Melanie Shankle is a blogger. In fact, she’s the blogger I want to be. I don’t want her life; I’m perfectly content with mine, thank you very much. But I want her ability to look at her life and find the laughter in her everyday activities. Her blog address is www.thebigmamablog.com.

Shankle is a 30-something wife and the mother of a daughter. Her first book, which I haven’t yet read, is Sparkly Green Earrings, and focuses on being a mom. The Antelope in the Living Room is (as it is subtitled) “the real story of two people sharing one life.” The story of her marriage, which is, in many ways, the story of all marriages.

Far from being astounded by the divorce rate, I have always instead wondered how any marriage can be successful. Thankfully, though, many (mine included) are. But you take two people, who may or may not have a lot in common, from two families, which often have very little in common, combine them, shake  up the concoction, and pour into a frosty glass. Out comes what is hopefully a good and fulfilling marriage.

Shankle’s husband, Perry, is Any Man. Well, at least, despite the age difference, he could be Bill. Let’s face it. Men just look at life differently than women. The book is a series of stories about funny times in their marriage, and over and over again I would think, “My God, that could be Bill.”

The stories – largely because Shankle is one of the funniest writers EVER – are absolutely hilarious. A few of them resulted in me having to literally stop and put the book down so that I could just laugh. Somehow it’s so much funnier to read about someone coming home to find an antelope head hanging in their living room than it is to come home and find my garage has been turned into a man cave.

Shankle, as a devout Christian, is dedicated to maintaining a successful and loving relationship with her husband, but that doesn’t mean she can’t look at situations and see how funny they are. And make her readers laugh. And she doesn’t present her husband in a negative light at all. This is as far from a husband-bashing book as you can get. On the contrary, her love for her husband is apparent on each page. She simply sees the humor in some of the situations that arise in every marriage.

Not sure this would be a great book club read, though it is a book that I would love to talk about with friends. Also not sure if this is a book that single women would enjoy, and certainly not a book for men. But I can’t recommend The Antelope in the Living Room more strongly to those of you who are married and often have to remind yourself how much you love your husband.

In September 2009, my sisters and I decided to start an online book club. We invited a few of our family and friends to participate. We all read a book every six weeks or so, and then someone (usually me) started a discussion about the book. The rest of the group contributed their thoughts via “comments”.

Up until now, the book club has been a separate blog, called Ethereal Reader. Since Nana’s Whimsies is getting a bit more established, I am going to move Ethereal Reader to this blog. It is my hope that even more people – really, anyone who wants to – will read any or all of the books and participate in our discussion.

Here’s how it works. Below is the list of books we will be reading and discussing over the next few months. The books were selected by a core group of faithful participants. We have tried to include a variety of books, including fiction, nonfiction, a classic, and a holiday offering.  I will let you know, via Nana’s Whimsies, when we have moved to a new book and how long we have to read the book. At the end of the reading period, I (or someone) will post a review of the book. Discussion will commence via the comments section of Nana’s Whimsies. (By the way, the way I have comments set up is that the first time a person comments requires my approval. Once initial approval has been given, subsequent comments won’t require approval.)

Here is the list of books we will be reading and discussing throughout 2014 and into 2015, and not necessarily in this order:

Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History, by Robert M. Edsel

A Week in Winter, by Maeve Binchy

Orphan Train, by Christina Baker Kline

Palisades Park, by Alan Brennert

The Light in the Ruins, by Chris Bohjalian

An Anne Perry Christmas novel (she writes one every year so we will name it at a later time)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey

The Invention of Wings, by Sue Monk Kidd

Since the movie is out in the theaters, let’s start with Monuments Men. I will post my review on April 4, and our discussion can begin at that time.

Enjoy your reading.

I am part of an online book club called Ethereal Readers (I will be talking more about this book club next week). Ethereal Readers recently read Willa Cather’s wonderful My Antonia, a novel about a nearly perfect friendship between a boy and a girl growing up in the Midwest.

One of my friends who is a member of Ethereal Readers loved the book, and subsequently insisted that I read Vaclav & Lena, a novel by Haley Tanner. She said it was another book about a perfect friendship between a boy and a girl, and compared it to My Antonia.

I liked the book very much, though I never would compare it to My Antonia, a book that I love and could (and will) read again and again. She was right in that Vaclav & Lena is a beautiful story about enduring love.

Vaclav and Lena are Russian immigrants living in the Brighton Beach area of New York City, where many Russian immigrants settled. The story is contemporary, and Vaclav’s parents came to the United States in the 80s when things were financially difficult for many Russians following the fall of Communism. Vaclav’s mother pushed for the family to move to the U.S. as she wants her son to have many opportunities. They are a relatively normal family, though the father is sort of a quietly unhappy man.

Lena knows nothing about her parents. She spent the first years of her life with a bitter old Russian woman who people believe is her grandmother, but who is not. When Lena is 4, the woman dies, and in her will, she names Lena’s aunt (her real mother’s sister) as her guardian. The aunt who takes care of Lena is a prostitute, drug addict, and doesn’t seem to have any real interest in Lena other than collecting the government subsidy for the girl. Lena has a tremendously sad childhood.

Vaclav and Lena meet at school and become friends. Vaclav dreams of becoming a famous magician with Lena being his “lovely assistant.” Vaclav’s mother understands that Lena has a tragic family life, and quietly watches out for her. A certain situation that transpires in the book results in Lena being removed from her home, and Vaclav and Lena don’t see each other again until they are nearly out of high school.

Their friendship endures, however. Vaclav’s love and loyalty to Lena are beautiful, and makes the tremendously sad story worthwhile reading. The ending has somewhat of a surprise twist that is almost, though not quite, happy.

I highly recommend the book. Vaclav is an extremely endearing character. Lena’s tragic life is mostly sad, but the people who love her so much and in so many different ways make the story compelling.

So back to the comparison to My Antonia. Cather’s book was uplifting throughout. Though Antonia’s life was difficult, she always found joy. I found the story of Lena to be so very sad. I’m glad I read the book, however. In a very unique way, the book ends mostly happy with some funny twists to the plot.

Vaclav & Lena would make a wonderful book club read. In fact, I would love any thoughts about the book from anyone who has read it.

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