Bookmarks Subscribers discussion

This book received the highest number of votes, so this will be the featured book for our first organized discussion. I encourage as many people to participate as possible! For the next organized discussion, I will look at participation to see who gets to create the poll to vote from. We'll look at doing a book every other month - like how we receive the magazine. I think going one issue back from the current would be the best way to go, but I am open to any member suggestions. Let us know on this posting if you plan on reading and discussing. I am definitely in!

Sounds like a plan......count me in!

I'm in, too.

Yay! My local library has a copy of the book available. I'll start it tonight!

I started this book last night. I got to page 75 but I'm thinking of going back to the beginning. I was reading while my family watched TV. This is the kind of book that needs real concentration. I like the idea of the discussion being on the same cycle as the magazine. There's a certain symmetry there that I think will work well. So I definitely in!!

I started it and I am doing the same thing. I need to go back and reread. I think I got about 70 pages in. I started it while I was still teaching and finishing grad school, so even though I was reading, my mind wandered a lot.

I am excited that some of you are in for the discussion!

So, we will be discussing this book for June and July?
I'm just wondering what book group read to start first.

My understanding is that you can read them in any order and comment as you go, but we will be discussing Cutting for Stone almost like a traditional book group at about the same time with directed questions. I am going to start this one as soon as the craziness of my daughter's high school graduation and party are finished. I was going to start it tonight, but based on some earlier posts, it sounds like I will have to concentrate, not likely until about Monday!

Oops, sorry. I guess my question was a little confusing. I have a book to read for June for a totally different book group. I am just wondering if we are reading Cutting For Stone for two months. It's just so I can gauge which book to read first. I only read one book at a time, so I have to decide what to start next.

Jaime, our book selection is for June/July. One book bimonthly just like the magazine.

Okay, that's what I thought, but just wanted to clarify. Thanks!

Barb wrote: "My understanding is that you can read them in any order and comment as you go, but we will be discussing Cutting for Stone almost like a traditional book group at about the same time with directed ..."

Yes - that gives everyone two months to read the book. I know many of us are involved in multiple book groups, and I figured since we get the magazine every other month, this would make sense. Still keeping the open format of posting ANY Bookmarks book...there will just be one book every other month that we read together. Bringing unity to the community.

ok, I've gotten to page 100 - the twins' birth. I can't say I really like this book yet - it hasn't really grabbed me but I'm curious enough to want to keep reading. How does everyone else feel about this book so far?

I had started this book several weeks ago (listening). I got just a little bit further and put it aside for a while. Like Nancy, I am not sure I will finish it. I don't usually put books down, but I'll wait until someone clearly finds its value past this point. Too many other things to read.

I'm still trying to get my hands on a copy of the book (or recording I guess) but the libraries in my county do not have any copies available or an estimated wait time. Bummer. I'll keep looking though. Looks like an interesting read. I work close to a B&N, maybe I'll just use them as a library and read it on my lunch breaks :-)

I had to return my copy to the library - it had holds so I couldn't renew it!

I am just about to start. (My library came through!:)

I started listening again and am up to Chapter 18. I will probably stickwith it and I look forward to the discussion. Is there a goal date for which we should try to be ready to begin discussion?

I could have sworn I posted a couple days ago about this, but don't see the post, so...

I just started this on audio. I can't remember which chapter I am up to. And I'm such a visual learner that I'm having a hard time remembering people's names (since I haven't seen them to ingrain them in my memory), but I'm at the part when Hamar (?)is on the plane.

To listen to it, it is very descriptive. I can really see the people and the surroundings. It's almost written like a screenplay in that I can just imagine what it would look like on screen. But I can imagine that reading it might make it harder to get through.

I'm up to page 268 and I'm starting to like it. I wasn't crazy about the early part of the book which explains the twins' parentage and how they came to bee born in Ethiopia. The author is quite descriptive when writing about medical procedures and that takes some getting used to as well. Eventually the narration is taken over by one of the twins (Marion) and the story really starts to move forward. I realize that I definitely prefer dialog to explanation

I'm in and started the book last night. I am enjoying it!

I just finished this last night. After a slow start (heavy on description) it really picked up and I enjoyed it very much. In fact, I finished it in the wee hours and still didn't fall right asleep because images and dialogue kept running through my head. Those of you wavering about finishing should hang in there, it ends up being good.

