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Introducing… The Help
For one summer during college I worked at a country club in one of the ritziest suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. I worked in the “play room” where I essentially babysat the country club members’ kids while they ate lunch, went to the pool, or attended a workout class. I didn’t mind watching the kids (most days), but I definitely felt like a second-class citizen working there. We could only enter through the laundry room door (never the front), we had to stay as out-of-the-way as possible and cut through the locker rooms to get to other places in the building instead of walking through the halls, and on really busy days at the club like the Fourth of July, we had to park out in a field and walk about a half a mile to the building so the members and their guests could use the staff parking spots. We were expected to try really hard to address all of the members by name, but I had people whose kids I watched very regularly who would introduce their kids to me every time they were dropped off, which showed they didn’t even notice the same person was watching their children over and over again. Later, when I would tell people of my experiences working there, I would jokingly refer to the myself and my fellow staff members as “the help,” since it seemed like that was how the members viewed us.
Although I had that summer feeling like “the help,” my experience pales in comparison to the characters in our January book, The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Set in Mississippi during the 1960s, the book focuses on the relationships of several African-American maids and their white employers. For the maids, their employment is more than just a summer college job—they have few options to do much else. They also have to deal with a culture where racism is deeply embedded, which affects how they are treated in their work. The book tells of what happens when the daughter of one of the prominent white families in the town begins to realize how differently her friends’ maids are treated from the ways white people are treated.
So what about you? Have you had an experience that helped you identify on some level with the characters in The Help? If you’ve finished the book already, what do you think? If you haven’t gotten the book yet, there’s still some time to put it on your Christmas list. We hope you can come join us on January 12 at 7 p.m. at Paradise Bakery and Café at Hamilton Town Center. Don’t forget that it’s also “Bring a Friend Month.” This is the perfect book to get someone plugged into the Book Club. We can’t wait to see you all there.
Happy reading!
Velma Still Cooks In Leeway
Where’s your sense of adventure?
The Bagginses had lived in the neighborhood of The Hill for time out of mind, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected: you could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother of asking him. This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbours’ respect, but he gained–well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end.
–J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
Do you seek out new experiences? Love to travel? Will you try just about anything once? Do you secretly enjoy getting lost because you get to be somewhere you hadn’t expected and might get to meet someone new? Or do you prefer the comforts of home and the familiar? Enjoy the company of close friends? Does the thought of traveling to places unknown make you uneasy? If presented with the opportunity, how quickly would you jump into an adventure?
In the passage above, J.R.R. Tolkien is introducing us to Bilbo Baggins, the hero of this month’s book, The Hobbit. In the full section of the chapter, we learn exactly what a hobbit is, and we find out that adventures are frowned upon and avoided in hobbit society. Bilbo’s quest goes against everything he has been taught as a hobbit, yet he goes anyway, and he finds himself in the middle of situations unlike anything he had ever imagined in his warm and safe hobbit hole.
So where is your sense of adventure? When an unexpected party of visitors comes knocking at the door of Bilbo’s hobbit hole will you join them on their journey? I hope you will accept their invitation and travel “There and Back Again” with Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit. And when you have come “Back Again, ” I hope you will join us for our dinner party on September 8th at 7 p.m. If you can make it, please RSVP in a comment or reply to the Facebook invitation. Can’t wait to see you there!
Don’t judge a book by its movie.
Walking Contradiction: An Introduction to Gone with the Wind
From Gone with the Wind Chapter Six:
She heard the soft muffled sound of his footsteps dying away down the long hall, and the complete enormity of her actions came over her. She had lost him forever. Now he would hate her and every time he looked at her he would remember how she threw herself at him when he had given her no encouragement at all… And the thought stung her to a new rage, rage at herself, at Ashley, at the world. Because she hated herself, she hated them all with the fury of the thwarted and humiliated love of sixteen. Only a little true tenderness had been mixed into her love. Mostly it had been compounded out of vanity and complacent confidence in her own charms. Now she had lost and, greater than her sense of loss, was the fear that she had made a public spectacle of herself… Was everyone laughing at her? She began to shake at the thought.
