From the BroadwayPaperbacks/Publisher: "Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells - taken without her knowledge in 1951 - became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. Henrietta's cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can't afford health insurance. This phenomenal New York Times bestseller tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and medicine; of scientific discovery and faith healing; and of a daughter consumed with questions about the mother she never knew."
For information on author Rebecca Skloot, visit her website by clicking here.
You can also visit the Henrietta Lacks Foundation website by clicking here.
We'll meet to discuss The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks on Thursday, January 31, 2013, at 7pm at the Atlantic Highlands Branch of the Monmouth County Library located inside Borough Hall on 100 First Avenue, Atlantic Highlands.
Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down: 2012, A Year Of Reading In Review
On Thursday, December 27, 2012, the Atlantic Highlands Evening Bookclub held our first annual Holiday party during which we voted on our favorite and least favorite reads of 2012!
Here is Lori's great wrap of the party:
"We had a great time at the party and we missed everybody who couldn't make it! In fact we had so much fun, we're thinking of turning it into an annual event. Thank you to everyone who brought food and drink. We were there so long, we closed the place! I have to apologize to Faye and Val for making them stay late the next time I see them. I've attached a picture from the meeting. Unfortunately, Jo left before it was taken. All the books found new homes except for one and I'll bring it to the next meeting to see if anyone wants it.
We voted on our favorite and least favorite books and here are the results:
Favorite was A Tree Grows in
Least favorite was
Now the break-down of all the other books we read in 2012 (members who didn't read that particular book didn't vote):
The Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigani: 4 yes, 1 meh, 1 no
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare: 2 yes, 1 no
The Woman Who Walked Into Doors by Roddy Doyle: 3 yes, 1 no
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom: 2 yes, 3 no
My Antonia by Willa Cather: 3 yes, 2 no
Lucia, Lucia by Adriana Trigani: 1 yes, 2 meh, 2 no
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson 5 yes, 1 no (Guess who voted no?)
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett: 3 yes, 2 no
The Particular Sadness of the Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender: 5 yes, 2 meh
SantaLand Diaries by David Sedaris: 2 yes, 1 meh, 4 no
Jo is going to post this on the blog. Please feel free to vote and or leave comments.
During the evening, we discussed the difference between young adult fiction and adult fiction. I said the big difference is that there aren't any subplots (for the most part, I'm sure some do). After the meeting, I remembered a few other differences. One is obvious I can't believe I didn't remember it! The protagonist is usually a teenager or young adult. Another difference is when it comes to describing characters and things, adult fiction can go on for a page sometimes more. Not so with YA literature. No self respecting teenager is going to put up with two pages describing wallpaper. So the reader gets the basic idea, but not every detail. Hey, all you YA readers out there; let me know if I've forgotten anything else."
For those who read with us in 2012, but weren't at the party, please feel free to cast your vote in the comments below for the books you liked (yes/thumbs up), didn't like (no/thumbs down) or were in the middle about (meh).
We've also had some great discussion going on via email about the differences between Young Adult (YA) fiction and adult fiction, please feel free to continue the discussion here in the comments below or add your thoughts if you haven't done so!
Best wishes for 2013 and here's to another fascinating year of reading together!
*Update 3/28/13: To view the NYT's article "The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks, The Sequel" by Rebecca Skloot, please click here.
