How to Be an American Housewife

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[November 2011]

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How to Be an American Housewife, Margaret Dilloway

number of voters: 7

percentage of voters who finished the book: 100

highest rating: 8

lowest rating: 5

average rating: 6.857

*****

A compliant reader will not question where her book came from or what other books the author has written, or what critics have to say. Such pryings might drive a good book away.  It is important to mind your own business and stay within the arena of the book itself. —modified excerpt from the book “How to Be an American Housewife”

Should you find yourself in posession of a book titled How to Be an American Housewife by author Margaret Dilloway, you may want to consider your options. Please allow the First Monday Reading Group to elaborate on a few misconceptions.

First, this is not, in fact, a how-to book. It is a novel. The “How to” in the title refers to a how-to book that the protagonist in the novel reads. Also, note: This how-to book that the protagonist reads is not, in fact, an actual how-to book; it is a made-up how-to book written by the author of the “How to…” book.

Second, this is not, strictly speaking, a book about an American housewife. It is about a young Japanese woman who marries an American soldier after World War II. While this technically makes her an “American housewife,” the “American housewife” in the title actually refers to the idea of American housewife-ism in general, as exemplified by the old-fashioned advice of the fake how-to book mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Third, if you are comfortable with points one and two, this may be the book for you! While not what we originally expected, it was an interesting and quick read. The characters were not very well drawn, but the multicultural aspects were intriguing. The husband was endearing — (perhaps the book should be retitled How to Be an American Husband?) — but the children were unlikable at best and poorly written at worst.

In summary, should you decide to undertake How to Be an American Housewife, may we politely suggest you relish its strong points, overlook its weaknesses, and enjoy a decent read by a promising author? It may not transform you into an American housewife, but it might just inspire you to join a book group as cool as ours to discuss books like this one.

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The Hunger Games

[October 2011]

*****

The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
number of voters: 7
percentage of voters who finished the book: 100
highest rating: 9.75
lowest rating: 5
average rating: 8.43

*****

I could see the pipe cleaners on the far side of the cornucopia. There would only be a moment for me to decide: Could I make it there in time, before someone else got there first… or got to me first.
“GO!”
No more thinking about it, I had to move. I dove for the bag of pipe cleaners, but they were snatched from my fingers by the girl from District 7. Quickly I scanned the area for something else I could grab, anything of use. Legos… gone. Scrabble tiles… gone. A roll of toilet paper and a crayon… it would have to do. Now, to create something from these meager items…. something that represented the book and how I felt about it.

The girl from District 7 made a bow and arrow with the pipe cleaners. She said she loved the book, that the social commentary was interesting, that she liked the characters.

The girl from District 10 made word art with the Scrabble tiles. Peeta, Cinna, Capital, Mockingjay. Well played, District 10! She loved the author’s words and pace. She liked the whole concept, but she wanted more info about the minor characters.

The District 12 girl made word art too, but with cards and clothes pins. She had numbers from the districts and a card that said “vote.” I was impressed with what she could do with so little. She loved loved loved the books, how they were easy to read but so visual. I thought she was so brave to admit she didn’t love the ending (was that the best-case-scenario), even though she was so passionate about the story.

The girl from District 5 had crepe paper. What could anyone do with that? A parachute! Brilliant! Why didn’t I think of that? She thought the book was captivating. She was entertained but it also made her think. How would I survive amidst such tough competition?

The girl from District 3 had the coveted Legos. She was surprised that she did NOT like the book because she liked the idea of it, and yet it was just too hard to read about kids killing each other. With her Legos she fashioned a noose around a reader’s neck, signifying how she felt while reading.

The girl from District 9 had a bag of buttons. She made a beautiful tribute to Rue. She had loved the books and Katniss and Cinna and the hope that everyone saw in the Girl on Fire.

It was up to me now, what could I do with my toilet paper and crayon? Could I represent District 2? I had drawn the entire series on the roll of toilet paper, square by unending square. In every scene, Katniss is sad and confused. What can I say? I liked the book, but I thought Katniss was tedious.

