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)