington Post

Anne
Postville – Stephen Bloom
Founding Brothers –Joseph Ellis
Big Chief Elizabeth – Giles Milton

Schedule:
April 10- Me (=Anne) – Postville – Stephen Bloom
May 8 – Donna – A Fine Balan ce – Rohinton Mistry
June 12 –Suzie- Bonesetter’s Daughter – Amy Tan
July 10- Roberta -The Heartsong of Charging Elk – James Welch
August 14 – Sarah- The Interpreter of Maladies – Jhumpa Lahiri

And while we're talking about books here's a book about books:
Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader
by Ann Fadiman (daughter of Clifton Fadiman, former chief editor at Simon Schuster.)

Posted by s-gang at 12:44 PM | Comments (1) | Books

Category "Books"

March 13, 2008

Graphic Novels on Booklist

Check out this list of graphic novels listed in Booklist and gear up for some hot reads this summer!

Posted by s-gang at 10:13 AM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

January 9, 2008

Book Group Buzz - from BookList

Something to try out if you have some spare time:
http://bookgroupbuzz.booklistonline.com/

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Category "Books"

October 18, 2007

Book Club Selections Nov 2007 - June 2008

The Schedule:

November 28th (note that this is not the third Wednesday)
Skipping Christmas by John Grisham at Rosemary’s

December 19th
Bring a book to give. Party at Susan’s

January 16th
Anything by Doris Lessing at Ruth’s

February 20th
Ultraviolet Sky by Alma Luz Villanueva at April’s

March 19th
Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik at Anne’s

April 16th
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen at Susan’s

May 21st
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame at Meggin’s

June 18th
The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester at Roberta’s

Other Suggestions:

Rosemary:
I Should Have Stayed Home: The Worst Trips of the Great Writers by Roger Rapoport
The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell

April:
The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

Roberta:
Miracles on the Water: The Heroic Survivors of a World War II U-Boat Attack by Tom Nagorski
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Ruth:
They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky: The True Story of Three Lost Boys from Sudan by Alphonsion Deng
The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca by Tahir Shah
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Meggin:
As Hot as It Was You Ought to Thank Me by Nanci Kincaid
Me & Emma by Elizabeth Flock

Susan:
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Choice of any book, then come to book club and tell everyone about it

Anne:
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi
Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman
Henry VIII (theme)

Other classics:
Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

Posted by s-gang at 10:29 AM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

August 18, 2007

Librarything for Book Club

Check out our very own LIbraryThing catalog that Anne set up for us! She's even tagged our books for each of us. It's also a great place to look for new book ideas.

Thanks Anne!

Posted by s-gang at 8:17 AM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

May 17, 2007

Book List for the 3rd Wednesday Book Club

June – Dial M: The Murder of Carol Thompson by William Swanson
Hosted by Ruth at Anne’s

July – A Simple Story by Y S Agnon
7 PM TUESDAY July 17 at Highland Park branch library

August – Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan
Hosted by Sarah at Anne’s

September – Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
Hosted by Anne

October – Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Hosted by Roberta

Other suggestions:

Roberta
Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier
Eleanor: The Years Alone by Joseph Lash
One Matchless Time: The Life of William Faulkner by Jay Parini
Any classic – everyone browsed a list – some suggestions were:
Vanity Fair, House of Mirth, Pride & Prejudice, Ivanhoe, The Four Feathers

Susan
Out of Egypt by Andre Aciman
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
Poetry sampler or poem a month?

Anne
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea
The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Sansom
The Patron Saint of Desperate Situations by John Harrigan
Museum of the Missing by Simon Houpt

Posted by s-gang at 10:21 AM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

April 24, 2007

Pop reading

Check out the popular reading at the Wise Owl Cafe

Also, author Carlos Eire will be on campus this week for two events. He is the author of Waiting for Snow in Havana. There's an interview with him in Sunday's Saint Paul Pioneer Press. See full cite below.

Writer plows headlong through the intersection of his past and that of others
BY MARY ANN GROSSMANN
Book Critic
Article Launched: 04/22/2007 12:01:00 AM CDT
http://www.twincities.com/searchresults/ci_5705918?nclick_check=1

Posted by s-gang at 9:42 AM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

November 22, 2006

2007 Book List

Here’s the list for upcoming events and reading…and don’t forget, we have a library at
http://www.librarything.com/
User ID - check Anne's e-mail message.

