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November 22

Late again

Well, I was overwhelmed by my life again.
I got busy and didn't enter close enough to the event to keep all the details of the interactions. The further into the past the less I recall. Sorry. 
The second to last book was People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. We met at Maggie & Jim's. All was as it always is at our meetings: good talk about the book, and food and drink. Bob H. picked a good one, which blended history and imaginary filling in the facts with what the author made up. The end was a bit implausible, but it made a good story out of dry history. 
The last book was in a caboodle Judy discovered at the library. She got us a book bag filled with copies for everyone.
The details are on the Pima library website. Purple Hibiscus, by Chimanda Ngozi Adichie was the book. We had a small group at Dave and Jackie's. They made a great variety of foods, and drink available. As usual the UA game was competing for most of our member's attention. Most of us enjoyed the story. The characters were complex enough to make some cliche' plotting almost work. Abusive father, African political coups, comparison of tribal religion with catholicism, revenge of the abused, innocent taking the heat, good vs. evil, family dynamics... We should ask why we pick our books more, and who didn't like the book before the end of the meeting. One of those questions was answered in time to talk about it during this meeting. Sometimes a lot can be gained from someone who is reluctant to talk about a book if he didn't like it. We enjoy our get togethers, but sometimes we need to engage in confronting what is going on in the book, and more than whether we like it, but why. This relates to why we choose a book and how good a book it is.
Sure we need to read fluff once in a while, but for the book club let's  get a signifigant book that makes a difference.
Both of the books here meet the criteria, We need to step up too in our discussion. I'm just sayin... And I should be up to reporting the meetings better too.
That tripe said, our next book, Phantom of the Opera, was around for so long that we can get it online at Project Gutenberg if we want to get an online version instead of a book. Of course we can print it out, or find a print version.
I think Google has the entire Signet version copied online. And with our guest present we should have a great meeting at Bob and Carol's December 12. 
 
 
September 20

This is Your Mind on Music

This is a tough book about music. If you want to know everything about music this is for you.

We discussed Little Pink House...

at Deanna's. Perhaps, as Jim said it was too long, but it was fleshed out so as to make a dry story a personal one. We saw what happens when someone brings home a book and her husband picks it up, and likes it enough to make it his recommendation to the club. I think we all liked the skillful job of work done on the eminent domain subject. Deanna put on a skillful job of work on the snacks, including a cheesecake. Pat said she was dropping out, and maybe we will consider it a sabattical. This was a good choice for us, thanks Dave, and we learned from the book, and enjoyed our fraternity as  discussors of books, and the fun of it was a reminder of the best of our what our group can be. Sue' already into People of the Book, an we have Phantom ready to go too.
I just finished Fanon on CD. It's a very different style of book which blends biography, and a personal memoir with poetry. I recommend it.
August 30

Who cares about a 'Little Pink House'?

I do. However, I didn't at first. This book is very meticulously researched, as the author pointed out. Initially I bought into the right of eminent domain. The supporters were the right wing gun nuts... but as the book continued to reveal the situation, and the players, I saw the abuses in eminent domain for economic reasons-to get a higher tax paying taxpayer, or for economically depressed jurisdictions. There are many examples of the abuses nationwide, and hopefully government abuses will get reined in, no credit to the supreme court, by concerned citizens. Regarding the local New London situation what made the book a rewarding experience was that the author helped me get to know the characters, on both sides. The knowing made even the 'villians' into known quantities who could be booed, just as we cheer for the 'good guys'. The issue of eminent domain gradually became intelligible, and relevant. It is like we react to a car accident, differently depending on whether we are involved in it, or driving by. Yet we need to consider car accidents as an issue, because we might be involved in one. It spills over into health care, and lawer reform, enforcement, and legislation. The same applies to eminent domain. My point is the author of Little Pink House, Jeff Benedict, wrote this book in such a way as to engage me in the issue. I believe the sub title, "A True Story of Defiance and Courage" also explains why I liked it-I like stories that are about challenging tough situations. The characters in the story were revealed in details as multi dimensional with positive and negative sides. There was no attempt to eqivalency-some characters were revealed as bozos by their actions, or words, but I feel the author tried to be fair He let the chips fall, and stay where they landed.
August 27

