ARTFUL READERS CLUB

"THE KITE RUNNER" by Khaled Hosseini

(Should have been posted Oct0ber 30th but here it is...)

November 9, 2015 

Let me be the LAST to wish you a very Happy Halloween... I hope you all enjoyed the small and large ghosts and goblins at your door Halloween Eve. I planned to post my holiday greeting from China as that's where we were at that time, but China allows only limited internet and none to Google, Facebook, Instagram, or my blog. So, my greeting comes late!! Here's my favorite zombie, Mary Catherine, whom I'm sure would have wished you a ghoulish Halloween had I posted on time!! Thanks anyway, MC!

The book I'm reviewing for this month is THE KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini. It's been on my list for a long time, so I finally read it to see what people have been raving about since its publication!

This is a powerful, moving novel set in the Afghanistan of the early 70's as well as today. It's a coming of age story about the friendship of two boys against all odds until something terrible happens to change that. With pre-war Afghanistan and the post-Taliban arrival as its backdrop, it's about loyalty, weakness, betrayal, guilt, lies, secrets, acceptance, violence, love and eventually...  redemption: all the ingredients that make for a great book PLUS!!

One of my favorite things about reading is the learning that takes place. If I learn from a book, it's valuable to me. This author taught me about history, language and the geography of his country and about the sport (or hobby) of kite flying and kite running. I always thought you went into a store and bought a kite (or made one) and just flew it! I'd never heard of coating the kite string with cut glass to enable you to  bring down other kites... brutal!!) Further, I really held very little knowledge of Afghanistan before it became another war-torn region of the world, a country we only see in stereotypical news clips. The first half of THE KITE RUNNER takes place in a peaceful Afghanistan... the way it was for a very long time.

There's much death and horror in this portrait of a tortured country, but there's also an emotional richness and beauty that definitely makes this book worth the read... heartbreaking, but redemptive! 

Hope to see you for my next posting about China...

Please join me for a virtual trip!! 

Big Hugs,

abbyj

ART and SOLE ALTERED CALENDAR 

November 8, 2015 

Happy November...time flies, doesn't it? Soon it'll be Thanksgiving... although every day is a day for which to be thankful!! Right?

This month's challenge to alter our calendar picture was as follows:

1) Keep part of the original picture in the new one 

2) Make it shiny...anything metallic, paint, sprays, waxes or metal embellishments (I used "diamonds")

3) Add a theme... make the page mythical and magical... anything fantasy

My original picture was one by Paul Cezanne who lived from 1839-1906. Here's what it looked like...

The alteration included some tiny "diamonds" for shine and my fantasy was thinking about Thanksgiving... the family getting together and that extraordinary meal!! There have been turkeys in our backyard area since mid-September and they're STILL hanging around now!

Wishing you a wonderful month...one that gives you a great deal for which to be thankful!!

Big Hugs,

abbyj