<p>Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early Spring, so with that in mind, lets look ahead to the warmer weather and our April 2011 book selection.</p>
<p>Our choice for April is Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Per Publishers Weekly (via Amazon): The novel, told in flashback by nonagenarian Jacob Jankowski, recounts the wild and wonderful period he spent with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, a traveling circus he joined during the Great Depression. When 23-year-old Jankowski learns that his parents have been killed in a car crash, leaving him penniless, he drops out of Cornell veterinary school and parlays his expertise with animals into a job with the circus, where he cares for a menagerie of exotic creatures </p>
<p>Water for Elephants was published in 2007 and may be old news to many of you. But even if youve already read the book, this is a good time for a re-read because the movie (starring Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon) will be released in April.</p>
<p>Water for Elephants is $8.17 at Amazon.com. Better yet, the Kindle price is $5.00!</p>
<p>Please join us for discussion on April 1st.</p>
<p>Special note: The runner-up to the April selection, coming in a close second, was Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. By unanimous agreement, we decided that this will be our June selection. I know its only February, but I am giving advance notice because the paperback is currently only $5.99 at Amazon, and the Kindle edition is $5.00. So please consider picking up both Water for Elephants and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and joining us for discussion on April 1st and June 1st, respectively.</p>
<p>Have fun reading! Feel free to post your progress, but no spoilers until April 1st. :)</p>
<p>Hi, it’s March 10th and I thought this might be a good time to bump up the thread and remind everyone that we will begin discussing Water for Elephants on April 1st. (I haven’t started the book yet myself. It’s going on a road trip with me near the end of the month.)</p>
<p>loved it…wasn’t sure about the title, but my friend insisted that I read it. Must have been a few years ago when I read it, but was also excited to see there will be a movie. Of course, I am notorious for disliking almost every movie from a book that I loved…never do them justice.</p>
<p>It’s our Book Club selection for April too! I haven’t started it yet but just bought it for my Nook $5.00. I keep seeing the movie trailer and it looks fascinating, so I’m hoping the book is too.</p>
<p>Seems I’m the exception but I didn’t care for Water for Elephants. Have I missed a discussion of The Postmistress? I’m two-thirds through and can’t put it down.</p>
<p>^ No, we haven’t read The Postmistress, but it’s been suggested once or twice. We already have our June book chosen (Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet), but maybe we can re-visit the idea of The Postmistress for August.</p>
<p>worrywart, be sure to come back on the 1st and let us know why you didn’t care for Water for Elephants. The more varying opinions, the more fun the discussion!</p>
<p>I already have some suggestions for August too, haha! But I think on the whole we should avoid assigning material so early in advance on such a regular basis. It seems to lose the freshness, and also causes us to miss out on potential new releases of interest.</p>
<p>^ I agree; it’s too early to begin our August selection process. Choosing April and June titles at the same time was unusual for us–it just happened to work out really well because of a lot of enthusiasm for both books and some exceptional prices on Amazon (which have since increased, unfortunately).</p>
<p>I love the circus story, but the parts of the story set in the nursing home don’t ring true. In particular, I can’t imagine any reason why Jacob, who is relatively functional by nursing home standards but can only walk short distances with a walker, would not be able to go anywhere he wants in the nursing home or on its grounds in a wheelchair, propelling it himself. Yet there are scenes that depend on Jacob not having this option for getting from place to place. From what I know about nursing home life, that doesn’t seem realistic.</p>
<p>I’m in for this selection. I did enjoy the book, though any animal cruelty story hurts me deeply. It was a tough read for that reason.</p>
<p>Marian, my MIL was in a nursing home and is very adept with the walker. However, in both homes, both highly rated, top picks, she is not permitted to go unaccompanied with the walker. Though she does this all of the time at home, she does not meet the level of control to be permitted to do so at the home. The reason is that they are not willing to take the chance of her falling which is sadly high. She has a replaced hip from a fall, and has taken minor spills during transferring from walker to something else. They simply cannot take the chance. She has been told and we have as well, that she is not permitted to go unaccompanied by staff in the home via walker, nor is she permitted to transfer from chair to walker, chair to bed, to toilet, to whatever without someone present. If she does, they will not assume responsibility for any injuries that come from such activity. She still did it, but if someone saw her, she would immediately have supervision.</p>
<p>I knew a woman in a nursing home in the same situation, cptofthehouse. Because of her balance difficulties, she had to be accompanied when using her walker and when transferring from bed to wheelchair, wheelchair to toilet, etc. But she was free to use her wheelchair to move around the facility. She wasn’t trapped the way that the character in the book seems to be. She could go to friends’ rooms, the dining room, the lounge, the library, various activities, even outdoors on the accessible paths. </p>
<p>There is a scene in the book where Jacob is sitting in his wheelchair with his walker nearby, and other residents notice something interesting out the window. Jacob goes through a huge struggle to stand up and use his walker to get over to the window. I cannot fathom why he didn’t just wheel himself over there to take a look.</p>