The Number, and John Wells

I just finished 'The Number' by Alex Berenson. It's all about the financial crash before the last one. We might have seen the last one coming if we read this book. Since writing 'The Number' Berenson has written novels, which is how I learned of him. I like the novels too. Currently I'm reading his 'The Faithful Spy'. It would be easy to say his main character could hold his own with Crais' Joe Pike. And not for the reasons you may guess-check it out.
August 10

After This

Bob chose a frustrating book. It was not a fun read, and most of the club didn't like it contrary to the reputation of the author, and the reviews.
Jim said the style of well criticized books currently is minimalist. We didn't get engaged by the characters, so few cared what they did or thought or felt. Maybe we learned a bit more about the author, and the literary world's tastes from reading Alice McDermott. I had to leave early since I was working Sunday, which was a pity since I was enjoying the snacks Judy put out, and the company. I'm looking forward to Little Pink House. Books I was reading: Parallel Worlds, by Michio Kaku, and The Number, by Alex Berenson.
July 12

L. A. Requiem

Leslie hosted. Yellowtail Merlot and Pino Grigio? with the quiche and crackers + Jana's rhubarb, veggies, and dip went with the more serious Elvis Cole, and Joe Pike story. Robert Crais has found his mealticket big time. His writing is developing, and we liked his characters even if Joe is a bit superhuman. The main characters are looking for relationships, and the difficulties are many. Some stories are plot, others are feelings, and Crais is blending the difficulties of law enforcement with relationships, and that's why he is emerging into a better writer.He will get better if he keeps trying to get both those areas covered. He can get dreamily sentimental, but that's the way we feel at times.
June 03

Them

I just wanted to enter the newest URL of the Bookclub Web Page in case anyone else needed to have it. I tried Bing, and Google and the closest I got was the older URL. So here it is-you found it!
Them was a good read. Yes Sue, and I read it already. Not always fun, but good in the it hurts kind of way, as in 'the truth hurts'. Maybe we can't all get along. Or only in the extremes, as in the army, or when we have to at work. Maybe someday. More comments AFTER the next meeting, like usual. 
April 26

Wao Wow!

If you didn't need this glossary:
 

Asqueroso: dirty person (masculine)

Abuela: grandmother

Ande: to go, to travel

Abrazo: hug

Alegre: happy

Azaroso: unfortunate, disgraceful person (masculine)

Algiuen: someone

Arroz: rice

Amor: love

Azabaches: a fossilized form of wood that is black in color and is carved and polished into pieces of jewelry to protect against the evil eye

Asesino: killer

Acabaron: finished

Acabar: finish

Aqui: here

Bueno: good

Buenmoso: handsome

Blanquito: white boy

Barrio: neighborhood

Brutos: stupid people (masculine)

Brutas: stupid people (feminine)

Bebe: baby

Que dios te bendiga: God should bless you (response to "bendicion")

Bendicion: blessing

Bacalao: dried salt cod

Bachata: a type of music

Braceros: migrant worker, laborer

Burbuja: bubble, blister

Bailarina: ballet dancer

Bella: beautiful

Bochinche: gossip

Boca: mouth

Bien: good

Ciguapas: mythological creature of Dominican folklore. They are commonly described as having human female form with brown or dark blue skin, backward facing feet, and very long manes of smooth, glossy hair that covers their otherwise naked bodies. They supposedly inhabit the high mountains of the Dominican Republic.

Cuidate: Take care

Cuero: slut

Correa: belt

(el) cuco: a mythical monster, a ghost, witch; equivalent to the boogeyman found in many Hispanic and Lusophone countries

Coje: take

Culo: butt (slang)

Cabeza: head

Chancletas: slippers, sandals

Caramba: exclamation of surprise or dismay, darn! heck!

Cibaeños: northern Dominicans, from el Cibao

Chinos: Chinese people

Con: with

Candela: candle

Comunista: communist

Chulo: sexy guy

Caracol: snail, seashell, ringlet

Capaz: capable

Clavo: nail

Comparona: snotty girl

Ciclon: cyclone

Capitalenos: people from the capital

Campesinos: country-dweller

Colmado: store?

Cabana: hut

Capitan: Captain

Comeme: Eat me

Campo: countryside

Compañero: companion

Cochinos: dirty people (masculine)

Coño: damn

Chacabana: type of shirt

Cuarenta: 40

Cojones: testicles, courage

Carajito: the most common way a Dominican would refer to a child whose name he or she doesn't know

Corona: crown

Callejon: alley

Culenado: ?

