Eagle Harbor Book Group, 2011
Book and Meeting Schedule, Summer, 2011
Sunday, June 26
Book: Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz
Leader: Joanne Bollinger
Venue: Lesley DuTemple's, Rd 2, Eagle River
Refreshments: Bonnie Hay and Virginia Jamison
Sunday July 10
Book: Cleopatra by Stacey Schiff
Leader: Elaine Rysiewicz
Venue: Community Center
Refreshments: Sarah Kelly and JoAnne Bollinger
Sunday, July 24
Book: Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls
Leader: Nancy Molloy
Venue: Community Center
Refreshments: Kathy LaVanway, Mary Lou Lenz, Sue Riedel, Elaine Wildmen
Sunday, August 7
Book: The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
Leader: Peter Van Pelt
Venue: Changed to the Community Center, hosted by Marcia and Phil Mason
Refreshments: Polly Peterson and Sarah Kelly
Sunday August 21
Book: The Post American World by Fareed Zakaria
Leader: Jack Marta
Venue: The Marta's, Rd 9, Eagle River
Refreshments: Tiffany Dawson and Sue Riedel.
Sunday, August 28
Poetry Night, hosted by the Van Pelts
Refreshments: Sue Church and ???
Sunday, September 11
Book: Little Princes: One Man's Promise To Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal by Conor Grennan
Leader: ???
Venue: Changed to the Strohls' on Apache Lane in Bete Grise.
Refreshments: ???
Voting Results for 2011
FINAL TALLY, 1 April, 2011
(108 votes were cast by 28 individuals)
The first six will be scheduled except that two still lack leaders.
Rank/Votes Title, Author, potential leader
1 17 The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver. (Peter Van Pelt is willing to lead.)
2 14 Cleopatra, A Life by Stacey Schiff.
3 13 The Post American World by Fareed Zakaria (Jack Marta is willing to lead)
5 11 Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls (Nancy Molloy is willing to lead.)5 11 Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz (JoAnne is willing to lead.)
5 11 Little Princes: One Man's Promise To Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal by Conor Grennan
7 10 Over the Edge of the World, Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe.
8 09 Three titles from Stieg Larson's The Girl... series.
9 08 At the Edge of the Precipice: Henry Clay and the Compromise That Saved the Nation by Robert V. Remini
10.5 05 Major Pettigrew's Last Stand: A Novel by Helen Simonson
10.5 05 Flight by Sherman Alexie
12 04 Destiny Denied, A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes by Tamin Ansary (Elaine Wildman is willing to lead.)
13 03 Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Nominations and Discussion, Summer 2011
... For now the list of nominations will remain below and a running tally of votes will be inserted before each title.
Votes as of 31 March
17 25 Feb.: The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver. (Peter Van Pelt is willing to lead.)
Peter Van Pelt:
I suggest Barbara Kingsolver's book "The Lacuna." It is masterfully constructed and although it is a work of fiction it touches on a number of real people. Its evocation of the anti-Communist scare of the late 1940s and early 1950s is really interesting and chilling. The hero is an interesting guy, but his stenographer in the second half of the book, a really independent-minded woman, is even better. >Peter
09 25 Feb.: Three titles from Stieg Larson's The Girl... series.
John Marta:
Fiction
Steig Larson author of a Trilogy of novels.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl Who Played With Fire
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest
Three Entertaining and fun reads. About crime, an unusual heroine, a journalist, use of modern technology with suspense and mystery.
Read in sequence for full effect. The last felt to be the best.
Elaine Rysiewicz comments: NO NO to any of the Girl with the Tattoo books. I've seen all the movies, and I don't want to now read the books. Besides, the plot is filled with graphic sexual violence and other violence too. Yech.
13 25 Feb.: The Post American World by Fareed Zakaria (Jack Marta is willing to lead.)
John Marta:
Nonfiction
Fareed Zakaria author of: The Post American World
What will it be like when the USA is no longer the world dominating superpower.
Christian Science Monitor Best Nonfiction Book of 2008, NYT Notable Book of the Year, Seattle Times Best Book of 2008.
10 25 Feb.: Over the Edge of the World, Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe.
John Marta:
Historical Novel
Extensively researched with new insights, great detail, dispels myths, updates history. Covers emotions, disease, mutiny, storms, peoples’ customs, flawed personalities and exotica.
14 25 Feb.: Cleopatra, A Life by Stacey Schiff.
