Jan. 2009 -- 《野草在歌唱》，我们怎能沉默？

悠游读书会又翻过了一页。New page in bpwiki. 请大家踊跃发言。

To become American--an everlasting experience

Thanks Dayan for her excellent work in directing last night meeting. The well thought out questions have kept the discussion on the right course. The meeting is over but the discussion will never do.

在线阅读〈喜福会〉

感谢紫罗兰，在网上搜来《喜福会》。

《本书目录》

《喜福会》大家谈 on PBwiki

The New York Times Books -- Featured Author

Read reviews of Amy Tan's book in The New York Times

To become American, immigrant authors talk about their experiences.

1. Junot Diaz
2. Jhumpa Lhiri
   

别开生面的聚会 (Oct. 29, 2008)

感谢水竹，老牛。
问题非常切入实际，从《儿子》《分家》谈到落叶归根的，让我们过早地发出老来将至的感叹。
床垫的故事勾起留学往事，我们共有的那段难忘的记忆。老牛的那段最精彩，希望那位作家把它写进小说里。

视频: [人物]赛珍珠 诺贝尔文学奖获得者 一个视中国为母亲的白人美籍作家--YouTube

Grapes Of Wrath' And The Politics of Book Burning

斯坦贝克 is the author we are going to read two of his books in the coming months.

learn something about Banned Books Week.

在线阅读赛珍珠《大地》

第1部，第2部， 第3部

Thank you for the good discussion on Good Earthlast night!

Hi all,
I think we just invented another style of book discussion, which is known as "七嘴八舌". I love it because it requires minimal monitoring on the convener's end, and it encourages creativity, free associations, sincerity, fun and authenticity!

Let me thank you all for weaving your stories with Wang Lung and O-Lan's stories. I learned a lot.

Helen, we missed you and thought of you throughout the night. Thank you, Xiaoying for doing lots of background preparation and keeping us on a higher thinking ground, Thank you Alice and Xiaokang for letting us tasting your master bakery, and Hong and Kim for 板栗 and crackers. And let's thank the rest of us for eating up the goodies and being our very comfortable selves!

Good Earth: Questions to ponder

I am only through the first hundred pages or so, but I have to say I love reading this book. I always loved to read about rural life, about farmers. I hope you are enjoying it too; these questions are not meant for your answers, but just some of the initial conversations that we may have when we meet:

1. What are your first impressions of Wang Lung and his wife? There are lots of surprising details to me; what are the details appealing/interesting/surprising to you?

2. What about Wang Lung's characters? We really don't know too much about his upbring, but he is such a decent guy to his wife. What are Wang Lung's attitude to his new wife?

3. What do you think of O-Lan's child birthing experience? What was amazing or what?!

4. O-lan's big plan for her return to the Great House? What are our childhood dreams that we want to impress someone or make a statement for ourselves?

5. Wang Lung the invester of the land? Perhaps Dayang can inject a few tips for us for investing? Wasn't he very smart of planning for his future? Are there people "born" smart?

6. Hunger and more hungers. Starvation have changed many, what did the villagers do to each others, what are the rumors?

Good Earth: 9/24th meeting schedule

Here’s a schedule for the 9/24th meeting:

· Planner’s plan for us this year (Xiaoying: 10min )

· Reading of Good Earth,
a. General introduction, (3 min) Liana
b. Discussion of the themes, characters, and historical time (5 min of each person or each questions) (land, farming, migration, hunger, marriage, children…)
c. Good earth, the movie, schedule a time to watch at another time if enough interest from the group (2 min.)

· 30 min of individual announcements or sharing of what’s going on reading or non reading wise in their lives (3 min for each person)

· Wrap Up/what’s next reading (10 min, Xiaoying and Da Yan)

Tied-in with The Good Earth--extra homework

I’d like to add one small book to this month reading. It is a bit of extra and you don’t have read it if you are not interested. On a Chinese Screen by W.S. Maugham, a travel book first published in 1922. Sorry Wenan, it is even older than The Good Earth 

Another book of China through foreigners’ eyes. It is actually “a series of acute and finely crafted sketches of Westerners who are culturally out of their depth in the immensity of the Chinese civilization” (quote from the back cover of the book)

Btw, W. Somerset Maugham is my all time favorite.

