Book Club April 2017

It appears that I have missed my quota of book clubs for the year in the first quarter. In March, I had a death in the family. In April, I attended a much needed spiritual retreat. Lis did a great job filling in for me and I offer her synopsis below. I look forward to seeing everyone in May!

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

4/7/17, we had a wonderful – and large – group meeting on Easy Street. Thank you, Janie, for having us all after a super-busy month for you. Sherrie, Pam, and Barb weren’t able to join us this month but they had the wonderful reason of enjoying a weekend retreat. Leslie and Lou were also missed. You were missed but we hope that you had a relaxing, refreshing time on the retreat. Terry and Janie brought guests – well Janie’s was already there; Janie’s sister-in-law Sharon and Terry’s daughter Robbie took part in our outing and it was great to meet them and hang out with them.

Janie sent out a “cry for help” in her reminder that she was too busy and turned the menu planning over to the whole group, woohoo a free-for-all, and the food turned out delicious. Magically, a salad theme evolved with lots of wonderful complimentary additions. We had greens, chicken, chick peas, spicy meatballs, cheese, bread, stuffed tomatoes. For the dessert course, Terry brought a yummy cherry pie to go with lemon and chocolate cake, lemon almonds and Peanut clusters. Carla (the Great) added the Easter touch with purple Peeps and Marshmallow Eggs in pastel wrappers that we snacked on as second desserts, or to make it sound more official, we were able to use after a break to bring our blood sugar back up and re-energize the book discussion; guilt-free snacking with purpose, lol.

And the discussion WAS lively; most of us liked the book a lot but a few had reservations about the detailed biological explanation of the nature of cells and the medical details of the research done with the HeLa cells. The author, Rebecca Skloot, did an amazing job of merging a scientific non-fiction account of HeLa cells and their contribution to medicine with a heart-wrenching memoir of the woman the cells came from and her family. She intertwined the worries, fears, excitement, and set-backs of Henrietta Lack’s siblings and descendants with medical facts and the evolution of patient protection over the last 60 years. Her account of how the use of HeLa cells affected the family makes the reader mull over how each one of us, through procedures and extractions, might affect medical research and that we wouldn't necessarily even know. One of the fortunate ones that was given information and encouraged was Janie with her account of her heart attack as a young woman and how the knowledge to the medical community that came out of it has contributed to the awareness of heart attacks in women. But through the author’s accounts of the family and their experience, we could understand their mistrust of Johns Hopkins hospital and were frustrated with them at the lack of explanation, communication, and help that they received through the years of using Henrietta’s cells. We felt with Debra and the author when they discovered how Debra’s older sister Elsie may have been treated using the procedures for the mentally ill of that time, procedures that are now unimaginable. Rebecca Skloot started her research on the origin of the HeLa cells for the purpose of writing a documentary of the woman behind them and their impact on science, as this description of the book reflects:

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance. (http://rebeccaskloot.com/the-immortal-life/)

I took this quick synopsis from the author’s web page, although I don’t think it does it justice; it seems like describing a diamond as a glass nugget. When reading the story, it was evident to me that the author had a passion for HeLa and had developed a personal relationship with and responsibility toward the family of Henrietta Lacks, especially her daughter Debra. I felt like I knew every character, felt with them their ups and downs. This, in my opinion, was what made the book such a gem. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks rated 4.875! 

Book Club March 2017

In my absence this month, Diana graciously took notes for the March book club.

We enjoyed a lovely March evening in Denise’s home. She made a delicious crockpot chicken enchilada soup, served with chips, salsa and then a Sopapilla cheesecake for dessert. Everyone's contributions made for a wonderful meal.
Leslie-guacamole
Laura-sangria
Janie-deviled eggs
Tammy-chili Frito salad
Carla G.-tortilla roll ups
Diana-Ginger beer 
This month's book was The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig. Apparently, it was not liked well enough for a discussion. In absence of that, I will post a synopsis of the book here and it's 1.7 rating. 

