1) Who is Asher’s “mythic ancestor,” and what do his “visits” to Asher mean in the book?
2) Discuss the significance of the Levs’ living room window and the
venetian blinds? Which characters look out the window, and why? In what
way does the window become symbolic at the end of the book?
3) What hints does the reader receive regarding the events of Jacob Kahn’s past experiences as a Jewish artist?
4) Does Asher do the right thing or not by portraying his mother in a crucifixion painting? Discuss.
5) Aryeh’s religious beliefs clash with his son’s love of art. Explain
why Aryeh reacts the way he does, and how his reaction impacts his
relationship with Asher.
6) What role does the Rebbe play in Asher’s life?
7) Discuss the significance of Asher's lengthy stay in Europe.
8) Why does Potok choose to set My Name is Asher Lev in a Hasidic community?
9) Who plays the largest role in Asher's life and development?
10) Compare and contrast the way Asher's parents relate to him.
11) My Name is Asher Lev focuses heavily
on the clash between cultures and the coming of age of a boy caught
between two opposed traditions. This conflict is further conveyed in the
mixed usage of language from both worlds. For example, at the very
beginning of the book there is a paragraph beginning, "Often on Shabbos
or festivals…." Here, the colloquial Yiddish word, "Shabbos" for the
Sabbath is juxtaposed with the English word, "festivals," for the
holidays. In Lev's household, the word "festivals would not have been
used. This juxtaposition makes clear the change Lev has undergone and
the continued cultural conflict in which he is mired. After all, he has
forsaken only some, but not all of the Hebrew or Yiddish expressions for
English ones.
Monday, December 14, 2015
January 2016: "You" by Caroline Kepnes
For January, Becky has chosen the book "You" by Caroline Kepnes. "Be forewarned - it is both unforgettable and a bit of a freak show," Becky remarked.
Praise for Caroline Kepnes and You:
“Hypnotic and scary.” —Stephen King
“I am RIVETED, AGHAST, AROUSED, you name it. The rare instance when prose and plot are equally delicious.” —Lena Dunham
From debut author Caroline Kepnes comes You, one of Suspense Magazine’s Best Books of 2014, and a brilliant and terrifying novel for the social media age.
When a beautiful, aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, he does what anyone would do: he Googles the name on her credit card.
There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chance” meeting.
As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder.
A terrifying exploration of how vulnerable we all are to stalking and manipulation, debut author Caroline Kepnes delivers a razor-sharp novel for our hyper-connected digital age. You is a compulsively readable page-turner that’s being compared to Gone Girl, American Psycho, and Stephen King’s Misery.
- See more at: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Caroline-Kepnes/464841279#sthash.xrw9Tcyl.dpuf
“Hypnotic and scary.” —Stephen King
“I am RIVETED, AGHAST, AROUSED, you name it. The rare instance when prose and plot are equally delicious.” —Lena Dunham
From debut author Caroline Kepnes comes You, one of Suspense Magazine’s Best Books of 2014, and a brilliant and terrifying novel for the social media age.
When a beautiful, aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, he does what anyone would do: he Googles the name on her credit card.
There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chance” meeting.
As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder.
A terrifying exploration of how vulnerable we all are to stalking and manipulation, debut author Caroline Kepnes delivers a razor-sharp novel for our hyper-connected digital age. You is a compulsively readable page-turner that’s being compared to Gone Girl, American Psycho, and Stephen King’s Misery.
Caroline Kepnes
Caroline Kepnes is a native of Cape Cod and the author of many published short stories. She has covered pop culture for Entertainment Weekly, Tiger Beat, E! Online, and Yahoo. She has also written for television shows, including 7th Heaven and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Her directorial debut short film, Miles Away, premiered
at the Woods Hole Film Festival. Caroline is a Brown University
graduate now residing in Los Angeles in the same building that the
Hillside Strangler once called home. She spends a lot of time on Cape
Cod.
http://www.carolinekepnes.com/
Caroline Kepnes is a native of Cape Cod and the author of many published short stories. She covered pop culture for Entertainment Weekly, Tiger Beat, E! Online, and Yahoo. She has also written for television shows, including 7th Heaven and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Her directorial debut short film, Miles Away, premiered at the Woods Hole Film Festival. Her first novel You is in development at Showtime. It was shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Award and named a Suspense Magazine Best Book of the Year. Caroline is a Brown University graduate now residing in Los Angeles.
Thursday, November 19, 2015
December 2015: My Name is Asher Lev
Amy's final book pick is... My Name is Asher Lev, one of author Chaim Potok's better known works.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Asher Lev is a Ladover Hasid who keeps kosher, prays three times a day and believes in the Ribbono Shel Olom, the Master of the Universe. Asher Lev is an artist who is compulsively driven to render the world he sees and feels even when it leads him to blasphemy. In this stirring and often visionary novel, Chaim Potok traces Asher’s passage between these two identities, the one consecrated to God, the other subject only to the imagination.
Asher Lev grows up in a cloistered Hasidic community in postwar Brooklyn, a world suffused by ritual and revolving around a charismatic Rebbe. But in time his gift threatens to estrange him from that world and the parents he adores. As it follows his struggle, My Name Is Asher Lev becomes a luminous portrait of the artist, by turns heartbreaking and exultant, a modern classic.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chaim Potok (February 17, 1929 – July 23, 2002) was an American Jewish author and rabbi. Potok is most famous for his first book The Chosen (1967), which was listed on The New York Times’ best seller list for 39 weeks and sold more than 3,400,000 copies.
Herman Harold Potok was born in Buffalo, New York, to Benjamin Max (died 1958) and Mollie (née Friedman) Potok (died 1985), Jewish immigrants from Poland. He was the oldest of four children, all of whom either became or married rabbis. His Hebrew name was Chaim Tzvi (חיים צבי).
He received an Orthodox Jewish education. After reading Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited as a teenager, he decided to become a writer (he often said that the novel Brideshead Revisited is what inspired his work and literature). He started writing fiction at the age of 16. At age 17 he made his first submission to the magazine The Atlantic Monthly. Although it wasn't published, he received a note from the editor complimenting his work.
In 1949, at the age of twenty, his stories were published in the literary magazine of Yeshiva University, which he also helped edit. In 1950, Potok graduated summa cum laude with a BA in English Literature.
After four years of study at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America he was ordained as a Conservative rabbi. He was appointed director of LTF, Leaders Training Fellowship, a youth organization affiliated with Conservative Judaism.
Potok met Adena Sara Mosevitzsky, a psychiatric social worker, at Camp Ramah in Ojai, California, where he served as camp director (1957–59). They were married on June 8, 1958, and had three children.
After the publication of Old Men at Midnight, he was diagnosed with brain cancer. He died at his home in Merion, Pennsylvania on July 23, 2002, aged 73.
DID YOU KNOW?
- In 1972, he published My Name is Asher Lev, the story of a boy struggling with his relationship with his parents, religion and his love of art.
- In 1990, he published The Gift of Asher Lev, the sequel to My Name is Asher Lev.
- His novel The Chosen was made into a film released in 1981, which won the most prestigious award at the World Film Festival, Montreal. Potok had a cameo role as a professor.
- While not Hasidic, Potok was raised in an extremely Orthodox home. In the book, Asher Lev wants to be a painter which causes much conflict with his father who wants him to do something else, much as Chaim Potok did during his childhood. Asher decides to continue as a painter and it disturbs his family, but Potok eventually decided to be an author and painted in his free time. Potok has said he relates to Asher Lev more than any of his other characters.
~ Wikipedia
Asher Lev is a Ladover Hasid who keeps kosher, prays three times a day and believes in the Ribbono Shel Olom, the Master of the Universe. Asher Lev is an artist who is compulsively driven to render the world he sees and feels even when it leads him to blasphemy. In this stirring and often visionary novel, Chaim Potok traces Asher’s passage between these two identities, the one consecrated to God, the other subject only to the imagination.
Asher Lev grows up in a cloistered Hasidic community in postwar Brooklyn, a world suffused by ritual and revolving around a charismatic Rebbe. But in time his gift threatens to estrange him from that world and the parents he adores. As it follows his struggle, My Name Is Asher Lev becomes a luminous portrait of the artist, by turns heartbreaking and exultant, a modern classic.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Herman Harold Potok was born in Buffalo, New York, to Benjamin Max (died 1958) and Mollie (née Friedman) Potok (died 1985), Jewish immigrants from Poland. He was the oldest of four children, all of whom either became or married rabbis. His Hebrew name was Chaim Tzvi (חיים צבי).
He received an Orthodox Jewish education. After reading Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited as a teenager, he decided to become a writer (he often said that the novel Brideshead Revisited is what inspired his work and literature). He started writing fiction at the age of 16. At age 17 he made his first submission to the magazine The Atlantic Monthly. Although it wasn't published, he received a note from the editor complimenting his work.
In 1949, at the age of twenty, his stories were published in the literary magazine of Yeshiva University, which he also helped edit. In 1950, Potok graduated summa cum laude with a BA in English Literature.