Read it online

Survey of Reading List

Please vote the books you want to read. Thanks.

Click Here to take survey

Thanks to everyone who made it happen. So far 7 people have cast their votes and the result is:

 

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan – 5 votes – recommended by雪

The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing – 4 votes – recommended by 电影迷 (中文译本)

Atonement by Ian McEwen – 3 votes – recommended by电影迷 (中文译本)

 The Pearl by John Steinbeck – 3 votes  -- recommended by 大雁 (中文译本)

 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck – 3 votes – recommended by 竹林子 (中文译本)

Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi – 3 votes recommended by 大雁, 电影迷 (中文译本)

Cry, the Beloved Country by – 2 votes recommended by 大雁

Child of My Heart by Alice McDermott – 2 votes -- recommended by雪

The Year of Pleasure by Elizabeth Berg – 2 vote -- recommended by雪

Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts – 1 vote -- recommended by Alice

 Note: 中文译本= through Interlibrary loan or in IU collection.

 We can read in this order or pick and choose from the list. New recommendations are appreciated and please add to悠游读书会推荐书单  http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df25hkpb_76fjdkv8

推荐人 Alice, 雪, 电影迷, 大雁, 竹林子, please prepare to defend your choices J Why do you think we should read it, etc.?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good Reading Season Starts with Good Earth

Hi, readers: thanks to Xiaoying and Da Yan (and Alice's gentle reminder), the new reading season starts on September 24th, same time, same place. Xiaoying has already put the online Chinese version out so please check that out. For those of you wanting to read the English version, I checked out an extra copy from the public library. Just let me know and I can bring it to you this coming Sunday.

One of you may have checked out the audio version of the book, right? It is being checked out from the library.

Anyone wishes to say something about the author, the book, or China during that time, just post your thoughts here. I will propose a meeting schedule to Xiaoying early next week.

Happy reading!

A walk in the woods (July 4th -- 6th, 2008)

Hi all,

This is the my part of summer trip report. Due to the fact that we don't have enough time for so many items on the agenda, I will not go into details of the trip. You are welcome to see the photos and short movie and ask me any questions.

Thanks.

同样主题的小说《姐姐守护人》和电影《左右》

都是为救生白血病的女儿，电影《左右》注重于与前夫要再发生性关系生个孩子救女儿而给再婚后的两个家庭带来的冲击。小说姐姐的守护人（My Sister’s Keeper）则是着重于孩子生下来后的种种矛盾。中国电影偏重于婚外性是否道德？而美国小说则探讨人身权利可否剥夺？着重点的不同也因此看出东西方文化的不同。会长有电影，强烈推荐。
为了救患急性骨髓性白血病的女兒Kate， Sara 利用现代医学科技生下了与Kate基因可以完美配型的Anna，从一生下来Anna就开始了无穷无尽的手术，来供应Kate所需的血液、白血球、骨髓、干細胞，最后甚至自己的肾脏，Anna终于忍无可忍，上法庭控告她父母侵犯她的“人身权”，《纽约时报》畅销作家 Picoult从人物不同的角度的来叙述故事的发展，对「爱」有着不同寻常的诠释，她将人与人之间脆弱敏感且又错综复杂的关系刻画得淋漓尽致，将一個极具争议性的话題展现在读者面前。

June 25th Show & Tell

Another unforgettable night, Ladies! Thanks to everyone, especially to those who brought goodies and did show & tell. You are really talented and I'm so proud to have you as friends.

Big thanks to Newcomer for your brilliant idea and refreshing and delicious strawberry cream cake.

