Due to technical difficulties here at Live Journal, I have moved this on-line book club to www.planetbooks.wordpress.com
I do hope you'll join us over there!!!! You can easily vote for the October title at our new home and I believe you will have an easier time posting comments as well.
Thanks for making Planet Books a successful online book club!!!!
XOXO-K
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All
Which 2nd Place Title will you give a 2nd Chance To Win?
View Answers
<embed allowScriptAccess="never" saveEmbedTags="true" src="http://www.polldaddy.com/poll.swf" FlashVars="p=113305" quality="high" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" width="252" height="506" name="beta3" salign="tl" scale="autoscale" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplaThe Year of Magical Thinking
0 (0.0%)
Snow Flower & The Secret Fan 0 (0.0%)
Atonement: A Novel 1 (100.0%)
A Farewell To Arms 0 (0.0%)
It's time to vote for the October title!! Since so many of you voted for books that didn't win over the last four months, I thought I would bring back the second place titles for a second chance at winning. Just
click on poll above and cast your vote. The poll will be open until Wednesday, October 3rd.
.... "LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE" by Laura Esquirel. There were four votes total for this book and two votes for "An Affair To Remember".
I already have a copy thanks to my sister, Sonja. I am glad to finally have the opportunity to take it off of my "To Be Read (TBR)" shelf and read it.
My book club here in Okinawa will be reading "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs Of A Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah.
I hope you all enjoy our selection this month and I'll start posting questions on Sunday, September 30th.
Happy Reading!
XOXO-K
Hopefully we will have some new voices to spice things up a bit more.
Thanks to everyone who commented on the first set of questions the other day. I am sorry I haven't been consistent with posting questions. It's a busy week here on The Island.
1. If you had the money that the X's had and could enrich your child's life with exotic foods, violin lessons, private schooling and French classes, would you and why? What do you think is appropriate for a child and what crosses the line?
2. What kind of person do you think Grayer will grow up to be?
When reading it TND this time around I did find myself seeing similarities to DEVIL. I guess I had really enjoyed DEVIL so much that reading TND again wasn't as fun the second time around.
Anyway, I'll get to the first question now. I'm actually going to use two questions from an on-line reading guide where I'll be pulling questions from for this title.
1. Why do you think the characters are never assigned real names?
2. Considering the harsh and fickle treatment Nan receives from Mrs. X, why do you think she stays with the family?
So far I have only received three votes for September's title and they are all for different books. I will keep the voting open through the end of the week and hoepfully there will be a winner.
I still haven't been able to fix the voting box problem so please leave a comment or e-mail me your vote.
These books represent classic literature at it's best and no matter what title wins the vote, we will be in for a great story.
I am having trouble with my Poll creator web site so for now, please cast your vite by leaving a comment or if you have my e-mail, e-mail it to me. I will close the voting on Monday, August 27th and post the winner that evening. I will start posting discussion questions for THE NANNY DIARIES this Sunday.
Thanks again for keeping Planet Books going and I hope you are enjoying your experience so far.
XOXO-Karen
http://www.amazon.com/Farewell-Arms-Erne
http://www.amazon.com/Color-Purple-Alice-W
http://www.amazon.com/Joy-Luck-Club-Amy-T
http://www.amazon.com/Like-Water-Chocola
Hey Everyone!! How's your month going? Are you done with THE NANNY DIARIES yet? Well, I'll be posting discussion questions this coming Sunday, August 26th and we can wrap up this month. I will be posting titles for the September vote this Friday and closing the voting on Monday, August 27th.
I have seen the trailers for THE NANNY DIARIES on-line and can't wait to see it. I hope the military theatres get it over here. If not, I'll have to wait till the DVD comes out to see it. :(
If you have any book suggestions for the vote please let me know.
XOXO-K
We loved Hong Kong and all it had to show us. Great shopping, wonderful people and beautiful sights. We went up to Victoria's Peak, had drinks at the Felix Bar atop the Peninsula Hotel in Kowloon, visited the Temple Street Night Market, sang karaoke at a Karaoke Box, had two foot reflexology massages, got our hair done in the hotel salon, and took a ferry to Langou Island to visit the GIANT BUDDHA. We stayed at The Park Lane Hong Kong and it was a lovely hotel with a great view from our room.
