Musings from Susan Baruch

My creative daughter

2012-01-06T12:51:00.000-08:00

Hannah has been home for the holidays. Tomorrow she returns to Kent State and the second semester of her third year begins Monday. Since she's been home, Hannah has delighted us with two significant creations. The first is a terrific love song that she wrote as a gift to her boyfriend. It's called I Found You. Hope you'll check it out! The second creation was her website which Hannah designed herself (she actually wrote the code!) Have a look at her artwork, etc., in your spare time. Pretty cool stuff. Here's the link: hannahfowlkes.com

Enjoy! Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and creative 2012!!

Cantaloupes in the Can - a slice of Rochester life

2011-11-19T07:35:00.000-08:00

I was pleased to learn that one of my earliest essays, "Cantaloupes in the Can," was accepted by a panel at Writers & Books to be part of Rochester's "Story Walk" series. You can read my essay below. Or, if you'd like to hear me read it to you, just click HERE for the audio version. Enjoy.

Cantaloupes in the Can

     From my front porch swing, I gaze out over the hills of Egypt, New York, hoping to see the world go by. But there’s not much action on this country road. Before long I'm reminiscing about the good old days when I came to live in Rochester just out of college. I had an apartment on Meigs Street then, with a front porch that overlooked a constant parade of Rochester characters. I used to walk to the Genesee food co-op, earthy and warm with its wood floors, its grain-filled bins and secondhand paper bags. Hmm, I muse, I could still shop there. So I get in my car and head for I-490 west.
     As I enter the familiar co-op, housed in the old firehouse building on Monroe Avenue, a mongrel cat rubs against my leg (all kinds are welcome here). I select a decent-looking bag and start filling it with fresh produce and the block of tofu that I've managed to fish out of a deep tub. At the checkout counter, the cashier is wearing a gentle smile on her face and a sleeping child on her back.
     I return to my car with a renewed sense of serenity and glide more slowly than usual onto the expressway. But my mood is soon jolted by the driver beside me who, for no apparent reason, is honking his horn and pointing mysteriously upward. Suddenly there’s a crashing sound and my groceries are scattering across the road. Two cantaloupes roll eastward, toward home. I pull over, shaking with disbelief. A motorcyclist comes by to ask if I’m okay. But I just burst into laughter and tears, right there in the Can of Worms, while my fellow travelers dodge cantaloupes.

Good news - Paternity is an e-book!

2011-11-02T11:38:00.000-07:00

Finally, finally my novel Paternity is available as an e-book! Okay, it's only on the NOOK right now (Barnes & Noble's e-reader). But that's a start, right? Here's the link: Paternity on the NOOK. My publisher says they're working on the Kindle version, which most people seem to prefer.

Personally, I still like my books the old-fashioned way - printed on paper. I like pulling them off the shelf and turning their pages as I read. I like burying a beloved bookmark between the pages before closing the book, and then glancing at the binding to see how far I've gotten. Most of all, after I finish reading a wonderful novel, I like handing it to a kindred spirit, knowing she will love it too.

On the other hand, I'm beginning to see the advantages of e-books. You can enlarge the print easily, which is a plus for those of us with aging eyes. And you can search on words or phrases. I really like this idea. Being in three book clubs (maybe 2 1/2), it's not uncommon for someone to bring up a particular passage of interest or controversy during our discussions. Trying to find that passage again is often, well, trying. E-books are great for that.

Whichever format you prefer, hope you're enjoying your reading life. I know I am!

A Perfect Confluence (my short story - published on-line)

2011-09-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

You can read my short story at: A Perfect Confluence.

I originally wrote this story for a contest called The First Line. (Sometimes, as a writer, you need a little kick start). Well, I didn't win that contest. But maybe it was just as well because later I discovered a new on-line journal, started in Canada by Dr. Nora Gold, called Jewishfiction.net. And I submitted my piece there. Then a couple of weekends ago, as I was on my way to Cleveland, I received an unexpected call saying they had accepted my story for publication. What a nice surprise! And now, it's featured on their site. The theme of A Perfect Confluence seems to recur in much of my writing. (It featured prominently in my novel, Paternity). And that is the idea of different cultures coming together in one family. In the case of A Perfect Confluence, the cultures involved are Jewish and Muslim, each in the midst of an important religious holiday. This year, with Ramadan recently ended, and Rosh HaShanah just ahead, let us all hope for, and work toward peace and understanding between the peoples of all cultures and faiths.

And to all my Jewish readers, may you be inscribed in the Book of Life for a good year.

My mother's memoir

2011-09-07T17:31:00.000-07:00

What a great time we had this past weekend in Cleveland! About 80 family members gathered at the Embassy Suites Hotel to celebrate the publication of my mom's beautiful memoir entitled "Helen," the story of her mother's life - from her tragic childhood in Hungary, to her journey to America, to her family life during the Great Depression, to her untimely death at age 52. The evening was a double celebration really, as my mom will be turning 80 years young later this month.

