I was house bound for several days during the snow and I had bought a new TV. So, I took the time to relax and watch some favorite movies one of which was Love, Actually. I realized this morning as I read through my Valentine's from you lovely ladies "That in truth Love is Actually, all around." A friend of mine had posted on FB "Nothing like Valentine's Day to make you feel like a loser loner." But, for me nothing could be further from the truth. It's not even Valentine's Day yet and I have a rose and 13 loving messages from people I can call on any time of the day or night for anything! My life is richly blessed with women who never say no to an adventure! Who make me laugh or hold my hand when I cry. We can party with the best of them or hold deeply spiritual and intellectual conversations. No loser loners among us! Instead of dreading Valentine's Day because I am single I am grateful for the day so that I can give and receive the greatest love - of friendship!
On that note, we were missing Pam who is at home recovering from a double mastectomy. She is doing great, however, with a clean pathology report. And she appreciates all the outpouring of love and support she received and we know she'll be back with us soon better than ever! Laura was also missing due to a ski vacation. However, we were able to Skype her in for the discussion portion and what a cool thing that was! Now that we know how that works no one ever really need miss a book club again!
This month, in honor of Valentine's Day, we decided to have book club in our pajamas and have brunch for dinner! It was a great idea. I'd suggest we do it (pj's) every month but then I guess it would not be special after a while. Diana made whole wheat French toast with real Maple Syrup. Lis made 3 cheese & tomato grill cheese sandwiches. Janie brought sausage rolls and Barb brought Turkey in a Blanket, Carla G brought fruit, Darby brought Banana Bread & Terry brought a breakfast casserole. Lou brought Truffles delivered from Chicago. Who knew there was a correct way to eat a Truffle? Turns out it's a little like wine tasting. I might not get the order right but first you lick it, then you sniff it, next you taste it then you breathe in and out. There were a lot of different flavors mixed with the chocolate and they were Truffliscious! Lis also offered Mimosa's and I brought the Bloody Mary's. Arnora brought us each a pink rose and there were a couple of bottles of wine and, of course, coffee.
We exchanged our Valentine's at the end of the discussion and everyone took them home to read at their leisure. I read mine over coffee this morning with a piece of dark chocolate - sitting in my bed and feeling so special!
Our book this month was a "Teen" selection offered by Lou, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret". Hugo is a young boy who lives in the walls of a train station in Paris. His father has died in a fire at the museum leaving him in the care of an uncle who also dies. Hugo's uncle was the clock keeper for the train stations many clocks and on his disappearance Hugo maintains the clocks in order to maintain his secret of living on his own. After the fire, an automaton falls into Hugo's hands and he hides it in his quarters and steals pieces to try and fix it. The automaton is a kind of robot and this one is poised to write or draw something. Hugh is steeling from Papa George Mileis, a gruff owner of a toy booth in the station and Hugo strikes up a friendship with Papa George's god-daughter, Isabelle. There is plenty of mystery in the story as Papa George and Hugo find their connection and the mystery of the automaton is solved. In the end it turns out that Papa George was one of the first people involved in the making of silent movies and the automaton belonged to him before it ended up at the museum.
The book is highly illustrated with beautiful black and white sketches that are part of the narrative and work much like a silent film where the reader must fill in the gaps where the pictures lack narrative.
Our January book was The Book Thief and our first chapter in Hugo is titled "The Thief". Both of the protagonists are orphaned children. The theme of the orphan child runs throughout a great portion of children's literature for several reasons. First, parents are authority figures who restrict the very kind of adventure the story is trying to tell. Moving the parents out of the way forces the child on to "the hero's journey" where he/she must use wit and wile to survive and to navigate from childhood to adulthood.
Another theme in Hugo is that of time. The clocks are a symbol for the passing of time, going back in time - at one point time is running out for Hugo. Hugo's friend, Isabelle, holds the key to automaton. She has taken it from her god-mother but doesn't know what it belongs to. This is the key to the beginning of solving the mystery when Hugo recognizes the key might fit. Denise mentioned that the automaton was reminding her of Disney and an exhibit there of the President's interacting with each other and Arnora wanted to know if it was like Chucky Cheese!
This book was a bit of a departure from what we normally read but everyone enjoyed it. Another interesting fact is that Brian Selznick is the author and nephew of the great film director David O. Selznick. And, Martin Scorsese is in production with the film. The book rated a 3.81 over all with one "I really liked it a lot". However, book club was off the charts this month! Happy Valentine's Day ladies and I will conclude by adding Lis' poem below!
Next months book is The Clockwork Three. We've decided this year to try and pick book whose themes "tag" off one another.
P.S. Barb is in search of a new name and our brains are positively buzzing with options! Stay tuned for further updates on that!
Valentine, As I sat and thought what to write
On each card, I felt how precious our bookclub and
Each one of you is to me, together we are STNM.
Books
A passion that some already had, some grew to love more.We share and discuss.
They brought us together - the stories
Of lives, the tragedies and comedies.Stories
Of the books - we found reflect us, walk with us.
Each one of us rides her own wave, her own loveliness, her own qualities
But together! We pull each other along.Tapestries
We are like a tapestry, all different but
We intertwine till the pieces fit, holding together strong, piece by peace
Into a beautiful design of our lives, our tragedies and comedies.
Where would I be without you?
You are my family - no Better - you are my friends.
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