December 2020 Recap

 

 

Mistletoe Martini

Dear Bookclub,

A most unusual Christmas Bookclub to round out our most unusual year, as we zum gali gali'd around ye olde computer screens:

obscure reference

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82Ht1xHLqd0

 

Most festively decked out, from her red dining room chairs to her mistletoe martini, Diane wowed us and in the finest holiday spirit, overlooked that not one of us had finished the book, except herself. She regaled us with tales of holiday mixology as we enviously spied her gorgeous drink.

 

Our Christmas Angel

The above pictured drink was in her hand; we inquired: she reeled off the ingredients. I wished I could remember exactly what she said and when I later googled the recipe, I could not replicate. Graciously, she later shared her tweaks to this:

* https://mixthatdrink.com/mistletoe-martini/

Diane's modifications: no simple syrup, subbed rosemary for the mint garnish and served in a martini glass out of the shaker, so no ice in the glass as it is pictured on the website and looking more like the one above.

Moving right along, our intellectual conversation turned to the peanut butter cup I held in hand:  

https://www.cuisineathome.com/recipes/drinks/peanut-butter-cup-cocktail/

Again, Diane, brought us up to speed with the full, fascinating history of Skrewball, the peanut butter whiskey featured in said drink, master-minded here in San Diego County. Truly, worth reading is the following story about the Ocean Beach Yengs, he a Cambodian refugee and polio survivor and she, his wife, a chemist and patent attorney.

The Yengs

I, also, did not read "Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas"

https://www.skrewballwhiskey.com/story/

 

Right about now, an appreciation for Stephanie Barron surfaced. The author of our December selection is actually Francine Mathews. Mystery solved.

Francine Stephanie Barron was born in Binghamton, New York and grew up in Washington D.C., the youngest of six sisters. Earning degrees from both Princeton and Stanford, the former intelligence analyst with the CIA has written more than 25 novels.

 Please enjoy:

https://francinemathews.com/author-bio/

 

Then, we were treated to an unexpected arrival as Martha joined our conversation! So happy to see and hear from our beloved member, we caught up on her family's recent journey and with great interest, she asked about ours. 

Circling back to the focus of the meeting, a bookclub, not drinking club, I learned that "Jane" was indeed available as an audible, and I lamented that I would have certainly polished it off (like a steaming bowl of brandy and lemon) if I had only known. Having researched this option on my Amazon account, I found that the only editions were hardcover, paperback and kindle. I was reading away on my paperback edition but seasonal obligations kept me from finishing.

The Christmas Angel informed us that she had listened to it (!) at 2X (!!) and lo and behold, she's on it! Looking to purchase the selection, it turns out the audible version is free and did not appear in my search.. live and learn. I have since downloaded the audible. Hope you will benefit from this info.

My suggestions for an upcoming read:

"This Time Next Year We'll Be Laughing" Jacqueline Winspear *chosen

"Caste" Isabel Wilkerson

"The Grammarians" Cathleen Schine

 

Up next:

Happy reading,

LK

November 2020 Recap

 

Dear Bookclub,

As San Diego's Covid-19 restrictions shifted back to the purple tier, we gathered once more around the cozy glow of our screens to zoom. Boo-hoo. But sturdily, like a horse-riding librarian, our group focused on the task at hand: sharing our enjoyment of Jojo Moyes' "The Giver of Stars". 

 

 

from history.com

 

Relishing the depth and variety of characters, balanced in the historic setting of the WPA's Federal Project Number One in the  Kentucky Appalachian Mountains, we overlooked the formulaic chick-lit and appreciated the underlying account.

