The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker

Happy 13th Anniversary to all our Book Club Members Past and Present!
Our June and July Book was The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker suggested by Cortney

In attendance at Joy's home:
Jamie, Cortney, Lauren, Kat and Joy

The discussion questions we followed for The Art of Hearing Heartbeats:

1. In your opinion, what does the back-and-forth between Julia’s and U Ba’s narratives add to the telling of the love story between Tin Win and Mi Mi? How do these stories interrelate? 

2. Tin Win is born to parents who abandon him as a child but Mi Mi is born into a close-knit family. Mi Mi’s mother, especially, adores her daughter. Do you see this developmental difference reflected in the adult each one becomes, or in the way the two relate to one another?
3. After he loses his sight, Tin Win spends several years in a monastery under the tutelage of the abbot, U May. In your opinion, what does U May model for Tin Win? How does Tin Win grow in these years?
4. Tin Win’s wealthy uncle, U Saw, finances Tin Win’s eye operation and subsequent education abroad. But to U Saw’s discredit, his motives are self-interested, and for his own convenience, he obstructs all communication between Tin Win and Mi Mi. Is U Saw portrayed as a villain—or is he even villainous?
5. A portion of the novel is in the form of letters. Does this change the mood or the flow of the novel? The way you see the characters?
6. Tin Win and Mi Mi develop an intense, literally symbiotic relationship: he walks for her; she acts as his eyes. They become inseparable, but then they are separated for decades. Given what you know about each character, how do you think they are able to withstand the time apart?
7. Discuss the role of memory in the novel, both individual and collective.
8. Burma (now known as Myanmar) was occupied by the British from the nineteenth century until 1948. How important is this colonial history to the major events of the novel?

There were a few more discussion questions but we felt The Art of Hearing Heartbeats was sufficiently discussed out.

Next fun topics of conversation went in three directions: FOOD, MUSICALS and BOOKS

FOOD Establishment recommendations:

Cortney suggested Big Kahunas by the airport to try the BBQ pizza and the club sandwich
Big City Diner multiple locations, Joy's favorite: Paniolo Chicken Salad
Jamie mentioned Mexico in Kalihi 
We all want to try Coquitos in Waianae for Puerto Rican, Colombian & Caribbean selections
Lauren felt North Shore Tacos are the closest to Cafe Rio on the island
Then Cortney mentioned Hughley's for southern food. That place is high on my to-go list.
Queen Street Cafe & Grill has awesome firecracker Chicken. yes, please.
Dixie Grill got some not so great reviews from our bookclubbers.
And one of our favorite group places to eat is Cattle Company and their hot fudge cake. We've had too many farewells at Cattle Company though.

MUSICALS:

Cortney has an affinity for Musicals! How awesome is she?! So I picked her brain. Some favorites she mentioned: Singing in the Rain, The King & I, White Christmas, that one she watches every year. Then we found out Cortney's favorite Christmas CD is Martina McBride.

Kat mentioned the musical Urinetown of which we thought was You're In Town ....nope. Urinetown. hahaha

The Paet family favorite Musical is Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Bless Your Beautiful Hide! And I like Chicago, too. We all LOVE The Sound of Music. I'm surprised none of us mentioned Grease, however!

BOOKS:

Our August Books for the month will be the Stung series by Bethany Wiggins. 

Book ONE: Stung

Book TWO: Cured

This series is Moana's suggestion and Cortney and I read them. They are super quick reads and both very good.

Each book is approximately 300 pages. So we will all need to get crackin'!

Also mentioned for possible future reads:

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline, 278 pages

Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum, 497 pages

The Secret Keeper (478 pages) and The Lake House (593 pages) both by Kate Morton

And Finally, Pebble Ice or Nugget Ice is to be found at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf or in a pinch at Sam's Club in their cafe. Aloha!!

The Hunger Games Trilogy - 1/25/11

Such a fun book club evening. We had a terrific turnout at the Paet Home.
Cortney Nadig, Dee Boswell, Jamie(and Tristen) Dugay, Moana(and Mahealani) Piena, Wendi(and Emry) Phillips, Joy Paet, Veronica Peterson, Rachel McGovern, Lynn Lambert and a big welcome to Julie Seminavage.

Tonight we talked about The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, AND Mockingjay. All three books in the Hunger Games series.



(that's right all THREE! The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay)
So many fun resources are available online for discussion questions and trivia.


Our Next Meeting, Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 7PM.

if you'd like to get started reading RIGHT NOW many classics like The Count of Monte Cristo are available online. Once you find a classic at Goodreads.com just click on the READ button below the summary.
Other eclassics are available at:
http://freeclassicebooks.com/index.htm

Sheri McEntire Farewell 8/10/05

Thank you Molly for opening your beautiful home to the largest Book Club turnout since Sheri's baby shower!


Angela Mueller, Ann Toilolo, Sheri McEntire, Jane Gorton, Heather Bernal, Rhona Slingerland, Molly Koch, Sarah Ohki, De Dotson, Joy Paet, Sally Holstein, Moana Piena, Dawn

It was so wonderful to see everyone there! AND 4 new babies.
Congrats to the new mothers and welcome back to Book Club.
WE'VE MISSED YOU!!!

Sarah Ohki & Max (Makoto) June 9th
Molly & Braden Kai - June 20th
Angela Muller & Jessica - July 3rd
Moana Piena & Makoa - July 8th

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling
The movie is set to be released November 21, 2008
~*~*~*~*~SEPTEMBER'S BOOK~*~*~*~*~*~
SAHARA by Clive Cussler

Here is a list of other books, in no particular order, that were made mention at August's Book Club. . . possibly up for vote in future meetings. I gathered a 0-5 star rating from Amazon.com to give you an idea what 'mainstream' people think of these books.
The books are listed in no particular order:

Alas Babylon by Pat Frank (4 1/2 Stars)
Pope Joan by Donna Cross (4 1/2 Stars)
Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik (4 Stars)
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis (4 1/2 Stars)
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom (4 1/2 Stars)
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (4 1/2 Stars)
The Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (4 1/2 Stars)
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (4 stars)

Here are some resources on the Net that may be of interest:
Welcome to Chinaberry
Online Literature Library - Classics at the Online Literature Library
The Official Web Site of Bestselling Author Dan Brown
Questia - The Online Library of Books and Journals
Free eBooks by Globusz Publishing

1st Meeting July 28, 2003

Our first Book Club meeting was held at Sheri McEntire's Home July 28, 2003. We met in her den off from the kitchen. The first meeting was at 10 AM. We quickly moved to make our meeting times for the evening in the hopes our numbers would grow.

In attendance at that first meeting:

Sheri McEntire
Kelly Paller
De Dotson
Joy Paet
Sarah Ohki
Moana Piena

At the first meeting we discussed favorite authors, books and genres.
We had our first Poetry Moment given by Sheri. She chose Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Psalm of Life".
Sheri helped to choose our first book "Wish You Well" by David Baldacci.
Other suggestions were:
Mount Vernon a Love Story by Mary Higgins Clark
At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon (Sept 2003)
Anthem by Ayn Rand
Gracelin O'Malley by Ann Moore

Sarah suggested the classics, Alexander Dumas (Feb2011), Jane Austen, Tolstoy and Charlotte Bronte (Oct2007).
In addition the fun series One for the Money by Janet Evanovich

The next meeting was planned for Sarah Ohki's home Sept. 2 at 7 PM to discuss August's book.

A Psalm of Life

Tell me not in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou are, to dust thou returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each tomorrow
Find us farther than today.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act, - act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sand of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us then be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

poetry found at www.poemhunter.com