01_13_04 Geospeakers Meeting Summary

Here is the booklist and authors from our Annual Book Review Meeting,in order that they were submitted to me, not the alphabetically by first name order we actually called upon these people. My apologies; I didn't take notes during the business portion of the meeting.

The reviews:

• Chris - "Yes, your teen is crazy: loving your kid without losing your mind" by Michael J. Bradley. New brain research shows teen's brains are developing wildly in the regions of reasoning, logical thinking, and decisionmaking ('adolescent insanity'), but it does resolve with time. Parent responses to extreme provocation could make all the difference in a developing teen's life. Read how to 'innoculate' your (future) teens against drugs and violence. A calm, rational response to an irrational action may be the turning point in your teen's life. Can we really afford not to read this book?
• Cynthia - "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown. "THOUGHT PROVOKING" fast paced thriller; New York Times Bestseller list. Several other club members have also read this book, and agree with this captivating description.
• Cecilia - "Dynamic Laws of Prosperity" by Catherine Ponder. As a life coach, this book is one of Cecilia's tools. Prosperity is not just measured in dollars, but also by the friends and family you have. The prosperity plan:
  • Have a plan and write it down
  • Visualize yourself living that plan
  • Make affirmations to support your plan
  • Shift your thinking to prosperity and abundance
  • Have a positive outlook
• Gretchen - "Disaster! The Great San Francisco Earthquake and fire of 1906" by Dan Kurzman. FASCINATING, even though we've all read about the '06 quake. Journalist historian style - puts it in a whole new light.
• Ann - "West With The Night" by Beryl Markham. Wonderfully 'woven words'. She writes about wild animals, horses and airplanes; all encounters which she lives through.
• Carol - "Five People You Meet In Heaven" by Mitch Albom, and "Seabiscuit" by Laura Hillenbrand. Mitch Albom, author of "Tuesdays with Morrie" continues his quest for the answers to life in an all-new story. Seabisuit: not only fascinating history of this horse, but also jockeys, racing, and owners. What makes this book so amazing is you feel you are right there in that time experiencing it, when in fact the author was so sick at times she interviewed and wrote on her back while bedridden!
• Fran - "Why Religion Matters. The fate of the human spirit in an age of disbelief" by Huston Smith. Compares religions; the breadth of knowledge was amazing, depth of feeling, saying that in the last century, people have assumed science will answer our questions, and thus have given up religion.
• Joanna - "While I Was Gone" by Sue Miller. The latest book sitting on Joanna's nightstand; her Mom and Amazon her source of good books to read, this one is about a good mother, in a good life, suddenly visited by an old friend who reminds her of secrets of a past life; fantasy and reality collide. Authors writing style develops characters, although if it became a movie, she admits it would probably be a 'chick flick'.
• Neil - "Speaks The Nightbird" by Robert McCammon. (It is a two-part novel: Part 1 is "Judgment Of The Witch" and Part 2 is "Evil Unveiled") A good book by one of Neil's favorite authors, set in the Carolinas in 1699; around the time of the Salem Witch trials; an historic, authentic, detailed mystery/novel.
• Shane - "Noble House" by James Clavell. About Hong Kong in the 1960's but could be anytime while under British control. Follows CEO of one company and the "rival CEO" of another company. Nice weave of Chinese culture; he enjoyed this book.
• Mitch - "Sarum" by Edward Rutherford (1000 pages). Inspired by his grandmother to read 2-3 books a week, (her books were 'bodice rippers'), he enjoyed this "English James Michener type" novel that epitomized the area, yet described the typical English history of people; the diffuseness yet lack of connection to other lives; an Anglophile (a person who greatly admires England or anything English [my word of the day]) of history.
• Someone above (Cynthia?) also talked about "Plainsong" by Kent Heruff, a 'simple melody', weaving lives of wonderful characters, although their lives are nothing extraordinary, and yet how they cope and come together...beautifully written.

Next meeting: Jan 27th - Geospeakers 10th anniversary meeting (will be held in the large conference room across the hall from our normal meetings) Preparations are well underway.

Geospeakers Home   |   About Geospeakers   |   About Toastmasters International
Map and Directions   |   About this site   |   Links
Officers   |   Meeting Schedule   |   Meeting Summaries   |   Memorable Club Events