2012 Selections Through June

The following books are on our agenda for the first six months of 2012:

THE HISTORY OF LOVE by Nicole Krauss - recommended by Mary Helen Stefaniak when she visited us

THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS by Rebecca Skloots - recommended by Barb (this will be our nonfiction selection for the year - unless we choose to read more than one!)

THE SUN ALSO RISES by Ernest Hemingway - Mari and Lisa has suggested a Hemingway book and since Cheryl was the only person to vote in the poll, we're going with her pick

THE COFFINS OF LITTLE HOPE by Timothy Shaffert - recommended by Lisa and we're hoping we can get Shaffert to join us to talk about the book

GENERATION A by Douglas Coupland - recommended by Linda

SO MUCH FOR THAT by Lionel Shriver - Shriver has been recommended by both Mari and Lisa

We talked the other night about some other ideas for 2012 but I can't find my notes! If you recall any of the other titles we talked about, or have any other suggestions, please leave a comment with your name!

December Meeting: The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives

Earthy.

That was one of the words used to describe our December selection, The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin. Given the difficulty in getting our hands on copies of this book, a surprising number of us had gotten this book read and all concurred that it was an interesting look at another way of life. The book was recommended by Mari, who loved it, not surprisingly given how much she loves books set in Africa.

Some readers were, shall we say, a bit taken aback by some of the baser elements of the book. All were willing to concede, however, that we were reading the book from our largely Midwestern sensibilities and the things in the book may be perfectly normal to readers more familiar with the region the book is set in. The varying narratives, it was agreed, did get a bit confusing, particularly because there were many similar names between the wives and their children. Overall, we all liked the book and were glad that Mari had suggested it.

We met at The Cheesecake Factory and it was a bit difficult to stay on task with so much good food to consider. That and the fact that we had a great turnout, including Barb who we rarely get to see any more! We spent some time talking about books we're planning on reading in 2012 and those that we might be interested in. Our confirmed list is now posted.