IBC #5 Bev's Abode

The 5th meeting of the Irreverant Book Club happened so long ago that I had to search eVite for the date (it was February 18th, for those of you who have trouble remembering breakfast. And yes, 2007, for those of you who like to remind me that I have trouble remembering breakfast). Since we've got yet another meeting coming up, and I made a personal vow to never go into a book club meeting more than one update behind, I thought it appropriate that I take a little company time to get this update out that I started long ago (kind of like only cleaning your house when you have company coming - now is anyone wondering why I've yet to host a meeting?). Here's what I remember about the 5th meeting. We had a loose theme of a book that you loved, and a book that disappointed you. It was at Bev's. It was cold outside). We had great food (as always), including Virginia's Carrot Cake (heart-stoppingly good... both literally and figuratively), brought to celebrate Brad's birthday. And Brad only brought one book. Brad also brought Karen, who brought several - so even though he only brought one, he was responsible for four. Without further adieu (side note... doesn't 'adieu' mean goodbye? If so, why don't we say 'without further goodbyes...' when we really want to say 'I know all of you out there reading this are sick of my prattling on with my inanities, so shut up and get to the point!'?)... IBC #5.


Colleen
The Inner Circle, T.C. Boyle

Colleen was about halfway through this book when I saw the movie Kinsey, which shares the subject of this book. In the movie, Alfred C. Kinsey, the great sex researcher was portrayed (with gravitas by Liam Neeson) as a tireless and dedicated tyrant who demanded blind loyalty from the members and families of his research team. In the book, he’s portrayed in much the same way – although I’m sure that Colleen would use stronger words for this (I think the kindest sentiment she used was ‘brainwashing fiend’). This was Colleen’s selection for the book that disappointed her. It’s not that it was a bad book – in fact, Colleen had lots of praise for how well it was written, and especially the character development – but the main character was portrayed as such a reprehensible being that finishing the book became a chore for her. If you’re inviting Colleen over for movie night, you might better off not having Kinsey on the playbill.


Northern Lights, Nora Roberts

This was Colleen’s contribution for a book that she liked. She only picked up a Nora Roberts book because Sharla recommended this one - and Colleen read it in about 23 minutes - just kidding - but it was such a light, yet enjoyable read that she blazed through it. A Baltimore cop takes a job in Lunacy, Alaska, where he joins Dr. Joel Fleischman in Holling's saloon where Shelly serves them beer, and eavesdrops on their 'frozen fish out of water' stories... okay I made that up. What really happens is that he start up a relationship with a feisty bush pilot named Meg (not Maggie), played by Janine Turner... okay, I made that up too - well, not all of it... he does have a dalliance with a feisty bush pilot - does every eccentric Alaskan town have a beautiful but feisty bush pilot? (Omigod, I just turned that into an Ellen Degeneres joke... ) ANYWAY... part small town romantic mystery, part fish out of water, part ode to the community, this is another Nora Roberts book that outsold all of the iPods ever manufactured. Colleen's comment - very good - she liked it, she didn't think she could read another one.


The Hidden Giants, Sethanne Howard

How often do you get the opportunity to sit and talk with someone, about the weather, travel abroad, how wonderful this cheese dip is, etc., only to find out later that they're a published author? This is what happened when Colleen found herself drug to a party where she didn't know anyone, surrounded by astronomers and rocket scientists (and no - Brad wasn't there, but he should've been!), conversing with two very friendly outspoken women. Sethanne Howard retired from the U.S. Naval Observatory, after a ground-breaking career in astronomy (how many women who are astronomers do you know? Brad and Virginia are disqualified from answering) as one of the few women in her field. Inspired by this, she wrote the book The Hidden Giants, about the contributions of women to science throughout the ages. Sethanne calls them 'natural philosophers', and does a good job of drawing you into wanting to know more about them. According to Colleen, The Hidden Giants is very readable - Sethanne's style is very much like her conversation - but I don't think there's any mention of the cheese dip in the book.


Virginia
How to Make Your Man Behave in 21 Days or Less Using the Secrets of Professional Dog Trainers, Karen Salmansohn

This was on the list of disappointing books for Virginia. Karen Salmansohn's illustrated book takes the 'men are dogs' analogy to the extreme (i.e., 'A dog is nicest when he wants to be fed'). While Virginia found some of this book mildly amusing, overall it was a disappointment, going for the obvious pun rather than subtle humor. However, it was very impressive how Brad leapt out of his seat when Virginia pointed to the floor, and then she made him rollover and jump up and touch her hand with his nose. And of course, as soon as she brought out the treats, Alex and I joined Brad, all of us sitting on our haunches at attention, looking up at Virginia expectantly.


