A Confederacy of Dunces

[December 2006]

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A Confederacy of Dunces
John Kennedy Toole

number of voters: 1
percentage of voters who finished the book: 100
highest rating: 4
lowest rating: 4
average rating: 4

number of book group members who finished this book: 1 of 10
percentage of book group members who would like their money back after buying this book: 100

What is there to say about this book?

Perhaps this: I’m so sorry.

Okay, okay… It wasn’t awful. At least not awful in an Our Lady of the Forest kind of way (according to Lindsay, who by the way wins the prize for sole finisher). And there were some funny parts.

But all in all, let’s not waste another moment of our lives on this book, okay? Not even on a rambling recap….

Life of Pi

[November 2006]

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Life of Pi
Yann Martel

number of voters: 5
percentage of voters who finished the book: 100
highest rating: 9
lowest rating: 4
average rating: 6.8

percentage of non finishers who got past Part One: 0
percentage of finishers who thought Part Two was gory: 100

A boy, a tiger, a hyena, a zebra, and an orangutan are stranded on the Pacific Ocean…. No, this isn’t the setup of a joke, it’s the setup of the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

The boy is likable, a zookeeper’s son who pursues three religions at once, not because he is indecisive but because he is truly that dedicated to God.

The tiger is convincing, from the story’s first introduction of the species to the very real threat of sharing a small living environment with him.

The hyena is menacing, a gory reminder of the intricacies of the food chain.

The zebra is short-lived, nothing more than a meal for all involved.

The orangutan is endearing, a brave, motherly figure who reveals her strength and her defiance.

The story is both believable and unbelievable, a fascinating concept wrapped in a realistic package of gore and intensity, survival and boredom. It’s a work of fiction that tackles issues of faith and the value of life, and it does so in a way that questions the story’s own reality.

What if I told you that the whole tale was merely a figment of the boy’s imagination, a clever invention to mask the horror of what really took place? Would you believe the sensible, believable version, or would you give yourself over to faith and trust the beautiful and fanciful account of a boy, a tiger, and the Pacific Ocean?

The Color of Water

[October 2006]

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The Color of Water
James McBride

number of voters: 8
percentage of voters who finished the book: 75
highest rating: 9
lowest rating: 6.9
average rating: 7.675

percentage of readers of The Color of Water impressed with the accomplishments of the author and his family: 100
percentage of authors of The Color of Water impressed with the accomplishments of the author and his family: 100

What do a bunch of white women from twenty-first century suburbia know about growing up biracial in a 1960s inner city?

A whole lot more than we used to, thanks to James McBride’s The Color of Water.

It isn’t a page-turner, per se, but it is a fascinating portrait of a unique family. It offered insight into a culture with which we are highly unfamiliar.

McBride’s mother is an amazing, complicated woman who abandoned her Jewish heritage and immersed herself into the black culture of the times. Ruth Jordan was a victim of harsh circumstances, but through determination and perseverance—and her persistent resolve to teach her children “color blindness”—went on to accomplish great achievements (such as raising twelve, mixed-race children in the 60s—all of whom grew up to be successful in their own rights— and obtaining a college degree at age sixty-five).

A moving tribute to an amazing woman, The Color of Water is a window into another era, another culture, and indeed, another world.

Blue Like Jazz

[September 2006]

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Blue Like Jazz
Donald Miller

number of voters: 9
percentage of voters who finished the book: 78
highest rating: 9.75
lowest rating: 7
average rating: 8.4167
number of readers who’s sisters have dated Tony the beat poet: 1

I’ve been wondering a lot lately about books and book groups and all the discussion that goes on. And it struck me, what exactly is a book anyway? Is it merely paper and ink and glue?

It was in the midst of these musings that I happened upon Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller—and by “happened upon” I mean “someone in book group chose it for their book.” As if on cue, this book answered my unspoken question. Is a book merely a compilation of its physical materials? No. It is so much more. It is thoughts and expressions and passions and it is a soul exposed.

So, like any good book group, we discussed. Miller’s exposed soul was like the Portland fresh air in smoggy SoCal—except that we were in ourselves in Oregon, but you get the idea. We loved his musings and his metaphors and his stories. We liked that it made us think about things in our own lives, that maybe by exposing a little of his soul Mr. Miller exposed some things in our souls.

