November Book Club 2018

Thanks to Lis for hosting our November book Club. We departed from a typical Thanksgiving meal by having Spinach ravioli, Mozarella Chicken sausages, salad, two different kinds of cheesy/savory breads and brie/cranberry bites all served family style in Lis' warm and cozy dining room with wine, coffee and Apple Cider with a kick!

We moved our discussion of the book - Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows in to the living room where we enjoyed our after dinner drinks, coffee and dessert while we discussed the book which rated a 4.6 of those who had finished it. She is breaking her parents heart by going against their traditional wishes. She stumbles into a second part-time job at the Sikh temple where she thinks she will be teaching creative writing to Punjabi women but, only widows show up for the class and they are not literate in English. After finding a book Nikki has bought as a joke: Red Velvet; Pleasurable Stories for Women, they find it inspiring. They convince Nikki to let them spend their classes telling one another stories.

The discussion was interesting and fun and we'll leave it at that. What gets discussed at book club ... stays at book club! haha.

December's book club will be at Laura's and our book will be Dirty Chick: Adventures of an Unlikely Farmer.

October Book Club 2018

Guest Blogger's and Book Review by Diana Beal and Lis Berry.

I was the host for October's book club. We missed Janie, who is still on the mend at home. Laura, Lou and Leslie were all involved in weekend football games. Denise is lying on a beach in Hawaii. And, Dean Darby is having a fun weekend celebrating her new promotion to Dean of Instruction. We all send our congratulations and look forward to celebrating in person some time soon!

Thanks to all her bringing the deliciousness to our meal. I provided the baked potatoes and meat toppings. Lis brought Brie and crackers and Pam brought homemade chicken and pork tamales. Tammy brought her bacon wrapped, cream cheese stuffed jalepenos and her Hello Dolly bars. Arnora brought the gorgeous bouquet of flowers that I will enjoy for at least a week.

Our book this month was The Immortalists. It is the story of the four Gold siblings, growing up in 1969's lower east side NYC. It takes the reader, or listener, on an epic saga. the siblings are told, by a fortune teller, the exact date of their death. This information changes the course of their individual lives. But, does it change their lives for the better or worse? Several of us connected with the golden- boy Simon the most. He is the first to die and just in his early 20's. When his father dies he decides he doesn't want to remain working in the family business and taking care of his elderly mother. His sister, Klara, talks him into going to San Francisco with her to see what their lives can be like out from under the shadow of the family business and religion. I could go on and on about Klara, Daniel, Varya and Simon. I will just say that Chloe Benjamin's writing made for a memorable story. I couldn't stop thinking about the characters and story after the book ended.

The book rated a 3.78. Sherrie, Barb and Pam didn't read, or finish the book. Just not the one for them this time.

Nov 2: Lis will host and our book is "Erotic Stories for Punjabi Women" by Balli Kaur Jaswai.
Dec 7: Laure will host and our book will be "Dirty Chick: Adventures of an Unlikely Farmer" by Antonia Murphy.
Jan 4: Tammy will host. January's book is recommended by Lily and is "The War That Saved My Life," by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley.

Sherrie mentioned that she'd like to do a Christmas project like the ones Darby used to do for us. This time, let's submit either the first novel remember reading, the most influential novel we remember from childhood or, if you didn't read much then... another novel with a brief description of how it impacted you.

Book Review by Lis Berry:

The book revolves around four siblings, two brothers and two sisters, and how they live their lives and the choices they make. As children, they see a fortune teller because the elder brother had heard that she could predict the day of your death. The elder sister, Varya, lives carefully and by reasons. She is a scientist and believes that she can discover how people can extend their lives. Curiously, she is the one that has been given the longest life prediction by the fortune teller. The 2nd brother, Daniel, and the one who talked the others into seeing the fortune teller, has been given a death around age 50 but, doesn't concern himself with it until memories are brought back into his life. The 3rd sister, Klara, always fascinated by magic, becomes an illusionist by trade. She is given a 30-year life span. The youngest brother, Simon, is given the shortest life span of 20 years. He lives his life without care or caution and tries to enjoy his few years to the fullest.