Eleanor Roosevelt (photographed above visiting a Packhorse Library in West Liberty, KY)

Please enjoy the beautiful images and description of the packhorse library; before the bookmobile:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6WTdXYHF6o&feature=emb_logo

My favorite way to experience a book is through my own eyes, head, voice, etc., hence I try to avoid prejudice from outside sources, eschewing the particulars of reviews, etc. A difficult goal given the deep revelations divulged with seemingly innocent 'googling', As I began to read our book, I found myself head on with the story of Moyes being accused of plagiarism. I was only searching for a good image of the cover of our read to include at the end of our previous blog post. Drat:

https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/books/1202348/Jojo-Moyes-Giver-of-Stars-Book-Woman-of-Troublesome-Creek-books-kim-michele-richardson

After finishing "The Giver of Stars", under the cloud of this knowledge,  I began Kim Michele Richardson's "The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek". My research of the allegations confirmed the concept of business over art in the publishing environment, and my reading, confirmed that the two books were extremely similar. The plagiarism claim remains unsettling to me. Sample this yourself, please, and let me know!

 

 Kim's suggestions for an upcoming read:

"Ordinary Grace"  William Kent Krueger

"A Town Like Alice" Nevil Shute *chosen

"Hamnet"  Maggie O’Farrell

Up next:

Remembering all the wonderful gatherings our group has had over the years at the holidays and beyond, I am hopeful that we'll share that joy again. In the meanwhile, let's enjoy our abilities to connect as we can, and look forward to joyfully 'seeing' each other at our December meeting.

 

Safe & jolly reading, 

LK

October 2020 Bookclub Recap

 

Illustration by Daisy Daniel, Loyola Marymount University

Dear Bookclub,

A treat to meet in person with the 'orange holiday 'glow of our traditional October gathering at Karen's,  energies to discuss the power of other shades purposefully took shape with the dissection of Brit Bennett's "The Vanishing Half". Organizing the family tree and timeline became the foundation for understanding the colorism concept and the deeply rooted effects that are front and center both in the novel and sadly, in our current times. The broad net of caricatures seemed far-fetched  to the point of being distracting, but we were forgiving with the fascination of the twists and turns Bennett laid before us. Karen emphasized the disbelief that a twin could so easily abandon her other and our in-house psychologists (so thrilled to have both attending!) weighed in on their enjoyment of the developments in the novel. Thought provoking, educational and entertaining, googling ensued:

East Jackson, Ohio

#1) The town of Mallard - Fictional

However, nonfictional is East Jackson. Please explore this interesting article about an east Appalachian town in Ohio where residents look white but say they are black(photos alone are intriguing).

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/25/race-east-jackson-ohio-appalachia-white-black

#2) Lynching

From the 64 Parishes(a collaboration of writers, artists and historians, a project of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities (LEH)) website is a description of this horror:

https://64parishes.org/entry/lynching

 

#3) Therese to Reese 

 

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326590

 

 

#4) Nadinola is the bleaching cream Jude had longed for when she was a teen in Louisiana. Here is a piece about the history of the desire for fair skin including a 1924 ad for Nadinola:

https://witness2fashion.wordpress.com/tag/nadinola-bleaching-cream-ad-1924/

 

$29,500,000*

 

#5)  Brentwood Country Estates. Gated. *sold

https://www.hiltonhyland.com/property/4-brentwood-country-estates-rd-los-angeles-ca-90049-us/

 

Finally, "The Vanishing Half" has once more expanded our awareness of the seemingly endless fabric of racial injustice. Astounding that this devastating story of a 15-year-old Louisiana boy's disappearance and suspicious death coupled with slow police response due to racial bias is just a few hours old:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/11/12/quawan-charles-death/

 

 

 

Karen's suggestions for an upcoming read: 

1) "American Dirt" Jeanine Cummins *chosen

2)  "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" Rebecca Skloot

3) "Then She Was Gone" Lisa Jewell

Up next:

Happy reading,

LK

 

September 2020 Bookclub News

 

 

 

Mollie Fancher, the "Brooklyn Enigma"

Sarah Jacob

 

