July Book Club 2023

193 Blogs - 253 Books

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

Arnora is our July hostess and she made the best French Dip Sandwiches I have ever had. Our theme was Sunflowers from Diana and Arnora's gardens along with some garden fresh tomatoes and cucumbers thanks to Carla G and Leslie. Leslie also brought cheese and olives. Caral Gibbs turned her tomatoes and cucumbers into a salad. Along with the French Dip Arnora also had Terry's strawberry salad. Lis brought a Blueberry dessert from her day picking them fresh. The meal was delightful as always. We missed Pam, Janie, Laura, Tammy, Denise, and our out-of-town members.  We had a great discussion about this month's book. The book summary discussion points are below. Everyone unanimously loved the book and it rated a 5.

Next month, we will either meet at Sweet Basil or Leslie's and our book is Finding Salvation at the Dairy Queen. We are switching September's book to Running with Sherman as the other book is not available at the Library. 

Horse by Geraldine Brooks 

Summary

"Horse" is a historical fiction novel told from the perspective of six characters over three time periods. The novel interweaves the story of the Black equestrians who made their white owners fabulously wealthy in the mid-1800s,  with those of contemporary young professionals struggling to form relationships despite racial tensions in 2019. What connects the timelines is the racing horse, Lexington, the painter who chronicled his journey, and the art dealer, Martha Jackson, who came into possession of one of the paintings in the 1950s and bequeathed it to the Smithsonian.

The author did a masterful job of fluidly shifting between the timelines and making the fictional characters as real as true-to-life people. 

The story of the horse, Darly-Lexington starts in Lexington, KY just prior to the Civil War and follows the horse and his groom, Jarrett, through the war and after until the horse's death. Lexington is still one of the most famous horses in the history of racing. He won six of his seven races and came in second once. He was the third-best moneymaker at that time. And, for 20 years held the record as the fastest racehorse in the world. After he was retired due to his eyesight he sired 575 foals and to this day no racehorse has produced as many champions. 

The book is complex and layered and too much to retell here.

I will say I would put this book alongside The Personal Librarian as two of my favorite historical fiction novels.

Everyone thought the author did a great job of moving through the various timelines and characters. Some stories with multiple timelines can be confusing and hard to follow but this author told the story in a very fluid manner. She informed us of a history of horseracing none of us knew while giving us compelling characters we could relate to. She made history relevant to current situations and brought to our attention again how our history informs the present and though things have changed, we still have a long way to go in our human evolution. 

June Book Club 2023

192 blogs - 252 books 

We have now reached the halfway point in 2023. Our hostess for this month, Barb, served tender and crispy buttermilk fried chicken. Laura brought amazing Collard Greens. Diana brought biscuits and Peach Cobbler. Janie brought both Deviled Eggs and Guacamole Deviled Eggs. Lis brought Watermelon Salad, and Carla brought cheese, olives, and crackers. Arnora brought the beautiful flowers and mixed nuts and we had our usual assortments of wine and tea. We missed Pam, Denise, and our long-distance members. Speaking of our out-of-town members, Leslie announced that she'll soon be moving to Tulsa! While we are excited about her opportunity, we are sad to see her leave town. However, Tulsa is close enough that we think we can still make the meetings happen. 

Actually, Barb co-hosted our book club this month with Asia and Sammy. They were equally welcoming and affectionate throughout our visits. 

Klara and the Sun is written by Kazuo Ishiguro, the Nobel Prize for Literature for his book Remains of the Day. The setting is a dystopian future in which some children are genetically engineered, or "lifted" for enhanced academic ability. As schooling is provided entirely at home by on-screen tutors, opportunities for socialization are limited and parents who can afford it often buy their children androids as companions. They are referred to as A.F.'s or, Artificial Friends. This book was longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize. 

In her review for The New York Times, Radhia Jones notes that Klara and The Sun returns to the theme of The Remains of the Day as "Ishiguro gives voice to: not the human, but the clone, not the lord, but the servant. This book complements his brilliant vision, though it doesn't reach the artistic heights of his past achievements. 

