"Digging to America" by Anne Tyler

Anne Tyler once again delivers her trademark domestic fiction in the novel "Digging to America." She examines the lives of two very different families-- the Donaldson's and Yazdun's-- as they arrive at the Baltimore airport to pick up their adoped baby girls from South Korea. What follows is a wonderful examination of their daily lives, told by various family members, over the years as the adopted girls and families grow closer together. The classic themes of immigration, marriage, family, love, and loss are so well described by Anne Tyler that she makes these themes universal to all. She is a master of the well-written phrase and the well-developed character and her unique "miracles of insight and understanding," make this a novel which is highly recommended.

"The Man Who Loved China..." by Simon Winchester

Author, Simon Winchester, has built a career writing about little-known figures in history and making the lay person aware of their contributions to society. Such is the case of Dr. Joseph Needham, a distinguished professor of biochemistry at Cambridge, who went to China in the 1930's and then proceeded to spend his life writing the definitive work on Chinese civilization and culture. During his time in China he led eleven cultural expeditions and logged 30,000 miles to answer the vexing question: "Why , if the Chinese had been so technologically creative for so very long, and if they invented so much in antiquity-- why did modern science develop not in China but in Europe and the West?"

That is the focus of this very interesting, and fascinating book on the life and work of Dr. Joseph Needham, and how he devoted his life to finding the answer to the question. The book provides great insights into Chinese culture and society from the 1930's to the 1990's and is a great introduction to the impact China continues to have on world events.

"The Cairo Diaries: 2004-2006" by Tom Markus and Linda Sarver

What a delight to have Tom and Linda share their amazing experience of living in Cairo as Tom taught at the American University. This book began as e-mail messages sent to family and friends which were then expanded into this entertaining and witty book. Travel writing is such a great way to explore the world and learn the intricacies of life and culture. Tom and Linda are wonderful observers of human nature and to read their book was a joy! Thank you for being a part of our Mainly Reading Book Club and providing these fascinating insights!

"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak

To celebrate our 3rd Year Anniversary we chose an award-winning book which examines the importance of words and the transforming power they give us, as we deal with extreme situations of adversity and despair. "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak is a detailed, multi-layered examination of how a small community, and specifically a a group of families living on Himmel Street deal with the realities of World War II. The impact of the war and Jewish Holocaust is narrated by Death, and told from the point of view of a young girl, Liesel. Through these characters and several others we are shown the human side of war and the effect it has on ordinary citizens. This is an accomplished, and thought-provoking novel with strong characters, a unique plot and presentation.

For those keeping track here is the list of books we read in 2009:
Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
Angle of Repose, Wallace Stegner
The Ayatollah Begs to Differ, Hooman Majd
Three Cups of Tea: One man's mission to fight terror and build nations-- one school at a time, Greg Mortenson
Nine Parts of Desire: the hidden world of Islamic Women, Geraldine Brooks
Mask of Apollo, Mary Renault
Manhunt: the twelve day chase for Lincoln's Killer, James L. Swanson
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
The Geography of Bliss: one grump's search for the happiest places in the world, Eric Weiner
The Book Thief, Markus Zusak
The Cairo Diaries, Tom Markus and Linda Sarver
The Man Who Love China: the fantastic story of the eccentric scientist who unlocked the mysteries of the Middle Kingdom, by Simon Winchester

"The Geography of Bliss" by Eric Weiner

If you enjoyed this book here are some interesting web sites:

Listen to Eric Weiner report on Bombay's Laughing Clubs:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId+=1147789

The World Database of Happiness:
http://worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl/

or this book "Stumbling on Happiness" by Dan Gilbert

"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

This book is a delightful read. It is tailor-made for book lovers like myself. In 1946 London writer Juliet receives a letter from Dawsey Addams about Charles Lamb. Through multiple letters Juliet, and the reader, is introduced to the world of post-occupation Guernsey and it's colorful heroic characters. Writers Barrow & Shaffer deftly handle multiple character voices and move the story along at a fast clip. The use of epistolary is genius since it controls how information is doled out between characters and the reader. When the story gets a little too light in the middle the writers bring in a surprisingly amount of heft when discussing the horrors of war. Islanders begin to recount for Juliet stories of the German Occupation which are grim and realistic. The book is much more substantial than I expected. I was delighted by the wit and humor these characters exhibit. This is a must-read for bibliophiles like myself. Highly enjoyable. (from Reading List of a Book Pusher, gettsr-bookpusher.blogspot.com who led the book discussion)

"Manhunt: the 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson

This nonfiction book read like a mystery/thriller. All agreed that the pacing was wonderful and full of information that many had no idea had occured. Everyone knows the basic story of President Lincoln's assasination by John Wilkes Booth in the Ford Theater, but the level of detail presented by the author was fascinating. The book completely captured the spirit of the times and allowed the reader to become totally involved in the complexities of finding Mr. Booth and bringing him to justice.

