Our Reading WIsh List

"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go." ~ Dr. Seuss

So what's on your list of books? Anything you've read and recommend? Anything you keep hearing about and can't wait to get your hands on? Make a comment on this post and we'll have a great list to pick from for future review!

**A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Interesting Story of three Afghan women showing their hard lives and help for each other. (Karla Westlake)

**The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Best selling book about Afghanistan family and culture. (Karla Westlake)

River Town by Peter Hessler

True story of a young man’s adventure in the Peace Corp along the Yangtze River in China just before it was changed. It shows him learning language and culture just by mixing in with the people. (Karla Westlake)

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

A dark story of man and boy walking down a road after the apocalypse. It emphasizes ingenuity of keeping body and soul together and relationship between father and son. Good discussion because some will like it and some will not. (Karla Westlake)

Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

A great classic showing class consciousness and relationships. (Karla Westlake)

The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason

A very interesting story taking place in Burma with lots of twists and turns to the story. (Karla Westlake)

One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus

The fictional tale about white women being given by U.S. government to Cheyenne Indians as wives. It is full of interesting facts about Indian life and question of just who are the savages. (Karla Westlake)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Interesting story about a boy with autism. (Karla Westlake)

Gap Creek by Robert Morgan

Story about life in South Carolina in 1900 showing hard life on the farm, drudgery of women, and hope for a marriage. (Karla Westlake)

**The Year of Wonders, a Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks

Great story about puritans surviving the plague in 1660’s. It was surprisingly not a depressing book. (Karla Westlake)

**Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

Very interesting story about women in China and their secret way of communicating. (Karla Westlake)

**Broken For You by Stephanie Kallos

“A tale of two women in self-imposed exile whose paths intersect transforming both their worlds….” – Amazon.com

**Devil in the White City: Murder Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Eric Larson

“Not long after Jack the Ripper haunted the ill-lit streets of 1888 London, H.H. Holmes dispatched somewhere between 27 and 200 people, mostly single young women, in the churning new metropolis of Chicago; many of the murders occurred during (and exploited) the city's finest moment, the World's Fair of 1893. Larson's breathtaking new history is a novelistic yet wholly factual account of the fair and the mass murderer who lurked within it. Larson strikes a fine balance between the planning and execution of the vast fair and Holmes's relentless, ghastly activities.” –Amazon.com

**The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak (Linda McGinty)

“Death himself narrates the World War II-era story of Liesel Meminger from the time she is taken, at age nine, to live in Molching, Germany, with a foster family in a working-class neighborhood of tough kids, acid-tongued mothers, and loving fathers who earn their living by the work of their hands. The child arrives having just stolen her first book–although she has not yet learned how to read–and her foster father uses it, The Gravediggers Handbook, to lull her to sleep when she’s roused by regular nightmares about her younger brothers death. Across the ensuing years of the late 1930s and into the 1940s, Liesel collects more stolen books as well as a peculiar set of friends: the boy Rudy, the Jewish refugee Max, the mayors reclusive wife (who has a whole library from which she allows Liesel to steal), and especially her foster parents.” – Amazon.com

**Saturday By Ian McEwan (Linda McGinty)

“A smart, measured performance of McEwan's cerebral novel about an ominous day seen through the eyes of Henry Perowne, a reflective neurosurgeon whose comfortable life is shaken following a run-in with a street thug.” – Amazon.com

** These were recommended at one of our meetings

Buy the Book!

"When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes" ~ Desiderius Erasmus

Remember back when Ellen had her own book store? Just a little blast from the past to brighten your day! If some of you sisters are too young to remember this fun pop culture reference then think how much we've all to learn from each other!

Some of the books we choose may come from your personal library - or even the public library! But if you'd like to buy your own copy of our selection, I encourage you to try this option: Chi Omega has joined the Amazon.com Associates Program.