The book was recommended by Barb and was well liked receiving a rating of 3.52. The group agreed that the author did a good job of communicating A. F.'s emotional life. And, we were sad at the end when Klara was "put on the shelf" to slowly fade away. Much like the older generation of people are somewhat "put out to pasture" when they have served their duty in the workforce. There was a lot of comparison to other dystopian literature such as Brave New World or Blade Runner. The ending where Josie grows up and goes to college leaving Klara behind, reminded me of Toy Story. Laura pointed out that one of the themes in the book is "faith." Klara puts her faith in the sun to heal Josie and tries to convince others to believe with her. 

It was disturbing that in this future environment, parents have taken their efforts to see their children succeed so desperately they are willing to not only have them genetically modified but to replace them with A.F.'s when the modification goes wrong and the child dies. 

This book made for a lively discussion and forced us to think about where the current advancements in Artificial Intelligence are taking us. 

July's book is "Horse" by Gwendolyn Brooks. We will meet at Anora's on July 9 at 4:00 p.m. 

For the next couple of months, we have opted for, hopefully, lighter reading. We have chosen "Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen" by Susan Gregg Gilmore. 

And, for September, we travel vicariously to Europe for some adventure with "The Getaway Girls" by Dee MacDonald. 

                                    191 Blogs - 251 books read 
We find ourselves in the month of May already. Our spring weather has been turbulent with tornadoes in February and April. That's early in the season even for Oklahoma. Here's hoping we got them out of the way early! Carla Gibbs is our hostess this month. She served chicken salad sandwiches, a veggie and cheese tray, iced tea, and a delicious lemon-blueberry dessert. Arnora brought the flowers and nuts and Pam brought watermelon. Lis brought spinach dip, crackers, wine, and Janie. We are all so glad to see Janie after a brief absence while she has been taking care of Jim. Diana brought picked asparagus and Hard Seltzer. Pam brought watermelon. Carla also served up some yummy after-dinner coffee drinks! We missed Barb and our out-of-towners; Tammy, Darby, and Lou.
 

Brief Author Bio 

This month's book is Thistlefoot by Genna Rose Nethercoft. it is described as being in the vein of modern fairy tales by Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" and Naomi Novik's "Spinning Silver." This was a debut novel in 2022 and she has also published several works of poetry. She is the founder of Traveling Poetry Emporium which is a team of poets for hire. She is an Associate Producer of Grim and Mild where she conducts supernatural and historical research for the podcast Lore. She lives in the woodlands of Vermont next to an old cemetery.  

Discussion

Siblings Bellatine and Isaac Yaga receive the strange inheritance of a house that speaks and grows

chicken legs. It is a sentient structure that can walk about. Bellatine is a winemaker and Isaac is a wayfaring street performer and con artist. The two have been estranged since childhood. The house is named Thistlefoot. We learn that Thistle is not native to America. Immigrants to this country brought unknowingly brought it with them. Thistle is known for its roughness. It has a prickly flower and thorny leaves that keep it from being eaten by wildlife. But, it provides a substantial amount of food for birds, insects, and butterflies. In America, it is considered an invasive weed. However, some varieties have medicinal qualities. In Victorian times, the Thistle was known as a flower of intrusion and a warning against intrusion. 

The book is rooted in Jewish myth and rich in Eastern European folklore and is about healing from generational trauma. The author intended this book to be about the Jewish diaspora that is part of her family history. Her mother's side of the family lived in a place that is now Ukraine and they were displaced by war. She changed the name of the town and used historical events woven into the folklore. However, the story will resonate with any culture that has been the victim of an attack and dispersed from their homeland. 

