November Book Club 2012

Does this time of year really go by faster than the rest of the year? Or, is it just my imagination that the holidays seem to sneak up on me even though I know they come the same time every year. It is hard to get my head around the fact we have just celebrated our 2012 Thanksgiving book club. This year, Lou hosted us at her home/bed and breakfast. It was warm and cozy and beautifully decorated for the fall holiday. Gene dutifully parked cars for us and Jennie enthusiastically greeted everyone at the door.

Even with our best attempts to accommodate everyone by changing the date - we had a few who couldn't make it and we missed Darby, Carla A and Laura.

This was our Thanksgiving event but we decided to forgo the traditional T-day fare and instead opted for food with a French flair in honor of our book Madame Tussaud. Quiche, French Onion soup with the trimmings, salad, a Black Truffle Brie, Cherry Dump Cake, Pear Tart, and Chocolate Croissants were all delicious!

Arnora recommended this months book and we were all glad she did. Of those who read it, everyone liked it without exception. I'll just say up front it rated a 4.7 with two "I really, really liked it."

Madama Tussaud's is the famous Wax Museum that's been around for a long time but none of us knew the history of it. Certainly not that it was started in the 1700's a few years prior to the French Revolution. The book opens with Marie Grosholtz working along side a Swiss doctor she calls her "uncle" to whom she has been apprenticed for many years learning his craft of making the wax figures.

Today we view Madame Tussaud's as a tourist attraction where we see the famous people of our day sculpted in wax. And, today it hadn't seemed as relevant to me because we have so much media and so many repetitive images of our actors, politicians and sports figures. When Diana and I were in London, we passed by MadameTussaud's on Marlybone half a dozen times but we had no interest in standing in line to see images that we are inundated with daily. Had I known the history behind it I would've been first in line to buy a ticket!

In it's beginning the Salon de Cire was a sort of visual "tabloid" of it's day providing visual images, before photography, of the Royal family and their consorts and the famous and infamous people who were starting a revolution. The "tableau" or scenes they created would change at a moments notice depending on who they knew were coming to see it. The family is connected to revolutionaries in high places and Marie is hired to teach the King's sister how to sculpt the wax figures. Marie and her family have to straddle both sides of the fence in order to survive and in the end Marie ends up making death masks of many of the people who are meeting their fate on the Guillotine. At first they bring the fresh heads to her and then she is required to go the Cemetery Madeleine to retrieve them herself. During the Revolution, Marie loses two of her brothers who are Swiss Guards and her true love, Henri, escapes to London when Marie refuses to go with him.

However, as she becomes familiar with the Royal family she paints a much more sympathetic picture of
King Louie and Marie Antoinette than the one with which we are familiar. She becomes very attached to the King's sister Elisabet. It is finally her head that she refuses to sculpt which brings about her own imprisonment and a narrow escape from the Guillotine.

The book changed our viewpoint of the French Revolution. I had always been taught the pheasants were angry because they were starving while the Royals were leading a live of excess. They wanted equality and were modeling their "constitution" on America's recently won freedom from England. Many of them did want a constitutional Monarchy and many wanted to abolish the Monarchy altogether. However, the men who were leading this revolt had their own agenda for power and in the end beheaded many more commoners than royals. It was a horrible genocide where more than 40,000 people lost their heads for no reason. The men who campaigned for "freedom" were greedy, power hungry tyrants who, in the end, finally lost their own heads bringing an end to this Reign of Terror.

Marie was freed from prison where she met and then married Francois Tussaud and had two sons. But the marriage did not go well. Fortunately for Marie she had the foresight to draw up what is now considered to be the very first prenuptial agreement. Ten years after the end of the Revolution she moves to London, is reunited with her true love, Henri and they travel Europe with the Salon de Cire.

Marie is a fascinating woman who had a long and dramatic life. She was centuries ahead of her time as a woman with a career she valued over marriage. She moved in a circle of powerful men who often listened and valued her opinions. She was an artist who made a good living in a day when the pheasants were starving due to lack of resources. Bu,t they would stand in line to pay see the was figures Marie and her uncle were sculpting. She was smart and observant and managed to literally "keep her head" while others were losing theirs.

