June Book Club: The Sweetness of Forgetting by Kristin Harmel

Thanks to everyone who gathered for book club last night. We had a great discussion on a powerful book. It has opened our eyes to the struggles that many countries have faced to gain very basic elements of freedom. We have so much to be grateful for and an even greater responsibility to do what we can to bless the lives of others. Thank you Telarry. It was a great book to read and think about.

Our next discussion will be at  LuAnn’s house on Wednesday June 3rd at 7pm. Her book pick is:

                          

Goodreads says:

A baker in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, must travel to Paris to uncover a family secret for her dying grandmother—and what she learns may change everything. Hope’s beloved French-born grandmother Mamie, who wowed the Cape with her fabulous pastries for more than fifty years, is drifting away into a haze of Alzheimer’s. But in a rare moment of clarity, Mamie realizes that unless she tells Hope about the past, the secrets she has held on to for so many years will soon be lost forever. Tantalizingly, she reveals mysterious snippets of a tragic history in Paris. And then, arming her with a scrawled list of names, she sends Hope to France to uncover a seventy-year-old mystery.

A Goodreads reader says:

I really enjoyed this book. My mother suffers from dementia, so I could relate to the feelings of the main character when dealing with her grandmother's "good" and "bad" days. I've also spent many years on the Cape, so I enjoyed the setting. I thought the premise was great. Imagine discovering a completely different family history than the one you grew up believing? What feelings of loss would you feel? What would you feel you'd gained? I've read other books by this author and I'm glad she's been able to branch out into another genre. I think you'll like this book (and the food)!

Looking forward to this one!!

See you there,

Diane

May book club: In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

The Boys in the Boat was a great book to read and feel proud to be an American and proud of our connections to the University of Washington. These boys were amazing in what they were able to accomplish and all the while each one of them felt that they were the weak link. Very humble men and such amazing character traits. Great writing too!! Thanks for the video clips and for a great read Margaret.

Our next book club will be hosted by Telarry on Wednesday May 6th at 7 pm. Her selection will be:

 

Goodreads says:

Set during the waning days of the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic in 1960, this extraordinary novel tells the story the Mirabal sisters, three young wives and mothers who are assassinated after visiting their jailed husbands.
From the author of How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents comes this tale of courage and sisterhood set in the Dominican Republic during the rise of the Trujillo dictatorship. A skillful blend of fact and fiction, In the Time of the Butterflies is inspired by the true story of the three Mirabal sisters who, in 1960, were murdered for their part in an underground plot to overthrow the government. Alvarez breathes life into these historical figures--known as "las mariposas," or "the butterflies," in the underground--as she imagines their teenage years, their gradual involvement with the revolution, and their terror as their dissentience is uncovered.

A goodreads reader says:

"In the Time of the Butterflies" was beautiful and sad. I loved every one of the sisters. Their sacrifice, during the Trujillo regime, made me question what I would be willing to sacrifice for freedom and it made me think about my sister. The image that made me cry and made me angry was of the sisters standing in the garden one night looking back at the lit house as their mama bustles around getting their children ready for bed. Alvarez says they look at the house with longing as if they were already dead and wishing to watch their children grow up. That decision between political upheaval and being with and living for their children haunted me. How could they sacrifice a life with their children? I know they were fighting against an oppressive, tyrannical regime and that they believed their fight for freedom was to create a better world for their children. I guess it bothers me because I admired the sisters but I wouldn't have made the same choice.

Sounds like a book that will start a great discussion.

Hope to see you in May.

April book club: The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown

Can I just say our discussion on The Demon in the Freezer opened our eyes a little WIDE about the possibilities of another small pox threat. Wow, to think this is still “hiding” in a freezer just waiting for our government to decide it is an acceptable risk to study it? On the other scientific hand, what a great bunch of people who worked so hard to eradicate this thing. Germs are everywhere and we can’t go crazy but we must use our heads as well. Great discussion, thanks Tansy!!

