Sunday, July 29, 2007

When the Book Club Meets...

In our neighborhood there seems to be a sense of calm and sometimes it even seems empty. But when you look a little deeper, you will find we are like an ant hill, busy and out of sight.

The Ladies of Orenco Station Book Club

We didn't always live on Mango Street. Before that we lived on Loomison the third floor and before that we....
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

The Orenco Station book club met last week. It is not earth shaking news but it very interesting. We are a group of woman that gather once a month to discuss a book and how it relates to our own lives or how we find a way to connect with the book that was chosen. Because I am gone for a large part of the year I only get to attend sporadically. But each time I am struck by the diversity of this group and yet the sameness of our experiences.

I am from a lower middle class family and was raised in Eastern Oregon. Others of us were raised in British Columbia, Mississippi, the mid west, the east coast and so it goes. Some of us lived very closely with other cultures and they became a part of our lives. Others lived in cities were cultures were divided out and crossing those lines was not acceptable. But we all share, it seems, the same set of values. And we all love books!!!

One of our group will write a review for the book so I won't talk about it today. But I did want to share the reaction of our group. One lady tagged all the things she loved about the book.

It was a rainbow of a book when she finished. Another couldn't relate at all. So, as with anything we do, we all understand that because we love something, everyone else is not required to love it too.

We are currently out of books so will meet next month to replenish our list. Barnes and Noble must love groups like ours. Powell's is my choice personally because they have a great selection of used books. But wherever the books come from, they are always a challenge and worthy of our attention. But most of all they are relevant!!! I really love that.




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