In the end, the Gamemaker decided we all would live to tell others about The Hunger Games, to recommend it to our friends. But not before hosting possibly the best book club meeting ever.

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Room

[Sept 2011]

Room, Emma Donoghue
number of voters: 7
percentage of voters who finished the book: 100
highest rating: 9.75
lowest rating: 4
average rating: 7.393

*****

This month we read Book. Some people call Book “Room,” but that doesn’t make any sense. Book is not a room; Book is Book.

Book is a story. It’s a story about Real things but it is not Real.
The story is told by five-year-old Jack, who lives in Room with his Ma. Jack has lived in Room with his Ma his whole life because Jack was born in Room. Jack was born in Room because Old Nick keeps Ma locked in Room.

This is the part of the story where some people decide they don’t want to read Book. That’s because even though Book is not actually Real it is a lot like Real and sometimes Real is bad. (It helps some people if they know nothing really bad ever happens to Jack.)

Some people don’t like Book because they think Jack is annoying. That is Real, too, because sometimes five year olds are annoying.

One of the best parts of Book is what happens in the second half of the story. It would ruin it to tell. But if you are brave enough to read Book and not too annoyed by Jack, you might be surprised at how Book makes you think about Life in a whole new way.

The Help

[July 2011]

The Help
Kathryn Stockett

There are people out there. People who get together & read. God made them just like us but they are different. Especially the ones who form groups. Groups who all read the same books & talk about them. They've got a language all their own & it's dangerous. It's fine to talk to these 'readers' (& hire them to do work for you...& raise your children) but don't ever share or borrow a book from them. They have different germs, different diseases. Diseases that are passed through the pages of those books they all read in one big happy group. God loves them (& I do too, of course, being a good Christian woman) but I just don't understand. I'm starting to think that we might need a separate 'readers' bathroom in the garage. I do have a friend, Skeeter, who insists on being a part of a book group & I pray for her. She seems to want to understand & hear different readers point of view. She's even taken to 'rating' the books she reads with numbers AND stars. Lord help her. So please, just be careful when you meet someone who is a reader. I wouldn't want you to become one, too. In other news, I am so proud to announce that i am the chairwoman for the annual fundraiser to end illiteracy! This really is a huge problem that we should all be aware of & help in any way we can. Please drop off your old boots at our house anytime to help all of these poor illiterate children.

number of voters: 9

percentage of voters who finished the book: 100

highest rating: 10

lowest rating: 8.5

average rating: 9.22

average star rating: 4.5 stars

*****

movie review:
i wanted to write a big amazing review of 'the help', comparing the movie & the book, astounding all with my astute observations (& use of the word astute) but i don't have a lot to say. Only that i loved the book & i loved the movie (have seen & read both twice). i thought that the movie followed the book really well. the characters were so well cast, (my very favorites were Abelene, Hilly & Celia). There were a few relationships that i thought the movie portrayed so well: between Ablene & Mae Mobley, between Abelene & Minny, & between Minny & Celia. All of those connections were so sweet & funny, they made me very thankful for some of my own relationships. There were a few things left out of the movie (as per usual) that i thought were just fine. Not meeting Stewart's parents was not a film killer, but i was sad that they weren't able to make the arc about Constantime & Rachel more true to the book. i understand why they didn't (not enough time, too far off the story's path) but i thought it was such an interesting part of the book, i was disappointed that it couldn't be included in the movie. also i wish we could have seen Skeeter after she went to New York. in the book she comes back & someone sees her with her long hair & short skirt. This definitely has more to do with my love of fashion, but still!!! it would have been fun :) in conclusion, i loved the book & i loved the movie (oh, that was my beginning, too). did you see the movie? what did you think?