Many of us were inspired to look for other information about the French Revolution while we read. I was astonished to find that France continued to use the Guillotine as their preferred method of execution until President Mitterrand abolished capital punishment in 1981! The last person actually executed by this method was in 1977. It was also employed in other countries. Germany used it during the Third Reich and it was used in the German Democratic Republic as late as 1966. Astonishing.

This book did for me what Nicolas and Alexandra and Isaac's Storm did for me. It made these historical events real, personal, and emotional. I knew going in how these stories ended but by the time I got to the end I was rung out and very, very sad for it all.  Marie's story, however gruesome, was also a very hopeful one. She persevered and overcame incredible odds in a time when women really had no rights at all. She's an inspirational person and I'm very glad to have met her.

October 2012 Book Club

First things first; an update on November and December Book Club dates. November will be hosted by Lou and will be November 16. December will be at Laura's new home on Sunday, December 9 at 6:00 p.m. We moved these dates around to accommodate everyone during the holidays.

November's book is recommended by Arnora and is "Madame Tussuad", an historical biography. December's book will be House on Mango St.  Both Darby and Terry have taught this book and should be great guides. Coming in at roughly 110 pages helped us decide on this book during the always busy Christmas time. Also, The Life of Pi has been made into a movie that will premiere in December. Plans are being made to attend for those who are interested.

For October, Lis was our gracious host. We really missed about half the girls this time. Laura, Lou, Denise, Pam and Barb were unable to be with us.  Those that attended enjoyed a delicious meal. I provided a Mexican Shrimp cocktail appetizer. I know, those that couldn't be there will be shocked that I actually attempted something that looked like cooking! Lis provided hummus and the main course of Pork Medallions with avocado sauce and Konig Kartoffeln (queen potatoes). Carla G brought a salad, Diana brought Chicken and Squash soup, Darby brought bread. Lis also provided a Razzleberry pie that went amazingly well with Janie's brownies. We had a beautiful assortment of wines as you can see by the photograph along with coffee and tea.

Our October book was a fitting story by Carlos Luis Zafon called "The Prisoner of Heaven". It was suitably creepy and gory for the Halloween month and continues the saga of the Sempere family and the Cemetery of Forgotten Books.

We don't always use guided questions for our discussion but this time the questions were appropriate and kept us on topic, to some degree. Poor Diana was having a tough time "herding the cats" as I like to call it. Our discussion kept veering off into tangents but I wasn't ready to give up on it. Once we settled down, after second helpings of dinner, we were able to delve into the story.

Diana said that you didn't really have to read all three of the stories - she felt that any could be read on its own for the enjoyment of the language and the mystery. And, we agreed. However, I was enjoying trying to remember the characters and the story lines as it has been a while since I read the last two. It made me want to revisit them.

This is a great unraveling of the mystery as to what happened to Daniel's mother and though "in time" it takes place after Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game, chronologically it predates them. The stories are taking place in Barcelona during a time of the Fascist Regime. In the end, his theme revolves around the actions of revolution, and the various totalitarianism, Fascist, or dictatorship type governments who create wars with the intent to persecute the intellectuals, artists, writers and other free thinkers. They are the first to be killed or imprisoned and their art destroyed or hidden away in the attempt to control the masses. Daniel's family, as bookstore owners and the Cemetery of Forgotten Books protect these most precious of gifts of artistic expression and freedom of speech. Darby had a brilliant quote that I think bears remembering and repeating: War is the playground for corruption. The book also mirrored some aspects of the classic book The Count of Monte Cristo.

The book rated a 4 for those who read it.

September 2012 Book Club

First, my apologies for such a late post. September got really busy for me and I have just now had the chance to sit down and compose. That said, thanks to Pam for hosting our book club in September. We missed Denise, Janie, Laura, Terry and Arnora. Our food had a decidedly Italian Tuscan theme this month in keeping with our book Beautiful Ruins. The book opens on the shore of Porto Vergogna in Italy.

