61 HOURS

Lee Child. 61 Hours.

Another lost weekend. This is set in South Dakota, around an old missile site, in a great snowstorm. 

THE AGE OF HOPE

David Bergen. The Age of Hope.

Loaned by a friend, and then I found my own copy on my CanLit bookshelf. Enjoyed this gentle glimpse into another woman's life. Set in Steinbach and Winnipeg. Hope marries a Mennonite. Is hospitalized with post-partum depression.

THE BOY AT THE KEYHOLE

Stephen Giles. The Boy At the Keyhole. 

Another Hawthorne Book Club success. No one liked this book. The child abandonment and child neglect and child abuse were triggering. The characters, boy and caregiver, were unappealing. But discussion brought out the craft, the image of the limited POV as symbolized by the keyhole, the surprise ending made sense. Everyone chose to re-read and enjoyed it more the second time. 
Set in England. Australian author.

HATS OFF TO THE SUN

George Whipple. Hats off to the Sun. Ekstasis, 1996.

A variety celebrating the mysteries of daily life. 

THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE

Alan Bradley. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Anchor, 2009.

Hawthorne Book Club selection. My first Flavia de Luce mystery. Looking forward to more. 

THE MILLIONTH CIRCLE

Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D. THE MILLIONTH CIRCLE: How to Change Ourselves and the World. Conari, 1999. 

As the cover blurb says, "The Essential Guide to Women's Circles." Positive thinking. Individual and group responsibility. 

p. 13 " ... the promise that when a critical number of people change their attitude or behavior, culture at large will change. " 

p. 40 co-dependency "If one fears to be truthful, lest feelings be hurt or punishment follows, there is codependency, Codependency and equality are incompatible."

p. 17 "Every important relationship is a universe of two. ... you are either in a circle or a hierarchy. If there is an unspoken assumption that you will defer or be subordinate and accept the other's judgment or choices in place of your own--you are living in a patriarchy of two."

p. 43 talking stick -- saying the truth with tact and kindness

p. 73 Rituals, altars, celebrations (risk of empty form) "It's not what is done, but the spirit in which it is done that makes all the difference."

p. 74 candles  "Each is a visible symbol of an invisible fire, that is spirit, soul, wisdom, illumination, heart. The fire around which we gather."

p. 88 Namaste - The divinity in me greets the divinity in thee.

CLOSE TO THE BONE

Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D. CLOSE TO THE BONE: Life-Threatening Illness and the Search for Meaning. Scribner. 1996.

I love this woman's writing. Jungian psychology, mythology, and how crises can help us transform.