Book Club Tuesday - The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder

A selection from my book club. Another I probably wouldn't have picked out myself, but I enjoyed this one. I read a review for the book prior to reading that said it seemed like it was the first draft that went straight to print, which I have to agree with as some parts the writing was less than smooth... That being said, an easy read and a very beautiful story.

Book Club Tuesday - I Don't Know How She Does it

As a working mom I really enjoyed this book (much more than I thought I would). My job is not as demanding as the mom in this book but I found myself relating to the pressures and demands of being a working mother. Shows how amazingly hectic and overloaded your life/brain is when trying to be a professional and little Susie Homemaker all at once...

Book Club Tuesday - The Poisonwood Bible

In 1959, a Baptist missionary drags his wife and four daughters to Africa, the Belgian Congo for what is supposed to be only one year. He is determined to convert the natives. They arrive completely unprepared for the humidity, hostile villagers, poisonous snakes and dangerous animals.
It's an eye-opening book about going somewhere foreign with your ideals and customs, and the consequences that can happen when you are not open-minded to change when those thoughts, customs, or ideals are no longer rationally applicable. It's also, in a sense, a story about what could have been achieved with love and an open heart (because this is not demonstrated), instead of condemnation without understanding. My favorite quote of the book, and what resounded with me most about the overall lesson, was, "Everything you're sure is right, can be wrong in another place."
The author takes us through the whole story, beginning with their journey to Africa, through Africa, and the paths each of these women choose to take afterwards and how Africa stays with each of them.

Overall, great storytelling with a rich setting, beautifully described in analogies and metaphors instead of statements of fact. However the book can get a little repetitive, about Africa, about the struggle, about guilt, and about the injustice and political lessons to be learned. I felt there was a missed opportunity in this book to repeat less, and ultimately make it a more powerful message. It also took a little patience to get through the same events x 2, 3, or 4 different perspectives, especially once you figured out the personalities and could already tell how they would feel about it.
Not a quick read, but an enjoyable one with some thought-provoking lessons, a rich setting, and invested characters.

Book Club Tuesday - Sarah's Key

Book Club Tuesday is back at it! It's not that I haven't been reading... just haven't been blogging. Trying to be better!

So, I joined a book club and our book for September was Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosay. I literally could not put it down. It was a difficult book to read in that the subject matter included children and the holocast.

Without giving away too much information, it is about a girl named Sarah who's family was arrested (because they were Jewish) in the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup, July 16, 1942 in Paris, France. It is also about an American woman who has been living in France for 20 years and as she learns about the Vel' d'Hiv for an article she is writing.

The "Roundup" is something I have never heard of until I read this book. Since, I have googled for more historical information. Here is some historical information:

The roundup, which was part of a continent-wide plan to intern and exterminate Europe's Jewish population, was a joint operation between the Germans and French administrators (see below for clarification).



Until the German occupation of France in 1940, no roundup would have been possible because no census listing religions had been held in France since 1874. A German ordinance on 21 September 1940, however, forced Jewish people of the occupied zone to register at a police station or sub-prefectures (sous-préfectures).
Theodor Dannecker, the SS captain who commanded the German police in France, said: "This filing system subdivided it into files alphabetically classed, Jews with French nationality and foreign Jews having files of different colours, and the files were also classed, according to profession, nationality and street." These files were then handed to section IV J of the Gestapo, in charge of the "Jewish problem."


The Vel' d'Hiv roundup was not the first such roundup in World War II. Nearly 4,000 Jewish men were arrested on 10 May 1941 and taken to the Gare d'Austerlitz and then to camps at Pithiviers and Beaune-La-Rolande. Women and families followed in July 1942.


The roundup was aimed at Jews from Germany, Austria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union and those whose origins couldn't be determined, all aged from 16 to 50. There were to be exceptions for women "in advanced state of pregnancy" or who were breast-feeding, but "to save time, the sorting will be made not at home but at the first assembly centre".
The Germans planned for the French police to arrest 22,000 Jews in Greater Paris. The Jews would then be taken to internment camps at Drancy, Compiègne, Pithiviers and Beaune-la-Rolande. André Tulard "will obtain from the head of the municipal police the files of Jews to be arrested... Children of less than 15 or 16 years will be sent to the Union Générale des Israélites de France, which will place them in foundations. The sorting of children will be done in the first assembly centres."