Pictured above are: my sister Nancy, my mom (with eyes closed!) and me (the designated emcee for the evening). As requested, my daughters Hannah and Helen (named for her great-grandmother) sang a couple of songs. This one is called "I Will Remember You." What could be more appropriate than that?!

"Helen: A Memoir" can be found in Cleveland at the Maltz Museum as well as at the Fireside Book Shop (in Chagrin Falls, Ohio). Hope you'll pick up a copy!

"The Help"

2011-08-29T05:38:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed reading The Help, but I didn't love it. There was something about it, some niggling feeling inside me, that objected. Maybe it was simply my objection to a white woman (the author, Kathryn Stockett) presuming to speak for black women, as many others have said. Or maybe, and this is a small distinction, it was an objection to a white protagonist as hero to those poor black women.

Now, of course, the novel has been made into a movie (some writers have all the luck!) and so there is a fresh batch of reviews of this story. Today in the New York Times, a criticism that rings true for me. Patricia A. Turner (a black woman) wrote a piece called "Dangerous White Stereotypes" that gets it right. Ms. Turner didn't hate the story either. But she put her finger on what was missing, and therefore how "The Help" can be misleading. In short, "The Help" portrays a group of unsavory white women treating their help badly. As Ms. Turner so perceptively points out...

"To suggest that bad people were racist implies that good people were not. Jim Crow segregation survived long into the 20th century because it was kept alive by white Southerners with value systems and personalities we would applaud... In Jackson and other bastions of the Jim Crow South, the pervasive notion, among poor whites and rich, that blacks were unworthy of full citizenship was as unquestioned as the sanctity of church on Sunday. “The Help” tells a compelling and gripping story, but it fails to tell that one."

Read the book, see the movie (I plan to), just keep a clear eye. And let me know what you think.

a voice of reason - Charles M. Blow

2011-08-27T06:14:00.000-07:00

Once again Charles M. Blow hits the nail on the head in his NYT piece "Failing Forward." He is afraid for the children of our country, and for all of us, in light of the new gaggle of religious extremist who are vying to become our next president. Even if the term "pro-choice" makes you a little queasy, as it does me, I simply cannot see how Blow's argument in support of our society's greater good can be rationally countered. Here is an excerpt...

"We simply can’t keep turning to pills and prisons to solve issues of poverty and poor parenting. This is unhealthy, unsustainable and unwise.

We have to do a better, more focused job of teaching sex education and providing contraceptive options (kudos here to the administration for moving this month to require insurance companies to provide birth control services to women at no extra cost). We have to remove the stigma and judgment around sex. Sex isn’t bad or unnatural. It’s one of the most natural things that we do. It just needs to be safe and responsible."

A little folk music

2011-08-24T21:02:00.000-07:00

Lately, while driving around town I've been listening to 88.5 FM radio. Scott Reagan hosts a terrific weekday morning program. A couple days ago I heard a song performed by the lovely voice of Mollie O'Brien (accompanied by her husband Rich Moore on guitar). I'd never heard of either of them. Have you?

Just thought I'd share a couple of their songs with you here. The first (and the title of their CD) is called "Saints and Sinners" and was written by David Francey.

The other one I really like is called "Lonely for a While" . It was written by Jesse Winchester and is more jazzy than folky. But you decide. Let me know what you think!

Remembering Nora Bredes

2011-08-24T05:07:00.000-07:00

I wish I had known Nora better, wish I could have claimed her as my close friend. We sometimes sat next to each other and chatted while watching our sons play soccer. She was a devoted fan of all three of her sons – on the soccer field and off. I can say that I once enjoyed a delicious soccer team dinner at her house and found her to be every bit the gracious host. But mostly I admired Nora from a distance, supporting her bid for a seat on our county legislature, listening intently when I heard her voice speaking eloquently on a radio talk show. She and I were facebook friends. We shared family photos and articles on women in politics, her greatest passion. I knew Nora was someone special. And I felt proud to know her. I only wish I had known her better.

Then yesterday I received a note from Nora’s husband Jack in which he shared the New York Times article about Nora chronicling her public life and untimely passing with reverence. I learned that Nora had run for Congress while living on Long Island and I reflected on what a brilliant Congresswoman she would have made. The NYT piece also described Nora’s incredible determination, hard work and ultimate success in shutting down an unsafe nuclear power plant on Long Island. What a huge achievement, one that I hadn’t even known of. I’m so glad that Nora came to live in Rochester to serve as the director of the Susan B. Anthony Center for Women’s Leadership at the University of Rochester. She was a powerful women’s advocate and a shining example in our community.

I grieve for her husband and sons. Their loss is truly immeasurable. But Nora has left behind – for them and for all of us – a most inspiring legacy. May her memory be for a blessing. Rest in peace, Nora.

Motherly Musings - a new collection of essays & poems on motherhood

2011-08-23T13:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm a mom and a writer. So naturally I've written a few pieces on motherhood. Two of them (plus a photo of me with my daughter) were included in the new anthology Motherly Musings. Pictured above are a few of the contributors, gathered together for a book signing afternoon at The Lovin' Cup Bistro & Brews in Henrietta. Our book got a glowing review in the Philadelphia PA's examiner.com! Hope you'll check it out!

