Eighty Days

Author: Matthew Goodman

One-sentence summary: At the turn of the century, two American women journalists set out on a race around the world aimed at beating Phileas Fogg’s fictional record of 80 days.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 6

Our favorite thing about it: We enjoyed hearing about historical details and information.

Our least favorite thing about it: Unfortunately, the book was too detailed and that distracted from the story.

Main Topics of Discussion: 1900s, Industrialization, British Colonialism, Immigration, Women, Journalism and Writing, Railroads, Travel

Our favorite quote: “That was what the trip had given her – the vividness of a new world, where one was for the first time…where the light of night and day had new meaning, where years of indifference could fall away like a dried-up husk and every sense respond with the keenness of faculties newborn.”

Notes: The overwhelming consensus on this book was that it was about 100 pages too long with far too many details. That being said, most of us enjoyed the details and historical information presented, but all felt that it really distracted us from the main story of the book, which was the race around the world.

So much detail was given about tangents from the story that every time the author would come back to the travels of the women, we would have to reorient ourselves as to where we were, who he was talking about and what was going on when we last left the story line. We felt that the editor should have cut 80-100 pages of this 400-page book to make it a more focused and less rambling narrative. The action of the story was simply buried beneath a mountain of historical detail.

Although we felt the details ultimately distracting, they did provide an interesting snapshot of the world, especially America, at the turn of the century (1900). The commentary on immigration, America’s view toward other nations, British Colonialism, and traveling customs in general were very enlightening.

The characterizations of Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland were also interesting and also very lengthy. We got the impression that Nellie Bly was written in a less than flattering light, however the details surrounding these descriptions seemed factual rather than editorial.

Memorable Meeting Moments: Dara’s lemon curd was amazing, but the word “curd” is not. The difference between artsy, crafty, and just plain crazy…Lindsay knows the distinctions. And Stephanie opened her birthday books and cards.

What We Ate: Panko-Crusted Salmon, Orzo with Tomato and Asparagus, Kale, Spinach and Arugula Salad with Homemade Vinaigrette, Wheat Bread. And Cloud Cake with Homemade Lemon Curd and Fresh Whipped Cream for dessert.

Yes, Chef

Author: Marcus Samuelsson

One-sentence summary: Chef Samuelsson takes us through his journey to becoming the chef he is today, including his background, family life, and professional ups and downs.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 7

Our favorite thing about it: We loved gaining insight into the world of restaurants and chefs.

Our least favorite thing about it: There really wasn’t anything we just didn’t like about the book, it just wasn’t earth-shattering to us. It was just kind of so-so.

Main Topics of Discussion: Passion, Work Ethic, Business, Honesty, Ethnicity, Food, Traveling, Chef Culture, Teaching/Learning

Our favorite quote: “One of the things I have learned during the time I have spent in the United States is an old African American saying: Each one, teach one. I want to believe that I am here to teach one and, more, that there is one here who is meant to teach me. And if we each one teach one, we will make a difference.”

Notes: We enjoyed reading this book about Marcus’s life and professional journey. The most fascinating thing for us was how the chef and restaurant world functions behind the scenes. We found the emphasis on learning and hands-on training inspiring. The “chef culture” of yelling, berating, humiliation, etc. was interesting to learn about but we didn’t necessarily identify with it.

Marcus obviously worked very hard and along with a natural talent, was able to drive himself to success. He was goal oriented and as he himself said, “chased flavors.” One of the most interesting parts was his discussion about the ethnicity of food and how rediscovering his home country of Ethiopia was so central to his make-up as a chef.

We really appreciated how honest Marcus was in his account of his life and experiences even when it highlighted some of his self-professed mistakes and downfalls. Never more so than when he talked about waiting 14 years to meet his daughter and have a relationship with her.

As interesting as we found the book, our one criticism was that it just wasn’t amazing, or life-changing or even that revelatory to us. It was easy to read and fairly well-written so it was an enjoyable book for us overall.

Memorable Meeting Moments: Memorable meeting moments are best recorded as close to the time of the meeting as possible. Maybe even in written form in notes. However, this time, neither of those things happened – so, sorry!

What We Ate: Roast Chicken Thighs, Salad, Beet and Quinoa Salad, Roasted Asparagus and Brussels Sprouts, and Purple Potato Mash. Cinnamon Cake with Honey for dessert.

