We have appreciated most of the books and others we have come to appreciate after we have had our group discussion. I think one of my favorite book group meetings was The Hare with the Amber Eyes by Edmund De Waal. The book is well written; not particularly easy to read and is a family memoir by British ceramicist Edmund De Waal who tells the story of his family the Ephrussi, once a very wealthy European Jewish banking dynasty, centered in Odessa, Vienna and Paris, and peers of the Rothschild family. The Ephrussis lost almost everything in 1938 when the Nazis "Aryanized" their property.
At this meeting we all brought a meaningful family heirloom and we saw some beautiful family objects and learned even more about one another. We are able to share stories and get to learn about one another at all of our book groups. We come from different backgrounds, some of us were not born in America, some of us are married, some divorced, some with children and grandchildren, some with empty nests and some with full nests. I find our groups to be a relaxing evening of talking, sharing ideas and discussing our lives through the books we have read together. Our hosts are all gracious and gives us delicious treats and fun drinks. We are not the first book group on the block but I am very proud of our duration and the dedication of our members. I also want to give special thanks to my mentors all of them book club mavens: Rachel Kamin at NSS Beth El, Lori Sagarin at Temple Beth Israel and Rabbi Phyllis Sommer at Am Shalom. They share their book lists, their expertise and their comments in person, on Goodreads and over the internet. I can't thank them enough.
I love books and asking everyone I know; "What is the latest book you have read?" I love young adult books, books about Israel and even a good romance novel now and then. Next time you see me tell me what you are reading; take a look at my Gfoodreads page and see what I am reading. I challenged myself to read 40 books this year and I am on track to make it. The trip to Israel will put me over the top I am sure. What trip to Israel....read about it next week.
Lakeside Book Group List:
December 2, 2011 Books we have read so far, 12-2-11:
1. Plot Against America: Philip Roth
2. People of the Book: Geraldine Brooks
3. Away: Amy Bloom
4. Rashi’s daughters: Maggi Anton
5. Septembers of Shiraz: Dalia Sofer
6. To Begin Again: Rabbi Naomi Levy
7. Eli Weisel’s Rashi
8. Day after Night: Anita Diament
9. Girl from Foreign: Sadia Shephard (Memoir)
10. All other nights: Dara Horn
11. Invisible wall: Harry Bernstein (part of a trilogy and a Memoir)
12. The Year of Living Biblically: A.J. Jacobs
13. History of Love: Nicole Krauss
14. Pigeon and a boy: Meir Shelev
15. My Father’s Paradise: Ariel Sabar (Memoir)
16. Stations West: Allison Amend
17. 19th Wife: David Ebershoff
18. Mr. Rosenbloom Dreams in English by Natasha Solomon
19. The Invisible Bridge: Julie Orringer
20. The Jew Store: Stella Suberman
21. Drawing in the Dust: Zoe Klein
22. Dovekeeper: Alice Hoffman
23. Love and Shame and Love: Peter Orner
24. In the Garden of the Beasts: Erik Larrsen
25. Midwife of Venice: Roberta Rich
26. Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots: Deborah Feldman
27. 2013 Hare with the Amber Eyes: Edmund De Waal
28. Home in the Morning: Mary Glickman
29. 10,00 Lovers: Edit Ravel
30. Second Person Singular: Sayed Kashua,
31. Wayward Moon: Janice Weiszman
32. What we talk about when we talk about Anne Frank: Nathan Englander
33. Sweet Dates of Basra: Jessica Jiji
2014
34. 2014 My Russian Grandmother and Her American Vacuum Cleaner: A Family Memoir: Meir Shelev
35. The List: Martin Fletcher
36. The Illusion of Separateness: Simon Van Booy
No comments:
Post a Comment