Whiteface Book Club

Review of Infidel

2008-08-28T09:07:00.003-04:00

We all enjoyed reading Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, although "enjoyed" is probably not the correct word considering the topic. It was a page-turner and the author really draws you in to her story. More than anything, it makes you think about the world we live in and what we can do to make sure all people - men and women, no matter what their culture or religion is - are treated humanely and compassionately.

Book Selection for August

2008-08-26T14:27:00.004-04:00

Our reading selection for August is Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Upcoming books:

September - The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
October - The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

Review of The Red Tent

2008-08-26T14:16:00.002-04:00

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant is interesting because it takes a small part of one Biblical story and expands it into this novel, which entails a lot of imagination. I personally found it an intriguing tale and interesting to imagine what a nomadic life-style could have been like in Biblical times. It is also a tragic love story, which is probably why the book is appealing to a lot of (mostly women) readers.

Review of Eat, Pray, Love

2008-08-26T14:12:00.002-04:00

Our group was a bit mixed on Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I personally liked it because it was a light-hearted look at some heavy topics and got me to think more about spirituality and meditation, and it made me want to travel to the places the author visited. Others thought the author didn't do a good job of describing the true nature of some of the countries she visited (her description of Sicily made you not want to go there, but someone in our group who has been there disagreed immensely).

June Meeting Postponed

2008-07-21T13:34:00.002-04:00

Well, most of us in our group had other obligations that popped up in June and not enough of us were able to justify a meeting. So our June selection, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert will be discussed in July, along with this month's selection, The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant.

Our next meeting is Wednesday, July 30. Please check back with us in August for comments on the above two books.

Happy Reading!

May - A Thousand Splendid Suns

2008-05-30T13:38:00.004-04:00

The book selected for May was A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

Everyone in the group thought it was a great book - a real page-turner. Most of us read it in just a few short days.

A lot of the discussion revolved around the treatment of women in various cultures. It is a pity to think that women in Afghanistan had many freedoms under the communist rule of the Soviets, similar to what Western women of today experience, than they do under Taliban rule. The main characters of the story, Mariam and Laila, get thrown into a world completely unknown to them, with truly harrowing experiences under the men who rule and are often powerless to do anything about it.

Khaled Hosseini is a wonderful writer and we were amazed at how beautifully he captured the essence of two strong women and their unbearable circumstances.

This was probably one of our group's favorite books. We also read The Kite Runner a while back, written by the same author and enjoyed that book as well.

Our favorite recipe of the night was Afghani Bolaanee - a potato filled pocket made with egg roll wrappers and fried. Recipe is available on our website.

Book Selection for April - The Innocent Man

2008-05-07T11:24:00.004-04:00

Our reading selection for the month of April was The Innocent Man by John Grisham.

This was the author's first non-fiction book. It centered around the true story of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz, who were convicted of a murder they did not commit. Ron spent 11 years on Death Row before the Innocence Project investigated the case and was able to get both Ron and Dennis freed.

Most people who are familiar with John Grisham's previous works have expressed some disappointment with the book because it simply lays out the details of the murder case. There is no literary achievements here. However, story of how the Williamson and Fritz cases were mishandled by local law enforcement and the assigned legal teams is atrocious and makes for a compelling conversation on how the judicial system is flawed and can be unjust soley due to the personal convictions of a few individuals rather than based on the actual facts. This is an obvious problem throughout the country. Since 1992 when the Innocence Project was established, a total of 216 people have been exonerated in the US, including 16 people on Death Row.

Welcome to Our Online Book Club!

2008-04-20T17:36:00.002-04:00

This is our very first post. We hope you join our club online. No sign ups necessary. No commitments. Just read the book we have selected, read our commentaries and post your own.

April's book selection is The Innocent Man by John Grisham.

Our group will be meeting on April 30 to discuss the book. Commentaries will be posted to this site afterwards. Please feel free to join our group "virtually" by posting your own reviews of the book.

Our official website is www.whitefacebookclub.synthasite.com. Here you will find a list of books we have read this year and last year, along with some background on our group and some of our favorite recipes.