Hi all,
Here is the information about "The Outside World" by Tova Mirvis. Hope to see you January 8 at 7:00 pm to talk about this great book. I have added a list of recommended reading if you liked this book. Happy New Year!!!!
Val
Discussion questions
More Discussion questions
Editorial Reviews:
From Publishers Weekly: With a sharp and sympathetic eye for the oft neglected and misunderstood worlds of ultra-Orthodox and Modern Orthodox Judaism, Mirvis (The LadiesAuxiliary) crafts a compelling narrative that delves into the lives of twofamilies, each struggling with its own insecurities and difficulties. In this second novel, 22-year-old Orthodox Tzippy, born and bred in JewishBrooklyn and insulated from secular society but secretly curious and eager to experience it, is barraged with meddlesome questions and with a slew of seemingly endless carbon-copy dates intended to facilitate her marriage to a reputable yeshiva boy before she turns into a spinster. Meanwhile, not too far away, Naomi and Joel, Modern Orthodox Jews, are straining to knock some sense into their suddenly ultra-religious son, Bryan (now callinghimself by his Hebrew name Baruch), who has morphed from a head-banging,jeans-wearing, girl-chasing jock into a soul-searching, Talmud-studying,black-hat Jew interested only in immersing himself in God's laws and the Torah. When these two formerly separate worlds collide, parents, siblings and spouses must reflect on what their faith means to them and what to do when their beliefs unexpectedly diverge from those of loved ones. At times giddily humorous, at times stirring and sorrowful, Mirvis's insightful novel is packed with convincing detail, from descriptions of yarmulkes(fancifully embroidered or stolid black velvet) to the varieties of wigs worn by married ultra-Orthodox women. The characters' frequent use of distinctively Jewish terms and ideas gives the novel a foreign air, but the universal themes of growing up and choosing a fitting life to lead will resonate with readers of all faiths.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.All rights reserved.
From School Library Journal:Adult/High School–Tzippy Goldman, 22, has sat through too many first datesin Brooklyn hotel lobbies. Her mother has been planning her wedding sinceshe was little, and still she's not married. Hungry for life experience, she wants to go to Israel. At the same time, Bryan Miller is searching formore meaning than his Orthodox Jewish lifestyle and family provide. He changes his name to Baruch and decides to give up plans to attend Columbia University in order to study the Talmud at yeshiva in Jerusalem. The move leads him to become ultra-Orthodox, and to Tzippy. They find that though they love one another deeply, they must constantly seek a balance between tradition, faith, and the outside world. This novel is absorbing and memorable in its presentation of the rhythms of everyday life, the joy of doing, and the need to find one's place in the community. Weddings,Sabbaths, and seders are richly detailed, and the characters, especially the couple and their mothers, are finely drawn. Mirvis writes with compassion and humor about the intersection of life and faith. Readers get a strong sense of this unique world, but the themes are universal.–SusanneBardelson, Kitsap Regional Library, WACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.All rights reserved.
Other novels on Jews in America:
Giving up America by Pearl Abraham (0)
Only Yesterday by S.Y. Agnon (0)
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (several in HCPL)
Miriam's Kitchen by Elizabeth Ehrlich (0)
For the Relief of Unbearable Urges by Nathan Englander (0)
Jew vs Jew by Samuel G. Freedman (0)
Bee Season by Myra Goldberg (11)
Being Jewish by Ari L. Goldman (6)- Non-fiction
Kaaterskill Falls by Allegra Goodman (9)
Four Mothers by Shifra Horn (1)
The Chosen by Chaim Potok (many)
Lovingkindness by Anne Roiphe (1)
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
LibraryThing account
Hi
I just wanted to list the books I am reading or have stacked by my bed to read this month. Brothers by Ha Chen, Bitter Sweets by Roopa Farooki, Strange as this Weather has been by Ann Pancake, Legacy of the Dead by Charles Todd, The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar and The Amber Room by Steve Berry. I have made a Library Thing Account for the Evening Book Club at the library. I have listed all of the books we've read or watched since 2004. The user name is eveningbookclub and the password is books.
I just wanted to list the books I am reading or have stacked by my bed to read this month. Brothers by Ha Chen, Bitter Sweets by Roopa Farooki, Strange as this Weather has been by Ann Pancake, Legacy of the Dead by Charles Todd, The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar and The Amber Room by Steve Berry. I have made a Library Thing Account for the Evening Book Club at the library. I have listed all of the books we've read or watched since 2004. The user name is eveningbookclub and the password is books.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Book club meeting Dec 11
The Fannie Flagg DVD was great. It was so interesting listening to her talk about her past, Birmingham, where she got her book ideas, and the people her characters are based on.
The DVD covered Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, the cookbook Fried Green Tomatoes , Standing in the Rainbow, A Redbird Christmas, and Can't Wait to Get to Heaven.
We read and talked about A Redbird Christmas which was a light Christmas story, an easy fun read for this busy season.
The DVD covered Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, the cookbook Fried Green Tomatoes , Standing in the Rainbow, A Redbird Christmas, and Can't Wait to Get to Heaven.
We read and talked about A Redbird Christmas which was a light Christmas story, an easy fun read for this busy season.
Friday, December 07, 2007
December Book Club - Fannie Flagg
We will meet for our December book club on December 11 @ 7:00 at the Barbara Bush Branch Library on Cypresswood.
The book is"Redbird Christmas" by Fannie Flagg. I haven't found any discussion questions, but here are some reviews and information about Fannie Flagg. I also have a DVD featuring Fannie Flagg that we will view before our discussion.
I'll bring some Christmas treats.
Book review:http://www.thebeachcomber.org/redbird.htm
More reviews:http://tinyurl.com/2bvx6jNovelist:http://tinyurl.com/yw238n
Fannie Flagg fansite:http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/f/fannie-flagg/
The January title is "The Outside World" by Tova Mirvis.
The book is"Redbird Christmas" by Fannie Flagg. I haven't found any discussion questions, but here are some reviews and information about Fannie Flagg. I also have a DVD featuring Fannie Flagg that we will view before our discussion.
I'll bring some Christmas treats.
Book review:http://www.thebeachcomber.org/redbird.htm
More reviews:http://tinyurl.com/2bvx6jNovelist:http://tinyurl.com/yw238n
Fannie Flagg fansite:http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/f/fannie-flagg/
The January title is "The Outside World" by Tova Mirvis.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Movie night at Book Club
The book club had a great time viewing "The Importance of Being Earnest." We watched the new version with Colin Firth, Rupert Everet, Reese Witherspoon, and Judi Dench. When it first came out the reviews were not very good, but we all enjoyed it immensely. We laughed out loud many times. Having just read the play the day before, I was able to follow the dialogue easily and much of it was word for word from the play.
In the critical overview from www.bookrags.com they talked about two major issues. "First, while audiences from the play's opening have received it warmly, Wilde's contemporaries questioned its seeming amorality. George Bernard Shaw described Wilde's repartee as "hateful" and "sinister." (Oscar Wilde: a Collection of Critical Essays). A second and related concern arises about Earnest's dramatic structure, which exhibits elements of farce, comedy of manners, and parody. Critics often disagree as how the play should be categorized."
"On the play's morality, critical opinion remains divided. In his book, Oscar Wilde, Edouard Roditi, for example believed that Wilde's comedy never rises above 'the incomplete or the trivial.'"
So much for critics. We just enjoyed the repartee and the complications all of the deception created.
In December we will meet on the 11th to discuss A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg. I have a DVD "At Home with Fannie Flagg" that we will view before we discuss the book.
In the critical overview from www.bookrags.com they talked about two major issues. "First, while audiences from the play's opening have received it warmly, Wilde's contemporaries questioned its seeming amorality. George Bernard Shaw described Wilde's repartee as "hateful" and "sinister." (Oscar Wilde: a Collection of Critical Essays). A second and related concern arises about Earnest's dramatic structure, which exhibits elements of farce, comedy of manners, and parody. Critics often disagree as how the play should be categorized."
"On the play's morality, critical opinion remains divided. In his book, Oscar Wilde, Edouard Roditi, for example believed that Wilde's comedy never rises above 'the incomplete or the trivial.'"
So much for critics. We just enjoyed the repartee and the complications all of the deception created.
In December we will meet on the 11th to discuss A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg. I have a DVD "At Home with Fannie Flagg" that we will view before we discuss the book.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Current reads
Currently I am reading Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez.
"Soon after the fall of the Taliban, in 2001, Deborah Rodriguez went to Afghanistan as part of a humanitarian aid group. Surrounded by people whose skills--as doctors, nurses, and therapists--seemed eminently more practical than her own, Rodriguez, a hairdresser and mother from Michigan, despaired of being of any real use. Yet she found she had a gift for befriending Afghans, and once her profession became known she was eagerly sought out by Westerners desperate for a good haircut and by Afghan women, who have a long and proud tradition of running their own beauty salons.
