Reported
by Laura
Our first
reviewer read a Hallmark Book of Best-Loved Poems. Some were good and some not
so much. However, a few were found to be
quite beautiful and moving. One of which was The Builders of Longfellow.
The next book was Analects of
Confucius. It was a good read and can be done a little at a time, so that
it’s not overwhelming. This book club member said he had joined to elevate his
mind. This particular offering did just that. He found that there were a lot of
ideas that predated Christ, which led him to believe there was more
intellectual flow from the East than first thought.
Hitting a Straight Lick with a
Crooked Stick by Zora Neale Hurston is a wonderful book that might be
difficult for some people to read, as the dialect is very heavy. It has the
Southern Black rhythm and punch and our reviewer absolutely loved it! This is
the same author who wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God and she is a
brilliant storyteller. This offering was described as almost like a Black’s
Aesop Fables as it is a conglomerate of stories from the Deep South.
Trevor Ferguson is a Canadian author
who writes in a soft, poetic style. The River Burns is set in a small
town in Canada where there is a dispute among the townspeople concerning a
historic single-lane covered bridge that must be crossed to enter or leave the
town. The loggers want it replaced with a modern alternative, while others in
the community want its history preserved. The dispute turns into a heated, and
eventually violent, argument. It’s a long book, but our reviewer couldn’t put
it down. She loves the way the author writes. On a side note, some of his
previous novels have been made into movies, one of which is The Timekeeper.
The Invention of Wings by Sue
Monk Kidd is historical fiction based on fact. Set in Charleston, SC, it tells
the story of two young girls, each from opposing cultures, who are thrown
together against their will. Sarah is gifted her own personal slave on her
eleventh birthday. She is appalled by slavery and wants to refuse the gift, but
is unable to do so. Hetty “Handful” Grimke is taken from the slave quarters
wrapped in ribbon and presented to her new master. Surprisingly, they grow to
develop a close bond. As one of the passages states, “My body may be a slave,
but not my mind.” Our reviewer really liked this book and found it to be an
encouraging story.
These is My Words by Nancy E.
Turner is the diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901. It is based on the memoirs
of the author’s own family who traveled west, facing Apache attacks and all of
the other hardships involved in such a dangerous journey. Sarah is an
independent, strong woman who can shoot and take care of herself on the trail. Throughout
the journey, she finds herself falling in love with the captain leading the
team and their relationship is an important part of the story. Our reviewer
found it to be a wonderful book and she highly recommends it.
Our next reviewer found the book, Etta
and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper to be a very weird book that
she isn’t sure she would recommend. It tells the story of Etta, an 82 year-old
woman suffering from dementia, who decides to leave her husband, Otto, at home
and travel to the ocean that she’s never seen. Starting out with a note in her
pocket to remind her of who she is and where she lives, along with chocolate, a
knife, and a book, she embarks on her 2,000 mile journey. Along the way, she
meets a coyote she befriends and names James, who joins her on her journey. She sends letters back to her husband, but it
is their neighbor, Russell, who has always loved her, who comes looking for
her. Several members of the book club thought the book sounded interesting and
expressed an interest in trying it.
Half Broke Horses by Jeanette
Walls had been reviewed before and enjoyed, but this week’s reviewer hated the
book. This is by the same author who wrote The Glass Castle and tells
the story of the author’s maternal grandmother. Even though she provided money
and housing at times for the family, she was always resented by the author’s
mother for telling her not to marry her husband; branding him as a flake. The
reviewer found it stupid and senseless. She felt the fact that the photo on the
cover was one taken by a depression-era photographer and not a picture of the
actual family in the story was telling. She definitely wouldn’t recommend.
Even though Onward: A Photobiography of African-American Polar Explorer Matthew Henson by Delores
Johnson is listed as a juvenile book, our reviewer found it fascinating. Mr.
Henson was chosen from many applicants to assist Robert E. Peary on his
expedition to the North Pole. He was an invaluable asset as he made friends
with the Inuits, learned the language, and studied how to expertly care for the
dog team. Due to his race, his contributions were not initially recognized and
it took a long time for history to hail him as a hero.
Dumpty by John Lithgow has
been enjoyed by many members of the book club and this week’s reviewer was no
exception. She found the artwork in this satirical poetry offering to be
wonderful. Her favorite of all was the picture of Pence sitting on a fence. She
said this was definitely her kind of poetry!
Another book that has been reviewed
by several members is The Confession Club by Elizabeth Berg. Most have
greatly enjoyed the book, but this week’s reviewer had a different take on this
story of a group of friends who meet weekly to share their deepest secrets. She
found it vapid and ridiculous and felt it should have been listed as a juvenile
book. She found nothing redeeming about it and couldn’t finish it.
Also by Elizabeth Berg, The Art
of Mending was reviewed by a different member who felt it wasn’t the best
written book, but she did finish it. In this story, Laura Bartone is looking
forward to her annual meeting with her siblings as they return to their
parent’s home to attend the state fair. This year, however, she senses a change
in her sister, Caroline, when they meet. The very first night, she shares with
Laura and her brother, Steve, some devastating allegations about their mother,
which questions the memories of all of the siblings.
