The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan

I'm moonlighting with a second book club and this was the topic of our latest discussion. It was chosen based on an essay in the book that has circulated on YouTube. Sadly, the essay had nothing to do with the book. It was a poignant statement regarding the friendship of women but was very misleading as to what the topic of the book was. The book was actually a compilation of Kelly's memoirs regarding her battle with breast cancer and her special relationship with her dad. It was an entertaining book with some fun humor and a few trips down memory lane when discussing growing up in the 80's. It also chronicled the growing up of an immature adult. You could certainly tell she was the youngest in her family by how she wrote and interacted with others. The story was okay and it was a very easy read (I did it in two days) but I found myself more drawn to how she wrote and the information she included than to the actual story. I often wondered how she could use people's real names in the book when she was not talking very nice about them or why she would share a certain part of her life and what that had to do with the story she was trying to get across.

Expecting Adam by Martha Beck

An amazing, true story about a couple's journey during the time they were expecting to deliver a baby with Down's Syndrome. A young Harvard couple deeply ingrained with an intellectual, ivy league mentality defy almost all their mentors and friends who advise them to terminate the pregnancy of their baby who has tested positive for Down's Syndrome. This book mostly chronicles their emotions and experiences during the nine months as well as looking at some happenings before and after the birth of Adam. Most will find it unbelievable at times, but after my experiences of the past three years I didn't think twice about events she wrote in here. The book did leave me with two questions I am still trying to answer: 1) After all these supernatural experiences how could she not believe in God? or 2) After all these supernatural experiences does she have an understanding of God's love and thus a love for him that most "Christians" will never experience or understand? Martha Beck is a leading "Life Coach" but I am unable to glean, from any of her websites, what her religious beliefs are.

The Bridge to Terebithia

So sad! A wonderful book about finding true friendship and discovering yourself, but it was so very sad. I read this aloud to the boys and was crying so hard at the end I could barely read it. Riley asked if I wanted to come back to it later, but I told him I just needed to finish it and get it over. He read a little of it to everyone while I collected myself.

Around the World in 80 Day by Jules Verne

Another of Tegan's book club books. He and I both found it quite comical and an enjoyable read. Very far-fetched, but lots of fun and adventure. I thought the most interesting part was when each child in his book club meeting picked the character he/she would most like to be. They each picked someone different and it fit their personalities to a "T". It ended up with Tegan as the rich man, married to the girl in the group with the other boy as their servant. They still get a kick out of that.

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch!

Excellent read! This is a book Tegan read for his book club and then Andy and I read it too. It's about a young boy who must give up his dreams of education when his dad signs him on as an indentured servant in a ship supply store. He continually overcomes the obstacles in his path and actually reaches his goal by following a road he would never have imagined would lead him there. His perseverance and attitude were a good lesson for us all to experience. This book had even more meaning as we had been watching the incredible "Horatio Hornblower" video series at the same time and were able to picture the sailing vessels and their crew as described in the book. It also reinforced our learning of Latin as Nat Bowditch learned several languages in his travels (including Latin) by translating the Book of John which is just what we're doing as we tackle Latin this year.

Shiloh

The boys and I read this aloud over the holidays. Great book about being honest, working hard and respectful of others even if they are horrible people. It is about a boy who finds an abused dog and must decide what to do with him when his parents tell him he must return the dog to its owner. We all enjoyed this and were very thankful it had a happy ending.

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

This was my book club pick for this go around, but it wasn't the book I had thought I was picking. I found it on Amazon.com after reading many reviews and thought it sounded good. However, I thought we were going to read the story of Brigham Young's 19th wife who was excommunicated from the Mormon church. That was not the story in this book. This is a fascinating book of fiction based on the life of Ann Eliza Young (BY's 19th wife) but intertwined with a modern day murder mystery taking place in the land of the "Firsts" (the still active religious cult that broke off from the Mormons years ago so they could continue to practice polygamy). The two separate stories converge in some interesting twists and I had to continually remind myself that this was a work of fiction. When I think of plural marriages I always think of the poor wives and how they could possibly be convinced to do such a thing. Before reading this I don't think I had ever considered the effects of plural marriage on children, especially the boys. The males are booted from all they have ever known once they show an interest in females because they then become the competition for the old guys that want to continue to "grow their kingdom." This also got me thinking about the Mormon religion a bit. I don't know too much about it, other than what I get from the Christian perspective and that's obviously biased, but, in my mind, fairly true. Regardless of all that though, it blows my mind that so many millions of people could follow the religion of a guy named Joseph Smith just because he translated two gold tablets when the tablets have NEVER been seen by anyone else. I'm not saying I would have to see them myself to believe, but there would certainly need to be other, eyewitness accounts for me to consider something like that. Oh, I digress...very good book if you can get past the prolific swearing and homosexual sub-plot.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

It is heart-wrenching to learn what some believe because that is all they have ever known. This book follows the story of a young girl all the way through widowhood while growing up in China during the days of foot-binding. You watch her follow all the traditions of her ancestors and then pass them on to her daughter and are just in awe that they could actually believe that stuff. The lives of the upper class women seemed so miserable. Looking from the outside in I would much rather have been a poor peasant girl during that time. Their childhood is gone when they are only five or six when they must begin preparing for marriage. They were also raised with the constant reminder that a women is nothing but a burden on the whole family. It was all very sad to me.

Can't Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg

Just the author's name provokes a bit of laughter. This is a comical book about an old lady who dies and then comes back to life and how her family and friends deal with it all. It is told with much humor, but in a way that it is also believable and not too far-fetched. I found myself laughing out loud at times while reading this quick book.

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Piccoult

Excellent, easy read for my book club. The author confronts a very disturbing moral dilemma. The book is about a younger daughter conceived for the sole purpose of saving her older sister's life. Her sister suffers from leukemia and needs constant transfusions and a transplant and her parents use the younger daughter's body as a medical harvesting ground. This book takes place several years into all the medical procedures when the youngest daughter decides to sue her parents for control of her own body. Being a mom, I found it very hard at times to decide who's side I was on. The ending was also quite a shock, but you'll have to read the book for that.

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

This is another book club book for me. It's a painful look into the family of an alcoholic: all the broken promises, false security, and lying. This is the author's story of her childhoos and as she looks back she is able to temper the horrific details with a bit of humor. I'm guessing this book was a healing endeavor for her. Great book that really made you pull for some of the characters and then downright hate some of the others.