May 2025 Book Club

Denise hosted May's Book Club. We were so excited that Tammy joined us. We missed Barb, Carla G., and Janie.  After a week of rain and flash floods, we've finally enjoyed the Spring weather that made Denise's home the perfect place. 

Denise made a hearty Spanish white bean salad for our main dish and served it with pita chips and hummus. She also provided a smoked turkey with amazing BBQ sauce. Lis brought charcuterie and crackers. Diana brought chocolate truffles for dessert, and Arnora brought beautiful flowers and mixed nuts. Tammy brought wine. There were other fruits, cheese, crackers, cookies, and chocolate truffles!

Everyone enjoyed The Life Impossible by Matt Haig. We had previously enjoyed his book, The Midnight Library. Everyone enjoyed this book as much, or more and everyone finished the book.  

I listened to it and this time thoroughly enjoyed the narrator, Lindsay Duncan. A British actress and Comedian, I have long enjoyed her performances in Under the Tuscan Sun and the long-running British Comedy, Ab Fab.  The narrator is so important to the story for me, and this one hit it out of the park. I enjoyed her narration enough to include her photo!

I would consider the style of this novel to be epistolary in the genre of magical realism. Our protagonist, Grace Winters, is a widow and a retired math teacher. She has also lost a son due to a tragic accident.  She was unexpectedly left a house in Ibiza, Spain, by a woman she had known briefly but had impacted. Grace discovers a mystery about the friend's death, and her investigation converges with her own life issues; she navigates the hard truths of life alongside its mysteries. In Grace's present, she is contacted by a former student informing her that his mother has died and he is feeling lost. Grace writes back, in novel form, all of the details of the journey that transformed her pain into life and love again. The book covers subjects such as love, loss, guilt, human connection, the environment, and miracles. "What looks like magic is simply a part of life we don't understand yet." 

The story kept me coming back, eagerly anticipating the next miracle. Everyone read the book and enjoyed it. It rated 4.5. Diana commented that the book inspired discussion in so many different directions. It is a philosophical, ecological, wild, and wonderful look at what life can be. I would also add mystical and magical. It's also got a murder mystery that Grace investigates. This book has it all! 

Our next book is Jodi Picoult's "By Any Other Name." We will discuss
 it at Carla G's on June 1. Our July meeting will be at our retreat in Sayre, and our book will be "Other Birds" by Sarah Addison Allen. 

April Book Club 2025

 

Lis hosted us for our April book discussion. The April weather reminds me of our January meeting. We've had some really warm days but now it's raining and cold again. However, Lis created a beautiful indoor garden for us to enjoy. It also meant I got to take my velvet pants and my, new to me, sweater on another outing. We missed Barb, Pam, and Janie. 

Lis made Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili, her famous Mayan Hot Chocolate, and Dirt Cake made to look like flower pots.  Chili is a favorite of mine, yet I forget to make it at home. Diana made Terry's Pear Salad. Arnora brought her beautiful flowers and cornbread. Carla G brought lemon-blueberry dessert, and Denise brought bread and cheese. 

I was excited to announce that my friend, Laurie, asked me to submit a painting for a Cancer Fundraiser

auction. And, she is putting my name on the Survivor's Board! We toasted to the great news of my remission. It's all a lovely way to commemorate what has been a difficult year. And, I will say now and forever how grateful I am for my community of friends that have supported me during this time. I am doing as well as I am because of all the love and support! 

The Twilight Garden was generally well-received rating 4.14.

Described as  "domestic fiction," the story takes place in a small neighborhood between the houses of No. 77 and No. 79 on Eastbourne Road in London. There's a shared garden, that has been neglected, between the homes. A once vibrant and welcoming sanctuary for those who needed it most, the garden's gates are permanently closed. Winston, one of the neighbors, begins to work off his frustrations with his relationship in the garden. His

neighbor, Bernice, doesn't appreciate his efforts. Newly divorced with a small son, she prefers the distance and isn't interested in making connections. The story has a second timeline of previous neighbors who tended the garden and welcomed all. 

Most everyone loved the book and found it an emotional read.  While I enjoyed The Reading List, I felt she was repeating a formula here with similar themes of grief and community and with similar characters. Lis and I agreed it felt like we had read this one. We didn't hate it but didn't enjoy it as much as The Reading List.  

Denise will host in May, and our book is "The Life Impossible" by Matthew Haig. In June, we will meet at Carla G's, and in July, we are planning another retreat at Tammy's hunting lodge. 

March Book Club 2025

 

March is Women's History Month and March 8 is International Women's Day. I think our book this month was a fitting choice.

Pam and Arlo hosted our March Book Club and we celebrated Mardi Gras! Pam made a chicken gumbo served with baguettes, salad, and a version of a King Cake that Denise made. 

Our weather has been true to Oklahoma. We had very mild weather right up through the end of 2024. The temperature on Christmas Day was 60. Since then we had two different episodes of single digit temperatures with precipitation. In January we had a light snow, in February, we were sitting on Arnora's patio. The March winds blew in on Sunday and were back to coats and light rain. We missed Janie, Barb, and Lis. 

Resistance Women is one of those stories that is hard to quantify. The story was a well-told historical fiction and rated a 4. It is another WWII story, so many of the details are hard to process. I think I would describe it as well told and heart-wrenching. 

The story begins somewhere around 1929-30 and brings us to the end of WWII in 1945. We follow four women and their daily lives as Hitler and his minions slowly start their takeover of Germany. The author chose to tell her story chronologically in a deliberate, methodical movement through these 15 years. Though we all know the outcome of the war, the suspense builds slowly as we discover the fate of these particular women.  Three of the four women were based on real life people. The fourth woman was a composite the author used to connect them all. 