安全到达San Diego

众位姐姐，
带着众位姐姐的美好祝福，我们已经安全到达目的地。谢谢大家为我们饯行，非常感激。 很荣幸和大家相处了2年多，祝大家越跳越年轻，越跳越美丽。
下面是文安说过的那位全美国人民都知道的正在和pancreatic cancer作顽强斗争的Carnegie Mellon University 教授的“the last lecture" 链接。
http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/
强烈推荐两个video,一个是The "Last Lecture", given at Carnegie Mellon University (76 minutes)，另一个是Diane Sawyer of ABC (and her incredible producer, Geoff Martz) did an hour special, which was way too flattering.
Enjoy!

刚刚从“故纸堆”里挖掘出来

游佛罗伦萨, 2001初夏

这是当年记下参观佛罗伦萨“学院美术馆“ (The Academia)一篇日记。《大卫》原件就在这里。

A Great Reading Season!

Thanks Xiaoying for "pushing" us to dig further into the Vermeer story and fantasy. I watched the movie first, but thought the book was quite more chewy, thanks to all the symbolism you help us discover. Discovering a painter is like discovering a world to me. I feel a lot richer now that we know something about Vermeer.

Last night's book discussion served as a great wrap up to the first reading season. Thanks for all your stories about art and artists. The deeper we dig, the purer the water gets!

第四星期作业 -- 艺术作品与你

第四星期：四月30--五月7日《艺术作品与你: final representation about 5 minutes long, May, 7th》

Can you give a brief description of a personal encounter with pieces of art work? Please bring reproductions or printouts of the art work to show and tell.

这个作业的主要目的在于描述艺术作品对我们的影响。大家准备时要强调你在某地，某时对作品瞬间的感受。一幅或多副作品。在某个博物馆，art fair, 或者studio ... 发生的事。可以稍微介绍艺术家的背景。不可超过5分钟长。

Show and tell 是讨论的高潮。望大家暗地使劲，好戏留在后边唱。但仍不妨make posts, ask quetions online before the meeting.

第三星期作业 -- 文学与艺术的互动 : 作家笔下的艺术家

第三星期：四月24-30 《文学与艺术的互动 : 作家笔下的艺术家》-- Online post

Tracy Chevalier, inspired by Vermeer paintings, created a piece of literary work. Can you name some other authors or novels that have drawn inspiration in a similar way? Either by one piece of art work or by one artist.

Homework I: 作家笔下的艺术家

As part of this week's homework we can also discuss the images the author used in the book, such as pearl earrings ...... There are quite a few cases. So far only 2 items are mentioned.
what do they stand for?

Homework II: images and their meaning:
1. pearl earrings
2. 8 pointed star circle in the square
3. Crucifixion Room
4. The covering of her hair
5. Arranging of vegetables
6. Looking through the camera obscura
7. The tile of boy and girl

问题

为什么维米尔一生只有35幅画？

问题

最后是谁把珠珠给了女孩？

Del.iciou.us bookmark

If you click on the sidebar 《我们的维米尔》under Useful Links the bookmarks are provided by all of you. They are collected here for easy use.

第二星期作业 -- 书中描绘了维米尔的哪几幅画

第二星期：四月17-24 《书中描绘了维米尔的哪几幅画》—Online post

Which of his paintings are mentioned in the book? Give some details. Make a post, state a fact, or ask a question. Please identiy them and add 1 or 2 to the shared document. I have put in the 1st one. Don't wait till all of them identified by others.

大家填填看：每幅画的名字可以填在这里

两点申明

1. 为什么采取每星期作业的形式: 我们每个人都有独到, 精辟的见解，而每次却因时间的关系不能畅所欲言。如果大家随时将自己的看法和问题等出来，供大家讨论，借鉴，等到大家见面时就会把重点放在更有趣的问题上，希望大家支持.
2. 英文和中文；我常用英文发言是因为用英文打字比较快。打中文太浪费时间。希望大家见谅。

如果你错过这个星期的作业，你可以随时补上，直到五月七日。

my approach

Imagine you were about to be working in this revered artist’ home. What was in store for you was fate of a maid, whose skin would be cracked by soaking your hands in bleached water, walking in bitter cold along the canal to the meat market, your back hurt from cleaning, hauling the water, and your mind numb from involvement in this ever growing family and caught in between. But you were no ordinary maid. You were a mind of sharp perception and intuition for colors and shapes, and yet you were at a tender age of sixteen.