Nix is the 16 year old daughter of a time traveler. She has spent her whole life sweeping across the globe and through the centuries as her father looks for a map that will take him back to the year before Nix's mother dies in childbirth. He wants to change events that will bring her back to him. If he manages to change history, however, this could jeopardize Nix's very existence.  One review likened it to Rae Carson meets Outlander. I, personally, listened to about half of it on Audible and was enjoying it. However, due to another death in the family, I was unable to finish it.

According to Diana, the group spent more time discussing what to read next and cleaning up our Goodreads list. Carla G, will delete a few books from our Goodreads shelf. Most are books that have been there for a while and we've lost interest in for now. If you don't see one that you put on, and were really keen on it, let us know. Our next book for April at Janie’s is…The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.

 

February Book Club 2017

Our thanks to Tammy for hosting February book club at her newly remodeled home. She and Randall did a beautiful job. It was a crispy cold and clear winter's night. I so enjoyed admiring the bright stars on my way home. 

We were a small group. We missed Pam and want to send our condolences on the loss of her friend, Joan Phillips. Several of us knew and loved Joan but, she was Pam's best friend. We send our thoughts and prayers to Joan's daughters and grandchildren and to the many friends who will miss her.  Barb, Lis, Lou, Darby, Leslie, and Terry were also missed. 

Tammy out did herself with her Chicken Piccata to the point of no leftovers! Denise brought pasta salad, Carla G the fruit and cheese, Janie brought Hummus and crackers and, I brought bread. Laura made chocolate chip cookies with whole wheat flour for dessert. The whole wheat flour was a substitute when she realized she was out of regular flour. However, the wheat gave the cookies a great texture and nutty flavor, without the nuts. We put back three for Lily otherwise, no leftover dessert either! Diana, Laura and Arnora brought wine and also, as always, graced us with the beautiful floral centerpiece.

Our book for February was "Moonglow" by Pulitzer Prize winning author, Michael Chabon.  This book was written as a memoir of Michael's maternal side of his family told mostly from the perspective of his unnamed grandfather, his grandmother and his mother. My review below is a mixture of Diana's notes and a couple of quotes from an online review that I thought helped explain the writing style.

The grandfather is an engineer who is dying from bone cancer. He wants his life to be remembered, for it to mean something and asks his, published author grandson, to write it down. The characters were so very human with complicated lives who experience great atrocities. They overcame some, and live with the consequences of others, for the rest of their lives. It is a story of survival and love.

Everyone agreed that story felt disjointed and sometimes hard to follow. Diana had even mentioned, at one point, she might not finish but, was glad she did. Arnora and Janie tried it but didn't stick it out. Carla A and I just didn't get to it. Carla is doing her own renovation and I lost track of time. It was agreed, by those who finished, that it was a full and satisfying read, albeit a long one and rated it 3.8.

Alex Preston, in his review in The Guardian, states the story is structured haphazardly between the grandfather's wartime exploits, his marriage and his time in jail. The story explores the fertile hinterland of the world between fact and fiction.  Chabon admits in his forward that he verified facts when he could but, quotes the grandfather as saying, "It's the way I remember it. Beyond that there are no guarantees."

To again quote Alex Preston, "The jumps in the story could definitely feel discombobulating but, there's a degree of logic at work. Memory hunting in the dark for the truth and affinities with the seeming randomness of life."

It seems true with any life, we don't see the chronology of it until the end.  As often happens with our book club discussions, this one made me want to read the book.

 

Denise will host our next meeting on March 3, and the book is "The Girl from Everywhere." 

Please remember to check your email regarding our trip to Hugo and the Endangered Ark Friday and Saturday, March 31 and April 1. Diana has reserved the nearby Hospitality House and has put down a deposit. There is still plenty of time for those to join who may still be unsure of their schedule. We had such a good time last year, it'd be a shame to miss it!

