June 2018 Bookclub News

Tennessee Children's Home

Dear Bookclub,
 I am so sorry to have been out of town, missing June's bookclub meeting at Diane's to discuss Lisa Wingate's "Before We Were Yours". Rich for discussion, the author described the experience of surfing the reality in an online site, Signature, http://www.signature-reads.com/2017/06/before-we-were-yours-the-truth-about-tennessees-lost-children/  Wingate states ultimately that when learning of true accounts from Georgia Tann's criminal acts, "For any story you can write, there's someone who's lived it."
Get out a kleenex and see a reunion on a 1991 Oprah episode:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzp8ey7spO0
 
Gratefully, Diane has written an account of the evening to share:

Diane here, subbing in for our eloquent leader with a few notes about our recent June meeting.  Despite the off-schedule meeting date - Wednesday instead of Thursday - there was a great turnout of 8 Novel Group members ready to engage in a lively discussion of Before We Were Yours, Lisa Wingate’s novel based on true accounts of adoptions that were less than above board which really tugged at everyone’s heart.  Georgia Tann was running quite a business in the 1930’s-1950’s in Memphis, TN practically stealing children from disadvantaged families and selling them to desperate families unable to have children of their own. Through one such transaction we meet the 5  lovable, and endearing, children of Briny and Queenie aboard their river shanty, the Arcadia.  The book sparked many discussions about adoptions, infertility, feelings of abandonment, and even the recent headlines of family separations at our border.  The discussion was passionate and enlightening, and many remarked one one of the best discussions we have had in awhile. 

The impoverished setting of the book was definitely a food theme challenge, so I decided that as a nod to the book to share my recent experience of simple, Tuscan dishes.  A rustic Panzanella (think bruschetta in a bowl!) followed by a very simple tiramisu ended up as crowd pleasers. 

Four books were presented for future consideration:

Dead Wake, Eric Larson (chosen)

The House of Broken Angels, Luis Alberto Urrea (close 2nd)

32 Yolks, Eric Ripert

The Last Ballad, Wiley Cash

Happy campers #1

Happy campers #2

Up next: Elizabeth Cook's, "The Which Way Tree".

Happy Reading!
LK

May 2018 Recap

Dear Bookclub,

May gray days on end set the tone for our 1918 Spanish flu pandemic affair. Gathering at Lori's for our evening with author, Sue Meissner, to discuss her latest work, "As Bright As Heaven", our fabulous groups united with sweet anticipation. And sweetly welcomed, we were. Lori had created supper of nurturing soup jars, yummy meatballs, delicious salad and dainty pralines.

Susan Meissner and Lori

Fortified with flu shots(ginger beer, vodka & rosemary sprigs), we settled in to share our appreciation for Meissner's work. Sue enlightened with us her development of the book, passing around pictures depicting some scenes from the pandemic. Her revelation of plotting the novel with the deaths of certain individuals (no spoiling in this paragraph), in order to allow other character development was especially interesting, as was her admiration of the structure of Kingsolver's "Poisonwood Bible".

Being merrily distracted, we neglected to discuss and vote on Lori's suggestions for an upcoming selection. Let's do an email vote:

"An American Marriage" Tayari Jones
"The Wife Between Us" Sarah Pekkanen
"Circe" Madeline Miller
"My Antonia" Will Cather


Up next: Lisa Wingate's, "Before We Were Yours". Please remember our meeting at Diane's will be on a Wednesday (June 20).

Happy Reading!
LK