April 2016 Bookclub Recap

Lori's Falcon

Dear Bookclub,
Lured into the warm light of Julie's home through an open front door, bookclub ladies were treated to wine and delicious nibbles, none of which resembled recently warm-blooded wildlife, thank goodness.

 Julie's good at this but not a falconer-good. Again, thank goodness. No hidden bits in her pockets  - that we sensed.

 Released into the forest, well, her back patio overlooking the fading light on the golf course, serenaded by a crow or two and an annoying barking dog, conversation swelled with shrimp-toast and wine refills. Tempted to shun the captivity of the four-walled rooms, the group eventually obeyed the command to convene in the well-appointed dining room via a parade through the kitchen to fill our plates with chicken and salad. Now, we were ready to discuss, "H is for Hawk"! With nearly Mabel-like-high-maintenance, we settled down; no hoods, jesses, transmitters or bells needed.

not a hawk

Lori shared her amazing experience with falconry on a recent trip to England with Tom.

Our fascination with Lori's experience was equaled to the idea of Mabel's care and the duty Helen Macdonald assumed. We marveled at Macdonald's fascination with T.H. White and the eccentricity of his life. Noting the space left in Macdonald's own story, we wondered about specifics concerning her work and personal life. Forgiven for the absences with our appreciation of the brevity, (book could have been 800 pages), this beautifully crafted memoir gets a special nod for transporting us into another's wellies.

Sue brought us back to San Diego with materials about the local Raptor Institute. Looks really interesting!

http://raptorinstitute.org/

Finally, Julie presented three great selections for our upcoming July read:

"Circling the Sun" by Paula McClain
"Miller's Valley" by Anna Quindlen
"The Nightingale" by Kristin Hannah *chosen

I know I blabbed too much about my personal opinion of "Circling the Sun"... please read it if you are looking for a good vacation read and not necessarily a narrative of Beryl Markham's accomplishments as an aviator, as title implies!

Diane announced she will host June 23 instead of June 16.

Next up: "The Lake House" by Kate Morton.

Happy Reading,
LK

April 2016 Bookclub News

Dear Bookclub,
There is an art to the bookclub selection; the read must be enticing, enjoyable, satisfying, transporting and of course stimulate discussion. It is rare to get this combination in a book and adding to that list of desires is the balance between knowing all about the book before reading it and the slow reveal in an unexpected experience of reading. Not yet being able to comment on the list of desires with "H is for Hawk", I have much to say about the later thoughts.

What I know about "H is for Hawk":
1) Helen Macdonald wrote the book as a grief memoir after her father's death
2) Helen Macdonald gets a hawk
3) Helen Macdonald with this book won the Samuel Johnson Prize for nonfiction and the Costa Book of the Year prize, awarded to the best new book in any genre.

What I didn't know about "H is for Hawk":
1) Anything about T. H. White
2) Anything about falconry besides the posters at The Greenbrier
3) Macdonald is masterly with her concepts beyond what is imagined in so simple the pretext of grief and healing with nature

I hope you are having the slow reveal experience that I am enjoying as I read for this Thursday's gathering at Julie's!

..... and Julie is wondering: "H" is for how many? Please RSVP to Julie ASAP:

 

from Julie

Happy Reading!
LK