Our next book club will be hosted by Margaret on April 8th. Her selection will be:

 

Goodreads says:

Daniel James Brown’s robust book tells the story of the University of Washington’s 1936 eight-oar crew and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal, a team that transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans. The sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the boys defeated elite rivals first from eastern and British universities and finally the German crew rowing for Adolf Hitler in the Olympic games in Berlin, 1936.
The emotional heart of the story lies with one rower, Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not for glory, but to regain his shattered self-regard and to find a place he can call home. The crew is assembled  by an enigmatic coach and mentored by a visionary, eccentric British boat builder, but it is their trust in each other that makes them a victorious team. They remind the country of what can be done when everyone quite literally pulls together—a perfect melding of commitment, determination, and optimism.
Drawing on the boys’ own diaries and journals, their photos and memories of a once-in-a-lifetime shared dream, The Boys in the Boat is an irresistible story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times—the improbable, intimate story of nine working-class boys from the American west who, in the depths of the Great Depression, showed the world what true grit really meant.

A goodreads reader says:

Quite an uplifting story of the young men from the University of Washington who took the gold medal for nine-men shell rowing at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Like Hillenbrand’s wonderful book “Seabiscuit” this is a tale of underdogs overcoming personal adversities and capturing the attention of a nation laid low by the Great Depression.

Sounds like a great book, especially being from the Northwest.

See you in April

March Book Club: Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston

If you missed last month’s book club you missed a great discussion on an outstanding book. We loved Global Mom because we could relate to her sense of adventure and her love of being a mom. She is able to open your eyes to the love affair with food that the french have and how to battle governments on naming your child. She battled moving and won with poise. She offered beautiful writing and some very moving thoughts on dealing with the devastating grief on the loss of your child. You will want to read this one. Thanks Debbie. You can follow Melissa at www.facebook.com/globalmomamemoir or melissadaltonbradford.wordpress.com

Our next book will be hosted by Tansy on Wednesday March 4th at 7pm. Her book pick is:

Goodreads says:

The first major bioterror event in the United States-the anthrax attacks in October 2001-was a clarion call for scientists who work with “hot” agents to find ways of protecting civilian populations against biological weapons. In The Demon in the Freezer, his first nonfiction book sinceThe Hot Zone, a #1 New York Times bestseller, Richard Preston takes us into the heart of Usamriid, the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Maryland, once the headquarters of the U.S. biological weapons program and now the epicenter of national biodefense.

A Goodreads reader says:

This is a chilling account of the eradication of smallpox in the 1970s, the Anthrax mailings in 2001, and the possibility of future bioterrorism using genetically-modified strains of smallpox designed to infect even those vaccinated against the disease.
Officially variola majora (smallpox) only exists in freezers in the Centers for Disease Control and in the Russian Vector lab. Through interviews with those involved with the eradication and working to prevent bioterrorism a strong case is made for the Soviet government creating genetically-modified smallpox by the ton into the 1990s and how these virii might currently be in the possession of rogue nations.
You'll also learn why smallpox is most-likely the worst virus ever inflicted upon humankind and is much more dangerous than Ebola, Avian Flu, or AIDS. From 1850-1970 is is estimated that smallpox is responsible for the death of over one billion humans worldwide.

Sounds intriguing!!

Hope to see you there.

Diane

February Book Club: Global Mom by Melissa Dalton-Bradford

We had a great movie night together watching THE BOOK THIEF. The movie captured the heart of the book and did a great job with color and visual effects. Such a good book and watching it as a movie was emotional and uplifting. We humans are haunting.

Just a bit of business before we get in to the good stuff. In discussions about which night of the week is best for us to meet we decided upon Thursday night. In reality this is not the best night because we can potentially conflict with several worthy activities that we do not what anyone to have to choose between. So, a comprehensive decision has been made to make Wednesday night the official night for book club this year. We will meet the first Wednesday of each month at 7pm. We hope that each of you will be able to be with us and share your insights and feelings about the books that we choose to share. We value all of you and as no night will be absolutely perfect for everyone we hope that you will be able to join us most of the time.

Next month Debbie will be hosting on WEDNESDAY February 4th at 7pm. Her book selection will be:

                                     

After more than twenty years living internationally-sixteen addresses, eight countries and five different languages-writer Melissa Bradford shares a fantastic journey of motherhood that will inspire any family.

A goodreads reader says:    I loved this book. Cliche? I'm okay with that because this book did for me what I want all books to do for me. I was intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually fed. I found myself living inside of the author's life, watching and feeling and experiencing all of the moments she described. I laughed, I sobbed, I smiled, I stopped and pondered... and then I jumped back in and devoured her words, although as slowly as I could so the words would seep into my skin and linger. 

