Meeting Schedule

Kris Boisen has generously invited us to meet at her home Wednesday August 3rd at 5:30pm.  Potluck, possibly on the newly completed patio!  Be sure to mark your calendars.  Also, Esther has invited us to meet at The Pines - her get-away up river - in September (date to be decided at the August meeting) and Chris P has invited us to meet at her home in October (date to be decided at the September meeting) to oh and ah over her newly remodeled kitchen.  Boy, won't all the hubbies be busy getting ready for us!

We will discuss our schedule of hosts during a future meeting.  We need to get Barbara back on the schedule after she has fully recovered from her ankle surgery.  Also, Chris M and Nika are coming up to host during our winter months.  We may need to move them out into spring, or we may meet at an alternate location such as the Entiat fire station.

Keep enjoying your summer, and we will see you on August 3rd!

Thank you Kris and Scott

Not wanting to base our meal on those "enjoyed" (endured) by book character John William ("The Other"), we opted for a 1970's themed pot luck.  Delicious with several "family favorites" included!  We enjoyed our time together sharing at the Boisen's lovely home.

Again, mixed reactions to our selection.  The author loved long descriptive sentences, so long you could loose your train of thought.  The book's main characters graduated from Seattle's Roosevelt HS in 1974; the setting and the time-frame prompted many memories.  A few of us did not feel the actions of the story rang true.  It did open discussion on friendships and living with our choices throughout life.

Mark your calendars:

• July 21, Entiat Library, 5:30 - 7pm, come to the film screening "He Named Me Malala".  
• Kris requested volunteers to read a portion of the best-selling children's book "BFG" by Roald Dahl and then participate in a "book club discussion" with her 4th grade class in September.
• I have not updated the info on our next meeting.  I will check with Barbara. Once details are finalized I will post the information, so stay tuned!

Don't forget, we need to give Esther the titles of two books we would like to read.  This will give the book club coordinator options for setting up our on-going reading list.  Once our list is updated, I will bring our list up-to-date on this blog.

Bring your Suggestions July 6

Esther will take suggestions for your second book selection, everyone, at Kris's house or by email. October is Nika's selection then we start a new round.

An Evening Along the River

Thank you Judy for hosting our gathering this month.  After a hot week, we all expected to be out on the deck overlooking the Columbia.  This fickle spring turned on us and the wind rattled the windows, so we gladly enjoyed the view from inside.  We also enjoyed a pot luck for which Judy provided two delicious main entrees.  The sharing of good food and friendship combined with discussions of our book and other topics always makes for a wonderful evening.

"Ancient Places" is a compilation of short essays revolving around subjects related to the history of our Pacific Northwest home.  While we all agreed that the author provided interesting information, we also felt the book would have been more intriguing if there were a stronger link between the chapters.  Most chapters discussed the geology of our area and some revealed daily lives of those who came before us, but a couple chapters felt disjointed from the bulk of the book.

"The climate that created them (fossils) doesn't quite match the weather we think we know.  The habitats they suggest refuse to fit into neat catagories recognised by current ecologists.  Yet the species that pour out of them..continue to provide a flood of tantalizing information: full of names and new directions, contradictions and unsolved mysteries."

An Evening that was Out of This World

Potatoes were the dinner fare for our meeting to discuss "The Martian".  Debbie G laid out a wonderful "stuff your own baked potato" bar - Idaho potatoes, of course, as there were no Martian potatoes available.  Delicious!  Chris P provided dessert - a chocolate cake made with potato.  Bet our astronaut wish he'd had that recipe!

There was a bit of mixed reaction to this book.  Some of us enjoyed the concept of the story and also the humor throughout the book while others found it too hard to get through.  Were all the situations and also the solutions possible?  The author stated that this story was originally published on the web chapter by chapter.  He received comments from experts on the technical aspects of the story; what was and was not probable.  These experts also gave suggestions of what would really work, which Andy Wier incorporated into his story before it was published in book form.  The probability of this situation every happening and resolving as it did in this book are pretty small, and I certainly wouldn't want to eat potatoes as the mainstay of my diet for one and a half years, but it made for an interesting book and also a movie.

It's always a pleasure to gather together and enjoy friends, conversation and good food.  Thank you Debbie G for providing a lovely evening!

An Evening Up River

Thank you Debbie D for hosting our April meeting.  It was nice to travel up river to see you and Terry too!  Our group was small due to spring break vacations, among other things, but it is always pleasant to get together and share friendship, a delicious meal and our book discussion.  We also enjoyed that Terry joined us for dinner.  Keying on events in our book, Debbie served ice cream sandwiches for dessert and Kris B wore her red shoes.

We had mixed reactions to this novel, from a bit tedious to thought provoking.  The story was constructed around random people's lives and how they intersected.  Events included a divorce, a shooting and trying to adjust to life back home after deployment in the Middle East.  The story was sad but hopeful.  Nika commented, via an email report, "Once I got into it, the story hit home to me in how the world can be such a small place.  What you do and say can impact more people than you know".

Here are some quotes from the novel:

"...something small changes everything.  Where the tiniest act, the smallest space of time, the most inconsequential of decisions, changes a life."

"...things happen to us that are more than we can take.  And we break, We break for a moment, for a while.  But that break is not who we are.  It's not the sum total of who we are.

"We never know how high we are
'Til we are called to rise;
And then, if we are true to plan
Our statures touch the skies."
 -Emily Dickenson

Oriental Flavor

Thank you Sandy for the wonderful evening.  Everyone enjoyed your home and your warm hospitality.  The meal was delicious: summer spring rolls and beef broccoli!  Perfect for our discussion of "The Girl Who Wrote in Silk". 

"The Girl Who Wrote in Silk" was a first effort by author Kelli Estes; a historical romance with a modern-day twist.  The author combined two love stories; one based on historical information about the treatment of the Chinese in the US and in Seattle during the 1800's, and the other set in the present on Orcas Island.  In the book notes, the author explained that she wrote both stories separately and then combined the two, weaving them into one novel.  Parts of the story were hits and parts were misses, not quite ringing true for some of our readers.  We all appreciated being exposed to historical information we had little knowledge of and wonder about mankind's need to despise particular ethnic groups throughout history.  We also marveled in the description of the Chinese embroideries and techniques.  Sandy shared with us some gorgeous silk and beautiful buttons she has along with a very fine (as in minutely tiny stitching as well as very finely done!) cross-stitch sampler she had made on silk.  Judy also shared with us a silk embroidery she has from China of the Great Wall. 

It is always a pleasure to attend our gatherings and spend time sharing with friends.  Thank you again Sandy for hosting us this month!