January 2017 Book Club

I do believe this is a first in a year. I will actually publish and update the blog the day after book club! I for one am happy to see 2016 come to an end. I'm looking forward to reading all the books this year.

Just like I have a problem believing that we have come to the end of another year - it is hard to get my head around the fact that I am writing January's blog. Yet, here we are battling the bi-polar weather of January. We've had a light snow and temps in the teens all the way to sunny and 76. Welcome to winter in Oklahoma. We actually postponed book club for a week due the icy weather and, only half of us could attend. We missed, Lou, Darby, Pam, Leslie, Carla A, Tammy, Terry and Denise. Diana hosted the annual pajama party. Laura brought a giant bowl of popcorn for the movie and "Not Your Father's Root Beer." Diana made an egg and sausage casserole, Lis brought a French Toast casserole that tastes like baked French Toast and Carla G brought marinated cherry tomatoes, cheese and, the OJ for the Mimosa's. Diana provided the champagne. Arnora brought the beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers.

In December, we read a Truman Capote short story. This elevated the group's curiosity about him. Most people were familiar with novel "In Cold Blood" and the movie, Breakfast at Tiffany's, based on one of his novellas. We thought the first too dark so, we decided on Tiffany's. We arrived early at Diana's to watch the movie so we could compare and contrast them for our discussion.

It had been quite a while since I had seen the movie and even longer since I had read the book and, I enjoyed both. As usual, Hollywood tinkers with the book and there are a few differences. I thought, for the most part, they stayed true to the story but, there were a couple of obvious differences and, they changed the ending to give it a more palatable, "fairy tale" happy ending.

Paul Varjak, newly published and struggling author, moves into the building where Holly Golightly lives. Holly is beautiful and elusive, she has the beauty and fashion sense of an heiress but lives on the "kindness" of strangers. Men, whose cab fares and powder room tips help pay her rent. And, she litters her staircase with the broken hearts and hopes of the men she uses.  She is also paid to carry messages from a mobster, Sally Tomato,  in Sing Sing to his "attorney" once a week. She and Paul strike up a friendship and he becomes one of the many who is taken in by her charms. 

One of the changes is that the book is set in the war-time of the 1940's and the movie updated for the time of filming in the 1960's. Holly's lighthearted and cheerful persona is hiding a past she's runaway from and, she's been on her own since age 14.

Holly, is looking for a rich husband but all her efforts are thwarted for one reason or another. And, Holly has adopted a stray tom cat she won't name. She feels like they are the same type; vagabonds who don't belong to anyone. And, you can't have a name unless you belong.

Truman Capote has a very succinct writing style. His prose doesn't exactly read like poetry but it does evoke emotions and paints a vivid picture with few words. At first, Holly seems distant and indifferent. She studies up on the subjects of the interests of the men she is wooing. She captivates them with her attention and then withdraws it. Very effectively playing the seductive cat and mouse game. And, she manages to surround her self with wealthy and powerful players, if somewhat shady. She allows herself to be vulnerable with Paul because he reminds her of her brother, Fred, who is in the army.

The big difference that I saw between the book and the movie is that in the book, Paul is not a kept man. In the movie, he has a rich but, married benefactress that pays for and decorates his apartment in exchange for his sexual favors. He and Holly are two sides of the same coin. As their relationship deepens, they become judgmental of the others lifestyle and it causes them problems.

The other big difference is in the ending. In both movie and book, Holly ends up in a relationship with a wealthy and prominent Brazilian. He asks her to marry him but, on the eve of her flight to Brazil, she is arrested for her relationship with Sally Tomato. The Brazilian abandons her because he can't be associated with the scandal. She is still determined to use her ticket.

In the movie, she abandons the cat on the way to the airport but, changes her mind. She rescues the cat in the rain. The final scene has Holly and Paul embroiled in embrace kissing in the rain. Applause, applause, end scene.