This small and seeming petty novel is no longer trivial to you. You will be transported to another place, another time. It is a like a magic. Trust me. It worked for me.

第一星期作业 -- 你所知道的维米尔

After months of reading of serious stuff like race, gender, prejudice and search for meaning of life, “Girl with a Pearl Earring” might be a diversion and will lead us to intimacy of an artist’s studio and into the intriguing details of creation of art work. (It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, yet there is homework you have to complete)

作业：Everyone is required to do it each week ( 每人至少发言一次)

第一星期：四月10 -17《你所知道的维米尔》—Online post
Do some research online and make a post, ask a question, or make comments on existing posts about Johannes Vermeer, his life, his works, and significance of his paintings.

1st item on our agenda--
话不过三: 3 facts about Vermeer, of his time, life, family, and significance of his paintings. Everyone is required to make 3 statements, no more or no less, and no repetition of what other people have said. So be familiar with Vermeer as much as possible.

Why purple

a little poking around turned out some revealing info, quite similar to what we discussed:

Shug Avery, a self-confessed sinner who is denounced by the churchgoing community, defends God. God is not “him” to her, but rather “it.” She espouses a pantheistic view of the world in which all nature is God, and God appears in all nature. God is a joyful and loving being. The novel’s title reflects this as Shug tells Celie that she thinks God may become angry when people walk past a field and fail to appreciate the color purple. In her view, God appears in church only when the people themselves bring him in. Her religion stresses love, compassion, and pleasure.

...

The color purple itself becomes, along with Celie's sewing, the central symbol in the book. Suggestive of royalty, creativity, surprise, it becomes for Celie symbolic of the wonder of the creativity of God. The first new dress she owns (not a hand-me-down), she wants to be purple. Purple not available, she opts for blue. When, at the end, she finally has her own house, she sleeps in a room painted purple. The pants she sews for Sofia have one red leg, the other purple. Purple is also the symbolic color of lesbianism; Celie's passionate love for Shug Avery is one of the poignant centers of the plot. When Shug leaves her for a young man, Celie is so crushed she can only communicate to Shug by writing notes: “I pray to die, just so I don’t never have to speak.”

"Color Purple" Tonight! Reminder

Hi all, please bring your thoughts, experiences, reflections, and most importantly questions to this evening's discussion!

One of the questions posed by the newcommer is that,

Why is the book titled as color purple? How is that related to the content of the book?

I will gather more questions at the beginning of the disussion and let's say what answers we can come up with on site!

You can hardly leave politics out ot it

Alice Walker : Obama is the change that America has tried to hide

Color Purple: Homework and Qeustions

Hi all, I read the book 20 years ago. The affection for this book has always stayed with me. However, I am amazed how little I remembered of this book. So, re-reading becomes a fresh, new reading for me. The excitement, the enlightenment and the empowerment, all surfacing again. I hope your discovery of this book is a worthwhile experience to you.

Here are the homework: assuming you are one of the female characters --Celie, Nettie, Sophia, Shug, or Squeak-- introduce three or four "things" about you. Anything, comments, quotations, facts, experiences will do. It does not matter if we choose the same character, or say the same things. Bring your character with you.

Here are the questions:

1) Celie was said to be ugly; who said so, and how this has affected her?
2) What was Celie's life journey-- from pain, suffering, to love and independence? What was the key, defining moments?
3) Sophia was described as a strong and unbreakable. Had her "captivity" at the mayor's family changed her?
4) Shug was described by others as a tramp. What was her role in Celie's awakening?
5) What was the friendship like among the female characters?
6) Any male characters that we can discuss: Albert, Harpo, Pa...?
7) When you have no choice in a given situation, what would you do? (poverty, abuse, tragedies)
8) Any comments on the style, languages, philosophy of this book?

proposed agenda, for Xiaoying's approval:

