November 2022 Book Club

 

Blog 184 - 244 Books read! 

It's hard to believe that we are already at November's book club! Things in the world have somewhat stabilized since the initial quarantine. in 2020. Some things in the world have changed, some went back to "normal" and others still remain in some sort of transition. 

What has remained the same, and something we've been able to count on, is each other! After a year of meeting on Zoom, we transitioned to patios and outdoor spaces. We even tried a hybrid version with some meeting at Carla G's and others joining by Zoom. The virus is still among us. It seems more contagious but less deadly. It has certainly been a remarkable time of history to be living through. 

That said, our monthly meetings, however, they happened, have been an anchor point for something to look forward to each month. 

Lis decided to make a trip to Germany to visit her sister and brother and Diana volunteered to take her place as host. The house was decked out in fall decor. Diana and Ember greeted us at the door. Ember served as a perfect co-hostess working hard to keep our feet warm. Diana served a delicious sweet and spicy turkey sausage chili and cornbread. She also made the perfect chocolate cake in honor of Lis' birthday this week. We lit a birthday candle and sent her a video of us singing "Happy Birthday" and blowing out her candle. The house and the meal provided a warm and cozy spot for our discussion. 

We missed Lis, Barb, Leslie, Janie, Tammy, Lou, Darby and Terry but, we always feel each one in spirit! It was good to have Denise back. She was recovering from an exciting European vacation, a wedding and a bad case of an upper respiratory infection. Congratulations to Cassie and Emmett on their marriage!

This month's book was about a misanthropic octopus!  Described as "ultimately a feel good but deceptively simple" story about a widowed Aquarium employee named Tova and Marcellus McSquiddles, the octopus she meets in a daring tank rescue. Marcellus happily uses all eight of his tentacles, his three hearts and his sharp brain to help Tova solve the 30 year mystery of her missing son. Each of the characters, human and animal, needed each other in a specific way, whether they knew it at first or not. The two main characters were connected by grief and loss. Different ways of dealing with grief were examined. Tova must keep busy to keep the feelings of grief at bay. Her grandson remains stagnant and in a cycle of self-sabotage. 

We had a brief discussion about animals in our own lives and how we had felt seen by them. We also discussed how the book would have been different if it had been set in Arizona or Milwaukee as opposed to the PNW. Keys of all types were a theme throughout the book. We talked about Tova's Dala Horses and our own family heirlooms. Sometimes things we value, including photos, are not appreciated by the generation we'd like to leave them to. This book also brings to light the importance of Aquariums and Zoos in their efforts to rehabilitate and protect the animals while they entertain and educate the public. Many of these institutions have come a long way in their treatment of animals in captivity as we have personally witnessed at the Endangered Ark. 

The book was well liked and rated 4.1.

December's book club will be on the 9th at Laura's as is our tradition. The book is the Narrowboat Summer by Anne Youngson. Laura pointed out there are some episodes of Travel by Narrowboat on Amazon Prime she recommends as a supplement to the book. 

In the spirit of keeping things simple, we have decided, this year, to buy only one gift and we'll draw numbers. But, keep those Christmas cards coming. They are a favorite part of the holiday for us. 

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and see you in December!

October 2022 Book Club

 

Carla G hosted our October meeting. Autumn is always my favorite time of year. Yet, when it arrives, I wonder how it got here so fast? I have noticed, overtime, the people see September as a fall month but not in Oklahoma. I tell people that September is a BER month, not a BRR month. I noticed that it was actually the first day of fall that I felt the chill in the morning temperature. I'm not getting out the heavy sweaters and coats just yet but I will definitely take the cooler days. The weather was so beautiful that we sat out on the patio to enjoy our discussion!

We missed Barb and Denise who are finishing up a European vacation. Tammy was unable to join but Leslie managed to make it between college sports events. Lou couldn't be here this month but read and loved the book. And, as always we miss Darby and Terry. Laura and Carla A both made it back from trips to New Mexico and Arizona. They weren't together but their paths crisscrossed! I always enjoy traveling vicariously!

