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!

"Circus" Addendum

Belated Happy Birthday Nika!  Also, surely Chris P. you are enjoying your warm weather.  Looking forward to seeing you up north again soon.  Enjoy your insightful book reviews!

An Evening at the Circus

Thank you Judy B. for our lovely circus evening!  Starting with hot apple cider, popcorn and caramel apples and ending with caramel apple cake, ice cream and the most adorable chocolate mice! (Magical works of art!)  Wished it hadn't been snowing so Debbie D. would have been able to join us.  We missed you Debbie D., but understand your absence.

"The Night Circus" is an adult fantasy; an unusual story intertwining a competition with an antagonistic romance.  Black versus white, dark versus light, good versus evil.  The competition involves magic and your perception of reality and of time.  The circus is a spectacular production that is unusual yet beautiful, provocative yet elegant.  The author conjures wonderful descriptions which take you along on this dreamlike adventure.  I'm sure we all would have enjoyed spending a night at Le Cirque des Reves.  Several of us did feel that the story could have been edited more so it could have been enjoyed in less time (500 pages!).

When interviews about her book, author Erin Morgenstern said, "I think it's something that I knew already but explored more with these characters, that nothing is a simple as black and white, good or evil.  There are all those shades of grey and everyone acts from a place that they see as right and true.  (Though they are allowed to change their minds.)" 

"What Claudia Forgot" to do

Thank you Chris M. for reminding me that I hadn't posted the results from our January meeting at Esther's home where we reviewed "What Alice Forgot" by Liann Moriarty.  Dinner was wonderful, of course, featuring a delicious beef broth tomato soup.  Esther did not attempt the world's largest lemon meringue pie (as the characters of our book had done), for which we are all grateful (so soon after the holidays!).

This book dealt with memories and what can trigger a memory.  It also touched on how we perceive our lives - wonderful, exciting, disappointing, happy, sad, lonely.  Good memories versus bad memories.  About how we can "twist the lens" on our lives and see things from different perspectives, and be wiser and more sensible about our views and expectations.  It was a light read which was nice after the holidays and our previous selection.  An interesting story which gives you the chance to stop and ponder if you would like to go back in time and change things you did, and how your views and expectations of life have changed as you got older.  Would you change anything, or keep the course?  

Robert Peace Piece

So, were you wondering what dinner would be?  Ketchup packages?  Ramen?  I'm sure you were glad it was elegant burgers in honor of the Burger Boyz.  Based on the graduation/fundraiser dinners of vichyssoise, Caesar salad, steak, salmon and chocolate cake, we enjoyed potato soup (TOO COLD out to enjoy vichyssoise!), Caesar salad, chopped steak (burgers with all the trimmings), salmon (thank you Esther and SensaSea!) with store bought cookies and Safford home-made fudge for dessert (I was planning to make brownies, but didn't get around to baking).  Thank you all for helping me get set up and finish the dinner while I tended the grill.

Chris P wrote a great summary of the book - offering wonderful insight into Robert's life and why he made the choices he made.  Krys B noted that the author chose to write this book hoping that it would make a difference to people and how they make their life's choices.  We all agreed that it was depressing to read about the lost potential, but marveled in the remarkable difference Robert made to those people in his world - ..."(he) was like a redwood tree looming large in my life.  His life was cut short before it could reach the full heights of its glory....so many others thrived and found refuge in his shade while he was with us".

It was so much fun to host our annual Christmas children's book gathering and secret Santa gift exchange.  I enjoyed decorating and all the preparation for our evening.  Thank you all for coming, even when it was so icy.  We missed you Chris (keeping warm down south) and Krys (hope you are feeling better soon!) and enjoyed your reports on our book.

Our next read is "What Alice Forgot" by Liane Moriarty.  It will be nice to have an easy read during the holidays.  Esther will be our next host and we are tentatively looking at January 6th.  Esther will contact us with the final decision on our date.

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year everyone!!!!!

December Meeting

Claudia will be hosting our December meeting.  It is scheduled for December 16th at 5:30.  You are welcome to arrive earlier if you would like.  It will be busy as we will not only be reviewing our latest read, but will also wrap our children's holiday gift books and have our secret Santa gift-book exchange.  Looking forward to seeing you all then! 

A Lovely Evening

Thank you, Chris, for hosting our "summer camp" evening of camp stew and s'more (done two ways!)  Everything was, of course, delicious and all enjoyed a warm and cozy night.  We welcome our newest member, Sandy Safford!  Thank you Debbie D. for selecting "Firelight Girls" written by your friend Kaya McLaren.  It was a story that not only brought back memories of summer camps while growing up, but also delved into being happy with yourself and where you are in your life.  Once again, it showed that none of us are alone; these feeling are universal and we are all experiencing similar feeling.  It is always wonderful to enjoy a lovely evening with friends and to get a good dose of reality!