Curiously, the younger three die on the predicted day. Varya brings together the story with her realization that she has a son that she gave up to follow her goal of finding a pass to long life. As he comes back into her life when he is 26, he makes her realize that maybe she hasn't really lived at all.

To me, this book was less about the fear of knowing what day you die might loom over you and more about living life to the fullest, no matter the length. I felt that Simon lived more in his 21 years than Varya did in her cautious, very predictable and strategic life of 80 years. The story of Frieda, the test monkey that Varya nurtured from a baby to an adult, embodied this when the monkey finally seemed to fall into deep depression and didn't know how to pull itself out of it even when Varya tried to offer her enjoyable food and pleasure. Frieda didn't have either the physical or mental ability to deal with the sudden change. This seemed to be a turning point for Varya. She had a realization that that we cannot cheat death and by desperately trying to avoid painful feelings we may also deprive ourselves of pleasure. The book weaves a curious connection to a policeman that is fascinated by Klara and unintentionally leads Daniel to the fortune teller. Daniel seemed to have lived a fairly average life until he was forced to revisit memories through the policeman's questioning and information about the fortune teller. This reintroduction leads Daniel to try and redeem guilt feelings that he had pushed out of his mind by confronting her and the prediction of their death dates.

Some of us felt that all four siblings could have benefited from a long and deep regiment of therapy!

September Book Club 2018

It's hard to believe that we are already at September book club! It was another lovely night as we arrived at Carla G's for dinner and a discussion on the patio as we head into fall.

Carla G provided a flavorful Moroccan Chicken Stew and Screech Rum Punch. The Rum Punch was a featured "character" in the story. Diana brought Couscous, Lou & Tammy brought salads, Terry brought bread, Pam brought a baked gouda  & Hummus, Barb, Pam and Sherrie brought wine, Denise and Lis provided desserts.

We all enjoyed "The Day the World Came to Town." It was nice to have Lou and Pam with us and we had a great discussion. The book rated a 4.5 from 11 votes. Carla A loved, loved, loved it! Pam really liked it. We missed Barb, Laura, Leslie, Darby and, of course, Janie who is home recuperating from knee surgery. We wish her a speedy recovery!

"The Day the World Came to Town" is a factual account of the events of the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers. This story is almost always told from the perspective of the victims, survivors and first-responders at the scene. This book sis told from the vantage point of the many planes that were stranded when America shut down its air space. The story is set in Gander, Newfoundland, a small town of about 5,000 people that took in the passengers that were stranded there and provided them shelter, food and comfort until things could be sorted out. I think this story is probably indicative of what happened across the US but it is made personal by the stories of a handful of people that we follow as they try to determine what has happened and what their next steps will be.

Diana remarked, "For me, it was fascinating and wonderful to learn of the generosity and resourcefulness of the people in this small island town. It brought back memories of all the help and generosity we received from our community after the May 3, 1999 tornado. People can be incredibly selfless when tragedy hits. This brings me hope. I know it's not always the case, but in a perfect would, it would be."

Our next book is "The Immortalists" by Chloe Benjamin. We do not have a selection for November. Laura has posted a suggestion on the Facebook page. You might look at that and reply if you are interested. Lou also suggested, "Some Form of Grace." This book is by Dee Dee Chumley, a local author who might be willing to speak to our club. 

August Book Club 2018

We had a beautiful August night at Denise's lakeside home. There were only seven in attendance making for an intimate discussion of The Wonder by Emma Donoghue. We missed Leslie, Carla G., Barb, Pam, Lou, Janie and Arnora. Sporting events, visiting family and travels prevented them from attending. Janie is preparing for upcoming knee surgery and we wish her a successful surgery and speedy recovery.

Denise provided us with a delicious chicken salad, pretzel rolls and white wine. Diana brought appetizers, Lis brought cheese and a salad, Tammy brought watermelon salad and Laura provided the Blueberry Cobbler.

This month's book, The Wonder was recommended by Pam. The novel is about a nurse, Elizabeth "Lib" Wright, a nurse trained by Florence Nightingale. She is hired by a committee of locals in a small village in the Irish Midlands to investigate a potential miracle or, "wonder" as they were sometimes called. She is to be assisted by a local nun, Sister Michael. An 11 year old girl, Anna O'Donnell has refused food for the 4 months since her birthday but, seems healthy and vital. Her family and the church have a vested interest in confirming these claims.  When the Catholic Church deems someone a saint, a miracle or, a relic it increases tourism to the local area. In fact, one of the committee members hopes that Anna might be the first person canonized since the 13th century.