We had so much good food last night! Carla G provided the Sweet Potato Chicken Chili. Carla A brought homemade Indian Tacos made by a new acquaintance, Valerie. I brought assorted peach/pear cobbler and Janie brought some beautifully decorated cookies. Lis brought a corn salad. Arnora brought the floral bouquet and nuts. There was fruit tray (sorry, I missed who brought that) and many bottles of beer, wine and a Honey Whisky courtesy of Diana
. Nothing like a Whisky Shot to start off the book club!

I recommended this month's book. Lis had read it as well and concurred. We read it recently in my "little book club" and I loved it so much that I ordered a hard copy and instantly reread it. 

Set in rural Pennsylvania's Endless Mountains, the story is described as redemptive and one that will touch the hearts of those who've lost a loved one. When I was researching books for the little book club and I read the summary, I almost dismissed it. But, the girls were looking for something light to read and I had seen it described somewhere as an enchanted fairy tale. 

In the book, one of the main characters says something about how most Fairy Tales start sad and end happy. And, that is reflected in this story of three people who come together to mourn the loss of an important person in their lives. The unexpected and dramatic deaths of two spouses on the same day and the ensuing events lead to an anxious but happy climax.  

There is a "story within the story" of a Grum who trades his love for gold. This story mirrors what is going

on in the "real" story of one of the main characters and added the element of fairy tale. 

I thought the author did a great job of weaving fairy tale into reality and showing the reader that life is full of enchantment and magic even in the midst of great loss. That there is nothing wrong with using story, metaphor and alchemy to salve our wounds. We go into the dark forest many times in our lives and we work our way out of it. 

We talked about the signs and symbols in nature. Diana pointed out how we are connected to all things but modern life has so disconnected from nature that we don't see or understand the signs. 

We were in agreement that the author perfectly hit the right notes of tragedy, grief, coming of age, mystery and magic and the book rated 4.5 

Our next book is "Remarkably Bright Creatures." 

September 2022 Book Club and Retreat - Tulsa

 

Our September Book Club took place on September 9 in The Madison House in the Brookside neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

Our book was The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles and rated a 5 out of 5 stars! And an "I loved it!" from those who don't rate. I know Carla A read/listened to it twice and bought herself a hard copy! 

Amor Towles is three for three our book club! Perhaps we should send him an email, haha. I believe he reads the ones sent to him on his website. We read his first book somewhere around 2012 when it came out. We all loved it! Most recently we read A Gentleman in Moscow and now his third novel meets our resounding approval! 

For the book club discussion, we ordered pizza and had a big, gorgeous, delicious salad along with cheese, fruits and our usual assortment of drinks. The Madison house was just gorgeous and provided us with a comfortable, homey setting for our discussion. I'll give a review of the book and discussion and then the details of our weekend. 

This story is described as "a novel set on an American road trip." It is also set in the year 1954 which was a significant year in American history and why the author chose this time period.  Just one year after the Korean War had ended America was on the verge of the tumultuous 1960's and 1970's. Events were being set in motion that escalated the Vietnam War, the Women's Movement, and Civil Rights. Industry and technology was moving ahead at a breakneck pace and soon we'd even be putting man on the moon. 

The story has four main characters. Brothers Emmett and Billy and Emmett's "associates" Duchess and Woolly. Emmett, Duchess and Woolly have just spent time in Kansas at juvenile work farm for various reasons. Emmett is being released so that he can go home and take care of his 8 year old brother, Billy, as their father has died and the family farm has been foreclosed on. 

Duchess and Billy stowed away in the truck of the Warden's car as he drives Emmett home. Emmett has a plan to take his brother to Texas to build homes in the time where more and more people are moving to suburbia. Billy, however, wants to go to California to find the mother that abandoned them years ago. He has found postcards from her in their father's papers that lead him to believe they can find her. 

Duchess has other plans. He intends for them all to go to Woolly's sisters in New York where he has an

inheritance waiting for him. 

