Happy Thanksgiving and thanks to Darby for hosting this month's book club. Fall has been a little confused I think, with September and October being mostly gray and rainy and November has just been a gorgeous sunny month with perfect temperatures. It was a perfect day for book club. As usual, one thing we can all give thanks for is that no one will ever starve in book club!
Darby was terribly generous and bought a fried turkey from Crab Town. It was wonderful and Laura did a beautiful carving job. Darby also made her favorite broccoli rice casserole. And we have all agreed it is the only time Cheese Whiz is appropriate. Here's the rest of the menu:
Carla G: green been casserole; Carla A; hummus, mango, salsa, a beautiful salad and a spaghetti squash. Lis: fruit salad. Janie: Pumpkin dip, Amish butter & rolls. Terry: Dressing & Pumpkin pie. Pam: Apple dessert; Laura: Cheesy potatoes. Denise: Relish tray. Barb & Sherrie: Wine. Arnora: Roses. We certainly missed Lou this month!
Pam's sister-in-law, Sandra, visited us 
from Chicago and it was nice to meet her and she just fit right in.
The book this month was People of the Book written by Pulitzer Prize winning author Geraldine Brooks. The story was about the mysterious, centuries old Haggadah Jewish family prayer book and how it finally came to its current resting place in a museum in Sarajevo. The book is a fictionalized version of actual events. And, this was maybe the 3rd book that have read recently where the chapters alternate between present and past. The current story is about Hannah and her work as a rare book preservationist. It also revolves around her conflicted history with her mother and the absence of a father she doesn't know anything about. The alternating stories are about the "People of the Book", the mystery of who created it and the hands it fell into over the years. It's close calls to extinction and the unexpected people who felt compelled to save.
The book elicited a very lively discussion because it touched on so many subjects. There was love and loss on every page. The struggle to survive through war and persecution and finding solace in unlikely places. In the day the book was created the Jews did not believe in illustrations or illuminations believing that one could n0t recreate what God had done and also they viewed the illustrations and graven images or idolatry. So that this book exists at all, let alone how it survived for so long, is a true miracle.
For me there was the theme of Fate vs. Destiny again. Destiny being what you do with the cards that are dealt you and Darby quoted Dumbeldore "it's the choices we make, Harry,that we make that makes us who we are." We can always bring it all back to Harry Potter! Terry quoted the Dali Lama (I think it is his quote) that "Pain is inevitable but suffering is optional".
The group was divided about the ending. There is a strong theme of feminism throughout the book and many of the women suffer great harm at the hands of certain men. Hannah herself is betrayed by her love interest and yet, she falls into his arms at the end of the book. The book starts off by saying, "not every story has a happy ending". There seems to be a point in every one's life where you have to accept the inevitable. But Hannah's so quickly overlooking this man's behavior seemed like just a little too neat a way to tie up the story. Several of the girls agreed but preferred to project their own ending that she might have lingered momentarily but didn't stay. In any event, the ending did color the rating of the book just a bit for some of us and the final result was a 4.33 from 9 of the 13 members that rated.
Diana prepared a Seder meal for us and brought a borrowed Haggadah prayer book. Janie read us a Thanksgiving prayer from it, Diana lit the Shabot candles and we all toasted "Shabot Shallom" with Kosher wine. I found the ritual very moving.
Next month's book club will be at my house. We are reading "Holidays on Ice" by David Sedaris. Laura mentioned that the Alchemist had been coming back to her attention and if anyone wanted to read that for a side discussion she was up for it.
We are about to bring another year of book club to a close. As we enjoy this Thanksgiving time of year I know that I speak for all of us who are so thankful for having been brought together with this amazing group of women. Thanks, once again, to Diana who kick started the whole thing. I feel certain that the reason we formed such a close and deep bond so quickly is that we were able to reveal so much of ourselves on an intimate level through the books we read and discuss. With the books as the catalyst and the dynamics and diversity of the women, though we are not preserving one book, I think the title of this book applies to us. We are "People of the Books." Ok, call me corny but cut me some slack, it's Thanksgiving!
Darby was terribly generous and bought a fried turkey from Crab Town. It was wonderful and Laura did a beautiful carving job. Darby also made her favorite broccoli rice casserole. And we have all agreed it is the only time Cheese Whiz is appropriate. Here's the rest of the menu:
Carla G: green been casserole; Carla A; hummus, mango, salsa, a beautiful salad and a spaghetti squash. Lis: fruit salad. Janie: Pumpkin dip, Amish butter & rolls. Terry: Dressing & Pumpkin pie. Pam: Apple dessert; Laura: Cheesy potatoes. Denise: Relish tray. Barb & Sherrie: Wine. Arnora: Roses. We certainly missed Lou this month!
Pam's sister-in-law, Sandra, visited us 
from Chicago and it was nice to meet her and she just fit right in.The book this month was People of the Book written by Pulitzer Prize winning author Geraldine Brooks. The story was about the mysterious, centuries old Haggadah Jewish family prayer book and how it finally came to its current resting place in a museum in Sarajevo. The book is a fictionalized version of actual events. And, this was maybe the 3rd book that have read recently where the chapters alternate between present and past. The current story is about Hannah and her work as a rare book preservationist. It also revolves around her conflicted history with her mother and the absence of a father she doesn't know anything about. The alternating stories are about the "People of the Book", the mystery of who created it and the hands it fell into over the years. It's close calls to extinction and the unexpected people who felt compelled to save.
The book elicited a very lively discussion because it touched on so many subjects. There was love and loss on every page. The struggle to survive through war and persecution and finding solace in unlikely places. In the day the book was created the Jews did not believe in illustrations or illuminations believing that one could n0t recreate what God had done and also they viewed the illustrations and graven images or idolatry. So that this book exists at all, let alone how it survived for so long, is a true miracle.
For me there was the theme of Fate vs. Destiny again. Destiny being what you do with the cards that are dealt you and Darby quoted Dumbeldore "it's the choices we make, Harry,that we make that makes us who we are." We can always bring it all back to Harry Potter! Terry quoted the Dali Lama (I think it is his quote) that "Pain is inevitable but suffering is optional".
The group was divided about the ending. There is a strong theme of feminism throughout the book and many of the women suffer great harm at the hands of certain men. Hannah herself is betrayed by her love interest and yet, she falls into his arms at the end of the book. The book starts off by saying, "not every story has a happy ending". There seems to be a point in every one's life where you have to accept the inevitable. But Hannah's so quickly overlooking this man's behavior seemed like just a little too neat a way to tie up the story. Several of the girls agreed but preferred to project their own ending that she might have lingered momentarily but didn't stay. In any event, the ending did color the rating of the book just a bit for some of us and the final result was a 4.33 from 9 of the 13 members that rated.
Next month's book club will be at my house. We are reading "Holidays on Ice" by David Sedaris. Laura mentioned that the Alchemist had been coming back to her attention and if anyone wanted to read that for a side discussion she was up for it.
We are about to bring another year of book club to a close. As we enjoy this Thanksgiving time of year I know that I speak for all of us who are so thankful for having been brought together with this amazing group of women. Thanks, once again, to Diana who kick started the whole thing. I feel certain that the reason we formed such a close and deep bond so quickly is that we were able to reveal so much of ourselves on an intimate level through the books we read and discuss. With the books as the catalyst and the dynamics and diversity of the women, though we are not preserving one book, I think the title of this book applies to us. We are "People of the Books." Ok, call me corny but cut me some slack, it's Thanksgiving!
