Moms and Book Clubs just go together! One mom writes, " I love to read. It is a passion, an addiction, a way to stimulate my mother-overloaded brain . . . one of the ways that I feed this addiction is by getting involved in book groups or starting them if there aren't any to be found. I seriously could write a how-to on starting a book club." And this mom did here.
For all you moms who want to start a book club, here are The Lylah Blog's Book Club Recommendations!
Three Cups of Tea - In 1993 Greg Mortenson was the exhausted survivor of a failed attempt to ascend K2, American climbing bum wandering emaciated and lost through Pakistan’s Karakoram Himalaya. After he was taken in and nursed back to health by the people of an impoverished Pakistani village, Mortenson promised to return one day and build them a school. From that rash, earnest promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time—Greg Mortenson’s one-man mission to counteract extremism by building schools, especially for girls, throughout the breeding ground of the Taliban.
Nine Parts of Desire - Geraldine Brooks spent two years as a Middle East news correspondent, covering the death of Khomeini and the like. She also learned a lot about what it's like for Islamic women today. Brooks' book is exceedingly well-done--she knows her Islamic lore and traces the origins of today's practices back to Mohammed's time. Personable and very readable, Brooks takes us through the women's back door entrance of the Middle East for an unusual and provocative view.
The Color Water - A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother, which doesn't begin to do justice to the utterly unique and moving story contained within. The Color of Water tells the remarkable story of Ruth McBride Jordan, the two good men she married, and the 12 good children she raised. Jordan, born Rachel Shilsky, a Polish Jew, immigrated to America soon after birth; as an adult she moved to New York City, leaving her family and faith behind in Virginia. Jordan met and married a black man, making her isolation even more profound. The book is a success story, a testament to one woman's true heart, solid values, and indomitable will. Ruth Jordan battled not only racism but also poverty to raise her children and, despite being sorely tested, never wavered. In telling her story--along with her son's--The Color of Water addresses racial identity with compassion, insight, and realism. It is, in a word, inspiring, and you will finish it with unalloyed admiration for a flawed but remarkable individual. And, perhaps, a little more faith in us all.
Safely Home - A soul-stirring story of two college friends who reconnect after 20 years. One is living life apart from God in comfortable corporate America, while the other is living for Christ under intense persecution in China. This challenging book will convict the heart of readers to live in the light of eternity.
Inkheart - Imagine it were possible to bring the characters from a book to life. Not like when someone reads a book with such enchantment that the characters seem to jump off the pages and into your bedroom...but for real. Imagine they could actually climb out of the pages and into our world. Now imagine if those characters brought their world into ours.
Falling into the Face of God - In early June of 2002, I left the United States and traveled to the locus of my own soul. If one were to look at a map, they would say that my destination was Israel (specifically the Judean Desert) and that I had traveled 6,497miles. But in actuality, I traveled much farther than that-upon a road whose traversing is not measured in miles, but by the deepening of the human experience, love and acceptance; and not by direction (for there is only one direction-inward). And whose perilous mountains, cliffs, and valleys were not composed of stone or sand, but of one's own psyche (the most dangerous of the world's creations).
I'd love to hear your book club suggestions!
For all you moms who want to start a book club, here are The Lylah Blog's Book Club Recommendations!
Three Cups of Tea - In 1993 Greg Mortenson was the exhausted survivor of a failed attempt to ascend K2, American climbing bum wandering emaciated and lost through Pakistan’s Karakoram Himalaya. After he was taken in and nursed back to health by the people of an impoverished Pakistani village, Mortenson promised to return one day and build them a school. From that rash, earnest promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time—Greg Mortenson’s one-man mission to counteract extremism by building schools, especially for girls, throughout the breeding ground of the Taliban.
Nine Parts of Desire - Geraldine Brooks spent two years as a Middle East news correspondent, covering the death of Khomeini and the like. She also learned a lot about what it's like for Islamic women today. Brooks' book is exceedingly well-done--she knows her Islamic lore and traces the origins of today's practices back to Mohammed's time. Personable and very readable, Brooks takes us through the women's back door entrance of the Middle East for an unusual and provocative view.
The Color Water - A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother, which doesn't begin to do justice to the utterly unique and moving story contained within. The Color of Water tells the remarkable story of Ruth McBride Jordan, the two good men she married, and the 12 good children she raised. Jordan, born Rachel Shilsky, a Polish Jew, immigrated to America soon after birth; as an adult she moved to New York City, leaving her family and faith behind in Virginia. Jordan met and married a black man, making her isolation even more profound. The book is a success story, a testament to one woman's true heart, solid values, and indomitable will. Ruth Jordan battled not only racism but also poverty to raise her children and, despite being sorely tested, never wavered. In telling her story--along with her son's--The Color of Water addresses racial identity with compassion, insight, and realism. It is, in a word, inspiring, and you will finish it with unalloyed admiration for a flawed but remarkable individual. And, perhaps, a little more faith in us all.
Safely Home - A soul-stirring story of two college friends who reconnect after 20 years. One is living life apart from God in comfortable corporate America, while the other is living for Christ under intense persecution in China. This challenging book will convict the heart of readers to live in the light of eternity.
Inkheart - Imagine it were possible to bring the characters from a book to life. Not like when someone reads a book with such enchantment that the characters seem to jump off the pages and into your bedroom...but for real. Imagine they could actually climb out of the pages and into our world. Now imagine if those characters brought their world into ours.
Falling into the Face of God - In early June of 2002, I left the United States and traveled to the locus of my own soul. If one were to look at a map, they would say that my destination was Israel (specifically the Judean Desert) and that I had traveled 6,497miles. But in actuality, I traveled much farther than that-upon a road whose traversing is not measured in miles, but by the deepening of the human experience, love and acceptance; and not by direction (for there is only one direction-inward). And whose perilous mountains, cliffs, and valleys were not composed of stone or sand, but of one's own psyche (the most dangerous of the world's creations).
I'd love to hear your book club suggestions!
