Next Meeting Wed.,November 2

Thanks Sandy for offering to be next to host, Wed. Nov. 2...discussing My Friend Flicka.

Circling the Sun

Many thanks to Chris P. for  a wonderfully delicious and relaxing evening at her beautiful home overlooking the wide Columbia River. We started the evening off with a toast to adventure, and were reminded that a few of our regulars were off on adventures of their own.  Conversation about the book touched on aspects of  the unusual and daring life of the main character, Beryl Markham, the challenges she faced in the circumstances of her upbringing, and the surprising liberal lifestyles of the English colonialists in Kenya.  As the joke  went, "Are you married or do you live in Kenya?" Several of us had read or watched a film of other accounts of either Beryl or Karen Blixen.

We had mixed feelings about Beryl's love interests, especially with a man who was the lover of her good friend, but considering the culture of free love that existed in that society, and her lack of strong family ethics, hers was a natural response to a strong attraction to a man with a sense of freedom and adventure to which she aspired.

We all loved the descriptions of Africa. " This close to the equator, we had almost no twilight. Day turned to night in minutes, but they were lovely ones. Around us the yellow grasses stretched and moved like the sea sometimes dipping into antbear burrows and pig holes, or lifting towards  the knuckled spires of termite mounds, but never truly ceasing.  There was a powerful illusion that the bush didn't end - that we could ride for years like this, carried by the grasses and the sense of distance, on and on for ever. "

We will need to to discuss over email the plan for our next meeting.

October Meeting

Our October meeting will be hosted by Chris Peek.  Currently enduring a full kitchen remodel, Chris has selected to host the meeting at the Entiat Fire Station.  It is scheduled for Wednesday October 5th at 5:30 pm.
 Edit update: Location will be at Judy Bell's unless Chris P's kitchen is available next door!

Relaxing by the River

Esther went above and beyond to provide us with a wonderful meal and great time at her family's retreat up river - The Pines.  The cooler temperature and the wind moved our meal indoors instead of outside along the river, keeping Esther busy setting up inside.  As always, a delicious selection of wonderful and bountiful treats were shared.  Esther and Gary have done a great job creating their cozy and comfortable retreat!  Thank you both for letting us explore and enjoy your hide-away!

Our book selection, "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr, received rave reviews by all.  This story was well constructed and smooth with no rough edges.  The author built in the current style for our modern short attention span, moving backwards and forwards in time while weaving together the unique stories of all the well developed characters.  It was all about feeling, both physical (touch, smell) and emotional, as well as various forms of light: visible light (sun, moon), invisible light (ultraviolet, infrared, radio waves) and darkness from the lack of light.  While set in World War II, it only touched on the Jewish aspect, focusing on the German invasion of France and the French resistance.  The author brought it full-circle by pulling quotations from the beginning of the story and revisiting them at the end of the tale.
     "Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever."
     "This is cleaner, more mechanical, a war waged through the air, invisibly, and the front lines are anywhere."
     "So many windows are dark.  It's as if the city has become a library of books in an unknown language, the houses great shelves of illegible volumes, the lamps all extinguished."
     "The moon sets and the eastern sky lightens, the hem of night pulling away, taking stars with it one by one until only two are left."

UPDATE for "Love That Dog"

Kris Boisen has selected Thrusday September 29th from 8:15am-8:50am as the date for her Entiat school class book club review of "Love That Dog" by Sharon Creech.  Please let Kris know if you will be participating.

Kris Boisen's 4th Grade Book Club

Hi everyone.  Kris B has requested our help.  Her 4th grade class will be reading "Love That Dog" by Sharon Creech.  Kris would like us to assist her by also reading this book and participating in a "book club" discussion of the story with her 4th graders.  This will help the kids learn how to discuss different aspects of a book - learning by the example we will provide.  The tentative dates for this event, which were discussed at our last meeting, are either September 9th or September 12th.  This is not a "required" book club read, but Kris would really appreciate our help for her class.

Wonderful Job Scott!!!!!!!!!

Kris kindly hosted our August meeting to show off the beautiful new patio that Scott recently built with paver stones and complete with a cover (still in process).  It was lovely dining in the back yard enjoying the comfortable summer's eve.  And we had so much to dine on - a delicious heritage pot-luck with Guinness Irish Stew, Irish Soda Bread, Shepard's Pie, Irish Potato Salad, Currant Bread, Kasespatzle, Avocado Salad and Apple Cake.

The Orphan Train was well liked.  Some of us preferred Vivian's character over Molly's.  We all appreciated learning about a large event - 200,000 children over several decades - that is rarely mentioned in our history lessons.  I liked the author's comparison of our journeys through life as a form of a portage.  Two quotes we like from this story:

"Aspects of Vivian’s memory are triggered with each box they open.  The sewing kit wrapped in cheesecloth evokes the Byrnes’ grim home. The mustard colored coat with military buttons the felt lined knit gloves, the brown dress with pearl buttons.  Soon enough Molly is able to keep the cast of characters straight in her head…..as if joining scraps of fabric to make a quilt, Molly puts them in the right sequence and stitches them together, creating a pattern that was impossible to see when each piece was separate.

"Time constricts and flattens, you know. It’s not evenly weighted. Certain moments linger in the mind and others disappear.  The first twenty-three years of my life are the ones that shaped me, and the fact that I’ve lived almost seven decades since then is irrelevant."

Our next meeting will be at the Dalgas retreat "The Pines" on September 7th where we will review "All the Light We Cannot See".  Looking forward to seeing everyone there.