Sounds like a great read. See you there.

Diane        

November book club: The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

Thanks Beth for a great evening together. Our discussion was so interesting when we got into “what is faith” vs “belief”. Good questions and answers. Although not his best book it was definitely a good one to read and share thoughts about.

Our next meeting will be at LuAnn’s home on Tuesday November 4th at 7pm. Her book pick is:

                            

Goodreads review says: Hetty "Handful” Grimke, an urban slave in early nineteenth century Charleston, yearns for life beyond the suffocating walls that enclose her within the wealthy Grimke household. The Grimke’s daughter, Sarah, has known from an early age she is meant to do something large in the world, but she is hemmed in by the limits imposed on women.
Kidd’s sweeping novel is set in motion on Sarah’s eleventh birthday, when she is given ownership of ten year old Handful, who is to be her handmaid. We follow their remarkable journeys over the next thirty-five years, as both strive for a life of their own, dramatically shaping each other’s destinies and forming a complex relationship marked by guilt, defiance, estrangement and the uneasy ways of love.
As the stories build to a riveting climax, Handful will endure loss and sorrow, finding courage and a sense of self in the process. Sarah will experience crushed hopes, betrayal, unrequited love, and ostracism before leaving Charleston to find her place alongside her fearless younger sister, Angelina, as one of the early pioneers in the abolition and women’s rights movements.
Inspired by the historical figure of Sarah Grimke, Kidd goes beyond the record to flesh out the rich interior lives of all of her characters, both real and invented, including Handful’s cunning mother, Charlotte, who courts danger in her search for something better.
This exquisitely written novel is a triumph of storytelling that looks with unswerving eyes at a devastating wound in American history, through women whose struggles for liberation, empowerment, and expression will leave no reader unmoved.

A Goodreads reader says: 

We think that we know something about the atrocities of slavery because we learned about it in American history class, or we saw glimpses of it in a movie or a book. But it isn't until we confront a depiction of it that seems so real and horrible, that we realize how very little we really know of the injustice of slavery. Sue Monk Kidd has provided that depiction in this amazing novel.
In blending fact and fiction, she tells the story of Sarah and Angelina Grimke, two sisters from Charleston, S.C. who devote their lives to the abolition of slavery and to the women's rights movement in the 1800's. It is also the courageous story of Handful (Hetty),her mother Charlotte, and sister Sky, slaves to the Grimke family. While, Kidd in her notes gives details of her research and clarifies what was fact and what was fiction in the novel, I loved that one of my favorite parts of the book was true - Sarah teaches Handful to read.
The journey of these courageous children who become courageous women against the odds is a story that will stay with me.

See you at book club. I’m looking forward to reading this one.

The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom

We had a great time dissecting the murder mystery presented by Mary Higgins Clark, I’ve Got You Under My Skin. Wow, at 86 she is still writing. Thanks Telarry for a wonderful evening together.

Our next book club will be hosted by Beth Nelson. We are going to change our day for meeting from Wednesday to Tuesday starting with October. We will still be the first week of the month but now we will meet the first Tuesday of the month. Beth has chosen to read:  The First Phone Call From Heaven by Mitch Albom.

                                 

Goodreads review says:   The First Phone Call from Heaven tells the story of a small town on Lake Michigan that gets worldwide attention when its citizens start receiving phone calls from the afterlife. Is it the greatest miracle ever or a massive hoax? Sully Harding, a grief-stricken single father, is determined to find out. An allegory about the power of belief--and a page-turner that will touch your soul--Albom's masterful storytelling has never been so moving and unexpected.
Readers of The Five People You Meet in Heaven will recognize the warmth and emotion so redolent of Albom's writing, and those who haven't yet enjoyed the power of his storytelling, will thrill at the discovery of one of the best-loved writers of our time.

A Goodreads reader says:

This book has a wonderful premise- several people from one small town are getting phone calls from deceased loved ones. Many people believe it's a miracle while some feel it's a hoax. One man sets out to find the answer.
I'm a huge fan of Mitch Albom-his books always give me comfort and hope. However, this book was rather frustrating most of the time and featured some annoying characters that got on my nerves. I gave this book three stars only because i liked the beginning (i couldn't stop crying) and the end. However, the middle of the book (basically the majority of the story) was difficult to get through. Albom is still one of my favorite authors but his other books are much better than this one.