January 2016 Bookclub News

Dear Bookclub,
Happy New Year! The month is accelerating as the holidays fade and calendars are filling up with new adventures. To the armchair traveler (or the airplane reader), our upcoming selection may enhance your adventure as NPR Morning Edition host, David Greene's "Midnight in Siberia"takes us along on his Trans-Siberian Railway trip, 6,000 miles from Moscow to the Pacific port of Vladivostok. I admittedly just started it so my mind-wandering side research is slim at this point. Coincidentally, one of three books I read in the last week (two other bookclubs and a visit with Chris Bohjalian) was a stunning piece of literature about Russia. Not to be confused with Russian literature, "The Tsar of Love and Techno" is a collection of short stories by American novelist, Anthony Marra, who at the ripe old age of 31 has won numerous awards and is a lecturer at Stanford. This book is fantastic. Spanning from 1937 until the present, my knowledge of Russian life (beyond Anna Karenina) went from zero to a zillion. His writing is superb. Greene's book will hopefully boost that even more.

Last Monday night's visit with Chris Bohjalian brought forth a lovely combination of ladies. Diane coordinated a Herringbone dinner with 8 of us ultimately enjoying the company of CB himself!

"The Guest Room" is a disturbing thriller that will keep you turning pages as Bohjalian illuminates the sex trade industry in an expected heart-breaking and compelling tale that will take you down a very unexpected path.


Looking forward to our upcoming meeting, January 21, here at my to-be de-Christmastized home! Please RSVP.

Happy Reading!
LK

December 2015

Dear Bookclub,
Martha and Dave were fabulous hosts for our holiday 'bash'! Was wonderful to spend our time together in their warm and beautifully decorated home, feasting on an amazing array of festive food. It was so tempting to enjoy chatting, sipping, and nibbling, (well chowing), that I neglected to take any pictures. So here is a rendering of the evening:

Shocker that the book discussion was once again a haphazard gathering of readers here and there.  Making a note to organize a method for a formal assembly next year. Beware! I personally thought "Butcher's Crossing" is a literary standout in our book list and will long be remembered in this foggy brain.

Thanks to all who brought books for the Children's Museum in Escondido.

Please stay tuned for an organizational update re:our hosting calendar.
Merry Christmas!

Happy reading,
LK

PS: up next is David Greene's "Midnight in Siberia"

November 2015 Recap

Dear Bookclub,
Kim's home beautifully glowed-Thanksgiving (with a smidge of Christmas along her eaves). An amazing spread in her kitchen led us to spread first to the dining room and then to the living room, enveloped in her plush hospitality. King's "Euphoria" was hardly debated; the enjoyment of the exposure to anthropologists and the Mead/Bateson fact-checking led our discussion-lite.

Selection suggestions were fantastic and hopefully, the remaining two will be suggested again:

"Fates and Furies" by Lauren Groff (*chosen)
"The Japanese Lover" by Isabel Allende
"The Twelve Tribes of Hattie" by Ayana Mathis

Our much anticipated Christmas gathering at Martha and Dave's is just around the corner!
"Butcher's Crossing"by John Williams is our December selection; a pre-20th century historical novel, rich in language, thought and appreciation of nature. Please read the amazing community reviews in goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/457228.Butcher_s_Crossing

Don't forget to RSVP to Martha with your party food contribution. Also, we'll participate in honoring a local literary need for our holiday gift. We decided upon donating to the Escondido Children's Museum. Please bring an unwrapped, be-ribboned children's book and/or a monetary donation (they are in the midst of a fund drive to purchase their building and all funds will be matched!):

http://sdcdm.org/

Happy reading!
LK

November 2015 Bookclub News

Dear Bookclub,

As the days shorten, and the temperature dropped a degree or two, the cozy reading season is upon us. Hardly a heavy-lidded read, Lily King's "Euphoria" is an invigorating tale that will inspire you to dig a bit deeper into your understanding of Margaret Mead, as this novel, loosely based on her life, takes you into the 1930's world of anthropology and the personalities involved.

Our November selection, has been a wildly popular, well-read, discussed and reviewed novel, noted for its recognition for being the winner of the 2014 Kirkus Prize, the winner of the 2014 New England Book Award for Fiction, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and a "Best Book of the Year for:  New York Times Book Review, Time, NPR, Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, Newsday, Vogue, New York Magazine, Seattle Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, The Guardian, Kirkus Reviews, Amazon, Publishers Weekly, Our Man in Boston, Oprah.com, Salon. In a nutshell, you will enjoy this! (It really is good.)

For your 'digging'....please check out the King interview from Vogue re: Margaret Mead....
http://www.vogue.com/872367/lily-king-margaret-mead-novel-euphoria/

Also, for further referencing about the nature of the anthropologists viewpoints, the Margaret Mead- Derek Freeman controversy centered around "Coming of Age in Samoa" is neatly described in the following excerpt from a Carnegie Mellon document that my googling produced:
http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/sc24/History/EnCultAntMead.pdf


Please be sure to RSVP to Kim for this upcoming Thursday, 11/12 at 7 pm.