Autobiography of a Face, Lucy Grealy

Virginia had much more praise for this non-fiction, autobiographical account of a girl who, at the age of nine, had part of her jawbone removed due to Ewing's Sarcoma. The author candidly and wittily (did I just make that up?) describes the tauntings of other children, society's and her own feelings toward physical appearance and the numerous treatments she endured to return to a 'normal' appearance. Virginia found in this book insight into how children deal with trauma, how cold and isolating a society obsessed with physical beauty can be, but ultimately triumph as the author found her own inner beauty on her journey toward acceptance.


The Last Lion, Winston Spencer Churchill, Visions of Glory 1874-1932, William Manchester

Virginia's third offering was an biographical account of Winston Churchill, the Early Years - covering the time before our history books picked up the story of his life. Suprisingly (well, maybe not so surprisingly), little Winston was a poor student and a troublemaker (maybe the saying should be amended... 'well behaved women and young English Army officers rarely make history'). Young Winston served and fought in India and in South Africa, where he was taken (and escaped) as a prisoner of war. The author not only provides insight into the development of one of the most recognizable figures of the 20th Century (and not because he looked like W.C. Fields), but also provides a clear picture of life during those years. This is the first of two volumes - Visions of Glory taking us up to Winston's entry into Parliament, and Alone chronicling his rise to power, before the war. Virginia counted this among her 'books to recommend', but did say at times it became heavy-handed in showing what type of young man Churchill was.



Karen
Kim, Rudyard Kipling

Karen then introduced us to a little-known classic - Rudyard Kipling's Kim... at least little known to me - however one of the things that struck Karen was how many references had their origins in Kipling's story of the orphan son of an Irish soldier in British Colonial India. Kipling's story is very well-written, but heavily footnoted (over 400 notes) and rife with descriptions of so many places - Karen felt she should have had an atlas next to her. The customer reviews on Amazon bear up Karen's assertion that the footnotes and descriptions of places got in the way of the story, but are almost unanimous is saying the book is worth every bit of the struggle it is to read.


His Majesty's Dragon, Naomi Novik

From a classic to historical fantasy... His Majesty's Dragon is set in England during the time of the Napoleonic Wars - but there are dragons. Yes, flying, reptilian, fire-breathing (well - some of them) dragons. The author borrows heavily from previous dragon lore - most notably Anne McCaffrey's Pern books (numerous enough to fill most municipal libraries) in that dragons 'bond' and communicate with their masters, in a unique relationship. What makes this unique is that the setting is a well documented period of history, which Novik weaves together with the fantastical to become almost an 'alternative history'. The main character is a Navy captain, tied to all of the heierarchy, tradition and dogma that the British Navy of the early 18oo's represented. Suddenly he finds himself with a new life companion in his dragon, in a new branch of the military (an 'air force' of dragons). The dragons (and the fact that certain types of dragons only bond with women) have an impact on the tactics used in war (of course, France has them too), and the society in which the dragonriders find themselves in. The fascinating thing about this book, according to Karen (and as I also read it, I would have to agree) is that although this falls into the fantasy realm, it's very pragmatic - leaving you with the feeling of 'if there really had been dragons, this is how it would have happened'. There are two more books in this series that I've yet to pick up - but will. And a word of caution - this is one of those books you will not be able to put down.


The Prestige, Christopher Priest

Which is better? The book or the movie? Until recently, I would have resoundingly said that the book was better - a movie could never capture the depth that a book can. But in the past few years, there have been some notable exceptions to this - The Lord of the Rings trilogy was like the books brought to life... Stardust, in theaters now is a wonderful adaptation of Neil Gaiman's book that is different, but not lesser... and The Prestige falls into this same camp. In fact, Karen picked up the book because she had seen the movie, and had questions she hoped the book would answer. If you're new to The Prestige, it is the saga of two feuding magicians around the turn of the century (played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale in the movie). Their feud escalates to the point of being life-threatening, as they sabotage each other's performances. The book and the movie have the same characters... the same tricks... and some of the same plot, but they're different. Karen felt the book was weirder than the movie - I'm not sure I agree - but the book definitely takes you to different places than the movie does. I was captivated by the book, and also captivated by the movie. Karen's suggestion is to see the movie first - and I can see her point. Knowing the secret going into the movie took away a little of The Sixth Sense jaw-dropping twist. But if you watch closely, it's all there ('Did you see it?'). I think I might have to go watch the movie again, and then re-read the book.


