Memoirs Of A Geisha - is a literary sensation and runaway bestseller, this brilliant debut novel tells with seamless authenticity and exquisite lyricism the true confessions of one of Japan's most celebrated geisha. Speaking to us with the wisdom of age and in a voice at once haunting and startlingly immediate, Nitta Sayuri tells the story of her life as a geisha. It begins in a poor fishing village in 1929, when, as a nine-year-old girl with unusual blue-gray eyes, she is taken from her home and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. We witness her transformation as she learns the rigorous arts of the geisha: dance and music; wearing kimono, elaborate makeup, and hair; pouring sake to reveal just a touch of inner wrist; competing with a jealous rival for men's solicitude and the money that goes with it. In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion.
Movie Trailer About the author - Arthur Golden who was born and brought up in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He is a 1978 graduate of Harvard College with a degree in art history, specializing in Japanese art. In 1980 he earned an MA in Japanese history from Columbia where he also learned Mandarin Chinese. In 1988 he received an MA in English from Boston. He has lived and worked in Japan, but now lives in Brookline, Massachusetts, with his wife and children. - Next Book Club is April 28th..............Laurie Roy
To Heaven and Back: A Doctor's Extraordinary Account of Her Death, Heaven, Angels, and Life Again: A kayak accident during a South American adventure takes one woman to heaven — where she experienced God’s peace, joy, and angels — and back to life again. In 1999 in the Los Rios region of southern Chile, orthopedic surgeon, devoted wife, and loving mother Dr. Mary Neal drowned in a kayak accident. While cascading down a waterfall, her kayak became pinned at the bottom and she was immediately and completely submerged. Despite the rescue efforts of her companions, Mary was underwater for too long, and as a result, died. To Heaven and Back is Mary’s remarkable story of her life’s spiritual journey and what happened as she moved from life to death to eternal life, and back again. Detailing her feelings and surroundings in heaven, her communication with angels, and her deep sense of sadness when she realized it wasn’t her time, Mary shares the captivating experience of her modern-day miracle. Mary’s life has been forever changed by her new found understanding of her purpose on earth, her awareness of God, her closer relationship with Jesus, and her personal spiritual journey suddenly enhanced by a first-hand experience in heaven. To Heaven and Back will reacquaint you with the hope, wonder, and promise of heaven, while enriching you own faith and walk with God. Dates: March 24th ........Terrie Rigopoulas April 28th..............Laurie Roy
Our next Book Club Selection ......The Shoemaker's Wife: A Novel by Adriana Trigiani
The fateful first meeting of Enza and Ciro takes place amid the haunting majesty of the Italian Alps at the turn of the last century. Still teenagers, they are separated when Ciro is banished from his village and sent to hide in New York's Little Italy, apprenticed to a shoemaker, leaving a bereft Enza behind. But when her own family faces disaster, she, too, is forced to emigrate to America. Though destiny will reunite the star-crossed lovers, it will, just as abruptly, separate them once again—sending Ciro off to serve in World War I, while Enza is drawn into the glamorous world of the opera . . . and into the life of the international singing sensation Enrico Caruso. Still, Enza and Ciro have been touched by fate—and, ultimately, the power of their love will change their lives forever. A riveting historical epic of love and family, war and loss, risk and destiny, inspired by the author's own family history, The Shoemaker's Wife is the novel Adriana Trigiani was born to write.
Our next meeting is............................ February 24th, 7pm (Sunday)
Our next hostess is ...........................Paula Mansour
Other Dates
March 24th ........Terrie Rigopoulas
April 28th..............Laurie Roy
The debut of a stunning
new voice in fiction— a novel both heartbreaking and transcendent - After four
harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and
takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey
from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a
season and shore leaves are granted every other year at best, Tom brings a
young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and
one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat
has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.Tom, whose records as a
lighthouse keeper are meticulous and whose moral principles have withstood a
horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel has
taken the tiny baby to her breast. Against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as
their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the
mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their
choice has devastated one of them.M. L. Stedman’s mesmerizing, beautifully written novel
seduces us into accommodating Isabel’s decision to keep this “gift from God.”
And we are swept into a story about extraordinarily compelling characters
seeking to find their North Star in a world where there is no right answer,
where justice for one person is another’s tragic loss.The Light Between Oceansis exquisite and
unforgettable, a deeply moving novel. Joyce also recommendsNight Roads by Kristin
Hannah
Gone Girl - by Gillian Flynn Marriage can be a real killer. One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. The Chicago Tribune proclaimed that her work “draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction.” Gone Girl’s toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn.
On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?
As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?
With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around. About the Authorhttp://gillian-flynn.com/gone-girl Gillian Flynn on "The View" discussing the book.
Defending Jacob--- Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student.
Every parental instinct Andy has rallies to protect his boy. Jacob insists that he is innocent, and Andy believes him. Andy must. He’s his father. But as damning facts and shocking revelations surface, as a marriage threatens to crumble and the trial intensifies, as the crisis reveals how little a father knows about his son, Andy will face a trial of his own—between loyalty and justice, between truth and allegation, between a past he’s tried to bury and a future he cannot conceive. Award-winning author William Landay has written the consummate novel of an embattled family in crisis—a suspenseful, character-driven mystery that is also a spellbinding tale of guilt, betrayal, and the terrifying speed at which our lives can spin out of control. 7 Questions interview. Read it all here and questions.
Next book club - October 28th hosted by Sue Torosian
In this poignant and transformative novel, bestselling author Kris
Radish weaves a tale of five women yearning for change—and the potential
for happiness that lies within every heart.
Free-spirited
psychologist Dr. Olivia Bayer suspects she’ll need a miracle to help the
four wildly different women in her anger management class. Grace, a
single working mother, can barely find a moment’s rest. Jane, a
high-profile real estate agent, is struggling in the recession. Kit, in
her fifties, has had it with her taunting older brothers. And Leah, a
young mother of two, is starting over after ending a troubled
relationship. All have reached a crossroads, and Dr. Bayer has an
unconventional plan to steer them on the right track. As the class gets
taken everywhere from a bowling alley to a shooting range, the women’s
Tuesday meetings transform from tense, reluctant gatherings into richly
rewarding experiments in female bonding. As Grace, Jane, Kit, and Leah
open up—revealing secrets, swapping stories, and recovering long-lost
dreams—old wounds begin to heal, new friendships are forged, and
miracles manifest in the most surprising ways. Look inside
Our next hostess is.....Mary Marotta
Our next Book Club Selection is : Tuesday Night of Miracles : a Novel by Kris Radish
The Fall Schedule for 2012
October
21st or 28th ..............Susan Torosian
November
25th or Dec 2nd ....Joyce Charpentier
December is a Pass.
Happy New Year 2013 !!!!!
January
27th..... 2013 ......Sylvia Pepin and Nicole Harris