Potok met Adena Sara Mosevitzsky, a psychiatric social worker, at Camp Ramah in Ojai, California, where he served as camp director (1957–59). They were married on June 8, 1958, and had three children.
After the publication of Old Men at Midnight, he was diagnosed with brain cancer. He died at his home in Merion, Pennsylvania on July 23, 2002, aged 73.
DID YOU KNOW?
- In 1972, he published My Name is Asher Lev, the story of a boy struggling with his relationship with his parents, religion and his love of art.
- In 1990, he published The Gift of Asher Lev, the sequel to My Name is Asher Lev.
- His novel The Chosen was made into a film released in 1981, which won the most prestigious award at the World Film Festival, Montreal. Potok had a cameo role as a professor.
- While not Hasidic, Potok was raised in an extremely Orthodox home. In the book, Asher Lev wants to be a painter which causes much conflict with his father who wants him to do something else, much as Chaim Potok did during his childhood. Asher decides to continue as a painter and it disturbs his family, but Potok eventually decided to be an author and painted in his free time. Potok has said he relates to Asher Lev more than any of his other characters.
~ Wikipedia
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Monday, October 19, 2015
November 2015: Eating Wildly: Foraging for Life, Love and the Perfect Meal
Our November 2015 Eating Wildly: Foraging for Life, Love and the Perfect Meal by Ava Chin. The description fascinates me, and I hope we all learn lots about plants and herbs. Plus, the
Huffington Post named her one of "9 Contemporary Authors You Should Be
Reading."
ABOUT THE BOOK
In this touching and informative memoir about foraging for food in New York City, Ava Chin finds sustenance...and so much more.
Urban foraging is the new frontier of foraging for foods, and it's all about eating better, healthier, and more sustainably, no matter where you live. Time named foraging the "latest obsession of haute cuisine," but the quest to connect with food and nature is timeless and universal.
Ava Chin, aka the "Urban Forager," is an experienced master of the quest. Raised in Queens, New York, by a single mother and loving Chinese grandparents, Chin takes off on an emotional journey to make sense of her family ties and romantic failures when her beloved grandmother becomes seriously ill. She retreats into the urban wilds, where parks and backyards provide not only rare and delicious edible plants, but a wellspring of wisdom.
As the seasons turn, Chin begins to view her life with new "foraging eyes," experiencing the world as a place of plenty and variety, where every element--from flora to fauna to fungi--is interconnected and interdependent. Her experiences in nature put her on a path to self-discovery, leading to reconciliation with her family and finding true love.
Divided into chapters devoted to a variety of edible and medicinal plants, with recipes and culinary information, Eating Wildly will stir your emotions and enliven your taste buds.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ABOUT THE BOOK
Urban foraging is the new frontier of foraging for foods, and it's all about eating better, healthier, and more sustainably, no matter where you live. Time named foraging the "latest obsession of haute cuisine," but the quest to connect with food and nature is timeless and universal.
Ava Chin, aka the "Urban Forager," is an experienced master of the quest. Raised in Queens, New York, by a single mother and loving Chinese grandparents, Chin takes off on an emotional journey to make sense of her family ties and romantic failures when her beloved grandmother becomes seriously ill. She retreats into the urban wilds, where parks and backyards provide not only rare and delicious edible plants, but a wellspring of wisdom.
As the seasons turn, Chin begins to view her life with new "foraging eyes," experiencing the world as a place of plenty and variety, where every element--from flora to fauna to fungi--is interconnected and interdependent. Her experiences in nature put her on a path to self-discovery, leading to reconciliation with her family and finding true love.
Divided into chapters devoted to a variety of edible and medicinal plants, with recipes and culinary information, Eating Wildly will stir your emotions and enliven your taste buds.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ava Chin is the author of the award-winning "Eating Wildly:
Foraging for Life, Love, and the Perfect Meal," which Library Journal
named one of the "Best Books of 2014." Described by Kirkus Reviews as "A
delectable feast of the heart," Eating Wildly won 1st Prize in the MFK
Fisher Book Awards 2015. Ava Chin's writing has appeared in the New York
Times (as the "Urban Forager"), Marie Claire, the Village Voice, and
Saveur, among others. An associate professor of creative nonfiction at
CUNY, she lives in Manhattan with her husband and daughter. The
Huffington Post named her one of "9 Contemporary Authors You Should Be
Reading."
Tamar discussion questions
1) Characterize the relationship between Tamar and Dart. How do they feel
about each other? What is this relationship based on? Why doesn't Tamar
tell Dart about Marjike?
2) What kind of person does it take to do Tamar and Dart's job? Why did they choose this, despite the risks? Do you think they regret it? What would you do?
3) How do you think 1995 and 1944 are connected? What makes you think that? How does the switch back and forth affect your reading?
4) What is the purpose of girl Tamar's trip? How does this match her grandfather's purpose for sending her on the trip? How is this trip changing her?
5) In the end of the book, do you agree with the decision of all the characters? Do you agree with Peet's decision as a writer? How would you have changed the end of the novel?
6) Were there any puzzles or questions left unanswered?
2) What kind of person does it take to do Tamar and Dart's job? Why did they choose this, despite the risks? Do you think they regret it? What would you do?
3) How do you think 1995 and 1944 are connected? What makes you think that? How does the switch back and forth affect your reading?
4) What is the purpose of girl Tamar's trip? How does this match her grandfather's purpose for sending her on the trip? How is this trip changing her?
5) In the end of the book, do you agree with the decision of all the characters? Do you agree with Peet's decision as a writer? How would you have changed the end of the novel?
6) Were there any puzzles or questions left unanswered?
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Neverwhere discussion questions
Neverwhere Discussion Questions
- In the first chapter, before Richard leaves for London from Scotland and months before he meets Door, a woman tells him he has a good heart and that “Sometimes that’s enough to see you safe wherever you go… But mostly, it’s not.” In what other ways does Neverwhere present the dilemma that kindness and safety are unrelated?
- London Below is made up of people who have fallen through the cracks. As an outsider to London who dislikes drawing attention to himself, does Richard belong in London Below? Is it his meek disposition and sense of displacement that drew him there in the first place?
- Why do you think Richard sees Door on the sidewalk when Jessica does not? Is it indifference to his fiancee and to his life in general that opens him up to Door and her world?
- Why is Door so attached to Richard when he is clearly in over his head? When Mr. Croup asks the marquis de Carabas why she permits the “upworlder” to travel with her, the marquis responds that “it’s sentimentality on her part.” Do you agree?
- Discuss trust among the characters in the novel, particularly in relation to the Angel Islington and the marquis de Carabas. Why does Door implicitly trust de Carabas, and does Richard trust him as well or just go along? As a reader, do you trust the Angel’s intentions early on in the novel?
- Is Hunter’s betrayal out of character for her? Do her actions at the end of her life redeem her?
- Why does the girl who escorts Richard to the Floating Market, Anaesthesia, fail to make it across Night’s Bridge? Hunter says that the bridge is only noises in the dark, and the only harm is done by one’s own fear and imagination. Is it Anaesthesia’s fear that takes her? And why didn’t the same happen to Richard?
- What traits about London Below strike you most? Conversely, how does Gaiman portray London Above? Are both worlds presented with positive and negative aspects? Are they direct opposites of each other?
- Old Bailey talks about how no one lives in the city now, and London Above is presented as somewhat sterile and cold. London Below, on the other hand, is a throwback to less sanitized city living, but is presented in a more attractive way in the end. What about the novel is a commentary on urban life?
- Do you think that despite his original fear and reluctance, Richard comes to enjoy himself in London Below? If so, when?
- When Richard has to undergo “The Ordeal” at the Black Friars’ it’s suggested that he’s been imagining all of London Below after a nervous breakdown of some kind in the “real” world. Do you think it’s possible that London Below is only a product of Richard’s imagination?
- At the end of the book, why does Richard choose to return to London Below? Does his newfound position as a hero in London Below make him more or less vulnerable?
Thursday, September 3, 2015
October 2015 book: Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal
Julie has selected Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal by Mal Peet as our October 2015 read.
ABOUT THE BOOK
From acclaimed British sensation Mal Peet comes a masterful story of adventure, love, secrets, and betrayal in time of war, both past and present.
When her grandfather dies, Tamar inherits a box containing a series of clues and coded messages. Out of the past, another Tamar emerges, a man involved in the terrifying world of resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied Holland half a century before. His story is one of passionate love, jealousy, and tragedy set against the daily fear and casual horror of the Second World War — and unraveling it is about to transform Tamar’s life forever.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
ABOUT MAL PEET
Mal Peet was an English author and illustrator best known for young-adult fiction. He has won several honours including the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Prize, British children's literature awards that recognise "year's best" books
He recently passed away.
ABOUT THE BOOK
From acclaimed British sensation Mal Peet comes a masterful story of adventure, love, secrets, and betrayal in time of war, both past and present.
When her grandfather dies, Tamar inherits a box containing a series of clues and coded messages. Out of the past, another Tamar emerges, a man involved in the terrifying world of resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied Holland half a century before. His story is one of passionate love, jealousy, and tragedy set against the daily fear and casual horror of the Second World War — and unraveling it is about to transform Tamar’s life forever.