1) Introduction (20 min) Liana
2) Homework (all, 20 min, each 2 min)
3) discussion (all, 20 min.)
4) Other, unrelated matters (25)
5) Adjourn

Plot of Color Purple, from website

Plot summary
The story is told through a series of diary entries and letters. Celie is a poor, uneducated young woman who, at 14, is sexually abused and impregnated twice by a man she believes to be her father, Alphonso. After her children are taken away to "be with God," she is forced to marry a widower, with several children, who is physically abusive. At first, she is joined in her new home by her younger sister, Nettie, whom Celie's new husband had originally wanted to marry. After he attempts to seduce Nettie, she escapes, promising to write to Celie. As time passes, Celie assumes that Nettie is dead. In her writings, Celie refers to her husband as "Mr. ___." One of his sons, Harpo, falls in love with and marries a strong and physically imposing woman named Sofia. Though both Harpo and "Mr. ___" attempt to treat her as an inferior, Sofia fights back, sometimes even physically, and Celie is amazed by her defiance.
"Mr. ___" has a mistress, singer Shug (short for "Sugar") Avery, and she comes to live with the family because of her poor health. Like "Mr. __", Shug at first has little respect for Celie and the life she lives. She copies her lover, abusing Celie and adding to her humiliation. Celie initially feels threatened by this effervescent, liberated version of femininity, but she eventually realizes that she is sexually attracted to Shug. When Shug discovers that "Mr. ___" beats Celie, she decides to remain in the house in order to protect her.
After a few years of constant fighting, Sofia leaves Harpo , taking their children with her. At the same time, Celie and Shug become intimate and a strong bond grows between them. Shug helps Celie discover her sexuality as a woman and the two become lovers. When Sofia returns to town for a visit, she becomes involved in a fight with Harpo's new girlfriend, who is nicknamed "Squeak" because of her high-pitched voice. One day, the mayor’s wife, Miss Millie, asks Sofia to work as her maid. When Sofia declines with the words, "Hell, no," the mayor slaps Sofia. When she returns the blow, knocking the mayor down, she is arrested for hitting a white man. She is later sentenced to work for twelve years as the mayor's maid. The separation from her family and her freedom breaks her spirit.
Even after Shug marries a man called Grady, she and Celie continue their romantic relationship. One night, when Shug asks Celie about Nettie, Celie says that she believes her sister to be dead, since she had promised to write but Celie had never received any letters. Shug informs Celie that she has seen "Mr. ___" hide numerous mysterious letters in a trunk and suggests that they investigate. When they do so, they find dozens of letters written by Nettie to Celie over the years. These tell of Nettie's travels to Africa with a missionary couple, Samuel and Corrine, and their adopted children, Olivia and Adam. When Corrine becomes ill, Samuel tells Nettie how they came to adopt their children and that his wife has suspected that Nettie was their biological mother due to their resemblance. Nettie then learns that Olivia and Adam are Celie's long-lost children, and that she is the children's aunt. She also learns that Alphonso was not her and Celie's father but rather their stepfather. Their biological father, a store-owner, had been lynched by a mob of white men because they believed he was too successful. After Corrine's acceptance of Nettie's story, she dies, and Samuel and Nettie discover that they are deeply in love; they eventually marry.
Having read the letters and learned the truth about her children as well as her biological father, Celie visits Alphonso to confirm the story, which he does. Celie finds a new sense of empowerment, and at dinner one night she releases her pent-up anger at "Mr. ___", cursing him for the years of abuse that she has had to endure. Shug, Celie, and Squeak decide to move to Tennessee, where Celie begins a lucrative business designing and sewing tailored pants. She returns to Georgia for a visit and finds that not only has "Mr. ___" reformed himself and his ways, but Alphonso has died and all of his land now belongs to her. Celie decides to move back, relocating her business.
Meanwhile, Nettie and Samuel are preparing for their return to America. Adam falls in love with and marries an African girl named Tashi, who undergoes the painful rituals of female circumcision and facial scarring. Adam also goes through the facial scarring ritual in solidarity. Nettie writes to Celie to let her know that the family is on their way.
Celie is now an independent woman. Celie and "Mr. ___" eventually reconcile, and he begins to help her with her business, sewing with her as they sit on the porch. Sofia and Harpo remarry, and Sofia also works for Celie. Nettie and Samuel return with the children, and Celie and her sister are happily reunited.

