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Books and Winter

Just a quick? update on the Book Club front; I don't want to go into long descriptions or give away major plot points, so I'll try to keep them short.  If you want more information, you can read other reviews, or read the books yourself!

I did finish The Shack but did not get to the meeting to discuss it as I was very ill that day. I did enjoy this book. One thing I thought was interesting was how it broke through traditional paradigms of religion, like what God "is." I thought the writing was decent; I thought the story was interesting, and I thought the plot was great.

I was disappointed that several people chose not to read the book "because of its subject matter." (Presumably religion?)  I should reiterate, it was a fictitious novel. That's not very sporting! One of the reasons I have always wanted to join a book club is to get outside of my comfort zone, my usual authors and subject matter.
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Our second book was One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd, by Jim Fergus. Set in the 1800s, the Cheyenne Indians proposed to President Grant that they'd trade 1000 horses for 1000 white women. Apparently this proposal is an actual historical event, but the rest of the book is fiction. It begins with descendants of May Dodd, and how they came to research her. 

I thought this book had a major conflict: the main character was SO politically correct as to be distracting.  I'm not saying this would be impossible, but highly unlikely, and contrasts greatly with the rest of the book, which struggled to be very historically accurate, including several people who were real.  I thought the writing was excellent, but I felt I was being slipped some sensitivity training in between fur trades.  I loathed the main character and her agendas.  But hey, I tried something new.  I did enjoy the genealogical research at the very beginning and end.   We are discussing this book this week.

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Next up, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.  (There are many editions of this book.)  Luckily, I own it and will not have to track it down.  After my curiousity was peaked by the Kate Bush song, I read it in the 90's.  I am curious to go back and see if I'll have a different opinion on it now, being in a different place in life.  Perhaps if I had seen videos of this before now I would not have been so surprised by the end of the book!  This reminds me of The Turn of the Screw, and A Christmas Carol - the original.  Do you see a pattern forming?  Some Brits seem to take winter to a new level of cold.  I'm going to need a fire and some knitting in between chapters!

I tried to find a cold, English picture on my friend Jane's blog - I thought she might let me post it.  But alas! her December outdoor photos look downright cheery!

So there's my "short" book review.

Comments

  1. You'd make a great author yourself - your blog is a wonderful example!! I'd recommend the Mitford books, too, to any of your readers here!

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  2. Boy, what interesting books! I'd never have made if through the politically correct book -- that kind of stuff just makes me crazy -- so, good for you for finishing. And lucky you to be doing Wuthering Heights. I'm seriously thinking about dropping out of my group. I'll miss it, but I have so many books that I really want to read (many of them classics) and there's just no time to do that and keep up with what the group is reading.

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  3. Thanks for the mention ;o) I just had a look too...no dreary pictures to be found.

    Wuthering Heights is one of those books that I should make a point of reading.

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