The Help

by Kathryn Stockett – 2009 (hardcover) – 451pp
“set during the nascent civil rights movement in Jackson, Miss., where black women were trusted to raise white children but not to polish the household silver. Eugenia Skeeter Phelan is just home from college in 1962, and, anxious to become a writer, is advised to hone her chops by writing about what disturbs you. The budding social activist begins to collect the stories of the black women on whom the country club sets relies and mistrusts enlisting the help of Aibileen, a maid who’s raised 17 children, and Aibileen’s best friend Minny, who’s found herself unemployed more than a few times after mouthing off to her white employers. The book Skeeter puts together based on their stories is scathing and shocking, bringing pride and hope to the black community, while giving Skeeter the courage to break down her personal boundaries and pursue her dreams.”

by Zadie Smith

2005 – 464pp
Set in a fictitious New England college, this novel focuses on issues of class, race and fidelity. Howard Belsey and his family are not sympathetic characters, but are oddly compelling. There is much to discuss.

By Laurie Halse Anderson
I just finished Wintergirls – and, all I can say, it’s breathtaking, stunning. This YA novel is a riveting look at the world of anorexia from the inside. Lia’s struggles with food, family, and life is painful to watch but you glimpse how her logic makes sense to her. At the same time, you witness the pain and helplessness of those around her. The brilliance and clarity of writing is spectacular. The author uses a wonderful device near the end of the book that stopped my heart for a moment. I heartily recommend this book. — LDSG

Visit Laurie Halse Anderson’s web site to learn more about this book and its author.

The Trouble With Boys

By Peg Tyre

Interviewing hundreds of parents, children, teachers, and experts, journalist Peg Tyre explains just why and how the educational system is failing our sons — fron the banning of recess and the lack of male teachers as role models to the  demands of No Child Left Behind.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma

by Michael Polland

From The Washington Post

In The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan writes about how our food is  grown –  what it is, in fact, that we are eating. The book is really three in one: The first section discusses industrial farming; the second, organic food, both as big business and on a relatively small farm; and the third, what it is like to hunt and gather food for oneself. And each section culminates in a meal — a cheeseburger and fries from McDonald’s; roast chicken, vegetables and a salad from Whole Foods; and grilled chicken, corn and a chocolate soufflé (made with fresh eggs) from a sustainable farm; and, finally, mushrooms and pork, foraged from the wild.

The first section is a wake-up call for anyone who has ever been hungry. In the United States, Pollan makes clear, we’re mostly fed by two things: corn and oil. We may not sit down to bowls of yummy petroleum, but almost everything we eat has used enormous amounts of fossil fuels to get to our tables. Oil products are part of the fertilizers that feed plants, the pesticides that keep insects away from them, the fuels used by the trains and trucks that transport them across the country, and the packaging in which they’re wrapped. We’re addicted to oil, and we really like to eat.

People of the Book

By Geraldine Brooks – 2008 – 384pp

This wonderfully rich and complex historical fiction novel moves around the world from Australia to Boston to Bosnia to the Middle East, as it alternates between past and present. Hanna, a rare book expert, is asked to examine the Sarajevo Haggadah. Her findings unravel the history of the book and the story illuminates portions of history that are not familiar to everyone. The clues she finds in the book and the details of its creation are fascinating. It is one of those rare books that entices you to reread it immediately!

Wednesday, November 18 at 2:30pm in Slaviana’s room.

Useful Links

A Torah Scribe Pushes the Parchment Ceiling
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/arts/design/08sfculture.html?_r=1

A recent article in the NY Times tells the story of a contemporary Hebrew scribe working on a new reproduction of the Torah.  Ms. Julie Seltzer is one of very few women in the world practiced in the craft of writing holy scripts.  She can be seen working on the project through fall 2010 at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco.

Geraldine Brooks
http://www.geraldinebrooks.com/

Brooks’ official web site is rich in links and information.

Sarajevo Haggadah
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarajevo_Haggadah

This article from Wikipedia has a brief history of the Sarajevo Haggadah.

Sarajevo Haggadah
http://www.haggadah.ba/?x=2&y=1#

This web site is designed to sell official facsimiles of the book. It has wonderful images of pages from the haggadah. A brief history is also available.

PikePOD (People in Open Dialogue) is a group sponsored by the Diversity Committee at The Pike School and is open to faculty and staff.

PikePOD seeks to expand awareness of all those issues that divide us.  Books (fiction, non-fiction, young-adult) and videos about race, culture, sexual orientation, and physical or mental differences will be this group’s focus.