Find it in a library near you: http://worldcat.org/

20 Dec : at Roberta’s – holiday party, no reading but bring a book wrapped for exchange

17 Jan : at Roberta’s – The Seven Daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes

21 Feb : Sarah’s book at Anne’s – Orlando:A Biography by Virginia Woolf

21 Mar : at Rosemary’s – shared humor (see list below, read whatever you like and share)

18 Apr : at Anne’s – The Librarian by Larry Beinhart

16 May : at Susan’s – Zazie in the Metro by Raymond Queneau

June : Meggin (tba)

For those of you who weren’t there in November, bring suggestions whenever you like.

Other books suggested:

Roberta:
Blue Sky by Galsan Tschinag
Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier
An Hour Before Daylight by Jimmy Carter

Sarah:
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran de Sai
The Road From the Elephant Pass by Nihal de Silva
Love by Toni Morrison

Susan:
Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
A Certain Smile and Painted Lady by Francoise Sagan
Davita’s Harp by Chaim Potok

Rosemary:
When You Look Like Your Passport Photo, It’s Time to Go Home and
All I Know About Animal Behavior I Learned in Loehmann’s Dressing Room by Erma Bombeck
Just Keep Going North by Rick Eichert
Molly Ivins Can’t Say That, Can She? and
You Got to Dance With Them What Brung You by Molly Ivins
If You Can’t Say Something Nice by Calvin Trillin

Anne:
Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi Wa'Thiong'O
Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie
On Beauty by Zadie Smith

http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=2-0156031515-0

Posted by s-gang at 9:29 AM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

November 8, 2006

Books I probably won't read

While shopping for a hand lotion at Target.com I ran across these titles. Maybe I'm in the wrong business!

The 2007-2012 World Outlook for Hand Lotion
Paperback
~ Philip M. Parker
Usually ships within 4 to 6 weeks. Our Price: $795.00

The 2007-2012 Outlook for Womens Hand Creams and Lotions in the United States
Paperback
~ Philip M. Parker
Usually ships within 4 to 6 weeks. Our Price: $495.00

The 2007-2012 Outlook for Hand Lotions in the United States
Paperback
~ Philip M. Parker
Usually ships within 4 to 6 weeks. Our Price: $495.00

Posted by s-gang at 10:01 AM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

October 19, 2006

November book and on to a new list!!!

The revised book list - November's book will be
Snow flower and the secret fan : a novel /Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
it's Megan's book, but we'll meet at Rosemary's place (just to keep things interesting).

Powell's Books

And bring your book suggestions for the next round.
PS December non-book social book club night will be at Roberta's.

Posted by s-gang at 5:23 PM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

July 18, 2006

Tintin

Check out PBS' program on the creator of Tintin.
Marvelous!

Posted by s-gang at 2:32 PM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

July 10, 2006

Summer Fall Book Club Picks

July -- A Country Doctor's Casebook by Roger A. MacDonald (Rosemary's pick) at Meggin's

August -- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon -- at Ruth's

September -- The White by Deborah Larsen. at Sarah's

October 18 – The Painted Drum (Erdrich) at Roberta’s

Posted by s-gang at 10:08 AM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

March 23, 2006

Book Club Spring Summer 2006

Here is our new Book Club Schedule:

April 19 – The Cape Ann (Sullivan) at Anne’s

May 17 – Roosevelt (theme) at Anne’s

June 21 – The Seville Communion (Perez-Reverte) at Susan’s

July -- A Country Doctor's Casebook by Roger A. MacDonald (Rosemary's pick) at Meggin's

August -- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon -- at Ruth's

September -- The White by Deborah Larsen. at Sarah's

October 18 – The Painted Drum (Erdrich) at Roberta’s

The rest can be filled in as we go…(see below)
…see you next month…
--Anne

Book Picks / Suggestions
March 22, 2006

Rosemary

A Country Doctor’s Casebook: Tales from the North Woods / Roger A MacDonald

Eggs in the Coffee, Sheep in the Corn / Marjorie Meyers Douglas

Minnesota Goes to War: The Home Front During WWII / Dave Kenney

Dial M: The Murder of Carol Thompson / William Swanson

John Dillinger Slept Here: A Crooks Tour of Crime and Corruption in St. Paul 1920-1936 / Paul Maccabee

Roberta

River of Doubt / Candice Millard

Chief Joseph and the Flight of the Nez Perce / Kent Nerburn

The Painted Drum / Louise Erdrich

The Gospel of Mary Magdalene / Jean-Yves Leloup

The Professor and the Madman / Simon Winchester

Susan
The Red Tent or Good Harbor / Anita Diamant
Poisonwood Bible / Barbara Kingsolver
The Cape Ann / Faith Sullivan

Dreams From My Father/ Barack Obama

The Seville Communion / Arturo Perez-Reverte

Memoirs of a Geisha / Arthur Golden

Anne

Assassination Vacation / Sarah Vowell

Shantaram / Gregory David Roberts

The World is Flat / Thomas Friedman

Themes: Lincoln / Civil War / Roosevelt (Eleanor, FDR, Teddy)

Posted by s-gang at 1:37 PM | Comments (2) | Books

Category "Books"

March 14, 2006

Sor Juana's Second Dream

Author info for book club:

Author Biography: Alicia Gaspar de Alba

Author's page at César E. Chávez Center for Chicana and Chicano Studies at UCLA.

