The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty

August 7, 2006 -- The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty
Location: Blue Moose at 6:30

Sometimes there are moments when a person has to make a decision, as opposed to just letting things just happen. A person then has to happen himself. I have never done this. Life bounced off me, and bounced me, and now it was going to bounce me to death.—from The Memory of Running (p. 77)

Meet Smithson "Smithy" Ide, an overweight, friendless, chain-smoking, forty-three-year-old drunk who works as a quality control inspector at a toy-action-figure factory in Rhode Island. By all accounts, especially Smithy's own, he's a loser. Then, within one week, Smithy's beloved parents are killed in a car crash, and Smithy learns that his emotionally troubled, long-lost sister, Bethany, has turned up in a morgue in Los Angeles. Unmoored by the loss of his entire family-Smithy had always hoped Bethany might return-he rolls down the driveway of his parents' house on his old Raleigh bicycle into an epic journey that will take him clear across the country. (read more here)

Moving between past and present in alternating chapters, Smithy's story is so gripping several of our group found themselves skipping ahead to read how one strand turned out before they were willing to move back to the present in the next chapter. Marci pointed out the great "cliff-hangers" that inspired her to do that....
"Sal thought he heard a muffled scream from inside the car; then it turned into the high reeds and disappeared." (chap. 14)
"That's when Carl Greenleaf's pick up truck hit me from behind." (chap. 29)
"...and the fat-faced redheaded guy shot me." (chap.47)

Pam noticed the metaphor of legs in the story. I guess it makes sense because Smithy was a "running man" though he doesn't really run again until the very end. He often feels his fears or inadequacies first in his legs. The title of the book shows up when their dog gets fixed. "He'll have the memory of running. Then he'll forget about girl dogs and be fat and happy." --Bethany"You thought my legs is all there is." --Norma"I don't have legs enough for my family." -- Smithy

We found ourselves trying to decide if Norma, the neighbor confined to her wheelchair who'd been nursing a 40 year crush on Smithy, was believable.... But we all believed Bethany--the "voice" and her poses. We hated Glen Golden (the golfing psychiatrist) and Georgiana Glass and decided this book didn't paint a very good picture of the medical profession and what's with all the "G's?" This story made us think about humanity... the different people Smithy meets, the way he is treated, the conclusions we jump to...

This was a pleasant book.... despite the sadness and the struggle, it wasn't maudlin. We were all glad to have read it. Thanks for the recommendation Larry.

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

July 6, 2006 -- The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson (nonfiction)

Meeting Location: Suite 49 at 6:30

Here's the Random House link for the book.

taken from Amazon.com
Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book's categorization to be sure that The Devil in the White City is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel. Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor. Burnham's challenge was immense. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White City" around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison. The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims. Combining the stories of an architect and a killer in one book, mostly in alternating chapters, seems like an odd choice but it works. The magical appeal and horrifying dark side of 19th-century Chicago are both revealed through Larson's skillful writing. --John Moe

*********

Judy, Marci, Larry, Pam and I met on the patio for drinks, dinner, and dessert.... and of course to discuss the book. I was pleasantly surprised with this historical work and that view was shared by most. Initially the book was recommended to Larry by a student, and I actually purchased this a few months ago for my father, not even realizing it was nonfiction.

We all agreed that this book is like "a spoonful of sugar" when it comes to learning about history, not that we are opposed to that either. But as Judy said, the book asked "little of us as readers" and was a pleasant read. I would guess that many students would enjoy this glimpse into our history. I had never realized how this one event--The Chicago World's Fair of 1893-- did so much to shape our world... From Cracker Jacks to the Ferris Wheel, from Buffalo Bill to Frank Lloyd Wright, so many new ideas, products, people were introduced or cited within the pages of this book which focuses on a fairly narrow slice of history.

Marci shared excerpts from Failure is Impossible, a book about Susan B. Anthony, that included the speech she gave (alluded to in our book) rejecting the idea of closing public places on the sabbath,

"It seems to me the common sense thing that all public places of art, science and learning should be open to suit the convenience of all classes of people; the ten hours of each week-day for such as have leisure, the evenings and Sundays for those whose bread-winning employments occupy every one of those ten hours of each of the six week-days."

I was particularly struck by the suggestion that Walt Disney's father who worked on creating the "White City" would later tell stories about it to his sons, possibly planting an idea for what would come to be Disneyland.

We discussed the idea of the two stories.... how they ran side by side and yet never converged and what we though about that aspect of the narrative. Larry reiterated his distaste for stories that jump from one perspective to another and I guess this is the second book we've read this summer to do that. I am not nearly so troubled by that sort of thing and I actually thought the storyline of Holmes, the serial killer, provided an element that broke up some of the dense detail of the city and its construction.