Pam made a savory pesto salad and we complimented the meal with:


Green salad: Sherrie
Tomato, basil, mozarrella salad: Diana
Tuscan chicken soup: Lou
Tuscan white been dip and pita chips: Darby
Apple dump cake: Carla G

I brought some fresh cut Zinnia's because I knew we'd be missing Arnora's floral centerpiece. Pam's dog, Arlo, tried to get in on the food!

Laura was unable to join us but loved the book and commented the "ruins" was a metaphor both for the architecture and the humans. The translation for Porto Vergogna is Port of Shame and the translation for the hotel there is "Hotel of the Adequate View."

There was a lot of duality in this book starting with the dual locations of Italy and Hollywood. Many of the characters (and there were many) lives mirrored each other across the coasts and over generations. There were static characters such as Michael Deane and those who were able to make change like Pasquale.

An Amazon review I thought was very appropriate and succinct: Beautiful Ruins is a story of flawed yet fascinating people, navigating the rocky shores of their lives while clinging to their improbably dreams."

The book was mostly enjoyed by those that read it and rated it 3.85.

On a personal note, I surprised one day to turn the page and find that one of the characters was writing a movie script about the Donner party and Truckee, California. In August, I vacationed with my sisters in the Lake Tahoe area and we spent three nights in Truckee. It seems that a number of our books this year have collided with my travels.

Lis hosts our group in October and our book is The Prisoner of Heaven.

August Book Club 2012

The Vanishers. Our book title for August was certainly appropriate as a title for what happened to the food! At one point I caught a glimpse down the table. I don't believe I have ever seen a meal where every single plate looked as if it had been licked clean. The heat this month dictated the menu rather than the book. Carla G. hosted and decided on a menu of cold salads and homemade ice cream. Terry brought our all-time book club favorite Pear salad and Diana brought a tomato, mozzarella, and home grown basil salad. Carla G. made her first chicken salad and it was delicious and Janie brought the croissants to go with it. The homemade vanilla ice cream went great with Darby's homemade fudge and salty butterscotch toppings. Pam made Sangria, Diana concocted a butterscotch cocktail and Arnora brought the flowers. The perfect cold complement to the hot temperatures.

We missed Denise, Lou, Liz, and Barb who were unable to join us this month.

Darby suggested our book based on a personal recommendation and Laura kicked off the discussion by praising this book as one of the best she's read in recent months.  She loved the writing which was adept at prolonging the mystery of the story right until the end. Several readers had taken notes to keep up with the characters and memorable quotes. This made two of our teachers, Darby and Terry, very happy.

To be honest, this months book is a bit difficult to review and capture in a nutshell. One of the quotes on the dust jacket described this book as an "astral detective thriller".  Our protagonist, Julia Severn, starts the story by telling us it is preposterous to begin with. A warning to "read at your own risk." Julia believes that she is being psychically attacked by her boss and mentor, Madame Ackerman. Julia's mother, who resembles Madame Ackerman, committed suicide when Julia was one month old. As Julia's health deteriorates, she embarks on a journey to heal herself and she stumbles across her mother's dark past. She must come to terms with her grief as she also realizes that she may be the unwitting psychic attacker rather than victim. In the process, Julia meets a number of people who both help and hinder her. Some are real, others are imagined or conjured up through astral travel.

The themes and characters are layered and the action sometimes ambiguous leaving some of us a bit confused at the end.  A little, "is it real or is it Memorex?" In fact, one of Laura's favorite quotes was on page 136, "Memory is unnecessary work. To forget is to respect the past, and to enable your pleasant future."  And Carla A. liked the quote on page 214 "People accuse therapists of seeing abuse where there isn't any; of fabricating memories for their patients. Maybe this is true. But if so, it's because neurosis without a perceptible cause is very hard to accept. How does one fix a problem that arose from nothing?"

In addition there was mythological symbolism of the wolf. A quick search provided this information on the wolf: They are highly misunderstood and have gained a reputation for being cold blooded. In reality, they they are friendly and social creatures who avoid aggression. The wolf is an incredible communicator. By using touch, body movements, eye contact as well as many vocal expressions - the wolf makes his point understood. Some might call these non-verbal cues "psychic" when used by humans.

