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Reading Room:  The Mermaid Chair  |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
 Posted - May 04 2005 : 4:50:27 PM
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There is an online interview with Sue Monk Kidd about the new book. It's on the Borders website (www.borders.com)and is quite good,. She talks about the similarities and differences of the two books but gives nothing away. It was in my email today and I enjoyed it, maybe some of you will too.
with a happy heart |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - May 04 2005 : 5:09:17 PM
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Hi Bramble. Could you copy the link that you got for the interview and paste it here? The reason I'm asking is because when I clicked on the borders.com link, it automatically took me to "Borders by Amazon.com"... which is fine, except when I searched for "Sue Monk Kidd interview" it comes up as an EDocument which must be purchased for $5.95. Call me cheap, but hey... if I can read it for free, so much the better!
Let us know and thanks for your help!
****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****
"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - May 04 2005 : 6:33:10 PM
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Clare-- The online site is actually www. borders@e.bordersstores.com
and you can plug into the inventory search the name and you will get a very nice description of the book. The interview however, came in my weekly email from them. I tried navigating the site to see if I could find it, but no luck and I stupidly told my dh to delete it, I was finished. If you are not opposed you could subscribe and read it, the coupons are usually 20 or 30% off any regular price book so it's worth it to us. I have not found that they "sell" you to anyone, it seems very much on the up and up. Sory, I 'm a boob sometimes when it comes to the computer!
with a happy heart |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - May 04 2005 : 7:10:05 PM
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I understand, Bramble. Sometimes the best of intentions..!So, I did go to www.bordersstores.com and found their description of the Mermaid, which I've copied below. I think I'm gonna have to go get this one. Sounds right up my alley. Thanks for bringing this to my attention, Bramble!
"Inside the abbey of a Benedictine monastery on tiny Egret Island, just off the coast of South Carolina, resides a beautiful and mysterious chair ornately carved with mermaids and dedicated to a saint who, legend claims, was a mermaid before her conversion. Jessie Sullivan's conventional life has been "molded to the smallest space possible." So when she is called home to cope with her mother's startling and enigmatic act of violence, Jessie finds herself relieved to be apart from her husband, Hugh. Jessie loves Hugh, but on Egret Island -- amid the gorgeous marshlands and tidal creeks -- she becomes drawn to Brother Thomas, a monk who is mere months from taking his final vows. What transpires will unlock the roots of her mother's tormented past, but most of all, as Jessie grapples with the tension of desire and the struggle to deny it, she will find a freedom that feels overwhelmingly right.
What inspires the yearning for a soul mate? Few writers have explored, as Kidd does, the lush, unknown region of the feminine soul where the thin line between the spiritual and the erotic exists. The Mermaid Chair is a vividly imagined novel about the passions of the spirit and the ecstasies of the body; one that illuminates a woman's self-awakening with the brilliance and power that only a writer of Kidd's ability could conjure."
Don't know if it's the same interview that you had, but I just found this one online.
http://www1.abqtrib.com/albq/fe_books/article/0,2668,ALBQ_21237_3721158,00.html
****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****
"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb |
Edited by - Clare on May 04 2005 7:19:04 PM |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - May 05 2005 : 05:34:29 AM
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Not the same, but similar content more or less. Sounds good, doesn't it?!!! I put my name on the library list, but sometimes that is a long wait. Borders just might get some more of my money! I should own stock!
with a happy heart |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - May 05 2005 : 06:16:01 AM
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Thanks, guys for this info. I checked my library yesterday for this book, but it was not there. I definitely am interested and intrigued by what I have read here.
jpbluesky
O, cease to heed the glamour that blinds your foolish eyes,
Look upward to the glitter of stars in God's clear skies.
from God's Garden by Robert Frost |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - May 05 2005 : 09:32:37 AM
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I am still on the waiting list with our library. Have been for several weeks. The new books only get a 2 week check out and there were 12 on the waiting list when I learned about it. Don't know how many copies there are so still waiting.
Eileen
songbird; singing joy to the earth |
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connio
True Blue Farmgirl
535 Posts
connie
springtown
texas
USA
535 Posts |
Posted - May 05 2005 : 5:54:15 PM
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Hello all I have read the Mermaid Chair, and it is wonderful. I read dozens of books each month, and they tend to become a blur after awhile. This, however, is one that I will remember forever.
Connie
cozycottage |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - May 05 2005 : 8:18:10 PM
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Hi Connie! Thanks for the input, I sort of suspected that it was a keeper from all the preliminary stuff written. Good to know you thought so, and you have alot to compare it to. Books have haunted me in the past (Toni Morrison's 'Beloved'), I hope this one stays with me in a different way!
with a happy heart |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - May 31 2005 : 12:30:03 PM
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Okay, I'm bummed. I checked online last month with my library and they did not have it in inventory yet. I checked yesterday and they do have it now. So, I put in a request for it... I'M # 36 ON THE LIST!!!!! THAT'LL TAKE OVER A YEAR TO GET TO ME!!! Guess I need to go buy my own copy and add it to my library.... (and I'm trying to be good and not buy so many books anymore)....oh, well.... maybe it'll really really speak to me and I will keep it forever! 
****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****
"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2005 : 06:06:50 AM
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Hi all! I have finished The Mermaid Chair. Our book club is using it as our summer reading, since we have stopped meeting until the fall. I really liked the book a lot, and it has a great story line.
