The Language of Flowers

This month we had three books on our book club list. Our discussion of these titles at a local restaurant revealed many different ideas and opinions. All present would agree that our book club allows us to have fun and have relevant discussion with dissenting opinions. We are truly blessed to have the freedom to read and choose our own ideas and to defend our ideas without fear. With that in mind, our discussion began with The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Our discussion centered around how the things that happen in our lives, good or bad, are necessary and enable us to make life choices. Many were impressed with The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn and how today's world events may have greater than "now" meanings. Only one member had read The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin and had a lukewarm opinion on the book. To complete our professional reading we will read and discuss The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller this month. We will also read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn as our main selection.Other recommended titles include Ashes by Kathryn Lasky, a children's book relating to WWII, and The Stephen King Novel 11/22/63: A Novel. Check your email for the date, time and location of our next meeting. Read On!

All Over but the Shoutin

This month we met to discuss All Over but the Shoutin, a novel by Rick Bragg. Most of us were able to connect with the Mr. Bragg's life story. Many of us had/have relatives who grew up very poor in the south so his life story touched us personally. Some of us wondered how much of his personal story was "embellished." I think he is a great storyteller and he took the truth to its fullest extent... Mostly we talked about the true story of Susan Smith and how it was so hard to comprehend her actions - murdering her two young sons. Rick Bragg, a Pulitzer winner author, showed us all how people all over our nation and in Haiti, suffer. We also briefly discussed the other book that some of us read. For the next month we are reading: (Read one, two or all...) Check your email for date/time and place of our next meeting. Read On!

1. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

2. The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn

3. The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin

The Invisible Bridge

I just left a wonderful book club meeting at a local restaurant where the discussion was as varied as our personalities. The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer was the topic of discussion and a couple members acknowledged that they did not read the entire book even though it was only 784 pages in paperback... All kidding aside, it was a long, detailed, and for many different reasons, a challenging read. However we had a great discussion about the book - and of course about life. We discussed children and our challenges and how we all see things differently. Even though we have different opinions and personalities we can be friends and accepting of each other. (Something the Nazi's could not seem to grasp.) I learned from reading this book about  the Jewish experience in Hungary leading up to and during WWII. Orringer has told their story in this fictional novel and this novel has inspired me to learn more about World War II and to try to understand how Hitler and his followers and others in Europe could have committed such horrible crimes against a group of people. On a lighter note, we discussed what we might read next, a book club member who could not attend tonight's meeting suggested the book Fifty Shades of Grey. I am certainly going to read this book, however, we chose  to read  All Over but the Shoutin' by Rick Bragg as our next book club selection.We will meet again in June! Read On!

Unbroken

Walt Whitman, quoted on one of the front pages of Unbroken said, "What stays with you latest and deepest? of curious panics, Of hard-fought engagements or sieges tremendous what deepest remains?"

What does stay with us? What do we want to remember? What do we want to push from our memories? These were just a few of the thoughts discussed when reflecting on Unbroken. Many of us shared what we had been told of war by family members or friends. What lessons do we need to remember from WWII?

Coincidentally our local news recently featured a segment on WWII Veterans visiting the WWII Memorial in Washington D.C. (Thanks for sharing Ranae!)

Next we are reading The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer.

Read On!

Starter Vegetable Gardens

Well this blog post is about gardening books. For some reason I have decided to put in a vegetable garden this year. So, for me, this means an extensive search for the best gardening books and a trip to Barnes and Noble to purchase all of the "best" books on gardening and if you know me then you know this also means a new cookbook. The gardening books that I selected include The Vegetable Gardener's Bible, The Vegetable Gardener's Container Garden, and Starter Vegetable Gardens. The cookbook is Around My French Table. Wish me luck.

The Hunger Games

Many of us have read or are reading The Hunger Games. Check out this post by Frank Baker, media literacy guru.When reading The Hunger Games, what were you thinking about? Politics? The Media? or Who will Katniss choose?

goodreads

If you ever wonder "What should I read next?" try joining goodreads. goodreads is a site that allows you to keep up with what you have read, are reading, and hope to read soon. It also allows you to share your recommendations and read the reviews of books by other members of the goodreads community. Many people you know may already be on goodreads. Take a look!

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

As I mentioned in an earlier post we are reading Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand next. We are enjoying our book club so much we decided to meet in April instead of waiting until May. Unbroken was written by the same author as Seabiscuit both books are nonfiction works which document how humans and animals can prevail against great diversity. During our book club meeting we also discussed the movie, 50/50 a movie where a young man with a very rare form of cancer, fights this cancer with the help of his family, friends, and his therapist. I sometimes wonder why humans want to read about the suffering of others, would we not be better off "thinking happy thoughts?" I just got back from seeing The Hunger Games a movie based on the book by Suzanne Collins. Again, this deals with humans facing great diversity. Are we obsessed with reading and watching tragedies?

Chris Crutcher

I had the great honor of seeing and listening to Chris Crutcher, one of the most banned authors in SC, at the South Carolina Association of School Librarians Conference recently. I mentioned some of this books in my Teacher as Readers book club meeting this week. Here is the link to his webisite Take a look. His books target the teen audience.

Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur

Our teacher's book club met today to discuss Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur. All attendees agreed that the book was wonderful. Several teachers commented that they "cried" through the second half of the book. Others expressed sympathy for Aubrey while others could understand her mother's breakdown. One teacher commented that only the members of the book club who were not mothers sympathized with Aubrey's mother. Most agreed that Aubrey's decision at the end of the book was the right one. What made Love, Aubrey touch our hearts? What would we do when faced with this kind of tragedy? Would be like Aubrey, her grandmother or her mother? How can we use what we learned about this book in our own lives? Good books make a person think and Love, Aubrey was a great book.

Due to the excitement about the books that we are reading, we have agreed to move up our next meeting to April 11, instead of waiting until May. We will read Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand next.