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A Book Club’s Response to Gone Girl: Don’t Marry a Psychopath

October 11, 2012 by 4 Comments
Gone Girl

Last night my book club discussed Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  If your book club is looking for a juicy read, I have to say this was a great discussion.  You won't find a book with more twists and turns  than this one.  Everyone in the group had a visceral reaction.  But before we get into that, let's discuss the plot. We meet two seemingly normal people, Nick and Amy, who met 7 years ago at a party in NYC.  For all appearances sake, they were a normal, happy couple. In her diary, Amy wrote about it: Tra and la! I am smiling a big adopted-orphan … [Read more...]

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Two Book Reviews: Cutting For Stone and A Reliable Wife

February 10, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Cutting For Stone

I usually like to record my thoughts about books that I read on this site and the last two are worth reporting on. So, without further ado, they are A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick and Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese.  I highly recommend one, the other not so much.   I'll start with the one I adored. I knew nothing about Cutting for Stone before I started it, I just knew that it was very, very long, over 700 pages and I was wondering how I'd get through such a ong book.  Once I got into it, the length became no problem.  As a matter … [Read more...]

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Random Thoughts on the Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

March 10, 2011 by 7 Comments
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The first time I saw Amy Chua interviewed on The Colbert Report, I vowed not to read her book.  She talked about how she condoned calling her daughters names like "garbage" and how she tore up their handmade birthday cards. I thought, how could I relate to her? But when my dear friend and fellow book-club member chose it as this month's selection, I felt compelled to pick up a copy (discounted, of course, at B&N) and join in.  This particular friend happens to pick the most interesting selections to discuss and she is meticulous about leading the … [Read more...]

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In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O’Brien

July 17, 2010 by Leave a Comment
inthelakeofthewoods

Twice a year my book club invites all of our husbands to join us in a monthly meeting.  We pick a book of appeal to everyone, have a pot luck meal, bring lots of liquor and basically have a party.  We've been doing this for a few years now.  My husband always looks forward to it, and it pushes him to read a book from start to finish. Choosing a book that suits men and women is a difficult task and our host usually takes her responsibility quote seriously.  She's chosen various authors from Hemingway to Potok.  The guys get really into it, and over … [Read more...]

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Culture Mom Book Club: A Soft Place to Land by Susan Rebecca White

July 6, 2010 by 1 Comment
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A Soft Place to Land actually isn't one of my actual book club's selections this summer; I picked it out on a recent trip to Target before our trip abroad last month.  I always take a few books with me on my travels, feeling ambitious that I will read as much as I can -- despite the fact that I am traveling with young children who may have other activities in store for me.  However, as they are getting easier to travel with as they age, my reading time is increasing.I am intrigued by the book selections at Target, as well as at Costco, and … [Read more...]

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Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

May 13, 2010 by 2 Comments
unaccustomedearth

I've never been a fan of short stories, but I adored Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth that came out about two years ago.  Just like in her two previous books, The Namesake and Interpreter of Maladies, Lahiri writes stories that revolve around relocated Bengali Americans and their adaptation to their new culture.  It's about arranged marriages and how they work out once they come across the ocean, the high expectations they have on their children, the traditions and past that bind them all together, love, hate, betrayal and … [Read more...]

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Inspiring Culture Moms Interview and Twitter Party: Jeanne Muchnick, Author, Dinner for Busy Moms

April 19, 2010 by 3 Comments

Jeanne Muchnick, a fellow resident of Larchmont, has a new book coming out called Dinner for Busy Moms.  Just like Jamie Oliver is doing with his successful Food Revolution, Muchnick is bringing dinner home again.  This is a book you will definitely want to pick up after you read the interview below, and we are even going to have a Twitter party featuring Muchnick herself next Monday night that you can RSVP for below.  Muchnick is a freelance journalist and the former editor of BaBY Magazine and BaBY Magazine’s Infant Care Guide, two … [Read more...]

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Culture Mom Book Club: The Good Earth

April 14, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Tonight at Book Club we discussed The Good Earth by Pearl Buck.  A beloved classic that won the Noble Peace Prize nearly 70 years ago, it was a book that I hadn't read.  Not only was it a fantastically written book, but I appreciated that my friend, Diane, chose it this month as it seems like a suitable book to think about as we approach Earth Day 2010.  The main characters, Wang Lung and O-lan, are connected to the land, both spiritually and ethically.  The permanence of the land is often compared to the fortunes, both lucky and … [Read more...]

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Culture Mom Book Club: The Help by Katheryn Stockett

January 27, 2010 by Leave a Comment

I grew up in the south. I was a big fan of Hattie McDaniel's character in "Gone with the Wind". The dynamic between her and Scarlet O'Hara was so interesting. She couldn't really speak to up to her boss. She was the maid and cook. She was allowed to tell funny stories and sing gospel songs, but speaking her mind was a no-no.The women in Katheryn's Stockett's "The Help" have also been sitting quietly before the wake of the civil rights movement and they have had enough..enough of living in a segregated society and being treated like outcasts. This is the … [Read more...]

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Culture Mom Book Club: Sarah’s Key by Tatiana Rosnay

January 14, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Last night I hosted my book club, which consists of about 10 women, mostly former lawyers. I chose "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay. It was interesting to see everyone's reactions. I liked the book so much that I read it in just a few days, always a feat for me. This is a very sad, haunting book, whose images and impressions will linger with you long after you’ve set the book down. De Rosnay is a brilliant story teller, and she certainly had an important story to tell.Set in two very different time periods, 1942 occupied France and in today’s … [Read more...]

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