Beginning at 4:00 a.m. on 16 July 1942, 13,152 Jews were arrested according to records of the Préfecture de police, of which 5,802 (44%) were women and 4,051 (31%) were children. An unknown number of people, warned by the French Resistance or hidden by neighbors or benefiting from a lack of zeal, deliberate or accidental, of some policemen, escaped being rounded up. Conditions for the arrested were harsh: they could take only a blanket, a sweater, a pair of shoes and two shirts with them. Most families were split up and never reunited.

After arrest, some Jews were taken by bus to an internment camp in an incomplete complex of apartments and apartment towers in the northern suburb of Drancy. Others were taken to the Vélodrome d'hiver in the 15th arrondissement, which had already been used as a prison in a roundup in the summer of 1941.




The Germans demanded the keys of the Vel' d'Hiv from its owner, Jacques Goddet, who had taken over from his father Victor and from Henri Desgrange. The circumstances in which Goddet surrendered the keys remain a mystery and the episode is given only a few lines in his autobiography.


They had no lavatories: of the 10 available, five were sealed because their windows offered a way out and the others were blocked. The arrested Jews were kept there with only water and food brought by Quakers, the Red Cross and a few doctors and nurses allowed to enter. There was only one water tap. Those who tried to escape were shot on the spot. Some took their own lives.
After five days, the prisoners were taken to the internment camps of Drancy, Beaune-la-Rolande and Pithiviers, and later to extermination camps.
The internment camp at Drancy – which is now the subsidised housing that it was intended to be – was easily defended because it was built of tower blocks in the shape of a horseshoe. It was guarded by French gendarmes. It was ordered the internees to starve, who banned them from moving about within the camp, to smoke, to play cards etc."
The roundup accounted for more than a quarter of the 42,000 Jews sent from France to Auschwitz in 1942, of whom only 811 returned to France at the end of the war.
The primary significance of the roundup was the killing of innocent people because of their religion. But there is a political and social significance because the Vel' d'Hiv has remained a symbol of national guilt and of national outrage.
The wartime history of France differed from that of other occupied nations in that the country was socially and politically divided, until it was all finally occupied by the Germans after being divided into an occupied and non-occupied zone.
There were heroes of the Occupation and there were those who faced death through dishonour. In between were the millions who got on with their lives without the benefit of knowing how the war would turn out. It is they, examining their consciences and wondering whether they could have done more.

Referenece: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vel'_d'Hiv_Roundup

Tatina de Rosnay wrote Sarah's key in such a way that you experience the emotions and feelings that these innocent people felt as they were arrested by the French police and the days that followed.

Book Club Tuesday - My Friend Leonard

The 2nd book by James Frey that documents what happened after his first book, A Million Little Pieces. Of course, it is much about his friendship with Leonard a mobster who develop a father/son relationship while in rehab. They have a very close and special relationship that is of great benefit to both. Leonard is a strength for Frey as they overcome life after rehab. It's a great read and really completes Frey's story from A Million Little Pieces.

Book Club Tuesday - The Girl Who Played with Fire

O.M.G.! I can't say enough about how much I LOVE this book! The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was good, but this was even better! I am not usually one for mysteries (like my hubby), but these are just fantastic reads! I literally could not put this book down!

I really want to dive into the next of the series, The Girl who kicked the Hornet's nest, but I think I am going to read one I have wanted to read for some time, My Friend Leonard.

Book Club Tuesday - Berdorf Blondes & The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I came across an interesting statistic this week. In 2009, 25% of the American population did not read 1 book the entire year! Wow!

