Thirteenth Meeting: Cloud Atlas

In December, Aaron hosted the thirteenth meeting of Eat, Drink, and Be Literary. For me, it seemed like "unlucky 13" because I did not particularly enjoy his pick Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell. The book consisted of six short stories that wove through time and space. The book itself was like a palindrome-- the first story ended abruptly (I'm talking mid-sentence) about half way through and didn't continue until the very end of the book. In other words, it was both the first and last story, and the second was also the second-to-last.

Each story was told from the point of view of a wildly different character. First up was Adam Ewing, a sailor exploring New Zealand in the 19th century, next was Robert Frobisher, a pompous young composer in the early 20th century living in Belgium; third was Louisa Rey, a young woman living in the 1970's in California, fourth was Timothy Cavendish, a book publisher in what seemed to be present day England, fifth was Son-Mi, a clone turned revolutionary in a futuristic Korea, and finally was Zachry living in post-apocalyptic Hawaii. Each character seemed to be reincarnations of the previous character, and also read or watched the same short stories as we read.

If nothing else, I was incredibly impressed by Mitchell's abilities to write from the point of view of these wildly different people. However, it was mostly lost on me. I especially couldn't read the sections told in dialects (Zachry's in particular). I found myself turning pages without knowing at all what I was reading. The book club meeting definitely helped me appreciate the book more, and I left feeling like I should re-read the book. (I'm not going to, mind you, but I think I should).

As usual, the book had a mixed review among the group. Of eight or so people that came, I think half liked it, and half didn't... though most of us were probably hovering towards the neutral feeling. I will not be recommending this book to anyone anytime soon, unless they are a philosopher or really into thinking hard and not understanding anything... but again, I have to hand it to David Mitchell for writing such an incredible book. I feel bad that most of it was lost on me.

* This novel is being adapted into a film sometime soon, and has an incredible cast. I'm definitely going to check it out, and maybe (hopefully!) I will get more out of it.

Twelfth Meeting: Norwegian Wood

Back in October (pretend this post happened approximately two months ago), Anne hosted our tiniest, coziest book club yet. Only four people were at the meeting, but in some ways it allowed for more discussion than usual.... and definitely more food. My pants are getting tighter just thinking about Sarah's raspberry bars and Kelsey's mint hot chocolate. But I digress--

For our twelfth meeting, we read Norwegian Wood by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. The book was our group's first piece of translated literature, and I think it was a hit. The novel (the title of which you may recognize as a Beatle's song)  is a nostalgic teenage-angst ridden love story on the surface, and a deep philosophical "what is the meaning of life" story once the layers are peeled back. The novel's protagonist is Toru Watanabe, a young man living in Tokyo in the 1960's, and we follow his life as he deals with loss and love and relationships with two women, fragile Naoko and spunky Midori. I didn't really emotionally connect with any of the characters and I couldn't tell if it was a product of the translated literature, or if it was that Toru was sort of vapid and unfeeling. Despite this lack of a connection, I still found the novel engaging (and very racy at times-- wowza!).

I think by the end of the meeting we all left with more questions than we started with mostly because none of us knew anything about life in 1960's in Japan, and what things were symbolic and what things should be taken at face value. That being said, I think the discussion helped me appreciate the work a lot more.



(Note-- my Amazon Associates button has disappeared, so I can no longer link to the book.. Bummer.)

Eleventh Meeting: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

So, as it turns out, working on my prospectus, grading papers, and having ever Saturday designated for tailgating and football not only makes me neglect blogging, but reading in general. For the past three months, I have only had time to read book club books (usually I read at least one book on the side each month too). And, I am two meetings behind in my blogging! Well, that all changes now.

September's meeting was hosted by my besty Lisa. She picked Rebecca's Skloot's The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.  The story of Henrietta Lacks is an unusual one-- as a woman, hardly anything is known about her, but her contribution to science is infamous! Henrietta was a poor black woman living outside of Baltimore in the 1950's. When she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, her doctors took some of her cancer cells without the knowledge or consent of her family. These cells, known as HeLa cells, were the first human cells ever able to be cultured, and they revolutionized the way we research and understand cancer and living cells in general. The book is part biography of Henrietta, part biography of HeLa, part scientific journalism, part memoir of the author uncovering this story, and reads like a novel. I found it to be incredible.

The book raises a lot of issues from racism to medical ethics to justice. Why were the HeLa cells taken without consent? Why was her family never told about the cells? How could Henrietta's cells be so influential in the face of health care today while her children can't even afford a doctor's visit? While it would be easy to point fingers and paint certain parties as villains in this book, I think that Skloot did a great job of reporting objectively, with no judgment, the role of each family member or physician.

