Author Topic: Night Villa, The ~ Carol Goodman ~ June 1 ~ Book Club Online (Read 158641 times)

BooksAdmin · « **on:** April 29, 2009, 06:16:45 PM »

The Book Club Online is the oldest book club on the Internet, begun in 1996, open to everyone. We offer cordial discussions of one book a month, 24/7 and enjoy the company of readers from all over the world. Everyone is welcome to join in.


"The Night Villa: Carol Goodman’s luminous prose and superb storytelling will keep you entertained into the late hours.” –Nancy Pickard “The pleasure of a Carol Goodman novel is in her enviable command of the classical canon–and the deft way she [writes] a book that’s light enough for a weekend on the beach but literary enough for a weekend in the Hamptons.” –Chicago Tribune

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News Flash! Carol Goodman, award winning author of The Night Villa, will attend our June discussion of her book. If you like mystery mixed with mythology, cultural and religious history and intrigue then this is the story for you.

The novel is a multi layered mystery set in the exploration of an ancient Roman villa. Carol Goodman is a former Latin teacher who knows her stuff, and since we met with her in NYC, we know she is an incredibly responsive person. This will be "one for the Books.." Do join us June 1!

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Our meeting in NYC with Carol

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Schedule:

Pages 4 - 112 June 1 - 7
Pages 113 - 204 June 8 - 14
Pages 204 - 291 June 15 - 22
Pages 292 / finish June 23 - 30

Links

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Discussion Leaders: Andrea & Ginny

ginny · « **Reply #1 on:** April 29, 2009, 06:29:18 PM »

Welcome to what we hope will be one of the highlights of our Books year on SeniorLearn, our first Author Event: in which an author posts right in our book club discussion, talking to our readers!! And you are invited to pull up a chair and join right in!

Andrea and I are excited to welcome you and Carol Goodman to talk about her book The Night Villa on June 1. We hope to have a good turnout!

As you can see in the heading we met Carol in September at our SeniorNet Book's 10th Anniversary Celebration in NYC, and found her (and her mother whose birthday it was) to be delightful and very responsive, it was a glorious day. She's wonderful, you're in for a treat!

You don't have to have a background in classics or Latin to enjoy this book, and the best part, well one of the best parts, is when you leave, you'll have learned something new (you can't help learing something) AND unlike many authors writing about classical stuff, Carol, a former Latin teacher, really knows her stuff: you'll have the real skinny on the latest developments going, and a whopping good tale in the business.

Andrea has divided the book into sections (see heading above with the pictures) and we'll only talk about that section that week, I think there will be a LOT to discuss! WITH the author right HERE!

What a trip. We cordially invite you to join us. Please sign in your interest, what fun!! The curtain will rise June 1, join us!

ALF43 · « **Reply #2 on:** April 29, 2009, 07:33:12 PM »

Hooray! Once again, we get to spend more time with Carol Goodman. We found her delightful, enthusiastic, funny and warm. This will be a treat, especially to have her here with us to answer our many questions.

Welcome aboard, come in sit down and enjoy this intriguing story of Sophie Chase, another classics insturctor. Come June 1st, we will be surrounded by teachers, folks, so I will do my utmost to behave.

I am so delighted that we will have some of Ginny's Latin students. Do tell us a bit about your attraction to Carol's novel.

Pei Li · « **Reply #3 on:** April 29, 2009, 08:01:21 PM »

I am not familiar with this author- but another reason this site is wonderful, followed the links and look forward to reading Night Villa and her other works.

ALF43 · « **Reply #4 on:** April 29, 2009, 08:09:18 PM »

Hello Pei Li- you are the first to arrive and I salute you.

We are pleased that you've shown an interest in this novel and I promise you, you won't be disappointed.

I have read every single book written by Carol Goodman and the more I read, the better Carol writes. What a team we'd make, I'd say.

Make sure you mark NOTIFY at the bottom of this screen so that any post that has been entered you will be alerted to that fact. It will then bring you right back into the discussion.