Maybe we didn’t always love the writing or completely understand each point Miller wanted to make, but then again, maybe he didn’t either. He doesn’t purport to know everything—or much at all, in fact—but he is willing to say “I don’t know” about things and still have something to say about it.

A guy who isn’t much impressed with himself manages to impress us with his transformations, and a guy who admits to not always knowing which way he’s going manages to point us in the right direction.

Written in honesty and humility, Blue Like Jazz points to the Way to truth and to life. A book like that is certainly on the whole more than the sum of its parts.

A Girl Named Zippy

[August 2006]

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A Girl Named Zippy
Haven Kimmel

number of voters: 8
percentage of voters who finished the book: 62.5 (5 of 8)
highest rating: 8.5
lowest rating: 6
average overall rating: 7.75
average rating of finishers only: 8.1

If we learned anything at all from Jerry Seinfeld it’s that stories about nothing can be funny and that ordinary people can be entertaining.

Haven Kimmel bets the trailer that she’s got that finding-humor-in-the-ordinary skill in her memoir A Girl Named Zippy. It has all the makings of a dull memoir—small girl in a small town where anything can happen but usually doesn’t. And if it weren’t for Zippy and her wide eyes and ears and the big mouth that brings more trouble than it keeps at bay, Mooreland Indiana might fade into obscurity… well, okay, it probably will anyway, but at least with Kimmel’s vivid memory and scathing attention to detail, we can visit anytime we want.

What Jerry Seinfeld did for a group of average friends living not-so-average lives in New York, Haven Kimmel does for an average girl growing up in a not-so-average way in small town Indiana.

The Phantom Tollbooth

[July 2006]

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The Phantom Tollbooth
Norton Juster

number of voters: 1+1+1+1+1
percentage of voters who finished the book: ALL
highest rating: 8
lowest rating: 7
average rating: 7.3

number of voters who began their comments with a hesitant “I liked this book…” and though it was always uncertain never followed it with with a “but…”: (55 minus 20) divided by 7 [that’s everybody]

From Dictionopolis to Digitopolis, we were entertained by The Phantom Tollbooth. We liked and appreciated it, though none of us would go so far as to say we loved it.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, which if you’ve never tried you’ll soon discover that it is rather hard to do, for the moment at which you are about to be ahead of yourself, there you are again.

But I digress—D-I-G-R-E-S-S.

The Phantom Tollbooth is a completely inventive work of children’s fantasy that takes the reader on an easy yet wholly brain-befuddling read. The writing is simple yet witty—sometimes outwitting us so-called grown-ups. There is a little something for everyone, whether you like letters or numbers or a grand romp through the playgrounds of your imagination or a little of all the above put together.

The author sometimes pushes the story a little too far over the top, but for a story about going to extremes it would be hard not to push the boundaries a bit. The author also fails to tie up the story of Faintly Macabre, the kindly old Which who sends Milo on the journey that drives the major plot.

But to sum up, The Phantom Tollbooth is:
“Delightful!”
“Charming!”
“Pleasing!”
“Enchanting!”
“Amusing!”

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

[June 2006]

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The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Ann Brashares

number of voters rating the book: 9
percentage of voters who finished the book: 100%
highest rating: 9
lowest rating: 7
average rating: 7.83




number of voters rating the movie: 11
highest movie rating: 9.5
lowest movie rating: 6
average movie rating: 7.73

percentage of voters who preferred the book to the movie if they read the book first: 100
percentage of voters who preferred the movie to the book if they saw the movie first: 100

as a group, we are:
35.8% Bridget
35.8% Carmen
22.5% Lena
13.3% Tibby
2.5% Effie

Dearest Bee-Gee—
I could TOTALLY relate to the book you sent me! The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was SOOO good, and perfect for summer reading. If only WE had a pair of pants like that! That author must have a really good memory of her teen years to write so well about us. It fit us to a T! (as long as we’re talking fitted, faded, favorite T and NOT dirty Hanes T like my little brother wears — UCK!!!)  I wish I had as much freedom as the girls in that book had—I can almost feel my mom breathing down my neck even as I write this. But mostly I LOVED this book. I’m sending you a book too… It’s called The Phantom Tollbooth and I really want to know what you think. We can talk all about it when I see you on August 7th. OMG! It’s only THREE WEEKS away!!!!
Big Xs and Os
BFF
—me

