We choose books and meeting dates for the next three months. This will allow people to plan their schedules and to get the books from the library if they want to. Here are the titles, the schedule and something about the books.
Life gets busy! Some people show up for the good conversation and haven't read the book yet! We welcome all! And special thanks to Marilyn Johnson for all she does for the bookclub.
Don't forget: You can use the link from our Home Page to Amazon dot com! Anything you buy through this Amazon portal supports Gloria Dei!
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann October 24 at 7 pm.
November: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett December 19: The Hunger Games
In a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed,
weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country
divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives
from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games.
Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the
televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are
forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to
watch. When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim, is selected as the mining
district's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and
her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker who seems to have all
the fighting skills of a lump of bread dough, will be pitted against bigger,
stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives. Collins's
characters are completely realistic and sympathetic as they form alliances and
friendships in the face of overwhelming odds; the plot is tense, dramatic, and
engrossing. This book will definitely resonate with the generation raised on
reality shows like 'Survivor' and 'American Gladiator.' Book one of a planned
trilogy.
Other information
about this book: It will soon be a movie. It is listed as a young adult book,
but is read by readers of difference ages. The Hunger Games has over 50,000
reviews and 250,000 ratings on the goodreads website. Since its initial
release, the novel has been translated into 26 different languages and rights
have been sold in 38 countries. The Hunger Games received a number of
awards and honors. It was named one of Publishers
Weekly's "Best Books of the Year" in 2008
January 23, 2012: Sarah's Key July 1942 marked a
dark period in the history of France where thousands of Jewish families were
rounded up and forcibly kept in the Velodrome d'Hiver. They were then sent off
to transit camps in France such as Drancy, before being packed off to
Auschwitz, a Nazi death camp. What is so unnerving about this whole incident is
that the rounding up and mobilization of Jews for deportation was done by the
French authorities.
Based upon this seldom mentioned, little known piece of French history, author
Tatiana de Rosnay has crafted a well-written novel that alternates between the
past in 1942, and the present. The past centers around a 10 year old Jewish
girl Sarah Strazynski who is forced to go to the Velodrome d'Hiver with her
mother and father, innocently leaving behind a 4 year old brother Michel locked
in a secret cupboard with the assurance that she would return to let him out when
it was safe.
The present revolves around writer Julia Jarmond, a transplanted American who
is married to a frenchman and finds herself being consumed by the story of the
Vel d'Hiv incident.
There is also a movie adaptation of the book.
D. Joy Segal, Rector | Columbus Blvd. & Christian Street | Philadelphia, PA 19147 | (215) 389-1513