Using my "blog" to blog!

2011-08-23T08:11:00.000-07:00

Today I read a piece by David Brooks of the NYT that finally inspired me to blog. Here is the excerpt that inspired me...

Rye Barcott was a student at the University of North Carolina who spent a summer sharing a 10-by-10 shack in Kibera, the largest slum in Nairobi, Kenya. One night he awoke with diarrhea and stumbled to the public outhouse. He slid onto the cement floor and vomited as his bare body hit puddles of human waste.

He left his soiled pants outside the hut, but when he went to find them later they were gone. He was directed to another hut where a stick-thin girl, with missing clumps of hair, had the pants, scrubbed and folded, in her lap. Barcott said softly, “I’m grateful,” and asked her why she had cleaned them. “Because I can,” she replied. A week later, she died of AIDS and her body was taken in a wheelbarrow to a communal grave.

You can read the entire essay here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/23/opinion/brooks-the-rugged-altruists.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212

2011-04-15T17:34:00.000-07:00

Invitations

2011-04-15T16:14:00.000-07:00

I'm in the D&C (Democrat & Chronicle)

2010-10-19T07:02:00.000-07:00

Wow! I didn't think they'd actually run it - or I might have spent more time editing. Still, here it is: the story behind the story, the chain of events that led me (a so-called scientist) to write my novel.

Cleveland Jewish News mentions Paternity!

2010-08-21T16:26:00.000-07:00

Finally, my book got a mention in the Cleveland Jewish news! Here's the link. (Scroll down - it's the last one listed.)

Trailer for Paternity! plus a schedule update

2010-08-20T11:23:00.000-07:00

Exciting news...
PageOne Lit has created a trailer for my book! Please check it out.

Also, there's been a cancellation in my speaking schedule. Here's the new line-up:

Wed., October 20: Holocaust Museum, Nassau County, NY - canceled (sorry!)
Sun., October 24: Rochester NY, JCC at 2pm
Tues., November 2: Springfield MA, JCC at 7pm
Sun., November 21: Cleveland OH, Mandel JCC at 3pm

Hope to see you there!!

Speaking Engagements

2010-07-18T11:39:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled to have been invited to speak at four Jewish Book Festivals this fall! Here's the line-up:

Rochester, NY: Sunday, October 24, 2010, 2pm
(This is where I've lived for more than 30 years now - so I hope to get a good following. If you live in Rochester, please come!)

Springfield, MA: Tuesday, November 2, 2010, 7pm

New York, NY: Thursday, November 18, 2010

Cleveland, OH: Sunday, November 21, 2010, 2pm
(Cleveland is my home town. Just attended my 35 year high school reunion there. My mother will be sponsoring a dessert reception following my talk. So if you're in or near Cleveland, you won't want to miss out!)

2010-05-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

In late May I was in NYC for an important book event. But first an excellent vegetarian Indian meal with friends at Vatan on 3rd Avenue at 28th Street. Then a thought-provoking and entertainment Broadway show: "Next to Normal." Wow, not what I expected from a musical. Rather dark. But outstanding.

The day of my two minute presentation to the Jewish Book Council at their "Meet the Authors" event, there was a parade for Israel marching through Manhattan. The council had warned us that transportation might be tricky. So there I was in my pretty dress and high (for me) -heeled shoes, hailing a taxi. The first driver said "no way." Then the second. I began to panic. This was what I'd come for. This was my moment! And now I might miss it? "No way!" As luck would have it, a muscular young man from West Africa appeared on a bicycle, toting his rickshaw behind him. I climbed in. It was a good long distance from 59th and 8th up to the Park Ave. Synagogue at 87th Street. I was seriously wind-blown and $40 poorer when I got there. But I made it! And I didn't flub my two minute shpiel either.

2009-11-21T13:23:00.000-08:00

Today was a delightful day, signing copies of my book at The Bagel Bin Cafe.
Here are a couple of photos from the event - for the on-line Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.

Triskaidekaphobia - what does it mean?

2009-10-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

In Paternity, one of the characters (who happens to have been born on a Friday the 13) seems to experience bouts of bad luck. In chapter 33, as she is about to turn thirteen, she encounters the word "triskaidekaphobia" and a revelation of sorts ensues. If you're curious about the origins of the word, triskaidekaphobia, just click on the link.

2009-09-23T18:48:00.001-07:00

***SPOILER ALERT***

Every work of fiction is allowed one coincidence. At least that's what I read somewhere. So when asked about the surprise climax in Paternity, that is what I share. But, speaking of coincidences, this afternoon I got a big surprise when my neighbor brought over a copy of today's installment of Dear Abby. It seems the leading letter reveals a real-life example of my fictional tale. If you've already read Paternity, then you know what I'm talking about. If not, please take the spoiler alert to heart before following this link.