PatH · « **Reply #5 on:** April 29, 2009, 11:47:37 PM »

I've got the book and will be ready to go in June; won't start reading for a while yet, so it'll be fresh in my memory for the discussion.

I haven't forgotten how much it added when Karen Joy Fowler joined us to discuss her book "The Jane Austen Book Club".

Gumtree · « **Reply #6 on:** April 30, 2009, 02:57:16 AM »

Yes, I've got the book too and won't begin to read it until closer to the discussion. I haven't read any of Carol Goodman's other books but think I'll look for one at the library tomorrow. It might give me a'feel' for her style...

Looking forward to June 1 - and of course, in the meantime I'll be looking in to the prediscussion.

Thanks Ginny and ALF for hosting - and for the added luxury of having the author present during the discussion.

ginny · « **Reply #7 on:** April 30, 2009, 07:11:55 AM »

Oh wow what a great group assembling, whoopee!

Pei Li, welcome welcome, I add my greetings to Andrea's. We hope you will enjoy this experience, it's not every day you get to discuss a book with a prize winning author!

Welcome, welcome, Pat and Gum!! Yahoo!

And Pat is right, Karen Joy Fowler was great in that discussion, AND this year we also had on our fledgling new site, Annie Barrows, who very kindly responded to questions offline of the huge best seller The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society!

Wow!

We're excited about the generosity of our authors and our wonderful readers. And here we're coming together to make this our first Author Event online and we hope there will be more. I know with this international group (Gum is in Australia!) and our discerning readers, we'll have a ball!

Welcome, ALL!!

pedln · « **Reply #8 on:** April 30, 2009, 10:04:48 AM »

Of course I want to be there, autographed copy of NIght Villa in hand. Carol Goodman is a delight, both as speaker and author. I'm so glad I was able to hear her when she spoke at our book get-together in New York, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading her Lake of Dead Languages.

Looking forward to the discussion in June, especially since the author will join us.

Eloise · « **Reply #9 on:** April 30, 2009, 03:33:57 PM »

I got my book and only read the beginning, it starts like a lion, then I stopped reading and will start again closer to June. It will be my first time I don't read the entire book before a discussion.

I love historical novels, Pompeï and The Source were absolutely unforgettable. I look forward to this discussion and will pass it on to my daughter who has time to read only when she is on vacation in the summer.

À bientôt donc.

ALF43 · « **Reply #10 on:** April 30, 2009, 04:11:55 PM »

There's Eloise! I am so happy that you are going to join us. You always make me think in a different direction and I love that about your posts.

pedln- my copy is autographed as well. Isn't this exciting?

marcie · « **Reply #11 on:** May 01, 2009, 11:48:58 AM »

I'm looking forward to discussing The Night Villa with all of you and with the author too! What a treat. I've read all of Carol Goodman's books. Her rich "back story" in each of them has sparked an interest in me to learn more about the various arts and myths that she references. I love a book that is exciting and compelling on multi-levels.

ginny · « **Reply #12 on:** May 02, 2009, 11:19:35 AM »

Pedln, Eloise, and Marcie, HOORAY! I am so glad to see you here!

Wow with this group we could discuss the phone book and tremendously enjoy the conversation, much less this book. How exciting!!

I do look forward to good book discussions and with the people here already we should have one of our best ever, PLUS we have Carol Goodman herself who is likewise, as you will learn, fabulous!!

Whoopee!!

I hope if you all are reading this, you'll sign right in and join us, it should be the greatest fun and definitely one for the Books!

Everyone is welcome!

Athena · « **Reply #13 on:** May 02, 2009, 01:59:50 PM »

Hi, all,

I've not met with the book club previously but read Night Villa when Ginny first mentioned that it will be on the agenda. Sounds like a great discussion coming up, so I'd like to listen in.

ALF43 · « **Reply #14 on:** May 02, 2009, 04:54:54 PM »

Athena- we would love to have you with us for this discusion. Are you one of Ginny's students? Were you in NY City when we toured the museum that day with some of the Latin students?