The True Story of Hansel and Gretel

[May 2006]

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The True Story of Hansel and Gretel
Louise Murphy

number of voters: 7
percentage of voters who finished the book: 100%
highest rating: 9
lowest rating: 6
average rating: 7.47



number of attendees who would read this book again: 4
number of attendees who would recommend this book (albeit not to everyone): 4

Once upon a time, an author set out to write a book about reality based on a fairy tale. The author, Louise Murphy, chose the story of Hansel and Gretel and retold it in Nazi-occupied Poland. The result is haunting.

The Brothers Grimm fairy tale is particularly grim and, as such, an apt setting for the horrors of war, particularly World War II. The author does an excellent job of recasting each of the fairy tale characters into believable real-life personalities. She also succeeds in interweaving well-known details of the fairy tale into key plot points in her allegory.

There were moments that moved us… young love that blossoms even amid atrocities… a priest who finds redemption in the unlikeliest of ways… the extremes to which parents will go to protect their children…

The few missteps that the author makes, in our humble opinions, do not overshadow the overall quality of the book. Maybe the ending was a little “hokey,” but it did closely follow the original story’s ending. And perhaps some of the details seemed “over the top,” but it was, after all, a book based on a fairy tale. All in all, The True Story of Hansel and Gretel achieves its goal of riveting, not-quite-historical fiction as seen through the eyes of two wide-eyed children.

And as the Brothers Grimm ended their tale, so shall I end mine:

“Now all their troubles were over, and they lived together in utmost joy.
My tale is done. See the mouse run. Catch it, whoever can, and then you can make a great big cap out of its fur.”

The Da Vinci Code

[April 2006]

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The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown

number of voters: 8
percentage of voters who finished the book: 100%
highest rating: 8.5
lowest rating: 5
average rating: 7.28

percentage of voters who thought the book had any negative effect on their faith: 0
percentage of voters whose names make funny anagrams: 100

Chapter 1
The readers of the First Monday reading group met in a cozy little home on the west end of Eugene, in western Oregon, a state in the western United States. Coincidence… or conspiracy!?!?! Even more startling is that BOOK CLUB is an anagram for BOOB LUCK…

Chapter 2
The topic at hand was the The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown. Most of the readers really enjoyed the book, and nearly everyone thought it was a suspenseful page-turner with a mystifying maze of puzzles. There was, however, some disagreement…

Chapter 3
The disagreement was about the separation of fact from fiction; that is, whether a novel that purports itself to be based in fact but obviously is not thoroughly based on fact can succeed in fiction if the reader cannot determine where fact ends and fiction begins and vice versa. Which brings us to the next great mystifying discovery: FACT VERSUS FICTION is merely an anagram for A CITRIC VENT OF FUSS.

Chapter 4
In the end, those who love a good suspense novel loved this one. Those who don’t didn’t. Those who could easily accept the novel as plain old good fiction enjoyed the book. Those who couldn’t didn’t. And finally those who enjoy a GOOD MYSTERY are more likely to enjoy MY GORED TOYS.

Epilogue
Next month we will be meeting to discuss The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy, whose name is an anagram for HE IS YOUR LUMP.

The Thorn Birds

[March 2006]

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The Thorn Birds
Colleen McCullough

number of voters: 7
percentage of voters who finished the book: 85.7%
highest rating: 8
lowest rating: 7
average rating: 7.5

 percentage of voters who thought Ralph should have made a choice between Meggie and the Church: 100
percentage of voters who thought that choice should have been Meggie: 100
percentage of voters who are Catholic: 0

February in the Willamette Valley can be cold and gray, buried under the oppression of gathering rain clouds. The river bulges with icy snowmelt from the thawing eastern mountains. The buttes, enshrined in twin halos of evergreens and wrapped in a chill blanket of fog, are far from inviting; they instead remind you how warm and pleasant it is to remain inside, to build a fire in the woodstove, and to curl up on the sofa with an engrossing book.