The story takes place seven years after the potato famine in Ireland and the country is still reeling form the affects. Food is a dominant theme of the book as the people are still struggling to feed themselves and Anna seems to be existing on "manna from heaven."

The book was inspired by actual accounts of almost 50 cases of so called "fasting girls." The case it most resembles is that of Sarah Jacob, a Welsh girl, who at age 12 was said to have gone without food for two years. She eventually died and her parents were tried and convicted of manslaughter.

In Stephen King's review, he compares The Wonder to The Crucible and The Exorcist. But, more like the Exorcist in that every visit  is more terrifying than the next. The difference is that Reagan is possessed by a demon but Anna is possessed by the suffocating dogma of the church.

The book was well received by those that read it and rated a 4.

July Book Club 2018

What a great night we had at Arnora's! We were sorry that Pam, Denise, Tammy and Terry could not make it. Lou was back at home in Florida and, of course, Darby is in Chicago. Diana and I had just driven in from our trip to Salida, Colorado and we made it in time for book club.

Arnora made a delicious lemon cod with rice that paired nicely with an assortment of summer salads and the bread and cheese appetizer. Salads included; apple-broccoli, Asian, cucumber-tomato-onion, cherry tomato-cheese and yellow squash in a vinaigrette.

Laura provided berry shortcake and cherry pie with homemade whipped cream for dessert. We had an unusually good assortment of wines and tea and coffee.

Everyone enjoyed catching up on recent travels before we settled in for our discussion of  "Before We Were Yours," written by Lisa Wingate.

This story is told in two parts; the present day Avery residing in Boston but returning home to Charleston, SC. Avery's dad is a Senator undergoing treatment for cancer. They are grooming Avery to run for his seat if his treatments do not go well. At a political event at a local nursing home, Avery stumbles onto a photo of her own grandmother in the room of a resident she doesn't know. This sends her on a journey to discover the connection.  The second story is that of five children living on a Shanty boat on Mud Island in Memphis, TN. When the parents go into town for the birth of twins, the children are stolen off the boat by the Tennessee Children's Home and put up for adoption.

This story chronicles the true life story of Georgia Tann through one families separation and eventual reunification. Georgia Tann was a notorious child trafficker that operated several Tennessee "children's homes" between the 1920's through 1950. Thousands of children were stolen through various means and sold or, "adopted" out to wealthy politicians, actors and or various socialites. Georgia profited to the tune of about $10 million dollars in today's money but, was also responsible for the deaths of hundreds of babies and toddlers through abuse, neglect and malnutrition.  She was eventually prosecuted but fate had its way with her.  She died of ovarian cancer before she could be convicted. The story of Georgia Tann is true. The story of the Foss children and Avery is fictionalized.

We all agreed that the story felt like it had been written by two different authors. The story of the Foss children was deeply emotional and riveting. But, when we switched to Avery's story, it seemed lighter, more predictable and a step above the Harlequin Romance.

However, we also felt that the lighter story was a reprieve from the deeply disturbing story of how these children had been treated. And, Avery's story had another angle to consider. Avery is born into wealth and position in the south. Her family is well connected politically and socially. She is highly educated and it is understood that she will marry her childhood sweetheart and at some point step into her father's senate seat.

The discovery that her, now ailing, grandmother is from these shanty boat people and the discovery of how the siblings survived and found each other causes Avery to deeply search her soul. Is she in love with the childhood sweetheart? Will the law and politics be her true calling or, is she just simply living out a path that is chosen for her.

The theme throughout the book for all of the characters is how they struggle to sing their own song. The separated sisters all wear the same bracelet with the dragonfly symbol. In the Native American Animal Totem meaning the dragonfly:

Carries the wisdom of transformation and adaptability. It is connected to the symbolism of change and light. It reminds you to bring more lightness and joy into your life. Those with this totem may be inclined to delve deep into their emotions and shine their true colors.