From School Library Journal
Starred Review. Grade 8 Up—This lengthy Carnegie Medal-winning novel is masterfully crafted, written in cinematic prose, and peopled by well-drawn, multidimensional characters. Intense and riveting, it is a mystery, a tale of passion, and a drama about resistance fighters in the Netherlands during World War II. The story unfolds in parallel narratives, most told by an omniscient narrator describing the resistance struggle, and fewer chapters as a narrative told by 15-year-old Tamar, the granddaughter of one of the resistance fighters. The locale and time shift between Holland in 1944 and '45 and England in 1995. The constant dangers faced by the resistance fighters as well as their determination to succeed in liberating their country from German occupation come vividly to life. Dart, Tamar, and Marijke are the main characters in this part of the book. Their loyalty to one another and the movement is palpable though love and jealousy gradually enter the story and painfully change the dynamics. Other characters jeopardize the safety of the group and intensify the life-threatening hazards they face. Peet deftly handles the developing intrigue that totally focuses readers. After her beloved grandfather commits suicide, modern-day Tamar is determined to undercover the mystery contained in a box of seemingly unrelated objects that he has left for her. Peet keeps the story going back and forth in time, and readers must wait till the end of this intricate book to understand fully what happened to these courageous people. This is an extraordinary, gripping novel.—Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
*Starred Review* It was her taciturn but beloved grandfather, William Hyde, who gave Tamar her strange name. But in 1995, when she was 15, he committed suicide, leaving her to wonder if she knew him at all. Later, when she opens the box of War II memorabilia that he left her, she's struck by the need to find out what it means, who he really was, and where she fits in. Tension mounts incrementally in an intricate wrapping of wartime drama and secrecy, in which Tamar finds her namesake and herself. Forming the backbone of the novel are intense, sometimes brutal events in a small Dutch town in Nazi-occupied Holland and the relationship between the girl's namesake, a member of the Dutch Resistance; Dart, a code operator assigned to help him; and Marijke, the love of his life. Peet's plot is tightly constructed, and striking, descriptive language, full of metaphor, grounds the story. Most of the characters are adults here, and to some readers, the Dutch history, though deftly woven through the story, will seem remote. But Peet's sturdy, emotionally resonant characterizations and dramatic backdrop will pull readers forward, as will the secret that gradually unravels. Despite foreshadowing, the outcome is still a stunner. Winner of Britain's 2005 Carnegie Medal, this powerful story will grow richer with each reading. Stephanie ZvirinCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Mal Peet was an English author and illustrator best known for young-adult fiction. He has won several honours including the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Prize, British children's literature awards that recognise "year's best" books
He recently passed away.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Quinoa Salad
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/quinoa-salad-recipe0.html
Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
12 cups water
1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed
5 pickling cucumbers, peeled, ends trimmed, and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 small red onion, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 large tomato, cored, seeded, and diced
1 bunch Italian parsley leaves, chopped
2 bunches mint leaves, chopped
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 lemon, juiced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 heads endive, trimmed and separated into individual spears
1 avocado, peeled, seeded and diced, for garnish
Directions
Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the quinoa, stir once, and return to a boil. Cook uncovered, over medium heat for 12 minutes. Strain and rinse well with cold water, shaking the sieve well to remove all moisture.
When dry, transfer the quinoa to a large bowl. Add the cucumbers, onion, tomato, parsley, mint, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and toss well. Spoon onto endive spears, top with avocado, and serve.
Ingredients
12 cups water
1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed
5 pickling cucumbers, peeled, ends trimmed, and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 small red onion, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 large tomato, cored, seeded, and diced
1 bunch Italian parsley leaves, chopped
2 bunches mint leaves, chopped
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 lemon, juiced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 heads endive, trimmed and separated into individual spears
1 avocado, peeled, seeded and diced, for garnish
Directions
Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the quinoa, stir once, and return to a boil. Cook uncovered, over medium heat for 12 minutes. Strain and rinse well with cold water, shaking the sieve well to remove all moisture.
When dry, transfer the quinoa to a large bowl. Add the cucumbers, onion, tomato, parsley, mint, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and toss well. Spoon onto endive spears, top with avocado, and serve.
Monday, August 24, 2015
Cucumber Yogurt Soup
From Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
8 small-medium cucumbers, peeled and chopped
3 c. water
3 c. plain yogurt
2 T dill
1 T bottled lemon juice (optional)
1 C nasturium leaves and petals (optional)
Combine ingredients in food processor until smooth. Chill before serving. Garnish with nasturium flowers.
8 small-medium cucumbers, peeled and chopped
3 c. water
3 c. plain yogurt
2 T dill
1 T bottled lemon juice (optional)
1 C nasturium leaves and petals (optional)
Combine ingredients in food processor until smooth. Chill before serving. Garnish with nasturium flowers.
Frijole Mole (Green Bean Dip)
http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/recipes-summer-frijole-mole.htm
1/2 lb. trimmed green beans
Steam until tender
1 coarsely chopped onion
1 tbs. olive oil
Sautee onions over medium heat until they become slightly transparent.
3 hard boiled eggs
2 cups fresh basil leaves
1 tbs. lemon juice (optional)
Combine beans, cooked onions, eggs, basil and lemon juice in food processor and blend into a coarse puree.
Mayonnaise or yogurt
Salt and pepper
Remove puree to a bowl and combine with enough mayonnaise or yogurt to hold mixture together. Add salt and pepper
1/2 lb. trimmed green beans
Steam until tender
1 coarsely chopped onion
1 tbs. olive oil
Sautee onions over medium heat until they become slightly transparent.
3 hard boiled eggs
2 cups fresh basil leaves
1 tbs. lemon juice (optional)
Combine beans, cooked onions, eggs, basil and lemon juice in food processor and blend into a coarse puree.
Mayonnaise or yogurt
Salt and pepper
Remove puree to a bowl and combine with enough mayonnaise or yogurt to hold mixture together. Add salt and pepper
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Animal Vegetable Miracle book questions
Discussion Questions
1. What was your perception of America's food industry prior to reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle? What did you learn from this book? How has it altered your views on the way food is acquired and consumed?
2. In what ways, if any, have you changed your eating habits since reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle? Depending on where you live—in an urban, suburban, or rural environment—what other steps would you like to take to modify your lifestyle with regard to eating local?
3. "It had felt arbitrary when we sat around the table with our shopping list, making our rules. It felt almost silly to us in fact, as it may now seem to you. Why impose restrictions on ourselves? Who cares?" asks Kingsolver in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle? Did you, in fact, care about Kingsolver's story and find it to be compelling? Why or why not? What was the family's aim for their year-long initiative, and did they accomplish that goal?
4. The writing of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle was a family affair, with Kingsolver's husband, Steven L. Hopp, contributing factual sidebars and her daughter, Camille Kingsolver, serving up commentary and recipes. Did you find that these additional elements enhanced the book? How so? What facts or statistics in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle surprised you the most?
5. How does each member of the Kingsolver-Hopp family contribute during their year-long eating adventure? Were you surprised that the author's children not only participated in the endeavor but that they did so with such enthusiasm? Why or why not?
6. "A majority of North Americans do understand, at some level, that our food choices are politically charged," says Kingsolver, "affecting arenas from rural culture to international oil cartels and global climate change." How do politics affect America's food production and consumption? What global ramifications are there for the food choices we make?
7. Kingsolver advocates the pleasures of seasonal eating, but she acknowledges that many people would view this as deprivation "because we've grown accustomed to the botanically outrageous condition of having everything always." Do you believe that American society can—or will— overcome the need for instant gratification in order to be able to eat seasonally? How does Kingsolver present this aspect in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle? Did you get the sense that she and her family ever felt deprived in their eating options?
8. Kingsolver points out that eating what we want, when we want comes "at a price." The cost, she says, "is not measured in money, but in untallied debts that will be paid by our children in the currency of extinctions, economic unravelings, and global climate change." What responsibility do we bear for keeping the environment safe for future generations? How does eating locally factor in to this?
9. Kingsolver asserts that "we have dealt to today's kids the statistical hand of a shorter life expectancy than their parents, which would be us, the ones taking care of them." How is our "thrown-away food culture" a detriment to children's health? She also says, "We're raising our children on the definition of promiscuity if we feed them a casual, indiscriminate mingling of foods from every season plucked from the supermarket." What responsibility do parents have to teach their children about the value and necessity of a local food culture?
10. In what ways do Kingsolver's descriptions of the places she visited on her travels—Italy, New England, Montreal, and Ohio—enhance her portrayal of local and seasonal eating?
11. "Marketing jingles from every angle lure patrons to turn our backs on our locally owned stores, restaurants, and farms," says Kingsolver. "And nobody considers that unpatriotic." How much of a role do the media play in determining what Americans eat? Discuss the decline of America's diversified family farms, and what it means for the country as a whole.
(Questions issued by publisher.)
1. What was your perception of America's food industry prior to reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle? What did you learn from this book? How has it altered your views on the way food is acquired and consumed?