In the book, Holly abandons the cat on the way to the airport - but gets on the plane leaving both the cat and Paul behind. She does make Paul promise to find "cat" and take care of it. He goes back later for the cat and finds it sitting in a window of an apartment having been rescued. Paul hears through the local bar owner about Holly's whereabouts after leaving Brazil but they are not reunited.

Honestly, this is one time when I liked both endings. The romantic in me (I know you don't think I have one, haha) is happy when they find the cat and get together. They are "made for each other."

But, the truer version, I believe is the book version. When Holly's much older husband shows up to try and take her home, she tells him that "Your mistake, Doc, was in loving a wild thing. You can never love a wild thing." Doc had rescued Holly and her brother Fred when they'd been abandoned by their own family. Holly is like the wild tom cat. And Paul's mistake would be in trying to love the wild thing. Holly's true nature would have her using ticket and chasing the ever elusive dream of finding the wealthy husband. I think, if the movie had played out, eventually Holly would not have been able to confine herself and I believe she'd have left Paul anyway, just at a later date.

The other debate that seems to go on around this story is whether or not to classify Holly as a full fledged prostitute. Was Sally Tomato her pimp? Maybe there was more to that story of her carrying the weather reports. Whether she was or not, it is made clear that she uses her sexuality to survive.

There are some serious subjects attacked in this book and, I like the way the movie treated them with a light-hearted humor. I particularly like the scene of them stealing the Halloween masks in the five and dime AND getting the cracker jack ring engraved at Tiffany's. It's very Pink Panther-like. The movie is directed by Blake Edwards, who also directed Pink Panther so that makes sense. Paul Varjak's only published work is called Nine Lives. That book sets the theme. Holly is like the book's title and the cat she won't name.  When we know her, she is only on life #2. This also makes me think she wouldn't have stayed with Paul in the end.

Truman Capote was disappointed with the movie. He had written it with Marilyn Monroe in mind. But it has stood the test of time as a Hollywood Classic.

The book rated a 4 for those who were in attendance.

Tammy will host book club in February! We will get to see her newly remodeled home. Our book author Michael Chabon's "Moonglow."

December Book Club 2016

"And so this is Christmas... and what have you done? Another year over, a new one just begun!"

Each year, when I write the Christmas book club blog, I am always amazed that the year is over. And what a year it has been. So much change and transition for most of us this year.

First, I want to thank Diana for taking over the blog for me a good part of this year. My life's challenges didn't leave much room for reading or writing. I appreciated Diana recording the history!

Among the many changes this year, Darby and Nate made the big move to Chicago. But, in her leaving, she introduced us to Leslie. We are so grateful that she is here. Tammy and Randall bought a home in the Blanchard area and plan to stay! And several of us experienced close personal losses. Among the many challenges I had this year, the one constant in my life and always at the top of my gratitude list is this wonderful group of women and the love, support and friendship you all provide. It's wonderful to have you to celebrate with and to know that you are also there during the tough times.

That said, welcome to our December 2016 Book Club and Tea Party. We were missing Pam, Lou, Janie and Darby. But, Laura opened her home to the rest of us with a beautiful tea party as you will see from the photos scattered throughout this post. Laurie's home was beautifully decorated, warm and welcoming.  And those who could, spent the night. Doug was a gracious photographer and took our traditional Christmas photo posted above. For those that stayed over, we were treated to a breakfast casserole with fruit and coffee.

In recent years, we have decided to forgo the usual novel. The holidays are so busy that we have instead chosen to read poetry or short stories. This year's story is Truman Capote's "A Christmas Memory." It is a warm and nostalgic memory of a seven year old "Buddy" and his 60 year old cousin who is a grandmotherly figure. They have lived in the same house with other relatives as long as he can remember. The story takes place sometime around 1940 in  the years coming out of the Great Depression and just entering WWII. The family lives in a rural setting and is very poor. However, Buddy and his cousin save their pennies all year so they can make fruitcakes for Christmas presents. They even send one to President Roosevelt. They cut their own Christmas tree, make ornaments out of construction paper and exchange hand made kites for their own presents. Buddy is writing the story 20 years after it takes place. The following year he was sent to boarding school and life goes on. He continues to correspond with her until her death. I have always enjoyed the few things I have read by Truman Capote. He has a way with language that is concise but descriptive. This whole story takes places on six typed pages.  Everyone liked the story and it whetted our appetite.