NormaLemke · « **Reply #15 on:** May 02, 2009, 04:57:09 PM »

Hello all,
I recognize Pedln and Ginny from Latin classes; however, I would be new to everyone else since I haven't been in a book discussion before. As Ginny mentioned, you don't have to have a background in Latin to enjoy this book (I've now read the whole book), but I have to say I now feel priviledged to understand more about the culture I've been studying. This book has nearly been an epiphany for me.

Athena · « **Reply #16 on:** May 02, 2009, 05:05:21 PM »

Quote from: ALF43 on May 02, 2009, 04:54:54 PM

Athena- we would love to have you with us for this discusion. Are you one of Ginny's students? Were you in NY City when we toured the museum that day with some of the Latin students?

I wanted to go on the NYC trip but didn't feel up to making the commitment last year. Maybe this year? And, yes, I am in Ginny's class and have been learning from her since Latin classes were first offered by SeniorNet. Our Latin class is wonderful and Ginny is a great teacher. I got Night Villa from the library and will get it again before the discussion.

ginny · « **Reply #17 on:** May 03, 2009, 12:33:13 PM »

Well, yet another mystery, first the discussion disappears, then my post disappears, this is exciting!

Puts us in the mood for some archaeological mystery and boy have we got a good one coming up!

Norma! Welcome welcome! I am so looking forward to your telling us which parts of the book struck you the most, welcome to the Books! Loved your post!

Joyce (Athena!) welcome, welcome. Thank you for the kind words. Joyce is another super addition (with Norma) to our Books discussions as she is a retired Professor of English (she won't tell you that, so I will). I am truly looking forward to her comments!!

Lots of plots here and sub plots, we need to keep track of all of them.

This is super! Everyone is welcome (a slight scare this morning when it seemed this discussion had disappeared, but it's hiding, we'll get it out, the only secrets we need in this discussion are in the book.

Welcome, All !!

kidsal · « **Reply #18 on:** May 07, 2009, 02:36:34 AM »

Have received the book and took a first look. Am another of Ginny's Latin students.

ginny · « **Reply #19 on:** May 07, 2009, 06:43:52 AM »

Welcome, Sally, so good to see you here!!!

My goodness what a great turn out!

Everybody new to these discussions, please note the schedule in the heading, we'll only discuss the first 100 or so pages in the first week and so on, so we can have a nice in depth discussion. So even if you have read all of the book, or if you've only read that week's pages we'll cover, we'll only talk about what's in the pages scheduled for that week.

Can't wait for June 1!

Welcome, Everybody! You don't need any prior knowledge to read, enjoy, and discuss this book!

I was thinking today how topical it is, actually.

Welcome, All!

ALF43 · « **Reply #20 on:** May 07, 2009, 08:24:41 AM »

Quote

You don't need any prior knowledge to read, enjoy, and discuss this book!

That is a very good thing.

Gumtree · « **Reply #21 on:** May 07, 2009, 10:57:34 AM »

Au courant again eh Ginny?

ginny · « **Reply #22 on:** May 07, 2009, 07:15:26 PM »

Yes it's eerie actually how often our Books seem to be talking about things, books, topics, issues, which then seem to appear all over everywhere, and are hot, we're really somehow (I never have understood why) au courant with our taste (or we just have good taste, period.

) hahaha.

I do wish, just once, I could solve a mystery before the end. I don't think I ever have, I don't know why.

This one is going to be great fun!

NormaLemke · « **Reply #23 on:** May 08, 2009, 01:51:10 PM »

Ginny,
There are lots of mysteries in this story. I almost uncovered two of them, but talked myself out of them. The most thrilling part to me was a better understanding of how the ancient mystery religions were performed.

