January Meeting

Mark your calendars for Saturday, January 7th at 11am for our meeting at Chris Mallon's home.  Chris will provide a brunch casserole with coffee, tea and hot chocolate.  If you wish to bring something, Chris suggests an orange juice or other juice.  We will be discussing "The Rosie Project" which is Nika's selection.  Carpooling with 4WD is recommended.  See you then.  Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays!

Barbara hosted our December meeting, which was held at Claudia's home.  Again, a delicious meal featuring meatloaf and scalloped potatoes (which really pleased Ron!).  Always a pleasure to gather, share and discuss, this time by the much-appreciated fire!

Our book, "When Breath Becomes Air", was written by Paul Kalanithi, a man well-studied in both literature and medicine.  His life was tragically cut short, but he contributed to every moment of it to his fullest.  The author examined the meaning of his existence , answering his own questions of "What makes human life meaningful, even in the face of death and decay."  The epilogue, written by his wife after his death, stated "...he did more than just describe the terrain.  He traversed it bravely."  "Literature not only illuminated another's experience, it proved...the richest material for moral reflection."  This particular piece of literature provided materials for individual philosophical reflection of our own lives.

We all contributed children's books for holiday gifting.  Thank you, Nika, for arranging the wrapping and distribution of these books within our community.  Several of us also participated in our secret Santa gift exchange, which is always fun!

"You could not help but feel your specklike existence against the immensity of the mountain, the earth, the talus, reaffirming your presence amid the grandeur."

"There is a moment, a cusp, when the sum of gathered experience is worn down by the details of living.  We are never so wise as when we live in this moment."

"Human knowledge is never contained in one person.  It grows from the relationships we create between each other and the world, and still it is never complete."

My Friend Flicka

We gathered at Sandy's lovely home to share another delicious meal and great discussion.  Sandy, it was so nice to enjoy your festive Halloween decorations, which included many of your own counted cross-stitched pieces.  It is always a pleasure to be able to relax and spend time with friends.  Thank you, Sandy, for hosting our gathering.

Our book was a classic coming-of-age story about an American West ranch family.  The main character was a young boy - a dreamer who was finding it difficult to please his demanding father.  His mother helps him find his abilities by encouraging her husband to give the boy the horse of his choice during one summer break from school.  The summer becomes a long, hard lesson about life and gaining ones' own self confidence.  The boy is not the only one with lessons to learn; his father, who is actually a lot like his youngest son, has lessons to learn that summer also.

It was revealing to realize that this was written in the 1940s and that the economics of ranching haven't changed much over the years, save the introduction of modern farm equipment.  The author had moments of waxing poetic surrounded by repetition as she set the scene.  She beautifully describes Wyoming:
   "The East is cozy.  There is never the distance, the far, empty distances - the wide loneliness.  You    can smell the emptiness - almost a desert.  A sweet, fresh, singing wildness - you can breathe it in.  And it lifts you."
We did feel that the first two thirds of the book were somewhat boring and repetitious, but agreed that the end was compelling and made it all worth the read.

We set the date of our December gathering.  It will be Wednesday, December 7th at 5:30 pm.  Although Barbara will be our host, the meeting will be held at Claudia's home.  This will be our meeting to collect children's books to donate to local children of need.  We will wrap our selections that evening.  We will also have a "secret Santa" book exchange.  If you care to join in, please bring a book/gift which is already wrapped.  We will draw numbers and each select a surprise gift!

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."