Brad

Red Sky At Morning, Richard Bradford

As I mentioned above, Brad just brought one book, and it fell into the 'worthwhile' category. Described as A Catcher In the Rye out west, the book Brad chose (and not just because he thinks the author has an uncommonly noble surname) is a coming of age tale set midway through WWII, in New Mexico. It follows the formative years of Josh, whose influential father joins the Navy as a shipbuilder in the twilight of his years, 41 (hey wait! I'm 41! Twilight? I'm hoping it's only lunchtime, mabye early afternoon at the most), and ships his Southern Belle wife (Josh's mother) and his son off to their summer home in New Mexico for the duration. What follows is a culture clash of South meets West meets South of the Border, as Josh tries to acclimate to his new existence, keep his aristrocratic mother from freaking out, and deal with a permanent, mooching houseguest. Brad felt the description of being a western Catcher doesn't really do it justice - the book has a combination of a 'snarky' sense of humor and poignancy with a cast of quirky characters set against a rich description of life in the 1940s Southwest.


Gretchen
Fighting Words: A Toolkit for Combating the Religious Right, Robin Morgan


Gretchen described her reaction to both of the books she brought to share as a 'love/hate relationship.' First up was a book she had as an 'assignment' for another book club (makes me very grateful that this isn't the type of bookclub where you leave with homework). Fighting Words is subtitled as a toolkit, yet it turned out to be much more of a primer on the beliefs of our founding fathers and their intent as they authored the documents that provide the structure for our nation - disproving the religious conservative views of The Constitution as a conservative tome by pointing out that the framers were in their hearts revolutionaries. However, Gretchen was ultimately disappointed and irritated because the book drives home the fact that beliefs causes debate, and a person's beliefs are not likely to change. As one Amazon reviewer put it, 'It is a sad fact that those who should read this book are the least likely to read it.' I think I might have heard Ann Coulter say the same thing about her latest book - further illuminating the divide.



Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle for Workers' Rights at Wal-Mart, Liza Featherstone

This book covers the class action suit against what Gretchen described as 'The Evil Empire'... no, not the New York Yankees - Wal-Mart. The class action suit was over the treatment of women who were employed by Wal-Mart - and were subject to lower wages and fewer hours than their male co-workers, and saw males get promoted more frequently, and after less time-served than women were. Gretchen took this book to heart as she has a close friend whose entire family at one point worked at Wal-Mart, and she witnessed some of this. And even thought Gretchen agrees with the overall premise, she felt the book was very one-sided.

Bev
Rex and the City: A Woman, A Man, and a Dysfunctional Dog, Lee Harrington

Those of you who have been following the IBC since its humble origins may remember that Bev brought Marley and Me to our first meeting - and she's been looking for the next Marley ever since (no, not the ghost of Marley - that's a different story, and it's not yet the season). Rex in the City isn't it. But it's fun, nonetheless. Two hyper-successful and trendy 20-somethings in Manhattan decide a dog is just what they need to fulfill their lives. So the stop by the shelter and save Rex, a spaniel, from a certain end. Expecting the dog food commercial version of life with a dog, they are unprepared to deal with Rex's dysfunction. He runs away, terrorizes the neighbors, and acts out in general. Along the way, his behavior and their disagreement on how to train them strains their relationship. But it's a dog story, and although the dog sometimes dies (I haven't read it, so I don't know if Rex does), the dog always turns out good. Bev thought it was enjoyable, although no Marley - a bubblegum book.


Dogs, Unknown

I couldn't find a reference on the internet to this collection of short stories about dogs and the people they own - but if you're interested, I'm sure Bev would loan it to you.


Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, Lynne Truss

Yes, this is truly a book about punctuation. If you've wandered into a book store in the last year, you probably saw it on the shelf. Both the author and Bev have a near-pathogenic obsession with punctuation - so much so that I'm surprised I don't get redlined copies of my book club summaries from her, or get fined for WUICs - Writing Under the Influence of Commas. I've paged through this book, however, and even though the truth hurts, it's presented in a very amusing fashion. Fun read if you aren't the type that took all those comments your professors made on your poor use of grammar as personnally as I did.


Steal Away Home, Lois Ruby

Another constant of our book club (other than the mention of The Time Traveler's Wife and Lamb, The Gospel According to Christ's Childhood Pal, Biff - which I haven't done in this summary... oops - until now, that is), is that Bev reviews a children's book. This meeting's selection is Steal Away Home - a story of a 12 year old girl, Dana, who while helping her parents remodel an old house into a B&B, discovers a secret room with a skeleton with a diary inside. Unbeknownst to Dana and her parents, the house was a stop on the Underground Railroad. After the discovery, the book continues on in alternating chapters, from Dana's investigations and research of present day, through the diary to the events of 1856 that led to the skeleton being in the room.


