Hello, reader…
*Note to first time readers: the following is a summary of a discussion by friends and bookworms who gather monthly in a virtual space called Second Life. Book notes are lightly edited reflections shared in real time via text chat.
Whoops. I was so caught up in our conversation, I plum forgot to take a photo.
Thank goodness for chat logs, right? Here are all of the intriguing reads shared by this month’s attendees:
Midlife: A Philosophical Guide by Kieran Setiya.
Written by an MIT philosophy professor, this book introduces some useful ways of thinking about a lot of pretty common ‘midlife’ sorts of quandaries — the kinds of things that might keep us up at night. Like lamenting the life you might have led if you made certain other choices. Sierra recommends this one. It’s probably the most practical philosophy book that she has read.
Someone Always Nearby – Susan Wittig Albert
Veyot recently read this book about Georgia O’Keeffe growing old. The title comes from O’Keeffe’s need to always have someone to be her slave. She always overworked her best friend or worker.
It’s a fictional account of the artist’s life in New Mexico but the main character is her long time friend, Marie Chabot. It’s a tale of friendships, hot tempers, and remodeling adobe houses. There’s lots of gossip but Veyot enjoyed the parts about remodeling the most. It’s based on letters from the collections of the Georgia O’Keeffe museum in Santa Fe and West Texas A&M University.
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
A great story on friendship and helping Jewish people escape from the Netherlands during World War II. FireWoman commented that this juvenile fiction was suspenseful and that several of Lowry’s other books are banned.
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
FireWoman also read this novel about mothers and sisters. She hasn’t seen the movie that was based on this book. She found some of it a bit hard to relate to since she doesn’t have any sisters.
The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver
FireWoman found this book fascinating. It also looks like it will be turned into a movie someday; Kingsolver is co-writing the screenplay for it.
A Year in Nature: A Memoir of Solace by Clare Walker Leslie
Zoe read this collection of 100+ pages taken from Leslie’s personal nature journal, beginning on a winter solstice and continuing through the year. The author lives in Massachusetts though some of the journal was written during her travels within the U.S. Most of the pages are meant for the reader to experience her local nature through her eyes – via her original sketches and notes in her handwriting.
Our next gathering is April 14 at 1pm SLT. All are welcome – bring a friend!
The Reading Room 