And, Julia's last name, Severn, means boundary. This may or may not have anything to do with her character. But as I read into it, without being able to form some kind of psychic boundary, Julia left herself open to attack. Finding and setting boundaries of any kind in your life is always part of a healing experience.

In the end the book rate 4.3 among those who vote and 2 "liked it very much". Denise commented that by email that, while she enjoyed the book, she would have preferred more character to development.
Several of us plan to read it a second time.

Next month we will meet at Pam's and our book will be Beautiful Ruins. Lis will host in October and we read Prisoner of Heaven.

Book club members have traveled to this summer to: Europe, Brazil, California/Nevada, Colorado, S. Dakota. Others are heading off to Florida, Wyoming, Mexico. To those traveling now or soon - happy and safe journeys!

July Book Club 2012

Diana's Facebook post and review of book club was so good I just decided to re-post it as this months blog. Any additional comments by me will be in italics. Thanks Darby for hosting our brilliant meeting! We missed Arnora, Carla, Lou, and Laura. Good time at book club last night. Yummy cool salads, delicious cold cucumber soup, bread and butter, cocktails, and homemade peach pie. Plus a lively discussion of "In the Garden of Beasts." WWII, Hitler, Germany, America, and; Russia told from thr perspective of the Dodd's, ambassadors Erik Larson writes "novelistic historical accounts" and this one takes place between 1933-37 in the years Hitler was ascending to power. We agreed it was an interesting subject and some appreciated how the story was told in a somewhat detached state. Others in our group found the detached telling too text book, and challenging to personally connect with the story. Most felt sorry for Dodd, and were amazed by Martha's naivety, while perhaps applauding her boldness. A few in the group thought the story might have been more engaging by focusing on fewer characters and told solely from Martha's perspective. Overall ratings 2-3.5 with an average of 2.5. Our discussion ranked 5 in my opinion. The topic of war, politics, history repeating itself, collide and animate our discussions. We had a lively debate about human nature. It was difficult for us to put ourselves in the shoes of some of the Germans. How could they report on their neighbors with little or no provocation? We like to think we'd respond in a different way, but it's hard to know how you'd be given the same circumstances. I really appreciate listening to everyone's thoughts and; it always improves my opinion of whatever we've just read. The next meeting @ Carla G's and book is The Vanishers: A Novel by Heidi Julavits. Remember we switch back to the second Friday in Aug. and in doing so have a shorter time between meetings. We chose this book as it is highly recommended by Darby, and Laura and it is roughly 250 pages. Looking ahead to cooler times: October 12 book club @ Elisabeth's. October 13 - plans in the works for an overnight in Ft. Worth taking the train! Enjoy the museum, dining, shopping, and anything else you fancy. Love to all, cheers! Diana & Sherrie

June Book Club 2012

June's Book Club was held pool side at Denise's home. English Pub food was the fare of the evening and Denise provided soup and salad, Laura brought Fish and Chips from Baker Street. Liz brought sweet potato fettuccine, Diana brought Cider and Peach Dump Cake, Pam brought honied walnuts/honey goat cheese and strawberries, Janie brought Amish butter and bread.

Denise, Diana and I had all been traveling in the UK recently and we wanted more of the pub food. Also, our book, Corduroy Mansions was set in the Pimlico neighborhood of London where pub food is a staple. On that note, Diana and I were actually able to visit Pimlico on our trip to London. Diana bought several commemorative tea towels and we ended up dining with the owners of the gift store. They were able to fill us in on the history of the neighborhood over pizza and a beer. This did make the book a little more personal and meaningful for me.

The book is the first in a trilogy by Alexander McCall Smith written in a similar fashion to his 44 Scotland series. Both books are about apartment buildings and their residents and how their lives interact. Interestingly, our May book, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, was also about the residents of an apartment building. Seems we often, unwittingly, pick books of similar theme. The books similar in context but differ in their depth. Where Hedgehog was deep,  philosophical and dealt with life and death matters, Corduroy Mansions was lighter and more subtle.