Soon after the fall of the Taliban, in 2001, Deborah Rodriguez went to Afghanistan as part of a humanitarian aid group. Surrounded by people whose skills--as doctors, nurses, and therapists--seemed eminently more practical than her own, Rodriguez, a hairdresser and mother from Michigan, despaired of being of any real use. Yet she found she had a gift for befriending Afghans, and once her profession became known she was eagerly sought out by Westerners desperate for a good haircut and by Afghan women, who have a long and proud tradition of running their own beauty salons." HCPL online catalog.
A sad, yet uplifting story. These women go through so much and still thrive.
There is also a docudrama DVD titled Beauty Academy in Kabul which is the story of the beauty school from a different perspective than the book listed above. Here is the synopsis:
"A quirky gaggle of Western hairstylists armed with blow dryers and designer scissors improbably open a school to teach eager Afghan women the high art of fixing hair. The women of Kabul embrace the beauty lessons with unbridled hope." HCPL Online Catalog.
"Soon after the fall of the Taliban, in 2001, Deborah Rodriguez went to Afghanistan as part of a humanitarian aid group. Surrounded by people whose skills--as doctors, nurses, and therapists--seemed eminently more practical than her own, Rodriguez, a hairdresser and mother from Michigan, despaired of being of any real use. Yet she found she had a gift for befriending Afghans, and once her profession became known she was eagerly sought out by Westerners desperate for a good haircut and by Afghan women, who have a long and proud tradition of running their own beauty salons.
Soon after the fall of the Taliban, in 2001, Deborah Rodriguez went to Afghanistan as part of a humanitarian aid group. Surrounded by people whose skills--as doctors, nurses, and therapists--seemed eminently more practical than her own, Rodriguez, a hairdresser and mother from Michigan, despaired of being of any real use. Yet she found she had a gift for befriending Afghans, and once her profession became known she was eagerly sought out by Westerners desperate for a good haircut and by Afghan women, who have a long and proud tradition of running their own beauty salons." HCPL online catalog.
A sad, yet uplifting story. These women go through so much and still thrive.
There is also a docudrama DVD titled Beauty Academy in Kabul which is the story of the beauty school from a different perspective than the book listed above. Here is the synopsis:
"A quirky gaggle of Western hairstylists armed with blow dryers and designer scissors improbably open a school to teach eager Afghan women the high art of fixing hair. The women of Kabul embrace the beauty lessons with unbridled hope." HCPL Online Catalog.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
More on "The Importance of Being Earnest"
"Importance of Being Earnest" discussion and information:
http://tinyurl.com/3dd749
http://www.bibliomania.com/1/7/57/1147/frameset.html
Internet Movie Database:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0278500/
More resources for our discussion on November's book club meeting on the 13th.
http://tinyurl.com/3dd749
http://www.bibliomania.com/1/7/57/1147/frameset.html
Internet Movie Database:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0278500/
More resources for our discussion on November's book club meeting on the 13th.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Oscar Wilde's Birthday
In November the book club will view "The Importance of Being Earnest" based on the play by Oscar Wilde. Here is some information from The Writer's Almanac for 10/16/07 by Garrison Keillor.
"It's the birthday of Oscar Wilde, born in Dublin (1854), who was already a successful playwright when he fell into a love affair with the young aristocrat Lord Alfred Douglas. Wilde was married with two children at the time, and the affair ruined his reputation in society. He later wrote, "I curse myself night and day for my folly in allowing him to dominate my life." But it was the most creative period of his life. He wrote three plays in two years about people leading double lives, including A Woman of No Importance (1893), An Ideal Husband (1895), and his masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), about two men who use an imaginary person named Earnest to get themselves out of all kinds of situations, until their invented stories and identities get so complicated that everything is revealed.
The actor who played Algernon Moncrieff later said, "In my fifty-three years of acting, I never remember a greater triumph than the first night of The Importance of Being Earnest." But that same year, Wilde was accused of sodomy by the father of his lover. Wilde might have let the accusation pass, but he chose to sue his accuser for libel, because he thought he could win the case by his eloquence alone. Private detectives had dug up so much damning evidence on Wilde that he was convicted of sodomy and sentenced to two years of hard labor. His plays continued to be produced on the stage, but his name was removed from all the programs. He was released from prison in 1897 and died three years later in a cheap Paris hotel.
Oscar Wilde, who said, "All bad poetry springs from genuine feeling." And, "An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.""
"It's the birthday of Oscar Wilde, born in Dublin (1854), who was already a successful playwright when he fell into a love affair with the young aristocrat Lord Alfred Douglas. Wilde was married with two children at the time, and the affair ruined his reputation in society. He later wrote, "I curse myself night and day for my folly in allowing him to dominate my life." But it was the most creative period of his life. He wrote three plays in two years about people leading double lives, including A Woman of No Importance (1893), An Ideal Husband (1895), and his masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), about two men who use an imaginary person named Earnest to get themselves out of all kinds of situations, until their invented stories and identities get so complicated that everything is revealed.
