Novel Group Musings: October 2019 Recap

Saturday, November 2, 2019

October 2019 Recap

Karen's October "touch"

Dear Bookclub,

A much anticipated bookclub evening exceeded expectations as the cozy Ferrette home cast its spell. If Halloween were a comfort food, it would be bookclub at Karen’s. Yes, there is the delicious autumn inspired food, and in addition, fall colors and pumpkins envelope, transporting our spirits into a holiday-inspired focus. Frightening enough that Halloween was just two short weeks away, I have perpetuated the terror in writing about this on November 2nd. We are captive in the speeding time vortex! But just in time:

Back to our meeting; Gail Honeyman's "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" generated good discussion as we agreed the well-written account of this woman's life presented much to ponder. Never really knowing what one's story entails, Eleanor gave us a glimpse into what happens as one ages out of the foster care system. Add to that, an horrific event, and the unimaginable further rocked our beliefs. Julie summed it up with these thoughts: "There are no dramatic acts of valor... No one swoops in and saves her. Little gestures enable her to save herself. We can all fight loneliness by doing random acts of kindness." Discussion of the upcoming Reese Witherspoon movie production can be updated as it is now reported that the screenplay is in the process of being written and that Reese will play a part in the movie (the 'imagined' evil mother?) and Felicity Jones may play Eleanor.

Cheers!

Delighting in the endearing parts of the book, Karen treated us to some Irish cider:

Magners for all!

Karen's suggestions for an upcoming read:

"Born a Crime" Trevor Noah *chosen

"Little Fires Everywhere" Celeste Ng

"The Silent Patient" Alex Michaelides

My suggestions for a December read:

"The Night Before Cbristmas" Nikolai Gogol
"Redbird Christmas" Fannie Flagg * chosen
"Mr. Dickens and His Carol: A Novel" Samantha Silva

Martha's suggestions for an upcoming read:

"Sing, Unburied, Sing" Jesmyn Ward

"Manhattan Beach" Jennifer Egan

"There There" Tommy Orange

Up next:

Happy reading!

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2025 Selections

January 16 Kate "Master Slave Husband Wife" Ilyon Woo
February 20 Julie "The Thursday Murder Club" Richard Osman
March 20 Martha "James" Pecival Everett
April 17 Lynn "The Outside Boy" Jeanine Cummings
May 15 Lori ""Tell Me Everything" Elizabeth Strout
June 19 Diane "Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame" Olivia Ford
July 17 Summer night out "Be Ready When the Luck Happens" Ina Garten
August 21 Summer night out "Mrs. Benson's Beetle" Rachel Joyce
September 18 Lynne "The Correspondent" Virginia Evans
October 16 Karen
November 20 Lynn
December

2024 Selections

January 18 Kate "Tom Lake" Ann Patchett
February 15 Lori "The Covenant of Water" Abraham Verghese
March 21 Lynn "Fresh Water for Flowers" Valérie Perrin
April 15 Martha "The Women" Kristin Hannah
May 16 Julie "The Art Thief" Michael Finkel
June 20 Diane "The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto" Mitch Albom
July 18 summer night out "The Great Divide" Cristina Henriques
August 15 summer night out "The Paris Novel" Ruth Reichl
September 19 Lynne "The Splendid and the Vile" Erik Larson
October 17 Karen "Only the Beautiful" Sue Meissner
November 21 Sue "How to Read a Book" Monica Wood
December 13 Vintana's "Small Things Like These" Claire Keegan

2023 Selections

January 19 Kate "The Lioness" Chris Bohjalian
February 16 Kim "Solita" Javier Zamora
March 16 Lori "Mad Honey" Jodi Picoult
April 20 Julie "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" Taylor Jenkins Reid
May 18 (Lynn) Julie's "The Marriage Portrait" Maggie O'Farrell
June 15 Diane "The Sweet Spot" Amy Poepell
July 20 RB Winery "Remarkably Bright Creatures" Shelby Van Pelt
August 17 Martha, RB Winery "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" Gabrielle Zevin
September 21 Lynn "Grant and Twain" Mark Perry
October 19 (Lynne) Julie's "Camera Girl: The Coming of Age of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy" Carl Sferrazza Anthony
November 16 Karen "The Music Shop" Rachel Joyce
December 13 "Festive Spirits" Kate Atkinson

