Author Archives: Broadened Horizons

Spring Reading Thing 2011

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Dear fellow Bookworms,

Thought I’d share this low-to-no-pressure reading challenge! (Did you catch that?… LOW to NO pressure!!) Katrina over at Callapidder Days is hosting a Spring reading challenge (March 20-June20.) I’d encourage you to check it out and maybe even sign up! It doesn’t matter what your reading goal is… 2 books or 20! If you sign up by March 24th you can have a chance to win some Amazon $$!

Here are all the details! Let me know if you link up. I’d love to see your to-read lists!! Here’s mine list in case you’re interested: reading goals.

fellow book lover,
Sarah

PS: Spring is just the perfect time to read, don’t you think?! Windows open, curtains blowing in the breeze and adventures to be had on the pages of your next book!


blog post game

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Discussion Questions for
The Tipping Point

And just for fun this post is written as a Mad Lib.
(and give you a little practice in knowing (or remembering) your parts of speech)

So get out a pen choose your words… for real… try it… it’ll be fun!

1 noun_________
2 adjective _________
3 verb _________
4 plural noun_________
5 noun _________
6 noun _________
7 plural color_________
8 adjective _________
9 US city _________
10 noun _________
11 number __________
12 verb _________
13 adjective _________
14 adjective _________
15 plural noun_________
16 number __________

This _____ (noun) was packed _____(adjective)! So as a refresher, before I _____ (verb) to the questions, here are a few of the _____ (plural noun) we read about…

the _____ (noun) of the Few
Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen
the Stickiness _____ (noun)
Sesame Street, _____(plural color) Clues, and the _____ (adjective) Virus
The Power of Context
Bernie Goetz and the Rise and Fall of _____ (US city) _____ (noun)
The magic number _____ (number)

A few questions for thought:

~ Can you _____ (verb) with the Connectors, Mavens, or Salesmen? Are you one to any certain degree?
~ If you aren’t one of those, which of these would you consider yourself to be?
Early adopters, Early Majority, Laggards
~ Did you take the Manhattan _____ (adjective) _____ (noun) test? (on page 39) If not, try it out and lets us know how you did.
~ Which study did you find the most _____ (adjective)?
~ Would you read any other _____ (plural noun) by Gladwell?
~ How would you rate this book on a scale of 1-_____ (number)?

See you Thursday at Borders at 7:00!
Bring your book and your Mad Lib!

Bookkeeping

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Bookkeeping of sorts…

Two changes are happening with the book club:

Life can be busy, things change, schedules get scrambled, it happens, so we are making a change in which Thursday of the month we meet. Now we will meet on the second Thursday of the month.

The second change is a minor thing. We (the book club core) often has the next 6+ books planned ahead of time. Usually we reveal the next 2 books. Now we’ll keep you in the bigger loop of knowledge.

We aren’t the type of book club that requires commitments.
You can come whenever you want.
As often as you want.
Whenever we’re reading a book you like.
Or that you have time to read.

So,

drumroll please…

The upcoming books:

March: The Tipping Point
April: Three Cups of Tea (at Tea’s Me on Saturday)
May: It’s a surprise!
June: no June meeting (July’s book is long)
July: Gone with the Wind (picnic at Geist Park)
August: A Girl Named Zippy (bring a friend night)
September: The Hobbit (dinner party)

I’m interested in your thoughts on these little changes. Feel free to leave a comment! Any books you’re excited to see on the list?

Malcolm Gladwell: Author of The Tipping Point

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It’s true. I’m a little obsessed with Malcolm Gladwell. I get that way about anyone who I think is doing something really well. And let me tell you, Malcolm Gladwell is REALLY good at what he does.

I read The Tipping Point last year and I could not shut up about it. Ask anyone who I talked to in the month or 3 after I read it. I was enamored with the way Malcolm could tell you something really applicable and interesting- even scientific- using a series of stories. He is a writer and a social scientist, and I don’t know which he excels in more.

Gladwell was born in England, raised in Canada, and is part Jamaican. He has written for many distinguished publications such as The American Spectator, The Washington Post, and The New Yorker (his current employer). Along the way he also wrote for Insight on the News which, from my brief review on Wikipedia, was an interesting and controversial publication, and is owned by some even more interesting people. I’m sure it was not nearly as colorful a place as Wikipedia makes it out to be. 🙂

The Tipping Point is the first of four books that Gladwell has composed. The second being Blink which I’m currently consuming. It’s about the part of our brain that thinks without us thinking about it. Why you should trust your instincts; why you shouldn’t trust them; and how to know the difference. It’s great, and I can’t wait to finish! The 3rd, Outliers: The Story of Success is just as fascinating as the rest. (I’d call it a must-read!) He explains why Mozart really shouldn’t be considered a child-prodigy, why those steel magnates all came to be so rich, and why Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are really very similar. He also spills the beans on the recipe for success. His most recent book, What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures is a collection of his favorite articles from The New Yorker. No, I haven’t read it. Yes, I will.

