photo credit: kevin dooley

Those of you who have read Book Club Classics for the past few years may remember that I tend to post a holiday giveaway extravaganza every December as a big THANK YOU to all of you who read my reviews.  This year, I am approaching the giveaway a bit differently…  First, instead of me choosing the giveaway books, YOU get to choose whatever books you want…  because I’m giving away a $25.00 gift card from Amazon!

Here’s the catch…  I need a new look for my website and would LOVE my readers’ feedback on which new theme to choose.  Those of you who have completed the survey regarding how to improve my website (link for this survey on the right hand side of the front page) have mentioned that a less cluttered presentation might be nice.  So, new year = new look!  Plus, now that I have moved to the mountains and have a satellite internet connection, I better understand how frustrating a slow-loading, heavy look is.  So, I searched around a bit and found a lighter look that should be quick to load as well as present information in a “cleaner” manner.

Here’s how the giveaway will work…  On December 19th I will re-post the list of the best books I read this past year.  I will also introduce a new look that day — if you want to be in the running for the free gift card, simply leave a comment sharing your impressions of the new look.  Then, a few days later, I will introduce another new look — and you are welcome to leave a comment again and increase your chances for winning the prize.  I will keep each new look for at least a few days — and have at least 5 looks to present.  Then, during the last week of December, I will post a survey so that everyone can vote for their favorite look.

A big thank you in advance for helping me choose a new look!

Another great post from: BOOK CLUB CLASSICS! Thanks for visiting...

Holiday Giveaway Extravaganza: Choose Your Book!!

My Fathers’ Daughterby Hannah Pool

Publication date/ Length: 2009 / 288 pages

Synopsis (from Booklist): Following her mother’s death in childbirth—and the erroneous notation of her father’s death as well—Pool was adopted by a white couple and transplanted from Eritrea. She eventually grew up in middle-class comfort in England, missing the hardships, deprivation, and war in Eritrea. But she also grew up with the fantasy of many adopted children of someday being reclaimed by the birth family, as well as the guilt of being curious about her birth family and seeming ungrateful of the adopted family. In Pool’s case, there were the additional layers of differences in race and nationality. Still, when a biological brother contacted her, she wavered for 10 years before returning the contact. At nearly 30 years old, Pool returned to Eritrea to meet her family and reconnect with the culture of her birth.

Review:  I really enjoyed this memoir!  My sister loaned it to me a few weeks ago, and I couldn’t help but be curious since my niece was adopted from Ethiopia, and I can’t help but wonder what her journey of selfhood will be like.  She is only two and so has no need to consider the concept of “identity” yet.  Her sunny, confident little spirit is so enamoured with ants and flowers and music and dancing and beads, she really has no time to contemplate questions like, “Who am I?” 

But, eventually I imagine she will ask the sorts of questions that make adolescence so difficult for us all…  and I hope her search is only made richer as a result of her two countries and not more complicated. 

Hannah Pool is very generous with the reader as she shares her own heroine’s journey to discover her origins.  Her history is inescapably painful, since it includes a birth mother who died an hour after Hannah’s birth and an adoptive mother who died from an overdose not long after. 

Hannah was born in Eritrea, spent a number of years of her childhood in Norway, and then most of her life in England.  When her brother from Eritrea sends her a letter in London, she waits ten years to respond!  But, when she does, she embarks on a journey with both geographical and personal ramifications that is impossible to put down. 

She meets her birth father as well as many siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and family friends and her experiences getting to know her birth family are fascinating for cultural reasons, too.  Pool is British, and is frequently overwhelmed by the emotional reaction of family members she has never met.  But by the end of her trip, she is irretrivably changed and fundamentally connected to both her birth country, birth family, and her home and family in England.

My only reservation would be that Pool’s story is uniquely tragic — regarding the loss of both of her mothers — and many of her observations regarding the longings of those adopted were presented as universal.  This seems highly unlikely given her horribly specific history, but I truly appreciate that she shared her story and hope to better understand my niece when she embarks on her own heroine’s journey.

Another great post from: BOOK CLUB CLASSICS! Thanks for visiting...

The Sunday Salon: My Father’s Daughter

photo credit: Tambako the Jaguar

Last weekend I received this wonderful list in my inbox…  I hope you enjoy it!  Perhaps a few last minute gift ideas? 

For the Modern Mom 

Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay: And Other Things I Had to Learn as a New Mom by Stefanie Wilder-Taylor
  

For the Green Thumb 

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

For the Advocate

The Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals by Jamie Oliver 

 For the Inquisitor 

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot 

This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection by Carol Burnett 

Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom 

Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual by Michael Pollan 

Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson 

The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell 

Women, Food, and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything by Geneen Roth 

The Hot Mom to Be Handbook: Look and Feel Great from Bump to Baby by Jessica Denay 

For the Giver

 The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein 

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
  

For the Athlete 

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall 

Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child

Another great post from: BOOK CLUB CLASSICS! Thanks for visiting...

Oprah’s 16 Books Mom Will Love

photo credit: laszlo-photo

Here’s what hip, hot and happening in the world of books this week…

• What the Lakers’ are reading?
• Where kids live can affect reading skills
• What everyone’s reading right now…
• What we’ll be reading soon?
• Sean Penn in Water for Elephants?
• Cool uses for books (other than reading)
• Books about food – fiction and nonfiction
• NBCC finalists announced

Another great post from: BOOK CLUB CLASSICS! Thanks for visiting...

Literary News: Jan. 29th

photo credit: annia316 

Hello and happy new year from Flashlight Worthy Book Recommendations – where you can find books so good, they’ll keep you up past your bedtime.  

It seems the book club community has recently discovered my book club recommendations. From the feedback, not only are the list very much enjoyed, but people are clamoring for more.

That’s where you come in. While I’ve read plenty of books, I’m looking to book club members to contribute new lists — themed, annotated lists of highly discussable books. 

Can you name and describe 5+ flashlight worthy, discussable books that follow a theme? Maybe ’7 Great Books that Revolve Around Food’? Or ’6 Women’s Memoirs That Will Start an Argument’. How About ’5 Discussable Novels Set in Africa’?

Take a look at the lists I have and give it some thought. If you’re interested, email me at Info AT flashlightworthy DOT com. Thanks so much and have a great new year!

Peter  (The guy who runs Flashlight Worthy)

http://www.FlashlightWorthyBooks.com

Recommending books so good, they’ll keep you up past your bedtime.

Another great post from: BOOK CLUB CLASSICS! Thanks for visiting...

Open Call for Book Club Recommendations!