As we move through the story, the signs of trouble begin to be slowly apparent. Some are oblivious to the signs, some see and don't want to believe, and others are perpetrating the atrocities. Others that believe what they see do their best to combat what is coming. 

As a group, we have read many stories of WWII. But this war was a years-long, world-wide event. Almost every country participated. Some willingly and others were forced into it when the action touched their shores. Many countries closed their borders to the Jews as they tried to escape. 

No matter how hard these stories are, there are millions that will never be told. It is always important to know history, acknowledge it and try to do better. I think these books serve a very vital and relevant part of "teaching through literature."

In other breaking news, Denise's daughter and husband, Cassie and Emmett welcomed their new baby boy, LeRoy Aloysius Brotherton. Hope for the next generation! 

February Book Club 2025

 

Arnora hosted our meeting for February. It was a much different day from our meeting at Diana's in January. In January, we actually had high winds and a light snow. February warmed up considerably for a few days. Giving us a break from single digit temperatures.  It was warm enough that we opened the back door and some were able to enjoy the patio.  We missed Laura and Janie. 

Arnora had many delicious pizzas for us to choose from and Pepper Jack Grits Poppers, Carla G. brought salad and Diana brought dessert. 

Our book this month was an enjoyable read and averaged a 4.5. The setting was a woman's prison in Maine. It is a tale of forgiveness, humility, and how each of our lives can begin and end many times throughout our lives. 

Our main character was Harriet Larson, a retired English teacher, who decides to lead a book club in the women's prison. One of the prisoners, Violet, is a young woman who, while inebriated, takes the life of a woman in a car accident.  When she is released, her interaction with Harriet brings her in contact with the woman's widow.  One of the books the women read is an older "classic" novel called Spoon River Anthology, that story is about a cemetery where the spirits of the deceased tell parts of their life story and their regrets.  The girls seemed to be most moved by this story because they all have regrets, too.  We arrived at the end of the story to find that it is Violet's spirit that has been telling the story all along. 

This story immediately reminded me of a book club meeting we did with a group of girls at a woman's detention facility. Lou and Gene coordinated the event. We only had one meeting with them but the whole experience was certainly enlightening. Gene pointed out that most of the women were there because of the men in their lives and that family and friends were the worst to smuggle drugs into the inmates.

January Book Club 2025

Happy New Year! Here's hoping it's a better year for some of us! Diana hosted our first book club meeting in the New Year! It was delightful, as always. We missed Janie. She is attending Jim as he navigates another shoulder surgery. 
And Denise, who was attending her daughter's baby shower. We will forgive them! 

Diana made Italian Chicken Noodle Soup, salad, apple cider muffins, and Tiramisu. Arnora brought roasted Brussels sprouts, and Carla G brought a cauliflower appetizer. Laura brought us hot chocolate, which was much needed on a blustery cold day. This was our traditional "pajama party," so we were all warm and comfy in our loungewear.

Our first book for 2025, and our 270th book in total, was Tracy Chevalier's "The Glassmaker." Tracy is the author of "The Girl With the Pearl Earring" which we enjoyed a few years ago.  I had suggested Diana read this because we had visited Murano, the setting for the story, and she recommended it to the book club.  
This story follows a family of glassblowers in Murano, Italy. The story begins in the year 1488 and ends in 2020 with the Covid-19 pandemic. The author used an interesting frame for the story. The people in Murano age more slowly than the rest of the world. This story follows the same characters in the family throughout 600 years. Some liked the plot device of remaining with mostly the same characters through the story, others not so much. 

The story was about how a family navigates the changing times and the economic rise and fall of their glassmaking business. The history of glassmaking was interesting and showed us how the changing times finally allowed women into the "hot shop" where the furnaces are and not relegating them to bead-making.  Bead-making and women were considered irrelevant until more modern times. The book was mostly well received and a 4. 

Our book for February 2 is "How to Read a Book" and we will meet at Arnora's. 

March 2, "The Resistance Women" and Pam will host 

April 6 - "The Twilight Garden" and Lis will host

May  4, The book to be determined and Denise will host.

Other books we are considering: The Life impossible, The Lion Women of Tehran and The Christie Affair

 

December Book Club 2024

Laura hosted our annual Christmas Book Club party. We were excited that Leslie could join us but missed Pam, Darby, Lou, and Tammy. 

Laura made grilled cheese and tomato soup. Carla A brought the ever-popular butternut squash soup. There was salad and lots of yummy appetizers. We had fun catching up over our snacks and dinner. Then we exchanged our cards and had our gift exchange. Carla A. and Lou both had the idea of book club quotes for their cards. We decided that next year's Christmas project would be to find a quote to match the person for our card. 

The Guncle Abroad was well-liked by those who read it and rated it 3.6.

Diana will host our January book club and our book is The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier. 

Laura's home, as always, was warm and inviting and full of Christmas Cheer. We enjoyed seeing Doug and George who helped out with the food and serving. It was a delightful way to end the year. 

November Book Club 2024

November Book Club was hosted by Diana. We were excited that Rilla Askew was available to attend and discuss her newest book, "The Hungry and the Haunted. We missed Carla G. and Janie. 

Lis made our favorite Mexican Hot Chocolate and Diana's first attempt at Tiramisu was delicious. I've posted the beautiful menu she put together. Arnora, as always, provided a beautiful fall bouquet and Laura added cheese and beer. 

Those who read the book enjoyed it and rated it 4.58.

Everyone enjoyed Rilla's discussion of her personal experiences that she had fictionalized but were the inspiration for the essays.