There were too many layers and too much symbolism to relate it all here. However, I do think it worth mentioning that Diana said she had trouble getting into the book until she decided she just had to suspend her literal thinking and let the story wash over her. She pointed out that as long as people's stories are retold they are not forgotten. I would add that you can't heal what you don't know. And, it's now been scientifically proven that trauma can be passed down in our DNA. But, whether trauma is from our ancestors or something we experience in the present, we have the power to heal it. And, part of the healing is in the stories we tell. 

Of those present, all but one had finished the book and it rated 3.75.

On June 4, we will meet at Barb's to discuss Klara and the Sun. And, on July 9, we will meet at Arnora's to discuss Horse. 

 

April Book Club 2023

April's meeting was hosted by Diana and she served quiche in honor of eggs and Spring as we are coming up on Easter next weekend. 

In addition to her quiche, she also served pickled asparagus and bread and butter pickles.  Lis brought fruit and pimento cheese dip and wine, Carla Gibbs brought a garden salad and Leslie brought a cucumber salad. Denise brought scones and Laura brought an apple pie and chocolate and caramel sauces. As always, there was an assortment of wines. From our local members, we missed Pam, Carla A., and Janie. The combination of flavors was just perfect for a late-afternoon brunch! 

As I did not get a chance to read the book yet, I will give a summary from the reader's guide:

"The Book of Form and Emptiness is, in many ways, the coming-of-age story of a boy grappling with his own mind, his own creativity, and his own perplexing experiences, at a moment of profound loss. The book is narrating Benny's life, and sometimes Benny intervenes to challenge or correct, or complain."

Laura really loved this book and was worried that other members would not resonate with it. But, it rated a 4

for those who read it. Diana has about 100 pages to go and I plan on reading it after listening to the discussion. Laura mentioned that this is really a book about books and that intrigued me. 

One of the points of our discussion became about opposing ideas and I offered this quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald: 

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless yet be determined to make them otherwise."

Listening to Laura's explanation of the book and why it resonated with her so deeply, enhanced the experience for even those who had finished the book. I have asked her to write something in her words and I will add it here soon. 

Our May meeting will be at Carla G's and our book is Thistlefoot by GenaRose Nethercott.

June's meeting will be at Barb's and our book will be Klara and the Sun by Kauai Ishiguro. 

July's meeting will be at Arnora's and our book is Horse by Geraldine Brooks. 

March 2023 Chickasha Field Trip

Introducing our speakers

On Friday, March 3, Diana, Carla A., Lis, Laura, Arnora, and Sherrie attended an author event at the University of Science and Arts in Chickasha. We had gotten word that David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon would be speaking. He was preceded by Hannibal Johnson, author of Black Wall Street. 

It was short notice and I am sorry that everyone could not attend the event. Both speakers did a great job of presenting their material. After their presentations, they did a joint Q&A and then did a book signing. 

I, personally, had not put together that these events were taking place at approximately the same time. The Osage murders took place over a longer period of 1910-1930 and the Tulsa Race Massacre took place in 1920. Because the Osage murders began earlier in time I hadn't noticed the overlap. Concurrently, women in the U.S. were "given" the right to vote. Having read Killers of the Flower Moon, visiting Pawhuska and the Greenwood District in Tulsa, hearing the authors of these historical events in person was quite meaningful. 

Diana, as usual, did a spectacular job finding us a cute, cozy, comfortable Airbnb within walking distance of the auditorium. We found a great coffee shop, visited a unique used bookstore, and did a little shopping at the historic dinner before the events. And, took our photo at the Christmas Story leg lamp. After, we had great pizza at The Flower Shop and then a glass of wine at Shakespeare Winery. 

On Saturday, we lingered at the Airbnb and then had a fantastic burger and fries at J &W Grill. I had the best Root Beer I've ever had. It was the perfect ratio of syrup to carbonation and the slivered ice made it almost slushy. 

We did a bit more exploring of the historic area and stopped in at Liberty Drug where they have an old-fashioned ice cream counter and Diana found the owner knew some of her family members, before heading home. It was just a perfect combination of friends and fun with intellectual stimulation. 