Dear Bookclub,

Simmering September with a sprinkle of atmospheric particulate was the terrible stew steering us once more to the Zoom soup. Flirting with fasting, this distasteful metaphor did not stifle our discussion of Emma Donoghue's "The Wonder". Realizing that there was truly a phenomenon of fasting girls(see images above), some believe early examples of anorexia, please read more through the links below... ye olde wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasting_girl

  and the cool little discovery of this blog:

https://www.messynessychic.com/2020/02/05/who-were-the-fasting-girls/ 

The Breatharian Movement is a group that believes you can be sustained by breathing light and air - no food or water. This is current:

https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/breatharian.htm

If you are 'hungry' for more on the fasting girls, from Mental Floss:

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/51477/true-stories-4-victorian-fasting-girls 

 

Development of "The Wonder" demanded the slower pace, at times hard to read. Julie noted that she'd found a 'disgust' theme in her researching of the book. We eagerly chimed in with all the disgusting parts. Lori recalled the daguerreotype of Anna and Pat. Death photography was a strange Victorian tradition.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-36389581

 

While Sister Michael and Lib observed Anna, scenarios of explanation swirled in our minds as Donoghue intended. Sister Michael's representation of the Catholic oversight drew us into the strength of rationalization, held by the community and Anna specifically as she believed her pathway to heaven would be assured. Kate concurred on the power of these beliefs. Lib's referencing her tutelage with Florence Nightingale intrigued me and led to this discovery:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Nightingale_effect

Anna's influence of Nightingale's philosophy surely saved Anna. We all agreed that the end was a bit hard to believe. Personally, I loved the cheesy ending, transporting me to the beloved cinematic 19th century fairy tale genre, complete with the 'wink-wink' by the nun.

 

On another note, Sue honored her brother-in-law's recent passing by reading his works. Please check out James Dohren's books, as both look fascinating:

https://www.amazon.com/Windy-City-Stories-James-Dohren-ebook/dp/B0868W14WZ

 

 

 

 

 https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Shoebox-Correspondence-Huffman-William/dp/1620062941

 

 

 

My suggestions for our December upcoming read:

 1) "Star over Bethlehem: Poems and Holiday Stories" Agatha Christie

2) "Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas (Being a Jane Austen Mystery)" Stephanie Barron *chosen

3) "The Snow Child" Eowyn Ivey

4) "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" (Arthur Conan Doyle Collection)

Up next:

Happy reading,

LK

I have no idea what was going on here.

 

 

 

 

August 2020 Bookclub News

John Singer Sargent's "The Three Graces" (see below*)

 

Dear Bookclub,

August, often the month of summer distraction, lends slight attendance to our meetings. This pandemic-summer had no effect on that pattern; participation numbered a handful. Quick thinking by Julie, as last minute regrets tumbled in, and a socially distanced meeting on her patio took shape. Sue, Julie and I enjoyed a gorgeous evening together, in person. With Anne Glenconner's "Lady in Waiting" to discuss and much to catch up on, we chatted for hours like the old days. It was bliss!

 

Lady Anne Coke, 1950

 

Colin

 

Wading through the book's mucky entry, the reader's reward was a remarkably clear and compelling sea of incredible tales as Glenconner's extraordinary life unfolded with unbelievable page after unbelievable page. Shocked by Lady Anne's husband's horrible behavior, we longed to have our therapists present to shed some light on that situation. Colin Christopher Paget Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner surely spiced up the adventure. Lady Anne Veronica Tennant, Baroness Glenconner's tenacious ability to carry on impressed.

Royal Yacht Britannia

 

 (enjoyed by Princess Margaret on her honeymoon which included time spent at Mustique)

Basil's Bar, Mustique

Julie discovered enlightening footage of both Colin on Mustique from a documentary and Anne, more recently, promoting her book on British television. Please enjoy these videos:

The mystique of Mustique and Colin, easily observed in this YouTube clip(stunning footage of Christopher):

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXNrLP_Q6hc

Lady Anne Glenconner's interview on the The Graham Norton Show(excellent):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7By0ub0B9sk 

Our socially-distanced group:

Julie's suggestion for an upcoming read:

