Book Ideas for Next Round

On a site for "recommended reads," this book sounded interesting. Thought it might be handy to have posts here to record ideas for our next round of requests to NCRL Book Clubs.
The Current by Tim Johnston   from The Real Deal (Retail Me Not post).
Just log in and add a comment to this post with your suggestions.

A Gentleman's Life

I certainly enjoyed hosting our gathering to review "A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles.  It was fun to plan what to serve as there were so many options to choose from.  And I really appreciate that all our potluck selections were so connected to the story as well.  Bravo everyone!  It was fun to be a bit fancy - even when it was 12 degrees outside.  I'm pleased that Judy B used this as an opportunity to wear her grandmother's jewelry so we could all enjoy it!

I found this book to be a pleasure and an indulgence to read.  Its characters became friends.  The author wrote with insight, humor and reflection on many themes, culminating in the ability to change our life as necessitated by life's uncertainties.  It also provided some basic insight on Russian history without being boring.  This book was well received by everyone and most of us shared quotes from the book that were meaningful to us.  While reflecting on this story, I found I had a better understanding of Ron's father's life in Hungary before the war.  I had always viewed things through my American-upbringing eyes and never fully realized other possibilities.

I spent some time reading Amor Towles' website after our meeting to see what motivated him to write this novel.  He stated that he loved Russian literature and used this knowledge to anchor the story over years of extensive research.  His great-great-grandfather died when he was a teenager, and Amor selected a piece of luggage - a traveler's hat box - as a memento from the estate.  It was covered with labels from hotels his great-great-grandfather had stayed while traveling for his work and Amor imagined the elegant journeys he had taken.  When Amor began traveling for his work for an investment firm, he realized his trips were nothing like what he thought his great-great grandfather's were.  While at a hotel in Geneva, Amor surveyed the other travelers around him and, instead of feeling transported by his ornate location, he felt trapped.  He began to wonder what it would be like to live in a hotel like this for the rest of his life, what it would take to live in such constrained circumstances.  That was his inspiration for this story.

About his writing, Amor says he views writing in musical terms.  "I think the closest cousin to the novel in the art realm is the symphony.  A novel has movements and leitmotifs.  It has moments of crescendo and diminuendo.  You feel a growing emotional force and then it backs off for reflection.  A work must feel cohesive and organic and the beginning and end inform each other in a way we can hold in our head."

We are looking forward to our next meeting which will be held Tuesday, March 5th, at Esther's home.  See you there!

A Note About Our Meeting

Thank you Maureen for being our January hostess.  It was a pleasure to spend time with friends in your lovely home.  Thanks too for your delicious lentil soup and everyone else for their yummy contributions to our evening.  It was so nice to start our new year sharing with friends.

Our book for this month was written by Lisa Genova, who also wrote "Still Alice", a story about alzhimer's disease.  Our book, "Every Note Played", is a story about ALS  - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis disease, also called Lou Gerhig's disease.  Although the characters in this book were fictional, the facts of the disease and its progression were well researched.  It is very hard to imagine receiving the news that you have ALS as it is almost without hope, leaving you like "an animal in a cage...shut down, shut in, turned off."  The progression of this disease can be very rapid, making "each week, a new normal."  The book was somewhat difficult to rate as the basic story of the family - husband, wife and daughter - could have been better written, but the description of the stages of ALS and the treatments was extremely well presented.  Also well handled was the importance of having a good caregiver and how hard this job is.  "On a road leading to any great achievement are a thousand missteps, a thousand more dead ends.  Success cannot be born without the life and death of failure."

Esther shared with us information she found on the author's blog about theories on preventing this disease:  Get plenty of sleep
               Get plenty of aerobic exercise
               Challenge yourself by doing things outside your comfort zone

Our next meeting will be Thursday February 7th, 5pm at Claudia's home.  Looking forward to seeing you then!  Happy New Year!

Holiday Happiness

We enjoyed a delightful holiday evening thanks to Nika.  Our historically themed peasant meal centered on lamb, yams, and mead along with oat bread, garden vegetable and other goodies.  Conversation and sharing among friends, as always, made a memorable evening.

Our book this month was "A Morbid Taste for Bones" by Ellis Peters, the first in a 21 book historical mystery series written around the main character Brother Cadfael, a Benedictine monk.  This was Judy B's selection as she loves the Cadfael television series.  Being the first book in this series, the beginning of the book was a slow read as the characters were being established, but once you were entrenched in the setting and familiar with the players, the book became more interesting.  Brother Cadfael proved to be a wise person well educated in the ways of the world.  He enjoyed tending the garden which contained medicinal as well as food items.  He also showed his humorous side at times, such as when he quipped "When I want to hear my echo, I'll speak first."  The details of daily life were well researched and you felt as if you were part of the village as you read the story.  A few of us commented that they will be reading the second book in the series as they feel this series has potential.  One comment was that the book could have been edited better as the writing style was a bit uneven but we wonder if this is more a British style of writing. 