I have to put Cutting for Stone down for now. Thank you, Barb for encouraging us to stick it out, as I may pick it up again thanks to you! I'm only about 130 or so pages in. Like you, I feel the book is very heavy on description. I feel like I'm reading and not getting very far into the plot. However, I think Verghese is developing the characters very well and that he is setting the reader up to really care about them. The book is due at my local library on Monday, but I'm hoping that I will be able to check it out again before the end of July.

Am going to start soon with trepidation, many seem to have a hard time getting into it

Just came today from Amazon. Will start it tonight!

I just couldn't wait any longer, so I ordered it for my Kindle with some birthday money. I have to say that I am truly enjoying this story - even right from the beginning. In my search for understanding about "Cutting for Stone" phrase, I found this wonderful description of the book: http://www.tadias.com/2009/06/02/book... It has added many insights for me, and perhaps that is why I am liking it so much?

Thanks for sharing the link. Vergheses provided a beautiful insight into the phrase "cutting for stone." I just finished reading The Pillars of the Earth and was thinking about the phrase along the lines of the intricate, detailed and skilled manner in which master masons carved and shaped their stone for building. I never would have considered a medical meaning behind the phrase.

I'm still listening - and Marion started narrated a short time ago (I think I am at Chapter 18). I really enjoyed the first part leading up to this - maybe it's easier in audio form? Of course the phrase "Cutting for Stone" has at least a couple meanings, right? The one from the Hippocratic Oath, and then the surgery coverage that Gosh and Hamar do for Thomas Stone, or even more finite, the actual cutting of the C-section for the twins, since Stone couldn't do it.

I still haven't been able to get my hands on this book. I'm going to try back at the library again this week. I may have to break down and purchase it, but I'm trying to avoid that route since I've been overindulging my book buying habit recently.

I finished this book about 2 weeks ago and I wanted to think about what I wanted to say before actually writing a post. I liked it but I can't say it evoked a lot of emotion in me. Do I think it's a good book? I guess it goes back to what someone said earlier about what makes a good book. Is it good because you like it or if you didn't exactly like it, are you at least glad you read it. I am glad I read this book. I could have done without the detailed medical descriptions but I did like the way the characters were developed, espcially Ghosh. Ok, I think I'm talking myself into liking this book afterall. Anyway, that's my thoughts on Cutting for Stone. I'm ready to choose the next book. Oh, I did want to say that one of the things I enjoy about being in a book group, is reading (and finishing) books that I might not otherwise have tried. So my thanks for that!

I'm STILL listening. I'm on chapter 27 - how much more do I have to go?

I just bought the book 2 days ago, because there was too long of a wait to get it from the library. I'm going on vacation soon and this book doesn't fit my profile for a "beach read." So, I'll probably be closer to the end of the month before I read it.

Since I read it on my Kindle, I can't be sure, but I think it's about 32 chapters? It does get a bit long, but don't despair. There are some interesting twists still to be had.

Lisa wrote: "I just bought the book 2 days ago, because there was too long of a wait to get it from the library. I'm going on vacation soon and this book doesn't fit my profile for a "beach read." So, I'll pr..."
No - not a beach read at all! So what ARE you going to take? I'm starting One Thousand White Women next.

Oooh, I loved 1000 White Women. I've been looking at my mountain of books and I think I will definitely take :

Finger Lickin' Fifteen
Loitering With Intent
Club Dead
The Book Thief
Driftwood Summer
The White Tiger
The Woods

I'm sure I'll add to this list. I have to prepare for any mood and I don't want to run out of books!

I am only on page 93 of this book and I am in love.....yes, in love. It is a very rare thing to read a fiction book that has realistic and accurate medical descriptions. Being a nurse, I am very sensitive to that. But, what really impresses me is Verghese's ability to provide this along with rounded characters and vivid settings. The nurse probationer made me chuckle as she tries to learn and force "Sound Nursing Sense". Sound Nursing Sense is an odd phenomenon actually. It is not something that you can learn, it is just a quality that you either have or you don't. It is a six sense.
This made be curious about Verghese. Who is this person that knows about "Sound Nursing Sense", realistic medical descriptions and enthralls me with his writing? I did a little bit of research. He is a Professor for the Theory and Practice of Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Senior Associate Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine. His interest is in bedside medicine and paying attention to the patient, the person, rather that focus on the technology and diagnostics. Check out this interview http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes...
It is so easy to lose the "person in the bed". Especially with the current health care system. To mix this idea within fiction and be able to engage me like this is pure genius. He also has a column:
http://correspondents.theatlantic.com...