I have now made it a point to follow the college on Facebook. Diana, Darby, and I attended a talk there by Niel Gaiman and Diana also saw Margaret Atwood there. I'll try to keep an eye on future speakers we might be interested in. Chickasha is only about 40 minutes from Norman, so it's not necessary to spend the night but it was fun to do so! 

March 2023 Book Club

 

This year seems to be "zooming" by! And, thankfully, we are not meeting on Zoom! 

March has predictably come roaring in like a lion. We met at Denise's lovely home on the lake. The temperature was perfect and though the wind kept us from sitting outside it didn't keep us from enjoying the view.

This month begins our shift to Sunday afternoon meetings. Sunday afternoons worked well after the hard quarantine was lifted but we were still trying to keep our safe distances by meeting outside. We decided to switch back to Sunday afternoons to avoid work traffic on Friday evenings and driving at night. 

Denise provided a hearty white bean Italian vegetarian soup, corn muffins with honey butter, and two bottles of Pinot Noir. Leslie brought a Sherry cheese dip with crackers and celery, and Barb brought Hummus with crackers and peanut butter pretzels. Sherrie brought asparagus. Diana brought us beautiful, individual chocolate cakes. Arnora brought beautiful flowers and mixed nuts. There were other assorted wines but I didn't see who brought them. 

We missed Laura, Janie, Pam, Tammy, Carla G., Lou, Darby, and Terry. 

Lessons in Chemistry is a bestselling novel from 2022. The story chronicles the life of Elizabeth Zott, a brilliant chemist who is forced to become a television chef when she finds herself a young, single mother in the late 1950s. The story focuses on Elizabeth but is about women's lives, careers, struggle for empowerment, and their relationship with each other in the late 50s and 60s. 

Like the author, Elizabeth teaches herself chemistry at the library. They share the same hobby of rowing and similar dogs. Six-thirty was based on a dog that Bonnie Garmus had who'd been abused but was highly intelligent and had a large vocabulary of words he recognized.

After my son was homeschooled during High School in the mid-1990s, I observed that if you had great reading and comprehension skills, you could teach yourself just about anything. I'm not sure that I, personally, could master any math on my own. I have to say that impresses me about the author and her main character. However, my friend Linda has a granddaughter who just taught herself some form of chemistry when the professor of the college she attends left and was not replaced. She moved colleges and did not miss a beat. 

Bonnie's setting for the book is the late 1950s and early 1960s. This is just post WWII and the "Red Scare" of anti-communism. Religion and politics both play a role in the book. During both world wars, American men fought overseas and women took their jobs in the workplace. This allowed women a real taste of personal freedom as they earned their own incomes for the first time. When the men came home there was a big push for women to also "go back home." 

I read a book written in the late 1980s that talked about how many of the popular TV shows of the post-war like Leave it to Beaver and Donna Reed were literally a form of propaganda to encourage women to go back to being homemakers. But women liked their freedom and began to campaign for equal pay and other equal rights. Elizabeth finds herself, unwittingly, at the forefront of that movement. 

Elizabeth is a single mother when she is presented with the unusual circumstance of taking a job in front of the camera in a Julia Child-like role on a cooking show. She'd already been living an unconventional life of not marrying her live-in boyfriend, another chemist. And she's forced out of her job when he dies unexpectedly and she finds herself pregnant. At the time, there were no laws protecting women in the workplace when they became pregnant, married, or not. 

This book provided a walk down memory lane for some of us who had experienced similar sexual harassment in the workplace. And, that subject has been recently revisited by the "Me Too" movement. We talked about how things have changed but there's still much work to do regarding equal rights. And, we've seen recently how quickly the "rights" you have can be taken from you. 

Most of us liked the book and it rated a 4.125. One member raised her rating after the discussion. 

Our next book is Ruth Ozeki's, "The Book of Form and Emptiness" and we meet at Diana's. 

February Book Club 2023

 

January 2023 is in the bag! February's book club brings us to Leslie's lovely home. Her beautiful dogs, Max and Mabel, greeted us warmly and we had a chance to meet her husband! 