It is a good book. I recommend it to anyone, but
most especially to women who have had some years to enjoy life.
jpbluesky
Heaven gives its glimpses only to those
Not in position to look too close.
from "A Passing Glimpse" by Robert Frost |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2005 : 06:42:01 AM
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I too am on "the list" and no telling when I will see it. Yesterday I checked in and it still wasn't available so I was poking around and found some other books. I know alot of us have read Lisa Carey's The Mermaid's Singing and I think someone mentioned In The Country of the Young. Has anyone read her newest, Love in the Asylum? It was published in 2004 so it's relatively new. I also picked up some other goodies , authors I really like (Beth Gutcheon, Susan Richards Shreve), and NPR's Scott Simon's new book 'Pretty Birds". Between the garden and everything else ,these will keep me busy!
with a happy heart |
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lareyna
True Blue Farmgirl
242 Posts
Arlene
Valley Ford
Ca
USA
242 Posts |
Posted - Aug 25 2005 : 08:05:15 AM
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| To anyone who hasn't already gotten to read this book, I have it somewhere and would be happy to send it on,,,,,I really liked it also |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Aug 25 2005 : 4:35:40 PM
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I just checked it out from the library..it is next to read!!!
Jenny in Utah
The best things in life arn't things |
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The Handmaiden
True Blue Farmgirl
214 Posts
Kim
Shreveport
Louisiana
USA
214 Posts |
Posted - Aug 25 2005 : 9:11:43 PM
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The Mermaid's Chairwas wonderful. Sue Monk Kidd knows the heart of a woman and and her descriptions of feelings and healings touch home here. Has anyone read her first books, "Dance of the Dissident Daughter" and "The Heart Waits"? Both are about her personal spiritual jouney and again she is able to articulate our deeper yearnings, questions, and inner wrestlings with insight.
Also, do any of you use www.half.com to purchase books? I buy lots of books this way for sometimes as little as 75 cents. You can purchase both used and new books. It also has a feature where you can keep a list of the books you'd like to purchase and the price you want to pay, then they will notify you when one comes up for sale. I believe you can also sell your books here as well, although, i've not done this. Might be worth looking into for those who have a hard time getting your hands on what you want.
"Faith shall finish all that Hope begins."
joan walsh anglund |
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Shanda Fitte
Farmgirl at Heart
3 Posts
mrswonderfulteacher
Salmon
ID
USA
3 Posts |
Posted - Aug 25 2005 : 9:21:51 PM
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I just finished the book and I just wish it could go on forever. It made my summer alone time splendid. Last week I went to our Sacajawea Heritage day celebration and they had an Indian trading blanket. I stayed to the very end trading everything I had (chocolate chip cookies, vegetables, a book, and $11.00 to end up with a huge turtle shell! It reminded me of the book. |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - Oct 13 2005 : 5:43:38 PM
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I was positive that I posted about this book. I really enjoyed it. I read it this summer and was intrigued by all the little mysteries within, and the big bang one at the end. The endurance of her marriage in spite of the turn of events, and why is also endearing. What especially captured me was her evaluation of her relationship with her father. Boy, that made me think!! It's a really good read, if anyone's still interested. My copy has been loaned and returned a couple times and is now residing with the Farm Crew so they can all enjoy it as it makes its rounds there!
May the sun bring you new energy by day, may the moon softly restore you by night, may the rain wash away your worries, may the breeze blow new strength into your being, may you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life. ~~Apache Blessing
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Oct 13 2005 : 6:07:08 PM
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I really really enjoyed this book too..just read it a couple months ago...wouldn't have known about it without your recomendation..I loved that the ending was not at all what I expected!!
Jenny in Utah
Put all your eggs in one basket..and then watch that basket!! Mark Twain |
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Linda Houston
True Blue Farmgirl
538 Posts
Linda
Lake Charles
Louisiana
USA
538 Posts |
Posted - Oct 14 2005 : 03:20:25 AM
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I read the book and it is wonderful. Rarely do I buy a hard cover copy, but I did and I don't regret the money. I have the book and when I get to Lake Charles over the week-end, I will get it and will share it with someone. Our postal service in LC is almost non-existent, however Lafayette 's is wondeful !!!!
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showmemom
True Blue Farmgirl
166 Posts
karen
carthage
mo
USA
166 Posts |
Posted - Oct 15 2005 : 04:27:27 AM
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i loved this book as well. i listened to "the secret life of bees" first on cd and then read it-it was fabulous.
have "the mermaid chair" and would be glad to trade or share w/one of my girls-just send me an e-mail and you'll be set.
talk to you soon.
karen
Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.
Victor Hugo |
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blanket of stars
True Blue Farmgirl
51 Posts
Kat
Hancock
NH
51 Posts |
Posted - Oct 30 2005 : 12:33:10 PM
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| I must be in the minority - I liked Secret Life of Bees much more than Mermaid Chair. Bees was such a wonderful epic, and Mermaid just seemed so much smaller somehow. I don't mean it wasn't good - it was!!, but liked Bees better. |
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Celticheart
True Blue Farmgirl
811 Posts
Marcia
WA
USA
811 Posts |
Posted - Oct 30 2005 : 6:28:30 PM
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I haven't read the Mermaid Chair but I loved the Secret Life of Bees. I'll have to see if I can get the Mermaid Chair at the library. Right now I'm reading a Laurie King book--The Game--another Sherlock Holmes-Mary Russell mystery. I love those books!
Marcia
"I suppose the pleasure of country life lies really in the eternally renewed evidence of the determination to live." Vita Sackville-West
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - Oct 30 2005 : 7:25:04 PM
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The Mermaid Chair is a rather light read, but I think it's good to have a variety! I think the older you are the better appreciated it is.
"I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to what light I have." - Abraham Lincoln.... http://farmstyle.blogspot.com
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Reading Room: The Mermaid Chair |
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