Yes, NDY, that IS how I got my screen name! (-: I have read that book more than once. Yes, Emily Bronte is her real name. She did have a pen name. It was Ellis, a man's name. I can't remember the last name.

Have you gotten into "the thick of things" in your novel about "The Help."- I have not yet
How far are you into the book ? I have gotten through 2 chapter and have to keep reading em over and over again since I have very bad short term memory on things
Has the story taken any unexpected turns? not yet
Are you still enthusiastic about it ? Yes very
Has here been any further mention about the whereabouts of Constantine? not yet
Have you discovered what really happened to Abileen's son?-no
What sort of job has Miinny taken ? not sure
Have you discovered what the clandestine project / movement is yet?not yet

In "The Reading Group" the cast of characters has grown to include the husbands of several of the characters; the children of the characters that have children; and even one of the children's boyfriend! I think I may need to outline the characters to keep them straight.

One of the things I have found since we have started this is I am not only reading for enjoyment...I am also reading to share information. This means I am reading differently! I want to share the information and I want to ensure I give accurate information. So I am reading and re-reading pages in order to attempt to have clarity. This makes it feel more like school and I am questioning myself and my understanding of the book.

I will have more to report in the next few days while I sort out the characters for all of us! lol

Marcia- -That is a great idea to make an outline of the charactors. Hope you do not mind, but I am going to steal your idea. Miss NDY- - At the point that I am at the first lady is telling the author about her family history.She is explaining how her great grandparents arrived in the United States. The things that they have been told about our wonderful country. The freedoms that they will be able to enjoy. How the voyage from Portugal was.It sounded totally grim. Also, how great grandmother had prepared foods that would not spoil so that they could enjoy the snacks on their trip to here. They are all so very excited to arrive here. They also are so very ill from seasickness. The whole ordeal they are enduring so as to get to here. Great grandfather would tell them how the new freedoms that they will have. He tries to keep their hopes up as the trip to here is purely hell for them and all the others as well. I so enjoy this book. So far there has not been an indication that the author will be sharing with us anything about her family history. But then I am only on the first family. Of which some of the other families written about are on this same trip. These people are so strong to have gone through all of this. I truly admire them.

HeatherCliff ~ About Wurthering Heights & its author, Emily Bronte ..
http://books.google.com/books/about/Emily_Brontë.html?id=IAKBHAAACAAJ

More about the use of women's pen names ..
http://www.boldsky.com/insync/pulse/2012/pen-names-women-writers-240212.html

(HeatherClliff could you please comment here ? ) Can you tell us what was your favorite / least favorite parts of the book? What has held your fascination for the book that has made it into a reread for you?

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Dreamer ~ Have they found Constantine yet? Do they express any idea of where she could have disappeared to?

Have you been taking notes about your book as your are reading it in order to keep up & retain some of what you are reading? As you are explaining it to the rest of us are you finding it any easier / more difficult to read & retain ?

Are you enjoying your book? Can you add anything more to what details you last gave us? Does it seem as if the book is touting a moral theme or what? How far along are you? Are there any additional comments you would like to add?

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Atherton59 - ( As recommended by a member of DS I am now reading the book "don't blame your mother".What have you discovered about your book and is it really pared to the theme as obviously as it is titled ? Who was the author and was it written from personal experience or mainly about others? Do you like your book ? Has it influenced you in any way?


This is a movie cllp from "Heartburn" with Meryl Streep & Jack Nicholson that marciainak's book characters are reading in their book club...

Marcia ~ What are the other book club members saying about his book ? Would you are to comment further? How far have you gotten in your book? Is it complicated to keep track of the characters & now their husbands ?

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Yrod ~ What period are you talking about here? What are their ship's accommodations like there ? Can we envision The Titanic as being similar with its it stereotypical classes of people like steerage is on he Titanic? Is this a smaller vessel than that of the Titanic?

( Here is a clip of the actual real ship, theTitanic,in port prior to being painted so we can get a feel for the flavor of your book ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFrDhpzigug )

Does the author profess to having shared in the accommodations therein ?

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Atherton59 ~ As recommended by a member of DS I am now reading the book "don't blame your mother".

