Sunday, July 29, 2007
August Book
Alright, the time has come to choose our next book. Please leave a comment with your 2 book suggestions for the month. We will hold the drawing on August 1.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
July book thoughts....
1. I did have a moment like Rebecca in my first marriage, my epiphany if you say, I was married and had a child (like I always wanted, but unhappy at where I was in my life). I didn't understand how I could have gotten what I wanted and be so unhappy...I just didn't get the one meant for me. I have since fixed that, by like Rebecca taking the hard road to make myself happy. My husband now and daughter (along with my son) are the life I wanted, getting it isn't easy though.
2. Yes, I think Rebecca would have stayed, but she would have been unhappy in the end. A husband who works too much, so ritualistic with his career that she would have been more alone than as a widow. Knowing they are gone is one thing, having a husband around who's never home is worse.
3. When my husband met my family in Georgia he was a little surprised at the calamity having 2 parents, 4 siblings (with spouses) and 11 children all but two under the age of 5...needless to say he found our traditions quirky and maybe a little country at times, but he embraced them instead of trying to change us.
4. I believe Rebecca forgot the life she had hoped for since she felt she was thrown into the one she ended up with. She was left with 4 children at a young age and was so overwhelmed so quickly that I think she forgot what she had wanted. Also, she didn't get to develop those rituals at first because they were already in place, the rhyming toasts was her idea and eventually most ways became Rebecca's way.
5. Will's life was in a tailspin when Rebecca called him again, he was so sad and alone that he wanted to grasp some happiness, his memories of Rebecca if he remembered her as she was, his failure of a life; as he saw it, wouldn't have happened. They were happy and starting out, he wouldn't have ended up alone and unhappy.
6. I do think Zeb was waiting for Rebecca, I think she would have to change how she saw him...because she still sees him as her husband's younger brother and I think he has other ideas. Personally I would love to see them together, I think they would both be happy. Although Rebecca did mention she was the one still in mourning every now and again.
7. My favorite character was Poppy, he was the only really happy one to me. He enjoyed his life and his routines. He of course couldn't remember much of it once it happened, but he was cute and quirky. I loved his birthday speech and how he always loved and missed his wife.
Ok, so there is my opinion; all be it a long one, but my question is:
Do you think there was anything Rebecca could have done differently once she realized she wanted to change how she had ended up?
Back When We Were Grownups....discussion
Here are some questions to get the ball rolling. And since I am in charge, most of them are about Rebecca b/c I thought she was a great character.
1. "How on earth did I get like this?" wonders Rebecca at the start of the novel about the person she has become. Have you ever had a moment like this? Did you end up with the life you thought you would have?
2. Do you think that Rebecca would have stayed with Will if she had not met Joe?
3. Tina's visit leads Rebecca to observe her life from the uncomfortable perspective of an outsider. Have you ever had that experience with a guest?
4. Will reminds Rebecca that she wanted a big family with all of its rituals, a fact Rebecca had forgotten about the girl she once was. How could Rebecca have forgotten such an important piece of information about herself?
5. Why is Will so determined to see Rebecca as she is not?
6. Zeb never married. Do you think he has been waiting for Rebecca all these years? What do you think will happen with Rebecca and Zeb? Who will have to make the first move if this relationship is ever to get off the ground?
7. Which is your favorite character in this novel and why?
If anyone else has questions they would like to discuss, feel free.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
For Cat... (and any other writers on the blog)
Below is an article from Writers Digest, written - ironically - by Jodi Picoult about how she became a writer. I don't know how many of you like to write, but Cat and I get together once in a while and read eachother's work. We even took an online writing class last fall. Anyway, I liked the article:
I'VE ALWAYS WANTED to be a writer, but I never really thought I'd succeed. Children always have grandiose plans to become astronauts and Major League pitchers and movie stars. But somehow in real life that translates into accountants and stay-at-home moms and sales reps. Still, in the mid-1980s, I struck off for a creative writing program at Princeton University, certain I was going to set the literary world on its ear.
