AAUW BOOK CLUB Reading List for Sept. ’08 to June 2009

From Marjorie Regan:

1.Sept. 16, 2008 The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid . Changez, a Princeton educated Pakistani has a wonderful job in NYC until 9-11 changes everything.

2.Oct. 21, 2008 Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. A Baptist Missionary from Georgia, brings his wife and four daughters to the Belgian Congo. He doesn’t understand the culture or the events as the country becomes Zaire. “ The women tell the tale.”

3 Nov. 18, 2008 Memories, Dreams and Reflections by Carl G. Jung. This is Jung’s partly autobiographical exploration into the psyche. He works to create balance and harmony and to “integrate spirituality and unconscious realms.”

4.Dec. 16, 2008 Vivi Hlvasa will help us explore the poems in Section 2 of the looseleaf binder that she has assembled. The binder can be purchased or borrowed from the library.

5.January 20,2009 The Grave Diggers Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates. NYT book review says this is the story of “a woman whose family fled Hitler, and she, in turn flees the dangerous men in her life.”

6. Feb. 17,2009 The Known World by E. P. Jones. Before the Civil War, a black slave buys his freedom and then buys black men to work for him.

7. March 17, 2009 The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton. This heroine in early 20^th century New York has no fortune and is unable to find her place in the upper .level of society. Fictional depiction of the rigid class system of the time.

8. April 21, 2009 Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles- (BCB) Adair Colley, an 18 year old girl in Missouri at the time of the Civil War is arrested by the Union Army as an Enemy Woman. She is interrogated by a Union Major and they fall in love.

9. May 19, 2009 Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. A hurt Mt. climber builds schools in Afganistan. This is a true story.

10. June 16, 2009 Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. Henry Fleming is a teenager who joins the Union Army during the Civil War. He is fearful of killing and dying and friends betray his fears. His wound is the red badge of courage. This is a coming of age story that does NOT glorify war. It has been called the first modern American novel.

Photo by Diamond Geyser

Middlemarch Discussion Next Tuesday

From Marjorie Regan:

The AAUW Book Club will be meeting next Tuesday May 20th at 1pm upstairs in the Kingston Area Library. We will have the long awaited discussion of George Eliot's book Middlemarch. Please come and share your thoughts about this interesting English village.
At our June 17th meeting we will discuss Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

At our May meeting we will decide if we will meet in July or schedule our next meeting for Sept. Last year we voted not to meet in August, to have some time free in the summer.

What to Read in April and Next Year

From Marjorie Regan:

At the meeting April 15th we will be discussing Things Fall Apart by CHinua Achebe. It is an excellent book and can be understood on several levels. The discussion at UCCC last week was wonderful. If you can get to the discussion at Bard April 11th, I think you will enjoy it.

Don't forget to keep going with Middlemarch. I finished this lovely story last week. It is well worth the time to read it.

I made a list of the books you suggested for next year at the last meeting -- see below. We can add to it or eliminate some and then vote in May.

BOOKS RECOMMENDED FOR SEPT. 2008 through JUNE 2009

1.The Great Man by Kate Christianson publ. 2007 about women

2.Enemy Women by Paulette Giles- Civil War (BCB)

3.Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

4.Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards, a Down Syndrome Baby, Marriage, siblings. (BCB)

5.The Grave Diggers Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates

6.The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

7.Memories, Dreams and Reflections by Carl G. Jung

8.Deafening by Frances Itani, about a Canadian deaf girl. Based on facts.

9.The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fford – compared to Hitchhiker in the Galaxy.$16.

10.Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. A hurt Mt. climber builds schools in Afganistan

BCB means it’s a Book Club in a Bag selection.

March Book Club Selection: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

This Book Club in a Bag novel by Lisa See is set in 19th century China and tells of the friendship of two school girls.

Reading Group Guides says:

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a brilliantly realistic journey back to an era of Chinese history that is as deeply moving as it is sorrowful. With the period detail and deep resonance of Memoirs of a Geisha, this lyrical and emotionally charged novel delves into one of the most mysterious of human relationships: female friendship.

We hope you'll join us.

When: Tuesday, March 18th, 1pm

Where: Kingston Area Library

The Bluest Eye - Book Club Feb 19th

Tuesday, February 19th, 1pm, at the Kingston Library.

Updated 2/5/08
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. This is Ms. Morrison's first novel -- the story of an 11 year old girl named Pecola Breedlove who prays for blue eyes so she will be as "loved as all blue-eyed, blonde children are loved in America."

Written in 1970, this is Ms. Morrison's first book.

In my 1994 edition there is her Afterword, in which she explains where she got the idea for the story, why she included certain things, and how she found it difficult to find the right female voice for parts of this story. She says she "attempts to transfigure the complexity and wealth of Black-American culture into a language worthy of the culture."(page 216)

There are many characters, each illustrating a different facet of black identity which can help the reader become more understanding of the culture.

