Emma

By Jane Austen

I admit this is my first book by Jane Austen. I blame my high school English teachers but decided it was time to rectify the omission. It was not quite what I expected from a highly regarded classic. The story centers around the dealings of a well-bred English 20-something woman who entertains herself with match-making and gossiping. As superficial as this sounds, and is, Austen weaves in lessons on friendship, couples, and family that are truly central to our lives typically more so than topics of world politics and wild adventures -- unless you happen to work for the State Department or are a world traveler like my brother. Our lives are composed of gossiping over the latest bit of trivial news and caring for those we hold dear. Austen does this topic justice, simultaneously reminding us that we should as well.

February Book : The Kite Runner

By Khaled Hosseini

We all agreed that this is a fascinating account of life in Afganistan pre- and post-Soviet occupation but we got a little distracted during our book club meeting talking about everything but the book....as usual!

Di brought up the motif of guilt as an underlying theme of the entire book, which motivated the two major characters. None of us were fans of Amir and felt he had much to be guilty for. That's pretty much as far as our discussion went...

We need to catch the movie before it leaves the theatre!

Hosseini's next book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, might be a good choice for a future book of the month.

November Book : We the Living

By Ayn Rand

This novel was a tragic love story set just after the Russian Communists formed the Soviet Union. Like the Kite Runner, this book provides an insight into the daily hardships endured by people under oppressive regimes. How the characters react to extreme situations within these settings exposes what they are willing to do to protect what is important to them.

October Book : The Great Divorce

By C. S. Lewis

The title doesn't give an obvious explanation to the content of this short novel. The narrator dreams that he travels to the Valley of Light where he witnesses dialogues between "dammed souls" and "angels" sent to help them let go of their "sins" in order to enter heaven. (I'm using quotations because the novel is vague.) My personal opinion is that the divorce referred to in the title is the separation of an attachment to the secular.

We're on the Internet Now

Hey girls,

Since our monthly group has had such low member turnout due to everyone's hectic schedules (and in an effort to include out-of-towners), I've created a blog to expand our discussions.

Sadly, we can't share the wine and girl-time over the Web very well but we can share our insights here.