Life's Lessons

Thank you Nika for hosting our gathering.  Yummy soup and breads along with everyone's offerings - so pleasant to share food and conversation.  A warm and cozy evening with friends.

Our book was "Still Life" by Louise Penny, a debut book and the first of a murder mystery series.  Not extravagant and flashy, but written with common conversations set in a homey community.  Well developed characters, many seemed like they could be neighbors.  Although a murder mystery, there were also comments and lessons on life and our own decisions about our own lives.  Making choices about who we are and how we want to live; what we should do to be happy or stand still lose ourselves.    "If we can accept that nothing is permanent, and change is inevitable, if we can adapt, then we're going to be happier people."  "The fault lies with us, and only us.  Ultimately it's us and our choices....We're the only ones who can change our lives, turn them around" "Life is change.  If you aren't growing and evolving you're standing still and the rest of the world is surging ahead."  "The prayer stick, its brightly colored ribbons catching the wind, sending their gifts into the air, knocking against each other.  Like true friends.  Bumping, and sometimes hurting, though never meaning to."

Our next meeting will be March 8th, 5:30, at the home of Chris Mallon.  Looking forward to seeing everyone there for another wonderful evening of sharing books and friendship.

Bad-Ass Librarians

We all would have made really bad-ass librarians!  Thank you all for coming and sharing your thoughts and observations on our book.  I'm pleased so many found it intriguing and didn't absolutely hate it.  I knew we were in for a history lesson - one which I knew I needed as I don't feel well informed about the history of North Africa - a history which is certainly affecting the world we live in.  But I was hoping that there would have been more information about the 377,000 manuscripts themselves.  One could tell that the author was a reporter, including all the details that he dug up.  Parts were interesting as you learned how they found the manuscripts in the first place and then how they hid them from terrorists and moved them to safety.  Book reviews stated: "Compelling narrative with a rare happy ending", "ordinary people can respond with extraordinary heroism when faced with evil", "willing to risk everything to preserve civilization."  These ordinary people were very extraordinary and did something great to preserve their heritage.  It's good to know courageous people still are able to make a difference in this wold.

Nika will host our February meeting.  She has a meeting every Tuesday, so our book club meeting will be Thursday, February 8th at 5:30.  Mark your calendars and I'll see you there.

The Sun Also Rises

Our meeting at Sandy's was cozy, as we enjoyed wine, appetizers and treats beside her tall and refreshingly simply adorned Doug Fir Christmas Tree. It was a sweet respite from the busyness of our lives and as always satisfying to share good food, beverages and conversation with fellow readers and friends.

The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway was not well received by most of us, for the repetitiveness of the plot and the insensitivity of the characters.   Set in Paris, and then Spain, the story follows the everyday life of a group of American and English expats living in Paris shortly after WWI.  They eat, drink and travel together to fish and go to the bullfights.  Their callousness is typified by this description given to the narrator Jake -
"You're an expatriate. You've lost touch with the soil.  Fake European standards have ruined you. You drink yourself to death. You become obsessed with sex. You spend all your time talking, not working. You are an expatriate, see?  You hang around cafes. " 

Several mentioned that the most enjoyable and interesting part of the book was the description of the travel to Spain from Paris. One could easily imagine being on the crowded bus that took them through the many twists and climbs in the Basque country.
" Now as we went higher there was a wind blowing the grain. The road was white and dusty, and the dust rose under the wheels and hung in the air behind us.  The road climbed up into the hills and left the rich grain-fields below. Now there were only patches of grain on the bare hillsides and on each side of the water courses" . Hemingway's description of the terrain and the people they encountered carried the reader along for journey vicariously. 

I  often found myself imagining scenes beyond what was written, which  apparently was the intent of Hemingway's spare style of writing.   "The Iceberg Theory is a style of writing coined by American writer Ernest Hemingway. When he became a writer of short stories, he retained this minimalistic style , focusing on surface elements without explicitly discussing underlying themes." - google search    

Our next book is The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu , by Joshua Hammer.  We will meet at Claudia's home on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 5:30 PM.

Great Things

Thanks to Judy who hosted this month's meeting.  We enjoyed a delicious pot-luck and friendship.  Judy noted that our discussion of the book "Small Great Things", a story revolving around the death of a newborn boy, was coinciding with the Day of the Innocents, when people of Latin heritage honor children or infants who have died.  So appropriate! 

Such an interesting book which dealt with morals, ethics and racism.  The characters were well developed and some were quite gritty - not at all your best friends.  White supremacy versus Hippocratic oath.  "There's a hierarchy to hate, and it's different for everyone."  Eye opening.  We all have a degree of racist thinking, not matter how hard we try to not be racist.  "Is it better not knowing the ugly truth, and pretending it doesn't exist?  Or is it better to confront it, even though that knowledge may be a weight you carry around forever?"  All this interspersed with beautiful prose. 