After five nights in HK we flew four hours south to Singapore (Singapore means Singing Lion Port). Now Hong Kong was very hot and humid and we thought it would be even worse in Singapore. Singapore sits two degrees north of the Equator but it was so much cooler and more comfortable there. We stayed on the famed Orchard Road at the Le Meridian Hotel. Orchard Road is THE place to shop in Singapore and we did plenty of window shopping. We enjoyed gellatto and great food. We took a city tour via bus and had a great time seeing the sights. We had lunch at the Singapore Botanical Gardens and I spent some time at the Borders Book Store. I picked up THE NANNY DIARIES and will hopefully get started reading that this week.
Here are some pics from our trip. The first few are of Hong Kong and the last ones are from Singapore.
I hope you all enjoyed THE RED TENT and are having fun with this book club. Please e-mail your friends from near and far the link to Planet Books so more can enjoy reading these great books with us.
I look forward to reading THE NANNY DIARIES with you and seeing what the rest of 2007 brings us in ways of books.
XOXO-K
Question #3:
At the beginning of this chapter, Dinah wonders whether her earliest memories are her own or the result of her mother's stories. Is there a clear distinction between reality and the memory of that reality? What is the significance of childhood memory on adult experience? How does the concept of midrash (elaborating on a text to fill in the details) fit into your response? Do you have memories from your childhood that your own or based on family stories? For those of you who are parents, do you retell stories to your children so they can remember them better and carry them on through their lives?
From www.anitadiamant.com:
Was there really a red tent in ancient times?
I did not find any evidence that women in this period of history in this place (ancient Iraq/Israel) used a menstrual tent. However, menstrual tents and huts are a common feature in pre-modern cultures around the world, from native Americans, to Africans. The rendering of what happened inside that tent is entirely my own creation.
Childbearing and childbirth are central to THE RED TENT. How do the fertility childbearing and birthing practices differ from contemporary life? how are they similar? How do they compare with your own experiences as a parent or witness to a birth?
From www.anitadiamant.com :
What exactly are the midwife's "bricks"?
First off, these bricks have nothing to do with the reddish oblongs that comprise houses and fireplaces. Midwife's bricks, which I found mentioned in various historic sources, were probably flat and certainly large enough to stand on. There is some debate about what they were used for. They may have had a purely "magical" function, or they may have helped the laboring mother to keep her footing while she squatted to deliver her baby.
Well, I'm just about finished with THE RED TENT but today is the day I start posting discussion questions for all of us.
At the end of your book (I'm sure all the books are like this) there are discussion questions. I searched the internet for different questions but these seem to be THE questions for THE RED TENT so I'll pick and choose from them. I will also post some questions I found on the author's web site at http://www.anitadiamant.com/faqs_theredt
QUESTION #1:
What do you make of the relationships among the four wives/sisters? How does each marriage to Jacob effect their relationships with each other?
From Anita Diamant's web site:
Where did the idea for The Red Tent come from?
I had just turned 40, needed a new career challenge after writing non-fiction for 20-plus years, and turned to the most venerable source for story ideas: the Bible. Although I started out thinking I'd write the story of the relationship between Rachel and Leah, I found Dinah's story to be very dramatic and compelling. Also her total silence in Genesis inspired me to tell the story from her perspective.
How did you do your research?
My research focused on the everyday life of women in this period of history, in the ancient Near East. I did not study the Bible or rabbinic sources, but concentrated instead on the food, clothing, social organization, architecture, and medicine of the era (ca. 1500 BCE).
I was the recipient of a library fellowship at Radcliffe College at the Schlesinger Library on the History of American Women, which permitted me access to the entire Harvard Library system. I also had access to the Brandeis library system, thanks to the women's studies department, which appointed me a visiting scholar for a year.
It got me wondering what good movies are coming out this fall and holiday season that I won't get to see on time or at all (until I have to buy it online or rent it through Netflix because the PX (Post Exchange) won't stock it. Well there are a number of great looking movies that I can't wait to see (one day) and there are a few that were originally books. I thought it would be cool to have our August vote be of four titles that will be translated on film this year.
Please check out the links below to learn more about these books and vote below. I will close the voting poll on Wednesday, July 25th and announce the winner.
I will start posting discussion questions for THE RED TENT on Sunday, July 22nd through Wednesday, July 25th.