Torn

Author: Justin Lee

One-sentence summary: A gay Christian recounts his story, with very important insights, observations, and steps for changing the perception of Christianity.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 8

Our favorite thing about it: The book was very well written.

Our least favorite thing about it: Some of the points were driven home to the point of repetition (this is being really picky).

Main Topics of Discussion: Story, Love, Context, Ministry, Perspective, Christianity, Acceptance, Sin, Listening

Our favorite quote: “If I were truly filled with God’s perfect agape love, and if I could live that love out in every moment of my life, I wouldn’t need any other commandments written down, because I’d be automatically doing all the right things.” (p.196)

Notes: This book was really powerful to us and the first thing we all agreed on was that we wish everyone would read it. We feel that it is that important to what is going on in society and our churches today. We are so thankful that Justin shared his story in such a clear and loving way that we could be truly impacted by hearing it.

We really appreciated that the book was so well written and had such a logical progression of thought. Because of that, it was very easy to follow and read. And the emphasis on story and slipping into someone’s shoes by hearing their story really drove home the point of listening to others. And by using his personal story, Justin is able to show things to the readers that are indisputable because they are his true personal experiences and feelings. This is invaluable.

We also appreciated Justin’s careful and very thoughtful analysis on the passages of the bible that discuss homosexuality. He raised every question any of us could have thought about when going through those texts. And what’s more, he does not demand that you share his conclusions from that study. While he may have confirmed what a few of us already believed, he leaves room for others to respectfully disagree with him and still hear what other things he has to say. What he has to say about love and the greatest commands was especially insightful for us (and is reflected in our favorite quote above.)

The end of the book, where Justin lays out several very specific practical things that Christians can do to bridge the gap between churches and gays is fantastic. We all thought that the thoughtfulness of this part of the book was the perfect way to end it. Not only asking readers to do something, but specifically telling them how to do it.

There were so many other things we discussed about this book and the discussion was not brief! Ultimately, we think this book is so important because it allows anyone to hear first-hand what it is like for Justin to be a gay Christian and all that meant for him growing up and beyond. The things he talks about on his journey to where he is today sheds so much light on things that we as straight Christians simply don’t know about. And even if we have gay friends, we may have never heard about. We believe that sharing his experiences coupled with his obvious deep desire to save Christianity from turning away the gay population in future generations makes this book a must-read.

Memorable Meeting Moments: Amberly opened her birthday books and cards

What We Ate: Flank Steak, Homemade “Panera” Mac n’ Cheese, Asparagus and Cream Cheese brownies

A Year of Biblical Womanhood

Author:   Rachel Held Evans

One-sentence summary: A year-long experiment in following biblical passages literally leads to humor and insight on what it means to be a woman of valor.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating:  7

Our favorite thing about it:   We loved the reclaiming of Proverbs 31 summed up in the phrase “eshet chayil.”

Our least favorite thing about it:  That so much of the “biblical womanhood” experiment was probably cut from the final draft of the book…we expected more details of the experience and felt that it was glossed over in areas.

Main Topics of Discussion: Womanhood, Biblical, Justice, Equality, Marriage, the Bible, patriarchy

Our favorite quote: “The woman described in Proverbs 31 is not some ideal that exists out there; she is present in each one of us when we do even the smallest things with valor.” (p.90)

And another because I couldn’t choose between the two:

“We grow so attached to our rules that they love outlive their purpose, and the next thing we know, we’re adding leaves to our tables and cutting the ends off our roast. We cling to the letter because the spirit is so much harder to master.” (p.140)

Notes:  We all really liked this book and the discussion it generated at our meeting. We thought it was an interesting, easy, and humorous read. We loved that the author showed us photos of her experience to give us a visual glimpse of her “biblical womanhood” experiment. However, we had different expectations about the experiment than what was actually presented in the book.

All of us are familiar with Rachel and some of us have read her other book (Evolving in Monkey Town), so we knew where she was coming from with the premise. But we just expected to get a little more details about her experiences with “biblical womanhood” as well as for her to be immersed in them a little more. Some lasted the whole year (like her not cutting her hair), but some were only done for a few days (like the mail-order baby) or minutes. Surely some of the details of the experiment were cut from the final draft by editors (and probably rightly so), and we’re sure that a robotic baby would be cost-prohibitive to keep for much longer than 3 days. So, we understand the limitations of the experiment, but we couldn’t help but think something was missing there.

