SeniorNet Books

---My Name Is Red ~ Orhan Pamuk ~ March 1    "My Name Is Red. At once a fiendishly devious mystery, a beguiling love story, and a brilliant symposium on the power of art. A transporting tale set amid the splendor and religious intrigue of sixteenth century Istanbul." The Publisher



---Founding Mothers ~ Cokie Roberts ~ March 1     I'm delighted to announce that tomorrow is March 1 and our Founding Mothers book discussion will officially begin.
The fireplace has a big stack of firewood and a warm fire is crackling. Cocoa is simmering gently and the wonderful scent of herbal tea is in the air. The madeira is about to be uncorked, so have your wine goblet ready! Grab your copy of Founding Mothers and join in tomorrow! ~ Marnie



Be in on the ground level for the selection of the next Great Books adventure. Vote on our short list by March 12! The discussion of the winning title will begin on April 15.   VOTE HERE



Poetry ~ New    During March the Poetry people will be reading and enjoying the poems of the Irish Poet, Seamus Heaney, Nobel Prize Winner in 1995.
"I have chosen a small section from one of the three books by Heaney I have in front of me. When you read it you will know why I chose this one, It is part of longer poem which he calls 10 Glosses. I am not sure what that means but it is divided into 10 separate thoughts and I chose the second one." ~ anna



Mystery Corner
    Check out the Mystery Corner and find many good suggestions about what mysteries are best.



PBS Program Club: Windsor Castle A Royal Year: The Ranger: March 1: ~9:00/8:00
A gentle reminder that the last session of Windsor Castle A Royal Year is March 1.



Looking to the future.


April 1 ~ The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ~ by Robert Louis Stephenson    "Most of us are familiar with the novel and can recall the two personalities Stevenson created. One good. One bad. As I read the novel, I couldn't help but theorize that perhaps this story was this the author's way of expressing belief that a bit of Mr. Hyde was hiding in all of us." ~ Bill H



April 1 ~ Nominations will be taken for May 15 read of newest book club...Books with "HOUSE" in the title.



May 1 ~ "His Excellency, George Washington" by Joseph Ellis



July 1 ~ "Teacher Man" by Frank Mc Court



August 1 ~ "Undaunted Courage" by Stephen Ambrose



September 1 ~ "The Poe Shadow" by Matthew Pearl

SeniorNet Books

February 1, 2006

BookBytes

This is why I love RATW. We are being taken out of our comfort zone. We go to new places and meet new people. It's just really fun. Just think of how many places we have not gone to yet: Czechoslovakia, Africa, Poland, West Indies, Germany, etc. As the young people say "This is just too cool." ~ ~ ~ From Hats -- in RATW

---Pomegranate Soup ~ Marsha Mehran ~ Book Club Online ~ February 1st

I just finished Pomegranate Soup. What a delight. Now I'm scanning and editing the recipes. I remember 60 some years ago, just about every girl in 5th and 6th grade would come to school with half a pomegranate and a small supply of toothpicks, and there they'd sit on our desks, covered with wax paper, until recess time when we'd take them outside and dig and eat those little seeds one by one. ~ Pedln

---PBS Program Club Current Discussion: African American Lives ~ Feb. 1 ~ 9:00/8:00 P.M.

Greetings: This upcoming PBS series "provides a life-changing journey for a diverse group of highly accomplished African Americans: a neurosurgeon, a TV host, an astronaut, a music entrepreneur, a sociologist, a movie star, a minister and a comedian." (PBS PREVIEW) ~ Babi

Continuing Discussions.

---Origin of Species ~ Charles Darwin

---Rembrandt's Eyes by Simon Schama ~ 1/28/ -2/5/06

---Story of Civilization ~ Will & Ariel Durant ~ Volume IV, Part 9 ~ Nonfiction

Curious Minds opens at mid-month. The topic this month will be The Family Portrait. Check the Culture section for the opening.

---

From the Classics Section.

Today the Latin 101 students are reading about the eruption of Vesuvius and the destruction of the city of Pompeii in Latin, in a sort of You Are There experience. It is very moving. Pompeii is hot news in 2006: the current issue of The Smithsonian Magazine cover story is on the eruption of Vesuvius and features artifacts of the current Field Museum Exhibit Pompeii in Chicago.

If you would like to experience what it was like to be there in the original language see our Classics Project pages and get on the waiting list for September's classes today!