1) "The Giver of Stars" JoJo Moyes *chosen

2) "Bad Blood" John Carreyrou 

3)  "Magic Hour" Kristin Hannah      

 

Up next:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy reading,

LK

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Museum of Fine Arts, Boston <Pamela Tennant/Colin's mother>

July 2020 Bookcub News

Blog photo: Ruben and his brother Enzo pose for a photograph in front of the Mac Mac Falls. Their father Patrick added the snap to a family blog he was compiling

Dear Bookclub,

Discussing Ann Napolitano's "Dear Edward" exposed our vulnerabilities towards difficult subjects while testing our empathy for fellow humanity. Being doomed to read about a doomed flight is challenge enough. Coupling that with the development of random characters on the flight, to whom you may not relate, or even despise, intensified the likability of the read. Some could not find redemption in this imagining but others were able to break through the discomfort to regard the importance of the wider waves created by the tragedy in shaping Edward's healing. Napolitano's inspiration and creation were remarkable to me; her possession of the journey Edward needed adeptly drove the story.

As stated in the 'Acknowledgements', Napolitano based Edward upon a real boy who was the sole survivor of a plane crash: Ruben van Assouw, nine years old at the time. Returning from Johannesburg, the plane crashed in Tripoli, killing everyone else aboard including Ruben's eleven year old brother and parents. Please read about other parallels:

https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/ruben-van-assouw-sole-libya-plane-crash-survivor/story?id=10648429

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1278435/Nine-year-old-sole-survivor-Libya-plane-crash-told-family-dead.html

Warning: graphic, short video of wreckage and Ruben directly after surgery

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xv8xz0

Basing the flight's failure upon the true failure of another flight, Air France 447, Napolitano wove the facts into the novel. Also in her 'Acknowledgements' the author gave credit to Jeff Wise's article in Popular Mechanics, "What Really Happened Aboard Air France 447." I could not access the article without subscribing to the magazine, but here is more about that flight and Jeff Wise:

Jeff Wise

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_447

http://jeffwise.net/about-the-author/comment-page-1/

Finally, circling around back to Edward's healing and growth.

"What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult to each other?" - George Eliot

... a quote to begin part 2 of the book. As galling as most of the requests of Edward's letters felt, what a dynamic and powerful vehicle they turned out to be. 

our small but mighty group of attendees

Sue's suggestions for an upcoming read:

"A Spark of Light" Jodi Picoult

"The Vanishing Half" Bret Bennett  *chosen

"Giver of Stars" Jojo Moyes

Up next:

Enjoy your summer reading!

LK

June 2020 Bookclub News

(have been wanting to use this...)

Dear Bookclub,

Zooming through yet another month, we zoomed our way through "The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell".  Robert Dugoni's extraordinary novel was well-liked, luring 'meh' readers to warm-up with the discussion-revisit. Vivid characters, clean writing and tear-rendering charmed our read-ratings to the top of our benchmarks. Dugoni's creative use of  Sam's ocular albinism cast a wide literary net, and set us sailing through decades and topics with ease and enjoyment like an unimaginable buffet of days-gone-by. Many topics, uncomfortable, were nonetheless believably presented to provoke examination and empathy. Such technique was winning for the reader.

More on ocular albinism:

https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/ocular-albinism

Dugoni's personal family experience, documented in his afterword, is well worth the read and lends an additional depth to his novel. If you missed it or want to revisit, please check out this interview:

https://www.thenationalbookreview.com/features/2018/4/24/qa-robert-dugoni-talks-about-the-extraordinary-life-of-sam-hell

Being a little cat crazy, I can't help but share Dugoni's short video on his writing 'technique':

Our collective suggestions for an upcoming read:

"A Tale of Two Cities" Charles Dickens

"The Wonder" Emma Donoghue *chosen

"Do Not Become Alarmed" Maile Maloy

"The Hate You Give" Angie Thomas

Up next:

Healthy reading,

LK