Pam created a list of dynamite questions suitable for book club trivia or perhaps to be used at our trivia group on Saturday nights. This book is oozing with little known facts that appeal to to folks like us. It was noted that the beginning and the ending of the book with the sea voyage of Burnham on the Olympic was a clever way to bookend the story.

This is one we'd recommend.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

May-June 2006 -- Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (fiction)

Meeting Location: Capones

We were scheduled to meet at the end of May but with the end of school year and all, people were having a hard time finishing the book. Since I'd read it in February it wasn't so bad for me, but I did want to reread it and I hadn't done that yet either. So we rescheduled on June 3rd at Capone's for a Saturday lunch. Larry, Judy, Pam and I were there to discuss and it seemed that the general agreement was this book deserves a thumbs up. Not sure about the rest, but I intend to read Everything is Illuminated, Safran Foer's other book that was recently made into a movie.

One aspect of this book that I found delightful was the visual layout of the pages... there were photographs and unusual things done with the typography. One thing I liked but others found somewhat distracting was the dual stories that were happening in periodic alternating chapters in which we hear the voices of Oskar's grandmother and that of his grandfather. I actually liked those bits quite a lot and felt that they added depth to his story.


FROM THE PUBLISHER

Oskar Schell is an inventor, Francophile, tambourine player, Shakespearean actor, jeweler, pacifist. He is nine years old. And he is on an urgent, secret search through the five boroughs of New York to find the lock that fits a mysterious key belonging to his father, who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center.An inspired creation, Oskar is endearing, exasperating, and unforgettable. His search for the lock careens from Central Park to Coney Island to the Bronx and beyond. But it also travels into history, to Dresden and Hiroshima, where horrific bombings once shattered other lives. Along the way, Oskar encounters a motley assortment of humanity—a 103-year-old war reporter, a tour guide who never leaves the Empire State Building, lovers enraptured or scorned—all survivors in their own ways. Ultimately, Oskar ends his journey where it began, at his father's grave. But now he is accompanied by the silent stranger who has been renting the spare room of his grandmother's apartment. They are there to dig up his father's empty coffin.

Our Spring Catch Up Session

April 2006 -- Spring Catch-Up Session
Meeting Location: Hilton Garden Inn

This time around Larry, Pam and I met at The Hilton Garden Inn. We enjoyed a meal and discussed the books we completed for that month. The object was to go back into the recent book club past and find a title we'd not completed, read it and spend time discussing those books further.




Larry read Shadow of the Wind (La Sombra Del Viento) by Carlos Ruiz Zafron. He also read Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy and Shakespeare: A Biography by Peter Ackroyd

Pam read Gilead by Marilynne Robinson and some British murder mysteries.

Carmyn tried to read Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.... it's just not happening (Larry said not to be too hard on myself but that the book might appeal to an older person.... Hmmmm)
Instead she read The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and The Public Image by Muriel Spark and The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd.

Letters to a Teacher by Sam Pickering

March 2006 -- Letters to a Teacher by Sam Pickering (nonfiction)
Writer's Conference Author
Meeting Location: Suite 49 & Hilton Garden Inn

Each year one author at the UND Writer's Conference agrees to meet with our RRVWP participants and our book club members usually try to get involved and make that our book for the month of February or March. This year our author was Sam Pickering and we met at Suite 49 in their back room to discuss. The food was good and the conversation too, unfortunately the good conversation happened around Mr. Pickering rather than as stimulated by his presence... there may have been too many people or perhaps we shouldn't have tried to EAT and discuss... a coffee shop or the fireside room at Christus Rex might have been better suited for our purposes. Nevertheless Mr. Pickering echoed back many of his remarks from his book and the following night he entertained the crowd at the Empire Theatre as he offered more of his remarks on teaching and life.

Having recently read Teacher Man by Frank McCourt didn't help this reading situation. In some ways, I felt both books were a bit similar and neither were quite what I had in mind. For the month of March we did meet once BEFORE to discuss this title at the Hilton Garden Inn and Judy, Kristi, Larry, Pam and I were able to prepare for our meeting and discuss the book fully and prepare to meet the author.

