January 2023 Book Club

 

Seems surreal to me that we are at the beginning of 2023. The last three years have been a wild wide and "Cheers to a Happier Healthier" New Year for us all!

We start out our new Book Club year with The Personal Librarian. Lis and Jackie hosted our New Year's pajama party with breakfast/brunch foods continuing our tradition. We missed Barb, Janie, Tammy, Arnora and as always Lou, Darby and Terry. 

Lis hosted our annual pajama party this year with brunch/breakfast foods. We had two casseroles and a quiche, sticky buns, scones, chicken sausage and fruit. We complemented our breakfast with Mimosas, Pomegranate Sangria, wines, coffee and tea. 

The Personal Librarian is an historical fiction based on the true-life story of Belle de Costa Green, the personal librarian for the Pierpont Morgan Library beginning in 1905. She remained in the position after Mr. Morgan's death and was named its director in 1924. She retired from the position in 1948 just two years before her death having worked there for 45 years. 

Morgan considered her a member of his family, much to the consternation of his daughter, Anne. He left her $50,000 in his will. A great sum of money for the day. She could have lived on it the rest of her life but continued to work for the museum at $10,000 a year. 

The book follows the story of Belle Marion Greener, born to a black, but light skinned, couple. The Greener's had six children before their separation. Mrs. Greener insisted that their family pass as white for better financial and social opportunities. Mr. Greener was a staunch civil rights champion and was infuriated that his wife listed the family as white on a census record. He left the family and was appointed the first black ambassador to a white country, Russia. There he began a family with a Japanese woman and had three more children. He never divorced his first wife. He own father abandoned the family for the gold rush and never returned.

Belle's job as a librarian, first for Princeton, then for Mr. Morgan supported her family throughout the years. And, she was able to pull off the fabrication. All of the main characters in this book were leading double lives. Mr. Morgan, among other things, juggled as many as four mistresses at one time into his 70's. His daughter, Anne, was in a three-way affair with two women. Most people in their circle knew about it and the other "Boston Marriages" but looked the other way. Belle also has an affair with married art historian, Bernard Berenson. He was in an "open marriage" with his wife, who at one point begs Belle to take him back. 

Belle's accomplishments as librarian and curator for the Morgan Library rivaled, if not outweighed, the accomplishments of her father. His resume is quite impressive. She is another brilliant, strong, independent, woman who was ahead of her time and whose story has not been widely known. She was also quite courageous as "passing" for white, if she'd been found out, could have gotten her and her family hanged at the time.

Belle's story was very interesting and sent several of us down the rabbit hole of searching out other historical facts about the time and the people. Everyone liked the book and rated it 4.66.

Leslie is hosting our February meeting and our book is "The Girl with Seven Names" by Hyeoneseo Lee. 

UPDATE: Laura has sent the following comments and upgraded her rating. 

"I know our ratings don't matter in the larger context of our world, lol. But, I am revising my rating of The Personal Librarian to a 5. I rated a 4 simply because the writing itself did not seem quite worthy of the highest rating. But, I have discussed this book with multiple people outside my book circle. It is a wonderful conversation starter and a wonderful example of why I love historical fiction so much. The story itself and the fact it was not revealed until 2007 are just amazing! The fact that we are interested enough to plan a trip to the big Apple is exciting beyond words!"

December 2022 Book Club

185 blogs and 245 books and... 10 Years of Christmas Book Club at Laura's. George took our annual photo this year. 

December concludes our 2022 year and 20 years of wonderful friendships and great books! 

It was a warm and misty evening and Laura's home, as always, was warm and welcoming! We missed Janie, Tammy, Lou and Darby. We continue to miss Terry but we know she is with us in spirit. This year we decided to do individual gifts and draw numbers along with our tradition of exchanging Christmas cards. But first we ate! Our main dishes were provided by Laura who provided tea, scones, chicken salad and egg sandwiches, and Carla A who brought chili, and Mexican relish. The rest of the group rounded out the meal with cream cheese topped with sweet and spicy Jalapeno's, sausage rolls, and an assortment of cookies, wine and beer. 

After our meal we discussed our book The Narrowboat Summer by Anne Youngson. A narrowboat is a particular kind of canal boat built to fit the narrow locks of the United Kingdom. At one time, the UK's canal system provided a nationwide transport network during the Industrial Revolution. With the advent of the railway, commercial travel on the canals diminished. Transportation of goods by canal had all but diminished by the 1970's Many of today's narrowboats have been converted into permanent residences or holiday rentals. 

The story of our December book is about a canal journey taken by three women who have not previously known each other. They seem to have nothing in common and are brought together by a chance meeting unknowingly orchestrated by a very independent dog. All three women are at a crossroads, but the summer is just beginning and a three month adventure awaits. The story is a journey through not only the winding and twisting canals but the winding and twisting phases of life. 

The book was well received by those who finished it and rated it a 3.7.

We finished the evening opening our lovely gifts. 

And, so we bring another year to a close. Twelve months of great reading, and two retreats! 

This has also been a year that continues to see Covid in various forms, a variety of flu and other viruses. Thankfully, everyone last night was in good health. We all send our prayers and good wishes to Janie's husband Jim. He is being treated for an infection caused from a shoulder surgery. As soon as the infection is under control he will undergo a reverse shoulder replacement. Arnora's husband, Stan, is recovering well from his shoulder surgery. Diana has had some health concerns recently and we send her good thoughts and our prayers for answers from her test results next week. 

Our first book club for January 2023 will be at Lis' home and we are reading The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. 

Diana also put together a Shutterfly photo book of our 2022 year. She has posted the link to our Facebook page. As well, she carries on the tradition of her Christmas card with photos of our book covers. 

Merry Christmas to All!

And a Happy New Year!

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.