Author: kim.harwanko

Au Revoir to 2016

kim.harwanko

What a crazy year this was!  I’m not even sure I could sum it up in a cohesive way.  The one thing I’m sure of is that I read a lot of great books this year. 

Books have helped me through some tough times.  Wondering through a book store, pulling out a book, reading the flap, looking at the cover, and thinking whether this is something that speaks to me.  Sometimes they whisper, sometimes I hear a loud shout.  Some even sound like my own voice with a current problem or worry. A few will let me down, but most of the time I am glad for the journey.

As much as we need friends and people that love us, we also need quiet time.  I read in my quiet time.  Tranquil and soothing, reading allows me to float away as it de-stresses me. Sometimes I travel to places that I might be afraid to.  Reading makes me more empathic,  understanding and a better listener.

When you belong to a book club you get the best of both worlds – reading and friendship.  So, make a resolution in 2017 to join a book club.

This year our book club truly enjoyed a few books.  The first was Eric Larson’s “Isaac’s Storm.”  The hurricane that destroyed Galveston.  We couldn’t imagine experiencing a Cat 4 hurricane without warning and without all the rescue operations we have in place today.  Great read. 

Another book we enjoyed was Anthony Doerr’s, “All the Light We Cannot See.” It was the Pulitzer Prize winner in 2015.  We also truly enjoyed “The Swans of Fifth Avenue,” by Melanie Benjamin.  Damaged people with money – yikes. 

Those are the books that stood out in our book club this year.  As we turn to 2017 we are excited for the new year and all the new possibilities it brings, including some great new reads.

Happy New Year Everyone!

 

A Unique Perspective on Success

kim.harwanko

I’m always curious about everything and love reading non-fiction books just as much as I do fiction.  I have a stack of books in my office, bedroom, living room, just about everywhere, and in one of those beautiful dusty piles was Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers.”  I picked it out from under the pile, blew the dust off and thought we’d end our 2016 book club year with “Outliers.”

bfbc-11-16-gladwellI love reading Gladwell’s work.  It’s understandable to a non-scientific rube like me and it’s always fun to discuss at book club.  When I read his work, it’s like I’m sitting down having a conversation with him.  I get it.  Well, most of it. And I remember pieces of it for a long time.

We are a product of our environment – we all know that innately.  We know somehow that we have similarities with Grandma or Grandpa because our parents always told us “you’re just like your Grandmother or Grandfather.”  But after we eye-rolled ourselves out of the conversation with our parents we never gave it much thought.  In “Outliers,” Gladwell not only believes there is a strong connection with immediate family, but also with your ancestors. 

He has such an inquisitive mind and I can imagine him sitting in Central Park, or anywhere, absorbing everything around him, connecting the conversation of the people behind him with a conversation he heard at a lecture the week before, forming a connection then researching and interviewing people until he starts to connect the Legos of our lives building one on top of the other until this his unique perspective is complete.  (more…)

Striving for a Better Life

kim.harwanko

I’ve been thinking about my ancestors lately while listening to the rhetoric on immigration in this Presidential election. Somehow my great grandparents managed to make what was properly an arduous trip to America and become citizens.

One day I hope to look into my family’s genealogy and track down my roots. I’m sort of a mutt with Irish, English, Scottish and Dutch grandparents, but my maiden name is Sullivan, so I’d start with the Irish part of my lineage.

The Sullivans probably came here during or after the Great Famine between 1845-1849 when about two million Irish emigrated with 70 percent of them going to America, 28 percent to Canada and 2 percent to Australia.

When I began reading this wonderful book, I thought about my Irish ancestors and how difficult it must have been to leave their country, probably starving from years of famine, cramped onto a freighter or other in an ill-equipped boat over the Atlantic and then arriving at Ellis Island without money, a job or food. I’ve often wondered what they felt when they passed the Statute of Liberty. Was this country all they hoped it to be? How long did it take them to adjust? Did they ever want to leave? (more…)

Scandal the Great Equalizer of the Rich and Powerful

kim.harwanko

In a recent writing workshop, a fellow writer told me about a book she just finished, “The Swans of Fifth Avenue,” by Melanie Benjamin.  She thought my book club would like it.

I had found Truman Capote rather odd when I saw him on talk shows in the mid-1970’s.  I was only a teenager and interested in the usual teen stuff and certainly not interested in a “personality.” But a few years later during my true crime genre phase I read “In Cold Blood.”  Personality or not, Capote’s novel captivated me.

“The Swans of Fifth Avenue,” is a historical fiction involving Capote and the ladies of New York’s Fifth Avenue – his Swans. During the 1960’s and 1970’s Capote delighted them with his wit and charm, moving among them with ease, as one of their own.

Babe Paley and her wealthy friends adhered to traditional lifestyles established by their mothers and high society during the turbulent 1960’s. There is a scene where Babe rubs her husband’s feet when he comes home from work, a scene repeated every day.  Imagine that. She was his personal butler – filling every need.  But where was the love?

Enter Truman Capote.  He shook up their lives, made Babe and the other Swans laugh with his quick wit and social satire.  He paid attention to them, praised them, and gossiped with them like teenagers.  He made them feel important – at least for a while. (more…)

Drum Roll …… We Are Pleased to Announce Our New Website

kim.harwanko

Today is National Book Lovers Day. What a great excuse to curl up with a book and read!  And, it’s also a great day to launch our new website.

Take a look around.  When you mix friends, reading and wine – well, it’s just perfect. If you’re not in a book club – start your own.  You’ll be so happy you did.

I’ve always loved reading and I started our book club in 2004.  I’ve found that some books really touch a nerve and we’ll be up for hours talking about it, and other times we barely mention the book and spend the time catching up with each other.   I just love it. I love the comradery and those times that move us, whether it be from our reading selection or one of our lives. 

Speaking about reading – as always, I’m in the middle of a few books at the same time.  One is “1776,” by David McCullough to get my history fix, another is “The Swans of Fifth Avenue,” by Melanie Benjamin to get my gossip fix and the last is “Executive Privilege,” by Phillip Margolin to get my mystery fix. So many books – so little time.

Let us know what you think about our new website and any books you’d like to share!

Be sure to tweet with #NationalBookLoversDay. It’s the top trending hash tag right now.