key to the next year of reading

on september 10th 2008 my bookgroup gathered for our annual book selection potluck. one long time member remarked that she recently realized that the group has existed for 20 years! wow- now there's a cause for celebration. I expect there are few book groups that have marked their 20th anniversary.

over the years, the reading group has experienced many changes - even though several of the founding women remain active in the group, as time passes and life goes on, bookwomen have come and bookwomen have gone - but the passion for reading, discussion and sisterhood remains.

as is custom, the september potluck extravaganza was held at jeanne's lovely home. as always the food and wine made spirits soar and fueled a lively discussion of the selection of the books for the upcoming year of reading. in august the group selected food as the theme so everyone came to dinner with piles of books to consider. it was a difficult process, who knew there were so many good books out there where food is a major character? we ended up with a lovely, eclectic array of books and a nice mix of fiction and non-fiction.

the monthly meetings center around a focused discussion of the featured book, however, the host for the monthly meeting also creates a table of treats to stimulate both the senses and the discussion. since our books in this upcoming year center around food I can't wait to see what treats will be in store!

the key for the year of reading is as follows:

october 8 Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses by Isabel Allende host lillian

november 12 Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlien host melody

december 10 Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India by Madhur Jaffrey host carolyn

january 14 Soul of a Chef: The Journey Towards Perfection by Michael Ruhlman host freddy

february 11 The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean host mariel

march 11 A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage host kim

april 8 Pomegranate Soup by Marsha Mehran host susan

may 13 The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food by Judith Jones host marjorie

june 10 Too Many Cooks by Rex Stout host georgeann

july 8 The Passionate Epicure: La Vie et la Passion de Dodin-Bouffant, Gourmet by Marchel Rouff host anne

august 12 Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver host jane

theme day: wing

When books are opened you discover that you have wings.

Helen Hayes (1900-1993), american stage and film actor

be a high flyer read a book!! when you are thinking about buying books think seriously about supporting your local independent bookseller!!

in the cleveland area we still have a few independent bookstores. high on my list is the crooked river reading club the only independent bookshop in downtown cleveland. the proprietor gail is a very knowledgeable, friendly, and community oriented bookseller. I always enjoy chatting with her and always walk away with feeling happier and feeling as if I've learned something that will enhance my life! gail is most happy to help you find just the right book and will happily place a special order when she doesn't have the book you desire in stock. although I'm trying hard to use the library instead of buying books for my own reading pleasure, when I give gifts, I still prefer to give a book - when you give a book you give someone the gift of flight!

crooked river reading club is located in the galleria at erieview at 1301 E 9th St. click here to find your way.

a relatively new independent bookstore in cleveland is visible voice books located at 1023 kenilworth avenue in the tremont neighborhood of cleveland. visible voice sponsored this year's bloomsday event and it was the first time I visited the bookstore. I wish it was in my neighborhood, I'd be in all the time - for is is way, way more than simply a bookstore. check out the link and see all the happening stuff happening at visible voice! to find your way there click here

since I just got back for a few days in nyc, I thought I'd mention another wonderful indy bookshop we stumbled on in the park slope neighborhood of brooklyn. unnameable books featuring both new and used books. it's located at 456 bergen street, between 5th and flatbush

theme day: home

Home: A Collaboration of Thirty Authors & Illustrators

1992 Reading Rainbow Books.

"Thirty authors and illustrators contribute original stories, poems, and artwork that explore and illuminate the theme of belonging, be it to a physical place or a family group. Thought-provoking and...first-rate. Their beautiful words and magnificent art affirm the importance--and joy--of having a place of one's own. "

Notable 1992 Children's Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC)

A House is a House for Me

1978, Viking.

Verse by Mary Anne Hoberman
Illustrated by Betty Fraser.

In lilting, rhythmic verse, this modern classic describes all kinds of houses - some familiar, some surprising - but at the same time does much more. Filled with hundreds of meticulously drawn everyday objects presented in delightfully unexpected ways, the book itself is a house for the reader's imagination. Winner of a National Book Award, it was the first collaboration between Hoberman and Fraser.

"A brisk, even headlong rhyme plunges us into a swirling cluster of images… an overwhelming profusion of examples of houses. It is an astonishing book, one of the best of the year." The New York Times

"Here is a wonderfully rhythmic tale with repetitive lines that kids will be singing along with as the story goes on. The fun of the many hiding, snuggling, pretending places kids dream up is captured in this book." Best Books, Redbook Magazine

theme day: birthday

best birthday book ever! gary goldschneider, joost elffers' the secret language of birthdays.

each day of the year has two pages (and I'm talking big pages for it's a big book) devoted to the secrets that lie in store in understanding what it 'means' to be born on a certain day.

each day has it's own personal 'theme' for instance I was born on a day with the theme of 'the day of controlled movement,' the book also provides a list of famous (and infamous) people who were also born on your day - my birthday twins include the likes of: herber marcuse, etienne-marcel decroux, edgar degas, george mcgovern, lizzie borden, samuel colt, natalya bessmertnova, illie nastase, and evio!

there are special health considerations for people who are 'born on that day' - my health advice states that people born on my birthday "should take special care of their arms and legs...." kind of freaky considering the third paragraph of this.

there's also some very good advice. my special advice is: "Though you must bring your emotions under control, never lose your spontaneity and insist on freedom for yourself. Don't worry about appearing niave; be more forthright. Beware of putting others on a pedestal or investing them with your own emotions." wow, more freaky-ness!

but my favorite is my personal (well my and everyone that shares the day) meditation:

Most of what we need is quite close at hand.

I'll share this meditation with all of you, if you'd like!

theme day: shoes!

You know the old woman
who lived in a shoe?
And had so many children
she didn't know what to do?

I think if she lived
in a little shoe-house--
That little old woman
was surely a mouse!

Beatrix Potter (1866-1943)
from Apple Dapply's Nursery Rhymes

the theme for this week is shoes!

I recently ran across mention of an interesting sounding coffee table book entitled shoes: a history from sandals to sneakers the book was written by giorgio riello and was published in 2006.

gentle bridges

"What is the essence of the mind? Could computers ever have consciousness? Can compassion be learned? When does consciousness enter the human embryo? These are just some of the many questions that were discussed during a historic meeting that took place between several prominent Western scientists and the Dalai Lama. Gentle Bridges is a chronicle of this extraordinary exchange of ideas." (from product description)

the dalai lama has always been most interested in building bridges between the insights of buddhist philosophical thinking and scientific endeavors and theory. I've read that every year his holiness invites groups of scientists to his home in dharamsala to discuss their work and how buddhism might contribute to it.

there are many books out that explore the intersection of buddhism and science. in addition to Gentle Bridges the bookmouse has found these interesting sounding books:

The Universe in a Single Atom by Dalai Lama
Contemplative Science: Where Buddhism and Neuroscience Converge by B. Alan Wallace
The Joy Of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness by Eric Swanson, Rinpoche Yongey Mingyur, Yongey Mingyur, Daniel (FRW) Goleman

mouse guard

how fitting that the book currently needing archiving sports orange cover art.

the bookmouse joins other bloggers who are celebrating the color orange today.

the book mouse guard fall 1152 was published in 2007 (and the paperback came out in 2008) it contains six issues of david petersen's captivating series. in david's world brave mice battle forces, conditions and predators that create a constant state of code orange!

apparently there are mouse guard action figures, good thing I don't have a problem taking care of my inner child!

p.s. the color of the bookmouse will return to a non-orange state soon.....