We all were treated to a lovely garden party along the river at Barb's. Glad the weather cooperated. A bit humid, but no rain. That came the following day! Everyone enjoyed the wonderful variety of appetizers and salads along with beverages. We welcomed new member Kimberly Flowers. It was so relaxing to sit out under the canopy and listen to the river rush by. Always a treat!
"Breaking Blue" was one of Timothy Egan's earlier works. Although interesting to learn about life in the post-depression era, the book was a bit tedious to read. You kept waiting for it to spring into action, but it kept slowly developing. This story would have made a good novella. It was somewhat surprising and disconcerting to learn about the way the police used to function: bribes, cover-ups, murder - despicable! The ray at the end of the book was that the Connif children finally had closure and their father's name was added to the fallen officers memorial. Chris M was not able to attend, but did point out that "I saw passages in this book that were areas he (Timothy Egan) took on in depth in his later works 'The Worst Hard Times' (dust bowl) and 'The Big Burn' (guys serving as wildland firefighters for work)." The dedication and determination of one man to uncover the truth was amazing. "Every crisis ends in resolution, good or bad. Those who learn from it move on to something higher."
Our next meeting will be held at Debbie G's. It will be on Wednesday, July 12th due to the July 4th holiday. Looking forward to seeing everyone there!
Sunday, June 11, 2017
Saturday, May 6, 2017
Sharing at the Waterfront
Great teamwork at Judy's lakeside home, by neighbors Judy and Chris P serving up great panini(s) for our Book Club gathering; extra bonus celebrating Debbie G's birthday with cake and cheesecake.
Thanks to Claudia for a concise summary shared, although she couldn't be here to attend discussion of "Our Souls at Night": This is a deceivingly simple story, simply written. No flowery descriptions of everything. Simple dialogue, a conversation, easy language, no quotes.
In fact, CP pointed out there weren't even explanation points, the conversation was so matter of fact. Most rated the book a four and wished for a different ending., although glad for the time this couple had the companionable, loving relationship. We all have a notion about how marriage should be, but it is different for each. Esther reported to Barbara that a movie is coming out, starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda, if you can imagine!
Thanks to Claudia for a concise summary shared, although she couldn't be here to attend discussion of "Our Souls at Night": This is a deceivingly simple story, simply written. No flowery descriptions of everything. Simple dialogue, a conversation, easy language, no quotes.
In fact, CP pointed out there weren't even explanation points, the conversation was so matter of fact. Most rated the book a four and wished for a different ending., although glad for the time this couple had the companionable, loving relationship. We all have a notion about how marriage should be, but it is different for each. Esther reported to Barbara that a movie is coming out, starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda, if you can imagine!
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Next meeting
The next meeting will be hosted at Barb's, in hopes of good outdoor weather, Wednesday June 7 (Sandy, Debbie and Chris out of town?). That puts Debbie G for July, but possibly rather than July 5, the following Wed July 12. May 3 notes coming up!
Sunday, April 16, 2017
A "Wild" night in Wenatchee
I was lucky may times over on Thursday April 13th. Ron came with me to the Columbia River Reads evening with Cheryl Stayed at the PAC! We got the last available parking space in the PAC lot! I found a penny! And best: as we made our way to the overflow section - as I was not able to get auditorium tickets - NCRL staff member Kim N spotted me and gifted us with two auditorium tickets of seats in the second row center, right in front of the podium!!! Wow, it was great!
Cheryl was warm and friendly and very at ease during her off-the-cuff discussion. She said she decided to do the PCT hike because she remembered her mother saying "I've never been in the driver's seat of my life" and she wanted to fulfill every ambition she had to honor her mother. She was close to quitting the first week, swinging between "I can't bear it" and "I have to bear it". She did not want to give up on herself. She came to realize that the huge heavy pack was a symbol of the burden of life without her mother. She learned self reliance, self endurance and self acceptance. She chose not to wreck her own life; rather to trust in herself that she could go on and be okay. She said none of the bad stuff in her past is gone. "I just learned to carry it better, I learned acceptance; how to carry on even when I thought I couldn't."
She left us with this insight: "Don't expect it (things/life) to always be good. When things are bad, push through it. Expect discomfort; it will only last a while. Every life is an evolving journey and that journey is never ending."
Cheryl was warm and friendly and very at ease during her off-the-cuff discussion. She said she decided to do the PCT hike because she remembered her mother saying "I've never been in the driver's seat of my life" and she wanted to fulfill every ambition she had to honor her mother. She was close to quitting the first week, swinging between "I can't bear it" and "I have to bear it". She did not want to give up on herself. She came to realize that the huge heavy pack was a symbol of the burden of life without her mother. She learned self reliance, self endurance and self acceptance. She chose not to wreck her own life; rather to trust in herself that she could go on and be okay. She said none of the bad stuff in her past is gone. "I just learned to carry it better, I learned acceptance; how to carry on even when I thought I couldn't."
She left us with this insight: "Don't expect it (things/life) to always be good. When things are bad, push through it. Expect discomfort; it will only last a while. Every life is an evolving journey and that journey is never ending."
May meeting
Debbie G was scheduled to be our hostess for May, but her schedule is so busy she asked Judy to switch months with her. So, we will all enjoy gathering at Judy's home on Wednesday May 3rd!
Friday, April 7, 2017
Hawaiian Holiday
Thank you Debbie D. for hostessing our April book club meeting in a festive Hawaiian theme. Luau anybody? Our book was set in Hawaii, so Debbie provided a delicious Hawaiian Chicken and Rice entree and everyone brought other tropical dishes to share. It was a lovely evening despite the rain.