Susan

Can rabbis really be gay?

2009-09-15T13:56:00.000-07:00

Yes, they can. Indeed, some are. In "Paternity" one of the characters is a rabbi who also happens to be a lesbian. Of course this was not always accepted. And in many circles it still is not. But progress is being made. Here is a terrific story - written for children - which, like so many children's tales, would benefit many adults as well.
http://rabbidanielbrenner.blogspot.com/2006/12/oy-vey-rabbi-is-gay-childrens-tale-for.html

PATERNITY - What it's about:

2009-09-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

When Joel Berger, an affable single-guy from Brooklyn, finds out he’s dying of cancer in upstate New York, he makes up his mind to try to produce a family heir before it's too late. But how to find that unsuspecting, soon-to-be mother-to-be?

Joel decides to appeal to the women in his macrobiotic dinner group for help. And before long he’s surrounded by a cast of colorful female characters including his overbearing and often hilarious Jewish mother, Sylvia.

The seeds sown in this unusual family saga take root and begin to grow, branching out in unexpected ways, blossoming with unexpected grace. But will Sylvia approve of the "diverse" offspring her son has spawned? Can a clever and determined grandmother manipulate the outcome of this glorious enterprise called family? Sylvia will surely try!

Paternity will surprise and delight as its twists and occasional U-turns lead to a most ironic ending.

Love Letters from Lil

2008-04-06T05:55:00.000-07:00

Perhaps you too have an older relative

who has mastered the inner workings

of the Internet in a way that necessitates

forwarding every e-mail she receives

to every address on her contact list.

Mine is Cousin Lil, my mother’s cousin.

And I am blessed to count myself

among her contacts.

Some days, while on-line,

I can see them coming,

like an avalanche they fall

through the ether

straight into my inbox.

The same moniker repeating…

Lillycoo

I’m especially mystified by those bold

messages that threaten some manner of

cosmic misfortune if they are not forwarded

to at least ten people in the next twenty seconds.

And then there is the alarmist variety,

like the one that offers instructions on

what to do if someone kidnaps you by

locking you in the trunk of a car and

driving off (punch out a taillight and wave

your arm frantically through the hole).

Cousin Lil forwards them all.

I must confess that I’ve begun to delete

these communiqués from Lillycoo,

oftentimes unread and unopened.

But yesterday was a slow a day.

Lil’s subject line read:

“the most amazing video ever.”

I double-clicked it.

A frozen frame appeared behind

the familiar right-pointing triangle,

that universal symbol for Play.

YouTube.

How much do you love it?

Isn’t it the greatest thing since…

Cell phones?

The telegram?

Smoke signals?

I clicked on the triangle.

In the video, a man leads an elephant

to an easel near a group of onlookers.

He places a narrow paintbrush into the grip

of the creature’s nimble trunk.

I watch as the elephant begins to paint

a most astonishing portrait

of an elephant holding a flower.

Later, over dinner, I describe all this

to my husband who says, “Elephants

are very intelligent animals. They are

even known to mourn their dead.”

I ponder this a moment, wondering

if that artful creature might have been

painting a particular elephant.

Perhaps a cousin.

Mother-Daughter Book Club

2008-02-26T20:21:00.000-08:00

Starting in the fourth grade, here's the list of books our wonderful group of six girls (and their moms) has read so far:

1) The Star Fisher
2) Ella Enchanted
3) Danny the Champion of the World
4) The Road to Home
5) Which Witch?
6) Millicent Min: Girl Genius
7) Esperanza Rising
8) Island of the Blue Dolphins
9) Out of the Dust
10) Summer of the Monkeys
11) The Witch of Blackbird Pond
12) White Star: A Dog on the Titanic
13) The Devil's Arithmetic
14) Ginger Pye
15) The Giver
16) Are you there, God? It's Me, Margaret
17) So B. It
18) Witness
19) The Truth About Forever
20) A Northern Light
21) Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys
22) The Last Safe Place
23) Hope Was Here
24) Backwater
25) Things Not Seen
26) Lush
27) Elsewhere
28) Lily Dale: Awakening
29) Turnabout
30) The Book Thief
31) Monique and the Mango Rains
32) Chicken Soup for the Soul
33) Firefly Lane
34) My Sister’s Keeper
35) The Only Alien on the Planet
36) Paternity
37) The Wednesday Sisters
38) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
39) The Burn Journals
40) The Choice
41) Greyhound
42) The Secret Life of Bees
43) A Soft Place to Land
44) Nineteen Minutes
45) Water for Elephants
46) The Help
47) One Day
48) Girl With The Pearl Earring
49) Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
50) Crank

Gladbook Club Reading List

2008-02-26T20:19:00.000-08:00

In September of 2000, our dear friend Martha Kelly asked me to be her partner in establishing a neighborhood women's book club. Sadly, Martha is no longer with us (nor Caroline) but the book club is still going strong. Here is the list of books we've read over the years. I've emboldened my own personal favorites.