由 Chris 想起的。。。。

谢谢Alice 给大家机会分享自己感受和体会，这真是一本会让你再次思索人生的书。。。。
Chris 的追求精神固然可嘉，不过有些做法本人却不敢苟同，假如大家做事都没有一个“度”，那整个社会将是一个什么样子？不过这也许正是他不同寻常的地方，文化大革命时我们很多人都抛弃一切大串连，那是因为受大局势大潮流的影响，可Chris 却“逆流而上”不要别人想要的东西，走自己的路，Into the Wild...。。。。

由Chris 我又想起了Three Cups fo Tea 中的美国人Greg，也是一个登山者，他没有登上在巴基斯坦世界著名的 k2 山峰，却登上了另一座山峰：回那建立了当地第一所小学校，在十年中又建立了五十五所小学（特别为女孩），他也是没钱没住所对什么都不在乎的 "Rubber Tramps” (Into the Wilds), 但却如“士兵突击”中王宝强所说为世人“做有意义的事情”， Chris 和 Grag 都是 Extreme, 不过我个人更崇尚Grag。。。

http://www.ikat.org/ 是Grag 一个Centra Asia Institute 教育基金会的网站，tax-deductible，一美元可以维持一个孩子一个月在阿富汗和巴基斯坦的教育经费。

A book I really Like: Short (109 pages), Easy, and Practical

每个人都是赢家( Everybody Wins)

每对夫妻都会有意见不同的时候，可观点不同带来的争执并不能真正解决问题却常常演变成一场谁占上峰的争斗。也许你这次是赢了，可又怎样呢，难道你愿意和一个被你击败的人在一起生活吗？ Dr. Gary Chapman 给大家设计了一套让双方尽管有不同想法但却能和平共处的方案，让你学会倾听，也让对方感受到你的爱。他没有只是在理论上泛泛而谈，而是制定了一个非常具体可行的方案。Gary Chapman 是婚姻专家，一共出了将近二十本婚姻丛书，也在电台中播讲。另一本书叫“婚姻的四季”The Four Seasons of Marriage，怎样让婚姻多一些夏季和春季而少一些秋季和冬季。“五种爱的语言” The Five Love Languages，学习爱的技巧和语言。

http://www.hardcoverdeals.com/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=334&upc=141430014X&affnr=-1

An Online Book Club-- for your reference

The book club's March pick is In the Country of Men (在人之国度) by Hisham Matar。他的小说《In the Country of Men》以利比亚为背景，讲述了一个有关个人和政治镇压的故事。

Quotations

Thanks to Liana who pointed out the movie, Into the Wild, opens with lines from Lord Byron's (拜伦）poem which does not appear in the book. It is a beautiful poem and more fitting in the movie.

There is pleasure in the pathless woods, 无径之林，常有情趣，　　　　
There is rapture on the lonely shore, 无人之岸，几多惊喜，
There is society where none intrudes, 世外桃源，何处寻觅，
By the deep sea and the music in its roar; 聆听涛乐，须在海里
I love not man the less, but Nature more. 爱我爱你，更爱自然
From these our interviews, in which I steal, 摈弃自我，退身自思，
From all I may be, or have been before, 拥抱自然，灵感如泉，
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal. 面对自然，全无顾忌

More trivia of the movie
Some quotations in the book or the movie

Into the Wild -- Questions to ponder

1. What life’s lesson do you think Chris learned when he came to the end of his life’s journey?
2. What drove Chris into the wild?
3. Do you think he could have survived the wild if he were better prepared?
4. After the reading, what’s your prospective on nature as a whole?
5. What do you think “man’s role in nature” is?
6. Do you identify with any of characters in the book? If so, which one and how?
7. Do you think Chris is selfish or foolish in a way that he disregarded the heartbreak that his actions brought to his family?
8. Why did Chris rejected his parents’ lifestyle?
9. How Chris’s relationship with his parents reflect your own relationship with your children?
10. Do you think if there were anything that his parents could have done to change Chris’s action and decision?
11. What do you think you would want to say to Chris if you were his parents?
12. What are ‘rubber tramps”? What are the influences they had on Chris?
13. Many readers think of him in a negative way. Why? What do you think of him?

