The first official book club meeting was a huge success! We had a great time. Thanks to our lovely hostess for welcoming us into her home and feeding us all! And thanks to all who attended for their fabulous insights on this month's read.
As an English major, I must say, sitting around and discussing a book with a group of enthusiastic readers was like a breath of fresh air. I have missed that since college! And yet, this was without the stress of an exam or a huge research paper. The only thing I had to worry about was whether or not to have a second cream puff!
If you couldn't make it to this month's meeting, we missed you...but hope we get the pleasure of your company next month! For April we are reading The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, as well as the following book in Nancy Turner's series, Sarah's Quilt. We all enjoyed These Is My Words so much, we couldn't wait to see what happens next. Luckily, The Secret Life of Bees is not so terribly long that we can't just read both. I'm so excited to see what happens next in the life of our beloved Sarah Prine! And I think we're all still swooning over Captain Jack Elliott! What a man. What a hero.
Read on, ladies. And enjoy!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
{Quotes of the Month}
*A nice girl should never go anywhere without a loaded gun and a big knife.
*The best thing a girl can be is a good wife and mother. It is a gril's highest calling. I hope I am ready.
*We are a noisy and blessed little family.
~Sarah Agnes Prine
These Is My Words
*The best thing a girl can be is a good wife and mother. It is a gril's highest calling. I hope I am ready.
*We are a noisy and blessed little family.
~Sarah Agnes Prine
These Is My Words
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
{New Book Suggestions}
The book suggestions just keep rolling in! Fabulous! Just a reminder to check back now and then for new book ideas! I'm excited about all these new books to read!
Sister of My Heart, Cynthia Banerjee Divakaruni -- From the bestselling author of The Mistress of Spices comes a passionate novel about the extraordinary bond between two sisters and the family secrets, jealousies, and loves that threaten to tear them apart.
Kristin Lavransdatter, Sigrid Undset -- Undset interweaves political, social, and religious history with the daily aspects of family life to create a colorful, richly detailed tapestry of Norway during the fourteenth-century. The trilogy, however, is more than a journey into the past. Undset's own life-her familiarity with Norse sagas and folklore and with a wide range of medieval literature, her experiences as a daughter, wife, and mother, and her deep religious faith-profoundly influenced her writing. Her grasp of the connections between past and present and of human nature itself, combined with the extraordinary quality of her writing, sets her works far above the genre of "historical novels." This new translation by Tina Nunnally-the first English version since Charles Archer's translation in the 1920s-captures Undset's strengths as a stylist. Nunnally, an award-winning translator, retains the natural dialog and lyrical flow of the original Norwegian, with its echoes of Old Norse legends, while deftly avoiding the stilted language and false archaisms of Archer's translation. In addition, she restores key passages left out of that edition.
Undset's ability to present a meticulously accurate historical portrait without sacrificing the poetry and narrative drive of masterful storytelling was particularly significant in her homeland. Granted independence in 1905 after five hundred years of foreign domination, Norway was eager to reclaim its national history and culture. Kristin Lavransdatter became a touchstone for Undset's contemporaries, and continues to be widely read by Norwegians today. In the more than 75 years since it was first published, it has also become a favorite throughout the world.
Sister of My Heart, Cynthia Banerjee Divakaruni -- From the bestselling author of The Mistress of Spices comes a passionate novel about the extraordinary bond between two sisters and the family secrets, jealousies, and loves that threaten to tear them apart.
Kristin Lavransdatter, Sigrid Undset -- Undset interweaves political, social, and religious history with the daily aspects of family life to create a colorful, richly detailed tapestry of Norway during the fourteenth-century. The trilogy, however, is more than a journey into the past. Undset's own life-her familiarity with Norse sagas and folklore and with a wide range of medieval literature, her experiences as a daughter, wife, and mother, and her deep religious faith-profoundly influenced her writing. Her grasp of the connections between past and present and of human nature itself, combined with the extraordinary quality of her writing, sets her works far above the genre of "historical novels." This new translation by Tina Nunnally-the first English version since Charles Archer's translation in the 1920s-captures Undset's strengths as a stylist. Nunnally, an award-winning translator, retains the natural dialog and lyrical flow of the original Norwegian, with its echoes of Old Norse legends, while deftly avoiding the stilted language and false archaisms of Archer's translation. In addition, she restores key passages left out of that edition.
Undset's ability to present a meticulously accurate historical portrait without sacrificing the poetry and narrative drive of masterful storytelling was particularly significant in her homeland. Granted independence in 1905 after five hundred years of foreign domination, Norway was eager to reclaim its national history and culture. Kristin Lavransdatter became a touchstone for Undset's contemporaries, and continues to be widely read by Norwegians today. In the more than 75 years since it was first published, it has also become a favorite throughout the world.
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