Chica: girl

Dale: give

Dique: like

Diosa: goddess

Dios: god

Diablo: devil

Dentista: dentist

Diario: diary

Digas: speak

Desgraciado: disgraceful person (masculine)

Dura: hard (feminine)

Diaburlas: ?

Dulces: sweets, candies

Dejame: leave me

Doña: title of courtesy preceding a woman’s first name

Dime: tell me

Dio: gave

Delincuencia: delinquency

Dolores: pains

Dos: two

Esta: this, these

Eres: are

El: he

Ella: she

Existe: exists

Exigente: demanding

Esponja: sponge

Esa: her, that woman

Esposa: wife

Esto: this

Encendida: passionate, burning, flushed

Entiendes: understand

Educado: educated

Fuku: ? I think he made this up?

Fua: bam!

Fea: ugly (feminine)

Flaca: skinny female

Fulano: that person, that someone

Feminino: feminine

Fuera: away, outside

Fuego: fire

Guapo: handsome male

Guapa: handsome female

Galletazo: great big slap

Gordo: fat male

Gran: big

Ganas: desires

Gallo: chicken

Gallear: to show off

Gringo: white male

Hombre: men

Hija: daughter

Hijo: son

Hambre: hungry

Hermanita: little sister

Hamaca: hammock

Haitianos: haitians

Infierno: hell

Insuperable: insufferable

Jodido: screwed (masculine)

Jurona: savage animal?

Jefe: boss

Jodiendome: bothering with me

Jodas: f--k

Jipeta: jeep

Junta: military government coalition

Llamas: calls

Lambesacos: see document

Muchacho: boy

Muchacha: girl

Maldito: maldito:

Meteselo: Shove it

Moreno: dark-skinned male

Mio: mine

Mami: mom, sexy girl

Madre: mother

Malecon: street along the seawall

Maestra: teacher

Mesera: waitress

Mas: more

Mujer: woman

Monita: monkey girl

Mataron: killed

Madrugada: early morning, day break

Maldito seas: damn you, dammit

Mamahuevo: see document

Muy: very

Maricon: faggot

Mariconsito: little faggot

Muchachita: little girl

Merengue: a type of music

Mirador: lookout

Madrinas: godmothers

Malapalabras: bad words

Negra: black female

Nino: boy

Negrita: little black female or affectionately black female

Novio: boyfriend

Norte: north

Numero: number

Puta: slut

Perrito: little dog

Puerca: pig female

Paliza: beating, pummeling

Pariguayo: weak man, coward

Pequena: small (female)

Pulperia: small grocery store

Princesa: princess

Paso: pass

Pendejada:

Parque: park

Pista: trail

Popola: female sexual organ

Pela: beating

Prendas: jewelry

Primavera: Spring

Palacio: palace

Pendeja: moron, idiot (feminine)

Plataneros: people of the plaintain

Politicos: politicians

Preocupas: preoccupied

Peledista: (According to helpful commentator, Joe) a member of the Dominican Liberation Party. The PLD, as it is known in Spanish, is the political party of current president Leonel Fernandez Reyna.

Pobre: poor

Paja: straw

Plantado: planted

Pulpo: octopus

Pollo: chicken

Pana: corduroy

Paloma: dove

Pueblo: people, village

Semana: week

Santa: saint

Senora: woman

Sancocho: to parboil, traditional soup/stew

Santisimo: sacred?

Sindicatos: union, guild

Saca: to pull out

Sueno: dream

Sola: alone (female)

Senorita: young girl, young woman

Surenos: southern

Serio: series

Supermercado: supermarket

Sientase: felt like

Sacrificio: sacrifice

Tio: uncle

Tia: aunt

Tu: you

Tuya: yours (feminine)

Tesoro: treasure

Tengo: have

Tranquilidad: tranquility

Tetas: breasts

Tetua: big breasted female

Todavia: still, yet

Tienes: have, has

Taza: cup

Tormenta: turmoil, storm

Traquila: tranquil female

Todopoderoso: all powerful

Tranquilisate: calm down

Toto: derogatory term for vagina

Taxista: taxi driver

Uno: one

Una: one (female)

Unica: only (female)

Vayanse: leave!