Atherton59 - What have you discovered about your book and is it really pared to the theme as obviously as it is titled ? Who was the author and was it written from personal experience or mainly about others? Do you like your book ? Has it influenced you in any way?

Please feel free to jump back in at anytime as "life happens" to us all & we fall behind in everything! (Just look at what's been going on in mine ~ and i have obviously fallen behind miserably in my own participation... So please atherton ~ Just jump right back in AGAIN !

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ANYONE ELSE ? You can begin at ANY tim or even change off on books at anytime if you decide you don't like THE BOOK SELECTION you have started WITH !!

ALL OF YOU PREVIOUS MEMBERS WHO HAVE EXPRESSED AN INTEREST IN THE OTFN BOOK CLUB ~ C'MON ~ PLEASE ~ JUMP RIGHT IN HERE ...

NDY

HeaqtherCliff ~ " Wurthering Heights " - Ellis Bell (Emily Bronte ) - pgs ?

HeatherCliff ~ About Wurthering Heights & its author, Emily Bronte ..
http://books.google.com/books/about...

More about the use of women's pen names ..
http://www.boldsky.com/insync/pulse...

(HeatherClliff could you please comment here ? ) Can you tell us what was your favorite / least favorite parts of the book? What has held your fascination for the book that has made it into a reread for you?

****************************************************************
Dreamer247 ~ "The Help" - Kathryn Stockett - pgs. 544

Dreamer ~ Have they found Constantine yet? Do they express any idea of where she could have disappeared to?

Have you been taking notes about your book as your are reading it in order to keep up & retain some of what you are reading? As you are explaining it to the rest of us are you finding it any easier / more difficult to read & retain ?

Are you enjoying your book? Can you add anything more to what details you last gave us? Does it seem as if the book is touting a moral theme or what? How far along are you? Are there any additional comments you would like to add?

*********************************************************************
marciainak ~ " The Reading Group " - Elizabeth Holde - 419 pgs

This is a movie cllp from "Heartburn" with Meryl Streep & Jack Nicholson that marciainak's book characters are reading in their book club...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUP31hGC1A0&feature=relmfu

Marcia ~ What are the other book club members saying about his book ? Would you are to comment further? How far have you gotten in your book? Is it complicated to keep track of the characters & now their husbands ?

******************************************************************
Yrod ~ " Stories My Grandma Never Told Me " Sue Fagalde Lick - 274 pgs
Yrod ~ What period are you talking about here? What are their ship's accommodations like there ? Can we envision The Titanic as being similar with its it stereotypical classes of people like steerage is on he Titanic? Is this a smaller vessel than that of the Titanic?

( Here is a clip of the actual real ship, theTitanic,in port prior to being painted so we can get a feel for the flavor of your book ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFrD... )

Does the author profess to having shared in the accommodations therein ?

********************************************************************
Atherton59 ~ "Don't Blame Your Mother"- ? author - ? pgs

Atherton59 - What have you discovered about your book and is it really pared to the theme as obviously as it is titled ? Who was the author and was it written from personal experience or mainly about others? Do you like your book ? Has it influenced you in any way?

Please feel free to jump back in at anytime as "life happens" to us all & we fall behind in everything! (Just look at what's been going on in mine ~ and i have obviously fallen behind miserably in my own participation... So please atherton ~ Just jump right back in AGAIN !

***********************************************************************
notdeadyet005 ~ "Believing In Jesus" - Leonard Foley, O. F. M. - 294 pgs

I haven't read any further bec of recovery from health issues but i am looking forward to getting back to my reading / reviewing of it..

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ANYONE ELSE ?

You can begin at ANY tim or even change off on books at anytime if you decide you don't like THE BOOK SELECTION you have started WITH !!

ALL OF YOU PREVIOUS MEMBERS WHO HAVE EXPRESSED AN INTEREST IN THE OTFN BOOK CLUB ~ C'MON ~ PLEASE ~ JUMP RIGHT IN HERE ...

NDY

MY BRAIN IS FULL TRYING TO TRACK ALL THE CHARACTERS!

