Thank you Debbie G.!

Many thanks to Debbie G. for a delicious dinner last week! What a fun time it was!

It was very interesting to hear all of the various cougar and wildlife encounters each of us has had or heard about. Although the description of the book as a "page turner" was not how we experienced it, it was enlightening to us about cougar behavior. It seems only sensible to be wary and aware that we live close to their habitat, and to realize that the more we take it for granted and not of consequence, the more likely a problem may occur.

Our next book should be available next week at the library. Debbie D. chose The Invisible Thread, by Laura Schroff.  -  An Invisible Thread tells of the life-long friendship between a busy sales executive and a disadvantaged young boy, and how both of their lives were changed by what began as one small gesture of kindness.  - from Google Books

Please stop by or give me a call to arrange a way to get the book to you.

We will meet at my house on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 5:30 to exchange books and wrap children's books to be donated to the food bank.  I will offer soup, bread, and cheese. I had said earlier that it would just be dessert type food, but I hope you all are fine with soup! Please bring anything along as a light potluck item if you wish - beverage, dessert or salad! See you soon and Happy Thanksgiving!

Next Book!

We are back on track again, with another good book waiting for everyone to pick up at the library. Our next choice is The Beast in the Garden, by David Baron. With the recent cougar incident in the Stoneridge neighborhood, and the proximity we live to wildlife habitat, it should provide some insight into human/cougar interaction. I expect we will all have at least one good story to relate from our own experiences.


We met at my ( Esther's)  house in September to discuss The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon. We rated the book 5.08. We found it  very interesting and well - written, and unique.
The perspective of the narrator gave an insight into the very literal way in which this autistic boy viewed the world. Several of us were reminded of the book Room, by Emma Donaghue in that the narrator's voice was such a prominent feature of the book. Some of us have a  family member  diagnosed with autism, which made the reading of the book more personal, and perhaps more emotionally difficult.

Looking forward to seeing you all at Deborah Gregory's home in November!

Aha!

Aha! Chris and I figured out a (temporary at least ) solution to our Blogging Dilemna. We still don't know how to add the other members to be able to change the sidebars listing who is up to choose a book and who is next to host, but she is willling to do that. I believe that others may be able to still post stories and make comments - such as I am now doing, as long as you log in and remember or retrieve your password. Chris is happy to continue to maintain those sidebars for us - and if you want to get creative with the design, Chris - Go For It! But she would like us to help out with stories and updates. It is more fun as a joint project.

We all loved seeing Mike and Chris's new amazingly well-built workshop and sharing our meal and thoughts about the book Wild, by Cheryl Strayed.  Her gumption, and inexperience amazed and somewhat appalled us, but we all agreed that her writing was great and the book was fun to read. Youth is a crazy time, and she was lucky to have survived hers.

We welcome Debbie Gregory as our newest member! It is good to grow as a group, and be open to new ideas and viewpoints. Thanks for joining us, Debbie!

I have heard of and wanted to read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time for a while. The perspective of this book is from a young man  with autism.

Unless I hear differently from most of you,  we will meet at my house (Esther's) on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 5:30 PM.

Iron Goat Tral

Meet at Claudia's 8:30 Sunday July 14 for hike and picnic!

A Fine Orchard Meal

Outside it was cool and wet and the river was full; inside were friends, fine food and good discussion. Thanks for the hospitality, Barbara.
The next book's author will visit the Entiat library June 27, and speak at the Snowy Owl Theater at Sleeping Lady July 5. We'll probably do our hike on the Iron Goat trail in July, as well.

Meeting at Barbara's May 27

We will meet at Barbara's Monday May 27 at 6 PM to discuss Chris's selection: The Orchardist, and rate the last choice of Debbie's, The White Cascade. Maybe we can set a second try to do an Iron Goat hike.

Iron Goat Trail hike postponed

Not taking on the snow, hike postponed. Next meeting to discuss "The Orchardist" set for Barbara's Friday May 24, the usual time.

Birthday Secret No Longer!

Thank you Debbie for another wonderful meal!

After checking my voicemail today ( I missed it earlier) I discovered that yesterday was someone's birthday!! Happy Belated Birthday, Barbara!!! We would have sang, and toasted you if only we knew.
You are a wondeful friend, and the reason our book club even exists.  So here's to you and the next chapter in your life, Barbara!!

Next meeting

Next meeting to discuss Helen Thayer's book will be at Debbie's on Monday March 18.

Camellia for Nancy and for Elegance of the Hedgehog

Thank you ladies, for coming to my house for dinner last week. I totally understand Debbie's reluctance to drive, however. We will soon have better weather, and that should make a nice difference in being able to get together easier.

We rated The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery at 4.62.  The challenging vocabulary, the complicated sentence structure, and the very philosophical tone of the book were topics of discussion. Overall we found the book very thought provoking. The characters celebrated that life, even when fraught with mundane and ordinary circumstances, is in the end a wondrous and beautiful gift, especially when shared with others. It was Nancy's last choice, and it felt like a gift from her.  I would have loved to hear her impressions.

I will be finding out if one of the books that Barbara mentioned as a choice for our next read will be available. If we can get The Brothers K, by David James Duncan, that may be our first pick.  It is a longer read, but once you get along in the story, it is very absorbing. It is more character driven, from my recollection, I read it about 15 years ago.

Best wishes for the now well under way New Year, and may you have a good upcoming Martin Luther King weekend.

Date Changed to Wednesday!

Aha! I figured out how to log on to the blog again!! I don't know how I was doing it wrong before, but thank goodness I remembered my password.  

All of you are invited to meet at my house on Wednesday, January 9 at 5:30 . We will discuss The Elegance of the Hedgehog.  Also, bring your book exchange books from Christmas. I will totally understand if you cannot make it, and we will try to get together again in the near future. 

Blessings! 

Esther