1) Plain Song – Kent Haruf (Martha, Sept. 2000)
2) Girl with the Pearl Earring – Tracy Chevalier (Ann, Oct. 2000)
3) Waiting – Ha Jin (Sue, Nov. 2000)
4) Christmas Letters – Lee Smith (Ann, Dec. 2000)
5) Girl in Hyacinth Blue – Susan Vreeland (Caroline, Jan. 2001)
6) A Lesson Before Dying – Earnest Gaines (Mary Helen, Feb. 2001)
7) House of Sand and Fog – Andre Dubus (Margaret, Mar. 2001)
8) Stones from the River – Ursula Hegi (Margaret, Apr. 2001)
9) Prodigal Summer – Barbara Kingsolver (Ann, May 2001)
10) The Bonesetter’s Daughter – Amy Tan (Marj, June 2001)
11) The Red Tent – Anita Diamant (Sue, Sept. 2001)
12) How the Irish Saved Civilization – Thomas Cahill (Margaret, Oct. 2001)
13) On the Occasion of my Last Afternoon – Kaye Gibbons (Marj, Nov. 2001)
14) Christmas in Plains – Jimmy Carter (Caroline, Dec. 2001)
15) The Waves – Virginia Woolf (Sue, Jan. 2002)
16) Jayber Crow – Wendell Berry (Martha, Feb. 2002)
17) Crossing to Safety – Wallace Stegner (Mary Helen, Mar. 2002)
18) A Painted House – John Grisham (Marj, Apr. 2002)
19) Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut (Margaret, May 2002)
20) Daughter of Fortune – Isabel Allende (Ann, June 2002)
21) In Sunlight, In a Beautiful Garden – Kathleen Cambor (Marcie, July 2002)
22) A Walk in the Woods – Bill Bryson (Martha, Sept. 2002)
23) The Man Who Was Thursday – D.K. Chesterton (Caroline, Oct. 2002)
24) Leo Africanus – Amin Maalouf (Sue, Nov. 2002)
25) The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold (Edna, Dec. 2002)
26) The Samurai’s Garden – Gail Tsukiyama (Mary Helen, Jan. 2003)
27) Einstein’s Dream – Alan Lightman (Margaret, Feb. 2003)
28) Nickel and Dimed – Barbar Ehrenreich (Martha, Mar. 2003)
29) Kindred – Octavia Butler (Ann, Apr. 2003)
30) Enduring Love – Ian McEwan (Marcie, May 2003)
31) Small Wonder – Barbara Kingsolver (Sue, June 2003)
32) East of Eden – John Steinbeck (Edna, Sept. 2003)
33) The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd (Mary Helen, Oct. 2003)
34) Unless – Carol Shields (Anne B., Nov. 2003)
35) Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress – Dai Sijie (Margaret, Dec. 2003)
36) Tepper Isn’t Going Out – Calvin Trillin (Ann D., Jan. 2004)
37) Bel Canto – Ann Patchett (Julie, Feb. 2004)
38) Peace Like a River – Leif Enger (all, Mar. 2004)
39) A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry (Marcie, Apr. 2004)
40) Founding Sisters and the Nineteenth Amendment (Martha, May 2004)
41) The Pickup – Nadine Gordimer (Sue, Aug. 2004)
42) The Great Fire – Shirley Hazzard (Mary Helen, Sept. 2004)
43) Behind the Scenes at the Museum – Kate Atkinson (Edna, Oct. 2004)
44) The Transit of Venus – Shirley Hazzard (Margaret, Nov. 2004)
45) Greenwillow – B.J. Chute (Margaret, Dec. 2004)
46) Madam Secretary – Madeleine Albright (Ann, Jan. 2005)
47) The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini (Martha, Feb. 2005)
48) Metro Stop Dostoevsky – Ingrid Bengis (Marcie, Mar. 2005)
49) The Reader – Bernhard Schlink (Linda, Apr. 2005)
50) Servants of the Map – Andrea Barrett (Edna, May 2005)
51) The Namesake – Jhumpa Lahiri (Sue, June 2005)
52) Uncle Tom’s Cabin – Harriet Beecher Stowe (Margaret, Oct. 2005)
53) Saturday – Ian McEwan (Ann, Nov. 2005)
54) Pomegranate Soup – Marsha Mehran (Marcie, Dec. 2005 / Jan. 2006)
55) Name All the Animals – Allison Smith (Mary Helen, Feb. 2006)
56) The Final Solution – Michael Chabon (Edna, Mar. 2006)
57) Silas Marner – George Eliot (Linda, Apr. 2006)
58) Madame Dread – Kathie Klarreich (Sue, May 2006)
59) Snow Flower and the Secret Fan – Lisa See (Ann, June 2006)
60) All the King's Men – Robert Penn Warren (Margaret, Sept. 2006)
61) Emma's War – Deborah Scroggins (Nancy, Oct. 2006)
62) The News from Paraguay – Lily Tuck (Marcie, Nov. 2006)
63) Sailing Alone Around the Room - Billy Collins (Mary Helen, Dec. 2006)
64) The Music Lesson – Katherine Weber (Marj, Jan. 2007)
65) Life of Pi – Yann Martel (Debbie, Feb. 2007)
66) The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards (Edna, Mar. 2007)
67) Water for Elephants – Sara Gruen ( Sue, Apr. 2007)
68) The Buffalo Soldier - Chris Bohjalian (Ann, May, 2007)
69) Gilead – Marilynne Robinson (Margaret, June 2007)
70) The Fountain Overflows – Rebecca West (Kathleen, Sept. 2007)
71) The Echo Maker – Richard Powers (Marcie, Oct. 2007)
72) One Thousand White Women – Jim Fergus (Edna, Nov. 2007)
73) The Locket – Richard Paul Evans (Debbie, Dec. 2007)
74) Intuition – Allegra Goodman (Sue, Jan. 2008)
75) A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini (Mary Helen, Feb. 2008)
76) Devil in the White City – Erik Larson (Margaret, Mar. 2008)
77) The Glass Castle – Jeanette Walls (Louise, Apr. 2008)
78) Loving Frank – Nancy Horan (Ann, May 2008)
79) Abeng – Michelle Cliff (Kathleen, June 2008)
80) The Book Thief – Markus Zusak (Edna, Sept. 2008)
81) My Antonia – Willa Cather (Margaret, Oct. 2008)
82) The Tea-Olive Bird Watching Society - (Nancy, Nov. 2008)
83) Letter to My Daughter – Maya Angelou (Marcie, Dec. 2008)
84) Memoirs of a Geisha - Golden (Debbie, Jan. 2009)
85) The Ministry of Special Cases – Nathan Englander (Sue, Feb. 2009)
86) The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows (Mary Helen, Mar. 2009)
87) Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World – Vicki Myron (Ann, Apr. 2009)
88) Run – Ann Patchett (Louise, May 2009)
89) For Your Eyes Only – Ian Fleming (group, June 2009)
90) The Photograph by Penelope Lively (Sept. 21, 2009, Edna)
91) Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson and Anne Born (Oct. 19, 2009, Margaret)
92) Complications by Atul Gawande (Nov. 16, 2009, Karin)
93) Olive Kitterige by Elizabeth Strout (Dec. 21, 2009, Ann)
94) Three Cups of Tea by G. Mortenson and D. Relin (Jan. 18, 2010, Nancy)
95) The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton (Feb. 22, 2010, Lisa)
96) Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery and Alison Anderson (March 15, 2010, Marcie)
97) The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery and Alison Anderson (April 19, 2010, Sue)
98) Home by Marilynne Robinson (May 17, 2010, Louise)
99) Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay (June 21, 2010, Mary Helen)
100) Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (Sept. 20, 2010, Edna)
101) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Oct. 18, 2010, Margaret)
102) The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton (Nov. 15, 2010, Louise)
103) A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel (Dec. 20, 2010, Sue)
104) The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Jan. 17, 2011, Kristin)
105) Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann (Feb. 28, 2011, Lisa)
106) My Reading Life by Pat Conroy (Apr. 11, 2011, Marcie)
107) Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (May 16, 2011, Mary Helen)
108) A Death in the Family by James Agee (June 20, 2011, Ann)
109) White Noise by Don Delillo (Sept. 19, 2011, Louise)
110) Someone Knows my Name by Lawrence Hill (Oct. 17, 2011, Sue)