For your convenience, the Learning Center website features links to Amazon.com for ordering book-club books and other merchandise. When you visit that page, simply click on the image which looks like the one above to get to Amazon. As an Amazon Associates Program member, Chi Omega will receive a referral fee on qualifying purchases made through these links. The Fraternity will be able to use these proceeds to further member support, education, and programming, but keep in mind the purchase must be made from the Chi Omega website link. You may bookmark this post, but I will maintain the link information on the sidebar for your future reference.

Still here? Go buy some books and get to reading!

A Letter From Our National President

reprinted from the Chi Omega website...

Dear Sister,

Welcome to the Chi Omega Reading Rewards Learning Center – Chi Omega’s online book club resource community. I hope these resources inspire you to grab a book, connect with a Sister (or a group of Chi Omegas) and engage in intellectual discussions about what you are reading and learning. A book club is a wonderful way to strengthen the Chi Omega bonds with fellow alumnae.

I invite you to explore this site [ETA: Chi Omega Reading Rewards link to the right] and discover information about talented Chi Omega authors and effective ways to get the most out of reading. Reading opens your mind to new ideas and promotes and encourages higher thinking. Talking about a book in a group setting is a fun way to learn with your Sisters – of all ages.

Lifelong learning is part of the Chi Omega daily routine.

• New members learn to place scholarship as priority and to strive for academic excellence. Sincere learning and creditable scholarship is one of our six purposes.
  

• Active chapter members are growing and learning as leaders. Our Ritual reminds us of Chi Omega's devotion to enlightenment. Our Symphony tells us "to place scholarship before social obligations."

• Alumnae members are empowered to achieve the words on the frieze of the Chi Omega Greek Theater – INTELLIGENCE, KNOWLEDGE, INTEGRITY, CULTURE, and COURAGE. Learning opportunities await us every day.

Examples such as these illustrate the charge put before us to recognize our natural gifts and to take things to the next level as Chi Omegas in our lifelong quest toward self-fulfillment.

My son's middle school is named for George Dawson, a man who learned to read at 98. His story is an inspiration. Mr. Dawson was quoted saying, "Every morning I get up and wonder what I might learn that day. You just never know." At 98, George Dawson decided to learn to read and enrolled in a literacy program. He lived to be 101. Something in his soul motivated him to follow his yearning to grow. He became a celebrated student, proclaiming that "Life is so good."

You just never know what we will learn each day as Chi Omegas. I invite you to reward your Sisterhood and reward yourself by connecting and learning with other Chi Omegas over a good book!

Jean Mrasek ~ National President

...and so it begins!

"She is too fond of books and it has addled her mind!" ~ Louisa May Alcott

One fine day last October as I sat with my fellow Chi Omega sisters at The Monastery listening to Erin lead our meeting, I heard the phrases "Reading Rewards", "Book Club", and "Need a volunteer"...

Now the first part of that was really exciting. I've always wanted to be in a book club! This was going to be great! I read a moderate amount, but I haven't really encouraged myself to venture outside my science fiction fantasy book list in the recent past. I was going to get to read REAL books and TALK about them with smart, thoughtful women! Just like in my Literature Classes only without the annoying teachers, papers, and tests. Boy was this going to be AWESOME!

Reality check: No one seemed to be tripping over anyone else to be the chair of the club. To make this dream come true, it seemed I had to step up to the challenge of leading the group. Not a problem, as I'm generally brave enough to risk looking foolish... "Discouraged Never" right?!

And so I find myself in charge.

Be patient with me. Remember above when I said, "I've always wanted to be in a book club?" this rather implies that I've never lead a book club either! I have received lots of help from you all so far, especially the book that Cheryl Lister lent me called "Good Books Lately" by Ellen Moore and Kira Stevens. I look forward to the continued support of the sisterhood!

I am especially in need of suggestions as to good places to meet on the West side. (Being an Eastsider shouldn't be a handicap, despite what you Westsiders may humorously think!)

Keep stopping back to the blog for updates, information, and hopefully some fun stuff too.

Welcome to the adventure!

Yours in Chi Omega, Connie Carpenter Macko