December Recap

(OK,  so I never took a picture of Lynn T's amazing collection of tea cups;

 I get distracted by cute dogs.)

Dear Bookclub,

A warming cup of tea or two along with sandwiches, salad, cheese, fruit and tiramisu in Karen's festive dining room gave us much joy! But first, the task at hand. After toasting our year and our fellowship we buckled down to formally discuss Anne Tyler's "Clock Dance". We were all over the place giving it from one to five stars and, I believe, if it could have no stars, some may have owned that! Noting that Willa was not an accomplished, independent woman, which is the type of woman we want to read about and admire, the book fell flat for some. Others enjoyed some of the quirkiness of the surrounding characters, Cheryl, Denise and even Airplane. There was a distinct remembrance of Tyler's 1995 novel, "Ladder of Years" where the main character walks out on her family in the middle of a family vacation, just walking away on the beach. And despite Karen's unusual interpretation of the ending with Willa, I did see Tyler's use of the same freeing abandonment in my imagination of Willa's next move. However, Karen does have the best I-never-even-considered-that!!! twists. Please keep those coming; great discussion gets stirred up.

Bookclub  Angels

 
Our collection for the organization, Gently Hugged, appeared to be successful as there was a distinct pile for Karen to deliver (thank you for that!!). In case you want to continue to donate:

http://gentlyhugged.org/


Karen's suggestions for an upcoming read were influenced by the PBS series, "The Great American Read":

"Catcher in the Rye" J.D. Salinger *chosen
"Gone With the Wind" Margaret Mitchell
"To Kill a Mockingbird" Harper Lee

Read the One Hundred List:
https://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/books/#/


Up next: Lucy Tan's  "What We Were Promised"


Happy Reading,
LK

November 2018 Recap

Tara's Idaho

Dear Bookclub,
Minutes feel normal; hours pass as expected; days truncated by the dictated, ever-shortening sunlight.....  the cumulate: weeks gone since the last bookclub meeting. In keeping with the forward charging December, here is a recap to guide us to the end of the year.

The November Cast

Reports from Julie and Kate tell of a lively and lovely November Kate-hosted meeting. Discussion of Tara Westover's "Educated" included marveling at Tara's intelligence and courage and a focus on her abusive father and detested brother, Shaun. I felt Tara's Stockholm syndrome signaling each time Shaun appeared. A paralleled idea found in this clinical psychologist's fascinating view:

Goali Saedi Bocci, Ph.D.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/millennial-media/201804/psychologists-take-tara-westovers-memoir-educated
 

Kate asked a good question...Why did Tara write the book?  With two therapists present, discourse centered on parental neglect, parental protection, sibling dynamics, blind fervency to religion,effects of Mormonism, fundamentalism, education vs. non-education, mental illness, family dynamics etc..  Westover's story is a wealth of debatable material.

Another focus was comparing and contrasting similar books like Jeannette Wall's "Glass Castle" and Kristin Hannah's "The Great Alone". Both of these works are also built on the resiliency of the main character in the face of a severely deficient and harmful upbringing. Only "Educated" has the caveat of a surviving and fully functioning set of parents. LaRee and Valaree have their opinions about the book and also thrive with a successful business:

https://butterflyexpress.shop/

Logan Utah's Herald Journal News, February 23, 2018

'Educated' should be read with grain of salt, says family's attorney:

https://www.hjnews.com/allaccess/educated-should-be-read-with-grain-of-salt-says-family/article_0583f217-6fd2-51de-a891-9ca32adb589c.html 

Kate's suggestions for an upcoming selection:

"The Great Alone" Kristen Hannah

"When" Daniel Pink

"A Spark of Light" Jodi Picoult *chosen

Next up:

Ann Tyler's "Clock Dance"

Happy reading,
LK