2. In what ways, if any, have you changed your eating habits since reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle? Depending on where you live—in an urban, suburban, or rural environment—what other steps would you like to take to modify your lifestyle with regard to eating local?
3. "It had felt arbitrary when we sat around the table with our shopping list, making our rules. It felt almost silly to us in fact, as it may now seem to you. Why impose restrictions on ourselves? Who cares?" asks Kingsolver in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle? Did you, in fact, care about Kingsolver's story and find it to be compelling? Why or why not? What was the family's aim for their year-long initiative, and did they accomplish that goal?
4. The writing of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle was a family affair, with Kingsolver's husband, Steven L. Hopp, contributing factual sidebars and her daughter, Camille Kingsolver, serving up commentary and recipes. Did you find that these additional elements enhanced the book? How so? What facts or statistics in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle surprised you the most?
5. How does each member of the Kingsolver-Hopp family contribute during their year-long eating adventure? Were you surprised that the author's children not only participated in the endeavor but that they did so with such enthusiasm? Why or why not?
6. "A majority of North Americans do understand, at some level, that our food choices are politically charged," says Kingsolver, "affecting arenas from rural culture to international oil cartels and global climate change." How do politics affect America's food production and consumption? What global ramifications are there for the food choices we make?
7. Kingsolver advocates the pleasures of seasonal eating, but she acknowledges that many people would view this as deprivation "because we've grown accustomed to the botanically outrageous condition of having everything always." Do you believe that American society can—or will— overcome the need for instant gratification in order to be able to eat seasonally? How does Kingsolver present this aspect in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle? Did you get the sense that she and her family ever felt deprived in their eating options?
8. Kingsolver points out that eating what we want, when we want comes "at a price." The cost, she says, "is not measured in money, but in untallied debts that will be paid by our children in the currency of extinctions, economic unravelings, and global climate change." What responsibility do we bear for keeping the environment safe for future generations? How does eating locally factor in to this?
9. Kingsolver asserts that "we have dealt to today's kids the statistical hand of a shorter life expectancy than their parents, which would be us, the ones taking care of them." How is our "thrown-away food culture" a detriment to children's health? She also says, "We're raising our children on the definition of promiscuity if we feed them a casual, indiscriminate mingling of foods from every season plucked from the supermarket." What responsibility do parents have to teach their children about the value and necessity of a local food culture?
10. In what ways do Kingsolver's descriptions of the places she visited on her travels—Italy, New England, Montreal, and Ohio—enhance her portrayal of local and seasonal eating?
11. "Marketing jingles from every angle lure patrons to turn our backs on our locally owned stores, restaurants, and farms," says Kingsolver. "And nobody considers that unpatriotic." How much of a role do the media play in determining what Americans eat? Discuss the decline of America's diversified family farms, and what it means for the country as a whole.
(Questions issued by publisher.)
September 2015: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Andrea has picked "Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman as our September book.
ABOUT THE BOOK
ABOUT THE BOOK
Richard Mayhew is a young man with a good
heart and an ordinary life, which is changed forever when he stops to
help a girl he finds bleeding on a London sidewalk.
His small act of kindness propels him into a world he never dreamed existed. There are people who fall through the cracks, and Richard has become one of them. And he must learn to survive in this city of shadows and darkness, monsters and saints, murderers and angels, if he is ever to return to the London that he knew.
"A fantastic story that is both the stuff of dreams and nightmares" (San Diego Union-Tribune), Neil Gaiman's first solo novel has become a touchstone of urban fantasy, and a perennial favorite of readers everywhere.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neil Gaiman was born in Hampshire, UK, and now lives in the United States near Minneapolis. As a child he discovered his love of books, reading, and stories, devouring the works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, James Branch Cabell, Edgar Allan Poe, Michael Moorcock, Ursula K. LeGuin, Gene Wolfe, and G.K. Chesterton. A self-described "feral child who was raised in libraries," Gaiman credits librarians with fostering a life-long love of reading: "I wouldn't be who I am without libraries. I was the sort of kid who devoured books, and my happiest times as a boy were when I persuaded my parents to drop me off in the local library on their way to work, and I spent the day there. I discovered that librarians actually want to help you: they taught me about interlibrary loans."
Neil Gaiman is credited with being one of the creators of modern comics, as well as an author whose work crosses genres and reaches audiences of all ages. He is listed in the Dictionary of Literary Biography as one of the top ten living post-modern writers and is a prolific creator of works of prose, poetry, film, journalism, comics, song lyrics, and drama.
Gaiman wrote the screenplay for the original BBC TV series of Neverwhere (1996); Dave McKean's first feature film, Mirrormask (2005), for the Jim Henson Company; and cowrote the script to Robert Zemeckis's Beowulf. He produced Stardust, Matthew Vaughn's film based on Gaiman's book by the same name.
MORE AT
http://www.neilgaiman.com/About_Neil/Biography
His small act of kindness propels him into a world he never dreamed existed. There are people who fall through the cracks, and Richard has become one of them. And he must learn to survive in this city of shadows and darkness, monsters and saints, murderers and angels, if he is ever to return to the London that he knew.
"A fantastic story that is both the stuff of dreams and nightmares" (San Diego Union-Tribune), Neil Gaiman's first solo novel has become a touchstone of urban fantasy, and a perennial favorite of readers everywhere.
Amazon.com Review
Neverwhere's protagonist, Richard Mayhew, learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished. He ceases to exist in the ordinary world of London Above, and joins a quest through the dark and dangerous London Below, a shadow city of lost and forgotten people, places, and times. His companions are Door, who is trying to find out who hired the assassins who murdered her family and why; the Marquis of Carabas, a trickster who trades services for very big favors; and Hunter, a mysterious lady who guards bodies and hunts only the biggest game. London Below is a wonderfully realized shadow world, and the story plunges through it like an express passing local stations, with plenty of action and a satisfying conclusion. The story is reminiscent of Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but Neil Gaiman's humor is much darker and his images sometimes truly horrific. Puns and allusions to everything from Paradise Lost to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz abound, but you can enjoy the book without getting all of them. Gaiman is definitely not just for graphic-novel fans anymore. --Nona Vero --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.Neil Gaiman was born in Hampshire, UK, and now lives in the United States near Minneapolis. As a child he discovered his love of books, reading, and stories, devouring the works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, James Branch Cabell, Edgar Allan Poe, Michael Moorcock, Ursula K. LeGuin, Gene Wolfe, and G.K. Chesterton. A self-described "feral child who was raised in libraries," Gaiman credits librarians with fostering a life-long love of reading: "I wouldn't be who I am without libraries. I was the sort of kid who devoured books, and my happiest times as a boy were when I persuaded my parents to drop me off in the local library on their way to work, and I spent the day there. I discovered that librarians actually want to help you: they taught me about interlibrary loans."
Neil Gaiman is credited with being one of the creators of modern comics, as well as an author whose work crosses genres and reaches audiences of all ages. He is listed in the Dictionary of Literary Biography as one of the top ten living post-modern writers and is a prolific creator of works of prose, poetry, film, journalism, comics, song lyrics, and drama.
Gaiman wrote the screenplay for the original BBC TV series of Neverwhere (1996); Dave McKean's first feature film, Mirrormask (2005), for the Jim Henson Company; and cowrote the script to Robert Zemeckis's Beowulf. He produced Stardust, Matthew Vaughn's film based on Gaiman's book by the same name.
MORE AT
http://www.neilgaiman.com/About_Neil/Biography
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Amy's pumpkin pie recipe
I use a combination of this:
and the recipe from here: http://glutenfreegoddess.
June's Quinoa Salad
(This is my best to quantify the little of this, little of that salad recipe!)
2 cups prepared Quinoa (cook 1 cup Quinoa with 2 cups boiling water. Add in 1T powdered bouillon for flavor when you add the quinoa to the water.)
Add:
3/4 c. chopped artichoke hearts
1/3 c. sliced olives
1 can beans such as garbanzo or Aduki red beans
1/4 c. diced scallions
1 c. spinach or romaine, sliced into threads
Fresh herbs of choice: cilantro, thyme, etc.
Top with oil and vinegar-based dressing of choice. You may also want to consider sprinkling sunflower seeds on top.
2 cups prepared Quinoa (cook 1 cup Quinoa with 2 cups boiling water. Add in 1T powdered bouillon for flavor when you add the quinoa to the water.)
Add:
3/4 c. chopped artichoke hearts
1/3 c. sliced olives
1 can beans such as garbanzo or Aduki red beans
1/4 c. diced scallions
1 c. spinach or romaine, sliced into threads
Fresh herbs of choice: cilantro, thyme, etc.
Top with oil and vinegar-based dressing of choice. You may also want to consider sprinkling sunflower seeds on top.
Becky's Chicken Tortilla Soup
Single recipe makes 8 servings.