Haiku for Janet

2008-02-26T19:54:00.000-08:00

Rainy summer day
Renewing girlhood friendship --
The bay refilling.

Eclipse

2008-02-26T19:53:00.001-08:00

Our shadow’s roundness,
Larger than the brightness
Onto which it’s cast,
Creeps toward the rim
Till all is dim.

Wait.
Watch.

The brightness emerges,
As its blanket passes
Into nothingness,
And then disappears
For many years.

Juggling

2008-02-26T19:48:00.000-08:00

Even in your sleep,
What little sleep there is,
you labor to keep each aloft,
though one may feel prickly
and one weepy.
Tomorrow one will be jittery
or unpredictable.
Your singular goal is
never let them
hit
the
ground.

You are weary and
sometimes terrified,
but never bored.

At times you envy
the childless woman who
dines in symphonic elegance
across from the well-dressed man,
leisurely selecting
a perfect wine. Thoughtfully
discussing world affairs.
Completing one elaborate sentence
after another. You see her
at the supermarket, spending
countless minutes, teasing out
the choicest green beans,
as you race
to beat the school bus
home.

You are a mother, a juggler
by trade. You pray
that every ball tossed
will come back,
shouting
for you to do it again.
While she toils each day,
just to create
something to toss up.
Something to fill
her spacious sky.

Remembering in Color

2008-02-26T19:01:00.001-08:00

Red,
but not Santa Claus red,
reddish,
with a tinge of orange,
like the shade of lipstick
Caroline sometimes wore
to our book club meetings.
That's the red of the quilt
my mother is sewing,
from fabric that once belonged
to Caroline,
who, only months ago,
while describing a young and
carefree female character
in one of our books,
actually uttered the word,
"flibbertigibbet"
with a girlish smile
on those reddish lips.

