The Man Who Invented Christmas

In December our book club decided to take it easy and watch a movie.

We chose "The Man Who Invented Christmas" a 2017 movie about Charles Dickens and his inspiration in creating "A Christmas Carol."

This charming film weaves the story of Charles Dickens and his busy life in and out with the creative writing process, and the characters from his famous Christmas tale. It was particularly enjoyable to watch if one had just recently read or watched a movie version of the story as the names of characters seemed to just pop out at you when they appeared.

Charles Dickens is well known for many works of literature, but in 1843 he is a writer that well known, but not producing works that make money. He has debts, and maneuvers loans to keep up, but decides to write a short story to sell for Christmas. He uses his own awareness of the problems in the world, the experiences he has seen and the things he values to write his now famous "A Christmas Carol."

The story ends up being a huge success and alters the way that much of Western society celebrates Christmas. When we hear about the commercialization of Christmas, and needing to focus on what is important, fundamental to the way we frame these things can likely be traced to the tale of Mr. Scrooge and the ghosts that scare him to realize his greed is killing him.

The storytelling in film is full of subtlety and humor. Many people that Dickens encounters in his daily life end up being in his story, personified in the characters. The actors end up filling the role in his 'story' as it develops, even as they are friends, family, or strangers. The movie is beautiful, colorful, well done, and fully entertaining.

Castle of Water

For book club in November we chose "Castle of Water" by Dane Huckelbridge. This debut novel for Huckelbridge is both riveting, powerful, and beautiful.

It follows the story of a banker, Barry, who has recently quit his job to sort of find himself. He loves art and painting and decides to go visit the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia because his favorite painter, Paul Gaugin, was buried there. His work reflects the native peoples and Barry is drawn to being in that environment. When the small plane he is on crashes in the ocean, Barry has to fight to survive on a small uninhabited island.

On the plane with him is a newly married couple from France, and Barry thinks that both they and the pilot have died. After he washes ashore, he discovers that Sophie also survived the crash, though heartbroken and bitter that her husband did not make it.

The story then follows the two as they work together, and apart, to survive on the tiny island. The rich storytelling and beautiful writing make the tale both enchanting and difficult to put down. The incredible details, challenges, and postcard-like descriptions are such a backdrop for a powerful tale of humanity. We all read this book (which doesn't always happen) and everyone loved it!

"And so it came to pass that two utterly disparate lives happened to overlap ... bound together on an uninhabited island some 2,359 miles from Hawaii, 4,622 miles from Chile, and 533 miles from the nearest living soul."  Dane Huckelbridge, "Castle of Water"

The Only Pirate at the Party

“The Only Pirate at the Party” is an autobiographical book by American violinist, singer, songwriter, and dancer Lindsey Stirling. Lindsey is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and shares both her experiences growing up, her experiences developing into a musician, and her faith as she navigates a very unique world.

She titles the book based on a story about her childhood. She was diagnosed with cross-dominance in second grade, which meant she had to wear an eye patch. Once she decided to pretend she was a pirate the treatment wasn't as challenging. 

Lindsey grew up in Arizona and started getting noticed nationally when she auditioned for “America’s Got Talent” in 2010. She made it to the quarterfinals, and shared how she was crushed by the criticism but determined she would try harder to become a success.

She served a full time mission in New York City, and shared some of her experiences there that changed her outlook and helped her grow. Her personal account of the difficulty of missionary work as well as the hard work and effort that goes into sharing her testimony of Christ, is an uplifting thread that weaves throughout the book.

One of the powerful issues she shares in the book is her battle with anorexia. She not only describes how anorexia affected her, but also reveals how it affected her family and close friends. She is honest about her own behavior, but has a happy attitude, despite revealing the challenges of a very personal struggle.

Lindsey discusses everything from her upbringing in a humble home, her family and their sacrifices to support her, to challenges while touring. She has some great stories about everything from meeting celebrities, to her relationship with close friends. It is an uplifting and fun, entertaining and interesting read and those in our group all enjoyed it. And we had cereal as part of our refreshments-because it was Lindsey’s favorite food.  

"Pirates don't take orders or ask permission,... They do what they want. Allow me to clarify. If your mom asks you to do the dishes, do not pull out your pirate attitude. But if someone tells you you're not good enough, says your dreams are too lofty, or claims there is no room in showbiz for a dancing violinist — well then, by all means, pull out your eye patch, my friend, and take to the high seas."

-- "The Only Pirate at the Party" by Lindsey Stirling

Austenland (the movie!)

July is a busy month for travel, can be wild with kids around, and it just felt like a good month to sit back and watch a movie!

We previously read "Austenland" by Shannon Hale back in May of 2012 and loved it. Some of our group already read the book, some had seen the movie, and some hadn't done either-while others had done both!