Euphoric reading,
LK

October 2015 Recap

Dear Bookclub,

As taken with RLS as John Singer Sargent, my passionate read of "Under the Wide and Starry Sky" by Nancy Horan lingers on in my imagination. Fanny perseveres, not so veiled, in my mind. Our meeting at Karen's, under the warm and muggy sky, was extremely pleasant, emphasized by the facilitator.

The Facilitator

Karen tended to our lucky little group with Scottish treats as we reported on the progress of our reading. Only Diane had fully finished the book although we were all truly enjoying it. Life competed heavily with our optimistic plans to complete the 500 pages in time for Drambuie.

 Karen recommended "Killing Lincoln" by Bill O'Reilly,  "The Shell Seekers" by Rosamunde Pilcher, and "A Man called Ove" by Fredrick Backman. We have the most amazing array of decision avoidance, starting with hard choices! Debating the pros and cons of each suggestion brought us no closer to a finalist than having the spin of that Drambuie bottle land on a winner. Karen finally took the initiative to declare "A Man called Ove" the selected book after "I don't really care, I like them all" had been uttered 72 times.

Next, Diane presented an opportunity to meet with Chris Bohjalian on January 11th when he is in San Diego, promoting his latest work, "The Guest Room".  For more:

http://www.chrisbohjalian.com/

She has been in touch with Chris about his availability and it will be a bit unknown until perhaps November. He does remember us though! Please let me know if you are interested in going to the Warwick's event and I can coordinate a group ticket buying effort so we can all sit together. I envision having a 5:30 dinner somewhere nearby and then heading to Warwick's about 7 for the 7:30 appearance. I will call about our group and then this entails you giving Warwick's your credit card number for buying the book which will be available January 5th. Your purchase is your 'ticket'. This would be fun to do! And he may come join us for a nibble or sip of water.

Lori has some interesting thoughts regarding our holiday charity effort and a trip for next spring, which I tried to properly present in her absence. Discussion about a local effort with a literary emphasis was most passionate. Please be prepared to speak up and share thoughts and ideas in November so we can proceed. Lori's idea about Idyllwild was seriously pondered- some have been and the fact that not much beyond hiking can be viewed as a pro or con.... I like the golden chat opportunity of a good hike. Again, let's keep the discussion going and make a plan! Our last trip continues to exude lovely energy:

 Thanks to Sue for this charming gift! Sitting in my family room, a sweet reminder of our good time!

photo-bombed photo - thank you Whiskey

Thanks to Diane and Lori for your great ideas! Looking forward to seeing you all at Kim's November 12th for the amazing Lily King novel, "Euphoria".

Happy Reading!
LK

Bookclub Next Week!

Dear Bookclub,
We are meeting next week, 10/15, the third Thursday in a month of five! Hope you are enjoying Nancy Horan's second novel, "Under the Wide and Starry Sky".

     

Robert Louis Stevenson with his mother, wife and step-daughter at their temporary residence, Darlinghurst, January 1893

Please be sure to RSVP to Karen.
Happy Reading!
LK

Coronado Celebration September 2015

Dear Bookclub,
Like little Dorothy's, we hit the road last week and became transformed in a wonderful world of 1906.

The glow of our getaway still envelopes. Our adventure was filled with beautiful weather, dear camaraderie, OZ-injections, bike rides, golf cart meanderings, happy hour and a half's, good food, male-admirers, and a darn-good walking tour.

   

 

    

 

These are just a few images of our happenings; please share any more that you may have. There are never enough and I am so sorry that we didn't coordinate a picture at Chez Loma!

Thank you so much for the gifts and the card - I loved having everyone's sentiments on that Tinman card!!

Two more meetings and then we will have another opportunity to have our big bookclub family back together again at David and Martha's on December 12th for our holiday gathering! Our December selection is "Butcher's Crossing" by the National Book Award novelist, John Williams. Please read this great description on the Goodreads website:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/457228.Butcher_s_Crossing

Next up is "Under the Wide and Starry Sky" by Nancy Horan.

Robert Louis Stevenson. 1850–1894

Requiem

UNDER the wide and starry sky
Dig the grave and let me lie:
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you 'grave for me:
Here he lies where he long'd to be;
Home is the sailor, home from the sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.

Not quite "A Child's Garden of Verses"....
Robert Louis Stevenson, had a fascinating childhood and life (which I learned in a few minutes of google-sleuthing) but I'd rather not say anything. I quit reading any factual biography as I have not yet read Horan's book and would like to learn more later after delving into the sweetly imagined novel. Much more fun that way.

Please RSVP to Karen....
Happy Reading!
LK