Leslie provided us with two delicious soups! A butternut squash soup with hints of curry and her family favorite, a sausage bean and kale soup. Just what we needed after a week spent hibernating during a mild winter ice storm. Lis brought a beautiful and abundant fruit tray. Caral G brought a gorgeous salad and Diana made Arnora's recipe of hot corn dip. Denise provided the sour cream lemon bundt cake and we had some lovely wines. Arnora brought salted nuts (a favorite of mine) and a floral bouquet for the table. 

We missed Carla A, Pam, Janie, Terry, and our "adjunct" members Tammy, Lou, Darby, and Terry (always in our hearts.)

Our second book of the year is the bestselling memoir, "The Girl with Seven Names," co-authored by Hyeonseo Lee and D. B. John. Arnora recommended this book after having read it for her church book club. 

Hyeonseo Lee grew up in North Korea on the border of China. She escaped to China in 1997 at age seventeen. Then, in 2008, she went to live in Seoul, South Korea where she graduated from  Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. She is now married to her American husband, Brian Gleason. They live in S. Korea and Hyeonseo is a regular speaker on the international stage fostering human rights and awareness of the plight of North Koreans. Her TED talk has been viewed nearly four million times.

This short synopsis does not begin to describe the long and arduous journey Hyeonseo makes from her complicated birth to the life she is living now. Growing up in North Korea under the regime of the 'Kim" dynasty. N. Korean borders are closed to people coming in or going out. Information about the outside world and N. Korea's own history is carefully guarded and administered by the supreme leader. His grandfather was Kim Il-sung who was the "founder and first supreme leader" after its establishment in 1948. His father was Kim Jong-Il, the second supreme leader until his death in 1994. 

Hyeonseo describes her family and her life growing up in N. Korea and the "education" she received during her formative years and never questioning their loyalty or the methods used to enforce it. Until the famine that occurred in the 1990s. Circumstances that led her into the homes of certain friends and relatives in different parts of the country started to pull back the curtain of the lies they'd been fed. Because her family lived at the border of China she decides to cross the bridge with a friend with the intention of returning. But, that fateful move sent her on a 12-year, harrowing journey of hiding out in China and S. Korea.  Changing her name and identity (seven times) as she moved from place to place she narrowly escapes border guards, a brothel, and a physical attack until, through cunning, deception, and sheer force of will to survive she is reunited with her family. 

The book was well received and rated a 5. We all agreed there is a special category of book where it is well written, well researched (if it's a biography) and we are glad we have read it because it opened our minds to a subject we were unaware. However, the subject matter is hard, cruel, devastating, and hard to wrap our heads around. To say we "love" such a book seems not to convey the accuracy of our feelings but I am working on finding, or making a word for that!  

Our next book is "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus and we will meet at Denise's home. In April, we will discuss "The Book of Form and Emptiness" by Ruth Ozeki at Diana's. Hostesses are set through July. 

For the time being, we are moving our meetings to Sunday afternoon. This should help us avoid driving after dark and fighting with work traffic on a Friday evening. 

Also, we have been talking about working on a "classic" book at some point. We haven't decided yet which month to discuss it but I think we have decided on a book. 

The Little Prince is short (less than one hundred pages) and written by the French aviator and author, Antoine St. Exupery. The book was first published in 1943 making this its 80th anniversary. It is the second most translated book in the world after the Bible. It is a sweet, funny, poignant story that is deceiving in its simplicity. It is a story for children of all ages.  I recommend the first translation by Katherine Wood or, the 70th Anniversary edition translated by Richard Howard. The anniversary edition has wonderful side notes about the author's bio and letters written by many people praising the book and its impact on their lives. 

On a final note and interesting coincidence, the Morgan Library owns the original manuscript and drawings by the author who also illustrated the book. You can find a couple of informative talks about the collection on their website. Also, you can find several audio recordings for free on YouTube.