Reviews of Sor Juana's Dream

Posted by s-gang at 3:35 PM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

February 23, 2006

Book Club

Congrats to Sarah for leaving book club last month and going into labor two hours later.... Mom and baby are doing fine!

Last book for this go-round will be Sor Juana's Second Dream, at Susan's in March.

Get ready to share your book candidates for the next stint!

Posted by s-gang at 6:29 PM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

October 19, 2005

Book club choices from Susan

To my book club co-members: here are four titles, Amazon has reviews; three are in paperback and the other will be coming out in paper soon (not sure when).

------------------------------------------------
Sor Juana's Second Dream: A Novel (Hardcover)
by Alicia Gaspar De Alba -
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0826320910/103-7564016-6756637?v=glance&n=283155&v=glance
other review:
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/chavez/SorJuanaNovel.html

Family (Paperback)by Pa Chin

The World Is Flat : A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century (Paperback)
Thomas L. Friedman coming in paperback (not yet available)

A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam (Paperback)
Karen Armstrong http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345384563/103-7564016

Posted by s-gang at 10:19 AM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

August 22, 2005

Book Club update!

August - at Anne's
Blue Latitudes by Tony Horwitz

September - at Roberta's
The Mapmaker's Wife by Robert Whittaker

October - at Ruth's
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Ann Fadiman

November - at Sarah's
Read the book she brought you from Sri Lanka

(No December meeting)

January - Rosemary - A Novena for Murder by Carol Anne O'Marie

February - Meagan - Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

And other suggestions :

Killing Custer by James Welch
Father Joe by Tony Hendra
Lady in the Tower by Jean Plaidy
White Oleander by Janet Fitch
Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The Sari Shop by Rupa Bajwa
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Over the Edge of the World by Laurence Bergreen
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Posted by s-gang at 1:22 PM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

May 18, 2005

Book Club catch-up

Our book club recently discussed Neither Wolf Nor Dog by Kent Nerburn His book is very special and is just about at the top of my list, along with Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance.

Neither Wolf Nor Dog is also one of the few books that everyone in the group thoroughly enjoyed! Then again something we all love about our book club, in addition to its broad cultural scope, is the exposure to books we never would have read otherwise.

Other books and movies were mentioned in the course of our discussion:
What the Bleep Do We Know?
Pow Wow Highway
and others (but I left my notes at home!).

Next month we will discuss Getting Mother's Body by Suzan-Lori Parks

I finished that one and enjoyed it. Now I'm reading Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik. Not on the book club list, this one's just for fun.

Eventually I will get to Philip Roth's A Human Stain, but after two (or is it five?) weeks of steady rain, it just sounds too depressing to tackle right now!

Posted by s-gang at 11:58 AM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

May 5, 2005

Mia

Last weekend I was scouting out the neighborhood of my youth, considering moving back there. I stopped at the public library branch and the nearby recreation center. Working in a library I have access to thousands of books but a public library has leisure reading that is not always available on campus. As I wandered the stacks I spotted Mia Farrow's autobiography, What Falls Away. I checked it out, drawn by curiosity. What a delight to discover what an eloquent writer she is. And what a story. I read it quickly and am still fascinated by her life and her ability to cope with what she's experienced. A belated thank you to Mia!

Posted by s-gang at 9:25 AM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

April 21, 2005

Book Club goes Bookless for a month

We recently enjoyed a bookless book club night, cruising on wine flights. Next month we'll cover this month's and next month's titles in one fell swoop: Nerburn's Neither Wolf nor Dog, and Suzan-Lori Parks' Getting Mother's Body.

Posted by s-gang at 8:58 AM | Comments (0) | Books

Category "Books"

March 30, 2005

Book Club choices 2005

February 16- At Suzie's - Waiting for Snow in Havana - by Carlos Eire
March 16 - At Rosemary's - Reading Lolita in Tehran - by Azar Nafisi
April 20 - At Anne's - Getting Mother's Body - by Suzan-Lori Parks
May 18 - At Roberta's - Neither Wolf Nor Dog - by Kent Nerburn
June 15 - At Ruth's - The Human Stain - by Philip Roth

Posted by s-gang at 5:44 PM | Comments (0) | Books