Ingredients
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons chili powder (or more)
2 teaspoons cumin (or more)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 (10.5 ounce) cans condensed chicken broth
1 cup whole corn kernels, cooked
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and shredded
Yummy toppers
shredded Monterey Jack cheese
sour cream
chopped green onions
crushed tortilla chips
sliced avocado
Directions
In
a small frying pan, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic
in oil until soft. Stir in chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and
pepper.
Combine onion and garlic with tomatoes,
broth, corn, chiles, beans, cilantro and chicken in crockpot. Cook on
high for 4-5 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
Ladle
soup into individual serving bowls, and top with cheese, sour cream,
crushed tortilla chips, avocado slices and/or chopped green onion.
Southwest Crockpot Breakfast
Ingredients
2 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 lb. bulk breakfast sausage, cooked and drained
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4-oz. can chopped green chilies (or jalapeno peppers), drained (or fresh)
2-1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack, cheddar or Pepper Jack cheese (or a combo)
18 eggs
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Directions
Grease
inside of 5-quart crockpot with butter. Starting with sausage, layer
meat, onions, peppers, chilies and cheese, repeating the layering
process until all ingredients are used.
In
large mixer bowl, beat eggs with wire whisk or eggbeater until combined,
then pour over mixture in the crockpot. Cover and cook on low 5-7
hours. Serve with sour cream or fresh salsa.
The eggs should reach 165 degrees F.
Becky's Stuffed Zucchini
Stuffed Zucchini
Ingredients
6 medium zucchini
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, diced
1/2 cup mushrooms
2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
2 tomatoes, diced
1 cup of parmesan cheese
1 cup of cheddar or mozzarella cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
1-2 pound of lean ground turkey
Directions
1.
Cut zucchini in half lengthwise. Scoop out insides, leaving shells
about 1/4 inch thick. Reserve about half of the insides. Lightly salt
the inside of the shells.
2. Hear 2 Tbsp of
olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat. Saute onion and garlic
until soft and golden color. Add mushrooms and reserved zucchini
insides. Saute another 2 min. Remove from skillet and set aside.
3.
Heat a Tbsp of olive oil on medium high heat. Add the ground turkey.
Lightly brown the brown turkey, stirring only occasionally. Drain any
excess fat. Stir in the onion and mushroom mixture. Add the vinegar.
Stir in tomato, and cook 1 min. longer. Remove mixture from heat and set
aside.
4. When mixture has cooled, add the
cheese, egg, salt and pepper. Fill zucchini shells with mixture. Fill a
baking pan with 1/4 inch of water. Place filled zucchini halves in pan
and bake at 375 degrees for 30 min., until lightly brown. Remove
zucchini from pan and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
Makes 12 half pieces or 24 quarter pieces.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
August 2015: Animal Vegetable Miracle
Cass has picked "Animal Vegetable Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver because "it's about food."
ABOUT THE BOOK
Author Barbara Kingsolver and her family abandoned the industrial-food pipeline to live a rural life—vowing that, for one year, they’d only buy food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is an enthralling narrative that will open your eyes in a hundred new ways to an old truth: You are what you eat.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Barbara Kingsolver was born in 1955 in Annapolis, Maryland, and grew up in rural Kentucky. She counts among her most important early influences: the Bookmobile, a large family vegetable garden, the surrounding fields and woods, and parents who were tolerant of nature study but intolerant of TV.
Beginning around the age of nine, Barbara kept a journal, wrote poems and stories, and entered every essay contest she ever heard about. Her first published work, "Why We Need a New Elementary School," included an account of how the school's ceiling fell and injured her teacher. The essay was printed in the local newspaper prior to a school-bond election; the school bond passed. For her efforts Barbara won a $25 savings bond, on which she expected to live comfortably in adulthood.
After high school graduation she left Kentucky to enter DePauw University on a piano scholarship. She transferred from the music school to the college of liberal arts because of her desire to study practically everything, and graduated with a degree in biology. She spent the late 1970's in Greece, France and England seeking her fortune, but had not found it by the time her work visa expired in 1979. She then moved to Tucson, Arizona, out of curiosity to see the American southwest, and eventually pursued graduate studies in evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona. After graduate school she worked as a scientific writer for the University of Arizona before becoming a freelance journalist.
Kingsolver's short fiction and poetry began to be published during the mid-1980's, along with the articles she wrote regularly for regional and national periodicals. She wrote her first novel, The Bean Trees, entirely at night, in the abundant free time made available by chronic insomnia during pregnancy. Completed just before the birth of her first child, in March 1987, the novel was published by HarperCollins the following year with a modest first printing. Widespread critical acclaim and word-of-mouth support have kept the book continuously in print since then. The Bean Trees has now been adopted into the core curriculum of high school and college literature classes across the U.S., and has been translated into more than a dozen languages.
She has written eleven more books since then, including the novels Animal Dreams , Pigs in Heaven, The Poisonwood Bible, and Prodigal Summer ; a collection of short stories (Homeland ); poetry (Another America ); an oral history (Holding the Line ); two essay collections (High Tide in Tucson, Small Wonder ); a prose-poetry text accompanying the photography of Annie Griffiths Belt (Last Stand ); and most recently, her first full-length narrative non-fiction, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. She has contributed to dozens of literary anthologies, and her reviews and articles have appeared in most major U.S. newspapers and magazines. Her books have earned major literary awards at home and abroad, and in 2000 she received the National Humanities Medal, our nation's highest honor for service through the arts.
In 1997 Barbara established the Bellwether Prize, awarded in even-numbered years to a first novel that exemplifies outstanding literary quality and a commitment to literature as a tool for social change.
Barbara is the mother of two daughters, Camille and Lily, and is married to Steven Hopp, a professor of environmental sciences. In 2004, after more than 25 years in Tucson, Arizona, Barbara left the southwest to return to her native terrain. She now lives with her family on a farm in southwestern Virginia where they raise free-range chickens, turkeys, Icelandic sheep, and an enormous vegetable garden.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Author Barbara Kingsolver and her family abandoned the industrial-food pipeline to live a rural life—vowing that, for one year, they’d only buy food raised in their own neighborhood, grow it themselves, or learn to live without it. Part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is an enthralling narrative that will open your eyes in a hundred new ways to an old truth: You are what you eat.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Barbara Kingsolver was born in 1955 in Annapolis, Maryland, and grew up in rural Kentucky. She counts among her most important early influences: the Bookmobile, a large family vegetable garden, the surrounding fields and woods, and parents who were tolerant of nature study but intolerant of TV.
Beginning around the age of nine, Barbara kept a journal, wrote poems and stories, and entered every essay contest she ever heard about. Her first published work, "Why We Need a New Elementary School," included an account of how the school's ceiling fell and injured her teacher. The essay was printed in the local newspaper prior to a school-bond election; the school bond passed. For her efforts Barbara won a $25 savings bond, on which she expected to live comfortably in adulthood.
After high school graduation she left Kentucky to enter DePauw University on a piano scholarship. She transferred from the music school to the college of liberal arts because of her desire to study practically everything, and graduated with a degree in biology. She spent the late 1970's in Greece, France and England seeking her fortune, but had not found it by the time her work visa expired in 1979. She then moved to Tucson, Arizona, out of curiosity to see the American southwest, and eventually pursued graduate studies in evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona. After graduate school she worked as a scientific writer for the University of Arizona before becoming a freelance journalist.
Kingsolver's short fiction and poetry began to be published during the mid-1980's, along with the articles she wrote regularly for regional and national periodicals. She wrote her first novel, The Bean Trees, entirely at night, in the abundant free time made available by chronic insomnia during pregnancy. Completed just before the birth of her first child, in March 1987, the novel was published by HarperCollins the following year with a modest first printing. Widespread critical acclaim and word-of-mouth support have kept the book continuously in print since then. The Bean Trees has now been adopted into the core curriculum of high school and college literature classes across the U.S., and has been translated into more than a dozen languages.
She has written eleven more books since then, including the novels Animal Dreams , Pigs in Heaven, The Poisonwood Bible, and Prodigal Summer ; a collection of short stories (Homeland ); poetry (Another America ); an oral history (Holding the Line ); two essay collections (High Tide in Tucson, Small Wonder ); a prose-poetry text accompanying the photography of Annie Griffiths Belt (Last Stand ); and most recently, her first full-length narrative non-fiction, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. She has contributed to dozens of literary anthologies, and her reviews and articles have appeared in most major U.S. newspapers and magazines. Her books have earned major literary awards at home and abroad, and in 2000 she received the National Humanities Medal, our nation's highest honor for service through the arts.
In 1997 Barbara established the Bellwether Prize, awarded in even-numbered years to a first novel that exemplifies outstanding literary quality and a commitment to literature as a tool for social change.
Barbara is the mother of two daughters, Camille and Lily, and is married to Steven Hopp, a professor of environmental sciences. In 2004, after more than 25 years in Tucson, Arizona, Barbara left the southwest to return to her native terrain. She now lives with her family on a farm in southwestern Virginia where they raise free-range chickens, turkeys, Icelandic sheep, and an enormous vegetable garden.
July 2015 book: One Plus One
Becky has picked "One Plus One" by Jojo Moyes as a summer beach book for us to read. Her mom recommended it!