Gumtree · « **Reply #24 on:** May 09, 2009, 01:31:19 AM »

I haven't read Carol Goodman before so picked up a copy of The Seduction of Water to get a 'feel' for her writing before we begin this discussion. Not quite what I was expecting but good writing...In a way she reminds me a little of Frank McCourt ... The Night Villa is ready and waiting but I haven't started it yet for fear of reading it right through to the end in one giant gulp - it just looks so interesting....

ginny · « **Reply #25 on:** May 09, 2009, 09:57:02 AM »

I know it! And talking of au courant, if you take the Wall Street Journal in the states (since we have an international audience here, you all may not get it, but I expect it's the same news item everywhere) the cover of yesterday's Weekend Journal IS The Next Age of Discovery: "As scholars race to digitize crumbling archives, they're unearthing new finds-- from lost gospels to an alternate 'Medea.'"

This is followed by the news that

Quote

This summer, a professor of computer science at the University of Kentucky plans to test 3-D X-ray scanning on two papyrus scrolls from Pompeii that were charred by volcanic ash in 79 A.D. Scholars have never before been able to read or even open the scrolls, which now sit in the French National Institute in Paris.

By taking high-resolution digital images in 14 different light wavelengths, ranging from infrared to ultraviolet, Oxford scholars are reading bits of papyrus that were discovered in 1898 in an ancient garbage dump in central Egypt. So far, researchers have digitized about 80% of the collection of 500,000 fragments, dating from the 2nd century BC to the 8th century AD. The texts include fragments of unknown works by famous authors of antiquity, lost gospels and early Islamic manuscripts.

Oh boy, what will they find of Roman Egypt in those records? Maybe where Cleopatra and Antony are buried?

It also says: Recent Breakthroughs:

Quote

Digitization projects are also bringing previously unknown manuscripts to light- and to the Web, where scholars and curious internet surfers alike can look at high-resolution digital images of new discoveries from the ancient world.

Wow! Just imagine what they will discover in the yet unexcavated parts of Pompeii, not to mention Stabiae, and thanks to the new technology, we also may be ready to peer on something never seen for more than 2000 years! WOW!!

Just imagine! Talk about au courant! Talk about Indiana Jones! Pack your pith helmet and shovel, we're off on a high virtual adventure, which is making news today!

Everyone is welcome!

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Frybabe · « **Reply #26 on:** May 09, 2009, 11:19:18 AM »

This is going to be a great discussion. My book is on its way. In the meantime I am reading The Seduction of Water which I am enjoying immensely.

ginny · « **Reply #27 on:** May 09, 2009, 11:37:14 AM »

Margie (Frybabe) welcome, welcome! I am so glad to hear you're also enjoying the Seduction of Water, I agree, this one will be one for the Books!!!

So glad to see you here~!

ALF43 · « **Reply #28 on:** May 09, 2009, 02:03:29 PM »

Is it June yet?

Oh no, I am still in Pakistan with Greg Mortenson, sharing in 3 Cups of Tea.How will I find my way to Italy?

JoanR · « **Reply #29 on:** May 09, 2009, 04:01:39 PM »

Greetings,( Salve, too!) Another Latin student on board.
I was with the group in NYC last fall when we had our meeting with Carol Goodman - a delightful person and a fine author who has the right background to bring into her books. I've read 3 of them: The Seduction of Water, The Drowning Tree and The Lake of Dead Languages. I had started the Night Villa but when I discovered that we would be reading it as a group, I stopped - but that was a bit of a wrench since it's pretty exciting! Now I'd better start all over back at the beginning!
So far, my favorite is The Seduction of Water - am very fond of the Catskill area and old hotels. The Drowning Tree runs a close second with me because of the material on stained glass and how the windows are constructed. I have watched my husband do 3 of them - hard, hard work and tough on the fingers for sure!
The Night Villa will probably be the champ because of the setting and the history - I can hardly wait to start!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks, Ginny!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jane · « **Reply #30 on:** May 10, 2009, 06:21:23 PM »

Ginny just called me and she broke her leg last night. She was home alone, dragged herself into the house, and then got to a phone to call the EMTs. She is to see the orthopedic docs tomorrow for a hard cast. Right now she can't get to her computer.

She's hoping everything will be in good shape by the time Night Villa starts. She asked me to thank Joan R for her excitement and coming over from Latin for this discussion!