And one thing that was surprising to the couple of us that follow Rachel’s blog was that we didn’t really get a lot of new information that we had not already heard from her on her blog. We love the information and the insightful way it is presented, but for a couple of us, there wasn’t as much new information as we expected.

That being said, we all really enjoyed Rachel’s commentary on women’s roles in church, marriage, society, and other relationships. We appreciated her unpacking and detailed research of the Proverbs 31 passage as well as the Timothy “silence” passages used to define women’s roles. We were touched by the acknowledgment of the “texts of terror” as well as Rachel’s difficulty with certain Biblical texts…which mirror our own feelings. The two things we took away above all else was the reclaiming of the Proverbs 31 text for women of valor and Rachel’s assertion at the end of her book that women are the solution.

Memorable Meeting Moments:  We all wore our new Hunger Games t-shirts courtesy of Dara and Lindsay’s Christmas gifts. And Rachel opened her birthday books and cards.

What We Ate:  Pulled Chicken Tacos, Mexican Rice, and Sopapilla Cheesecake

Divergent

Author: Veronica Roth

One-sentence summary: A 16 year old girl in future dystopian Chicago makes a choice about her life that begins and understanding about her society, herself, and the truth.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 8

Our favorite thing about it: The story kept us entertained and wanting more.

Our least favorite thing about it: Some of the plot was predictable and cheesy.

Main Topics of Discussion: Truth, Sacrifice, Bravery, Human Nature, the Factions, Leadership

Our favorite quote: “I have a theory that selflessness and bravery aren't all that different.”

Notes: We really all seemed to love reading this book. The pace and story were engaging and fun and it was a fairly fast read for us all. And many of us chose to read the second book in the trilogy before the meeting as well.

As with most dystopian novels (even Hunger Games), there is a bit of the incredulous (jumping off of trains…really?), but we knew with this genre to just buy into the premise from the beginning to truly get the full impact of the book. Once you accept the reality the author sets up in the book, it is really hard to not get wrapped up in the story and characters, which is what made it such a great book for us.

And one of the things we most appreciate about the dystopian genre is its ability to strip away our current culture by replacing it with a completely foreign one and use it to comment on universal truths about human nature, behavior and emotions.

The parts of the book that we found the most interesting were the discussions of bravery. False or showy bravery was, of course, discussed as a foil to true bravery, which involves selflessness and sacrifice. The intermingling of the values from Abnegation and Dauntless was a major theme in the book.

If there were one part of the novel about which we would get picky, it was that the romance sometimes read as a bit predictable and cheesy. But I think we all felt that it didn’t distract from the overall novel too much.

Memorable Meeting Moments: The Jeopardy Game…when Lindsay couldn’t answer the question to which she was the answer! And Dara won the game!

What We Ate: Crostini with Brie and Goat Cheeses, Beef with Mushrooms and Wine Sauce over Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes, Parmesan and Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts, and Snickers Cupcakes

The Time Keeper

Author:  Mitch Albom

One-sentence summary: Father Time must help two different people sort out their problems with time before he can escape hearing the infinite pleas of humans about time.  

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 6

Our favorite thing about it:  The overall message about time was a good message.

Our least favorite thing about it: That it was formulaic in style and story.

Main Topics of Discussion: Time, Power, Human frailty, Emotions, Consequences

Our favorite quote: “Man alone measures time. Man alone chimes the hour. And, because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running out.”

Notes: Our overall thoughts about this book were that it had a good message about time and a decent story, but it was a little too simplistic compared to the expectations we had. The story had its authentic moments when discussing our relationship with time and how we often want more or less of it depending on our situations. The characters were sometimes moving and realistic. And we liked that the story was not drawn out since the message did not call for an overly-complicated plot. Had the book been longer, our opinion of it would have moved down a few notches. One thing that turned some of us off was that the writing seemed a little formulaic. The emotions were sometimes spelled out literally rather than implied through a character’s actions or words.

We discussed the book mainly by each character’s story. For Sarah’s story, we felt that her emotions and reactions were realistic, although they were drastic. We really thought that the author (a man) did a pretty good job of capturing how a teenage girl in this digital/social media age would think and act. The themes of isolation, loneliness, and hopelessness were realistic.