The plan is to go to California on The Lincoln Highway but instead everything is literally hijacked and they take the same highway to New York instead. The story is over 500 pages but takes place over only 10 days in 10 chapters. The chapters are cleverly numbered in descending order from 10 to 1. They author noted on his website he did that because, "the story is a count down to the inevitable conclusion:"

This story, somewhat like Everything Sad is Untrue, has another story in the background. Billy is reading a Compendium of Adventure stores from literature. For example, the 900 page Count of Monte Cristo is told in 8 pages. Don Quixote, MacBeth and Hamlet, quotes from Emerson are all referenced. 

As the story is told separately by all 4 characters it's hard to pinpoint the main character. But, for me, I think it was a coming of age story for Billy. Billy, though the youngest, seemed to have the most common sense and emotional intelligence. He gleaned from his stories what it took to be a hero. 

When they start out on their journey, Duchess, Woolly and Emmett don't have much more than the car and the clothes on their back. Billy, however, has the Compendium, a watch with a second hand, an army surplus backpack, flashlight and a folded map. He's the one that cracks the code to the safe. But, each character has a story to tell and plays an important part. 

That said, our retreat was wonderful and just what everyone needed! 

We arrived on Friday morning and were able to check in by 10. Diana did another great job. This house was spectacular and within 3-4 driving minutes of most of the things we wanted to do. It was a quick walking distance to a favorite coffee shop of Carla's and mine (where, i unfortunately took a nasty spill in the parking lot.) 

After we got settled we drove over to Greenwood Avenue for a fabulous "soul food" meal at Wanda J's restaurant. Wanda J's is conveniently located in the block between the Greenwood Cultural Center and the Greenwood Rising Museum. After eating, we toured a replica of a home that had been burned down during the race massacre which sits on the grounds of the Cultural Museum. There we viewed a film and saw portraits and newspaper articles of the event that took place in 1921. 

Our tickets for Greenwood Rising were at 3 pm. That tour was a docent led tour that took about an hour. It's a very well done, high tech version of the same events. I'm glad we did both as I think you get a clearer picture of the full event that way. 

Next we made our way home to order the pizza and have our book discussion. It was a great night! 

Saturday we woke early and had our coffee and yogurt on the patio and then walked to the Philbrook Museum. We had timed tickets for 9:30 to see the Frida Khalo and Diego Rivera exhibit. We spent several hours touring the exhibit, gardens and permanent exhibits. We had a lovely lunch on their patio with Frida Rita's and Bellini's and walked home. We hung out at the house until time for dinner. On Lou's recommendation we went to the White River Fish Market where we all had way more than we could eat. 

On the way home we dropped The Gathering Place. It is a beautiful park with many playgrounds, water features, a boathouse and a restaurant. Some of us had a drink at the boathouse and enjoyed their upper deck and views.  We finished the night playing pool, listening to music and watching Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris. 

All too quickly it was Sunday morning and time to go home. Everyone had different departure times. Those of us left behind had a stop at a funky bookstore and a delicious meal and Kilkenny's Irish Pub. 

And, before you know it, we were back at home and looking forward to planning another trip! 

Janie said these retreats could get addictive. I say, it's not a bad thing to be addicted to!

August 2022 Book Club

 

"A patchwork story is the shame of the refugee." 

"Who owns the truth, who speaks the truth, who believes it?"

Barb hosted our book club in August. We had a very delicious, Persian themed meal with Laura providing the meat dish called Fesenjan. She also brought two different types of Baklava, one made with Rosewater. We also had fresh green beans, fruit, salad, and deviled eggs. 

Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri is a memoir with elements of fairy tale and fiction thrown in. It was awarded the J. Printz Award for Young Adult Literature and rated a 4.4.

Khosrou Nayeri's privileged life in Iran comes to a terrifying end when his mother suddenly becomes a

Christian. This is against the law and he suddenly finds himself with his mother and sister fleeing the country just one step ahead of the secret police. They end up in a refugee camp in Italy before being taken in by a family in Edmond, Oklahoma. Here, Khosrou takes the name Daniel and tries to adapt to life in place very different from where he grew up. 