As usual, the review of Eat, Drink, and Be Literary were mixed. While most of the book club members are psychologists, we have our fair share of experience with ethics and ethical violations, so some parties thought the book was just exploiting another example of why there are so many ethical codes now. It was really interesting to hear Lisa's point of view as a health care professional, and also to hear our friend Mandy's point of view as a biologist. Mandy works with HeLa cells and could give us the inside scoop on how prevalent they are in labs worldwide, and how much they now cost to purchase. I loved the book, and hearing everyone's points of view I loved it even more!

The Help

Remember how a few entries ago I mentioned something about never reading books until they had already come out as movies? Well, with this last novel I came in right at the buzzer. I finished The Help merely days before the movie premiered nationwide.

Wow, what a book! I honestly had no idea what the book was about when I heard the buzz about it last year. It wasn't until I saw a preview for the film that I had any idea. The previews looked fantastic and I vowed I would read the book before heading to the theaters. I bought the book when my besty Lisa and I made one last nostalgic trip to the Borders in our home town during its going out of business sale and knew I had only two weeks to finish it... luckily this self-imposed challenge was incredibly easy to complete. The Help was engaging, powerful, and a feel-good story (my favorite) about a group of black women in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960's and the white women they worked for. Stockett captured the complexity of a time where civil rights were making headlines but not making headway in homes of the south. The book showed that beneath the racial tensions that women are just women-- they face the same struggles, joys, and heartbreaks no matter what their skin color or place in life.

My favorite line in the book (which I highlighted and dog-eared) was apparently Kathryn Stockett's as well. As I read her afterword entitled "Too Little, Too Late", she said, "Washing that the point of the book? For women to realize, We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought."

This special book is the kind that stays with you after you read it. It was difficult to put back on the shelf.

**I haven't seen the movie yet, so this post will likely be updated once I do

The Hunger Games Series

Oh. My. Gosh. That is really all I can say.

I finished the Hunger Games series over two months ago and I have just been contemplating what to write about them ever since. Nothing I can say could ever accurately represent these novels or how much I loved them. This series was like brain candy. I read all three books in a combined four sittings, and after I finished them I went through a mourning period. I couldn't think of reading another book, I couldn't believe the world Suzanne Collins had created for me was over, and I found myself literally cuddling with the books at night re-reading select chapters to get my fix.


No spoilers here-- the Games are best experienced if you have no idea what to expect. But, let me just say that these novels have something for everyone.

If you can't remember the last time you stayed up all night to finish a book then it is time to pick up the The Hunger Games, Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games), and Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, Book 3).

Upcoming book picks

September's meeting will be hosted by Lisa and she picked The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. It is non-fiction (sort of a biography but sort of not) but reads like a fast paced novel. I'm 80 pages in and have found myself going to bed at nine every night this week so I could get more reading time in!

Other upcoming books are Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami and Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros (this one is my pick)... I'm hoping for some theme eats/drinks to go with these culturally specific books. We'll see if Japanese night and Mexican night pan out.

Happy Reading!

Tenth Meeting: Stiches A Memoir

When Eat, Drink, and Be Literary regular Sarah told me her pick for book club I was excited and very nervous. Sarah picked Stitches: A Memoir by David Small which happens to be a graphic novel. I had never read (er.... looked at) a graphic novel before so I was nervous that I wasn't going to do it properly. I realize how crazy that sounds, but I stand by it. I was afraid that I wouldn't "get" the book fully or notice what I was supposed to. Luckily, it seemed to go pretty well. Small's story was actually best told through images.

Since I have recently been on a memoir-about-a-messed-up-childhood kick, this fit right in. Small grew up in a love-less and silent home. His mother, who he later found out was a closeted lesbian, was harsh and cold and silent. His father was fairly absent. His brother barely in his life. If that wasn't enough to be considered a "messed up" childhood, Small had a growth on his neck removed, and the doctor took half of his vocal chords leaving him voice-less. Several months later he found out that this growth was actually cancer that had gone untreated for years. Small spent the rest of his youth, and much of his adulthood dealing with the fact that he couldn't speak above a raspy whisper, and that he had been lied to about his life.

The minimal words and dark artwork in this memoir were incredible vehicles for the theme of silence in Small's life. The silence of anger, of confusion, of unhappiness, and of actually being voice-less were all uniquely powerful depicted in one scene after another.

Sarah did a great job hosting a discussion about this book. Our discussion drifted back and forth from the content and the format of this book almost seamlessly.

If you have never read a graphic novel before, this is a good gate-way novel as it is not comic book-y or super hero-ish, but is definitely a piece of literature. I'm very glad it was picked for book club and that I was able to expand my horizons.