Victor’s story was not as relatable to us but did seem plausible, although it was drastic too. His will to live did not depend on being with someone he loved but was driven purely by power and money.

Dor’s story was interesting, but we thought his punishment was harsh for his “crime.” His story was all about how man was better off not counting the minutes of our lives and how that leads us to despair and tragedy.

Memorable Meeting Moments: We had our first potluck meal, which was made up of all our favorite Thanksgiving dishes.

What We Ate: Honeybaked Ham, Rolls, Mandarin Salad, Green Bean Casserole, Cauliflower Casserole, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Corn Casserole and Pumpkin Dump Cake for dessert.

The Hobbit

Author:  J.R.R. Tolkien

One-sentence summary: An ordinary hobbit who has never left home, embarks on a life-changing journey with 13 dwarves to reclaim their treasure from a terrifying dragon who lives in their previous mountain home.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 8

Our favorite thing about it:  The amazing story and writing.

Our least favorite thing about it: For some, it was too long and detailed.

Main Topics of Discussion: Fantasy, Characters, Created Worlds, Greed, Power, Traveling

Our favorite quote: “There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.”

Notes: This book was a re-read for all but one of us…the first time we’ve allowed that! But, for most of us it had been a while since we’d read it. The overall consensus was that The Hobbit is a wonderful, engaging story. What was interesting was that some of us loved the rich (but not wordy) details that Tolkien weaves to create the depth to his story, and some of us felt bogged down by those same details. And similarly, some of us loved the world that he created with the landscape of Middle Earth and its different parts as well as the different species of characters and their unique characteristics, and some of us do not care for fantasy worlds.

We all agreed that leaving out the details for the major battle at the end of the book was a good choice by Tolkien. And also the journey back home for Bilbo. Knowing how this story starts and ties into the Lord of the Rings trilogy makes the story all that more interesting. The Hobbit gives you a deeper glimpse into the dwarf species, which features in the trilogy as well. And it also provides insight into Gollom and the ring.

Memorable Meeting Moments: Emma, who read the book with her mom (Dara), attended the discussion portion of our meeting to tell us what she thought.

What We Ate: Butternut Squash Soup with Pumpkin Butter, Braised Lamb with English Peas, Yukon Potato Puree, and Almonds. Ginger snap whoopee pies for dessert!

The Eighty Dollar Champion

Author: Elizabeth Letts

One-sentence summary: A Dutch immigrant in the 1950s saves a run-down plow horse from the slaughter house by purchasing him for $80 and then turns him into a jumping champion.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 6

Our favorite thing about it: The overall story and the history of equestrianism in the US.

Our least favorite thing about it: The repetitiveness and poor writing.

Main Topics of Discussion: 1950’s in the US, Competition, Horses, Family Relationships

Our favorite quote: “He believed Snowy had untapped potential – unfulfilled promise that mirrored his own.”

Notes: Our overall assessment of this book was almost unanimous…that it was a great, inspirational story told in a very boring, un-impactful way.

The story of an underdog can be so exciting and inspirational, but this story just didn’t measure up. It fell short of its true potential because of the writing. Almost all of us agreed that it was a little dull, very repetitive, and slow. Although we truly appreciated most of the history of society in the US during the 1950’s as well as the history of equestrianism, the story got bogged down in unnecessary history about the school where DeLeyer taught and in the repetitive details about Henry and especially Snowman.

The reader did not need to be told (over and over again) that Snowman was “fleabitten” or “just a plow horse” or that he was “saved from the slaughter house.” All of these are good details, but it becomes annoying and detrimental to the story to be told these things ad nauseum. We felt that at least a third of the book could have been cut to make the story more punchy and impactful as it should have been.

The ending was also a little rushed and the story seemed to center as much around Henry DeLeyer and his past and character as it did Snowman despite the title of the book.

All these things being said, we did appreciate the story of an unlikely champion and the things we learned about America and the Long Island/NY area in the mid 21st century. We’re just not sure we can recommend this particular re-telling of the story.

Memorable Meeting Moments: Dara opened her birthday books and cards and then broke one of our cardinal rules about book choices (choosing a book that one or more of us has already read…or in this case, all of us but one)…but the decision was sanctioned by everyone!

What We Ate: Pasta Bake with Salad, and Pumpkin Spice cake with glaze