Don't waste your time. Usually when I read a book I like to learn something... this was an extreme case of superficial, materialistic, egocentric boring people... There are several authors out there than can accomplish a mindless chic-lit with a page-turning worthy story, but this was far from that.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is at the top of my all time favorites! Ony a quarter of the way into this book, I already knew I LOVED this book! The plot is so deep, every page you turn you are constantly hooked! The story is weaved together brilliantly! Please let me know if you have read it and love it as much as I do! Nick is currently reading it and I am on the follow up in this series, The Girl who Played with Fire. I hear it is as good as the first! I will keep you posted!

Book Club Tuesday - The Help, A Million Little Pieces & Keeping Faith

The Help is such a wonderful book. One of my new top favorites! I literally could not put it down (love those books). It is a wonderful story that takes place during the time of Martin Luther King Jr., Rose Parks, etc. The author does such a beautiful job of describing the emotions of the characters and really makes you feel like to have experienced this period of time.

A long time on my list to read, the controversial book from about 2006. Apparently the author who intially claimed this book to be a memior of his life, embellished some parts of the story (from my 5 minute research, it was mostly the details of his criminal history... he made it sound like he was naughtier than he really was). Nevertheless, this is a great story about a man who was as low as a person could go and despite what everyone may have thought... he got through it.

Ok, this book is quite tricky... I made it about halfway before I gave up. It is a story about religion and a young girl who people think speaks to God. For me, it was a little too cheesy. I am a spiritual person, and believe that everyone can speak to God in the own way and I also believe that God communicates with everyone as well. I don't know exactly what it was, but I just couldn't turn another page... onto the next!

Book Club Tuesday - Heads up!

Word on the street is there is ANOTHER book out for the Twilight series.... Coming June 5, 2010!

Book Club Tuesday - Breaking Dawn Part 1

So, I am about 200 pages into Breaking Dawn, which is about 700 pages long. Long as it is, it doesn't cease to entertain. This is all coming from the girl who was certain she wouldn't enjoy this series at all. Yes, I am 29 and reading literature for 15 year old girls, but it is so good!!! That being said, I do need to admit something... Recently, while running errands at Target.... I found myself in the book section flipping through the pages of a photo book for the movie New Moon, which I have yet to see. Yes, I am a Twilight junkie!

Book Club Tuesday - Eclipse

Holy Crap! What am I going to do when I am finished with "Breaking Dawn"? This is the BEST series of books I have ever read! I am trying to get my sister to read them, but she think they are beneath her.... Anyway, I was just like my sister, thought people who read them were crazy. Stephanie Meyer is an amazing storyteller! I plan to read every and any book she writes! If you haven't read the Twilight series, get started! They are SO GOOD!!!

Book Club Tuesday - Good in Bed, The Glass Castle & New Moon

I have been eyeing Jennifer Weiner's books for quite some time. My friend, Melissa, boorrowed me a pile of "must reads" and this came in that pile. I found myself getting irritated with the maine character at times, as she was going through a boo-hoo period in her life... other than that it was a great story and just a fun read!




The Glass Castle is a Memior that will stay with me. I love the story because it is about someone coming from nothing, yet, she sets out on her own and makes a wonderful life for herself. Throughout the first 3/4 of the book my jaw was hanging open... I just couldn't believe everything she went through.


So, last summer I was forced by a friend to read Twilight. When I finished Twilight I was like, "Okay, I get it, your boyfriend is a Vampire and oyu have problems." So, I was not in a hurry to read New Moon at all! Some people offered me their copy, but, like I said I was not in a hurry to read it. Until, 2-weeks ago whne I received notification from the Library that New Moon was ready for me to pick it up. I forgot that I put myself on the waiting list for it. I was number 37 when I signed up last summer. So, I picked it up and didn't put it down! I am sucked in (pun intended!)! Since I finished New Moon, I read The Glass Castle and am moving on to another one of Melissa's must reads.... I need to pace myself from the Twilight series!

UPDATE: Ok, I was lying when I said I would pace myself on the Twilight series. I just received a notification from the Library that Eclipse (the next in the series) is ready for me to pick up!!!.