Latin Courses

---

Coming in March

---Founding Mothers ~ Cokie Roberts ~ March 1
Come join us in reading, what Cokie Roberts calls “a book of stories –stories of the women who influenced the Founding Fathers.” ~ JoanK & Marni



---Read Around the World Book Club
My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk, [Turkey] won in the vote for the March selection. Check ---Read Around the World Book Club for the opening of My Name is Red discussion.

---

BOOK BYTES

---Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress ~ Dai Sijie ~ RATW ~ Book Club Online ~ January 2
The power of books - to excite, to enlighten, to inspire - serves as the theme of this engaging gem by Chinese-born French filmmaker Dai Sijie.
The story takes place at the height of the Cultural Revolution in Mao's China. It describes the "reeducation" of two teenage boys on an isolated rural mountaintop -- a reeducation that proceeds very differently when they discover an unexpected treasure-trove : a suitcase full of forbidden books of Western literature. (Washington Post Book World)

---1776 ~ David McCullough ~ January 2nd
Here Ella and I are offering a new David McCullough history title for January 2006 discussion. This book hones in on the year 1776, the year of our nation's birth. The players include George Washington with his first command of an army and supporting players such as Nathaniel Greene and Henry Knox, apprentice Generals leading the new Nation's Continental Army through events such as the Siege of Boston the forced evacuation of New York, and finally at the year's end a brilliant Xmas crossing of the Delaware to gain a hard won victory at Trenton.

---Origin of Species ~ Charles Darwin ~ January 1
The terms jump out from the headlines -- evolution, creationism, intelligent design, religion, science. It is almost impossible not to take one side or the other. Which side are you on? Do you believe that evolutionary theory is antithetical to a belief in the existence of a supreme being and to religion in general? Or do you believe that the theory of evolution represents good science, is overwhelmingly accepted by the scientific community, and in no way conflicts with, nor does it deny, the existence of a divine creator? And is it your concern that an untestable alternative hypothesis grounded in religion is being thrust into the science classroom? And that this is unconstitutional?
As you take your position and either agree or disagree with Darwin, with what tools do you take your stand? Are you well acquainted with his evolutionary theory? Have you read his actual words in his book "On the Origin of Species?" Just what did he mean when he used such terms as "organic evolution," "transmutation," "preservation of favorable variations," "advantageous traits" and "natural selection?" Do you press your case from your knowledge of his very words?
You are invited to join the new group discussing his book, "On the Origin of Species." We will read what he says paragraph by paragraph and share our opinions. None of us pretend to be experts. You do not have to own the book. His words will be posted. There will be many links to current knowledge which did not exist in Darwin's time. Do NOT look forward to a religion/science controversy. We are here to read and try to understand. Please join us on Sunday, January 1st.!! ~ Robby

---

PBS Program Club Current Discussion: Imagining America: Icons of 20th-Century American Art
Join us in this discussion of the PBS Presentation Imagining America: Icons of 20th-Century American Art. This is a two-hour art program presenting some of the most important American artists and art in the context of the cultural and social transformations that defined the identity and nature of America in the 20th century.

---Name That Book Contest: Join us New Year's Day for the Next Challenge!
Wiz
Is
Back!
Bang the gong,
Play the cymbals, sing along.
Happy New Year, best of luck,
To play the Wiz game ye'll need some pluck.

Our Reader's Guides, created by SeniorNet Book Volunteers, are designed to inform and enhance your reading of specific books that we have discussed on the SeniorNet Books web site.

Middlemarch ~ George Eliot ~~ Reader's Guide
A sparkling, saga rich in irony, a drama of life shaped by the community in provincial Middlemarch, as absorbing and relevant today as when George Eliot penned it in the 19th century.

---Story of Civilization ~ Will & Ariel Durant ~ Volume IV, Part 9 ~ Nonfiction
In this Discussion Group we are not examining Durant. We are examining Civilization but in the process constantly referring to Durant's appraisals.

---

In the Culture Folder of Books & Culture on www.seniornet.org we have a PBS Program Club discussion. Opening today is a discussion that will follow the PBS program Imagining America: Icons of 20th-Century American Art. December 28 on most PBS stations.

The discussion can be found here ~ PBS Program Club Current Discussion: Imagining America: Icons of 20th-Century American Art.

Books in the Boonies is open again with a new look.

The SeniorNet Books Discussion of 1776 ~ David McCullough ~ January 2nd looks to be an interesting one. We read McCullough's John Adams 4 years ago, and it was a goos discussion.


The SeniorNet Book Discussion, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress ~ Dai Sijie ~ Book Club Online ~ January 2nd. was chosen by popular vote in the Read Around the World Book Club.