I plan to show a short film (18 minutes) called, The Psychological Residuals of Slavery. I have shown this before but each time you see this you remember some different aspect and it is well worth our time in Black History Month.

From,
Marjorie Regan,
AAUW Book Club Moderator

This is a Book Club in a Bag choice so you can arrange to pick up a library copy from Marjorie Regan.

1/15/08: literary group tackles Triangle

Update - 2/5/08: Some members have asked about our January meeting.
We discussed Triangle, The Fire That Changed America.
This non-fiction book about an event in NYC in 1911 could be compared to the historical fiction we read in September: Paradise Alley, the book about NYC in 1863 during the Civil War draft riots.

The beginning Labor Movement was helped by the devastation of the fire. The cooperation of women socialites who came to the working areas,Socialists, Immigrants, laborers joined in a common cause effected changes. Most important, though was one, young, immigrant, working girl who was beaten by thugs hired by management. She still gave lectures on the necessity of workers organizing themselves.
From, Marjorie Regan,
AAUW Book Club Moderator

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The next monthly meeting of the literary group will be held on Tuesday, January 15 at 1 PM, upstairs at the Kingston Library at 55 Franklin Street. We'll discuss Triangle: The Fire That Changed America by Dave von Drehle. Do join us, even if you haven't finished (or read!) the book.

One Book/One Community 2008

This year, One Book/One Community will be joining Bard College to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of Chinua Achebe’s classic Things Fall Apart.

One Book/One Community 2008 Schedule

Tuesday, Feb 26 at 8 PM A TRIBUTE TO CHINUA ACHEBE

Presented by the Pen American Center, at Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street, NYC Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe is joined by Toni Morrison, Chris Abani, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Edwidge Danticat, Suheir Hammad, Ha Jin, and Colum McCann for this exciting anniversary tribute to Things Fall Apart (1958) -- one of the first African novels written in English to receive global critical acclaim. The evening features a special performance by the Francesca Harper Dance Project with dancers from the Alvin Ailey School. Presented in collaboration with Vintage Books.Ticket Price: $15 available at Ticketmaster

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Thursday, March 27 at 7 PM ACHEBE, CONRAD AND IMAGES OF AFRICA IN THE WEST

Explore two literary classics on African themes: Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness with a panel of Bard and SUNY Ulster Professors - Vanderlyn Hall, Student Lounge, Ulster Community College. Free

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Saturday, March 29 1:30 PM MODERNITY & TRADITION IN AFRICAN LIFE

The clash of civilizations will be discussed by Professors Wendy Urban Mead and Myra Young Armstead - Poughkeepsie Library Auditorium, 105 Market Street, Poughkeepsie Free

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Thursday, April 3, 12:30 PM LISTENING TO ACHEBE'S WORDS

Nicola Sheara will read passages from Things Fall Apart. A light lunch of salads and desserts will be provided by the AAUW - Kingston Library, 55 Franklin Street, Kingston, Free

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Friday, April 11, 7:00 PM A PREMIER WORK OF LITERATURE TURNS 50

Panel Discussion with: Chinua Achebe and Jesse Shipley, Bard College; Amadiume, Dartmouth College; Simon Gikandi, Princeton University; Christine Griffin, Red Hook High School; Moderator: Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina, Dartmouth College. Sosnoff Theater, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Bard College, Free

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Tuesday, April 15, 1:00 PM Kingston AAUW Book Club

The Book Club will discuss Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Kingston Library

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Sponsored by SUNY Ulster, Bard College and the Kingston chapter of the American Association of University Women

Funding provided by the New York Council for the Humanities (any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily reflect those from the National Endowment for the Humanities)

Literary group: more on Island at the Center of the World

Hi Everyone,
For those of you who read Island at the Center of the World, there is an interesting article on the Op-Ed page A29 in the Thurs. 12-27-07 issue by Kenneth Jackson. The article mentions how NYC, when it was still New Amsterdam developed religious tolerance.
From, Marjorie

Editor's note: I recommend this brief article to anyone interested in the issue of religion and its place in politics today. Jackson, in A Colony with a Conscience, offers up the story of early settlers in Flushing, Queens who, in 1657, stood up for a principle they believed in. They still stand tall as role models for us today.

11/13/07: literary group discussed Stones From the River

On 11/13/07, the literary group met upstairs at the Kingston Library at 55 Franklin Street to discuss Ursula Hegi's book Stones From the River.

Virginia Kohli gave us some background history and information about the author.

10/16/07: literary group discussed Gilead

On 10/16/07, our monthly branch literary group met upstairs at the Kingston Library at 55 Franklin Street. We discussed Marilynne Robinson's book Gilead. Pat Stedge gave us some information about the author.

Photo by Islandboy