Book Club Tuesday - The Da Vinci Code

Well I finally read it. I am one of those people that waits until the dust settles before I "follow the crowd". Anyway, this book was fantastic! As a Catholic, I was not offended, or felt like it was defaming the life of Jesus. Logically, I believe that Christ could potentially have a blood line... how fascinating is that to think of? I do believe that Jesus existed, I believe the stories about the life he lived, and his teachings. I believe that he was an amazing person that taught people to live a good and just life during a time when there was much corruption. Anyway, read it if you haven't!

Book Club Tuesday - Barrel Fever & Holidays on Ice

Not my favorite of Mr. Sedaris, but mildly entertaining.... which I needed this last week.

Yet, another by David Sedaris... so entertaining! Mr. Sedaris worked as an Elf for Macy's back in the day, it talks about his experiences working as Santa's Elf and all the very interesting people that came along with that... so good! This guy kills me!

Book Club Tuesday - The Constant Princess

This book is about Catherine of Arrogan who was the first wife of Henry VII. It was an interesting look at her life and where she came from. If you want a little dirt... she was actually married to Henry VII's brother Prince Arthur when they were both about 15. Arthur then died from a terrible flu or something and then Catherine swore that she and Prince Arthur never consummated their marriage... although they did, and were actually very much in love... which they hid from everyone! She promised Prince Arthur that she would tell everyone that they never consummated their marriage so that she would be able to marry his brother Harry (who later changed his name to Henry VII). Anyway, it is historical fiction, so these are stories that have been passed down for hundreds of years and have become a bit skewed. Nevertheless, it is a great read and insight into this very fascinating period.

Book Club Tuesday - I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence

hmmm....meh! I wouldn't write home about it... but there were some funny things here and there. This book is for someone who doesn't have an ounce of homemaking skills in their bones... and someone that has a great sense of humor. So, if you are a great host... don't waste your time.

Book Club Tuesday - The Other Boleyn Girl

I am obsessed with the Tudor era right now. I am watching the television series "The Tudors" which is on Showtime, but the pervious seasons are out on disc now. Anyway, "The Other Boleyn Girl" is about the 2nd wife of Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and her sister, Mary. It is Historical Fiction, so it is a very fascinating look into a completely different world. I am working on the entire Philipa Gregory series... right now "The constant Princess" which is about Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragan, who you learn a little about in "The Other Boleyn Girl". Let me know if you have read this series or if you do.... so good!

Book Club Tuesday - Running with Scissors: A Memoir

This is another wild and interesting look into the life of Augusten Burroughs. This book was so interesting that Brad Pitt & Jennifer Aniston's production company "Plan B" (yes, they still own a business together) decided to make a movie out of it. If you decide to read any of Augsten's books I gussest reading them in the order that I did. 1. Dry 2. A Wolf at The Table 3. Running with Scissors.

Let me know if you read any!

Book Club Tuesday - Dry: A Memoir & A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father

If you want to read something about a completely different world.... well, unless you are an alcoholic, drug using, Manhattanite.... then you might not be interested in it. But since I am a suburban wife and mother who thinks it is exciting to have a drink, this was quite a jaw dropper! Let me know if you have read this or if you do!

So, Dry is about Augusten Burroughs' addictions as an adult and A Wolf at the Table is about his childhood. There is another one by Mr. Burroughs called Running with Scissors: A Memoir, which is about when his mother gave him away to her psychiatrist. Needless to say, this man has had quite an unordinary life. Anyway, A Wolf at the Table was a very difficult for me. Difficult to hear about the terrible childhood he had. If you plan to read the book stop reading hear... but if you don't plan on it proceed.... Augusten tells a story about when he was about 6 and his entire life he would ask his father to hold him and he would say "Not now" or "I'm tired", etc. So Augusten decided to do a scientific test to he just how often his father turns him down, turns out everytime. Craving the attention of his father, he takes a shirt of his father and stuffs it with a pillow and cuddles the stuffed shirt. This story completely broke my heart.

Book Club Tuesday - The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

Read it!