I conclude with, “But you don’t have to take my word for it.” Go and see for yourself! Another group of awesome people who are doing something well are the TED people. They said we should listen to Gladwell because, “his work uncovers truths hidden in strange data.” AND you can watch Malcolm do his thing (ie: uncover truth hidden in strange data) in a video of the talk he gave at a TED conference. I’ll be honest and say that I’ve watched this video at least 3 times. You know you want to know more about the history of Spaghetti Sauce in the US. 🙂

So read up and meet up! St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th), 7pm at the Hamilton Town Center’s Borders.

In One Word: Fascinating

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What do Paul Revere’s ride, Hush Puppies shoes, Sesame Street and crime rates in New York City have in common? They all are examples of The Tipping Point, and you can find out why in this month’s book, The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell.

I have to admit that I was a little skeptical when we discussed adding this book to our reading list this year. I don’t get into nonfiction as much and more often than not have problems getting all the way through nonfiction books. The Tipping Point was definitely an exception. And the first word I would use to describe it is “fascinating.”

The Tipping Point proposes that some ideas, products, messages and behaviors act like viruses do, and when certain factors align, they reach a critical “tipping point’ and spread like an epidemic. The research and theories in the book are interesting, but it is the examples and stories that Gladwell uses that really make his theories come to life. I think you’ll find yourself saying, “Wow, I never thought about it that way before.”

This is one of those books that will make you think and start to notice more about the world around you. You just might find yourself applying some of the principles of The Tipping Point to the popularity of Silly Bandz and Beiber Fever.

Read the book and see what you think! And then join us to talk about it at the Borders at Hamilton Town Center on March 17 at 7 p.m.

Happy Reading!

Borders

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You probably have heard Borders is closing a few Indiana locations. It’s sad news. Thankfully, our location at HTC is NOT closing! (YAY!!)

Here are the locations that ARE closing:

Evansville, IN
Merrillville, IN
Mishawaka, IN
West Lafayette, IN

Carmel, IN
2381 Pointe Parkway
Carmel, IN 46032

Indianapolis, IN (downtown)
11 S. Meridian St.
Indianapolis, IN 46204

The Carmel or Downtown locations are probably not too far from most of you, maybe you can go check out the sales and find some of our upcoming book club books!

March 17th The Tipping Point
by Malcolm Gladwell

Saturday April 16th *on location*
@11:00am
Three Cups of Tea
by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

May is a surprise! Sorry, can’t reveal that one just yet! 🙂

The Chosen: A Recap

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It’s official. Chaim Potok is definitely one of our favorite authors. He is an excellent storyteller! Did you read My Name is Asher Lev with us? We liked that one, too, and it was hard for us to decide which one of these books we liked best.

In short, The Chosen is the story of two boys, Reuven and Danny, who meet under hostile circumstances, live in different circles, and yet become very good friends. The story follows them through their growing up years, the end of World War II, and the death of president Roosevelt. Like My Name is Asher Lev, there is a sequel called The Promise which follows Reuven through the next phase of his life.

I marked up my book with quotes to share during our discussion:

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Take a look at this awesome beverage: (a perk to meeting at Borders!)

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Another perk of Borders? Comfy chairs!:

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Some highlights of the story were the baseball game at the beginning, the themes of sight and silence that Potok worked in seamlessly, and the interesting characters Reuven meets during his time in the hospital. What about you? Did you read the book? What were your favorite parts?Can I also say that I am SO excited about our next book? The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell- another excellent storyteller. We’ll be meeting on St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th) at 7pm at Borders. See you there!

Silence

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“He told me once he wishes everyone could talk in silence.” The Chosen, Chapter 3

So you haven’t been to book club in awhile… or ever… yet… But
you’re thinking of joining us this book-club-Thursday! Well, here is a
glimpse of what you can expect: No we don’t “Talk in silence” 🙂

Once upon a time, on Thursdays, we meet and discuss our current read.
Simple. Read the book, bring it, if you’d like, come and enjoy the
company of others who share the joy of reading.

