Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross

Better late than never . . .
This is what we read last month with did lead to some very interesting discussions.

For any who had more to say or were unable to attend, here's a place to discuss:

 If you were facinated by this story here are some links that tell a bit about the history and debate of the story:

The Catholic Encyclopedia

About.com's writer, Jone Johnson Lewis tells why she thinks the story isn't true and that's ok.

Pope Joan: a Novel official website with links to a synopsis and excerpts of the novel, and information about the author.

And here's the movie trailer.

and a link to a clip on a 1972 version

The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball

Our April discussion will be about 

"The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food and Love" 

by Kristen Kimball.  

The author keeps up her own website here.

There is an NPR story, 

"'The Dirty Life': From City Girl To Hog Butcher"

A couple author videos.

If the food and farm aspect of this book appealed to you, you might also find this blog interesting:

Farmbrarian:  Harvesting Books about Growing & Eating Real Food (This link specifically takes you to their review of The Dirty Life).

On a completely personal note I just want to say that this book's SUBtitle could be a book about my mother and our family farm (which sadly long ago ceased to be a productive farm).  I feel like I usually say more about the books themselves in these blog entries, but I haven't read this one yet and quite honestly I have too much to say on the subjects of Farming, Food and Love so I'm stumped at where to start.  And even more, and as we approach 10 years since my mother died the very idea of the book had made my heart a bit overly tender.
Some comparisons.  My mother had a Scarlett O'Hara love of land, specifically our family Farmland even when it was reduced to just 'land';  a love of food and cooking to rival Julia Child (although she didn't mess with French food); and a capacity to love that equals, if not surpasses, everyone I've ever known.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

 This month we will discuss Unbroken:  A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption

I know a few of you have started (and some finished) reading this book and so here is a place for you to discuss things while they are fresh in your mind.
And also a place to find out some more, if you are so inclined.

This is the true story of Louis Zamperini and how he went from Olympian to Soldier to Prisoner of War and how he coped with that by learning to forgive.

Lauren Hillenbrand's Unbroken Website
A chapter by chapter summary of the book

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

For February we'll be discussing The Hobbit by J.R.R.Tolkien.

I usually try to find an 'official' site for authors and books, but that has been a bit complicated.  These books have been around for SO long and are SO well-loved that there is a LOT of information.  Of course you are all capable of doing a google search, but I like to have things handier for us.  So here are some of the sites I found interesting.

Of the ones I looked at, the Tolkien Library, seemed to be the best organized, most comprehensive as well as most interesting of the ones I looked at.  Here are a few of its pages I found most relevant.
Tolkien Library Biography
Tolkien Library Gallery of Hobbit Translations from around the globe (totally worth checking out although I included several at the end of this post).
Tolkien Library: About the Hobbit
Tolkien Library: Books by J.R.R. Tolkien


The Tolkien Society has a site, and while it has a lot of information, it isn't the most intuitive set up.  It focuses most on the author himself and his works as a whole, but if you are looking for something specific about the hobbit it may be hard to find here.
Tolkien Society Home Page
Tolkien Society's Tolkien Biography

There were a couple other sites that looked worthwhile:
The Barrow-Downs about the Hobbit
The Hobbit Hunter
And just because I found them fascinating here are a bunch of different covers.  Many in English but some in other languages.  Some beautiful, some horrible.