The book rated a 4.3. Next month we will meet at Denise's and our book is The Wonder, recommended by Pam.

June Book Club 2018

June 1, 2018 marks the halfway point of the year. We're heading into summer and Barb welcomed us in to her lovely home this month. Her fried chicken was supplemented with

Diana's olives, hummus, pita and bear. Carla Gibbs brought fruit
and Lou brought salad and wine. Terry's potato salad and Denise's rolls. Liz brought cake and wine. Carla A made corn on the cob.  Pam brought quinoa salad, and Arnora brought cherries and her beautiful bouquet of flowers and I brought baked beans. It was great picnic food for our summer book club and yet, we were eating inside in the A/C and not fighting the flies and ants. It was perfect!

Tammy was called away unexpectedly, Janie got sick at the last minute and Leslie's boys had baseball. We always miss Darby but, Lou was able to join us two consecutive months! What a treat.

Our book this month was the modern classic, "The Outsiders" by Oklahoma author S. E. Hinton. This is a well known book, made into a movie and often required reading in High School. However, most of us in book club had managed not to read it until now.  The backstory of this book is fascinating in its own right.

S. E. Hinton or, Susan Eloise Hinton, was a 15 year old high school student at Will Rogers High in Tulsa Oklahoma in 1964. She says that is the year she made a "D" in creative writing. One day,
a friend of hers was walking home from school and these "nice" kids jumped him and beat him up. She went home and started pounding out a story. How it was published was nothing short of a miracle. S. E. had a friend whose mother wrote children's book. She showed the manuscript to her and she showed a friend who had a NY agent. This person continues to be her agent and she received the contract on graduation day. The book was made into a move in 1983 starring all the latest up and coming young stars; C. Thomas Howell, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Diane Lane, Leif Garrett, Darren Dalton and Tom Waits.

She has also written; That was Then, This is Now; Rumble Fish; Tex and Taming the Star Runner.
The Outsiders and Rumble Fish were adapted to film by Francis Ford Coppola. Tex and That was Then, This is Now were also adapted to film and S.E. had cameo roles in three of the four films.

Not bad for a 15 year old girl from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Of course, a female writer in the 1960's writing about mostly boys, was encouraged to use her initials so as not to be identified as female.

As for the book, we really loved it. While I have always been aware of the book and movie, I was not required to read it in high school.  I had avoided the movie because it looked like guys film that I didn't think would interest me.

The main character of the book Ponyboy, is coming out of a Paul Newman movie one evening and on his walk home is mugged by a group of the socially elite kids in his school. The rich and popular kids were called "Socs" and poorer kids from the wrong side of the tracks were called "Greasers."

This mugging and potential flirtation between one of the girl Socs and a guy Greaser fuels a competition that is always on a slow burn and it escalates in to one of the Greasers, the soft spoken and abused Johnny, killing one of the Socs in self-defense.

Overtime as the action escalates there is some crossover connection and recognition that the people aren't so different. Money and position separates them but, their problems and emotions are really the same. The tag line for the movies says, "They weren't looking for a fight, they were looking to belong."

Something about the writing reminded me of To Kill a Mockingbird. The opening lines draw you in and put you in the emotional life of the main character, Ponyboy. The warring gang activity reminded me of West Side Story. I found the characters realistic, I related to their angst, frustrations and desires.  I thought the writing was captivating and she told a completely compelling story in 189 pages. I cared about what happened to them.

When I was in high school a few short years later, our popular kids were still called "Socs" but the kids from the wrong side of the tracks had become "hoods." The really smart kids were "nerds." But it was like there were these two extreme factions of two small groups and then this wide swath of of just normal, anonymous kids. I fell into that group. I probably don't know what all went on between the various groups - but we didn't have any murders. However, I could definitely relate to how people feel compelled to label everyone and then judge them based on those labels whether true or not.

Diana added that she thinks the book is still so popular (it's still the #1 best selling YA novel) because most teens need an extended family to help them transition to adulthood. As we age and grow our families grow. Our book club is a family and is kind of like the "greasers." We've developed our own family.

We also had a few laughs when someone asked if any of us had been in a brawl or "rumble." A few of us had some humorous tales to share of our childhood encounters.