Smith says that he prefers to write characters rather than plot. The group was a little divided on their enjoyment of this style. There are those that appreciated how the lack of plot mirrors daily life. Often nothing really significant happens and endings are not necessarily tied up in a neat fashion. Others were frustrated by the number of characters to keep up with and the fact that events that seemed to be leading up to something just didn't. Those that read Smith regularly said these story lines may or may not be picked up in the subsequent books. Most of us agreed that there were lots of comical parts to the book and everyone liked the introduction of William's dog, Freddie De Lay Hay. The book rated from 2-4 with 3.3 overall.

I made a hasty comment that perhaps we shouldn't read anymore of Smith's books because they are so "light". My apologies to those who love this author and I would like to amend that remark to perhaps reading him at say, Christmas, when we often look for lighter fare during a busy time.


Carla G. was absent but recommended several books for next months consideration. And, we're sorry we didn’t choose one of your books, yet. I believe a couple ladies had already read the Paris Wife and were not that enthusiastic about it. We looked at the other two and also discussed the following books, of which we chose the first two, one for July and one August. However, we had such a tough time choosing and want everyone to have input. So at present here’s the suggested reading, but other than the first and second books, the others are possible books, nothing set in stone.

For July we picked "In the Garden of Beasts" by Erik Larson. Having read two of his books that were very popular with the group we decided to try this one.

For August, we decided on "The Hare with the Amber Eyes" by Edmond Duvall. This book, part biography, part memoir, and part detective story intrigued us all.

Also up for consideration for future reading is "Wild"  by Cheryl Strayed  a memoir. This is a fairly new book and with a waiting list at the Library so we decided to wait to give it a better chance of availability. The Vanishers by Heidi Julavita is a novel with a paranormal theme and seemed like a possible selection for October (Halloween). And finally, The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty a 1922 historical novel.

We missed Lou, Terry, Carla G. and Barb. As a reminder, July's book club will still be on the 3rd Friday and then in August we'll be moving back to the 2nd Friday.

May 2012 Book Club

First, my apologies girls for the late post. As you know, Diana and I took a little trip across the pond and preparation and departure got in my way.

This months book club was held at Terry's lovely home where we found her and Darby making shrimp tempura along with cold shrimp. Our side dishes were an Asian salad, potatoes and asparagus, chips and salsa and cookies for dessert. We held the actual discussion in Terry's backyard oasis and the weather was perfect. It was a beautiful night. We were missing Lou, Denise, Lis and Barb.

May's book was "Remarkable Creatures" by Tracy Chevalier. We've previously read her books "The Girl with the Pearl Earring" and "Burning Bright".

"Remarkable Creatures" is about the friendship of two women living in the south coast of England circa 1810 and their discovery of fossils in the area. Mary Anning is 12 years old when she discovers her first fossil. At this time in history, Darwin is only 2. Elizabeth Philpot has been sent by her brother to live in Lyme Regis because it's cheaper for him. Elizabeth is older than Mary and teaches her to read. In the 1800's women are not routinely educated, especially in rural areas. But after Mary learns to read she also teaches herself geology and anatomy and ends up working with a professor at Oxford on the documentation of the fossils.

It must be kept in mind, at this time in history, there is no theory of evolution and most people hold to the theory of creationism. Fossils of extinct animals and dinosaurs do not figure into the equation of current thought.

There are many themes throughout the book: Creationism/Evolution; City living/country living; Education and the age of enlightenment vs. the dark ages.  Feminism and the condition of women is a big theme. At this time in history women are not allowed to walk the streets without an escort and these two are breaking barriers in a field that is dominated by men. There are other class and social issues.

It's true that Mary found several significant fossils from 1811-1828 and that her findings were some of the basis and influence for Darwin's work to come later. The fossils provided a different kind of life for Mary and Elizabeth than they would have normally had. Col. Birch helped them to auction the fossils to fund their life and work.

Of those that read the book - the rating was 3.2

June's book is Corduroy Mansions by Alexander McCall Smith. Diana and I visited Pimlico, the London burrough where the story takes place. It was very fun to put ourselves into the story.