Loreena, you make this book sound so appealing. I know some people don't go for detailed medical descriptions, but like you, I appreciate the authenticity it brings to a book. Also, coming from a medical background, it's something I can relate to.

Loreena wrote: "I am only on page 93 of this book and I am in love.....yes, in love. It is a very rare thing to read a fiction book that has realistic and accurate medical descriptions. Being a nurse, I am very s..."

Like you, I am in love with this book. I really didn't want it to end at all! And now after it is completed, I am still thinking of it.

I have no medical background, and I didn't really find the detailed medical descriptions annoying. Of course, one of my late night guilty pleasures is watching the "blood and guts" shows (as my hubby calls them) shows like Real Life in the ER, Medical Mysteries etc. LOL!

I love watching the show Medical Mysteries.

Lisa wrote: "I love watching the show Medical Mysteries."
Uh oh - more twins separated by birth, parentage and location? LOL!

BTW, I'm interested in what you think of White Tiger. It's been on my list, but haven't looked for it yet. And I'm not really sure if Book Thief is a beach read-I liked to savor it in the wee hours of the morning/night.

I just finished Cutting for Stone and look forward to discussing it. The book was one of the most beautifully written novels that I have read in a long time. Thank you for making me aware of this book!

I'm 200 pages into Cutting for Stone and I'm enraptured by the story. I can't wait to finish it.

I finished it on audio and can't wait to discuss it. How are we structuring our discussion? July is almost over!

One of the questions I would like to ask of the group: How did you react to the "Christian religious overtones" in the story? Did they add or distract from the story and/or lessons?

Lynn wrote: "One of the questions I would like to ask of the group: How did you react to the "Christian religious overtones" in the story? Did they add or distract from the story and/or lessons?"

I didn't find them intrusive at all. As a matter of fact, I had to stop and think about where they might have been, other than the nun and the Mission in the story. For me, it was only another adjective or lesson on people's choices, beliefs, like the description of their hair, or their home. DId I miss a crucial part of the story, do you think?

I thought the approach to faith was very authentic (though I am far from knowing what the practice of faith is actually like in Ethiopia). I also enjoyed Marion's statement of Hema in chapter 53 -- from what I know about Africa an eclectic approach to religion (to cover all of the bases) is often practiced.

These parts and others reminded me of the Poisonwood Bible. Towards the beginning of Cutting for Stone, the description of the devoted charitable Texas organization with misguided assistance (providing an overabundance of bibles instead of medicine) and Hema's eclectic approach to faith reminded me of the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.

Kevin wrote: "I thought the approach to faith was very authentic (though I am far from knowing what the practice of faith is actually like in Ethiopia). I also enjoyed Marion's statement of Hema in chapter 53 --..."

Kevin, I haven't finished reading yet, but I too have been reminded of The Poisonwood Bible. Fortunately, Matron had the good sense to realize that Africans didn't lack from religion, but food and medical care.

Lynn wrote: "One of the questions I would like to ask of the group: How did you react to the "Christian religious overtones" in the story? Did they add or distract from the story and/or lessons?"

Given the set-up for the whole story, I was kind of surprised that religion didn't play a bigger role. I'm always intrigued by how faith, spirituality and organized religion are portrayed in literature - sometimes separately and sometimes joined as one concept. I thought the faith in the story was almost juxtaposed against the organized religion components, e.g. Matron's faith provided her a way to do the right thing, as opposed to the religious organizations trying to promote their own agenda.

It also seems to me that it is a rare book that deals with death/illness/violence without having issues of faith coming up (the old "no atheists in foxholes" concept), unless it is a mystery/thriller kind of book.

Cutting for Stone is absolutely a 5 star book. How did I ever wait this long to read it??

I finally finished listening to this book last week. Starting reading, but waiting list at my library. Then I did the audio and got half way through it and it was due back. So I'm late, but I had to comment.

I loved this book. I have no medical background, but I thought the descriptions of the medical procedures were fascinating and generally not too graphic--although the description of fistula had me wincing. But the characterizations were what really touched me. I felt such an attachment at the end to these people Verghese created.

Lynn, I'm not really a religious person, and can be sensitive to being preached at, but I felt that there was a great diversity to the beliefs that were introduced and made each character more real in that their beliefs are another dimension of their personality.

Some of the coincidences were a bigger stumbling block for me, how people from Marion's past just kept turning up. But I set aside my cynicism because I enjoyed the writing so much.

Thanks to the group for bringing me to it.