My professor was Mary Morris, an astoundingly fine writer herself. The day my first story was being workshopped, she made me sit on the floor with a glue stick, scissors and construction paper. As the class ripped my masterpiece to shreds, I was to cut and paste together their suggestions. I left the class that day in tears and edited my piece over and over until Mary finally told me to send it to Seventeen magazine. Three months later, an editor left a message on my dorm-room answering machine. They wanted to publish the story. And did I have any more?.....(read more)
Friday, July 20, 2007
Have you read this author?
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
How's the reading?
So are you enjoying "Back when we were grownups"? I just finished last night and can't wait to talk about it at the end of the month. Without giving away any plot, I'd like to hear your opinions on the main character - what do you think about Rebecca Davitch?
And here is information on the author:
- Anne Tyler lived in several Quaker communities while growing up. She started writing short stories when she was 7 years old.
- Tyler attended Duke University, where she majored in Russian.
- Most of her novels are set in Baltimore, where she now lives with her family.
- Tyler is known for her keen ear for dialogue and life-like characters which have won critical acclaim.
- Throughout Tyler's novels, characters struggle to negotiate a balance between self-identity and family identity.
Has anyone read any of her other books?
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Just for fun
I'm about to take it and see how well I really know Harry...
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Question: Are you a muggle?
So who loves Harry Potter? And what are your predictions for the last book? I'm re-reading book six now to get all refreshed for the grand finale.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
And the July book winner is...
Amazon Reveiw... The first sentence of Anne Tyler's 15th novel sounds like something out of a fairy tale: "Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person." Alas, this discovery has less to do with magic than with a late-middle-age crisis, which is visited upon Rebecca Davitch in the opening pages of Back When We Were Grownups. At 53, this perpetually agreeable widow is "wide and soft and dimpled, with two short wings of dry, fair hair flaring almost horizontally from a center part." Given her role as the matriarch of a large family--and the proprietress of a party-and-catering concern, the Open Arms--Rebecca is both personally and professionally inclined toward jollity. But at an engagement bash for one of her multiple stepdaughters, she finds herself questioning everything about her life: "How on earth did I get like this? How? How did I ever become this person who's not really me?"
J'aime Lire Online Book Chat... Mark your calendars to begin discussing this book on Thursday, July 26.
*** Cat - Would you mind leading the discussion, since this book was one of your selection? Thanks for the pick and I am looking forward to reading. I've never read an Anne Tyler book, so this is a first for me.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Melissa's thoughts on Twilight...
Stephanie Meyer's descriptions of the forests and weather brought everything back to me - I could close my eyes and see the great northwest. A nice thing for a girl who still gets homesick living in the South. I appreciate Meyer's skill for bringing such a dreary, wet place to life. And I also love her reasoning for setting a modern-day vampire story there.
Now about Bella's choice - "to be or not to be." Don't hate me for what I'm about to say, because I am a big Edward lover. As I read about Bella's teenage turmoil and passion, it reminded me of my own teenage love. When you're in high school you think you know everything - including what true love is. That's why you have second chances, so after you realize you need to change or move on, you can. Bella is too young to choose Edward for eternity. Maybe after a couple books and some more experience I could condone the choice - but not when it is still in the teenage crush stage. I know the relationship is more than a crush for Edward, but he has already had that experience. Now go ahead and argue with me - cause I know you want to disagree ; )
Monday, July 2, 2007
It had me hook, line and sinker....
To turn or not to turn....
Did anyone see the comment from Melissa's friend Stephanie asking to join the book club? It's a comment added after my book suggestions for July.
OK, back to my original thought....I love Edward and find myself caught up in the book easily, there is no way to say my favorite part as of yet. I look forward to hearing other people's point of view as well.
Twilight . . .
Also, do you think Bella should become a vampire herself? This is a continuing sorce of struggle in the second book, but I still can't decide if I really think it would be best. However, the hopeless romantic side of me wants nothing more than Bella and Edward to spend eternity together, even if it meant they were both vampires. Just something to think about.
PS. And just for fun, here is a version of the first chapter that Stephenie wrote from Edwards perspective - I thought you might enjoy it :), as any extra time with Edward is time well spent.