We ended our evening wrapping many children's books which will be distributed to our community through Entiat Community Resource Center.  We also enjoyed a fun secret Santa gift exchange.  Our January meeting will be hosted by Maureen so mark your calendars for Thursday January 3.

Wishing all a wonderful and safe holiday!

A Creative Evening

Thank you Judy Schmidt for graciously hosting our meeting with a bit of creativity in our meal - cauliflower crust pizza!  Glad to try this curiosity and found it to be quite good.  Will sneak some into the freezer so husbands won't see what they are getting (until it's too late!).  A delicious and cozy evening filled with friendship and conversation.

Our read this month, "Big Magic" by Elizabeth Gilbert, is a self-help guide which defines creativity (the relationship between a human being and the mysteries of inspiration) and explores methods of enhancing and expanding it.  The author states that she wrote this book for herself as she mused about creativity, filling it with personal stories.  And filled with stories it was, so much so that we found it to be a tedious read, one which should have been edited down and turned into a magazine article.  We feel any book which sparks good discussion is worth our group reading, and discuss we did!  Several commented that they found the book improved if you stuck with it to the end.  All the basic information regarding creativity was included; not many new revelations.  One comment discussed was there are more useful and inspiring books on creativity.  Also, the avenue of creativity pursued seemed to make a difference.  The basics of creativity applied to each aspect of creativity, but some were more important for one discipline over another.  I feel everyone in our group is so creative, this book had little to add.  Persons just beginning to explore their own creativity will get more out of this book than we did.

Our next read will be "A Morbid Taste for Bones" by Ellis Peters.  This is the first installment of a historical mystery series.  Nika will be our host on December 6th.  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone then!

Spokane Tribe

When we read Sherman Alexi's memoir. I found it quite sad that when his mother died, she was the last of the fluent indigenous speakers of the Spokane dialect....also poignant that the making of the Grand Coulee Dam and blocking salmon beoyond at to Kettle Falls, took the heart out of their culture. I read recently however that the Federal Government has come up with a payment plan for Bonneville Power Administration to pay the tribe....I hope they can invest this in themselves some way, although it won't bring back their spirit salmon.

Sharing Goodness

Our gathering at Debbie’s home was especially enjoyable as we reminisced about the various stories from the book, Running on Red Dog Road, by Drena Hall Berkheimern and how they resonated in our lives. Many thanks to Debbie for the scrumptious chicken and dumplings and to everyone for all of the yummy side dishes including delicious black eyed peas and greens from Maureen. Food played a bounteous role in the book, and was a source of comfort, sharing and cooking was an everyday ‘made from scratch” operation . For a family that yearly restuffed their mattresses, took great care to make stockings last, and for a recital created dresses out of parachute silk , there was always an abundance of honest good food and with it came robust health, strong family ties and compassionate community relationships. “Are we wealthy?” Asked by the author of her grandma, the response is inspiring.  After enumerating the many ways that life is good for this colorful, caring, and resourceful Appalachian family during slim times, when the author’s mother needs to leave her children behind to go to work, Grandma says, “ I like to think we have a gracious plenty. Enough to be thankful, but not prideful. Enough to share with those who are in need. Here’s something I hope you’ll remember all your life - the gift comes with the giving and not the getting.”

We all enjoyed the stories immensely, told in a very authentic voice with humor and capturing what life was like for this West Virginia family. Some mention was made comparing the book to others set during hard times - the 1939 published “How Green  Was My Valley” , by Richard Llewelyn and “Making Do and Hanging On “ by Bruce Foxworthy set right here in our own Entiat Valley.

An added blessing for me that evening was the generous offer Debbie made to allow me to bring my puppy to book club. He enjoyed meeting all the ladies, and was on his best behavior. I was so pleased!

Our next book is my choice, “Big Magic”, by Elizabeth Gilbert. I have begun the book and am somewhat disappointed already. Grandma would reprimand me but my response so far would be “Dang!”. I would like to suggest that if readers find this book less than enjoyable, drop it and read another and let’s share each of our independent choices. The chapters in “Big Magic” are short and hopefully there will be something worthwhile to glean from it, if only a good discussion about creative pursuits. We will be meeting at Judy S.´s home on Thursday, Nov. 1 .