Her hand dropped to a little table beside her, fingering a tiny china rosebowl on which two china cherubs smirked… She picked up the bowl and hurled it viciously across the room to toward the fireplace. It barely cleared the tall back of the sofa and splintered with a little crash against the marble mantlepiece.
“This,” said a voice from the depths of the sofa, “is too much.”
Nothing had ever startled her or frightened her so much, and her mouth went too dry for her to utter a sound. She caught hold of the back of the chair, her knees going weak under her, as Rhett Butler rose from the sofa where he had been lying and made her a bow of exaggerated politeness…
“Sir, you should have made known your presence.”
“Indeed?” His white teeth gleamed and his bold dark eyes laughed at her…
Her temper was beginning to rise again at the thought that this rude and impertinent man had heard everything–heard things she now wished she had died before she ever uttered.
“Eavesdroppers–” she began furiously.
“Eavesdroppers often hear highly entertaining and instructive things,” he grinned. “From a long experience in eavesdropping, I–“
“”Sir,” she said, “you are no gentleman!”
“An apt observation,” he answered airily. “And, you, Miss, are no lady.”
This scene early in Gone with the Wind is one of my favorites in both the book and the movie. Not only do we get a great preview of what many of Rhett and Scarlett’s interactions are going to be like throughout the story, but we get a lot of insight into their characters.
I always enjoyed the movie Gone with the Wind–for nerdy reasons like history is one of my favorite subjects and that it is a groundbreaking example of epic filmmaking–but it was when I read the book for the first time that I really fell in love with the story. It is the story of Scarlett O’Hara, a complicated character, an anti-hero of sorts, full of contradictions and powerful emotions–at the same time driven by love and hate, selfish ambition and loyalty, the desire to be a great lady like her mother and the need to shirk old societal conventions in order to rebuild a life in the South destroyed by the Civil War. The book lets us read Scarlett’s thoughts and gives us insight into her motives that we can only get a glimpse of in the movie. Margaret Mitchell’s brilliant writing makes Scarlett a character you’ll find yourself rooting for as she drives you crazy at the same time.
Please Note: Like our last book, I have to issue a disclaimer about some of the language, but for different reasons. The word d@*n (if you catch my drift) is used by some of the characters, and because it’s set in Georgia during the Civil War and Reconstruction when it would have been a common term, there is use of the “n-word” as well. In my opinion, it doesn’t detract from the story or the novel as a whole, but I wanted to be sure no one has any surprises–especially for those of you who might be listening to the audiobook with kids around. 🙂
Gone with the Wind is a long book, but that’s why we’re taking two months to read it! You still have plenty of time, and it’s a great summer read. We’ll be meeting July 28 at Geist Park for a picnic. I really hope you all enjoy meeting Ashley, Melanie, Aunt Pittypat, Mammy, Rhett, and of course, Scarlett O’Hara.
Happy reading!
You Can Fly!
Happy thoughts of this month’s book are lifting me off my feet and into my dreams. Full of whimsy and witty banter, this story is a joy to read as an adult. Peter Pan was a huge hit on the stage before it was transformed into a novel. Children enjoy the story, but the only ones who can truly appreciate the magic of Barrie’s writing are adults willing to tap into their inner child.
What is your childhood fantasy? What would happen if your fantasy came to life? How can you live in the fantasy as an adult? Let Barrie’s story take you on your own magical journey. You already know the way: “Second star on the right and straight on till morning!”
Join us May 12th @ 7pm at Paradise Bakery, Hamilton Town Center. Peter Pan is our young reader for the year. Follow the links to buy it online at Borders (the version I selected has footnotes for some of the British terms). It’s in the public domain so you can find free downloads and audio books online (only in the US) which means e-reader versions should be extremely low-priced.
*disclaimer!!! In my version, Tinker-Bell says a naughty word a few times, and the British language can be tricky to understand here and there. I recommend selecting a children or teen version for reading to your children.
All about Tea
Our book for April is Three Cups of Tea.
Our discussion will be on location for lunch at Tea’s Me.
*on location*
@11:00am
Three Cups of Tea
by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
Happy Reading
Sarah
In One Word: Fascinating
What do Paul Revere’s ride, Hush Puppies shoes, Sesame Street and crime rates in New York City have in common? They all are examples of The Tipping Point, and you can find out why in this month’s book, The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell.