Sharla
The Departed, Martin Scorsese

Okay, just to set the record straight – yes, I gave Sharla a good-natured ribbing about the number of books she had brought to IBC #4 in the last summary… and yes, I’d written the summary of her contributions before the last book club… but she had not seen it, I didn’t send it until after, and she couldn’t have known that I was going to tease her in my summary. I just don’t want anyone getting the impression that I scared her off from bringing a book to the book club. She chose not to bring one of her own volition. I swear. Honest! Sharla being Sharla, though, she cannot be present (and oft-times her presence isn’t even required) and not have a worthwhile contribution to the group. Sharla just selected a different medium. The Departed is a remake of the Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs and tells the story of two deep cover moles - one cop who ingratiates himself to the local crime boss (Jack Nicholson being Jack), and a mob mole, who enters the State Police as a plant. Full of twists and turns (and violence) as the two search for each other, The Departed is Martin Scorsese's biggest box office success. Sharla saw this movie, said that Leonardo was amazing in it, and then wouldn't give up any details so that she wouldn't ruin the movie for anyone.


Alex
Alex didn't bring a book either - he brought a library. Fortunately the library was in his head, and he didn't have to carry any of the books. Alex recommended the works of H.P. Lovecraft. For those unfamiliar with his work, he is thought by many to be a master of gothic horror, in the Edgar Allen Poe tradition. (Wikipedia refers to it as cosmic horror - meaning is incomprehensible to human minds and the universe is fundamentally alien. Those who genuinely "reason", like his protagonists, gamble with their sanity). Poe didn't have many huge, ancient sea creatures like Lovecraft's Dagon. Strange, but highly literary (read: you need a dictionary to look up some of the words) horror - most of today's modern horror writers, including Stephen King cite Lovecraft as an influence.

Dave
The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield

I picked this book up because the cover intrigued me. No, not the cover art, but rather the liner notes describing the book. These told of a story of a young woman who is summoned to the home of a much revered novelist who has deliberately misled everyone over the years on the details of her personal life. The liner notes suggested almost a mystery, and yes – I guess you could say that it has those elements. But what I found when I read this book was a very rich (as in Virginia’s Carrot Cake rich – so rich that although you want more, you fear that all of the fluid in your body will immediately become the consistency of jello) story of a dysfunctional family wrought with tragedy at the end of the age of the English gentry. I became so caught up in the cadence of the story that I frequently found myself thinking back on a section I had read, and having to go back to re-read it, just to make sure I read what I thought I did. This isn’t the best book I’ve read in the past year (that honor still belongs to The Time Traveler’s Wife), but it was an ultimately satisfying book… kind of like a home-cooked meal of your favorite comfort foods. After you finish, you feel like laying out on the couch and letting your dinner slowly digest. Now, where can I find some more of Virginia’s Carrot Cake?


Memories of My Melancholy Whores, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Unlike the previous book, this one left a bad taste in my mouth. I should have known. All of the signs were there – from the title, to the description on the back cover. And yet, I still picked it up. This is largely because I long ago read Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and although I don’t remember a lot of it, I do remember that I liked it. And then a few years ago, after an overdose of Stephen King, Tom Clancy and the mystery of the month club, I saw a list of ‘books that everyone should read’. On this list was Marquez’ One Hundred Years of Solitude. So I picked it up, and although it took me almost as long to read it as the title might suggest, I loved it. So, I thought, Marquez hadn’t disappointed me in the past – and even though the cover described a 90 year old confirmed bachelor deciding to treat himself for his birthday by sleeping with a virgin, who turns out to be a 14 year old girl, I thought I’d give it a chance. I either completely missed the point (which is entirely possible), or this book went nowhere, did nothing, and wasted about 2 days of my life. I’d love for someone else to read it (it’s nowhere near as lurid as it sounds – in fact, it’s downright boring and sedate) and tell me what they got out of it – but I got nothing. Read One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera – both excellent (if challenging) books. But I can’t really recommend this one.


And that finishes off this episode of 'An update so late that it should be called a postdate'. Off to IBC #6 and Happy Reading!

BookTracker
Name Books Borrowed from
Colleen The Thirteenth Tale Dave

Karen Hyperion Brad
Fall of Hyperion

Brad Kim Karen
His Majesty’s Dragon
Fighting Words Gretchen

Gretchen The Prestige Karen

Virginia The Stolen Child Dave
Steal Away Home Bev

Dave Endymion Brad
The Rise of Endymion

Bev Time Stops for No Mouse Virginia
(not really borrowed, but left @ Bev’s house)