Three Books to Choose From

Hi all.  Boy, am I glad to get rid of the lips background from last weeks blogging!  Good bye to that!

One of my friends told me that I should have a great opening line to grab interest in hope of gaining readership, so in that spirit I'm taking on a chatty manner and giving you some headlines.  A. has chosen these books, and emailed me the Amazon descriptions.  Instead of reentering the descriptions, they are all here for you when you click on the book photos shown.  So, here are the choices.  You can email the vote to me, or vote at our meeting.

LIES LIES LIES!

TIFFANY LAMPS!  

The True Creator REVEALED! 

Click on the adjacent link to Amazon, Clara and Mr. Tiffany written by Susan Vreeland, and you can read the book description, composed by the author herself, Susan Vreeland. She starts "For a century, everyone assumed that the iconic Tiffany lamps were conceived and designed by that American master of stained glass, Louis Comfort Tiffany. Not so! It was a woman! Aha!...."

  

What makes this book interesting to me is the turn of the century setting.  I believe it will be a rich book to discuss on many different levels.  Women's rights stands out as a particularly interesting topic.  If chosen, we will also meet at the art museum preceding our lunch/discussion where we will view a display exactly on this topic.

Simonson Debut Novel uncovers True Award Winning Talent! 

True page-turner urgency 

Amazon Best Book of the Month March 2010 

Wry, yet optimistic comedy

Enjoyable traipse through the English countryside

Guns!     

OK, do I have your attention now?  Anyhow, this just sounds to me like a fun book to read.  Click adjacent on Major Pettigrew's Last Stand written by Helen Simonson and you will see the description A. shared.

Ambassador Dodd's Daughter Involved in Nazi Scandels as the Ambassador Embraces Schmoozing with Nazis! 

Ready for some intrigue?  I'm starting to think that In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson will be a great discussion book, historical, entertaining, and a political page-turner thriller.  This is the same author as Devil in the White City,  another book that is a great choice that is on my list of books that I really want to read, but alas, too many books, too little time.

The Third Angel, Alice Hoffman

I chose this book simply because I am an Alice Hoffman fan.  Akin to Shakespeare, she writes the tragic love story;  the real to life story with no happily ever after endings; a love story that I can believe in.  She weaves magic with emotion, in a manner that is both touching and awesome.  The Third Angel wasn't heavily laden in magic, but Alice left her magical touch with a new idea that one could leave a partial ghost of oneself, lost in a tragic situation, without loosing ones' life.  Alice Hoffman knows how to take the supernatural to a level boarding on fantacy, but somehow believable to those who reach beyond the five senses.

Her weaving of three love stories in different times with overlapping characters is a work of art, often leaving me with chills.  This book reflects a middle aged wisdom;  knowledge that can only be written after emotional payment.

The worth of this book is in the story telling.  Most of the telling is set in London (1999, 1966 and 1952), which makes these tales quite colorful.  It was fun to read, though was a heart breaker at times.  This would make a good discussion book due to the quality, quantity (289 pages) and rich discussion points.  According to the story, there are three angels, the angel of death, the angel of life, and the angel that we can help. I would like to know, was Millie the rabbit the third angel in the third story?  I think so, but then, who was the third angel in the first and second stories? 

Lastly, I would like to say that my two favorite Alice Hoffman books are Practical Magic (not deep, just totally fun, there is a movie too) and Here on Earth (awesome writing, Oprah liked it also).  However, I have not read all of her works. She is quite prolific, having written thirty books.