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