Autobiography in six words by Suz

Book worm, number cruncher, happy Mom.

I am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe

This book charmed me from page one. Possible because it completely reminded me of my best friend -- Joni. If you haven't read this book, Jonz, you need to, because it has so many similarities to those college days -- feeling lost and lonely, afraid and small; trying desperately to maintain our character, just trying to feel our way through it.

I was riveted by this book and Charlotte became a very real part of my life. I felt like I was going through all those growing pains all over again. I lost a lot of sleep staying up way too late reading Charlotte Simmons, and I loved every minute of it.

I highly recommend this read for everyone, but especially those of you who, like Joni and I, came from small towns and stepped off the cliff into college and all that went with it.

Book Review: Our Lady of the Forest by David Guterson

By Joni:

David Guterson is the author of one of my all time favorite novels - Snow Falling on Cedars - so I picked this book up hoping to find something similar. While I didn't find it as lyrical as Snow Falling on Cedars, I did enjoy it and I recommend it.

Our Lady of the Forest is the story of a 15 year old runaway named Ann who, while picking mushrooms in the rainy forests of the Pacific northwest, sees a vision of the Virgin Mary. Guterson explores how this event - whether real or imagined - impacts on the constellation of people around Ann.

The novel explores some of the uglier of human failings including child sexual abuse and drug use and one scene in particular was so horrific to me that I think I must have somehow read it with my eyes closed. A character named Tom Cross is interesting. He is at times unredeemable and at other times just tragic. His fate in the final chapter doesn't ring true for me. It's too easy. I love that his name is Tom "Cross" - a veiled reference to the cross he has to bear.

I was happy to discover that Guterson has two other novels: East of the Mountains and The Drowned Son. I am starting East of the Mountains this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes!

Book Review: Not Quite What I Was Planning

By Joni:

This isn't exactly a book review since I haven't actually read the book yet - but I fell in love with the idea of this book and couldn't wait to talk about it in our book club. (I have the book on order!!)

Here is the review on yesterday's NPR book review page:

NPR Book Talk: Not Quite What I Was Planning

Once asked to write a full story in six words, legend has it that novelist Ernest Hemingway responded: "For Sale: baby shoes, never worn."

In this spirit of simple yet profound brevity, the online magazine Smith asked readers to write the story of their own lives in a single sentence. The result is Not Quite What I Was Planning, a collection of six-word memoirs by famous and not-so-famous writers, artists and musicians. Their stories are sometimes sad, often funny — and always concise.

The book is full of well-known names — from writer Dave Eggers (Fifteen years since last professional haircut), to singer Aimee Mann (Couldn't cope so I wrote songs), to comedian Stephen Colbert (Well, I thought it was funny).

The collection has plenty of six-word insights from everyday folks as well: Love me or leave me alone was scrawled on a hand dryer in a public bathroom; I still make coffee for two was penned by a 27-year-old who had just been dumped.

Larry Smith, founding editor of Smith magazine, and Rachel Fershleiser, Smith's memoir editor, talk about the experience of capturing real-life stories in six words — no more, no less.

Fershleiser's six-word memoir? Bespectacled, besneakered, read and ran around. And Smith's: Big hair, big heart, big hurry.

The following are a few entries:

After Harvard, had baby with crackhead.
- Robin Templeton

70 years, few tears, hairy ears.
- Bill Querengesser

Watching quietly from every door frame.
- Nicole Resseguie

Catholic school backfired. Sin is in!
- Nikki Beland

Savior complex makes for many disappointments.
- Alanna Schubach

Nobody cared, then they did. Why?
- Chuck Klosterman

Some cross-eyed kid, forgotten then found.
- Diana Welch

She said she was negative. Damn.
- Ryan McRae

Born in the desert, still thirsty.
- Georgene Nunn

A sake mom, not soccer mom.
- Shawna Hausman

I asked. They answered. I wrote.
- Sebastian Junger

No future, no past. Not lost.
- Matt Brensilver

Extremely responsible, secretly longed for spontaneity.
- Sabra Jennings

Joined Army. Came out. Got booted.
- Johan Baumeister

Almost a victim of my family
- Chuck Sangster

The psychic said I'd be richer.
- Elizabeth Bernstein

Grumpy old soundman needs love, too.
- Lennie Rosengard

Mom died, Dad screwed us over.
- Lesley Kysely

Painful nerd kid, happy nerd adult.
- Linda Williamson

Write about sex, learn about love.
- Martha Garvey

So Book Club friends - What do you think? Can you write your autobiography is six words?