Veras: you will see

Ven: come

Verguenza: disgrace

Viejos: old males

Vieja: old females

Zafa: to loosen

Zangana: drone

Lo siento: I’m sorry

No lo pareces: you don’t look it

Poco hombre: barely a man

Pan de agua: bread of water

Gente de calidad: quality people

Fuera de serio: out of series

Posted by Aliza "La Jewminicana" Hausman at 12:01 AM

Labels: chronic pain/fibromyalgia, culture/multiculturalism, family, grandparents, hair, Hispanics/Latinos, Junot Diaz, Oscar Wao

14 comments:

LatinBlog said...

I can't believe you guys did that! Well done Alys. After this, I might just refuse to speak to you in English ever again!

7:05 PM

Aliza "La Jewminicana" Hausman said...

It's just a shame how many people are complaining that they feel they're not 'getting' everything in the book because they don't understand the Spanish. There really should have been a glossary. It's been helpful to hear all this feedback though since I want to use Spanish in my book and I want to make sure it is understood.

12:38 PM

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for doing this. I really have felt I've missed a lot in the book so far. Without actually understanding the language, the effect of having all those Spanish-language phrases is just sort of cute but irritating. I can't believe that's the effect Diaz wanted.

3:26 PM

Aliza "La Jewminicana" Hausman said...

No problem. Hope it's helpful. If there are any words I didn't catch, just let me know. I'll get you the translation. Everyone should fully enjoy Oscar Wao, it's quite the book.

7:07 PM

Jori said...

Terrific! Thank you!

12:54 PM

Joe said...

Peledista is a member of the Dominican Liberation Party. The PLD, as it is known in Spanish, is the political party of current president Leonel Fernandez Reyna.

6:50 PM

Mel said...

I just stumbled across your post when I was looking for a definition of "galletazo," which nicetranslator couldn't understand. Thanks so much for this! I was beginning to worry I'd miss half the book at this rate, since I'd already stopped to look up about ten things in the first 15 pages. Thank goodness my husband knows comic book characters, or I'd need those definitions, too.

9:18 PM

Kim Flournoy said...

This post has been removed by the author.

1:03 AM

Kim Flournoy said...

Darn, I wish I'd seen this page earlier! I went ahead and created a site for the book, including all the pop culture references, which I thought would be helpful to people as well, but the Spanish was definitely hard to track down! http://www.annotated-oscar-wao.com

1:20 AM

Aliza "La Jewminicana" Hausman said...

Sorry, Kim! It certainly does help that Spanish is my second language.

7:15 AM

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this! It's awesome! -karla jane

8:43 PM

Anonymous said...

your title should be "you're"

just saying, if you want to write a book and all.

4:06 PM

Anonymous said...

You're awesome for this, thank you!

11:41 AM

Aliza "La Jewminicana" Hausman said...

I have changed "your" to "you're." It was a typo, Snarky McSnark.

12:38 PM

 

Provided by a member, Judy, you might have enjoyed/appreciated our last book more. Judy found a website that provided this 'study aide". I left the comments (after the glossary) on because they add texture to our discussion.

Some of our members thought the book was worth the trouble to read. Others read it to see what the troubled characters were going to do, how it was going to unwind. Oscar's life was a teribble waste, he courted disaster and consummated the relationship. What a family he had, and what was the pull of the Dominican country on them? Was it a fuku, curse? It sure seemed like one. Is a difficult, depressing, sad story worth a Pulitzer? I think not. What were they thinking?

Jana hosted like a grand Hotel: fruit, veggies, dips, cheeses, crackers, and a fine cake with hand whipped cream, and a fine collection of drinks. We won't forget the  police action either!  

We discussed the schedule, skipping May, and trying a set 2nd Saturday regular meeting.

April 06

Dashiell Hammett's Lost Stories

Dashiell Hammett wrote the Maltese Falcon, which we read in bookclub, and I looked for something on him. This book, edited by Vince Emery, has a lot of history of early 20th century America besides the works of Hammett, and a lot about the author. If you want to know how someone clawed his way out of illness, and poverty to wealth and fame, and crawled back to die after a riotous life read this book. It's not a pretty story, but quite a story none the less. This book goes into the literary business , as well as the Movie business. The depression is a major character, as is WW2, and American politics right and left. I enjoyed it enough to not only like Hammett more, but want to read more about him.