2022 Selections

January 20 Kate "Emily's House" Amy Belding Brown
February 24 Kim "The Lincoln Highway" Amor Towles
March 24 Lori "Where the Past Begins: A Writer's Memoir" Amy Tan
April 21 Kate "All In" Billie Jean King
May 19 Barb "Lilac Girls" Martha Hall Kelly
June 16 Diane "West with Giraffes" Lynda Rutledge
July 21 Julie "The Last Thing He Told Me" Laura Dave
August 18 Sue "The Maid" Nita Prose
September 15 Lynn "The Last Ballad" Wiley Cash
October 20 Lynne "The Personal Librarian" Marie Benedict
November 17 Karen "Horse" Geraldine Brooks
December 10 The Cashions' "On Animals" Susan Orlean

2021 Selections

January 21 Kate "American Dirt" Jeanine Cummins
February 18 Lynne "A Town Like Alice" Nevil Shute
March 18 Lori "This Time Next Year We'll Be Laughing" Jacqueline Winspear
April 15 Martha "The Guest List" Lucy Foley
May 20 Diane "Just As I Am" Cicely Tyson
June 17 Barb “The Four Winds" Kristin Hannah
July 15 Jan "The Razor's Edge" Somerset Maugham
August 19 Sue "The Midnight Library" Matt Haig
September 16 Lynn K. "Girls Burn Brighter" Shobha Rao
October 21 Julie "These Tangled Vines" Julianne MacLean
November 18 Karen "Beneath a Scarlett Sky"
December 11 The Grand Tea Room "Mr. Dickens and His Carol" Samantha Silva

2020 Selections

January 16 Kate "Born a Crime" Trevor Noah
February 20 Lynne "Sing, Unburied, Sing" Jesmyn Ward
March 19 Lori "A Fire Sparkling" Julianne MacLean
April 16 Diane "The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane" Lisa See
May 21 Lynn K. "The Silent Patient" Alex Michaelides
June 18 * "The Extraodinary Life of Sam Hell" Robert Dugoni
July 16 Sue “Dear Edward” Ann Napolitano
August 20 Julie "Lady in Waiting" Anne Glenconner
September 17 Lynn K. "The Wonder" Emma Donoghue
October 22 Karen "The Vanishing Half" Brit Bennett
November 19 Kim "The Giver of Stars" JoJo Moyes
December "Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas" Stephanie Barron

2019 Selections

January 17 Lynne H.'s "What We Were Promised" Lucy Tan
February 28 Veranda "Where the Crawdads Sing" Delia Owens
March 21 Martha's "Catcher in the Rye" J.D. Salinger
April 18 Diane's "Nine Perfect Strangers" Lianne Moriarty
May 16 Barb's "When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing" Daniel Pink
June 20 Julie's "House of Broken Angels" Luis Alberto Urrea
July 18 Sue's "Pieces of Her" Karin Slaughter
August 15 Lori's "The Island of Sea Women" Lisa See
September 19 Lynn T.'s "City of Girls" Elizabeth Gilbert
October 17 Karen's "Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine" Gail Honeyman
November 21 Kim's "It All Comes Back to You" Beth Duke
December 14 Martha's "A Redbird Christmas" Fannie Flagg

2018 Selections

January 18 Sue's "News of the World" Paulette Jiles
February 15 Julie's "Handmaid's Tale" Margaret Atwood
March 15 Lynn K's "Miss Burma" Charmaine Craig
April 19 Lynn K's "The Woman in the Window" A.J. Finn
May 24 Lori's "As Bright As Heaven" Susan Meissner
June 20 Diane's"Before We Were Yours" Lisa Wingate
July 19 Kate's "The Which Way Tree" Elizabeth Crook
August 16 Barb's "The Heirs" Susan Rieger
September 27 Lynn T's "An American Marriage" Tayari Jones
October18 Kim's "Dead Wake" Erik Larson
November 15 Kate's. "Educated" Tara Westover
December 20 Karen's "Clock Dance" Anne Tyler