Book Review: Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

By Joni:

Kurt Vonnegut is one of my all time favorite authors and Slaughterhouse Five is in my top ten list of favorite books.

One of the most interesting things to me about this book is the incredibly diverse interpretations people can have of it. The story is about a man named Billy Pilgrim who was inept as a soldier during World War II but manages to survive being a Prisoner of War (held captive in an old slaughterhouse - "Slaughterhouse Five") and later returns home to a safe albeit dull existence.

The narrative of the story jumps from time period to time period. One moment Billy is still in Germany as a young man, the next moment he is at a luncheoon for optometrists as a middle aged man. The explanation for this scattershot narrative is that Billy has become "unstuck in time" - time traveling from moment to moment of his life.

A bizarre subplot is that, during one moment of his life, he meets and is kidnapped by aliens named Tralfamadorians who place him in a zoo-like setting on their planet and observe him.

I know. I know. It sounds bizarre but - when I read Slaughterhouse Five - I never took the whole time travel / aliens stuff literally. To me, it was more like commentary about memory and the infinite number of moments - sad, beautiful, absurd moments - that make up a lifetime.

And as for the aliens, Vonnegut described them as looking like a toilet plunger. All of Vonnegut's novels have odd subplots and it's no secret that Vonnegut was a fatalist. His personal experiences early in his life forever shattered any optimism in him. At 19, he was (like Billy Pilgrim) a POW in a German work camp. He was also witness to the tragic Allied fire-bombing of Dresden, Germany. This was one of the most controversial events of WWII. Many believe that the war was already won and that the bombing of a peaceful town with no military significance was an unnecessary slaughter. As a POW, the Germans forced Vonnegut to find and bury the corpses of the men, women, and children killed. Some estimates say between 25,000 and 30,000 civilians died in this bombing. Vonnegut struggled with depression for the rest of his life. He was also an outspoken pacifist.

Every time you read Slaughterhouse Five you find something new. It's about fatalism and pacifism and free will and the absurdity of the human experience. Vonnegut was a genius. He died this year - April 11, 2007.

So it goes.

Movie Review: Michael

By Joni:

Movie reviews are not cheating! It's our book club! We can do what we want! Besides, I just learned something about this movie that is really, really cool!

I have seen the movie "Michael" a couple of times but it wasn't until recently that I realized it was a retelling of the "Wizard of Oz" story! OMG, how dense am I that I missed it before? Andie McDowell's character is even named "Dorothy"!! There's a little dog, a "tin man" without a heart, and a long journey from Kansas (!!) to the Sear's Tower in Chicago wherer a little man controls things from behind the scenes. I love it! I liked the movie in it's own right before but now I can't wait to watch it again and look for more connections..... Anyone out there love this movie as much as I do?

Book Review: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

By Joni:

I initially picked up this book thinking it might be a light little chicklit read and I was looking for something light to read over the weekend.

It turns out, it wasn't that light. The story revolves around two friends growing up in 19th century Japan and it follows the girls from pre-pubescence through their childbearing years and later, for one of the girls, as an elderly woman reminicsing about her friend.

The accounts of the girls footbinding is pretty graphic and this is definitely worth reading if this practice has ever intrigued you. The book is also an interesting look at the roles gender and privilege played in Japanese society at the time.

Lisa See has a lyrical quality to her writing and, even though the subject is sometimes brutal, it's lovely to read and I recommend the book whole-heartedly.

After reading "Snow Flower" I looked for other books by See. I found a book called "Dragon Bones" that sounded good on the jacket but didn't hold my attention. I've heard "Peony in Love" is also very good but I haven't investigated it yet. Has anyone read Lisa See before?