REVIEWS by EMILY

The Host

[June 2011]

The Host, Stephenie Meyer

number of voters: 5

percentage of voters who finished the book: 100

highest rating: 7.8

lowest rating: 6

average rating: 7.1

average star rating: 3 stars

*****

It seemed as though the reader’s eyes were not her own; they would not adjust to the page, no matter how hard she tried. Could this really be her book club book? This was, after all, the group that had read To Kill a Mockingbird and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Little Women. Then again, this was also the group that had read Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Confessions of a Shopaholic and Angry Housewives Eating Bonbons. But this book — this massive science-fiction-meets-romance-novel of a tome — was something new altogether.

The reader resisted at first. As anyone in the same position might have. Science fiction wasn’t her thing. Romance novels seemed so — she hated to say it — junior high. And its length (600 some odd pages long!) didn’t help its chances either.

But here she was, reading The Host, and if not exactly liking it, at least trying.

It was a slow start. Yet she had to admit that the concept was interesting: Alien race takes over earth using human bodies as hosts, one human refuses to be conquered, etc. etc. etc. Intriguing. Not a page turner yet, but definite possibilities.

Then, just when the reader was tempted to give up, the plot took a serious turn for the better. She was hooked. Like an out of body experience, she was reading science fiction…and liking it.

As she went on, the book got better and worse in turns. There were moments of intensity, where the reader feared for the protagonists lives; these moments were often followed by pages upon pages of intricate descriptions of cringe-worthy emotional conflict.

In the end, the reader had to admit it was entertaining. Cheesetastic in its own right. The author, if anything, has cornered the market on the science fiction/romance genre. Yes, the book could have been about 300 pages shorter. Yes, the reader slid further down into her chair hoping no one noticed her or the book, but she kept reading to the bittersweet end.

The History of Love

[May 2011]

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The History of Love, Nicole Krauss

number of voters: 3

percentage of voters who finished the book: 100

highest rating: 8

lowest rating: 6

average rating: 7

average star rating: 3.3 stars

note: One reader chose not to finish the book because she very much disliked it. She did not give it a rating.

*****

THINGS WE LEARNED FROM ‘THE HISTORY OF LOVE’

1. There are layers to this book that we didn’t even realize existed until after we’d put it down.
2. It is possible to write a piece of modern fiction that doesn’t fit the modern mold of the modern fiction genre.
3. It’s okay to not always know what is happening as it is happening.
4. Sometimes it’s a good thing to leave giant spaces on a page and make a reader try to turn the pages as fast as she can read them.
5. If you’re going to write a book in which the title of the book refers to a book within that book, make sure the book within the book is better than the book within this book.

There is probably more. And yet. How can we convey the nuances of the story? How can we express the dichotomy of simplicity and complexity that fills its pages?

See for yourself. What will you learn from “The History of Love”?

Little Bee

[April 2011]

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Little Bee
Chris Cleave

number of voters: 8
percentage of voters who finished the book: 100

highest rating: 7.5

lowest rating: 3.5

average rating: 5.0625

average star rating: 2.5 stars

special prize: most brilliant marketing concept ever

*****

We want to tell you what happens in this book.

It is a truly mediocre story and we want to spoil it.

However, you need to know enough not to buy it, so we will just say this:

[SPOILER ALERT!!!]

This is the story of two women (an African girl who calls herself Little Bee and a spoiled, unlikable British woman named Sarah). Their lives collide one fateful day (on a Nigerian beach, where Little Bee is fleeing for her life and Sarah is being a stubborn, stupid British tourist), and one of them has to make a terrible choice (cut off your finger and possibly save a girl’s life or return to England with all ten digits in tact). Two years later, they meet again (when Little Bee shows up on Sarah’s doorstep on the day of Sarah’s husband’s funeral)—the story starts there (well, not really… it actually starts somewhere else, but that isn’t as interesting for the book’s front flap)…

Once you have read it, you’ll want to tell your friends about it (because you’ll want them to know that it’s best not to judge a book by its totally awesome cover). When you do, please tell them what happens (because you’ll want to warn them to not believe the hype). The magic is more in how the story unfolds than that there is some giant plot twist.