Paul Freshwater:
Bobbie and I recommend "Cleopatra, A Life," a Pulitzer Prize winner by Stacy Schiff. With the recent revolution in Egypt and turmoil throughout the Middle East and North Africa, it may be a good time to reflect on Egypt's last queen (although a Greek) who once ruled a kingdom that included much of that area, and used extraordinary leadership (and other) skills to stave off the inevitable submersion of her kingdom into the Roman Empire. Until this book, most histories of Cleopatra from the first century BCE to present have been through the eyes of the Roman conquerers and their successors, who spun her as a harlot and bit player rather than the most important woman of her age. Now comes a more factual and carefully researched portrait of this remarkable woman and her politically volatile and deadly times. Also, it is instructive in this time of American political turmoil to think about how the great Roman Republic that grew in importance and size over several centuries transformed into a totalitarian empire in just a few years of infighting. Gibbons would be proud of this one.
11 27 Feb., Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls (Nancy Molloy is willing to lead.) Nancy Molloy
This is the story of Jeanette's Grandmother and what a strong person she was and gives insight as to why Jeanette's mother Rosemary became a dysfunctional parent and Jeanette becomes strong like her Grandmother had been.
04 28 Feb., Destiny Denied, A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes by Tamin Ansary (Elaine Wildman is willing to lead.)
Elaine Wildman
From the description of the religious, historical and cultural divide between the two branches of Islam to their view of the Crusades, the three competing empires in 17th through 19th centuries, impact of the Balfour agreement, establishment of Israel, and US (CIA) removal of democratically elected Mosaddeq in Iran to replace him with the Shah, this is a fascinating book. His writing is clear - aimed at the general public rather than scholars but well based in facts referenced with chapter notes and a bibliography. As we deal more and more with this culture, let's learn to understand it.
By accessing his web page, you can read his comments on current events in Tunisia, Egypt et al. Another possibility I haven't read yet is We Have Met the Enemy: Self Control in an Age of Excess by Daniel Akst in which he describes the impact of our current 'me first' culture on our decisions, personal and political.
11 1 March, Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz (JoAnne Will lead.)
JoAnne Bollinger:
With the recent astounding events in Egypt, my mind has been going back to one of my favorite reads of the past several years. Palace Walk, the first in a trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz (the first Arabic winner of the Nobel Prize), is set in post-WW1 Cairo -- granted that's many years removed from the present but it thrusts us into an earlier time that may shed a bit of light on today. Filled with memorable characters, it is a window into the attitudes and life-styles of a family as it struggles to deal with the changes wrought by the British occupation and the encroachment of modernity. Masterfully written fiction with tremendous insight into human nature, it begs us to follow this family into the next two volumes, but I suggest only this title for our discussion.
Mary Thomas:
Those who are familiar with Le Petit Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry might enjoy reading about the Little Princes Children's Home in Nepal, the stealing of boys and girls from their families and the dedicated volunteers who return them.
03 16 March, Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Sue Church:
The great anti-war book. Worth another look now that we are 50 years older.
05 16 March, Flight by Sherman Alexie
Sue Church:
Actually has a tie-in with Slaughterhouse Five--Page turner, written by Alexie when his children were 5 and 9 and his wisdom about men and mankind, love it or hate it.
05 16 March, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand: A Novel by Helen Simonson
Kathy LaVanway:
I really enjoyed reading this novel.
08 16 March, At the Edge of the Precipice: Henry Clay and the Compromise That Saved the Nation by Robert V. Remini
Paul LaVanway:
This is an interesting and insightful read about the
Compromise of 1850 and Henry Clay's role in achieving a political
settlement that had brought the states of the South and the North to the
brink of war.
Remini analyzes the politics and factors leading to the Compromise of 1850,
the "grand bargain" that resulted in the nation avoiding what then appeared
to be its impending break-up. Although the compromise would disintegrate 10
years later when secession was at hand, Clay's achievement gave the North
much-needed time to build it's industrial capacity so that it could defeat
the South once the Civil War began. Not the least, the interim period gave
the North the time to find a leader-----Abraham Lincoln----who had the
resolve to successfully fight the war and reunite the country.
The book is a well written historical narrative on a topic that has not
received much mainstream coverage. At 160 pages, the work is concise; it is
an excellent overview and introduction for anyone interested in the history
and politics of the pre-Civil War era