March 29

Wandering in the desert, with dessert

We gathered at the appointed time, Sue prepared some veggies, chips and dip, after the talk about the book, Secret Knowledge of Water, by Craig Childs, we had some homemade carrot cake, washed down with beverages. Our author told a tale of his wanderings in search of water, in water, avoiding murderous water, witnessing the after effects of floods, and thinking about the wet stuff. Sometimes he was new age poet, other times he was scientest, and always he was in the desert experiencing water, or the lack therof. This bothered some of our readers. Childs did some things in searching for water that would make a skydiver nervous. I'm not talking about driving through sand 3 feet at a time either. Who would risk hypothermia in a flooded canyon, or walk toward a flash flood? Certainly not most people, and even most risk lovers. Given the close knowledge of desert floods, such behavior was asking for it. There was a mystical quality around Childs searching for water cisterns in arid lands. Sad about the poisoning of the 'trash' native fish to usher in the more desirable sport fish. Things were different then, and the perpetrators didn't know what we know now. Carol and Bob heard Childs at the Book Fair at the U of A. We heard him through his web site reading about the Peregrine falcon. After hashing around the details about the next meetings and books we broke up. Another book, some memorable scenes, and an author who may be too much in love with death.
March 19

Interpreter of Maladies

What a good time we had talking about the finely written stories in Maladies. While they were not earth shattering they were not totally forgettable either. Some of us had trouble remembering all the stories, but a few of them came to mind. Memoirs? Imaginings of what might have happened to an acquaintance? Characters from a group we worked with once? People we met on vacation? Childhood friends, or their parents? Bob and Jackie made us welcome, and we did our thing.
I'm listening to the CD version of Blasphemy by Douglas Preston-what a romp! From the sleepy beginning to the riotous encounter with G-d! What is going on, and who is doing what? It's a conspiracy mystery with a filling of science vs. revelation inside.
The two books I'm still reading are The man with the Iron Heart by Turtledove, and the Lost Stories of D. Hammet, are still going well, but it's hard to find time. (Same old excuse!)
January 11

Book club meets, eats talks books

 


The Bookclub Web Page
Last updated 12/14/2008

Year
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010        

2009 Meetings
Date Host(s) Selector Title Author
01/10/2009 Leslie Jana Maltese Falcon Dashiell Hammett
02/21/2009 Jackie & Dave Jim Interpreter of Maladies Jhumpa Lahiri
03/xx/2009 Sue & Larry Jackie

04/xx/2009 Susan C. Leslie

05/xx/2009 Jana Pat

06/xx/2009 Pat Susan C.

07/xx/2009 Jan Dave

08/xx/2009 Judy & Bob Bob A.

09/xx/2009 Deanna Larry

10/xx/2009 Maggie & Jim Bob H.

11/xx/2009 Carol & Bob Deanna

12/xx/2009 Jackie & Dave Judy

Maltese falcon was the dingus the book described. Clear moonlight lit the white hybrid at the keypad. It moved on, and we went to it's space, keyed the number, and drove through the gate. Talk was good, damn good, better have been good. Devilish v of lips parted and food moved in. Food on crackers, sweet, chypre, washed down with red and white wine, fruit too. Hard boiled detectives wore out shoe leather before Samuel Spade, but future generations of gumshoes nodded back to Mr. Spade. In the bookclub we have laid the paver to the foundation for future mysteries we read. Yeah, we'll read 'serious' fiction, and other stuff, but now we will be able to compare new reads to Hammett's book. There is a part which describes where the bird came from, which sounded like the best of Dan Brown's Templar history. Of course for this enthusiastic scholarly tale the teller of choice was Gutman, who searched for the falcon almost 2 decades before running upon SS in San Fran. After a bit of reminiscing about books discussed in the past we looked forward to new challenges: after next month we'll read Secret Knowledge of Water, by Craig Childs, selected by Pat at Larry and Sue's 3/28. And I picked Robert Crais' LA Requiem for September, since Leslie, and Jana agree it's a good read.(I copied Bob's web page because he said the website might go away. If it does I'll carry on here to keep a webpresence for us until something else develops.) One thing I was curious about was if Spade put the guns into the hall closet, why didn't the kid try to get them when he left?....

December 15

Chi Newman and Richard

There was a packed house at Bob & Carol's for FAREWELL, MY BEIJING, Chi's memoir. After we all got there Chi rose and recapped her story, with Richard participating.
They brought the book back to life, and added a lot to the memories she shared. I'm glad her family pulled it out of her. Like she said about her son goading her into Tennis the book wasn't her idea. With so much travel, and a difficult journey it was, there were many interactions, and difficulties, it seemed like a very interesting life.
Chi even brought a new recipe for some cookies. It was fun to talk to her, and Richard. She even signed my copy of the book. Bob  & Carol hosted us like royalty, with goodies, Sparkling wine, and Red and white wine too! 
Wink
(I intend to return to blog about the last few books we read in the club, which I have neglected. Probably the best book I listened to on CD recently was L.A. Requiem, by Robert Crais.)
September 07

Who's on first...

