Books-N-Wine Book Club

There was a book before the movie!

This month's book is "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman.  He claims to be abridging a previous work; it is part of the story.

Attendees were Susan, Dale, Leslie, Jeff (late because of taking Rebecca to C-N), Dr. Julie, and Nancy (long time no see).

Set in Italy during World War II, this is the story of the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy—it is his own army, which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to excuse himself from the perilous missions he’s assigned, he’ll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule: a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes a formal request to be removed from duty, he is proven sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved.

Review: We set a record for not talking about the book.  Only one person read it completely.  It is a tough book to get through, because it is long and there is not a commensurate payoff for the effort.

Ms. Wolverton was an international flight stewardess during the late 60's and early 70's when flying was a glamorous and uncommon way to travel.

She is a local author who will be attending the club meeting and presenting items, pictures, and stories from her time as a stewardess.

Her site is

http://www.bobbiphelpswolverton.com

/.  A segment aired on WBIR at

http://www.wbir.com/videos/life/books/2013/12/09/3926373

/.  You can order the book from her website or get the book from Amazon.  There is a Kindle edition available.

Kevin Mitnick was one of the earliest master "hackers."  He spent time in prison for this and was forbidden for a number of years to touch a computer.  A master of what is now called social engineering, this book tells his story from childhood, stories of how he carried out his hacks, through to his capture.

Quoting the cover summary:

The astonishing, uplifting story of a real-life Indiana Jones and his humanitarian campaign to use education to combat terrorism in the Taliban’s backyard

Anyone who despairs of the individual’s power to change lives has to read the story of Greg Mortenson, a homeless mountaineer who, following a 1993 climb of Pakistan’s treacherous K2, was inspired by a chance encounter with impoverished mountain villagers and promised to build them a school. Over the next decade he built fifty-five schools—especially for girls—that offer a balanced education in one of the most isolated and dangerous regions on earth. As it chronicles Mortenson’s quest, which has brought him into conflict with both enraged Islamists and uncomprehending Americans, Three Cups of Tea combines adventure with a celebration of the humanitarian spirit.

Susan has been reading this book.  She recommended it for December.

To avoid Christmas week, the December meeting is in just three weeks.  Susan said the book is about 300 pages and not a detailed read.  The audiobook is 13.5 hours on Audible.  I'm not sure why it is so long for a 300 page book.  There is a Young Reader's version on Audible read by Vanessa Redgrave.

Update:

Before choosing the book we knew of some tax and other money issues with Greg Mortenson, the Three Cups of Tea author, but this article is scathing. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/04/08/is-it-time-to-forgive-greg-mortenson.html.  There are other authors who are manipulating the truth for their own benefit.

The book selection for October 2012, continues in our recent selections of teenage, angst-filled books with

Catcher in the Rye

by J.D. Salinger.  This is a classic book that most of read in high school, but haven't read since.  Susan says this is one of her favorite books.

Considered by many the greatest war novel of all time (it says so on the cover),

All Quiet on the Western Front

is Erich Maria Remarque’s masterpiece of the German experience during World War I.

This is one of those books that we should read sometime in our lives, but apparently none of us has.  From a review on Amazon: "

I was supposed to read this novel around 25 years ago, for a high school English class, and decided to skip it and just read the back cover and take notes in class. Turns out the joke was on me. I finally got around to reading this classic book, and let's just say that it's all the good things you've heard about and will read about below. The story is told simply but powerfully."

In October 2011 we read

Fahrenheit 451

also by Ray Bradbury.

From the Amazon description:

"...

And two boys will discover the secret of its smoke, mazes, and mirrors; two friends who will soon know all too well the heavy cost of wishes. . .and the stuff of nightmare.

Few American novels written this century have endured in the heart and memory as has Ray Bradbury's unparalleled literary classic SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES. For those who still dream and remember, for those yet to experience the hypnotic power of its dark poetry, step inside. The show is about to begin."

Quoting the description on Amazon:

"

But William had read about windmills, and he dreamed of building one that would bring to his small village a set of luxuries that only 2 percent of Malawians could enjoy: electricity and running water. His neighbors called him misala—crazy—but William refused to let go of his dreams."

After a long, non-fiction run, we are ready for some fiction!

Our fiction book of choice for August is State of Wonder by Ann Patchett.  It was described as like Conrad's "Heart of Darkness."

The next meeting is scheduled for August 26th.