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