Daniel attempts to adapt to life in Oklahoma where his mother remarries an abusive man, they attend a Christian church and, he tries to make friends in middle school. None of this would be an easy task for anyone let alone someone at about age 12 or 13. But, Daniel is smart and well read for someone of his age and uses the tale of One Thousand and One Nights as a backdrop for the stories he tells his class about his family and ancestors hoping that they will get to know him.

I

n the One Thousand and One Nights, King Sghahryar finds out that his wife has been regularly unfaithful to him when he is away. He has her killed along with those she betrayed him with. Thereafter he hates all women and marries a new one and kills her each night until there are no prospects left except for the two daughters of one of his advisers. One of the daughters Scheherazade had devised a plan to save herself and any others that might follow and insists that she be next to marry the king. On the first night, she tells the King a story but leaves it at the cliff hanger. He is too curious about the story to kill her so lets her live another night and so on for 1,001 nights until he has eventually fallen in love with her and abandons his cruel plan. 

Standing in front of a classroom full of hostile students, Daniel, like Scheherazade, spins a tale to save his own life and to tell his own truth. This is a well told tale of resilience and truth telling. 

And, much like Trevor Noah's, Born a Crime, it is a tribute to his mother who never gave up on saving herself and her children so that she could live her truth. 

It also provides a compassionate look at what refugees across the world have always gone through and continue to the present. 

July 2022 Book Club

 

Denise hosted for us in July. 

July was a really big month! Laura welcomed her first grandson, Howard Ray Savage, on July 11 at 9:11 am. He weighed in at 8 lb. 8 oz. He is beautiful and the whole family is doing well. 

Carla G. retired on July 9 and celebrated with a party at their place near Riverwind. The Gods of weather were in her favor. This summer has been brutally hot but on Friday afternoon a big cloud rolled in and the temperature dropped dramatically. Their son, Garrett's band entertained us and it was a fun night, I know she and Randy are excited about the next chapter.

Denise provided us with delicious fried chicken and corn muffins with honey butter. The main course was complimented with Zucchini, deviled eggs, salsa, fruit and Laura's Pioneer Woman Grapefruit Pie. 

Our book, Guncle, was very well received and rated 4.4. 

This book also started out with loss and grieving but had a happy ending. Patrick is an aging, Gay actor who is hiding out in Palm Springs licking his wounds when his sister-in-law passes away from Cancer. Immediately following the funeral, his brother checks himself into rehab so that he can sober up and take care of his children. In the meantime, Patrick takes it on himself to care for his niece and nephew over the summer until dad is ready to take them on. 

What is ensues is a very funny, poignant and charming story as Patrick tries to rise to the occasion of providing stability for the kids, something he hasn't achieved in his own life.  Patrick soon realizes that he's in over his head and hasn't processed his own grief. The writing is breezy and fun and the children rescue Patrick as much as he rescues them. 

June 2022 Book Club

 

Laura hosted us in June and we got to spend some time on the patio with the fireflies. That was perfect for our book, The Music of Bees by Eilene Garvin. This book was one of three books for the Libraries Big Read series. 

For our meal Laura made, assemble your own fish tacos and that was supplemented by fruits, hummus, salsa and strawberry shortcake. In honor of our book about bees, Arnora brought American Honey Whiskey and Leslie made The Bees Knees cocktails. 

The Music of Bees was well liked by all and rated 4.0. The novel is a fictionalized memoir of the author who is a beekeeper. She has written one other non-fiction book so we'll consider this a debut novel. Lou really liked that it was a debut and that it made her think of Prodigal Summer. I think several felt similarly. 

The novel revolves around Alice Holzman a 44 year old woman in a dead-end job with the county. Her parents have passed, she was an only child and now she has suffered the loss of her beloved husband. Without going into too much detail she crosses paths with Jake, a recent high school graduate and musician who was paralyzed in a freak accident and Harry. Harry is a 24 year old with debilitating social anxiety looking for work and a fresh start. Alice hires them and gives them room and board in exchange for their help with her bees. 

