July Book Club 2013

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson 

We loveys of STNM took the time again in July to savor and chat about the month’s pick, Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. Janie welcomed us in her comfy home and booted husband and dogs out just to accommodate us, although we enjoyed rubbing on the dogs once they were “unbanned.” Sherrie was off glamorizing with business in Dallas, so I (Elisabeth) volunteered to guest-write again. I almost feel like J. K. Rowling – oh wait, she was a “ghost writer.” My bad. We missed her and all who couldn’t make it.

Anyway, the book got a thumbs up with a 4.15 rating, and it generated some interesting discussion about what life is and could be, how things might be different by the choices we make in life. What may cause a déjà vous, possibly a subliminal idea of previous lives? That is what happened to our heroin, Ursula Todd. In the story, she lives out several variations of her life, all of them ending in death and starting over at some earlier point when she makes a different decision. The book takes us through WW I, the roaring 20s, and the horrors of WW II.

Denise described the feeling the book gave her: disturbing. We wondered if living life over is better or just more of the same, is reincarnation a welcome opportunity of setting things right or a burden of choices and consequences. Horrible things might still happen but just in a different way. Laura was moved by the way the book talked about events that we know about but with detail and in-depth observations normally not captured; it inspired her to do more research on the material than any other book she has read.  The characters of Sylvie and Hugh, Ursula’s parents, changed very little throughout the different scenarios of Ursula’s choices, where Hugh was well liked and Sylvie disappointing as the years rolled by.  Looking at the way her life had gone, Sylvie may have been dispirited by life to change from a gentle-hearted young woman to a boxed-in member of ‘society as she understood it.’

The portrayal of Ursula’s experiences had Diana comment that they inspired the reader to think about his/her own mortality. Janie reflected on her heart attack and that one might live life differently if reminded of how fragile and easily lost it is. We agreed that the story and concept will stay with us for a long time. It is not the kind of book that is easily forgotten.

Planning ahead, Janie gave us some more updates on the possible road-trip book club get-away to Austin in the fall, to be hosted and guided by Rusty, Janie’s beautiful daughter, and may include a stay at the lovely vacation home of Janie’s friend – yes, she has connections in good places. Diana is finalizing travel plans to Ireland with Rex and Sherrie in September and received excited encouragement and shared experiences for the trip. 

Like always, the food was a delight and well picked for the hot summer evening. The table was laden with an array of salads, dips, breads, and chips. The evening was crowned with a make-your-own Ice Cream Sunday. Sadly, there was one casualty that resulted through the desperate trials of de-corking a promising bottle of Merlot: Janie’s second-string cork-screw was torn to pieces. To protect the parties involved, I shan’t name any names (Elisabeth) but will gladly add that the victim was replaced within days so Janie can be back in the business of enjoying her wine. And I, for one, discovered another advantage to screw-top wine bottles.

June 2013 Book Club Part II

IWe arrived at Denise's in stages throughout the late afternoon and early evening. She had offered her pool for those who desired. Some of us dipped our toes in the hot tub, a few fully submerged.  This was the first time we'd seen each other since the May book club and the May tornadoes. I can say the evening was highly emotionally charged. We were catching up on the events of the storms and where everyone was in the process of recovery. When telling the story of hearing Barb's voice on the phone after I had seen the damage done to the hospital I cried for the first time. I didn't even realize I had been holding that back.  There were lots of stories and lots of hugs. Barb got her car and computer replaced but it's going to be a while before Arnora is back in her home. And I think it's going to be some time before our nerves and equilibrium are restored.

The conversation about the storms started to wind down as we moved toward dinner. Denise brought in a very tasty veggie Pappa Murphy's pizza which was complemented by Lou and Pam's salads and topped by a brownie sundae. We also had "Ruby Red Spread" by Denise, fruit by Carla G and hummus & pita by Diana. It was also Janie's birthday. She got to wear the crown and had a candle on her brownie. She broke into more tears as the brownie was presented and we all sang Happy Birthday.

The emotions continued to run high throughout dinner as we went from tears to laughter (my favorite emotion). Pam to Carla, "What was it I told you that I forgot?" Carla to Pam, "Why are you asking me? I forgot!" I blurted out that I had "wroted" the June Blog Part 1. Pam announced she was on a rowing team but couldn't figure out if she was sitting port or starboard, which was probably funnier if you heard the whole thing.