ABOUT THE BOOK
One single mom. One chaotic family. One quirky stranger. One irresistible love story from the New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You
American audiences have fallen in love with Jojo Moyes. Ever since she debuted Stateside she has captivated readers and reviewers alike, and hit the New York Times bestseller list with the word-of-mouth sensation Me Before You. Now, with One Plus One, she’s written another contemporary opposites-attract love story.
Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being bullied, and your math whiz daughter has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can’t afford to pay for. That’s Jess’s life in a nutshell—until an unexpected knight in shining armor offers to rescue them. Only Jess’s knight turns out to be Geeky Ed, the obnoxious tech millionaire whose vacation home she happens to clean. But Ed has big problems of his own, and driving the dysfunctional family to the Math Olympiad feels like his first unselfish act in ages . . . maybe ever.
One Plus One is Jojo Moyes at her astounding best. You’ll laugh, you’ll weep, and when you flip the last page, you’ll want to start all over again.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jojo Moyes was born in 1969 and
grew up in London. After a varied career including stints as a minicab
controller, typer of braille statements for blind people for NatWest,
and brochure writer for Club 18-30, she did a degree at Royal Holloway
and Bedford New College, London University. In 1992, she won a bursary
financed by The Independent newspaper to attend the postgraduate newspaper journalism course at City University.
Jojo worked as a journalist for ten years, including a year at South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, and nine at The Independent where she worked variously as News Reporter, Assistant News Editor and Arts and Media Correspondent.
Jojo has been a full time novelist since 2002, when her first book, Sheltering Rain was published. Since then she has written a further eleven novels, all of which have been widely critically acclaimed.
Jojo has won the Romantic Novelist’s Award twice, and Me Before You has been nominated for Book of the Year at the UK Galaxy Book Awards. Me Before You has since gone on to sell over 3 million copies worldwide.
For more information about all of Jojo’s novels, please visit the books page here.
Jojo lives (and writes!) on a farm in Essex, England with her husband, journalist Charles Arthur, and their three children.
ABOUT THE BOOK
One single mom. One chaotic family. One quirky stranger. One irresistible love story from the New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You
American audiences have fallen in love with Jojo Moyes. Ever since she debuted Stateside she has captivated readers and reviewers alike, and hit the New York Times bestseller list with the word-of-mouth sensation Me Before You. Now, with One Plus One, she’s written another contemporary opposites-attract love story.
Suppose your life sucks. A lot. Your husband has done a vanishing act, your teenage stepson is being bullied, and your math whiz daughter has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that you can’t afford to pay for. That’s Jess’s life in a nutshell—until an unexpected knight in shining armor offers to rescue them. Only Jess’s knight turns out to be Geeky Ed, the obnoxious tech millionaire whose vacation home she happens to clean. But Ed has big problems of his own, and driving the dysfunctional family to the Math Olympiad feels like his first unselfish act in ages . . . maybe ever.
One Plus One is Jojo Moyes at her astounding best. You’ll laugh, you’ll weep, and when you flip the last page, you’ll want to start all over again.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jojo worked as a journalist for ten years, including a year at South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, and nine at The Independent where she worked variously as News Reporter, Assistant News Editor and Arts and Media Correspondent.
Jojo has been a full time novelist since 2002, when her first book, Sheltering Rain was published. Since then she has written a further eleven novels, all of which have been widely critically acclaimed.
Jojo has won the Romantic Novelist’s Award twice, and Me Before You has been nominated for Book of the Year at the UK Galaxy Book Awards. Me Before You has since gone on to sell over 3 million copies worldwide.
For more information about all of Jojo’s novels, please visit the books page here.
Jojo lives (and writes!) on a farm in Essex, England with her husband, journalist Charles Arthur, and their three children.
Monday, May 18, 2015
June 2015 book: Spring Chicken: Stay Young Forever (or Die Trying) by Bill Gifford
Amy has selected our June 2015 book. We'll be reading: Spring Chicken: Stay Young Forever (or Die Trying) by Bill Gifford. She hopes it will make for an interesting discussion.
SPRING CHICKEN is a full-throttle, high-energy ride through the latest research, popular mythology, and ancient wisdom on mankind's oldest obsession: How can we live longer? And better? In his funny, self-deprecating voice, veteran reporter Bill Gifford takes readers on a fascinating journey through the science of aging, from the obvious signs like wrinkles and baldness right down into the innermost workings of cells. We visit cutting-edge labs where scientists are working to "hack" the aging process, like purging "senescent" cells from mice to reverse the effects of aging. He'll reveal why some people live past 100 without even trying, what has happened with resveratrol, the "red wine pill" that made headlines a few years ago, how your fat tissue is trying to kill you, and how it's possible to unlock longevity-promoting pathways that are programmed into our very genes. Gifford separates the wheat from the chaff as he exposes hoaxes and scams foisted upon an aging society, and arms readers with the best possible advice on what to do, what not to do, and what life-changing treatments may be right around the corner.
An intoxicating mixture of deep reporting, fascinating science, and prescriptive takeaway, SPRING CHICKEN will reveal the extraordinary breakthroughs that may yet bring us eternal youth, while exposing dangerous deceptions that prey on the innocent and ignorant.
is a contributing editor for Outside Magazine and has written extensively on science, sports, health and fitness for Wired, Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Slate, The New Republic, and Bicycling, among many other publications.
He has been features editor of Men’s Journal and executive editor of Philadelphia Magazine, and his work has been anthologized in Best American Sportswriting.
He is the author of “Spring Chicken: Stay Young Forever (Or Die Trying),” a personal investigation of the science of aging.
He is also the author of “Ledyard: In Search of the First American Explorer,” a biography of John Ledyard, the 18th-century explorer, traveler, and bon vivant.
An avid cyclist, skier, runner and eater, he lives in New York City and central Pennsylvania.
ABOUT THE BOOK
SPRING CHICKEN is a full-throttle, high-energy ride through the latest research, popular mythology, and ancient wisdom on mankind's oldest obsession: How can we live longer? And better? In his funny, self-deprecating voice, veteran reporter Bill Gifford takes readers on a fascinating journey through the science of aging, from the obvious signs like wrinkles and baldness right down into the innermost workings of cells. We visit cutting-edge labs where scientists are working to "hack" the aging process, like purging "senescent" cells from mice to reverse the effects of aging. He'll reveal why some people live past 100 without even trying, what has happened with resveratrol, the "red wine pill" that made headlines a few years ago, how your fat tissue is trying to kill you, and how it's possible to unlock longevity-promoting pathways that are programmed into our very genes. Gifford separates the wheat from the chaff as he exposes hoaxes and scams foisted upon an aging society, and arms readers with the best possible advice on what to do, what not to do, and what life-changing treatments may be right around the corner.
An intoxicating mixture of deep reporting, fascinating science, and prescriptive takeaway, SPRING CHICKEN will reveal the extraordinary breakthroughs that may yet bring us eternal youth, while exposing dangerous deceptions that prey on the innocent and ignorant.
About the Author
Bill Giffordis a contributing editor for Outside Magazine and has written extensively on science, sports, health and fitness for Wired, Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Slate, The New Republic, and Bicycling, among many other publications.
He has been features editor of Men’s Journal and executive editor of Philadelphia Magazine, and his work has been anthologized in Best American Sportswriting.
He is the author of “Spring Chicken: Stay Young Forever (Or Die Trying),” a personal investigation of the science of aging.
He is also the author of “Ledyard: In Search of the First American Explorer,” a biography of John Ledyard, the 18th-century explorer, traveler, and bon vivant.
An avid cyclist, skier, runner and eater, he lives in New York City and central Pennsylvania.
His grandmother, Doris, is nearly 100 years old, and he intends to get there, too. Or die trying.
Vitual visit to Shetland through the eyes of Ann Cleaves
From http://www.npr.org/2014/07/08/329520153/for-one-crime-writer-peaceful-shetland-is-a-perfect-place-for-murder
Crime writer Ann Cleeves puts it best in her novel Dead Water: "Shetland didn't do pretty. It did wild and bleak and dramatic."
The Shetland Islands are a damp and rocky place, with endless miles of green and gray. Humanity seems to cling to the land here like a few tenacious barnacles. "I love the idea of long, low horizons with secrets hidden underneath," Cleeves says.
These Scottish islands lie hundreds of miles from any mainland, as far north as the tip of Greenland. And thanks to Cleeves, they've been the setting for five popular crime novels.
"There are no trees in Shetland, and you can't do overgrown
language here," she says. "The language has to be simple, because that's
how the landscape is."
This is a land of extremes. In the winter, you barely see the sun, and during midsummer, the daylight never leaves. If that sounds bucolic, it also has a fearsome side. In the middle of the night, the sun comes streaming through the window, upending any sense of time and place. "[People] came looking for paradise or peace and found the white nights made them even more disturbed," Cleeves writes in White Nights, the series' second book.
....
