In Progress: Cutting for Stone

Well, we haven't yet discussed this novel at our next book club meeting, so I won't spill the beans about it, but I am loving this story. I find myself stealing away to read a chapter or two at a time.

There's nearly a foot of snow on the ground here, and I am loving the trip to Addis Ababa that is the basis of this novel. To hear of the warm breezes and lush bougainvillea is a lovely, welcomed treat. I love novels that transport me to far away places.

I'm heading to Las Vegas tomorrow, and will take this one with me on the plane. It's about a 5 hour flight and I plan to polish this one off...it's been a pleasure so far. I'll write more upon my return.

A Post from My BFF Katherine Shea!!!



Best thing to come out of McGill
was my friendship with K.

Katherine is one of my best friends. We met back in first year at McGill University in Montreal. In the old Douglas Hall residence, she lived just across the lounge from me, and we became fast friends. We had a blast together when we were young. We'd go out dancing until all hours in places like The Lizard Lounge, and other fun night clubs. We made lots of great memories, most of which will never grace the pages of ANY blog!

Douglas Hall, McGill University

Although I didn't stay at McGill for the entire 4 years
(I left early due to aforementioned activities), Katherine and I have maintained a close friendship ever since. We have lots of great memories and I hope that we will have lots more in the future.

One of our common points, is our love of reading. When we get together, we always go talk about what we're reading or what we've uncovered. I recently asked Katherine about her favorite books, so she sent along this list, and I'd like to include this note from Katherine on my blog. I hope you enjoy some of Katherine's suggestions...I know there are several that she recommended to me, and I have since enjoyed! 

"Hi Claire,



Melissa, Me, Katherine & Alex
Oct 15, 2005

This is just a running list of books I love .. but my top ten? Hmmm…that’s really hard because I classify them differently in my head – Anne of Green Gables is from my childhood so I’ll always love them … Harry Potter series were the first books I shared with the kids and we talked about them incessantly ….. hmmm….some are sad and touching.. others I can’t stop thinking about – I’ve taken a stab at a top ten list for adults:
 
1. The Year of Magical Thinking (extremely sad but so touching and beautifully written..)
2. Touch
3. Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand
4. The Descendants
5. The Book Thief
6. The Kite Runner (I loved this one too!!!)
7. Sarah’s Key (Ditto)
8. Room (not a favorite but was entertaining)
9. The Help (fell asleep during the movie)
10. The Glass Castle (read it, but have forgotten the story line--hence the blog!)

You can include this on your blog in any way, shape or form you wish – I’m always happy to share the books I love! The Prodigal Summer isn’t on this list nor is The Red Tent because I only started this list about 2 years ago & I read those books a while ago. A Fine Balance and Such A Long Journey are two more I love but I read them ages ago … and The Poisonwood Bible …
 
Love
K"

I love you too Katherine!!!

CFUW and A Night with Robert Hough

Last night, I attended the CFUW Vaughan Chapter's Annual Winter Fundraising Dinner at the local Woodbridge Legion Hall. The night consisted of a hearty roast beef dinner followed by a presentation by Robert Hough, author of Dr. Brinkley's Tower.

Although I haven't yet read this novel, I couldn't help picking up an autographed copy of the fictional novel. It sounds like a fun tale about a larger-than-life conman from the 1930's.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Here's a little info about CFUW:

The Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) is a voluntary, non-profit, self-funded, non-partisan, non-governmental organization, which serves to improve access to education for women, for peace, justice, human rights and to support programs that improve the environment. This dedicated group is about 10,000 members strong in 112 clubs across the country.

If you’d like more information on becoming a member or to learn about the work done by the CFUW, visit www.cfuw.org.

The Butterfly House by Marcia Preston

Originally, I had planned to save this for summer reading, (see Dec's post), but I changed my mind. Having just finished Wally Lamb's novel, I was in the mood for something a bit lighter. (i.e. no killing, raping, cheating, insanity etc). I guess I avoided a couple of those  topics, but got another bid dose of the "neurosis"...

The Butterfly House was given to me at my Book Club's Christmas book exchange. It's not a book that I would have chosen myself, but that's why I looked forward to reading it! A Harlequin book (not the romance type), I have to admit having never read anything from this publishing house. That's the beauty of the book club...I am willingly forced to try new genres and read authors that I would have previously dismissed.

Here's a quick summary as per Goodreads.com:

"As a child, Bobbie Lee found refuge from her lonely life at her best friend's house. Rockhaven was a place of magic, colored by the butterflies that Cincy Jaines's mother, Lenora, studied. Her friendship with Cincy and Lenora soon became Bobbie's compass. But the tangled intimacies between them began to unravel, and in one night, Rockhaven became a place of unspeakable tragedy. Now, a decade later, the long shadows of that night continue to haunt Bobbie, despite her attempts to hide from the past. When a stranger with ties to Lenora and Cincy arrives at her doorstep, she is forced to confront the memories she has tried to avoid, and the dark secret at the heart of the tragedy slowly emerges"


Marcia Preston

This novel is an easy read. It's about two childhood friends who grow up together and both suffer from absent fathers. Their mothers are both struggling financially and they both have very little material wealth. While Bobbie Lee's mom struggles with severe alcoholism, Cynthia's mom takes on the nurturing role for both girls. Lenora is an unemployed butterfly researcher who conducts experiments on her sun porch. The central metaphor is thus established between Bobbi Lee's coming of age, and the butterfly's metamorphosis.

There is an interesting, brief interview with this author at: http://www.trashionista.com/2008/06/author-interv-1.html

The author also has a website that shows she is quite prolific: http://www.marciapreston.com/

Anyhow, this novel has left me yearning for a strong, stable and intelligent protagonist, who isn't loosing her mind, temper, husband or morality. As you can tell with my reading list, it's been a while since I've enjoyed a strong, solid female character.  Not sure if I'm on track with my next novel, but I'll let you know!