I am a member in absentia of a book club in Washington DC; when we moved to Maine I just could not let go of my girl friends and this club which has been ongoing for over 15 years.  (Also I am starting a club here in Belfast and I am a member of an internet group — something like, too many book clubs and too little time.)   The Washington club chose Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Relin for the December selection.  I moaned and groaned as my favorite genre is grand historical novels, and why did I want to slosh through 300 pages about building schools in today’s Pakistan?   But we have a rule, when the club assigns, you must read –  a broadening of horizons’ mantra type of thing.

Well, a few pages into this Three Cups of Tea and I was hooked – on the adventure story, on the history and geography of the area, and on the reality of altruism in the world.   I am happy to note that one of the community events organized by the 2010 Camden Conference is a discussion of this book led by Professor Paul Johnson; the event is scheduled for Tuesday, January 19, at the library in Damariscotta.

FYI:  For all of you book junkies, the book assigned for January by the DC club is Wolf Hall, a grand historical novel about Thomas Cromwell.  Despite the riveting opening chapter where young Thomas is getting the life almost beaten out of him by none other than his father, I am still reflecting on building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Happy New Year, Diana