And then we moved into the living room for our discussion and promptly about half the people in the room started to fall asleep! I think that was also a part of the healing taking place. We had reconnected, processed our fears and sadness, moved to food and laughter and then took a little nap before we started the discussion. Carla A said it felt like we had walked through the poppy fields in The Wizard of Oz (coincidentally, the poppy field came AFTER the tornado!)

However, we did manage to revive and discuss our book Old School by Tobias Wolfe. We picked this book because it was the Pioneer Libraries Big Read. I'll start off right by saying that the book was fairly well received and rated a 3.6. The consensus was that the book was not an epic tale but more a "slice of life" depicting our protagonists time at an all boy's Ivy League prep school. Every semester a different famous poet or author is invited to come and speak at the school. There is a contest among the students to submit a poem or story in the style of the visiting author. The winner of the contest is awarded a private audience with the published author. Robert Frost, Ayn Rand and Ernest Hemingway are the featured writers. Our protagonist submits work for all three but is not chosen until near the end of the book by Ernest Hemingway. Unfortunately, through a series of events, he has found another student's story from several years back that he resonates with. He rewrites the story changing only parts of the name and minor details. He is found out and expelled. Years later he reunites with his professor and is made privy to some important details about the day he was expelled.

Lou liked the book but wasn't thrilled with the ending. She thought he rushed the ending and she felt cheated of some important details and depth. There was a lot of discussion about whether or not he had a real grasp of the plagiarism he had committed. I pointed out that in high school, when students were writing their first papers, the majority of us went straight to the encyclopedia and copied portions verbatim. Of course, the papers were returned and we were instructed in how to use the research without copying it. It could be he knew what he was doing. It could be he didn't fully understand the implications.

Other issues this book touched on; racism, sexism and rich versus poor. The main character and his roommate were Jews but they hid that fact for fear of becoming social outcasts. It was an all boy's school. One of the professor's was more appalled that he had plagiarized a "girls" story. Our protagonist was not of the wealthy elite. He was at the school on scholarship which added to his desire to fit in.

And the root issue of the story is truth versus lies. Ernest Hemingway was always admonishing everyone to "write the truest sentence." But truth is subjective and malleable. Truth often changes with our perspective, as we see at the end of the story when the fuller story is revealed. Most of our story is told from the perspective of a student and it's years later as an adult that truth takes on a different meaning and depth.

Pam thought the main character seemed flat emotionally, disconnected.  Several of us agreed. Perhaps it because he was telling the story from the perspective of someone who was on the outside looking in.

Next month's book is "Life after Life" and will be at Janie's house. I will be looking for a guest blogger as I will be out of town on a work project.

June 2013 Book Club Part I

I’m starting the blog a little early this month. First, it is June and we are at the halfway point of the year. My apologies, as I was unable to slow time down. My super powers have been on the blink recently!

I’d been thinking about doing a little 6 month review to kick off June’s blog and then the tornadoes hit. The month of May was truly just a weather nightmare. After almost two years of drought conditions in Oklahoma, the skies opened up and assaulted us with winds, rain and hail. For more than two weeks we’ve been on weather alert and weather fatigue.  I know that I don’t have to regale the group with tales of May 19, 20 or 31. Gratefully, while some of us were too close for comfort to the damage, no one sustained injury or loss of life. There was loss of property and some very close calls, but we’re all still here.  I feel it is only right that we start this month’s report off by acknowledging these frightful events and giving thanks for our well-being.  As we know, some were not as fortunate and our thoughts and prayers go out to those families as well.

As always, with our group, much goes on in a month. Summer is upon us and travel plans have begun. Diana went to Wales without me this spring. My travel plans had to be put on hold until after July because of my new job. But, we’re planning another little jaunt in October. For now, I’ve had to live vicariously through our books. I realized, as I looked over the list that I had spent time in the Tennessee portion of the Appalachian Mountains learning about climate change and then flew off to the Dominican Republic during a time of a revolution. The next two months was time spent in London; once with Caitlin Moran learning things I’d missed on How to Be a Woman and then again as I spent time with a woman who was trying to find her memory after suffering from  amnesia. Not too bad for a gal who has been rather landlocked all year.If I can’t get my suitcase out just yet, I can still be thankful that my imagination can take me places and that there are those who have written the adventure that I can tag along on.