Latest movement in the Bookclub besides fast turning pages in Heart Seisure. Thanks to Carol, who sent a note to Susan Vreeland about her call in.
(Some names & details were changed to protect innocence in general):
 
Bob: Hello All, The server for the bookclub web site crashed and we have been migr...
Sep 6 (2 days ago)
Bob: Loading...Sep 6 (2 days ago)

Larry - Hi Bob, I put the next 4 books/hosts/dates in my blog after checking with som...
Sep 6 (2 days ago)

Bob  to
show details Sep 6 (1 day ago) Reply

OK, I have updated the site with the information from Larry’s blog.  Please check to make sure I have everything right.
 
We now have 11 hosts and 16 selectors in our illustrious group.  Here is my initial suggestion for the 2009 year and start of 2010.
 I would like to suggest we keep this order and cycle through and switch out on an as needed (or as wanted) basis.
 
Date                     Host(s)                              Selector
Jan-09                Jackie & Dave                        Jana
Feb-09                 Pat                                        Jim
Mar-09                Sue & Larry                           Jackie
Apr-09                  Susan C.                              Leslie
May-09                   Jana                                    Pat
Jun-09                  Leslie                                   Susan C.
Jul-09                    Jan                                      Dave
Aug-09              Judy & Bob                               Bob A.
Sep-09              Maggie & Jim                              Larry
Oct-09                Deanna                                    Bob H.
Nov-09              Carol & Bob                               Deanna
Dec-09              Jackie & Dave                             Judy
Jan-10                    Pat                                                                   Sue          Atilla
Feb-10                Sue & Larry                                Jan
Mar-10                Susan C.                                 Maggie
Apr-10                  Jana                                        Carol
May-10                 Leslie                                       Jana
Jun-10                   Jan                                           Jim
 
Comments and suggestion are welcome.
 
Bob
 (it was a lot of fun moving everyone to the right after cutting and pasting the program clumped everyone to the left side. Sue, my wife, however could not be moved 
   further to the right since Atilla was there.    ;-)
August 29

Next books

OK the website seems to be down so I'll enter the next books as a service to the many who read this blog :-):
 
September 20                Heart Seisure             Bill Fitzhugh                 Bob & Judy
October  18                   Suite Francaise          Irene Nemirovsky          Maggie & Jim
November 15                 Garden of Last Days    Andre Dubus III             Deanna
December 13                 Farewell My Beijing      Chi  Newman                Bob & Carol
 
Any corrections and/or additions will be appreciated, so let me know.

Next books

OK the website seems to be down so I'll enter the next books as a service to the many who read this blog :-):
 
September 20                Heart Seisure             Bob & Judy
October  18                   Suite Francaise          Maggie & Jim
November 15                 Garden....                   Deanna
December 13                 Farewell My Beijing          ?
 
Any corrections and/or additions will be appreciated, so let me know.

Next books

OK the website seems to be down so I'll enter the next books as a service to the many who read this blog :-):
 
September 20                Heart Seisure             Bob & Judy
October  18                   Suite Francaise          Maggie & Jim
November 15                 Garden....                   Deanna
December 13                 Farewell My Beijing          ?
 
Any corrections and/or additions will be appreciated, so let me know.
August 25

Luncheon of the book club

Yes I see our bookclub a bit like the group that was imortalized in Luncheon of the Boating Party. (OK we met in the evening and it wasn't a luncheon!) But we create an experience together by our input with the books we talk about together. Anyway we talked about the book, then we called the author and talked about it with her, and then we talked about it some more. Some liked it, others were not impressed by the characterization, or some other factors. For me, the book took me to the post Franco-Prussian war world which the Impressionists helped heal, and reflected a nation in change. I got to see a famous painter and his world. Most thought the scholarship was impressive. Susan Vreeland told us about her next book and would let us know about it's publication if we send her our emails.
Then we discussed the membership issues. It was difficult for our hostess to ask the recent and proposed guest to not attend since we were discussing membership, but their presence would have been a trial too. Jana prepared ballots for the issues and Pat was voted in, with a maximum upper limit of 16 for practical reasons-we can't accomodate more in our homes, and besides we would lose the closeness which we value in our group if it got too big. We planned a few more books, and picked some dates. Bob is having some issues with the website which should be up soon , so I'll referain from going there for a bit. Good choices, more community to close out 2008 - long live the art we are!
August 22