Thanks again for reading with me!!!
http://www.amazon.com/Nanny-Diaries-Nov
http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Austen-B
http://www.amazon.com/Atonement-Novel-I
http://www.amazon.com/Other-Boleyn-G
This morning (Sunday) I finally got back to THE RED TENT. I just wrapped up chapter two of Dinah's story where Jacob, his wives and the flock (humans and animals) are off to Canaan. I'm glad that the scenery will be changing for the characters and that they are leaving the dreadful father behind to fend for himself. I am looking forward to getting to know Dinah better and seeing what the future holds for her.
I hope you are enjoying THE RED TENT too. Let me know where you are so far and what you think of it if you like.
It starts from the point of view of youngest, "Rayona", and her experiences with her alcoholic and dying mother and then the experiences she endures on her own. She is only in her mid-teens when we meet her and she is much more the mother to her own mother than the other way around.
The second part of the book is from the point of view of "Christine", Rayona's mother. She tells us her story. She takes us through her childhood and teen years and her relationship with her little brother lee, and tumultuous twenties and thirties when she meets Rayona's father, gives birth and then tries to balance a regular life with her daughter with the uncertainties of her marriage.
The third and final part is told through the eyes of "Aunt Ida", grandmother to Rayona and Christine's mother and the secrets that this family was built on.
My favorite part was that of Christine but the family drama that Aunt Ida shares is so exciting and jaw-dropping I couldn't put the book down till I learned every juicy detail.
I definitely recommend A YELLOW RAFT IN BLUE WATER. It was a quick and enjoyable read about human weakness and family secrets.
I asked about the men being affectionate with men and women with women in public arenas and they confirmed that. One said that it was a normal gesture to be lead by his interpreter by holding hands through the streets. My other friend said that a funny story he encountered was some Afghans got a hold of a video of an Iranian wedding where the men were dancing with the women. The Afghans' reaction to this was as if they were watching porn or something.
They described the Kabul landscape and surrounding areas as dried up (when it wasn't muddy in the winter), broken but rebuilding and some of the nicest people they had ever met.
It was cool to hear their stories and find some familiarity with what I read in Debbie Rodriguez' book Kabul Beauty School.
If you go to http://oasisrescue.org/ you can see pictures of the school and the Oasis Salon, read about what they are doing and even make a donation.
Sometimes I come across other on-line reading challenges. This one http://www.alifeinbooks.com/?p=123 - The Armchair Traveler Reading Challenge seems pretty cool. Guidelines are as follows: "Fiction or non-fiction works are fine, and do not need to be specifically travel related, as long as the location is integral to the book - I’ll leave that to your discretion. Locations must be actual places that you could visit, so no Middle Earths or galaxies far, far away." You can even win prizes if you link to your own site through the host site.
Since a few of the books I have lined up to read in my book club and some of the titles on my TBR (To-Be-Read) list fall under the guidelines I will be participating through the rest of the year.
My six choices are:
- A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Soldier Boy (Sierra Leone)
-
- The Kite Runner (Afghanistan)
- Ten Thousand Suns (Afghanistan)
- Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search For Everything Across Italy, India & Indonesia (Italy, India & Indonesia)
- The New Yorkers: A Novel (New York City)
I will keep a journal about each book on this blog site. Also, if I end up reading more books that fall under this challenges guidelines I'll add them to this post. I am looking forward to my Armchair Travels via these stories and where they will take me.
This is my armchair/recliner that I will be sitting in while reading. Move over Rocky!
I hope you are enjoying you copy of THE RED TENT. My copy is in the mail as I type this and should be arriving by the weekend.
Due to a last minute trip to Hong Kong & Singapore at the end of the month, I will be posting the questions for THE RED TENT from Sunday, July 22nd through Wednesday, July 25th.
I hope that gives everyone enough time to get this book read. I think we can all do it though.
I will be posting the next voting poll on Friday, July 20th and keeping it open through Wednesday, July 25th. If you have any suggestions please let me know. Maybe you have a TBR (to be read)stack and you need a jump start on getting some of them read. Or maybe there was a great book review you caught in the paper or at the local book store. Let me know and I'll try to incorporate the titles into the poll for August's book.
Right now I am still reading A YELLOW RAFT IN BLUE WATER for my "real-life" book club, "Lit & The Island". I am really liking it and enjoying reading a book that takes place in Washington State & Montana on an Indian reservation (so far).
Happy Reading!!!
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