Let us say just one more thing: Little Bee does indeed have something to offer. It is far from amazing and completely over-hyped, which can lead to an overwhelming sense of disappointment; however, there are moments of dazzling color, and the story raises some intriguing topics to discuss. The thing of it is, we feel you should decide to read this book not because of the hype or the great mysterious plot twist pushed by its marketing campaign, but because it sounds interesting to you.

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The Hundred Secret Senses, Amy Tan

[March 2011] 

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The Hundred Secret Senses, Amy Tan

number of voters: 5

percentage of voters who finished the book: 100

highest rating: 10

lowest rating: 6.5

average rating: 7.68

average star rating: 3.3 stars

alternate title: The 100 Secret Plots

*****

My book group friend believes she has yen eyes. She longs for those plots that have trailed off or died as though they were still sitting in her kitchen on Hampshire Street in Eugene.

Actually, I believe her. I’ve seen some of those plots myself, although I won’t admit it—to her or to anyone. Maybe people will think I am as crazy as my book group friend and lock my future book choices up in that place where book group recommendations go to die.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

You see it all started when our book group read The Hundred Secret Senses, by Amy Tan. Some of us loved it, while others struggled to get through. Just to set the record straight, there were two that night who admitted they couldn’t finish it—and that isn’t counting the others who didn’t even bother to attend (not that I blame them, but this is just a factual account, you understand).

But I digress.

The important thing is that my friend, she loved this book. Sure, many of us were able to follow the story, for the most part. Some of us even enjoyed it. But my friend, she gets it. She sees the story like an elaborate quilt, the various plot threads all woven together. While we stumble along trying to find our needle and thread, she is happily piecing together the grand work of art—the story, the language, the characters, the thoughts, the other-worldliness of it all.

Maybe you too have yen eyes—that longing for plots that require patience and suspension of disbelief and a sort of hold-on-and-don’t-let-go ride. Maybe you will be able to follow the story, for the most part. Maybe you will even like it. Or maybe, if you are like my book group friend, you will get it.

In any case, it is likely you will never read another book quite like this one. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing is all in how you see it.

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Same Kind of Different as Me

[February 2011]

Same Kind of Different as Me, Ron Hall & Denver Moore

number of voters: 8

percentage of voters who finished the book: 88

highest rating: 8.5

lowest rating: 7

average rating: 7.9375

average star rating: 3.875 stars

*****

This is probably my twentieth attempt to begin this recap.

A sample of what’s already been tried (and deleted):

-God can use anyone.

-Do you consider yourself courageous?

-Let me tell you my version of events… (from Deb’s perspective)

-Did you wake up today? Be glad!

-Even if you ain’t a big reader type, this here is one good story.

-An art dealer, his chipper wife, and a homeless guy walk into a bar…

As you can see I’ve not made a lot of progress.

It’s ironic that a book that our group rated so highly should leave me so stymied to recap. Then again, maybe it’s because this book is so unusual.

Same Kind of Different as Me is a real story about real people and their very real journey from ignorance and indifference to trusting both in people and in God. And yet somehow that summary doesn’t even begin to convey the depths of this book. I could relay the plot, but only in reading it for yourself will the story come to life. It is more than a story; it is a journey.

So, I guess in conclusion I will say: God CAN use anyone, and even if you ain’t a big reader, this here is one good story.

Half the Sky

[January 2011]

Half the Sky, Nicholas D. Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn

number of readers: 7

ratings: unrated, recommended

*****

“Women hold up half the sky.” —Mao Tse-Tung

And the sky is falling.

Today, right now, this very moment… women and girls are being exploited, oppressed, and abused.

Today, right now, this very moment… you can do something about it.

Will you?

Can you seize this opportunity to decide that you will not look the other way? That you will not shrug? That you will not think the problem is so big that one person cannot make a difference?

Are you wondering what you could possibly do to change the world? Here are a few suggestions from someone who feels exactly like you do:

• Read the book Half the Sky.

• Get involved at http://www.halftheskymovement.org/get-involved

• Visit http://www.kiva.org/

There are millions of causes out there. And there are millions of ways to help. The first step is choosing not to look away.