May 2013 Book Club

 Happy May Birthday to Darby. For the first time, in a long time, we had the birthday Tiara. And, Darby took full advantage of the Red Chaise Lounge as her "throne." We have Laura to thank for the beautiful Jane Austen cake in Darby's honor & Janie provided several bottles of wine. One of the bottles was "Seven Sisters" and the quote on the bottle was quite appropriate for our group. "A unique blend of seven carefully chosen grapes crafted into a smooth and intriguing wine. Like you and your friends getting together. All different and yet so perfect together.

We also want to congratulate Lou on her anniversary of being cancer free!

 Barb was our host and suggested a Vegan meal. It was all great, but one night without meat and we were all waxing nostalgic about it as if we'd never have it again. Besides the chocolate we also had key lime pie, enchiladas, wraps, salad, chips and dip.

While everyone was getting the food together and getting their drinks, I swore I heard Barb say that her panties were about to burst open. I quickly realized she was talking about the Peonies in her garden! However, the conversation veered completely off the rails after that. Seems last month's book, "How to be a Woman" was still with us. Let's just say that way too much information was shared and if I tried to write about it here - I'd  have to give everyone a code word clearance!

This month's book was a psychological thriller called "Before I got to Sleep" a debut novel by British author S. J. Watson. A woman wakes up one morning with no memory of her past. She is sleeping next to a man she doesn't recognize. Nor, does she recognize her own face in the mirror. The man, it turns out is her husband. He has placed pictures around the bathroom of them together. Everyday for years, it seems, that he has had to help her reconstruct her memory after an accident has left her with a kind of amnesia. During the day she puts the pieces together and every night when she goes to sleep she forgets it all. As the story progresses it is revealed that a doctor is working with her. Everyday he calls her and tells her to look in her closet for the journal she is keeping. Reading the journal brings her up to speed with life events. She has regular appointments with him and he takes her to previous places in her life to help her anchor her memories. He has some small successes with this treatment. It is certainly a frustrating life but the plot thickens when one day she reads in the diary, "Don't trust Ben", the husband. And then the race is on. Why should she not trust this man who says he is her husband? Why is he withholding important information? And will she find out in time?

As the book is told from the first person, who has had a brain injury and amnesia, we are looking at an unreliable narrator or poor historian. The author has a problem with trust in the people around her but can we, the audience, trust our narrator?

I'm going to leave it there for now as several of the girls did not finish and I don't want to spoil the ending. We had a great discussion. Everyone liked the story and it rated a 3.69 with two "I really, really liked it". The story is loosely based on an actual amnesiacs case. There will also be a movie coming out soon with Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth in the title roles.

Arnora will host in June. Any retreat is going to be put off until the fall and the next book will be the Pioneer Library's Big Read "Old School" by Tobias Wolfe.

April Book Club 2012

April's meeting was held at Denise's house where I was thrilled to see Lauren still has her peregrine, Elaine. Before I moved house I was host to Lauren's birds and it was like seeing an old friend. Denise also regaled us with a funny story of how Lauren, a doctoral student working on her dissertation had to jump through some pretty serious hoops to get a job at the local Family Video store. Lauren will be at home for a while working on her paper while Cassie is studying in Heidelberg, Germany. Pam just got back from visiting Sam in LA and Nathan and Nassim are investigating possible transfer to Dubai. Diana's daughter and family are about to finish their new/old home renovation and that's just the stuff we heard about.

Congratulations to Barb who just passed her test in her health and wellness program and I recently took a job with a non-profit organization that works to economically empower women in Rwanda and Afghanistan. We missed Lou, Darby, Janie, Lis, and Carla G.  That brings us up-to-date and to the food that you can see, from the photos, was delicious as always!

This month's book was British author, Caitlin Moran's "How to be a Woman." or more emphatically put, "HOW to be a WO MUN!!" The review said it was a "profane, witty and wonky" memoir. I believe we better described it as a "caustic, strident and mildly humorous, and yes, profane"series of essays describing her precarious journey walking the tightrope between being feminine and feminist.

I found the first half of the book difficult to listen to and almost quit on it. In the end, I am glad I did not. Her topics are by no means new but they are still very relevant. And very much worth revisiting in a time when so many of women's hard won freedoms are being challenged in the political arena.

Caitlin's voice, both literally and in her writing, is loud, brassy and like clanging symbols and banging drums. It sounded discordant, atonal to my ear like a piece of modern classical music.

However, as I neared the end of the book I realized that it is exactly these same kinds of voices that have given rise to the feminist movement over the years and effected change.  Nice and quiet do not a revolution, or history, make.