2017 Selections

January 19 Sue's "All the Winters After" Serè Prince Halverson
February 16 Barb's "The Art Forger" B. A. Shapiro
March 16 Julie's "The Underground Railroad" Colson Whitehead
April 20 Lynne H's "Hillbilly Elegy" J.D. Vance
May 18 Martha's "Dust Bowl Girls" Lydia Reeder
June 15 Diane's "Commonwealth" Ann Patchett
July 20 Kate's "Small Great Things" Jodi Picoult
August 17 Lori's "The Sympathizer" Viet Thanh Ngyuen
September 21 Lynn K's "A Gentleman in Moscow" Amor Towles
October 26 Karen's "Nutshell" Ian McEwan
November 16 Lynn K's "the book that matters most" Ann Hood
December 8 Rancho Bernardo Inn

2016 Selections

January 21 Lynn K's "Midnight in Siberia" by David Greene
February 18 Sue's "A Man Called Ove" by Fredrik Backman
March 24 Karen's "Fates & Furies" by Lauren Groff
April 21 Julie's " H is for Hawk" by Helen Macdonald
May 19 Barb's "The Lake House" by Kate Morton
June 23 Diane's :The Japanese Lover" by Isabel Allende
July 21 Kate's "The Nightingale" by Kristin Hannah
August 25 Lynne H- The Veranda: "Miller's Valley" by Anna Quindlen
September 15 Lynn T's "The Widow Clicquot" by Tilar J. Mazzeo
October 18 Martha's "The Dream Life of Astronauts" by Patrick Ryan
November 17 Kim's "The Children Act" by Ian McEwan
December 17 The Grand Tea Room Escondido "The Portrait of a Lady" by Henry James

2015 Selections

January 22- "The Language of Flowers" by Vaness Diffenbaugh - Lynn K's
February 19 - "One Plus One" by JoJo Moyes - Julie's
March 26 - "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr - Sue's
April 16- Barb's "The Husband's Secret" Liane Moriarty
May 21- Lori's "Deep Down Dark" Hector Tobar
June 25- Diane's "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
July 23- Kate's - "The Dove Keepers" by Alice Hoffman
August 20 - The Veranda "The Spool of Blue Thread" by Anne Tyler
September 17-19 25th Anniversary Celebration Coronado
October 15- Karen's "Under the Wide and Starry Sky" by Nancy Horan
November 12 - Kim's "Euphoria" by Lily King
December 12 - Martha's "Butcher's Crossing" by John Williams

2014 Selections

January 16- Lynn K's "The Rosie Project" by Graeme Simsion
February 20 - Sue's "The Sandcastle Girls" by Chris Bojhalian
March 20 - Lynne H.'s "The Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
April 17 - Barb's "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak
May 29 - Lori's "After Her" by Joyce Maynard
June 19 - Diane's "Invention of Wings" by Sue Monk Kidd
July 17- Kate's "Defending Jacob" by William Landay
August 21 - Julie's "Missing You" by Harlan Corben
September 18 - Lynn T's "The Light Between Oceans" by M.L. Stedman
October 16 - Karen's "An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor
November 13 - Kim's "To Rise Again at a Decent Hour" by Joshua Ferris
December 13 - CCRB "The Boys in the Boat" by Daniel James Brown

2013 Selections

January - Lynn K.'s- ""Wish You Were Here" by Graham Swift
February - Lynne H.'s - "The Orchardist" Amanda Coplin
March - Sue's - " Forgotten Garden" by Kate Morton
April - The Huntington - " The Invisible Ones" by Stef Penney
May 16 - Lori's - "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn
June 20 - Diane's " Bend Not Break" by Fu & Fox
July 18 -Warwick's "The Light in the Ruins" by Chris Bohjalian
August 15 - Julie's "Me Before You" by Jojo Moyes
September 19 - Lynn T.'s "The Girl in the Glass" by Sue Meissner
October 24 - Karen's "The Aviator's Wife" by Melanie Benjamin
November 21 - Kim's "And The Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini
December 14 - Diane & Chuck Cashion's "The Sport's Gene" by David Epstein

Novel Group Musings

Saturday, November 2, 2019

October 2019 Recap

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