The actor who played Algernon Moncrieff later said, "In my fifty-three years of acting, I never remember a greater triumph than the first night of The Importance of Being Earnest." But that same year, Wilde was accused of sodomy by the father of his lover. Wilde might have let the accusation pass, but he chose to sue his accuser for libel, because he thought he could win the case by his eloquence alone. Private detectives had dug up so much damning evidence on Wilde that he was convicted of sodomy and sentenced to two years of hard labor. His plays continued to be produced on the stage, but his name was removed from all the programs. He was released from prison in 1897 and died three years later in a cheap Paris hotel.
Oscar Wilde, who said, "All bad poetry springs from genuine feeling." And, "An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.""
Thursday, October 11, 2007
October Book Club meeting
The October book: "Caramelo" by Sandra Cisneros had enough interesting characters, family drama, and history to make for a fun discussion. It was a great choice for Hispanic Heritage Month. The story took place in Chicago, Mexico City and San Antonio and was narrated by the youngest character, Celaya. "Lala" told the story of her grandmother and then of her own parents, as well as expressing her feelings of being an outsider wherever they lived. Thanks to the members who were able to come.
On November 13 we will view "The Importance of Being Earnest" based on the play by Oscar Wilde. The movie is only 93 minutes long so we will start at our usual time - 7:00 pm - in the Earl Elliott meeting room off the lobby."Comes as close to perfection as any comedy I can think of." - DailyTelegraph.
"Oscar Wilde's "trivial play for serious people" is a sparkling comedy of manners. this hilariously absurd satire pits sincerity against style, barbed witticisms against ostentatious elegance. Wilde's brilliantly constructed plot and famous dialogue enrich the appeal of his celebrated characters, as he turns accepted ideas inside out and situations upsidedown in this, his masterpiece." (HCPL online catalog).
On November 13 we will view "The Importance of Being Earnest" based on the play by Oscar Wilde. The movie is only 93 minutes long so we will start at our usual time - 7:00 pm - in the Earl Elliott meeting room off the lobby."Comes as close to perfection as any comedy I can think of." - DailyTelegraph.
"Oscar Wilde's "trivial play for serious people" is a sparkling comedy of manners. this hilariously absurd satire pits sincerity against style, barbed witticisms against ostentatious elegance. Wilde's brilliantly constructed plot and famous dialogue enrich the appeal of his celebrated characters, as he turns accepted ideas inside out and situations upsidedown in this, his masterpiece." (HCPL online catalog).
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Evening Book Club Fall and Winter Selections
Here are the titles we will be reading for the rest of the year and early in 2008:
2007
November 13 - view movie based on Oscar Wilde play starring Rupert Evert and Colin Firth
December 11 - Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg
2008
January 8 - The Outside World by Tova Mirvis
February 12 - When Did You Stop Loving Me by Veronica Chambers
OR
Getting Mother's Body by Suzan Lori Parks
March 11 - Charming Billy by Alice McDermott
April 8 - Away by Amy Bloom
May 13 - The Space Between Us by Thirty Umriger
Or
Curse of the Golden Flower (Movie)
Or
Brothers by Da Chen
Summer books yet to be determined
September 9 - Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer
We can make changes to these selections as needed or desired.
2007
November 13 - view movie based on Oscar Wilde play starring Rupert Evert and Colin Firth
December 11 - Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg
2008
January 8 - The Outside World by Tova Mirvis
February 12 - When Did You Stop Loving Me by Veronica Chambers
OR
Getting Mother's Body by Suzan Lori Parks
March 11 - Charming Billy by Alice McDermott
April 8 - Away by Amy Bloom
May 13 - The Space Between Us by Thirty Umriger
Or
Curse of the Golden Flower (Movie)
Or
Brothers by Da Chen
Summer books yet to be determined
September 9 - Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer
We can make changes to these selections as needed or desired.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Discussion questions for "Caramelo" by Sandra Cisneros
Here are some discussion questions for the book Caramelo.
The Evening Book Club meets on Tuesday Oct. 9 at 7:00 in the WCR conference room on the 2nd floor.
So far I am enjoying this book. The narrator - Celaya - is a hoot. The family dynamics keep you reading. You just have to see what will happen next.
See you then.
http://www.book-club.co.nz/bookclubs/discuss/caramelo.htm
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/caramelo1.asp
The Evening Book Club meets on Tuesday Oct. 9 at 7:00 in the WCR conference room on the 2nd floor.