Green
is the color
of the frog pin
that I brought her
for luck,
and for her collection
of frog things,
when I found out
about her tumor.
Emerald green
like the color of
her lush front yard
where she used to
wave to me
on her way
to the mailbox.

Reflections of a Wicked Stepmother

2008-02-26T19:00:00.001-08:00

There’s a body on the sofa
And a book is in its hand.
It eats chips and cheesecake pudding
And wants me to understand.

It wears clothes but can’t do laundry,
Rides my bike with tires flat,
Leaves its shoes for me to trip on
‘Cause it didn’t think of that.

Frozen waffles on the counter,
Empty bags back on the shelf.
Standing water in the bathtub
It thinks only of itself.

Now and then I catch a glimmer
Of humanity inside.
Can I help? I hear a voice say.
It’s a person, I decide.

What a welcome revelation,
I am truly gratified.
After all of our frustration,
All the tears that have been cried.

There’s just one more little problem,
One more thing that I must do.
I must now somehow convince her
That I’m a person too.

Interview with Susan Baruch – author of Paternity

2008-01-29T07:08:00.000-08:00

Where are you from?
Cleveland, Ohio – and proudly so.

Tell us your latest news?
I appear in a documentary film entitled “The Muslims I Know” – made by a friend of mine, Mara Ahmed. We hope it will be accepted into Rochester’s High Falls Film Fest this spring.

When and why did you begin writing?
I began writing in my twenties simply because I had stories inside me. One was about my experiences at a beloved summer camp as an awkward twelve year old who came out of her shell, thanks to some unlikely connections made there. Another was about a young woman I met (at a macrobiotic dinner) who was dying of cancer.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Not until I took a class called “Send It!” at Writers & Books of Rochester in the summer of 2004. My wonderful teacher, Kitten Howard, insisted that we start thinking of ourselves as writers, and conducted a “Send It” ceremony, complete with candles and a trip to the mailbox with our submissions on the last night of class.

What inspired you to write your first book?
I was inspired by a book that I read called “The Transit of Venus” by Shirley Hazzard. Believe it or not, it was the structure of the book that made a huge impression on me. Because of her brilliant use of foreshadowing, the actual ending of her story takes place in the readers’ minds after the last words of the book are read. That just blew me away!

Who or what has influenced your writing?
I love writers like Anne Tyler and Kate Atkinson – women who take us into the ordinary contemporary world of love and family with tenderness and humor, and make us care deeply about their flawed but lovable characters and their relationships.

How has your environment/upbringing colored your writing? Well, anyone who knows my mother will recognize aspects of her in my novel. In an essay I wrote, entitled “It’s Personal” which was published in the anthology “A Cup of Comfort for Women in Love” (Adams Media, 2005), I describe my own struggle with finding love in the face of my mother’s fierce pressure to “marry Jewishly.”

Do you have a specific writing style?
I like to keep it light, fast-paced and entertaining, with as much humor as possible. I try to refrain from sentimentality (which is sometimes a challenge for me.)

What genre are you most comfortable writing?
Contemporary literature.

How did you come up with the title?
Oh, the title was easy. It’s all about a man who wants to, and does, produce offspring before he dies. Paternity was the obvious choice.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Yes. I want my readers to come away with the understanding that people, whether Jewish or Christian, black, white, bi-racial or Asian, gay or straight, vegetarian or omnivorous, are more the same than different; and that all are worthy of love. I hope the characters in Paternity convey that message.

How much of the book is realistic?
I believe all of it is. It’s a story that could happen. That’s what makes it compelling, I hope.Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life? Many of the characters’ back-stories are based on my own experiences or those of people I’ve known. For example, my first boyfriend will recognize himself. I’m hoping that will make him smile.

What books have most influenced your life most?
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham, Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng, The Hours by Michael Cunningham, Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver, The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, The History of Love by Nicole Krauss.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?
Anne Tyler

What book are you reading now?
There are three: The Devil in the White City, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits.

What are your current projects? Writing projects?
I just finished a personal essay about a childhood friend who passed away a few years back.

Other projects?
Getting ready for my son’s bar mitzvah, redecorating the walls of my house.

Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.
The women of my two book clubs (one a neighborhood book club, the other a mother-daughter book club) have been very supportive and enthusiastic.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Not at this time. Ask me again in a year or two.

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
As a young scientist/engineer working at Kodak, I found that even the technical writing that my job required attracted me. The leap to creative writing felt natural.

Why did you pick Rain Publishing to be your publisher?
I have always been something of a “Canadaphile” – I love Canadian films and even TV shows (such as Slings & Arrows) so it seemed like a great fit.

Rain Publishing receives over 100 submissions everyday- why did they pick your book to publish?
Hopefully because it rang true, and struck a chord.

What was the submission process?
I submitted my entire manuscript by e-mail as specified on the RAIN website.