Austenland the movie is not exactly like the book but it is similar in that both are quite funny and enjoyable! The movie follows Jane as she works through her 'obsession' with all things Austen by purchasing a vacation at an Austen era based destination called Austenland.

The beautiful castle and grounds are a backdrop for a several week role play, where participants dress and act as if they are in Austen's world. With actors assigned to flirt and have a romance, and the visitors silly and serious, Jane learns about herself and what she wants in love. It is a sweet, clean comedy that has some very funny, and subtle jokes throughout.

It was a good time enjoyed by all and a nice, easy 'read' as we sat back and enjoyed the show. The movie and the book are highly recommended by our group!

Dad is Fat

In June we decided to go with a sort of non-traditional choice and read “Dad is Fat” by Jim Gaffigan. This is a book but many of our group listened to the audio version because it is narrated by the author, a stand-up comedian.

Jim Gaffigan is well known as a clean, or family friendly comedian-something he kind of makes fun of during the book. He is the father of five children, and lives in a small apartment in Manhattan, NY.  Most of the book is focused around funny things he has experienced as either a father, observed as being a parent, or reflecting on his own parents.

It is mostly a group of funny bits, some of which are easily available on YouTube as part of his stand-up routine, but combined all together it is a funny view on parenthood, children, and life. Our group enjoyed the book quite a lot, and we spent some time talking about how laughter helps us. Some discussion on how children laugh up to 200 times a day, while adults are averaging about 17 times a day suggested to us that we all should find ways to laugh more.

With that in mind, we discussed things that we have found funny, to share our ideas on what to watch or read to increase our daily laughter levels. Everything from funny cat videos, good books, movies and video sketches, standup and sitcoms can bring us a smile even during a sad time. We took a few minutes to enjoy a few funny videos that our group recommended.

We watched a few clips by Jim Gaffigan, a couple skits by Studio C, and a funny skit by Saturday Night Live. It was a really fun evening and we enjoyed the book and the fun company.

The Nightingale

In May 2019 we discussed “The Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah. This is a historical fiction novel that is based on the lives of several real women who made huge sacrifices in order to do what they could to fight the Nazis during World War II.

The story revolves around two sisters who live in France in 1939 and follows their lives throughout the war. Vianne Mauriac sees her husband go off to war, and faces the huge impacts of the war on France with only her daughter, sister, and fellow villagers to rely on. She runs out of food, money, and must host Nazi officers in her home. Conditions go from bad to worse but she finds ways to do what she can to help children and friends in a terrible time and with incredible risks.

Her sister Isabelle is a teenager, fiery and angry, and full of a youthful passion and energy to fight the enemy. Her headstrong ways give her the power to be a huge influence in the lives of many downed pilots as she leads them to safety, and works with the French resistance. She faces the horrors of war and pushes past terrible trials to do what she believes is right.

The sisters both witness the horrors of a terrible war, both find ways to do their part, and learn about the importance of love, family, and doing what’s right in a world that has all gone wrong. The book was compelling, filled with rich prose, and clearly well researched.  It gave an incredible perspective as to what war was like in France, and especially for women during World War II.

“In love we find out who we want to be. In war we find out who we are”

--Kristin Hannah, The Nightingale

Walking the Gobi

For our March 2019 meeting we discussed "Walking the Gobi" by Helen Thayer.

The author of "Walking the Gobi," Helen Thayer, is a true adventurer. Born in New Zealand, she became the first woman to ski solo to the magnetic north pole. With her American husband she camped next to a wolf pack in the Yukon, walked across the Sahara and Death Valley, paddled the Amazon River, and finally fulfilled a life-long dream of walking 1,600 miles across the Gobi Desert in Mongolia.

At the time of their walk across the Gobi, Helen was 63 and her husband was 74. They walked every step, while two camels they named Tom and Jerry carried their supplies. The couple had been in a car accident just months before the trip, and Helen was injured to the extent that she was in pain with every step of the 1,600 miles.

Their journey included 126-degree temperatures, scorpions, sandstorms, smugglers, life-threatening thirst, and possible imprisonment at the Chinese border. Yet through all these struggles, Helen and her husband joyed in the beauty of the landscape, the stars at night, and especially the nomadic desert people. These hospitable people gained their admiration and respect for their love of their families and their survival in the extreme conditions of worsening droughts, freezing winter snowstorms, and the after-effects of Soviet domination.

In 1988, Helen founded Adventure Classroom, an educational program for students from kindergarten through high school, which has benefited from her explorations and incredible experiences. Thinking of these students is what pushes her through the difficulties and challenges to gain the knowledge and insights she loves to pass along.

Our group enjoyed this engaging read and learning about this amazing part of the world through the eyes of such an adventurous couple.

Review by Mary Mintz