the winner is... THE MOON AND SIXPENCE

Kelly said it was a close race!

Enjoy!

Hello - I could do the 23rd but not the 30th.

Happy Reading,

Sara

From Kelly's dates, my only possible date would be 8/30 (Monday) although I am not 100% certain that I'll be able to make it down to Boston.

As of right now I could do any of the dates Kelly mentioned (8/22, 8/23, 8/30).

Hello Bookclub!

Here is my list - sorry for the delay. Where did a week go?! Some of these are books I've been meaning to read for a while, some are books that I ought to have read and can't believe I never have, some just warrant a revisit as I haven't read since high school! All I think should have a good basis for discussion...!

Is there any chance folks would consider August 30 (a Monday, I know...) for meeting time? I fly out on Tuesday the 31st. Alternatively, August 22/23 could work... Tuesdays are strangely busy next month!

Taking votes until, let's say... tomorrow (Wednesday) at 5pm?
Can't wait!

The Moon & Sixpence - W. Somerset Maugham
In "Moon and Sixpence," Somerset Maugham takes a fascinating look into the life of Charles Strickland, a man who gives up his comfortable life as a stock broker, breaks the social contract, abandons his family, and takes up painting. These changes condemn him to a life of poverty and disdain by most who know him. The story is related by an aspiring writer who never seems to be able to quite get the painter to admit he is either remorseful of all the human wreckage he's left in his wake, or so uncomfortable in this new life that he's sorry for having made such a hash of his it. "Moon and Sixpence" raises several interesting questions: Who makes the social contract anyway, and did Strickland knowingly sign on, or was he simply incorporated into it by society? Would it have been acceptable for Strickland to abandon his family to become a priest, missionary, or some other more acceptable form of profession? While the book is loosely based on the life of Paul Gaugin, it is really more about W. Somerset Maugham and his search for beauty and truth. Maugham shows us that while the search may be noble, the journey is not necessarily beautiful to everyone, especially those not involved. "Moon and Sixpence" is a must-read for anyone contemplating a life in the arts. While Strickland is a thoroughly dislikable character, he is one without artifice, totally lacking the ability to say anything other than what is true to him. He is a man consumed by his passion, completely lacking the need for approval. Maugham as usual creates a work that is both powerful and thought-provoking. "Moon and Sixpence" satisfys on at least two levels; as an excellent story, and as a philosophical treatise on art, beauty and passion.

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
"Community, Identity, Stability" is the motto of Aldous Huxley's utopian World State. Here everyone consumes daily grams of soma, to fight depression, babies are born in laboratories, and the most popular form of entertainment is a "Feelie," a movie that stimulates the senses of sight, hearing, and touch. Though there is no violence and everyone is provided for, Bernard Marx feels something is missing and senses his relationship with a young women has the potential to be much more than the confines of their existence allow. Huxley foreshadowed many of the practices and gadgets we take for granted today--let's hope the sterility and absence of individuality he predicted aren't yet to come.

Zorba the Greek - Nikos Kazantzakis
Novel by Nikos Kazantzakis, published in Greek in 1946 as Vios kai politia tou Alexi Zormpa. The unnamed narrator is a scholarly, introspective writer who opens a coal mine on the fertile island of Crete. He is gradually drawn out of his ascetic shell by an elderly employee named Zorba, an ebullient man who revels in the social pleasures of eating, drinking, and dancing. The narrator's reentry into a life of experience is completed when his newfound lover, the village widow, is ritually murdered by a jealous mob.

To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
"Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel—a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with rich humor and unswerving honesty the irrationality of adult attitudes toward race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence, and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina and quiet heroism of one man's struggle for justice—but the weight of history will only tolerate so much.

Sorrows of an American - Siri Hustvedt

In her fourth novel (following the acclaimed What I Loved), Hustvedt continues, with grace and aplomb, her exploration of family connectedness, loss, grief and art. Narrator and New York psychoanalyst Erik Davidsen returns to his Minnesota hometown to sort through his recently deceased father Lars's papers. Erik's writer sister, Inga, soon discovers a letter from someone named Lisa that hints at a death that their father was involved in. Over the course of the book, the siblings track down people who might be able to provide information on the letter writer's identity. The two also contend with other looming ghosts. Erik immerses himself in the text of his father's diary as he develops an infatuation with Miranda, a Jamaican artist who lives downstairs with her daughter. Meanwhile, Inga, herself recently widowed, is reeling from potentially damaging secrets being revealed about the personal life of her dead husband, a well-known novelist and screenplay writer. Hustvedt gives great breaths of authenticity to Erik's counseling practice, life in Minnesota and Miranda's Jamaican heritage, and the anticlimax she creates is calming and justified; there's a terrific real-world twist revealed in the acknowledgments.

Kelly-When you post the list do you mind posting some potential book club dates? Want to make sure you are stateside....

I am!!! :) :) :)

It's still in development... have been waylaid by Bachelorette Extravaganza preparations. Totally worth it. Stay tuned for the list this weekend!

Hi, who's doing the next list?????

Hello ladies - something came up at work and I don't think I'll make it......I was trying to see if I could still make it but I won't....

bon appetit!

Sara

I'm in too!

Yes, I'm in!

sorry, I see it's 7pm.... see you then!

I am bringing my cousin Jennifer - Wendy :)
What time? 7:30?

I actually will be able to come. Let me know if you want me to call to update the reservation.

had it wrong, Maggee was no, but Sara earlier said she could do the 20th, so I'm keeping the count as it is.

Seemed to be alot of interest in Fireplace so I made reservation for 8 people at 7pm. They really want to know if it will be different number of people so please respond on whether you are coming.

I count:
Me
Erin
Kelly
Kathy
Maggee
Aaron
Leigh
Wendy

Anyone know about Sara (?)

I vote for either the Fireplace or Sabur. Looooooove Sabur.

It's either Kelly or me for the next list - Kelly, are you doing a list?

I am game for any of the suggested places. Coudn't come up with much else. To be very literal, there is the Summer Shack at Alewife. We have been there before and think I like some of the other suggestions more. Fireplace or Tavern on the Water would be my top choices.

Who is up for the next list?

Also, when location/time has been finalized, could someone send me an email or text? Tried to get onto Blogger at work yesterday and it has been blocked.

Thanks,
Erin

I vote for Fireplace (never been) or anything on the water!

If we wanted something on the water, we could do Joe's, or that place in Charlestown that's on the water - is it called Tavern on the Water, maybe?....

Some options:

French:
http://www.pierrotbistrot.com/menu.html
Bookclub met here once ages ago- the scene of the infamous "black power" episode if I recall correctly.

didn't find a convenient restaurant with lake front dining:

http://www.hiddenboston.com/blogentries/lakeside-dining-0610.html

"Summer"ville:

I love Sabur would definately go back.
http://www.saburrestaurant.com/

New England:
Fireplace in Brookline
http://www.fireplacerest.com/home/

Oh FUN... does anyone know of someplace on a lake!?

P.S. Cat, I am reading "Einstein's Heroes: Imagining the World through the Language of Mathematics" I am really enjoying it -- you (and Arshad) might enjoy it too!

Or a little out of the way french place, like where he took her on 4th of July?

Something in "Summer"ville ;)