As a society, how will we ever move beyond our current mindset?  Barbara suggested that we always ask a question about how the other person feels; that's how you learn.  Otherwise you won't know how this person feels.  Jodi Picoult's books always have a surprise twist at the end.  My reaction as I neared the end of this book was "Bravo Jodi!  I didn't see this coming!"  Any book that makes you reflect on yourself and shows you something that can be improved upon is worth it's weight in gold.

At the Water's Edge (Lake Entiat) with Esther

Thank you Esther for a lovely gathering of friends complete with Scottish-inspired selections.  Book- themed soup, potatoes, malt Scotch, garden goodies.  Thank goodness no haggis!  Combined with contributions such as Judy's Walker's shortbread, we certainly shared a feast!  It is always nice to gather together with friends for sharing our comments as well as our lives.

Our book was "At the Water's Edge" by Sara Gruen.  This was a light read which was appreciated as we've had some challenging books this year.  The story focused on three upper-class Americans (husband, wife and best friend) who travel to Scotland during WWII to search for the Lock Ness monster.  Although a fiction story, much background research was done to get the details correct.  The food rationing, necessity of carrying a gas mask with you at all times, the air raids.  Without focusing on the ravages of war, you certainly learned about daily life during the war.  You also learned about attitudes, based on social class and on culture.  Two characters were so very shallow and rude, expecting the world to serve them.  A social class which was quite reminiscent of "The Great Gatsby".  Yet one character changed and grew into a respectable person, while the two friends managed to get worse.  Chris P. had an epiphany about this story: she sees it as the melding of two classic fairy tales - Cinderella (the fair maiden with the cruel step-mother) and Beauty and the Beast (the cold, large male who's heart is awakened by the beautiful maiden).  Chris said the story was somewhat formula but in a new setting.  The writing was good and at times was a "calm and elegant whirlwind".   Was Nessie ever found?  Sara Gruen leaves you to decide.  "But what I had learned over the past year was that monsters abound, usually in plain sight."

Our next meeting will be Wednesday November 1st, 5:30 pm, at Judy's home.  We will be discussing "Small Great Things" by Jodi Picoult.  See you then!

Smoke and Dust

Many thanks to Chris Peek for hosting our September meeting. It is always a treat to view the beautiful Columbia from Chris's windows, though this time the view was hazier than usual. We are all wishing for clearer skies, as the smoke obscures all views, and is causing many to feel confined, and uncomfortable. The choice of The Worst Hard Time, by Timothy Egan could be considered either really good or bad timing. Good, as during these smoky days we can get a very small sense of the oppressiveness of the dust bowl days, or bad as in reading about the misery of that time just makes a hard time harder!

Exerpting from Claudia's review, The Worst Hard Time is   “A classic disaster tale” (New York Times) of greed, hardship and unbelievable perseverance.  The tragedy of the loss of the greatest natural grassland on earth could be blamed on many sources - " government for promoting the land ... banks with easy loans so one will buy everything, bank accounts not backed and deposits uninsured, railroad men with promotional pamphlets full of misinformation. The run up and frenzy of wheat boom, debt loads and technologic revolution " and human nature to consume and claim dominance over nature without considering the long term consequences.  The farmers and ranchers described in the book were not knowingly creating havoc with the land, but they were ill-advised and ill-equipped to create a sustainable life on the plains. The combination of mismatched farming practices and drought over many years, made the consequential dust bowl and deep poverty compounded by the great depression an epic human caused calamity.  The Worst Hard Times , was both appreciated for helping us gain an insight to that era , and critiqued for it's grim and longwinded style.

We discussed our next  book choices and as of this date the following suggestions have been made and will be submitted to Anne for approval. She will let us know if they are available and when we can expect them.. I am asking for 15 copies, of each book including one in LT if available.

• The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck - - Sandy
• The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway - Debbie G
• The Virginian: Horseman of the Plains by Owen Wister - Chris M
• Bad Ass Librarians of Timbuktu by Joshua Hammer - Claudia
• You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me - a Memoir by Sherman Alexie - Judy
• Still Life, by Louise Penny – Esther
• The Heirs: A Novel, by Susan Rieger – Chris Peek
• Grandma Gatewood's Walk, by Ben Montgomery - Debbie D. 

The next meeting will be at Esther's home on Wednesday, Oct. 11 at 5:30 PM. We will be discussing "At the Water's Edge" by Sara Gruen.

Reading List

Just a quick reminder: it's almost time submit a new reading list, so start thinking about your next book selection!