sametimenextmonth: March 2016

Monday, March 7, 2016

March Book Club 2016

!!!!LATE BREAKING NEWS!!!!

I'm going to start this months blog with all the big news. Darby greeted us with the announcement that she's accepted a fabulous offer as an Associate Dean at a school in Chicago. The start date has not been confirmed but will most likely be June 1 or July 1. We are all sad to see Darby move away but, we are thrilled about her opportunity and look forward to visiting her in Chicago. She also mentioned that she'd like to SKYPE into book club when she can. Terry has been considering retiring from Blanchard High School and a move to be with her dad in Duncan. She'll still be in Oklahoma and, I'm sure will continue to attend book club as often as she can. Lou has already made her move to Florida. She's keeping up with the books and will attend when she is visiting Oklahoma. She has kindly extended an invitation for us to have book club at her place in Florida. However, it is unlikely that we'll be able to make that happen on the dates she has available. Another option, is to have a "retreat" at another time for those who can make the trip. In other news, Tammy has moved back to the area and we are thrilled to welcome her back!

I have to say that since the book clubs inception, we've maintained a very consistent membership. This seems like the biggest shift since I became a member. Life happens to us all and, we would never want to hold anyone back (well, we couldn't anyway) but, we'll sure miss the consistent presence of these wonderful ladies.

IN MEMORIAM

It is with great sadness that I report on the passing of one of my favorite authors, Pat Conroy. I saw that news while we were at book club on Friday night. He had been diagnosed about a month ago with pancreatic cancer. I was shocked to hear this news so quickly after that announcement. "The Prince of Tides" will always be one of my favorite books. I know, that for some, he was a little flowery with his language and, perhaps, too emotional. But his words comforted, inspired and moved me. I will miss knowing that he is not out there somewhere "growing up slowly beside the tides and marshes of a Carolina sea in a small white house won by his great-great grandfather in a horseshoe game." Rest in Peace dear Prince. Another of my favorite authors also passed recently - Harper Lee. I think that we can all agree on the impact of "To Kill a Mockingbird". We've just lost too many great writers, poets, musicians and actors this year.

And now, to "continue our book report!" Laura hosted this month's book club. Missing were Carla G, Barb, Lis, Lou, Janie and Denise. Our book this month was "The Little Paris Bookshop" and so we had a, lighter than air, goat cheese soufflé prepared by Laura and her "Sou Chef", Carla A. Laura also made a very aromatic and flavorful Ratatouille. Pam brought a great salad with everything "but the kitchen" as they say. Darby provided Parmesan baquettes and wine. Terry surprised us with bacon wrapped prunes - which sound gross (if you don't like prunes) but, they were fantastic. Diana brought chocolate biscuits and croissants and champagne. Tammy made homemade lemon Ricotta cookies and Arnora brought the beautiful bouquet of flowers. Carla A said it was her favorite meal by far! However, I think we say that at every meal! haha

When we finally settled down to discussing the book, we actually ended up talking for about 2 hours. The book was generally well liked by those that had finished. There isn't a final rating yet; so far 2.5 to 4.0.

Our protagonist, Jean Perdu, has created a bookshop on a floating barge in Paris. He calls himself a "literary apothecary" and prescribes books to his customers based on what he views their emotional needs are. I felt the theme of this book could have been "physician - heal thyself." As always, it is easier to guide others to awareness and healing than it is to guide yourself. Jean is nursing a 20 year old love affair that ended badly. That mystery slowly unfolds and his closest friends also have events from 20 years ago they are dealing with.

Carla A had a problem with the language and several also noted that it often felt like you were in a different time period and it was jolting when he mentioned modern day conveniences like the cell phone. Laura felt that Jean was a dynamic character and that he was very different at the end of the book than he was at the beginning. There were a lot of layers of revealing and deceit. Jean Perdu lived in a world of self-denial about the events of Manon leaving. We all agreed that there is no real protocol for grieving. Everyone moves through it in their on time and in their own way. And, you can be supportive of someone's "hurting time" but you can't intervene.

April's meeting will be at Janie's and our book is The Story Hour.

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2015 Hosts and Books

Jan 9 - Pam Boeck - All the Light We Cannot See
Feb 6 - Lou Christian - Alif the Unseen
March 6 - Terry Cummings - Kind of Kin
April 3 - Janie Tisdale - The Girl on the Train
May 1 - Arnora Parish - The Stolen Child
Jun 5 - Barb Barrow - The Elephant Whisperer
July 10 - Diana Beal - Lone Wolf
Aug 7 - Denise McGough - The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
Sept 11 - Sherrie Phillips - H is for Hawk
Oct 2 - Arnora Parish - The Boy Who Drew Monsters
Nov 6 - Sherrie Phillips
Dec - Laura Madden - A Child's Christmas in Wales & Christmas Day in the Morning

The Honey Tree - Mary Oliver

And so at last I climbed

the honey tree, ate

chunks of pure light, ate

the bodies of bees that could not

get out of my way, ate

the dark hair of the leaves,

the rippling bark,

the heartwood. Such

frenzy! But joy does that,

I'm told, in the beginning.

