This is a cop-out post because I already eMailed everyone the same text (below), but let's consider it a stab at getting this blog going again.

Delightful article in the Economist about "Hinglish" in all its glorious multiplicity: www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2011/08/indian-english?fsrc=nwl , including a link to Samosapedia.com which has background artwork that made me think of Catherine's fabulous Bollywood posters. And the article itself has me thinking about Pallavi: how is she doing, Rebecca? Baby here yet?

I am missing you all, and our book club meetings! Hope you are all enjoying the Summer. Looking forward to September!

Many Thanks and Not Really Goodbye

Instead of emailing our lovely bunch, I am going to post a debrief and a heartfelt thanks on our beloved yet sometimes lonely blog.

Last night you delightful ladies gathered at my house to talk about the graphic novel Tamara Drew and screen the film version that came out recently. Laura generously gave us a short but generously detailed synopsis and character sketch of the Thomas Hardy book, Far From the Madding Crowd upon which Tamara Drew is based. How she managed to pass on so much detail about the novel in such a short amount of time is beyond me...but she was good, real good.

And we are glad she did because the people who made the movie version of Tamara Drew decided to lace it with even more references Thomas Hardy and the novel....adding details not found in the graphic novel version. Drum scene/sword play anyone?

Long story short, it was a brilliant evening! Although watching the film consumed a great deal of time we normally spend chatting. But it was fun and different and relevant.

Late as it was, I was incredibly thrilled to receive a custom-made brussels sprout-omium shirt as a parting gift from the group. Laura also got a custom-made grand-place-as-lawn shirt. Both beautiful and creative reminders of our short time in Brussels. Tragically short when you think about what a wonderful, diverse and intelligent group of women who make up this group and manage to gather month in and month out to read, read, share and read some more .

Thank you for the shirt and thank you for the sisterhood and this is not goodbye, this is see you soon. Bisous!!!

PS I am reading Skippy Dies too...and so far I keep falling asleep....what is wrong with me?

And now for something completely different...

This is definitely not for Book Club but I most warmly recommend it to anyone who's ever ridden a bicycle or watched the Tour de France or the Giro, or enjoyed practicing or watching any sort of sport, actually: The Rider by Tim Krabbé. It was written in 1978 in Dutch and never translated into English until 2002, go figure. It's a little gem, a joy to read, short and punchy (148 delightful, quirky pages).

Cheers, ladies!

Mr Stink

Mr Stink is the funniest book I have ever read. You must all read this page turner.
This book is about a tramp, so he is know, but you never know what his story is in till you read the book. this book is about a little girl named chloe and Mr Stink together the have the best time of there life.

My favorite part of the book is the beginning: Mr Stink stinks he also stunk and if it is correct english to say he stinked. Mr stink was the stinkiest stinker in the world.

So if you like reading you must read this book.

Have you all seen this list?

I am so sick of reading Percy Jackson to my kids.....here is a list of books for inspiration...

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/the-50-books-every-child-should-read-2250138.html#

Holes by Louis Sachar

I bought this book at the book fair and finished it the next morning.It was a page turner and I couldn't put it down! In this book Stanley Yelnat is sent to a camp for boys because apparently he stole Clyde Livingston's shoes. At this camp the boys have to dig a hole of 5 feet deep and 5 feet across. The Warden claims the labour is character building,but it is a lie. Stanley finds out that the Warden is digging for treasure. Before he finds the treasure he goes to find his friend, Zero who had ran away. When he finds Zero, Zero does not want to go back to the camp. So Stanley tells him about his great-grand father and how he survived. After their week on Big Thumb they decided to dig for the treasure and then run away.
I wish I could tell you the end of the story but it would not be a surprise if I did. Any way I can tell you it's wonderful.

Camille

The Great Glamping

Nothing to do with books or Brussels, possibly more to do with body hair and sandals (hopefully only in small doses), we've just booked a week's "glamping" in a couple of yurts above the Ardeche Gorges in France and I can't wait. I think it looks like a wonderful combination of the great outdoors and home comforts, in particular a king-size bed. Anyway take a look at their website and see what you think...

http://www.canvaschic.com/

My favourite book of 2010

I'm afraid my favourite book wasn't fiction, it was 'How to be Free' by Tom Hodgkinson. This is not exactly a self-help book, though apparently many miserable wage slaves pack their jobs in when they've finished it! It's really food for thought about our mixed up priorities that make us feel that it's better to spend 10 hours a day doing jobs we don't enjoy, so that we can spend the weekends in shopping centres buying a load of stuff. Not to mention the absurdity of the giant debts we all saddle ourselves with. If any of this rings true, read the book! And if you're ridden with angst about not having a job, read the book! I promise you'll feel all smug and pleased with yourself at the end!

Sofi Oksanen

Still thinking about my favorite 2010 read, but meanwhile, here's a tidbit: Sofi Oksanen will be at the Brussels Book Fair in a couple of weeks ( www.foiredulivredebruxelles.be ). Oksanen's website is rather dreary but I found this piece about her work, on a Finnish cultural website, quite illuminating: http://finland.fi/public/default.aspx?contentid=160146&homepagelink

Looking forward to next Thursday!

Picking a book from the shelf

Something wonderful happened today. I was looking for a book in our book case, and I picked up a little hardback book which was given to my husband and I by my aunt and uncle as a Christmas present at least 6 or maybe even 7 years ago. I never did read it as I found the title a little weird - A Third Helping Of Chicken Soup For The Soul. For some obscure reason I opened it and started reading. The book consists of a collection of very short stories, real stories, of real people, which warm the heart and truly feed the soul. One in particular made me cry. It was just one page long but so moving and beautiful.