So far I am enjoying this book. The narrator - Celaya - is a hoot. The family dynamics keep you reading. You just have to see what will happen next.
See you then.
http://www.book-club.co.nz/bookclubs/discuss/caramelo.htm
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/caramelo1.asp
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
9/11 books discussion
Hi
Last night the book club met to discuss the fiction 9/11 books that we read. There were 9 people at the meeting and we discussed several books including: The Good Life by Jay McInerney, The Good Priest's Son by Reynolds Price, A Disorder Peculiar to the Country by Kevin Kalfus, Extremely Loud and Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, and Falling Man: a novel by Don Delillo. A book that was mentioned but not talked about, other than to say it was good, was The Writing on the Wall by Lynne S. Schwartz. It was a stimulating discussion fraught with memories and thoughts not always welcome, but needing to be talked about. The members came prepared to talk about the book or books that they read and we also did some readings from the books - passages that struck a chord or especially well-phrased sentences or thoughts.
Last night the book club met to discuss the fiction 9/11 books that we read. There were 9 people at the meeting and we discussed several books including: The Good Life by Jay McInerney, The Good Priest's Son by Reynolds Price, A Disorder Peculiar to the Country by Kevin Kalfus, Extremely Loud and Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, and Falling Man: a novel by Don Delillo. A book that was mentioned but not talked about, other than to say it was good, was The Writing on the Wall by Lynne S. Schwartz. It was a stimulating discussion fraught with memories and thoughts not always welcome, but needing to be talked about. The members came prepared to talk about the book or books that they read and we also did some readings from the books - passages that struck a chord or especially well-phrased sentences or thoughts.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Book club 2007
This year the Evening Book/Movie club at the library has read a variety of books and disliked many of them. However, this makes for great discussion. It is much more fun to talk about why people hated a book, than to have everyone agree that it was wonderful and then have nothing to talk about. Here is what we've read or plan to read in 2007 :
January - Someone Not Really her Mother by Harriet Scott Chessman
February – An Unfinished Life by Mark Spragg (movie)
March – Before You Know Kindness by Chris Bohjalian
April – Happiness Sold Separately by Lolly Winston
May – The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (movie)
June – The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh
July – When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin
August – Cheat and Charmer by Elizabeth Frank
September – Choice of fiction about aftermath of 9/11
October – Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros
November – (movie) The Importance of Being Earnest
December – Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg
Tonight we are discussing the various fiction books we've read about 9/11 for this month's meeting. I read The Good Priest's Son by Reynolds Price and The Good Life by Jay McInerney. The Good Life was much better and more what I was looking for in a "9/11" book. Two couples (Luke and Sasha, and Russell and Corrine) whose lives become intertwined when Luke and Corrine meet as they volunteer for the night shift to help feed the ground zero workers. Both couples are having problems with their marriages and Luke and Corrine have an affair and comtemplate moving on with life together. The best parts of the book were Luke's description of trying to find his friend after the towers collapsed and Russell's Thanksgiving dinner speech.
I was disappointed in The Good Priest's Son. The tragedy wasn't essential to the story and there seemed to be a subtext to all of the conversations that I wasn't picking up on. I haven't read any other books by Price and so don't know if this is a common style for him.
Val - 9/11/-07
January - Someone Not Really her Mother by Harriet Scott Chessman
February – An Unfinished Life by Mark Spragg (movie)
March – Before You Know Kindness by Chris Bohjalian
April – Happiness Sold Separately by Lolly Winston
May – The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (movie)
June – The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh
July – When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin
August – Cheat and Charmer by Elizabeth Frank
September – Choice of fiction about aftermath of 9/11
October – Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros
November – (movie) The Importance of Being Earnest
December – Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg
Tonight we are discussing the various fiction books we've read about 9/11 for this month's meeting. I read The Good Priest's Son by Reynolds Price and The Good Life by Jay McInerney. The Good Life was much better and more what I was looking for in a "9/11" book. Two couples (Luke and Sasha, and Russell and Corrine) whose lives become intertwined when Luke and Corrine meet as they volunteer for the night shift to help feed the ground zero workers. Both couples are having problems with their marriages and Luke and Corrine have an affair and comtemplate moving on with life together. The best parts of the book were Luke's description of trying to find his friend after the towers collapsed and Russell's Thanksgiving dinner speech.
I was disappointed in The Good Priest's Son. The tragedy wasn't essential to the story and there seemed to be a subtext to all of the conversations that I wasn't picking up on. I haven't read any other books by Price and so don't know if this is a common style for him.
Val - 9/11/-07
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