"The Three-Year Swim Club" proved to be a subject none of us knew about. The time-frame of the story was 1930's & 1940's and focused on the children of Maui sugar plantation workers and their teacher who, although he did not swim, taught them how to swim using the irrigation ditches on the plantation as they had no pool facilities. The coach, Soichi Sakamoto, was a very progressive thinker and did technical analysis of each student's body type, realizing that this greatly affected their individual swimming techniques. "Every body needed its own particular stroke, a signature movement." The goal was the the 1936 Olympics, but these games were cancelled due to WWII, as were the 1940 Olympics. Several of the swimmers stuck with the coach and their training and went on to win many national and international swim competitions, as well as future Olympics.
This non-fiction story was a bit detailed and dry at times, but the over-all story of the coach and the kids was very interesting. Their focus and dedication changed all their lives. "The essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well." "Commitment was an exercise of will, and that will was the constant application of one's choice." "Every moment of your life, come storms, come twists of fate, come waves that threatened to overcome you, if you wanted to become a champion, then every minute of your life you had to be one."
I'll close with one other noted quotation: "There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting." -Gautama Siddhartha
"The Three-Year Swim Club" proved to be a subject none of us knew about. The time-frame of the story was 1930's & 1940's and focused on the children of Maui sugar plantation workers and their teacher who, although he did not swim, taught them how to swim using the irrigation ditches on the plantation as they had no pool facilities. The coach, Soichi Sakamoto, was a very progressive thinker and did technical analysis of each student's body type, realizing that this greatly affected their individual swimming techniques. "Every body needed its own particular stroke, a signature movement." The goal was the the 1936 Olympics, but these games were cancelled due to WWII, as were the 1940 Olympics. Several of the swimmers stuck with the coach and their training and went on to win many national and international swim competitions, as well as future Olympics.
This non-fiction story was a bit detailed and dry at times, but the over-all story of the coach and the kids was very interesting. Their focus and dedication changed all their lives. "The essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well." "Commitment was an exercise of will, and that will was the constant application of one's choice." "Every moment of your life, come storms, come twists of fate, come waves that threatened to overcome you, if you wanted to become a champion, then every minute of your life you had to be one."
I'll close with one other noted quotation: "There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting." -Gautama Siddhartha
Sunday, March 12, 2017
A Scandinavian Evening
A very big thanks to Nika for being our March hostess. Who would have thought that we would have to consider snow and icy driveways when we set our meeting date of March 8th! Once again, a smaller gathering due to winter weather.
Thank you Nika for the very delicious Swedish meatballs! Yum yum! And all the other components of our meal were wonderful; thank you all for yet another memorable time with friends.
We reviewed the popular book "A Man Called Ove", a debut novel by author Fredrik Backman. It is a story about an old crumudgeon who turns out to be a kind and caring - in his own fashion - man who is so very alone since the passing of his wife. "And then she left him alone in a world where he no longer understood the language." She was his connection, the person who understood him and helped him relate to the rest of the world. His work meaning to his life, but then he was laid off, removing his reason to face each day. "How can anyone spend their whole life longing for the day when they become superfluous?" With the help of neighbors, whom he initially finds annoying, he learns how to continue living alone. This was a simply written, well constructed story which at times was both humorous and thought-provoking. Some of us really liked the book, while some not as much. One was not able to finish as she found it so irritating. My feeling is that your opinion of a story is affected by what is going on in your life; if your daily life is filled with aruguments and opposition, you don't enjoy spending your personal time reading about it also. This story did start out with all of Ove's negative views of everything. You had to stick with the story to see how various charachters understood how Ove was feeling and came together to help give him a purpose again.
Our next meeting will be at Debbie D's up-river in Entiat. It looks like it will be Wednesday, April 5th. We are keeping to our regular schedule of our meetings being on the first Wednesday of the month, which we had altered this winter due to weather conditions. Looking forward to seeing you then!
Thank you Nika for the very delicious Swedish meatballs! Yum yum! And all the other components of our meal were wonderful; thank you all for yet another memorable time with friends.
We reviewed the popular book "A Man Called Ove", a debut novel by author Fredrik Backman. It is a story about an old crumudgeon who turns out to be a kind and caring - in his own fashion - man who is so very alone since the passing of his wife. "And then she left him alone in a world where he no longer understood the language." She was his connection, the person who understood him and helped him relate to the rest of the world. His work meaning to his life, but then he was laid off, removing his reason to face each day. "How can anyone spend their whole life longing for the day when they become superfluous?" With the help of neighbors, whom he initially finds annoying, he learns how to continue living alone. This was a simply written, well constructed story which at times was both humorous and thought-provoking. Some of us really liked the book, while some not as much. One was not able to finish as she found it so irritating. My feeling is that your opinion of a story is affected by what is going on in your life; if your daily life is filled with aruguments and opposition, you don't enjoy spending your personal time reading about it also. This story did start out with all of Ove's negative views of everything. You had to stick with the story to see how various charachters understood how Ove was feeling and came together to help give him a purpose again.
Our next meeting will be at Debbie D's up-river in Entiat. It looks like it will be Wednesday, April 5th. We are keeping to our regular schedule of our meetings being on the first Wednesday of the month, which we had altered this winter due to weather conditions. Looking forward to seeing you then!
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