At the same time, Alice is becoming embroiled in a situation that pits her against her company and a giant, corporate pesticide company. The three form an unlikely trio in their efforts to stage and protest and fight off the damage the pesticides are doing to the bees and in turn the orchards and farms in the Hood River Valley area just outside of Portland, Oregon.

The story was heartwarming and poignant and I thought the author did a great job of building suspense around the events of a small community fighting the big corporate pesticide company. 

I particularly liked the part where Jake, who plays the trumpet, became so in tune with the bees that he could tell the Queen from the Drones and even identified the Queen's vibration as a G-sharp. It is fascinating how the bees converse and transmit information about where the pollen is at several miles distance. I found several YouTube videos where people have rigged microphones to the hives and it literally sounds like they are having a very 'busy" conversation. The author uses the beehive as a metaphor for the unlike "colony" that Alice has formed with her two new friends. Their new friendship and their shared passion to save the bees saves them all from their loneliness and grief.

We also talked about nature, our summer plans, kids, grandchildren, various health issues and more. 

Diana and Carla A. had a separate conversation when Diana pointed out that we all struggle from time to time. Carla responded, "Absolutely, and thankfully, it helps to remember when I am scared it's okay to reach out to some wonderfully amazing, kind and loving women that came into my life for so many reasons." 

And, I would add, how lucky we are to have had our "hive" for so many seasons. 

We also continued to make plans for our September retreat to Tulsa. 

20th Anniversary Book Club Retreat May 20

It is hard to believe that we have reached our 20th year anniversary of the Same Time Next Month Literary Society Book Club! 

First, let me just give a standing ovation to Ms. Diana Beal for all her efforts to secure our retreat location at the cottages in Pawhuska. It was a perfect place for a group of rowdy gals to hang out, catch up, eat, drink and make S'mores! 

Our one big disappointment was that Carla Anderson had to miss out due to illness at the last moment and, of course, we missed our Terry. But, both were there in spirit. We kept Carla informed with our Facebook photo uploads and Diana managed to give her a pretty good play by play. We believe Terry made an appearance as a beautiful green Luna Moth. This moth appeared on one of the cottages and never left the entire weekend. It was much like the Lightening Bug that appeared on Barb's deck that greeted each one of us individually. We all witnessed it! 

I thought this would be a good time to review some of our stats since the book club was started in 2002:

16 Women

240 meetings

254 books (occasionally we have done "bonus" books over the years)

178 blog posts (I started the blog in 2007 when Darby decided she didn't have time to keep up a web page she had started)

9  Retreats:

        Saint Francis of the Woods

        The Montford Inn

        Madden Lake House

        Carolyn Branch's Lake House

        10th Anniversary Medicine Park

        Hugo - Endangered Ark

        Hugo  - Endangered Ark

        Pawhuska

        20th Anniversary Pawhuska

There were several other trips taken by some of the members

        Chicago for Harry Potter exhibit

        Chicago to visit Darby

        Florida to visit Lou

        Dallas to hear author of Memoirs of a Geisha

        Several pajama book club parties at Diana's, Christmas sleepovers at Laura's, and a couple of costumed themed parties at Terry's and Sherrie's. 

Darby compiled music playlists for both 10 and 20 year anniversaries. 

Not to mention the fun we have had going to movies, concerts, and dinners together.

We have had our fun and have held each other's hands through marriages, divorces, loss of parents and sometimes siblings. We watched our kids graduating, marrying and having kids of their own. We also watched many of them traveling the world and living in far off lands. 

We've often talked about the crazy way that we all came together. For me, it was just putting in my zip code to see if anyone was forming an Oprah book club in my area. One of the best decisions I have ever made! 

An interest in books brought us together but it was sharing our personal stories as we reviewed the books that bonded us so deeply so quickly. 

We did a lot of reminiscing in Pawhuska. We also did a lot of sightseeing, picture taking and hugging! 

It has been a wild and crazy ride for 20 years, not to mention having to meet for about a year over Zoom due to a world wide pandemic. That is something we never thought we'd see!