I have to admit that I was a little skeptical when we discussed adding this book to our reading list this year. I don’t get into nonfiction as much and more often than not have problems getting all the way through nonfiction books. The Tipping Point was definitely an exception. And the first word I would use to describe it is “fascinating.”
The Tipping Point proposes that some ideas, products, messages and behaviors act like viruses do, and when certain factors align, they reach a critical “tipping point’ and spread like an epidemic. The research and theories in the book are interesting, but it is the examples and stories that Gladwell uses that really make his theories come to life. I think you’ll find yourself saying, “Wow, I never thought about it that way before.”
This is one of those books that will make you think and start to notice more about the world around you. You just might find yourself applying some of the principles of The Tipping Point to the popularity of Silly Bandz and Beiber Fever.
Read the book and see what you think! And then join us to talk about it at the Borders at Hamilton Town Center on March 17 at 7 p.m.
Happy Reading!
Trust me. It’s awesome.
Our book for the month of February is The Chosen by Chaim Potok.
Yes, that’s right. He’s also the author of My Name Is Asher Lev which we read have already read as a book club.
I know. There are SO many good books and authors out there, but there’s a reason why we chose to read another one of his books.
Oh, you want to know what it is? Easy. Because it’s good.
What do you mean that’s not a good enough reason? Ok fine. Potok is easily one of the best story tellers that I’ve ever come across. The framework for this novel is completely different than Asher Lev – even though the setting is fairly similar. That takes a lot of talent. Plus, we just read A Year of Living Biblically, so we should be all caught up on our Jewish vocabulary. 🙂 The time period of the book is WWII and into the post-war period. It’s a look at a group of people very affected by the war itself and the fallout after the war. But more than that, it’s a story about fathers and sons and friendship.
Well, since you asked nicely, I will share some great quotes that will hopefully peak your interest that Sarah found for me.
Give me a break! My copy just came yesterday, and it’s been a few years since I read this.
Right. Quotes. Sorry. I’m a little scatter-brained.
I sat on the lounge chair in the shade that covered the porch and looked out at the back lawn. Somehow everything had changed. I had spent five days in a hospital and the world around seemed sharpened now and pulsing with life. I lay back and put the palms of my hands under my head. I thought of the baseball game, and I asked myself, Was it only last Sunday that it happened, only five days ago? I felt I had crossed into another world, that little pieces of my old self had been left behind on the black asphalt floor of the school yard alongside the shattered lenses of my glasses.
“Ah,” my father murmured. He was silent for a moment. Then he said quietly, “Reuven, listen to me. The Talmud says that a person should do two things for himself. One is to acquire a teacher. Do you remember the other?” “Choose a friend,” I said. “Yes. You know what a friend is, Reuven? A Greek philosopher said that two people who are true friends are like two bodies with one soul.” I nodded.
See. Told ya. That last quote is a great representation of the book as a whole, and so go read it! It’s the perfect snowed-slash-iced-in-and-can’t-go-anywhere-because-I’m-too-lazy-to-scrape-my-car-read. 🙂
Introduction to The Year of Living Biblically
This is a book you gotta read.
It’s interesting. Humorous. Educational. Thought provoking.
Pretty much a page turner type book.
The Year of Living Biblically is A.J. Jacobs’ attempt to follow every commandment of the Bible. He’s not attempting this feat to be legalistic, but to see what it truly would be like to follow something so strictly.
It is great to see his thoughts evolve . . . from never having read the Bible in its entirety or seriously, to seeking to interpret it literally.
A favorite quote thus far:
Regarding Leviticus 19:16,
I feel I have to clam up. It’s the best way to battle the overwhelming urge to spew biblically banned negative language . . . . My theory is this, my thoughts are lazy. They say to themselves, “Well, we’ll never make it out into the world, so why even bother?”
Much to the dismay of his wife and son . . . this year will affect them too. Their son begins to receive the rod, his wife has to live with a very harry man who has eating restrictions, sitting restrictions (which a funny story), is bluntly honest (almost to a fault), and a few bedroom restrictions . . .
Don’t miss this book!
Broadened Horizons Book Club 
