Jan.-April 2009 Book Club Reading List
Everyone is welcome at the Misty River Book Club. We meet at 7:00 p.m., the last Thursday of each month. If you have any questions, give us a call at 250-635-4428.
January: Stone Angel
In a series of vignettes, The Stone Angel tells the story of Hagar Shipley, a 90-year old woman struggling to come to grips with a life of intransigence and loss. “Pride was my wilderness, the demon that led me there was fear.”
February: Three Cups of Tea
Three Cups of Tea is a New York Times bestselling book by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin published by Penguin in 2006. The book describes Mortenson’s transition from a mountain-climber to a humanitarian committed to reducing poverty and educating girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He did this by co-founding the “Central Asia Institute,” which has built over 78 schools in the most remote areas of the countries.
The book’s title comes from a Balti proverb:
“The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family…”
March: Strawberry Fields
On an idyllic patch of English countryside, a handful of migrant workers spend their days picking strawberries and dreaming of a better life … and their nights in two tiny trailer homes-one for men and one for women. All is harmonious in this cozy vale, until Farmer Leaping’s wife comes upon him and the berrypicking boss, Yola, in a compromising position. Fury ensues, the police are called, and the migrant workers pile into one of the trailer homes and hightail it out of their little Arcadia, setting off on one of the most enchanting, merry, and moving picaresque journeys since Chaucer’s pilgrims set off to Canterbury.
April: Fine Balance
A Fine Balance is the third book by Rohinton Mistry. Set in Mumbai, India between 1975 and 1977 during the turmoil of The Emergency, a period of expanded government power and crackdowns on civil liberties, this book is about four characters from varied backgrounds—Dina Dalal, Ishvar Darji, his nephew Omprakash and the young lad Maneck—who come together and develop a bond.
Popularity: 70% [?]
Stone Angel is one of my very favourite books. I am still haunted by Hagar and the lessons I learned from this novel.