It’s a good thing because this month’s book was longer than the river herself. (Sometimes the author’s descriptions of the scenery were about that long as well.) But we liked The Thorn Birds. It is the most universally liked book that we’ve read thus far—not the highest rated, mind you, but it is the book with the highest “lowest rating.” We liked the characters—except when we didn’t like them, but that’s okay because we weren’t always supposed to like them. And we enjoyed the story—other than that it was in turns tragic and morose, but that just made the bright moments shine more brilliantly.

And there were indeed bright moments… enough to pull you optimistically through droughts and fires and floods, pain and death and sorrow, heartlessness and heartache and heartbreak. Bright moments, indeed. But they were there, and they were such that when you arrive at the end of the book, 700 pages and 60 years later, you are able to say, “I liked this book.”

Bee Season

[February 2006]

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Bee Season
Myla Goldberg

number of voters: 8
percentage of voters who finished the book: 100
highest rating: 8
lowest rating: 3
average “before” rating: 5.7
average “after” rating: 5.875
number of voters who changed their vote after discussion: 2
total points change in before/after votes: +1.5
Angie’s by-far-most-favorite quote from the book: “…Brown Braid’s boobs are incontrovertible proof that it’s really, truly over.”

A lot can be said for a book about which a lot can be said. Having said that, we sure had a lot to say about Bee Season by Myla Goldberg. But, what can I say? How can I sum up all that was said?

For starters, most of us enjoyed how the book started. A nice, sweet story about a nice, sweet girl who, unbeknownst to all, can spell. S-P-E-L-L. Spell. Isn’t that nice? And sweet?

The strange thing is, as the book got more and more strange, our opinions began to differ. For some, it was a little too sad, a little too lonely, a little too strange. Some lost interest. Others couldn’t put it down. Maybe we were unable to relate to any characters. But then, maybe it opened a window into our own lives, our own families. Strange, indeed.

Above all, it was surprisingly well written, with a surprise ending to boot. Maybe it wasn’t the best book we’ve ever read. But it wasn’t the worst. In the end, it was the ending that spoke the loudest. And it made for an interesting discussion, this nice, sweet girl with her unique skills and, to put it mildly, obscure family.

And in my book, any book that can make me look at the story of my life with a little less drama and a little more happy ending, well that, my friends… is just divine.
D-I-V-Y-N-E.
Divine.

Ding.

Crime and Punishment

[Jamuary 2006]

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Crime and Punishment
Fyodor Dostoevsky

number of voters: 7
percentage of voters who finished the book: 43
highest rating: 9
lowest rating: 3
average overall rating: 6.9
average rating of finishers: 8.2
number of readers who thought this book was a crime: a peck
number of readers who thought this book was a punishment:  a bushel


“Allow me tell you about the conversation I had earlier this week with a group of highly intellectual women. They were discussing a novel by Dostoevsky… you may have heard of him. He’s that Russian writer who spent 10 years in exile in Siberian labor camps as a political prisoner. The women with whom I spoke were discussing Dostoevsky’s book Crime and Punishment, which he’d written upon his return to Russia in 1860. From what I could tell, the women rated his book very highly. Many had struggled with the book’s length and some had failed to finish it at all (albeit not without trying or vowing to finish it at a later date). Still others had failed to even start the book. These looked on the others with a sense of awe and guilt… and perhaps a little relief. As far as the story was concerned, many found it excruciating… in good and bad ways. It is excruciatingly suspenseful, but it is also excruciatingly long. As far as high brow literature is concerned, most of the women rate it among the highest. As far as entertainment value, very few would recommend it on enjoyment alone. The main character was discussed loathingly, although most admitted they sympathized with and even rooted for him. In the end, it was an evening well spent. I may even request of them that I be allowed to eavesdrop on their next discussion… It is some modern piece of fiction (Bee Season) by one of these liberal authors (Myla Goldberg) so well-published these days…
“But I’m sorry, I haven’t even let you get in a word this whole time…”