Whatever you may think of feminism, and many women are against it, what it boils down to is "freedom to choose." Before the various waves of feminism effected change, women were considered property of their fathers and husbands.  At the Council of Nicea, men who were deciding on the books of the Bible debated whether women even had souls. We could not access our own money, own or inherit property, and we had no choice over our reproductive systems.

Feminists, as a group, are often depicted negatively as "angry, man-hating, lesbians". Nothing could be further from the truth. But without their caustic, strident voices, we would not enjoy the freedoms we do. It has become painfully aware to me that our freedoms are precarious.  Some states, as I write this, are passing laws that prohibit women from making choices about their own bodies and health, which in  turn effects them not just emotionally but economically.

Someone asked the question if this "rant" was a gauntlet and a call to action. "If so, what does she want us to do?"

I believe her intent was to stir us up, piss us off, awaken us to the dangers that are possible for us and our future daughters if we are complacent.

Join NOW or at least get on the newsletter or Facebook page. Read Ms. Magazine, watch the legislation that is going before the courts now and make your own voice heard.

Where would you and I be without the likes of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Paul, Gloria Steinham and others who fought for the freedoms we enjoy today? And what legacy do we wish to leave future generations of women?

I'm glad I pushed through to the end and the book rated a 3.79.

Next months book is Before I go to Sleep by S. J. Watson at Barb's house.

March Book Club 2013

It is already March. Officially, Spring is just a few days away.  This month the ladies first convened on Main St. to spend a few minutes at the 2nd Friday Art Walk. I really appreciated all the support as I joined Gallery 1 2 3 and my paintings were highlighted this month. After an hour or so we met at Lou's lovely home and B & B. We enjoyed a veggie lasagna, salad, bread, tortilla spirals and cheesecake bites. We missed Terry, Denise, Janie and Barb this month.

We finished our second book for 2013. As in the past, our books often "tag" off one another. Our first in Jan-Feb was Barbara Kingsolver's "Flight Behavior" that dealt with the flight patterns of the Monarch Butterfly. Darby suggested we read "In the Time of Butterflies" for February. The first book dealt with literal butterflies and the second with the metaphorical.

"In the Time of Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez is an historical fiction that takes place in the Dominican Republic during the dictatorship of Rafael Trullijo. It is based on the true story of the four Mirabel sisters who make a commitment to overthrow the Trujillo regime. The code name for the sisters become The Mariposa's or... The Butterflies.

Trujillo was a man who connived and murdered his way to the top spot in the Dominican Republic. During his reign he had approximately 50,000 Haitians and Dominicans murdered in his mission to eliminate blacks who occupied one-third of the Island of Hispanola. He confiscated property land & possessions, imprisons without trial, rapes and pillages. Trujillo also had an eye for young women.  He had many mistresses set up in compounds away from the capital. When he makes a move on Minerva, the third oldest Mirabel sister, he has messed with the wrong girl. Minerva has the heart of a rebel and ends up involving herself in the revolution against Trujillo. She marries into it and involves her family. Dede, the second sister, does not involve herself directly in the revolution but she plays her part by taking care of the children of the other sisters as they work to over throw Trujillo.

Our lively discussion started off by deliberating what politicizes each of us. Consensus is that people tend to become political when the issue becomes personal. The issue for Minerva becomes very personal when El Jefe, the chief, makes a pass at her at a very public event. She has already seen one of her friends swept off with him and heard the rumors about what what happens to his women. Minerva is not inclined to go along willingly and her fate is sealed when she slaps Trujillo on the dance floor.

We talked about which sister we most identified with, which we'd most like to be friends with, and which we'd most like to be like. There was much discussion about the men in the Latino culture. Trujillo had access to most any woman he wanted and he used his power over them. But, Minerva's father also had a second family hidden out on his own farm and Minerva's husband cheated on her. Part of the discussion was about the differences between Matriarchal and Patriarchal societies.  We decided that there is a legal definition and also an emotional one.

The Mirabel sisters fought El Jefe for many years. Minerva's father was arrested and tortured. Some years later the husbands were imprisoned and tortured and then the sisters are imprisoned. When the sisters were released they were held under house arrest. And then, in a final act of vengeance, El Jefe moves the husband to a prison that is closer to the sisters but in a more dangerous terrain. On one of the visits to see their husbands, El Jefe has the sisters ambushed and murdered. Dede is the loan survivor as she stayed behind to take care of the children, and lives to retell the story for the rest of her life. Six months after the murders, El Jefe is assassinated.

