Agatha Christie's The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side

 As a place marker I will say we did have a book discussion about The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side and watched the movie. I think we had the book discussion on May 19th. 

Lorraine brought slider and French Macrons, Sierra made them they were strawberry with cheesecake middles, Kris did a special tossed salad and a pan of Rice Krispy treats. Merri brought fresh pineapple and I brought some kind of dessert.

Kris de-catified her basement for the allergic Lorraine who attracts cat hair like a magnet.

As usual we enjoyed the food a long with a book discussion. Once again I have waited too long for my memory to recall any points of our discussion.

This was the second time I have read this book but it had been a long time between readings so it was almost like I had never read it before though I did know the basic story.

In recent news there was some discussion of the text of Agatha Christie's books to "rework to remove potentially offensive language"(The Guardian). So we thought we should read one while they were still original to the author. I don't know if this selection was on the reworking block.

The next selection is Emma by Jane Austin.

Discussion of The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

 We held our discussion for this book on April 7th.

I forgot to make a post for this selection. Wow, if I don't do it right away I forget any details of the discussion which is sort of what happened this time.

If any of the members feel inclined to make a mention of this book discussion you are welcome.

I thought the book itself was a worthwhile book and would recommend it to anyone interested in the subject matter of the Holocaust and the stories that came out of that history.

At the time I was reading of Corrie Ten Boom's arrest/capture when she was sick in bed, I also was very sick with a bad cold and could imagine how she felt at that time and how hard and uncomfortable she was. The book was one miracle after another, even the fleas were a miracle by being so infested that the guards avoid coming to their barracks which allowed the scriptures studies possible. The changes in the women living together in close quarters from contentious to kind to one another because of the bible studies.

Being currently in the age range of Corrie, I wondered how she was able to withstand the trauma, torture and hard work required of her in the encampment. A story of sheer will to live and help when the costs were so high.

The next book selection is The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side by Agatha Christie.

Holes by Louis Sachar Book Discussion

 The snow was coming down like big heavy cornflakes, when the Busy Gals Classic Reading Society gathered to discuss the book Holes by Louis Sachar. By our meeting March 10th our book group has pretty much had enough winter and the weather conditions described in this book couldn't have been farther on the weather spectrum. Another winter storm was setting upon our area and one member 'on call' would have to miss due to an emergency delivery when a coworker saved her a two hour trip which allowed her to join our discussion. Our numbers were a skimpy three after I showed up and eventually rose to max out at five with the return of Stefanie (on-call) and Peggy Ann who had family circumstances keeping her away for several months. 

Warm and inviting as always our host Kris has been sharing her home the last few times. She once said she prefers to host because she doesn't have to go out in the winter weather.

Great food as always and a small celebration for Lorraine's upcoming birthday sparked off our evening of catching up and discussing the book.

Our birthday girl, who is always an interesting source of information shared the importance of a good first line in a book. And as a librarian, has found there are games that test her student's knowledge.  Also, demonstrating the important aspects of drawing a reader into the story by the first sentence of the book. She also alerted us to the importance of an accurate description of the book's expected contents in order to make a decision on whether to read it or not.

"There is no lake at Camp Green Lake." This is the first sentence of the book Holes. I bet you knew that. The five of us at book group loved this book. The characters are more colorful than the scene set at camp Green Lake. The movie is very close to the book. It should be, it's own author was part of the cast. Louis Sachar as Mr. Collingwood, from the Katherine Barlow scenes at Green Lake when there was a lake.

I got it wrong. I thought he was one of the lawmen. With the author on set it only seems right that he  would have had oversight on how the film was produced.

I thought it was a great story that connected the past with the present in an ancestral/genealogical way. I always enjoy a book that fills in the gaps with an extra story that helps to foreshadow what a reader hopes might come to light later on in the book.

I liked how Stanley genuinely seemed to care about Zero and really didn't seem to blame Zero for his incarceration at Camp Green Lake, forgiving without a second thought. It made forgiving a lot easier because of the humble nature of Zero and his willingness to make amends even before the truth about the shoes came out.

Our next selection is a book we have been talking about reading almost since the beginning. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom.