Angie Windheim

My family loves to give and receive books for Christmas. Brian added a real gem to my book collection this year: William Kamkwamba’s memoir, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.

Kamkwamba tells magical stories of his childhood, his family and his life in Malawi.  For a young man he paints vivid and insightful pictures of the politics, cultural superstitions and extreme poverty and famine that engulfed his people.

While I enjoyed the education of this book, what it really delivers is inspiration and hope. William dreams of bringing a better a life to his family and he makes it happen. He takes his natural gifts of curiousity and science exploration and turns them into something literally electrifying. William’s story is a great one. I feel fortunate that it was discovered and shared.

I’m encouraging Ben, who is 12, to read The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.  It’s message is so relevant for him. We should all take our “crazy” ideas and just give ’em a try. Trust in ourselves and each other and great things can happen.

Nice pick, Brian!

The Lit Ladies Book Club finally chose Maya Angelou, one of my favorite authors. Yay!

I just finished reading Letter to My Daughter. It took me one afternoon. It’s bite-size Maya Angelou. Not exactly the depth and length of her autobiographies. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it at first. It was so quick. I wanted more. Her life lessons are so well expressed. She has an ability to be truly present in life and essentially snapshot meaningful moments.

While, Letter to My Daughter may not have the full punch of Heart of a Woman or I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, I did love it. After I finished it I immediately went back and reread some of my favorite sections. I began folding down pages for future reference. Guess that means it’s a keeper!

The Lit Ladies met this week to discuss the New York Times Bestseller Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Unfortunately, it’s hard to discuss a book that more than half the group couldn’t even finish. That is rare for our group and I dare to say it is due to one or all three of the following:

1. Boredom with the story
2. Distaste for the main character
3. A lack of desire to find out what happens to this lady

Basically, not one of us could relate to Gilbert. We didn’t really like her or care much about her self-indulgent memoir.  This woman is desperately trying to make you like her, and that’s such a turn off.  A few threw the book a bone and mentioned that they liked her writing “style.”  It’s kind of like labeling a food nutritious. No one said it tasted good.

With that said, I can somewhat proudly say that I was one of the few that finished the book. I found some nuggets of goodness. Though I never bought into her spiritual growth in the memoir, I did enjoy some of the history and details of the people she meets and the places she roams.  Post divorce, Gilbert seeks to “find herself” by spending 4 months in Italy, 4 months in India and 4 months in Indonesia (Bali specifically).  She manages to find some very good teachers of life in all three countries. People with very thoughtful perspectives on what I would call universal acceptance. That acceptance includes ourselves, our friends, our family, our enemies and all of their strengths and weaknesses.

Gilbert seems to absorb some of her own message, but I do feel that even at the end, she is motivated by the need for everyone to like her. She even picks a man based on the fact that he worships her. She doesn’t have any strength in her convictions. She never argues, never stands up for anything. She bullies herself into meditation so that she can be less of a downer and more people will be drawn to her. She brags many times about her gift for making “friends.”  I’m thinking that if she had fewer, better, deeper friendships, she may have not gotten so lost in the first place.

I can’t recommend the book. I managed to get something out of it, but I think when only 3 out of 12 women can even finish it, there’s a big problem.

Ben and Joe are gobbling up the books. We beg, we borrow, we buy books, books and more books to keep up with their ferocious appetites.  I know many of you are in the same boat and it’s always nice to get a lead on a new author or book series for the kids. So here are a few that have made it into the 4 to 5 star category for Ben (age 12.5) and Joe (age 10).

* 5 Stars for The True Meaning of Smek Day, by Adam Rex

* 5 Stars for Horns and Wrinkles, by Joseph Helgerson

* 5 Stars for Superfudge, by Judy Blume

* 5 Stars for Emmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat, Lynne Jonell

* 4.5 Stars for Ravens Gate, by Anthony Horowitz

* 4.5 Stars for Evil Star, by Anthony Horowitz

* 4.0 Stars for Tracker, by Gary Paulsen

* 4.0 Stars for Surviving Antarctica, by Andrea White

The Lit Ladies Book Club rallied from the difficult to digest Angela’s Ashes last month, to the eat-it-up-quick-as-you-can Julia’s Chocolates. Cathy Lamb channels The Secret Life of Bees and The Ya-Ya Sisterhood with this turn on a lost soul of tragic beginnings who finds her true self through the company of some very unique and extreme friendships.

Lamb’s story centers on Julia. She is running away from a horrible past and even worse future. We get to witness her growth and awakening in the arms of her Aunt Lydia and a cast full of good friends, good neighbors and even good lovin’.  Lamb is at her best when she writes about the funny and endearing moments between the characters.  She peppers the book profusely with candid words, and most of the time it adds a nice punch to dialogue and the story.  The tension-filled moments don’t deliver as well because you just can’t believe in it. Julia’s fear of her “dreadful disease” and of ex-fiance Robert’s revenge seem too far-fetched.  This is Lamb’s own fault. We come to appreciate Julia as a thoughtful and intelligent woman.  So much so that even with allowing her battle-scarred insecurities to play a part, you just can’t quite believe she’d leave herself so vulnerable.  She’s so insightful with her friends, that she couldn’t be that blind to herself? Right? It’s kind of like watching the movie character walk into the dark house when the door was ajar and they hear footsteps inside. You’re shouting, “Are you an idiot? Don’t go in there! Who would EVER go in there?!”  That said (or shouted really), I enjoyed reading Julia’s Chocolates. It made me wish I had an Aunt Lydia. It made me wish I lived in a small town. It made me want a stronger sense of community and an inspired sense of generosity toward family, friends and neighbors.  It’s chic lit at it’s finest.

The Lit Ladies Book Club picked Frank McCourt’s Pulitzer Prize winning memoir, Angela’s Ashes, for September. I thought that was a great idea, especially since I was hosting our club meeting and, hey, my name is “Angela.”  Well, my namesake book was by far the hardest read I’ve had in a long, long time. I felt like I was in high school reading Grapes of Wrath or Farewell to Arms.  If I’d had a choice to toss it aside, I would have.  But, as I was forced to in high school, I had a commitment to finishing the darned thing (the last 200 pages I read at lightning speed).  I followed up my reading with a snarky email reminder of the meeting time and date to the Book Club girls. I suggested that anyone who dared to say they liked it, would be shoved outside for fear they were delirious with swine flu!

All that negativity aside, we had one of our best Book Club meetings ever. It was a lively discussion about all of the horribleness that was Frank McCourt’s incredibly poor, disadvantaged childhood in Ireland. We enjoyed digging through some biographies of what happened to Frank and his brother later in life. Some Lit Ladies actually admitted that they were curious enough to perhaps, gasp, read his follow-up memoirs. I was content enough with my research 🙂

OK. Something positive…Angela’s Ashes gives a very no-nonsense view of a very depressed era in Ireland.  I can appreciate that it’s one of the most interesting writing styles I’ve ever endured (not too positive). McCourt makes the voices and dialects and people very clear to the reader. Unfortunately, the monotony of this memoir got to me,and I just wanted to throw the book at the wall when I was done. Maybe too much of a good thing?

In closing, many reviews reference the humor of the memoir. They’ve got to be kidding? It is completely depressing. Perhaps the overbearing Catholic school teachers and fusty old family members would be funny if seen in the comedy sketches McCourt later performed on stage with his brother. In fact, we did laugh out loud in Book Club in retelling some of the occurrences (especially the chapter when “Typhoid Fever” was forbidden to talk through a wall to “Diphtheria”). But those lighter moments failed to bring any joy to the reading. Am I glad I read it? Only in the sense that it brought together a great Book Club session. Otherwise, I would really like those many hours back and cannot recommend it to any friend of mine.

