Thoughts on Book Club...

Hey Gals!
GREAT book club. Left me with lots of thoughts to chew on. Here they are in no particular order...

1. A Wikipedia synopsis of Afghanistans history as it pertains to our book and discussion (1973-2007) click here. The most interesting part I found is that the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, once in power in 1978, moved to permit freedom of religion and carried out an ambitious land reform, waiving farmers' debts countrywide. They also made a number of statements on women’s rights and introduced women to political life. A prominent example was Anahita Ratebzad, who was a major Marxist leader and a member of the Revolutionary Council. Ratebzad wrote the famous New Kabul Times editorial (May 28, 1978) which declared: “Privileges which women, by right, must have are equal education, job security, health services, and free time to rear a healthy generation for building the future of the country .... Educating and enlightening women is now the subject of close government attention.”[]

On this web page also is a picture of the Buddhas of Bamyan that were an important part in A Thousand Splendid Suns, which is cool to see.

2. Who is Heather?
I had to look up Heather of Chapters "Heather's Picks". Click here to see her full list of picks.

She says of James Frey's new book (And Ambers first pick for next year) "You will in turn be moved, angry, charmed, saddened, and entertained, but you won’t be bored. A great summer read." Looking forward to that one!

Of the books in our Book Club she has recommended - Almost Moon, Water for Elephants, The Glass Castle, and The Birth House.

3. Do you read parts of our books and intend to highlight, dog-ear, or make note of something that you would like to discuss at our meeting, but too soon forget? I do! I do! I volunteer to keep track of any and all such bits for discussion and bring them to book club meetings. Just e-mail them to me (if they include a spoiler - because I don't mind a spoiler) or post on the blog and I'll compile a list.

4. Upon searching for the Alberta Rules on What Not to Name Your Baby, I came across this article from the Edmonton Journal which gave me a few chuckles. I've highlighted the funnies if you are only in for a skim.

"There were also a few more creative monikers among Alberta babies in 2006.

They include girls named Tequila, Gladness, Glee, Treasure and Rejoice and boys named

Ancient, Tyrant, Rowdy, Boss and DieselBlaze.

Lansky warns that flamboyant names can be a double-edged sword as the child gets older. They may have an original, one-of-a-kind name, but it could give people the wrong impression.

"We know that there are girls named Brandy and I don't think anybody would name a kid Vodka," said Lansky, whose eight books on names have sold a total of 10 million copies. (Note from Christine - I do know a baby just named "Hennessey")

"But there is something offbeat about Tequila or Brandy that would suggest this could be a wild child."

Service Alberta spokesman Eoin Kenny said the province does not allow names that are numeric, obscene, or composed of run-on words such as "Kingoftheworld." (Damn...I really like Kingoftheworld.)
"It would be embarrassing for the child," he said.

Overall, however, Albertans appear to be following a trend that has been going on for several years in the United States.

Lansky, also a publisher and bestselling children's poet, conducted a survey of about 100,000 people to find out their perceptions of various names.

What he discovered was that male names ending with the letter "n" were considered more sensitive and modern than were terse and macho-sounding names such as Chuck or Hank.

"I think it makes sense to have a boy's name that is a little bit softer and might give him credibility as a nice person. But Logan is a cool, surfer-dude's name."

Similarly, female names that end with an "ah" sound are typically thought to be stronger than those ending with a "y" or "ie."

"It's all in the name of gender equality," Lansky said. "All those names like Debbie, Pattie, Susie were cheerleader names that were cute, peppy and zippy, but they weren't the name of a scholar."

By contrast, he said, a lot of people perceive girls with the name Abigail to be smart.

"It has the image of brains," Lansky said. "Now we want girls to be competent. We want to pick a name for a girl as if she were a judge, lawyer or professor. We want our daughters to be able to make it in the world."

Ironically, the name was also given 21 different spellings in Alberta last year, including Abbigail, Abigayle, Abbygail, Abagail, Abbiegail, Abygail, Abbiegayle, and Abigael.

Ava, once a rare name, is being carried to the top of naming lists by the "ah" sound, he said -- certainly not because of its fading association with movie star Ava Gardner.
"Ava is sort of a super 'a' name, if you will," Lansky said. (This is Shannon's fave name for a girl)

Melissa Gretzan, whose daughter was born March 24, 2006, would agree with that. She and her husband Allan named their baby Ava.

"I've really liked that name for three to five years," she said. "I loved what it stood for, which is Eve, a derivative of life."

The obstetrics nurse also believes the name portrays a strong image, is easy to pronounce and it should remain suitable as little Ava grows up.

"I find that a lot of parents are making up names and spellings and these poor kids don't even know how to spell their own names and nobody knows how to pronounce them," she said. "My first name is Melissa and I have an 'a' at the end of mine, and I consider myself to be a very strong woman."