1421 The Year China Discovered America by Gavin Menzies

February 2006 -- 1421 The Year China Discovered America by Gavin Menzies
Meeting Location: Judy's House

This nonfiction selection was one of many suggested at the previous meeting and Larry even had a DVD which he brought to our discussion. Following the meeting, Judy, Pam and I all watched it. I found this book fascinating but I never did finish it. Judy found it to be almost too much like a "research paper" and yet the concept was very intriguing... Pam read a different book by mistake. :)

Our discussion was at Judy's and this month was a small group... Larry, Judy and I. But we had DELICIOUS food following the Chinese theme.. I brought some takeout (not very creative, I'll admit) Judy made hot and sour soup and Larry brought Tsingtao beer. I can't remember much of the discussion... but I haven't forgotten that soup. Yum.

Choice of a Young Adult Novel

January 2006 -- Reader's Choice of a Young Adult Novel
Meeting Location: Carmyn's Apartment

Some might wonder at this choice of genre for an adult book club. However, we are all teachers and are in a position of recommending books to kids and the best way to do that is to read young adult books. We also expand our knowledge base and hear about many books as we discuss our varied titles. This book gathering was held at Carmyn's apartment and Larry, Brian, Judy and Pam were in attendance.

Carmyn read Siberia by Ann Halem and Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelson

Pam read Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan


Larry read Izzy Willy & Nilly by Cynthia Voigt & 7th Son by Orson Scott Card


Brian read The Boys are Back in Town by Christopher Golden

Judy read Monster by Walter Dean Myers

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

November-December 2005 -- Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (fiction)
Meeting Location: Judy's place

Marilynne Robinson won the Pulitzer Prize after the publication of this book. That is supposed to mean something, and while I suspect the book is good and has a point and is one I might enjoy, I didn't finish it. Others liked it though.

Taken from the Amazon site:

The narrator, John Ames, is 76, a preacher who has lived almost all of his life in Gilead, Iowa. He is writing a letter to his almost seven-year-old son, the blessing of his second marriage. It is a summing-up, an apologia, a consideration of his life. Robinson takes the story away from being simply the reminiscences of one man and moves it into the realm of a meditation on fathers and children, particularly sons, on faith, and on the imperfectability of man.

The reason for the letter is Ames's failing health. He wants to leave an account of himself for this son who will never really know him. His greatest regret is that he hasn't much to leave them, in worldly terms. "Your mother told you I'm writing your begats, and you seemed very pleased with the idea. Well, then. What should I record for you?" In the course of the narrative, John Ames records himself, inside and out, in a meditative style. Robinson's prose asks the reader to slow down to the pace of an old man in Gilead, Iowa, in 1956. Ames writes of his father and grandfather, estranged over his grandfather's departure for Kansas to march for abolition and his father's lifelong pacifism. The tension between them, their love for each other and their inability to bridge the chasm of their beliefs is a constant source of rumination for John Ames. Fathers and sons.

The other constant in the book is Ames's friendship since childhood with "old Boughton," a Presbyterian minister. Boughton, father of many children, favors his son, named John Ames Boughton, above all others. Ames must constantly monitor his tendency to be envious of Boughton's bounteous family; his first wife died in childbirth and the baby died almost immediately after her. Jack Boughton is a ne'er-do-well, Ames knows it and strives to love him as he knows he should. Jack arrives in Gilead after a long absence, full of charm and mischief, causing Ames to wonder what influence he might have on Ames's young wife and son when Ames dies.

These are the things that Ames tells his son about: his ancestors, the nature of love and friendship, the part that faith and prayer play in every life and an awareness of one's own culpability. There is also reconciliation without resignation, self-awareness without deprecation, abundant good humor, philosophical queries--Jack asks, "'Do you ever wonder why American Christianity seems to wait for the real thinking to be done elsewhere?'"--and an ongoing sense of childlike wonder at the beauty and variety of God's world.

In Marilynne Robinson's hands, there is a balm in Gilead, as the old spiritual tells us. --Valerie Ryan

Reader's Choice of a Jasper Fforde Book

October 2005 --Reader's Choice of a Jasper Fforde Book (fiction/fantasy)

For October we met at Bonzers in the back room and discussed a variety of Jasper Fforde books and between us, every one of his books were covered. For more information about this author check out his website and that will also provide a good idea of the sort of books he writes.