Ginny will be here as soon as she's able!

Keep her in your thoughts and prayers as she sees the docs and gets her leg fixed and healed!!

jane

Athena · « **Reply #31 on:** May 10, 2009, 06:58:01 PM »

Oh, how awful for Ginny. What about her summer travel plans? I hope she is not in pain.

ALF43 · « **Reply #32 on:** May 10, 2009, 08:04:34 PM »

OH NO!!!

Nurse Ratchett to the rescue. I will give her a call. Not to worry we can do this Ginny. Just get your leg looked tended to and we will all be fine.

PatH · « **Reply #33 on:** May 10, 2009, 08:07:42 PM »

Ohmygosh, how dreadful. What an ordeal to get to the phone. I hope they are tying her together properly and she isn't in pain. Ginny, for what my poor prayers are worth, I'm winging them to you.

Gumtree · « **Reply #34 on:** May 10, 2009, 08:50:37 PM »

How awful - Poor Ginny - just what were you doing... or thinking of? I know it's a long way for them to 'wing' it but my love and prayers are on their way... Take care Ginny

Eloise · « **Reply #35 on:** May 11, 2009, 08:01:52 AM »

How terrible Ginny, it must have hurt a lot to drag yourself in the house to call the ambulance.

Prayers are going your way.

ALF43 · « **Reply #36 on:** May 11, 2009, 09:24:53 AM »

I just called and spoke with Ginny's son Ryan. She will see the doctor today and I will keep everybody posted.
Please do not let poor Ginny's misfortune frighten away a single one of you. She would be so disappointed if she felt that her breaking her leg would interfere with this discussion that she has looked forward to for such a long time.
She is so excited about having her Latin students here to join in and meet our delightful Carol Goodman.

pedln · « **Reply #37 on:** May 11, 2009, 04:08:15 PM »

Oh Ginny, we all feel for you, and it hurts. The thought of you having to drag yourself into the house and get to the phone, sounds awful. I'm glad that part is over now. And I hope you're resting comfy someplace -- sofa, bed, recliner, and feeling no pain.

Hugs and best wishes coming your way from everyone.

ALF43 · « **Reply #38 on:** May 12, 2009, 09:22:47 AM »

Good Morning.
I just finished a 45 minute conversation with my newest patient- GINNY!

She went to the orthopedist yesterday and he told her that the break was NOT where the ER doc had diagnosed it but in a smaller bone in her knee. This is not a "weight bearing bone" that was fractured but non the less it is very painful and she is unable to bear weight at this time. She was pleased that she does not have to undergo surgery, naturally, but concerned with us here at SeniorLearn.
She can not sit at her computer for awhile, her leg must stay with ice and elevation. It is difficult with these types of breaks to ascertain just how long she will be off her leg. She returns to the doc on June 1st.
She is in excellent spirits and I was able to pick on her considerably and make her laugh.

Her trip in July is another issue but she will patiently see what the month brings. It will be at least 6 or 7 weeks post fracture by then.
She is comfortable that her Latin students are finishing up and hopes that they will post their interest in the Night Villa.
She swears that after June 1st she will try to get in there, but we will see.
A good dose of Oxycontin might help with that issue.

She is resting well and says to say hello to everyone. Only Ginny could break her leg and say that it was her best Mother's Day EVER. Winston came back home, he was visiting his mother the day that she fell and her boys came to her house, to rally around the mama bear.
She said that she LOVED the attention but as for me-- I would prefer to keep all bones intact.
She hates the crutches and has found an alternative. (Don't ask.)

I will be calling her in a couple of days and report back en mass.

Athena · « **Reply #39 on:** May 12, 2009, 09:55:06 AM »

Thanks, Andrea (it is Andrea?), for the update on Ginny. I can't imagine Ginny's not being able to use her computer. For her, that is probably worse than the broken bone. Joyce

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Author Topic: Night Villa, The ~ Carol Goodman ~ June 1 ~ Book Club Online (Read 158641 times)