Discovering Shetland's Crime Fiction Potential
While these islands have made Ann Cleeves's career, it took her a long time to write about them. She first came to Shetland in the early 1970s as an aimless 20-something college dropout who was hired to be an assistant cook in a bird observatory. "I didn't know anything about birds, and I couldn't cook," she says.
While working at the observatory, Cleeves met the man she would marry. Two years later, they moved away. Cleeves became a crime writer, without much success, writing a book a year for 20 years. Though she came back to Shetland all the time, she never set a novel here. Then one winter, she was in Shetland bird watching with her husband. Snow had fallen, frozen over with ice, and Cleeves saw ravens — black against the bright white snow.
"And then I thought, because I'm a crime writer: If there was blood as well, it would be really quite mythic," she says. "Like fairy stories with those colors — like 'Sleeping Beauty' or 'Snow White.' And just with that image I started writing Raven Black."
Her agent said it would have to be a standalone. It just wasn't believable to have lots of murders set in a small cluster of islands like Shetland. Then Raven Black became a huge hit. It won the biggest crime fiction award in the U.K. Now, the sixth Shetland novel is coming out in the spring.
Crime writer Ann Cleeves puts it best in her novel Dead Water: "Shetland didn't do pretty. It did wild and bleak and dramatic."
The Shetland Islands are a damp and rocky place, with endless miles of green and gray. Humanity seems to cling to the land here like a few tenacious barnacles. "I love the idea of long, low horizons with secrets hidden underneath," Cleeves says.
These Scottish islands lie hundreds of miles from any mainland, as far north as the tip of Greenland. And thanks to Cleeves, they've been the setting for five popular crime novels.
Old stone houses abut the harbor in Lerwick, Shetland's
largest town. Outsiders are known here as "soothmoothers," because they
arrive on the ferry through the south mouth of the Bressay Sound.
Ari Shapiro/NPR This is a land of extremes. In the winter, you barely see the sun, and during midsummer, the daylight never leaves. If that sounds bucolic, it also has a fearsome side. In the middle of the night, the sun comes streaming through the window, upending any sense of time and place. "[People] came looking for paradise or peace and found the white nights made them even more disturbed," Cleeves writes in White Nights, the series' second book.
....
Discovering Shetland's Crime Fiction Potential
While these islands have made Ann Cleeves's career, it took her a long time to write about them. She first came to Shetland in the early 1970s as an aimless 20-something college dropout who was hired to be an assistant cook in a bird observatory. "I didn't know anything about birds, and I couldn't cook," she says.
While working at the observatory, Cleeves met the man she would marry. Two years later, they moved away. Cleeves became a crime writer, without much success, writing a book a year for 20 years. Though she came back to Shetland all the time, she never set a novel here. Then one winter, she was in Shetland bird watching with her husband. Snow had fallen, frozen over with ice, and Cleeves saw ravens — black against the bright white snow.
"And then I thought, because I'm a crime writer: If there was blood as well, it would be really quite mythic," she says. "Like fairy stories with those colors — like 'Sleeping Beauty' or 'Snow White.' And just with that image I started writing Raven Black."
Her agent said it would have to be a standalone. It just wasn't believable to have lots of murders set in a small cluster of islands like Shetland. Then Raven Black became a huge hit. It won the biggest crime fiction award in the U.K. Now, the sixth Shetland novel is coming out in the spring.
May 2015 book: Raven Black
Cindy picked "Raven Black" by Ann Cleeves as our read for May 2015.
ABOUT THE BOOK
ABOUT THE BOOK
Winner of Britain's coveted Duncan Lawrie
Dagger Award, Ann Cleeves introduces a dazzling new suspense series to
U.S. mystery readers.
Raven Black begins on New Year's Eve with a lonely outcast named Magnus Tait, who stays home waiting for visitors who never come. But the next morning the body of a murdered teenage girl is discovered nearby, and suspicion falls on Magnus. Inspector Jimmy Perez enters an investigative maze that leads deeper into the past of the Shetland Islands than anyone wants to go.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
The Vera Stanhope novels have been dramatized as the TV detective series Vera, and the Jimmy Perez novels as the series Shetland.
In 2014 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of Sunderland.
In 2015, Ann is the Programming Chair for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival & the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award.
Raven Black begins on New Year's Eve with a lonely outcast named Magnus Tait, who stays home waiting for visitors who never come. But the next morning the body of a murdered teenage girl is discovered nearby, and suspicion falls on Magnus. Inspector Jimmy Perez enters an investigative maze that leads deeper into the past of the Shetland Islands than anyone wants to go.
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Set in the remote Scottish Shetland
Islands, Cleeves's taut, atmospheric thriller, the first in a new
series, will keep readers guessing until the last page. Det. Insp. Jimmy
Perez investigates the murder of teenage Catherine Ross, found
strangled on a snowy hillside shortly after New Year's. While the police
and citizens alike are quick to lay the blame on local eccentric Magnus
Tait, who was not only the last person to see Catherine alive but also
the prime suspect in the disappearance eight years earlier of another
girl, Perez has his doubts. He's soon drawn into an intricate web of
lies as he unearths the long-buried secrets of everyone from a roguish
playboy to Catherine's only school friend. Cleeves, winner of the CWA's
Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award (formerly the Gold Dagger), masterfully
paints Perez as an empathetic hero and sprinkles the story with a lively
cast of supporting characters who help bring the Shetlands alive. When
the shocking identity of the murderer is revealed, readers will be as
chilled as the harsh winds that batter the isolated islands.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
On the remote island of Shetland, teacher Fran Hunter is walking home when she spots a splash of red in the deep, white snowdrifts, with black ravens flying above. What a perfect picture it makes, she thinks. But on closer inspection, she finds that the "perfect picture" is the dead body of local teenager Catherine Ross, whose red scarf has been used to strangle her. Suspicion immediately falls on recluse Magnus Tait, who was accused--but never convicted--of kidnapping another girl eight years earlier. Policeman Jimmy Perez, assigned to the case, isn't convinced of Magnus' guilt. As he investigates, he uncovers a web of sinister secrets, strange superstitions, petty rivalries, thwarted love, and illicit affairs--the dark underbelly of Shetland's tight-knit community. Cleeves offers up a dark, brutal, suspenseful page-turner that will keep even seasoned mystery buffs guessing right up to the end. Emily MeltonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ann Cleeves (born 1954) is a British crime-writer. In 2006 she won the inaugural Duncan Lawrie Dagger, the richest crime-writing prize in the world, for her novel Raven Black. Cleeves studied English at Sussex University but dropped out. She then took up various jobs including cook, auxiliary coastguard, probation officer, library outreach worker and child care officer. She lives in Whitley Bay.The Vera Stanhope novels have been dramatized as the TV detective series Vera, and the Jimmy Perez novels as the series Shetland.
In 2014 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of Sunderland.
In 2015, Ann is the Programming Chair for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival & the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award.
Shetland Island series
The novel Red Bones was dramatised by David Kane for BBC television starring Douglas Henshall as Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez, and broadcast in 2013 as Shetland. Episodes broadcast in 2014 were based on Raven Black, Dead Water and Blue Lightning.- Raven Black (2006); Gold Dagger Award
- White Nights (2008)
- Red Bones (2009)
- Blue Lightning (2010)
- Dead Water (2013)
- Thin Air (2014)
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
April 2015 book: Unbroken
I can't wait to read "Unbroken" with you all in April 2015. We read "Seabiscuit" by Laura Hillenbrand previously, and it may have been the first book that we all liked! So, hopefully this will be another winner.
ABOUT THE BOOK
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE
In boyhood, Louis Zamperini was an incorrigible delinquent. As a teenager, he channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics. But when World War II began, the athlete became an airman, embarking on a journey that led to a doomed flight on a May afternoon in 1943. When his Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean, against all odds, Zamperini survived, adrift on a foundering life raft. Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.
Appearing in paperback for the first time—with twenty arresting new photos and an extensive Q&A with the author—Unbroken is an unforgettable testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit, brought vividly to life by Seabiscuit author Laura Hillenbrand.
Hailed as the top nonfiction book of the year by Time magazine • Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for biography and the Indies Choice Adult Nonfiction Book of the Year award
“Extraordinarily moving . . . a powerfully drawn survival epic.”—The Wall Street Journal
“[A] one-in-a-billion story . . . designed to wrench from self-respecting critics all the blurby adjectives we normally try to avoid: It is amazing, unforgettable, gripping, harrowing, chilling, and inspiring.”—New York
“Staggering . . . mesmerizing . . . Hillenbrand’s writing is so ferociously cinematic, the events she describes so incredible, you don’t dare take your eyes off the page.”—People
ABOUT LAURA HILLENBRAND
ABOUT THE BOOK
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE
In boyhood, Louis Zamperini was an incorrigible delinquent. As a teenager, he channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics. But when World War II began, the athlete became an airman, embarking on a journey that led to a doomed flight on a May afternoon in 1943. When his Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean, against all odds, Zamperini survived, adrift on a foundering life raft. Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.
Appearing in paperback for the first time—with twenty arresting new photos and an extensive Q&A with the author—Unbroken is an unforgettable testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit, brought vividly to life by Seabiscuit author Laura Hillenbrand.