This time of year you’ll find us at Borders. What better place to
meet than at a book store…well, maybe a library…but this way we can
all enjoy a hot beverage from the cafe. And not have to whisper.

We usually visit a bit before we start. Often, we’ll do some simple
introductions if necessary.

Then we jump in.

This week well be discussing The Chosen by Chaim Potok. Possible
topics for discussion might be:

Silence: Was this a good thing?
Vision and perception: What happen to these boys eyes as they grew?
Both their physical sight and their view of life and the world around
them.
The title: Why is this book titled The Chosen?
Females: Where are the women in this story?
Friendship: These friends were different in so many ways but were such
good friends, what made that work?

We often get out our TableTopics book club discussion cards at the end also.

And then we part, going our separate ways and live happily ever after to start the story over!

___________________________
The Chosen
7:00pm
Thursday February 17th
Borders @ Hamilton Town Center



This Month’s Author: The Incredibly Smart Chaim Potok

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Chaim Potok is much, much smarter than me.

What else can you say about a man who started seriously writing at age 16, published and edited his college yearbook and graduated summa cum laude in English literature? This same man went on to be ordained as a rabbi, traveled with the U.S. army as a chaplain in South Korea, served on faculty at the University of Judaism, and worked on translating the Hebrew Bible into English. And those are just a few of his accomplishments!

Potok wrote a number of novels, plays and academic works. The Chosen is actually his first novel and was published in 1967. It was nominated for the National Book Award, which is one of the most prestigious awards in American literature. It was made into a film released in 1981, which won the top award at the World Film Festival in Montreal, and Chaim made a cameo appearance as a professor in the film.

Through Potok’s work, we get a glimpse of what life was and in some ways is still like for Orthodox Jews. But his work also speaks about relationships and friendships, which are things we all can relate to.

I think that is why we can learn so much from reading, especially quality, worthwhile books. Hopefully as we read books by those who are smarter than us, we can learn more from them and maybe discover things about ourselves that we might not have known before. And hopefully Chaim Potok’s The Chosen will help us do just that!

So even though Chaim Potok is much, much smarter than me, I’m OK with that.

I hope you are enjoying The Chosen and can come to Border’s on February 17 at 7 p.m. to discuss it with us. It’s been a cold, dreary, snowy February so far, so some hot coffee or tea, a night out, and great book are sure to help beat the winter blues!

Trust me. It’s awesome.

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Our book for the month of February is The Chosen by Chaim Potok.

Yes, that’s right. He’s also the author of My Name Is Asher Lev which we read have already read as a book club.

I know. There are SO many good books and authors out there, but there’s a reason why we chose to read another one of his books.

Oh, you want to know what it is? Easy. Because it’s good.

What do you mean that’s not a good enough reason? Ok fine. Potok is easily one of the best story tellers that I’ve ever come across. The framework for this novel is completely different than Asher Lev – even though the setting is fairly similar. That takes a lot of talent. Plus, we just read A Year of Living Biblically, so we should be all caught up on our Jewish vocabulary. 🙂 The time period of the book is WWII and into the post-war period. It’s a look at a group of people very affected by the war itself and the fallout after the war. But more than that, it’s a story about fathers and sons and friendship.

Well, since you asked nicely, I will share some great quotes that will hopefully peak your interest that Sarah found for me.

(Give me a break! My copy just came yesterday, and it’s been a few years since I read this.)

Right. Quotes. Sorry. I’m a little scatter-brained.

I sat on the lounge chair in the shade that covered the porch and looked out at the back lawn. Somehow everything had changed. I had spent five days in a hospital and the world around seemed sharpened now and pulsing with life. I lay back and put the palms of my hands under my head. I thought of the baseball game, and I asked myself, Was it only last Sunday that it happened, only five days ago? I felt I had crossed into another world, that little pieces of my old self had been left behind on the black asphalt floor of the school yard alongside the shattered lenses of my glasses.

“Ah,” my father murmured. He was silent for a moment. Then he said quietly, “Reuven, listen to me. The Talmud says that a person should do two things for himself. One is to acquire a teacher. Do you remember the other?” “Choose a friend,” I said. “Yes. You know what a friend is, Reuven? A Greek philosopher said that two people who are true friends are like two bodies with one soul.” I nodded.

See. Told ya. That last quote is a great representation of the book as a whole, and so go read it! It’s the perfect snowed-slash-iced-in-and-can’t-go-anywhere-because-I’m-too-lazy-to-scrape-my-car-read. 🙂