由“梅岗城的故事" 想起的。。。。

《The Color of Water》A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother

《水的颜色》又名《The Color of Water》十三个孩子个个大学毕业，其中五个是硕士，三个是博士，毕业后成为医生，律师，教授，工程师，护士，社会工作者等，你或许会以为他们出身于名门望族，其实他们的社会地位卑微的不能再卑微，十三个黑人孩子住在一个小房子里，晚上睡觉一头一尾象仓库的货物一样排列，说是闻脚臭还能忍受，但肚子饿就不容易挺过去了。

露丝母亲的景况让我想起我爸爸的家庭，他们共有九个孩子，八个孩子都有大学学位，唯一一个没上大学的三姐用中专做护士的收入资助父亲读大学，所以爸爸和她感情好得不得了，搞得我妈妈都有些要吃醋。但解放前祖父好歹是上海洋行的大助理，尽管如此，爸爸还是告诉我们他们小时候会争一个窝头吃，可露丝妈妈是个寡妇，小打字员，且不说种族歧视，一个白人妈妈，带着十三个黑人孩子，就连孩子自己都搞不清他们的身份到底是黑人还是白人？想不明白他们怎能不误入歧途又成为社会的精英！

露丝妈妈的父亲是犹太教会中所谓的大先知，但却不是个君子，身上有种种劣行，甚至猥亵自己的女儿，病残的母亲爱她但又无能为力，所以导致露丝在外面寻找温暖，和一个后来成为牧师的黑人结了环婚，但不久就成了寡妇。又碰到后来的丈夫，不幸他不久又撒手人寰，留下她和一堆孩子，使她再度成为寡妇。是什么支撑她一人独自拼杀渡过难关，我想除了露丝妈妈的“在上帝眼里，我们都和水的颜色一样，没有区别” 的座右铭外，母爱一定扮演了重要角色。想象她那些功名就的孩子看望她时宁愿几十个人挤在一个房子里打地铺时，就真的很为露丝妈妈欣慰。

《The Color of Water》by James Mcbride, 获两年度《纽约时报》畅销书。

Last night and beyond

感谢水竹，感谢竹林子，感谢大家，我们又共度了一个愉快的夜晚。遗憾的是几位缺席的朋友未能与我们分享书堆中的快乐，我们也因此未能听到几位的“真知灼见”。
Something to note:
1. Harper Lee has a sister. In the novel Scout has a brother, Jem.
2. Dill in the book is based on her childhood friend, Truman Capote who later became an influential writer himself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truman_Capote
3. The Scopes Monkey Trial http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4723956 as depicted in the courtroom drama movie, Inherit the Wind, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053946/
4. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061735/

Please add anything to this post that you think worth noting. Thanks.

Bookclubs Build Freindship

Book clubs are everywhere and growing, in families, in communities and in libraries! I learned a few things after attending a conference in Philly a month ago and want to share my thoughts about how to grow a bookclub. The best thing I learned though was that we have the best club; we all are very lucky to have a founder and organizer who is doing exactly (and better!) in all aspects for our club. Hooray to Xiaoying for leading the way and to all of us members for following right behind/beside her!

