Surely you must be receiving a multitude of letters expressing gratitude for publishing the chart (“Some help with narrowing the choices,” March 10) listing the Republican and Democratic candidates vying for the U.S. Senate seat and how they each stand on important issues.
Shia Kapos is to be congratulated on gathering this information and putting it together in such a helpful way.
This chart will stay by my side until the primary and beyond.
Joanne Stucka
Morton Grove
Mixed gender readers
Regarding Steve Johnson’s column (“Judging book clubs by what they cover,” March 3) on the lack of men in book clubs, I am proud to note that I have been a part of a mixed gender group for 14 years.
We actually discussed the column at our last meeting and concluded that vulnerability has a lot to do with it, that is men don’t want to give too much away regarding the competitive life they’ve been nurtured to live.
Discussing books is not a competition, but a nuanced give and take. Our gender is somewhat handicapped socially in such an arena.
No generalizations though, present company excepted (you have a column in WomanNews).
In the reworking of rules regarding men-women social intercourse, maybe book clubs are a nice step in the evolution.
It has certainly helped me.
Pat McDonald
Chicago
`Half and half’
I have to respond to “Judging book clubs by what they cover,” which I particularly enjoyed. I was a founding member (with a male friend) 13 years ago of a co-ed book club.
We intentionally designed the club to be “half and half,” beginning with three men and three women.
Over the years, we have grown (through acquisition of spouses), but we remain committed to keeping as even as possible a gender split.
The group is also diverse by religion, age, profession and geographic origin. The diversity (OK, especially the presence of both genders) has ensured that we read a variety of things, and almost invariably have spirited discussions with polite disagreements.
We do razz each other when someone selects a “boy” book or a “girl” book, but our standards are generally high, and everyone generally goes along.
We had some real push-back against reading “The Joe Paterno Story,” as well as against reading a second Jane Austen (the guys had really hated “Emma”), so those didn’t make the cut, but we have read a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction, from classics to modern.
Our shared belief is that one important purpose of any book club is to expand one’s horizons, and with that goes reading things you might not yourself pick.
We are very proud of our group’s longevity and track record (we’ve averaged more than 10 books per year).
Just wanted to let you know that there are some of us out here.
Katherine Erwin
Chicago
Strictly female
I am both a book club member (along with one other guy and about 25 women) and a discussion leader with a gender population of four men and 25 women. Both groups are solid and have stable populations with one to five new members a year and the same number leaving for different reasons. Why more men do not join is probably the same reason that men do not network as successfully as women plus the implied image that book clubs are strictly female.
Dick Deranian
Schaumburg
Sandwich equality
In an effort to offset all of the nasty mail you will receive regarding Louise Kiernan’s column (“Puppies, gerbils, husbands: What’s the difference?” March 10), let me say thank you. I am not a fan of Dr. Laura, and have only listened to her when compromised, as in a cab. I do however, very much agree with your take on the subject and wish others could have the common sense to see things as clearly as you have stated.
If I ever marry again, it will be to someone who will make me a sandwich when I need one, and I will take care of him as well.
Karen Stern
La Grange Park
Biblical quotation
In “`The Passion’ shows a feminine side'” (March 3), about Mel Gibson’s movie, the writer quotes Jesus’ words from St. John, Chapter 8, Verse 7, as “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”
Sorry, the King James Bible gives the quotation more grammatically correct, “He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone.” I do not believe one would ever find a construction like, “Let he …” do anything, in the Bible or anywhere else.
Mary Fran Purse
Northfield
