sametimenextmonth: April Book Club a la Quarantine

Thursday, April 2, 2020

April Book Club a la Quarantine

If this isn't the strangest time of my generation, I don't know what to call it. In the past, one or two of us have called in from a trip to participate in the discussion. But, this time, we're all on a Zoom conference call ... keeping well more than 6 ft of safe space between us. As we are all well aware, the Corona Virus, or Covid-19, is sweeping around the world. Travel plans have been cancelled, people have been stranded on cruise ships and in airports while travel has come to a grinding halt. Non-essential businesses have been ordered to close and people have been admonished to "shelter at home." It is reminiscent of the Spanish Flu and other plagues. Though they say it will take less lives than the flu - it is still a huge threat.

Gas prices have dropped, people are losing jobs or being furloughed. The gov't is trying to "stimulate" the economy. And, there was a "panic" that caused a shortage on toilet paper, of all things.

It looks like it might be June before we are out of the words as heat is said to kill the virus. Most of us have self-quarantined at home except for occasional trips for groceries. A few are still going into the office part-time but that may change as they try to stop the spread.

At any rate, I thought Zoom Book Club was a big success. This time Lou and Darby were able to join and only Tammy missed the event. One thing I can say definitively is, "Thank the Good Lord for internet!" I have been able to have group calls with friends on Facebook messenger, participated in some creative Zoom webinars and, talked to my kids in Missouri. I don't feel completely marooned though it's not the same as in person contact.

All that said ... thank you Zoom for hosting our book club this month. The one disappointment (aside from missing hugs) was that we couldn't enjoy the meal that Laura made from the recipes in the book. But, she did send a beautiful photo and we'll just look forward to it the next time we meet.

Though our book was titled Save Me the Plums - a Gourmet Memoir, the book wasn't about food as much as it was the author's journey through the writing and publishing world of food culminating with her 10 years as Editor-in-Chief of Gourmet Magazine.

Inspired as a child by Gourmet Magazine which had begun publicationin 1941, Ruth Reichl became as a chef, restaurateur, food critic and writer before she was tapped to run the magazine. As a critic, she could make or break you as a chef and, in fact, was responsible for the rise of the likes of Anthony Bourdain. While is is regaling us with stories of the "food biz" she gives us a glimpse into what it was like growing up with a bi-polar mother and the struggles of being a working wife and mother.

I thought it was rather timely, that we were reading this during the first pandemic in 100 years as she recounts the events of being in downtown NYC on 9/11. She also suffered through the 2008 economic crash and lost her job at Gourmet after ten years when the publisher closed the magazine. Though time are different, I think comparisons can be made. Maybe because of how she writes about NYC, I found myself thinking about Nora Ephron. I also thought about Julie/Julia and Lou mentioned that as well.

I thought it was an interesting insider's viewpoint of the world of restaurants and food. It certainly has come along way in 50 years.When I was growing up there were very few restaurants. There were Diners, Pharmacy Soda Fountains and roadside cafes. Dining out in my family wasn't an option. Not just because we didn't have money for it but because there were no options for it. I remember when the first McDonald's opened in about 1974 ... about the same time as Sirloin Stockade. Not exactly fine dining! Now, people eat out more than they eat at home. From fast food, to chain restaurants, to "fine" dining there are plenty of options for every taste and budget. Over the years, Restaurateurs took average cooking from the masses and elevated it to fine dining. But, Julia Child's - French Cookbook for American wives who don't have cooks - and Ruth Riechl's Gourmet made gourmet cooking available for the masses again. Full Circle.

I do wonder if Ruth saw last year's poll where Americans voted "Taco Bell" as their favorite Mexican "restaurant." I consider that fast food and not technically a restaurant. But, Gourmet has been out of print for 11 years so maybe we've lost our way ... we don't have Ruth's guiding light educating us about the world of food.

The book rated 4, two "I really liked it" and two who didn't read it but might after the discussion.

Next month - we may be meeting my Zoom again. Our book will be the classic, "If Life is a Bowl of Cherries What am I Doing in the Pits?" by Erma Bombeck. I read it when it came out in 1971. I was 14 and that was 49 years ago. It will be interesting to see how it has held up and how things have changed, or not.

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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

Thursday, April 2, 2020

April Book Club a la Quarantine

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