OHHHH DS is making it hard to post again!!! The characters are intriguing and yet hard to follow. It seems that the daughter of Polly, Cressida who is pregnant, is not pregnant by Joe (her nice boyfriend) but some other as yet unidentified character! Also the sweet midwife, Clare, has an ass of a husband, Elliot, who is having an affair, but I don't know with whom yet. I pray it is not Cressida!

Each month the women in my book "The Reading Group" pick a different book to read and discuss. They meet every week and share their interpretation of the current selection. They discuss the author as well as the characters of the book. It sometimes provides insight for their own situation in life. One of the women sees herself as a strong heroine when she really has a weakness that needs addressing.

Let's hope this posts. I will write more later.

So far this book seems to have short stories about the women of today telling about their ancestors who made the crossing. Actually the word should be survived. The ships that were available were very far from a luxury liner like the Titanic. There were no accomodations like what we would expect to have available to us,today. I feel that the people that worked and saved their money to be able to get on board were duped. The average length of time for their voyage was 2 weeks. In other cases,weather included, it could take up to 2 months. One woman described her ancestors trip in more detail. Her great great grandmother and her family of 4 children plus her husband, suffered so very badly. Dysentary was very common. GG Grandmother was expecting her 5th child. The crossing was so very hard on her and her children. Seasickness. Then at one point on the trip the ship ran out of food. One of her children died. Apparently this was a common event on these crossings. The sharing of these stories are very hard to read about.

Yrod;
The stories do sound sad! All the misery and loss, BUT THEY ARE ALSO INSPIRING! These individuals made such a sacrifice for their families! Life was hard but they must have made a decision to overcome these hardships to find a better home for their families. Most of our families experienced something very much like this at some point. My Irish ancestors came to America and I don't think it was a luxury crossing because we have all had to work for a living. lol I am interested in learning more about my family especially now. Thank you for sharing.
marcia

Interesting Marcia, as my dad's whole family tree is full of Blarney ! My father broke the mold when he married my mothe,r daughter of second generation Welsh & German parents. All who came over from Europe as working class people with the exception of my great grandmother's family ( on my German grandmother's side) involved in the War of the Czars. ( But that probably counts for the measure of my little finger full of ethnicity in that case ! ) Lol !

Your book is sounding more like a modern soap or take on a movie plot... I guess based on it that would be believable !

Yrod ~ I agree with Marcia in that the stories of the Portugese families you are reading about are written for a reason so that those who have survived have not done so in vain! We are learning so much from "looking over your shoulder>" Your relating the story causes us all to take notice "from whence we came" and to appreciate it more. Please don't stop reading and continue to inform us about this rich heritage..

Yrod - How does this relate to your own background of family?

Please mention the title & author of your books when relpying... And thank you for continuing in spite of the technical problems here at DS.. There was a whole day it wouldn't let me on also...

Atherton51 & Dreamer247... We are all anxiously awaiting the tales of your books ... Just go back to my last post concerning your books and address the questions I raised plus anything else you care to tell..

NDY

I have been so busy following the Iditarod and working that I have not posted here for a while and wanted to see if we had any new information. No?

Well, Harriet (who is the leader of the Reading Group in my book) had an invitation to a wedding and became obsessive about losing weight so she could go and blow the socks off her 1st love. Her husband who is crazy in love with Harriet went with her and watched her go through the disillusion of seeing her former beau marrying another woman. Poor Harriet. Poor Roger (Harriet's husband)! Charles, the first love, and his bride didn't even see Harriet or notice how she was all cow eyed looking at Charles. I haven't made it to the part where Roger puts it together, but I'm sure he does. He realizes Harriet is drinking too quickly on an empty stomach and he attempts to get her out of the reception before she can say or do anything to embarrass herself.

Stay tuned!

I will update when I start the book over again. I am having lots of issues with reading the book and taking notes. if it becomes to overwhelming for me to do I will stop reading the book altogether.

sORRY, |i HAVE BEEN TOO ILL TO READ MY BOOK BUT I HOPE TO GET BACK ON THIS TOPiC SITE THIs COMING WEEK ...

MAYBE i WILL TALK TO YOU YOU ALL THEN !!

HUGS
NDY

Yes I read the Help, very good.

Dee