I wasn't prepared to love this book as much as I did and I'm glad to know more about this homegrown author and her story.

The book rated a 4.5 and our next read will be Before We Were Yours.

P. S. Barb's cat came in during our discussion and signaled her approval of both the group and the book!

May Book Club 2018

We were so excited that Lou was in town for May's book club. She graciously hosted us at her "little guest house" at Shell and Steve Harrington's place.  It was a gorgeous night and a few of us ate on the patio facing the sunset. Diana has a new hair/color and she looked so good I couldn't resist a photo. Hope she doesn't mind.

Lou made a one pot, chicken pesto. We had croissants( Sherrie), salad (Tammy) and fruit. Denise made a yummy corn chowder dip and Carla A brought smoked Gouda cheese dip. Leslie brought brownies for dessert and we have an assortment of wines. Arnora brought a beautiful deep pink geranium for our centerpiece.

After writing this blog for so long, I have run out of adjectives to describe the food without sounding redundant. Let's just say it's always great. Never had a bad meal at book club.

This month's book, the Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis was suggested by Terry. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to make it to the meeting. However, she graciously agreed to let me print her thoughts here:

The thing I loved most about Screwtape is that all the different flaws humans possess have been with us since the beginning of time. So many of the letters were talking to me, personally. It is a humorous look, yet so true. I thought throughout the reading of little quotes my parents taught me through the years such as; idle hands are the devil's workshop, there are no atheists in a fox hole or, birds of a feather flock together. They didn't fit me all the time but, on occasion I recognized the teachings. The things we pride ourselves in having; humor, love, pleasure, kinship, faith and truth. The other side sees them as places in our constitution to invade. I have always felt the struggle going on between these two powers and have tried to identify the WHY. I was raised in a preachy church that taught that even if you think it, you're as guilty as doing it. This one opened the door for all sorts of bad behavior to escape my consciousness. If I thought it, I might as well do it, LOL. I had hoped to share a story with you all but was lost (way to go Devil.) While living with my first husband he woke every morning cursing his existence and God. It just seemed so counterproductive to having a good day or, life. Our attitude always effects the outcome. As he struggled one morning to change a flat tire, I heard him cussing God and telling him how angry he was at being born. I went into the garage an asked what the heck was going on. He proceeded to tell me how mean God was. I asked if he'd thought about it not being God but the other entity. Jokingly, he put his hands out in front of him and said, "Ok God, let's just do this thing together." At that exact moment, the spare jumped off the back of the land cruiser and landed in his hands. I simply said, "I rest my case" and went back to the kitchen. There isn't a day in my life that I don't feel the presence of a higher power. C. S. Lewis was a convert and his short little book explained so much to me about the war going on inside my head. I loved the book and even found some humor in my crazy thinking.

The book received mixed reviews. Terry, of course, loves it along with Laura, Lis and Denise. Laura and Denise had studied other C. S. Lewis writings and had a broader perspective of the book. Several of us felt that it was a bit "preachy." I would say, for me, it felt like a long sermon. While I didn't love the book, I do appreciate it and how it adds to my base of knowledge. And, I fully admit that my own church experience colored my perception of the book. The book rated a 3.

The premise of the book is that Satan or, Screwtape, is writing letters of instruction to his nephew, Wormwood, on how to distract people and tempt them away from salvation. I found my biggest problem with the book was that it's a one-way conversation. All the letters are from Screwtape to Wormwood. We hear a bit of Wormwood's voice when Screwtape is admonishing him on how to be do his job better.

However, that said, I am always happy to read a classic or, at least attempt it. There are a few I have tried that I just couldn't get through. Anna Karenina comes to mind. All of the arts come down to us through the ages. There isn't anything new under the sun - they knew that even in Biblical times. I find I often enjoy more modern works when I have a broader perspective of the classics that most works are based on.  In fact, I've heard it said that most plots are variations on the themes of Shakespeare. And, he probably based a lot of his plots on the Greek and Roman mythologies.

June's book is The Outsider's. Published in 1967 with a movie produced in 1983, it is surprising that most of us had not read it. Diana will host. We attempted to see if the author S.E. Hinton might address the group as she lives in Tulsa. But, that didn't work out.