The book rated a 4.6 among those who rated and at least 3 "I liked it very, very much".

We decided we needed a lighter more humorous book for April and so we picked "How to be a Woman" by Caitlin Moran.

January & February Book Club 2013

Our first book for 2013 is Barbara Kingsolver's "Flight Behavior". Due to the length of the book it was decided we would spread out the discussion over two months. Therefore, I decided to combine the first two book clubs into one review.

In January, Diana hosted our Annual Pajama-nannagins Party with scrump-dillicious brunch foods. There were Quiches, Tea and Scones, Fruit, Chocolate Croissants and a variety of beverages, including the best Mayan Hot Chocolate, and floral centerpiece by Arnora.

In February, Arnora hosted. Arnora is always excited to have book club at her home. She gets to take down the portrait of John Wayne so that she can replace it with our version of the Book Club "Calendar Girl" portrait. That photo always makes me smile! Arnora provided the main dish of Sweet and Spicy Meatballs. They were wonderful. I brought a Caesar Salad and garlic bread. Denise brought Cole Slaw, Lis brought Apricot pastries, Janie brought brownies. Diana brought chicken tenders with biscuits and gravy and Darby brought chip and dip. The only thing missing was the flowers, as Arnora normally brings them. A few of us had good intentions but just couldn't make it happen.

Barbara Kingsolver is a favorite author of many in our group and we have read at least three of her novels as book club offerings. Ms. Kingsolver is a former scientist and her novels are always socially relevant.  Flight Behavior is no exception with its theme of climate change. Set in the Appalachian Mountains a local woman, Dellarobia Turnbow, inadvertently comes upon a swarm of Monarch butterflies so profuse that she initially thinks the mountain is on fire. As the community hears about her discovery they assume that she has been the recipient of some heavenly miracle. Soon the media and scientists arrive and it is revealed that a change in the migration of the Monarchs is due to recent climate changes. They normally migrate from their locations in the US to Mexico and/or Southern California because they cannot survive the colder climates of the US.

What happens next is a "perfect storm" of events. The arrival of these misdirected Monarchs coincides with two other events: The decision of the Turnbow family to sell off one of their mountains to a logging company and Dellarobia's own instinctual "Flight Behavior" as she comes to the decision that she can no longer remain in her marriage.

Janie kicked off our discussion by saying that she felt cheated by the ending. To her it was too quick and Dellarobia's "flight" given too short a shrift. Dellarobia's discontent in her small mountain town struck a real nerve with Janie who compared it to her own growing up in Tecumseh, Oklahoma. She felt a little let down that Dellarobia's flight only took her to the Junior College in the next town and not further away. However, she loved the scientific jargon throughout the book.

I also thought the ending was a bit abrupt and anti-climatic. Darby set us straight on that account - and I am grateful for her explanation. Darby explained this was a different narrative style. Dellarobia is walking the mountain to meet a potential lover in hopes of finding an escape from her "fine" but boring marriage. Seeing the mountain on fire with the Monarch's, while not the miracle of the burning bush, is the height of the narrative tension and the remainder of the book is the slow conclusion and not the abrupt ending we had perceived. Diana likes the captivating style of the story. The novel is not simple but reads easily.

There were many layers to this story. A family has secrets that are foreshadowed and revealed. The Monarchs are studied . Subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, conflict is allowed to develop as we see the different viewpoints of climate change through the various "class" systems. We see how social media now plays a huge part in the spreading of news and phenomena.

As the story unfolds we find that Dellarobia is essentially orphaned as an older teenager, just about the time she becomes pregnant and marries her husband, Cub Turnbow. This baby does not come to term but they remain married and have two more children and live in a home built by her in-laws on land that they own. Though Dellarobia is not an orphaned young child as in most fairy tales or young adult novels this, for me, was still very much a coming of age story for her.

The true turning point for Dellarobia was her English lit class in high school. It widened her horizons in a way that didn't happen for most of the people in her area. Things she learned then could not be forgotten or buried forever and when Dr. Ovid Byron shows up to track the butterflies he recognizes and encourages her intellect and there is nothing to do then but take flight.

There is much symbolism in the book beginning the with "fire" on the mountain and ending with the flood that washes it all away in the end.

The book rated a 4.2 by those who read it.

Next month's book club will be hosted by Lou and our selection will be "In the Time of Butterflies".