Would you recommend writing as a career? Why or why not?
I love writing and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is so inclined. But don’t quit your day job!Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing? Sometimes I find it difficult to balance clarity with intrigue – deciding how much to spell out and how much to leave up to the reader to infer.Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work? I can’t give a single name: Anne Tyler, Barbara Kingsolver, Anita Diamant, Michael Cunningham, Amy Bloom, Nicole Krauss. All of these writers evoke strong emotions in unique ways.

Who is the target market for your books? Why did you choose that market?
Primarily women, and more sensitive males – anyone who enjoys a good page-turner about family relationships, and has an open mind. Parents of all stripes, Jewish readers, interfaith couples, people with strong ethnic family ties, liberal-minded Catholics and African-Americans, gay readers and vegetarians will especially identify with this story.

What is like working with a publisher that is not from the same country?
It’s no problem. I am fortunate to live in Rochester, NY, which is just a short drive from Canada. I actually took the opportunity to meet Tilly Rivers, Sarah Hylton, and some of the other members of the RAIN family when they held an authors’ night in Toronto last summer. It was delightful!

Today all sized publishing houses expect much more from authors, and often ask for a marketing / promotional plan as part of the submission process- what advice do you have for upcoming writers regarding the marketing aspects of writing?
It’s definitely good to think about this as you are writing, but don’t let it influence what/how you write. Writing from the heart is most important!

What disillusions do you think authors have?
There are so many new books on the market every year (every month!). It’s hard get the attention that you know your writing deserves.

Who designed the covers?
RAIN has a graphic designer, Kara Elsberry, who does that.

What was the hardest part of writing your book?
I find the editing process difficult, because, unlike a painting, you can’t see the whole thing at once. You have to go through it linearly and hope that when you change something it doesn’t mess up something else later on.

Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it? Do you have any advice for other writers?Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
I hope you love this story as much as I do. If so, please share it with your friends and please send me feedback. I look forward to hearing from you!

Writing is a tough market, with hundreds of thousands of books; publisher’s down-sizing or going under-what is the unique selling feature your book offers readers?
The sheer pleasure of getting to know these characters and finding out how they navigate the complicated and compelling circumstances of their lives.

What is your ultimate goal as an author?
To speak to the hearts of my readers, to make them smile and enrich their lives in some small way.

What has been your greatest accomplishments?
My three beautiful, red-headed children. And this book!

Where do you see yourself in ten years?
Hopefully retired from Kodak. At that point, with three children just graduated from college and hopefully on their own, I look forward to more writing and more traveling with my husband. As a movie buff, I’d love to take a film festival cruise some day – maybe with Roger Ebert (one of my heroes), if he’s still around.

Watching Our Daughters Grow

2007-03-01T09:53:00.000-08:00

As we prepare for our daughter’s bat mitzvah, the Jewish coming of age ceremony and celebration, I can’t help but cast a discerning eye toward other such affairs we've attended. Don't get me wrong, it’s nothing like that over-the-top movie, “Keeping Up with the Steins” (in which the family’s “friends” hold their party on a cruise ship with “Titanic” as their theme!). Still, in the past month alone, we’ve gone to three pretty wonderful bat mitzvahs. That’s because our daughter and I are part of a mother-daughter book club and the girls in the group have become close.

Here are three of the girls heading to the Rochester Club Ballroom for an evening of dinner and dancing. Don’t they look grown-up?

Here they are stepping barefoot to the DJ’s deafening beat.

And here's an action shot of our daughter, Helen, winning the hula hoop contest!

Of course the girls weren’t always this grown up. When we first started the book club in the fall of 2003, they were only in the fourth grade reading juvenile fare, swooning over handsome princes, intrigued by magic spells in books like Ella Enchanted and Which Witch?

2003: Top row (L-R): Helen, Amanda, Sarah, Bottom row (L-R): Risa, Devon, Katie

But soon enough we moved on to stories with broader (more mom-oriented) appeal like Millicent Min: Girl Genius (which I loved) and Esperanza Rising (powerful and poignant, though a bit over their 5^th grade heads). More recently we've read some great titles like The Giver (a thought-provoking sci-fi fable) and So B. It (a compelling mystery about a girl whose mother is mentally disabled).

2005 (L-R): Risa, Devon, Helen, Sarah, Amanda

What a delight to watch these girls blossom in confidence and intellect, as well as in body. Last month we read: The Truth about Forever, about a troubled teenager who finds friendship and emotional strength in unlikely places. It was a book choice that proved controversial for some of the moms. So we had lots to talk about at that meeting.

2006: (L-R): Amanda, Sarah, Helen, Devon, Alex, Risa

This is such an exciting age - teetering on the cusp - still children one minute, so grown up the next. And every book, like every friend, shaping our daughters into the women they will one day become.

(L-R): Marianne, Cheryl, Liz, Shelly, Susan (Naoko not pictured)

Check out our Mother-Daughter reading list. Does anyone have any good young adult books to recommend?