We had our annual gift exchange of baked goods, ornaments, candles and tea towels. Diana put together a notebook of favorite book club recipes and comments from the blog. It is something we can add to in the coming years.

January's book will be Capote's "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Most are familiar with the movie staring Audrey Hepburn. Diana will host our traditional January pajama party.

November Book Club 2016

Welcome to November 2016 Book Club hosted by Carla Gibbs. We had a beautiful night for this Thanksgiving meeting. As we move in to November we're still in the low 70's and high 60's during the day but, the evening temp of 54 was perfect for having our discussion near the fire pit on Carla's new patio. We missed Leslie, Lou, Arnora, Janie, Darby and Barb. We wish Barb a speedy recovery from her recent surgery. As for Darby, we are just jealous. She was able to attend at least one of the Cubs home games and got to revel in their first World Series Win in 108 years. We all agreed whether we were baseball fans or not that this was an exciting year! We were excited to include my sister, Karen Brackeen, who was visiting from Roanoke, Texas.

As usual, everyone out did themselves on our meal. As the hostess, Carla provided turkey breast, gravy, wine & tea. Terry brought excellent dressing. Laura brought holiday potatoes and Liz brought sweet potato casserole and her Mayan Hot Chocolate. Tammy brought roasted brussel sprouts with bacon, Diana brought pumpkin pie and Denise brought Holiday Cookies. Pam brought rolls. My sister contributed mini gingersnap muffins and wine.

Our book, Anna and The Swallow Man rated a 4 out of 5 and we had a very interesting discussion. The book opens in 1939 in Krakow, Poland as events are leading up to Hitler's WWII. Anna is seven as the book opens and her linguistics Professor father has been rounded up in one of the first waves of the Jews being sent to the concentrations camps. Anna observes a man who seems to be able to communicate with the Swallow bird and soon they form an unlikely pair trying to survive "off the grid" as the war progresses over the next four years.  As we discussed the book, it dawned on me that their journey was similar in nature to the Exodus.  Led by Moses, the Jews wondered in a circle for 40 years only 11 miles from their promised land.

We never do find out the true identity of The Swallow Man but the narrative alludes to the danger of anyone finding out who he is. Without saying it directly, we are led to believe that he has something to do with the invention of the atomic bomb and he does not want to be the instrument of global death. The Swallow Man is kind to Anna and protects her fiercely. He becomes a surrogate father and it is also hinted that Swallow Man had previously lost a daughter. Anna and The Swallow Man are always walking and always on the move to avoid detection. They do not use their real names or tell the truths about where they come from. The make temporary friends along the way to survive.  And their survival requires that they see and do some rather unsavory things. Denise deduced that Swallow Man had Graves disease that had to be treated adding additional complications to their journey.

The story ends with Anna on a boat moving through the fog to an unknown future. Several of us felt the ending was abrupt and ambiguous leaving us feeling unsettled. The story was not wrapped up for us and Anna's future and safety are left to our imagination. Laura pointed out that this was done intentionally as life is the big mystery and we live in the questions. She also pointed out that there was speculation as to whether the Swallow Man was real or a figment of Anna's imagination. The story is told in a metaphorical way with the characters represented as archetypes. So, we get to also decide if he is real or imagined.

I understand the idea of living in the mystery and the questions of life. We're all living in the "unknown" know matter how we try to construct our lives.  I did like the book, but I am still thinking about whether or not I liked the ending. For me it's more about the abruptness of the ending that the vagueness.

Our next book is A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote and we will meet at Laura's house on
December 2.

