August Meeting

It's a potluck get-together in Kay's beautiful backyard on Tuesday, August 16th.  We start the potlucks at 6:30.  This is the last one of the year.  Come whether you have something to share or not.  There's always plenty. 

Our book is the NAZI Officer's WIFE by Edith Hahn Beer, with Susan Dworkin.  This is a remarkable memoir of a Holocaust survivor.  We'll have a lot to discuss about courage, choices, survival, and heritage.  Thankfully, despite the risk it posed to her life, Edith saved every document she had, as well as photographs she took inside labor camps.  These are now part of the collection at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and some are included in the book.  They have also filmed an A&E Special Presentation about the memoir, so if you don't have time to read the book, you can Netflicks it.

The Wilder Life

Here's a book that I'm interested in reading.
The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure, nonfiction

Like many women, McClure grew up loving the Little House on the Prairie books.  In adulthood, her adoration blossomed into all-out obsession.  This book details her often comical quest to connect with the spirit of Laura Ingalls Wilder as she travels to the author's homesteads and tackles pioneer tasks like churning butter.  By journey's end, she's discovered the authentic beauty in Wilder's far-from-storybook real life.

Wouldn't it be fun to go on a book club field trip to the author's homesteads.  I think there's a Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum somewhere close to the banks of Plum Creek in Minnesota.  We could stop and pick up LuRene.  Our trip might be comical too, but with all the pioneer stock in our book club, we wouldn't find churning butter all that hard.

Three Cups of Tea Update

Some of you probably read the article in the Statesman on Saturday, May 7th.  I found it irritating.  Here it is in part:

Two Montana legislators sue Three Cups of Tea author.  They claim they were duped into buying the best-selling book and donating to his charity based on lies.  The complaint, which tells only one side of a legal argument, alleges Mortenson and CAI (Central Asia Institute) induced state Rep. Michele Reinhart of Missoula to buy the book and Rep. Jean Price of Great Falls to donate to the charity.  Reinhart and Price claim Mortenson and the charity engaged in fraud, deceit, breach of contract and recketeering under a statute normally used for prosecuting mobsters.

The Democratic legislators are seeking class-action status, saying the lawsuit potentially could be joined by millions of people who bought Mortenson's books, heard his speeches or donated to his charity.

Reinhart heard Mortenson speak at the University of Montana in 2007 and bought Three Cups of Tea in 2009.  Price heard a presentation by Mortenson or CAI in Great Falls in 2009 and made a donation "relying on the truthfulness of his statements," according to the complaint.

Not only am I irritated, but I think Montana may have legislators that are even lamer than some of ours.  I'm just saying.

Three Cups of Tea in April

I had hoped to have my furniture rearranged before book group last week.  I didn't, but I should have.  We had a great turn out and it was cozy at my house.  Thanks to 60 minutes for its timely attack on our author, we had a lot to discuss.  Many, many thanks to Kay's daughter-in-law who came and shared her experiences reading this book with a class of fourth graders, and participating in Pennies for Peace. 

The book is one that changes lives.  It's astounding to see what one person or small things like pennies can do.  The fourth graders at a low socio-economic school were able to buy uniforms, books, and supplies for 8 students for a year, plus extra pennies that would buy pencils and erasers.  Every one of us can contribute in some way , to some thing, and accomplish great things. 

This book also made us think more globally, with respect for different cultures.  I wanted to learn more about more places and people.  I was also impressed with the points made in the book where education was key, but more specifically, the education of girls and how women are the power of change in their villages and countries.  What Relief Society school teacher wouldn't love this?  Go Girl Power!   

Three Cups of Tea Controversy

Pam asked if we would be discussing this at book group tomorrow.  I haven't watch 60 Minutes for years, but I should have last night.  I searched on the internet tonight and there are pages and pages of articles, blogs, and comments.  You can read a transcript of the 60 Minutes piece too.  It is going to put a whole new spin on our discussion, and those of you that regularly attend realize that our discussions often spin in crazy, wandering, directions.  If you just want a little background, here's a link to a newspaper article in the Bozeman paper where Greg Mortenson lives.

Mortenson Under Fire from 60 Minutes

Periodic Tales

I saw a book review in the Statesman that I thought would be interesting.  Hugh Aldersey-Williams has been trying to collect pure samples of every element known to humankind.  He wants to see and feel the elements that otherwise seem to exist only as abbreviations on the periodic table.  He shares his passion with his latest book Periodic Tales:  A Cultural History of the Elements, From Arsenic to Zinc.  

Few people give elements a second thought outside of chemistry class, but each one has an interesting story.   The quest for gold drove some cultures to explore the world, while other cultures dismissed it as useless, and Chlorine changed the way nations waged war.  Aldersey-Williams writes about how each element was discovered, explains its place in human history and describes the cultural changes it wrought.  Readers don't need a strong science background to appreciate the stories.

I don't read a lot of nonfiction, but this interests me.  It's described as a charming look at the building blocks that are all around us; told with simplicity and elegance.  (Just a little review, in case anyone is interested.) 

