Question:
Hi Ladies!
It looks like things are getting ready to roll here!
Twolf has suggested that we set our meetings for a weekend day in mid-month. How about the second Saturday? This coming Saturday would be too soon, of course, but we could start next month. That would give everyone time to get the book and start reading.
So far, everyone seems to be happy to start with Wide Sargasso Sea. Shall we go with that, or are there some dissenters? PM me with your "vote" so I can keep track.
There have also been some good suggestions of other books to read. I will post them as an edit in my post in our thread. That way they will be easy to find and we can keep adding them as they come in.\
Also, I still like the idea of holding our meeting in the chat room, so that we can do it in real time. I will ask tigrushka about how to go about that (I think we can set up a special "room"). However, I know that some of us may not be able to attend at a set time, so we'll keep the thread open for comments coming in at any time.
I am really looking forward to this! Keep all your great suggestions coming in!
Patricia

Answer:
Ordered my Sargasso Sea from Amazon and am set to start on February 10th - second Saturday in February?
By the way - the suggestion of She was a sort of joke. A highly fanciful and somewhat lurid tale about a jungle goddess (hear that ladies - GODDESS!) that may be out of print. Less existential than Bonjour Tristesse however!
Thanks Pellen!

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I'm over the moon about this idea. Here are my suggestions:
Cheri or The Vagabond or Break of Day - all by Colette
The Fig Eater by Jody Shields
Women in Love by D.H. Lawrence
Other Voices, Other Rooms by Truman Capote
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michael Faber (features an evil Victorian perfume magnate!)
I think I'll stop myself there for now. But I am excited about Wide Sargasso Sea for our first meeting.

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Please count me in!

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Count me kinda in, kinda out. The Wide Sargasso sea sounded too depressing, and although I intended to buy it, when actually at Borders I just bought a copy of Jane Erye instead.
I recommend "The Red Tent." I don't remember who wrote it, but I read it several years ago and remember it being good. I gave it to a friend of mine to read and she liked so much so asked if she could pass it to another friend. I was kept updated for a couple more passes, but then the copy got outside my little community and I lost it. It was popular.
It gives voice to a woman briefly mentioned in the Bible, like in one verse or something, and builds a whole story about what her life could have been like. I envision wearing roses and lotus, frankincense and myrrhe, leather and ouds.

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Quote: Originally Posted by Shycat I recommend "The Red Tent." I don't remember who wrote it, but I read it several years ago and remember it being good. I gave it to a friend of mine to read and she liked so much so asked if she could pass it to another friend. I was kept updated for a couple more passes, but then the copy got outside my little community and I lost it. It was popular.

It gives voice to a woman briefly mentioned in the Bible, like in one verse or something, and builds a whole story about what her life could have been like. I envision wearing roses and lotus, frankincense and myrrhe, leather and ouds. The Red Tent is by Anita Diamant. I agree - it's a tremendous read. It's about Dinah (DEE-na), a woman in the Hebrew Bible who is "raped" ,thus her brothers commit brutal revenge...or so that's how the story has been told. It's utterly fascinating to read this story from a woman's point of view as both author and narrator's voice!

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I am planning on going on a sniffing excursion today so I'll try to pick up a copy of Sargasso Sea.
This sounds like fun!

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The Wide Sargasso Sea is a lovely idea! I'd also suggest reading Jane Eyre as the relation between the two is so interesting.

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I would love to participate in this also. Books + Perfume = moondeva heaven!

A few suggestions for good perfume / literature discussions:

Jitterbug Perfume - Tom Robbins
The Handmaiden's Tale - Margaret Atwood
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
Othello - William Shakespeare
The Phantom of the Opera - Gaston Leroux
Queen of the Damned - Anne Rice
The White Boy Shuffle - Paul Beatty




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I've recently read Cheri (Colette) & Bonjour Tristesse & think both would lend themselves very well to a perfume/literary discussion.
Could I also suggest 'Pride & Prejudice' - so many different characters, I'm already trying to imagine which perfume would represent each one best.
'Chocolat' by Joanne Harris is a very evocative story. The book is so much more detailed than the film.