Hailed as the top nonfiction book of the year by Time magazine • Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for biography and the Indies Choice Adult Nonfiction Book of the Year award
“Extraordinarily moving . . . a powerfully drawn survival epic.”—The Wall Street Journal
“[A] one-in-a-billion story . . . designed to wrench from self-respecting critics all the blurby adjectives we normally try to avoid: It is amazing, unforgettable, gripping, harrowing, chilling, and inspiring.”—New York
“Staggering . . . mesmerizing . . . Hillenbrand’s writing is so ferociously cinematic, the events she describes so incredible, you don’t dare take your eyes off the page.”—People
ABOUT LAURA HILLENBRAND
Laura Hillenbrand is the author of the critically acclaimed Seabiscuit: An American Legend, which spent 42 weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, in hardcover and paperback. Seabiscuit was finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Los Angeles Times
Book Prize, won the Book Sense Nonfiction Book of the Year Award and
the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award, landed on more than
fifteen best-of-the-year lists, and inspired the film Seabiscuit, which was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. According to Newsweek, Seabiscuit is the best-selling sports book in history.
Hillenbrand’s New Yorker article, “A Sudden Illness,” won the 2004 National Magazine Award, and Laura is a two-time winner of the Eclipse Award, the highest journalistic honor in thoroughbred racing. She and actor Gary Sinise were the co-founders of Operation International Children (www.operationinternationalchildren.org), a charity that provided school supplies to needy children through American troops. Laura lives in Washington, D.C.
Hillenbrand’s New Yorker article, “A Sudden Illness,” won the 2004 National Magazine Award, and Laura is a two-time winner of the Eclipse Award, the highest journalistic honor in thoroughbred racing. She and actor Gary Sinise were the co-founders of Operation International Children (www.operationinternationalchildren.org), a charity that provided school supplies to needy children through American troops. Laura lives in Washington, D.C.
March 2015: A Prayer for Owen Meany
Julie has selected "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by John Irving for us to read in March 2015.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Amazon.com Review
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 Jim Carrey
movie Simon Birch, is his most popular book in Britain, and perhaps the oddest Christian mystic novel since Flannery O'Connor's work.
Irving fans will find much that is familiar: the New England
prep-school-town setting, symbolic amputations of man and beast, the Garp-like
unknown father of the narrator (Owen's orphaned best friend), the rough
comedy. The scene of doltish the doltish headmaster driving a trashed
VW down the school's marble staircase is a marvelous set piece. So are
the Christmas pageants Owen stars in. But it's all, as Highlights
magazine used to put it, "fun with a purpose." When Owen plays baby
Jesus in the pageants, and glimpses a tombstone with his death date
while enacting A Christmas Carol, the slapstick doesn't cancel the fact that he was
born to be martyred. The book's countless subplots add up to a moral
argument, specifically an indictment of American foreign policy--from
Vietnam to the Contras. The book's mystic religiosity is steeped in Robertson Davies's Deptford trilogy, and the fatal baseball relates to the fatefully misdirected snowball in the first Deptford novel, Fifth Business.
Tiny, symbolic Owen echoes the hero of Irving's teacher Günter Grass's The Tin Drum--the two characters share the same initials.
A rollicking entertainment, Owen Meany is also a meditation on literature, history, and God. --Tim Appelo --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Tiny, symbolic Owen echoes the hero of Irving's teacher Günter Grass's The Tin Drum--the two characters share the same initials.
A rollicking entertainment, Owen Meany is also a meditation on literature, history, and God. --Tim Appelo --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Joe Barrett captures the humor and sorrow of Irving's classic novel about faith, friendship and fate. We follow the adventures of diminutive Owen Meany and his best friend Johnny Wheelwright as they grapple with life, death and devotion and come of age in the small town of Gravesend, N.H. Barrett deftly portrays a host of strange and wonderful characters as Owen commandeers the local Christmas pageant, battles with an autocratic headmaster and fulfills what he believes to be his destiny. Faced with the unenviable task of capturing the singular voice of the titular character (in the novel, Owen's dialogue is capitalized to represent his strident, squeaking speech), Barrett produces a workmanlike rendition of Owen that, while not perfect, grows on listeners as the story unfolds. True to the spirit of the text, Barrett's masterful rendition is a delight. A Morrow hardcover. (Aug.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Irving published his first novel, Setting Free the Bears, in
1968. He has been nominated for a National Book Award three
times-winning once, in 1980, for the novel The World According to Garp.
He also received an O. Henry Award, in 1981, for the short story
"Interior Space." In 1992, Mr. Irving was inducted into the National
Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2000, he won the
Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Cider House Rules-a film with
seven Academy Award nominations. In 2001, he was elected to the American
Academy of Arts and Letters.
For more information about the author, please visit www.john-irving.com
For more information about the author, please visit www.john-irving.com
February 2015: Station Eleven
For February 2015, we're reading "Station Eleven" by Emily St. John Mandel, chosen for us by Andrea.
ABOUT THE BOOK
2014 National Book Award Finalist
A New York Times Bestseller
An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse, Station Eleven tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity.
One snowy night Arthur Leander, a famous actor, has a heart attack onstage during a production of King Lear. Jeevan Chaudhary, a paparazzo-turned-EMT, is in the audience and leaps to his aid. A child actress named Kirsten Raymonde watches in horror as Jeevan performs CPR, pumping Arthur’s chest as the curtain drops, but Arthur is dead. That same night, as Jeevan walks home from the theater, a terrible flu begins to spread. Hospitals are flooded and Jeevan and his brother barricade themselves inside an apartment, watching out the window as cars clog the highways, gunshots ring out, and life disintegrates around them.
Fifteen years later, Kirsten is an actress with the Traveling Symphony. Together, this small troupe moves between the settlements of an altered world, performing Shakespeare and music for scattered communities of survivors. Written on their caravan, and tattooed on Kirsten’s arm is a line from Star Trek: “Because survival is insufficient.” But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who digs graves for anyone who dares to leave.
Spanning decades, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, this suspenseful, elegiac novel is rife with beauty. As Arthur falls in and out of love, as Jeevan watches the newscasters say their final good-byes, and as Kirsten finds herself caught in the crosshairs of the prophet, we see the strange twists of fate that connect them all. A novel of art, memory, and ambition, Station Eleven tells a story about the relationships that sustain us, the ephemeral nature of fame, and the beauty of the world as we know it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
St. John's my middle name. The books go under M.
Emily St. John Mandel was born and raised on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada. She studied contemporary dance at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre and lived briefly in Montreal before relocating to New York.
Her fourth novel, Station Eleven, was a 2014 National Book Award Finalist. All four of her novels—previous books were Last Night in Montreal, The Singer's Gun, and The Lola Quartet—were Indie Next Picks, and The Singer's Gun was the 2014 winner of the Prix Mystere de la Critique in France. Her short fiction and essays have been anthologized in numerous collections, including Best American Mystery Stories 2013. She is a staff writer for The Millions. She lives in New York City with her husband.
ABOUT THE BOOK
2014 National Book Award Finalist
A New York Times Bestseller
An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse, Station Eleven tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity.
One snowy night Arthur Leander, a famous actor, has a heart attack onstage during a production of King Lear. Jeevan Chaudhary, a paparazzo-turned-EMT, is in the audience and leaps to his aid. A child actress named Kirsten Raymonde watches in horror as Jeevan performs CPR, pumping Arthur’s chest as the curtain drops, but Arthur is dead. That same night, as Jeevan walks home from the theater, a terrible flu begins to spread. Hospitals are flooded and Jeevan and his brother barricade themselves inside an apartment, watching out the window as cars clog the highways, gunshots ring out, and life disintegrates around them.
Fifteen years later, Kirsten is an actress with the Traveling Symphony. Together, this small troupe moves between the settlements of an altered world, performing Shakespeare and music for scattered communities of survivors. Written on their caravan, and tattooed on Kirsten’s arm is a line from Star Trek: “Because survival is insufficient.” But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who digs graves for anyone who dares to leave.
Spanning decades, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, this suspenseful, elegiac novel is rife with beauty. As Arthur falls in and out of love, as Jeevan watches the newscasters say their final good-byes, and as Kirsten finds herself caught in the crosshairs of the prophet, we see the strange twists of fate that connect them all. A novel of art, memory, and ambition, Station Eleven tells a story about the relationships that sustain us, the ephemeral nature of fame, and the beauty of the world as we know it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
St. John's my middle name. The books go under M.
Emily St. John Mandel was born and raised on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada. She studied contemporary dance at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre and lived briefly in Montreal before relocating to New York.
Her fourth novel, Station Eleven, was a 2014 National Book Award Finalist. All four of her novels—previous books were Last Night in Montreal, The Singer's Gun, and The Lola Quartet—were Indie Next Picks, and The Singer's Gun was the 2014 winner of the Prix Mystere de la Critique in France. Her short fiction and essays have been anthologized in numerous collections, including Best American Mystery Stories 2013. She is a staff writer for The Millions. She lives in New York City with her husband.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
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