I was thinking that it might be time to update our photo for the Facebook page. We might keep that in mind as well.

October Book Club 2016

We had a gorgeous fall evening for book club at a Arnora's home. Pam, Denise, Lou, Tammy, Terry, and Carla Gibbs could not be with us for our discussion of The Woman In Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. Darby, sorry we didn't FaceTime call you, we were going to and then, well you know...we get distracted too easily, promise to next month.

Arnora provided sausage rolls and the perfect gin and tonic. Laura brought delicious cheeses and olives, Barb brought a mixed kale salad, Janie brought homemade baked bread and almond butter, Diana brought garlic roasted potatoes, Leslie brought pumpkin squares, Lis brought pumpkin ice cream and Carla a brought the flowers and lemon yogurt almonds. 

As always, Arnora brought out our 10 year "calendar girl "photo. I always look forward to seeing it. It brings up great memories of a fun night! And we want to arrange sometime in 2017, when we have one of those perfect meetings where we are all together, a 15 year anniversary photo of us! I do believe Janie's reserved a place on the back row of the photo, step stool required. :-)

We had a lively discussion of our book. We picked it because it seemed like a spooky mystery for the Halloween month. Everyone generally like the book most giving it a 3.

Let me help to me redefine 1-5 rating system. 

#1. equals I hate the book and I want throw the book out the window and run over it with my car.  
#2 is hating the book but I wouldn't hurt it and I wouldn't  recommended it. 

#3 Is I liked it. It was interesting but not necessarily an emotional or great read. 
#4 is nearly great, an interesting story with great writing. 
And #5 is so good you need a cigarette after. A story that takes me on an emotional journey and one that I can't put down.

Leslie said for her a #3 is one she liked and didn't feel compelled to roll her eyes at. A number two involves lots of I rolling.

The premise of our book is that our protagonist Laura "Lo" Blacklock's, London flat is burgled on the eve of her departure for the maiden voyage of a new Nordic cruise ship. Lo is already a troubled girl. A travel writer for 10 years she's on antidepressants and drinks way too much. She has a boyfriend she's pushing away and leaves for her trip disheveled, sleep deprived, mad at her boyfriend and suffering from PTSD from the burglary. Our mystery begins when Lo borrows a cheap Maybelline mascara from her neighbor in cabin 10. The same night the mysterious woman, in a Pink Floyd T-shirt, ends up missing and Lo spends the rest of the time trying to discover her whereabouts and subsequently trying to escape the killers. 

We agreed the story was interesting enough and kept us just curious about the outcome. We also agreed there was a recent trend in fiction to make the female lead dysfunctional, disheveled and an alcoholic. These characteristics put our heroine at an immediate disadvantage of being not only an unreliable narrator, but also an unreliable character. She questions herself and so has trouble convincing others of what she has seen.

Some of the writing got a little tedious and repetitive. A lot of the internal dialogue slowed the story down. However she did paint a vivid picture of the ship which was a small boutique cruise line and opulent in every way. I didn't have much trouble picturing it. Although a couple who had been on a cruise didn't think the cabin numbers were described accurately. The book reminded me of Agatha Christie's death on the Nile which is also a murder taking place on ship. This is a tool Christie used in most of her novels. She confines the set specs to a small setting where there was no means of escape such  as trains and cruise ships. Christie's stories were not stories of emotional journey but one of connecting the dots and figuring out the puzzle. Diana ended up caring a lot about Carrie, our antagonist, and hoped for her redemption and escape. Lo seems a bit of a static character right up until the end of the story but, the events on the ship caused her to reevaluate her life and make some major decisions.

It just dawned on me as I write this and think about the ending, what if Carrie was behind it all from the start, she could have convinced Bomar to kill his wife. She did end up with the money after all and perhaps the "gift" was hush money.

Our November 4th meeting is at Carla Gibbs home and our book is "Anna and the Swallow Man" by Gravel Savit.