1) Every members of the club must be treated equally and with respect;
2) All members should have equal opportunities to speak, to plan, or to contribute; privledges are given to the presenters and keynote speakers with considerations and consent by all when possible; or at least, efforts are made in that regard;
3) Everyone has a sense of the pride and ownership for the club. It is our garden of friendship!
4) All should respect the rules and guidlines;
5) Be flexible with schedules and structures; inflexibity could kill the spirit, but too lack of group principles and disciplines will effectively put an end to the club. Our leader should do the balancing act!
6) Try to allocate 10 percent of the time for non book related topics such as sharing of travel experience, other reading enjoyment, or frustrating and disappointing incidents;
7) Be generous in spirits and in deeds; offering to help with the convenors and leaders of the club when possible;
8) Be creative, think of games that may serve as ice breaker;
9) Sharing is the spirit of any book club and democracy is the rule. While it is the sharing that builds the community of friends; democracy will protect it;
10) Let's all grow older, wiser in the piles of books, and around a group of friends.

Thanks for listening my self musing!

《梅岗城的故事〉 二月份思考问题

1 谁来简单介绍一下，这本书当时的背景。

2 亚惕先生的官司没打赢，为什么？

3 你是怎样看待“疯子“那个人的？

4 姑姑在其中扮演着什么角色？

5 我们自己是否对肤色不同的人也有看法？

6 对于现在的社会状况，有无种族岐视问题？

7 你觉得黑人团结吗？在海外的中国人抱团吗？

8 看了这本书后，你觉得怎样做个善良和正直的人？

9 下面的几句话你怎样理解？

“我得先忠于自己，才能随顺大众“

“一个人的良知不需要遵守少数服从多数的原则，但一个人的自尊也许要遵守少数服从多数的原则。“

“从一个人做事上就可以看出他的品德来“

生活中的小常识 -- with Yoyo2''s comments

Click on the link.

"我拿着香蕉，试着这个方式拨皮，挺有意思。湿棉签的作用，冰冻信封，生活中的小常识挺多的，不妨你一条一条给我们在读书会上讲讲，做做示范动作."--大雁

Everyone can try and share with us

Two Novels

These are two books we are not going to read togethr but I would like to share with you. Both cover moral issues and are based on couple real events.....

不存在的女儿（The Memory Keeper’s Daughter）
http://www.amazon.com/Memory-Keepers-Daughter-Kim-Edwards/dp/0670034169
一个暴风雪的夜晚医生David不得已亲手为妻子接生，发现双胞胎中的女婴患有唐氏症，不忍面对女儿智障的现实，他让护士将女儿送走，并对妻子谎称女儿夭折。善意的欺骗从此带来了一家人的梦魇，瞬间的起念永久地改变了两个家庭的命运……

二十五年间，妻子不能承受丧女之痛，开始出走、酗酒，红杏出墙。儿子也因为父母的不和而越来越叛逆。而David终日被愧疚纠缠却无法言说，带着一架“记忆守护者”牌相机去寻找女婴、女孩、少女的影子，仿佛要为他那不存在的女儿留下成长的记录。

一直暗恋David的护士Caroline并没有送走女孩，她搬到另一个城市隐姓埋名，以自己的方式背起人生面对社会，给女儿也给自己了一个温暖的家。双胞胎长大成人，多年之后，David和Caroline再次相遇，她对他说：“你逃过了很多心痛，但你也错过了无数的喜悦。”
David的突然过世，使这个深藏了二十五年的秘密裸露在震惊万分的妻子和儿子面前。。。。

姐姐的守护人（My Sister’s Keeper）

为了救患急性骨髓性白血病的女兒Kate， Sara 利用现代医学科技生下了与Kate基因可以完美配型的Anna，从一生下来Anna就开始了无穷无尽的手术，来供应Kate所需的血液、白血球、骨髓、干細胞，最后甚至自己的肾脏，Anna终于忍无可忍，上法庭控告她父母侵犯她的“人身权”，《纽约时报》畅销作家 Picoult从人物不同的角度的来叙述故事的发展，对「爱」有着不同寻常的诠释，她将人与人之间脆弱敏感且又错综复杂的关系刻画得淋漓尽致，将一個极具争议性的话題展现在读者面前。

当今印度尼西亚的女性割礼（附幻灯片）

A Cutting Tradition

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/magazine/20circumcision-t.html?ex=1201496400&en=f3ea2992256cf9f1&ei=5070&emc=eta1