Oh my, I just finished reading the sweetest book to my boys, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, by Kate DiCamillo.  The story is told by Edward Tulane, a china rabbit. Though Edward is given love by a young girl named Abilene, he is very selfish and does not feel, share or truly know love. Edward’s journey begins when he is separated from Abilene. Through the years, Edward finds great kindness, even greater loss and his heart. The story is told beautifully and rarely leaves you satisfied at the end of a chapter.  The boys couldn’t wait for me to read each night and begged for a little more every time. It’s a great read-aloud book with fun characters to give a voice to, and kids in grades 3-6 would enjoy reading it on their own.

The dilemma: Grandma is hosting Easter potluck and asks that I bring a “cooked vegetable.” Whoa. A cooked vegetable? Time to get creative. Well, I just opened trusty What Can I Bring? Cookbook, by Anne Byrn (aka The Cake Mix Doctor).  I picked the Spinach and Feta Pie recipe. Yu-um. It had all the magic of spanakopitas with a lot less work. I chose to make the feed-a crowd version that filled up a 9×13 pan. Everybody loved it.

Over the years my mom has gifted me with the Cake Mix Doctor Cookbook, the Cupcake Doctor Cookbook and most recently the What Can I Bring? Cookbook, all by Byrn.  I have made many of the recipes in all three books and have not been disappointed yet.  A super bonus of all of them is that you get tips on how to store, tote and reheat (if necessary).  I love that.  

Some favorites from the What Can I Bring? Cookbook are: 

• Spinach and Feta Pie
• Fleurie’s Caramalized Onion Spread
• Hot Chile, Cheese, and Corn Dip
• Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps
• Chicken Taco Salad with Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette
• One-Pan Cheese Danish

Interested in a book that is odd, surprising, and somewhat like a captivating, extreme fairytale? Yes? Then you should read The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, by Tiffany Baker.  

The story is from the perspective our the heroine, Truly.  She’s a tortured soul in a small town plagued by being a Behemoth both in size and heart. She has all of the bad luck of a Cinderella, yet her happy ending is won with a slow and steady sense of purpose. Truly can’t just whip out her prettiest dress and some glass slippers. It’s a story of misfits (Truly’s not the only one) rising above intolerance and finding their way to love and peace.  It’s great.

An added bonus is the discovery of how to use herbs and plants for magic potions and healing creams. I felt a little inspired to start grinding up some peppermint and chamomile and  experiment with some natural remedies 🙂

We had lots to talk about last night at our third meeting of the Lit Ladies Book Club.  Our book to discuss was The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield.  This book was a serious mind bender and a very fun read for me.  I actually had to delay getting into my next book. I needed some time to digest and ponder all of my lingering questions after reading The Thirteenth Tale. 

The story finds a young, lonely biographer, Margaret Lea, receiving a most interesting letter. She has been invited to write the biography of the mysterious, and famous author, Vida Winter.  And, boy does Winter’s story turn out to be a doozy. So outrageous. Yet I was sucked right in and couldn’t wait to figure out the next puzzle.  Vida sets the stage early that this will be a bumpy ride with very few clues, “From tomorrow, I will tell you my story, beginning at the beginning, continuing with the middle, and with the end at the end. Everything in its proper place. No cheating. No looking ahead. No questions. No sneaky glances at the last page.”  Love it.  

A bonus to the novel is that both Margaret and Vida are avid readers, and I subsequently made a list of classics that I just have to read now after hearing them referenced so often. Everything from Jane Eyre to Sherlock Holmes.  

The Lit Ladies were a bit mixed on the book. A few felt it hard to get going (one only got to page 62!). A few felt it was too dark and twisted after just having finished the dark and twisted The Glass Castle.  So, majority ruled that the next book will be just for fun 🙂  Hence, The Scarlet Letter got dumped. We’re reading In Search of My Natural Hair Color, by Diane Beil.  So, I’ll be off reading other things this month since I’ve already read and reviewed that one.