"The Mask of Apollo" by Mary Renault

After a wonderful summer vacation I thought I had better bring our blog up-to-date. We had a very interesting discussion on June 6th about "The Mask of Apollo" by Mary Renault. The setting is Ancient Greece, 370-340 BC and the intricacies of Greek Theater. Critics have said that her "historical novels are excellent, and hold their own as atristically wrought and moving stories." The "Mask of Apollo" is perhaps the most satisfying novel and brings together the themes of virtue and art. We also talked about the symbolism of the mask, in both the theater and in life-- the mask can be achieved not only by a physical mask, but also with makeup. This mask can liberate us to be someone else, and put our game face on-- which was shown very clearly by the characters in the novel.

"Nine Parts of Desire" by Geraldine Brooks

We have continued our examination of Middle Eastern topics with "Nine Parts of Desire: the Hidden World of Islamic Women" by Geraldine Brooks. Ms. Brooks was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal when she wrote this book in 1995 and was able to gain access and trust of Middle Eastern women in several different countries. The book is a fascinating overview of how each country has chosen to intreprete Islam and the Koran specifically as it relates to women. The author does an amazing job of showing us the religious, political and cultural issues different women are facing , and how our stereotypes, especially regarding the hijab, are misleading. Very informative and insightful-- a must read!

"Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson

It is so very interesting how the book titles we have chosen to discuss in the last few months reflect the current events happening around the globe. Our understanding of these events is further deepened by the knowledge we have gained from these very timely book discussions.

Several important discussion points included the thesis by Greg Mortenson that if you educate the girls and women you empower them and help advance healthcare and peace in their communities. "The girls stay home, become leaders in the community and pass on what they've learned. If you really want to change a culture, to empower women, improve basic hygiene and health care, and fight high rates of infant mortality, the answer is to educate girls."

Another important important point was his premise "that terror doesn't happen because some group of people somewhere like Pakistan or Afghanistan simply decide to hate us. It happens because children aren't being offered a bright enough future that they have a reason to chose life over death." An appealing aspect of "Three Cups of Tea" is the title and the personal reflection of the local culture by the author: "If you want to thrive in Baltistan, you must respect our ways.... "The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything, even die... Doctor Greg, you must make time to share three cups of tea. We may be uneducated. But we are not stupid. We have lived and survived here for a long time."

The author, Greg Mortenson, has an uncanny ability to live, work, and succeed in this very remote and harsh area of Pakistan by totally engaging with the local community leaders and citizens. This is an interesting, enjoyable and optimistic book about how one man is working to solve a critical problem and at the same time expanding our understanding of the world.

"The Ayatollah Begs to Differ" by Hooman Majd

This very timely book explores the culture, religion, government and politics of Iran. The writer, Hooman Majd, has a unique perspective as he was born in Iran, but raised in the West-- the United Kingdom and United States. He currently lives and works in New York City, but travels frequently back to his homeland. Mr. Majd's writing style has a light touch, and his stories are easy to relate to. He shows us that people all over the world are very much the same. The structures of government, religion and culture may be unique and create a different point of view, yet he reminds us that the best way to learn about ourselves is to read and learn about others. As one member of our reading club stated, "Books inform us about different people and places, and this authors wry sense of humor make this book a wonderful read."

Recommended Related Titles:

No god but God: the origins, evolution, and future of Islam by Reza Aslan

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

The Faith Club: a Muslin, a Christian, a Jew: three women search for understanding by Ranya Idliby

"Angle of Repose" by Wallace Stegner

"Anyone who reads is to some extent a citizen of the world." -- Wallace Stegner

Stegner's Pulitzer Prize winning novel was the subject of our February discussion, which also happened to be his 100th Birthday! This complex book has powerful and memorable characters and deals with several major themes: East vs West; Civilization vs Opportunity; Past vs Present; Exploiter vs Civilizer, Boomer vs Nester, and Old vs New. Stegner uses the narrator, Lyman Ward, to describe the lives of his grandparents Susan and Oliver Ward. The story of Susan Ward is based on the life of pioneer Mary Hallock Foote, whose personal correspondence Stegner had access to. In the lives of Stegner's characters, we get a sense of Stegner's passion for history, his interest in family roots, and what holds a family together as they experience conflict. The essence of the book is described beautifully in this quote: "I'm not writing a book of Western history.... I've written enough history books to know this isn't one. I'm writing about something else. A marriage, I guess.... What interests me in all these papers is not Susan Burling Ward the novelist and illustrator, and not Oliver Ward the engineer, and not the West they spend their lives in. What really interests me is how two such unlike particles clung together and under what strains, rolling downhill into their future until they reached the angle of repose where I know them." A truly fantastic book that we can all highly recommend.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY TO WALLACE STEGNER--today is officially "Wallace Stegner Day" in Salt Lake City due to Proclamation by both the Mayor of Salt Lake City, Ralph Becker, and the Governor of Utah, Jon Huntsman, Jr.


Come checkout a great display on Level 2 of the Main Salt Lake City Public Library from the Marriott Library Multimedia Archives Department at the University of Utah. The display includes wonderful photographs of Wallace Stegner and his family, his original notes on "Angle of Repose" and much more. The display will be here until mid-March 2009.