Later, maybe,

I'll come here only

sometimes and with a

middling hunger. But now

I climb like a snake

I clamber like a bear to

the nuzzling place, to the light

salvaged by the thighs

of bees and racked up

in the body of the tree.

Oh, anyone can see

how I love myself at last!

how I love the world! climbing

by day or night

in the wind, in the leaves, kneeling

at the secret rip, the cords

of my body stretching

and singing in the

heaven of appetite.

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Lis and Diana's Review of Isaac's Storm

Lis said: This book centers around the devastating hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas, in 1901 and is blamed for the death of over 4500 people. Although the story wasn't a page-turner for most, it was full of interesting historical and scientific data while building up to describing accounts of the devastation and aftermath that the storm created. In my opinion, it is debatable whether the book should be considered a true fiction or a non-fiction. Hand in hand with the storm description, the book tells about the creation of the National Weather Service and the struggle that the organization went through to earn the people's trust. When looking back over the disaster, the author identifies areas of misuse and false pride - in the bureaucratic sector as well as the people's personal lives - that, if it had been overcome, might have averted some of the lost lives. Building up to the storm, the author touches on many historical facts surrounding the era, such as the state of Arkansas passing legislation a few decades earlier to legalize the proper pronunciation of its name to be "Arkansaw." Into this background, the author creates the characters that he was able to find in his research that made up the early Weather Service and some of the residence of Galveston, their spouses and children, making us shiver with dread over successful and unsuccessful rescue efforts. After bringing to life the unimaginable aftermath, with whole neighborhoods destroyed and bodies at every step, the book concludes with Galveston's recovery and a large chapter of Acknowledgements for the extensive support and research that the author relied on. I for one enjoyed the book immensely and, after the first third, found it difficult to put down till the end. Elisabeth Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine. I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.

Diana said: The old saying, "hind sight is 20/20" comes to mind while reading the hurricane account of Galveston, Texas in 1901. Author Eric Larson's story reminded me of his first book we read, Devil in the White City, as he combined historical facts and real people while piecing together a plausible tale of personalities and lives. I have huge respect for writing historical fiction, as the writer not only has to devise an interesting story but also works as an investigator and researcher in the process. The first third of the story was slow and at times I found myself skimming the pages waiting for action. I think this may have been purposeful by Larson. As a reader I was going about my daily business and uninvolved like the townspeople of Galveston noting the changing winds and heading off to work. I took occasional notice of Isaac's trip to the American west by stage and his appearance as a "dandy", the use of telegraph as the primary form of communication from on location to another and it was surprising to find out the American and Cuban weather men held so little regard for each other. Americans found the Cuban forecasters primitive, romantic and unreliable. But once the hurricane was upon Galveston, I was spellbound for the remainder of the book. With the exception of once when I had to put the story down due to the brutal descriptions of decaying bodies which I found overwhelming. For me the story telling mimicked the event itself. Galveston and the rest of the U.S. were going along with business as usual, and then wham! A hurricane the magnitude no one expected or had experienced before bursts forth with action and drama and left no one untouched including me.

Lis' review of A Thousand Splendid Suns

The story playing in Afghanistan made it another compelling read and a walk through a different culture, very foreign to most of us. I had the fortune to have also read the book The Kite Runner by the same author and found that the two stories make great companion books, almost a must-read duo. Our month's selection takes us into the Arabic culture through the life of two women, one of them a servant girl's bastard child - and yes, I used the old fashioned term for illegitimate child on purpose to stay with the tone of the novel. The other woman is depicted as a well-educated, emancipated young woman from a progressive, westernized family. Through the turmoils surrounding Afghanistan's recent 30-year history, their lives intertwine with the same abusive husband and their attempt to deal with the changes brought on by the Russian occupation, the takeover of the Mujahedin and, eventually, the Taliban. The companion book, The Kite Runner, deals with the same political and social upheavals in Afghanistan but is told through the life of a man and his very devoted male servant. A Thousand Splendid Suns evoked a lot of emotion for most of us, feeling comfortable as well educated American women that have rights and can expect a certain social standing that greatly exceeds the animal-like treatment of our female Afghan counterparts under Taliban rule. Needless to say, we had a lively discussion about Afghanistan's troubles, the interactions of both women's parents' influences, their different upbringing, and how it made them relate to each other. We found similarities to the book Shanturam in this author's use of the cinema, especially Bollywood movies. One thing we did not discuss though that I found enticing, was the advantages of being able to skip hair and make-up treatments through the use of a Burka! Blue was, after all, the favored color of my youth, although I always preferred much darker shades. What do you think, ladies, Burkas in our future?

sametimenextmonth

Monday, March 7, 2016

March Book Club 2016

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