Two Related Books

For those of you who have extra reading time, there are two more books that relate to our April selection, Three Cups of Tea.  I haven't read either of them, but they are both highly recommended.  I'll put the Amazon links here so that you can read the reviews.

The first is The Dressmaker of Khair Khana:  Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon.    The Dressmaker of Khair Khana tells the incredible true story of this unlikely entrepreneur who mobilized her community under the Taliban. Former ABC News reporter Gayle Tzemach Lemmon spent years on the ground reporting Kamila's story.  These women are not victims; they are the glue that holds families together; they are the backbone and the heart of their nation.  This book moves beyond the headlines to transport you to an Afghanistan you have never seen before. This is a story of war, but it is also a story of sisterhood and resilience in the face of despair. Kamila Sidiqi's journey will inspire you, but it will also change the way you think about one of the most important political and humanitarian issues of our time.

The second book is also set in the Himalayan Mountains, but on the other side of India in the country of Nepal.  Little Princes:  One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal by Conor Grennan tells the story of an adventurer who begins a year long trip volunteering in an orphanage where he is stunned to find out that the children were not orphans at all.  Child traffickers were promising families in remote villages to protect their children from the civil war—for a huge fee—by taking them to safety. They would then abandon the children far from home, in the chaos of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu.  For Conor, what began as a footloose adventure becomes a commitment to reunite the children he had grown to love with their families, but this would be no small task. Little Princes is a true story of families and children, and what one person is capable of when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds. At turns tragic, joyful, and hilarious, Little Princes is a testament to the power of faith and the ability of love to carry us beyond our wildest expectations.

It Will Change Your Life

The selection for April is Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson with David Oliver Relin.  The writing is not the best - a little wordy and drawn out - but it is a book that will change your life.  It is the true story of one man's mission to promote peace, one school at a time.  If this version is too slow for you, there is an edition written for middle school students, a condensed version.  (There is also a picture book.)  Many schools or classrooms are reading this book as a project, and raising funds to help build schools.  If you're not hooked yet, here are a couple quotes from the back of the book:

"Here (in Pakistan and Afghanistan), we drink three cups of tea to do business; the first you are a stranger, the second you become a friend, and the third, you join our family, and for our family we are prepared to do anythin--even die." --Haji Ali, Korphe Village Chief

The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his remarkable humanitarian campaign in the Taliban's backyard.

You can also go to www.threecupsoftea.com

You Might Be Interested

We can't read everything in book club. Sometimes a book isn't exactly right for RS, and will never make our list, but is worthy of a good read. Except for an occasional biography, I never choose to read nonfiction, yet now I'm completely enthralled with Outliers, and want to pass on this recommendation too. The Geography of Bliss was an award winning book in 2008, written by a former NPR foreign correspondent, Eric Weiner. He is smart and funny and insightful. It's easy to make connections with the places he travels to in this book - I had been to Switzerland, Ty had been to Nepal (the author visits neighboring Bhutan), my friend vacationed in Iceland (after she saw it on The Amazing Race) - and these connections draw you in to his theories on why different places are happier. The book is not for RS (warning, warning) because: He visits the Netherlands and uses pot there, which is legal, but not in line with the Word of Wisdom, and in the Bhutan culture, they hang something that might be offensive (if it wasn't so funny) from their houses to ward off evil spirits. The book is pretty free of swear words, except I remember there were a couple right toward the end. I think he was quoting someone, but I can't remember for sure. You actually could skip the chapters on the Netherlands and Bhutan and still get a lot of pleasure, good quotes, and insight out of this book. I give it two thumbs up, and I really want Nancy Butler to read it.

BSU President, Bob Kustra, interviewed the author a couple weeks ago on his radio program, New Horizons. You can listen to that broadcast at http://radio.boisestate.edu/NewHorizons.html. You can read more about the author and his book here. If you visit Eric Weiner's web site, be sure to go to the page 'Your Happiest Place' and check that out. (I'm really just trying to see how linking works. I hope it does.)

March Preview

We have chosen a nonfiction book, Outliers - The Story of Success, for our March book. The author, Malcolm Gladwell, is very insightful, and thinks about everything in a unique way. He's also a great story teller, so if you usually don't read nonfiction, you'll still be entertained by this book. Gladwell defines outliers as people whose achievements fall outside normal experience. He explains what the Beatles and Bill Gates have in common, why Asians are so good at math, and why you don't want a South Korean pilot. Stories of successful people usually focus on intelligence and ambition. Malcolm Gladwell argues that the real story is more complex, and you have to look at things like family, birthplace, birth date, culture, class, and even ancestry. We're anxious to discuss this book and how the ideas that are presented relate to us, and how we can succeed in the gospel. Our discussion will be at Robyn Brocksome's house, on March 16th. We're planning on a potluck dinner starting at 6:30.

This is a picture of the author, Malcolm Gladwell, not Robyn.