In this utterly frenetic and frantic world of today I think it is imperative to remember was is truly important in life. Sometimes we all lose sight of it, so I highly recommend this book (you might already know it), perhaps not to be read all at once but just to be opened and read at random...  one story a day.

The White Tiger Was My Favourite Read

My favourite read in 2010 was The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. It's such a great story told in the voice of a low-caste man in India who becomes a business man. It's from 2008 and won the Man Booker Prize so most of you have probably read it ages ago. Like so many of the books that I read in 2010, it was recommended to me by Rebecca. :-)

the betrayal by helen dunmore

i am still reading this one, so i don't know if it will maintain its hold on me, but i find it very difficult to put it down, even though there is a pervasive atmosphere of nervous dread. it takes place in stalinist russia in the early 1950's and concerns a young doctor who treats the son of a powerful secret police officer. it was shortlisted for the mann booker, and it is so much better than the finkler question which won. will let you all know how it finishes--but right now i say it's absolutely worth reading!

laura

a visit from the goon squad by jennifer egan

jennifer egan is a smart, thoughtful writer, and her latest book is her best. each chapter could stand on its own as a short story, but the book is a novel that visits and revisits two main characters in the new york city music industry spanning about 30 years. Egan weaves together so many themes about music, time, loss, and love--her characters are flawed but human. i loved this book!

skippy dies by paul murray

i loved this big, ambitious, crazy book. it takes place in an catholic boarding school for boys in ireland in the 1990's, and it's told from many different points of view: priests, young boys, teachers, a girl working in a donut shop...i laughed out loud many times, but the book is fundamentally deep and sad.

laura

The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones

I have another suggestion, I have just bought this book, it's supposed to be very good, can't wait to read it. It is the story of a widowed food writer who travels to China to write an article about a rising young Chinese-American-Jewish chef. She is also faced with a claim on her husband's inheritance by a Chinese family. She learns about the healing power of food and the story is interlaced with recipes.
Again the reviews are all great and it seems like a great book.

Memories of Eden by Violette Shamash

This is my first entry... I thought I'd start by sharing with you this book. I have not read it yet, but the reason I dare to suggest it is because it was written by the grandmother of a very good friend of mine. She told me the book is beautiful and I believe her. Her family has a very interesting story.

The book portrays the life of the Jewish community in Baghdad in the first half of the 20th century. Everyone lived in harmony then and life in Baghdad was fabulous. Check out the reviews on Amazon, they are all great.

I hope to read it soon, but I have lots to catch up on and I am not a fast reader.

What was your favorite read in 2010?

AS we are starting a new year, forming new year's resolutions (Contribute to the BLOG!!!) and looking back at 2010, I was wondering if you'd like to contribute by posting the title of your favorite read? I've heard some of you say here and there at meetings "oh yes, THIS book was definitely my best read last year!!" but somehow, now that I'm ready to put this great piece of advice into practice by ordering some great reads on Amazon... I can't seem to recall who said what? and WHAT was the title of that AMAZING book again???....There!

My best read last year was The Book Thief by Markus Suzak: poetic, touching, well crafted, just beautiful...and original too, as it is the only book I've ever read that is narrated by death. It's set in Germany during the second World War and some horrible things happen but it manages to stay simple and optimistic somehow....

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Looking for a great read that you can't put down? This book did the trick for me and took me miles away from the dreary daily worries of this week....I felt like I'd run away to the circus and fell in love with some crazy elephant myself after reading this book. I particularly liked the way the story is framed by the voice and portrait of the hero of the tale at the respectable age of 93...I thought it was really beautiful done, fast paced and touching at the same time.

Café Al dente

There was much talk at the last meeting about this great little wine bar/ trattoria/ aperitivo café in the neighbourhood. They have great wine indeed and despite rather slow service it's a great place for an early "aperitivo" (they stop serving around 8:30 I think) The restaurant itself was nothing special i thought (the food i mean) and you usually have to book a table as the place is tiny...It's located between Brugmann (near the De Fré intersection) and Saint Pierre in Uccle and here is a link to their website: www.cafealdente.com

Books for february and march meetings!

Just to let everybody know we've chosen two books for the forthcoming meetings: Purge by Sofia Oksanen for February and Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese for March. We also set dates for February (the 10th) and March (the 17th) for our Thursday monthly meetings, so please mark your calendars and join us if you can! Maria has kindly offered to host, details will follow closer to the date, by e-mail....Happy reading and (I hope) happy blogging!

Live qnd Personal

Here we are live at the home of our fearless leader -- really instigator. We are all going to start contributing straight away!!!!

The invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

My daughter Camille and I devoured the "Invention of Hugo Cabret" by B Selznick over the week end, and both of us in turn COULD NOT put in down! This is what my almost 10 years old has to say about it: "This book is full of mysteries.I especially liked the fact that Hugo could walk in the walls.I wish I could do that! I also think this book is special because some parts of the story are told solely by black and white hand-drawn pictures, which means that if the pictures were not there you wouldn't understand the story. It's a bit like having a silent movie inserted in the book."

Check out this website to get a feel for the book and the real history behind it: http://www.theinventionofhugocabret.com/

January 13th Book Club Meeting

Welcome back everyone! I hope you all had a lovely christmas break and a good start to the New Year....I hope lots of you can join us for our first book club of the year, next Thursday. It will be at my place, and we will not be discussing any book in particular, but instead talking about our recent reads and discussing ideas for future meetings!   I'm in the midst of two fabulous reads I can't wait to tell you about! (one of which is the book I got last month from Teresa as a "Christmas present"!! Thanks so much Teresa!)