Less than a day

Re: Luncheon of the Boating Party‏
From: susan vreeland (susan@Svreeland.com)
Sent: Fri 8/22/08 9:17 PM
To: LAWRENCE NEWMAN (lawrencenewman1@msn.com)
I'll be waiting,
Susan

LAWRENCE NEWMAN wrote:
Dear Susan,
Just a note to confirm our call with you tomorrow at 8 P. M. We will be calling 858-587-9351, per your email.
Excited to be so honored by you,
Larry Newman

August 12

Size matters

The discussion is spirited about new members! I think we should shut the door after the people under discussion. Just as long as we all get it together ffor the call with Susan Vreeland I'll be happy. I tried to add some new photos from recent trips, etc.
August 06

Getting to yes...

I spoke to Jan today about Susan Vreeland taling to our book club when we discuss her book and then emailed Susan:
Dear Susan,
Our hostess for the night our book club will be discussing is Jan. We'll start around 7:30, Tucson AZ time, and I hope that won't make speaking with us too late for you if you are East of us. We can call you, of course, and you can call me at my home number, 520-299-2092 to leave your number, or email me (lawrencenewman1@msn.com). If August 23 doesn't work for you we'll be meeting on later dates, which are on Bob's website (http://dakotacom.net/~batwell/Bookclub.html).
So let me know how we can link up.
Larry Newman
Let's see what happens.
July 28

Vreeland responds!

Re: Luncheon of the Boating Party‏
From: susan vreeland (susan@Svreeland.com)
Sent: Sun 7/27/08 10:10 PM
To: LAWRENCE NEWMAN (lawrencenewman1@msn.com)
Dear Lawrence,
I don't visit book clubs in person, but I do welcome book clubs of ten or more to arrange a call to me during their meeting if they have a speaker phone. It works best if they have 45 minutes to discuss the book and decide on what they want to ask me before you make the call. Your email doesn't give a date so I can't say whether I would be available.
Regards,
Susan Vreeland
So if it's OK with Jan, on the 23rd, and Bob and Judy on the 20th (of September) as an alternate  we can tell Susan V. we'd like to call  her.  That would make an  8PM call a possibility, and if she's on the East coast it would be late, but possible.
July 27

Calling Susan Vreeland

Luncheon of the Boating Party‏
From: LAWRENCE NEWMAN (lawrencenewman1@msn.com)
Sent: Sun 7/27/08 9:58 PM
To: susan@svreeland.com
Dear Susan,
I liked your book so much I recommended it to our book club. I don't know if this would work, but I think I saw somewhere on your extensive website that you can come to bookclubs. So if you're in Tucson...:-) I guess by phone is possible, and I'd be happy to call you so you wouldn't have a big phone bill, but you may want to keep your privacy, or have other concerns with that, Anyway I listened to the Luncheon, and know some of our other members will want to read some of your other books too. We'll be assembled by 7:45 or so. My wife, who is also a Susan, has one of the numerous copies of your book owned by our library, but wants to listen to it too.
A little about us- Bob has maintained our website for quite a while now, and you can see you are on our list. The URL is:
http://dakotacom.net/~batwell/Bookclub.html 
I'm Larry Newman, and I blog comments about our meetings:
http://hyprnertomachia.spaces.live.com/
Noone reads my blog, but you can if you want to see more about us, from my point of view. (And to see whether we are nuts)
I can give you Jan's number if you want to call the night of the meeting to say hi to those of us here in Tucson who will be discussing your book. Someone might have a question for you. I'm sure if we know you are calling, we will come up with something. (understatement-for the humor challenged) We had a few authors attend our meetings, and it's quite a thrill for us. Some of us are retired, Jan works at xxxxxx so she is on board with authors. When I told the group about my choice I mentioned that I saw something about how you can interact with readers. My number is xxx xxx xxxx.
Keep writing, and we'll keep reading,
Larry
P. S.
The email address I check the most is lrrynmn@gmail.com. I hope to hear from you if we can set something up.
L.
 
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