Thursday Next Books:

The Eyre Affair

Lost in a Good Book

The Well of Lost Plots

Something Rotten

And a New Title:

The Big Over Easy: A Nursery Crime

Curious Incident of a Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon

September 2005 -- Curious Incident of a Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon

Meeting location: Crookston Country Club

From Publishers Weekly
Christopher Boone, the autistic 15-year-old narrator of this revelatory novel, relaxes by groaning and doing math problems in his head, eats red-but not yellow or brown-foods and screams when he is touched. Strange as he may seem, other people are far more of a conundrum to him, for he lacks the intuitive "theory of mind" by which most of us sense what's going on in other people's heads. When his neighbor's poodle is killed and Christopher is falsely accused of the crime, he decides that he will take a page from Sherlock Holmes (one of his favorite characters) and track down the killer. As the mystery leads him to the secrets of his parents' broken marriage and then into an odyssey to find his place in the world, he must fall back on deductive logic to navigate the emotional complexities of a social world that remains a closed book to him. In the hands of first-time novelist Haddon, Christopher is a fascinating case study and, above all, a sympathetic boy: not closed off, as the stereotype would have it, but too open-overwhelmed by sensations, bereft of the filters through which normal people screen their surroundings. Christopher can only make sense of the chaos of stimuli by imposing arbitrary patterns ("4 yellow cars in a row made it a Black Day, which is a day when I don't speak to anyone and sit on my own reading books and don't eat my lunch and Take No Risks"). His literal-minded observations make for a kind of poetic sensibility and a poignant evocation of character. Though Christopher insists, "This will not be a funny book. I cannot tell jokes because I do not understand them," the novel brims with touching, ironic humor. The result is an eye-opening work in a unique and compelling literary voice. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Swap From July

August 2005 -- Book Swap Discussion
Location: Missy's Place

Carmyn read Carumba! by Nina Marie Martinez and I read House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer .... both recommended by Pam.

Judy read About a Boy by Nick Hornby recommended by Carmyn.

Missy read ??? by ???? recommended by Larry.

Larry read Handling Sin by Michael Malone recommended by Pam.

Pam read True Notebooks by Mark Salzman recommended by Missy.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

July 2005 -- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (fiction)

Location: Kristi's Country Home

The Kite Runner by Khaled Housseni

June 2005 -- The Kite Runner by Khaled Housseni (fiction)

Location: Pam's Place

Catch-Up Session

May 2005 -- Catch Up Session at Judy's

Carmyn finished Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi.

Pam finished The Known World by Edward P. Jones.

Reader's Choice of Kathleen Norris Titles

April 2005 -- Any book by Kathleen Norris ( Writer's Conference author)
Meeting Location: Christus Rex Fireside Room

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

March 2005 -- Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi (memoir)

Location: Pam's House

The Known World by Edward P. Jones

February 2005 -- The Known World by Edward P. Jones (fiction)
Meeting Location: Marci's House

Reader's Choice of a Young Adult Book

January 2005 -- Reader's Choice of a Young Adult Book
Meeting Location: Kristi's house in town

House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
Tales of Despereaux by Kate diCamillo

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

December 2004 -- Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn (fiction)
Meeting Location: Judy's House

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris

October 2004 -- Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris (essays)
Meeting Location: Carmyn's Apartment
Attire: Corduroy and Denim

The Shadow of the Wind (La Sombra del Viento) by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

September 2004 -- The Shadow of the Wind (La Sombra del Viento) by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (fiction) Meeting Location: Blue Moose

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman -- The Quality of Life Report by Meghan Daum

July 2004 -- Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman and The Quality of Life Report by Meghan Daum (fiction) Meeting Location: Grizzly's

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

June 2004 -- Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (fiction)
Meeting Location: Pam's House

Bella Tuscany by Frances Mayes

May 2004 -- Bella Tuscany: The Sweet Life in Italy by Frances Mayes (memoir)
Meeting Location: Lola's Italian Restaurant

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser

April 2004 -- Fast Food Nation The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser (nonfiction) Meeting Location: Blue Moose

The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich

March 2004 -- The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich (fiction)
Meeting Location: Branigans

What I Think I Did by Larry Woiwode

February 2004 -- What I Think I Did: A Season of Survival in Two Acts by Larry Woiwode (writer's conference author)

Reader's Choice of a Young Adult Title

January 2004 -- Reader's Choice of a Young Adult Title

Nickel and Dimed: On Not Getting By in America by

November 2003 -- Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenrich

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

October 2003 -- The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (fiction)

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

September 2003 -- The Secret History by Donna Tartt (fiction)

Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand

August 2003 -- Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand (nonfiction)

Reader's Choice from our Summer Reading Lists

July 2003 -- Reader's Choice from our Summer Reading Lists
Meeting Location: Blue Moose

Larry read 334 by Thomas Disch
Brian read Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War & Other Battles by Anthony Swofford
Carmyn read The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

June 2003 -- Life of Pi by Yann Martel (fiction)

The Dream of the Marsh Wren by Pattiann Rogers

April 2003 -- The Dream of the Marsh Wren: Writing as Reciprocal Creation by Pattiann Rogers (poetry and writing)
2003 Writer's Conference Author

the Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks

March 2003 -- The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks (nonfiction)
2003 Writer's Conference Author